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fig1 illustrate a hydraulic accumulator system 10 , which includes a hydraulic accumulator assembly 12 and accumulator control system 13 , preferably mounted inside a transmission housing under a sealed cover . the cover is typically used to seal a transmission control system from environment in front wheel drive transmissions . the hydraulic accumulator assembly 12 is formed integrally with a gas chamber 14 , which includes a piston 15 with a seal 16 installed inside a hydraulic cylinder 17 , which is permanently separates the hydraulic fluid from the compressed gas in gas chamber 14 . the hydraulic accumulator assembly 12 communicates hydraulically to the accumulator control system 13 through a screw thread 18 , sealed by o - ring 19 and an accumulator passage 20 , which connects hydraulic fluid in cylinder 17 to an accumulator hydraulic control passage 21 . the accumulator hydraulic control passage 21 communicated with the accumulator control system 13 , which includes a solenoid 22 , a pressure booster valve 23 ( also known as a booster valve ), a pilot check valve 24 , a high pressure check valve 25 and a line check valve 26 . the pilot check valve 24 consist of a spring 34 , ball 33 , ball seat 35 and a pilot pin 36 partially located in the pressure booster valve 23 . the pressure booster valve 23 includes a piston 28 , a cylinder 29 , and a spring 30 . the high pressure check valve 25 includes a small ball 37 , a high force spring 38 and valve bore guides . the line check valve 26 consists from a low force spring , a ball approximately the same size as the ball 33 of the pilot check valve and check valve bore guides similar to the pilot check valve bore . the accumulator passage 20 is connected simultaneously to the pilot check valve 24 apply passage 39 and the booster valve apply passage . the high pressure check valve 25 passage 41 is connected on the transmission main pump 42 supply side , to the transmission line pressure passage 43 , and to the downstream side to the accumulator passage 20 . the pilot check valve 24 hydraulic exhaust passage 44 is connected to the line check valve 26 release passage 45 and through valve 26 to the transmission line pressure passage 43 . the housing of solenoid 22 is attached to the body of the accumulator control system 13 so that solenoid armature pin 46 has a minimum clearance between pin &# 39 ; s end and the mating face of pilot pin 36 . the pressure balance valve piston 28 has a seal 47 creating a sealed hydraulic area “ a ”. the pressure balance valve piston 28 is restricted in the axial direction by a sliding flange 48 and the booster valve spring 30 . there is a small clearance between the piston 28 and the cylinder 29 in the as - installed condition . the sliding flange 48 is retained on the piston 28 by a shoulder 49 . the booster valve spring 30 compression is restricted by the piston 28 shoulder 50 . the maximum travel of spring 30 is preferably smaller than the maximum travel of booster valve piston 28 . the pressure balance valve cylinder 29 has a side bracket 51 with a hydraulic passage sealed by an o - ring 52 against the accumulator control system 13 and connected with the hydraulic passage 40 . the side bracket 51 is attached to accumulator control system 13 by fasteners . the pressure booster valve 23 is enclosed into an internal opening formed inside the pilot pin 36 with the side bracket 51 protruding through a slot 53 formed into the pilot pin 36 internal opening walls . the slot 53 depth is sufficient to allow full booster valve piston stroke “ a ”. the booster valve pilot pin 36 spool 54 is free to move through an opening 55 made in the accumulator control body in a way that aligns the pilot pin 36 , the booster valve spool 54 and the ball 33 of the pilot check valve . the end of booster valve pilot pin 36 should have a minimum allowable clearance with the ball surface . the pressure balance valve piston 28 surface area pa is equal or smaller than the area of the contact ring of the ball 33 of the pilot check valve and the seat in the accumulator control system 13 . this will provide a counter hydraulic force toward the ball to balance the hydraulic force holding the ball 33 on the seat and minimize the force required from the solenoid 22 . the spool 54 cross sectional area rpa should be equal to or smaller than that of the piston 28 surface area pa to generate piston return force sufficient to reseat the ball 33 . fig2 illustrates an optional configuration , which includes an orifice 56 that provides additional means of allowing the ball 33 shown in fig1 to reseat under high residual pressure conditions in the passage 44 . fig2 also shows a simplified configuration where the booster valve spring 30 compression is not restricted by the piston 28 , as shown in fig1 . in operation the main pump 42 pressurizes the accumulator assembly 12 through the check valve 25 when the engine is initially started . the ball 33 of pilot check valve 24 and seal 47 tightly seal the pressure in accumulator 12 until the engine restart signal occurs . at this point the booster valve piston 28 is pressurized by accumulator 12 through booster valve apply passage 40 towards the ball 33 to balance the hydraulic forces on the ball . the spring 30 is compressed , storing energy to extend the ball 33 displacement beyond the immediate displacement of the pressure balance valve piston 28 . the solenoid 22 is energized when the engine restart signal is generated , adding enough force to unseat the ball 33 against the bias spring 34 . the booster valve spring 30 further displaces the ball 33 beyond the stroke of the solenoid 22 to ensure a large flow opening into the exhaust passage 44 and then out to the transmission control element , i . e ., clutches and brakes , ensuring their rapid refill as the main pump 42 is coming up to speed . the accumulator assembly 12 holds the system pressure at a predefined level until the pressure at the outlet of the main pump 42 exceeds that held pressure and closes the line check valve 26 . the main pump 42 pressure is controlled below the crack pressure of check valve 25 to prevent its flow reaching either the accumulator assembly 12 or the ball 33 until the ball 33 has reseated . electric current supplied to the solenoid 22 shuts off at a predetermined time to allow the ball 33 to reseat . residual pressure in passage 44 acts on the end of the pilot pin 36 counterbalancing the pressure balance valve piston 28 forcing it toward the solenoid 22 . this and the spring 34 will assist in moving the pressure balance valve piston 28 toward the solenoid 22 against the friction of the seal 47 and allowing the ball 33 to reseat . the main pump 42 pressure is raised at a predetermined time to recharge the accumulator assembly 12 and reset the remainder of the accumulator control system 13 . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the preferred embodiment has been described . however , it should be noted that the alternate embodiments can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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now referring to fig1 an example of a floor structure of the present invention will now be explained , which shows the case where the flooring structure of the present invention is the first floor of a wooden dwelling . in fig1 a concrete foundation floor 15 is formed on footings 11 . in the figure , reference numeral 13 indicates a reinforcing bar ; reference numeral 17 , concrete blocks ; reference numeral 19 , a fill - up ; and reference numeral 21 , a sheet of polyethylene film for waterproofing , used in the flooring structure of the present invention . a joist 27 is mounted on a sill 23 , and a floor surface 31 of a flooring material such as planking , tatami mat or the like is formed on the joist 27 . in the closed space under the floor surface 31 , an insulating material 33 such as foamed styrene or the like is provided on the upper part and outside of the foundation plate 15 ( the inside of the outer periphery of the joist 27 ) so that only the floor surface 31 remains . in addition , a plurality of hot water pipes 35 ( exothermic body ) are laid in the closed space under the floor surface 31 , and this closed space is completely filled with a heat accumulating material 41 . it is desirable to provide a waterproofing treatment by painting or spraying a waterproofing agent on the surface of the flooring material or the like which is in contact with the heat accumulating material 41 . the heat accumulating material 41 used in the present invention is a material with viscoelastic and / or elastic properties which retains water and is , for example , in the form of a gel or the like . when hot water is passed through the hot water pipes 35 to heat the floor , the heat accumulating material 41 is warmed by this heat which is then transmitted to the entire floor surface 31 . in the present invention , the entire flooring structure with the exception of the floor surface 31 , is continuously enclosed by the insulating material 33 , and the heat accumulating material containing water has a large heat capacity and exhibits a suitable degree of heat conductance . therefore , it is possible to effectuate floor heating with a high thermal efficiency . furthermore , it is possible to quickly exhibit a heating effect . in addition , the heat accumulating material 41 provides viscoelastic and / or elastic properties so that it has superior cushioning capabilities and is comfortable to walk upon . examples which can be given of the heat accumulating material 41 which has both viscoelastic and elastic properties and retains water are : materials such as a cross - linked high molecular hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) which retains water , or the like ; a mixture containing water and sodium silicate ; gelled materials such as jelly - like materials ; highly water absorptive , high molecular materials such as starches , cellulose - based polyacrylic materials , pva / polyacrylic materials which absorb and retain water . these materials absorb or take in and strongly retain water , and the water - retaining body exhibits viscoelastic ( a material which is viscous but also exhibits certain elastic properties ) and / or elastic properties . in addition , by dispersing a finely - divided inorganic material throughout the water - containing heat accumulating material it is possible to appropriately enhance the degree of heat transmission . among industrial waste materials there are many which incur a wide variety of disposal costs . for example , there are slurries and aqueous suspensions of finely - divided inorganic materials in colloid form . there is no simple solid - liquid separation method for this type of slurry or aqueous suspension . it is generally filtered , slurred , dried , and incinerated . for example , in an aluminum surface treatment ( washing ) factory the surface of the aluminum is washed with sulfuric or nitric acid or the like , but because this wash water cannot be discarded in the untreated form , it is neutralized with sodium hydroxide or the like . however , after neutralization , the materials which are insoluble in water are formed . the main components of the materials are aluminum hydroxide and aluminum sulfate , which are suspended as colloids and cannot be easily separated out , even with the use of a coagulating agent . accordingly , after discarding the supernatant liquid as waste water it becomes necessary to treat the remaining suspension or slurry , and a treatment must be carried out , incurring treatment costs as previously mentioned . by converting this type of suspension or slurry to a gel and shaping it , a material which has viscoelastic and / or elastic properties and retains water can be obtained . this material can be effectively used as the heat accumulating material in the present invention . treatment of the suspension - containing waste water is therefore unnecessary so that it is possible not only to effectively utilize an industrial waste material , but also to reduce the cost of the heat accumulating material and therefore the construction costs . specifically , if , for example , the above - mentioned suspension or slurry is mixed with water glass , or mixed with powdered sodium silicate and heated , or if a cross - linking agent is added to a hydrophilic polymer of a polyvinyl alcohol and cross - linked with the suspension or slurry , it is possible to obtain a heat accumulating material with viscoelastic and elastic properties , shaped in a water - retaining state . the amount of the shaping agent such as water glass which is used may be suitably determined from the amount of water contained in the suspension or slurry . the heat accumulating material 41 can also be prepared in advance and filled at the building site . water or a suspension or slurry is mixed with a shaping agent ( gelling agent , high molecular cross - linking agent , or the like ) such as water glass , and this mixture is poured into the closed space under the floor surface 31 in a state which maintains the flowability , then it is hardened and shaped in this space . by this means , the heat accumulating material 41 is brought into close contact with the hot water piping 35 or the underpart of the floor surface , and the heat from the hot water piping 35 is transmitted very quickly and effectively to the floor surface 31 . when the floor is constructed , one part of the floor surface 31 is left open and the materials for the heat accumulating material 41 are poured into the closed space through this opening . because the material is highly mobile it can easily be handled through a small pump . also , because the material is usually in the form of a liquid or a powder before filling into the closed space , it can easily be handled . the flooring structure of the present invention can also be utilized for flooring on the second or higher floors . in this case , in addition to the effects outlined above , if a fire were to occur , this structure can also demonstrate an effect which prevents the spread of the fire because of the water retained in the heat accumulating material . with the flooring structure of the present invention , by pouring a heat accumulating material which has viscoelastic and / or elastic properties and retains water into the space under the flooring , a high floor heating effect and good cushioning is obtained . in addition , if the heat accumulating material is used in gel form , an even greater superiority in the cushioning effect is obtained because of the high ( visco ) elasticity of the material . if the industrial wastes from an aluminum surface washing factory in suspension or slurry form are shaped and used as the heat accumulating material , in addition to providing effective utilization of resources , construction costs can also be lowered . if the method of the present invention is implemented at the construction site , the operation is easily performed and excellent contact of the various members can be provided so that the heat transmission is improved and effective heating is possible . a flooring structure was formed in the same way as indicated in fig1 . one part of a floor surface 31 was left open and a heat accumulating material 41 was filled into the space under the floor surface 31 as outlined below . one part by weight of sodium silicate powder was added to three parts by weight of a waste liquid slurry from an aluminum surface treatment plant for which the main slurry component was aluminum hydroxide , and the mixture was heated with agitation . as soon as the heating commenced the material slowly began to gel so a pump was used to pour the material into the space under the floor surface 31 while it was still in a flowable condition , and the material was allowed to harden . the opening was blocked up , to provide the floor structure of the present invention . when hot water was circulated through the hot water pipes the floor was quickly warmed . in addition , after the hot water had circulated for a uniform time , the heating effect was maintained over a long period , even when the flow of hot water was stopped . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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referring now to the drawings and particularly to fig1 and 2 thereof , the cap device 10 of the present invention is shown mounted upon the typical meter box 12 through which an electrical service cable 14 is mechanically and electrically connected . as best shown in fig2 the cable 14 extends downwardly along the outer surface of a structure such as a house or other building and passes through the device 10 and into the meter box 12 through the upper wall 16 thereof . such upper wall 16 is provided with an opening 17 through which a standard mechanical connector 18 can be partially inserted . the connector 18 includes a downwardly extending threaded boss which extends through the opening 17 and which is threadably connected to a lower nut . a second nut engages the upper surface of the top wall and completes the attachment of the boss to the box 12 . in addition , a pair of front and rear flanges 26 , 28 respectively in turn connected to the boss are utilized to fixedly engage the outer surface of the cable when the screws 30 are tightened such that the cable is mechanically affixed to the box 12 . it should be brought out that other mechanical and electrical methods of connecting the cable 14 to a meter box or other entrance box which permits the entrance of the cable to interior portions of the structure may be utilized , and it is really the structure and manner of utilizing that device of the present invention so as to assure a water tight seal between the cable 14 and outlet box regardless of its construction that is the primary concern with the present invention . for instance , such a modified connection is shown in fig8 wherein a connector 20 includes an upstanding boss 22 on which nuts 23 , 24 are threaded , the upper nut 24 supporting the cap . most meter boxes also include some type of electrical connection where the amount of electrical usage is recorded via a meter device 32 including a display 34 and thence the cable or a connector thereto extends inwardly through the wall 36 via an opening 38 and thence to an electrical circuit or service panel box ( not shown ) but routinely mounted in interior portions of the structure such as upon a wall , and it is this structure which is primarily the concern of the present invention , that is , it is important to prevent water from leaking into the receptacle box or meter box 12 and thence downwardly along the path formed by the cable or cable extension into the interior service panel box . as best shown in fig3 the manner in which the service entrance cable 14 can be attached to the cap device 10 of the present invention is best illustrated as is the standard shape of the cable 14 . such shape is of an elongated semi - elliptical form which can and often does assume a somewhat figure eight configuration in cross - sectional depiction and conventionally includes a number of wire cables or bundles coated with an internal resinous or plastic covering 40 and also with an outer jacket 42 also normally of a hardened plastic material . this outer jacket as well as the overall dimensions of the cable are subject to size variations depending upon the particular manufacturer and can also include dimpled , wrinkled and otherwise imperfect surface irregularities which make sealing thereon extremely difficult as contrasted to the relatively easy sealing task presented by a circular cable or other member that has a circular cross section and which requires a fluid tight seal thereagainst . specifically , it should be brought out that while the present invention is primarily intended for electrical service cable that it is also useful for use with other elongated members that need to be sealed against fluid penetration there past whether such fluid is water , oil , gas , grease or the like . thus the term cable as utilized herein includes such other non - electrical service cables so long as such cable meets the overall physical requirements intended , that is , non - circular and of a somewhat elongated ovoid configuration and exhibiting a generally elliptical peripheral configuration with no sharp corners and of an overall curvilinear outline . turning now to the structure of the cap 10 itself , it will be apparent that such includes a relatively thick top wall 60 having an upper surface 62 and an opposed lower or inner surface 64 . the top wall 60 further includes an outer periphery 63 from which a water shedding skirt 66 downwardly extends . such skirt may be of a significant vertical dimension or in some cases may be a very minor extent or even nonexistent in some other cases dependent on the particular physical environment by which the cable 14 is connected to the box or other structure and the physical properties of the cable 14 and / or cap 10 . preferably , the cap 10 is of an overall semi - cylindrical shape configuration and is provided with an outwardly downwardly flared outer secondary portion 61 of the top wall to aid in rain deflection from the interior portions of the connector box 12 . in addition , the skirt 66 can terminate in a lower peripheral edge 68 adapted to rest upon the upper surface 16 of the box 12 or in some cases especially wherein the lower wall 64 of the top rests or otherwise contacts some portion of the connector 24 itself may be spaced therefrom although it is intended that in most cases the height of the skirt 66 provided in commercial applications will be long enough to provide for contact with the lower edge 68 and the box surface 16 in the intended manner . it should also be pointed out that the point of water entrance that the present invention is primarily concerned with is between the cable 14 and the cap 10 as it extends through the top wall 60 thereof rather than water potentially entering the box 12 via the opening 18 which is usually blocked in other effective manners . the top wall 60 is provided with a single downwardly extending vertically oriented opening 70 . the cross - sectional configuration of the opening 70 is patterned after that of the cross - sectional configuration of the cable 14 but may be slightly smaller in dimension . the opening 70 is provided with an internal wall 72 which further includes at least one and preferably two or more series of peripheral beads 74 which inwardly extend from the surface 72 and are coextensive with the entire periphery of such surface 72 . between each of the beads 74 which further include outer rounded terminal portions 76 preferably of lesser height than that at the root of the bead is a deflection void 78 which are of peripheral configuration similar to that of the sealing beads but inwardly extending into the interior portions of the internal wall a distance approximately equal to the distance that the sealing beads outwardly extend from such interior wall 72 . these deflection voids 78 are provided for the purpose of permitting an area or path of material movement when the sealing beads are outwardly deflected by the surface of the cable 14 when such is forced through the opening 70 upon installation . such installation is illustrated by example in fig3 . it should also be pointed out that while the beads necessarily define an entrance space between their opposed portions that is less than the corresponding contacting portions of the cable , that the interior wall may also be of slightly lesser space dimensions than the corresponding cable dimensions in which case the entire opening 70 would have to be deflected outwardly to receive the cable . referring to fig3 when it is desired to force the service entrance cable 14 through the opening 70 , it is preferred to utilize a plastic assembly tool 90 of a generally wedge shaped overall configuration and having a top entrance 92 for receipt of the terminal end of the cable 14 . thereafter the cable , the narrowed dimensioned forward wedge shape end 94 of the tool 90 and the opening 70 are lubricated by any suitable standard lubricant and then the cable and tool forcibly downwardly pushed through the opening 70 at which time the sealing beads and possibly the walls 72 are outwardly deflected to the position shown in fig7 until the assembly tool 90 along with an adequate length of cable 14 extends into the interior portions of the cap 10 such that the necessary connections within the receptacle box can be facilitated by the electrician . the lubricant is preferably of the type that air evaporates under normal ambient conditions in a matter of two or three days such that the lubricating effect is removed , and thereafter it would be nearly impossible to physically remove the service cable from the cap 10 or at least extremely difficult to do so in an unlubricated state -- the size differences between the outer surface cable 14 and the inner surface 70 of the opening as well as the high bulk modulus of the material from which the cap 10 is formed being suitably determined and compounded to accomplish such purpose . referring to fig8 a modified form of the cap structure 10a is shown wherein the lower wall 64 is provided with a countersink 65 into which a portion of a modified form connector assembly 20 may extend thereinto and to which a steel compression cap 100 which is entrapped by an upper hex nut 24 threadably connected to a shank or boss 22 in turn attached to an upwardly extending threaded portion 25 from an electrical connector or hub 108 . in addition , fig8 shows a modified form of the beads at least to the extent that they are deflected considerably less than that shown in fig7 which can be because of a slightly smaller dimension of the outside surfaces of the cable 14 or by compounding the top wall including , of course , the sealing beads of a much higher bulk modulus material such that much less flexibility and deflection can be achieved . it is believed that a suitable water tight seal can be formed between the cap 10 and the cable 14 when at least a closure force of 100 p . s . i . is exerted against the cable . in the cable configuration depicted in the drawings which is illustrative of one form in which the cable cross - sectional configuration may take , that is , of a modified figure eight shape , a dimension of approximately 11 millimeters across one of the enlarged nodes thereof along the line a -- a of fig4 and corresponding to the diameter at that section of the lateral distance between the wall 70 and with an inward projection of each bead 72 approximately 1 millimeter so that there is approximately a 2 millimeter difference between the outer dimension of the cable which approximates that of the lateral opening dimension of the wall 70 with two regular sealing beads and a third partial sealing bead 80 formed at the upper end of a lower fillet construction 82 along with a use of the following thermoset material was found to produce the desirable sealing force approximately in the 100 p . s . i . range . the partial bead 80 with its rounded fillet lower wall merging into the lower surface of the top adds bulk and strength much like desirable weld configurations and is believed to contribute to an increased memory effect as well . such custom formulated thermoset material chosen was an ethylene - propylene - dieneterpolymer ( e . p . d . m .). the base material is called nordel and can be purchased from dupont chemical of wilmington , del . the actual physical properties were as follows : __________________________________________________________________________actual physical properties a . s . t . m . physical properties designation actual requirements__________________________________________________________________________durometer shore &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; d2240 75 70 +/- 5durometer , i . r . h . d . d1415 75 70 +/- 5tensile strength p . s . i . min . d412 2400 2000 p . s . i . min . ultimate elongation % d412 190 % 175 % min . modulus at 100 % p . s . i . min . d412 750 p . s . i . 700 p . s . i . min . die tear &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; p . s . i min . d624 175 p . s . i . 150 p . s . i . min . a25 - test method d 865 , 70 hours at 125 ° c ./ 257 ° f . # 1 . change in hardness , max , points + 10 . # 2 . change in tensile strength , max , %, - 20 %. # 3 . change in ultimate elongation , max , %, - 40 %. c32 - resistance to ozone , test method d1171 , exposure method &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; # 1 . stretch for 24 hours prior to ozone testing . # 2 . test at 50 pphm ozone . # 3 . 40 ° c ./ 104 ° f . # 4 . no cracks under 2x magnification . f18 - low - temperature brittleness test methods d2137 , method &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, 9 . 3 . 2 ., non - brittle after 3 min ., at - 50 ° c ./- 58 ° f . __________________________________________________________________________ in addition to creating an interference fit as above described , it is important that the material utilized have a high modulus believed to be approximately 700 p . s . i . minimum such that a constant force is applied to the outside of the cable via the sealing beads during the useful life of the device which can be 40 , 50 or so years and that the material be of the type that has a definite plastic memory , that is , when deflected will continually seek to return to its undeflected or &# 34 ; as molded &# 34 ; state and thus insure a continual force application to the outside wall of the cable thus assuring the constant pressure to insure a fluid tight sealing effect desired throughout the life of the product . it is also believed important and necessary that the sealing beads be uninterrupted along their peripheral extent and that they be laterally oriented approximately in line with the lateral extent of the relatively flat top wall which , of course , must be of a dimension large enough to achieve enough mass of material to insure such high modulus force effect . in the molded sample tested , the outer diameter of the skirt 66 was approximately 6 centimeters while the thickness of the top wall approximately 11 / 2 centimeters , and the top wall was entirely solid except for the opening 70 as intended . it is also believed important that the deflection voids 78 be present and adjacent each of the sealing beads 74 and be of such an extent that permits material deflection of the beads into such voids . thus by using a suitable thermoset material which possesses a high modulus and the plastic memory characteristics necessary and combining such with a large mass in the top wall , enough force is created to obtain the necessary high pressure on the sealing beads which translates into the necessary water tight seal between such beads and the outside surface of the cable . in effect , the solid mass of the top creates an energy or force reservoir great enough so that it does not materially deflect but continually assists in urging the beads and in those cases where the internal wall is deflected , the wall as well to their undistorted positions . such reservoir , of course , takes the essential shape of the top , i . e ., essentially rectangular or trapezoidal , when the secondary top wall is utilized and , accordingly , the reservoir is essentially laterally outwardly offset from the sealing beads which in turn are entirely within the vertical confines of the solid reservoir mass . this relationship of having essentially all of the top , in essence , directly in line and in back of the sealing beads enables the bulk of the energy reservoir to be available for continually exerting the inner wall opening surfaces and including the beads back to their original undistorted form which in turn is believed to contribute to the desirable application of sealing force to the cable . by doing such , a wide range of cable sizes can be accommodated by formulating such material to obtain high ozone resistance , excellent weathering properties with both high and low temperature ranges and to be puncture resistant and accompanying high dielectric properties , the cap device of the present invention can easily outlast the useful life of the electrical service cable it is designed to seal . while there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying this invention , it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views , an overview of the storm network is illustrated in fig1 . for the purposes of the following discussion , a trunk is defined as a communication path connecting two switching systems used to establish an end to end connection . in selected applications , a trunk may have both its terminations in the same switching system . a trunk group is defined as a set of trunks , traffic engineered as a unit , for the establishment of connections within or between switching systems in which all of the paths may be interchangeable where subgrouped . as shown in fig1 , commercial operations 3 and network monitors 1 input information into the storm network 5 . this information may include carrier rate of failure , price per call per route , customers &# 39 ; desired quality criteria , as well as other factors known to those of skill in the art . as illustrated in fig2 , storm includes a rules engine ( e . g ., routing server ), which is unconstrained by route list size capacity in the switches . the rules engine is also able to express business rules that are beyond the capability of the switches &# 39 ; internal processing . the routes and rules computed by the rules engine are made available real time inside the route server . this server is available to the telephone switches s 1 - sn through a control layer . for example , as illustrated in fig4 , the route server 30 communicates with the stp layer 10 ( e . g ., a sonus switch running version 4 . 1 software ) via control layer 20 . the rules engine provides an interface between the real time route server and the virtual switch components . to improve customer service , network utilization , and profitability , the present invention may track certain information related to an incoming call . the information includes , but is not limited to , call quality requirements , acceptable margins of cost , destination telephone number , number of routes requested , time of day , number of minutes , as well as other factors known to those of skill in the art . the call destination may be identified by a variety of factors . one factor is the dialing code ( the smallest granularity which represents dialing digits ). another factor includes the buy location , which is a group of dialing codes defined by an outbound carrier . the buy location is generally meaningful in the context of the outbound carrier to which it is related . the destination may also be identified using the reporting location . a reporting location is a group of dialing codes defined by idt based on how these destinations are sold to its customers . of course , a country , which includes a number of reporting locations , may be used to determine the destination . the route server 30 may use this information to generate routing lists . generally , an originating call request from a physical switch is resolved to the longest dialing code registered with the system . this dialing code may be used to determine the call destination . advantageously , each country or dialing code for every switch may have the option to control its own availability in routing . in other words , a trunk servicing a particular area code in downtown london may be available for voip calls , but may not be available for commercial customers &# 39 ; calls , due to quality requirements or other factors . because routes may be globally adjusted by the route server based on both the telecommunications provider &# 39 ; s desires and / or needs and on the customers &# 39 ; desires and / or needs , it is possible to more effectively route calls through the switches . to facilitate routing in compliance with customer requirements and / or requests , the customer may be identified in a manner convenient for the telecommunication provider . for example , if a customer belongs to a wholesale division , that customer may be identified by inbound trunk . otherwise , debit customers may be identified by account ( class id ), dnis ( dialed number identification service ), or a combination thereof . account management for each customer may be performed on a trunk group editor ( tge ), which enables accounts to be created and maintained . each inbound account or trunk may be assigned a routable division . this setting may determine the routing path for the traffic for an account or trunk . routing rules may also be generated based on a combination of the following entities : division ( e . g ., wholesale customer , debit calling card , etc . ), account , customer identification ( e . g ., for wholesale customers switch / inbound trunk and for retail customers dnis or ani ( automatic number identification ). generally speaking , it is preferable for granular routing rules to override more generic routing rules ( e . g ., a rule for a location within a country overrides a rule for a country ; a rule for dnis overrides a rule for an account ). for inter - switch connectivity ( e . g ., voip and tdm ( time - division multiplexed )), it is possible to track multiple call requests in a tandem network that belong to the same call and to use a single call reference to associate the requests . since trunk costs are fixed , tandem connections do not have a cost . tandem utilization may be controlled using trunk prioritization , according to a non - limiting aspect of the present invention . a non - limiting example of a tandem network is illustrated in fig7 . as illustrated in fig7 , a telephone 70 is used to initiate a call , possibly over an analog network . this call is routed through pbx 72 into voice gateway 74 . from voice gateway 74 , the call is transferred over an ip network to voice gateway 78 . from voice gateway 78 , the call is received at pbx 80 and transferred to destination telephone 82 . of course , this illustration of a tandem network is intended as an example only , and other tandem networks are within the scope of the present invention . additionally , the present invention may provide a system - wide default cost differential , which ( in conjunction with tandem trunk utilization ) will affect the precedence of local trunks as opposed to remote trunks on a tandem switch . generally , shorter tandem paths are preferred . in other words , if more than one path exists to a remote outbound trunk , the shortest path is preferably selected . if there are multiple paths of equal length to a remote trunk , the tandem path is preferentially chosen which has the greatest remaining capacity . as desired , tandem capacity may be reserved for inbound customers , and priority of tandem utilization by inbound customers may be controlled based on division , account , trunk , dnis , ani , or other factors known to those of skill in the art . fig3 a and 3b of the present application illustrate the implementation of the call routing system of the present invention . in step s 300 , a call is received at the stp 10 . once the call is received at the stp 10 , the stp 10 informs the control layer 20 of the incoming call in step s 302 . upon notification , the control layer 20 decodes isdn user part ( isup ) signaling information , determines the best route for the call by consulting the routing database , modifies the isup signaling packet to include additional information ( destination trunk group — dtg in the form of a destination prefix ), unique global call identification reference , and sends the modified isup packet back to stp for further routing to the destination switch . by way of further explanation , isup defines the protocol and procedures used to set up , manage and release trunk circuits that carry voice and data calls over the pstn . isup may be used for both isdn and non - isdn calls . calls that terminate within the same switch may not use isup signaling . the routing database stores the routing parameters generated by the routing engine . the call control layer consults the routing database , which contains the routing engine route information . the routing database serves as an intermediate layer . the call control layer 20 stays in the signaling path of the call to determine successful completion of the call by the terminating carrier or rejection of the call ( in which case the next available route is iteratively executed as described above until all routes are exhausted ). the packaged information is then passed to the route server 30 in step s 306 , which uses the information to retrieve a routing list in step s 308 . the route server 30 then performs hierarchical lookups to account for customer oriented rules ( e . g ., service level , usage commitments , quality , etc .) in step s 310 and returns the prioritized list of outbound carriers ( to 1 - to m ) and their associated control parameters in step s 312 . in step s 314 , the control layer 20 pre - pends the assigned destination trunk group ( dtg ) carrier routing prefix value for the first outbound carrier in the routing list . a dtg carrier routing prefix may form the basis of the prioritized list of the outbound carriers to be used . these dtg carrier routing prefixes may uniquely identify the trunk group or gateway ( e . g ., 028801 may mean att on gateway 1 and 028803 may mean att on gateway 2 , which may have different rates to the same dialing location ). non - limiting examples of gateways are illustrated in fig7 as 72 and 80 . the control layer 20 also performs digit manipulation ( if needed ) to complete the call in step s 316 . in step s 318 , the control layer 20 commands the stp 10 to attempt the dial string . if the call is completed in step s 320 , the process ends at step s 324 . if the stp 10 is unable to complete the call , it signals back to the control layer 20 that the call could not be completed . the control layer 20 then points to the next preferred carrier prefix in the route list in step s 322 and repeats the process until the call is completed or until the route list is exhausted . the route server 30 provides information related to the best routes for any given customer . the best route for one customer may or may not be the best route for another customer , depending on a variety of factors . these factors include : required call quality , caller identification ability , price per call , as well as other factors known to those of skill in the art . for example , commercial customers may require a specific level of quality . accordingly , trunks for commercial customers may be limited to satisfy a quality of service agreement . call quality may be measured as a function of the following four criteria : call completion rate ( ccr ); average length of call ( aloc ); post dial delay ( pdd ); and voice quality . the measurement may account for a weighted average of these factors . it is possible for the telecommunications provider to assign quality requirements for each customer with acceptable variations ( e . g ., ccr 80 % with acceptable variation of +/− 10 %). if an outbound trunk or carrier falls below a certain quality threshold , the trunk or carrier may be removed from circulation , as desired . additionally , for calls to cellular customers in europe , caller identification may be required . therefore , trunks having a caller identification capability should be selected for those calls . the stp 10 includes a number of trunk groups , which can receive calls from customers or send calls to carriers for call completion . as a general rule , switch and trunk configuration may be stored and maintained in a trunk group editor . additionally , physical switches may be interconnected in a network in which the inter - switch tandem connections are performed using either voip or tdm interfaces . in either case , the present invention is able to perform optimal routing with dynamic tandem capacity utilization . dynamic tandem capacity utilization is achieved when the control layer reports network conditions to the route server , thereby improving network routing . each physical switch may include attributes to indicate active and inactive periods during which the switch is available for routing to selected destinations . a switch may become unavailable in cases of planned / unplanned maintenance . these attributes enable configuration of the switch without its immediate inclusion in routing . outbound carriers may be represented by an account / outbound trunk combination . any outbound carrier may have multiple trunks on a given account on the same physical switch . traffic to these trunks is preferably load balanced to prevent carrier failure . each outbound rate is available for every inbound call across the telecommunication provider &# 39 ; s network . outbound carriers may block traffic to selected dialing codes , buy locations , or reporting locations , as desired to improve network performance . outbound carriers &# 39 ; quality issues related to poor call completion may be monitored by a subsystem ( trunkmon , disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 024 , 672 , filed dec . 30 , 2004 , the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference ) that feeds quality characteristics back to storm . storm , in turn , adjusts routing accordingly . generally , a carrier provides rates for groups of dialing codes . a carrier may have a certain number of active rates ( e . g ., three ) with a time indication as to when each rate is active ( e . g ., the time of day during which the rate is active ). based on the rates provided by the carriers , the present invention may create homogeneous groups of codes . these homogeneous groups represent dialing codes where each carrier has a constant rate . a carrier may also provide a cap for a certain rate . these caps may be based on several factors . for example , caps may be based on the number of minutes or dollars spent . caps may apply to country / location or group ( s ) of countries / locations . caps may be applied to any subset or combination of weeks / days of week / hours . caps may start on any day of a month , and may be spread throughout a month or until exhausted . rate based caps may also be implemented . in a rate based cap , the rate goes up or down after the cap is exceeded . with ceiling based caps , a carrier should not be given more traffic than the cap permits ( e . g ., because the carrier &# 39 ; s failure rate becomes unacceptable or for other reasons known to those of skill in the art ). for floor based caps , a certain minimum number of minutes or dollars must be reached . based on these caps , commercial operations of the telecommunications provider may control which carriers are available for routing based on routing rules . these rules enable the system of the present invention to pull a carrier from routing based on desired parameters , such as time interval , periodically , or upon reaching a cap . to select the carrier , according to a non - limiting aspect of the present invention , a carrier is assigned a routing priority . this priority then impacts the carrier &# 39 ; s trunk position in a routing list . the routing rules may be used to adjust the carrier &# 39 ; s routing priority . if a carrier &# 39 ; s rate becomes capped , the carrier &# 39 ; s routing priority may diminish . as a result , the carrier &# 39 ; s trunks will drift toward the end of a routing list . each outbound account / trunk may include an attribute that controls inclusion of the account / trunk in routing for the whole world or for a location . as desired , the telecommunications provider may limit a list of outbound carriers based on the inbound customer . additionally , according to a non - limiting aspect of the present invention , it is possible to assign quality requirements for individual customers and to track carriers &# 39 ; quality based on destination . the faster addition of new routes and rates enables the telecommunications provider to exploit all beneficial rates , which means that a higher percentage of calls is routed at more favorable rates . additionally , routing decisions are more consistent , while lower management costs are achieved . best cost routes are not always the same as the least cost routes for any given call , so the present invention is able to determine the best cost route , thereby leading to greater profitability for an entire network for a telecommunications provider . an example of best cost routing is illustrated in fig5 . as shown in fig5 , the telecommunications provider may have access to two carriers , a and b . each of carriers a and b has two outgoing trunk lines , respectively ( al 1 , al 2 , bl 1 , bl 2 ). in this example , carrier a has rates of $ 0 . 01 per minute for domestic and $ 0 . 05 for international . carrier b has rates of $ 0 . 011 for domestic and $ 0 . 09 for international . under the rules for least cost routing , if a domestic call comes in , carrier a is chosen . if a second call is also domestic , carrier a is again chosen . thus , trunk lines al 1 and al 2 are used for the domestic calls . if a third call arrives which is international , this third call must be routed through carrier b , because carrier a is at capacity . as a result , the telecommunications provider , while saving $ 0 . 001 per minute on the domestic calls is losing $ 0 . 04 per minute on the international call , because the telecommunications provider is required to pay the higher rate for carrier b on the international call . the total cost for the above example is $ 0 . 11 per minute . through the best cost routing of the present invention , the telecommunications provider may apply historical calling information to use its carrier capacity . in the above example , if the expected demand for a given time period is two domestic and one international call , the present invention would assign the first domestic call to carrier a , the next domestic call to carrier b , and the third international call to carrier a . by using best cost routing , the total cost to the telecommunications provider is $ 0 . 071 per minute . the best cost route is a function of the destination , the customer , the current network status , prioritized routes , the carrier , quality requirements , and applicable business rules , as well as other factors known to those of skill in the art . fig6 a - 6c illustrate non - limiting examples of routing tables that may be developed to execute the present invention . for example , a switch determines a routing location by mapping the digits of the desired phone number . in the example of fig6 b , certain carriers offer advantageous rates for calls being completed to new york city ( nyc ). thus , for calls to nyc , these carriers are listed at the top of the routing table in a “ break out .” break outs may be created for any area that has a particularly advantageous rate . the example of fig6 c illustrates international cell phone calls . for most non - north american countries , the calling party pays for cell phone charges . in fig6 c , the destinations for cell phone charges are broken out by best rates . in the example of fig6 c , the switch recognizes that uk cell calls are routed to a particular list of carriers . this list may be very different that a list of carriers to use for uk non - cell destinations ( based on , for example , the ability to generate caller identification ). to overcome these heterogeneous destination routing difficulties , the present invention creates a homogeneous routing location . a homogeneous routing location is a destination defined by dial codes , for which every carrier to that destination offers a constant rat to every destination phone number within the location . the table in fig6 d illustrates how the present invention applies a homogeneous routing location system to the routing table of fig6 c . in this example , each homogeneous routing location becomes a breakout . because the present invention is capable of maintaining the route list off the switches , the present invention is no longer constrained by the limits of switch memory ( for example , a switch is generally limited to 1500 routing locations ). absent this constraint , the present invention is able to capitalize upon greater rate savings across the telecommunication provider &# 39 ; s network . additionally , through the use of the routing lists , it is possible to track a call as it traverses the network . in other words , it is possible to track outbound trunk usage and capacity . it is also possible to track carrier quality and call completion rate , among other things . the present invention also enables the telecommunications provider to query the routing lists to locate a current ordered list of outbound trunks for a particular customer . because the call control layer generally operates in real time , the queries are performed using , for example , an in memory database . the routing list is preferably comprised of outbound trunks ordered by rate , quality , priority , and other factors impacted by routing rules . a weighted average of all of these factors may be used to determine a trunk &# 39 ; s position in the routing lists . fig8 provides a non - limiting example of the configuration of the call control layer according to an aspect of the present invention . as shown in fig8 , the routing database layer includes an in - memory database process serving routing queries . the event driven service logic layer manages the state of all call legs involved in call setup and performs cic management . circuit identification code ( cic ) management is a standard isup procedure that defines the way logical circuit numbers ( e . g ., integers ) get mapped into physical trunk and channel numbers carrying voice traffic . the next level of the call control layer includes isup proxy asp . the isup proxy asps include several layers . the transaction finite state machine layer manages a connection state for a single leg of a call . the linked - in dispatch layer manages asynchronous message passing between process and / or language boundaries . the isup / sigtran stack in each isup proxy asp communicates with the other stack in the other isup proxy asp through state replication . finally , the isup proxy asp communicates with another distributed state machine layer that manages call state throughout the entire call setup ( potentially across multiple switch signaling points ). that layer implements the main routing logic that performs hierarchical lookups in a database containing routing instructions . a sample isup call setup is provided in fig9 . as illustrated in fig9 , the ssp = a sends an iam ( opc = 1 - 1 - 1 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 2 ). originating point code ( opc ) and destination point code ( dpc ) are standard addressing elements in the ss7 specification , and are similar to ip addresses in the tcp / ip network communications . the stp does dta redirect based on the opc / dpc address through its m3ua interface to the isup proxy . the isup proxy then queries the storm route server for a list of outbound trunk groups represented by cdpa prefixes . in response , the route server returns a list of outbound trunk groups . the isup proxy selects the first prefix , adds it to the cdpa field , adds state information in the user - to - user information field , and returns a new iam to the stp . the stp executes dpc routing of the iam ( opc = 1 - 1 - 1 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 2 ) message to the ssp - b . the ssp - b performs routing based on the prefix present in cdpa and determines that the requested trunk group is not available . it returns rel ( cause code 34 ). by way of example , rel ( cause code 34 ) may be an error code indicating a local congestion that is interpreted by the isup proxy asp as the instruction to advance to the next trunk in the routing list . the stp then performs dta redirect based on the opc / dpc ( opc = 1 - 1 - 2 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 1 ) address through its sigtran / ss7 interface to the isup proxy . the isup proxy then fetches the call state from the user - to - user information field , selects the next prefix , adds the prefix to the cdpa field , and returns iam to the stp . stp executes dpc routing of the iam ( opc = 1 - 1 - 1 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 2 ) message to the ssp - b . ssp - b performs routing based on the prefix present in cdpa and successfully reserves and rings the line . it returns acm to the stp . stp performs dta redirect based on the prefix present in cdpa , and successfully reserves and rings the line . it returns acm to the stp . stp then performs dta redirect based on the opc / dpc ( opc = 1 - 1 - 2 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 1 ) address through its sigtran / ss7 interface to the isup proxy . the isup proxy forward the acm to the calling party ssp - a . the stp then performs dpc routing of the acm ( opc = 1 - 1 - 2 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 1 ) message to ssp - a . subsequently , the ssp - b detects a called party answer and returns anm to the stp . the stp performs dta redirect based on the opc / dpc ( opc = 1 - 1 - 2 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 1 ) address through its sigtran / ss7 interface to the isup proxy . the isup proxy forwards acm to the calling party ssp - a . the stp does dpc routing of the anm ( opc = 1 - 1 - 2 , dpc = 1 - 1 - 1 ) message to the ssp - a . while dta has been used in the foregoing example , it is noted that dta may be a vendor specific protocol . accordingly , analogous protocols are within the scope of the present invention . additionally , while the above example includes sigtran for purposes of efficiency , standard ss7 interfaces are also suitable . iam , acm , anm , rel , rlc are standard message types in the isup protocol . consequently , through the present invention , it is possible to generate routes for calls originating from different customers requiring different levels of quality . this route differentiation enables the improvement of profits for the telecommunications provider while satisfying a wider variety of service level agreements . other benefits of the present invention include the ability to avoid banding by customer or division , that fall tandem trunk capacity becomes available for revenue traffic , new generation switches may be deployed without recoding , the possibility of faster responses to network conditions ( thereby generating higher customer satisfaction ), actions may be automated , and switch ports may be freed for other traffic . the present invention includes processing of transmitted and received signals , and programs by which the received signals are processed . such programs are typically stored and executed by a processor . the processor typically includes a computer program product for holding instructions programmed and for containing data structures , tables , records , or other data . examples are computer readable media such as compact discs , hard disks , floppy disks , tape , magneto - optical disks , proms ( eprom , eeprom , flash eprom ), dram , sram , sdram , or any other magnetic medium , or any other medium from which a processor can read . the computer program product of the invention may include one or a combination of computer readable media to store software employing computer code devices for controlling the processor . the computer code devices may be any interpretable or executable code mechanism , including but not limited to scripts , interpretable programs , dynamic link libraries ( dlls ), java classes , and complete executable programs . moreover , parts of the processing may be distributed for better performance , reliability , and / or cost . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 7Electricity
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turning first to fig1 a ram - type blowout preventer is diagrammatically illustrated comprising a pair of rams 10 and 11 , affixed to respective ram shafts 12 and 13 , all contained within a body or housing 14 of the blowout preventer . hydraulic cylinders 15 and 16 are affixed to the sides of the housing 14 in a conventional manner , and have respective cylinder covers 17 and 18 . a piston assembly 20 is disposed within the cylinder 15 , and a piston assembly 21 is disposed within the cylinder 16 . as is well known to those skilled in the art , the rams 10 and 11 are adapted to close off a bore hole when the respective ram shafts 12 and 13 are moved inwardly in any suitable manner . the typical ram - type blowout preventer uses the cylinders 15 and 16 and piston assemblies 20 and 21 similar to the arrangement shown in fig1 with the pistons being hydraulically actuated to operate the ram shafts 12 and 13 and rams 10 and 11 to the position illustrated in fig1 to close off the bore hole . similarly , the rams 10 and 11 can be retracted by the appropriate application of hydraulic pressure ( to the right side of piston assembly 20 and to the left side of piston assembly 21 ) to retract the rams to an open position . the apparatus illustrated in fig1 is modified in accordance with the present invention by the addition of slotted locking shafts 22 and 23 which cooperate with locking surfaces of the ram shafts 12 and 13 and with end caps of the piston assemblies 20 and 21 , and these shafts and other modifications will be described in more detail in conjunction with a discussion of fig2 and 3 . turning now to fig2 the cylinder 15 and piston assembly 20 at the lefthand side of the apparatus shown in fig1 illustrated in greater detail , it being understood that the cylinder 16 and piston assembly 21 shown at the right hand side of the apparatus of fig1 is the same . a hydraulic fluid port 30 is provided in the cylinder cover 17 , and a similar port 31 is provided in the housing 14 for applying hydraulic fluid pressure to respective sides of the piston assembly 20 within the cylinder 15 . the piston assembly 20 includes a slidable end plate 33 having a tapered end 34 which mates with a tapered shoulder 35 of the ram shaft 12 when the piston assembly moves to the right as seen in fig2 - 3 . the left end of the ram shaft 12 is threaded at 36 and has a lock nut 37 with square faces 37a - 37b secured thereon . the ram shaft 12 has a bore 28 therein to receive the lock shaft 22 as will be described more fully later . the slidable plate 33 has an o - ring seal 38 , and has a shoulder 39 and an enlarged area at 40 for purposes which will be described subsequently . the piston assembly 20 also includes a piston end cap 44 which has a tapered end 45 , square inner shoulder 46 , and a square inner shoulder 47 ( similar to shoulder 39 of slidable plate 33 ) which will be described in greater detail subsequently . a ring area 48 is defined between the taper 45 and shoulder 46 . the piston assembly further includes a retainer 50 , and lip type resilient sealing rings 51 and 52 . the piston assembly 20 is held together by cap screws 54 . the cylinder cover 17 includes a cylindrical recess 60 within which is mounted a lockshaft retainer 61 . the retainer 61 includes a bore 62 for receiving an end 63 of the slotted lock shaft 22 , this end 63 extending through the cylinder cover 17 and being secured by a nut 64 . the lock shaft 22 has a shoulder 65 which bears on the right hand surface of the lock shaft retainer 61 . an o - ring seal 67 is provided in a slot in the retainer 61 around the end 63 of the lock shaft 22 . similarly , an o - ring seal 68 seals the outer periphery of the lock shaft retainer 61 with the bore 60 in the cylinder cover 17 . the diameter of the retainer 61 is reduced at 70 forming a flange 71 , and belleville disc springs 72 ( or molded synthetic rubber rings of suitable shore hardness ) are provided in the annular space defined between 70 and bore 60 for purposes to be described subsequently . the lock shaft 22 comprises a rod which has a drilled out portion indicated at 74 , and is slotted at 75 to provide upper and lower resilient fingers 76 and 77 . the outer periphery of the fingers 76 and 77 is circular , and a taper 78 and square shoulder 79 are provided to mate with the taper 45 and square shoulder 46 of the piston end cap 44 . an annular groove 80 is defined in the fingers 76 and 77 between the taper 78 and shoulder 79 . fig2 illustrates the assembly in a locked position with the ram shaft 12 in its fully extended position ( fully to the right and in the position illustrated in fig1 ). fig3 illustrates the assembly with the ram shaft 12 and ram 10 moving toward the retracted position . hydraulic fluid pressure applied to the interior of the cylinder 15 through the port 30 in the cylinder cover 17 causes the piston assembly 20 to move axially to the right toward a closing position by moving the ram shaft 12 through a bore 82 which is sealed at 83 . the resilient fingers 76 and 77 of the slotted lock shaft 22 are compressed by the ring area 48 of the piston end cap 44 during movement of the piston assembly 20 ( e . g ., to the right as seen in fig2 ) until the ram shaft 12 and piston assembly 20 are in a fully - closed position , that is , prior to the ring area 48 reaching the taper 78 of the fingers 76 and 77 . when the fully - closed position is reached , the slotted lock shaft 22 is no longer under compression and expands to cause shoulders 86 and 87 , which are defined by the extreme right end faces of the resilient fingers 76 - 77 , of the lock shaft 22 to engage the extreme left - end surface 89 of the ram shaft 12 to thereby prevent longitudinal movement of the ram shaft 12 ( note also fig3 ). in this regard , it should be noted that as the piston assembly 20 moves to the fully - closed position ( to the right as seen in fig2 ), the tapered surface 45 on the piston end cap 44 rides down on the tapered surface 78 around the lock shaft 22 at the ends of the resilient fingers 76 and 77 , and thereby allows these fingers 76 and 77 to expand outwardly which , in turn , causes the shoulders 86 and 87 to engage the end face 89 of the ram shaft 12 . the lock shaft 22 is secured in a fixed position in the cylinder cover 17 by the nut 64 and bears against the lock shaft retainer 61 as described above . the seals 67 and 68 provide a seal against fluid pressure and make the retainer 61 act like a piston against the belleville disc springs in order that these springs can maintain tension on the lock shaft 22 and compensate for wear or infraction in the length of the lock shaft 22 . the assembly will remain locked even if hydraulic pressure is removed from port 30 . in order to release the locking device , hydraulic fluid is applied into the cylinder 15 through port 31 , and as the pressure increases against the right hand side of the piston assembly 20 , the piston assembly 20 moves axially along the left end of the ram shaft 12 because of the space 40 defined between the shoulder 39 of the end plate 33 and shoulder 47 of end cap 44 and and the shorter axial length of the lock nut 37 on the end of the ram shaft 12 . that is , the piston assembly 20 can move a small amount relative to the end of the ram shaft 12 . the provision of this &# 34 ; travel area &# 34 ; of sufficient length between the shoulder 39 of plate 33 and shoulder 47 of cap 44 thereby permits limited free travel of the piston assembly 20 with respect to the end of the ram shaft 12 to allow the fingers 76 and 77 to fully expand when the ram shaft moves to the closed position , while also allowing the ring area 48 of cap 44 to compress these fingers upon initial movement of the piston assembly 20 when pressure is applied to port 31 . this action allows the tapered end 45 of the piston end cap 44 to engage with and slide along the tapered surface 78 of the lock shaft 22 when the piston assembly 20 moves to the left to thereby press together the fingers 76 and 77 of the lock shaft 22 , so that the end of the shaft 22 will freely enter the bore 28 in the ram shaft 12 . this action is shown by phantom lines 90 which represent leftward movement by the piston end cap 44 and phantom lines 91 which illustrate inward movement or compression of the fingers 76 and 77 of the lock shaft 22 . the shoulder 39 of the slidable plate 33 of piston assembly does not engage the right end of the lock nut 37 until the fingers 76 and 77 of the lock shaft 22 have been sufficiently compressed to allow the end thereof to enter the bore 28 of the ram shaft 12 . at this point , the piston assembly 20 , via the shoulder 39 of plate 33 , engages the right surface 37b of the lock nut 37 to cause the ram shaft 12 to move longitudinally to an open position ( to the left as seen in fig3 ). the o - ring seal 38 provides a seal with the end of the ram shaft 12 . the bore 28 of the ram shaft 12 is of sufficient diameter to receive the lock shaft 22 , and the wall thickness of the shaft 12 is sufficient to allow the end 89 thereof to engage the shoulders 86 and 87 of the lock shaft 22 . the relative configurations and diameters of the ring area 48 of the cap 44 and groove 80 of the fingers 76 and 77 allow proper expansion of the fingers 76 and 77 so that the shoulders 86 and 87 can lock against end surface 89 of the ram shaft 12 , and likewise the tapers 45 and 78 and the &# 34 ; travel area &# 34 ; 40 allow sufficient compression of the fingers to allow retraction of the piston assembly , ram shaft and ram . upon closing the ram , hydraulic fluid pressure of , for example , fifteen hundred psi acts equally against the piston assembly 20 and the lock shaft retainer 61 when pressure is applied through the port 30 and thereby creates a piston - like effect on the retainer 61 . this double action fluid pressure assures a fully - locked position of the ram shaft 12 by compensating for any variation in the length of the lock shaft 22 as a result of machining or wear . the lock shaft 22 is made from selected heat - treated alloy steel for both strength and resiliency . the lip - type seals 51 and 52 of the piston assembly 20 are made from oil and heat resistant long - wearing synthetic materials . while an embodiment and application of this invention has been shown and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein described . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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formamide was purchased from rdh chemicals ( poole , uk ). potassium silicate was purchased from pq corporation ( valley forge , pa ). for lc - ms analysis , the acetonitrile ( acn ) with 0 . 1 % formic acid ( fa ) and water with 0 . 1 % formic acid ( lc - ms grade , j . t . baker , phillipsburg , n . j .) were used as the mobile phase . deionized water ( 18 . 1 mω · cm resistivity ) from a milli - q system ( millipore , bedford , mass .) was used throughout this work . a flow chart of fabrication of a tunneled - frit is shown in fig1 . for making a trap column , an 18 μm tungsten wire ( w337 , scientific instrument service , sis , nj ) was inserted about 5 mm into one end of the capillary column ( 8 - 10 cm , 365 μm od , 180 μm id ). a 15 μm tungsten wire was used for making an analytical column ( 35 cm , 365 μm od , 75 μm id , polymicro technologies , phoenix , ariz .). a mixture of 170 μl potassium silicate and 20 μl formamide was vortexed for 1 min . a 2 μl of the resulting sol - gel mixture was dipped on the end of the capillary column . by capillary action , the sol - gel solution moved into the column with the wire inserted ( fig2 a ). care should be taken that the distance that the sol - gel solution moves into the column is not longer than the inserted tungsten wire . if the tunnel is sealed , the backpressure will rise enormously . after the sol - gel formation and incubation at 60 ° c . for 20 ˜ 30 min , a clear tunnel ( about 20 μm ) was clearly present inside the frit ( fig2 b ). the tungsten wire had to be pulled out of the column before incubation at 80 ° c . for overnight . the resulting column with the tunneled - frit was connected to a pump to establish a flow rate of 0 . 1 ml / min meoh . the frit length can be calculated by the arisen pressure or by observation under the microscope ; and the frit can be cut and ground to have the required length ( fig2 c ). the tunneled - frit packed column was then mounted on a homemade pressure vessel that served as a packing reservoir . a slurry of 2 mg of 5 μm stationary phase ( symmetry c18 , 5 μm , waters , milford , mass .) for trap columns in 1 ml of methanol or 2 mg of 5 μm stationary phase ( nucleosil c18 , 5 μm , 100 å , macherey - nagel gmbh & amp ; co kg , düren , germany ) and another slurry ( beh c18 , 1 . 7 μm , 75 μm × 250 mm , waters , milford , mass .) for analytical columns in 1 ml of methanol were sonicated for 5 minutes to prevent aggregation of particles and they were subsequently transferred into the reservoir . the pressure vessel was connected to a nitrogen cylinder . once high - pressure nitrogen ( 1000 psi for analytical columns , 300 psi for trap columns ) was provided , the ods particles were pumped into the capillary and retained in the column . after packing to a specified length ( about 2 cm for trap columns , about 25 cm for analytical columns ), the packed column was removed from the packing reservoir and was ready for further use . lc - ms was performed with a nanoflow lc system ( nanoacquity uplc , waters , millford , mass .) coupled to a hybrid q - tof mass spectrometer ( synapt hdms , waters , manchester , u . k .). samples were injected into a commercial trap column ( symmetry c18 , 5 μm , 180 μm × 20 mm , waters , milford , mass .) and into the tunneled - frit trap column , and separated online with a reverse - phase ( beh c18 , 1 . 7 μm , 75 μm × 250 mm , waters , milford , mass .) analytical column or a tunneled - frit analytical column ( beh c18 , 1 . 7 μm , 75 μm × 250 mm ) at the flow rate of 300 nl / min using a 23 min 12 - 80 % acetonitrile / water gradient for tryptic enolase . according to the capillary id , the tunnel diameter should be considered to create a “ keystone ” effect during the column packing . for the capillary id & gt ; 75 μm ( normally for trap columns ), the use of 18 μm wires to create 18 μm tunnel is required . for the capillary with id & lt ; 75 μm id ( normally for analytical column ), the use of 15 μm instead of 18 um tungsten wire is recommended , because the 15 μm tunnel can produce more significant “ keystone ” effect for the smaller id capillary . the backpressure measured by the about 2 mm tunneled - frit for the 0 . 1 ml / min meoh was found to have a reproducible value of 120 to about 160 psi ( n = 5 ) which is similar to the backpressure created between the 20 μm id ( about 116 psi ) and 15 μm id ( about 160 psi ) capillary column . it illustrated that the tunnel size inside the frit is determined by the wire and the measured value from tunneled - frit columns can also be used to calculate the frit length . additionally , the frit length can be determined by cutting the outlet end and by grinding to have a flat end to reduce the dead volume resulting in peak broadening during the column connection . except for the final incubation time in oven , the fabrication process of the tunneled - frit will not exceed 20 minutes and can be performed in parallel . therefore , it is simple and high throughput to fabricate highly reproducible and mechanical stable tunneled frits for capillary columns . as the particle size of the stationary phase is narrowed down from 5 μm to 1 . 7 μm , higher separation resolution , peak intensity and peak capacity can be achieved to improve the detection sensitivity of trace amount of proteins or peptides in complex mixtures . in the practice of the present invention , we operated a tunneled - frit trap column for nanolc - ms which used 1 . 7 μm particles , 25 cm in packed length as the analytical column . to have a flow rate of about 300 nl / min throughout the separation system , we raised the pumping pressure up to 9000 psi . to have such high pressure , ultra high pressure pumps are now available and have been widely used . a low backpressure frit with high mechanical strength for high pressure resistance is needed in nanouplc systems . to test the stability of the tunneled - frit under ultra high pressure , the tunneled - frit trap column was packed with 2 cm c18 particles and was connected to the pump by an ultra high pressure micro tight union ( uh - 432 , idex health & amp ; science , oak harbor , wa ) which is able to tolerate pressure up to 15000 psi . at the solvent flow of 50 % meoh , 50 μl / min to build up the pressure of 10 , 000 psi ( maximum pressure test ), as shown in fig3 , the liquid flow can be sustained more than one week without any particle loss and pressure instability . the stability under such high pressure illustrates that the high physical strength of the tunneled - frit is suitable for ultra high pressure systems and applications such as nano - uplc - ms for proteomics and uplc - ms for metabolomics . setup for a tunneled - frit trap column in an ultra high pressure system to equip the trap column for nanouplc system , the fittings and ferrules used in the system have to be able to tolerate ultra high pressure . to be able to conveniently replace the trap column , the setup was built as in fig4 . in this design , two ultra high pressure micro tight unions ( uh - 432 ) were used to connect the trap column . to prevent the peak from broadening , a zero dead volume tee and union were used upstream and downstream of the analytical column separation , respectively . in comparison with the replacement of a commercial trap column , the exchange of the trap column is simple and fast via the movement of peak fittings of micro tight unions without the risk of breaking down the original gold - coated fittings in the switching vale . the liquid leakage in the system can be examined by monitoring the back pressure at a given mobile phase composition and flow rate . if no leakage occurs , the back pressure will stop rising even given more tightening of the fittings . based on the pumping flow condition of 99 % h 2 o at 300 nl / min throughout the trap and the analytical column , the pumping pressure can be raised to 800 ˜ 8400 psi which is the same as in commercial trap column systems . to demonstrate the feasibility for the application of the tunneled - frit for the trap column , enolase digests were analyzed in the nanouplc - ms system . because the same resins were packed in the tunneled - frit trap column and the commercial column and each was separately coupled to the same analytical column , as expected , the mass chromatography was similar for both systems ( fig5 ). however , the retention time was found to have about 1 minute delay , and such could be attributed to the solvent gradient delay due to the spare volume in the trap column ( 180 μm id , 4 cm of column length , 2 cm of packed length ) compared to the commercial trap column ( 180 μm id , 2 cm of column length , 2 cm of packed length ). the tunneled - frit trap column was operated for consecutive runs and the results were compared with the commercial trap column . as shown in table 1 , the peak intensity and peak width for the chosen peaks were similar and is highly reproducible in the run - to - run analysis . in addition , the tunneled - frit columns with frit lengths of about 0 . 5 mm and about 3 mm were compared in the analysis of peptides and have no observable difference . the rsds ( n = 3 ) of retention time , peak intensity and peak width for peak 1 from column - to - column of tunneled - frit columns were found to be 2 . 1 %, 4 . 75 % and 9 . 77 %, respectively . the high reproducibility in trap column manufactures illustrates the highly practical use of the tunneled - frit trap column in nanouplc - ms applications . the ready - made 1 . 7 μm c18 particles were used as the stationary phase . with the use of a 75 μm id capillary column as an analytical column , a frit with ˜ 15 μm id channel was fabricated by a 15 μm tungsten wire . a short section (˜ 5 mm ) of 5 μm particles was first packed and followed by packing 1 . 7 μm particles to 25 cm in length . as shown in fig6 , in comparison with the beh c18 ( 1 . 7 μm , 75 μm × 250 mm ) analytical column , the similar separation chromatography of enolase digests was obtained in the tunnel - frit analytical column . the separation efficiency was quite similar in compared to the beh c18 ( 1 . 7 μm , 75 μm × 250 mm ) analytical column ( table 2 ). the use of 1 mm to 3 mm tunneled frit in length did not show significant influence on separation efficiency . highly reproducible separation in numerous runs illustrated the stable and robust quality of the tunnel - frit analytical column . because the negatively charged phosphate group of phosphopeptides can interact with metals , this specificity was used to develop the phosphopeptide purification methods such as tio2 and immobilized metal affinity chromatography ( imac ) techniques . because the stainless steel frit was used in most of commercial trap columns , a concern arises whether the metal - frit would adsorb the phosphopeptides and reduce the ms signals . sample of four synthetic phosphopeptides in enolase digests ( product no . 186003286 , waters ) were tested on commercial trap column and tunneled - frit trap columns . as shown in fig7 , phosphopeptide signals were all rationalized to the internal quantitative peak ( nonphosphopeptide , 643 . 9 m / z ). in comparison to the commercial trap column , the use of tunnel - frit trap column provides significantly improved phosphopeptide signals with 1 . 2 ( 684 . 8 m / z )˜ 1 . 7 ( 432 . 2 m / z ) folds . the use of a non - metal frit in the tunneled frit trap column avoids the phosphopeptide adsorption by the metal - based frit and thus improves the phosphopeptide detection sensitivity . by using the wire - assisted and sol - gel method , a simple , low back pressure and highly reproducible tunnel frit and methodology were developed . from the results of the tunnel - frit trap column applications , the tunnel - frit trap column can withstand pressure as high as 10 , 000 psi after packing with 2 cm 5 um resins . in the analysis of protein digests , the results show that tunnel - frit trap column and tunnel - frit analytical columns have similar analytical results compared with commercial system . the on column frit preparation method , resulting tunneled fit , and uplc applications are novel and unobvious . the application of the tunnel frit in nanouplc - ms yields substantial cost reduction , for example , in proteomics labs for trap and analytical columns and also improves the sensitivity for phosphopeptides . the tunnel frit methods and means are also suitable to be widely applied to other packed columns for chromatography enrichment and separation applications . the foregoing description of the invention and the figures and tables contained herein and the legends thereof illustrate and describe embodiments of the present invention . it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use in various other combinations , modifications , and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein , commensurate with the teachings herein and / or the skill or knowledge of the relevant art . the embodiments described herein are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such , or other , embodiments and with the various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the invention . accordingly , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form or application disclosed herein . all references and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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with reference to fig1 , the composite board in accordance with the present invention includes a first board ( 1 ), a mediate board ( 2 ), a second board ( 3 ) and a third board ( 4 ). the first board ( 1 ) has a first grain ( 11 ). the second board ( 3 ) has a second grain ( 31 ) and the third board ( 4 ) has a third grain ( 41 ). it is to be noted that the first grain ( 11 ) is perpendicular to the second grain ( 31 ) which is perpendicular to the third grain ( 41 ). from the accompanying drawings , the first grain ( 11 ) is latitudinal , which is the same as that of the third grain ( 41 ). the second grain ( 31 ) is longitudinal and is thus perpendicular to both the first and third grains ( 11 , 41 ). the mediate board ( 2 ) is provided with a notch ( 21 ) defined in a side face of the mediate board ( 2 ), a tongue ( 22 ) oppositely formed relative to the notch ( 21 ) and multiple latitudinal slits ( 23 ) latitudinally defined across the mediate board ( 2 ). when the composite board is assembled to securely engage the first board ( 1 ), the mediate board ( 2 ), the second board ( 3 ) and the third board ( 4 ) together , due to the orientation differences among the first grain ( 11 ), the second grain ( 31 ) and the third grain ( 41 ), deformation of the composite board resulting from the temperature and / or humidity change in the composite board of the present invention is harmonized . that is , for example , when the second board ( 3 ) has expanded and the third board ( 4 ) has expanded as a consequence of additional moisture in the environment , differences between the expansion coefficients of the second board ( 3 ) and the third board ( 4 ) respectively cause different expansion in the second board ( 3 ) and the third board ( 4 ). however , due to the differences between the second grain ( 31 ) and the third grain ( 41 ), the expansion differences are counteracted by each other so that over expansions of the second and the third boards ( 3 , 4 ) are avoided . the same principle applies to the first board ( 1 ). the provision of the latitudinal slits ( 23 ) in the mediate board ( 2 ) is able to provide space to accommodate excessive volume of the mediate board ( 2 ) when expanded so that stress in the composite board is obviated and thus cracks in the composite board are avoided . with reference to fig2 , it is noted that the second embodiment of the composite board has a structure almost the same as that of the first embodiment shown in fig1 . the only difference therebetween is that the mediate board ( 2 ) further has multiple longitudinal slits ( 24 ) each intersecting with the latitudinal slits ( 23 ) to reinforce the structural integrity . with reference to fig3 , it is noted that the third embodiment of the composite board has a structure almost the same as that of the first embodiment shown in fig1 . the only difference therebetween is that the mediate board ( 2 ) has multiple right slanted slits ( 25 ) intersecting with each one of the latitudinal slits ( 23 ), and multiple left slanted slits ( 26 ) each intersecting with each one of the latitudinal slits ( 23 ) and intersecting with a corresponding one of the right slanted slits ( 25 ). the provision of the right and left slanted slits ( 25 , 26 ) is to increase structural integrity of the composite board of the present invention . with reference to fig4 , the composite board in accordance with the present invention includes a first board ( 5 ), a second board ( 6 ), a mediate board ( 7 ), a third board ( 8 ) and a fourth board ( 9 ). the first board ( 5 ) has a first grain ( 51 ), the second board ( 6 ) has a second grain ( 61 ), the third board ( 8 ) has a third grain ( 81 ) and the fourth board ( 9 ) has a fourth grain ( 91 ). the first and second boards ( 5 , 6 ) are provided on one side of the mediate board ( 7 ) and the third and the fourth boards ( 8 , 9 ) are provided to engage with the mediate board ( 7 ) and opposite to the combination of the first and second boards ( 5 , 6 ). the first board ( s ) has a first grain ( 51 ) and the second board ( 6 ) has a second grain ( 61 ) perpendicular to the first grain ( 51 ). the third board ( 8 ) has a third grain ( 81 ) and the fourth board ( 9 ) has a fourth grain ( 91 ) perpendicular to the third grain ( 81 ). the mediate board ( 7 ) has a notch ( 71 ) defined in a side face of the mediate board ( 7 ), a tongue ( 72 ) oppositely formed with respect to the notch ( 71 ), multiple top slits ( 73 ) defined in a top face of the mediate board ( 7 ) and multiple bottom slits ( 74 ) defined in a bottom face of the mediate board ( 7 ). when the composite board of this preferred embodiment of the present invention is assembled to securely engage the first board ( 5 ), the second board ( 6 ), the mediate board ( 7 ), the third board ( 8 ) and the fourth board ( 9 ) together , because the first grain ( 51 ) is perpendicular to the second grain ( 61 ) and the third grain ( 81 ) is perpendicular to the fourth grain ( 91 ), deformation of the composite board from the change in humidity and temperature in the environment is avoided . the provision of the top and bottom slits ( 73 , 74 ) is to increase the structural integrity of the composite board so that when the composite board has expanded due to a rise in temperature , as a result of different expansion coefficients in the first , second , third and fourth boards ( 5 , 6 , 8 , 9 ) the expansion is accommodated by the slits ( 73 , 74 ). with reference to the embodiment in fig5 , the structure in this embodiment is almost the same as that disclosed in fig4 . the only difference is that the mediate board ( 7 ), except for the top and bottom slits ( 73 , 74 ), further has multiple longitudinal slits ( 75 ) defined in opposite side faces of the mediate board ( 7 ) to respectively intersect with the top slits ( 73 ) and the bottom slits ( 74 ). with reference to fig6 , the structure in this embodiment is almost the same as that disclosed in fig4 . the only difference is that the mediate board ( 7 ), except for the top and bottom slits ( 73 , 74 ), further has multiple left slanted slits ( 76 ) defined in the top face of the mediate board ( 7 ) to intersect with the top slits ( 73 ) and multiple right slanted slits ( 77 ) defined in the bottom face of the mediate board ( 7 ) to intersect with the bottom slits ( 74 ). the provision of the top and bottom slits ( 73 , 74 ) and the right and left slanted slits ( 76 , 77 ) is to increase the structural integrity of the composite board of the present invention so that when stress occurs in the composite board due to the different expansion coefficients of each of the boards , additional space is provided for the excessive volume of the expanded composite board from change of temperature and / or humidity . different from what is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments , this embodiment shown in fig7 has a first board ( 1 a ), a mediate board ( 2 a ) and a second board ( 3 a ). the first board ( 1 a ) has a grain ( 11 a ), the mediate board ( 2 a ) has a grain ( 21 a ) and the second board ( 3 a ) has a second grain ( 31 a ). the first grain ( l a ) is perpendicular to the grain ( 21 a ) which is perpendicular to the second grain ( 31 a ). the mediate board ( 2 a ) further has a notch ( 22 a ) defined in a side face of the mediate board ( 2 a ), a tongue ( 23 a ) oppositely formed relative to the notch ( 22 a ), multiple latitudinal slits ( 24 a ) defined in a side face of the mediate board ( 2 a ) and multiple longitudinal slits ( 25 a ) defined in the side face to intersect with the latitudinal slits ( 24 a ). it is to be understood , however , that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . referring in particular to the drawings , there is shown a fluid shear coupling apparatus 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention . in fig1 there is shown a coupling apparatus in assembled form , with certain of the components shown more specifically in the subsequent figures . the preferred embodiment generally comprises a driving member connected with an external drive source , and a driven member mounted to the driving member for relative rotation about a common axis 20 . the driven member includes a plate 21 , a bearing housing 15 and a cover 16 secured together by a metal band 17 . the driving member includes a disc - shaped rotor 11 secured to a shaft 12 . the shaft includes a mounting portion 13 which is connectable to an external drive source , such as by the reception of bolts ( not shown ) through apertures 14 . a typical external drive source is a vehicle engine for an embodiment in which the apparatus 10 is used as a coupling device for driving a plurality of fan blades mounted to the driven member . the rotor 11 is shown to have several annular ridges 18 and grooves 19 facing in a first direction parallel to the central common axis 20 . the driven member includes a plate 21 mounted to the bearing housing 15 and cover 16 . the plate 21 includes several annular ridges 22 and grooves 23 facing in a second axial direction , opposite the first direction . the ridges and grooves of the plate 21 are received adjacent respective grooves and ridges of the rotor 11 . these provide spaced , opposed shear surfaces defining a fluid shear chamber therebetween and cooperable with shear fluid in the fluid shear chamber to transmit torque between the rotor and the plate . the close - spaced positioning of the complementary shaped and located ridges and grooves of the rotor and plate provides for varying degrees of coupling between the driving member and the driven member in relation to the amount of fluid received in the intervening shear chamber , as is well understood in the art . the driven member and driving member are mounted together to have relative rotation about the central common axis 20 . the rotor 11 includes an outer , disc - shaped portion which defines the several annular ridges and grooves . the rotor also includes an inner hub portion 24 which is mounted to the shaft 12 . particularly , the hub portion 24 includes a hexagonal steel washer 25 received within a correspondingly shaped hexagonal recess in hub portion 24 . washer 25 includes several radially - spaced depressions which are utilized in staking the shaft to the rotor , as shown , for example , in fig1 at 26 . the bearing housing 15 is bearingly mounted to the shaft 12 . the inner race 27 of ball bearings 28 is received between the hub portion 24 of the rotor and a shoulder 29 of the shaft 12 , with retaining snap ring 27a being disposed in an annular groove about shaft 12 between hub portion 24 and inner race 27 . the bearing housing 15 defines a central hub portion 30 defining a shoulder 31 against which one side of the outer race 32 of the ball bearings is received . the cover 16 is secured to the bearing housing 15 , preferably by means of a magneformed band 17 , as disclosed in my u . s . pat . no . 4 , 653 , 624 . as shown , the bearing housing and cover include relatively small and simply configured flanges 37 and 38 , respectively , about which the band 17 is received . the bearing housing further defines an annular recess in the flange 37 in which an o - ring 39 is received to provide a seal between the bearing housing and the cover . as previously indicated , a typical application for the fluid shear coupling apparatus of the present invention is for providing a fan drive in respect to a vehicle engine . in this regard , the bearing housing 15 is provided with several apertures through which bolts , such as bolts 40 , are received . as shown in fig1 the bearing housing 15 includes an annular recess 45 in which is received the outer , perimetric edge of the plate 21 . the plate is thereby clamped between the bearing housing 15 and the cover 16 when those components are secured together by means of the band 17 . plate 21 is also provided with projections 46 which are received within corresponding recesses in the bearing housing to operate as a key to prevent relative rotation of the plate with respect to the cover and bearing housing . the provision of the plate 21 simplifies the formation of the recirculation passageways through which fluid moves from the fluid shear chamber 59 back to the fluid reservoir . with other designs , it has been necessary to drill and ball the recirculation holes . however , the present construction utilizing the separate cover 16 and plate 21 permits the recirculation passageways to be formed at the time of initial fabrication for these two components . cover 16 is formed with a pair of radially - extending grooves , such as groove 73 . the plate 21 includes a pair of corresponding holes , such as hole 75 , extending through the thickness of the plate and communicating with the outermost annular grooves in the plate . hole 75 is located to align and communicate with the groove 73 upon assembly of the plate 21 to the cover 16 . the groove 73 is thereby positioned to define passageways between the plate 21 and cover 16 which communicate with the respective hole 75 and with the central fluid reservoir 58 . the holes are positioned at the end of the corresponding annular grooves in the plate such that fluid within the grooves will be forced through the holes , such as hole 75 , and radially inward along channels , such as groove 73 , to fluid reservoir 58 . plate 21 includes separator wall 60 . separator wall 60 may be readily separable from plate 21 or homogenous therewith according to the present design . in the preferred embodiment , separator wall is a round , thin metal plate . separator wall 60 is positioned between shear fluid reservoir 58 and fluid shear chamber 59 , providing a barrier against fluid flow therebetween . however , separator wall 60 has a fluid input aperture 93 therein , which in the preferred embodiment , is an arcuate slot ( see fig3 ). aperture 93 provides an opening through separator wall 60 through which shear fluid in reservoir 58 may flow in a controlled manner into fluid shear chamber 59 . as shown in fig3 fluid input aperture 93 , as an arcuate slot , has arcuate inner edge 97 and arcuate outer edge 99 . preferably , arcuate edges 97 and 99 are radially disposed around valve pivot 67 located on valve axis 69 . valve axis 69 , as illustrated in fig3 defines a common radial center for inner arcuate edge 97 and outer arcuate edge 99 . note that aperture 93 is shown with phantom lines in fig2 b . valve member pivot 67 pivotably couples valve member 65 to separator wall 60 . valve member 65 is movable with respect to separator wall 60 at pivot 67 . as illustrated , valve member 65 is preferably a round , flat plate adjacent to , and in parallel planes with , separator wall 60 . valve member 65 has a valve aperture 91 therein . valve aperture 91 is a round hole in valve member 65 located radially outward from valve axis 69 . as valve member 65 is rotated , valve aperture 91 correspondingly rotates around pivot 67 . valve aperture 91 is positioned and arranged such that it overlaps fluid input aperture 93 ( see fig2 b and 3 ). accordingly , valve aperture 91 and fluid input aperture 93 collectively define an overlap inlet from reservoir 58 into chamber 59 through both valve member 65 and separator wall 60 . as is known , during rotation of the driven member of the coupling apparatus , the shear fluid is forced radially outward with respect to common axis 20 , forming a generally doughnut - shaped body of shear fluid ( not shown ). the depth of the shear fluid in reservoir 58 is controlled by modulating the radial position of valve aperture 91 with respect to common axis 20 . by moving aperture 91 radially inward towards common axis 20 , the depth of the shear fluid in reservoir 58 increases , and a correspondingly smaller proportion of the fluid remains in fluid shear chamber 59 . accordingly , less torque is transmitted between the driving member and the driven member since there is less shear fluid overlap . conversely , as valve aperture 91 is moved radially outward from common axis 20 , a greater proportion of shear fluid flows from reservoir 58 into chamber 59 . accordingly , more torque is transmitted between the driving member and the driven member , and the speed of the driven member is increased . radial displacement of fluid aperture 91 with respect to common axis 20 may be accomplished in a variety of ways . as illustrated in fig1 - 3 , valve member 65 is coupled to crank driver link 71 by coupler link 77 . crank driver link 71 is affixed to valving shaft 63 which in turn is affixed to bimetal coil 95 . note that in fig1 crank driver link 71 , coupler link 77 , and valving shaft 63 are shown as a side elevational , rather than sectional view , for drawing clarity . bimetal coil comprises a coiled laminate of two metals , each having a different coefficient of thermal expansion . the coil is attached to cover 16 . coil 95 acts as a temperature responsive thermostat which coils or uncoils proportionate to the ambient temperature . as coil 95 coils or uncoils in response to temperature changes , it rotates valving shaft 63 , in turn rotating crank driver link 71 . coupler link 77 transmits this rotational movement of driver link 71 to valve member 65 . thus , this assembly provides for rotation of valve member 65 both clockwise and counterclockwise in response to temperature changes . accordingly , valve aperture 91 rotates about valve axis 69 in response to temperature changes , causing the proportionate distribution of shear fluid in reservoir 58 vis - a - vis fluid shear chamber 59 as a function of ambient temperature . thus , temperature changes modulate the location of valve aperture 91 , and correspondingly , the degree of coupling in the fluid shear coupling apparatus 10 . valve axis 69 is eccentric to , and radially outward of , common axis 20 . accordingly , pivot 67 , and thus the center of rotation for valve aperture 91 is eccentric to , and radially outward of , common axis 20 . this eccentric positioning provides for greater radial displacement of aperture 91 with respect to common axis 20 for a given amount of rotation of valving shaft 63 than would occur if valve pivot 67 were located on common axis 20 . accordingly , the temperature responsiveness and sensitivity of the valving assembly may be enhanced . furthermore , the sensitivity may be selectively varied by changing the position on valve member 65 and / or on crank driver link 71 where coupler link 77 is attached . in fig2 a , three link attachment points 79 , 81 and 83 are located on crank driver link 71 at various radial locations . similarly , three attachment points 85 , 87 and 89 are located on valve member 65 at various radial locations . by changing the pivotable attachment of coupler link 77 to a selected pair of these attachment points , a change in the ratio of rotation between valve member 65 and valving shaft 63 is achieved . as illustrated in fig2 a , 2b and 2c , valve aperture 91 is shown in a first , radially inward postion ( having a radius r a ), a second , radially intermediate position ( having a radius r b ), and a third , radially outward position ( having a radius r c ) respectfully . radius r a is less than radius r b which in turn is less than radius r c . thus , rotation of valve member 65 causes the actual radial position of valve aperture 91 to change with respect to common axis 20 and with respect to valving shaft 63 . furthermore , as illustrated , this is accomplished while the overlap inlet defined by valve aperture 91 and fluid input aperture 93 has a constant cross - sectional area of flow between reservoir 58 and chamber 59 . by providing a constant cross - sectional area , the fluid flow rate between reservoir 58 and chamber 59 is more uniformly controlled , and the amount of operating shear fluid is controlled by the position of the overlap inlet rather than by its size . referring now to fig4 a second embodiment of the separator plate assembly is shown . this embodiment , with separator wall 460 , functions similarly to the embodiment described with respect to fig1 - 3 except that driver gear 471 replaces crank driver link 77 and coupler link 77 in imparting movement to the valve body . furthermore , valve body 465 has gear teeth which engage gear teeth on driver gear 471 . valving shaft 63 imparts rotational movement to driver gear 471 , which in turn imparts rotational movement to valve body 465 . the radial position of valve aperture 491 modulates , as described above , the way valve aperture 91 modulates . the rotational responsiveness of valve body 465 may be varied according to design requirements by changing the diameters of , and thus gear ratios between driver gear 471 and valve body 465 . referring now to fig5 a third embodiment of the separator plate assembly is shown . separator wall 560 is modified from the earlier described embodiments in that fluid inlet aperture 593 is a straight slot , rather than an arcuate slot of the earlier described embodiments . fluid inlet aperture 593 has straight inner edge 597 and straight outer edge 599 which are parellel . furthermore , valve aperture 591 , shown partially in phantom lines , is rectangular in shape , rather than round . accordingly , the overlap inlet defined by the overlap of fluid inlet aperture 593 and valve aperture 591 is not of a constant area during rotation of the valve member around valve pivot 567 . thus , the overlap inlet , which is diamond - shaped in fig5 would reduce in total area as the valve is pivoted towards a radially intermediate position and would take on a rectangular shape . as the valve member continued to pivot to a radially inward position , the overlap inlet would increase in total area and would again take on a diamond shape . a multiple of various geometries and sizes of fluid inlet apertures and valve apertures may be provided to achieve various valving characteristics to satisfy a particular design application . for example , the inner edge and outer edge of the fluid inlet aperture may be divergent , convergent or irregular . although such approaches for many arrangements will not provide the constant area overlap inlet which is one aspect of the present invention , such approaches allow for design latitude , providing a controlled overlap inlet area , while employing other advantageous aspects of the present invention . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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the calculation device according to the present invention can be used in any vehicles . what is described below is the use of a calculation device according to the present invention for use in a motor vehicle . fig1 schematically depicts a calculation device 1 according to the present invention . a control device 2 , which triggers a planar display 3 and a projection unit 2 , is disposed in a housing of calculation device 1 . calculation device 1 can be embodied as any computer , for example a portable one , which e . g . serves for appointment management , image reproduction , or sound reproduction . for acoustic output , a loudspeaker 5 is correspondingly connected to control device 2 . in an embodiment , calculation device 1 is embodied as a navigation unit . for this purpose , calculation device 1 has a positioning unit 6 that is embodied , in particular , as a satellite positioning unit . positioning unit 6 makes possible reception of a signal from satellites of a satellite positioning system . by way of a planar display 3 embodied , in particular , as a touch screen surface , a user can then enter a destination into calculation device 1 . control device 2 calculates a route of travel from the present position ( ascertained via positioning unit 6 ) to the inputted destination , making use of a memory device 7 in which a corresponding road network is stored . when the driver needs to perform a driving maneuver along the calculated travel path , for example make a turn , a driving instruction is outputted via planar display 3 , but in particular via projection unit 4 . acoustic driving instructions can correspondingly also be outputted via loudspeaker 5 . planar display 3 is embodied , for example , as a liquid crystal display . a road map , for example , but also an input menu for inputting a destination , can be depicted in planar display 3 . driving instructions in particular , for example turn arrows , but optionally also warning symbols , can be outputted via projection unit 4 . projection unit 4 can also be constituted by any display . in an embodiment , projection unit 4 has a plurality of light - emitting diodes , which correspondingly have sufficient light intensity that the light emitted from projection unit 4 can reflect in the windshield of the vehicle in such a way that a virtual image is visible to an observer . a first exemplifying embodiment of a use of a display apparatus according to the present invention in a motor vehicle is depicted in fig2 . a calculation device 10 according to the present invention is mounted on a holder ( not visible in fig2 ) that in turn is attached with a suction cup 11 on windshield 12 above an instrument panel 13 of the motor vehicle . a map depiction 15 is shown in planar display 14 of calculation device 10 . in the embodiment shown here , position 16 of the motor vehicle is furthermore indicated in map depiction 15 . the vehicle is now intended to turn to the left , as indicated e . g . by a left - turn arrow 17 in map depiction 15 . in particular , however , display of a left - turn arrow is accomplished by way of a projection unit , disposed on the upper narrow side 18 of calculation device 10 , that correspondingly emits a light beam 20 of light toward windshield 12 . an arrow depiction 21 is correspondingly visible to an observer , as a result of reflection of the light on windshield 12 , in the form of a virtual image . an acoustic advisory can be outputted in supplementary fashion via a loudspeaker 22 of calculation device 10 . in a further embodiment , calculation device 10 can also possess a radio interface , such that a corresponding turn datum can be transferred to a display instrument 23 of the vehicle , so that a corresponding turn symbol 24 can also be depicted in display instrument 23 in front of the driver . in the embodiment shown here , calculation device 10 is mounted above center console 25 of the vehicle on instrument panel 13 . because of the variable configuration using suction - cup attachment , however , the calculation device can also be positioned in a region above , or to the left alongside , display instrument 23 . it is moreover also possible to position calculation device 10 in front of the passenger on windshield 12 . in another embodiment ( not shown in fig2 ), it is alternatively also possible to attach calculation device 10 to instrument panel 13 . in fig3 , calculation device 10 is shown in a view from outside the vehicle , looking toward driver &# 39 ; s seat 26 . calculation device 10 is inserted into a holding arm 27 that is connected to suction cup 11 via a connecting arm 28 . holding arm 27 and / or connecting arm 28 is preferably supported movably with respect to calculation device 10 or with respect to suction cup 11 , respectively , so that a position of calculation device 10 can be adapted by a user in such a way that an optimum position of virtual image 21 , but also good readability of display surface 14 , can be achieved . fig4 shows , in a detail , the disposition of the calculation device on the holder . calculation device 10 is inserted into holding arm 27 in such a way that an engagement of holding arm 27 with respect to calculation device 10 can be released via an actuation of a release lever 29 . in an embodiment , calculation device 10 has a sensing unit , for example a switch element 30 , that records the release of holding arm 27 . according to this embodiment , the operation of projection unit 19 is deactivated after the holding arm is released , and thus after calculation device 10 is released out of holder 27 . it is correspondingly also possible for operation of projection unit 19 to be automatically activated upon insertion of calculation device 10 onto holding arm 27 . connecting arm 28 preferably has a first element 31 and a second element 32 , which are connected pivotably with respect to one another via an articulation 33 , in order to enable adaptation of the position of the calculation device by pivoting about a rotation axis 34 that is drawn with a dashed line in fig4 . suction cup 11 is preferably releasable from , and attachable to , windshield 12 via a lever element 35 . in another embodiment it is also correspondingly possible to provide an adhesive connection to windshield 12 instead of a suction cup . fig5 is a detailed depiction , in a view toward narrow side 18 , of calculation device 10 and of projection unit 19 disposed on narrow side 18 . in the embodiment shown here , projection unit 19 has a first display 41 of an arrow to the left , a second display 42 of an arrow to the front , and a third display 43 of an arrow to the right . the individual displays 41 , 43 , 43 are preferably constituted by a plurality of light - emitting diodes that can respectively be triggered collectively in order to cause the various symbols to be displayed . in another embodiment it is also possible to provide a matrix display that is constituted from multiple light - emitting diodes , so that by controlled triggering of individual ones of these light - emitting diodes , corresponding symbols can be formed and can be projected into the windshield . it is also possible , however , to use other display technologies instead of light - emitting diodes , for example electroluminescent displays . fig6 to 9 depict a different exemplifying embodiment of a calculation device according to the present invention . a calculation device 50 according to the present invention has on its front side a display surface 51 in which , for example , an operating menu 52 , a map depiction 53 , and / or a text window 54 can be depicted . display surface 51 is disposed in a first housing part 55 that is connected via an articulation element 56 to a second housing part 58 that is not visible in fig6 . a first operating element 69 , and a second operating element 68 for volume control , are mounted on articulated connection 56 . fig7 depicts calculation device 50 in a side view . second housing part 58 , which is preferably supported in a holder 59 in the vehicle , for example on an instrument panel , is disposed at an angle of approximately 90 ° to first housing part 55 . a projection unit 65 is disposed on an upper side 60 of second housing part 58 . second housing part 58 is supported in this context , with respect to a windshield 61 , in such a way that a light beam 62 from projection unit 65 strikes windshield 61 and is reflected therefrom , so that light is radiated in arrow direction 63 . looking in a direction opposite to arrow direction 63 , a virtual image is visible to an observer as a result of reflection from windshield 61 . fig8 depicts a plan view in arrow direction 64 of fig7 . projection unit 65 is now visible in a view looking toward second housing part 58 . in the embodiment shown here , projection unit 65 has a plurality of light - emitting diodes 66 , which are disposed in such a way that they can depict various symbols when connected appropriately . in the embodiment shown here , a variety of arrow symbols can be depicted , depiction of an arrow to the right being shown in the particular embodiment shown here . when calculation device 50 is removed from holder 59 , it can ( as depicted in fig9 ) be folded up by rotating second housing part 58 relative to first housing part 57 about articulated connection 56 , so that the first and the second housing part 55 , 58 rest against one another . in an embodiment , a gps receiving unit 67 , which is depicted with dashed lines in fig8 , is disposed in second housing part 58 . | 6Physics
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the matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the invention . accordingly , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . also , descriptions of well - known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness . referring to fig2 , a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a deck 21 and a head drum assembly 100 mounted to the deck 21 . the deck 21 is mounted within a main body of the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus , such as a camcorder , for recording and reproducing information on a magnetic tape . the deck 21 includes a driving device for transporting the magnetic tape and a guiding device for guiding the magnetic tape . a mechanism using such a deck 21 is generally known by those in the art , and , therefore , a detailed description is omitted for conciseness . the head drum assembly 100 comprises a stationary drum 30 fixed to a shaft 22 , a rotary drum 40 rotatably mounted on the shaft 22 above the stationary drum 30 , a drum cover 50 mounted above the rotary drum 40 , a drum motor 60 for rotating the rotary drum 40 , and a self - compensating dynamic balancer 70 . the stationary drum 30 fits around the shaft 22 and is fastened to the deck 21 by a screw 24 . the rotary drum 40 fits around the shaft 22 to face the stationary drum 30 . a bearing 26 is interposed between the rotary drum 40 and the shaft 22 . a magnetic head 80 is supported by the rotary drum 40 and scans a magnetic tape running past the magnetic head 80 to record information on the magnetic tape or reproduce recorded information from the magnetic tape . the magnetic head 80 is preferably disposed under the rotary drum 40 . the drum cover 50 is disposed above the rotary drum 50 and fits around the shaft 22 . the rotary drum 50 has a rotary transfer 91 , and the drum cover 40 has a stationary transfer 93 . the rotary transfer 91 and stationary transfer 93 cooperate to transmit the information read from the magnetic head 80 . the drum motor 60 comprises a rotor 61 mounted to the rotary drum 40 , and a stator 63 mounted to the stationary drum 30 . the self - compensating dynamic balancer 70 , as shown in fig3 and 4 , comprises a race groove 41 located in the rotary drum 40 , at least one mobile member 43 received in the race groove 41 , and a cover member 45 . the race groove 41 is annular , and is formed around the rotational axis of the rotary drum 40 . more preferably , the race groove 41 is formed on an upper surface 40 a of the rotary drum 40 , and has a predetermined depth . in the illustrated exemplary embodiment , a plurality of mobile members 43 are received in the race groove 41 and are movable . the mobile members 43 may be metal balls . when the rotary drum 40 rotates , the mobile members 43 move in a direction that is symmetrical with the eccentric point of the rotary drum 40 , thereby compensating the eccentricity of the rotary drum 40 . therefore , to allow the balls to move , the balls can roll freely within the race groove 41 . the cover member 45 prevents any mobile members 43 from escaping from the race groove 43 . the cover member 45 is connected , preferably by press fit , with an inner circumferential wall 41 a of the race groove 41 . a supporting projection 42 for restricting a connection height of the cover member 45 protrudes from the inner circumferential wall 41 a . alternatively , the cover member 45 may be sized for a press fit with the outer circumferential wall 41 b of the race groove 41 . the outer circumferential wall 41 b of the race groove 41 has receiving recesses 41 c for receiving the mobile members 43 . the receiving recesses 41 c are preferably arranged at constant intervals along the race groove 41 . preferably , the receiving recesses 41 c are substantially semicircular indentation in the outer circumferential wall 41 b of the race groove 41 . when the rotary drum 40 of the above - describe head drum assembly rotates , the mobile members 43 move away from the rotational axis due to centrifugal force . therefore , the mobile members 43 move in a direction symmetrical to the eccentric point of the rotary drum 40 , and are received in the receiving recesses 41 c . once received in the receiving recesses 41 c , the mobile members 43 compensate for the eccentricity of the rotary drum 40 . when the eccentric point occurs at another location in the rotary drum 40 , the mobile members 43 relocate , thereby automatically compensating for any changed eccentricity of the rotary drum 40 . in addition , any mobile members 43 that do not move toward the eccentric point are received in the receiving recesses 41 c . thus , any mobile members 43 which did not find the eccentric point are prevented from moving around within the race groove 41 . accordingly , the rotary drum 40 can be driven without eccentricity and therefore operates stably without shaking or trembling . as a result , performance of recording and reproducing information on a magnetic tape can be enhanced . also , according to the above structure , the self - compensating dynamic balancer 70 is completely mounted by forming the race groove 41 in the rotary drum 40 , inserting the mobile member 43 in the race groove 41 and connecting the cover member 45 . by connecting the rotary drum 40 with the compensation balancer 70 to the shaft 22 and assembling the stationary drum 30 and the drum cover 50 , the head drum assembly 100 can be constructed in a simple manner . that is , the assembly does not require any special balancing processes . accordingly , assembly steps and assembly time can be saved , thereby improving productivity and reducing manufacturing costs . furthermore , the self - compensating dynamic balancer is able to automatically compensate any eccentricity generated while driving the rotary drum . thus , the eccentricity does not have to be measured for every rotary drum produced . therefore , recording and reproducing characteristics can be enhanced by preventing shaking and trembling of the rotary drum . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain 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 . | 6Physics
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according to one aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that the flow - through chambers each have a chamber volume in the interval 0 . 1 to 5000 μl . according to another aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that it consists of a three - electrode system , a working electrode made of platinum , a reference electrode made of silver and a counter electrode made of platinum or silver . according to another aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that the working electrode has a potential that is + 200 to + 1000 mv above the reference electrode potential . according to another aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that it is equipped with a temperature sensing element , exemplified but not limited to pt 100 , pt 1000 , ds 1820 , lm 35 or kty 81 - 120 , for temperature compensation of the measurements . according to another aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that it is equipped with a heat - generating / cooling source , exemplified but not limited to a resistor or a peltier element for thermostating of the device to a constant temperature in the interval 5 to 80 degrees celsius . according to another aspect of the invention the device is characterised by that the mentioned semi - permeable membrane is made of , exemplified but not limited to cellulose acetate , nafion , ceramic material , metalurgic material and polymeric material with a molecular cut - off in the interval from 0 . 1 kda to 500 kda . according to one aspect the measuring principle is based on the so called sire biosensor technology mentioned earlier in this patent application . fig1 shows a principal schedule over the present invention . the liquid flow containing the low - molecular substance to be detected is guided through inlet a to flow - through chamber b where the mentioned substance can diffuse through the nano - pores in the semi - permeable membrane g to flow - through chamber e , alternatively be transported through the liquid flow guided through the outlet c from flow - through chamber b . when the mentioned substances are in flow - through chamber e , they are able to react chemically with enzymatic reagents introduced by a liquid flow through inlet d . reaction products from the enzymatic reaction diffuses to the detector h and give rise to an electrical signal that correlates quantitatively with the amount of low - molecular substance in the liquid flow introduced through inlet a . incoming liquid , enzymes non - reacted low - molecular substance , and reaction products leaves flow - through chamber e through outlet f . the inlets and outlets can be re - directed so that flows that run in opposite directions are achieved . the detector can also be used for detection of a background signal according to the earlier mentioned sire biosensor principle . the detector can also contain a temperature sensor and / or heat - generating / cooling element . examples of low - molecular substances that are present in liquid flows from a micro - dialysis probe , fermenter , cell suspension , chemical reactor , human being , tissue or animal are extensively described in the patent literature . traditional flow - through cells based on e . g . visible / uv light or conductivity are not able to qualitative or quantitative determination of the great majority of low - molecular substances that are present in liquid flows from a micro - dialysis probe , fermenter , cell suspension , chemical reactor , human being , tissue or animal . the present invention circumvents this problem since the specificity and the enzymatic ability of the used reagents feed the detector with enough amount of chemical signal substance , as for example hydrogen peroxide formed by oxidases , to qualitatively be able to determine the amount of mentioned low - molecular substance . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 illustrates a power machine 10 of the type in which an engine and pump mounting arrangement of the type discussed in the embodiments below can be usefully employed . power machine 10 includes a frame 12 that is supported by wheels 14 . power machine 10 has an engine ( not shown in fig1 ) that applies power to a drive system ( not shown in fig1 ), which in turn supplies power to the wheels 14 causing power machine 10 to move under the control of an operator . examples of drive systems for use in power machine 10 will be discussed in more detail below . frame 12 supports a cab 16 , which defines an operating compartment . an operator can be located inside the cab 16 and control the power machine 10 by manipulating control devices ( not shown in fig1 ) located therein to send operator input signals to the drive system . although the power machine 10 is shown having a plurality of wheels 14 , it should be appreciated that power machine 10 need not have wheels . as one alternative example , power machine 10 can be equipped with one or more tracks that are configured to engage a supporting surface , such as ground , to propel the power machine over the supporting surface . power machine 10 , as illustrated in fig1 , further includes a lift arm 18 . lift arm 18 is coupled to frame 12 at pivot point 26 . actuator 20 is coupled to the frame 12 at first pivot point 22 and the lift arm at second pivot point 24 . actuator 20 , of the power machine 10 shown in fig1 is a hydraulic cylinder , although other suitable types of actuators may be used . a single lift arm 18 is shown in fig1 , but it is to be understood that a similar lift arm 18 and corresponding actuator 20 may be positioned on the opposite side of the cab and similarly attached to frame 12 . further , it should be understood that such a lift arm may be coupled to the lift arm 18 shown in fig1 via a cross - member ( not shown ) extending between and attached to each of the lift arms 18 . power machine 10 further includes an attachment interface 28 , which is rotatably coupled to the lift arm 18 about attachment point 30 . one or more tilt actuators ( not shown ) are coupled to the attachment interface 28 and the one or more lift arms 18 ( or the cross - member therebetween ). actuation of the one or more tilt actuators causes the attachment interface 28 to rotate about the attachment point 30 in a direction shown by arrow 38 . attachment interface 28 is configured to engage and be attached to a variety of different work implements such as a bucket , a planer , a post - hole auger , and the like . by utilizing the various attachments available to be connected to the power machine 10 at attachment interface 28 , the power machine 10 provides a desirable and suitable tool to accomplish a number of different types of tasks . for example , by attaching a bucket ( not shown ) to power machine 10 , an operator is capable of digging earth , moving material , and any number of tasks related to landscaping , construction , material removal , or any number of different types of applications . the power machine 10 has a proximal end 40 and a distal end 42 . an accessible engine compartment is located toward the distal end 42 of the power machine 10 . the engine compartment is accessible via an aperture normally covered by a tailgate 44 . the tailgate 44 is illustratively a latchable hinged door . the power machine 10 has a first side 46 and an opposing second side , not shown in fig1 . the power machine 10 has a top 48 and a bottom 50 , which are defined for the purposes of this discussion . the power machine 10 illustrated in fig1 is a skid steer loader . a skid steer loader has rigid axles coupled to each of the wheels 14 . the wheels 14 on each side of the skid steer loader are operably coupled to each so that they operate in tandem . each side of the skid steer loader has its own drive system , which supplies power to the wheels on that particular side . steering is accomplished by controlling the drive system of one or both sides of the machine to cause the machine to skid on the supporting surface in a direction that is desired by the operator . as one illustrative example , an operator wishing to move or turn power machine 10 to the right may cause the wheels 14 on the left side of the power machine 10 to move in a forward direction . in addition , the operator can cause the wheels 14 on the right side to move in a reverse direction , not at all , or in a forward direction at a lesser rate of speed than the left side wheels 14 . the net effect is a forward force applied to the left side of the power machine 10 that is greater than the forward force applied to the right hand side . as a result , the power machine 10 will skid on its wheels 14 to the right . this is just one non - limiting example of how a skid steer loader can be operated . other steering operations can be employed to accomplish a right turn , for example . although the illustrative example of the power machine 10 in fig1 is a skid steer loader , the discussion provided in this document need not be limited to skid steer loaders . alternatively , and without limitation , the discussion herein can be applied to other power machines such as wheeled loaders with a front or rear steerable axle , excavators , utility vehicles , all - wheel steer vehicles , tracked loaders , or any other similar power machine . fig2 is a block diagram of a portion of a power system 100 for power machine 10 according to one illustrative embodiment . power system 100 includes an engine 102 , which generates power for various functions on power machine 10 . power system 100 also includes a transmission package 104 , which is operably coupled to the engine 102 . transmission package 104 is powered by the engine 102 and illustratively provides power to cause the power machine 10 to move when desired . transmission package 104 , as is illustrated in fig2 includes a pair of hydrostatic drive pumps 106 , each of which are capable of providing power in the form of hydraulic fluid received from a hydraulic reservoir 108 to hydraulic motors 110 . each of the hydraulic motors 110 are , in turn , operably coupled to a pair of axles 112 located on one side of power machine 10 . each axle 112 is coupled to a wheel 14 . hydraulic fluid provided to either or both of the hydraulic motors 110 causes each of the axles 112 to rotate the wheels 14 in one of a forward or reverse direction . transmission package 104 also illustratively includes a hydraulic pump 120 , which is configured to receive hydraulic fluid from hydraulic reservoir 108 and port it to a control valve 122 . the control valve 122 is capable of providing hydraulic flow to actuators 20 and 124 in response to signals provided by an operator of power machine 10 . actuator 20 , as discussed above , controls the position of lift arm 18 and can include a pair of hydraulic cylinders one of which is disposed on either side of the power machine 10 . actuator 124 , in one embodiment represents one or more hydraulic cylinders that , when actuated , cause the attachment interface 28 to rotate about the attachment point 30 . the control valve 122 , in one embodiment is capable of providing hydraulic fluid to a port 126 in response to user signals . port 126 can be connected to one or more external devices to the power machine 10 so that an operator can control such external devices . one type of external device is an attachment such as a planer or posthole auger that can be coupled to the attachment interface 28 . there are any number of different attachments that can be coupled to the attachment interface 28 and planers and posthole augers are but two non - limiting examples . it should be appreciated that the power system 100 illustrated in fig2 is but one arrangement of a power system that can benefit from the embodiments discussed herein . different arrangements of hydraulic motors , such as an individual hydraulic motor for each wheel , different traction devices such as tracks , different steering arrangements such as a steerable axle or all wheel steer are all contemplated , as well as many other arrangements . the embodiments discussed herein are for illustrative purposes only . the power system diagrammed in fig2 is illustratively coupled to the frame of a power machine . fig3 is a side elevation view of an exemplary power system 200 according to one embodiment and fig4 is a perspective view of the power system 200 taken from generally a distal end 202 of the power system 200 . the power system 200 is coupled to a frame 204 , which corresponds to the frame 12 discussed in fig1 . the power system 200 includes an engine 206 and a transmission system 208 . the orientation of the power system 200 with respect to the frame 204 is such that the transmission system 208 is positioned towards a proximal end 203 and the engine 206 is positioned towards the distal end 202 . a second side 210 , which opposes a first side 212 of the power system 200 is shown in the side elevation view . it should be appreciated that the description of the orientation of power system 200 herein describes how the power system 200 is intended to be positioned within a power machine such as power machine 10 illustrated in fig1 . the power system 200 has a center of gravity 220 . the center of gravity 220 is illustratively the center point of the mass of the power system 200 , including the engine 206 and the transmission system 208 . the power system 200 is illustratively attached to the frame 204 at first , second , and third connection points , 222 , 224 , and 226 , respectively . the first connection point 222 includes a bracket 228 extending from , and attached to , the engine 206 and a bracket 230 extending from , and attached to , the frame 204 on the first side 212 of the frame 204 . an engine isolation mount 232 is positioned between and attached to each of brackets 228 and 230 . any suitable isolation mount may be used between the two brackets 228 and 230 . the second connection point 224 includes a bracket 234 extending from , and attached to , the engine 206 and a bracket 236 extending from , and attached to , the frame 204 on the second side 210 of the frame 204 . an engine isolation mount 238 is positioned between and attached to each of brackets 232 and 234 . isolation mount 238 is illustratively similar to the isolation mount 232 . the first connection point 222 and the second connection point 224 are illustratively positioned on opposing sides of the center of gravity 220 . in addition , each of the first connection points 222 and 224 are positioned nearly directly beneath the center of gravity 220 , but just slightly proximal of the center of gravity 220 . in one illustrative embodiment , the first and second connection points 222 and 224 are located so that they are each substantially the same distance proximal from the center of gravity 220 . thus , the majority of the weight of the power system 200 is distributed onto the first and second connection points 222 and 224 . the connection points 222 and 224 are also positioned lower than the center of gravity 220 . by lower than the center of gravity , it is to be understood that the first and second connection points 222 and 224 are positioned closer to the bottom 48 of a power machine 10 as the term bottom is discussed above . the third connection point 226 is illustratively located toward a distal end 202 of the power system 200 . the third connection point 226 includes a bracket 242 extending from , and attached to , the engine 206 at a distal end 202 of the power system 200 . in addition , a connection interface 244 is located on the frame 204 . the third connection point 226 further includes an isolation mount 246 located between the bracket 242 and the connection interface 244 . the third connection point 226 is located distally from and below the center of gravity 220 . a relatively small amount of the weight of the power system 200 is borne by the third connection point 226 . fig5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 of securing a power system to the frame of a power machine . the method includes positioning the power system ( such as power system 200 ) in a desired location . this is illustrated at block 302 . as discussed above , the desired location is one where the power system is capable of being secured to the frame of the power machine at two connection points that are nearly directly in line with , but slightly proximal to , the center of gravity of the power system . once the power system is properly positioned , the power system is secured to the frame . this is illustrated at block 304 . in one illustrative embodiment , securing the power system to the frame includes attaching the power system to the frame at the two connection points that are slightly proximal to the center of gravity and at a third connection point distal to the center of gravity of the power system . further , attaching the power system to the frame at each of three connection points includes attaching at three connection points located below the center of gravity . further still , attaching the power system to the frame at each of three connection points includes attaching the power system at locations on the engine . by attaching the power system to the frame at these three connection points , the transmission system is attached to the frame only through its direct attachment to the engine . the embodiments discussed above provide important advantages . by providing attachment arrangements and methods as discussed above , the power package will be more isolated from the frame and therefore less susceptible to the effects of shock from any impacts that might power machine might undergo . conversely , the vibrations created by the operation of the power system will be more thoroughly isolated from other components on the power machine . although specific embodiments are disclosed above , it should be understood that the embodiments are illustrative in nature . other embodiments that are within the spirit and similar to those presented here will be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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in the drawings , 1 denotes the single stage of a multi - purpose tube nest heat evaporator inside which products in liquid state or of paste consistency , such as fruit juices , foodstuffs , or chemical substances , are concentrated . the evaporator 1 consists of a cylindrical jacket 2 that houses a tube nest 3 , the tubes 4 of which are arranged parallel , with axes vertically disposed , and made fast to plates 5 located one at either end of the nest . a product to be evaporated is directed into the tube next 3 , and passes through the bores of the tubes 4 ; the heat necessary for evaporation will be provided normally by steam directed into the cylindrical jacket 2 and thus brought into contact with the outer surface of the tubes 4 . the evaporator is all - purpose inasmuch as it will handle particularly viscous products such as can only be circulated by force feed , the power for which is provided by a pump 6 , as well as handling more fluid products ; in the latter instance , a product can be evaporated to advantage by being made to cascade in a free - falling film . the system incorporates an independent circuit for cascade operation ; the pump denoted 6 is by - passed , and a further pump 7 with significantly lower rated power is installed . 8 denotes the circuit supplied by the high power pump 6 , and 9 denotes the circuit supplied by the low power pump 7 . the adoption of a second , independent circuit by way of which to circulate low - viscosity fluids is justified not only by the fact that less power is needed to propel the fluid through the tube nest , but also , by virtue of the fact that the flow rate of a free - falling film is significantly low , and the fluid occupies the tubes for a much shorter period of time . in order to produce a cascading film , a baffle must be provided at the top of the tube nest 3 , immediately upstream of the relative plate 5 , so as to break up the flow of the product and distribute it evenly between the single tubes 4 making up the nest 3 . in the embodiment of fig2 a baffle 10 is installed permanently at the top of the tube nest 3 , rotatable about an axis 11 of a shaft lying at right angles both to the flow path of the fluid and to the axis of the tube nest 3 itself . the baffle 10 is embodied in a single piece including two baffle plate portions , one on each side of the axis 11 , with both plate portions lying in the same plane ( fig2 ) and functions substantially as would a butterfly valve . the baffle 10 is mounted on the axis for rotation about the axis 11 as shown in fig2 . 12 denotes a plurality of through holes in the baffle , the axes of which are either angled or perpendicular to the plane occupied by the baffle itself ; the holes are provided in number to match the number of tubes 4 making up the nest , and arranged such as to align with the tubes whenever the baffle is in the position denoted b . it will be observed that the baffle 10 can be rotated about the aforementioned axis 11 between two limit positions denoted a and b , namely a first position where the baffle plate portions lie in a plane extending generally parallel to the axis of the tubes 4 to establish a force feed flow position and a second position where the baffle plate portions extend generally perpendicular to the axis of the tubes 4 to establish the cascade flow position shown in fig2 . when in position a , the baffle 10 is disposed parallel to the flow path of a product entering the evaporator , and offers neither directional obstruction nor resistance to the flow . the position a can be considered a non - flow controlling position of the baffle 10 . the baffle will be moved into position a whenever the system is operated on force - feed , utilizing the pump denoted 6 -- i . e . for more viscous liquids . rotation through 90 ° about the axis denoted 11 will take the baffle from position a to position b , in which the baffle 10 is disposed transverse to the flow path through the evaporator and extends substantially across the jacket . in position b , the baffle 10 checks or controls the entire flow of fluid directed into the evaporator , thereby acting as a control valve , inasmuch as flow is apportioned and directed into the single tubes 4 of the nest 3 . this position b can be considered the flow controlling position of the baffle 10 . the baffle 10 will be moved into position b whenever the product in process is of a more fluid consistency , and can be cascaded in a free - falling film ; in this event , the circuit denoted 9 and its relative pump 7 will be switched in , and the remaining circuit 8 and pump 6 by - passed . the switch from force - feed operation , such as is necessary for viscous fluids , to the cascade type of operation permitted by free - flowing liquids , can be effected in markedly simple fashion ; all that is required is to shut off the high power pump 6 and by - pass the relative circuit 8 , whereupon the baffle 10 can be moved from position a to position b , and the low power pump 7 switched in . rotation of the baffle might be accomplished using conventional drive components ( illustrated at &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; in fig1 ) operatively engaged to said baffle and operated from a system control panel ; alternatively , a handwheel could be provided and operatively engaged to said baffle by means of which to position the baffle manually . where a much more viscous product is to be handled , the switch back from cascade to force - feed operation is achieved in identical fashion . needless to say , the system will be provided with valves that by - pass the one circuit 9 when the other circuit 8 is in use , and viceversa . the switch from one mode of operation to the other might also be automated by interlocking start - up and shut - off of the pumps 6 and 7 to the opening and closing movements of the valves that control the relative circuits , and to the selected position of the baffle 10 . the embodiment of fig3 features a baffle 13 constructed , not in a single piece , but in two sections or plate portions 14 hinged symmetrically to a shaft on a common axis 15 lying at right angles to the axis of the tube nest 3 . c and d denote the two baffle positions as envisaged for operation in force - feed and in cascade mode , depending on whether a product is viscous or free - flowing , respectively . in position c , the two sections 14 are folded one against the other full face , and disposed parallel with the flow path of fluid directed through the evaporator such that the baffle 12 remains inoperative or non - flow controlling , and offers little or no resistance to flow . it will be observed that in position d , the two sections 14 lie within a common plane disposed at right angles to the flow path , and positioned thus , will check or control the flow of fluid entering the evaporator , affording it an apportioned passage through the holes 12 into the tubes 4 beneath . this second embodiment of the invention permits locating the baffle 13 at a short distance from the end plate 5 of the tube nest 3 , and is especially advantageous where the tube nest 3 is of large diameter , since the distance separating the baffle 13 from the end plate 5 can be kept within acceptable limits . in addition to being hinged about the same shaft axis 15 , the two sections or plate portions 14 of the baffle 13 in a preferred embodiment will be constrained to rotate through the same angular distance in either direction when moving between positions c and d . stated otherwise , the plate portions 14 are moved between a first position where the plate portions 14 are juxtaposed adjacent each other and extend in a downstream direction in generally parallel planes extending generally parallel to the axis of the tubes 4 to establish a force feed flow position and a second position where the plate portions 14 are generally coplanar and extend in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis of the tubes 4 to establish the cascade flow position . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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the present invention provides , in a first aspect , a novel , efficient process that provides a ss - 31 salt , especially the acetic acid salt , which is convenient for the industrial scale and provides the desired product in good yields . in particular , the inventors found that ss - 31 acetate salt can be advantageously obtained with a process , in which the overall deprotection step is the n - 1 step of the process . accordingly , it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing h - d - arg - dmt - lys - phe - nh 2 of formula ( i ) as the trifluoroacetic acid salt reacting the compound ( iv ) with hydrogen and methanesulfonic acid ( v ) meso 3 h ( v ) in the presence of a catalyst to obtain the free amine salt ( vi ) meso 3 h . h - lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 : the salt ( vi ) is reacted with the protected amino acid z - dmt ( boc )- oh ( vii ) which is treated with hydrogen and methanesulfonic acid ( v ) to obtain the corresponding salt meso 3 . h - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 ( ix ): the tetrapeptide h - d - arg - dmt - lys - phe - nh 2 ( i ) is obtained by deprotection and further salt formation with trifluoroacetic acid in solvents of ( xi ). deprotection is performed by simple acidolysis of the three boc groups without use of pd catalysts which can cause the presence of pd in the final compound . the same acidolysis can be performed with other acids such as hcl or hbr , leading to the corresponding salts . this process allows obtaining the peptide as a solid which can be used in formulation as such or can be converted to any other salt if required . the purity of the crude final compound thus obtained is 97 % without any additional crystallization and can be easily improved to 99 % by selection of the appropriate crystallization mixture . in one embodiment of the process , the coupling between ( ii ) and ( iii ) is performed in the presence of n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyl - o -( benzotriazol - 1 - yl ) uranium tetrafluoroborate ( known as tbtu ) and an organic base belonging to the class of tertiary amines such as nmm , triethylamine and diisopropylamine as well as polar solvents as nmm , dmf , acetonitrile , tetrahydrofuran ( thf ), 2 - methyl - tetrahydrofuran ( 2 - me - thf ), etc . in one embodiment , the coupling between ( ii ) and ( iii ) is performed in a temperature range between 0 ° c . and 60 ° c ., preferably between 20 ° c . and 30 ° c . the hydrogenation of ( iv ) can be accomplished with various techniques such as homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation , heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation or catalytic transfer hydrogenation . in a particular embodiment , hydrogenation is performed with hydrogen gas and pd on carbon as catalyst . in another embodiment , the formation of methanesulfonic salt ( vi ) is obtained with methanesulfonic acid ( v ) in dimethylformamide as solvent and crystallized from the same solvent . other suitable solvents for crystallization are thf , ethyl acetate and acetonitrile . in another embodiment , the formation of methanesulfonic salt ( ix ) is obtained in methylene chloride as solvent and crystallized from the same solvent . other solvents for crystallization are thf , ethyl acetate and acetonitrile . in one embodiment of process the coupling reaction between compound ( vi ) and compound ( vii ) is performed in the presence of n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyl - o -( benzotriazol - 1 - yl ) uranium tetrafluoroborate ( tbtu ) and an organic base belonging to the class of tertiary amine such as nmm , triethylamine and diisopropylamine as well as polar solvents as nmm , dmf , acetonitrile , thf , 2 - me - thf , etc . in another embodiment , the hydrogenation of ( viii ) can be accomplished with various techniques as homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation , heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation or catalytic transfer hydrogenation . in a particular embodiment , the hydrogenation is performed with hydrogen gas and pd on carbon as catalyst . in another embodiment , the formation of methanesulfonic salt ( ix ) is obtained with methanesulfonic acid ( v ) in dimethylformamide as solvent and crystallized from the same solvent . other solvents for crystallization are thf , ethyl acetate and acetonitrile . in one embodiment of process the coupling reaction between compound ( ix ) and compound ( x ) is performed in the presence of n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyl - o -( benzotriazol - 1 - y ) uranium tetrafluoroborate ( known as tbtu ) and an organic base belonging to the class of tertiary amine such as nmm , triethylamine and diisopropylamine as well as polar solvents as nmm , dmf , acetonitrile , thf , 2 - me - thf , etc . in one embodiment the deprotection of ( xi ) is performed with trifluoroacetic acid and solvents . the most appropriate solvents are heptanes , ipa , etc . in one aspect of the process , the intermediates ( iv ), ( vi ), ( viii ), ( ix ) and ( xi ) are isolated and crystallized . when the intermediates are isolated , their purity exceeds 98 %. in one preferred aspect , the crystallization of intermediate ( viii ), z - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 is able to avoid the transfer of a critical impurity to the following process steps . in one preferred aspect the critical impurity is the compound ( xii ), h - d - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 . in another preferred aspect the crystallization process for the protected tetrapeptide ( xi ), boc - d - arg - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 allows to obtain the product as a solid with a purity close to 99 %. in another preferred aspect the final deprotection is performed by reaction with trifluoroacetic acid and allows to obtain the final product in crystalline solid form of trifluoroacetate salt after simple crystallization without any need of hplc purification or any freeze - drying , which are purification and isolation processes extremely expensive but commonly used in the manufacture of peptide as drug . in a preferred aspect , the process allows to obtain the peptide as a solid which can be used in formulation as such or can be easily converted in any other salt if required . the purity of the final compound thus obtained is 99 % and each impurity is approx . 0 . 2 % or below . charge 100 ml of dmf , 9 . 5 g of h - phe - nh 2 , 20 g of z - lys ( boc )- oh and 10 . 6 g of n - methylmorpholine in a flask . stir the mixture at 20 - 22 ° c . for 15 min . add 18 . 6 g of tbtu and stir the mixture at room temperature overnight . add 200 ml of methanol and 250 ml of water into the mixture and stir the mixture at room temperature for 1 h . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product . transfer the filter cake into a flask containing 200 ml of methanol . heat the mixture at refluxing for 1 h , and then cool down to room temperature . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product . dry the filter cake at 35 - 40 ° c . and under vacuum to obtain 20 . 5 g of the white solid product . charge 100 ml of dmf , 12 . 5 g of 5 % pd / c ( 60 % water content ), 10 g of z - lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 and 1 . 83 g of methanesulfonic acid into a flask . change the atmosphere of the flask with hydrogen . stir the mixture at 20 - 25 ° c . and under 1 atm hydrogen for 3 h . hplc analysis shows that all the z - lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 was converted . the resultant mixture was directly used in the next step . charge 8 . 5 g of z - dmt ( boc )- oh and 6 . 1 g of tbtu into the dmf solution of meso 3 h . h - lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 obtained in last step . stir the mixture at room temperature for 15 min . cool down the mixture to 10 - 15 ° c . add 5 . 8 g of n - methylmorpholine slowly while keeping the temperature below 20 ° c . stir the mixture at 10 - 15 ° c . for 18 h . filter the mixture to remove the pd / c catalyst and other precipitates and wash the filter cake with dmf . combine the filtrate and the washing solution and add 32 ml of methylene chloride into the filtrate . add the resultant solution into a flask containing 500 ml of water , and then stir the mixture for 20 min . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product and wash the filter cake with water three times . transfer the filter cake into a flask containing 450 ml of acetone and heat the mixture to refluxing under stirring . at refluxing and under stirring add 200 ml of hexanes and cool down the mixture to room temperature . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product . repeat the previous work - up operations . dry the resultant filter cake at 40 ° c . and under vacuum to give 12 . 4 g of the product charge 12 . 4 g of z - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 , 100 ml of dmf , 12 . 4 g of 5 % pd / c ( 60 % water content ) and 1 . 46 g of methanesulfonic acid into a flask . change the atmosphere of the flask with hydrogen . stir the mixture at 20 - 25 ° c . and under 1 atm hydrogen for 3 h . hplc analysis shows that all the z - lys ( boc )- phe - nh 2 was converted ( hplc purity 98 . 1 %). the resultant mixture is directly used in the next step . charge 8 . 5 g of boc - d - arg - oh , 8 . 84 g of tbtu and 9 . 7 g of n - methylmorpholine into the dmf mixture of h - dmt ( boc )- lys ( boc )- phe - nhe . meso 3 h at room temperature . stir the mixture at room temperature for 40 h . filter the mixture to remove the pd / c and other precipitates . add 250 ml of ethyl acetate into the filtrate . wash the organic solution with water ( 200 ml × 4 ). concentrate the organic solution at 40 - 45 ° c . and under vacuum to remove most of the solvent . add 100 ml of mtbe to the residue and stir the mixture vigorously at room temperature for 1 h . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product . transfer the filter cake into a flask containing 200 ml of ethyl acetate . heat the mixture at 50 - 55 ° c . and under stirring for 3 h , and then cool down to room temperature . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product . repeat the previous work - up operations . dry the filter cake at 40 - 45 ° c . and under vacuum to obtain 10 . 7 g of white solid product . hplc purity 98 . 2 %. charge 1 . 0 g and 10 ml tfa in a flask . stir the mixture at room temperature for 20 min . add 10 ml of ipa to the reaction mixture . add the resultant mixture slowly into a flask containing 40 ml of heptane under vigorous stirring . filter the mixture to isolate the solid product and wash the filter cake with ipa . dry the filter cake at 40 - 45 ° c . and under vacuum to obtain 0 . 5 g of solid product . analytical data : hplc purity : 96 . 6 % | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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turning to the drawings , attention is immediately directed to fig2 inasmuch as fig1 was discussed above . fig2 shows a light modulation system 10 &# 39 ; designed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . this system includes most of the components described above in conjunction with fig1 ( designated by the same reference numbers primed ) plus additional components to be described hereafter . with particular regard to the superconducting arrangement 14 &# 39 ;, as stated in the puzey patent electrical current of a certain minimum critical level can be used to switch superconducting arrangement 14 &# 39 ; from its superconducting state to the normal state . removing the electrical current allows arrangement 14 &# 39 ; to return to its superconducting state . when the current is below the critical current , the arrangement 14 &# 39 ; is in the superconducting state and the optical output 20 &# 39 ; is zero because of the 100 % reflectance . when the current is above the critical current the material is in the normal state and the optical output 20 &# 39 ; is non - zero , that is some measurable level . thus electrical current pulses can be used to amplitude modulate the light from an optical source 13 &# 39 ;. note that this modulator has the ideal extinction ratio of zero . still referring to fig2 in system 10 &# 39 ;, a plurality of fiber optic transmitters 31 and 32 are arranged to transmit light pulses in parallel to a plurality of receivers 35 and 36 through individual optical fibers 33 and 34 , see van zehgbroeck 6 !. the optical transmitters 31 and 32 may be current modulated laser diodes or leds . the receivers 35 and 36 may be msm ( metal semiconductor metal ) detectors . the electrical data from the signals are then read in parallel and serialized via a high speed shift register 16 &# 39 ;. the shift register is made from josephson junction circuitry , see martens et . al . 7 !. a light source 13 &# 39 ; is used to generate light which is then amplitude modulated by arrangement or device 14 &# 39 ; under the control of the serialized signals from the shift register 16 &# 39 ;. electrical energy is supplied to the light source 13 &# 39 ; by a power supply 15 &# 39 ;. the light source 13 &# 39 ; may be an led , laser , etc ., as is commonly known in the art . the modulating device 14 &# 39 ; will be described in more detail later . the optical pulses 20 &# 39 ; from the modulating device 14 &# 39 ; enter a frequency converting device 41 which replicates the incoming pulses 20 &# 39 ; in a different frequency of light 42 in accordance with one feature of the present invention . the frequency converting device 41 may be a parametric amplifier , parametric oscillator , nth harmonic generator , four wave mixer , frequency upconverter , etc ., some of the principles of which are described in yariv 8 ! and saleh and teich 9 !. the frequency converting device 41 should be made from material that is transparent at the wavelength of the modulated light 20 &# 39 ; and the desired wavelength of the outgoing pulses 42 , and has a high nonlinear conversion efficiency . the incoming pulses 20 &# 39 ; are preferably on the order of 14 microns so as to be compatible with superconducting device 14 &# 39 ;. the outgoing pulses 42 are on the order of about 0 . 5 to 2 microns , preferably on the order of 1 . 3 or 1 . 5 microns so as to be compatible with silica glass fibers . suitable materials for the frequency converting device 41 are gaas , zngep 2 , aggase 2 , tl 3 asse 3 , cdse , aggas 2 , ag 3 ass 3 . these new pulses 42 then enter an optical fiber 25 &# 39 ; which carries the pulses and is typically made of silica glass . the pulses 44 exiting the fiber are then received by an optical receiver 45 . by way of illustration and not limitation , the optical receiver 45 may be a high speed amorphous silicon detector or an all optical demultiplexer and a plurality of low speed detectors . such techniques have resulted in 100 gb / s receiver capability , see ronson et . al . 10 !. a dewar 22 &# 39 ; is used in accordance with another feature of the invention to thermally isolate the device 14 &# 39 ; and shift register 16 &# 39 ; from the outside room temperature . the dewar 22 &# 39 ; must be at least partially transparent to the optical energy 20 &# 39 ; or have a window that is substantially transparent to the optical energy 20 &# 39 ;. a second window could be used to direct pulses to detectors 35 and 36 in lieu of optical fibers 33 and 34 which extend into the dewar or the dewar could be entirely transparent . a cryogenic cooler 26 &# 39 ; is used to keep the temperature in the dewar below the critical temperature . the cryogenic cooler may be a sterling cycle refrigerator , gifford - mcmahon refrigerator , tank of liquid nitrogen , etc . fig3 a - 3h show an embodiment of the superconducting arrangement 14 &# 39 ;. the modulator 14 &# 39 ; is made by depositing a thin superconducting layer 50 on a transparent or partially transparent substrate 49 such as silicon or diamond 11 !. a film thickness of 480 angstroms transmits 6 % of the incident light 3 !. the critical current of the film depends on the product of the width , thickness , and critical current density . for a 480 angstrom thick layer with a 100 micron bridge width and a critical current density of 10 , 000 amps per square centimeter the critical current would be 480 micro amps . this switch current would lead to dissipative heating of about 96 nw for the same bridge 100 microns long with a normal resistivity of 200 micro ohms per centimeter . the switching speed of the film is limited by abrikosov vortices nucleation . the modulation speed is given by 12 !. where t s - n is the superconducting to normal switching time , t d is the order parameter relaxation time , w is the bridge width , ω is the depairing ratio , l c is the critical current , l is the switching current . kozyrev estimates t s - n to be on the order of a picosecond for a 70 micron bridge . the fwhm spectral width of a transform limited pulse is the reciprocal of the fwhm temporal width . for a pulse width of about a ps this gives a spectral width of a nanometer or so . still referring to fig3 a - 3h , substrate 49 which is at least partially transparent to the optical pulses 20 &# 39 ; is used to support the thin film of superconducting material 50 which is h shaped so as to include legs 50a and a bridge 50b . at the same time , segments 49a of substrate 49 remain exposed in fig3 c . a dielectric layer 51 is used to electrically isolate the superconducting layer 50 from a reflective layer 52 which covers segments 49a along with most of layer 51 as best seen in fig3 g and 3h . a conducting layer 53 which is elongated in configuration is placed over and in direct contact with each leg 50a of material 50 and is used to provide electrical contact to the device 14 &# 39 ;. the substrate 49 may be made from mgo , silicon , diamond , etc . the superconducting layer 50 may be made from niobium , yttrium , thallium , or mercury based superconductors . preferably the superconducting layer 50 is made from a superconducting material with a high critical temperature , low normal resistivity , and low critical current density . the dielectric layer 51 may be composed of silicon dioxide , spin on glass , polyimide , etc . the reflective layer 52 is composed of a material that reflects optical energy 20 &# 39 ; such as gold , copper , silver , metal , good conductors , etc . the reflective layer 52 prevents light from &# 34 ; leaking &# 34 ; around the superconducting bridge 50b . the conducting layers 53 are used to make a good electrical contact between the shift register 16 &# 39 ; and the superconducting layer 50 via leads 54 . the conducting layer 53 may be the same material used for the reflecting layer 52 . the conducting layer 53 should have low electrical resistance and be substantially unreactive . gold is a suitable material for both the reflecting layer 52 and conducting layer 53 . superconducting material only superconducts when the temperature of the material is below a certain temperature ( called the critical temperature ) and the magnetic field passing through the material is below a certain value ( called the critical magnetic field ) and the electrical current density passing through the material is below a certain value ( called the critical current density ). raising any of these three parameters above the critical value causes the superconductor to enter a non - superconducting state . in the superconducting state the superconducting material 50 is very conductive and thus highly reflective . electromagnetic energy is reflected in this state . in the non - superconducting state the superconducting material 50 has properties similar to a semiconductor . fig2 which has been described , illustrates the use of the critical current density to control device 14 &# 39 ;. fig2 a and 2b illustrate the use of a critical magnetic field and a critical temperature respectively to control the superconducting device 14 &# 39 ;. referring to fig2 a , element 56 is a magnetic coil which is placed in proximity to device 14 &# 39 ;. this magnetic coil 56 when provided with electrical current from shift register 16 via leads 54 raises the magnetic field above the critical magnetic field of material 50 causing it to enter a non - superconducting state . removal of the current from shift register 16 allows the material 50 to re - enter a superconducting state . similarly referring to fig2 b , element 57 is a resistor or other heating element placed in close proximity to device 14 &# 39 ;. this resistor 57 heats the material 50 above its critical temperature when provided with electrical current from shift register 16 via leads 54 . removal of the current from shift register 16 allows the material 50 to re - enter its superconducting state . in the non - superconducting state electromagnetic energy can be transmitted through the material 50 . in the superconducting state material 50 substantially blocks transmission . thus by placing the superconducting layer 50 in the path of the light from the light source 13 &# 39 ; the superconducting layer 50 can be used to control the transmission or reflection of light under the influence of the electrical signals from the shift register 16 &# 39 ;. recall that light is an electromagnetic wave . an alternative embodiment of the modulating device 14 &# 39 ; is shown in fig4 a - 4h . a substrate 49 &# 39 ; that is substantially opaque to the optical energy 20 &# 39 ; is used to support h shaped superconducting layer 50 . substrate 49 &# 39 ; may be either highly reflective or absorptive . the substrate 49 &# 39 ; may be made from sapphire , lanthanum aluminate , gallium arsenide , or the like . the superconducting material may be any superconducting compound such as the niobium , yttrium , thallium or mercury based superconductors . an area 49c of the substrate under the bridge 50b of superconducting material 50 is at least partially removed to allow optical energy 20 &# 39 ; to be transmitted through this area 49c . the substrate material may be removed by ion milling , chemical etching , drilling , etc . a conducting layer 53 is used to provide a low resistance electrical contact between the legs 50a of superconducting layer 50 and the shift register 16 &# 39 ; as before . returning to fig2 the addition of the frequency converting device 41 allows the present system to overcome the problem of large attenuation described above . a parametric amplifier as device 41 can be used to take the high speed pulses 20 &# 39 ; at 14 microns and convert them to high speed pulses 42 at a wavelength with lower attenuation and dispersion characteristics ( such as 1 . 3 microns or 1 . 55 microns ). parametric amplifiers are capable of reproducing even femtosecond pulses . other devices may be used to perform this frequency conversion as mentioned earlier . using the fiber optic arrangement ( 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ) to communicate signals to be multiplexed reduces heat loss as glass does not conduct as much heat into the dewar as copper electrical wires would . in addition , the fiber optic arrangement has better bandwidth , lower crosstalk , and avoids ground - level feed through . an alternative embodiment that eliminates the optical fibers 33 and 34 is also advantageous . a free space optical communication link is established through the transparent dewar ( or a transparent window of the dewar ). this eliminates heat loss because there is no physical link to carry heat into the dewar . a vertical cavity surface emitting laser ( vcsel ) array and charged coupled device ( ccd ) array would be especially desirable in this type of arrangement . returning to fig3 a - 3h and 4a - 4h the &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; configuration of the superconducting layer 50 provides several advantages . the two legs 50a of the h shape allow for low resistance electrical contact with the shift register 16 &# 39 ;. the narrower bridge 50b part of the h allows this part of the superconducting layer to switch faster . the switching speed is linearly related to the width of the bridge as shown by equation { 4 }. in addition , the narrower bridge reduces the amount of current required to switch the switch to its partially transparent non - superconducting state . this reduces the dissipative heating in the switch . a more detailed explanation of the current flow through the modulating device 14 &# 39 ; is given below . the following dimensions concern the superconducting layer 50 . t1 is the thickness of the superconducting thin film in the first contact segment 50a . t2 is the thickness of the superconducting thin film in the light impinging segment 50b . t3 is the thickness of the superconducting thin film in the second contact segment 50a . a good conductor ( such as gold ) is deposited on the surface of the first and second contact segments 50a . the layer of gold should at least partially cover the surface area of the superconductor defined by ( w1 × l1 ) for the first contact segment and ( w3 × l3 ) for the second contact segment . this provides a low resistance contact to the superconducting layer . the critical current density j is defined by the electrical current l flowing through a cross sectional area ( w1 × l1 ) a initially the current flows substantially vertically through the area defined by the gold - superconductor contact . then the current travels substantially in a horizontal direction through a cross section of area ( w1 × t1 ). the current then enters the light impinging segment 50b . in at least one embodiment the width w2 of the cross sectional area of the light impinging segment 50b is substantially smaller than the width w1 of the contact segment 50a and the thickness of the films are the same ( t1 = t2 ). thus the cross sectional area a in the light impinging segment 50b ( w2 × t2 ) is smaller and since l is conserved j increases . this increase in j is due to the restriction of the cross sectional area and causes the light impinging segment to enter its non - superconducting state at a lower electrical current than the contact segments . the electrical current then moves into the second contact segment traveling substantially in a horizontal direction through a cross sectional area ( w3 × t3 ). the current then moves substantially in a vertical direction into the gold through the area where the gold and superconductor are in contact . this area at least partially covers ( w3 × l3 ). in addition , the present system is compatible with wave division multiplexing ( wdm ) and soliton transmission . another alternative embodiment of the present invention uses different shapes in the light impinging section of layer 50 to allow for discrete regions to switch . an example of this is shown in fig5 which illustrates a modified h shaped configuration 50 &# 39 ;. here the legs of the h shape 50a &# 39 ; serve as contact areas in the same manner as legs 50a . the bridge 50b &# 39 ; is divided into discrete sections 1 , 2 and 3 , as shown . this allows amplitude shift keying ( ask ). ask allows a single pulse to carry multiple bits of information . by way of illustration and not limitation , when the electrical current passing through the superconducting layer is low , the light output is zero and this can be used to represent the bit string &# 34 ; 00 &# 34 ;. notice that section 1 has the most restricted width and therefore constricts the electrical current to a smaller cross sectional area increasing the critical current density in this region for a given amount of electrical current . the current can then be raised to a level just high enough to cause section 1 ( but not the other sections ) to enter its non - superconducting state , allowing only the light impinging section 1 to pass light . this small amount of light could be used to represent the bit string &# 34 ; 01 &# 34 ;. an even higher current could cause section 2 and section 1 to enter its non - superconducting state . then only light impinging section 1 and 2 would pass light . this greater amount of light could be used to represent the binary string &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ;. finally an even greater current could be used to cause section 3 to enter its non - superconducting state , preferably this current is not high enough to cause section 50a &# 39 ; ( the contact section ) to switch . light would then pass through sections 1 , 2 , and 3 which could be used to represent the binary string &# 34 ; 11 &# 34 ;. thus current pulses with different magnitude can be used to create light pulses with different magnitude . yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention uses different shapes in the light impinging segment to allow for continuous regions to switch , examples of which are shown in fig6 a and 6b . this allows analog control of the light amplitude sent . it can be seen from fig6 a and 6b that the amount of area in section b that is in its non - superconducting state increases with an increase in the current passing through the superconducting layer . thus the amount of light allowed to pass through the superconducting layer is proportional to the current passing through the superconducting layer and can be varied in a continuous or analog manner . 1 . collins , r . t . et . al . &# 34 ; infrared studies of the normal and superconducting states of yba 2 cu 3 o 7 - x .&# 34 ; ibm journal of res .& amp ; dev . vol . 33 , no . 3 , may 1989 , pgs 238 - 244 . 2 . schlesinger , z et . al . &# 34 ; infrared studies of the superconducting energy gap and normal - state dynamics of the high - t c superconductor yba 2 cu 3 o 7 .&# 34 ; physical review b , vol . 41 , no . 16 , jun . 1 , 1990 , pgs 11237 - 11259 . 3 . tanner , d . b . &# 34 ; far - infrared transmittance and reflectance studies of oriented yba 2 cu 3 o 7 .&# 34 ; physical review b , vol . 43 , no . 13 , may 1 , 1991 , pgs 10383 - 10389 . 4 . mattis , d . c ., bardeen j . phys rev 111 , 412 ( 1958 ). 5 . lines , m . e ., nassau k . &# 34 ; calculations of scattering loss and dispersion related parameters for ultralow - loss optical fibers .&# 34 ; optical engineering vol . 25 no . 4 , april 1986 , pgs 602 - 607 . 6 . van zoeghbroeck , b . &# 34 ; optical data communication between josephson - junction circuits and room - temperature electronics .&# 34 ; ieee transactions on applied superconductivity , vol . 3 , no . 1 , march 1993 , pgs 2881 - 2884 . 7 . martens , jon s . et . al . &# 34 ; high - temperature superconducting shift registers operating at up to 100 ghz .&# 34 ; ieee journal of solid state circuits , vol . 29 , no . 1 , january 1994 , pgs 56 - 62 . 8 . yariv , a . optical electronics , 4th edition , chapter 8 , hrw press 1991 . 10 . ronson , k . et . al . &# 34 ; self - timed integrated - optical serial - to - parallel converter for 100 gbit / s time demultiplexing .&# 34 ;, ieee photonics technology letters , vol . 6 no . 10 , october 1994 , pgs 1228 - 1231 . 11 . harshavardhan , k . s . &# 34 ; high t c thin films deposited by pld onto technologically important substrates .&# 34 ; aip conference proceedings 288 new york , aip press , 1994 , pgs 607 - 612 . 12 . kozyrev , a . b . &# 34 ; fast current s - n switching in yba 2 cu 3 o 7 - x films and it &# 39 ; s application to an amplitude modulation of microwave signal .&# 34 ; sverkhprovodimost april 1993 , pgs 655 - 667 . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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[ 0029 ] fig1 is an illustration of an exemplary validation character string verification system in accordance with the present invention . a validation character string verification system 10 includes a printer controller 12 operatively coupled to a print head 14 and a voucher scanning device 24 . the printer controller uses the print head to print a voucher 18 including a validation character string 22 . as the voucher is being printed , the printer controller uses the voucher scanning device to scan the previously printed validation character string . if the printer controller determines that the scanned validation character string has an error , then the printer controller voids or retrieves the voucher . in slightly more detail , the printer controller transmits print head control signals 16 to the print head . the print head control signals include voucher printing instructions for generation of the voucher by the print head . the print head uses the voucher printer instructions to print the voucher including a barcode 20 and the validation character string . in one embodiment of a voucher in accordance with the present invention , the barcode is an encoded validation character string . in another embodiment of a voucher in accordance with the present invention , the barcode is an encoded cashout value for the voucher and the validation character string is a separate character string or number used to validate the voucher . the voucher scanning device scans the voucher as the voucher is being printed by the print head . in one embodiment of a voucher scanning device in accordance with the present invention , the voucher scanning device is a charged - coupled device ( ccd ) optical scanner . the voucher scanning device transmits voucher scan signals 26 to the printer controller . in one embodiment of a voucher scanning device , the voucher scan signals are unprocessed and the printer controller uses an optical character recognition ( ocr ) process to generate a scanned validation character string from the voucher scan signals . in another embodiment , the voucher scanning device includes an ocr process and the voucher scan signals include the recognized characters of the scanned validation character string . in one embodiment of a validation character string verification system in accordance with the present invention , a gmib 28 is operably coupled to the printer controller . the printer controller receives printer control instructions 30 from the gmib . the printer control instructions include the validation character string to be printed by the printer controller on the voucher . the printer controller generates voucher verification signals 32 indicating whether or not the voucher has been verified . the printer controller transmits the voucher verification signals to the gmib . the gmib uses the voucher verification signals to determine if the voucher was correctly printed . [ 0034 ] fig2 is an illustration of an exemplary voucher in accordance with the present invention . validation character strings may appear in a plurality of locations on a voucher and in a plurality of orientations . in one embodiment of a voucher , a validation character string 22 is printed near and substantially parallel to a leading edge 200 of the voucher . in another embodiment of a voucher , a validation character string 202 is located near and substantially parallel to a barcode 20 . in another embodiment of a voucher , the voucher includes a single validation character string in a plurality of locations and a plurality of orientations . the validation character string may be any sequence of human readable characters . in one embodiment of a validation character string , the validation character string includes numeric characters with interspersed spaces and dashes . in another embodiment of a validation character string , the validation character string includes alphanumeric characters . [ 0036 ] fig3 is an illustration of an exemplary gaming printer including an exemplary validation character string verification system in accordance with the present invention . a gaming printer 300 includes a printing mechanism 301 . the printing mechanism includes a print head 14 for printing vouchers and a voucher scanning device 24 for scanning a validation character string . in one embodiment of a validation character string verification system , the print head and voucher scanning device are physically located such that the voucher scanning device can scan the voucher for the validation character string and a printer controller can finish a verification process of the validation character string before the print head has finished printing the voucher . in another embodiment of a validation character string verification system , the printer can invalidate the voucher before the voucher leaves the printer mechanism . in another embodiment of a validation character string verification system , the printer can retrieve a voucher so that a player cannot obtain the voucher if the voucher fails the verification process . [ 0037 ] fig4 is an illustration of an exemplary gaming printer incorporated into an exemplary gaming machine management system in accordance with the present invention . a gaming machine management system 400 , such as a slot machine management system , is operably coupled to a plurality of gaming machines 402 , 404 , by a communications network 405 adapted for communications using a variety of protocols . the gaming machine management system is further operably coupled to a cashier &# 39 ; s terminal 408 . in operation , a player 412 plays the gaming machine and requests a cashout voucher ( not shown ). the gaming machine uses a gaming printer 300 to print a cashout voucher including a validation character string . the player takes the voucher to a cashier 414 . the cashier uses the cashier terminal to enter the validation character sting included in the voucher into the gaming machine management system . the gaming machine management system validates the voucher for the cashier . if the gaming machine management system validates the voucher using the validation character string , the cashier pays the player the cashout value of the voucher . in one embodiment of a gaming machine management system , the gaming machine management system is operably coupled to a gaming machine via a gmib 28 . the gmib receives gaming machine management system signals transmitted by the gaming machine management system for management of the functions of a gaming machine . additionally , the gmib transmits gaming machine status signals to the gaming machine management system . for example , the gmib receives voucher verification signals generated by the previously described voucher verification process as implemented within the gaming printer . if a voucher fails the verification process , the validation character string is transmitted to the gaming machine management system for further processing such as alerting casino personnel . in one embodiment of a gaming machine management system , the validation character string represents an account identifier generated by the gaming machine management system for cashout transactions . the validation character string is associated with an account wherein a monetary amount equal to the value of a voucher &# 39 ; s cashout value is stored . in this embodiment , the validation character string is used by the cashier to access the account for a transaction such as cashing the voucher for a player . additionally , the player may use the voucher in another gaming machine &# 39 ; s bill acceptor 410 . when the voucher is cashed by the player , or the voucher is used in another gaming machine &# 39 ; s bill acceptor 416 , the voucher account is emptied and deleted by the gaming machine management system . [ 0040 ] fig5 is a process flow diagram of a validation character string verification process in accordance with the present invention . a printer controller receives 500 a validation character string . the printer controller prints 502 a voucher including the received validation character string . the printer controller does so by using the received validation character string to generate print head control signals . the printer controller transmits the print head control signals to a print head . the print head receives the print head control signals and uses them to print a voucher including the validation character string . the printer controller scans 504 the voucher for a scanned validation character string as the print head is printing the voucher . the printer controller scans the voucher using a voucher scanning device . the voucher scanning device generates voucher scan signals including the scanned validation character string by scanning the voucher as the voucher is being printed . the printer controller receives the voucher scan signals including the scanned validation character string . in one embodiment of a validation character string verification process , the printer controller generates a scanned validation character string using the voucher scan signals in an ocr process . in another embodiment of a validation character string verification process , the voucher scan signals include a scanned validation character string generated in an ocr process by the voucher scanning device . the printer controller compares the scanned validation character string and the received validation character string to verify 506 the scanned validation character string . if the verification process fails , the printer controller voids 508 the voucher . in an embodiment of a validation character string verification process , the printer controller receives the validation character string to be printed from a gmib . in another embodiment of a validation character string verification process , the printer controller receives the validation character string to be printed from a gaming machine management system . although this invention has been described in certain specific embodiments , many additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is therefore to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . thus , the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention to be determined by any claims supported by this application and the claims &# 39 ; equivalents rather than the foregoing description . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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referring now to the drawings and with particular reference to fig2 , an exemplary permanent magnet assembly constructed using the temperature rise technique disclosed is referred to as reference numeral 10 . it is to be understood that the teachings of the disclosure can be used to construct permanent magnet assemblies above and beyond that specifically disclosed below . one of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the following are only exemplary embodiments and methods . as shown in fig2 , a permanent magnet assembly 10 formed in accordance with the method of the disclosure may include a permanent magnet 12 soldered to a surface of a metal 14 , for example , copper , iron , steel , or the like . the permanent magnet 12 may be made of metal alloys , for example , neodymium - iron - boron ( ndfeb ), samarium - cobalt ( smco ), aluminum - nickel - cobalt ( alnico ), or the like . although soldering is the most effective for more delicate , in - vacuum applications exposed to high levels of radiation , the process of melting the solder adversely affects the magnetic properties of a permanent magnet 12 . more specifically , soldering involves heating the solder and the assembly 10 to at least the solder melting point , which may significantly distort or demagnetize a typical permanent magnet 12 . in order to avoid demagnetization , it may be necessary to raise the demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet 12 by arranging ferromagnetic material around the magnet 12 . more specifically , the magnetic field generated by the ferromagnetic arrangement decreases the demagnetization forces within the permanent magnet 12 . as a result , the demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet 12 is increased for as long as the ferromagnetic materials surround the permanent magnet 12 . once the increased demagnetization temperature is greater than the solder melting point , solder may be successfully applied without affecting the magnetic properties of the permanent magnet 12 . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , an exemplary arrangement 20 of ferromagnetic material , or steel , may be provided around the permanent magnet 12 of fig2 . the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 may include a top section 22 , a side section 24 and a bottom section 26 separately sized so as to evenly hold a permanent magnet 12 therebetween . more specifically , the height of the side section 24 may preferably be the same height as the permanent magnet 12 , as shown in the side view of fig3 b . although the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 may be sized differently than shown , the top and bottom sections 22 , 26 are preferably large enough to fully cover the respective surfaces of the permanent magnet 12 . furthermore , the arrangement 20 and the permanent magnet 12 may be held together using clamps , screws , bolts , adhesives , or the like . turning to fig4 , an alternative arrangement 20 a is provided to receive the permanent magnet 12 of fig2 . as in the previous embodiment , the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 a may also include a top section 22 a , a side section 24 a and a bottom section 26 a . however , the sections may be formed from one body and not separable bodies . accordingly , the permanent magnet 12 may be inserted into a slot formed by the top and bottom sections 22 a , 26 a . in contrast to other embodiments , clamps or other means for holding the arrangement 20 a and the magnet 12 together may be omitted . as shown in fig5 , yet another arrangement 20 b is provided to receive the permanent magnet 12 of fig2 . as with previous embodiments , the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 b may include a top section 22 b , a side section 24 b and a bottom section 26 b . however , the arrangement 20 b may comprise only two separable bodies . the top section 22 b may comprise one body while the side and bottom sections 24 b , 26 b may form another body . as with the embodiment of fig3 a and 3b , the arrangement 20 b may be held together using clamps , screws , bolts , adhesives , or the like . referring now to fig6 a and 6b , simulated models further describe the positive effects of arranging ferromagnetic material 20 c , such as steel , around a permanent magnet 12 c . the exemplary model of the permanent magnet 12 c is 1 . 00 in . long , 0 . 50 in . wide and 0 . 25 in . thick but other dimensions are certainly possible . the magnet 12 c was further modeled assuming a n40sh grade ndfeb metal alloy having a residual induction of br = 12 . 6 kgs . alternatively , the models may use permanent magnets of other shapes , sizes and grade . as shown by the resulting field lines of fig6 a , the magnetic field within the permanent magnet 12 c is unevenly distributed . moreover , simulated data indicates the region with minimum field line density is approximately 3 . 880 kgs at the center of the magnet 12 c . using the maximum energy product , 41 × 10 6 g · oe , of the n40sh alloy from the table of fig1 a , the minimum field line density can be converted to a demagnetizing force of 10 . 5 koe at the center location . to estimate the demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet 12 c , the relationships of fig1 b and 1c may be employed . as the minimum magnetic field corresponds to the knees k 3 - k 6 of the demagnetization curves b 3 - b 6 , it is possible to estimate the demagnetization temperature using the minimum magnetic field density provided . for example , in fig1 b , a minimum magnetic field density of 3 . 880 kgs comes closest to the knee k 4 of curve b 4 . as curve b 4 corresponds to magnetic characteristics at 120 ° c ., the estimated demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet 12 c is approximately 120 ° c . alternatively , it is possible to determine a more precise and direct estimate by using the graph of fig1 c . using this linear relationship , the demagnetization temperature of the n40sh magnet is approximately 128 ° c . at a minimum magnetic field density of 3 . 880 kgs . in any case , the demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet 12 c is too low for use with a solder having a melting point of at least 180 ° c . in the simulated model of fig6 b , an exemplary ferromagnetic arrangement 20 c is provided around the permanent magnet 12 c of fig6 a . as with the embodiment of fig3 a and 3b , the arrangement 20 c includes three separable steel bodies having , for example , a top section 22 c , a side section 24 c and a bottom section 26 c . the arrangement 20 c is sized and positioned so as to evenly receive the permanent magnet 12 c therebetween . as the theoretical magnetic field lines indicate , the magnetic field inside the magnet 12 c is very uniform . more specifically , simulated data further indicates a consistent magnetic field density of no less than 11 . 2 kgs within the magnet 12 c , which corresponds to no more than 1 koe of demagnetizing force throughout the magnet 12 c . using the demagnetization curves b 1 - b 6 as with the first model , a minimum magnetic field density of 1 koe corresponds to at least 200 ° c . additionally , using the relationship of fig1 c , a minimum magnetic field density of 1 koe corresponds to approximately 217 ° c ., which is now much higher than the solder melting point . upon comparing the theoretical models of fig6 a and 6b , it can be seen that an arrangement of ferromagnetic material is expected to increase the demagnetization temperature of a permanent magnet to allow for soldering . as shown in the above models , the ferromagnetic arrangements disclosed herein may be used to raise the demagnetization temperatures of permanent magnets for applications involving relatively high levels of heat . in general , if a process exposes a permanent magnet to temperatures close to or exceeding its maximum operating temperature , then ferromagnetic material may be removably arranged on the magnet for the duration of that process to prevent demagnetization . once the process involving high levels of heat are complete , the ferromagnetic arrangement may be removed from the permanent magnet to restore it to its initial state . as the process of soldering also involves such high levels of heat , a specific method for raising a demagnetization temperature of a permanent magnet for soldering to a metal may include the following . to increase the demagnetization temperature of the magnet before soldering , ferromagnetic material may be removably arranged on the surface of the permanent magnet . preferably , the ferromagnetic arrangement may cover a majority of the magnet while leaving at least one side or surface to be soldered , uncovered . the metal to be soldered may be positioned in close proximity to the uncovered magnet surface , and solder may be positioned between the metal and the magnet . at this point , the demagnetization temperature of the permanent magnet may be higher than the melting point of the solder . subsequently , the solder and the assembly may be baked to a temperature that is greater than the solder melting point but less than the altered demagnetization temperature so as to melt the solder without affecting the magnetic properties of the magnet . once baking is complete , the ferromagnetic arrangement may be removed from the permanent magnet assembly to restore the magnet to its initial state . turning now to fig7 a , an exemplary permanent magnet assembly 10 d was soldered using the method previously described . as in the embodiment of fig2 , the assembly 10 d includes a permanent magnet 12 d soldered to a surface of a metal 14 d . in the depicted embodiment the permanent magnet 12 d is 1 . 00 in . long , 0 . 50 in . wide and 0 . 25 in . thick and is made of the n40sh grade ndfeb metal alloy , but in other embodiments , other dimensions and materials are possible . moreover , the permanent magnet 12 d is magnetized over its width and height resulting in tested demagnetization temperatures of 129 ° c . and 145 ° c ., respectively . the metal 14 d is a copper base that is 2 . 00 in . long , 0 . 25 in . wide and 0 . 25 in . thick and is soldered to the permanent magnet 12 d using a 63 / 37 tin - lead alloy solder wire having a melting point of 183 ° c . as the solder melting point is much higher than both demagnetization temperatures of the permanent magnet 12 d , conventional methods of soldering would surely demagnetize the magnet 12 d . in order to temporarily raise the demagnetization temperatures of the permanent magnet 12 d for the duration of soldering , the exemplary ferromagnetic arrangement 20 d of fig7 b and 7c may be employed . the arrangement 20 d includes three separable steel plates or bodies for covering the permanent magnet 12 d as in the previous embodiments of fig3 a , 3 b and 6 b . the closed arrangement 20 d of fig7 b shows a top section 22 d , a side section 24 d and a bottom section 26 d . in the open arrangement 20 d of fig7 c , the top section 22 d ( not shown ) was removed to show the side section 24 d and the bottom section 26 d with the permanent magnet 12 d positioned thereon . as shown in the embodiments of fig7 b and 7c , the copper base 14 d is positioned in close proximity to an exposed surface of the magnet 12 d , while a flattened solder wire ( not shown ) is positioned between the permanent magnet 12 d and the metal 14 d . the completed arrangement 20 d is held together with clamps , screws , bolts , adhesives , or the like so as to minimize any gaps within the arrangement 20 d and the magnet 12 d . according to the theoretical models of fig6 a and 6b and assuming that the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 d will increase the demagnetization temperatures of the magnet 12 d to at least 217 ° c ., well over the solder melting point , the completed arrangement 20 d is inserted into an oven . the baking temperature is preferably set to a temperature that is lower than the expected demagnetization temperature of 217 ° c ., but greater than the soldering melting point of 183 ° c . accordingly , the completed arrangement 20 d was baked at 195 ° c . for 2 hours then removed from the oven to cool . subsequently , the ferromagnetic arrangement 20 d was removed from the permanent magnet 12 d to provide the permanent magnet assembly 10 d of fig7 a . the finished exemplary permanent magnet assembly 10 d was tested for significant changes to its magnetic properties . using helmholtz coils , the change in magnetic moment over the width was determined to be − 1 . 39 ± 0 . 02 %, while the change in magnetic moment over the height was − 0 . 05 ± 0 . 02 %. in accordance with the theoretical models of fig6 a and 6b , the changes in the magnetic properties of the permanent magnet 12 d before and after soldering were very minimal and tolerable . furthermore , the soldered layer between the permanent magnet 12 d and the copper base 14 d was tested for thickness and mechanical strength . in terms of thickness , the soldered layer was measured to be approximately 1 / 1000 of an inch , which is quite satisfactory . the strength of the soldered layer was tested by applying a load to the permanent magnet 12 d while holding the assembly 10 d only by the copper base 14 d . theoretically , the maximum load that a comparative permanent magnet may hold by pure magnetic force is calculated to be no more than 70n . however , experimental results determined that the permanent magnet 12 d was able to hold a 760n load without breaking the soldered layer . a 760n load further implies a tensile stress of approximately 9 . 4 mpa . typical tin - lead alloy solder have a tensile strength of 54 mpa . therefore , in terms of mechanical strength , the soldered layer satisfies any reasonable magnetic assembly requirements . based on the foregoing , it can be seen that the present disclosure provides a method for raising a demagnetization temperature of a permanent magnet , at least temporarily , for specific high temperature processes such as soldering . the demagnetization temperatures of permanent magnets can be increased by arranging ferromagnetic material around the magnet . in this way , permanent magnets may be used in processes involving high levels of heat without risking demagnetization . while only certain embodiments have been set forth , alternatives and modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art . these and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 - 4 illustrate an embodiment of an eluting coil 10 having a resilient elongate element 12 shown in a relaxed coiled configuration with approximately 7 revolutions . the resilient elongate element has an inside surface 14 and an outside surface 16 with the outside surface 16 in contact with the inside surface 14 in an overlapped portion over approximately 6 revolutions of circumferential overlap ( about 2160 degrees ). some embodiments of eluting coils may have overlapped portions with an angular overlap of about 300 degrees to about 2160 degrees . the resilient elongate element 12 has a transverse cross section with a substantially flattened configuration producing a ribbon - like configuration for the resilient elongate element 12 . the resilient elongate element also has a tissue penetrating point or tip 18 disposed at a distal end 20 of the resilient elongate element 12 . the resilient elongate element 12 also has a wedge shaped recess 22 disposed at a proximal end 24 of the resilient elongate element 12 . the relaxed coiled configuration of the eluting coil 10 includes a void or hole in the center thereof which may be disposed about target tissue of a patient upon deployment . such tissue is mechanically captured by the deployed eluting coil 10 which may prevent movement or migration of the eluting coil 10 once it has been deployed . the eluting coil 10 may be delivered to a target site in a patient &# 39 ; s body ( not shown ) by methods disclosed in the incorporated application u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 386 , 260 , filed mar . 10 , 2003 , by john l . wardle , titled “ surgical coils and methods of deploying ” (&# 39 ; 260 application ). fig2 - 30 and the accompanying description of the &# 39 ; 260 application describe embodiments of a delivery device having a delivery member or sheath that may be used to deploy the eluting coil 10 to a target site within a patient &# 39 ; s body . other embodiments of the &# 39 ; 260 application may also be used . the resilient material of the resilient elongate element 12 is configured to resist deformation from the relaxed coiled configuration shown in fig1 and 2 and spring back to the relaxed coiled configuration when released from a restrained configuration , such as a straightened configuration , as shown in fig3 . the resilient elongate element 12 of eluting coil 10 and all eluting coil embodiments discussed herein may be made from a variety of materials including those that exhibit either great elasticity or shape memory properties . suitable materials for fabrication include but are not limited to nickel titanium alloys ( nitinol ), stainless steel , elgiloy , mp35n or other high strength biocompatible materials . in addition to these materials eluting coils can be made from absorbable materials such as magnesium alloy which besides being absorbable has the added advantage that it does not interfere with magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ). fig2 illustrates the geometry of some embodiments of eluting coils where a first surface of each circumferential overlap , or portion thereof , is in direct contact with a second surface of its neighboring overlap or portion of the resilient elongate element 12 . direct contact of the overlapping surfaces 14 and 16 ensures that there is no unintended free space between contacting surfaces 14 and 16 . in some embodiments , the resilient elongate element 12 has a pre - stress with a constant curvature r along a length of the resilient elongate element 12 . when the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 10 is ejected from a delivery device in a restrained non - coiled configuration , such as a straightened or substantially straightened configuration , the resilient elongate element will tend to spring back to the coiled configuration of the relaxed state of the resilient elongate element 12 . in the relaxed coiled configuration , all layers of overlap tend to assume an unstressed state of constant radius of curvature r . as the resilient elongate element is deployed from a distal end of a delivery sheath or member , the distal end 20 begins to curl and assume a relaxed configuration . when the distal end 20 and the first revolution of the coil 10 enter a target site , the coil will be able to assume an unstressed state and assume a radial position r as subsequent layers of circumferential overlap are ejected from the delivery device the resilient elongate element 12 coils upon itself . the first overlap layer 26 will assume radius at rest of r + t and the sixth layer 28 will have a resulting radius of r + 6t . the result is that as all layers are not allowed to assume the fully unstressed state of radius r . as such , compression forces , expansion forces or both cause the adjacent overlap layers of the resilient elongate element 12 to contact one another . the surfaces 14 and 16 may be configured so as to provide a three dimensional drug eluting surface or reservoir , the modification could be as simple as a bead blast texture or more sophisticated techniques can be used as described in the following embodiments . fig3 - 4 illustrate an embodiment of resilient elongate element 12 of eluting coil 10 in a non - coiled restrained state with a straightened configuration . the elongate element 12 is shown with the distal end 20 extended opposite the proximal end 24 . a plurality of axially consecutive longitudinal dissolvable agent reservoirs 30 and channels 32 are cut into the outside surface 16 elongate element 12 . the reservoirs 30 and channels 32 are shown covering a substantial portion of outer surface 16 , but any suitable portion of outer surface 16 or inner surface 14 could be used for such reservoirs 30 or channels 32 . when the resilient elongate element 12 shown in fig3 and 4 is allowed to assume a relaxed coiled configuration , the reservoirs 30 and channels 32 cut into the outer surface 16 are pressed against the inner surface 14 such that the reservoirs 30 are sealed from an outside portion of the eluting coil 10 and a top portion of the channels are sealed to form a conduit in fluid communication between the respective reservoirs 30 and outside portion of the eluting coil 10 . as shown in more detail in fig4 , the channels 32 may extend across a plurality of reservoirs 30 to a lateral edge 34 of the resilient elongate element 12 . for some embodiments of eluting coils 10 , some of the reservoirs or dissolvable agent depots 30 may be exposed when the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 10 is in a coiled configuration in a relaxed state . the exposure of such reservoirs 30 allows for initial delivery of a high dose of agent over a short period upon initial deployment of the eluting coil 10 . the non - exposed or encapsulated reservoirs 30 will deliver agent from a dissolvable matrix over a course of time determined by the transverse cross section of the channels or conduits 32 and capacity of reservoirs 30 . eluting coils 10 may be configured to be delivered to a target site in a patient &# 39 ; s body with a wide range of agents , such as bioactive agents including drugs , antibiotic agents , growth factors , anti - inflammatory agents and the like disposed in a dissolvable matrix within reservoirs 30 , channels 32 or both . dissolvable matrix components may include , but are not limited to , lipid materials , gelatins and the like . fig4 shows a dissolvable agent reservoir 30 with a dissolvable agent 36 disposed therein . generally , some or all of the reservoirs 30 may have some dissolvable agent 36 disposed within them prior to deployment of the eluting coil 10 . when the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 10 is ejected from the delivery device the overlapping surfaces will encapsulate and contain the reservoirs 30 and channels 32 as discussed above . thereafter , the dissolvable agent will come in contact with body fluids via the conduits formed by the channels and the dissolvable agent will be delivered from the reservoirs 30 to a region outside the eluting coil 10 through the conduits formed by the encapsulated channels 32 . reservoirs 30 may be formed into one surface 14 or 16 of the resilient elongate element 12 , or may extend completely through the resilient elongate element 12 . channels 32 may be cut to a specific depth and width in order to provide a path or conduit for controlled release of the dissolvable agent 36 , such as a bioactive agent , from the connected reservoir ( s ) 30 to tissue of a target site . the channels 32 may also contain the dissolvable agent 36 . this embodiment of the eluting coil 10 provides a means for a broad spectrum of release profiles to be tailored to the requirements of a particular bioactive agent and may also be used to enable the delivery of multiple compounds simultaneously . for example , different zones of the surfaces 14 or 16 of the resilient elongate element 12 may be loaded with different agents , such as drugs or other biologically active agents . for example , some embodiments may include anti - inflammatory agents and therapeutic agents on a single eluting coil 10 . for such embodiments , different agents may be separated into different reservoirs 30 , or may be combined together into the same reservoir or reservoirs 30 . in addition , different zones or portions of the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 10 may be configured with varying reservoir 30 and channel 32 profiles . different surfaces 14 and 16 , including reservoirs 30 or channels 32 thereof , of the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 12 may also be loaded with different agents disposed within a dissolvable agent matrix . also , two or more components of a multi - component drug or other agent that need to be combined in order to react or otherwise be activated may be placed on opposite surfaces 14 and 16 of the resilient elongate element 12 of the eluting coil 10 . in such a configuration , the two or more components will then be combined or otherwise communicated with each other and activated when the eluting coil 10 is deployed and the opposing surfaces 14 and 16 make contact . fig5 - 6 illustrate another embodiment of a resilient elongate element 40 of an eluting coil 10 in a restrained straightened state with some features that are common with the previous resilient elongate element embodiment 12 . the resilient elongate element 40 has a series of surface protrusions or stand - off members 42 that are configured to create a space between overlapping surfaces 14 and 16 of the eluting coil 10 when deployed . the controllable gap or conduit created as a result of the stand - off members 42 will be substantially equal to the height of the stand - off members 42 when the resilient elongate element 40 is disposed in a coiled relaxed configuration . inside surface 14 or outside surface 16 of the resilient elongate element 40 of the eluting coil 10 may be coated with a bioactive agent in a dissolvable matrix 36 . a bioactive agent disposed in a dissolvable matrix 36 may also be disposed on inner portions of the resilient elongate element 40 between stand - off members in a dissolvable agent depot or reservoir 43 , as shown in fig6 . for such an embodiment , a space or gap ( such as the gap indicated by arrows 49 in the embodiment shown in fig8 below ) created by the stand - off members 42 between adjacent surfaces 14 and 16 of the resilient elongate element 40 in a relaxed coiled state or configuration will provide a controlled leak path or conduit for the bioactive agent in the dissolvable matrix 36 to reach an outside portion of the resilient elongate element 40 when in a relaxed coiled configuration . fig7 - 8 illustrate an embodiment of eluting coil 10 which has a resilient elongate element 44 that is configured as an interlocking eluting coil 10 when deployed . fig8 shows a transverse cross sectional view of the eluting coil 10 which shows a raised longitudinal ridge 46 disposed on an outer or first surface 16 of the resilient elongate element 44 . the longitudinal ridge 46 is configured to mate and interlock with a longitudinal groove 48 extending longitudinally along a second or inner surface 14 of the elongate element . an interlocking engagement between the raised longitudinal ridge 46 and longitudinal groove 48 is configured such that the engagement prevents the remainder of the overlap surfaces 14 and 16 from contacting . for such a configuration , a controllable gap or space indicated by arrows 49 is created . the controllable gap between adjacent sections of the resilient elongate element 44 functions as a conduit between an inner portion of the eluting coil 10 and an outside portion of the eluting coil 10 when the coil is in a coiled relaxed state . reservoirs , such as reservoirs 30 discussed above may be disposed on one or both of the surfaces 14 and 16 of the resilient elongate element 44 with the controllable gap providing a conduit between the reservoirs and an outside portion of the coil 10 . also , one or more surfaces 14 and 16 of the resilient elongate element 44 may be coated with the bioactive agent in a dissolvable matrix with the space or gap between surfaces of the resilient elongate element 44 providing a controlled leak path or conduit for the bioactive agent to an outside portion of the eluting coil 10 in a coiled relaxed state . although the embodiment shown in fig7 and 8 includes one raised longitudinal ridge 46 and one longitudinal groove 48 on an opposite surface of the resilient elongate element 44 , the resilient elongate element 44 may include multiple raised longitudinal ridge elements and mating longitudinal grooves . fig9 - 13 illustrate alternate embodiments of eluting coils which can be removed from the treatment site after deployment if necessary . these eluting coil embodiments include an extension tail that is configured to be coupled to by a device that may then be used to apply a retractive force upon the deployed eluting coil . the extension tail may be an integral part of the resilient elongate element of the eluting coil itself or be a separate attached feature or element . fig9 and 10 illustrate an eluting coil 50 that may have features , dimensions and materials similar to or the same as those of the eluting coil 10 discussed above . eluting coil 50 also includes a tail extension 52 formed integrally with a proximal end 54 of a resilient elongate element 56 of the eluting coil 50 . the tail extension includes a hole 58 disposed at a proximal end 60 of the tail extension 52 in order to facilitate capture and retrieval of the eluting coil 50 after deployment thereof . the proximal end 60 of the tail extension may include radiopaque material or otherwise be configured to be radiopaque in order to facilitate visualization of the hole 58 of the tail extension 52 under x - ray or fluoroscopy during a retrieval procedure . the tail extension embodiment 52 shown in fig9 and 10 has a substantially straight configuration in a relaxed state in order to extend away from the eluting coil 50 and facilitate location and coupling of the tail extension 52 . in use , the proximal end 60 of the tail extension 52 may be placed just under the surface of the skin of a patient in order to avoid infection and make the tail extension 52 easy to relocate or access . however , under some circumstances , such as where only short term implantation is necessary , the tail extension 52 , the proximal end 60 of the tail extension 52 or both may be deployed so as to breach through the surface of the skin of the patient . fig1 - 13 illustrate an eluting coil 62 that may have features , dimensions and materials similar to or the same as those of the eluting coil 10 discussed above . eluting coil 62 also includes a tail extension 64 that is a separate element from the resilient elongate element 66 of the eluting coil 62 . the tail extension 64 includes a loop of a flexible element , such as suture material , that extends through a hole 68 in a proximal end 70 of the resilient elongate element 66 . the tail extension includes a loop 72 disposed at a proximal end of the tail extension 64 in order to facilitate coupling to the tail extension 64 and capture and retrieval of the eluting coil 62 after deployment thereof . the loop 72 of the tail extension 64 may include radiopaque material or otherwise be configured to be radiopaque in order to facilitate visualization of the loop 72 of the tail extension 64 under x - ray or fluoroscopy during a retrieval procedure . just as with eluting coil embodiment 50 discussed above , the proximal end of the tail extension 64 may be placed just under the surface of the skin of a patient in order to avoid infection and make the tail extension 64 easy to relocate or access . however , under some circumstances , such as where only short term implantation is necessary , the tail extension 64 , the proximal end of the tail extension 64 or both may be deployed so as to breach through the surface of the skin of the patient . fig1 - 17 illustrate a removal or retrieval method and device that may be employed to remove an eluting coil 50 after deployment , and in particular , after deployment within tissue of the body of a patient . fig1 and 15 show a perspective view of a retrieval device 80 coupled to eluting coil 50 . the retrieval device 80 includes a retrieval cannula 82 and a retraction element in the form of a retrieval wire 84 disposed within the retrieval cannula 82 . a distal end 86 of the retrieval cannula 82 is disposed adjacent eluting coil 50 . a hooked distal end 88 of the retrieval wire 84 is disposed through or otherwise coupled to hole 58 the tail extension 52 of the resilient elongate element 54 of the eluting coil 50 to retrieve the eluting coil 50 . the retrieval cannula is configured as an elongate hollow member that may be made from a high strength material such as stainless steel or the like . a distal section 87 of the retrieval cannula 82 may have an optional flattened or oblong transverse cross section in order to better accommodate the flattened transverse cross section or ribbon - like configuration of some resilient elongate element embodiments . in addition , the flattened or oblong transverse cross section may also be useful for tissue penetration during deployment or positioning within tissue of a patient while minimizing trauma to the tissue surrounding the retrieval cannula 82 during tissue penetration . in some embodiments of methods of retrieval of a deployed eluting coil 50 , the retrieval process begins with identifying or locating the proximal end 60 of the tail extension 52 . once located , the hooked distal end 88 of a retrieval wire 84 it placed through the hole 58 ( or a loop 72 of an embodiment of an eluting coil 62 as shown in fig1 - 13 ) as shown in fig1 . the proximal end of the retrieval wire 84 is the back loaded or withdrawn into the cannula 82 . the proximal end of the retrieval wire 84 may held stationary while the distal end 86 of the cannula 82 is advanced distally until the distal end 86 contacts the resilient elongate element 54 of the eluting coil 50 . the cannula 82 may then be held stationary and the retrieval wire 84 is pulled or withdrawn proximally , as indicated by arrow 90 , shown in fig1 , which in turn pulls the resilient elongate element 54 of the eluting coil 50 into the cannula 82 and uncoils the eluting coil 50 and imparts a restrained non - coiled configuration on the resilient elongate element 54 as the resilient elongate element 54 is withdrawn into the cannula 82 . fig1 and 17 show a perspective view of the retrieval wire 84 and retrieval cannula 82 with the resilient elongate element 54 of the eluting coil 50 being withdrawn into a distal port 88 disposed at the distal end 86 of the retrieval cannula 82 . the retrieval wire 84 and resilient elongate element 54 are being withdrawn into the retrieval cannula along a direction indicated by arrow 90 . fig1 - 23 illustrate an embodiment of a delivery device 138 and methods of using the delivery device 138 for deployment of eluting coils 140 . fig1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a delivery device 138 having an elongate delivery sheath 142 with a proximal end 144 a distal end and a delivery actuator 148 secured to the proximal end 144 of the delivery sheath 142 . the delivery sheath 142 is an elongate hollow tube having a sharpened distal tip 150 shown in fig2 . the delivery sheath 142 has an interior lumen 152 which is configured to constrain a resilient elongate element 154 of an eluting coil 140 and allow the constrained resilient elongate element 154 to be advanced through the lumen 152 of the delivery sheath 142 to a deployment site . the eluting coil 140 and resilient elongate element 154 may have features , dimensions and materials which are similar to or the same as those of any of the eluting coil or resilient elongate element embodiments discussed herein . for the configuration shown , the delivery sheath 142 can be made from any suitable high strength metal , composite or polymer . suitable metals for construction of the delivery sheath 142 may include stainless steel , nitinol , mp35n and the like . the delivery actuator 148 has an elongate cylindrically shaped body portion 156 with a proximal flange 158 and a distal flange 160 . the body portion 156 has an internal bore 162 that is sized to accept a cylindrical actuator 164 in sliding relation to the body portion 156 . a thumb ring 166 is disposed at a proximal end 168 of the cylindrical actuator 164 to facilitate the grip of an operator of the delivery device 138 . the body portion 156 and cylindrical actuator 164 can be made from a variety of suitable medical grade materials , including metals , composites and polymers . specifically , polymers such as abs plastic , pvc , polycarbonate and the like may be used . an eluting coil 140 being deployed from a distal end 146 of the delivery sheath 142 into tissue 170 of a target tissue site is shown in fig2 - 23 . the resilient elongate element 154 of eluting coil 140 may include the pre - stressed self - forming embodiment shown , wherein the resilient elongate element 154 returns to a relaxed coiled configuration , that is the configuration in a relaxed state , as the resilient elongate element 154 exits the distal end 146 of the delivery sheath 142 and the constraint of the delivery sheath 142 is removed . the eluting coil 140 is shown mechanically capturing a portion of tissue 172 of the target tissue site as it encircles the tissue . embodiments of delivery device 138 shown in fig1 may use low profile delivery sheaths in the form of hollow needles with sharpened distal ends to deliver eluting coils to a target tissue site . the delivery sheath 142 is a straight tube with a distal tissue penetrating point 150 and is stiffer than an eluting coil 140 to be delivered therethrough . the geometry of the distal point of the delivery sheath 142 can be important in some embodiments . the distal point 150 needs to easily penetrate tissue while also providing clearance for the surgical coil 140 as it is being delivered without substantial restriction to assume the relaxed geometry of the surgical coil 140 . for some delivery sheath 142 embodiments , the distal point can have an angle of about 25 degrees . delivery sheath 142 may have an internal profile that can slidably receive an elongate element 154 of an eluting coil 140 along their full length and will straighten them out into a restrained substantially straight configuration in doing so . eluting coil 140 may be pre - loaded into the delivery sheath 142 prior to use . the maximum number of eluting coils 140 that a delivery sheath 142 can accommodate is limited by its length , however , some applications may require only a single eluting coil 140 be used . in a delivery device 138 having a multiple eluting coil 140 configuration , eluting coils 140 may be stacked end to end within the delivery sheath 142 . in one embodiment of use , the distal end 146 of the delivery sheath 142 is placed at a target site , a thumb ring 166 of the cylindrical actuator 164 is then moved distally as shown in fig1 which pushes an advancing ribbon ( not shown ) which in turn pushes the most proximal eluting coil which then ejects the most distal eluting coil from the device 138 as shown in fig2 . there are varieties of techniques that can be employed with these low profile delivery devices 138 to access target sites . the delivery sheath 142 can be used in the same manner as a hypodermic needle is for drug delivery ( direct incision ). alternatively they can be placed within the working channel of an endoscope or cannula . all methods allow the physician to completely or partially implant a coil in tissue at an anterior or posterior location . with regard to the above detailed description , like reference numerals used therein refer to like elements that may have the same or similar dimensions , materials and configurations . while particular forms of embodiments have been illustrated and described , it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the invention . alternate embodiments may include the combination of various features of different embodiments . for example , some or all of the features of the embodiments shown in fig4 may be combined with some or all of the features of the embodiments shown in fig8 . accordingly , it is not intended that the invention be limited by the forgoing detailed description . | 0Human Necessities
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the copying apparatus shown in fig1 includes a scanner 1 and a printer 2 . the scanner 1 is provided with a tubular lamp 5 , a reflector co - operating therewith for illuminating a narrow strip of an information sheet or document 8 placed on a platen glass 7 , and an array of imaging glass fibers ( e . g . a “ selfoc lens array ”) which projects the light that is reflected by the document on a sensor array such as ccd array 12 . because the scanner 1 is advanced at uniform speed in the direction of arrow 13 by a known driver ( not shown ), the document 8 is scanned line - wise by the ccd array 12 . thus , each image dot on the document is converted to an analogue signal corresponding to the grey value of the image dot . the analogue signal is then converted to a digital signal , such as an 8 - bit digital signal for each image dot , by an a / d converter ( not shown ). thereafter , the digital signals ( image data ) are fed via a number of parallel lines of data bus 14 to an image processing device 15 in which the image data may be subjected to one or more image processing operations ( e . g . thresholding , dithering , enlarging , reduction , rotation etc ) and may be stored , usually in compressed form , in a working memory 52 . the stored image data are then fed , after any necessary decompression in decompression device 56 , to the printer 2 via data bus 16 . as known in the art , the printer 2 is provided with an endless photoconductive belt 20 which is advanced in the direction of arrow 24 at a uniform speed by drive and guide rollers 21 , 22 and 23 , respectively . an led array 25 is actuated by the processed image data received from the data bus 16 such that the photoconductive belt 20 , after being electrostatically charged by a corona device 30 , is exposed line - by - line image - wise . the latent charge image formed on the photoconductive belt 20 as a result of the exposure is developed with toner powder by a magnetic brush device 31 to form the toner image which is then brought into contact and under pressure with an endless intermediate medium belt 32 in a first transfer zone . the intermediate medium belt 32 is made of or covered with an elastic and heat - resistant material ( e . g . silicone rubber ) to aid in this transfer . under these conditions , the toner image is transferred by adhesion from the photoconductive belt 20 to the intermediate medium belt 32 . after this image transfer , any remaining toner powder residues are removed from the photoconductive belt 20 by a cleaning device 33 , whereupon the photoconductive belt 20 is ready for re - use . the intermediate medium belt 32 is trained over drive and guide rollers 34 , 35 . furthermore , the intermediate medium belt 32 is heated to a temperature above the softening temperature of the toner powder , e . g . by an infrared radiator disposed inside roller 35 . while intermediate medium belt 32 with the toner image thereon is advanced , the toner image becomes tacky as a result of this heating . in a second transfer zone between the intermediate medium belt 32 and a pressure roller 36 , the tacky toner image is transferred by pressure and simultaneously fixed on a copy sheet fed from one of the reservoirs or feed trays 37 or 38 . the resulting copy can then be deposited in a collecting tray 39 . in the case of duplex copies , i . e . copies with an image on both sides , the copy sheets are fed to a turn - over device 41 by a deflecting element 40 ( placed in the position shown in broken lines ), after one side of the sheet has been printed each copy sheet is turned over in the turn - over device 41 , whereupon it is then fed back to the second transfer zone between the belt 32 and the pressure roller 36 , where it is printed on the other side with a powder image and then deposited in the collecting tray 39 . fig1 shows only two copy sheet reservoirs 37 and 38 . but the number of reservoirs can be increased to enable all conventional copy sheet formats ( eg ., a5 , a4 , a3 or american formats ) to be fed to the printer 2 . the reservoirs 37 , 38 can also be disposed to enable the various copy sheet formats to be fed in different orientations such as the landscape orientation having the longer side of the copy sheet in the direction of transit and the portrait orientation having the shorter side of the copy sheet in the direction of transit . furthermore , the copy sheet orientation may depend on the arrangement of the original on the platen glass 7 . fig3 diagrammatically illustrates an example of a relevant part of the image processing device 15 . the digital signals representing each image pixel are fed successively via a data bus 50 to an enlargement / reduction module 63 , a page memory 62 , and a compression device 51 . the compression device 51 is optionally employed to compress image data in a manner known in the art . the compressed image data are then stored in a working memory 52 , in which the image data of all the documents required for a specific copy job are stored line - by - line . the compressed image data are then read out of the working memory 52 , the image data being fed line - by - line to a decompression device 56 for decompression in a known manner . the decompressed image data may then be fed line - by - line via a data bus 60 to other known image processing devices and finally sent to the led array 25 of the printer 2 via data bus 16 . the central control device 55 actuates the various above - mentioned devices and process functions of the printer 2 and image processing device 15 . a portion of the image processing device 15 is shown in fig3 . the page memory 62 shown in fig3 is controlled by the central control device 55 in accordance with the invention to rotate images . alternatively , the page memory 62 could also be accommodated after the decompression device 56 in the direction of the process . when the method according to the invention is applied , original images , possibly after reduction in reduction / enlargement module 63 ( depending on the formats selected for the original and print ), are printed next to one another on a copy sheet 71 having binding portions 72 including perforations or other types of binding portions arrangements 72 on two opposite sides of the copy sheet 71 as shown in fig2 . this printing is conducted such that the reading orientations of the two images are rotated through 180 ° relative to one another and such that the reading orientations form a right angle with respective sides of the copy sheet 71 that are provided with the binding portions 72 . as mentioned above , this printing arrangement is shown in fig2 . more particularly , fig2 illustrates the case in which an original sheet 70 is imaged twice on a copy sheet 71 , both short sides of which are provided with binding portions 72 such as rows of ring binder holes for constructing two identical booklets . furthermore , two different images may be printed on copy sheet 71 and may be accommodated in a booklet in the form of two , e . g . successive , pages . in this alternative , the images in the right - hand part of fig2 differ but their relative orientation is the same as the case referred to previously . it will be apparent from fig2 that of the two images for printing on a copy sheet 71 the first image is rotated through − 90 ° and the second image is rotated through + 90 °. when the printing is completed , the copy sheet 71 is then cut between the two images as indicated by dotted line s . the resulting half - sheets can then be collected at the perforations to form a booklet or manual . with this printing arrangement and subsequent cutting and collection , all the printed images are then in the correct orientation . it is possible that only after a number of documents have been scanned by the scanner 1 and the image data have been stored in the working memory 52 that the image data for one or more documents are found to require rotation . in that case , the relevant image data are called up from the working memory 52 and re - fed to the page memory 62 via the data bus 61 . in this way , the desired rotation can be performed by writing the image data into and then reading the image data out of the page memory 62 according to the addressing formula ( 1 ). if the original images are to be printed on a copy sheet 71 having the same size as one of the original images , these original images must first be reduced in size . furthermore , to print an a3 original on an a4 receiving sheet , the a3 original is reduced 71 % electronically in reduction / enlargement module 63 . this percentage is obtained by dividing the physical dimensions of an a4 sheet and an a3 sheet ( 201 / 297 ). with such reduction , the white margin along the text on the original is also reduced . in this example , a white margin of 10 mm then becomes 7 . 1 mm . for some applications , it is desirable to keep this margin constant . otherwise , the text would be printed too close to the binding portion 72 . to keep the margin constant , the physical dimensions of the paper formats are not divided into one another to generate the reduction percentage . instead , these formats are reduced with the required margin . on the basis of an a3 sheet having a 20 mm margin on both sides , if it is required to obtain a print also having a margin of 20 mm , a 66 % reduction is applied (( 210 − 40 )/( 297 − 40 )= 66 %). the printer 2 may also be provided with a selector to enable a choice to be made between the two reducing options described above . such a selector is particularly useful in the case of automatic reduction and / or enlargement by reduction / enlargement module 63 . the literature describes numerous methods of rotating image data through 90 ° or multiples thereof in a memory . in principle , these convention techniques can be applied to the apparatus of the invention . in practice , however , the invention provides a better method than the conventional techniques because the invention combines minimum memory occupation with high processing speed . furthermore , the image rotations techniques disclosed herein are particularly well suited to printing a series of images such as the series of images found in a booklet constructed with copy sheets 71 having the format shown in fig2 . according to the inventive image rotation method , the image data of an image from a series of images each of which is to be subjected to rotation are written into the page memory 62 while the image data of the preceding image from the series are read out . in other words , the current image is written into the page memory substantially simultaneously with the read - out of the preceding images . this rotation procedure may be performed either by writing new data directly on a location that has just become free or by writing new data on a location which has become free several read - out cycles ago . in either case , the current data is written into the page memory 62 in the same sequence of memory locations that the previous image data was read out . this sequencing permits substantially simultaneous read - out and write - in and results in minimal memory storage requirements for the page memory 62 . the image data of the first image of a series of images to be rotated is written line - by - line according to the lines of the image matrix from the top left to the bottom right according to successive addresses of the page memory 62 as shown in fig4 ( a ). in other words . fig4 ( a ) illustrates the initial read - in sequence of the first image of a series of images to be rotated . fig4 ( a ) also illustrates the positions of the memory locations in page memory 62 . it will be apparent that by writing new image data in the sequence of memory locations in which the preceding image was read - out there is no fixed relationship between the positions of the image data in the image matrix and the positions of the memory locations in the page memory 62 . consequently , the central control device 55 calculates an address sequence series which always indicates the correct memory locations at which the required image data can be found for read - out and write - in . the address sequence series is given by the following formula : series element ( i j ) = ( i * ∏ x k ) modulo j k = 1 ( d 1 * d 2 + 1 ) - 1 ( 1 ) where i = position within the address sequence series , where 1 ≦ i ≦ d 1 * d 2 , x k = parameter related to the required angle of rotation for the k th image in the series of images , as described , this formula always gives the correct location sequence for a series of consecutive rotation operations . the product series π does not always have to be developed in this connection . formula ( 1 ) can in fact also be written in iterative form as follows : series element ( i j )=( i j * m j ) modulo ( d 1 * d 2 + 1 )− 1 where m j =( m j - 3 * x j ) modulo ( d 1 * d 2 1 ) and m 0 = 1 if the factor m is always stored in the memory , it can be used in the next operation by multiplying it by the factor x for the next operation . this formula is not only suitable for rotating single pixels but also for rotating blocks of pixels . very fast hardware circuits are known in the art which can rotate square blocks of pixels ( e . g . 8 * 8 ) pixels through angles of 90 ° and multiples thereof . when such circuits used with the invention , the image matrix is divided into blocks and the blocks are moved as a whole , formula ( 1 ) indicating the positions of the blocks in the memory . it should be noted that when x k = 1 ( rotation through 0 °), the page memory 62 acts as an ordinary buffer . the image rotation procedure will now be further explained by reference to the following examples . fig4 ( a )-( j ), 5 ( a )-( j ) and 6 ( a )-( j ) give a number of sequences in a matrix arrangement , according to which rotation is respectively performed through + 90 , − 90 and + 180 °. for each these examples d 1 = 4 and d 2 = 6 because the image matrix has 4 columns and 6 rows . fig4 ( a ), 5 ( a ) and 6 ( a ) show a matrix indicating the sequence in which the image elements of the first image are written into the page memory 62 . fig4 ( a ), 5 ( a ) and 6 ( a ) also show the memory locations for the image matrix . beneath each of the matrices shown in fig4 ( a ), 5 ( a ) and 6 ( a ), matrices for three consecutive images in a series of images are illustrated : eg . fig4 ( b ), ( e ) and ( h ) show three consecutive images to be rotated by the invention . furthermore , fig4 ( c ), ( f ) and ( i ) show matrices indicating the sequence of writing the image data from fig4 ( b ), ( e ) and ( h ), respectively into the page memory 62 . still further , fig4 ( d ), ( g ) and ( h ) show the read - out result by reading - out the matrices from fig4 ( c ), ( f ) and ( i ), respectively . more particularly , on the left of the fig4 series , matrices 4 ( c ), 4 ( f ) and 4 ( i ) show the sequence in which consecutive images in a series of images ( fig4 ( b ), ( e ) and ( h )) are written into page memory 62 wherein consecutive alphabetical letters indicate the sequence order . furthermore , fig4 ( d ), 4 ( g ) and 4 ( j ) show the rotated image which results by reading - out the fig4 ( c ), 4 ( f ) and 4 ( i ) matrices , respectively . in other words , the fig4 ( b ) image is read into page memory 62 to produce the matrix shown in fig4 ( c ); the fig4 ( c ) matrix is rotated by the invention to produce image 4 ( d ). furthermore , the fig4 ( e ) image is read into page memory 62 to produce the matrix shown in fig4 ( f ); the fig4 ( f ) matrix is rotated by the invention to produce image 4 ( g ). a similar series of matrices are shown in the fig5 series and the fig6 series . to distinguish each of these matrices , capital letters and lower case letters , and italicized letters are used and indicate that the image data relate to consecutive original images within a series of images . more particularly , the capital letters in fig4 ( b )-( d ) designate the first image , the lower case letters in fig4 ( e )-( g ) designate the second image , and the italicized letters in fig4 ( h )-( j ) designate the third image . the fig5 series and the fig6 series also employ the same lettering scheme used in the fig4 series to distinguish the various matrices . the write - in and read - out sequences for each image is constructed by central control device 55 by applying addressing formula ( 1 ). in the case of rotation through + 90 °, x k =− d 1 is utilized in formula ( 1 ). in the case of rotation through − 90 °, the formula applies with x k =+ d 1 . in the case of rotation through 180 °, the same formula applies with x k =− 1 . in each of these cases , the central control device 65 determines the address sequence for the read - out and write - in from and to page memory 62 . fig4 ( b )-( d ) illustrate an example of a rotation through + 90 °. fig4 ( b ) shows the original first image matrix . this first image is written into the page memory 62 at locations in accordance with the matrix shown in fig4 ( a ) to produce the write - in matrix shown in fig4 ( c ). in other words , the first image is written into consecutive locations in the page memory 62 wherein the consecutive memory locations are shown by the numerical sequence in fig4 ( a ) and the resulting alphabetical sequence shown in fig4 ( c ). the first image data are then read - out from the page memory 62 in accordance with the address sequence 20 , 16 , 12 , 8 , 4 , 0 , 21 , 17 , 13 , 9 , 5 , 1 , 22 , 18 , 14 , 10 , 6 , 2 , 23 , 19 , 15 , 11 , 7 , 3 which is generated by central control device 55 according to addressing formula ( 1 ). the result of this read - out is shown in fig4 ( d ), i . e ., u , q , m , i , e , a , v , r , n , j , etc ., and it can be seen that the image of the original fig4 ( b ) matrix is turned through 90 °. as this read - out is performed , the write - in of the next image in the series is simultaneously performed . more particularly , the first image data “ a ” of the second image ( the second image is shown in fig4 ( e )) are written into page memory 62 at the first free location 20 . this operation is followed by writing b , c , d , e , f , g , h , etc . into locations 16 , 12 , 8 , 4 , 0 , 21 , 17 , etc . this write - in sequence order is also shown by the alphabetical order in fig4 ( f ). to read - out this fig4 ( f ) image from page memory 62 to perform the next rotation , however , the following address sequence is used : 15 , 6 , 22 , 13 , 4 , 20 , 11 , 2 , 18 , 9 , 0 , 16 , 7 , 23 , 14 , 5 , 21 , 12 , 3 , 19 , 10 , 8 , so that the rotated image matrix obtained is shown in fig4 ( g ). in other words , fig4 ( g ) is a matrix corresponding to the original fig4 ( e ) image rotated through 90 °. on the next write - in , the first image data “ a ” of the third image ( fig4 ( h )) are written in at the first free location “ u ”. this gives the write - in matrix shown in fig4 ( i ). the write - in matrix of fig4 ( i ) is then read - out in the following address sequence : 10 , 21 , 7 , 18 , 4 , 15 , 1 , 12 , 23 , 9 , 20 , 6 , 17 , 3 , 14 , 0 , 11 , 22 , 8 , 19 , 5 , 16 , 2 , 13 , to generate the rotated image matrix shown in fig4 ( j ). the procedure is also performed in a corresponding manner for rotating images through − 90 ° and through 180 ° as illustrated by fig5 ( a )-( j ) and 6 ( a )-( j ), respectively . more specifically , fig5 ( a )−( j ) illustrate a − 90 ° rotation as follows . as mentioned above , fig5 ( a ) shows the memory locations of page memory 62 . the first image of the series ( fig5 ( b )) is written into consecutive memory locations in the page memory 62 to produce the matrix shown in fig5 ( c ). the image data in the fig5 ( c ) matrix are then read out from the page memory 62 under the control of the central control device 55 in accordance with the following address sequence series to perform a − 90 ° rotation : 3 , 7 , 11 , 15 , 19 , 23 , 2 , 6 , 10 , 14 , 18 , 22 , 1 , 5 , 9 , 13 , 17 , 21 , 0 , 4 , 8 , 12 , 16 , 20 . in other words , the data ( d , h , l , p t , x , c , g , k , o , s , w , b , f , j , n , r , v , a , e , i , m , q , u ) from the fig5 ( c ) matrix are read - out from page memory 62 in the order specified by addressing formula ( 1 ) to construct the rotated image shown in fig5 ( d ). as this read - out is performed , the write - in of the next image in the series is simultaneously performed . more particularly , the first image data “ a ” from the second ( fig5 ( e )) image are written into page memory 62 at the first free location “ 3 ”. this operation is followed by writing b , c , d , e , f , g , h , etc . into locations 7 , 11 , 15 , 19 , 23 , 2 , 6 , etc to generate the fig5 ( f ) matrix . the above operations are repeated to read - out the fig5 ( f ) matrix in an order specified by the address formula ( 1 ) to generate the rotated image in fig5 ( g ). similarly , the third image ( fig5 ( h ) is read - into the page memory 62 and results in the matrix shown in fig5 ( i ) which , in turn , is read - out of page memory 62 to generate the rotated image shown in fig5 ( j ). fig6 ( a )-( j ) illustrate 180 ° rotation in a manner corresponding to the detailed description above for fig4 ( a )-( j ), and 5 ( a )-( j ). more particularly , the address sequence series for reading the fig6 ( c ) matrix out to generate the fig6 ( d ) 180 ° rotated image is : 23 , 22 , 21 , 20 , 19 , 18 , 17 , 16 , 15 , 14 , 13 , 12 , 11 , 10 , 9 , 8 , 7 , 6 , 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 . as mentioned above , this same address sequence series is also utilized to substantially simultaneously read - in the second image ( fig6 ( e )) into the page memory 62 with the result shown in fig6 ( f ). furthermore , fig6 ( g ) shows the 180 ° rotated image generated from the fig6 ( f ) matrix by reading - out the matrix according to addressing formula ( 1 ). also , fig6 ( i ) and ( j ) respectively show the matrix for the read - in third image and the read - out , 180 ° rotated third image . the above - described method of rotating images can be used without being restricted if the images to be printed next to one another on a receiving sheet differ from one another . each image of the series of originals to be printed must then be rotated through 90 °, alternately in the counterclockwise direction (− 90 °) and in the clockwise direction ( 90 °). addressing formula ( 1 ) then always gives the correct read - out / write - in sequence even though each image in the series is rotated by a different amount . if the images for printing on a receiving sheet are identical ( i . e . for making two identical booklets ) an image written once into page memory 62 is read out twice , in accordance with patterns in which the same address sequence series is followed in two ways , corresponding to + 90 ° and − 90 °. on the second read - out the image data of the next image is written into the read - out memory locations within page memory 62 , whereafter the address sequence series is adjusted to this second read - out . it will be clear that the system shown in fig3 can also be used for duplex printing . in that case , the page memory 62 will be actuated for each second image in order to rotate it through 180 °, in accordance with the sequence shown in fig6 ( a )-( j ). the writing into the working memory 52 thereof then takes place after writing into the working memory 52 of the first image for printing . 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 . | 7Electricity
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preferably used silicon components of the a type with r &# 39 ;= alkyl ( e . g . methyl , ethyl ) or sodium are : ai : alkyl or aryltrialkoxysilanes rsi ( or &# 39 ;) 3 with r = alkyl having a chain length of from c 1 to c 18 , alkenyl , e . g . vinyl , or aryl , e . g . phenyl ; aii : dialkyl , alkylaryl or diarylalkoxysilanes r k r &# 34 ; 2 - k si ( or &# 39 ;) 2 with r , r &# 34 ;= alkyl having chain lengths of from c 1 to c 18 , e . g . methyl , wherein compounds of the type aii ( with only two groups suitable for cross - linking ) may be used in combination with components of the type ai or aiii , e . g . in a molar ratio ( ai , aiii ): aii of 3 - 6 ; aiii : tetraalkoxysilanes si ( or &# 39 ;) 4 in combination with silanes of the type ai , aii , b , or c , the proportion of silicon atoms bearing one or more organic substituents being at least 50 % by atoms , based on the total amount of silicon employed . silicon components of the b type with r &# 39 ;= alkyl , e . g . methyl or ethyl , are bis ( trialkoxysilyl ) compounds of the formula ( r &# 39 ; o ) 3 si -- x -- si ( or &# 39 ;) 3 with x = alkylene , e . g . ( ch 2 ) 2 - 6 , arylene , or x = 0 ( use as with aiii in combination with silanes of the type ai , aii , b , or c ). silicon components of the c type are employed in combination with compounds of the a type , in particular ai and aiii , and are oligomeric or polymeric dialkylsiloxanes , especially polydimethylsiloxane , e . g . with silanol terminal groups and chain lengths of 5 - 60 monomeric units , the molar ratio a : c of the components being e . g . 3 - 6 . the silicon compounds of type a and / or b employed may be pre - treated with part of the water with addition of acid or one of the above - mentioned basic catalysts , e . g . by ultrasonic action . the silanes may also be used directly in the enzyme immobilization without a pretreatment step . the process presented in this invention is widely applicable for a number of lipases of various origins . the immobilized lipases may be of microbial origin , e . g . sp 523 lipase ( novo ), or be obtained from bacteria , e . g . of the genus pseudomonas ( e . g . ps . fluorescens , ps . cepacia ), from yeasts of the genus candida ( e . g . c . antarctica , c . lipolytica ), from molds of the genera rhizopus ( e . g . rh . arrhizus , rh . delemar , rh . niveus ), penicillium ( e . g . p . roqueforti ), aspergillus ( e . g . a . niger ), mucor ( e . g . m . miehei ), be of plant origin ( e . g . from wheat germs ), or of animal origin , e . g . from porcine pancreas . an amount of 0 . 1 - 30 mg of lipase per mmol of silicon compound ( s ) is used . determinations of the protein content in immobilizates without foreign protein added yield a degree of immobilization of 10 to & gt ; 95 %, and the corresponding loadings are 0 . 2 - 80 mg of immobilized lipase protein per g of resulting enzyme immobilizate . the catalysts employed include : basic compounds , e . g . ammonium and alkali metal hydroxides , preferably sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in a stoichiometry of 10 - 100 mmol per mole of silicon compound ( s ); ammonia in a stoichiometry of 1 - 10 mmol per mole of silicon compound ( s ); ammonium and alkali metal fluorides , preferably sodium fluoride or potassium fluoride in a stoichiometry of 0 . 1 - 100 , preferably 1 - 10 mmol per mole of silicon compound ( s ); and combinations of such compounds . the following additives are used : ( i ) proteins ( 0 - 200 mg of protein / mg of lipase ), e . g . albumin , gelatin , sodium caseinate ; ( ii ) polyhydroxy compounds ( 0 - 1000 mg of additive / mg of lipase ), e . g . poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( e . g . 0 . 05 - 200 mg / mg of lipase ), sorbitol , glycerol , polyethyleneglycol ( e . g . 0 . 5 - 1000 mg / mg of lipase ); ( iii ) insoluble organic polymers or inorganic compounds , e . g . magnetite ( fe 3 o 4 ), materials based on sio 2 , e . g . celite ®, open - pore sintered glasses , such as e . g . siran ®, controlled porous glass ( cpg ), or kieselguhr ; and combinations of such compounds i - iii . the type and amount of additives added affect the activity obtained of the immobilized lipase . by addition of suitable additives , significant increases in activity yield can be achieved as compared with analogous systems with no additive . water is incorporated in the reaction medium in the form of aqueous solutions of the lipase , of the additives , of the catalyst which are unbuffered or buffered by addition of suitable buffer substances , or else it is incorporated by direct addition , in a stoichiometry of 4 - 15 mol , preferably 8 - 12 mol , water per mole of silicon compound ( s ). suitable buffer media are e . g . sodium or potassium phosphate buffers with ph values of 6 - 10 . organic solvents , such as e . g . aliphatic alcohols ( e . g . methanol , ethanol , propanol ), thf , dmf , may be added to the reaction mixture in small amounts of up to 20 % by volume , or the addition of organic solvents can be entirely dispensed with . a preferred method for immobilizing lipases e . g . comprises adding a buffered or unbuffered aqueous solution of the enzyme to a mixture of water or aqueous buffer , an aqueous solution of the above - mentioned additives i and / or ii , and an aqueous solution of the catalyst at temperatures of 0 ° c .,- 50 ° c ., preferably at 4 ° c . to room temperature , mixing by swirling or shaking , adding the silicon compounds ( with r &# 39 ;= alkyl ), wherein the less reactive components are added first , when components with highly different reaction rates , such as e . g . mixtures of compounds of the types ai and aiii , are used , mixing until a homogeneous phase forms , and swirling or shaking until the reaction mixture gels . if the gelling is accompanied by a significant evolution of heat , the mixture is cooled at 0 ° c . during and immediately following gelling . the reaction mixture having completely or partially congealed is allowed to stand in a closed vessel , the supernatant , if any , is removed , and the products are dried . the products obtained are generally colorless with properties ranging from brittle to resilient , being hard glassy blocks or fine powders , depending on the silicon components employed . the products obtained may be crushed and used in this form particularly for reactions in a non - aqueous medium . it is preferred , however , to wash the enzyme immobilizate so as to reduce the risk of undesired side reactions or of contamination by excess catalyst and additives and to remove loosely adsorbed , non - enclosed lipase which more easily leaches or deactivates in the reaction and thus leads to reduction of activity in the course of the catalyst &# 39 ; s use . to do this , the immobilizates are crushed , shaken with water or aqueous buffer ( ph 6 - 8 ), filtered off and washed with water and organic solvents , preferably acetone followed by pentane , dried and finally ground . the materials obtained are mostly white powders having specific surfaces ( bet method ) of about 0 . 1 - 700 m 2 / g and pore volumes of about 0 . 001 - 1 cm 3 / g . in a variant of the process according to the invention , the si -- oh groups capable of condensation with gel formation are not generated by hydrolysis of si -- o - alkyl groups but rather by protonation of si -- o - metal groups . to do this , the ph value of an aqueous solution of an alkyl siliconate , e . g . sodium methylsiliconate , mesi ( ona ) 3 , is adjusted to ph 6 - 10 by addition of acids , e . g . hydrochloric acid or acetic acid , and the solution is added to a mixture of enzyme solution and other components mentioned above . other silicon compounds of the above - mentioned types a , b , and / or c with r &# 39 ;= alkyl can additionally be used for cocondensation in combination with the siliconate solution employed in this variant . in another variant , the reaction mixture prepared by the above - mentioned processes is poured in excess water prior to gelling and suspended with vigorous stirring . according to this method , the enzyme immobilizate is obtained in the form of approximately spherical particles . in still another variant , organic polymers or inorganic materials , for instance magnetite ( fe 3 o 4 ), oxidic materials based on sio 2 , e . g . celite ®, open - pore sintered glasses , such as e . g . siran ®, controlled porous glass ( cpg ), or kieselguhr , are incorporated as additives of the type iii in the immobilizate prepared from silanes together with enzyme solution and the other components mentioned above . the material is added to the reaction mixture either prior to the addition of the silanes or else thereafter , but at any rate before the gelling starts . to place the enzyme immobilizate on large open - pore particles , the reaction mixture is applied to the carrier before the gelling starts . the use of such oxidic additives results in positive characteristics of the immobilizate , e . g . more facile separation of the immobilized catalyst due to the introduction of magnetic properties in the case of magnetite , or in continuous - flow operation by generating a coarse - grained material in the case of porous sio 2 carriers such as siran ®. generally , the catalytic activity of the immobilizate is not adversely affected as compared to analogous materials without addition of inorganic material , or the activity is even positively affected . the enzyme immobilizates obtained by the process described in this invention exhibit high activity in esterification and transesterification reactions in organic media . they are generally more active by a factor of 2 to & gt ; 120 than the same amount of the commercially available enzyme preparations which have been used for the immobilization . for instance , for reactions in an aqueous medium , such as e . g . hydrolysis of olive oil emulsions , activity yields for ps . cepacia lipase of up to 62 %, based on the amount of lipase used for the immobilization , are obtained . the enzyme immobilizate exhibits high stability in water , organic media , or even at elevated temperatures when stored in a dry state . thus , for instance , virtually no loss in activity ( i . e . less than 5 %) is observed with ps . cepacia lipase immobilized by the process according to the invention after a storage of three months at room temperature . lipase ( amano ps ) is suspended in distilled water ( 25 mg / ml ), shaken at room temperature for 15 min , centrifuged , and the supernatant is used for immobilization . in a 2 ml polypropylene vessel , 0 . 58 ml of water , 0 . 2 ml of aqueous poly ( vinyl alcohol ) solution ( mw 15 , 000 , fluka , 4 % w / v ), 0 . 1 ml of 1 m naf , and 0 . 2 ml of the aqueous enzyme solution ( containing 0 . 46 mg of dissolved protein , corresponding to 5 . 0 mg of commercially available amano ps lipase ) are mixed , and 0 . 857 ml of methyltrimethoxysilane ( 6 mmol , with mol of silane / mol of water ( total )= 1 : 10 ) is added . the two - phase mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 30 s . after about 30 s and with evolution of heat , the cloudy emulsion has become a clear homogeneous solution which is cooled at 0 ° c . until the entire reaction mixture congeals to a homogeneous opaque solid after a short period of time . this solid is allowed to stand in a closed vessel at room temperature for 24 h , dried at 30 ° c . and normal pressure for 3 days , and finally mortar - ground . the raw product is shaken with 10 ml of water at room temperature for 2 h ( 350 cpm ), filtered through a glass frit ( d4 ), and washed with 20 ml of water and then twice with 20 ml of acetone , and 20 ml of pentane . the immobilizate is dried at 30 ° c . for 24 h and then ball - milled . mg of dissolved amano ps lipase used / g of immobilizate : 1 . 2 activity factor [ activity of immobilizate /( activity of free lipase : 0 . 55 % conversion / h . mg of commercially available lipase )]: 6 . 3 ( test 1 ) immobilization of ps . cepacia lipase in gels of the types al , ai / ai &# 39 ;, ai / aii , ai / c , and b ps . cepacia lipase ( amano ps ) is suspended in distilled water ( 25 mg / ml ), shaken at room temperature for 15 min , centrifuged , and the supernatant is used for immobilization . in a 2 ml polypropylene vessel , water ( in such an amount that a molar ratio of water ( total )/ silane ( s ) of 8 : 1 is obtained ), 0 . 2 ml of aqueous poly ( vinyl alcohol ) solution ( 4 % w / v , mw 15 , 000 , fluka ), 0 . 1 ml of 1 m naf , and 0 . 2 ml of the aqueous enzyme solution ( containing 0 . 46 mg of dissolved protein , corresponding to 5 . 0 mg of commercially available amano ps lipase ) are mixed , and the amounts of silicon compounds i and ii given in the table are added . the two - phase mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 30 s and subsequently shaken at room temperature with 1200 cpm . after about 30 s to 3 h and generally with evolution of heat , the onset of gelling occurs . the mixture is cooled at 0 ° c . until after a short period of time the reaction mixture partially or entirely congeals to an opaque solid which is further treated as described in example 1 . __________________________________________________________________________ weight mg obt . lipase / activity activity degree ofsilane i silane ii mmol i mmol ii ( g ) g gel . sup . [ a ] factor . sup . [ b ] (%). sup . [ c ] immob .. sup . d ] __________________________________________________________________________a mtms -- 6 . 0 -- 0 . 39 1 . 2 4 . 6 6 . 8 0 . 36b mtms etms 3 . 0 3 . 0 0 . 44 1 . 1 2 . 4 n . d . 0 . 45c mtms dmdes 4 . 5 0 . 75 0 . 31 1 . 5 4 . 2 9 . 7 n . d . d mtms dmdes 3 . 0 1 . 5 0 . 31 1 . 5 3 . 7 n . d . n . d . e mtms pdms . sup . [ e ] 4 . 5 0 . 75 0 . 49 0 . 9 3 . 4 19 0 . 75f mtms pdms . sup . [ e ] 3 . 0 0 . 75 0 . 30 0 . 15 6 . 3 27 0 . 33g mtms pdms . sup . [ e ] 3 . 0 1 . 0 0 . 28 0 . 17 7 . 5 n . d . 0 . 19h mtms pdms . sup . [ f ] 4 . 0 0 . 043 0 . 24 1 . 9 4 . 6 n . d . 0 . 39i btmse -- 4 . 0 -- 0 . 80 0 . 6 1 . 0 n . d . n . d . j vtms -- 6 . 0 -- 0 . 41 1 . 1 7 . 7 14 n . d . __________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] mg of enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ b ] activity test 1 ( see page 22 ), ( activity of immobilizate )/( activity of free lipase ); . sup . [ c ] test 2 ( see page 23 ); . sup . [ d ] ( amount of immobilized protein = amount of protein employed amount for protein in the washings )/( amount of protein employed for immobilization ), bca protein assay , pierce , bsa standard ; . sup . [ e ] m . w . 400 - 700 ; . sup . [ f ] m . w . 4200 ; n . d . = not determined . abbreviations : mtms : methyltrimethoxysilane ( fluka ), etms : ethyltrimethoxysilane ( abcr ), vtms : vinyltrimethoxysilane ( fluka ), pdms : polydimethylsiloxane with silanol terminal groups ( abcr ), dmdes : dimethyldiethoxysilane ( fluka ), btmse bis ( trimethoxysilyl ) ethane ( abcr ) residual activity after storage at room temperature for three months : & gt ; 95 % residual activity after storage in 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , at room temperature for three months : 31 % ( 2a ), 18 % ( 2g ) residual activity after 30 reactions cycles at 30 ° c . taking 22 h each ( batch procedure , esterification of lauric acid with 1 - octanol in 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylpentane , see activity test i , with the immobilizate being washed after each cycle ): & gt ; 80 % ( 2a , 2g ) residual activity after storage in 1 - octanol at 70 ° c . for 28 days : 65 % ( 2g ) immobilization of ps . cepacia lipase in gels of the types ai / aiii , b / aiii , c / aiii as in example 2 , except that the second silicon compound ( ii ) is tetramethoxysilane ( tmos ) in each case . in all instances , water ( in such an amount that the ratio r = moles of water ( total )/ moles of silane ( s ) given in the table is obtained ), 0 . 2 ml of aqueous poly ( vinyl alcohol ) solution ( mw 15 , 000 , fluka , 4 % w / v ), 0 . 1 ml of 1 m naf , and 0 . 4 ml of the aqueous enzyme solution ( containing 0 . 46 mg of dissolved protein , corresponding to 5 . 0 mg of commercially available amano ps lipase ) are mixed , and the amounts of silicon compounds i and ii ( tmos ) given in the table are added . the two - phase mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 30 s ( or with mixtures gelling faster until they gel ) and subsequently shaken at room temperature with 1200 cpm . after about 2 s to 3 h and generally with evolution of heat , the onset of gelling occurs , whereupon the mixture is cooled at 0 ° c . further treatment of the immobilizate is as described in example 1 . __________________________________________________________________________ mmol weight mg lipase / activity activity degree ofsilane i mmol i tmos r obt . ( g ) g gel . sup . [ a ] factor . sup . [ b ] (%). sup . [ c ] immob .. sup . [ d ] __________________________________________________________________________a etms 5 . 0 1 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 46 1 . 0 4 . 5 35 0 . 49b ptms 3 . 0 3 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 48 1 . 0 1 . 7 15 0 . 73c ptms 5 . 0 1 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 46 1 . 0 6 . 7 21 0 . 43d otms 1 . 5 1 . 5 9 . 3 0 . 32 1 . 4 2 . 4 n . d . 0 . 55e odtms 1 . 5 1 . 5 9 . 3 0 . 46 1 . 0 2 . 5 14 0 . 50f pdms . sup . [ e ] 0 . 75 4 . 5 8 . 0 0 . 44 1 . 0 2 . 0 16 0 . 53g pdms . sup . [ e ] 0 . 75 3 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 29 1 . 6 5 . 8 62 0 . 19h pdms . sup . [ e ] 1 . 0 3 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 27 1 . 7 6 . 2 40 0 . 11j btmsh 3 . 0 0 . 5 8 . 0 0 . 80 0 . 6 1 . 0 n . d . n . d . j phtms 4 . 5 1 . 5 8 . 0 0 . 29 1 . 6 1 . 8 n . d . n . d . k phtms 5 . 0 1 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 22 2 . 1 2 . 2 n . d . n . d . l -- -- 6 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 49 0 . 9 0 . 03 2 . 3 63__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] mg of enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate , . sup . [ b ] test 1 , ( activity of the immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ), . sup . [ c ] test 2 , . sup . [ d ] ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of protein used for immobilization ), . sup . [ e ] m . w . 400 - 700 abbreviations : mtms : methyltrimethoxysilane ( fluka ), etms : ethyltrimethoxysilane ( abcr ), ptms : propyltrimethoxysilane ( aldrich ), otms : octyltrimethoxysilane ( abcr ), odtms : octadecyltrimethoxysilane ( abcr ), phtms : phenyltrimethoxysilane ( fluka ), vtms : vinyltrimethoxysilane ( fluka ), pdms : polydimethylsiloxane with silanol terminal groups ( abcr ), btmsh bis ( trimethoxysilyl ) hexane ( abcr ) immobilization of ps . cepacia lipase in a gel based on alkyltrimethoxysilane / tetraethoxysilane the same procedure is used as in example 3 , except that tetraethoxysilane ( teos ) is used instead of tetramethoxysilane ( tmos ). the product is dried and washed as described in example 1 . __________________________________________________________________________ weight mg lipase / g activity degree ofsilane i mmol i mmol teos r obt . ( g ) gel . sup . [ a ] factor . sup . [ b ] immob .. sup . [ c ] __________________________________________________________________________a mtms 5 . 0 1 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 46 1 . 0 2 . 1 0 . 50b ptms 5 . 0 1 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 48 1 . 0 7 . 1 0 . 55c -- -- 6 . 0 8 . 0 0 . 39 1 . 2 0 . 29 0 . 75__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] mg of enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ b ] test 1 , ( activity of the immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ), ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of protein use for immobilization ) the same procedure is used as in example 2a , except that different lipases of different origins ( the amounts of commercially available lipase given in the table each in 0 . 2 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 5 , after centrifuging off insoluble components ) are used instead of amano ps lipase . gelling time : 0 . 5 - 2 min __________________________________________________________________________ u / mg mg mg soluble % conv / h · weight mg lipase / activty degree oforigin of lipase . sup . [ a ] protein . sup . [ b ] lipase . sup . [ c ] lipase proteins mg . sup . [ h ] obt . ( g ) g gel . sup . [ d ] factor . sup . [ e ] immob .. sup . [ f ] __________________________________________________________________________a rhizopus 1 . 5 35 9 . 1 0 . 10 0 . 39 23 . 3 1 . 6 16 arrhizusb rhizopus 45 . 6 5 . 0 2 . 8 0 . 1 0 . 39 7 . 2 0 . 4 35 delemarc rhizopus 2 . 6 35 7 . 8 0 . 02 0 . 41 19 . 0 0 . 6 34 niveusd mucor 24 . 2 10 6 . 4 0 . 07 0 . 40 16 . 0 0 . 5 34 miehele penicillium 1 . 9 10 2 . 8 0 . 07 0 . 38 7 . 4 2 . 8 n . d . roquefortif candida 3 . 0 35 3 . 2 0 . 33 0 . 37 8 . 6 1 . 4 38 lipolyticag novo sp 523 . sup . [ g ] n . s . 10 7 . 6 0 . 13 0 . 38 20 . 0 12 . 4 24h wheat germs 0 . 12 35 21 . 3 0 . 01 0 . 39 54 . 6 1 . 3 56__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] supplied by : fluka ( a , b , c , d , e , f , h ), novo ( i ); . sup . [ b ] specification by manufacturer ( n . s . = no statement ); . sup . [ c ] commercially available lipase used for immobilization ; . sup . [ d ] mg of soluble enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ e ] test 1 , ( activity of immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ); . sup . [ f ] ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of soluble protein used for immobilization ); . sup . [ g ] recombinant enzyme of unknown microbial origin ; . sup . [ h ] initial rate (% conversion / h · mg of commercially available lipase ), activity test 1 residual activity after storage in 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , at room temperature for three months : 70 % the same procedure is used as in example 2e , except that different lipases of different origins ( the amounts of commercially available lipase given in the table , each in 0 . 2 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 5 , after centrifuging off insoluble components ) are used instead of amano ps lipase . gelling time : 1 - 5 min __________________________________________________________________________ mg soluble degree mg lipase weight mg lipase / g activity oforigin of lipase . sup . [ a ] lipase . sup . [ b ] proteins obt . ( g ) gel . sup . [ c ] factor . sup . [ d ] immob .. sup . [ e ] __________________________________________________________________________a rhizopus arrhizus 35 9 . 1 0 . 39 23 . 3 4 . 2 20b rhizopus delemar 5 . 0 2 . 8 0 . 36 1 . 4 0 . 8 59c rhizopus niveus 35 7 . 8 0 . 32 24 . 4 1 . 4 28d mucor miehei 10 6 . 4 0 . 33 19 . 4 1 . 9 n . d . e penicillium 10 2 . 8 0 . 37 7 . 6 3 . 3 n . d . roquefortif aspergillus niger 10 9 . 1 0 . 39 23 . 3 21 . 2 88g candida lipolytica 35 3 . 2 0 . 36 8 . 9 1 . 9 66h novo sp 523 10 7 . 6 0 . 35 21 . 7 19 . 1 88j wheat germs 35 21 . 3 0 . 33 64 . 5 2 . 1 42__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] suppliers and specific activity cf . example 5 ; . sup . [ b ] commercially available lipase used ; . sup . [ c ] mg of soluble enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ d ] test 1 , ( activity of immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ); . sup . [ e ] ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of soluble protein used for immobilization ) residual activity after storage in 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , at room temperature for three months : 92 % the same procedure is used as in example 3c , except that different lipases of different origins ( the amounts of commercially available lipase given in the table , each in 0 . 2 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 5 , after centrifuging off insoluble components ) are used instead of amano ps lipase . gelling time : 0 . 5 - 2 min __________________________________________________________________________ mg soluble degree mg lipase weight mg lipase / g activity oforigin of lipase . sup . [ a ] lipase . sup . [ b ] proteins obt . ( g ) gel . sup . [ c ] factor . sup . [ d ] immob .. sup . [ e ] __________________________________________________________________________a rhizopus arrhizus 35 9 . 1 0 . 46 19 . 8 4 . 0 44b rhizopus delemar 5 . 0 2 . 8 0 . 48 5 . 8 0 . 5 91c rhizopus niveus 35 7 . 8 0 . 45 17 . 3 1 . 2 59d mucor miehei 10 6 . 4 0 . 48 13 . 3 4 . 4 83e penicillium 10 2 . 8 0 . 49 5 . 7 10 . 9 n . d . roquefortif aspergillus niger 10 9 . 1 0 . 48 18 . 9 18 . 9 95g candida 5 1 . 3 0 . 41 2 . 7 2 . 3 30 antarctica . sup . [ f ] h candida lipolytica 35 3 . 2 0 . 49 6 . 5 0 . 9 70j novo sp 523 10 7 . 6 0 . 46 16 . 5 81 . 2 96j wheat germs 35 21 . 3 0 . 45 47 . 3 6 . 8 81k porcine 35 4 . 0 0 . 49 8 . 2 1 . 1 55 pancreas . sup . [ g ] __________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] suppliers and specific activity cf . example 5 ; . sup . [ b ] commercially available lipase used ; . sup . [ c ] mg of soluble enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ d ] test 1 , ( activity of immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ); . sup . [ e ] ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of soluble protein used for immobilization ); . sup . [ f ] fluka , 3 . 3 u / mg of protein , 0 . 83 % conversion / h · mg of commercially available lipase , activity test 1 ; . sup . [ g ] fluka , 50 u / mg of protein , 0 . 16 % conversion / h · mg of commercially available lipase , activity test 1 the same procedure is used as in example 2a , except that the catalysts and amounts of water given below ( with a constant value of r = 8 ) have been used instead of 0 . 1 ml of 1 m naf solution . the gelling time was 0 . 5 - 1 min ( 8a ), 24 h ( 8b , 8c ), 48 h ( 8d ). ______________________________________ ml ofcatalyst water activity factor ( test 1 ) ______________________________________a 0 . 1 ml of ammonium fluoride ( 1 m ) 0 . 364 3 . 2b 0 . 1 ml of sodium hydroxide ( 1 m ) 0 . 364 7 . 0c 0 . 01 ml of sodium hydroxide ( 1 m ) 0 . 454 8 . 5d 0 . 1 ml of ammonia solution ( 1 m ) 0 . 364 8 . 9______________________________________ as in example 2a , except that different additives and amounts of water ( with a constant ratio r of water : silane = 8 : 1 ) as given in the table have been used . ______________________________________ ml of activity factoradditive water ( test 1 ) ______________________________________a 0 . 2 ml of polyethylene glycol 6000 ( fluka , 0 . 364 4 . 7 20 % w / w in water ) b 0 . 2 ml of bovine serum albumin ( sigma , 50 0 . 364 5 . 4 mg / ml in water ) c 0 . 1 ml of gelatine ( icn 4 % w / v in water ) 0 . 464 3 . 5d 0 . 2 ml sorbitol ( merck , 100 mg / ml ) 0 . 364 1 . 6e 0 . 2 ml of glycerol ( henkel ) 0 . 564 1 . 7f no additive 0 . 564 1 . 2______________________________________ lipase sp 523 ( novo ) is suspended in distilled water ( 50 mg / ml ), shaken at room temperature for 15 min , centrifuged , and the supernatant is used for immobilization . in a 2 ml polypropylene vessel ( eppendorf ), 42 μl of water , 0 . 1 ml of aqueous poly ( vinyl alcohol ) solution ( mw 15 , 000 , fluka , 4 % w / v ), 14 μl of 1 m naf solution , and 0 . 1 ml of the aqueous enzyme solution ( containing 2 . 06 mg of dissolved protein , corresponding to 5 . 0 mg of commercially available sp 523 lipase ) are mixed , and 0 . 217 ml of pdms ( 0 . 4 mmol , mw 400 - 700 , abcr ) as well as 0 . 221 ml of tetramethoxysilane ( 1 . 5 mmol , fluka ) are added . the two - phase mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 2 s , 1 . 2 g of siran ® ( schott , pretreated with 1 n hcl at 60 ° c . for 16 h , washed with water , used with a water content of 30 %) is added , the mixture is mixed on the vortex shaker for about 5 s until gelling occurs , and cooled at 0 ° c . for 2 min . the product is dried and washed as described in example 1 , the siran particles impregnated with the immobilizate are not crushed , however . loading ( sp 523 lipase , mg of dissolved protein used / g of immobilizate ): 2 . 2 [ activity ( gel with siran )]/[ activity ( same amount of bulk gel without siran )]: 1 . 9 ps . cepacia lipase ( amano ps ) is suspended in distilled water ( 25 mg / ml ), shaken at room temperature for 15 min , centrifuged , and the supernatant is used for immobilization . in a 2 ml polypropylene vessel ( eppendorf ), 0 . 2 ml of aqueous gelatine solution ( 4 % w / v , icn ), 0 . 1 ml of 1 m naf , and 0 . 2 ml of the aqueous enzyme solution ( containing 0 . 46 mg of dissolved protein , corresponding to 5 . 0 mg of commercially available amano ps lipase ) are mixed , and 0 . 5 g of magnetite ( fe 3 o 4 , freshly prepared according to kobayashi et al ., j . coll . interface sci . 1991 , 141 , 505 , water content 70 %) is added . the mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 2 s . 0 . 857 ml ( 6 mmol ) of mtms is added and the reaction mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker until gelling occurs after 0 . 5 - 1 min , and subsequently cooled at 0 ° c . for 1 min . further treatment of the gel was performed as described in example 1 , except that instead of filtration procedures , decantations with assistance of a permanent magnet were performed . the amount of commercially available lipase given in the table is suspended in 1 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , shaken for 15 min , and liberated from solid residues by centrifugation . immediately before the immobilization , 0 . 65 ml of conc . hcl is added with vigorous stirring to 4 ml of sodium methylsiliconate solution ( 30 % in water , 7 . 5 mmol , abcr ) so that a ph value of 8 . 0 - 8 . 5 results . to a mixture of 0 . 25 ml of enzyme solution , 0 . 25 ml of albumin solution ( 50 mg / ml bovine serum albumin , sigma ), 0 . 1 ml of 1 m sodium fluoride , and 0 . 5 ml of 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , are added 0 . 5 ml of polydimethylsiloxane ( 0 . 9 mmol , mw 400 - 700 , abcr ) followed by 0 . 5 ml of the sodium siliconate solution ( corresponding to 0 . 8 mmol ) and the mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker until gelling occurs , i . e . for 1 - 2 s . further processing was performed as described in example 1 . __________________________________________________________________________ mg soluble degree mg lipase weight mg lipase / g activity oforigin of lipase . sup . [ a ] lipase . sup . [ b ] proteins obt . ( g ) gel . sup . [ c ] factor . sup . [ d ] immob .. sup . [ e ] __________________________________________________________________________a pseudomonas 5 . 0 1 . 3 0 . 15 8 . 7 0 . 8 54 fluorescensb pseudomonas 5 . 0 0 . 5 0 . 15 3 . 2 1 . 2 23 cepaciac rhizopus arrhizus 20 5 . 2 0 . 14 37 . 3 1 . 7 36d rhizopus delemar 2 . 5 1 . 4 0 . 21 6 . 8 2 . 0 43e rhizopus niveus 20 4 . 5 0 . 14 32 . 4 5 . 2 80f mucor miehei 5 3 . 2 0 . 13 25 . 2 6 . 2 77g penicillium 5 1 . 4 0 . 16 8 . 7 5 . 0 62 roquefortih aspergillus niger 5 4 . 6 0 . 14 3 . 2 2 . 4 71i candida 5 1 . 3 0 . 17 7 . 2 0 . 8 51 antarcticaj candida lipolytica 20 2 . 1 0 . 17 13 . 4 3 . 7 60k novo sp 523 5 3 . 8 0 . 17 22 . 6 128 n . d . l wheat germs 10 6 . 1 0 . 14 43 . 4 2 . 9 82__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . [ a ] suppliers and specific activity cf . example 5 , ps . fluorescens lipase : fluka , 31 . 5 u / mg of protein ; . sup . [ b ] commercially available lipase used ; . sup . [ c ] mg of soluble enzyme protein used / g of immobilizate ; . sup . [ d ] test 1 , ( activity of immobilizate )/( activity of commercially available lipase ); . sup . [ e ] ( amount of immobilized protein )/( amount of soluble protein used for immobilization ); . sup . [ f ] % conversion / h ( initial rate ) for the commercially available lipase 50 mg of sp 523 lipase ( novo ) is suspended in 1 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , shaken for 15 min , and liberated from solid residues by centrifugation . 0 . 1 ml of enzyme solution ( corresponding to 5 mg of commercially available lipase , 3 . 8 mg of dissolved protein ), 0 . 2 ml of 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 7 . 0 , 0 . 1 ml of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( mw 15 , 000 , 4 % in water ), and 0 . 04 ml of 1 m sodium fluoride solution are mixed and 0 . 2 ml of polydimethylsiloxane ( 0 . 36 mmol , mw 400 - 700 , abcr ) followed by 0 . 2 ml of sodium methylsiliconate solution ( 30 % in water , 0 . 38 mmol , abcr ), and 0 . 03 ml of conc . hydrochlorid acid are added , the mixture is mixed for about 1 s ( vortex shaker ) and thoroughly mixed with 1 g of siran ® ( schott ). the product is dried and washed as described in example 1 , the siran particles impregnated with the immobilizate are not crushed , however . [ activity ( gel with siran )]/[ activity ( same amount of bulk gel without siran )]: 1 . 4 ps . cepacia lipase ( amano ps ) is suspended in distilled water ( 25 mg / ml ), shaken at room temperature for 15 min , centrifuged , and the supernatant is used for immobilization . in a 20 ml polypropylene vessel , 4 . 81 ml methyltrimethoxysilane ( mtms ), 1 . 17 ml distilled water and 0 . 03 ml 0 . 001 m aqueous naf solution are mixed and sonicated for 1 h at 0 ° c . after sonication 0 . 086 ml 1 m aqueous naf solution , 0 . 20 ml aqueous poly ( vinyl alcoholic ) solution ( 4 % w / v ), 0 . 20 ml lipase solution and 0 . 164 ml dist . water are added to 1 . 071 ml of mtms derived sol , which was obtained by sonication . the mixture is stirred on a vortex shaker ( approximately 5 s ) and then gently shaken ( 200 rpm ) at room temperature until gelation occurs . the product is dried and washed as described in example 1 . the same procedure is used as in example 2 ( e ). after gelation occurs , the gel containing polypropylene vessel is placed in an autoclave ( 200 ml ) and dried with carbon dioxide ( approximately 90 g ) under supercritical conditions ( 40 ° c ., 90 bar ). after 24 h the immobilizate is washed as described in example 1 . to the enzyme immobilizate ( 100 - 1000 mg , depending on the loading ) in a 50 ml centrifuge cup ( polypropylene , provided with a screw cap ) is added a mixture of 100 mg of lauric acid ( 0 . 5 mmol , fluka ), 0 . 158 ml of 1 - octanol ( 1 mmol , merck ), and 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylpentane ( ad 10 ml , aldrich ), the cup is closed and shaken in a water bath at 30 ° c . with 180 cpm . to determine the initial rate , samples ( 0 . 15 ml ) are taken at regular intervals and the ratio of octyl laurate to lauric acid is determined by gas chromatography ( 0 . 25 mm ffap capillary column , 15 m ). to determine the activity factor , the reaction rate thus determined is divided by the reaction rate that is obtained under the same conditions with such an amount of commercially available enzyme preparation as equals the amount used for immobilization . to 20 ml of a solution of gum arabic ( sigma , 100 g / l in water ) is added 6 . 5 ml of olive oil ( sigma , filtered through alumina b , activity level i ), and the mixture is homogenized with a mixer for 30 min . to 25 ml of the substrate emulsion is added 20 ml of 0 . 1 m na phosphate buffer , ph 9 , the ph value is adjusted with 0 . 1 m naoh to 8 . 0 , and the mixture is homogenized for 2 min . in a 2 ml eppendorf vessel , 10 mg of the enzyme immobilizate are shaken with 0 . 1 ml of water for 5 min , 0 . 9 ml of the buffered substrate emulsion is added , the mixture is thoroughly mixed on a vortex shaker for 5 s , and shaken at 30 ° c . with 1200 cpm for 0 . 5 - 2 h . the reaction is stopped by adding 0 . 1 ml of a solution of conc . sulfuric acid ( 1 ml ) in hexane / i - propanol 1 : 5 ( 10 ml ), and the reaction mixture is extracted with 0 . 6 ml of hexane . to 0 . 4 ml of the hexane phase , 1 ml of acetone / ethanol 1 : 1 and phenolphthaleine are added , and the free fatty acid is titrated with 0 . 1 m potassium hydroxide in ethanol . the activity yield is determined by comparing the conversions obtained with the conversion which is obtained with a solution of the free lipase under identical reaction conditions , and is given in percent . ( 3 ) stereoselective esterifications of racemic secondary alcohols exemplified by the esterification of 1 - phenylethanol with acetic anhydride and immobilized ps . cepacia lipase the enzyme immobilizate ( immobilized according to example 2e , its amount depending on the loading ) is suspended in 4 ml of benzene , 2 . 4 μmol of acetic anhydride and 2 . 4 μmol of racemic 1 - phenylethanol are added , and the mixture is shaken at room temperature with 400 cpm . to follow the reaction , samples ( 0 . 15 ml ) are taken at regular intervals , partitioned with 0 . 15 ml of 5 % na 2 co 3 and after centrifugation , the organic phase is examined by gas chromatography . the enantiomeric excess after completion of the reaction was determined by gas chromatography ( 0 . 25 mm capillary , 30 m , column material : 6 - t - butyldimethylsilyl - 2 , 3 - dimethyl - β - cyclodextrin , 20 % in uv1701 ): conversion : 50 %; % ee ( ester ): & gt ; 99 % ee ( alcohol ): & gt ; 99 ( 4 ) transesterification of olive oil with palmitic acid exemplified by immobilized novo sp523 lipase 0 . 2 g of palmitic acid are dissolved in 1 . 5 ml of 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylpentane with heating , mixed with 0 . 2 ml of triolein ( sigma ), and the enzyme immobilizate ( novo sp 523 lipase , immobilized according to example 12 , water content 16 %, 58 mg , corresponding to 0 . 15 mg of the soluble lipase protein used for immobilization ) is added . the reaction mixture is shaken at 40 ° c . with 1200 cpm . at regular intervals , samples ( 0 . 05 ml ) are taken , and the conversion is followed by gas chromatography ( following silylation with bstfa / tmcs ( 99 : 1 )/ pyridine ; capillary column with ps048 phase ). the activity ( defined as the palmitic acid consumption of 1 u = 1 μmol / min ) is 0 . 56 u , corresponding to 11 . 28 u / g of immobilizate . ( 5 ) hydrolysis of olive oil exemplified by immobilized ps . cepacia lipase immobilized ps . cepacia lipase ( immobilization method as described above with amounts of enzyme that are sometimes differring ; the amount depends on the loading , corresponding to 0 . 12 mg of lipase protein used for immobilization ) is mixed with 10 ml of water and 10 ml of olive oil , and shaken at 40 ° c . with 230 cpm ( 50 ml polypropylene vessel provided with a screw cap , 2 . 7 cm in diameter ). at regular intervals , samples of the oil phase ( 0 . 15 ml ) are taken , acetone / ethanol 1 : 1 ( 1 ml ) and phenolphthaleine is added , and the liberated fatty acid is titrated with 0 . 06 m koh in ethanol . ______________________________________immobilizate of : loading . sup . [ a ] v ( gel ). sup . [ b ] v ( gel )/ v ( free ) ______________________________________2 a 0 . 75 0 . 26 2 . 12 e 0 . 44 0 . 26 2 . 13 g 1 . 1 0 . 15 1 . 23 l 1 . 5 0 . 31 2 . 4______________________________________ . sup . [ a ] mg of soluble enzyme protein used for immobilization / g of immobilizate obtained ; . sup . [ b ] initial rate ( mmol of liberated acid / h )/ mg of lipase protein use for immobilization , v ( free ) = 0 . 13 mmol of koh / h · mg of commercially available lipase | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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the invention will now be described in detail in relation to some preferred embodiments by way of not limiting examples . the present inventors enriched p ( d , l ) la films with vitamin e ( at various concentrations ) obtaining a new kind of polymer ( named polylactil - e ) with different physical and biological characteristics compared to the normal p ( d , l ) la . the physical and biological behaviour of polylactil - e makes this polymer suitable for improving surface haemocompatibility of different kinds of implantable biomaterials ( e . g . metal stent ). in the following examples the preparation of polylactil e , its physical and biological behaviours will be described . p ( d , l ) la ( 100 % d , l , averagi mol wt 75 , 000 - 120 , 000 ) and vitamin e ( α - tocopthcrol ) were purchased from sigma - aldrich ( milwaukee , wis . usa ). p ( d , l ) la was dissolved under gentle shacking in chloroform ( 99 . 8 % pure , sigma aldrich ) at a concentration of 0 . 05 g / ml ( 5 % solution w / v ). vitamin e ((±) α - tocopherol , synthetic 95 % pure hplc ) was dissolved 1 : 1 ( v / v ) in ethanol ( absolute extrapure , merck , darmstadt , germany ) differente da lavoro su biomaterials ) and the added to the p ( d , l ) la / chlorophorm in order to obtain a solution with 10 - 40 % vit . e ( w / w ) ( highest vit . e concentraion added = 20 mg / ml final solution ). after 10 min shaking the solution was sprayed onto glass dishes at a pressure of 2 atm and the solvent was evaporated at room temperature under vacuum for 3 hours in the dark . the operation was repeated to form film sheets of ˜ 1 mm thickness . films were then cut under sterile conditions into square samples (˜ 1 cm 2 ) and stored at 4 ° c . for no more that 1 week . the presence of vitamin e in the films obtained was assessed using fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy ( ftir ). ftir spectra for polymers surfaces were obtained at 4 cm − 1 resolution using a bruker ifs 113v spectrophotometer , equipped with mct cryodetector . the spectra for ir analysis were executed on thin transparent films of control and vit . e p ( d , l ) la ( area = 1 cm 2 surface ). ir spectra were executed in transmission and recorded in the region of mid infrared at a nominal temperature of ˜ 400 k . ftir analysis . in fig1 the ftir absorbance spectra of p ( d , l )- la and p ( d , l )- la enriched with vit . e at various concentrations recorded in the region of 4000 - 1500 cm − 1 are shown . the band at ˜ 3500 cm − 1 indicates the stretching of o — h and it is present in every sample , as oh groups are present in both p ( d , l ) la and vit . e structures . two bands at ˜ 4000 cm − 1 represent the stretching of — ch 3 . the — ch 3 functions are also p ( d , l ) la and vit . e structures , but in the vit . e there are both aromatic and aliphatic — ch 3 , the former emitting at slightly higher frequencies than the latter . the intensity of bands at 3500 and 4000 cm − 1 increased with the vit . e concentration added to the p ( d , l ) la , indicating the dose - dependent vit . e presence . contact angle measurements were carried out in order to evaluate the wettability of the vit . e - enriched p ( d , l ) la films . an equal volume of distilled water ( 100 μl ) was placed on every sample by means of a micropipette , forming a drop or spreading on the surface . photos were taken through lenses ( leitz iia optical stage microscope equipped with leica dfc320 video - camera ) to record drop images . measure of the contact angle was performed by analyzing drop images ( 3 for each samples ) using scion image software . in the wettability test performed using the control p ( d , l ) la surface , a distilled water drop put on the polymer surface formed an angle of almost 90 ° ( 89 . 6 °± 1 . 5 °), while the vit . e addition decreased the water contact angle starting from 10 % concentration ( water contact angle = 62 . 3 °± 1 . 5 °, p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). the 20 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la wettability ( water contact angle = 58 . 2 °± 1 . 9 °) was not significantly higher than the one measured for 10 % vit . e films , while wettability increased significantly for 40 % vit . e samples ( water contact angle = 49 . 4 °± 2 . 3 °). protein adsorption assay was performed in triplicate using human plasma pool obtained from 10 healthy donors . blood ( 10 ml ) was centrifuged at 200 × g for 10 minutes to obtain platelet rich plasma ( prp ). prp was then centrifuged at 1600 × g for 10 minutes to separate platelet . plasma was then stored at − 20 ° c . prior to use . ps disks , p ( d , l ) la and p ( d , l ) la / vit . e films ( 1 cm 2 ) were covered with 200 μl of undiluted human plasma pool and incubated for 1 hour at 37 ° c . at the end of incubation , plasma was removed and films were washed three times with pbs . adsorbed proteins were collected by incubating samples with 1 ml of 2 % sodium dodecyl sulfate ( sds ) solution in pbs for 4 hours at room temperature and under vigorous shaking . amount of adsorbed proteins was measured in triplicate using a commercial protein quantification kit ( bca , pierce , rockford , ill .). the sample optical density was read at 562 nm against a calibration curve created using bovine serum albumin ( bsa , 25 - 2000 μg / ml ). the results were expressed as micrograms of total protein adsorbed for cm 2 ± standard deviation ( s . d ). as expected from the results of wettability test , protein adsorption assay evidenced that addition of vit . e to p ( d , l ) la induced a higher total protein adsorption compared to control p ( d , l ) la ( 70 ± 32 . 9 82 g / cm 2 ) and cell culture grade polystyrene ( ps , 66 . 3 ± 34 . 1 μg / cm 2 ) ( fig2 ). in fact the adsorbed protein quantity measured for 10 %, 20 % and 40 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la was respectively 162 ± 6 . 9 , 226 ± 22 . 5 and 400 . 7 ± 52 . 5 μg / cm 2 . measurement of the glass transition temperature ( tg ) for vit . e , pdlla and pdlla / vit . e 10 and 40 % ( polylactil - e ) the physical characteristics observed in the vit . e enriched p ( d , l ) la suggested a more deep interaction between the polymer and the vitamin e . therefore , vit . e , p ( d , l ) la and p ( d , l ) la / vit . e 10 and 40 % ( polylactil - e ) have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ). briefly , accurate y weighed sample (˜ 10 mg ) of the different materials were placed in aluminum dsc pans and sealed . the lids were vented with a pinhole in the center . to determine the tq of the various samples , they were first cooled to − 100 ° c . and then scanned from − 100 to 100 ° c . at 10 ° c ./ min . the dsc thermograms obtained mere examined and the midpoints of the baseline shifts were taken a glass transition temperatures . as shown in fig3 the vit . e was present in the 40 % vit . e / p ( d , l ) la ( polyactil - e ) in a free form ( tg :=− 46 ° c .) and its presence altered the tg of p ( d , l ) la in a dose - dependent and saturable fashion , suggesting the creation of a kind of binding between the linear polymer and the vitamin e . platelets and granulocytes were obtained from human peripheral venous blood ( 20 ml ) obtained from 10 healthy donors ( age range = 20 - 36 ) using edta as anticoagulant . all the blood samples were used within 3 hours from sampling . granulocytes were separated from whole blood using a modification of the method of boyum [ 27 ]. blood ( 10 ml ) was layered onto a ficoll - hypaque density gradient and centrifuged for 20 minutes at 2000 rpm to separate mononuclear cells from erythrocytes and granulocytes . the mononuclear fraction was discharged and erythrocytes were then lysed using an ammonium chloride lysing solution ( 150 mm nh 4 cl , 10 mm nahco 3 , 1 mm edta , ph7 . 4 ) for 20 minutes at 4 ° c . pellet containing granulocytes was then centrifuged twice in sterile phosphate buffer ( pbs ), cells were counted in optical microscopy using trypan blue exclusion test ( viability & gt ; 98 %) and suspended at a concentration of 1 × 10 6 cells / ml in rpmi 1640 ( euroclone , milan , italy ) medium supplemented with 10 % heat - inactivated fetal calf serum ( euroclone , milan , italy ) containing penicillin ( 100 u / ml ), streptomycin ( 100 mg / ml ) and l - glutamine ( 2 mm ) ( euroclone , milan , italy ) in polypropilene tubes . granulocyte suspension ( 200 μl ) was seeded onto cell culture grade polystyrene disks ( area ˜ 1 cm2 ) and p ( d , l ) la and p ( d , l ) la / vit . e films ( area = 1 cm 2 ) and incubated for 1 hour in a humidified atmosphere containing 5 % co 2 at 37 ° c . in order to obtain platelets , whole blood ( 10 ml ) was centrifuged at 200 × g for 10 minutes to obtain platelet rich plasma ( prp ). prp was then centrifuged at 1600 × g for 10 minutes to separate platelet then resuspended in 10 ml rpmi 1640 medium supplemented with 10 % heat - inactivated fetal calf serum ( euroclone , milan , italy ). aliquots of platelet suspension ( 200 μl ) were seeded onto ps disks , p ( d , l ) la and p ( d , l ) la / vit . e films and incubated for 0 . 5 hour in a humidified atmosphere containing 5 % co 2 at 37 ° c . cell counting and morphological analysis of adherent platelet and granulocyte were performed using a fluorescence microscope aristoplan leitz equipped with a digital camera leica dfc320 . at the end of the incubation time adherent platelet and granulocyte were washed three times with cold pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ) and fixed for 15 minutes at room temperature using a solution of formaldehyde ( 3 . 7 %) and sucrose ( 3 %) in pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ). platelets were treated for 5 minutes with triton x - 100 solution ( 2 % vol / vol ) in pbs and stained with 0 . 1 μm phalloidin - tric ( sigma - aldrich , milwaukee , wis . usa ) for 1 h at 37 ° c . platelets adhesion was measured as surface coverage with phalloidin - stained platelets (% area coverage ± standard deviation − s . d .) by measuring the fluorescence presence in 10 different fields for sample observed using a 10 × magnification . fluorescence presence was measured using leika qwin software . adherent granulocytes were stained for 10 minutes at room temperature in the dark with a 0 . 2 % solution of acridine orange ( ao ) and counted in 10 different fields per sample at 10 × magnification . scoring was performed by three separate observers , blind to the sample treatment using leika qwin software and expressed as adherent granulocyte / cm 2 ± standard deviation ( s . d .). platelet morphology was observed using a 40 × magnification while granulocytes were observed using a 25 × magnification . in vitro platelet adhesion testing was performed to study the quantity and the morphology of adherent platelets onto control p ( d , l ) la and vit . e - enriched p ( d , l ) la . as shown in fig4 a the percentage of area covered by platelet adherent onto ps and p ( d , l ) la was 45 . 5 ± 0 . 6 % and 42 . 3 ± 2 . 9 % respectively . platelet adhesion slightly decreased onto 10 % and 20 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la films ( 36 . 1 ± 2 . 0 % and 34 . 4 ± 1 . 4 % respectively , p & lt ; 0 . 05 compared to control p ( d , l ) la ), even if no statistically significant difference was observed as regards the percentages of covered area measured for the two vit . e - enriched polymers . besides platelet adhesion dropped dramatically onto 40 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la films where only 4 . 4 ± 1 . 7 % of the polymer area was covered by platelet ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). platelet morphology was altered by the presence of high vit . e concentration as observed by the actin staining with phalloidin . in fact as shown in fig4 b adherent platelet observed onto control p ( d , l ) la formed aggregates and 50 - 70 % of platelet showed a spread morphology , while the few adherent platelet observed onto 40 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la films ( fig4 c ) were mostly isolated and their morphology was mainly roundish . as shown in fig5 a granulocytes adhered both to ps ( 619200 ± 104840 cells / cm 2 ) and p ( d , l ) la ( 806400 ± 17900 cells / cm 2 ) after 1 hour incubation . the vit . e presence in p ( dl ) la films strongly decreased granulocyte adhesion at 10 % ( 360400 ± 4500 cells / cm 2 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) and 20 % vit . e ( 317000 ± 37200 cells / cm 2 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). also for granulocyte adhesion no statistically significant differences were observed between 10 % and 20 % vit . e polymer films , and also in this case the presence of 40 % vit . e reduced the cell adhesion ( 11100 ± 2890 cells / cm 2 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). granulocyte adherent to p ( d , l ) la and stained with ao showed the typical polylobate nucleus and a spread morphology observed for activated granulocyte ( fig5 b ), while the few adherent granulocyte observed onto 40 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la films ( fig5 c ) showed a roundish morphology with a lower cellular size compared to the granulocyte adherent onto control p ( d , l ) la . the tromboresistant properties of the p ( d , l ) la and vit . e - enriched p ( d , l ) la films were evaluated using fresh human blood using the kinetic clotting method [ 28 ]. for this test , 100 μl of fresh blood were taken directly from the plastic syringe used for the blood collection and immediately dropped onto the film specimens and onto polystyrene disks ( ps ). after a predetermined contact time ( 10 , 20 , 40 and 50 minutes ), specimens were transferred into plastic tubes each containing 20 ml of distilled water and incubated for 5 minutes . the surface ability to induce blood clotting was deduced by the quantity of free haemoglobin measurable at every time point . in fact , the red blood cells that had not been trapped in a thrombus were haemolysed and the concentration of free haemoglobin dispersed in water was measured by monitoring the absorbance at 540 nm . the absorbance values were plotted versus the blood contacting time and the clotting times were derived using optical density curves . each absorbance value represents the average of 10 measurements ± s . d . in fig6 the blood clotting profile for ps , p ( d , l ) la and vit . e p ( d , l ) la films are shown . the absorbance of the haemolyzed haemoglobin solution varied with time , and the higher the absorbance , the better the thromboresistence . the present inventors indicated as clotting time the time at which the absorbance equals 0 . 02 . ps was able to reduce quickly haemoglobin absorbance and ps samples coagulated completely after 45 - 47 minutes . p ( d , l ) la samples showed a similar clotting time , but the coagulation process seemed to occur more slowly compared to ps . the addition of high vit . e concentration ( 40 %) to p ( d , l ) la slowed the coagulation process significantly compared to normal p ( d , l ) la at every time point , while a statistically significant difference between absorbance values for p ( d , l ) la and 10 % and 20 % vit . e p ( d , l ) la samples was observed only after 50 minutes ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). however for all vit . e - enriched p ( d , l ) la samples coagulation time was 70 - 75 minutes ( data not shown ) indicating an increased thromboresistence compared to the normal p ( d , l ) la . the statistical analysis of data was performed using graph pad prism 2 . 01 software for windows and using the anova test followed by dunnett &# 39 ; s post - hoc test , taking p & lt ; 0 . 05 as the minimum level of significance . one of the most investigated effects of vit . e ( in particular of the α - tocopherol ) is the ability to reduce the rat and human smc proliferation [ 29 ]. as the neointima is a scar tissue derived from hyperproliferation of smc , the adhesion and proliferation of neointima - like rat cells a10 [ 30 ] onto polylactil - e has been investigated . rat clonal cell line a10 ( atcc crl - 1476 ) was derived from the thoracic aorta of db1x embryonic rat and possesses many of the properties characteristic of smooth muscle cells . a10 cells were grown in culture flask ( 75 cm 2 ) in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem , euroclone ) supplemented with 10 % heat - inactivated fetal bovine serum ( fbs ) ( euroclone ), penicillin ( 100 u / ml ), streptomycin ( 100 μg / ml ) and l - glutamine ( 2 mm ) ( euroclone ) in a humidified atmosphere containing 5 % co 2 at 37 ° c . evaluation of a10 cells adhesion and proliferation was performed using a fluorescence microscope aristoplan leitz equipped with a digital camera leica dfc320 . a10 cells were seeded onto cell culture grade polystyrene dishes ( ps ), control ( pla ) and vit . e - enriched p ( d , l ) la ( pla10 , pla20 and pla40 ) at a concentration of 1 . 5 × 10 4 cells / cm 2 . the number of adherent cells was evaluated after 0 . 5 , 1 , 2 and 4 hours incubation while proliferation was estimated counting cells present onto different polymers after 24 , 48 and 72 hours . at the end of incubation time adherent cells were washed three times with cold pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ) and fixed for 15 minutes at room temperature using a solution of formaldehyde ( 3 . 7 %) and sucrose ( 3 %) in pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ). cells were then stained for 10 minutes at room temperature in the dark with a 0 . 2 % solution of acridine orange ( ao ) and counted in 10 different fields per sample at 10 × magnification . scoring was performed by three separate observers , blind to the sample treatment using leika qwin software and express as adherent cells / cm 2 + standard deviation ( s . d .). as shown in fig7 , the number of a10 cells adherent onto pla , pla10 , pla20 and pla40 films increased from 0 . 5 to 4 hours without statistically significant differences among the different polymers . in fact , the number of a10 cells ± standard deviation ( s . d .) scored onto 1 cm 2 pla after 0 . 5 hours was 275 ± 159 increasing after 2 ( 1405 ± 505 ) and 3 ( 855 ± 529 ) hours . a similar trend was observed for pla10 , 20 and 40 and the number of cells scored onto 1 cm 2 polymer surface , after 4 hours , was 4 , 674 ± 1 , 375 for pla , 5 , 040 ± 1 , 920 for pla10 , 4 , 032 ± 1 , 033 for pla20 and 3 , 849 ± 916 for pla40 , while cells adhered onto the positive control surface ( ps ) after 4 hours were 14 , 204 ± 3 , 404 ( data not shown ). a10 cell proliferated onto every polymer but the proliferation kinetics were different ( fig8 ). in particular , after 24 hours the cell number scored onto pla and vit . e enriched pla was not different with the exception of pla20 ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). after 48 hours all the vit . e enriched pla showed a reduction in the proliferation compared to pla ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) with the exception of pla20 . the proliferation slowing or arrest was more evident after 72 hours , when cells / cm 2 ± s . d . scored onto pla10 , 20 and 40 were respectively 110 , 000 ± 44 , 400 , 136 , 667 ± 40 , 000 and 172 , 222 ± 54 , 440 ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 compared to pla ) while a rapid proliferation occurred onto pla ( 426 , 667 ± 31 , 110 cells / cm 2 ) and , as expected , onto ps surface reaching the number 926 , 670 ± 60 , 000 after 72 hours . no toxic effect on a10 cells ( excessive number of floating dead cells ) was observed during daily optical inspection performed for all the samples . naturally , while the principle of the invention remains the same , the details of construction and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of example , without departing from the scope of the present invention as depicted in the appended claims . 1 . van der hoeven b l , pires n m , warda h m , oemrawsingh p v , van vlijmen b j , quax p h , schalij m j , van der wall e e , jukema j w . drug - eluting stents : results , promises and problems . int j cardiol . 2005 ; 99 : 9 - 17 . 2 . haery c , sachar r , ellis s g . drug - eluting stents : the beginning of the end of restenosis ? cleve clin j med . 2004 ; 71 : 815 - 24 . 3 . van der giessen w j , lincoff a m , schwartz r s , van beusekom h m , serruys p w , holmes d r jr , ellis s g , topol e j . marked inflammatory sequelae to implantation of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable polymers in porcine coronary arteries . circulation . 1996 ; 94 : 1690 - 7 . 4 . drachman d e , edelman e r , seifert p , groothuis a r , bornstein d a , kamath k r , palasis m , yang d , nott s h , rogers c . neointimal thickening after stent delivery of paclitaxel : change in composition and arrest of growth over six months . j am coll cardiol . 2000 ; 36 : 2325 - 32 . 5 . suzuki t , kopia g , hayashi s , bailey l r , llanos g , wilensky r , klugherz b d , papandreou g , narayan p , leon m b , yeung a c , tio f , tsao p s , falotico r , carter a j . stent - based delivery of sirolimus reduces neointimal formation in a porcine coronary model . circulation . 2001 ; 104 : 1188 - 93 . 6 . lewis a l , stratford p w . phosphorylcholine - coated stents . j long term eff med implants . 2002 ; 12 : 231 - 50 . 7 . andreopoulos a g , hatzi e , doxastakis m . synthesis and properties poly ( lactic acid ). j mater sci mater med . january 1999 ; 10 ( 1 ): 29 - 33 . 8 . drumright r e , gruber p r , henton d e . polylactic acid technology . adv mater 2000 , 12 ( 23 ): 1814 - 6 . 9 . frank r d , dresbach h , thelen h , sieberth h g . glutardialdehyde induced fluorescence technique ( gift ) : a new method for the imaging of platelet adhesion on biomaterials . j biomed mater res . 2000 ; 52 : 374 - 81 . 10 . peltroche - llacsahuanga h , schmidt s , schnitzler n , lutticken r , haase g . simultaneous measurement of biopolymer - mediated mac - 1 up - regulation and adherence of neutrophils : a novel flow cytometric approach for predicting initial inflammatory interaction with foreign materials . j immunol methods . 2001 ; 258 : 13 - 25 . 11 . vogt f , stein a , rettemeier g , krott n , hoffmann r , vom dahl j , bosserhoff a k , michaeli w , hanrath p , weber c , blindt r . long - term assessment of a novel biodegradable paclitaxel - eluting coronary polylactide stent . eur heart j . 2004 ; 25 : 1330 - 40 . 12 . al suwaidi j , berger p b , holmes d r jr . coronary artery stents . jama 2000 ; 284 : 1828 - 1836 . 13 . mintz g s , popma j j , pichard a d , kent k m , satler l f , wong c , hong m k , kovach j a , leon m b . arterial remodeling after coronary angioplasty : a serial intravascular ultrasound study . circulation 1996 ; 94 : 35 - 43 . 14 . hoffmann r , mintz g s , dussaillant g r , popma j j , pichard a d , satler l f , kent k m , griffin j , leon m b . patterns and mechanisms of in - stent restenosis . a serial intravascular ultrasound study . circulation 1996 ; 94 : 1247 - 1254 . 15 . lowe h c , oesterle s n , khachigian l m . coronary in - stent restenosis : current status and future strategies . j am coll cardiol 2002 ; 39 : 183 - 193 . 16 . vogt f , stein a , rettemeier g , krott n , hoffmann r , vom dahl j , bosserhoff a k , michaeli w , hanrath p , weber c , blindt r . long - term assessment of a novel biodegradable paclitaxel - eluting coronary polylactide stent . eur heart j 2004 ; 25 : 1330 - 1340 . 17 . drachman d e , edelman e r , seifert p , groothuis a r , bornstein d a , kamath k r , palasis m , yang d , nott s h , rogers c . neointimal thickening after stent delivery of paclitaxel : change in composition and arrest of growth over six months . j am coll cardiol 2000 ; 36 : 2325 - 2332 . 18 . moses j w , leon m b , popma j j , fitzgerald p j , holmes d r , o &# 39 ; shaughnessy c , caputo r p , kereiakes d j , williams d o , teirstein p s , jaeger j l , kuntz r e ; sirius investigators . sirolimus - eluting stents versus standard stents in patients with stenosis in a native coronary artery . n engl j med 2003 ; 349 : 1315 - 1323 . 19 . brigelius - flohe r . kelly f j , salonen j t , neuzil j . zingg j m , azzi a . the european perspective on vitamin e : current knowledge and future research . am j clin nutr . 2002 ; 76 : 703 - 16 . 20 . zingg j m , azzi a . non - antioxidant activities of vitamin e . curr med chem 2004 ; 11 : 1113 - 33 . 21 . devaraj s , li d , jialal i . the effects of alpha tocopherol supplementation on monocyte function . decreased lipid oxidation , interleukin 1 beta secretion , and monocyte adhesion to endothelium . j clin invest . 1996 ; 98 : 756 - 63 . 22 . cachia o . benna j e , pedruzzi e , descomps b , gougerot - pocidalo m a , leger c l . alpha - tocopherol inhibits the respiratory burst in human monocytes . attenuation of p47 ( phox ) membrane translocation and phosphorylation . j biol chem . 1998 ; 273 : 32801 - 5 . 23 . mendez j a , aguilar m r , abraham g a , vazquez b , dalby m , di silvio l , san roman j . new acrylic bone cements conjugated to vitamin e : curing parameters , properties , and biocompatibility . j biomed mater res . 2002 ; 62 : 299 - 307 . 24 . schubert m a , wiggins m j , defife k m , hiltner a , anderson j m . vitamin e as an antioxidant for poly ( etherurethane urea ): in vivo studies . j biomed mater res . 1996 ; 32 : 493 - 504 . 25 . sasaki m , hosoya n , saruhashi m . vitamin e modified cellulose membrane . artif organs . 2000 ; 24 : 779 - 89 . 26 . tsuruoka s , kawaguchi a , nishiki k , hayasaka t , fukushima c , sugimoto k , saito t , fujimura a . vitamin e - bonded hemodialyzer improves neutrophil function and oxidative stress in patients with end - stage renal failure . am j kidney dis . 2002 ; 39 : 127 - 33 . 27 . boyum a . isolation of mononuclear cells and granulocytes from human blood . scand j clin lab invest 1968 ; 97 : 77 - 89 . 28 . imai y , nose y . a new method for evaluation of antithrombogenicity of materials . j biomed mater res 1972 ; 6 : 165 - 72 . 29 . azzi a , boscoboinik d , clement s , marilley d , ozer n k , ricciarelli r , tasinato a . alpha - tocopherol as a modulator of smooth muscle cell proliferation . prostaglandins leukot essent fatty acids 1997 ; 57 : 507 - 514 . 30 . rao r s , miano j m , olson e n , seidel c l . the a10 cell line : a model for neonatal , neointimal , or differentiated vascular smooth muscle cells ? cardiovasc res . 1997 ; 36 : 118 - 126 . | 0Human Necessities
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an embodiment of this invention will be described , with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a perspective view of a sheet post - process apparatus according to this invention . fig2 is a top view of the post - process apparatus . as fig1 shows , the post - process apparatus comprises a waiting tray 10 , a processing tray 12 , a stapler 14 , a first storage tray 16 , and a second storage tray 18 . the sheet post - process apparatus further comprises a pair of input rollers 22 , a pair of sheet - feeding rollers 24 , and an input - roller motor 26 . the input rollers 22 receive a sheet 20 supplied from an mfp 1 ( see fig7 ) and convey the sheet 20 to the sheet - feeding rollers 24 . the sheet - feeding rollers 24 convey the sheet 20 to the waiting tray 10 . the input - roller motor 26 drives the input rollers 22 . one of the input rollers 22 is an upper input roller 22 a , and the other input roller 22 is a lower input roller 22 b . likewise , one of the sheet - feeding rollers 24 is an upper sheet - feeding roller , and the other sheet - feeding roller 24 is a lower sheet - feeding roller . the waiting tray 10 includes a pair of waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b having an l - shaped cross section , which are arranged at a predetermined interval as shown in fig1 . the paper 20 is loaded between the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b . namely , as shown in fig1 , the paper 20 is loaded so that transverse sides of the paper 20 get snagged on the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b . a hold portion 10 c for holding the lowermost portion of the paper loaded on the waiting tray 10 is provided because the waiting tray 10 is obliquely arranged . widths in the paper 20 conveying directions of the waiting tray 10 and the processing tray 12 are smaller than the width in the conveying direction of the paper 20 . when the paper falls down on the processing tray 12 , the paper 20 is loaded across the processing tray 12 and the storage tray ( shown in fig2 ). thus , the width along the conveying direction of the paper in the post - process apparatus can be decreased . as shown in fig1 , a strike - down mechanism 71 for striking the paper 20 down on the processing tray 12 above an intermediate position between the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b . the strike - down mechanism 71 includes a solenoid 72 , a plunger 73 which is sucked and ejected in accordance with magnetic excitation or non - excitation of the solenoid 72 , and an l - shaped strike - down member 74 which is supported while freely rotated about a point a attached to one end of the plunger 73 . the later - mentioned controller 85 controls passage of electric current through the solenoid 72 . as shown in fig1 , a paper width adjustment mechanism 81 for adjusting the interval between the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b in accordance with the width of the paper 20 is provided in the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b . the paper width adjustment mechanism 81 includes a rack and pinion mechanism 82 which is coupled to the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b , a stepping motor 84 which controls rotation of a pinion gear 83 , and the controller 85 which controls the rotation of the stepping motor 84 . as shown in fig3 , when a predetermined number of sheets of paper are stacked in the waiting tray 10 , the plunger 73 is sucked in an arrow direction of fig1 by magnetically exciting the plunger 73 with the solenoid 72 , which rotates the strike - down member 74 in the arrow direction . as a result , a central portion of the paper 20 loaded on the waiting tray 10 is subject to downward force by the strike - down member 74 and the paper 20 is bent as shown by a broken line in fig1 to fall down on the processing tray 12 by a self weight . the operation is referred to as active drop . the sheet post - process apparatus has a paper guide 36 , which guides sheets from the mfp 1 to the waiting tray 10 and thence to the processing tray 12 . the paper guide 36 has a paper - pass ceiling . in the processing tray 12 , the sheets are aligned at the longitudinal edges and the transverse edges . the sheets are aligned at their longitudinal edges by a longitudinal - alignment mechanism 38 as is illustrated in fig4 . more precisely , an upper longitudinal - alignment motor 40 drives the upper longitudinal - alignment rollers 38 a of the mechanism 38 , and a lower longitudinal - alignment motor 42 drives the lower longitudinal - alignment rollers 38 b of the mechanism 38 . driven by the motors 40 and 42 , the rollers 38 a and 38 b move the sheets until one longitudinal edge of every sheet abuts on a stopper 45 . paddles 44 are provided to facilitate the longitudinal alignment . a paddle motor 46 drives the paddles 44 . the sheets are aligned at their transverse edges , too , as is illustrated in fig5 . more specifically , the transverse alignment is performed by a transverse - alignment mechanism 47 and a transverse - alignment motor 48 . when the number of sheets thus aligned in the processing tray 12 reaches the prescribed value , the stapler 14 starts operating . the stapler 14 is positioned as depicted in fig6 and controlled by a stapler - driving unit 49 . controlled by the unit 49 , the stapler 14 staples the sheets together , forming a bundle of sheets . as shown in fig4 , a transport mechanism 50 transports the bundle of sheets to the first storage tray 16 . either the first storage tray 16 or the second storage tray 18 is selected when a storage - tray driving unit 52 moves the tray 16 or 18 to a predetermined upper position . how the post - process apparatus according to this invention operates will be explained with reference to fig7 to 16 . as fig7 shows , a sheet 20 conveyed from the mfp 1 is moved from the input rollers 22 to the sheet - feeding rollers 24 , in the direction of the arrow . as is illustrated in fig8 , the sheet 20 , or the first sheet , is placed on the waiting tray 10 . then , the waiting - tray rollers 28 move down , in the direction of the arrow , aligning the trailing edge of the first sheet 20 at the rear ( i . e ., upstream ) end 60 of the waiting tray 10 . then , as shown in fig9 , a second sheet of paper 20 a is conveyed to the waiting tray 10 , and the position of the paper 20 a is aligned by the self weight with reference to the rear end 60 of the waiting tray 10 . thus , a stack of paper 20 b including the two sheets of paper 20 and 20 a are formed in the waiting tray 10 . the solenoid 72 is magnetically excited to suck the plunger 73 in the arrow direction of fig1 , which rotates the strike - down member 74 in the arrow direction . as a result , the central portion of the stack of paper 20 b loaded on the waiting tray 10 is subject to the downward force by the strike - down member 74 and the stack of paper 20 b is bent as shown by the broken line in fig1 to fall down on the processing tray 12 by the self weight . the stack of paper 20 b is supplied to the processing tray 12 by the active drop . from a third sheet of paper , when the interval between the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b is widened larger than the width of the paper 20 , as shown in fig1 , paper 20 c is directly supplied from the paper feed roller 24 to the processing tray 12 without passing through the waiting tray 10 , and the paper 20 c is loaded on the bundle of paper 20 b of the two sheets of paper to form a bundle of paper 21 . at this point , the longitudinal - alignment mechanism 38 and the transverse - alignment mechanism 47 function so as to perform the alignment of the bundle of paper 21 in the longitudinal and transverse directions . it is desired that the waiting tray 10 and the processing tray 12 be inclined , having their upstream ends at a lower position than their downstream ends . in other words , they should be so positioned that their rear ends 60 and 62 lie at the lowest position . if the trays 10 and 12 are so inclined , the sheets 20 are aligned , due to gravity , at the rear end 60 of the waiting tray 10 , and the bundle 20 b can be aligned , due to gravity , at the rear end and 62 of the processing tray 12 . as fig1 shows , the stapler 14 staples the bundle 21 of sheets . then , the transport mechanism 50 transports the bundle 21 to the storage tray 16 as illustrated in fig1 . thus , the post - process ends . when the post - process is not required ( non - sort ), the interval between the waiting tray parts 10 a and 10 b is widened larger than the width of the paper 20 , and the bundle of paper is directly discharged from the waiting tray 10 to the storage tray 16 through the processing tray 12 . in accordance with the embodiment , the paper 20 is discharged through the same paper path in both the sort process in which the post - process is performed and the non - sort process in which the post - process is not required , so that the miniaturization and the cost reduction of the apparatus can be achieved by decreasing the number of mechanical parts such as the roller . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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the present invention teaches a novel etch chemistry for etching a wide variety of feature sizes and shapes in wafers incorporating organic low - k dielectrics . the methodology taught herein results in minimal rie lag , minimal bowing of the trenches and vias formed by the etch process , good etch profiles , and good etch uniformity across the wafer . in order to etch a variety of features , including but specifically not limited to trenches and vias , in wafers including organic low - k dielectric layers the present invention implements ammonia as an etchant . having reference to fig1 a , in order to practice the process , 100 , of the present invention a wafer is situated within a reaction vessel capable of forming an etch plasma . this reaction vessel or chamber may be an item of single purpose etching equipment , or may be a multiple purpose wafer processing system . one equipment particularly well suited for practicing the present invention is the exelan ™ dry etch system , available from lam research corporation , fremont , calif . exelan ™ is capable of performing hardmask open , inorganic and organic arc etch , and photoresist strip in situ within a single chamber . alternative equipment may of course be utilized . the wafer , previously having had a layer of patterned photoresist applied to upper surface thereof , is mounted within the chamber at 102 , a flow of etchant gas is introduced into the chamber at 104 , and an etch plasma struck at 106 . as previously discussed , this etchant gas comprises ammonia , nh3 . the present invention may conveniently be implemented as part of a multi - step etch regime , for instance as shown at fig1 b and 2 a - d . having reference now to fig2 a , an example wafer , 1 , having a patterned layer of photoresist , 10 , is shown . in this example , wafer 1 includes a silicon substrate , 22 having deposited thereon a silicon carbide barrier layer , 20 . deposited over barrier layer 20 is a first layer 18 of organic low - k dielectric , for instance dow chemical &# 39 ; s silk ™. a metallized structure , not shown , may be formed under the barrier layer 20 . a thin silicon carbide trench stop layer 16 , is deposited between the first organic low - k layer 18 and the second organic low - k layer 14 to form a dual damascene structure , not shown . a second organic low - k layer 14 , also of silk ™, is deposited over trench stop layer 16 . a hard mask layer of pearl ™, a plasma - enhanced anti - reflective layer also available from novellus systems , inc . san jose , calif . is deposited over second organosilicate layer 14 , completing the example in wafer stack . patterned photoresist layer 10 , previously discussed , is applied over hard mask 12 . of course , it will be recognized by those having skill in the art that this wafer stack is exemplary only . alternative structures and films , known to those having skill in the art may be utilized to implement alternative integrated circuit designs . referring now to fig1 b and 2 a - d one multi - step etch process 200 , which utilizes an ammonia etch step employing the dual - frequency etch equipment previously discussed , is disclosed . several of the process parameters of the present invention may be modified to suit varying conditions , etchant gas combinations , and wafer stack compositions . certain preferred embodiments , and their alternatives will be discussed below . at 102 the wafer is situated within the reaction chamber . at 120 a flow of a first , selective etchant gas is introduced into the chamber of the dual - frequency etch equipment previously discussed . at 104 the etch plasma is struck . according to one embodiment , the first etchant gas is a mixture including ar , oxygen , carbon tetrafluoromethane cf4 , and octafluorocyclobutane , c4f8 . this mixture is of course highly application specific , and alternative etch steps implementing alternative etchants and diluents may be used either before or after an nh3 etch step according to the present invention . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the first , selective , etch step is conducted at a chamber pressure of between 0 and 250 mtorr , more preferably between 10 and 100 mtorr , more preferably still between 40 and 80 mtorr , and most preferably at about 70 mtorr . the upper frequency of the plasma is formed at power levels from about 250 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the upper power level is formed from about 250 w to about 1500 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 250 to about 1000 w . most preferably the upper frequency power is set at about 500 w . the lower frequency power level is set at power levels from about 250 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the upper power level is formed from about 500 w to about 2000 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 750 w to about 2000 w . most preferably the lower frequency power is set at about 1000 w . the mixture of the first etchant gas is preferably comprised of flows of the constituent etch gasses . these include oxygen , o2 , at flows from about 3 sccm to about 300 sccm , more preferably from about 5 sccm to about 75 sccm , more preferably still from about 10 sccm to about 50 sccm and most preferably at about 15 sccm . this first etchant gas also contains argon as a diluent , at flows from about 10 sccm to about 500 sccm , more preferably from about 50 sccm to about 250 sccm , more preferably still from about 100 sccm to about 200 sccm and most preferably at about 160 sccm . the etchant further includes a flow of octafluorocyclobutane , c4f8 , from about 1 sccm to about 50 sccm , more preferably from about 3 sccm to about 30 sccm , more preferably still from about 5 sccm to about 20 sccm and most preferably at about 5 sccm . a final etch gas constituent in this embodiment is cf4 , tetrafluoromethane at a flow rate from about 1 sccm to about 100 sccm , more preferably from about 10 sccm to about 75 sccm , more preferably still from about 20 sccm to about 50 sccm and most preferably at about 40 sccm . etching proceeds at a controlled temperature , for a specified period of time . in the exemplar under discussion , the first etch may proceed at temperatures between 0 ° c . and 60 ° c . more particularly from about 5 ° c . to about 50 ° c . more particularly still , from about 10 ° c . to about 40 ° c ., and most preferably at about 40 ° c . first etch times may further vary from small fractions of a second to about 10 minutes , and are situation dependent . in the example presented here , etching at the most preferable power settings , gas flows and temperature , the first , selective etch was accomplished in about 28 seconds . this etch step provides a high degree of selectivity between the organosilicate dielectric 14 and the stop layer 16 . in order to accomplish the preceding temperature control , the temperature of the wafer is thermally maintained by a flow of coolant gas through the chuck retaining the wafer in the reaction vessel , sometimes referred to as esc , or electrostatic chuck , temperature . this flow of coolant gas , for instance helium , is at a flow rate from about 1 sccm to about 50 sccm , more preferably from about 2 sccm to about 30 sccm , more preferably still from about 10 sccm to about 20 sccm and most preferably at about 15 sccm . etching proceeds until the desired etch results have been met . in this example , the first etch step proceeds until the etch reaches the etch stop layer , 16 , as shown at fig2 b . this corresponds to step 122 . to accomplish the second etch step , 124 , which in this example is a non - selective etch through stop layer 16 , several of the previously discussed process parameters are changed . the second etch is conducted at a chamber pressure of between 0 and 250 mtorr , more preferably between 10 and 100 mtorr , more preferably still between 40 and 90 mtorr , and most preferably at about 55 mtorr . the upper frequency of the plasma is formed at power levels from about 250 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the upper power level is formed from about 500 w to about 2000 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 1000 w to about 1500 w . most preferably the upper frequency power is set at about 1400 w . the lower frequency power level is set at power levels from about 250 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the upper power level is formed from about 500 w to about 2000 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 750 w to about 2000 w . most preferably the lower frequency power is set at about 1000 w . the mixture of the second etchant gas is again preferably comprised of flows of the constituent etch gasses . these include oxygen , o2 , at flows from about 3 sccm to about 300 sccm , more preferably from about 5 sccm to about 150 sccm , more preferably still from about 7 sccm to about 50 sccm and most preferably at about 9 sccm . this second etchant gas also contains argon as a diluent , at flows from about 10 sccm to about 500 sccm , more preferably from about 50 sccm to about 250 sccm , more preferably still from about 100 sccm to about 200 sccm and most preferably at about 140 sccm . the etchant further includes a flow of octafluorocyclobutane , c4f8 , from about 1 sccm to about 50 sccm , more preferably from about 5 sccm to about 30 sccm , more preferably still from about 10 sccm to about 20 sccm and most preferably at about 15 sccm . again , etching proceeds at a controlled temperature , for a specified period of time . in the exemplar under discussion , the second etch may proceed at temperatures between 0 ° c . and 60 ° c . more particularly from about 50 ° c . to about 50 ° c . more particularly still , from about 10 ° c . to about 40 ° c ., and most preferably at about 40 ° c . again , etch temperature was maintained by a flow of coolant gas applied to the backside of the wafer in the process chuck . process times may further vary from small fractions of a second to about 10 minutes , and are situation dependent . in the example presented here , processed at the most preferable power settings , gas flows and temperature , the second etch was accomplished in about 10 seconds . this etch step provides a low degree of selectivity between the organosilicate dielectric 18 and the stop layer 16 . etch step 124 proceeds at least until etch stop 16 has been etched through , as shown at fig2 c . in this example , this etch step also etches through a portion , but not all , of osg layer 18 . at this point step 126 is reached . to complete the etching of the feature , a third selective etch step , 106 is conducted . to perform step 106 , an etch through the remainder of osg layer 18 , several of the previously discussed process parameters are again changed . the third etch is conducted at a chamber pressure of between 0 and 500 mtorr , more preferably between 10 and 250 mtorr , more preferably still between 100 and 200 mtorr , and most preferably at about 160 mtorr . the upper frequency of the plasma is formed at power levels from about 150 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the upper power level is formed from about 250 w to about 1500 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 250 to about 1000 w . most preferably the upper frequency power is set at about 500 w . the lower frequency power level is set at power levels from about 0 w to about 2500 w . more preferably , the lower power level is formed from about 0 w to about 1000 w . more preferably still , this power level is set at between about 0 w to about 100 w . most preferably the lower frequency power is set at about 0 w . the mixture of the third etchant gas is again preferably comprised of a flow of etchant gases . in one preferred embodiment , this etchant gas comprises ammonia , nh3 , 5 sccm to about 1500 sccm , more preferably from about 100 sccm to about 1000 sccm , more preferably still from about 300 sccm to about 800 sccm and most preferably at about 600 sccm . while one embodiment of this invention contemplates the use of nh3 alone as the etchant , alternative embodiments contemplate the use of diluents . an alternative could contain helium or other known etchant gas diluents . once again , etching proceeds at a controlled temperature , for a specified period of time . in the exemplar under discussion , the third etch may proceed at temperatures between 0 ° c . and 60 ° c . more particularly from about 5 ° c . to about 50 ° c . more particularly still , from about 10 ° c . to about 40 ° c ., and most preferably at about 40 ° c . again , etch temperature was maintained by a flow of coolant gas applied to the backside of the wafer in the process chuck . process times may further vary from small fractions of a third to about 10 minutes , and are situation dependent . in the example presented here , processed at the most preferable power settings , gas flows and temperature , the third etch was accomplished in about 205 seconds . this etch step provides a high degree of selectivity between the organosilicate dielectric 18 and the barrier 20 . following etch step 106 , etching is completed at 108 and the wafer is available for further processing at 110 . at this point in the etch regime , the features , for instance 24 and 26 , defined by photoresist layer 10 have now been etch through the hard mask layer 12 , first osg dielectric layer , 14 , trench stop layer 16 , and second osg dielectric layer 20 . the feature is completely etched when barrier layer 20 is reached , as shown at fig2 d . at this point , the previously discussed etching and stripping steps have been completed , features 24 and 26 formed in wafer stack 1 , and photoresist layer 10 stripped from that wafer stack . the wafer stack is now ready for further patterning , doping or deposition steps as required to complete the integrated circuit device . process 200 provides several novel advantages . first among these is the extraordinary degree of control of profile control enabled by the methodology of the present invention . this is shown at fig3 , a photomicrograph of a comb structure etched in accordance with the present invention . the extremely anisotropic etch profiles enabled herewith are readily apparent . a second advantage is that all photoresist has been stripped from the wafer by the nh3 during the third etch step . this obviates the need for a separate photoresist strip step in wafer fabrication . one advantage noted during testing of the present invention is the notable lack of bowing produced by the nh3 etches . it is postulated that where there is insufficient ion bombardment , for instance on the sidewalls of vias and trenches , the nh3 reacts with the low - k dielectric to form a polymer , possibly an azide with terminating - nh2 groups . this resultant polymer passivates the sidewall and prevents profile bowing . the polymer formation appears to be temperature dependent and possibly reaction - rate controlled . the sidewall polymer thickness and integrity increases with increasing temperature . another embodiment of the present invention contemplates the addition of methyl fluoride , ch3f during the final etch step , 106 . this addition has been shown to reduce the effects of the previously discussed micro - masking . in one embodiment , a flow of ch3f from about 1 sccm to about 50 sccm is added to the nh3 etch step previously discussed . more preferably this flow is from about 5 sccm to about 30 sccm , more preferably still from about 10 sccm to about 20 sccm and most preferably at about 10 sccm . in order to accomplish the preceding temperature control , the temperature of the wafer is thermally maintained by a flow of coolant gas through the chuck retaining the wafer in the reaction vessel . this flow of coolant gas , for instance helium , is at a flow rate from about 1 sccm to about 50 sccm , more preferably from about 2 sccm to about 30 sccm , more preferably still from about 10 sccm to about 20 sccm and most preferably at about 15 sccm . not shown in this figure is the previously discussed copper feature . by utilizing an nh3 etchant , oxidation of the copper feature is obviated , and attendant copper poisoning of the transistor effect of the device is precluded . a specific feature of the present invention is its novel ability to form features of widely varying size contemporaneously , with excellent profile control and with minimal rie lag , minimal bowing of the vias formed by the etch process , good etch profiles , good resist selectivity , and good etch uniformity across the wafer . it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that the previously discussed power levels , pressures , flow rates , and temperatures are by way of example only . different dielectric materials disposed at varying thicknesses in the wafer stack may require different combinations of power , pressure , flow , and temperature . the principles in the present invention specifically contemplate all such combinations . the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments of features thereof . however , it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . in particular , the principles of the present invention specifically contemplate the incorporation of one or more of the various features and advantages taught herein on a wide variety of integrated circuit devices formed of varying wafer stack configurations defined by a number of different layers . the previously discussed process variables are of course capable of modification by those having skill in the art to effect different integrated circuit devices . each of these alternatives is specifically contemplated by the principles of the present invention . | 7Electricity
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before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention , it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components related to an air dryer . accordingly , the apparatus components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings , showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein . in this document , relational terms such as first and second , top and bottom , and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions . the terms “ comprises ,” “ comprising ,” or any other variation thereof , are intended to cover a non - exclusive inclusion , such that a process , method , article , or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process , method , article , or apparatus . an element preceded by “ comprises . . . a ” does not , without more constraints , preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process , method , article , or apparatus that comprises the element . the air dryer 1 according to fig1 has a cylindrical or cup - shaped housing 2 that can be closed from below by a housing cover or threaded cover 3 . in the housing 2 , a desiccant container 4 with a desiccant is received which is used for drying the air that is passed through . the desiccant is , for example , silica gel . the exterior wall of the desiccant container 4 is surrounded radially by an annular filter element 5 that serves as an air de - oiling element for cleaning the air passing through . the filter element 5 is positioned upstream of the desiccant container 4 . the air that is supplied to the air dryer 1 and that is to be dehumidified is introduced through an inlet opening 6 in the housing cover 3 and flows first through the filter element 5 in radial direction from the interior to the exterior . subsequently , the purified but still humid air is passed across the topside into the desiccant container 4 and flows through it in axial direction from top to bottom . the dehumidified air is subsequently discharged axially through the bottom side , i . e ., the housing cover 3 , out of the air dryer 1 . the filter element 5 extends axially approximately across half the axial length of the desiccant container 4 . approximately at the center of the desiccant container 4 , the container has a shoulder 7 that is formed in that the desiccant container 4 in the upper area has a greater diameter than in the lower area in which the filter element 5 is located . the shoulder 7 is formed by the section of the desiccant container 4 that widens in radial direction wherein the axial end face on the shoulder 7 which is facing the housing cover 3 forms a support surface for the end face of the filter element 5 . as can be seen in fig1 in connection with the detail illustration according to fig2 , the end face of the filter element 5 that is resting on the shoulder 7 is glued by means of an adhesive material or an adhesive 8 to the shoulder 7 . as an alternative to an adhesive connection , for example , welding , for example , by friction welding or ultrasonic welding , is conceivable . monolithic with the wall of the desiccant container 4 a clamping wall 9 that is positioned in radial direction outwardly is provided at the level of the shoulder 7 wherein the clamping wall 9 forms an axial extension of the exterior wall in the area of the section of the desiccant container 4 that is widened in radial direction . the clamping wall 9 projects axially past the shoulder 7 so that a u - shaped receptacle for the end face of the filter element 5 is provided and u - shaped receptacle is defined by the inner wall of the clamping wall 9 , the shoulder 7 as well as the exterior wall surface of the desiccant container in the area of the section reduced in radial direction . as can be seen in fig1 through 3 , the lower end face of the filter element 5 that is opposite the shoulder 7 is framed by an end disk 10 that is embodied as a separate component . a cutout is introduced into the end disk 10 into which a sealing lip 11 is injection - molded . the main part of the sealing lip 11 , which is preferably comprised of an elastomer , projects on the side that is facing away from the filter element 5 past the end face 10 wherein the free end face of the sealing lip 11 is contacting the housing cover 3 . in this way , a flow - tight contact between the housing cover 3 and the circumferentially extending sealing lip 11 is formed . the end face of the filter element 5 which is framed by the end disk 10 is provided with an adhesive 12 by means of which the end face is glued to the end disk 10 . a leg of the sealing lip 11 that extends through the cutout in the end disk 10 projects expediently into the adhesive 12 . as can be seen in fig3 in connection with fig4 , the end disk 10 is supported by means of injection - molded support legs 13 on the housing cover 3 . the support legs 13 are located in particular in the area of the end disk 10 that in radial direction is outwardly positioned . the sealing lip 11 is displaced in radial direction inwardly relative to the support legs 13 . in the foregoing specification , specific embodiments of the present invention have been described . however , one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below . accordingly , the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense , and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention . the benefits , advantages , solutions to problems , and any element ( s ) that may cause any benefit , advantage , or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical , required , or essential features or elements of any or all the claims the invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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referring to the drawings in particular , the invention comprises a game which includes a data base of characters . each character in the database has a character identity data . the character identity data , which forms the data base , includes some characteristic relating to a time or time period and a geographic location . the characteristic can be the location of the character at birth and the date of birth . the characteristic can also be the time period the character lives and the geographic region ( or regions ) the character lives in . the data for the location of the character is preferably based or somewhat representative of actual data for the period . fig1 shows a graph which is an approximation of human population over time . the graph is not accurate and only illustrates the use of real data ( historical data , reasonable approximations , expert estimates ) for forming the data base of characters according to the invention . if it assumed that fig1 is illustrative of the human population of the earth over time , the invention provides a character pool comprised of a plurality of characters , each character with a character identity . the character identity characteristic which is particular to a defined character identity generally relates to the other characteristics of the characters in the data base pool in a manner which is analogous to the relationship of an individual born on the planet earth to the entire pool of human individuals born on the planet earth . the invention requires at least one character pool such as a character pool with character geographic locations based on all humans born on the planet earth . a characteristic to distinguish between the various characters may be for example the time period a character is alive and the geographic region the character lives at . according to the embodiment of fig3 a - 3d , 1 , 000 character identities are defined based on 1 , 000 playing cards . assuming that the population graph of fig1 represents approximately 10 billion humans who have inhabited planet earth , each of the 1 , 000 cards roughly represents 10 million people . as the area under the curve of fig1 is generally representative of all humans which inhabited the planet earth , the area under the curve may be divided into 1000 smaller areas . the 1000 areas ( only some are represented in fig2 ) each represent humans in a general time period . the geographic location is used to distinguish between characters as shown in fig2 . geographic location of the character is provided according to the various embodiments of the game . as can be seen in fig2 the populations of the various regions of the world ( asia ; europe ; africa ; n / s america ; pacific ) are depicted ( estimated ). for character identities in the twentieth century , all of the geographic locations will be represented . that is , character identities which are representative of actual population will result in a higher proportion of the cards having characters with lives in the twentieth century and very few characters in prehistoric times . the analogy to historic data depends on the accuracy of the historic data . the number of characters also affects the analogy to history . however , one thousand characters provides enough for characters ranging over a large time span and spread over the earth . the use of approximations as to population over a wide time period ( 5000 bc - 1000 bc ) is also contemplated according to the invention . fig3 a shows a game board 6 with a plurality of cards 10 . the board depicts the world and may also show regions of the world grouped together . for example the grouping could be 1 ) asia ; 2 ) europe ; 3 ) africa ; 4 ) north america / south america and 5 ) pacific ( australia , new guinea , philippines , polynesia etc ). cards 10 are provided for play . fig3 b shows a card 10 which depicts a character and provides some date or time period 12 . a geographic location 14 is indicated . each card 10 represents a population group of roughly 10 million . the cards are defined in a manner which represents the population over time and by geographic region . of the 1 , 000 cards ( 1 , 000 character identities according to the embodiment of fig3 ), there are roughly for example 150 cards of characters with an asian geographic location and a life period of roughly between 1900 and the year 2000 . this generally corresponds to 1 . 5 billion people . precise geographic locations can be provided or geographic regions wherein the individual spends its life . for example of the 150 cards relating to asia , the characters may be dispersed at various locations including beijing , shanghai , tokyo , southeast asia , etc . preferably , the distribution should correspond generally to the actual population distribution for that time period . the character identity information is provided on cards 10 . an example of such a card is shown in fig3 b . the critical character identification information is displayed . according to the embodiment of fig3 a , the critical information includes the time period in which the character lives and the geographic region which the character lives in . the time period could include just a date of birth but according to the example of fig3 b , a time period 12 is provided (&# 34 ; from 1830 - 1887 &# 34 ;). the geographic information may be general such as china or maybe more specific such as information 14 &# 34 ; shanghai , china &# 34 ;. for cards representing population in recent times , the entire population group of 10 million may fall clearly within one of the geographic regions . however , in prehistoric and earlier times , the actual population of humans in various geographic locations is much below the 10 million population group which each card generally represents . for this reason , the cards will be distributed less accurately and will not be representative of actual population distributions in a geographic sense . for example , several of the first 100 cards 10 &# 39 ; of the embodiment of fig3 a are shown in fig3 c . these include two character cards from south and north america 10 am &# 39 ;, two characters from the pacific region 10 p &# 39 ; with the remainder of the characters being from asia , europe and africa 10 r . here , the distribution is generally representative of the population ( see fig2 ). fig3 c shows a card 10 &# 34 ;, the 24th card . the character is a person who lives in asia . as can be seen in fig2 the card 10 &# 34 ; represents a population over many hundreds of years although the character has a character identity with a birth date and death date ( time characteristic 12 ) which only generally correspond to the population the character represents . besides the character information as to geographic location and period of time , other information can be provided including general historical information such as culture including dress of the character , practices in the character &# 39 ; s region during the character &# 39 ; s time period and for example occupation and family relationships . fig3 d shows a card with a time period 12 ( 100 ad to 145 ad ), a geographical location ( europe , italy , rome ) can be provided and a historical story ( s ) such as &# 34 ; x was born to a family of simple means and worked as a iron smith . x married at the age of 18 and was survived by two children .&# 34 ; various goals can be provided for the game according to fig3 a based on the information provided . according to a first version of the game , the players select the cards in turn and match the card against the map provided on the game board 6 . geographic regions of the planet are grouped to define five geographic locations . these are asia ( asa ), europe ( eur ), africa ( af ), south and north america ( am ) and pacific ( p ). according to this embodiment , only 20 of the cards are from australia / polynesia / burma / philippines / new guinea and the 20 cards do not have to precisely represent 200 million people ). the players receive the cards and group the cards by geographic location and the winner is the first individual to complete each geographic location , namely take at least one card with a character identity for each of the five geographic locations . the preferred scheme of defining locations for the cards is based on separating the populations as shown in fig1 wherein the population is shown over time . starting from left to right in fig2 cards are assigned for each geographic location , upon that geographic location attaining a population of 10 million people . based on non - exact numbers , and an obvious need to generalize and approximate in prehistorical and early historic times , the first card ( the first population group to reach 10 million ) is african , and followed by the second card being asian , successive cards might be african and asian or european , etc . until all cards have a character identity , generally representative of a 10 million person actual population group . the time period of the character for the card may be randomly chosen within the time period of the population group . however , preferably , the character identification for a given card has a time period which is approximately in between the overall time period of the population group . for purposes of the game , some flexibility is provided for defining characters . for example , according to this embodiment , although there may or may not have been 200 million people who lived in the australia polynesia burma , philippines etc . region ( pacific region ) but nevertheless 20 cards are provided . further , for convenience , the cards may be distributed as follows burma 8 , australia 2 , new guinea 1 , philippines 5 , polynesia 3 and micronesia 2 . by making the time period of the character based on the average of all individuals born in the population group , the new guinea born character is born after 1 ad and preferably in the 20th century . a second embodiment of the invention is shown in fig5 based on a computer display 110 shown in fig5 . this embodiment preferably uses character pools which are not necessarily exactly representative of the entire population of humans which have been born . instead the data is grouped to form grouped data , wherein the grouping may be by time or otherwise . time periods 112 are preferably defined as shown in fig4 a and 4b to form time period character data pools . this may be done by sorting the data in the character identity data base to define plural data pools . the time periods may be selected so that they generally are based on a population pool having a similar number of people . however , according to the embodiment of fig5 the time periods which define each character pool are primarily defined to provide a player with the opportunity to have character provided for several historic ( or forecasted future ) time periods . twenty time periods 120 - 160 ( see fig4 b ) are chosen such as : pre - history ; 5 , 000 - 1 , 000 b . c . ; 1 , 000 b . c .- 500 b . c . ; 500 b . c .- 0 ; 0 - 250 ad ; 250 ad - 500 ad ; 500 ad - 750 ad ; 750 ad - 1000 ad ; 1000 ad - 1250 ad ; 1250 ad - 1500 ad ; 1500 ad - 1600 ad ; 1600 ad - 1700 ad ; 1700 ad - 1750 ad ; 1750 ad - 1800 ad ; 1800 ad - 1850 ad ; 1850 ad - 1900 ad ; 1900 ad - 1950 ad ; 1950 ad - 2000 ad ; and &# 34 ; future &# 34 ;. these time periods do not present population pools of equal number of individuals based on historical data . instead , the time periods are set out based on the concept of the player being provided with at least one character from each time period and thereby being provided with an opportunity to appreciate history and geography . the number of characters in each character identity data pool 120 - 160 does not have to be equal . time periods which represent an actual time period with a larger number of humans populating the earth , may be defined with more defined characters than time periods which correspond to actual time periods wherein the actual population of the earth was lower . according to this example , the defined time period 158 , namely 1950ad to the year 2000 corresponds to an actual time period where a certain amount of people live . as the time period is shorter than the average life of an individual living between 1950 and 2000 , the data pool is defined based on humans born between 1951 and 2000 ad if this actual pool is roughly 6 billion people , this would roughly represent 60 % of all humans ever born . time periods 120 through 157 can represent 40 % of all character identities and time period 158 can represent 60 % of all character identities based on historic data . time period 160 can represent a forecast as to future births with the number of character identities being related to time period data pool 158 based on the forecast used ( a future data pool is not required and is not discussed in the example which follows ). if time period 20 is used , this can have a character pool with a number which is based on a forecast predicting human births . if 1 , 200 character identities are defined for time period data pool 158 800 character identities are defined and distributed through time periods 120 through 157 ( based on relative actual populations during those time periods ). with this version of the game , the computer selects a character identity for the player , based on each of the n time periods ( 20 time periods 120 through 158 are proposed in fig4 a and 4b ). after a player has reviewed all information for the character provided by the computer , for a character of a time period such as for first time period data pool 120 ( or after the character dies ), the player is provided with a second character identity , this time from a subsequent or some subsequent ( or sequential ) time period . the user may be provided with a character from each of the 20 time periods . after each identity has been considered , either after all information has been presented or after the user progresses through events of the character &# 39 ; s life , to death , a character from the next time period is provided . if data is provided which is roughly equal to actual numbers , a player who plays the game repetitively , is more likely to receive the same character as a previous game , in the time periods 1 through 3 as opposed to the time periods 18 , 19 and 20 . however , by having the data stored wherein the number of character identities is based on actual human population information , it is possible to also proceed through the game wherein the first character generated is randomly chosen from a first defined number of character identities in the combined character identity pools 120 - 158 ( or 160 ). thereafter the player receives a character identity which is the next character based on the defined number of character identities after the last character identity chosen . if all character identity data is sequentially listed , for example based on 2000 stored characters , the player could be provided with every 100th character . this approach provides the possibility of the player playing the game as if every nth character is the previous character reincarnated . the two above examples relating to defined data pools 120 - 158 both provide the ability for the player to pass through time and to be presented with some historical context in that a human from pre - history or early times is usually provided as the first character . with the first version , there are fewer characters to be selected in providing a character to the user , in the early time periods . in the second example of defined data pools , a relationship to actual human population is provided however numerous characters are generated in the later time periods , 18 , 19 and 20 based on the fact that the greatest number of humans were born in those time periods . these examples allow for the fact that more information is available in recent times than in early times thereby allowing the player to progress through history and be acquainted with geography and human culture and wherein the greatest selection of characters reflects the fact that much more information is available for the recent time periods ( much more diversity ). the second example provides the player with the possibility of to some extent experiencing history although experiencing recent history is much more likely based on the more numerous characters available . both examples provide the user with geographic data as characters will be defined , distributed over the entire planet . according to a preferred form of the invention , character identities are defined for each of the time period data pools 120 - 160 . more specifically , the character identities are grouped by date ( sort of data base ) the preferred embodiment for use with the computer / cd version of the game provides characters successively over 20 time periods as shown in fig4 b . the 20 time periods are generally the same as the 20 time periods as the examples for the defined character pools . however , the number of character identities in each of the data pools for each of the time periods 101 - 120 does not have to be equal or have any relation to the other pools , if there is random selection only within a pool . only the characters 105 of each pool need to be related based on population and geographic region . for example , according to this preferred form of the invention , the time period data pool 158 ( see fig8 a ) could have 500 character identities 105 and the first time period 120 could have 50 . later , the user could purchase additional data pools ( see fig8 b ) for the various time periods for example the user could purchase 1 , 000 character identities 158 &# 39 ; for time period 158 and 50 more character identities for time period 1 . however , within each package or each data pool within a time period , the character identity should have a geographical location which is distributed in the data pool in approximately the same way or in substantially the same way as the actual ( estimated historical ) distribution of population for the time period . the data may be sorted in various ways including the time period data pools . random selection 107 within a group or a sub group ( based on two sort criteria ) is possible following a software / hardware routine . data is stored for each time period data pool 120 - 160 via use of a compact disk read - only memory 20 or other convenient memory storage ( on line access to data pools is also contemplated ) as shown in fig6 . memory 20 is connected to a computer 22 . the memory 20 may be provided with as many character identities for a given time period data pool 120 - 160 as is desired . the computer includes selection means 107 based on software , for selecting characters for a player . the selection may be a character from each date pool 120 - 160 . the selection may also be by the player requesting a character from a specific time period or from a geographic location or region . although various possibilities are available for initial and successive character selection , the game selection means preferably randomly selects a character from a time period data pool 120 - 160 and subsequent characters provided are preferably selected randomly from the next or some other data pool 120 - 160 . the player initiates the random selection of a character from the character data pools . input via mouse or keyboard triggers software / hardware to select data stored memory 20 . the computer is then provided with the information and the computer preferably interacts with software such as software which provides a display 100 as shown in fig5 . the display 100 includes a location display portion 114 , the location of the character with respect to the planet earth . here again , the detail with regard to the display may be as complicated as desired . it may be as simple as showing the country or it may be more elaborate such as city plans , building detail and even interiors of buildings . this is preferably presented on the form of different levels of detail with successive detail levels being displayed by using the zoom in soft key 116 and zoom out soft key 117 . the scale of the map , showing distances between locations can be activated by soft key 118 . the location on the display can be moved with soft key symbols 119 . the date is displayed at 112 and the appearance of the character is displayed at 110 . other information can be read from display portion 104 . this could include the entire history of the character ( defined character discussed below ) or it could describe the status of the character ( interactive character discussed below ). information could include statistical data , cultural information , political information ( including war / peace ) environmental information , etc . the display may be successive graphic displays and may be continuous audio / video . other soft keys preferably include continue symbol 108 , for moving to the next appropriate state , view symbol 107 for changing the view displayed and soft key symbols 106 for choosing from various alternate courses of action . with the simple embodiment of the invention , each character from the various data pools 120 - 160 is predefined as to the characters life . in the board and card version discussed above , each card 10 includes the information 15 as to the entire life of the character . according to a simple embodiment of the invention , the full life of each character is presented initially , when the player first perceives the character information . according to the board game version , when the player selects a card from the time period card stack 10 , the player is presented with information as noted above but also information as to what occurred during the characters life and even the time and or nature of the characters death . in a cd rom format , data is provided relating to the life of the character and death of the character . in the simplest form of the game , this information is presented all at once initially to the player , whereby the player receives all information as to the character . the characters story over time such as the travels and movement of the character as well as other aspects of the character &# 39 ; s life can be observed . in the cd rom format , a story can be provided as to the characters life wherein movements can be followed on different selectable or predefined displays such as a map . different graphical images may be presented . the life of the character is followed by the player including the characters interaction with history and interaction with the planet earth . the player is presented with the character and the various display screens provide information about the character through death . the character identity information can include the appearance of the character at different points over the life ( the character could be shown to age ) wherein the appearance changes ( the character grows and then ages ). clothing can provide cultural information about the character . the display 104 can tell the story of the character or display relevant information as audio / video data tells the story . the display 114 can show geographic information as the life story is told or displayed . the story may be printed in a continuous format ( preferably audio / video data ) or the player can have the character progress through time by clicking the continue symbol 108 to be presented with new graphics or new audio / video . this embodiment further provides the opportunity to fill data character pools 120 - 158 with famous characters in history or noteworthy characters distributed geographically . this provides the player with less of the feel for the actual probabilities / possibilities of being born a particular person but more of an opportunity to travel through time and place and experience important events or people in history . according to a more complicated version of the invention , means are provided for generating presenting an event in the characters life . the event may be provided somehow coordinated with actual history but may also be normal event allowing development of a character by a player of the game . the interaction ( event ) means is software based . as shown in fig7 a , the event means is based on an event tree 210 for each character . the event tree allows the player to interact by selecting a choice from various option paths 212 . the options and event may be displayed in display portion 104 wherein an option may be selected through soft keys 106 . as can be appreciated from fig7 a , the player is presented with one of successive displays 104 ( the other display portions may change or stay the same ) including , at some point a display 104 which includes various options . the display here may be continuous from start until end ( wherein another option must be selected ). the player selects from the options and the choice leads to further displays 104 , until the displays indicate the character has died ( d ). as shown in fig7 b and 7c , other event trees may be provided , which are used for more than one character . such a common event tree could be an event tree used commonly for a time period which involves war ( w ), changing locations ( m ) etc . these event trees could be an option always available such as changing the location of the character ( fig7 b ), such that each set of options at screen 104 includes it . other common event trees may be accessed open a player selecting some option . the go to war event tree w shown in fig7 c , could be disposed at several option paths 210 of the character event tree 200 . the move location tree m can be available as an option at several locations along the event tree 200 . death d is also shown at several different locations as the paths 212 of the event tree always ends with the characters death ( d ). the war tree may include an end war ( ew ) display which returns the player to a location along the character event tree 200 . the event trees allow the characters to be developed based on interaction with the software by the user . events displayed at 104 are character based on the options presented to the player and based on the option selected . this provides various possibilities as to goals of the game , as discussed below . data in the form of predefined event trees 200 , 220 , 230 etc are most preferably associated with the time period and / or geographic location . however , the data my be data which is not strictly associated with a time period ( for example the character is now pregnant ). the status has been described primarily with respect to general information display 104 . the display may be computer audio / video data and may include several different displays the status means , providing data based on a selection may provide that all displays are changed , for reflecting the character &# 39 ; s status , after the selection of an option . the appearance at 110 is preferably changed as well as the location information at 114 and the date at 112 . in the cd rom version of the game , the status information may be by display of a variety of things including data as to the characters location , financial status , help status etc .. the display may be by graphical display ( and / or audio / video data ) or by a display in connection with other displays provided for that time period . as discussed above with regard to the board game version based on a single data pool , the goal can include getting the oldest character or getting a character for each geographic region . the embodiment of fig3 a can be used to play a game wherein a card is dealt to each player to define a round . the players read the information and match the location to locations of the map . after a predefined numbers of rounds , the players get points for each geographic region the player has cards for . bonus points are rewarded for a player having a card corresponding to each geographic region . other attributes can result in points such as oldest in time , youngest in time , farther north etc . the game can also be played wherein the rounds continue until someone has a character from each geographic region . the computer / cdrom version with predefined characters may be played with no specific goal , just for the fun of hearing or reading the story of the various characters . the selection may be by time period data pools 120 - 160 with selection being sequential or other selection as noted above including selection based only from one or more selected region . the characters selected may be subsequently noted in a table which may be saved to avoid getting the same character or for reviewing the geographic and historical data that was presented . the computer / cdrom version wherein the player interacts to define the characters life , may also have no specific goal . however , the event trees may be structured to provide goals such as a monetary goal , a goodness goal , an evil goal , a contribution to humanity goal . the various options of the character event tree 200 may be grouped according to the goal . depending on the choices ( option paths 212 which the player takes ) as to the options presented , each character played will receive points . a certain number of goodness points , for example , built up over several characters , could lead to the end of the game ( the spirit goes to heaven ). the game could end in a similar manner for a player acquiring a certain number of badness points ( the spirit goes to hell or is reincarnated as an animal or insect ). one version of the game provides two opposite goals such as goodness and evil and ends with upon accumulating points for hell or heaven . this includes defining a goodness value for each path of each characters event tree 212 as shown in fig9 . this preferably includes one or more very bad paths 207 ( value negative 2 ) and one or more very good paths 207 &# 39 ;( value positive 2 ) as well as intermediate paths ( value positive or negative 1 ) as well as neutral paths 207 &# 34 ;. the player plays through successive time period data pools 120 - 160 and the game ends after collecting either positive 10 points or negative ten points . the player can continue back to data pool 120 if 10 points ( positive or negative ) has not been reached by data pool 160 . this dual opposite goal game can also be played with across data pool random selection of characters ( random selection from pools 120 - 160 ) or the characters can be selected from the time periods based on the population change over time to simulate the person being reincarnated every nth soul ( more characters are generated from recent times ). several goals may be present or the points for each of several categories may be displayed after the player has gone through each of the data pools 120 - 160 . the player can also indicate a preference for a goal . this could also include a player actively putting something at risk such as earned points toward the goal , in order to gain further toward the goal . for example , money could be put at risk to attain higher money goals ( money could be saved for college , etc .). examples of goals include goodness wherein the player directs a character over time toward goodness . the player could actively direct the character toward goodness while the status changes and the player takes actions to respond to event data presented by the event means , directing the character towards goodness . besides good and evil contribution to human kind could be set against selfishness , for a dual opposite goal structure . as points are awarded over a plurality of characters , the player can try to attain some level of points associated with the final goal , such as goodness points for achieving heaven or evil points for achieving hell or a player could try to achieve the highest points possible by repeated play or points can be compared between two players as to who has the highest points in one or more categories . besides the use of data based on real or estimated data or based on history , the data may also be based on fantasy characters / places / times . this provides a player to experience fantasy characters and places ( as opposed to fictitious characters based on real data ) the various formats and features discussed above can be used for such a game based on fantasy characters and fantasy places . according to a further embodiment of the invention , a teaching system is provided which combines the use of a database of characters and other materials to provide teaching in geography and / or social studies . the preferred form of the teaching system provides a database of characters for one or more historical birth years . preferably only a few years of characters , characters born in only a few successive years , is provided . for example , a database of characters is provided wherein all of the characters are born in either 1990 , 1991 or 1992 . the database of characters is such that each character has a particular characteristics . one characteristic is the geographic location at birth and possibly other geographic information relating to the life of the character . the characters preferably also have a name which is for a male or a female character . the distribution of the male and female characters in the character database may be proportional to birth data for males and for females for the geographic location . other fictitious but factually based bibliographic material may be provided associated with each character in the data base of characters . the character database is preferably structured such that a first pool of characters may be provided with a distribution of geographic location which is representative of actual births at geographic locations during the birth years of the character data pool . subsequent data pools are provided which can be combined with the initial data pool without disturbing generally the relationship between geographic location at birth data of the character data pool and substantially accurate data regarding actual births for the time period . an actual birth date can be associated with each character in the character data pool . however , preferably , the characters are initially not associated with a particular date of birth with regard to data for a particularly character . dates of birth may be randomly assigned or assigned based on some scheme to the various characters of the character data pool . assigning birth dates to the characters is described further below . preferably the bibliographic material includes information as to the circumstances during the characters first several years . the number of years the character is alive preferably generally corresponds to the number of years the student or player has been alive . the bibliographic material may be gender based or may be gender neutral . specifically , the character data pool may be such that names are not specifically associated with characters wherein the bibliographic material of the character is selected from one data pool , the characters name is selected from another or two other data pools ( male and female ) and the data of birth of the character is selected from a third data pool . other data pools may be provided wherein characters are based on a composite of data from various data pools . a selection of male or female gender characteristics regarding a character may be provided by assigning these characteristics based on percentages for different geographic locations . other alternatives include providing a data pool of names which are gender based . the names correspond to names given in various geographic locations . in this way , the basic pool of characters can initially and foremost be a combined database of male character names for a given geographic location and a database of female character names for a geographic location . also , separate data pools can be provided wherein the creation of the character is based on an algorithm which selects from various geographic location data pools based on actual statistics regarding births for the geographic location . in this way , a data pool relating to shanghai will be selected more than a data pool relating to a remote region such as a portion of australia . the same chances of selecting characters from the geographic locations may be provided by providing a single pool of characters with male and female names based on geographic locations wherein more characters are provided for geographic regions with higher numbers of births for a given time period . according to the system of teaching in the present invention , characters with geographic location data and preferably a male or female name are provided in a database of characters . the database is either maintained at the site of use , such as a classroom or the database is accessed through a communication system ( the database of characters may be located at a web cite on the internet ). a user such as a teacher is provided with a name and date of birth of a student in the class . this is entered into the computer . the computer matches the students birth date with one character which may be randomly selected from a preferably large database of characters . the database may be as described above , characters with geographic location data . the actual information given to the student preferably includes a male or female name ( preferably the odds of getting male or female coincide with the odds of being male or female in the geographic location of the randomly selected character ), a geographical location of birth and other bibliographic material which is basically fictitious but is generally based on factual data . each student in the class preferably receives one character at a time . a student subsequently collects characters such as receiving a new character on a weekly basis . the characters ( see for example fig3 ) may be printed out to a printer such as a color printer attached to the computer or unit accessing the database . the student preferably keeps a notebook wherein each character can be subsequently added to the notebook , for example on a weekly basis . in this way , each student proceeds to collect numerous characters , each having a different identity , each with the birth date of the student and , most likely , several from various different parts of the world . with this system , obviously many characters will be from china and of other heavily populated portions of the world . in this way , the characters which the student receives are more likely to be from populated regions such as shanghai and new york city as compared to remote portions of alaska , australia and north dakota . nevertheless , a discussion amongst the various students as to characters collected , can provide hours of fun and great amounts of information as to various places around the world . preferably peripheral items are provided according to the teaching system including graphical presentations . an obvious teaching tool is shown in fig3 a wherein a basic map of the world is provided . subsequent overlays may be provided including elevation overlays , population distribution overlays , country boundaries at different points of human history and most preferably at least one country boundary showing the boundaries at the time of birth of the character or the boundaries at present where the character most likely resides . after each character is provided to a given student , the student preferably either reads the information about the character , hears information about the character which matches or similar to the written description on the character printout , matches the location of the character to a map and also preferably looks at a graphical image of what the character may look like . to identify the student , the printout may include a legend such as friend of john smith , wherein john smith is the student . the assignment of gender to coincide with geographical data may or may not be used according to the teaching system of the invention . for example , gender may be provided such that roughly half of the database of characters are male and roughly half are female . however , more males or females may be provided on the geographical basis based on actual data . for example , there may be regions wherein most infants survive such that there are slightly more males than females . there may be other regions wherein there are more females due to higher male infant mortality rates . further , there may be regions where there are many more males due to medical manipulation of the birth population ( such as regions wherein many more males are born than females ). according to a further embodiment of the invention , an arcade / video game is provided , such as a unit which preferably allows a customer to deposit a certain amount of money such as a coin or token or paper currency in the machine and play a game . the game according to the invention is to use the date of birth of the player but to assign a character identity for that date of birth which is based on geographical data . the geographical data is set to have a distribution which corresponds to births for the time period around the date of birth of the player . the procedure for play includes entering a date of birth of either the player or some other date of birth . the video / arcade device includes means for selecting from the database of characters wherein the character provided to the player has geographical location of birth or location during life data which corresponds to actual information for a time period specifically or generally corresponding to the date entered by the player . while specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles . | 0Human Necessities
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the following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention . the description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention , since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims . the process of the present invention utilizes the combination of ( 1 ) a media 20 and ( 2 ) an abrasive 30 . the process involves displacing a workpiece 10 relative to the media 20 and abrasive 30 . the media 20 , abrasive 30 , and workpiece 10 are disposed in a container 40 . in one exemplar embodiment of the present invention , the container 40 is a drag finisher . in one exemplary embodiment , the media 20 may be either a preformed media 20 , a random media 20 , a metallic media 20 , or it may be a cast shape or a metal punching . one exemplary embodiment of the preformed media 20 is preformed ceramic media 20 or a preformed porcelain media 20 . as a workpiece 10 is displaced within the media 20 , the media 20 exerts pressure on the abrasive 30 , which contacts the workpiece 10 for finishing as the workpiece 10 moves through and past the media 20 . the media 20 acts as a carrier for the abrasive 30 . the cutting or metal removal function may be caused by the media 20 carrying or grinding the abrasive 30 between the media 20 and the workpiece 10 . the media 20 may contact the workpiece 10 and cause incidental finishing . the abrasive 30 may have one or a plurality of sharp edges 60 that are used to finish the workpiece 10 . in one exemplary embodiment the abrasive 30 or abrasive additive 30 may be a fused aluminum oxide , silicon dioxide , diamond powders , zirconia , or quartz . the types of abrasives 30 can be altered to achieve the desired effects and assist in the efficiency of the process . the abrasive 30 size may vary depending on the desired breakdown rate of the abrasive 30 . the breakdown rate is its effective life of usefulness as an abrasive 30 . throughout use the abrasive 30 may become smoother . in other words , the abrasive 30 in its new or virgin state may be more aggressive and may impart a deeper cut pattern into the workpiece 10 surface . however , as the loose abrasive 30 wears down , its cutting ability may be reduced , which may impart a smoother surface or a shallower cut or scratch into the workpiece 10 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the abrasive 30 may have an ansi grit size of about 150 grit or coarser . in one exemplary embodiment , the ansi grit size by be about 60 to about 220 . the abrasive 30 may be either dry or viscous . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , renewal of the cutting ability through out the process cycle may be accomplished by either a periodic or a continuous addition of the abrasive 30 or abrasive additive 30 to the media 20 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the abrasive 30 may be added either continuously or intermittingly , and then addition of the abrasive may cease towards the end of the process cycle , to allow coarser abrasives to wear down or erode , thus imparting a smoother finishing as the size of the abrasive 30 degrades or becomes finer . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , one may start the process cycle with coarser abrasives to provide for faster stock removal than the prior art , and then add finer or different abrasives 30 towards the end of the process cycle . it may be important to use the media 20 , or media mass 20 with respect to the final finishing capability of the abrasive 30 characteristic of the preformed media 20 , media 20 , or media mass 20 . this may be because the content level of the abrasive 30 of the media 20 may allow the final step or steps of the process cycle to achieve the desired surface condition of the workpiece 10 . this may also be because the shape of the media 20 may provide the maximum efficiency for the media 20 to carry the abrasive 30 to contact the workpiece 10 or part 10 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the abrasive 30 , additive 30 , or abrasive additive 30 may adhere to the media 20 by the surface tension created by the addition sufficient amounts of a liquid 50 , such as water 50 or a finishing compound 50 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the media 20 , abrasive 30 , and workpiece 10 may be disposed in a container 40 , whereby the workpiece 10 may be displaced to create a force between the abrasive 30 and the workpiece 10 . the abrasive 30 may adhere to the media 20 via the surface tension of a liquid 50 . some abrasive 30 may be loose , i . e . may not be adhered to the media 20 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the container 40 may be a high energy machine 40 , such as a plunge machine 40 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the container 40 may be a drag finisher 40 . in one exemplary embodiment , the drag finisher 40 may be a machine that has a “ lazy susan ”- like spinner , which has a series of parts hanging on stations or fixtures below . the spinner then lowers the workpiece 10 into the media 20 - abrasive 30 mixture as the workpiece 10 moves or revolves , or it can held statically and displaced around a vertical axis , into a bed of media 20 - abrasive 30 mixture that is contained in an annular ring bowl . as the workpiece 10 “ plows ” through the media 20 - abrasive 30 mixture , the process accomplishes its prescribed or desired work objective , depending on the selected media 20 and abrasive 30 . the drag finishing machine 40 and process may accomplish the desired pressure and velocity by displacing the workpiece 10 relative to the container 40 at velocities or angular velocities of about 300 to about 500 or more feet per minute . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention utilizing a drag finisher 40 may speed up the finishing process by about 20 to about 40 times as compared with a vibratory finisher . for example , what may take only about less than two hours when using a drag finisher may take 24 hours or more when using a vibratory finisher . the present invention may use different types of containers 40 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the container 40 may pull , push , or drag the workpiece 10 in either a statically held position or in a rotational movement through the media 20 and abrasive 30 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , desired material removal or metal removal is accomplished by proper sizing of the abrasive 30 or the abrasive additive 30 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a surface having about 150 ra micro - inches to about 5 ra micro - inches may be smoothly finished . to remove the abrasive 30 from the media 20 , copious amounts of liquid 50 , such as water 50 , may be added , which may break the surface tension and rinses the abrasive from the container 40 via a drain ( not shown ). the steps of the present invention include providing a container 100 , providing a media disposed within said container 200 , providing an abrasive disposed within said container 300 , and displacing the workpiece within said media - abrasive mixture 400 . in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the steps need not take place in any specific order . it should be understood , of course , that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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the following examples and experiment examples are used to further illustrate the present invention only and should not be construed to limit the present invention . ( 1 ) cloning of genes encoding human antibody light and heavy chain constant region healthy human peripheral blood lymphocytes were isolated with lymphocyte separation medium ( dingguo biotechnology development company , china ) and total rna was extracted using trizol reagent ( invitrogen ). the genes encoding antibody heavy and light chain constant regions were amplified by rt - pcr reaction , with the primers designed according to the sequences reported in the reference ( cell , 1980 , 22 : 197 - 207 ) and reference ( nucleic acids research , 1982 , 10 : 4071 - 4079 ), respectively . the pcr products were purified by agarose gel electrophoresis and recovered and cloned into pgem - t vectors ( promega ). correct clones were obtained by sequencing verification . seq id no : 1 and seq id no : 2 showed the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the heavy chain constant region ( c h ), respectively . seq id no : 3 and seq id no : 4 showed the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the light chain constant region ( c l ), respectively . in this example , the correct clones were designated as pgem - t / c h and pgem - t / c l . 20 ml of peripheral blood was collected from each of 50 healthy people and mononuclearcells were isolated with lymphocyte separation medium ( tianjin blood research institute of medical science ). total cellular rna was extracted from the isolated human peripheral blood lymphocytes using trizol reagent ( invitrogen ). cdna was reverse transcribed using cdna reverse transcription kit ( shanghai biocolor biotechnolgy ltd .). the above procedures were performed according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . v h back , v h for , v l back and v l for , the primers for cloning genes of human antibody heavy chain variable region ( v h ) and light chain variable region ( v l ), were designed and synthesized according to the reference ( immunotechnology , 1998 , 3 : 271 - 278 ). sequences of v h back , v h for , v l back and v l for were shown in immunotechnology , 1998 , 3 : 271 - 278 . wherein , v h back primer was added with an sfi i site - containing sequence : atg gcc cag ccg gcc atg gcc at the 5 ′ end ; v h for primer was added with a sequence : gcc aga acc acc gcc gcc gga gcc acc acc gcc at the 5 ′ end ; v l back primer was added with a sequence : tcc ggc ggc ggt ggt tct ggc gga ggc gga tct at the 5 ′ end ; and v l for primer was added with a not i site - containing sequence : atg cgg ccg c at the 5 ′ end . phage single - chain antibody library was constructed with the cdna of ( 2 ) and the primers of ( 3 ) using recombinant phage antibody system kit ( amersham biosciences ) and then selected with a specific antigen . the methods of constructing and selecting the antibody library were performed according to the instructions of recombinant phage antibody system kit . the specific antigen “ human her2 extracellular protein ” used for selection was prepared according to the method disclosed in the reference ( proc natl acad sci usa , 1992 , 89 : 4285 - 4289 ). a human anti - her2 single - chain antibody 3e12scfv was obtained after several times of selection , and its gene sequence was obtained by sequencing . seq id no : 5 and seq id no : 6 show the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the heavy chain variable region ( v h ) of 3e12scfv , respectively . seq id no : 7 and seq id no : 8 show the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the light chain variable region ( v l ) of 3e12scfv , respectively . ( 5 ) expression of fully human antibody in eukaryotic cells 3e12scfv genes and pgem - t / c h vectors were used as template to synthesize fully human antibody heavy chain genes by overlapping pcr . the reaction conditions were : 95 ° c . for 15 min ; 94 ° c . for 50 sec , 58 ° c . for 50 sec , 72 ° c . for 50 sec , for 30 cycles ; 72 ° c . for 10 min . besides , the fully human antibody heavy chain genes were allowed to contain hindiii restriction enzyme sites and a signal peptide gene sequence at the 5 ′ end and contain translation stop codens taa and ecori restriction enzyme sites at the 3 ′ end . the sequence of the signal peptide was : ( atggattttcaggtgcagattttcagcttcctgctaatcagtgcctcagtcataat atccagagga ). finally , pcr amplification products were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis and the band of interest was recovered and cloned into pgem - t vectors ( promega ) to select and sequence positive clones . clones with the correct sequence were selected and digested with hind iii and ecori , and the fully human antibody heavy chain fragments 3e12v h c h were purified and recovered by agarose gel electrophoresis and ligated into the hindiii and ecori - digested plasmids pcdna3 . 1 (+) ( invitrogen ) to construct fully human heavy chain eukaryotic expression vectors pcdna3 . 1 (+) ( 3e12v h c h ). 3e12scfv genes and pgem - t / c l vectors were used as template to synthesize fully human antibody light chain genes by overlapping pcr . the reaction conditions were : 95 ° c . for 15 min ; 94 ° c . for 50 sec , 58 ° c . for 50 sec , 72 ° c . for 50 sec , for 30 cycles ; 72 ° c . for 10 min . the obtained pcr products contained hindiii restriction enzyme sites and a signal peptide gene sequence at the 5 ′ end and contained translation stop codens taa and ecori restriction enzyme sites at the 3 ′ end . the sequence of the signal peptide was : ( atggattttcaggtgcagattttcagcttcctgctaatcagtgcctcagtcataat atccagagga ). clones with the correct sequences were selected and digested with hind iii and ecori , and the fully human antibody light chain fragments 3e12v l c l were purified and recovered by agarose gel electrophoresis and ligated into the hindiii and ecori - digested plasmids pcdna3 . 1 / zeo (+) ( invitrogen ) to construct fully human light chain eukaryotic expression vectors pcdna3 . 1 / zeo (+) ( 3e12v l c l ). 3 × 10 5 cho - k1 cells ( atcc crl - 9618 ) were inoculated into 3 . 5 cm tissue culture dishes , and transfected when the cells were cultured to 90 - 95 % confluence : 10 μg of plasmids ( 4 μg of plasmids pcdna3 . 1 (+) ( 3e12v h c h ), bug of plasmids pcdna3 . 1 / zeo (+) ( 3e12v l c l )) and 20 μl of lipofectamine2000 reagent ( invitrogen ) were taken to perform transfection according to the instructions of lipofectamine2000 reagent kit . after transfection for 24 hours , the cells were transferred to dmem medium containing 600 μg / ml g418 ( invitrogen ) and 250 μg / ml zeocin ( invitrogen ) to select resistant clones . cell culture supernatants were taken to select high - expressing clones by elisa : elisa plates were coated with goat anti - human igg ( fc ) ( kpl ) overnight at 4 ° c . and blocked with 2 % bsa - pbs at 37 ° c . for 2 h ; the culture supernatants of resistant clones to be tested or standard sample ( human myeloma igg1 , κ ) ( sigma ) were added and warm incubated at 37 ° c . for 2 h ; hrp - goat anti - human igg ( κ ) ( southern biotechnology associates ) was added and warm incubated at 37 ° c . for 1 h for combining reaction , and chromogenic reagent tmb was added and reacted at 37 ° c . for 5 min , finally h 2 so 4 was used to stop the reaction and a 450 value was measured . the high - expressing clones obtained by selection were enlarged cultured in serum - free medium , and fully human antibodies 3e12 were isolated and purified by protein a affinity column ( ge ). the purified antibodies were dialyzed against pbs and finally quantified by uv absorbance . seq id no : 9 and seq id no : 10 show the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the heavy chain of fully human antibody 3e12 , respectively . seq id no : 11 and seq id no : 12 show the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of the light chain of fully human antibody 3e12 , respectively . hgh0 / 1 was prepared according to the method described in chinese patent application no . 01132225 . x entitled “ humanized anti - her2 monoclonal antibody , preparation method and pharmaceutical composition thereof ” filed on nov . 16 , 2001 . human breast cancer cells sk - br - 3 ( high her2 - expressing , atcc : htb - 30 ), bt - 474 ( medium her2 - expressing , atcc : htb - 20 ) and mcf - 7 ( low her2 - expressing , atcc : htb - 22 ) were cultured with different dilution degrees of anti - her2 antibodies ( including trastuzumab , hgh0 / 1 , 3e12 ) at 37 ° c . for 20 h , respectively . after washing the cells , the percentage of early apoptotic cells was detected according to the instructions of annexinv / pi kit ( bd ). the results of anti - apoptotic experiment are shown in fig1 . the cell - killing ability of 3e12 antibody was significantly stronger than that of trastuzumab antibody and hgh0 / 1 ( when the antibody concentration was ≧ 0 . 025 nm ), p & lt ; 0 . 05 , t test ), and the same results were also be demonstrated in bt - 474 cells ( when the antibody concentration was ≧ 0 . 025 nm , p & lt ; 0 . 05 , t test ). however , in low her2 expressing mcf - 7 cells , the killing ability of 3e12 antibody was close to that of trastuzumab antibody and gh0 / 1 antibody . these results exhibited that 3e12 antibody had her2 specificity in killing cells , and had a stronger ability to kill medium and high her2 expressing cells than trastuzumab antibody and hgh0 / 1 antibody . human breast cancer cells sk - br - 3 , bt - 474 and mcf - 7 cells were incubated with different dilution degrees of anti - her2 antibodies at 37 ° c ., respectively . on the fifth day , the growth inhibition ratio was calculated after reading by mtt staining . the results of growth inhibition experiment are shown in fig2 . the ability of 3e12 antibody to inhibit sk - br3 cell growth was significantly stronger than that of trastuzumab antibody and hgh0 / 1 ( when the antibody concentration was ≧ 0 . 1 nm , p & lt ; 0 . 05 , t test ), and the same results were also be demonstrated in bt - 474 cells ( when the antibody concentration was ≧ 0 . 1 nm ), p & lt ; 0 . 05 , t test ). however , in low her2 expressing mcf - 7 cells , the cell inhibiting ability of 3e12 antibody was close to that of trastuzumab antibody and gh0 / 1 antibody . these results exhibited that 3e12 antibody had her2 specificity in inhibiting cell growth , and had a stronger ability to inhibit medium and high her2 expressing cells than trastuzumab antibody and hgh0 / 1 antibody . each of scid mice ( purchased from slack , shanghai ) was subcutaneously inoculated with high her2 expressing human breast cancer cells bt - 747 on 0 th day , and when the tumor grew to 0 . 3 cm 3 , the tumor - bearing mice were intraperitoneally injected with various anti - her2 antibodies at 0 . 5 , 5 mg / kg for twice a week and continuously treated for 3 weeks . the changes of body weight of mice and tumor size were regularly observed for a total of 120 days . the antitumor treatment effect of anti - her2 antibodies was evaluated . the results of antitumor experiment in vivo are shown in fig3 . the ability of 3e12 antibody to inhibit the growth of high her2 expressing breast cancer cells bt - 747 was significantly stronger than that of trastuzumab antibody and hgh0 / 1 ( at the dose of 25 mg / kg , on the 50 th , 60 th , 70 th , 80 th , 90 th , 100 th , 110 th , 120th day , p & lt ; 0 . 05 , mann - whitney test ). | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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referring now to fig2 there is shown a simplified block diagram of a mobile station 100 which may be used in accordance with the present invention . the mobile station 100 comprises a microphone 102 , a loudspeaker 104 , a keyboard or keypad 106 , an alphanumeric or graphical display 108 , a user interface 110 , a microprocessor 112 , a program memory 114 , a random access memory ( ram ) 116 , an electrically erasable programmable read only memory ( eeprom ) 118 , a radio frequency ( rf ) section 120 and an antenna 122 . the user interface 110 includes speech and data processing circuitry ( not specifically shown ) such as a codec for performing analog - to - digital ( a / d ) conversion of a transmit speech signal from the microphone 102 and digital - to - analog ( d / a ) conversion of a received speech signal destined for the loudspeaker 104 . the user interface 110 further includes a digital signal processor ( dsp ) for performing gain / attenuation , filtering , compression / decompression , channel coding / decoding and any other desired processing ( e . g ., in accordance with is - 136 ) of speech and user or control data . the rf section 120 includes rf processing circuitry ( not specifically shown ) such as an rf transmitter for modulating the transmit speech or data onto an analog carrier signal , up - converting the modulated signal to the selected channel frequency and then filtering , amplifying and transmitting the signal through the antenna 122 . the rf section 120 further includes an rf receiver for down - converting a modulated signal received through the antenna 122 into an intermediate frequency ( if ) signal and then filtering and demodulating the if signal for further processing in the dsp . the microprocessor 112 controls the overall operation of the mobile station 100 through software programs stored in the program memory 114 . these programs include , for example , executable instructions for each of the transmit and receive operations on the digital control channel ( dcch ) and the digital traffic channel ( dtch ) as specified in is - 136 . the ram 116 holds the values of temporary variables used in the execution of these instructions . parameters whose values must be preserved after power is turned off in the mobile station 100 will be stored in the eeprom 118 ( or in a similar non - volatile or flash memory ). such parameters include the mobile identification number ( min ), the electronic serial number ( esn ) of the mobile station 100 , the station class mark ( scm ), the system identification of the home system ( sidh ), and the authentication key ( a - key ). referring next to fig3 there is shown a block diagram of a number assignment module ( nam ) information block which is stored in the eeprom 118 in accordance with the present invention . during nam programming a service technician authorized by a cellular carrier ( operator ) enters the values of certain subscriber - specific , mobile - specific and system specific parameters into the mobile station in order to setup and configure the mobile station for operation in the system of that carrier . as shown in fig3 a typical nam information block includes the min , scm and sidh ( which are specific to the subscriber , mobile station and system , respectively ) as well as other parameters which are not specifically shown in fig3 . in the case of subscribers who have signed up for service from multiple carriers , the eeprom 118 will contain multiple nam information blocks of the type shown in fig3 one for each of these carriers . it will be appreciated that although each of the parameters in fig3 is shown to be contained in a single memory location , in practice different portions of the value of any parameter may be stored in different memory locations due to memory size or other constraints . with continuing reference to fig3 each nam information block in the mobile station 100 will include an a - key value which , for security reasons , may be encoded or encrypted and / or spread over several memory locations within the corresponding nam block . according to the present invention , this a - key value can be a &# 34 ; default &# 34 ; ( all zeros ) value , a &# 34 ; random &# 34 ; ( randomly generated ) value or a &# 34 ; custom &# 34 ; ( user - defined ) value . furthermore , as also shown in fig3 the nam information block may include a &# 34 ; seed &# 34 ; value which may be used in generating the random a - key value in accordance with the present invention . the selection and storage of the desired a - key is described further below . referring next to fig4 there is shown a flowchart of the a - key selection and storage procedure performed by a mobile station in accordance with the present invention . this procedure is initiated by the user invoking the nam programming mode at step 200 . while in nam programming , the display 108 will prompt the user to enter the values for parameters in a particular nam block ( i . e ., associated with a particular cellular operator ). thus , for example , the user at step 202 may enter through the keyboard 106 the min and sidh assigned by or for a particular &# 34 ; home &# 34 ; system for storage in the corresponding nam block ( as shown in fig3 ). after the values for these ( and possibly other ) parameters have been entered , the display 108 will prompt user at step 204 to select among a default a - key , a random a - key or a custom a - key , or alternatively to add an alphanumeric tag to the current a - key stored in the nam block . if , at step 204 , the user had selected the default a - key option , the a - key in the nam block will be set to the value zero at step 206 . however , if the user had selected the random a - key option at step 204 , a pseudo - random a - key will be generated at step 208 based on the sidh entered during nam programming , the esn of the mobile station and possibly the seed value . the seed value can be any value available in both the mobile station and the system such as the rand or regid value transmitted over the control channel or , alternatively , a predetermined value stored or generated in both the mobile station and the system . the sidh , esn and / or seed are used as inputs to the cave algorithm or another algorithm that is capable of generating a pseudo - random a - key value having a normal distribution . the pseudo - random a - key value generated by this algorithm is stored in the appropriate nam block at step 210 . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , a pseudo - random a - key value can be precomputed for any sidh / esn combination at the factory using an algorithm in the manner described above . for example , a particular cellular operator may order a number of mobile stations from the manufacturer , all of which are specified to have a random a - key value . the manufacturer then can use the sidh of this operator and the esn of each mobile station to generate a corresponding random a - key value which is stored in the memory of the mobile station . in this case , when the user at step 204 selects the random a - key option , the stored random a - key value will be written into the appropriate location in the nam block as shown in fig3 . it will be readily appreciated that , for a multiple nam mobile station , multiple random a - key values may be precomputed and stored in the memory of the mobile station , one a - key for each nam . thus , after the user has entered the relevant values into a particular nam block at step 202 and then selected the random a - key option at step 204 as shown in fig4 the stored random a - key value associated with that nam will be written into the corresponding nam block . it will be recognized that the generation of a random a - key ( or more accurately a &# 34 ; pseudo - random &# 34 ; a - key since it is generated with an algorithm ) in accordance with the present invention avoids the necessity and cost of maintaining an esn / random a - key list for all mobile stations produced by each manufacturer since either the manufacturer or the home system can calculate the random a - key value for any mobile station at any time using predetermined input data ( e . g ., sidh , esn and / or seed ) in a predetermined algorithm ( e . g ., cave ). furthermore , since the esn of any mobile station is unique , each mobile station will have a unique , random a - key value thus increasing the security of the system . in addition , since the sidh of any system is unique , the value of the random a - key ( which also is based on the sidh ) will be different for each subscription ( nam block ) maintained by the same mobile station ( esn ). in other words , different &# 34 ; home &# 34 ; carriers for the same mobile station will use different random a - key values thus further increasing security by eliminating the need to share the same a - key value among these carriers . returning to step 204 , the user may have selected the option of entering a specific ( custom ) a - key into the current nam block . at step 212 the user enters the digits of the a - key through the keyboard 106 . these digits are validated at step 214 through a verification procedure that is specified , for example , in appendix a to each of is - 54 and is - 136 . once the entered a - key is validated , it will be stored in the current nam block at step 216 . next at step 218 a list of alphanumeric tags will appear on the display 108 so that the user can select one of these tags to serve as an identification for the just - entered a - key . this step allows the user to later recall and display the a - key using its identification since the a - key itself is not to be displayed for security reasons . the tag will inform the user that the current a - key in the corresponding nam block is neither a default nor a random a - key but is a custom a - key value that was previously stored in this nam block . in general , the tag may be any predefined alphanumeric string such as the date on which the custom a - key value was last entered . once the tag has been selected by the user , it will be associated with the stored a - key at step 220 . if at step 204 , the user had selected the option of entering a tag for the current a - key stored in the nam block , the value of that a - key , which may have been previously entered using the separate a - key entry procedure as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 551 , 073 ( incorporated herein by reference ), will not be changed and the procedure simply jumps to steps 218 - 220 for selection and storage of an appropriate tag . the foregoing detailed description shows only certain particular embodiments of the present invention . however , those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations may be made without departing substantially from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the form of the invention described herein is exemplary only and is not intended as a limitation on the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7Electricity
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compounds of formula i are prepared by the procedure of equation 1 . this procedure is well known in the art . equation 1 ## str6 ## for details , one may refer to epo publication no . 0007687 and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 169 , 719 which are herein incorporated by reference . sulfonyl isocyanates of formula a are also known in the art . for example , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 305 , 884 teaches the preparation of these compounds . agriculturally suitable salts of compounds of formula i are also useful herbicides and can be prepared in a number of ways known to the art . for example , metal salts can be made by contacting compounds of formula i with a solution of an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt having a sufficiently basic anion ( e . g ., hydroxide , alkoxide , carbonate or hydroxide ). quaternary amine salts can be made by similar techniques . salts of compounds of formula i can also be prepared by exchange of one cation for another . cationic exchange can be effected by direct contact of an aqueous solution of a salt of a compound of formula i ( e . g ., alkali or quaternary amine salt ) with a solution containing the cation to be exchanged . this method is most effective when the desired salt containing the exchanged cation is insoluble in water and can be separated by filtration . exchange may also be effected by passing an aqueous solution of a salt of a compound of formula i ( e . g ., an alkai metal or quaternary amine salt ) through a column packed with a cation exchange resin containing the cation to be exchanged for that of the original salt and the desired product is eluted from the column . this method is particularly useful when the desired salt is water - soluble . acid addition salts , useful in this invention , can be obtained by reacting a compound of formula i with a suitable acid , e . g ., p - toluenesulfonic acid , trichloroacetic acid or the like . the compounds of this invention and their preparation are further illustrated by the following examples wherein temperatures are given in degrees centigrade and parts are by weight unless otherwise designated . 16 . 4 g 2 - amino - 4 , 6 - dichloropyrimidine ( purchased from aldrich chemical co ., milwaukee , wi 53201 ) was added to 200 ml of ch 3 oh . the mixture was cooled to 10 ° with an ice bath and 5 . 4 g of naoch 3 was added in portions while maintaining the temperature . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to ambient temperature and then heated to reflux for two hours . the reaction mixture was then allowed to cool to ambient temperature and it was stirred overnight . a yellow solid was filtered and recrystallized from butyl chloride . the resulting solid was chromatographed on a dry column of silica , and eluted with 40 % etoachexane . the resulting yellow solid was further purified by recrystallization from butyl chloride . 9 . 4 g of product with m . p . 163 °- 166 ° was obtained . to 1 . 0 g of 2 - amino - 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidine suspended in 25 ml of dry ch 2 cl 2 was added 1 . 53 g of ethyl 2 -( isocyanatosulfonyl ) benzoate ( prepared by procedures taught in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 305 , 884 ). the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for three days . the solvent was stripped and the product was recrystallized from butyl chloride to give a white solid with m . p . 198 °- 201 °. using procedures analogous to example 2 , 2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxyprimidin - 2 - yl ) aminocarbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid isopropyl ester may be prepared . the compounds of this invention may be used in combination with other commercial herbicides . they are particularly useful in combination with the following herbicides . ______________________________________common name chemical name______________________________________amitrole 3 - amino - s - triazoleatrazine 2 - chloro - 4 -( ethylamino )- 6 -( isopropyl - amino )- s - triazinebarban 4 - chloro - 2 - butynyl m - chlorocarbanilatebenzoylprop n -- benzoyl - n --( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- dl - alainebromacil 5 - bromo - 3 - sec - butyl - 6 - methyluracilbromoxynil 3 , 5 - dibromo - 4 - hydroxybenzonitrilebutylate s -- ethyl - diisobutylthiocarbamatechlortoluron n &# 39 ;--( 3 - chloro - 4 - methylphenyl - n &# 39 ;, n &# 39 ;-- dimethylureacyanazine 2 -[[ 4 - chloro - 6 -( ethylamino )- s - triazin - 2 - yl ] amino ]- 2 - methylpropionitrilediallate s --( 2 , 3 - dichloroallyl ) diisopropylthio - carbamatedicamba 3 , 6 - dichloro - o - anisic aciddichloroprop 2 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenoxy ) propionic aciddiclofop 2 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenoxy ) phenoxy ]- propanoic aciddifenzoquat 1 , 2 - dimethyl - 3 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h -- pyrazoliumdinoseb 2 - sec - butyl - 4 , 6 - dinitrophenoldiuron 3 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 , 1 - dimethylureaeptc s -- ethyl - dipropylthiocarbamateflamprop n -- benzoyl - n --( 3 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenyl )- dl - alaninefluchloralin n --( 2 - chloroethyl )- 2 , 6 - dinitro - n -- propyl - 4 - trifluoromethyl ) anilinefluometuron 1 , 1 - dimethyl - 3 -( α , α , α - trifluoro - m - tolyl )- ureafomesafen 5 -( 2 - chloro - 4 - trifluoromethylphenoxy )- n -- methylsulfonyl - 2 - nitrobenzamidefosamine ethyl hydrogen ( aminocarbonyl ) phosphonateglyphosate n --( phosphonomethyl ) glycinehexazinone 3 - cyclohexyl - 6 -( dimethylamino )- 1 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 5 - triazine - 2 , 4 ( 1h , 3h )-- dioneioxynil 4 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - diiodobenzonitrileisoproturon n --( 4 - isopropylphenyl )- n &# 39 ;, n &# 39 ;-- dimethylurealenacil 3 - cyclohexyl - 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1h -- cyclopenta - pyrimidine - 2 , 4 ( 3h , 5h )-- dionemcpa [( 4 - chloro - o - tolyl ) oxy ] acetic acidmcpb 4 -[( 4 - chloro - o - tolyl ) oxy ] propionic acidmefluidide n --[ 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 5 -[[( trifluoromethyl )- sulfonyl ] amino ] phenyl ] acetamidemethabenz - 1 , 3 - dimethyl - 3 -( 2 - benzothiazolyl ) ureathiazuronmethoxuron n &# 39 ;--( 3 - chloro - 4 - methoxyphenyl ) n , n -- dimethylureamsma monosodium methanearsonateneburon 1 - butyl - 3 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - methyl - ureaoryzalin 3 , 4 - dinitro - n , n -- dipropylsulfanilamideparaquat 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- dimethyl - 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bipyridinium ionprofluralin n --( cyclopropylmethyl )- α , α , α - trifluoro - 2 , 6 - dinitro - n -- propyl - p - toluidinepropanil 3 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dichloropropionalidesiduron 1 -( 2 - methylcyclohexyl )- 3 - phenylureasupriox 2 -[ 1 -( 2 , 5 - dimethylphenyl ) ethylsulfonyl ]- pyridine - n -- oxideterbacil 3 - tert - butyl - 5 - chloro - 6 - methyluraciltriallate s --( 2 , 3 , 3 - trichloroallyl ) diisopropylthio - carbamate2 , 4 - d ( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenoxy ) acetic acid2 , 4 - db 4 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenoxy ) butyric acid 3 , 4 - diaryl - 4 - cyanobutyrates 4 -( 6 - chloroquinoxalinyl - 2 - oxy ) phenoxy - propionate c . sub . 1 - c . sub . 5 alkyl esters , such as methyl ester , butyl ester , ethyl ester , pentyl ester ethoxyethoxyethyl 4 -( 6 - chloroquinoxalin - yl - 2 - oxy ) phenoxypropionate propargyl 2 -[ 4 -( 3 , 5 - dichloropyridin - 2 - yloxy ) phenoxy ] propanoate methyl 2 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 5 - trifluoromethyl - pyridin - 2 - yloxy ) phenoxy ] propanoateoxyfluorfen 2 - chloro - 1 -( 3 - ethoxy - 4 - nitrophenoxy )- 4 - ( trifluoromethyl ) benzenenorflurazon 4 - chloro - 5 -( methylamino )- 2 -[( 3 -( tri - fluoro ) phenyl ]- 3 ( 2h )-- pyridazinonevernolate s -- propyl dipropylthiocarbamate ethyl 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl )- phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenzoic acid______________________________________ the compounds of this invention may particularly be useful in combination with the following herbicides for use as pre - or post - emergent treatments for control of weeds in soybeans : ______________________________________common name tradename chemical name______________________________________acifluorfen blazer ® 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoro - methyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - ni - trobenzoic acidalachlor lasso ® 2 - chloro - 2 &# 39 ;, 6 &# 39 ;- diethyl - n --( methoxymethyl ) acet - anilidebentazon basagran ® 3 - isopropyl - 1h -- 2 , 1 , 3 - benzothiadiazin - 4 ( 3h )-- one 2 , 2 - dioxidechloramben amiben ® 3 - amino - 2 , 5 - dichloro - benzoic acidfluazifop - fusilade ® butyl 2 -[ 4 -[ 5 -( trifluoro - butyl methyl )- 2 - pyridinyl - oxy ] phenoxy ] propanoatelinuron lorox ® 3 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - methoxy - 1 - methylureametolachlor dual ® 2 - chloro - n --( 2 - ethyl - 6 - methylphenyl )- n --( 2 - methoxy - 1 - methylethyl )- acetamidemetribuzin lexone ® 4 - amino - 6 - tert - butyl - 3 - ( methylthio )- as - tri - azin - 5 ( 4h ) onependimethalin prowl ® n --( 1 - ethylpropyl )- 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 , 6 - dinitro - benzeneaminesethoxydim poast ® 2 -[ 1 -( ethoxyimino ) butyl ]- 5 -[ 2 -( ethylthio )- propyl ]- 3 - hydroxy - 2 - cyclohexene - 1 - onetrifluralin treflan ® α , α , α - trifluoro - 2 , 6 - di - nitro - n , n -- dipropyl - p - toluidineac 252 , 214 -- 2 -( 4 , 5 - dihydro - 4 - methyl - 4 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 5 - oxo - 1h -- imidazol - 2 - yl )- 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acidfmc 57020 -- 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- chlorophenyl )- methyl - 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - isoxazolidinonefomesafen flex ® 5 -( 2 - chloro - 4 - trifluoro - methylphenoxy )- n -- methylsulfonyl - 2 - nitro - benzamidelactofen -- 1 &# 39 ;-( carboethoxy ) ethyl - 5 - ( 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoro - methyl ) phenoxy )- 2 - nitrobenzoatedowco 453 me 2 -( 4 -( 3 - chloro - 5 - tri - fluoromethylpyridin - 2 - yloxy ) phenoxy ) propanoic acid , methyl esterfenoxaprop ethyl whip ® ethyl 2 -( 4 -( 6 - chloro - 2 - benzoxazolyloxy ) phen - oxy ) propanoatecga 82725 topik ® 2 -( 4 -( 3 , 5 - dichloropyri - din - 2 - yloxy ) phenoxy - propanoic acid , propyn - yl ester______________________________________ a particularly preferred mixture would be an effective amount of a compound of formula i and an effective amount of a compound of formula ii below : ## str7 ## most preferred would be a mixture with a compound of formula ii wherein z is cl and r is ch 2 ch 3 . ratios in the mixture should be 3 to 48 % by weight of a compound of formula i and 52 to 97 % by weight of a compound of formula ii . preferably 6 to 20 % of a compound of formula i and 80 to 94 % of a compound of formula ii . the compounds of formula ii may be prepared by the process disclosed in epo application no . 81 , 302 , 801 . 6 , published dec . 30 , 1981 and epo application no . 82 , 306 , 769 . 9 , published june 29 , 1983 . useful formulations of the compounds of formula i can be prepared in conventional ways . they include dusts , granules , pellets , solutions , suspensions , emulsions , wettable powders , emulsifiable concentrates and the like . many of these may be applied directly . sprayable formulations can be extended in suitable media and used at spray volumes of from a few liters to several hundred liters per hectare . high strength compositions are primarily used as intermediates for further formulation . the formulations , broadly , contain about 0 . 1 % to 99 % by weight of active ingredient ( s ) and at least one of ( a ) about 0 . 1 % to 20 % surfactant ( s ) and ( b ) about 1 % to 99 . 9 % solid or liquid diluent ( s ). more specifically , they will contain these ingredients in the following approximate proportions : table i______________________________________ active weight percent * ingredient diluent ( s ) surfactant ( s ) ______________________________________wettable powders 20 - 90 0 - 74 1 - 10oil suspensions , 3 - 50 40 - 95 0 - 15emulsions , solutions ,( including emulsifiableconcentrates ) aqueous suspension 10 - 50 40 - 84 1 - 20dusts 1 - 25 70 - 99 0 - 5granules and pellets 0 . 1 - 95 5 - 99 . 9 0 - 15high strength 90 - 99 0 - 10 0 - 2compositions______________________________________ * active ingredient plus at least one of a surfactant or a diluent equals 100 weight percent . lower or higher levels of active ingredients can , of coruse , be present depending on the intended use and the physical properties of the compound . higher ratios of surfactant to active ingredient are sometimes desirable , and are achieved by incorporation into the formulation or by tank mixing . typical solid diluents are described in watkins , et al ., &# 34 ; handbook of insecticide dust diluents and carriers &# 34 ;, 2nd ed ., dorland books , caldwell , n . j ., but other solids , either mined or manufactured , may be used . the more absorptive diluents are preferred for wettable powders and the denser ones for dusts . typical liquid diluents and solvents are described in marsden , &# 34 ; solvents guide ,&# 34 ; 2nd ed ., interscience , new york , 1950 . solubility under 0 . 1 % is preferred for suspension concentrates ; solution concentrates are preferably stable against phase separation at 0 ° c . &# 34 ; mccutcheon &# 39 ; s detergents and emulsifiers annual &# 34 ;, mc publishing corp ., ridgewood , n . j ., as well as sisely and wood , &# 34 ; encyclopedia of surface active agents &# 34 ;, chemical publishing co ., inc ., new york , 1964 , list surfactants and recommended uses . all formulations can contain minor amounts of additives to reduce foaming , caking , corrosion , microbiological growth , etc . the methods of making such compositions are well known . solutions are prepared by simply mixing the ingredients . fine solid compositions are made by blending and , usually , grinding as in a hammer or fluid energy mill . suspensions are prepared by wet milling ( see , for example , littler , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 060 , 084 ). granules and pellets may be made by spraying the active material upon preformed granular carriers or by agglomeration technique . see j . e . browning , &# 34 ; agglomeration &# 34 ;, chemical engineering , dec . 4 , 1967 , pp . 147ff . and &# 34 ; perry &# 39 ; s chemical engineer &# 39 ; s handbook &# 34 ;, 5th ed ., mcgraw - hill , new york , 1973 , pp . 8 - 57ff . for further information regarding the art of formulation , see for example : h . m . loux , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 235 , 361 , feb . 15 , 1966 , col . 6 , line 16 through col . 7 , line 19 and examples 10 through 41 ; r . w . luckenbaugh , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 309 , 192 , mar . 14 , 1967 , col . 5 , line 43 through col . 7 , line 62 and examples 8 , 12 , 15 , 39 , 41 , 52 , 53 , 58 , 132 , 138 - 140 , 162 - 164 , 166 , 167 and 169 - 182 ; h . gysin and e . knusli , u . s . pat . no . 2 , 891 , 855 , june 23 , 1959 , col . 3 , line 66 through col . 5 , line 17 and examples 1 - 4 ; g . c . klingman , &# 34 ; weed control as a science &# 34 ;, john wiley & amp ; sons , inc ., new york , 1961 , pp . 81 - 96 ; and j . d . fryer and s . a . evans , &# 34 ; weed control handbook &# 34 ;, 5th ed ., blackwell scientific publications , oxford , 1968 , pp . 101 - 103 . in the following examples , all parts are by weight unless otherwise indicated . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 80 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylestersodium alkylnaphthalenesulfonate 2 % sodium ligninsulfonate 2 % synthetic amorphous silica 3 % kaolinite 13 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended , hammer - milled until all the solids are essentially under 50 microns , reblended , and packaged . the active ingredient is dissolved in the solvent and the solution is sprayed upon dedusted granules in a double cone blender . after spraying of the solution has been completed , the blender is allowed to run for a short period and then the granules are packaged . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 40 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid isopropylesterpolyacrylic acid thickener 0 . 3 % dodecylphenol polyethylene glycol ether 0 . 5 % disodium phosphate 1 % monosodium phosphate 0 . 5 % polyvinyl alcohol 1 . 0 % water 56 . 7 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended and ground together in a sand mill to produce particles essentially all under 5 microns in size . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 80 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid isopropylesterwetting agent 1 % crude ligninsulfonate salt ( containing 10 % 5 - 20 % of the natural sugars ) attapulgite clay 9 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended and milled to pass through a 100 mesh screen . this material is then added to a fluid bed granulator , the air flow is adjusted to gently fluidize the material , and a fine spray of water is sprayed onto the fluidized material . the fluidization and spraying are continued until granules of the desired size range are made . the spraying is stopped , but fluidization is continued , optionally with heat , until the water content is reduced to the desired level , generally less than 1 %. the material is then discharged , screened to the desired size range , generally 14 - 100 mesh ( 1410 - 149 microns ), and packaged for use . the ingredients are blended and ground in a hammer - mill to produce a material essentially all passing a u . s . s . no . 50 screen ( 0 . 3 mm opening ). the concentrate may be formulated further if necessary . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 90 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid isopropylesterdioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 0 . 1 % synthetic fine silica 9 . 9 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended and ground in a hammer - mill to produce particles essentially all below 100 microns . the material is sifted through a u . s . s . no . 50 screen and then packaged . the ingredients are thoroughly blended , coarsely hammer - milled and then air - milled to produce particles essentially all below 10 microns in size . the material is reblended and then packaged . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 50 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylestersodium alkylnaphthalenesulfonate 2 % low viscosity methyl cellulose 2 % diatomaceous earth 46 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended , coarsely hammer - milled and then air - milled to produce particles essentially all below 10 microns in diameter . the product is reblended before packaging . ______________________________________wettable powder of example 10 5 % attapulgite granules 95 %( u . s . s . 20 - 40 mesh ; 0 . 84 - 0 . 42 mm ) ______________________________________ a slurry of wettable powder containing ≈ 25 % solids is sprayed on the surface of attapulgite granules in a double - cone blender . the granules are dried and packaged . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 25 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylesteranhydrous sodium sulfate 10 % crude calcium ligninsulfonate 5 % sodium alkylnaphthalenesulfonate 1 % calcium / magnesium bentonite 59 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are blended , hammer - milled and then moistened with about 12 % water . the mixture is extruded as cylinders about 3 mm diameter which are cut to produce pellets about 3 mm long . these may be used directly after drying , or the dried pellets may be crushed to pass a u . s . s . no . 20 sieve ( 0 . 84 mm openings ). the granules held on a u . s . s . no . 40 sieve ( 0 . 42 mm openings ) may be packaged for use and the fines recycled . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 25 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid isopropylesterpolyoxyethylene sorbitol hexaoleate 5 % highly aliphatic hydrocarbon oil 70 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are ground together in a sand mill until the solid particles have been reduced to under about 5 microns . the resulting thick suspension may be applied directly , but preferably after being extended with oils or emulsified in water . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 20 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylestersodium alkylnaphthalenesulfonate 4 % sodium ligninsulfonate 4 % low viscosity methyl cellulose 3 % attapulgite 69 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are thoroughly blended . after grinding in a hammer - mill to produce particles essentially all below 100 microns , the material is reblended and sifted through a u . s . s . no . 50 sieve ( 0 . 3 mm opening ) and packaged . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 35 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylesterblend of polyalcohol carboxylic 6 % esters and oil soluble petroleumsulfonatesxylene 59 % ______________________________________ the ingredients are combined and ground together in a sand mill to produce particles essentially all below 5 microns . the product can be used directly , extended with oils , or emulsified in water . the active ingredient is blended with attapulgite and then passed through a hammer - mill to produce particles substantially all below 200 microns . the ground concentrate is then blended with powdered pyrophyllite until homogeneous . ______________________________________2 -[[( 4 - chloro - 6 - methoxypyrimidin - 2 - yl ) amino - 20 % carbonyl ] aminosulfonyl ] benzoic acid ethylesterchlorobenzene 74 % sorbitan monostearate and polyoxyethylene 6 % condensates thereof______________________________________ the ingredients are combined and stirred to produce a solution which can be emulsified in water for application . the compounds of the present invention have high herbicidal properties . they have utility for broadspectrum pre - and / or post - emergence weed control , in particular selective weed control in soybeans . the rates of application for the compounds of the invention are determined by a number of factors , including the types of weeds to be controlled , weather and climate , formulations selected , mode of application , amount of foliage present , etc . in general terms , the subject compounds should be applied at levels of around 0 . 002 to 1 kg / ha , the lower rates being suggested for use on lighter soils and / or those having a low organic matter content , or for situations where only short - term persistence is required . the compounds of the invention may be used in combination with any other commercial herbicide , examples of which are those of the triazine , triazole , uracil , urea , amide , diphenylether , carbamate and bipyridylium types . as mentioned previously , compounds of this invention may also be used in combination with herbicides such as those of formula ii . compound 3 is representative of this class of compounds , and may be used at rates of 0 . 035 to 1 kg / ha depending upon the above factors . such combinations or split applications may be useful in obtaining both grass and broadleaf weed control in soybeans . the herbicidal properties of the subject compounds were discovered in a number of greenhouse tests . the test procedures and results follow . seeds of crabgrass ( digitaria sp . ), barnyardgrass ( echinochloa crusgalli ), wild oats ( avena fatua ), sicklepod ( cassia obtusifolia ), morningglory ( ipomoea sp . ), cocklebur ( xanthium pensylvanicum ), sorghum , corn , soybean , sugar beet , rice , wheat and purple nutsedge ( cyperus rotundus ) tubers were planted and treated pre - emergence with the test chemicals dissolved in a non - phytotoxic solvent . at the same time , these crop and weed species , along with cotton and bush bean , were treated with a soil / foliage application . at the time of treatment , the plants ranged in height from 2 to 18 cm . treated plants and controls were maintained in a greenhouse for sixteen days , after which all species were compared to controls and visually rated for response to treatment . the ratings , summarized in table a , are based on a numerical scale extending from 0 = no injury , to 10 = complete kill . the accompanying descriptive symbols have the following meanings : the data indicate the high herbicidal activity of the compounds of the invention and their utility for selective pre - emergence weed control in soybeans . ## str8 ## table a______________________________________ cmpd . 1 cmpd . 2rate kg / ha 0 . 05 0 . 05______________________________________post - emergencebush bean 9c 9ccotton 2c , 9g 3c , 3h , 9gmorningglory 10c 9ccocklebur 10c 9csicklepod 9c 9cnutsedge 9c 9gcrabgrass 2c , 4g 2c , 5gbarnyardgrass 5c , 9h 3c , 9hwild oats 6c , 9g 8gwheat 6c , 9g 2c , 9gcorn 5u , 9c 2c , 8hsoybean 4c , 9g 2c , 6grice 5c , 9g 5c , 9gsorghum 5c , 9g 3c , 9gsugar beet 5c , 9g 4c , 9gpre - emergencemorningglory 9c 9ccocklebur -- 9hsicklepod 9g 8gnutsedge 10e 10ecrabgrass 0 0barnyardgrass 2c , 9h 4c , 9hwild oats 2c , 8g 2c , 6gwheat 9h 8gcorn 2c , 9g 1c , 9gsoybean 0 1crice 10e 10esorghum 7c , 9h 2c , 9hsugar beet 10e 10e______________________________________ two plastic bulb pans were filled with fertilized and limed woodstown sandy loam . one pan was planted with corn , sorghum , kentucky bluegrass and several grassy weeds . the other pan was planted with cotton , soybeans , purple nutsedge ( cyperus rotundus ), and several broadleaf weeds . the following grassy and broadleaf weeds were planted : crabgrass ( digitaria sanguinalis ), barnyardgrass ( echinochloa crusgalli ), wild oats ( avena fatua ), johnsongrass ( sorghum halepense ), dallisgrass ( paspalum dilatatum ), giant foxtail ( setaria faberii ), cheatgrass ( bromus secalinus ), mustard ( brassica arvensis ), cocklebur ( xanthium pensylvanicum ), morningglory ( ipomoea hederacea ), sicklepod ( cassia obtusifolia ), teaweed ( sida spinosa ), velvetleaf ( abutilon theophrasti ), and jimsonweed ( datura stramonium ). a 12 . 5 cm diameter plastic pot was also filled with prepared soil and planted with rice and wheat . another 12 . 5 cm pot was planted with sugar beets . the above four containers were treated pre - emergence with the test compounds of the invention . twenty - eight days after treatment , the plants were evaluated and visually rated for response to the chemical treatments utilizing the rating system described previously for test a . the data are summarized in table b . note that the compounds are useful as pre - emergence treatments for weed control in soybeans . table b__________________________________________________________________________pre - emergence onwoodstown sandy loam compound 1 compound 2rate kg / ha 0 . 00175 0 . 0035 0 . 015 0 . 030 0 . 060 0 . 500 0 . 00175 0 . 0035 0 . 015 0 . 030 0 . 060 0 . 120 0 . 500__________________________________________________________________________crabgrass 5g 5g 3g 6g 6g 9g 2g 2g 0 2g 3g 5g 8gbarnyardgrass 6g 6g 9g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 10c 4g 5g 6g 7g 8g 8g 9g , 9csorghum 7g 9g , 9c 10c 10c 10c 10c 5g 7g 10c 10c 10c 10c 10cwild oats 3g 4g 8g 8g , 3c 8g , 5c 9g , 9c 2g 3g 4g 5g 7g 7g 9gjohnsongrass 0 0 8g 8g 8g 9g , 9c 0 0 7g 7g 8g 8g 9g , 9cdallisgrass 0 2g 5g 7g 8g 9g 0 0 4g 5g 5g 6g 9ggiant foxtail 0 2g 6g 7g 7g 9g 2g 2g 4g 5g 8g 9g 9gky . bluegrass 0 2g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 10c 2g 5g 8g 9g 9g 9g 10ccheatgrass 8g 9g 9g , 9c 10c 10c 10c 7g 8g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 10c 10csugar beets 9g 9g 10c 10c 10c 10c 9g 9g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 10c 10ccorn 2g 3g 6g 8g , 5h 8g , 7h 10c 0 2g 4g 3g 6g 8g , 5h 10cmustard 9g 9g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 10c 10c 9g 9g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 10c 10c 10ccocklebur 7g 8g 9g , 3h 9g , 5h 9g , 7h 9g , 9c 7g 8g 9g , 5h 9g , 5h 9g , 7h 9g , 7h 9g , 9cpigweed -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nutsedge 10c 10c 10c 10c 10c 10c 8g 9g 10c 10c 10c 10c 10ccotton 8g 8g 9g 9g 9g 10c 6g 8g 8g 8g 8g 9g 9g , 9cmorningglory 5g 7g 9g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 5g 7g 9g 9g 9g 9g 9g , 9csicklepod 4g 6g 8g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 0 4g 2g 5g 8g 8g 9gteaweed 0 4g 8g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 0 0 8g 8g 9g 9g 9gvelvetleaf 4g 7g 8g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 0 5g 7g 8g 9g 9g 9g , 9cjimsonweed 7g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 6g 8g 9g 9g 9g , 9c 9g , 9c 9g , 9csoybean 0 0 2g 2g 3g 7g 0 0 0 0 2g 2g 6grice 9g 10c 10c 10c 10c 10c 9g 9g 10c 10c 10c 10c 10cwheat 4g 7g 3g 6g 8g 9g 4g 6g 5g 4g 5g 6g 8g__________________________________________________________________________ the test chemicals , dissolved in a non - phytotoxic solvent , were applied in an overall spray to the foliage and surrounding soil of selected plant species . one day after treatment , plants were observed for rapid burn injury . approximately fourteen days after treatment , all species were visually compared to untreated controls and rated for response to treatment . the rating system was as described previously for test a . the data are presented in table c . all plant species were seeded in woodstown sandy loam soil and grown in a greenhouse . the following species were grown in soil contained in plastic pots ( 25 cm diameter by 13 cm deep ): soybeans , cotton , alfalfa , corn , rice , wheat , sorghum , velvetleaf ( abutilon theophrasti ), sesbania ( sesbania exaltata ), sicklepod ( cassia obtusifolia ), morningglory ( ipomoea hederacea ), jimsonweed ( datura stramonium ), cocklebur ( xanthium pensylvaicum ), crabgrass ( digitaria sp . ), nutsedge ( cyperus rotundus ), barnyardgrass ( echinochloa crusgalli ), giant foxtail ( setaria faberii ) and wild oats ( avena fatua ). the following species were grown in soil in a paper cup ( 12 cm diameter by 13 cm deep ): sunflower , sugar beets , and mustard . all plants were sprayed approximately 14 days after planting . additional plant species are sometimes added to this standard test in order to evaluate unusual selectivity . the compounds tested by this procedure are useful for the post - emergence control of weeds in soybeans . table c______________________________________over - the - top soil / foliage treatment compound 1 compound 2rate kg / ha . 004 . 016 . 063 . 004 . 016 . 063______________________________________soybeans 0 5g 9g 0 7g 8g , 6cvelvetleaf 9g , 4c 10c 10c 9g 10c 10csesbania 10c 10c 10c 10c 10c 10csicklepod 7g 10c 10g , 6g , 4c 10c 10g , 4c 4ccotton 8g 10c 10c 10c 10c 10cmorningglory 9g , 2c 10c 9g , 9c 10c 9g , 8c 10calfalfa 5g 10c 9g , 8c 10c 8g , 2c 10cjimsonweed 8g 9g , 2c 9g 8g 10c 10ccocklebur 9g , 1h 8g , 1h 9g -- 9g 10csunflower 10c 10c 10c 9g , 9c 10c 10cmustard 9g , 5c 10c 10c 9g , 6c 9g , 6c 9g , 4csugar beets 10c 10c 10c 9g 10c 10ccorn 2g , 2c 5g , 1u 7g 1c 2g , 2c 5g , 2hcrabgrass 0 0 0 0 2g 0rice 8g , 2c 9g , 8c 9g , 8c 6g 9g , 7c 9g , 4cnutsedge 9g 8g 8g , 6c 7g 7g , 6c 7gbarnyard - 6g 8g , 6c 9g , 6c 5g 7g 8g , 6cgrasswheat 4g 8g 9g 0 6g 8ggiant foxtail 6g 7g 8g 3g 6g 9gwild oats 2g 7g 8g 0 4g 7gsorghum 6g 8g , 1u 9g , 2u 7g 7g , 2u 7g , 2ujohnsongrass 5g 8g , 1u 8g , 1u 5g 7g 7g , 4ufield 0 8g 8g 6g 4g 8gbindweed______________________________________ four inch round pots were filled with woodstown soil and various weed seeds were sown in separate pots . the pots containing the seeds were placed in the greenhouse and watered as needed for good plant growth . in addition , they were fertilized once with 10 - 10 - 10 peter &# 39 ; s solution . after about 3 weeks depending on species , when the plants were in the 4 - 6 true leaf stage , they were sprayed with solutions of compound 1 , compound 3 or both using a track sprayer calibrated to deliver 60 g . p . a . of the spray solution containing 0 . 1 % x - 77 surfactant . the plants were replaced in the greenhouse and watered as needed for optimum growth for about 3 weeks . they were then evaluated for percent weed control where 0 = no control and 100 = complete kill . the following weeds were in the test . barnyardgrass ( echinochloa crusgalli ), giant foxtail ( setaria faberi ), velvetleaf ( abutilon theophrasti ), hemp sesbania ( sesbania exaltata ), sicklepod ( cassia obtusifolia ), kochia ( kochia scoparia ) and russian thistle ( salsola kali ). the data are summarized in table d . table d______________________________________ rate ( kg a . i ./ ha ) ______________________________________test 1compound 3 1 / 16 1 / 32 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256compound 2 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256 1 / 512 1 / 1024barnyardgrass 95 95 90 70 50giant foxtail 100 100 99 80 50velvetleaf 100 99 90 90 90hemp sesbania 100 100 100 100 90sicklepod 95 95 95 60 60kochia 30 30 0 0 0russian thistle 20 20 0 0 0test 2compound 3 1 / 16 1 / 32 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256compound 2 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256 1 / 512 1 / 1024barnyardgrass 95 90 80 80 50giant foxtail 99 99 90 70 50velvetleaf 100 100 100 50 50hemp sesbania 100 100 100 90 100sicklepod 95 100 85 40 40kochia 60 50 30 0 0russian thistle 70 50 0 0 0test 3compound 3 0 0 0 0 0compound 2 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256 1 / 512 1 / 1024barnyardgrass 0 0 0 0 0giant foxtail 0 0 0 0 0velvetleaf 100 99 99 80 80hemp sesbania 100 100 100 90 85sicklepod 95 95 90 70 60kochia 50 40 20 0 0russian thistle 90 0 0 0 0test 4compound 3 1 / 16 1 / 32 1 / 64 1 / 128 1 / 256compound 2 0 0 0 0 0barnyardgrass 98 95 90 70 50giant foxtail 100 100 100 80 60velvetleaf 0 0 0 0 0hemp sesbania 0 0 0 0 0sicklepod 0 0 0 0 0kochia 0 0 0 0 0russian thistle 0 0 0 0 0______________________________________ | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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hereinafter , details of the present invention is explained based on embodiments referring to drawings . a conceptual figure of the overall constitution of the display apparatus of the present invention is shown in fig1 . the display apparatus comprises a matrix panel 1 consisting of scanning lines 2 , signal lines 3 and picture elements 4 , provided at the intersection points where the lines 2 and the lines 3 cross each other ; a scanning circuit 5 and a signal circuit 6 for generating predetermined voltages and applying them to the scanning lines 2 and the signal lines 3 , respectively ; a display control circuit 8 for supplying timing signals to the scanning circuit 5 and the signal circuit 6 and an auxiliary signal for increasing the effective value of the signal voltages generating circuit 10 ; a system circuit 9 connected to the display control circuit 8 ; the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 ; and an auxiliary signal information generating circuit 11 connected to the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 through an auxiliary signal line 13 . as to the picture elements 4 , any combination of switching elements using such display material as a liquid crystal , electroluminescence and so on is applicable , and so the invention is not restricted to any specific material combinations . and , the brightness or the gradation number of the picture elements is not restricted to any specific value . the auxiliary signal vsub is inputted into a display part 7 consisting of the scanning circuit 5 , the signal circuit 6 and the matrix panel 1 through an auxiliary signal inputting line 12 . examples of vsub are described later . as shown in fig1 , the present invention is characterized by the method of selecting each picture element in turn by the scanning circuit 5 , applying the picture signal voltage to the selected picture element by the signal circuit 6 ( a first driving means ), applying the auxiliary signal vsub obtained by the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 ( a second driving means ) to each picture element in the display part and displaying any pictures on the matrix panel 1 by driving the matrix panel 1 with the synthesized signals of signals generated by the first and second driving means . the auxiliary signal information generating means 11 generates the information for determining the waveform of the auxiliary signal based on the environmental conditions , such as temperature , the display picture quality conditions , such as the brightness or the contrast of the picture elements , and so forth , and inputs the information into the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . the information from the system circuit 9 may be directly inputted into the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . an embodiment of the present invention will be explained by taking a liquid crystal display apparatus as an example . equivalent circuit examples of the picture elements 4 in the liquid crystal display apparatus are shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ). the liquid crystal 17 is driven by a switching element 16 , such as a tft . a mos transistor , or a bipolar transistor besides a tft , is also applicable for use in the switching element . the storage capacitances 18 connected in parallel with the liquid crystal 17 are not necessarily needed , but providing such storage capacitances is convenient to constituting a flexible display apparatus . the difference between the equivalent circuit of fig2 ( a ) and that of fig2 ( b ) is that a terminal of the storage capacitance 18 is connected to a storage capacitance voltage inputting terminal 20 in fig2 ( a ) and to the scanning line 15 in fig2 ( b ). fig4 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the equivalent circuit of the picture elements 4 is that of fig2 ( a ). one picture element consists of the tft 16 , the liquid crystal 17 and the storage capacitance 18 , and all of the picture elements are arranged as distributed dots of a ( m × n ) matrix . a terminal of each liquid crystal 17 is connected to a respective tft 16 and the other terminal of the liquid crystal 17 is connected to the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . a terminal of each storage capacitance 18 is connected to a respective tft 16 and the other terminal of the storage capacitance 18 is connected to the storage capacitance voltage inputting terminal 21 . a power source 22 is connected to the storage capacitance voltage inputting terminal 21 . the above - mentioned liquid crystal display matrix panel ordinarily consists of plural signal lines and plural scanning lines wired on a substrate made of a material such as glass and which cross each other , picture element electrodes provided near each point of intersection , a first substrate on which the tfts connected to the signal lines and the scanning lines are wired , a second substrate confronting the first substrate and having counter electrodes at places opposite to the picture element electrodes on the second substrate , made of such material as glass , the liquid crystal existing between the picture element electrodes and the counter electrodes . the counter electrodes are other side terminals of the liquid crystals 17 and are connected to the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . the operation of the picture element will be explained with reference to fig2 ( a ) and fig3 . when the scanning voltage vg ( vgh , vg 1 ) rises to the high voltage vgh , the tft switches to the on state and the image signal voltage vd applied to the signal line 14 is written into the liquid crystal 17 . the picture element voltage vs consequently becomes equal to the image signal voltage vd . and , when the scanning voltage vg drops to the low voltage vgl , the tft switches to the off state , but the state of the voltage vs scarcely changes ( holding state ), but is maintained for a time by the effects of the electrostatic capacitance of the liquid crystal and the storage capacitance . as mentioned above , the liquid crystal is driven by the on or off operations of the tft . the brightness of the liquid crystal is controlled by changing the voltage level of the image signal voltage vd during the time the tft stays in the on state . the brightness of the liquid crystal 17 also depends on the voltage vlc applied to the liquid crystal , namely , the voltage difference ( vlc = vs − vc ) between the picture element voltage vs and the common voltage vc applied to the common terminal 19 , which is the terminal of the opposite side of the liquid crystal . therefore , the brightness of the liquid crystal 17 can be controlled by the picture element voltage vs or the common voltage vc , and full color display is also possible by controlling each voltage vlc corresponding to each color of r ( red ), g ( green ) and b ( blue ). the constitution of the panel is not restricted to one having two opposite substrates as described in the embodiment 1 . fig5 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the equivalent circuit of the picture elements 4 is that of fig2 ( b ). one picture element consists of the tft 16 , the liquid crystal 17 between a picture element electrode and a counter electrode ( not shown in the figure ) and the storage capacitance 18 , and all of the picture elements are arranged as distributed dots of a ( m × n ) matrix . a terminal of each liquid crystal 17 is connected to a respective tft 16 and the other terminal of the liquid crystal 17 is connected to the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . a terminal of each storage capacitance 18 is connected to a respective tft 16 and the other terminal of the storage capacitance 18 is connected to a scanning line 15 , which defers from the embodiment 1 . fig7 shows an example of driving timing for the scanning electrodes and the signal electrodes of the liquid crystal matrix panel , which is common to the embodiments 1 and 2 . the scanning voltage vgl - vgn are applied in turn to n scanning lines 15 for setting the tfts to the on state so that the voltage vgh will be applied to the tfts in succession for time tl . the tfts turn to the off state for the time ( tf - tl ) when the scanning voltage is vgl . the signal voltages vd ( 1 )- vd ( m ) applied to the scanning lines 14 are changed in accordance with the scanning timing , and a method for applying the signal voltages is not restricted to any specific method . by the above mentioned driving method , each signal voltage is written to a liquid crystal 17 and pictures are displayed . fig7 shows the fundamental waveform of the voltage vlc applied to the liquid crystal 17 in the driving apparatus of the present invention . as mentioned above , the voltage vlc is the difference between the output voltage vs of a tft 16 and the common voltage vc , and the brightness of the liquid crystal 17 depends on the strength of vlc , that is , the effective voltage during one period of t2f . the voltage vlc applied to the liquid crystal 17 consists of the voltage components vn 1 , vn 2 outputted by the first voltage applying means , namely , the signal circuit 6 , and the voltage components vb 1 , vb 2 outputted by the second voltage applying means , namely , the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 . the voltages generated by the first voltage applying means drive the liquid crystal for the periods tn 1 , tn 2 , tn 3 and tn 4 , and the voltages generated by the second voltage applying means drive the liquid crystal for the periods tb 1 and tb 2 . the voltage components vb 1 , vb 2 outputted by the second voltage applying means are applied for the period when all tfts in the effective picture elements of the matrix panel are in the off state . the voltages vn 1 , vn 2 generated by the first voltage applying means shown in fig7 change depending on the signal voltage vd made by video signals . the length of each period of tn 1 , tn 2 , tn 3 and tn 4 when the voltages vn 1 , vn 2 are applied to the liquid crystal is not restricted to any specific value . the waveform of the voltage made by the second voltage applying means is not restricted to any specific shape . that is , the periods tb 1 , tb 2 and the heights of vb 1 , vb 2 are discretional , and the polarity of the pulse voltages applied to the liquid crystal is not restricted to either mono - polarity or bipolarity . and , applied frequency of the driving voltage produced by the second voltage applying means is also discretional . further , the voltages produced by the first voltage applying means are shown as constant in fig7 for the periods tn 1 , tn 2 , tn 3 and tn 4 , but these voltages may change with time without detracting from the utility of the present invention . the voltage waveform of the picture element by the above - mentioned driving method is explained by using fig8 ( a )- 8 ( d ). in fig8 ( a ), the equivalent circuit of the picture element and in fig8 ( b )- 8 ( d ) the waveforms of each part of the circuit are shown . one picture element consists of the tft 16 , the liquid crystal 17 , the storage capacitance 18 , the common voltage inputting terminal 19 and the capacitance cgs 30 between a gate and a source of the tft . waveform examples of the voltage driving the circuit and each part of the circuit are shown by the waveforms a , b and c in fig8 ( b )- 8 ( d ), respectively . the waveform a shows the common voltage vc and one pulse having the amplitude of ± vcn is generated as an auxiliary signal during one frame . the waveforms b show waveforms of the scanning voltage vg , the image signal voltage vd and the source voltage vs . the waveform c is a waveform of the voltage vlc which is the difference voltage between the source voltage vs and the common voltage vc . as shown in the waveforms b , the source voltage vs becomes nearly equal to the signal voltage vd within the period tl when the tft 16 turns to the on state . after the period , the tft turns to the off state and the written voltage is held . strictly speaking , the source voltage vs slightly decreases by a resistance of the liquid crystal and an off current flowing during the off state of the tft . and , the source voltage vs changes by ± δvs as shown when the common voltage vc changes due to the addition of the auxiliary signal vsub in the off state of the tft . the change of δvs is described by eq . ( 1 ). where vcn is the amplitude of the auxiliary signal , cgs is the parasitic capacitance , cs is the storage capacitance and clc is the liquid crystal capacitance . and , the amplitude of the bias voltage vb is described by eq . ( 2 ) by applying the bias voltage having the amplitude of vb given by eq . ( 2 ), the effective voltage applied to the liquid crystal is higher than the amplitude vsig given by the image signal voltage vd without applying the bias voltage . that is , a higher effective voltage than that inputted only by the outer video signals can be obtained . the effective value of the applied voltage to the liquid crystal depends on the amplitude and the width of the auxiliary pulse signal vsub and the effective voltage becomes higher in accordance with an increase of the amplitude and the width of a pulse . fig9 shows the relation between the image signal voltage amplitude and the effective voltage by comparing two cases with and without the auxiliary signal . further , fig1 shows the relation between the brightness of the liquid crystal and the image signal voltage amplitude . as shown by the curve b in fig9 , vos is the effective voltage when vsig equals 0 . although the effective voltage becomes higher in accordance with an increase of the amplitude vsig , the ratio of the effective voltage deviation to the deviation of the image signal voltage amplitude (= δvdr / δvsig ), namely , the gradient of the curve decreases in accordance with an increase of the effective voltage , as compared with the characteristics of the prior driving method , namely , the driving method without the auxiliary signal applying ( the curve a ). therefore , as shown by the curve b in fig1 , the ratio of the liquid crystal brightness change to the change of the image signal voltage amplitude becomes smaller , that is , the characteristics of liquid crystal becomes more gentle , as compared with the characteristics of the prior driving method ( the curve a ). and , the image signal voltage amplitude for obtaining the same brightness of the liquid crystal decreases , as compared with the prior driving method . the brightness and the contrast of a display panel is made considerably more uniform by reducing the brightness variation due to the non - uniformity of the voltage written to a liquid crystal caused by the parasitic capacitance between the terminals of the tfts and by the variation of the output voltage of the signal circuit . thereby , it becomes possible to attain a high quality picture display , to downsize the driving circuit , and to lower the power consumption . in eq . ( i ), if ( cs + clc )/( cgs + cs + clc )≦ 0 . 5 , then δvs ≦ vcn / 2 , which profitably stabilizes the characteristics of the tft due to the source voltage fluctuations . fig1 ( a ) shows an equivalent circuit of a picture element and fig1 ( b ) is a waveform diagram of the driving timing in another embodiment . the embodiment corresponds to fig2 ( b ), in which one terminal of the storage capacitance is connected to the source terminal s and the other terminal is connected to the scanning line 15 adjoining the scanning line connected to the tft 16 . the auxiliary signal vsub is applied to the common terminal 19 in the embodiment shown in fig5 , having the same equivalent circuit shown in fig2 ( b ); on the other hand , the auxiliary signal is applied through the scanning line 15 in the present embodiment . the auxiliary signal vsub of an amplitude vcn smaller than the voltage vgh besides vgh , vgl for turning on or off each tft is applied to the scanning voltage vg ( i ). the voltage vgh , applied as the scanning voltage vg ( i ), is transmitted to the source terminal s of the tft 16 and , synchronizing it , the source voltage vs is generated . when the source voltage vg ( i + 1 ) becomes vgh and the tft 16 turns to the on state , the image signal is written to the liquid crystal 17 through the signal line 14 and the source voltage vs becomes the same voltage as the image signal voltage . thereafter , the scanning voltage vg ( i + 1 ) decreases to vgl and the tft 16 turns to the off state , but the written image signal voltage is held . if the auxiliary signal vsub is applied to the scanning voltage vg ( i ) during the period , the auxiliary signal is transmitted to the source terminal s of the tft 16 through the storage capacitance 18 and the bias signal is applied to the source voltage , synchronizing it with the auxiliary signal vsub , as shown in the figure . the effective voltage applied to the liquid crystal 17 increases and the same effect as the driving method shown in fig8 is obtained thereby . fig1 shows another arrangement of the picture element . the picture element consists of the scanning line 15 , the signal line 14 , the ttf 16 , the storage capacitance 18 and an auxiliary signal transmitting means 37 . the auxiliary signal transmitting means 37 may be composed , for example , of a condenser cac for passing alternating current components and for cutting off direct current components ; although the auxiliary signal transmitting means is not restricted to a condenser . fig1 shows an example of the auxiliary signal generating circuit 10 and the auxiliary signal information generating means 11 in fig4 and fig5 . in this example , the auxiliary signal information generating means comprises a variable resistance 32 . it is preferable that the variable resistance 32 is provided at such places as the outskirts of a display apparatus so as to make is possible to change the resistance easily . thereby , it is possible to easily change the brightness , contrast and view angle of the displayed picture . embodiments effective for resolving mainly such non - uniform display problems as the smearing in the displayed picture are mentioned in the following . firstly , the mechanism of the smearing phenomena is briefly explained . the equivalent circuit of two adjoining picture elements spaced in the horizontal direction of the active matrix liquid crystal display apparatus is shown in fig2 . the picture element electrodes are connected to the source electrodes of the tfts 16 a and 16 b , and the picture element electrodes , the counter electrodes and the liquid crystal layers between both the electrodes form the liquid crystal capacitances clc 17 a and 17 b . the storage capacitances cs 18 a and 18 b are connected to the source electrodes of tfts 16 a and 16 b . the counter electrode is common to all picture elements and the earth electrode of the storage capacitance is connected to the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line 2 ( or the storage line 8 ). since the counter electrode potential vc is common through all picture elements and the earth potentials of the storage capacitances ( referred to the storage line potential ) vs have the same potential , or so at least at the storage line above one line of the line selected presently , the bias voltages of the same polarity are applied to all the picture elements , at least , above one line . and , to the odd number lines and the even number lines , the same polarity of the signal voltages vd ( 2 j − 1 ) and vd ( 2 j ) are applied , respectively . thereby , the noise effects become significant , since the noises to the storage line potentials vs and the counter electrode potentials vc induced by changes of the signal voltages vd ( 2 j − 1 ) and vd ( 2 j ) through the capacitances 100 a and 100 b between the signal line 3 and the counter electrode and the crossing capacitances 101 a and 101 b between the signal line 3 and the storage line 28 have the same polarity in the above - mentioned situations . the time that the changing potentials of vc and vs revert to the original potential value depends on the change amplitude of the signal voltage vd and the load conditions of the line above one line . and , since each picture element at the line above one line is charged by voltages of the same polarity , the directions of inflow and outflow of the charge current ion become the same and the charge currents ion flow into the counter electrodes and the storage lines whose potentials are returning to a stable state , which prevents the potentials vs and vc from reverting to the original value . the voltage written to the picture element is affected by the remaining quantity of the above - mentioned potential variation by the time the tfts 16 a and 16 b turn to the off state , which affects the variations of the picture element brightness , since the voltage written to the picture elements are determined by the picture element electrode potentials , the counter electrode potentials vc and the storage line potential vs at the time the tfts 16 a and 16 b turn to the off state . the variation in the magnitudes of the signal voltages vd , the load conditions of the lines and the charge currents which determine the remaining quantity of the above - mentioned potential variation at the time the tfts turn to the off state depend on the display picture pattern at the line above one line . consequently , the poor picture quality , such as the striped picture in the horizontal direction , namely , the smearing , which is a sort of cross talk , is brought about . the embodiment shown hereafter considerably reduces the smearing phenomena by dividing the picture elements selected at the same time into two groups and writing the image signal voltages having a polarity reverse to each other into the first group picture element electrodes and the second group picture element electrodes , respectively , because the potential variations ( noises ) of the counter electrodes and the storage line ( or the scanning line ), cancel each other or decrease , and the charge voltages written into the picture elements are well stabilized due to the short time of potential stabilizing . fig1 shows the circuit constitution of the embodiment and fig1 shows an example in plane views of the structure of the picture element . as shown in fig1 , the picture elements between the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line and the ( i ) th scanning line are divided into two groups , that is , an odd column group and an even column group . the gate electrodes of the tfts of the odd column group are commonly connected to the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line and the earth electrodes of the storage capacitances in the same group are commonly connected to the ( i ) th scanning line . the gate electrodes of the tfts of the even column group are commonly connected to the ( i ) th scanning line and the earth electrodes of the storage capacitances in the same group are commonly connected to the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line . in this arrangement , ( i ) is any integer satisfying the condition : 2 ≦ i ≦ m ( m : a whole number of scanning lines ). as far as the connective arrangement of the tfts to the scanning lines is concerned , the tfts of the odd column group are connected to the lower side scanning line and the tfts of the even column group are connected to the upper side scanning line , that is , the tfts are connected in a zigzag state to a scanning line . the driving lsi 5 for scanning is connected to the scanning lines and the driving lsi 6 of 5 v withstanding voltage for generating the image signal voltages is connected to the signal lines in the display panel having the above - mentioned constitution . fig1 shows waveforms for driving the display panel of this embodiment which are the waveforms of the scanning voltages vg ( i − 1 ), vg ( i ) and vg ( i + 1 ) applied to the three adjoining scanning lines , namely , the ( i − 1 ) th , the ( i ) th and the ( i + 1 ) th scanning lines , and shows the counter electrode potential vc , the signal voltage vd ( 2 j − 1 ) applied to the ( 2 j − 1 ) th line , namely , the odd column signal line and the signal vd ( 2 j ) applied to the ( 2 j − 1 ) th line , namely , an even column signal line . the scanning signals vg applied to each scanning line consist of scanning pulses and bipolar bias pulses of the amplitude vb * superposed before and after the scanning pulse ( the positive pulse amplitude may be different from the negative pulse amplitude ). therefore , as the driving lsi for scanning , an lsi which can generate at least four values of voltages is used . since the liquid crystal must be driven by an alternating current voltage , voltages having a polarity reverse to each other are applied to the liquid crystals in the odd frame and in the even frame , respectively . as shown in fig1 , in the odd frame , the waveform superposed by a positive polarity bias pulse of 1 h width before 1 h of the scanning pulse of the ( 1 h − td 1 ) width and a negative polarity bias pulse of ( 1 h + td 2 ) width right after the scanning pulse is applied ; and , in the even frame , the waveform superposed by a negative polarity bias pulse of 1 h width before 1 h of the scanning pulse of ( 1 h − td 1 ) width and a positive polarity bias pulse of the ( 1 h + td 2 ) width right after the scanning pulse is applied . the rising of the scanning pulse applied to the ( i ) th scanning line must be done after the scanning pulse applied to the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line has dropped sufficiently ( the tft completely turns to the off state .) and the necessary dropping time is described by td 1 . and , application of the scanning pulse to the ( i ) th scanning line must be done after the scanning pulse of the same scanning line has dropped sufficiently , and the necessary dropping time is described by td 2 . for example , 3 μs is adopted as the value of td 1 and td 2 . further , the signal voltage vd must be changed after the scanning pulse applied to the former scanning line has dropped sufficiently , when signals are written into picture elements selected by the next scanning line , after the writing of image signals into the picture elements selected by a scanning line is finished . the necessary dropping time is assumed to be the same time as td 2 . the amplitude vb * of the bias pulse is set up as follows , so that the maximum amplitude vdpp ( vdpp = vmax − vth ) of the voltage applied to the scanning line becomes minimum , corresponding to the characteristics curve of transmitted light strength - voltage applied to a liquid crystal , as shown in fig2 . the voltage actually applied to the liquid crystal is given by the following equation from the bias voltage vb *- applied to the scanning line : where vth is the optical threshold voltage in the characteristics curve of transmitted light strength - voltage applied to the liquid crystal shown in fig2 , and vmax is the voltage for obtaining a black color display in a normally opened state . since the counter electrode potential vc is constant in the embodiment , vb for obtaining the bias voltage vb * is described by the following equation : where cgs is the gate - source capacitance of the tft . for example , if the liquid crystal in which vth is 2 v is used and vmax is set , then vdpp = 3 v and vb = 3 . 5 v are obtained . therefore , in the picture element where cs = 3 clc is designed , the amplitude vb of the bias voltage is obtained since cgs & lt ;& lt ; cs , clc . in this case , vdpp & lt ; 5 v , and so cheap lsis of 5 v withstanding voltage can be used , and further more , a contrast ratio of 60 can be obtained . in the waveforms in fig1 , in the odd frame , when the scanning pulse is applied to the ( i ) th scanning line , the positive bias voltage vb * is applied to the ( i + 1 ) th line , and a negative bias voltage (− vb *) is applied to the ( i − 1 ) th scanning line . and , voltages having a polarity reverse to each other ± vsig *(=± vb *± vd : double sign is in the same order .) are written into the storage capacitances of the odd column picture elements and the even column picture elements , respectively , by applying the positive signal voltage (+ vd ) to the even column signal lines and the negative signal voltage (− vd ) to the odd column signal lines . in the picture elements selected at the same time , the positive bias voltage and the negative signal voltage are applied to the odd column picture element , and the negative bias voltage and the positive signal voltage are applied to the even column picture elements . each polarity of the bias voltage and the signal voltage is reverse to each other . and , when the potentials of the ( i − 1 ) th , the ( i ) th , and the ( i + 1 ) th scanning lines turn to the off level , image signal voltages having a polarity reverse to each other + vsig (=+ vb + vd : double sign is in the same order .) are applied to the odd column picture elements and the even column picture elements , respectively , and the light transmission rate is controlled thereby . the voltage vd expresses the potential deviation from the central voltage vd - center , and its value is 1 . 5 v in black color displaying and − 1 . 5 v in white color displaying . the polarity of the bias voltages and the signal voltages in the odd frame reverse in the even frame . since , in the embodiment , the tfts are arranged in a zigzag state at a scanning line , the sequence means fitted to such tft arrangement for addressing the image signal data is provided in the image signal generating part . as mentioned above , a good contrast ratio can be obtained , while the voltage amplitudes applied to the signal lines are decreased . further , by reversing the polarity of the signal voltages written into the picture elements in every column in a frame , the noises induced within the period 1 h at the potentials of the counter electrodes and the scanning line through the capacitances between the signal electrodes and the scanning line induced by change of the signal voltage vd cancel each other between the adjoining picture elements in the horizontal direction . the noises induced within the period 1 h at the counter electrodes by the current flowing into the counter electrodes through the liquid crystal capacitances due to the one way nature of the charge current during the image signal writing will also cancel each other between adjoining picture elements . and , as far the effects of the noises induced within the period 1 h at the potential of the scanning line by the current flowing into the scanning line through the storage capacitances due to the one way nature of the charge current in the image signal writing is concerned , the ability to absorb noises increases by about two times , and the potential stabilizing time becomes shorter , since the noise effects decrease more rapidly in this embodiment . thereby , the dependency of the voltages written into the picture elements on the display signal pattern in the horizontal direction is reduced , and consequently , the smearing generated in the horizontal direction is considerably decreased . in the embodiment , a - si tfts are used as transistor elements , but the transistor elements are not restricted to any specific type . for example , p - si tft or mos fet devices may be used . although the picture elements are divided into an odd column group ( the first group ) and an even column group ( the second group ) in the embodiment , the dividing is not restricted to any specific arrangement , and only two group dividing is necessary . for example , by bundling the consecutive n columns ( n = 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . ) in one unit , dividing the units into an odd number unit group and an even number unit group is a useful arrangement . in this way , bias voltages having a polarity reverse to each other through the storage capacitances and signal voltages having a polarity reverse to each other are also applied to the picture elements of the first group and the second group , respectively . and , the bias voltage and the signal voltage applied to the same picture element have a polarity reverse to each other . such a grouping in which the number of the picture elements in each group is equal makes the noise canceling effect great , and the grouping arrangement in which n = 1 makes the effect maximum . the constitution of the embodiment is the same as the embodiment 6 except for the following . in embodiment 6 , the tfts are arranged in a zigzag state at a scanning line and the sequence means fitted to such tft arrangement for addressing the image signal data is provided in the image signal generating part . but , for making the display apparatus compatible with the signal generating part of a conventional personal computer , it is necessary to delay the odd column image signal data after the even column image signal data by the period 1 h in the above - mentioned constitution of the embodiment 6 . in the present embodiment , as shown in fig1 , the even column image signal data outputted from the controller 8 are held on the bus line for inputting the data to the lower signal driving lsi 6 during the period 1 h by using the ½ line memories 62 and inputted to the lower signal driving lsi 6 . and , the non - interlaced signals are used as the image signal data . although ½ line memories are used in the embodiment , the memories 62 may be provided in the controller s . the embodiment has the effects that the display apparatus of the embodiment can be connected to a general purpose image signal generating part of a computer , such as a personal computer , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 . the constitution of this embodiment is the same as the embodiment 6 except for the following . for matching the matrix constitution having the tfts arranged in a zigzag state at a scanning line , a signal driving lsi 6 is used . the signal driving lsi 6 has a shift resistor or a latch 71 for storing the image signals in turn , a latch 73 for storing the image signals vd fitting the horizontal synchronizing signal , latch 72 capable of selecting a latching or a passing through mode , and a sample hold circuit or a voltage selector 74 for generating the image signal . by setting the latch 72 to the passing through mode in the upper signal driving lsi and to the latching mode in the lower driving lsi , the image signals vd from the lower driving lsi are delayed by the period 1 h . the present embodiment , as well as the embodiment 7 , has the effects that the display apparatus of the embodiment can be connected to a general purpose image signal generating part of a computer such as a personal computer , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 . the constitution of the embodiment is the same as the embodiment 6 except for the following . in fig1 , the driving waveforms are shown in the embodiment . the scanning lines are scanned at every two lines ( interlaced ). thereby , it is not necessary to wait for the sufficient dropping of the previous scanning pulse for generating the next scanning pulse and the waiting period td 1 shown in fig1 is not necessary . and , the capacitances of the liquid crystals and the storage capacitances are charged enough , which prevents a poor charging , since the scanning pulse width can be increased by the period td 1 ( for example , 3 μs ) by the above - mentioned scanning . the image signals of ½ frame in the even column signal lines are stored and outputted to each even column signal line by storing the interlaced signals using ¼ frame memories in the embodiment . the present embodiment , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 , has the effects that the display apparatus decreases the poor charging and ensures a brightness uniformity . the constitution of the embodiment is the same as the embodiment 6 except for the following . in the embodiment , the polarity of the signal voltages is reversed at every column and the polarity of the bias pulses is also reversed at every column . the generated waveforms are shown in fig2 . by reversed the polarity of the image signal voltages at every column , the noises induced by the signal voltages vd in one frame at the picture element voltages , through the capacitances between the picture element electrodes and the signal lines , are averaged over the frame , and the vertical smearing depending on the display image pattern in the column direction , in addition to the horizontal smearing , can be also suppressed . the present embodiment , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 , has the effects that the display apparatus suppresses also any vertical smearing . the constitution of the embodiment is the same as the embodiment 6 except for the following . the plane constitution of the picture elements in the embodiment is shown in fig2 . the picture element electrode 50 , which has two aperture parts , is formed at the both sides of a tft in the column direction by crossing the tft . thereby , the picture elements scanned at the same scanning line are partially overlapped by each other , and , at the same time , the storage capacitances cs at the odd column and the storage capacitances cs at the even column are connected to different scanning lines , respectively . the present embodiment has the same electrical circuit arrangement as the embodiment 6 , but a spatial constitution different from that of the embodiment 6 . the present embodiment can display the display image pattern correctly without shifting each phase of the signal voltages of the odd column and the even column by the period 1 h , by remedying spatially the effects by the time lag of the period 1 h between the signal voltages of the odd column and the even column . the present embodiment , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 , has the effects that the display apparatus can present a lower cost module , comprising the controllers and so forth , since the phase shifting of the signal voltages of the odd column and the even column by the period 1 h is not needed , and the ½ line memories or the ¼ frame memories do not have to be provided as in the embodiments 7 and 9 . the circuit diagram of the active matrix liquid crystal display apparatus of the embodiment is shown in fig2 . by forming the counter electrodes in a stripe state and grouping them into odd column electrodes and even column electrodes , each group is commonly connected to the first bias circuit 53 and the second bias circuit 54 , respectively . and , the storage capacitances cs are formed by the gate insulating film sandwiched between the wiring ( storage wiring ) constituted by the same material and layer as the scanning wiring and the picture elements , and the odd column storage capacitances are commonly connected to the storage lines s 1 and the even column storage capacitances are commonly connected to the storage lines s 2 . all the storage lines s 1 are connected together and to the first bias circuit 53 , and all the storage lines s 2 are connected together and to the second bias circuit 54 . although the picture elements at the same line are divided into an odd column group ( the first group ) and the even column group ( the second group ) in the embodiment , the manner in which the columns are divided is not restricted to any specific way , and only a two group dividing of the picture elements selected at the same time and on the same scanning line is necessary . particularly , if the column picture elements are divided two groups in every column , as in this embodiment , the flickering is most effectively suppressed due to a short reversing period of the polarity . however , the column grouping in every column brings about a high probability of short - circuits , so it is preferable to determine the number of the grouping of the columns by considering the trade - off between the suppression of flickering and the reduction in short circuit occurrences . in fig2 , the driving waveforms are shown . the rectangular waveform voltages vs and vc having the amplitude 2 vb * outputted from the first and the second bias circuit are applied to the storage lines and the counter electrodes in alternating periods at two frames . the phase shift between the voltage waveforms outputted from the first bias circuit 53 and the second bias circuit 54 is 180 degrees ( each polarity of the voltages is reverse to each other ) and the voltages of the polarity reverse to each other are superposed on the signal voltages of the odd column and the even column picture elements , respectively . since the liquid crystal needs to be driven by an alternating current voltage , voltages having a polarity reverse to each other are superposed on the liquid crystals in the odd frame and in the even frame , respectively . the polarity reversing is done during the period of a retrace line . and , the signal voltages outputted to the odd column and the even column signal lines have polarity reverse to each other and are changed in every frame . the bias pulse amplitude 2 vb * is set according to the characteristics curve of transmitted light strength - applied voltage so that the bias voltage vb is within the range vth ≦ vb ≦ vmax and the maximum amplitude vdpp of the voltages applied to the signal lines is the minimum value ( vdpp = vmax − vth ). first , the amplitude 2 vb is determined by eq . ( 3 ) similarly in the embodiment 6 . let cgs & lt ;& lt ; cs , clc ( cgs : capacitance between tfts , cs : storage capacitance , clc : liquid crystal capacitance ), and the bias voltage vb (= vb *) is given by the bias pulse amplitude 2 vb * as the voltage applied to the liquid crystal . for example , by using a liquid crystal in which vth is 2 v and setting vmax = 5 v , vdpp = 3 v and vb = 3 . 5 v are obtained . and , the bias pulse amplitude 2 vb * is set to 7 v . for turning over the polarity of the odd column signal voltage and the polarity of the even column signal voltage in every column , respectively , it is possible that , by dividing the signal driving lsi into an upper one and a lower one and by connecting the odd column signal lines to the upper signal driving lsi and the even column signal lines to the lower signal driving lsi , the voltages outputted from the upper signal driving lsi and the lower signal driving lsi have polarity reverse to each other . by controlling the polarity of the image signal voltages so that the voltages + vsig (= vb + vd , double sign is in the same order ) are applied as the image signal voltage , the polarity of the image signal voltages is reversed in every column , where vd is the potential difference from the center voltage vd - center , and its value is 1 . 5 v in black color displaying and − 1 . 5 v in white color displaying . and , by this embodiment , the contrast ratio of 60 is gained ; and , further , lsis of 5 v withstanding voltage can be used , since vdpp = 3 v and the cost spent for lsis can be also reduced . the circuit diagram of the active matrix liquid crystal display apparatus of this embodiment is shown in fig2 . the counter electrode is formed all over the picture elements . the storage capacitances cs are formed by the storage lines , the picture element electrodes and the gate insulating film between them , and the odd column picture elements are connected to the storage lines s 1 and the even column picture elements to the storage lines s 2 . the storage lines s 1 and s 2 are respectively connected to the bias signal driving lsi 40 in every column thereof and is insulated electrically . fig2 shows the driving waveforms of the embodiment . the bias pulses from the bias signal driving lsi 40 are applied to each of the storage lines when the line is selected . so , since voltages having a polarity reverse to each other are superposed on the picture elements of the odd column and the even column , respectively , the polarity of the bias pulses applied to the storage lines s 2 is made reverse to the polarity of the bias pulses of the storage lines s 2 . and , bias voltages having a polarity reverse to each other are applied to the liquid crystals in the odd frame and in the even frame , respectively , since the liquid crystal needs to be driven by an alternating current voltage . since the counter electrode is connected in common to all of the picture elements in this embodiment , the counter electrode potential is set constant and two voltages of different polarity are supplied as the bias voltage only through the storage capacitances . the bias pulse amplitudes vb *(+) and vb *(−) are set as follows . first , the bias voltages applied to the liquid crystals are set by eq . ( 3 ) similarly to the embodiment 6 . and , letting vb *(+)+ vb *(−)= 2vb *, particularly vb (+)*= vb *(−)= vb *, the relation between vb and vb is given by eq . ( 4 ). for example , by using the liquid crystal in which vth is 2 v , vb = 3 . 5 v is obtained . and , by using a picture element in which cs equals 3 clc , vb * is set to 4 . 7 v for setting to vb * 3 . 5 v , since cgs & lt ;& lt ; cs , clc . by controlling the polarity of the image signal voltages so that the voltages + vsig (= vb ± vd , double sign is in the same order ) are applied as the image signal voltages , the polarity of the image signal voltages is also reversed in every column in the present embodiment , similar to the embodiment 12 . and , the bias pulses must be dropped after the tfts coupled the lines to which the pulses are applied completely turn to the off state . the maximum delay time td is , for example , 3 μs and the bias pulse width is set to ( 1 h + td ). and , by this embodiment , a contrast ratio of 60 is obtained , and , further , lsis of 5 v withstanding voltage can be used since vdpp & lt ; 5 v . further , by the constitution of the present embodiment , the product process for dividing the counter electrodes is not needed , so the panel product cost can be reduced by a throughput improvement , a decrease of material cost in the use of resist material can be obtained , and yield rate improvement can be experienced . the constitution of the embodiment is the same as the embodiment 13 except for the following . fig2 shows the plane pattern of the storage capacitance part in the embodiment . the storage capacitance is formed by the scanning line or the storage line in the same layer as the scanning line , a part of the picture element and the gate insulating film . since the scanning line and the picture element electrode lie in different layers , the storage capacitance depends on places of the panel due to the inaccuracy of photo - mask alignment , which changes the bias voltage . the bias voltage variation induces the brightness non - uniformity in the block state . by this embodiment , as shown in fig2 , a plane pattern is presented as the intersecting area of the picture element electrode , and the storage line in the same layer as the scanning line does not change even if the photo - mask shifts before and behind , and left and right . the present embodiment , in addition to the effects of the embodiment 6 , has the effects that the display apparatus can present a picture without block non - uniformity . | 6Physics
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fig1 illustrates an adjustable awning structure of the present invention which comprises three major assemblies , i . e . the main post , the canvas setting - up structure , and the canvas - driving mechanism . two main posts 1 , of which the lower ends are to be inserted into a hollow cylinder being either driven into the ground or mounted on a fixture , while the tops therof are each furnished with a fixing joint 11 , and on the upper portion of the main posts 1 , slideable joints 12 are mounted . within the upper and lower sliding limits of the slideable joints , there are two stop rings 101 and one or several screw holes 102 spaced at regular intervals between the two stop rings . the screw hole may be a simple through hole or a groove extending around the main post . the fixing joint 11 is directly fixed on the top end of each main post 1 . the joint 11 may be replaced with a plate having two extended lugs with holes being welded on the top of the main post 1 so as to pivotally connect the supporting rods 13 . the slideable joint 12 with lugs is mounted between the upper and lower stop rings 101 and is to pivotally connected to the extension rods 14 . the slideable joint 12 is also furnished with a screw hole 121 that is mated with a lock screw 122 , which is to be screwed into the screw hole 102 or screwed against the main post 1 so as to fix the slideable joint 12 in position . one end of the supporting rod 13 is pivotally connected to the fixing joint 11 , while the other end thereof is furnished with a horizontal hollow cylinder 131 having a lock screw 132 for locking the canvas rod 23 in position . under the middle portion of the supporting rod 13 , there is a pair of joint lugs 133 for providing a pivotal connection for one end of the extension rod 14 . the extension rod 14 includes outer and inner extension tubes , of which one end of the outer tube is furnished with an opened slot , some external threads and a coupling sheeve 141 so as to enable the outer and inner tubes connected together to adjust to a suitable length . the front end of the outer tube of the extension rod 14 is pivotally mounted to the lugs of the slideable joint 12 . the upper end of the inner tube is pivotally mounted to the joint lugs 133 under the supporting rod 13 . after each main post 1 , supporting rod 13 and the extension rod 14 are assembled together , the angle of between each supporting rod 13 and main post 1 can be determined by fixing the position of the slideable joint 12 and adjusting the length of the extension rod 14 . the length of the two extension rods 14 may or may not be the same . fig1 and 3 illustrate the canvas setting - up structure of the present invention , which includes a central shaft 2 having a round body portion and two ends shaped as square portions , an arc - shaped fastening strip 21 to be mounted with nails on the central shaft after the canvas 22 is mounted along the central shaft 2 , and two canvas rods 23 being sleeved in the two canvas edges sewed into two sleeves respectively . both ends of the two canvas rods 23 extend out of the canvas sleeves respectively so as to be inserted into the horizontal hollow cylinders 131 of the supporting rods 13 respectively . fig4 illustrates the canvas driving mechanism , which comprises a housing 3 made of two pieces in which the worm 31 and the gear 32 are mounted . the worm 31 engages with the gear 32 and has both ends thereof pivotally and fixedly monuted on the housing 3 ; the lower end thereof extends out of the housing 3 and comprises a hook ring 311 for engaging with a crank 33 . the s - shaped crank 33 is used for driving the worm 31 to cause the gear 32 to rotate . the connecting pipe 34 is substantially a t - shaped pipe of which the vertical portion is insertable into the fixing joint 11 on the top of the main post 1 , while the horizontal portion thereof is optionally furnished with a fixing plate 341 . as shown in fig4 the horizontal portion is furnished with a fixing plate 341 so as to mount the housing 3 on the outer side thereof with the gear 32 and the horizontal portion of the connecting pipe 34 aligned coaxially . after the bearings 35 are mounted to the horizontal portion of the connecting pipe 34 , the square end portion of the central shaft 2 can be mounted in the square hole of the gear 32 to complete a driving mechanism . since the other end of the central shaft 2 has no driving mechanism , the other connecting pipe 34 is not mounted to a fixing plate 341 and a housing 3 but merely has a bearing 35 mounted to the horizontal portion of the connecting pipe 34 so as to accommodate the other end of the central shaft 2 therein . the connecting pipe offsets the central longitudinal axis of the shaft 2 from the pivotal connection between each supporting rod 13 and fixing joint 11 . both of the ends of the central shaft 2 are mounted inside the horizontal portions of the two connecting pipes 34 on the top of the two main posts 1 respectively ; one end of the central shaft 2 is further fitted into the gear 32 hole in the housing 3 . upon rotation of the crank 33 , the worm 31 will drive the gear 32 to cause the central shaft 2 to rotate synchronously therewith . since the canvas 22 is fixed on the central shaft 2 , and the central longitudinal axis of the shaft 2 is offset from the pivotal connection between each supporting rod 13 and fixing joint 11 the rotation of the shaft 2 causes the canvas to roll up on or to unroll from the shaft so as to change the distance between the central shaft 2 and the two canvas rods 23 and to adjust the length of the extension rods 14 . fig1 illustrates the awning structure being spread . the adjusting steps are that the coupling sleeves 141 of the extension rods 14 are first loosended , and the crank 33 is then rotated to adjust the spreading length of the canvas 22 so as to set the position of the supporting rod 13 ( being pulled by the canvas ), and then the position of the slideable joint 12 is fixed so as to fix the length of the extension rods 14 before they are locked in position . the length of the extension rods 14 may be adjusted so as to be different from each other if necessary . the supporting rod 13 may be comprised at one or more rods so as to allow the two canvas rods 23 to be set at different heights ; in other words , the canvas 22 on either side of the central shaft 2 may be oriented at a different angle than that at the other side by merely adjusting the canvas rod 23 and the extension rod 14 without effecting the other canvas side . fig6 shows the awning structure of the present invention being recovered for storage . the canvas setting - up mechanism may be disassembled and rolled up and the canvas driving mechanism may also be removed from the main post 1 . the slideable joint 12 may be slid down the lowest portion of the main post 1 so as to allow the extension rods 14 to become almost parallel with the main post 1 before pulling the main post out of the hollow cylinder 10 . it is deemed that the present invention is an awning structure that is convenient and practical . other modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and are intended to be embraced by the true spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 4Fixed Constructions
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referring to fig1 a block diagram of a ballast and a lamp protection circuit of the invention is shown . a rectifier 12 receives low frequency ac power 10 and converts it into a pulsed dc voltage . the rectifier output is fed into a boost converter 20 and an inverter 14 . the boost converter 20 increases the dc voltage above the magnitude of the ac line voltage and achieves power factor correction . this increased voltage is called the dc bulk voltage . the boost converter is used to generate a higher output voltage while controlling the rectifier input current waveshape to achieve unity power factor with the current at a low distortion . an inverter circuit 14 converts the dc signal to a high frequency ac signal on the order of 30 kilohertz which drives a load . in this case , the load of interest is a gas discharge lamp such as lamp 18 . a resonant lc circuit 15 provides a limited sine wave voltage . the lamp may be electrically isolated from the rest of the circuit for shock hazard and safety reasons by output transformer 16 . it is also possible to omit the isolation transformer and use other means for shock protection . a lamp protection circuit would also work with these ballast designs . the failure sensing circuit 22 is connected to the inverter 14 . circuit 22 senses the power level drawn by the lamp . this power level is reflected back into the inverter or the primary of the output transformer as the voltage and current product . upon sensing the failure modes it issues a control signal to the boost converter . the control signal turns off the converter . this causes the magnitude of the dc bulk voltage to fall and conversely causes the magnitude of the high frequency ac voltage from the inverter to fall . the lower voltage transmitted through the output transformer to the lamp is then not of sufficient magnitude to cause the defective lamp to overheat . in some instances , the electric arc in the lamp will be extinguished depending upon the lamp condition . the protection circuit may be designed to periodically allow the converter to cycle in a restart attempt . in other instances , the power to the lamp is limited , until the lamp becomes deactivated . the circuit could also be utilized to regulate the maximum output power level to a desired value , if so chosen . preferably , the failure sensing circuit along with the boost converter , rectifier , inverter and output transformer would be manufactured as an integrated assembly . referring now to fig2 a detailed schematic of a ballast and the protection circuit is shown . in the circuit of fig2 input terminals e 7 and e 8 are connected to a source of low frequency ac power . diodes d 1 , d 2 , d 3 and d 4 such as a 1n4004 form a diode bridge which receives the ac power and provides an output of pulsed dc . a 0 . 1 microfarad capacitor c 3 is connected across the output of the bridge . the diode bridge is connected with line dc + and dc −. these carry the dc bulk voltage . inductor l 3 is located in series with a blocking diode d 5 . the diode d 5 utilized was a commmercially available uf4004 . connected between inductor l 3 and diode d 5 is the drain of a power factor correction switch ( transistor ) q 1 such as a irf730 . the source of q 1 is connected through a 0 . 47 ohm resistor r 3 to the dc − line . inductor l 3 , transistor q 1 , diode d 5 , resistor r 3 , and circuit 33 form the boost converter . inductor l 3 stores energy which is periodically switched into the rest of the circuit by q 1 . this increases the magnitude of the dc bulk voltage at c 14 with respect to the dc − buss above the magnitude of the ac input voltage . transistors q 4 and q 5 form a push - pull inverter for transforming the dc bulk voltage into a high frequency sine wave ac signal . transistors such as motorola xje 18204 could be used for q 4 and q 5 . a 330 k ohm resistor r 5 , a 1 . 6 k ohm resistor r 9 , a 1 . 6 k ohm resistor rs , a 1 . 5 ohm resistor r 10 , a diode d 6 , a capacitor c 12 , inductor l 4 and transformer winding t 1 b form a biasing network for applying the proper voltages to the bases of transistors q 4 and q 5 . the emitters of q 4 and q 5 are commoned at junction j 1 . junction j 1 is also known as inverter terminal j 1 . the collector of transistor q 4 is connected to one end of the primary of output transformer t 1 . the collector of transistor q 5 is connected to the other end of the primary of output transformer t 1 . a 1 . 8 nanofarad capacitor c 6 is connected across the primary of t 1 . inductor l 4 has winding l 4 a connected between diode d 5 and a center tap on the primary side of output transformer t 1 . winding l 4 b is connected between diode d 6 and the dc − line . capacitor c 12 is connected between diode d 6 and the dc − line . a diode d 9 such as a sgs bzw06 is connected between inductor l 4 and the dc − line . diode d 9 prevents excessive voltages from damaging transistors q 4 and q 5 when lamp b 1 is removed from the circuit or when other damaging conditions may occur . the cathode of diode d 9 is connected to inductor l 4 and the anode of d 9 is connected to the dc − line . a 47 microfarad electrolytic capacitor c 14 is connected between the dc + and dc − lines . power factor correction circuit 33 is connected to the protection circuit via terminals p 2 through p 6 . circuit 33 , transistor q 1 , inductor l 3 , diode ds and resistor r 3 form the boost converter . circuit 33 could be a power factor correction ic such as a siemens 4817 or it could be a discrete implementation of such a device . circuit 33 controls the power factor correction switch ( transistor q 1 ) to generate a higher output voltage while controlling the rectifier input current waveshape to achieve unity power factor with the current at a low distortion . terminal p 2 is connected to the junction j 2 of resistors r 5 , r 8 and r 9 for biasing purposes . terminal p 3 is connected to the collector of transistor q 31 . terminal p 4 is connected to the dc − line . terminal p 5 is connected ahead of inductor l 2 . terminal p 6 is connected to the gate of power factor correction switch q 1 . one or more lamp ( s ) b 1 are disconnectedly connected through a 2 . 0 nanofarad capacitor c 8 to output terminals e 1 and e 2 of the secondary of output transformer t 1 . protection circuit 30 contains a transistor q 31 . transistor q 31 can be a commercially available transistor such as a 2n4401 . circuit 30 also has a 10 k ohm resistor r 33 , a 3 . 9 ohm resistor r 32 , a 100 k ohm resistor r 31 and a 4 . 7 microfarad capacitor c 31 . resistor r 32 is connected between the junction of the emitters of transistors q 4 and q 5 ( junction j 1 ) and the dc − line . resistor r 33 is connected between junction j 1 and the base of transistor q 31 . the collector of transistor q 31 is connected to terminal p 3 of power factor correction circuit 33 . the emitter of transistor q 31 is connected to the dc − line . capacitor c 31 is connected between the base of transistor q 31 and the dc − line . resistor r 31 is connected between the dc − line and the base of q 31 . the operation of the protection circuit of fig2 is as follows . the protection circuit 30 will sense the lamp overvoltage failure mode and the rectifying lamp failure mode . the first condition sensed is when the lamp voltage rises above a setpoint while the lamp arc is ignited . if the lamp voltage rises by about 20 percent , then the lamp power will rise by about 20 percent . the power level on the primary winding of transformer t 1 is proportional to the output power appearing at the lamp . since the ballasting capacitor c 8 delivers an approximately constant current to the load , any increase in load voltage will result in an increase in load power . the load power will be reflected across the primary of t 1 . similarly , the primary voltage of t 1 is fixed by the magnitude of the dc voltage across the bulk capacitor c 14 . therefore , an increase in load power will result in an increase in current drawn by transistors q 4 and q 5 . the voltage at the junction j 1 of the emitters of transistor q 4 and q 5 with respect to the dc − buss will be proportional to the reflected power from the lamp with a constant bulk voltage . resistor r 32 acts as a sensor means to sense this current and outputs a sensor signal . adjusting the value of resistor r 32 changes the threshold value that indicates an overvoltage condition in the lamp which is indicative of an abnormal operating mode . alternatively , the power level could be sensed directly from the primary winding of t 1 . when the voltage at j 1 goes high , resistor r 32 will cause transistor q 31 to be properly biased to turn on . here transistor q 31 along with its biasing elements is the control means with its control input terminal being the base and its control output terminal being the collector . when transistor q 31 turns on , terminal p 3 of the converter will be pulled low . a low state on terminal p 3 will cause the power factor correction circuit to turn terminal p 6 off and consequently keep transistor q 1 turned off when transistor q 1 is turned off none of the energy from inductor l 3 is switched into the circuit to boost the magnitude of the dc voltage . the dc bulk voltage available to inverter transistors q 4 and q 5 is greatly lowered . the lower voltage when transferred across transformer t 1 is of insufficient voltage and power to cause lamp b 1 to overheat . resistor r 33 and capacitor c 31 provide a time delay means for turning on transistor q 31 . capacitor c 31 initially provides for a charge time to allow the protection circuit to be non - responsive during lamp start - up . when a lamp is first started , a high initial voltage is required to strike the arc . in order to prevent the protection circuit from detecting the starting voltage , a time delay is incorporated . the time delay allows the lamps to start without triggering the protection circuit . using a 10 k ohm resistor r 33 and 4 . 7 microfarad capacitor c 31 gives a time constant of 43 milliseconds in conjunction with r 31 . after c 31 initially discharges and turns off q 1 , transistor q 31 will turn off , allowing transistor q 1 to turn on and the dc voltage to begin to rise again . resistor r 31 helps to discharge c 31 . with the defective lamp still in place , the power will rise to an excessive level and be detected . c 31 will then charge up again and turn - on transistor q 31 which will turn off power factor correction switch q 1 . this cycling action allows for periodic attempts to restart the lamp and resume normal operation once the defective lamp has been replaced . the second failure mode sensed by the circuit of fig2 is a rectifying lamp . if a lamp should start to rectify the ac current flowing through it , it will show a dc potential difference across the lamp . when this occurs , the lamp will require ( draw ) more power due to increased cathode fall . this increased power will be reflected in the primary winding of transformer t 1 and also in the emitter currents at junction j 1 . this will be detected by protection circuit 30 . protection circuit 30 will then operate in the same mode as discussed previously for the overvoltage condition to reduce the power supplied to the lamp ( s ). referring to fig3 another embodiment of a ballast and lamp protection circuit is shown . in the circuit of fig3 all the components are identical to those shown and described in fig2 except for the protection circuit 35 which is different . protection circuit 35 contains a comparator 38 such as a sgs ts372 and a voltage reference 37 . also included are a 10 k ohm resistor r 33 , a 3 . 9 ohm resistor r 32 , a 100 k ohm resistor r 31 and a 4 . 7 micro farad capacitor c 31 . resistor r 32 is connected between the junction of the emitters of transistors q 4 and q 5 ( junction j 1 ) and the dc − line . resistor r 33 is connected between junction j 1 and the negative input of comparator 38 . comparator 38 also has inputs connected to the dc − line and voltage reference 37 . comparator 38 has its output connected to terminal p 3 of power factor correction circuit 33 . resistor r 31 is connected between the dc − line and the negative input of comparator 38 . capacitor c 31 is connected between the negative input of comparator 38 and the dc − line . the operation of the protection circuit of fig3 is as follows . the protection circuit 35 will sense the lamp overvoltage failure mode and the rectifying lamp failure mode . both of these failure modes result in increased output wattage . the first condition sensed is when the lamp voltage rises above a setpoint while the lamp arc is ignited . the wattage developed in the primary winding of transformer t 1 is proportional to the wattage appearing at the lamp . the voltage at the junction j 1 of the emitters of transistor q 4 and q 5 with respect to the dc − buss will be proportional to the wattage developed in the primary of t 1 . resistor r 32 acts as the sensor means to sense this current and output a sensor signal . when the voltage at j 1 goes high , it will appear at the negative terminal of comparator 38 . this will be compared to voltage reference 37 causing comparator 38 to go high at its output . when comparator 38 goes high , terminal p 3 of the converter will be pulled low . here comparator 38 is the control means with its control input terminal being the negative input pin and its control output terminal being the output pin . a low state on terminal p 3 will cause the power factor correction circuit to turn terminal p 6 off and consequently keep transistor q 1 turned off . when transistor q 1 is turned off , none of the energy from inductor l 3 is switched into the circuit to boost the magnitude of the dc voltage . the dc voltage available to inverter transistors q 4 and q 5 is greatly lowered . the lower voltage when transferred across transformer t 1 is insufficient power to cause lamps b 1 to overheat . resistor r 33 and capacitor c 31 provide a time delay means for turning on comparator 38 . capacitor c 31 initially provides for a charge time to allow the protection circuit to be non - responsive to the increased lamp voltage required during lamp starting . using a 10 k ohm resistor r 33 and a 4 . 7 microfarad capacitor c 31 gives a time constant of 43 milliseconds . after c 31 initially discharges and turns off q 1 , the comparator will turn off allowing transistor q 1 to turn on and the dc voltage to begin to rise again . resistor r 31 helps to discharge c 31 . with the defective lamp still in place , the power will rise to an excessive level and be detected . c 31 will then charge up again and tum - on comparator 38 which will turn off power factor correction switch q 1 . this cycling action allows for periodic attempts to restart the lamp and resume normal operation once the defective lamp has been replaced . the second failure mode sensed by the circuit is a rectifying lamp . if a lamp should start to rectify the ac current flowing through it , it will show a dc potential difference across the lamp . when this occurs , the lamp will require ( draw ) more power due to increased cathode fall . this increased power will be reflected in the primary winding of transformer t 1 and also in the emitter currents at junction j 1 . this will be detected by protection circuit 35 . protection circuit 35 will then operate in the same mode as discussed previously for the overvoltage condition to reduce the power supplied to the lamp ( s ). referring to fig4 another embodiment of a ballast and lamp protection circuit is shown . the circuit of fig4 is similar to fig2 . in fig4 the failure sensing circuit is connected to the inverter instead of to the power factor correction circuit . the changes include having the collector of transistor q 31 connected to the center tap of transformer winding t 1 b . resistor r 8 is eliminated and resistor r 9 is connected between junction j 2 and the t 1 b center tap connection for biasing purposes . in this configuration , the transistors required would need to be high gain transistors . to use the same transistor as in the other embodiments , the values of r 31 , r 33 and c 31 need to be changed . r 31 is now a 5 k ohm resistor . r 33 is a 500 ohm resistor and c 31 is a 100 uf capacitor . the resulting time constant is 45 milliseconds . the rest of the circuit is identical to that shown and described in fig2 . the operation of the protection circuit of fig4 is as follows . the protection circuit 30 will sense the lamp overvoltage failure mode and the rectifying lamp failure mode . the first condition sensed is when the lamp voltage rises above a setpoint while the lamp arc is ignited . the power level on the primary winding of transformer t 1 is proportional to the output power appearing at the lamp . since the ballasting capacitor c 8 delivers an approximately constant current to the load , any increase in load voltage will result in an increase in load power . the load power will be reflected across the primary of t 1 . similarly , the primary voltage of t 1 is fixed by the magnitude of the dc voltage across the bulk capacitor c 14 . therefore , an increase in load power will result in an increase in current drawn by transistors q 4 and q 5 . the voltage at the junction j 1 of the emitters of transistor q 4 and q 5 with respect to the dc − buss will be proportional to the reflected power from the lamp with a constant bulk voltage . resistor r 32 acts as the sensor means to sense this current . alternatively , the power level could be sensed directly from the primary winding of t 1 . when the voltage at j 1 goes high , resistor r 32 will cause transistor q 31 to be properly biased to turn on . here transistor q 31 is the control means with its control input terminal being the base and its control output terminal being the collector . when transistor q 31 turns on , winding t 1 b will be pulled low . a low state on winding t 1 b will cause the inverter circuit of transistors q 4 and qs to reduce its output power . the lower voltage when transferred across transformer t 1 is of insufficient voltage and power to cause lamp b 1 to overheat . resistor r 33 and capacitor c 31 again provide a time delay means . the second failure mode sensed by the circuit of fig4 is a rectifying lamp . if a lamp should start to rectify the ac current flowing through it , it will show a dc potential difference across the lamp . when this occurs , the lamp will require ( draw ) more power due to increased cathode fall . this increased power will be reflected in the primary winding of transformer t 1 and also in the emitter currents at junction j 1 . this will be detected by protection circuit 30 . protection circuit 30 will then operate in the same mode as discussed previously for the overvoltage condition to reduce the power supplied to the lamp ( s ). referring to fig5 another embodiment of a ballast and lamp protection circuit is shown . the circuit of fig5 is similar to fig3 . in fig5 the failure sensing circuit is connected to the inverter instead of to the power factor correction circuit . the changes include having the collector of transistor q 31 connected to the center tap of transformer winding t 1 b . resistor r 8 is eliminated and resistor r 9 is connected between junction j 2 and the t 1 b center tap connection for biasing purposes . the rest of the circuit is identical to that shown and described in fig3 . the operation of the protection circuit of fig5 is as follows . the protection circuit 35 will sense the lamp overvoltage failure mode and the rectifying lamp failure mode . both of these failure modes result in increased output wattage . the first condition sensed is when the lamp voltage rises above a setpoint while the lamp arc is ignited . the wattage developed in the primary winding of transformer t 1 is proportional to the wattage appearing at the lamp . the voltage at the junction j 1 of the emitters of transistor q 4 and q 5 , with respect to the dc − buss , will be proportional to the wattage developed in the primary of t 1 . resistor r 32 acts as the sensor means to sense this current . when the voltage at j 1 goes high , it will appear at the negative terminal of comparator 38 . this will be compared to voltage reference 37 causing 38 to go high at its output . here comparator 38 is the control means with its control input terminal being the negative input pin and its control output terminal being the output pin . when comparator 38 goes high , winding t 1 b will be pulled low . a low state on winding t 1 b will cause the inverter current and voltage to be reduced . the lower voltage when transferred across transformer t 1 is of insufficient power to cause lamps b 1 to overheat . resistor r 33 and capacitor c 31 again provide a time delay means the second failure mode sensed by the circuit is a rectifying lamp . if a lamp should start to rectify the ac current flowing through it , it will show a dc potential difference across the lamp . when this occurs , the lamp will require ( draw ) more power due to increased cathode fall . this increased power will be reflected in the primary winding of transformer t 1 and also in the emitter currents at junction j 1 . this will be detected by protection circuit 35 . protection circuit 35 will then operate in the same mode as discussed previously for the overvoltage condition to reduce the power supplied to the lamp ( s ). the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment . it will be understood that many modifications and variations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention and that the invention is not to be taken as limited to all of the details herein . therefore , it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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fig1 shows part of an exemplary anchor 100 according to one embodiment of the invention . the anchor 100 includes a first stopper portion 102 and a second fixing portion 104 . the stopper portion 102 has a substantially circular cylindrical peripheral surface 106 disposed coaxially about a longitudinal axis 108 . a distal surface 110 of the stopper 102 is disposed substantially normal to the longitudinal axis 108 . in the illustrated embodiment , first and second bores are defined within the stopper 102 . each bore is defined by a respective substantially cylindrical internal surface 112 , 114 . internal surfaces 112 , 114 have respective longitudinal axes disposed substantially parallel to one another and to longitudinal axis 108 . in the illustrated embodiment , fixing portion 104 of the anchor 102 is generally cylindrical about longitudinal axis 108 . a circumferential surface 116 of fixing portion 104 includes a plurality of detent formations . as illustrated , the detent formations include a substantially helical flange 118 or ridge disposed generally equidistant to longitudinal axis 108 . as illustrated , the helical flange 118 includes a first distal surface region 120 and a second proximal surface region 122 . as illustrated in fig1 , the detent formation is shown as a push - in style detent feature . one of skill in the art will appreciate , however , that other detent features , such as , for example , cortical bone threads and cancellous bone threads are to be used in other respective embodiments of the invention . also , as shown , the push - in detent features extend over the full length of the fixing portion 104 , as shown . in other embodiments partial coverage is employed . as will be discussed in additional detail below , the fixing portion 104 includes an internal surface defining a bore that is substantially coaxial with longitudinal axis 108 . in the configuration illustrated , where the stopper portion 102 is disposed adjacent to a proximal end of the fixing portion 104 open regions within bores 112 and 114 are contiguous with an open region within the longitudinal bore of the fixing portion 104 . according to one embodiment of the invention , the stopper portion 102 is removably coupled to the fixing portion 104 in the illustrated orientation . according to one methodical aspect of the invention stopper portion 102 is removably coupled to fixing portion 104 prior to insertion of the resulting assembly into osseous tissue . in an alternative it embodiment of the invention stopper portion 102 is disposed within a region of osseous tissue and fixing portion 104 is subsequently disposed adjacent to stopper portion 102 . in a further embodiment , stopper portion 102 is substantially non - removal . in one embodiment of the invention , the helical flange 118 is configured as a thread , whereby a method of rotating fixing portion 104 about longitudinal axis 108 causes a threading interaction between helical flange 118 and a surrounding bone tissue . consequently the rotation of the fixing portion 104 causes a distal advancement of the fixing portion 104 into the bone tissue . as will be described below in further detail , a method according to one embodiment of the invention includes disposing respective first and second portions of a length of suture substantially coaxially within bores 112 and 114 . the length of suture includes a further u - shaped portion disposed within the bore of the fixing portion 104 and contiguous with the first and second suture portions . according to one embodiment of the invention , first and second knots are formed at respective ends of the length of suture and are disposed distally of surface 108 so as to slidingly couple the length of suture to the stopper portion 106 . fig2 shows an oblique generally distal perspective view of a portion of an anchor 200 according to one embodiment of the invention . like anchor 100 , anchor 200 includes a stopper portion 202 and a fixing portion 204 . the stopper portion 202 includes first and second generally longitudinal bores 212 and 214 . in the embodiment shown , the longitudinal bores 212 and 214 are defined by respective substantially cylindrical internal surfaces of the stopper portion 202 . according to one embodiment of the invention , these substantially cylindrical internal surfaces are substantially smooth and uninterrupted . the stopper portion 202 is adapted to be disposed adjacent to , and in some embodiments coupled to , a distal end 226 of fixing portion 204 . the fixing portion 204 includes a generally cylindrical external surface 216 having a helical flange 218 formation . a groove 228 is disposed longitudinally along surface 216 and defines respective first and second ends of flange 218 . in the illustrated embodiment , flange 218 is generally helical . consequently , flange end 230 is distally offset along a longitudinal axis 208 with respect to flange end 232 . in another embodiment of the invention , the flange 218 formation is substantially circular , rather than helical , so that flange ends 230 , 232 are disposed generally adjacent to one another across groove 228 . it should be noted that in either case , flange 218 does not form an uninterrupted helical thread about longitudinal axis 218 . in a further embodiment , fixing portion 204 includes a plurality of longitudinal grooves disposed generally parallel to groove 228 around longitudinal axis 208 . fig3 shows an anchor 300 including a stopper portion 302 and a fixing portion 304 according to still another embodiment of the invention . while the configuration of anchor 300 is generally similar to that of anchor 200 , it should be noted that stopper portion 302 includes a bore 213 disposed generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis 308 . one of skill in the art will appreciate that bore 213 defines an internal right angle within stopper portion 302 so as to open at a distal end of an internal longitudinal bore within the fixing portion 304 . thus a length of suture can be passed through bore 213 to form an internal loop within the longitudinal bore of the fixing portion . an end of the length of suture projects perpendicular to longitudinal axis to emerge through the illustrated orifice where it is knotted to retain the length of suture in sliding relation to the stopper portion . one of skill in the art will appreciate that this arrangement contrasts to the longitudinal bores 212 , 214 of anchor 200 . fig4 shows , in perspective view , a portion of an anchor 400 according to a further embodiment of the invention . the anchor includes a stopper portion 402 and a fixing portion 404 . the fixing portion 404 has a generally circular symmetry about a longitudinal axis 408 . a circumferential external surface 410 of the fixing portion has a first relatively smaller radius perpendicular to longitudinal axis 408 at a distal end 412 of the fixing portion . in comparison a corresponding radius at a second proximal end 414 of the fixing portion 404 is relatively larger . consequently , external surface 410 of the fixing portion 404 describes , generally , a frustum of a cone . in the illustrated embodiment , the external surface 410 includes a projecting ridge or flange 418 disposed in a generally spiral / helical configuration about longitudinal axis 408 . in various embodiments , the ridge or flange 418 is interrupted by one or more longitudinal grooves like that shown in anchor 300 of fig3 . it should be noted that while fig4 exemplifies an anchor having a cortical thread alternative threading and other retaining features are used in alternative embodiments respectively . in the illustrated embodiment , stopper portion 402 includes a generally circular cylindrical external surface 406 disposed coaxially to axis 408 at a distal region of the stopper . the stopper 402 also has a projecting portion 420 at a proximal region thereof . in various embodiments , as will be described below in additional detail , the projecting portion 420 is adapted to be received within a corresponding cavity of the fixing portion 404 . according to one embodiment the corresponding cavity consists of a portion of a longitudinal bore . fig5 shows , in cross - section , a portion of an exemplary anchor 500 . anchor 500 includes a stopper portion 502 and a fixing portion 504 . the fixing portion 504 has a generally circular symmetry about a longitudinal axis 508 . a circumferential external surface 510 of the fixing portion has a first relatively smaller radius 511 perpendicular to longitudinal axis 508 at a distal end 512 of the fixing portion . in comparison a corresponding radius at a second proximal end 514 of the fixing portion 504 is relatively larger . consequently , external surface 510 of the fixing portion 504 describes , generally , a frustum of a cone . as shown , longitudinal bores 515 , 517 traverse the stopper portion 502 . the longitudinal bores are disposed generally parallel to longitudinal axis 508 . as will be discussed below in further detail , the longitudinal bores 515 , 517 are adapted to receive respective portions of a suture loop . in the illustrated embodiment , stopper portion 502 includes a generally circular cylindrical external surface 506 disposed coaxial to axis 508 at a distal region of the stopper . the stopper 502 also has a projecting portion 520 at a proximal region thereof . as illustrated , the projecting portion 520 is adapted to be received within a corresponding cavity 522 of the fixing portion 504 . as illustrated , cavity 522 is defined by a plurality of substantially planar surface regions , e . g ., 524 . consequently , a cross - sectional profile of the cavity 522 is , in certain embodiments , polygonal . a corresponding cross - section of projecting portion 520 matches the polygonal cross - section of the cavity 522 , in size and shape , so that the cavity is adapted to receive the projecting portion 520 firmly therewithin . the creative practitioner of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a wide variety of cross - sections are used in corresponding embodiments of the invention . thus , while the cross - section of projecting portion 520 is shown as generally hexagonal , other useful cross - sections include , as shown in fig6 , triangular ( fig6 a ), square ( fig6 b ), pentagonal ( fig6 c ), elongate ( fig6 d ), stellate ( fig6 e ), circular ( fig6 f ), irregular ( fig6 g ) and combinations thereof , ( e . g ., fig6 h ). fig7 shows , in distal perspective view , an exemplary anchor 700 including a stopper portion 702 and a fixing portion 704 . as is evident on inspection , longitudinal bores 706 and 708 in the stopper portion 702 form a contiguous passage with a longitudinal bore of the fixing portion 704 . fig8 shows , in proximal perspective view , an exemplary anchor 800 including a stopper portion 802 and a fixing portion 804 . a portion of a longitudinal bore 806 within the fixing portion 804 is visible . as shown , an internal surface of the longitudinal fixing portion 804 includes a plurality of substantially planar surface regions e . g ., 808 defining a substantially hexagonal tool engagement region 806 . the substantially hexagonal tool engagement region 806 is adapted to receive a portion of a driving tool of corresponding cross - section therewithin . one of skill in the art will appreciate that such a tool can be used to rotate or otherwise manipulate the fixing portion as part of an anchor insertion procedure and method . it will also be evident to one of skill in the art that , while the illustrated embodiment shows a tool engagement region of the longitudinal bore having a substantially hexagonal cross - section , a wide variety of other cross - sections and configurations can readily be used in various embodiments of the invention . fig9 shows , in cross - section , a portion of anchor 900 including a suture loop according to one embodiment of the invention . as shown , the anchor includes a stopper portion 902 and a fixing portion 904 . the stopper portion 902 includes first 906 and second 908 longitudinal bores that , when the stopper portion 902 is disposed adjacent to the fixing portion 904 , open onto a longitudinal bore 910 of the fixing portion 904 . a first length of suture 912 is adapted to be knotted 914 at first end , to pass through the first stopper portion bore 906 into the fixing portion bore 910 and back through the second stopper portion bore 908 . a further knot 916 is adapted to retain the first length of suture 912 in place in the illustrated suture loop configuration . a portion of a further length of suture material 918 is disposed within the bore 910 and engages with the first length of suture 912 as shown . as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art , an interface between the surfaces of the first 912 and second 918 lengths of suture material will exhibit desirably low friction . further , the illustrated arrangement serves to couple the length of suture 918 effectively in relation to the anchor 900 . fig1 shows , in cross - section , a portion of a combination of an anchor 1000 with an insertion tool 1002 . in the illustrated embodiment , the insertion tool 1002 includes a shaft portion 1005 having a longitudinal internal bore 1004 ( i . e ., a cannulated shaft ). as shown , a distal portion 1006 of the shaft portion 1005 is adapted to engage with a tool engagement region 1008 of a fixing portion 1010 of anchor 1000 . as a consequence of this arrangement , the fixing portion 1010 is adapted to receive a force such as a torque , transmitted by the shaft portion 1005 . as shown , the longitudinal bore 1004 of the shaft portion 1005 is adapted to receive a length of suture 1012 therewithin . this arrangement allows the shaft portion 1005 to engage with the tool engagement region 1008 without interference from the length of suture 1012 . in certain embodiments of the invention , a kit is provided including an anchor having a stopper portion with a suture loop and a further length of suture , a fixing portion , and an insertion tool , all packaged together as a preassembled unit . it should be noted that the various anchors illustrated and discussed above exhibit a variety of surface features including helical thread features and circular barb features and interrupted helical and circular barb features . in various embodiments of the invention particular features are selected for engagement with a particular substrate . thus in one embodiment of the invention , an anchor is provided with a surface feature adapted to engage advantageously with cortical bone tissue . in another embodiment , an anchor is provided with a surface feature adapted to engage with cancellous bone tissue . in certain other embodiments of the invention , a single anchor device may include surface features adapted to engage different substrates . thus in one embodiment , an anchor is provided having a first surface feature adapted to engage cortical bone and a second surface feature adapted to engage cancellous bone tissue . according to a further embodiment of the invention , it is advantageous to provide a stopper portion adapted to be substantially fixedly coupled to a corresponding fixing portion of a bone anchor . such a fixing coupling can be advantageous both in terms of keeping the stopper portion and the fixing portion together during insertion of a bone anchor and also in terms of providing a robust coupling between the anchor and surrounding substrate , such as bone tissue . fig1 shows , in cross - section , a further embodiment of an anchor 1100 . anchor 1100 includes a first stopper portion 1102 and a second fixing portion 1104 . advantageously , the anchor 1100 includes a detent device 1106 adapted to substantially fixedly couple stopper portion 1102 to fixing portion 1104 . in the embodiment illustrated as anchor 1100 the detent device 1106 includes a plurality of quasi - elastic arms ( e . g ., 1108 ) supporting a respective plurality of barbed hooks ( e . g . 1110 ) or barbs . the arms 1108 are , in certain embodiments , coupled to or integral with stopper portion 1102 . each hook 1110 is adapted to be received within a corresponding cavity ( e . g ., 1112 ). cavity 1112 opens into bore 1114 within fixing portion 1104 . following a method according to one embodiment of the invention , stopper portion 1102 and fixing portion 1104 are aligned substantially coaxially along a longitudinal axis 1116 . forces are applied that urge stopper portion 1102 and fixing portion 1104 to move into proximity , each relative to the other . as this motion proceeds , proximal surface regions 1118 of barbs 1110 interfere mechanically with oblique surface regions 1120 of the fixing portion 1104 . this mechanical interference motivates a pivotal deflection of the arms 1108 with respect to stopper portion 1102 , moving the barbs 1110 progressively towards longitudinal axis 1116 . this trend proceeds until the barbs 1110 reach the cavities 1112 , whereupon elastic forces exerted by the arms move the barbs 1110 into the cavities 1112 . thereafter , the same elastic forces tend to retain barbs 1110 within cavities 1112 . one of skill in the art will appreciate that this arrangement tends to retain the stopper portion 1102 and fixing portion 1104 in substantially fixed relation to one another . in particular , it should be noted that the illustrated arrangement inhibits both further linear motion along the longitudinal axis 1116 with respect to one another and rotary motion of the stopper portion and fixing portion around longitudinal axis 1116 with respect to one another . according to one embodiment of the invention , the stopper portion 1102 and fixing portion 1104 are urged together coaxially during assembly of an anchor device . as in the case of embodiment 1100 , however , assembly of the stopper portion 1102 to the fixing portion 1104 is advantageously performed in situ within substrate tissue . accordingly , in one aspect of the invention , the illustrated stopper portion 1102 includes a first externally threaded surface feature 1122 including a substantially helical surface ridge 1124 . it should be noted that first externally threaded surface feature 1122 is configured as a left - handed thread . the fixing portion 1104 includes a second externally threaded surface feature 1126 including a substantially helical surface ridge 1128 . it should be noted that second externally threaded surface feature 1126 is configured as a right - handed thread . one of skill in the art will appreciate that the handedness identified above is merely exemplary and is readily reversed in alternative embodiments of the invention so that the stopper portion includes a right - handed thread and the fixing portion includes a left - handed thread . according to one embodiment , the invention includes a method of inserting a first anchor portion by a left - handed rotation of the stopper portion so as to screwingly advance the stopper portion within a substrate ; and thereafter inserting a fixing portion by a right - handed rotation of the fixing portion so as to screwingly advance the fixing portion within the substrate . according to one aspect of the invention as the fixing portion arrives in proximity to the stopper portion a substantially permanent coupling between the two anchor portions is made , whereupon the opposite threading of the two portions serves to substantially limit further rotation of either anchor portion of the combined anchor portion assembly . in light of the here - described method it should be noted that , according to one embodiment , stopper portion 1102 includes a first receiving feature 1130 adapted to receive a first portion of a first insertion tool , and fixing portion 1104 includes a second receiving feature 1132 adapted to receive a second portion of a second insertion tool . it should be noted , however , that in certain embodiments , receiving portions can be configured so that a single insertion tool can be used in relation to both a stopper portion and a fixing portion . although not shown , one of skill in the art will readily understand that a suture loop arrangement , as described above , can be disposed in relation to the illustrated bores 1134 , 1136 of anchor 1100 . fig1 shows , in cross - section , a portion of a further embodiment of an anchor 1200 including a stopper portion 1202 and a fixing portion 1204 . the anchor 1200 includes a detent device 1206 . in the illustrated embodiment , detent device 1206 includes at least one reasonably flexible arm 1208 having a barbed hook portion 1210 . the barbed hook 1210 is adapted to be received within a corresponding cavity 1212 of fixing portion 1204 . it should be noted that , during an assembly process , reasonably flexible arm 1208 is adapted to be deflected outwardly away from longitudinal axis 1214 by interference between a first surface region 1216 of barbed hook portion 1210 and a corresponding external surface region 1218 of fixing portion 1204 . one of skill in the art will observe that whereas arm 1108 of anchor 1100 is deflected during assembly inwardly towards longitudinal axis 1116 and then relaxes hook 1110 outwardly into an internal cavity 1112 of fixing portion 1104 , arm 1208 of anchor 1200 is deflected during assembly outwardly away from longitudinal axis 1214 and then relaxes inwardly into an external cavity 1212 of fixing portion 1204 . in both illustrated embodiments 1100 and 1200 , interfering surfaces 1120 and 1218 exhibit substantially circular symmetry about respective longitudinal axis 1116 , 1214 and are disposed generally obliquely with respect to the respective longitudinal axes . it should be noted that , in various embodiments , these interfering surfaces may exhibit simple and / or compound curvature . as with the embodiment of anchor 1100 , anchor 1200 includes opposing left - handed threads 1220 and right - handed threads 1222 so that once the stopper portion 1202 and fixing portion 1204 are assembled in situ within a substrate , and detent portion 1206 is activated to lock the two portions together , the opposing threads tend to prevent further rotation and other motion of the completed assembly . it should be noted that , in certain embodiments , a first , relatively narrow , receiving hole is bored in a substrate to receive the stopper portion . in some embodiments , this receiving hole is in advance of insertion of the stopper portion . in other embodiments , the stopper portion includes a self - tapping thread . in still other embodiments , the stopper portion includes a self - punching self - tapping thread adapted to allow insertion of the stopper portion without the pre - drilling of a receiving hole . in certain embodiments no receiving hole is predrilled , but a lead hole of substantially smaller diameter than the stopper portion is predrilled in the substrate . in other embodiments , a receiving hole is drilled that includes a relatively narrow diameter portion adapted to receive the stopper portion and a relatively wider diameter portion adapted to receive the fixing portion of the anchor . according to certain methods of the invention , a plural - diameter hole is prepared in a single operation using an appropriate tool of stepped diameter . likewise , an appropriate tool may be used to simultaneously drill and tap a receiving hole of a single or of a plural diameter . fig1 shows an anchor 1300 including a stopper portion 1302 and a fixing portion 1304 . the stopper portion 1302 includes one or more substantially radially projecting vanes 1306 . the vanes 1306 are adapted to prevent rotation of stopper portion 1302 about a longitudinal axis 1308 when the stopper portion 1302 is disposed within a substrate matrix such as , for example , osseous tissue . according to one method within the scope of the invention , an appropriately sized receiving hole is prepared in a region of substrate bone tissue . the receiving hole is configured to have a diameter appropriately less than a corresponding diameter 1310 across the vanes 1306 of stopper portion 1302 . stopper portion 1302 is disposed coaxially at a mouth of the receiving hole and urged along longitudinal axis 1308 into the receiving hole . according to one embodiment of the invention , vanes 1306 are adapted to cut into , or otherwise displace , a portion of the substrate bone disposed radially with respect to the receiving hole as the stopper portion 1302 is advanced into the receiving hole . consequently , when the stopper portion 1302 has been sufficiently received into the receiving hole its rotation about longitudinal axis 1308 is substantially inhibited by a mechanical interference between external surfaces ( e . g . 1312 ) of the vanes and the surrounding substrate . thereafter , fixing portion 1304 is advanced with rotation into the receiving hole until a detent mechanism 1314 engages . thereafter , the mechanical engagement between the stopper portion 1302 and the fixing portion 1304 , in combination with the action of the vanes 1306 to inhibit rotation of the stopper portion 1302 serves to substantially prevent undesirable counter - rotation and consequent withdrawal of the fixing portion 1304 . fig1 shows a further embodiment of an anchor 1400 according to principles of the invention . the anchor 1400 includes a stopper portion 1402 and a fixing portion 1404 . the stopper portion 1402 has at least one anti - rotation vane 1406 . the fixing portion 1404 has an external surface thread feature 1408 . a detent mechanism 1410 includes a plurality of substantially flexible arms 1412 that are integral with or coupled to fixing portion 1404 . the arms 1412 include respective barbed hooks 1414 adapted to be received internally within stopper portion 1402 . fig1 shows a further perspective view of stopper 1402 including four illustrative vanes 1406 . fig1 shows a further cutaway view of stopper 1402 . in the illustrated embodiment , stopper portion 1402 includes a plurality of receiving cavities 1418 adapted to receive and retain the barbed hooks 1414 . the illustrated receiving cavities have a substantially rectangular circumferential profile 1420 , however alternative profiles including , without limitation , circular , triangular , polygonal and curved are contemplated . in addition , it is anticipated that the number of receiving cavities 1418 may differ from a number of barbed hooks 1414 . for example , there may be more receiving cavities than barbed hooks or more barbed hooks than receiving cavities . it should be understood that the above - described barbed hooks are merely exemplary of a wide variety of other detent mechanisms that are contemplated within the scope of the invention . thus , fig1 shows a stopper 1700 according to a further embodiment of the invention including a first barbed - hook detent feature 1702 adapted to prevent linear withdrawal of a fixing portion ( not shown ) along longitudinal axis 1704 with respect to stopper 1700 . a separate hemispherical detent feature 1706 is adapted to be received within a corresponding cavity of the fixing portion to inhibit rotation about longitudinal axis 1704 of the fixing portion with respect to the stopper portion 1700 . it will be appreciated that , while detent feature 1706 is shown as a substantially hemispherical projection , well adapted to be received in a corresponding substantially concave hemispherical recess of a fixing portion , alternative arrangements are possible . for example a concave recess may be provided on the stopper portion while a corresponding convex projection may be provided on the fixing portion . likewise , each of the stopper portion and the fixing portion may include both convex and concave features . further , the hemispherical shape of the projection is merely illustrative of a wide variety of possible shapes and configurations that fall within the scope of the invention in its various embodiments . thus , for example , fig1 shows a portion of a stopper 1800 including an anti - rotation detent feature 1802 having a generally flexible arm 1804 and a barbed hook 1806 at one end thereof . the generally flexible arm 1804 is integral with or coupled to a body 1808 of the stopper portion 1800 at an end 1810 opposite to the barbed hook 1806 . in the illustrated embodiment , the arm 1804 is adapted to deflect , so as to allow the barbed hook 1806 to be displaced generally radially outward with respect to longitudinal axis 1812 . thereafter , the arm 1804 is adapted to resile so as to position a portion of the barbed hook 1806 within a corresponding cavity of a fixing portion ( not shown ). consequently , as will be understood by one of skill in the art , the fixing portion and stopper portion 1800 are adapted to be locked in substantially fixed spatial relation to one another and to a surrounding substrate . fig1 shows , in cutaway cross - sectional view , a stopper portion 1900 according to a further embodiment of the invention . the stopper portion 1900 is adapted to be coupled to an exemplary piercing point 1902 . in the illustrated embodiment , the piercing point includes a fastener , shown here for example as an externally threaded stud 1904 , adapted to be received within an internally threaded bore 1906 of the stopper 1900 . in the illustrated embodiment , the piercing point includes an annular cavity or channel 1908 adapted to accommodate a knot 1910 of a suture loop ( not shown ). while the piercing point 1902 is shown here as a discrete component adapted to be assembled to stopper portion 1900 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that stopper 1900 could equally well be prepared to include an integral piercing point . in the case of a stopper having an integral piercing point , suture channels ( e . g ., 1912 ) can be configured to exit the stopper longitudinally and / or radially with respect to a longitudinal axis 1914 of the stopper 1900 . it should also be understood that the stopper and piercing point can be made of the same or differing materials according to the requirements of a particular embodiment and application . thus , in one embodiment a fixing portion , a stopper portion , and a piercing point may each be made of any one of a biocompatible material including natural and synthetic polymers such as , for example , poly - ether - ether - ketone ( peek ); reinforced polymer materials including reinforcing sheets and / or particles and / or fibers of , for example , one or more of , carbon fibers , carbon nano - materials , glass fibers and metallic fibers ; precious metals , stainless steel , titanium and other metals ; porcelain , alumina and other ceramics including , for example , aluminum oxide , calcium oxide , calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite , and zirconium , and combinations thereof . fig2 shows an anchor 2000 according to a further embodiment of the invention . anchor 2000 includes a first stopper portion 2002 and a second fixing portion 2004 . the stopper portion 2002 includes a piercing point 2006 . according to one embodiment of the invention , piercing point 2006 includes a cavity 2008 , here shown as a generally hemispherical cavity adapted to receive a suture knot therewithin . the exemplary piercing point illustrated here also has a depressed region 2010 and a cutting edge 2012 adapted to facilitate a substrate piercing function of the piercing point 2006 . fig2 shows , in cross section , an anchor 2100 according to a further embodiment of the invention . anchor 2100 includes a first piercing point 2101 , a second stopper portion 2102 , and a third fixing portion 2104 . as shown , the piercing point 2101 includes a first surface feature , here shown as left - handed threads 2106 . the fixing portion 2104 includes a second surface feature , here shown as right - handed threads 2108 . in the presently illustrated embodiment , the stopper portion 2102 does not include a surface feature adapted to prevent rotation or withdrawal along longitudinal axis 2112 of the stopper portion 2102 . the stopper portion 2102 does include , however , detent devices 2114 , 2116 , adapted to substantially fixedly couple the stopper portion 2102 to the piercing point 2101 and the fixing portion 2104 respectively . it should be appreciated that in other embodiments , the stopper portion includes an anti - rotation or anti - extraction surface feature such as a plurality of vanes . in other embodiments , one or more of the piercing point 2101 and the fixing portion 2104 includes an alternative anti - rotation or anti - extraction surface feature such as , for example , a plurality of vanes . fig2 shows , in cross section , a further anchor 2200 . anchor 2200 includes a first stopper portion 2202 , a second fixing portion 2204 , and a retainer portion 2206 . the retainer portion 2206 includes at least one longitudinal bore 2208 adapted to receive a portion of a suture therewithin . as illustrated , the stopper portion 2202 includes a surface feature , here shown as left - handed threads , for example . the fixing portion 2204 includes a surface feature , here shown as right - handed threads , for example . both the stopper portion 2202 and in the fixing portion 2204 include respective tool receiving features 2210 , 2212 . in one embodiment , the retainer portion 2206 includes a contact surface 2214 adapted to engage a corresponding surface of stopper portion 2202 . in the illustrated embodiment , the retainer portion 2206 also includes a contact surface 2216 adapted to engage a corresponding surface of fixing portion 2204 . according to one embodiment of the invention , contact surfaces 2214 and 2216 are adapted to frictionally engage corresponding surfaces of the stopper portion 2202 and fixing portion 2204 . in other embodiments , the anchor 2200 is adapted to receive , for example , a chemical adhesive material , at surfaces 2214 and 2216 . in still other embodiments , the anchor 2200 is adapted to be treated after insertion into a substrate to form a physical bond at surfaces 2214 and 2216 . for example , one or more of a thermal weld and an ultrasonic weld may be formed at surfaces 2214 and 2216 to prevent decoupling of the stopper portion 2202 from the fixing portion 2204 and the retainer portion 2206 . one of skill in the art will appreciate that a variety of methods are evident from the above - provided description and included within the scope of the present invention as disclosed . thus , according to one method of the invention , a first hole is drilled or pierced into a substrate such as a bone . a cannulated insertion tool 2300 , as shown in fig2 has a suture 2302 disposed generally longitudinally adjacent to a first substantially solid shaft 2304 thereof . the first shaft 2304 is used to drive a self - tapping stopper portion 2306 into the hole by a leftward rotation of the first shaft 2304 . subsequently , a further portion of the cannulated insertion tool , including a second cannulated shaft 2308 coaxially encircling the first substantially solid shaft 2304 is used to drive a self - tapping fixing portion 2310 into the hole by a rightward rotation of the second shaft 2308 until the stopper portion 2306 and the fixing portion 2310 engage and lock together . thereafter the opposing sense of the threads 2312 , 2314 of the stopper portion and of the fixing portion respectively prevent subsequent rotation and withdrawal of the resulting anchor assembly 2320 . fig2 shows the relationship of the stopper portion 2306 , including suture loop 2322 and fixing portion 2310 in additional detail . in a typical application , the fixing portion 2310 will be installed in a substrate bone so that proximal surface 2320 is ultimately disposed substantially flush with an external surface of the bone . in another embodiment of the invention , surface 2320 is ultimately disposed a short distance inwardly of the external surface of the bone . for example surface 2320 may be disposed between about 0 mm and at least about 0 . 5 mm below the external surface of the substrate bone . it should be further noted that in certain cases , elements of the anchor are tapped , pounded and / or pressed into place , rather than rotated into place . one of skill in the art will appreciate that a threaded suture anchor can be deployed into cortical bone . purchase in cortical bone is enhanced by a narrow ( e . g ., approximately 1 . 5 mm ) thread pitch . a wider thread pitch ( e . g ., approximately 3 mm ) is advantageously deployed in cancellous bone . the push - in anchor has very broad application in areas such as the foot , the hand , and the shoulder . advantageously , the push - in anchor has a compact size . this compact size is advantageous and allows for greater maneuverability in tight articular spaces . while the exemplary embodiments described above have been chosen primarily from the field of soft tissue to bone reattachment , one of skill in the art will appreciate that the principles of the invention are equally well applied , and that the benefits of the present invention are equally well realized , in a wide variety of other applications , for example , the relative repositioning of multiple bone pieces and prosthetic devices . further , while the invention has been described in detail in connection with the presently preferred embodiments , it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments . rather , the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations , alterations , substitutions , or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described , but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description , but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 0Human Necessities
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referring now to fig . i , the punch press assembly 2 has an upper punching die 4 and a lower stationary platen 6 . the board product 8 to be embossed rests upon the lower stationary platen 6 . mounted on the punching die 4 is a stripper plate 10 which has springs 12 positioned between the stripper plate 10 and the punching die 4 . an electrical heater 14 is mounted on the stripper plate between the surface of the stripper plate 10 and the embossing plate 16 . the heater is a high output heater which puts out a heat flux of 10 kilowatts per square foot to keep the temperature of the embossing plate 16 at 550 ° to 800 ° f . when the plate is in contact with the board . a substantially constant temperature is maintained when the plate contacts the board . the temperature change in the plate at this time rarely exceeds 10 ° f . as was indicated above , a punch press assembly is used . a conventional punch press is utilized in carrying out the invention , and this punch is typical of all commercial punch press structures . the presses are cyclically operated in that they move through a stroke at a certain speed based upon the punch press speed and they operate through a cycle which consists of moving the die 4 downward and then back to its original position . the platen 6 is a stationary portion of the punch press and holds the material to be stamped and embossed . in normal operations , the punch press operates at a continuous cyclic rate of approximately 110 strokes per minute . with the above - described cyclic rate and apparatus , contact time between the embossing plate 16 and material to be embossed is approximately 1 / 3 of a second . referring now to fig . ii , there is shown the construction of the heating element 14 . the heating element 14 is provided with a plurality of slots 18 in the back surface of the heating element . the slots are positioned so that they will be facing the stripper plate 10 when the heater is mounted on the stripper plate . the slots are positioned about 1 / 4 inch apart and extend across the full width of the stripper plate . a foil type heater 20 is wound through the series of slots in a serpentine manner . the body assembly 15 of the heater is a metallic material of high thermal conductivity and , therefore , the heating foil 20 must be insulated therefrom . insulating material is provided along the side walls and the bottom of the grooves through which the foil is coiled . since the foil enters one end of the groove and passes down the full length of the groove , turns and comes back down through the same groove , there must be insulating material between the fold of the foil . element 22 represents the insulation between the fold of the foil , and elements 24 represent the insulation around the outside of the foil . the foil is now electrically insulated from the metal body 15 , but the heat from the foil can be transmitted to the body 15 to warm it and , in turn , warm the embossing plate 16 which is mounted to the surface 26 of the body 15 . the foil type heating element uses foils and controls which are similar to those used in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 569 , 665 . any conventional electric heat control 28 can be used both to control the temperature of the heaters and to set it at a certain point . the aforesaid patent describes a control system which could be readily used with the heater structure embodied in the invention of this application . the utilization of the heater in the above - described manner will now provide a heat output flux of 10 kilowatts per square foot , which is now capable of providing a substantial amount of heat to the embossing plate 16 . movement of the punching die 4 towards the platen 6 will result in the embossing plate 16 engaging the board 8 . the heater has been heated and will maintain the plate at 550 ° to 800 ° f . depending upon which exact degree within this range is desired . water and / or a prime coat of paint has previously been applied to the upper surface of the board . the punching die has about a three - inch stroke and it reciprocates at the continuous rate of 110 strokes per minute . as was indicated above , this rate of operation will provide a contact time between the embossing plate and the board of about 1 / 3 of a second . as the punching die 4 moves downward and the embossing plate 16 engages the board 8 , downward movement of the punching die 4 results in compression of the springs 12 . once the springs are fully compressed , then the full pressure of the punching die 4 is applied to the embossing plate 16 , through the stripper plate 10 and heater 14 . full embossing depth is achieved at the bottom of the stroke of the punching die 4 . on the upward stroke of the punching die 4 , the embossing plate remains in contact with the board until the springs 12 are fully extended . the embossing plate 16 can then move away from the board 8 . release of the embossing plate 16 from the board 8 rapidly occurs . the prewetting of the board results in the formation of a steam layer between the embossing plate and the board to give good release . the method provides surprisingly accurate detail in the compressible surface of the board . the punch press is operated at 110 strokes per minute and should have an output which will begin to approach the output from a rotary press operation . it is also possible to provide the board with punched air ventilating openings at the same time the board is being embossed . as compared to conventional flatbed embossing , the operation above - described is much faster in operation . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 shows a vertical fin field effect transistor 10 formed on a fin 12 . the fin 12 has been etched from a semiconductor substrate 13 , which has a planar substrate surface 14 after etching . by way of example , a silicon substrate which is initially predoped or undoped is used . the fin 12 may have a height h of 100 nanometers in the direction of the normal n to the substrate surface 14 . the width b of the fin 12 is e . g . 20 nanometers . the length l of the fin 12 is e . g . 60 nanometers . at the foot f of the fin 12 or at the base of the fin 12 , a base area of the fin 12 is situated in the plane of the substrate surface 14 . a gate electrode 16 encloses the fin 12 and lies parallel to and at a distance from the substrate surface 14 . the distance may be 30 nanometers . the gate electrode 16 comprises doped polycrystalline silicon . a gate dielectric 18 ( not illustrated in fig1 ) is situated between the gate electrode 16 and the fin 12 . suitable gate dielectrics are silicon dioxide or insulating materials having a relative permittivity of greater than 3 . 9 or greater than 7 , such as high - k materials . a drain region 20 is arranged in the upper part of the fin 12 . the drain region is n - doped in the case of an n - channel transistor and p - doped in the case of a p - channel transistor . around the base area at the foot f of the fin 12 , a source region 22 is arranged in the substrate 13 directly beneath or adjoining the substrate surface 14 . the source region having the same doping as the drain region 20 . in another exemplary embodiment , the source region is arranged in the fin 12 and the drain region is arranged in the substrate . in another exemplary embodiment , the doping of the source and the doping of the drain are different in order to permit good optimization of the transistors . the height h of the fin 12 is determined by the height of two spacer elements for insulating the gate electrode 16 from the substrate surface 14 and from a drain connection , respectively , by the height h 2 of the gate electrode and by the height of a drain connection . fig2 shows a plan view of the field effect transistor 10 with an area s for the source region 22 or for a source connection region , with an area g for the gate electrode or for a gate electrode connection region , and with an area d for the drain region or for a drain connection region . the connection regions are square or rectangular and lie on different sides of the fin 12 . the drain connection region d also encloses the fin 12 . the field effect transistor 10 is thus a vertical field effect transistor having four control electrodes or gate regions and having a small structural height . fig3 a shows a production stage in the production of the field effect transistor 10 . proceeding from the substrate 13 , shallow isolation trenches ( not illustrated ) are produced , which serve for isolating transistors from each one another . the isolation trenches are filled in a known manner with an insulating material , such as silicon dioxide . after filling , planarization is effected , e . g . by means of a chemical mechanical polishing method cmp . after planarization , a hard mask layer 50 , such as , a silicon nitride layer is deposited . the hard mask layer 50 is patterned with the aid of a photolithographic method or with the aid of a spacer technique . a hard mask 52 remaining in the region of the transistor 10 . further hard mask sections remain at other locations of the substrate 13 for the purpose of producing a multiplicity of other transistors . the transistors are produced by means of the same method steps described and are therefore constructed identically . the hard mask 52 has , for example , the abovementioned dimensions of 20 nanometers by 60 nanometers . after the patterning of the hard mask layer 50 , the substrate 13 is patterned in accordance with the hard mask by means of the same etching method previously described , producing the fin in the process . etching is effected in a time - controlled manner by means of a known etching method . if appropriate , the hard mask layer is also thinned during etching . after the production of the fin , the hard mask layer 50 may have a thickness of 40 nanometers . a thin screen oxide layer 54 is subsequently produced in order to protect the substrate during the source implantation steps that follow . the oxide layer 54 is produced by means of a thermal oxidation with a thickness that may be less than 10 nanometers . afterward , using a low to medium acceleration voltage , the source region 22 or s is highly doped with the aid of an implantation . the implantation is followed by the deposition of an electrically insulating spacer layer 56 having a thickness which is higher than the height h of the fin 12 plus the thickness of the hard mask 52 . by way of example , the spacer layer 56 is a silicon dioxide layer having an original thickness of 140 nanometers . the spacer layer 56 is planarized , with the aid of a chemical mechanical polishing method , stopping on the hard mask 52 or on the residues of the hard mask layer 50 at cmp auxiliary structures ( not shown ). after the planarization , the spacer layer 56 is etched back over the whole area to its target thickness , for example to 30 nanometers or to a thickness in the range of 30 nanometers to 50 nanometers . the etch is carried out in a time - controlled manner . in the etched - back region , by means of an additional isotropic oxide etch in the exemplary embodiment , the thin screen oxide layer 54 is also removed from the vertical sidewalls of the etched structure . the side areas of the fin 12 are thus uncovered again . a gate dielectric layer 58 is then deposited , by sputtering or vapor phase deposition cvd ( chemical vapor deposition ). the gate dielectric layer 58 comprises oxynitride or some other high - k material . the oxide - equivalent thickness of the gate dielectric layer 58 is 1 nanometer in the exemplary embodiment . as an alternative , the thickness of the gate dielectric layer 58 lies in the range of 1 nanometer to 2 nanometers . as is furthermore shown in fig3 a , a gate electrode layer 60 is subsequently applied , in particular deposited . the gate electrode layer 60 comprises a metal or highly doped polycrystalline silicon . at the end of application , the gate electrode layer 60 has a thickness that is greater than the distance in the direction of the normal n from the surface — remote from the substrate — of those regions of the gate dielectric layer 58 which do not lie on the hard mask 52 as far as the surface of the hard mask 52 that is removed from the substrate . a cutout between adjacent fins 12 , including hard masks 52 , are thus completely filled with the material of the gate electrode layer 58 . in the exemplary embodiment , the gate electrode layer 60 is applied with a thickness of 110 nanometers . after the application of the gate electrode layer 60 , planarization is again effected , with the aid of a cmp method , stopping on the hard mask 52 or the part of the electrode layer which bears on the hard mask 52 . as shown in fig3 a , the planarized gate electrode layer 60 is then etched back over the whole area , in particular using an anisotropic etching method . over the whole area means , in this case , that no mask is used for the patterning of the gate electrode layer 60 during the etching - back step . the time duration for the etching - back determines the remaining thickness of the gate electrode layer 60 . in the exemplary embodiment , the gate electrode layer 60 has a remaining thickness of 20 nanometers after the etching - back . on account of the planarization preceding the etching - back , the etched - back gate electrode layer 60 has a uniform layer thickness . the gate electrode layer 60 is thus etched back to below the surface of the hard mask 52 that is remote from the substrate and also below the surface of the fin 12 that is remote from the substrate . after the etching - back or else prior to the etching - back of the gate electrode layer 60 , the gate electrode layer 60 and preferably also the spacer layer 56 may already be patterned by means of a lithographic method or by means of a spacer technique , in other words using a mask . as an alternative , however , the patterning of the gate electrode layer 60 and , if appropriate , also of the spacer layer 56 is carried out at a later point in time jointly with at least one layer applied after the application of the gate electrode layer 60 . the gate electrode connection layer 16 arises during the patterning of the gate electrode layer 60 . as is furthermore shown in fig3 a , after the etching - back of the gate electrode layer 58 , a second electrically insulating spacer layer 62 is applied , by means of a deposition . in the exemplary embodiment , the second spacer layer 62 comprises the same material as the spacer layer 56 that is nearer to the substrate 13 . as an alternative , however , the spacer layers 56 and 62 comprise mutually different materials . the spacer layer 62 is applied with a thickness that is greater than the difference in height between the substrate - remote surface of the hard mask 52 or the substrate - remote surface of the gate dielectric layer 58 that has remained on the hard mask and the substrate - remote surface of the etched - back gate electrode layer 60 . in the exemplary embodiment , the thickness of the spacer layer is 90 nanometers directly after application . the spacer layer 62 is subsequently etched back over the whole area to a target thickness of e . g . 30 nanometers , so that the surface of the spacer layer 62 that is remote from the substrate and lies approximately 10 nanometers below the free end of the fin 12 . in a further method step , as illustrated in fig3 b , the uncovered gate dielectric 58 is removed , dry - chemically or wet - chemically , from the areas of the fin 12 that have not yet been covered and from the hard mask 52 . a connection region for making contact with the drain region is thus uncovered at the free end of the fin 12 . optionally , the residual hard mask 52 is also removed wet - chemically . a drain contact material 64 is subsequently deposited , preferably with a thickness that is greater than the residual difference in height by which the fin 12 or by which the hard mask 52 projects above the spacer layer 62 . the drain contact material 64 is highly doped polycrystalline silicon . optionally , the drain contact material 64 is then planarized and etched back over the whole area . the drain contact material 64 is subsequently patterned by means of a lithography method . steps for producing metal contacts optionally follow . during the deposition of the drain contact material 64 or during subsequent thermal steps , dopant diffuses from the drain layer 64 into the fin 12 in order to form the drain zone . at the same time , dopant diffuses from the source region into the lower region of the fin in order to form the source connection to the channel . the drain region 20 arises from the drain contact material 64 during patterning . fig4 shows an alternative production stage in the production of the field effect transistor 10 . instead of the deposition of a gate dielectric layer 58 , after the spacer layer 56 has been etched back , a gate dielectric 70 is only applied on the uncovered sidewalls of the fin 12 , in particular by means of a thermal oxidation . as an alternative , an oxynitride layer is only produced on the sidewalls of the fin 12 . the same production steps as have been explained with reference to fig3 a and 3b are then performed . fig5 a and 5b show production stages in the production of a vertical sidewall flash field effect transistor 100 . the production of the transistor 100 proceeds as in the production of the transistor 10 or the alternatives mentioned e . g . apart from the additional method steps for producing a charge storage layer or a so - called floating gate which are explained below . in particular , the following method steps are again performed in the order mentioned below . proceeding from a substrate 113 , a fin 112 having the same dimensions as the fin 12 is produced by means of a hard mask 152 or by means of some other technique . next , a thin screen oxide layer 154 is applied . afterwards , source regions 122 are implanted . therefore , an electrically insulating planar spacer layer 156 is produced preferably by deposition , planarization and whole - area etching - back . finally , a first gate dielectric layer 158 is produced by whole - area deposition like the gate dielectric layer 58 . as an alternative , a gate dielectric corresponding to the gate dielectric 70 is produced only on the fin 112 . as shown in fig5 a , steps for producing a charge storage region 159 are carried out after the production of the first gate dielectric . for this purpose , a highly doped polycrystalline silicon layer is deposited . as an alternative , a dielectric material or a metal may also serve as material for the charge storage region . the layer for producing the charge storage region 159 is deposited with a thickness which enables subsequent complete planarization . by way of example , the layer thickness is 110 nanometers after application . the material for producing the charge storage region 159 is subsequently planarized , by means of cmp , cmp stop structures preferably serving as a stop . this is followed by whole - area etching - back , the remaining thickness of the layer for forming the charge storage region 159 being 30 nanometers remaining . as is furthermore shown in fig5 a , a spacer element 161 or a spacer is subsequently produced by means of a layer deposition and anisotropic etching , which spacer element or spacer , on the sidewalls covered with the gate dielectric , encloses the fin 112 and , if appropriate , the sidewalls of the hard mask 152 that are covered with gate dielectric . the spacer element 161 bears on the layer for forming the charge storage region . the layer for forming the charge storage region 159 is subsequently patterned with the aid of the spacer element 161 as a hard mask in an anisotropic etching process . the spacer element 161 is then removed . the hard mask 152 still remains on the fin 112 in the exemplary embodiment . as is shown in fig5 b , a further dielectric layer 163 is then produced . the same method steps as for producing the transistor 10 are subsequently carried out as described below . first , production of an electrically conductive gate electrode layer 160 , made of highly doped polycrystalline silicon , by deposition , planarization and whole - area etching - back is executed . the thickness and the material of the gate electrode layer 160 are the same as the thickness and the material of the gate electrode layer 60 . in the exemplary embodiment , the gate electrode layer 160 has been etched back further than the charge storage region 159 . as an alternative , however , the gate electrode layer 160 is etched back to a lesser extent , so that it overlaps the charge storage region 159 . production of a further electrically insulating spacer layer 162 , which is or may be the same as the spacer layer 62 in terms of its thickness and in terms of its material . however , it is also possible to use other materials or some other thickness of the spacer layer . afterwards , the gate electrode layer 160 and of the spacer layer 162 is patterned by means of a photolithographic method . next , the two gate dielectrics above the spacer layer 162 , are eliminated and then the residual hard mask 152 may be optionally removed . therefore , application of drain contact material 164 , which corresponds to the drain contact material 64 , preferably by deposition , planarization and whole - area etching - back , as a result of which the drain - gate capacitance decreases is executed . finally , the drain contact material 164 is patterned . the flash cell is preferably programmed by means of “ hot ” charge carriers , which are also referred to as che or channel hot electrons . fowler - nordheim tunneling currents are preferably used for erasure . the flash cells are organized in accordance with the known nor structure . this means that the source connections are patterned as bit lines in a bit line direction . word lines produced by patterning of the gate electrodes run at right angles to the bit lines . a multiplicity of memory transistors of a memory cell array constructed in matrix - type fashion are situated on each bit line and word line , respectively . in other exemplary embodiments , no hard mask 52 , 152 is used , or the hard mask 52 , 152 is removed early , so that the end of the fin 12 or 112 serves as a reference point for the thickness of the layers to be planarized . by account of the buried source regions 122 , the transistor 100 requires only a small substrate area . moreover , the four gate regions enable a large switch - on current , so that a reduced operating voltage of e . g . less than 3 volts can be utilized . the production methods specified are simple and enable transistors to be produced reproducibly within very narrow tolerances . as a person skilled in the art will readily appreciate , the above description is meant as an illustration of implementation of the principles this invention . this description is not intended to limit the scope or application of this invention in that the invention is susceptible to modification , variation and change , without departing from spirit of this invention , as defined in the following claims . | 7Electricity
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fig3 illustrates a first embodiment of an optical rotary encoder . a polarizer disk 50 is fixed to a shaft 52 which rotates about its axis as shown by arrows 54 , 55 . a light source 56 emits randomly polarized light 57 ( also called “ unpolarized ” light , as there is no defined or discernible direction of polarization ) which passes through the polarizer disk 50 such that polarized light 58 is incident on a polarization sensing means or a polarization sensor 60 which monitors the direction of polarization of the incident light . the polarization sensing means comprises a polarizer , an image sensing structure and a processing means or a processor . the processing means calculates the orientation of the shaft based on a measured polarization contrast which is based on the intensity of the incident light , and is discussed in more detail below . the polarizer and the image sensing structure of the polarization sensing means can be formed as an integrated polarization sensitive image sensor by the formation of a wire grid array directly on the semiconducting structure of a cmos image sensor , as discussed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 154 , 330 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the polarizer can be a separate component that is inserted as an additional component in a standard image sensor &# 39 ; s ( e . g . cmos or ccd ) optical stack . in this case , any suitable polarizing material can be used , such as h - sheet or j - sheet polaroid film . fig4 shows an example of a polarizer suitable for use as part of the polarization sensing means . it comprises a polarizer 62 which polarizes light in a single direction . it can be formed as a wire grid with appropriate diffractive properties in the case of an integrated polarizer and image sensing structure , or it can be formed as a regular h - sheet or j - sheet in the case of non - integration of the polarizer and image sensing structure . the detected transmitted intensity i tx of radiation varies according to the angle of the polarizing disk 50 is sketched in fig5 , plotted according to an arbitrary scale , and where zero degrees indicates the position where the direction of polarization lines of the polarizer 62 is parallel with the direction of the polarization grating as seen in fig4 . the sketch assumes that the polarization action is ideal , which is of course not the case . however , the purpose of the sketch is for illustrative purposes only . the same applies to other figures in this application unless stated otherwise . it can be seen that the intensity values repeat themselves every ninety degrees . therefore over the course of a complete three hundred and sixty degree revolution , a given intensity could correspond to any one of four possible angles of orientation of the disk . therefore , the system formed when the polarizer of fig4 is used with the system of fig3 can be used as an incremental type optical rotary encoder . it can be provided with a reference point in a known manner , together with associated light sources and image sensors and circuitry , so that the correct choice of angle can be determined . alternatively , it may be use without a reference point to measure with accuracy small variations of angle , up to a maximum of ninety degrees . a second example of a polarizer that could be used as part of a polarization sensing means is illustrated in fig6 . two polarizers 64 , 66 are provided which have orthogonal directions of polarization . the intensity of each polarizer is then measured independently . again , the polarizers 64 , 66 can be formed as wire grids with appropriate diffractive properties in the case of an integrated polarizer and image sensing structure , or as a regular h - sheets or j - sheets in the case of non - integration of the polarizer and image sensing structure . the intensity of light detected by each polarizer 64 , 66 varies with the angle of rotation of the shaft as shown in fig7 . the use of two orthogonal polarization directions enables a quantity called the polarization contrast to be measured . the polarization contrast is defined as i pc =( i 1 − i 2 )/( i 1 + i 2 ). it is a measured intensity that varies according to the polarization of the incident light and is illustrated in fig8 for the example of the polarizer shown in fig6 . as a further modification the polarizer can be arranged in a common centroid format as shown in fig9 which provides four polarizer sections to increase the accuracy of the readings by counteracting the effects of any intensity variations across the array . again , the polarizers can be formed as wire grids with appropriate diffractive properties in the case of an integrated polarizer and image sensing structure , or as a regular h - sheets or j - sheets in the case of non - integration of the polarizer and image sensing structure . a more complex polarizer can be formed by the repetition of the common centroid formation shown in fig9 a number of times to further smooth the effects of any intensity variations across the array . for all of the above polarizer arrangements , image sensing pixels may be provided in a one - to - one relationship with each polarizing section . alternatively , each polarizer section may have a plurality of pixels provided for measuring the intensity of radiation transmitted through each polarizer section . the processing means of the polarization sensing means may comprise a readout architecture in which a channel is defined for each polarization direction , either as a result of the column architecture of the pixel array , the timing of readout pulses or both . when any of the above polarization sensing means polarizers are used with the polarizer disk 50 as shown in fig3 , a rotary encoder that may be used as an incremental counter is formed , as is discussed above . however , the system can be further provided with a secondary orientation sensor which may be used to remove this ambiguity . a first example of such a secondary orientation sensor is shown in fig1 . a polarizer disk 70 is fixed to a shaft 72 for rotation therewith , and is further provided with a first inner track 74 and a second outer track 76 , each of which has alternately spaced clear and opaque portions 78 , 80 . the two tracks 74 , 76 are formed by etching , printing or embossing or any other suitable process on the polarizing disk 70 . a first light source 82 is in arrangement with a polarization sensor 84 as described before , while two further light sources 86 , 88 are provided , together with corresponding sensors 90 , 92 for operation with the two tracks 74 , 76 in the manner as described above . the two tracks provide a two bit code , giving four possible values . these four values can be used to identify each quadrant of the disk 70 , so that the correct angular value from the four possible solutions given by the measured i pc curve can be chosen . the two additional grey code tracks provide absolute positional information which can be provided from start up . as compared with the above - mentioned standard prior art absolute rotary optical encoders , this embodiment provides a reduced number of sensors and light sources and a cheap encoder disk as only two tracks need to be encoded and these are of a simple instruction . a further illustration of this embodiment is shown in fig1 where the polarizer of the polarization sensing means for illustration comprises a common centroid arrangement of sensors with opposite alignments . again a light source 94 provides unpolarized light 95 which is then polarized by the polarizing disk 70 . for detection by the polarization sensor 84 , track sensors 90 , 92 are provided for sensing the square wave or sign wave variations of the transmitted intensity of the each track 74 , 76 as described before . the electric field ψ of a linearly polarized electro - magnetic wave with polarization of θ to the x axis , may be expressed as : an unpolarized sensor will detect both components of the radiation , however an ideal polarized sensor will detect only one . for example , a polarization sensor in the x axis will detect ψ x and one in the y axis will detect ψ y . the energy of the radiation is proportional to the square of the field strength [ 3 ] where ε 0 is the permittivity of free space ( 8 . 854e − 12 f / m ) energy received by x - axis polarization detector ∝ cos 2 θ energy received by y - axis polarization detector ∝ sin 2 θ the polarization contrast can therefore be said to be proportional to 2θ . as the shaft rotates so does the polarization grating . a reading of the polarizer &# 39 ; s orthogonal sections are made and the polarization contrast can be calculated . this value can then be compared to the theoretical value either from a look - up table or using an additional non polarized pixel on the sensor whose intensity value could be used to calculate the constant of proportionality . this method would require an additional pixel , but would also ensure that the system is intensity independent . then , using the readings from the two code tracks the absolute rotary angle can be calculated . in a further embodiment , a secondary orientation sensor comprises a modified polarizer in the polarization sensing means , together with a single track formed on the polarizer disk . a suitable polarizer for the polarization sensing means is shown in fig1 . a first pair or polarizers 100 , 102 are provided with orthogonal directions of polarization , and a second pair of polarizers 104 , 106 are provided which have orthogonal directions of polarization with respect to each other , but which are offset with respect to the first pair 100 , 102 by forty - five degrees . a first polarization contrast i pc as calculated with respect to the first pair 100 , 102 is measured , and a second polarization contrast i pc as calculated with respect to the second pair 104 , 106 is measured . the first polarization contrast has a four - way ambiguity as described before , but the four possible results gained from analysis of the first polarization contrast correspond to only two results gained from analysis of the second polarization contrast . therefore , the four - way ambiguity can be reduced to a two - way ambiguity by the polarizer layout of fig1 . this remaining two - way ambiguity can then be resolved by the use of a single track formed on the polarizer disk giving a one bit readout which identifies the different halves of the polarizer disk . further improvements may be yielded by the construction of more complex polarizer structures , comprising more than two pairs of orthogonally opposite polarizers . as for previous polarizers mentioned above , the polarizer of fig1 , the polarizers can be formed as wire grids with appropriate diffractive properties in the case of an integrated polarizer and image sensing structure , or as a regular h - sheets or j - sheets in the case of non - integration of the polarizer and image sensing structure . also , image sensing pixels can be provided in a one - to - one relationship with each polarizing section . alternatively , each polarizer section may have a plurality of pixels provided for measuring the intensity of radiation transmitted through each polarizer section . for all the above embodiments , the polarizing disk can be formed cheaply as it can use standard polarizing materials such as an h - sheet or j - sheet polarizer such as that provided by the polaroid corporation . also , the rotary encoders as described above remove the need for expensive coded etched disks . any type of image sensor may be used as part of the polarization sensing means and for the other sensors . however , one type that is advantageous for this application is a light to frequency light converter of the type illustrated in fig1 and 14 , as it exhibits better integration capacitance tolerance between pixels compared to standard cmos sensors and it can have a large photodiode without having the large associated integrated capacitor . instead , a small integration capacitor may be used with a large photodiode increasing the sensitivity of the pixel . light to frequency converters are described for example in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 148 , 930 , hereby incorporated by reference . a rotary encoder formed according to any of the embodiments described above may be used in a wide variety of devices , including without limitation office equipment such as printers , photocopiers , fax machines , and computer peripherals such as optical pointing devices including optical mice and trackballs , or for automotive or aerospace telemetry systems . various improvements and modifications can be made to the above without departing from the spirit or the scope of this disclosure . in particular , where a plurality of light sources are illustrated they may be replaced by a single light source . also , references are made to a polarizer disk , but it is to be realized that the scope of protection is not to be limited to polarizers that are strictly circular in cross - section . eccentric or other irregularly shaped polarizers may be used if the device in which the rotary encoder is to be used so allows . | 6Physics
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preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings . referring to fig1 a drive circuit 3 is , via an and or coincidence circuit 19 , connected to an oscillating circuit 2 . a transistor 4 is connected to the drive circuit 3 . an end portion of the primary coil of a transformer 5 is connected to the collector of the transistor 4 . a rectifying diode 6 is connected to the secondary coil of the transformer 5 . a capacitor 8 is connected to a portion between the cathode of the rectifying diode 6 and the ground . an end portion of the primary coil of an ignition coil 10 is connected to the junction between the cathode of the rectifying diode 6 and the capacitor 8 . furthermore , a thyristor 11 is connected to a portion between another end portion of the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the ground . an ignition plug 15 is connected to the secondary coil of the ignition coil 10 . a trigger circuit 17 is connected to an ignition signal generating circuit 16 , the trigger circuit 17 further being connected to the gate terminal of the thyristor 11 . an ignition signal detection circuit 18 for detecting the output of an ignition signal is connected to the ignition signal generating circuit 16 , the output from the ignition signal detection circuit 18 being connected to the and circuit 19 . the and circuit 19 responds to the output s 1 from the oscillating circuit 2 and the output from the ignition signal detection circuit 18 so as to enable or disable the drive circuit 3 . a battery 1 is connected to the oscillating circuit 2 , the drive circuit 3 , another terminal of the primary coil of the transformer 5 , the ignition signal generating circuit 16 and the trigger circuit 17 . that is , the ignition device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is constituted by arranging the conventional ignition device shown in fig6 in such a manner that : the ignition signal detection circuit 18 is connected to the ignition signal generating circuit 16 ; and the and circuit 19 is inserted into the portion between the oscillating circuit 2 and the drive circuit 3 . as the ignition signal detection circuit 18 , an inverter circuit may be , for example , employed . then , the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to a timing chart shown in fig2 . in response to the signal s 1 transmitted from the oscillating circuit 2 , the drive circuit 3 transmits a drive signal to the transistor 4 . as a result , the transistor 4 is driven so that the transformer 5 is electrically turned on / off . at this time , primary current i 1 generated in the transformer 5 is converted into secondary current i 2 of the transformer 5 . the secondary current i 2 thus - generated as the result of the conversion acts to charge the capacitor 8 to a charging voltage level of v 1 shown in fig2 via the diode 6 . the ignition signal generating circuit 16 generates ignition signal s 2 in synchronization with the ignition timing of the internal combustion engine . in response to the ignition signal s 2 , the trigger circuit 17 transmits a trigger signal to the gate terminal of the thyristor 11 . when the thyristor 11 is thus - triggered , the charge , which has been stored in the capacitor 8 , is discharged via the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the thyristor 11 . at this time , discharge current i 4 is introduced from the capacitor 8 into the thyristor 11 so that high voltage is generated at the secondary coil of the ignition coil 10 . as a result , the ignition plug 15 is ignited . when the ignition signal s 2 is generated in the ignition signal generating circuit 16 , a detection signal is transmitted from the ignition signal detection circuit 18 to the and circuit 19 . as a result of this , the and circuit 19 is electrically turned off so that output signal s 3 from the and circuit 19 displays a waveform as shown in fig2 . that is , the supply of the output from the and circuit 19 to the drive circuit 3 is restricted during the period in which the ignition signal d 2 is being generated . at this time , the primary current i 1 and the secondary current i 2 of the transformer 5 are not generated . therefore , the secondary current i 2 does not pass through the secondary coil of the transformer at times t 5 , t 6 and t 7 at each of which the discharge current i 4 is introduced into the thyristor 11 from the capacitor 8 . therefore , the total current i 5 passing through the thyristor 11 is composed of only the discharge current i 4 transmitted from the capacitor 8 . as a result , the breakage of the thyristor 11 can be prevented while eliminating the necessity of using a large current capacity thyristor 11 . a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig3 . the ignition device for an internal combustion engine according to the second embodiment is constituted by arranging the conventional ignition device shown in fig8 in such a manner that a synchronizing circuit 20 is inserted into a portion between the ignition signal generating circuit 16 and the oscillating circuit 2 . the above - described synchronizing circuit 20 causes the oscillating circuit 2 to commence the signal oscillating operation in synchronization with the generation of the ignition signal s 2 in the ignition signal generating circuit 16 . then , the operation of the second embodiment will now be described with reference to a timing chart shown in fig4 . in response to signal s 1 transmitted from the oscillating circuit 2 , the drive circuit 4 transmits a drive signal . as a result , the transistor 4 is driven so that the transformer 5 is electrically turned on / off . at this time , the primary current i 1 generated in the primary coil of the transformer 5 is converted into the secondary current i 2 of the transformer 5 . the secondary current i 2 thus - generated as a result of the conversion acts to charge the two capacitors 8 and 9 via the diodes 6 and 7 . as a result , the capacitor 9 is charged with a charging voltage level of v 2 as shown in fig4 . the ignition signal generating circuit 16 generates the ignition signal s 2 in response to the ignition timing of the internal combustion engine . in response to the ignition circuit s 2 , the trigger signal 17 transmits a trigger signal to the gate terminal of the thyristor 11 . when the thyristor 11 is thus - triggered , the charge , which has been stored in the capacitor 8 , is discharged via the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the thyristor 11 . on the other hand , the charge stored in the capacitor 9 is discharged via the inductor 13 , the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the thyristor 11 . as a result , the output voltage v 3 and the output current i 3 as shown in fig4 are generated in the secondary coil of the ignition coil 10 so that the ignition plug 15 is ignited . at this time , a discharge maintaining current flows from the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 via the diode 14 and the inductor 13 . as a result , discharge is maintained in the ignition plug 15 for only time δt 2 . according to this embodiment , time δt 3 in which the signal s 1 transmitted from the oscillating circuit 2 turns on the transistor via the drive circuit 3 is made to be longer than the time δt 2 in which the ignition plug 15 maintains its discharge operation . as is taken place at , for example , each time t 8 , t 9 and t 10 shown in fig4 the signal oscillating operation performed by the oscillating circuit 2 is commenced by the synchronizing circuit 20 whenever the ignition signal s 2 is generated by the ignition signal generating circuit 16 . that is , the oscillating operation of the oscillating circuit 2 is commenced in synchronization with the discharge commencement of each of the capacitors 8 and 9 . as described above , energy is not further supplied from the dc - dc converter to the capacitors 8 and 9 in the time δt 2 , in which the discharge is maintained because the time δt 3 , in which the transistor 4 is electrically turned on , is longer than the discharge maintaining time δt 2 . therefore , the undesirable temporary halt of the discharge during the discharge operation of the ignition plug 15 due to the stop of the discharge maintaining current can be prevented . the ignition device for an internal combustion engine according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig5 . the ignition device according to this embodiment is constituted by arranging the conventional ignition device shown in fig8 in such a manner that : an inductor 5a is employed in place of the transformer 5 ; and the reference potential of each of the capacitors 8 , 9 and the thyristor 11 is taken from the positive electrode of the battery 1 . that is , an end portion of the inductor 5a is connected to the collector of the transistor 4 , while another end portion of the same is connected to the positive electrode of the battery 1 . the anode of each of the diodes 6 and 7 is connected to the collector of the transistor 4 . the cathode of each of the diodes 6 and 7 is , via capacitors 8 and 9 , connected to the positive electrode of the battery 1 . the anode of the thyristor 11 is connected to the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 , while the cathode of the same is connected to the positive electrode of the battery 1 . since the terminals serving as the reference potentials of the capacitors 8 , 9 and the thyristor 11 are , as described above , respectively connected to the positive electrode of the battery 1 , the introduction of an electric current into the inductor 5a is prevented during the time in which the thyristor 11 is being triggered . then , the operation of the third embodiment will now be described . in response to the signal s 1 transmitted from the oscillating circuit 2 , the drive circuit 3 transmits a drive signal to the transistor 4 . as a result , the transistor 4 is driven so that the inductor 5a is electrically turned on / off . the energy generated in the inductor 5a at this time is stored in the capacitors 8 and 9 via the diodes 6 and 7 . the ignition signal generating circuit 16 generates the ignition signal s 2 in synchronization with the timing of the internal combustion engine . in response to the ignition signal s 2 , a trigger signal is transmitted from the trigger circuit 17 to the gate terminal of the thyristor 11 . when the thyristor 11 is triggered , the charge , which has been stored in the capacitor 8 , is discharged via the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the thyristor 11 . on the other hand , the charge stored in the capacitor 9 is discharged via the inductor 13 , the primary coil of the ignition coil 10 and the thyristor 11 . as a result , high voltage is generated in the secondary coil of the ignition coil 10 so that the ignition plug 15 is ignited . since the ignition device according to the third embodiment is arranged in such a manner that the inductor 5a is used in place of the dc - dc converter , the size of the ignition device can be reduced and the charging efficiency can be improved . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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fig1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 that includes program 112 for computing variability indices of glycemia and estimated hba1c levels in accordance with the present invention . system 100 preferably includes a data source 102 , a communications link 104 , a processing station 106 connected to one or more data input devices 108 , a visual display 110 , and an output device 114 . examples of data source 102 include , but are not limited to , a blood glucose metering system , a continuous metering system for detecting glucose in blood or interstitial fluid as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 432 , 827 ( filed on dec . 29 , 2003 ), which is fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes , and a metering system for detecting other analytes or indicators ( e . g . cholesterol or hba1c ,) in any bodily fluid ( e . g . blood , urine , interstitial fluid , etc ). data source 102 is preferably connected to processing station 106 via communications link 104 . examples of communications link 104 include , but are not limited to , a direct serial or usb cable , a tcp / ip or ethernet based network connection and a wireless connection using protocols such as 802 . 11 , infrared or bluetooth . processing station 106 preferably includes a module to save and store information used in the present invention ( e . g ., a database ; not shown ) and a module to process data ( e . g ., a central processing unit or cpu ) from data sources 102 using algorithms . examples of processing station 106 include , but are not limited to , a personal or networked computer , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a blood glucose metering system , or a mobile telephone . the term ‘ mobile telephone ’ as used herein refers to any portable device which utilizes wireless telephonic communication including conventional cellular telephones and combined cellular telephone / personal digital assistant ( pda ) devices . examples of input devices 108 include , but are not limited to , a keyboard , keypad , a mouse , a joystick , and a stylet . examples of visual display 110 may include , but are not limited to , a display monitor for a personal or networked computer , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) for a personal digital assistant ( pda ), mobile telephone , or a blood glucose metering system . examples of output devices 114 include , but are not limited to , a printer , a fax machine , an email message , a text message , and a file that is stored on processing station 106 . processing station 106 further preferably includes program 112 for computing variability indices of glycemia and estimated hba1c levels in accordance with the present invention . a variability index can be calculated by a number of methods . standard statistical methods can be used and include , but are not limited to , standard deviation , coefficient of variation , the percent out of a desired range , variance , range , and the interquartile range . these methods may also include more complex indices derived from glucose data that better represent clinically relevant fluctuations . these indices may also incorporate complex algorithms including , but not limited to , algorithms incorporating high and low blood glucose indices , rate of change of glucose and other factors . as an example , the standard deviation is used as the variability index . accordingly , equation ( 1 ) is preferably used to calculate the standard deviation . estimated hba1c levels can be calculated in a number of ways known to those skilled in the art . examples of methods that can be used to estimate hba1c include , but are not limited to , those described in international application nos . pct / us01 / 09884 ( published as wo 01 / 72208 on oct . 4 , 2001 ) and pct / us2003 / 025053 ( published as wo 2004 / 015539 on feb . 19 , 2004 ), both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes . an exemplary method of estimating hba1c levels in accordance with the present invention preferably includes three steps : 1 ) pre - processing of data ; 2 ) estimating hba1c using at least one of four predetermined formulae , and 3 ) validation of the estimate via sample selection criteria . the data preferably comprises blood glucose data collected over a first predetermined period of time . the first predetermined period of time preferably ranges from about 45 days to about 90 days or more preferably , from about 45 days to about 60 days . in the first step , pre - processing of the data for each patient preferably comprises : conversion of plasma to whole blood blood glucose ( bg ) ( mg / dl ); conversion of bg measured in mg / dl to units of mmol / l ; and computing a low blood glucose index ( rlo1 ) and a high blood glucose index ( rhi1 ). preprocessing of the data for each patient preferably includes : conversion of plasma to whole blood bg mg / dl via bg = plasbg ( mg / dl )/ 1 . 12 ; conversion of bg measured in mg / dl to units of mmol / l via bgmm = bg / 18 ; and computing rlo1 and rhi1 . preprocessing of the data further preferably uses a formula defined as scale =[ 1n ( bg )] 1 . 0845 − 5 . 381 , wherein bg is measured in units of mg / dl ; risk1 = 22 . 765 ( scale ) 2 , wherein risklo = risk1 if ( bg is less than about 112 . 5 ) and therefore risk of lbgi exists , otherwise risklo = 0 ; riskhi = risk1 if ( bg ) is greater than about 112 . 5 ) and therefore risk of hbgi exists , otherwise riskhi = 0 ; bgmm1 = average bgmm per patient ; rlo1 = average of risklo per patient ; rhi1 = average of riskhi per patient ; l06 = average of risklo computer only for readings during the night , otherwise missing if there are no readings at night ; n06 , n12 , n24 are percentage of smbg readings in time intervals ; nc1 = total number of smbg readings in the first predetermined duration ; and ndays = number of days with smbg readings in the first predetermined duration . the n06 , n12 , n24 are percentage of smbg readings in time intervals of about 0 - 6 : 59 hour time period , about 7 - 12 : 59 hour time period , and about 18 - 23 : 59 hour time period , respectively , or other desired percentages and number of intervals . the method further preferably comprises assigning a group depending on the patient &# 39 ; s computer high bg index using predetermined criteria . such criteria may be defined as : if ( rhi1 is ≦ about 5 . 25 or if rhi1 is ≧ about 16 ) then the assigned group = 0 ; if ( rhi1 is & gt ; about 5 . 25 and if rhi1 is & lt ; about 7 . 0 ) then the assigned group = 1 ; if ( rhi1 is ≧ about 7 . 0 and if rhi1 is & lt ; about 8 . 5 ) then the assigned group = 2 ; and if ( rhi1 is ≧ about 8 . 5 and if rhi1 is & lt ; about 16 ) then the assigned group = 3 . next , the method may further include providing estimates using predetermined formula defined as : e0 = 0 . 55555 * bgmm1 + 2 . 95 ; e1 = 0 . 50567 * bgmm1 + 0 . 074 * l06 + 2 . 69 ; e2 = 0 . 55555 * bgmm1 − 0 . 074 * l06 + 2 . 96 ; e3 = 0 . 44000 * bgmm1 + 0 . 035 * l06 + 3 . 65 ; and if ( group = 1 ) then est2 = e1 , or if ( group = 2 ) then est2 = e2 , of if ( group = 3 ) then est2 = e3 , otherwise est2 = e0 . regarding step 2 , the method preferably comprises providing further correction of the estimates using predetermined criteria defined as : if ( missing ( l06 )) est2 = e0 , if ( rlo1 is ≦ about 0 . 5 and rhi1 is ≦ about 2 . 0 ) then est2 = e0 − 0 . 25 ; if ( rlo1 is ≦ about 2 . 5 and rhi1 is & gt ; about 26 ) then est2 = e0 − 1 . 5 * rlo1 ; if (( rlo1 / rhi1 ) is ≦ about 0 . 25 and l06 is & gt ; about 1 . 3 ) then est2 = est2 − 0 . 08 . the estimation of hba1c of a patient based on bd data collected over the first predetermined duration can be accomplished by estimating hba1c using at least one of four predetermined formulae defined as : hba1c = the est2 defined above or as corrected above ; hba1c = 0 . 809098 * bgmm1 + 0 . 064540 * rlo1 − 0 . 151673 * rh1 + 1 . 873325 , wherein bgmm1 is the average bg ( mmol / l ), rlo1 is the low bg index , rhi1 is the high bg index ; hba1c = 0 . 682742 * hba0 + 0 . 054377 * rhi1 + 1 . 553277 , wherein hba0 is a previous reference hba1c reading taken about a second predetermined period or duration prior to the estimate , wherein rhi1 is the high bg index ; or hba1c = 0 . 41046 * bgmm + 4 . 0775 wherein bgmm1 is the average bg ( mmol / l ). the second predetermined duration preferably ranges from about 2 . 5 months to 6 months , and more preferably from about 2 . 5 months to about 3 . 5 months , or as desired . preferably , the validation of the estimate using the sample selection criteria of hba1c estimate is achieved only if the first predetermined duration sample meets at least one of the following four criteria : a test frequency criterion wherein if the first predetermined duration sample contains an average of at least about 1 . 5 tests to about 2 . 5 tests per day ; an alternative test frequency criterion only if the predetermined duration sample contains at least a third predetermined sample period or duration with readings with an average frequency of about 1 . 8 readings / day ( or other desired average frequency ); a randomness of data criterion - 1 wherein the hba1c estimate is validated or displayed only if the ratio ( rlo1 / rhi1 is ≧ about 0 . 005 ), wherein : rlo1 is the low bg index , rhi1 is the high bg index ; and a randomness of data criterion wherein hba1c estimate is validated or displayed only if the ratio ( n06 ≧ about 3 %), and wherein n06 is the percentage of readings during the night . the third predetermined duration is preferably at least 35 days and preferably ranges from about 35 days to about 40 days , or from about 35 days to about as long as the first predetermined duration , or as desired . program 112 preferably controls processing station 106 to perform one or more steps in accordance with the present invention . program 112 preferably utilizes standard user interfaces ( e . g . menus and dialogs ) to permit a user to access its functions . program 112 may be written in any computer language as a matter of design choice and may be stored on any computer - readable memory device such as a hard drive coupled with a computer processing unit . program 112 preferably includes an analysis portion and a reporting portion . program 112 may provide access to algorithms for data sorting and analysis as well as expert system tools to help users control processes of program 112 . input data from data sources 102 are incorporated into program 112 then analysis unit analyzes input data to determine if specific exclusion criteria ( see table 1 ) are met . if exclusion criteria are not met , then reporting unit preferably generates a report for a patient or a professional user ( e . g ., a physician , a diabetes educator , or a nurse ), as will be described below . if exclusion criteria are met , then computer program 112 preferably sends to visual display 110 of processing station 106 and / or the metering system a text message that indicates why a report was not generated . for example , a report would not be generated if too few blood glucose test results were recorded and stored within processing station 106 during a specific time period . a report is preferably generated when all desired exclusion criteria are not met and includes an estimated hba1c level calculated as described previously . the estimated hba1c level may range from about 4 percent to about 12 percent . table 1 comprises a list of exclusion criteria that a patient or professional user can define ( left column ) or that can be set by the manufacturer ( right column ). fig2 is an exemplary output 200 generated for glycemic control that may be sent to a visual display 110 of processing station 106 and / or a metering system by program 112 in accordance with the present invention . output 200 , as shown , includes a graphical form 202 and , optionally , a tabular form 204 . graphical form 202 preferably reports the variability indices 208 as a function of the corresponding estimated hba1c levels 206 as calculated by program 112 . graphical form 202 , as shown , includes three regions : a target zone 210 , a cautionary zone 212 , and a danger zone 214 . regions of graphical form 202 may be colored to provide ease of use for a patient or professional user . target zone 210 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 4 percent to about 7 percent and variability ranging from about 0 mg / dl to about 25 mg / dl . cautionary zone 212 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 7 percent to about 8 percent and variability ranging from about 25 mg / dl to about 75 mg / dl . danger zone 214 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 8 percent to about 12 percent and variability ranging from about 75 mg / dl to about 125 mg / dl . if a result is in danger zone 214 , the patient should follow the advice of their physician to reduce the variability and the hba1c level . if both the hba1c level and variability are high , the patient may want to try to reduce variability first , because some of the intensive programs to reduce the hba1c level incite more variability . to reduce variability the patient may attempt to identify more variable periods of the day and determine what their diabetes management behavior is at that time . for example if they are highly variable after exercising they may want to test more at that time or change the kind of exercise they are doing . similarly , they may be highly variable because they are eating a meal for which they cannot quantify carbohydrates properly , in which case they should choose a food that is easier to quantify such that they can more easily calculate the amount of insulin to take . tabular form 204 preferably provides a numeric value for each of the current and previous estimated hba1c levels 216 , 218 , respectively , and variability indices 220 , 222 respectively . tabular form 204 may be color coded similarly to regions of graphical form 202 to provide ease of use for a patient or professional user . estimated hba1c levels and variability indices are preferably calculated on a weekly and / or a monthly basis . a patient or professional user may set the specific day on which program 112 calculates the hba1c levels and variability index . referring to fig2 , for exemplary purposes only , graphical form includes a current data point 224 and a previous data point 226 that is listed in tabular form 204 . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary sequence of steps of a method for using program 112 in accordance with the present invention . method 300 includes first providing computer system 100 as described above with respect to fig1 and 2 and as set forth in step 310 . the provided computer system 100 preferably includes a method for inputting , processing , and reporting information associated with diabetes management , as will be described below . during method 300 , blood glucose test results are preferably integrated ( e . g . uploaded or accessed ) into program 112 . program 112 then analyzes the information using analysis portion and reports results using reporting portion , as will be described below . next , a plurality of blood glucose data collected over a predetermined period of time is loaded into the computer system 100 as set forth by step 320 . any blood glucose metering system that includes a date and time stamp record with each blood glucose test can be used as a data source 102 to collect the plurality of blood glucose data and transferred via a communications link 104 to a process station 106 that includes program 112 . program 112 can also be incorporated into any blood glucose metering system that is capable of recording a time and date with a blood glucose test result . program 112 then preferably analyzes the plurality of blood glucose data to estimate idiosyncratic hba1c levels and to provide idiosyncratic variability index of glycemia as set forth by step 330 . at periodic intervals , for example , weekly or monthly , as set by a patient or professional user , program 112 computes an estimate of an idiosyncratic hba1c level based on inputted blood glucose data for the preceding period . program 112 also preferably computes an idiosyncratic variability index as determined by a professional user . finally , program 112 preferably compares variability indices as a function of hba1c levels and optionally generates a table as set forth by step 340 and as illustrated by fig2 . program 112 preferably sends output 200 to visual display 110 of processing station 106 for a user to see . output 200 may include a graphical form 202 and a tabular form 204 . graphical form 202 preferably includes three regions : a target zone 210 , a cautionary zone 212 , and a danger zone 214 . regions of graphical form 202 may be colored to provide ease of use for a patient or professional user . target zone 210 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 4 percent to about 7 percent and variability ranging from about 0 mg / dl to about 25 mg / dl . cautionary zone 212 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 7 percent to about 8 percent and variability ranging from about 25 mg / dl to about 75 mg / dl . danger zone 214 is preferably defined as hba1c levels ranging from about 8 percent to about 12 percent and variability ranging from about 75 mg / dl to about 125 mg / dl . tabular form 204 preferably provides a numeric value for each of the current and previous estimated hba1c levels 216 , 218 , respectively , and variability indices 220 , 222 respectively . tabular form 204 may be color coded similarly to regions of graphical form 202 to provide ease of use for a patient or professional user . estimated hba1c levels and variability indices are preferably calculated on a weekly and / or a monthly basis but any desired time period can be used . the present invention has now been described with reference to several embodiments thereof . the entire disclosure of any patent or patent application identified herein is hereby incorporated by reference . the foregoing detailed description and examples have been given for clarity of understanding only . no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes can be made in the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention . thus , the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the structures described herein , but only by the structures described by the language of the claims and the equivalents of those structures . | 6Physics
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the inventors identified and developed a series of alloy compositions that exhibited preferred magnetic characteristics and had low impurity levels . the alloy compositions of the invention form ordered compounds having l1 0 or l1 2 type crystalline structures . in addition , the oxygen and sulfur content of the alloy compositions was significantly reduced . table 1 summarizes the relevant compositional and structural data for the alloy compositions of the present invention . specifically , table 1 identifies the ordered phase symbol , the structure designation , the composition range in which the phase of interest exists , and the compositional range in which the phase of interest could coexist with other phase types . the phase symbols used in table 1 were obtained from phase diagrams found in binary phase diagrams , 2nd edition ( thaddeus b . massalski , ed .). the first group of alloys listed in table 1 comprises mn alloys which exhibit l1 0 or l1 2 crystalline structures . these mn alloys possess antiferromagnetic properties desirable for thin film materials used in magnetic data storage and mram applications . specifically , these mn alloys are of interest for use in anisotropic magnetoresistive ( amr ) and giant magnetoresistive ( gmr ) spin - valve sensors used in high - density recording . these mn alloys are also of interest since the alloy constituents used with mn are lower cost materials than those typically used , such as pt , pd , ir or rh . examples 1 and 2 below describe mn — ni alloys and an mn — in alloy , respectively , according to the present invention . a series of three ni — mn melt tests were conducted . the melt charge compositions for each of the tests are shown below in table 2 . the melt charge compositions were made using 99 . 95 % pure ni shots and 99 . 9 % pure mn flakes . in the first melt test , an alloy ingot was directly solidified in an mgo crucible . in the second and third melt tests , the alloys were melted and cast into graphite molds . the graphite molds were bn sprayed and pre - heated to 500 f . in a separate furnace prior to being installed in a vim unit chamber . for all three melt tests , the vim unit chamber was evacuated to about 0 . 05 mbar in preparation for the melting operation . the melting operation for all three tests was performed by powering the vim unit to 5 kw for 20 minutes and increasing the power by 5 kw every 5 minutes for an additional 20 minutes . once the mn flakes began melting , the vim unit chamber was back filled with argon to a pressure of about 40 mbar for the first test . for the second and third tests , the vim unit chamber was subsequently back filled with argon to 500 mbar at 25 minutes and then to 700 mbar at 37 minutes . samples of the alloys were prepared from the bulk of the ingots for analyzing chemical composition . inspection of the mgo crucible and the graphite molds after the ingots were turned out revealed no noticeable signs of erosion . fig1 and 2 are optical micrographs depicting the microstructures of the as - cast ni40mn at . % alloy and the as - cast ni30mn at . % alloy , respectively . the results of the chemical analysis of the alloy samples from the three melt tests are shown below in table 3 . as shown in table 3 , each of the three melted alloys were sufficiently deoxidized , with none of the oxygen levels exceeding 100 ppm . comparing the oxygen levels of the first and second melt tests with that of the third melt tests reveals that ce also contributes to the deoxidization of the alloy compositions . furthermore , with a measured sulfur content of the mn flakes being around 300 ppm , the data shown in table 3 indicate that casi 2 also plays a role in the desulfurization of the alloy melts . in table 3 , “/” indicates that no measurement was taken for the particular element and “ 0 ” indicates that the particular element was not detected . a melt test was conducted using 2427 grams of 99 . 9 % pure mn flakes and 5073 grams of 99 . 9 % pure in rods . in addition to the mn and in constituents , 25 grams of casi 2 and 10 grams of ce were added as deoxidizers . the melt charge was preheated to 500 f . under a 0 . 07 mbar partial vacuum in an mgo crucible within a vim unit chamber . the vim unit chamber was then back filled with argon to 500 mbar and the melt charge melted by applying 5 kw to the vim unit for 20 minutes and increasing the power by 5 kw every 5 minutes for an additional 20 minutes . the melt charge was then cast into a graphite mold . fig3 is an sem micrograph depicting the microstructure of the as - cast in50mn at . % alloy . the microstructure depicted in this micrograph consists of three phases : a light indium matrix , an ( in , mn ) solid solution shown as a light gray phase , and an inmn 3 compound shown as dark gray grains . the black spots in the micrograph are pores . the chemical composition of the as - cast material was analyzed , the results of which are shown below in table 4 . also included in the alloys described in table 1 are fe and co alloys . in these alloys , fe or co is combined with either pt or pd to form the alloy composition . these alloy compositions are of interest for future generations of recording media using vertical recording technology , which are expected to reach a capacity of 200 gb or more . these alloy compositions are of particular interest for forming magnetic hard layers for which a high anisotropic constant ( k μ & gt ; 10 7 j . m − 1 ) can be achieved . example 3 below describes one example of an fe — pt alloy composition . a melt test was conducted using 13 . 500 kg of 99 . 9 % pure pt shots and 4 . 724 kg of 99 . 97 % pure electrolytic fe flake . 91 g (˜ 0 . 50 wt . %) of casi 2 was added to the melt charge for deoxidation . the charge was arranged in a magnesia crucible with alternate layers of pt and fe with the casi 2 equally distributed between the layers . the vim unit chamber was sealed and a vacuum drawn to an initial level of 0 . 07 mbar . the chamber was then back filled with argon and maintained at 500 mbar pressure during melting and casting . the melt was performed by powering the vim unit to 5 kw for 20 minutes and then increasing the power by 5 kw every 5 minutes for an additional 20 minutes . the mold system was a graphite shell 8 . 00 ″ wide , 15 . 00 ″ long and 0 . 60 ″ thick . fig4 is an optical micrograph depicting the microstructure of the as - cast fe45pt at . % alloy . the microstructure consists of heavily twinned grains of the single - phase fept described in table 1 above . the twinned grains attribute to lattice distortion during the transformation of ( γfe , pt ) fcc solid solution into tetragonal fept at 1300 c . the chemical composition of the as - cast material was analyzed , the results of which are shown below in table 5 . the foregoing examples are intended to illustrate examples of alloy compositions according to the present invention . these examples are not intended to limit the scope and the invention , which should be interpreted from the claims set forth below . while the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and / or other examples , it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples , and that they may be applied in numerous applications , only some of which have been described herein . | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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hereinafter , embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . the disclosure may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein . rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art . in the drawings , the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity , and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like elements . fig1 a and 1b are views schematically illustrating a coil device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 a and 1b , the coil device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment may include a case 110 and a coil part 120 . the case 110 may have a reception space therein and may include a first case face 111 and a second case face 112 to vary the area of a charging area . the charging area may be varied by varying the area of the case . although only one first side 111 and only one second case face 112 are shown in the drawing , the numbers of the case faces are not limited to one . in the reception space of the case 110 , the coil part 120 may be formed . the coil part 120 may have a coil body formed of a predetermined conductor . the coil body may be formed by bending the conductor into various shapes , such as spiral shape and a meandering line shape . although in the drawings , the coil part 120 is depicted as having a spiral shape , the shape of the coil part 120 is not limited thereto and may have various shapes as necessary . as shown fig1 b , at least one second case face 112 may be extended from the first case face 111 so as to vary the area of the case , and accordingly , the gap between the conductors of the coil part 120 in the reception space of the case 110 may vary in width . that is , the coil part 120 may include a first coil block 121 accommodated in the first case face 111 , and at least one second coil block 122 accommodated in the second case face 112 . the second coil block 122 is electrically connected to the first coil block 121 , and when the second case face 112 lies on , is stacked on or slides in the first case face 111 , the area of the case is reduced , so that the second coil block 122 and the first coil block 121 may form a single coil body . when the second case face 112 is extended from the first case face 111 such that the area of the case is enlarged , the second coil block 122 and the first coil block 121 may have respective coil bodies , which are predetermined . for example , as shown , the second coil block 122 may form a coil body having a spiral shape together with the first coil block 121 , each of the second coil block 122 and the first coil block 121 may form a coil body having a spiral shape . to this end , a coil connection part 123 having variable length may be formed between the second coil block 122 and the first coil block 121 . fig2 a and 2b are views schematically illustrating a coil device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 a , when the area of the case is reduced , the area of the case may be reduced in a folding manner , such as that a second case face 112 may be folded over or stacked on a first case face 111 . further , the area of the case face may be enlarged when the second case face 112 is unfolded . to this end , a folding portion may be formed between the first case face 111 and the second case face 112 . referring to fig2 b , the area of the case may be enlarged in a sliding manner such as that the second case face 112 may slide out of and be extended from the first case face 111 . further , the second case face 112 may slide into the first case face , such that the area of the case may be reduced . fig3 a , 3 b , 4 a and 4 b are views schematically illustrating the configuration of a wireless power transmitter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig3 a , 3 b , 4 a and 4 b , the wireless power transmitter according to the exemplary embodiment may include a case 210 , a coil part 220 , and a power supplying unit 230 . the case 210 and the coil part 220 of the wireless power transmitter 200 in this exemplary embodiment are identical to those described above with respect to the coil device 100 , and redundant descriptions will not be repeated hereinafter . when the area of the case 210 is enlarged , however , instead of widening the gap between turns of the coil of the coil part 220 , the area of the region in which the coil of the coil part 220 is located is enlarged accordingly , and devices a and b are placed on the first and second case faces 211 and 212 of the case 210 , respectively , such that power from the power supplying unit 230 is wirelessly transmitted to the at least two devices a and b , allowing for wireless charging thereof . when the area of the case 210 is reduced , the area of the region where the coil of the coil part 220 is located is also reduced or the gap of the coil is narrowed , such that power may be concentrated on the device a . accordingly , the single device a may be wirelessly supplied with power to be rapidly charged . the power supplying unit 230 may supply power to the devices a and b using the coil part 220 through magnetic inductance or magnetic resonance . when power is supplied though magnetic resonance , the power supplying unit 230 may include a power conversion unit 231 , a control unit 232 , and a driving unit 233 . the power conversion unit 231 may convert an ac power into a predetermined dc power . the driving unit 233 may drive the coil part 220 so that the dc power from the power conversion unit 231 is transmitted using the coil part through magnetic resonance . the control unit 232 may detect the voltage applied to the coil part 220 and the current flowing in the coil part 220 so as to adjust the electrical energy . fig5 a through 5d are views schematically illustrating a wireless power receiver according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig5 a through 5d , the wireless power receiver according to the exemplary embodiment may include a case 310 , a coil part 320 , and a transmission unit 330 . the case 310 and the coil part 320 of the wireless power receiver 300 in this exemplary embodiment is identical to those described above with respect to the coil device 100 , and redundant descriptions will not be repeated . when the area of the case 310 is enlarged , however , instead of widening the gap between turns of the coil 320 , the area of the region in which the coil of the coil part 220 is located is enlarged accordingly , such that a large amount of power may be wirelessly received when the wireless power receiver 300 wirelessly receives power from a power transmission device 1000 having a relatively large area . on the contrary , when the area of the case 310 is reduced , the area of the region in which the coil of the coil part 220 is located is reduced accordingly , but the gap between turns of the coil is narrowed , so that the transmitted power may be concentrated . if the case 310 is a case of a mobile phone , for example , the coil part 320 may consist of first and second coil blocks 321 and 322 on the front side 311 and rear side 312 of the case of the mobile phone , respectively , such that power is wirelessly received to be transmitted to the device a through the transmission unit 330 . as set forth above , according to exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , several devices may be charged wirelessly and simultaneously or a single device may be wirelessly charged with concentrated power . further , the coil device is implemented in a folding manner or a sliding manner , such that an electronic device employing it may be convenient to carry and use . while exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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although the invention can be carried out in many other ways , the invention will be fully understood from an explanation of its implementation as a modification of a hinge - lid cigarette packer which is commercially available from molins limited of saunderton , high wycombe , bucks , england . similarly , although the invention is applicable to cigarette packs having other shapes such as square - cornered packs , the invention will be fully understood from the following explanation of its application to cigarette packs having rounded corners . a molins hinge - lid cigarette packer 10 which has been modified in accordance with this invention is shown in fig1 . innerframe material 22 is fed into packer 10 in a continuous strip from supply reel 20 . in head 30 this strip is scored longitudinally in each of four laterally spaced regions 32a - d which will correspond respectively to the four rounded corners of the finished pack . multiple closely spaced score lines are provided in each of regions 32 . the scored strip is then cut or substantially cut transversely as at 34 to define the top and bottom of each innerframe blank 40 . a typical blank 40 is shown in more detail in fig2 and includes front panel 42 , side panels 44a and 44b , and rear flaps 46a and 46b . rear flap 46a is joined to side panel 44a by scored region 32a . side panel 44a is joined to front panel 42 by scored region 32b . front panel 42 is joined to side panel 44b by scored region 32c . and side panel 44b is joined to rear flap 46b by scored region 32d . the stream of scored and cut blanks from head 30 is fed to preformer 50 . preformer 50 -- which may be constructed as shown in concurrently filed , commonly assigned u . s . pat . application ser . no . 585 , 224 , which is hereby incorporated by reference herein -- bends each blank 40 so that the preformed blanks 40a exit from preformer 50 with the generally c - shaped cross section shown in fig3 . conveyor 60 conveys the preformed blanks around to the cigarette bundle line which will now be described . cigarettes ready for bundling and packing are supplied to conventional bundler 80 from conventional cigarette hopper 70 . bundler 80 assembles the appropriate number of cigarettes ( e . g ., 20 ) into appropriately sized and shaped bundles 82 which are then conveyed one after another to conventional wrapper 90 . wrapper 90 wraps each bundle in foil to produce foil - wrapped bundles 92 which are then conveyed to the junction of the bundle line with conveyor 60 . note that at this junction the bed 100 on which the cigarette bundles 92 are travelling is below conveyor 60 . note also that the rear of each bundle ( in the finished packs ) rests on bed 100 . at the end of conveyor 60 adjacent to the cigarette bundle line , conveyor 60 conveys each preformed innerframe blank 40a so that it moves as though passing circumferentially over the surface of a drum whose longitudinal axis is indicated by the line 62 ( see also fig9 ). this causes each blank to turn over so that the previously upstanding arms of the c - shape ( as in fig3 ) now project downwardly . at least along this portion of conveyor 60 , the arms of each blank are held apart by guides 64 . motion of the blanks about axis 62 also causes each blank to begin to move in the same direction as the cigarette bundles on bed 100 . the spacing and synchronization between the cigarette bundles on bed 100 and the preformed blanks on conveyor 60 are such that an innerframe is thereby deposited on the front of each cigarette bundle . at this point conveyor 60 releases the innerframe so that it can continue to travel along bed 100 with the associated bundle . the region of bed 100 indicated generally by bracket 102 in fig1 and 9 is shown in more detail ( with conveyor 60 removed ) in fig4 . bed 100 may have a central longitudinal slot 104 for allowing a pusher 120 ( shown only in fig9 ), which pushes bundle 92 ( and later bundle 92 and innerframe 40a ) along the bed , to be driven from below the bed . in addition , bed 100 has two other generally longitudinal slots 106a and 106b disposed symmetrically on each side of the central longitudinal axis of the bed . in the upstream region ( where the sectional view shown in fig5 is taken ) slots 106 are relatively wide and relatively widely spaced from one another transverse to the longitudinal axis of the bed . in particular , in this region slots 106 are below the side walls of bundle 92 . as shown in fig5 this allows the arms of the c - shaped innerframe 40a to hang down below the upper surface of bed 100 when the innerframe is first applied to the bundle by conveyor 60 . downstream from section 5 -- 5 , slots 106a and 106b -- and especially the upper outside edges 108a and 108b of those slots -- begin to converge toward one another in the direction in which the bundle and innerframe are moved along bed 100 . as a consequence of this convergence and the movement of the bundle and innerframe along bed 100 , edges 108 soon begin to contact the arms of the innerframe and to pull innerframe side walls 44a and 44b in against the associated side surfaces of the bundle . this is shown in fig6 . note also in fig6 that at about section 6 -- 6 the underside of bed 100 on the side of each slot opposite edges 108 begins to be undercut as at 110a and 110b to allow rear flaps 46a and 46 b to begin to fold up toward the rear surface of bundle 92 . as bundle 92 and innerframe 40a continue to move along bed 100 , and as edges 108a and 108b continue to converge , edges 108 begin to push rear flaps 46a and 46b up against the rear of bundle 92 as shown in fig7 . finally , rear flaps 46a and 46b are completely up against the rear surface of the bundle as shown in fig8 and slots 106 are no longer needed . accordingly , slots 106 end just upstream of section 8 -- 8 . to ensure that the downstream ends of slots 106 do not snag the leading end of bundle 92 , the downstream ends of the slots may be angled or ramped up to the top surface of bed 100 as shown at 112a and 112b in fig4 . returning to fig1 after leaving above - described region 102 , each bundle 92 and its completely applied innerframe are conveyed on to further conventional apparatus ( not shown ) which wraps an outer member around the bundle and innerframe to produce a substantially finished cigarette pack . it will b understood that the foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention , and that various modifications can be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . for example , although innerframe 40a is shown having rounded corners , a single score line at each corner 32 , rather than several closely spaced score lines as shown in the drawings , will tend to produce a square - cornered innerframe . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 shows a cross - sectional view of a plasma reactor 10 for etching substrates . as shown in fig1 , the reactor 10 includes a plasma processing chamber 12 , an antenna disposed above the chamber 12 to generate plasma , which is implemented by a planar coil 16 . the rf coil 16 is typically energized by an rf generator 18 via a matching network ( not shown ). within chamber 12 , there is provided a gas distribution plate or showerhead 14 , which preferably includes a plurality of holes for releasing gaseous source materials , e . g ., the etchant source gases , into the rf - induced plasma region between the showerhead 14 and a semiconductor substrate or wafer 30 . it can be appreciated that the top of the chamber 12 can be designed to replace the showerhead 14 with various types of plasma generating sources such as capacitive coupled , inductive coupled , microwave , magnetron , helicon , or other suitable plasma generating equipment , wherein the showerhead is a showerhead electrode . the gaseous source materials may also be released from ports built into the walls of chamber 12 . etchant source chemicals include , for example , halogens such as cl 2 and bcl 3 when etching through aluminum or one of its alloys . other etchant chemicals ( e . g ., ch 4 , hbr , hcl , chcl 3 ) as well as polymer forming species such as hydrocarbons , fluorocarbons , and hydro - fluorocarbons for side - wall passivation may also be used . these gases may be employed along with optional inert and / or nonreactive gases . if desired , the chamber 12 can include additional plasma generating sources ( e . g ., one or more inductively - coupled coils , electron - cyclotron resonance ( ecr ), helicon or magnetron type ). in use , a wafer 30 is introduced into chamber 12 defined by chamber walls 32 and disposed on a substrate support or electrode assembly 100 , which acts as a lower second electrode , or cathode . it can be appreciated that this lower electrode or electrode assembly can be a bottom electrode of a capacitively coupled plasma reactor or a bottom electrode of an inductively coupled or microwave powered plasma reactor . the wafer 30 is preferably biased by a radio frequency generator 24 ( also typically via a matching network ). the wafer 30 can comprise a plurality of integrated circuits ( ics ) fabricated thereon . the ics , for example , can include logic devices such as plas , fpgas and asics or memory devices such as random access memories ( rams ), dynamic rams ( drams ), synchronous drams ( sdrams ), or read only memories ( roms ). when the rf power is applied , reactive species ( formed from the source gas ) etch exposed surfaces of the wafer 30 . the by - products , which may be volatile , are then exhausted through an exit port 26 . after processing is complete , the wafer 30 can be diced to separate the ics into individual chips . the plasma exposed surfaces of any plasma confinement apparatus ( not shown ), chamber wall 32 , chamber liner ( not shown ) and / or showerhead 14 can be provided with a plasma sprayed coating 20 with surface roughness characteristics that promote polymer adhesion . in addition , plasma exposed surfaces of the substrate support 28 can also be provided with a plasma sprayed coating ( not shown ). in this manner , substantially all surfaces that confine the plasma will have surface roughness characteristics that promote polymer adhesion . in this manner , particulate contamination inside the reactor can be substantially reduced . it can be appreciated that the reactor 10 can also be used for oxide etch processes . in oxide etch processing , the gas distribution plate is a circular plate situated directly below the window which is also the vacuum sealing surface at the top of the reactor 10 in a plane above and parallel to a semiconductor substrate or wafer 30 . the gas distribution ring feeds gas from a source into the volume defined by the gas distribution plate . the gas distribution plate contains an array of holes of a specified diameter which extend through the plate . the spatial distribution of the holes through the gas distribution plate can be varied to optimize etch uniformity of the layers to be etched , e . g ., a photoresist layer , a silicon dioxide layer and an underlayer material on the wafer . the cross - sectional shape of the gas distribution plate can be varied to manipulate the distribution of rf power into the plasma in the reactor 10 . the gas distribution plate material is made from a dielectric material to enable coupling of this rf power through the gas distribution plate into the reactor . further , it is desirable for the material of the gas distribution plate to be highly resistant to chemical sputter - etching in environments such as oxygen or a hydro - fluorocarbon gas plasma in order to avoid breakdown and the resultant particle generation associated therewith . an exemplary parallel - plate plasma reactor 10 that can be used is a dual - frequency plasma etch reactor ( see , e . g ., commonly - owned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 090 , 304 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety ). in such reactors , etching gas can be supplied to a showerhead electrode 14 from a gas supply and plasma can be generated in the reactor by supplying rf energy at different frequencies from two rf sources to the showerhead electrode and / or a bottom electrode . alternatively , the showerhead electrode 14 can be electrically grounded and rf energy at two different frequencies can be supplied to the bottom electrode . fig2 shows a perspective view of a substrate support comprising an electrode assembly 100 according to one embodiment . the electrode assembly 100 comprises an upper member 110 attached to a lower member 120 . the electrode assembly 100 is adapted to be situated within a process chamber of a semiconductor wafer processing system such as , for example , a plasma processing chamber as shown in fig1 . as shown in fig2 , in one embodiment , the upper member 110 comprises an upper plate 112 having a lower flange 114 at the base of the plate 112 . the upper member 110 is preferably a circular plate ; however , the upper member 110 can be configured in other suitable shapes or designs , such as rectangular for flat panel displays . the upper member 110 comprises a lower surface 116 adapted to be bonded to a lower member 120 and an upper surface 118 configured to be bonded to a substrate support member 190 ( fig1 ). the upper member 110 preferably consists of an electrode comprised of a metallic material , such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy . however , the upper member 110 can be comprised of any suitable metallic , ceramic , electrically conductive and / or dielectric material . in addition , the upper member 110 preferably has a uniform thickness from the center to the outer edge or diameter thereof . the lower member 120 is preferably a circular plate having an upper surface 126 and lower surface 128 . however , it can be appreciated that the lower member 120 can be configured in suitable shapes other than circular . the upper surface 126 is adapted to bond to the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 . in one embodiment , the lower member 120 can be configured to provide temperature control ( e . g ., the lower member 120 can include fluid channels therein through which a temperature controlled liquid can be circulated ) to the electrode assembly 100 . in an electrode assembly 100 , the lower member 120 is typically a substrate base plate , of metallic material , and serves as a substrate , a mechanical support , a vacuum seal , isolating the chamber interior from the environment surrounding the chamber , thermal heat sink , rf conductor or combination thereof . in another embodiment , the upper surface 126 of the lower member 120 further comprises a raised plate in the form of a pedestal 124 . the pedestal 124 has a uniform thickness and is configured to support the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 . the pedestal 124 is preferably machined or otherwise formed into an upper surface 125 of the lower member 120 . however , other suitable methods of manufacturing can be implemented . the lower member 120 preferably comprises an anodized aluminum or aluminum alloy . however , it can be appreciated that any suitable material , including metallic , ceramic , electrically conductive and dielectric materials can be used . in one embodiment , the lower member 120 is formed from an anodized machined aluminum block . alternatively , the lower member 120 could be of ceramic material with one or more electrodes located therein and / or on an upper surface thereof . the outer diameter of the lower flange 114 of the upper member 110 is preferably less than the outer diameter of the lower member 120 . however , it can be appreciated that the outer diameter of the lower flange 114 can be equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the lower member 120 . in addition , if the lower member 120 further includes pedestal 124 , the outer diameter of the lower flange 114 of the upper member 110 is preferably less than the outer diameter of the pedestal 124 of the lower member 120 . the lower flange 114 is adapted to receive a protective ring 150 . the outer diameter of the upper member 110 is preferably smaller than the lower flange 114 for ease of positioning the protective ring 150 around the outer periphery of the lower flange 114 . the difference in the outer diameter of the upper member 110 and the lower flange 114 allows for clearance of the protective ring during positioning of the protective ring 150 . it can be appreciated that the lower flange 114 is optional and the upper member 110 can be designed without a lower flange 114 . fig3 shows a perspective view of the upper member 110 bonded to the lower member 120 . as shown in fig3 , a bond layer 130 bonds the upper member 110 to the lower member 120 . the bond layer 130 is preferably formed from a low modulus material such as an elastomer silicone or silicone rubber material . however , any suitable bonding material can be used . it can be appreciated that the thickness of the bond layer 130 can vary depending on the desired heat transfer coefficient . thus , the thickness thereof is adapted to provide a desired heat transfer coefficient based on manufacturing tolerances of the bond layer . typically , the bond layer 130 will vary over its applied area by plus or minus a specified variable . typically , if the bond layer is at most 1 . 5 percent plus or minus the thickness thereof , the heat transfer coefficient between the upper and lower member 110 , 120 will be uniform . for example , for an electrode assembly 100 used in the semiconductor industry , the bond layer 130 preferably has a chemical structure that can withstand a wide range of temperatures . thus , it can be appreciated that the low modulus material can comprise any suitable material , such as a polymeric material compatible with a vacuum environment and resistant to thermal degradation at high temperatures ( e . g ., up to 500 ° c .). however , these bond layer material ( s ) are typically not resistant to the reactive etching chemistry of semi - conductor plasma processing reactors and must , therefore , be protected to accomplish a useful part lifetime . fig4 shows a cross sectional view of a portion of the electrode assembly 100 having an optional heating arrangement 132 bonded to the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 . the heating arrangement 132 can comprise a laminate border to the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 . for example , heating arrangement 132 can be in the form of a foil laminate comprising a first insulation layer 134 ( e . g ., dielectric layer ), a heating layer 136 ( e . g ., one or more strips of electrically resistive material ) and a second insulation layer 138 ( e . g ., dielectric layer ). the first and second insulation layers 134 , 138 preferably consist of materials having the ability to maintain its physical , electrical and mechanical properties over a wide temperature range including resistance to corrosive gases in a plasma environment such as kapton ® or other suitable polyimide films . the heating layer 136 preferably consists of a high strength alloy such as inconel ® or other suitable alloy or anti - corrosion and resistive heating materials . in one embodiment , the upper member 110 comprises a heating element 132 in the form of a thin laminate comprising a first insulation layer 134 of kapton ®, patterned together and a heating element 136 of inconel ®, and a second insulation layer 138 of kapton bonded to the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 . typically , the heating element 132 in the form of a laminate of kapton , inconel and kapton will be between about 0 . 005 to about 0 . 009 of an inch and more preferably about 0 . 007 of an inch thick . as shown in fig4 , the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 and / or the heating element 132 is bonded to the upper surface 126 of the lower member 120 . in one embodiment , the lower surface 116 of the upper member 110 , which comprises the lower flange 114 of the upper member 110 , has an outer diameter , which is slightly less than the outer diameter of the upper surface 126 of the lower member 120 or pedestal 124 of the lower member 120 . in one embodiment , the electrode assembly 100 can include a bond layer 130 of silicone between the upper member 110 and the lower member 120 of between about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 050 of an inch thick and more preferably about 0 . 003 to about 0 . 030 of an inch thick . in addition , as shown in fig4 , an adhesive is applied at locations 140 to attach a protective ring 150 ( fig5 ) to an outer periphery ( lower vertical surface ) 142 of the lower flange 114 of the upper member 110 and an upper periphery 126 ( horizontal upper surface ) of the lower member 120 . as shown in fig4 , the adhesive is applied to the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 and to an upper periphery 144 of the lower member 120 . the adhesive preferably consists of an epoxy or other suitable adhesive material that can be used in environments directly exposed to plasma . the adhesive forms a seal extending between and securing the protective ring 150 to the upper and lower members 110 , 120 . it can be appreciated that the protective ring 150 can be locked into place or secured to the upper and lower members 110 , 120 by additional features such as grooves or slots . the protective ring 150 preferably is constructed of a polymer such as a fluorocarbon polymer material such as teflon ® ( ptfe - polytetrafluoroethylene , manufactured by dupont ®). however , any suitable material including plastic or polymeric materials , perfluoroalkoxy ( pfa ), fluorinated polymers , and polyimides can be used . the protective ring 150 is preferably comprised of a material having a high chemical resistance , low and high temperature capability , resistance to plasma erosion in plasma reactor , low friction , and electrical and thermal insulation properties . fig5 shows a perspective view of the protective ring 150 prior to installation or positioning of the ring 150 around the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 and the upper periphery 144 of the lower member 120 . the protective ring 150 preferably consists of a fluorocarbon polymer material ring , which is heat expanded prior to installation . a temperature - controlled oven , hot plate or other suitable method can perform the heating of the protective ring 150 . the heating of the protective ring 150 expands the protective ring 150 for ease of installation , to improve the adhesive properties of the protective ring 150 and shrink fitting of the protective ring 150 around the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 . in addition , it can be appreciated that the protective ring 150 is preferably heated to a desirable temperature based on the thermal expansion and operating temperatures experienced by the protective ring 150 during processing of semiconductor substrates supported on the upper member 110 . for example , in one embodiment , based on the thermal expansion properties and operating temperature of a fluorocarbon - based polymer , such as teflon ®, the protective ring 150 made of teflon is preferably exposed to a temperature of 60 ° c . or less . however , the material of each protective ring 150 will have a preferable temperature range for thermal expansion . thus , the heating of the ring 150 will be chosen based on the selected material and operating temperature cycle in the chamber . in addition , it can be appreciated that the protective ring 150 can be preheated , chemically treated , and / or include plasma treating to create an irregular or rough surface , to improve the adhesive qualities of the protective ring 150 . the pretreatment can improve adhesion of the ring to the upper and lower members and / or condition the plasma exposed surfaces to improve adhesion to polymer by - product build - up thereon during use thereof in a plasma reactor . fig6 shows a perspective view of the protective ring 150 of fig5 positioned around the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 . as shown in fig5 , the protective ring 150 is positioned around the bottom vertical periphery 142 of the upper member 110 and to the upper periphery 144 of the lower member 120 . the curing or shrink fitting of the protective ring 150 shrinks the ring 150 towards its original shape and secures the ring 150 via a compression ( shrink ) fit to the upper and lower members 110 , 120 . in one embodiment , a fluorocarbon - based polymer protective ring 150 , such as teflon is preferably heated to a temperature of at less than 60 ° c . the protective teflon ring 150 is preferably heated to approximately 50 to 60 ° c . and more preferably to approximately 60 ° c . the heating of the protective ring 150 before installation allows for ease of placement of the protective ring 150 around the upper and lower members 110 , 120 . in addition , in one embodiment , the adhesive at locations 140 is in the form of an epoxy , which is cured to a fluorocarbon - based polymer protective ring 150 at a temperature of approximately 90 to 110 ° c ., and more preferably at approximately 100 ° c . fig7 shows a perspective view of a portion of the electrode assembly 100 of fig6 , along line 7 - 7 , including the ring 150 that protects bonding layer 130 and heating element 132 . as shown in fig7 , the electrode assembly 100 comprises the heating element 110 , the lower member 120 , a bond layer 130 , an adhesive layer at location 140 and a protective ring 150 . the adhesive layer 140 is preferably an epoxy , an acrylic , elastomer or other suitable material having physical properties adapted to withstand the operating temperature ranges in which the assembly 100 is likely to experience . in one embodiment , the adhesive layer 140 in the form of an epoxy is positioned on the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 and to an upper periphery 144 of the lower member 120 . as shown in fig7 , the protective ring 150 preferably includes an inner and outer chamfered lower surface 151 , 152 . the inner and outer chamfered lower surface 151 , 152 allow the lower edge of protective ring to sit flush on the lower member 120 . in addition , the inner chamfered surface 151 provides a volume or area for epoxy to help secure the protective ring 150 to the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 and the upper periphery 144 of the lower member 120 . the outer chamfered lower surface 152 enables machining of the protective ring 150 without interruption of the integrity of the lower member 120 . fig8 shows a perspective view of a portion of the electrode assembly 100 of fig7 after machining of the heating element 110 , the lower member 120 and the protective ring 150 . as shown in fig8 , the upper member 110 , the lower member 120 and the protective ring 150 are preferably machined to a uniform diameter . optionally , in a further embodiment as shown in fig8 , the protective ring 150 can include a groove 160 machined or otherwise formed into an upper or top surface 170 of the protective ring 150 . the groove 160 is preferably machined into the protective ring 150 after the protective ring 150 is positioned around the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 . alternatively , the groove 160 can be machined into the protective ring 150 before installation or positioning of the ring 150 around the outer periphery 142 of the upper member 110 . the groove 160 can be filled with adhesive to thereby improve adhesion between the upper member 110 and the protective ring 150 with the wafer overlying support member 190 . fig9 shows a cross sectional view of the electrode assembly 100 after machining of the protective ring 150 . as shown in fig9 , the groove 160 preferably has a square cross section with an equal width 174 and height 176 . for example , for a 200 mm diameter electrode assembly 100 having an outer diameter 172 of 7 . 726 inches , the protective ring 150 preferably has a groove 160 having a width 174 of 0 . 010 inches and a height 176 of 0 . 010 inches . however , it can be appreciated that the width 174 and depth 176 of the groove 160 can have any desired cross sectional shape . for square grooves , the dimensions of the groove 160 including the width 174 and depth 176 can vary depending on the diameter or size ( i . e ., 200 mm , 300 mm , etc .) of the electrode assembly 110 , specified for the diameter of the wafer to be processed . fig1 shows a perspective view of a portion of the electrode assembly 100 after machining to a final width dimension . as shown in fig1 , a wafer or substrate support member 190 is bonded to the upper surface 118 of the upper member 110 . the wafer support member 190 preferably consists of a ceramic or an electrically conductive material such as a planar silicon ( e . g ., single crystal silicon ), graphite or silicon carbide electrode disc having uniform thickness from the center to the outer edge thereof . as shown in fig1 , the support member 190 can also include a chamfered outer edge 192 . the support member 190 ( plastic ) is preferably bonded to the upper surface 118 of the heating element 110 with another bond layer 180 . the bond layer 180 is preferably a low modulus material such as silicone or silicone rubber . the bond layer 180 preferably has a chemical structure that can withstand a wide range of temperature extremes , and can include polymeric materials compatible with a vacuum environment and resistant to thermal degradation at high temperatures . it can be appreciated that the methods and apparatus described herein can be applied to various electrode assemblies 100 including both 200 mm ( 7 . 87402 inches ) and 300 mm ( 11 . 811 inches ) diameter electrode assemblies 100 . for example , the protective ring 150 for a 200 mm electrode assembly 100 will comprise an original protective ring 150 having an inner diameter at room temperature of approximately 193 . 802 mm ( 7 . 63 inches ), an expanded ring inner diameter ( at 60 ° c .) of approximately 194 . 818 mm ( 7 . 67 inches ) and a shrink ring fit diameter at room temperature of approximately 194 . 564 mm ( 7 . 66 inches ). for a 300 mm diameter electrode assembly 100 , the original protective ring 150 inner diameter at room temperature will be approximately 292 . 608 mm ( 11 . 52 inches ), an expanded ring inner diameter ( at 60 ° c .) of approximately 293 . 878 ( 11 . 57 inches ) and a shrink ring fit diameter at room temperature of approximately 293 . 624 mm ( 11 . 56 inches ). for example , a fluorocarbon - based polymer protective ring 150 for a 200 mm electrode assembly 100 will expand approximately 0 . 889 mm ( 0 . 035 inches ) when heated to 60 ° c ., with a fluorocarbon - based polymer protective ring 150 for 300 mm diameter electrode assembly 100 expanding approximately 1 . 3462 mm ( 0 . 053 inches ) when heated to 60 ° c . in a preferred embodiment , the electrode assembly 100 is an electrostatic chuck ( esc ) useful for clamping substrates such as semiconductor wafers during processing thereof in a vacuum processing chamber for semiconductor fabrication , e . g ., a plasma reactor such as a plasma etch reactor . the esc can be a mono - polar or a bi - polar design . the electrode assembly 100 , however , can be used for other purposes such as clamping substrates during chemical vapor deposition , sputtering , ion implantation , resist stripping , etc . it can be appreciated that the electrode assembly 100 can be installed in any new processing chamber suitable for plasma processing semiconductor substrates or used to retrofit existing processing chambers . it should be appreciated that in a specific system , the specific shape of the upper member 110 , the lower member 120 and the support plate 190 may vary depending on the arrangement of chuck , substrate and / or others . therefore , the exact shape of the upper member 110 , the lower member 120 and the support plate 190 as shown in fig2 - 10 are shown for illustration purposes only and are not limiting in any way . although the present invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions , deletions , modifications , and substitutions not specifically described can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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with reference to the figure , a solid state memory 2 comprising a microprocessor 3 and a plurality of physical blocks of memory 41 , 42 , . . . , 76 , . . . . is schematically shown . hereafter in the description , for indicating the memory 2 the term “ memory unit ” is also used , meaning that the memory 2 comprises also the microprocessor and a support media layer . for example , the memory may be a sim card for a cell phone , suitable for storing a telephone number and the user &# 39 ; s personal information , for example , a telephone index , messages , short message service ( sms ), multimedia messaging service ( mms ), pictures or documents . without limiting the scope of protection , the memory can also be a micro - sd for an ipod ™ or a universal serial bus ( usb ) memory that can be interfaced with a personal computer . each physical block 41 , 42 , 43 , . . . is identified by a respective numeric address , that can be used by a reading device for accessing the data of the memory . in particular , the input / output ( i / o ) circuitry of the memory manages the addresses of the physical blocks and the transfer of the data to the device , as well as the control of the errors ( error checking ) of addressing or of transfer . the physical blocks are associated with logic files or virtual files of the memory , i . e . with files that can be identified via a user interface of the device suitable for reading the memory . some specific physical blocks of the memory are involved in the identification of a code for accessing or unlocking of the content of the memory itself . in particular , the microprocessor 3 interprets a predetermined sequence of requests for access to physical blocks of the memory like a password for access to its content . more specifically , the microprocessor 3 controls the requests for access to the physical blocks 41 , 42 , 43 , . . . and allows the reading of the remaining content of the memory only after verification of the occurrence of the specific sequence of requests for access to physical blocks . in other words , if the device is connected to the memory for accessing the contents , the microprocessor prevents its access until the predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access to physical blocks occurs . this predetermined sequence corresponds to a predetermined sequence 2 . x , 7 . x , 6 . x , a . x of requests for access to logic or virtual file ( s ) 1 . x - 9 . x , a . x - z . x ( shown as reference numeral 6 in the figure ) of the memory that can be selected by the device and can be seen by the user . for example , the method provides that a sequence of n requests for access to the files of a compilation are executed via the interface of an ipod ™ able to scroll the music files , in predetermined sequence , before the music files are effectively made accessible by the ipod ™ device for reproduction . by way of example , the method provides that n files are selected by a solid state memory of the use type , in predetermined sequence , via a mouse and a relative personal computer that displays , with a known application of exploration of the resources , the list of the files of the memory usb . in all these cases it is the microprocessor of the solid state memory that determines the effective access to the content of the memory and interprets the request for access to the file associated with the sequence as a step of a procedure of authentication of the user . for the device , the selection of a file associated with the predetermined sequence or of a file not associated therewith , i . e . any other file requested by the user , occurs without any operative difference . according to an aspect , it is provided that the files that can be selected by the user and associated with the physical blocks of the memory are generated by the memory itself as virtual files . for example , a solid state memory for the storage of sound files , can automatically generate the virtual files 1 . mp3 , 2 . mp3 . . . 9 . mp3 and / or a . mp3 , b . mp3 , . . . z . mp3 etc . these files can be selected by an audio reader device , as normal sound files . the content of the virtual files does not necessarily conform to that of the other files but nothing prevents it , for example , virtual files with extension . mp3 . preferably , the insertion of the sequence of requests for access is executed by reproducing an alphanumeric and mnemonic pin , corresponding to the concatenation of the filename of the files whose access is requested , in the predetermined sequence . in an embodiment , the microprocessor does not allow access to the actual content of the stored files if the predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access to the physical blocks does not occur . the sequence may be verified starting from the activation of the solid state memory , as a pin for access to the memory . advantageously , the pin may not be stored in the memory but associated with the sequence of requests for access to the physical blocks . once the sequence is verified , all the content of the memory may be readable , through the device associated therewith . this first verification constitutes a first level of protection for the memory . according to another aspect , if the sequence of the requests executed is correct , at least part of the content of the memory is further protected , thus supplying a second level of protection for the memory . in particular , a further protection of some files of the memory is provided . if the device requests the access to these files , indicated hereafter in the description as further protected files 12 , the microprocessor 3 verifies a further predetermined sequence 44 , 44 , 48 of requests for access to physical blocks , this further sequence being stored in a configuration file 5 of the solid state memory . the configuration file comprises , for example , a table that associates a further predetermined sequence 44 , 44 , 48 with each identifier of the files 12 . according to another aspect , only part of the content of the memory is protected and the access to it is conditioned when a predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 or 44 , 44 , 48 of requests for access occurs . the remaining part of the memory can be accessed without the sequence occurring . in case the predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access or the further predetermined sequence 44 , 44 , 48 does not occur , several forms of protection of the content of the memory are provided including blocking access to the memory or in modifying its actual content . in an embodiment , it is , for example , provided that the microprocessor disables the i / o interface of the device . in another embodiment , it is provided that the microprocessor transfers cryptographic data x 11 , x 12 , in response to the request of files 11 or of further protected files 12 by the requesting device . the cryptography can be executed subsequent to the verification of the predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access and on all the data 1 of the memory , if the predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access does not occur , or subsequent to the verification of the further predetermined sequence ( 44 , 44 , 48 ) of requests for access and only on the further protected files 12 , if the further predetermined sequence 44 , 44 , 48 of requests for access does not occur . according to another embodiment , the files transferred in plain format from the device to the memory , are saved in the memory in the cryptographic format and the configuration file comprises a de - cryptography key that is used by the microprocessor of the memory only subsequent to the verification of a correct sequence of requests for access to physical blocks of memory , for decrypting the file and returning them back in plain format to the requesting device . according to another embodiment , when the configuration file is written or overwritten , the files of the user referenced by the above configuration file , whose content was previously stored in plain format , are subjected to ciphering according to the instructions and the keys contained in the configuration file . preferably , the configuration file is in xml format . advantageously the configuration file can be protected so that it is never possible to read its content . according to this aspect , when the physical blocks associated with the configuration file are accessed , the microprocessor of the memory support gives back other data instead of the real content of the file . according to the approach of the present embodiments , the technical problem is addressed also by a solid state memory unit comprising a memory and a microprocessor . the microprocessor of the memory comprises a controller of the requests for access to the physical blocks 41 , 42 , 43 , . . . of the memory , and is programmed for transferring an actual file 11 of the memory , requested by a requesting device , only subsequent to a verification of a predetermined sequence 42 , 47 , 46 , 50 of requests for access to physical blocks , each physical block corresponding to a file 1 . x , 2 . x , . . . , 9 . x , a . x , b . x , . . . , z . x that can be selected by the device . this file 1 . x , 2 . x , . . . , 9 . x , a . x , b . x , . . . , z . x can be a logic or virtual file . preferably , the name 1 , 2 , . . . , 9 , a , b , . . . , z of the predetermined files 1 . x , 2 . x , . . . , 9 . x , a . x , b . x , . . . , z . x corresponds to a respective numeric 1 , 2 , . . . , 9 or alphabetic a , b , . . . , z character and the predetermined files h . x , e . x , l . x , l . x , o . x corresponding to the sequence form a pin , for example ‘ hello ’, of access to the memory . the predetermined files ( 1 . x , 2 . x , . . . , 9 . x , a . x , b . x , . . . , z . x ) are read only files , so that it is always possible to insert the pin from the device . according to a preferred embodiment , the controller , in the presence of the predetermined sequence of requests for access sends on the i / o interface of the memory the files h . x , e . x , l . x , l . x , o . x corresponding to the pin ‘ hello ’, for giving back the file to the user as confirmation of access to the data . preferably the files are of the audio type and , after the verification of the pin , a sound file is reproduced . according to an embodiment , the solid state memory comprises also a generator of multimedia data that are given back to the external device at the access of particular files , for example , the files h . x , e . x , l . x , l . x , o . x that constitute the pin as confirmation of the introduction of the file . the controller , in the absence of the predetermined sequence of requests for access , sends the data to the device in ciphered format , according to what is described in the above described method . in particular , it is provided that the data are stored in ciphered format in the memory and that the controller is programmed for sending the data in plain format to the device , only in the presence of the predetermined sequence of requests for access . according to an embodiment , the generator of multimedia data generates data relative to a message for informing the user that it is necessary to specify a correct sequence or that the sequence already specified is not correct . the data relative to this message are given back to the device at the access of any file subjected to the protection . the memory also comprises a configuration file ( config . xml ) that stores a list of files or data to be protected and corresponding sequences h . x , e . x , l . x , l . x , o . x of files 1 . x , 2 . x , . . . , 9 . x , a . x , b . x , . . . , z . x of the memory . hereafter some advantageous examples are described of the application of the method and of the card according to the present embodiments . the owner of the solid state memory can store a file of his or her own , of any format , for example , a picture , a document , a text , a voice registration , and prevent the access , simply on the basis of a predetermined sequence of requests for the contents of the memory . a supplier of solid state memories comprising music or video files , can ascertain that these contents are accessed only by the effective receiver , who can be supplied with the correct sequence of requests for access that serves as a pin for the memory . a manufacturer of solid state memories can store some promotional contents and supply a buyer with the sequence of requests for access necessary for accessing the promotional contents . a record company can sell a compilation of pieces on a solid state memory and insert some promotional pieces belonging to another compilation , supplying the user in private and under specific contract conditions with the pin to be used as a sequence of requests for access for listening to the promotional pieces . this disclosure describes an intrinsic safety mechanism for the solid state memory , i . e . a mechanism that is installed on board the memory and autonomously able to protect its content . the protection of the data of the memory is independent from the software available on the device , and , thus , is active also when the device is devoid of programs for the insertion or the removal of passwords such as winzip ™, word ™ or of cryptography programs , such as pretty good privacy ( pgp ). moreover , the protection is also active when the solid state memory is removably transferred from one reading device to another . finally , the insertion of the sequence of requests for access corresponding to the protection pin of the solid state memory can be executed by any device able to communicate with the memory , also if this reader is devoid of an alphanumeric interface for the insertion of alphanumeric characters . | 6Physics
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some embodiments will be described with emphasis laid on the contrast with peg so as to explain the present invention in further detail . 10 g each of ibuprofen and naproxen , both acidic medicines , was partially neutralized with a potassium hydroxide solution in peg 400 and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid easter (&# 34 ; polysorbate &# 34 ; in japanese pharmacopcia ; trade name : tween ) and the solubilities of these medicines were measured . it is possible as shown in table 1 to increase the solubility of the medicine . table 1______________________________________ tween 80 ( this peg 400 ( control ) invention solubil - solubil - unit dose ity capsule ity capsulemedicine ( mg ) (%) size (%) size______________________________________ibuprofen 150 25 11 75 4naproxen 100 15 18 55 4______________________________________ ibuprofen in various polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester solutions ( tween ) was partially neutralized with an alkaline solution and preserved at 105 ° c . for 44 hours . the amount of ester produced between the acidic medicine and the solvent and the content of the remaining ibuprofen were measured and compared with those in the case where peg is used instead of pose . it is shown in table 2 that the formation rate of ester can be made lower than that in the case where peg is used as solvent . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ control sample this invention a b c d e f g h__________________________________________________________________________ibuprofen 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200peg 400 250 125 125 0 0 0 0 0peg 1500 0 125 0 125 0 0 0 0tween 20 0 0 0 0 250 0 0 0tween 40 0 0 0 0 0 250 0 0tween 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 250 0tween 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 250propylene glycol 0 0 125 125 0 0 0 0naoh 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12pufified water 51 51 51 51 51 51 51 51total content 513 513 513 513 513 513 513 513 ( mg ) alkali n / e 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 0 . 29 after after after after after after after after treated treated treated treated treated treated treated treat - edpeg ester (%) 8 . 5 7 . 5 2 . 8 1 . 4 nd nd nd ndpg ester (%) nd nd 13 . 1 11 . 2 nd nd nd ndibuprofen (%) 90 . 5 90 . 3 83 . 0 85 . 7 93 . 8 94 . 0 94 . 1 94 . 8__________________________________________________________________________ after treated . . . value determined after preserved at 105 ° c . fo 44 hours nd : not detected naproxen in various polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester solutions was partially neutralized with an alkaline solution and preserved at 105 ° c . for 44 hours . the amount of ester produced between the acidic medicine and the solvent and the content of the remaining naproxen were measured to be compared with those in the case where peg is used . it is shown in table 3 that the formation rate of ester can be made lower than that in the case where peg is used as solvent . table 3__________________________________________________________________________ control samples this invention i j k l m n o p__________________________________________________________________________naproxen 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100peg 600 168 0 0 0 0 0 0 0peg 400 0 168 166 168 0 0 0 0tween 20 0 0 0 0 209 0 0 0tween 40 0 0 0 0 0 209 0 0tween 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 209 0tween 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 209koh 11 12 0 12 12 12 12 12naoh 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0purified water 11 12 17 12 12 12 12 12total content ( mg ) 290 292 291 292 333 333 333 333alkali n / e 0 . 47 0 . 49 0 . 47 0 . 49 0 . 49 0 . 49 0 . 49 0 . 49 after after after after after after after after treat - treat - treat - treat - treat - treat - treated treat - ed ed ed ed ed ed edpeg ester (%) 4 . 6 7 . 4 6 . 1 5 . 1 nd nd nd ndnaproxen (%) 95 . 4 92 . 6 93 . 9 93 . 9 97 . 4 98 . 1 98 . 3 98 . 5__________________________________________________________________________ after treated . . . value determined after preserved at 105 ° c . fo 44 hours nd : not detected ibuprofen dissolved separate in three kinds of solvents -- two kinds of polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester ( tween 20 and tween 80 ) and polyethylene glycol -- was partially neutralized ( 0 . 3 - 0 . 4 m / e ) with alkaline solutions and the obtained solutions were encapsulated into soft capsules whose shell films are made of 100 parts gelatin , 35 parts glycerin and 15 parts sorbitol using a rotary soft - capsule filling machine , producing each capsule whose fill weight is approximately 390 mg . it was found in these capsules preserved at 40 ° c . for 6 months that the formation rate of ester is lower in the capsules filled with pose than in those filled with peg . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ no 1 no 2 no 3 no 4 no 5 no 6 no 7 no 8 no 9__________________________________________________________________________formulationibuprofen 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155peg 400 95 95 95 95 171 95 95 0 0peg 1500 95 95 95 95 19 0 0 0 0tween 20 0 0 0 0 0 95 0 190 0tween 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 95 0 190naoh 9 0 9 0 9 9 9 0 0koh 0 13 0 13 0 0 0 13 13fill quantity 385 389 385 389 385 385 385 389 389 ( ag ) stability testresults (%) 1 month 50 ° c . 91 . 0 94 . 1 97 . 4 96 . 8 95 . 5 96 . 1 97 . 3 99 . 8 101 . 33 mths room 96 . 7 94 . 8 98 . 1 97 . 4 98 . 1 99 . 3 98 . 7 99 . 5 99 . 4temp . 3 months 40 ° c . 94 . 8 94 . 8 94 . 8 94 . 8 94 . 2 96 . 7 96 . 8 98 . 2 98 . 16 mths room 96 . 7 96 . 1 95 . 5 94 . 8 95 . 5 99 . 3 96 . 1 99 . 9 100 . 6temp . 6 months 40 ° c . 92 . 8 93 . 5 92 . 9 91 . 6 89 . 7 92 . 8 95 . 5 97 . 2 97 . 4change in ester formation with time (%) amount of esterafter preservedat 40 ° c . for 3mthsglycerin ester 2 . 1 2 . 3 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 4 1 . 8 1 . 8 1 . 7pbg ester 1 . 7 1 . 7 1 . 8 1 . 6 1 . 8 1 . 1 1 . 1 0 . 0 0 . 0amount of esterafter preservedat 40 ° c . for 6monthsglycerin ester 2 . 1 2 . 5 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 5 1 . 8 1 . 8 1 . 8pbg ester 1 . 1 1 . 6 1 . 9 1 . 8 1 . 8 1 . 5 1 . 5 0 . 0 0 . 0__________________________________________________________________________ naproxen separately dissolved in three kinds of solvents -- two kinds of pose ( tween 20 , tween 80 ) and peg -- was partially neutralized with alkaline solutions and the obtained solutions were encapsulated into soft capsules whose shell films are made of 100 parts gelatin , 30 parts glycerin and 15 parts sorbitol using a rotary soft - capsule filling machine , producing each capsule whose fill weight is approximately 574 mg . it was found in these capsules preserved for 4 months at 40 ° c . that the formation rate of ester is lower in the capsules filled with pose than those in peg . table 5______________________________________ no 1 no 2 no 3 no 4______________________________________formulationnaproxen 200 200 200 200peg 400 330 165 0 0peg 1500 0 165 0 0tween 20 0 0 330 0tween 80 0 0 0 330koh 22 22 22 13purified water 22 22 22 31fill quantity ( mg ) 574 574 574 574results ofstability test (%) 1 mth 50 ° c . 98 . 3 98 . 5 99 . 1 99 . 33 mths room 99 . 6 99 . 5 99 . 9 99 . 9 temp . 3 mths 40 ° c . 98 . 9 99 . 1 99 . 6 99 . 76 mths room 99 . 8 99 . 3 99 . 7 99 . 7 temp . 6 mths 40 ° c . 97 . 3 97 . 6 98 . 9 99 . 2______________________________________ | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the modifier “ about ” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context ( e . g ., includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity ). “ optional ” or “ optionally ” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur , or that the subsequently identified material may or may not be present , and that the description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs or where the material is present , and instances where the event or circumstance does not occur or the material is not present . crudes and crude blends are used interchangeably and each are intended to include both a single crude and blends of crudes . a method and system is taught for evaluating crudes and crude blends , specifically , characterizing the impact of various constituents of the crudes on fouling of heat exchangers and recommending optimal chemical treatments to minimize the fouling and thereby reduce the rate of decrease in the furnace inlet temperature . the system and method of the invention is described herein with reference to fig1 and 2 . with reference to fig1 , there is shown a block diagram of one embodiment of the system for detecting the parameters of the crudes , predicting the performance of the heat exchange network and proposing the chemical treatment as designated generally by reference numeral 100 . the system 100 comprises a property database 106 , more particularly known as a hot liquid process simulator (“ hlps ”) which stores a massive amount of data , including experimental data , relating to different types of crudes 102 , their characterizations , operating and refinery conditions under which the crudes were processed along with any associated processing difficulties and / or performance or risk parameters , and laboratory simulation data . the method and system use the data as the basis for at least one predictive performance model and / or at least one risk assessment model designed to optimize the blend composition , the chemical treatment and / or the operating conditions 120 of the heat exchange network . the information contained in the database comprises crude information 102 , which is obtained as shown in fig2 . the information detected from each crude 202 is provided , along with the particular crude blend 201 , at which point a determination is made as to whether or not the blend is compatible 204 with the particular refinery and product requirements . if it is determined that the crude is compatible , then the information proceeds to the database . if the determination is no , then it is suggested not to use the crude 205 . this crude information 102 is then stored in the hlps database 106 . lab scale studies can be conducted to determine the particular parameters for individual crudes . the properties are then later estimated for the blend having different crudes in known quantities . the parameters thus extracted are then corrected for the operating conditions specific to the refinery and used in the fouling rate predictive engine 108 in a subsequent step . one step in the methodology encompasses the means to identify and detect parameters of the fouling propensity model 110 . this step primarily seeks to detect the fouling propensity of individual crude samples , which will then be used to predict the fouling tendency 112 of the crude blends incorporating said particular crude . two operating conditions which impact the rate of fouling are the surface or skin temperature and the velocity of the crude through the heat exchangers . additional parameters that optimally may be considered in this step are the mass transfer characteristics , the reactive nature of the foulant species in the crude , and the bulk surface temperature . the data on the crudes can be also be used for defining and recommending compatible blend ratios , as well as optimal blends dependent on the operating conditions of a particular refinery . further included in the system 100 is the predictive engine 108 used to predict the performance of the heat exchanger network . fig2 shows a block diagram depicting one embodiment of the overall system 200 for the crude preheat train fouling prediction framework . as discussed above , the crude information 102 corresponding to a particular crude or crude blend is input to determine compatibility . if compatibility is found , then the crude information 102 proceeds to the hlps database 106 . that information will then be used to predict the performance of individual exchangers by subjecting the data to the fouling propensity model 110 , which will evaluate the fouling propensity of each exchanger in the network 112 and the exchangers will be qualified . they will be indicated as a ) exchangers that will have accelerated fouling ; b ) exchangers that could be marginally at the risk of accelerated fouling ; and c ) exchangers which will not be significantly affected . the predictive engine 108 will then be able to use the compiled information to determine the future fouling trend for each of the exchangers and subsequently for the entire heat exchange network . the key parameters used in the model are the diffusion coefficient , foulant concentration , reaction rate constant and the activation energy . this information is compiled and provided , along with additional data , as refinery conditions 101 . thus , this framework provides for the prediction of furnace inlet temperature as a function of the crude or crude blend being processed . in addition , the information on the crudes and the predictive engine 108 can be used to define optimal processing conditions , namely the surface temperature and velocity of the crudes so as to lower the fouling rate of individual heat exchangers in the network . the third step or tier in this method or system is the chose of operating conditions and application of chemical treatment to optimize the processing of the crudes and minimize the risk of fouling of the heat exchangers and the overall network . taking into account the information on the crudes and the prediction of fouling as determined in the above tiers or steps , the refinery can determine the optimal dosage of chemical treatment , and performance paramameters 120 . this is done by quantifying the impact of different chemicals on the crudes and on their fouling potential , and enabling the selection of the best possible treatment to mitigate the performance degradation of the heat exchange network . therefore , the improvement in the performance through the appropriate chemistry is quantified , and the dosage of the chemicals is optimized depending on the crude being processed . ultimately , the model enables the refinery to quantify the savings with and without treatment of the crudes . by assessing different crudes and crude blends , this system provides for a risk assessment of using the cheaper crudes . the optimal dosage of chemicals can be predetermined and therefore the corresponding cost of such is known prior to using the crudes , as is the detrimental or fouling effect of the crudes on the heat exchange network , thereby allowing for the risk assessment as to the fouling of the network and any corresponding shortening of life of the equipment . in order to more clearly illustrate this invention , the data set forth below were developed . the following examples are included as being illustrations of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope thereof . a lab scale experiment to run the crude and crude blends through an electrically heated exchanger was set up . a detailed first principle fouling model for the lab scale studies was formulated . an analysis was conducted to run the experiments to capture the effect of temperature , composition and the impact of chemicals . see table i below . the experiments were run for different blanc crudes and crude blends at different surface temperatures . the experiments were then repeated with an addition of chemicals to the same blanc crudes . parameters of the fouling model were extracted for the runs . a first principle based on fouling rate model was formulated for a scaled - up heat exchanger which involved the effect of shear due to turbulence . the parameters derived above were used in the fouling rate model for one of the beta sites where exchangers were classified as high risk , medium risk and low risk exchangers . the details are given in fig1 a . while typical embodiments have been set forth for the purpose of illustration , the foregoing descriptions should not be deemed to be a limitation on the scope herein . it is apparent that numerous other forms and modifications of this invention will occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope herein . the appended claims and these embodiments should be construed to cover all such obvious forms and modifications that are within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 6Physics
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the failure mechanisms of composite repairs include ingress of water / oxygen under the wrap causing further corrosion / degradation of the asset , dis - bonding of the wrap from the asset which can reduce the ability of the asset to retain pressure and / or enable water / oxygen ingress . continued corrosion / degradation of the asset can exist in combination with , or in the absence of the problems mentioned above . the following information can be of relevance in determining whether or not a composite repaired asset or composite structure ( e . g . pipe or vessel section having composite repair thereon ) is fit for service : confirmation that the degradation of the asset under the wrapped area remains within acceptable limits ; evidence that wrap is bonded to the asset , and evidence that layers of wrap are bonded to each other conventional nondestructive testing ( ndt ) methods each have limits which can make them unsuitable to obtain such information . for instance , ultrasonic testing , typically used to determine wall thicknesses , is limited by the poor ultrasonic transmission properties of composite wrap material . radiography ( e . g . profile and double wall single image digital radiography ) can be useful on small diameter piping , but otherwise has very limited accuracy in providing information about shape and approximate depths of defects under the repaired area . magnetic particle , liquid penetrant testing and eddy current testing solutions are all ineffective to quantify wall loss under the composite material . a compton scattering inspection device technology has recently been developed , as presented in international patent publication wo 2014 / 124 , 522 , the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference . compton scattering inspection devices , including the example referred to above , can be embodied as computed tomography devices in which case they can be referred to as backscatter computed tomography ( bct ) apparatus . other types of compton scattering inspection device may be used . fig1 a shows an example of a composite structure 100 , in accordance with an embodiment . the illustrated composite structure 100 is a metal pipe 102 covered by a composite wrap repair 104 . the composite wrap repair 104 is shown to cover an area of severe degradation 106 of the metal pipe 102 . as shown , the surface of the metal pipe 102 is damaged and has a wall having a reduced wall thickness . fig1 b shows an enlarged view of the area of severe degradation 106 and a remaining wall thickness 108 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 a - b , the area of severe degradation 106 has a defect which is embodied in the form of an expanding portion of the composite wrap repair 104 which compensates for the defect of the metal pipe 102 and which allows the defect to go relatively unnoticed from the outside . in another embodiment , such as the one shown in fig3 , the area of severe degradation 106 has a defect which creates a void space between the composite wrap repair 104 and the metal pipe 102 . the area of severe degradation can include other types of defects . referring back to fig1 a , there is shown a compton scattering inspection device 110 and a computer 112 configured to communicate data with one another . in this embodiment , during use , the compton scattering inspection device 110 is configured to be received against the metal pipe 102 so that the compton scattering inspection device 110 projects a beam of radiation particles ( i . e . radiation that behaves as a particle ), such as gamma - rays , x - rays and neutrons , towards and across the composite wrap repair 104 of the metal pipe 102 . backscattered photons , typically referred to as compton scattering radiation , are then detected in order to generate the compton scattering data . the number of backscattered photons detected is determined so as to obtain a statistically meaningful number of photons while maintaining a practical size , weight and speed for portable use with industrial facilities . the beam can be a pencil beam , a cone beam , and any suitable beam . in this embodiment , the computer 112 is shown to be connected to the compton scattering inspection device 110 via a wireless or a wired connection 115 . the computer 112 typically has a processor , a memory , a communication port and other components deemed suitable to process , store and / or communicate data during use . in another embodiment , the computer 112 and the compton scattering inspection device 110 are provided in the form of a single device . referring now to fig2 , the compton scattering inspection device 110 and the computer 112 can be used to measure the remaining wall thickness 108 of the area of severe degradation 106 in accordance with the method shown at 200 . more specifically , the method 200 has a step 202 of operating the compton scattering inspection device 110 onto the area of severe degradation 106 , across the composite wrap repair 104 , in a manner to acquire an actual outer wall position data 114 , which is best seen in fig1 b . the method 200 has a step of measuring , by using the computer 112 , the remaining wall thickness 108 of the area of severe degradation 106 using at least the outer wall position data 114 . the method 200 then has a step of generating , by using the computer 112 , a signal indicative of the remaining wall thickness 108 . once measured , the remaining wall thickness 108 can be used to determine the integrity of the composite structure 100 as a whole , and especially the integrity of the area of severe degradation 106 . in envisaged embodiment , the composite wrap repair 104 can be used as long as the remaining wall thickness 108 is deemed to be safe , thus prolonging the use of the composite wrap repair 104 . performing maintenance of the composite structure 100 can thus be more efficient and less costly . depending on the circumstances , the compton scattering inspection device 110 can be operable to acquire an actual inner wall position data 116 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 a - b , the remaining wall thickness 108 is measured by performing a difference between the actual inner wall position data 116 and the actual outer wall position data 114 . for instance , if the actual inner and outer wall position data 116 and 114 are distances from the compton scattering inspection device 110 , the remaining wall thickness 108 corresponds to the actual inner wall position data 116 minus the actual outer wall position data 114 . for some composite structures , as illustrated in fig3 , the compton scattering inspection device 110 may not be able to acquire the actual inner wall position data , allowing only to acquire the actual outer position data 114 . this can occur when the wall is too thick . in this case , the remaining wall thickness 108 can be measured using a nominal wall thickness 118 of the metal pipe 102 . in an embodiment , the nominal wall thickness 118 is known a priori from a construction specification of the metal pipe 102 and used directly in the calculations . in another embodiment , the nominal wall thickness 118 is measured using either the compton scattering inspection device 110 or an ndt device 400 . an example of the ndt device 400 is an ultrasonic testing ( ut ) device . such ut device provides satisfactory measurements when used on bare and / or clean metal surfaces . measurements of the nominal wall thickness 118 at different positions along the metal pipe 102 can be averaged . methods of measuring the nominal wall thickness 118 can vary . alternatively , the nominal wall thickness 118 can also be measured by the difference of the actual outer wall position data 114 and the actual inner wall position data as measured with the compton scattering inspection device 110 when the thickness of the wall of the metal pipe 102 allows such measurements . in the embodiment shown in fig3 , measuring the remaining wall thickness 108 is performed by operating the compton scattering inspection device 110 at a known distance 120 relative to a virtual unaltered outer wall position data 112 , represented by the dashed line . it will be understood that the unaltered outer wall position data 112 corresponds to the actual outer wall position data 114 when the compton scattering inspection device 110 is operated towards an unaltered area 126 of the metal pipe 102 from the known distance 120 . in this embodiment , the compton scattering inspection device 110 is maintained at the known distance 120 , for instance at position p , using support such as a jig . other ways of maintaining the compton scattering inspection device 110 can also be used . by having the known distance 120 , a pit depth 124 is measured using the computer 112 by performing a difference of the actual outer wall position 114 and the virtual unaltered outer wall position 122 . then , measuring the remaining wall thickness 108 is possible by subtracting the pit depth 124 from the nominal wall thickness 118 . in another embodiment , measuring the remaining wall thickness 108 is performed by the computer 112 using a bct image of the metal pipe 102 . the bct image typically results from the operation of the compton scattering inspection device 110 along a linear section of the metal pipe 102 which includes successively an unaltered area 126 , an area of severe degradation 106 and another unaltered area 126 . for instance , in the case of the area of severe degradation 106 shown in fig3 , operating the compton scattering device 110 along the linear section which is delimited by opposite edges of the composite wrap repair 104 is sufficient . once the bct image of the linear section is obtained , the computer 112 can draw a digital line in the bct image which starts from the unaltered outer wall of the unaltered area 126 and ends to the unaltered outer wall of the other unaltered area 126 , across the area of severe degradation 106 . the measurement of the pit depth 124 can then be performed by measuring the distance between a depth associated with a deepest flawed region and the digital line , perpendicularly therefrom . the linear displacement path of the compton scattering device does not need to be perfectly parallel to the length of the metal pipe 102 . for instance , publication wo 2014 / 124 , 522 discloses a compton scattering device which has means to be displaced linearly along a frame which can be positioned immobile relative to the metal pipe 102 . even if the frame slightly slopes relative to the metal pipe 102 , the displacement path is linear and the measurement can be made . it was found that this bct apparatus has the possibility of penetrating across the composite wrap and obtaining precise information about the wall position underneath it . it was found that using such a bct apparatus in combination with information about the wall thickness outside the composite repair can provide a satisfactorily precise indication of remaining wall thickness to assess the fitness of the asset for service . however , the bct apparatus , at least in its current state of development , has a limited range , and operating it over the entire surface of the composite wrap repair is not considered interesting given the expected amount of time to perform such operation . it was found , however , that simply determining an area in the composite wrap repair where the degradation is most severe , as opposed to precisely measuring a remaining wall thickness , can be suitably performed by another available ndt technique , such as radiography , digital radiography , pulsed eddy current ( e . g . incotest ), etc . accordingly , by combining both techniques , the measuring of the remaining wall thickness can be specifically performed by the bct apparatus at the location of most severe degradation determined using the other technique , which can provide for a satisfactory method overall . moreover , it was found that in many cases , composite wrap failure mechanisms such as dis - bonding between sheets or from the asset , could be satisfactorily evidenced by visual inspection . if areas are suspected , a bond tester ( e . g . an bond tester such as manufactured by elcometer ) can be used to measure adhesion between layers of wrap . a magnetic lift off gauge can be used to measure total wrap thickness . over time this measurement can be compared to a baseline to determine disbonding of layers of wrap , such as would be implied by increased thickness readings over time . this step can be performed by a certified weld inspector ( wcb ) following a standardized visual assessment process . a certified weld inspector because can be familiar with the assets and with typical visual inspection procedures in other contexts and would be able to rely on training and experience to make a judgement . moreover , a visual inspection step can be a useful part of a condition assessment procedure as it could catch flaws that would go undetected by the steps of determining an area of most severe degradation and measuring a thickness of the wall at that area . if a sum of all composite wrap repairs are considered for a large asset ( e . g . offshore platform ), the results of the visual inspection procedure could be combined with a form of ranking system in order to prioritize the set of repairs for more thorough inspection . following visual inspection , an example method of determining an area of most severe degradation from corrosion on the outer surface of a metal pipe covered by a given composite wrap repair , and of measuring the remaining wall thickness at that area of most severe degradation is as follows : using ultrasonic testing , areas outside the wrap repair are tested to determine an average wall thickness value for the nominal wall of the pipe or vessel . dwsi ( double wall single image ) radiography is performed on 360 degrees by a certified technician to provide a full view of the portion of the pipe or vessel covered by the composite wrap repair . the position of the area ( s ) of most severe degradation is determined using this full view . radiographing through both walls can lead to features on the wall nearest the source during scanning being projected onto the film from further away , causing the features to appear larger than they are , being imprecise . it may be required ( via a technician or associated software ) to differentiate between features seen on near wall vs . those seen on far wall and deduce from the radiographs not only the most severe defects but also a position with a satisfactory degree of accuracy . this can be performed as follows : i ) positioning three identification markers 120 degrees apart on the outer diameter of the wrap ( potentially adjust top and bottom of the image to ensure alignment ); ii ) taking a radiograph of all 3 shots and expose the film ; iii ) locating most severely degraded region using contrast meter ; tracing features onto clear plastic film ; iv ) positioning plastic film over asset using alignment markers ; and v ) drawing target scan lines on wrap corresponding to areas of most severe degradation . bct is then applied to the area ( s ) of most severe degradation identified previously using the dwsi , to accurately measure external pit depth associated to the severity of the corrosion - imparted degradation on the external surface of the metal pipe . assuming the integrity of the structure outside the composite repair is unaltered , external pit depth is then subtracted from nominal wall thickness determined from the ultrasonic testing , to determine remaining wall thickness , and a decision can be taken as to the fitness of the structure . as can be understood , the examples described above and illustrated are intended to be exemplary only . for instance , the composite repair can be applied non - removably to a pressure vessel or even a flat metal surface , and can be made of a wide variety of composite materials unremovably ( i . e . difficult or otherwise unpractical to remove and motivating inspection without removal ) adhered to a portion of a metal structure such as a metal pipe , vessel or structure where the target metal structure can continue degrading / eroding / corroding on its outer surface underneath the composite repair . for example , some large metal vessels might be patched with a fiberwrap , or it could be simply an unremovable insulative material or other unremovable compound . alternately to computed tomography where a tomographic slice of compton scattering data is taken , a properly targeted probe at a singular location can be satisfactory in some embodiments , as can be a set of evenly spaced probed measurements . many forms of collection can be used and be considered compton scattering data . the process of identifying the area of severe degradation can be automated more than described above , for instance , and the step of orienting the compton scattering inspection device toward the location of most severe degradation can be performed manually or in an automated manner , for instance . moreover , in an alternate embodiment , where the wall thickness is appropriate to allow the compton scattering inspection device to penetrate entirely across the wall and reach the inner wall , the remaining wall thickness can be determined based on a pre - calibrated correlation between total count of the detected particles and remaining wall thickness . accordingly , the scope is indicated by the appended claims . | 6Physics
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as shown in fig1 , an engine , 10 , has an oil reservoir , 14 , extending below a cylinder block , 28 , and a cylinder head , 26 . a lubrication distribution network , 22 , is connected with an oil pump 18 . those skilled in the art will appreciate in view of this disclosure that oil pump 18 could comprise either a gerotor type pump either driven concentrically by an engine crankshaft , or a gear pump or gerotor pump , typically mounted to the engine &# 39 ; s cylinder block and driven by either a camshaft or another rotating component of the engine , or yet other types of pump arrangements . such detail is committed to those wishing to employ the inventive oil supply system described and claimed herein . the present lubricating oil supply system includes not only oil reservoir 14 , oil pump 18 , and lubrication distribution network 22 , but also a high pressure relief valve , 34 , employed to limit the oil pressure within distribution network 22 to a maximum permissible value . in other words , pressure relief valve 34 clips the oil pressure to a predetermined maximum value . this protects , for example , oil filter 38 from destruction were the oil pressure to be too high during cold operation at higher engine speeds . the present system also includes a control valve , 42 , which is part of a pressure controller . control valve 42 and a low pressure relief valve , 46 , are operatively connected with distribution network 22 downstream from high pressure relief valve 34 and preferably downstream from oil filter 38 . as shown in fig1 , 2 , and 3 , control valve 42 is placed in series with low pressure relief valve 46 . when controller 50 provides an appropriate signal , control valve 42 opens , and the oil pressure within lubrication distribution network 22 is controlled by low pressure relief valve 46 to a lower maximum pressure which is less than the pressure allowed by valve 34 . this is shown in fig3 . in this manner , oil pump 18 is required to do less work because oil is pumped against a lower head . because control valve 42 is normally closed , a loss of signal from controller 50 will merely cause the lubrication system to revert to a maximum pressure system controlled solely by pressure relief valve 34 . this protects the integrity of engine 10 . this state is shown in fig2 . although oil is bypassed at a lower pressure by valves 42 and 46 , adequate oil pressure is provided to cylinder head 26 and to crankshaft bearings 30 because valve 42 is opened by controller 50 only during the several operating regimes in which it is not necessary to provide maximum oil pressure to sustain appropriate engine life . in fact , in many operating regimes such as those characterized by operation at less than half of the engine &# 39 ; s maximum load , oil pressure may be significantly reduced while still providing adequate lubrication to the engine . fig4 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which a proportional control valve , 48 , is operated by controller 50 . as its name implies , valve 48 , working with controller 50 , provides a tailored , but reduced , oil pressure which is intended to increase engine fuel economy by providing no more pressure than is needed to sustain the life of the engine &# 39 ; s bearings and other lubrication using devices . as with the other embodiments of this invention , proportional control valve 48 is a normally closed device , such that if the power fails between controller 50 and valve 48 or the signal is lost , valve 48 will close , thereby allowing the engine to be operated with only relief valve 34 being active , with valve 34 holding the engine oil pressure at a higher safe value . in general , according to a preferred embodiment , controller 50 will operate valve 48 as a function of at least engine operating speed , or at least engine operating speed , oil temperature and engine load . valves 42 , 46 , and 48 , as the case may be , are preferably mounted to an external surface of engine 10 , such as an outer surface of cylinder block 28 . such external mounting is shown in fig1 . this will permit relatively easy access to valves 42 and 46 , or 48 for the purposes of repair or adjustment , without the necessity of removing engine hardware such as the oil pan or front cover . the foregoing invention has been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards , thus the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature . variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the invention . accordingly the scope of legal protection afforded this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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the first with reference to fig1 , a bicycle wheel is generally designated 1 . the wheel 1 has an annular rim 2 , elongate spokes 3 and a central hub 4 . the rim 2 has the form of a circular annulus . the rim 2 defines radially inner 5 and radially outer surfaces as well as side surfaces 7 , 8 . the inner surface 5 defines the inner periphery of the rim 2 , i . e . it faces inwardly , towards the central hub 4 . the outer surface defines the outer periphery of the rim 2 , i . e . it faces outwardly , away from the hub 4 . the side surfaces 7 , 8 of the rim 2 are symmetrical about the plane in which the wheel 1 lies , as shown in fig4 . in particular , the side surfaces 7 , 8 are each curved in a plane orthogonal to that in which the wheel 1 lies , and are generally convex in form . they meet at a point on the inner surface of the rim 2 , in particular , at a radially inner edge of the rim . the side surfaces curve laterally outwards from the base of the rim , and then curve laterally inwards , before meeting at the radially inner edge of the rim . the side surfaces have a smooth configuration , a substantially v - shaped annular channel is provided in the outer periphery of the rim 2 , within which a tire 6 is received . the hub 4 comprises an elongate cylinder 13 . two flanges 14 are provided on the cylinder 13 , one close to each end of the cylinder 13 . each spoke 3 connects to one of the flanges 14 at connection locations on the outward - facing surface of the flange 14 . these connection locations are spaced at regular intervals around the flange 14 . connection formations are provided at these locations which are adapted to connect to corresponding connection formations provided on the spokes 3 . the spokes 3 are elongate metal rods . in the embodiment shown in fig1 to 3 , there are twelve spokes in total . six of the spokes are connected to one of the flanges 14 , and six are connected to the other flange 14 , in an alternating arrangement . as noted above , the flanges 14 are located close to , but not at , the ends of the cylinder 13 . this means that end portions 15 of the cylinder 13 project from the wheel 1 and are adapted to rotatably mount the wheel 1 to the frame of a bicycle . the inner surface 5 of the rim 2 defines a plurality of elevations . these include support elevations 9 , which are located in the region of connection of each spoke with the inner surface 5 . each support elevation 9 connects to a spoke 3 . the elevations also include ancillary elevations 10 , which are located between the support elevations . both support 9 and ancillary 10 elevations have a generally dome - shape configuration . the support elevations 9 and the ancillary elevations 10 cooperate to provide a regularly undulating inner surface of the rim 102 . when the wheel 1 is viewed from the side , as shown in fig1 , it can be seen that the support elevations 9 are slightly raised relative to the ancillary 10 elevations . a second embodiment of a wheel according to the invention is shown in fig5 to 7 , which is generally designated 201 . fig5 shows a bicycle wheel 201 having a rim 202 and hub 204 . the rim 202 has radially inner 205 and outer 206 surfaces , and side surfaces 207 , 208 . as with the first embodiment , the inner surface 205 defines the inner periphery of the rim 202 , i . e ., it faces towards the central hub 204 . the outer surface 206 defines the outer periphery of the rim , i . e ., it faces outwardly , away from the hub 204 . as with the first embodiment , the side surfaces 207 , 208 are symmetrical about the plane in which the wheel 201 lies . the side surfaces 207 , 208 are curved in a plane orthogonal to that in which the wheel 201 lies , such that they meet at an annular edge on the inner surface 205 of the rim 202 . in the example of fig5 to 7 , there are four wide spokes 216 . the spokes connect the inner surface 205 of the rim 202 to the hub 204 . the spokes 216 connect to the inner surface 205 at equally spaced locations along the length of the inner surface 205 . equally spaced recesses 210 are defined in the portions of the inner surface 205 which are located between the points of connection of the inner surface 205 to the spokes 203 . these recesses 210 define a series of undulations , such that , when the wheel is viewed from the side as in fig5 , a continuous profile of elevations 211 and recesses 210 is seen . the heights of the elevations alternate between two slightly different values along the length of the inner surface , as can be seen in fig5 . as discussed above in relation to the first embodiment , this regularly undulating inner surface of a rim 202 has been found to provide aerodynamic advantages . the hub 204 shown in fig5 to 7 comprises a circular disc which is oblate , ie the thickness of the disc is greater at its central region than at its periphery . the hub 204 has curved side surfaces which meet at an annular edge at the periphery of the disc , giving the disc a cigar - shaped cross - section . the hub 204 further defines a central shaft 218 projecting outwardly from the side surfaces of the hub 204 . the shaft 218 is adapted to be rotatably mounted to the frame of a bicycle , for example by being received within corresponding openings in the frame . the spokes 216 connect to the hub 204 at points that are equally spaced about the periphery of the disc . a fourth embodiment of a wheel according to the invention is shown in fig8 , which is generally designated 301 . this differs from the embodiment shown in fig5 to 7 in that undulations 319 are also defined on the spokes 316 . in particular , the undulations 319 are defined on the long edges of the spokes 316 which lie in the plane of the wheel 301 . the undulating surface of the spokes 316 has also been found to provide aerodynamic advantages . a further embodiment of a wheel according to the invention is shown in fig9 to 11 , which is generally designated 101 . the inner surface of the rim 102 defines recesses 110 at regular intervals along its length . the presence of the recesses 110 means that the inner surface 105 defines a plurality of support elevations 111 , each having an angular apex . the profile of the support elevations 111 of the present embodiment is steeper than the profile of the elevations 9 , 10 shown in fig3 . such support elevations 111 are located on either side of each recess 110 . the support elevations 111 are therefore also spaced at regular intervals along the length of the inner surface 105 of the rim 102 . when the wheel 101 is viewed from the side , as shown in fig9 , each recess 110 is symmetrical about a line drawn through the hub 104 and bisecting the two adjacent support elevations 111 . in this embodiment , the recesses 110 in the rim 102 are deeper than in the first embodiment . in addition , the support elevations 111 do not curve smoothly but instead have an angular apex . furthermore , each of the elevations on the inner periphery of the rim is connected to a spoke 103 . in this embodiment , the support elevations 111 offer the advantage of reducing the stress experienced in the rim 102 at the point at which the spoke 103 is mounted . each spoke 103 connects one of the flanges 114 to the apex of one of the support elevations 111 . a connection formation is provided at the apex of each support elevation 111 . this connection formation is adapted to connect to a corresponding connection formation provided on the spoke 103 . in the example shown in fig9 to 11 , each elevation 111 is connected to the opposite flange 114 to its neighboring support elevations 111 . in use , the weight of the frame and rider passes through the hub 104 of each of the bicycle &# 39 ; s wheels 101 . this places stress on the wheel 101 and , in particular , on regions of the rims 102 in the vicinity of the points at which the spokes 103 connect to the inner surface 105 of the rims 102 . owing to the claimed configuration of the wheel , the stresses experienced in those regions are less than those experienced in corresponding regions of wheels 101 that do not have such a configuration . the support elevation 111 for each spoke 103 reduces the stress experienced in the rim 102 at the point at which the spoke 103 is mounted . this means that a smaller quantity of material , or a lighter material , may be used to manufacture a wheel having the same strength as a conventional wheel , thereby reducing the weight of the wheel and possibly also manufacturing costs . alternatively , a wheel may be manufactured having the same weight as conventional wheels , but with greater strength . fig1 shows side views of two conventional wheels , and two wheels according to the invention , which underwent cfd analysis . wheels ( a ) and ( d ) have conventional , non - undulating rims . wheel ( c ) has substantially the same configuration as the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 to 4 . wheel ( b ) has substantially the same configuration as the embodiment of the invention shown in fig9 to 11 . the exterior cross - sectional profile of each rim is shown in fig1 . wheels ( a ) and ( c ) have profile with a greater thickness along the majority of its radial extent , and a radially inner edge with a more rounded form , relative to wheels ( b ) and ( c ). however , each of wheels ( a ) to ( d ) has the same number of spokes and the same hub configuration . furthermore , all spokes present in wheels ( a ) to ( d ) have the same cross - section . this ensures that any differences in results in the cfd analysis results between the wheels are caused by the different rim configurations rather than different spoke or hub configurations . computational fluid dynamics ( cfd ) analysis was carried out on these wheels , at a speed of 15 m / s , and at yaw angles of 0 °, 5 °, 10 °, 15 ° and 20 °. the data for the lift , drag and side forces , the torque , and the center of pressure for each wheel , at each yaw angle , are set out in fig1 . fig1 illustrates the cfd analysis data of fig1 relating to the drag forces across the range of yaw angles tested . wheels ( a ) and ( c ) have the same cross - sectional shape , with the only difference being the undulating configuration of the radially inner edge of wheel ( c ). the cfd data shows that at all of the yaw angles tested , the wheel with the undulating configuration , wheel ( c ), has less drag than the wheel with the conventional , non - undulating configuration , wheel ( a ). similarly , wheels ( b ) and ( d ) have the same cross - sectional shape , with the only difference being the undulating configuration of the radially inner edge of wheel ( b ). the cfd data shows that at yaw angles of 0 - 10 ° at least , the wheel with the undulating configuration , wheel ( b ), has less drag than the wheel with the conventional , non - undulating configuration , wheel ( d ). the cfd data also shows that the least drag is achieved by wheel ( c ), which has an undulating configuration in combination with a more rounded , radially inner edge . fig1 illustrates the cfd analysis data of fig1 relating to the location of the center of pressure across a range of yaw angles . typically , the closer the center of pressure to the hub , the less force causing the front wheel to yaw experienced by the rider . this means the rider need not apply as large a steering input to counteract the effects of this force . the cfd data shows that the wheels that have a more rounded , radially inner edge . wheels ( a ) and ( c ) have a center of pressure that is consistently a short distance to the front of the hub across the range of yaw angles tested . of those wheels , the cfd data shows that at all of the yaw angles tested , the wheel with the undulating configuration , wheel ( c ), has a center of pressure that is closer to the hub than the wheel with the conventional , non - undulating configuration , wheel ( a ), across the range of yaw angles tested . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 presents a section of a sheet metal wheel 1 , such as described in patent ep 0 701 911 b1 . that commercial vehicle wheel 1 , of sheet steel and in a single piece , consists of a disk 2 , of a rim 3 and of a valve ( not represented ). the rim 3 comprises a center mounting groove 31 , two bead seats , outer side 32 and inner side 33 , and two hooks 34 and 35 . the seats are usually inclined at 15 ° relative to the axial direction . the groove 31 is joined to the seat 33 on the side opposite the disk 2 by a flange 40 . on the side of the disk 2 ( or outer side ), from the inner end of the outer seat 32 , there is a hump 36 , a first connecting area 37 , a second connecting area 38 and a flange 39 joined to the mounting groove 31 . the disk - rim connection is made by welding of the end 21 of the disk 2 on the radially inner wall of the second connecting area 38 . the valve hole 41 is situated between the hump 36 and the second disk / rim connecting area 39 in the wall of the first connecting area 37 . the hump diameter is , of course , greater than that of the inner end of the outer seat 32 . this results , as previously explained , in some difficulties in mounting and demounting the tires intended to be mounted on that wheel . fig2 shows a wheel 10 according to the invention . that wheel presents , from the inner end of the outer seat 32 , a cylindrical wall or ledge 42 followed by a first connecting area 37 in which the valve hole is placed . the wall 42 can also be very slightly conical . there is then a second connecting area 38 followed by the outer flange 39 of the mounting groove 31 . the second connecting area 38 is also the area of coupling of the disk to the rim . that area 38 is usually generally cylindrical , and it can also have a more or less marked conicity , which can reach about ten degrees relative to the axial direction . the axial length of that ledge is such that , φ being the standardized diameter according to the etrto of the wheel , and p the axial length of the cylindrical wall 42 , the result is : that wheel also confirms , ø being the diameter of the radially outer wall of the ledge : in the case of a wheel 22 . 5 inches in diameter , that is , 571 . 5 mm , those relations become : p ranges between 5 . 7 and 20 mm and preferably between 7 and 15 mm . those ledge lengths are very notably less than the ones usually applied for commercial vehicle wheels , the valve hole of which crosses the outer flange of the mounting groove , and which have a ledge as a safety element . the length of the ledge of such wheel is usually in the order of 30 to 60 mm for wheels 22 . 5 inches ( 571 . 5 mm ) in diameter . the lengths recommended vary with the diameter of the wheel concerned . the inclination of the rim seats according to the invention is also usually 15 ° relative to the axial direction . wholly unexpectedly , the use of a ledge in the dimensions thus provided afford an unseating prevention performance comparable to that of the previous wheels equipped with a hump . to verify that performance , two tests were conducted with wheels according to the invention . first test : after having mounted a tire dry on the wheel to be tested and inflated the mounted assembly to a given inflation pressure , the mounted assembly ( wheel and tire ) is set in place in the front lefthand position of a commercial vehicle , the load per axle of that truck being 6 . 6 tons for wheels 22 . 5 inches in diameter . the test is run on a concrete track 60 m in diameter . the vehicle enters the track at a speed of 50 km / h and covers two track revolutions at 40 km / h . after those two revolutions , the test is considered positive if the tire remained on its rim . the inflation pressure of the tire is measured after the test . wheels similar to those of fig2 . 5 inches in diameter , containing a cylindrical wall of variable length ( 40 , 30 , 20 and 13 mm ), underwent that first test and all the wheels tested passed it successfully . second test : after having mounted a tire , the bead seats of which are lubricated in standard fashion on the wheel to be tested , and inflated the mounted assembly to a given inflation pressure , the mounted assembly ( wheel and tire ) is placed in the front right - hand position of a commercial vehicle . the test is run on a dry tar track of 20 m diameter . the vehicle enters the track and covers approximately ½ revolution at 40 km / h . the test consists of gradually reducing the inflation pressure of the mounted assembly tested until obtaining unseating of the tire . the limiting inflating pressure having given rise to that unseating of the tire is registered . it is to be noted that the unseating of the tire takes place at the beginning of the circuit . table 1 gives the results obtained for wheels of 17 . 5 × 6 . 00 dimensions equipped with 8 r 17 . 5 tires . taking into account the dispersion of the test , which is in the order of 0 . 2 bar , the unseating prevention performance of those three wheels is equivalent . complementary tests were also run with that test for 22 . 5 × 9 . 00 wheels according to the invention , equipped with tires of different tire makers . comparison of the results obtained between those wheels and the wheels equipped with hump leads to the same conclusion as previously : the unseating prevention performances of the safety elements according to the invention and of the humps are wholly equivalent . fig3 presents a wheel 15 similar to the wheel 10 of fig2 . that section is made in the area of the valve 5 . that area undergoes an operation of punching ( or milling , etc .) of the flange 37 in order to obtain two flat walls on both sides of the valve hole necessary for maintaining good tightness on the internal cavity of the wheel . it is observed that this operation produces a localized deformation of the flange at the place of the valve hole , which results in the appearance of a protuberance of radial height slightly greater than that of the rest of the cylindrical wall . this extra thickness is , however , very localized and has no appreciable effect on the operations of mounting and demounting tires on that wheel . this fig3 also illustrates the volume occupied by the brake parts 60 arranged in the interior space of the disk 2 . the wheels according to the invention can be made of sheet steel or aluminum . the range of application of these wheels corresponds to wheels of width greater than or equal to 5 . 25 inches ( 133 . 5 mm ). in fact , with wheels of lesser width , it becomes difficult to provide sufficient room to place the valve in the available space of the flange 37 . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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in all of the figures , identical or functionally identical elements and apparatuses have been provided with the same reference symbols unless indicated otherwise . fig1 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of a power controller 1 according to the invention . the power controller 1 has a computing device re which receives the maximum speed n_max and the desired mechanical power p_des_mech as input variables . the desired mechanical power p_des_mech is calculated from the desired power p_des which is divided by the efficiency eff of the engine system 3 for this purpose . the computing device re calculates a desired speed n_des for the generator g and a torque tq_prectl , which is provided by the internal combustion engine m , from the maximum speed n_max and the desired mechanical power p_des_mech . the desired speed n_des is made available to the inertia compensation device tk which calculates a torque tq_j on the basis of the desired speed n_des . the torque tq_j is positive during acceleration of the internal combustion engine m and is negative during braking of the internal combustion engine m and describes the torque difference between the internal burner torque and the torque output to the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine m . the torque tq_j is added to the torque tq_prectl , which is provided by the internal combustion engine m , and the sum reveals the desired torque tq_ice for the internal combustion engine m . that is to say , the internal torque of the internal combustion engine m is reduced during braking by throttling and ignition angle adjustment and the torque of the internal combustion engine m is increased during acceleration by opening the throttle valve if the latter is not already completely open . the efficiency calculation device eb calculates the efficiency eff , inter alia , from the instantaneous electric output power pout and the mechanical input power pin . in order to calculate the efficiency eff needed to calculate the desired mechanical power p_des_mech , the efficiency calculation device eb is provided with the desired speed n_des for the generator g and the torque tq_prectl which is provided by the internal combustion engine m . furthermore , the efficiency calculation device eb is provided with a battery voltage u_batt , a generator current i_act and the desired torque tq_ice for the internal combustion engine m . fig2 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of an engine controller 2 according to the invention . the engine controller 2 has a power controller 1 according to the present invention which is coupled to a speed controller ds and provides the latter with the desired torque tq_ice for the internal combustion engine m , the desired speed n_des for the generator g and the torque tq_prectl which is provided by the internal combustion engine m . the speed controller ds has a speed regulator dr which may be in the form of a pi regulator , for example , in one embodiment and calculates a prespecified torque tq ctl for the generator g on the basis of a measured instantaneous speed n act and the desired speed n_des . a desired current regulator calculates a desired current i des for the generator g from the sum of this prespecified torque tq ctl and the torque tq_prectl provided by the internal combustion engine m . finally , a current controller is sets the corresponding current i in the individual phases of the generator . fig3 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of an engine system 3 according to the invention . the engine system 3 has the engine controller 2 from fig2 . the engine system 3 also has an internal combustion engine m which is provided with the desired torque tq_ice . the engine system 3 finally also has a generator g which is mechanically coupled to the internal combustion engine m via a shaft w and is controlled by the current controller is of the engine controller 2 . the internal combustion engine m is illustrated only symbolically and may have an engine control device , for example , in one embodiment . fig4 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a computing device re according to the invention . the computing device re in fig4 has a first characteristic curve memory ks 1 and two second characteristic curve memories ks 2 - 1 , ks 2 - 2 which are coupled to an input for the desired mechanical power p_des_mech in order to respectively determine the optimum speed n_opt for the internal combustion engine m from the characteristic curve memories ks 1 , ks 2 - 1 and ks 2 - 2 for a respective desired mechanical power p_des_mech . the outputs of the characteristic curve memories ks 1 , ks 2 - 1 and ks 2 - 2 and a constant speed value konst are each coupled to a selection device aw which , on the basis of a first selection signal s 1 , forwards one of the incoming speed values to a speed limiter mn which limits the speed to the maximum permissible speed . the limited speed is passed to a rate limiter rb which limits the change rate of the speed . this is necessary because an arbitrarily fast speed change is not possible , on the one hand , as a result of the flywheel masses of the internal combustion engine m and of the generator g and any speed change changes the actual power in the opposite direction to the desired power through the flywheel mass , on the other hand . therefore , the change rate must become lower with the level of the instantaneous speed . the speed whose change rate has been limited is forwarded to a first low - pass filter tp 1 which outputs the desired speed n_des . this is used to avoid a jolt in the drive between the internal combustion engine m and the generator g . the selection device aw can be used to switch over the choice of the optimum speed n_opt . the second characteristic curve memories ks 2 - 1 , ks 2 - 2 may each store characteristic curves which have been optimized for different aims . the characteristic curve stored in the first characteristic curve memory ks 1 is used to regulate the power at optimum efficiency , that is to say with the lowest possible fuel consumption . the characteristic curve stored in the second characteristic curve memory ks 2 - 1 can be used to heat the catalytic converter , for example . in order to make it possible to quickly heat a catalytic converter of the internal combustion engine m and therefore to enable a low - emission post - start phase , the characteristic curve may provide for operation of the internal combustion engine m at higher speeds , for example . the characteristic curve stored in the second characteristic curve memories ks 2 - 2 can provide the drive system with a higher dynamic response , for example . in order to enable a higher dynamic response of the drive system , the characteristic curve in the characteristic curve memory ks 2 - 2 does not set the optimum efficiency . as a result of the steeper gradient of this characteristic curve and , in particular , as a result of the existing significant torque reserve , it is also possible to change the power in addition to changing the speed as a result of the much quicker torque change . this is necessary in the case of serial hybrids which cannot provide the maximum drive power from the high - voltage battery and must provide a fast power increase from the internal combustion engine . one reason for this is that the power output by the battery is lower than the possible requirement of the drive , and that the maximum current of the high - voltage battery is lower than the current drawn by the drive . this may be the intentional design or may be temporarily the case if , for example , the soc , and therefore the voltage of the high - voltage battery , is low . finally , a constant speed can be predefined with the aid of a desired speed specification using the constant value konst . furthermore , the output torque tq_prectl is calculated in the computing device re in fig4 by dividing the desired mechanical power p_des_mech by the instantaneous desired speed n_des and by 2 * pi / 60 in the division block d 1 , with the result that the desired mechanical power p_des_mech is set at any time . fig5 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of an inertia compensation device tk according to the invention . in order to calculate the torque tq_j which is transmitted to the generator g on the basis of the mass inertia of the internal combustion engine m and of the generator g , the change in the angular velocity of the internal combustion engine m is multiplied by the mass moment of inertia j_rex of the internal combustion engine m and of the generator g in the event of a speed change . in order to calculate the change in the angular velocity , the speed is differentiated and the result is multiplied by 2 * pi / 60 in the multiplication block m 1 . differentiation is carried out , for example , by subtracting a stored speed value from an instantaneous speed value . fig9 - 11 show graphs for the output power of the engine system 3 with and without the inertia compensation by the inertia compensation device tk . fig6 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of an efficiency calculation device eb according to the invention . the efficiency eff_generator of the generator g , together with the efficiency eff_transmission of an inverter which controls the generator g , is known and is stored in the third characteristic curve memories ks 3 - 1 , ks 3 - 2 against the speed and the torque . if , in one embodiment , the internal combustion engine m and the generator g are not connected to one another via a shaft , but rather via a transmission or a belt , the efficiency of this transmission ratio can likewise be stored in a further characteristic curve memory . the efficiencies from the two or three characteristic curve memories k s 3 - 1 , ks 3 - 2 are multiplied by one another and therefore result in the calculated efficiency eff_calc which is based only on calculations . in a parallel manner , the efficiency eff_measure , which is based on measured values , is calculated from the output power pout and the input power pin . the output power pout is calculated from the measured output signals of the generator current i_act and the high voltage u_batt . the input power pin is calculated from the desired speed n_des and the torque tq_ice of the internal combustion engine . the torque caused by the mass moment of inertia j_rex is also subtracted from the torque tq_ice . for this purpose , a structure which resembles the inertia compensation device tk is provided in the efficiency calculation device eb . in a further embodiment , the output signal tq_j from the inertia compensation device tk can be made available to the efficiency calculation device eb . in both methods , an efficiency of 1 is assumed for the internal combustion engine m because the torque tq_ice , rather than the fuel mass , is used as the input . tq_ice is the internal combustion engine torque and is used to calculate the throttle valve position , injection and ignition angle for the internal combustion engine m . calculating and using the efficiency eff_measure has the advantage that the torque error , which occurs in the torque chain between the signal tq_ice and the output to the controllers for injection , throttle valve and ignition angle , does not have any effect and the actual efficiency is therefore calculated . the disadvantage of the efficiency eff_measure is that it is calculated mainly using actual values . the efficiency eff_measure must not be used for the downstream control because the actual value positive feedback could result in oscillations . the disadvantage of the efficiency eff_calc is its inaccuracy with respect to torque errors when controlling the internal combustion engine m . the disadvantages of both efficiencies can be eliminated by combining the two signals . in this case , eff_calc is filtered by means of a first high - pass filter hp 1 and eff_measure is subjected to low - pass filtering . since the calculation of the efficiency eff_measure consists of dividing the input power pin and the output power pout , eff_measure itself is not filtered , but rather the input power pin and the output power pout are separately subjected to low - pass filtering in the low - pass filters tp 2 , tp 3 in order to avoid producing computing errors in the case of low powers for powers which oscillate in different phases . the high - pass filter tp 1 and the low - pass filters tp 2 , tp 3 have the same cut - off frequency and both filtered signals are added . the addition result is the efficiency eff . fig7 shows a characteristic curve for the power of an exemplary engine system 3 for optimized fuel consumption , that is to say for optimized efficiency . for other embodiments of the engine system 3 , the values may differ from the values shown in the graph in fig7 . the abscissa axis of the graph shows the speed of approximately 500 revolutions per minute [ 1 / min ] to approximately 4500 revolutions per minute [ 1 / min ]. the left - hand ordinate axis of the graph shows the torque in newton meters [ nm ] and the right - hand ordinate axis of the graph shows the power in kilowatts [ kw ]. in this case , the lines of equal power run upward from the right - hand ordinate axis in the form of an arc . concentric lines or ellipses in the graph represent lines of equal efficiency . in this case , the center point of the concentric lines is at approximately 2200 revolutions per minute and 75 nm and is intersected , for instance , by the line of a power of 20 kw . during application of the engine system 3 , that is to say when tuning the engine system 3 during the development of the engine system 3 , the lines of equal efficiency are calculated by multiplying all efficiencies ( efficiencies of the internal combustion engine m , the generator g , the inverter and the transmission if present ). the dotted characteristic curve is intended to centrally intersect the concentric lines of equal efficiency such that the best efficiency is achieved for each desired power . however , it is also possible to set the characteristic curve to other values if reasons , such as the generation of noise or a greater dynamic response in the event of a change in the power , are in favor of this . the line shown here differs from the optimum efficiency at a low speed of approximately 1000 because low powers and a power of 0 must also be set and the internal combustion engine m must continue to rotate in this case . that is to say , the idling speed which is otherwise conventional is represented by the left - hand vertical part of the characteristic curve . as a result of this part of the characteristic curve , there is no need for complicated switching between the idling regulator and the power regulator and it is possible to dispense with the idling regulator which is conventional in the engine control system . idling can therefore be covered by the requirement for the desired power p_des = 0 . fig8 shows a characteristic curve for a power reduction from 30 kw to 15 kw of an exemplary engine system 3 . for other embodiments of the engine system 3 , the values may differ from the values shown in the graph in fig7 . at the same time as the power reduction from 30 kw to 15 kw , the speed is changed on the basis of the characteristic curve in fig7 . the fast power reduction can be carried out here by quickly reducing the torque . the engine control system of the internal combustion engine m can greatly throttle the throttle valve , for example , can retard the ignition angle and / or can briefly switch off the injection . at the same time , the speed is slowly reduced . the torque can be increased again by the extent to which the reduced speed reduces the power . in fig8 , the power reduction is represented by the dotted line ( required operating point ) and the dash - dotted curve ( operating point which has actually been set ). on the basis of the characteristic curve in fig7 at 3000 1 / min and 95 nm , the dotted line runs vertically downward to approximately 50 nm and from there to 2000 1 / min and 70 nm . as a result of this flywheel mass compensation , operating points which differ from the characteristic curve in fig7 are dynamically output . however , the desired power can be reduced considerably more quickly as a result of this measure . fig9 shows a graph of the speed change in an engine system 3 according to the invention without flywheel mass compensation by the inertia compensation device tk . the abscissa axis of the graph shows the time in minutes from 9 : 30 to 10 : 00 , that is to say for 30 seconds . the ordinate axis does not show a unit since both the speed and the required power and the actual power of the engine system 3 are represented . however , the units are irrelevant for understanding . the comparison between the three graphs in fig9 - 11 clearly reveals the influence of the inertia compensation device tk . in an engine system 3 having a mass moment of inertia of 0 . 5 kgm 2 , the speed is reduced within 5 seconds from 9 : 35 to 9 : 40 from 4500 rpm to 3500 rpm with a change rate of 2000 rpm / s . this is illustrated by the upper curve in the graph . during the speed reduction , a power of approximately 4 kw is produced in the engine system 3 and is shown as a difference between the desired power p_des and the actual power calculated from u_batt * i &# 39 ; act . fig1 shows a further graph of the speed change in an engine system 3 according to the invention with flywheel mass compensation by the inertia compensation device tk . the axes and the speed profile are the same as those from fig9 . fig1 shows the behavior of the engine system 3 with flywheel mass compensation of j_rex = 0 . 5 kgm 2 . it can be seen that virtually no difference between the desired power and the actual power is produced . fig1 shows a further graph of the speed change in an engine system 3 according to the invention with flywheel mass compensation by the inertia compensation device tk . the axes and the speed profile are the same as those from fig9 . however , the flywheel mass j_rex was set at j_rex = 1 kgm 2 , which results in considerable overcompensation . this can be seen from the fact that the power which has actually been set is approximately 4 kw below the required power as the speed falls . the graphs in fig9 - 11 were recorded and explained for one possible embodiment of an engine system 3 . for further embodiments of the engine system 3 , the actual values may differ from the values shown in the graphs in fig9 - 11 . although the present invention was described above using preferred exemplary embodiments , it is not restricted thereto , but rather can be modified in various ways . in particular , the invention can be changed or modified in various ways without departing from the essence of the invention . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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the following description presents example embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , in application or use . it should be understood that throughout the drawings , corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features . as shown in fig1 and 2 , an example embodiment battery pack charger 1 may be configured to provide power to a battery pack 2 inserted therein or otherwise connected thereto . the charger 1 may include a power source and / or electrical connection 3 to conventional power outlets from which power may be transferred to a battery pack 2 . multiple types and generations of battery packs 2 may be present at a single location where portable power tools are being used and charged , and multiple chargers 3 may exist for charging the individual tools . example embodiments described below include features that allow multiple battery types and generations to be charged with a single charger . fig3 - 5 illustrate a tower style example embodiment battery pack and example embodiment charger including battery - type - dependent charging paths . other style chargers , including rail style chargers , are useable as example embodiments , and tower style batteries and chargers are shown merely as an example of one such configuration . as shown in fig3 , the example tower - style battery 100 includes a number of terminals 120 that electrically connect the battery with example chargers . terminals may be in a variety of configurations , for example , positive and negative terminals 123 and 121 may provide electrical connection while a grounding terminal 122 grounds the battery electronics , provides data exchange , and / or otherwise connects the battery to the charger . fig4 shows an example tower - style charger into which the battery pack of fig3 may be inserted for charging . because example battery packs 100 may have varying chemical properties , charging times , electrical requirements , and / or other physical characteristics , example charger 200 may provide unique charging current , voltage , charging time , and / or other charging characteristics ( hereinafter “ charging regime ”) based on the type of battery inserted . one way for example chargers to determine the proper charging regime for the battery inserted in the charger is to provide different charging paths for different types of batteries . batteries with different chemistries , for example , li - ion batteries and ni / mh batteries , may have different body shape and / or terminal configuration . an example charger 200 may thus provide different terminals that match only a particular battery type and provide a charging regime matching that type . as shown in fig3 , terminals 120 may be provided at one end of a tower 125 of an example battery 100 . the physical orientation of the terminals 120 may be arranged on the battery for creating a connection with the charger based on the particular battery being charged . for example , the terminals 120 may have a particular spacing or position on a defined area of the battery 100 , each at one end on the illustrated towers 125 , that reflects the battery type that forms a connection between a pack and a charger for a particular battery type . in particular , the terminals themselves may also be configured for particular battery types . further , terminals 120 of the example battery 100 may be substantially different than terminals of other battery types requiring different charging regimes . thus , example batteries can be screened by using a terminal combination that establishes an electrical connection with an appropriate battery . while a tulip - style terminal arrangement is shown in the example embodiments , other types of terminal configurations may be used that are consistent with the invention . as shown in fig5 , example chargers may discriminate among various battery types by possessing sets of charging terminals 210 that will electrically connect with only a particular type of battery . a charging regime provided by terminals 210 may match only the regime required by other batteries that fully engage the terminals as shown in fig5 . for example , voltage across terminals 210 may match only to a voltage required by other battery types with terminals fully engaging terminals 210 . other regime matching characteristics , including for example charging time and maximum current , may be provided to only terminals 210 . as shown in fig5 , the charger may contain a unique charging terminal such as a tulip style arrangement . the other battery terminals 123 ′ and 121 ′ may connect with the tulip - style charging terminals 210 when the other battery is inserted into the example charger 200 . if however , example batteries 100 are inserted into the example charger , instead of fully engaging the charging terminals 210 like other battery types as shown in fig5 , positive and negative terminals 121 and 123 may not connect with charging terminals 210 as shown in fig6 . fig6 a shows an alternate charging terminal 220 in the example charger 200 that may be aligned with and engage alternate battery terminal 130 . the alternate charging terminal 220 may provide a different charging regime unique to example batteries 200 with alternate battery terminal 130 that engage alternate terminal 220 . other batteries having terminals 123 ′ and 121 ′ that fully engage terminals 210 may not engage alternate terminal 220 in example chargers and thus may not be electrically connected to alternate charging terminal 220 . by these different terminals 210 and 220 in the same example charger , different charging regimes may be provided to different types of batteries , based on which terminals the battery contacts . thus batteries , even having a substantially similar overall shape , with different terminal configurations may be charged differently in the same example charger 200 , based on the terminal shape and configuration . for example , a li - ion battery may have shorter terminals than a ni - cad battery and an additional post terminal , but the two batteries may have substantially similar shape and be useable in the same tool . example chargers may thus engage the ni - cad battery through a first set of terminals and determine charge completion based on typical ni - cad voltage variations at charge completion . a li - ion battery may be inserted in the same charger yet engage a different set of terminals and be charged in a different manner . thus , li - ion batteries , with charging requirements vastly different than ni - cad batteries , may be successfully charged in the same example charger without damaging the battery . other example chargers may include co - located terminals that provide alternate charging paths based on battery terminal length alone , without relying on additional or alternately - located terminals . as shown in fig7 and 8 , co - located terminals 311 and 312 may provide alternate charging paths based on the length of the battery terminal inserted in those terminals . negative terminal 310 may function as a shared negative terminal for all batteries inserted in example chargers . positive first terminal 311 may have a length configured to engage types of tool terminals , and positive second terminal 312 may engage only subsets of those types of tool terminals . that is , shorter second terminals 312 may engage only tools with longer terminals , while terminals 311 may engage tools with both longer and shorter terminals . because co - located positive terminals 311 and 312 engage , in combination , different types of tool terminals , terminals 311 and 312 may provide different charging regimes and thus differently charge tools depending on terminal length . for example , if a tool having terminals 123 ′ and 121 ′ as shown in fig5 is inserted into example terminals 311 and 312 in fig7 and 8 , both positive terminals 311 and 312 may engage the tool terminal . alternatively , if a tool having terminals 123 and 121 as shown in fig6 is inserted , only longer positive terminal 311 may engage the tool terminal . longer and shorter co - located terminals 311 and 312 may provide different charging regimes , and thus , different types of charge may be delivered to tools based on their terminal length . as previously stated , charging regimes may include voltage characteristics , maximum current , charging time , resistance detection , charge completion detection , and / or any other charging characteristics of individual battery packs . if both terminals 311 and 312 are engaged by a long battery terminal ( such as 121 ′ in fig5 ), both terminals may provide charging such that their combined charging provides a different charging regime to the long terminal battery . alternately , example chargers may possess logical or other known circuitry to allow only a single terminal of 311 and 312 to deliver an alternate charging regime if both terminals 311 and 312 are engaged . for example , only long positive terminal 311 may engage li - ion batteries , because these types of batteries have shorter terminals than nicad or nimh batteries . when only the long positive terminal 311 is engaged , that terminal provides electric current , voltage , and other charge characteristics required by only li - ion batteries . short terminal 312 may be engaged only to nicad or nimh batteries . thus , if both terminals 311 and 312 are engaged , they provide , together or individually , charge characteristics required by only nicad or nimh battery packs . several variations of the above example configurations are possible while still achieving the same structural discrimination in example chargers . for example , any number of alternate terminal locations may be used to uniquely engage and charge any number of batteries , each having a distinct charging requirement and terminal configuration . or , for example , some terminals may be shared among all battery types , with non - shared terminals determining charge regime . for example , a common negative power terminal may be in example chargers and accessible to all connected batteries , while different positive terminals with alternate charging regimes may be accessible only to particular batteries matching the positive terminal &# 39 ; s charging characteristics . similarly , any number of known variations may be used to achieve alternate terminal engagement between different types of batteries . for example , an example charger may have different shaped openings or blocking parts that enable one type of battery to engage one set of terminals but prevent other types of batteries with other shapes from engaging the same terminals . further , any number of known terminal shapes and charging regimes may be used to successfully electrically connect example chargers to example batteries . a second example charger mechanism for determining battery pack configuration and applying a matching charging regime may include determining electrical properties of an inserted battery by measuring electrical properties of the inserted battery . these example structures may be useable with a universal terminal engaged by all battery types , or with alternate terminals disclosed in previous example embodiments . example batteries may include a non - charging terminal that provides battery information that may be read by example chargers . for example , terminal 122 in fig3 may be a non - charging terminal capable of providing battery - type information . from these structures example chargers may discriminate among different battery types and provide proper charging regimes to the inserted batteries . as shown in fig9 , one example mechanism for providing battery information may involve a thermistor and / or resistor 510 electrically connected to a non - charging terminal in the battery . example resistors 510 provide a voltage range for a given current that is unique to the battery type . example battery pack chargers may electrically connect with resistors 510 through connections 520 , and the voltage may be read by a validation circuit 530 . based on this reading , a microprocessor 540 may enable circuitry corresponding to a proper charging regime for batteries having the measured voltage range . if no voltage or an unidentified voltage range is measured , the microprocessor may discontinue charging as a safety mechanism . through the example circuitry described in fig9 , different charging regimes may be associated with particular resistances of known battery types . for example , as shown in fig1 , a first resistance may be associated with li - ion batteries that will generate a known first voltage range 600 in example chargers electrically connected to non - charging terminals of the battery . once example chargers detect the first voltage range 600 , a charging scheme corresponding to li - ion batteries is provided by the charger . a second resistance may be associated with nicad batteries that will generate a known second voltage range 610 in the same example chargers . when example chargers detect the second voltage range 610 , a charging scheme corresponding to nicad batteries is provided by the charger . although example embodiments in fig9 - 10 have been described with regard to a characteristic resistance being associated with particular batteries and charging regimes , several other characteristics and measurements may be used to identify battery type in example chargers . for example , a non - charging terminal may provide digital signals that are readable by an example charger microprocessor . the digital data may include a battery type that is readable by the microprocessor and used to determine a proper charging regime . known analog signals , voltages , currents , and / or any other type of data transmission may be used to convey battery type to example chargers and allow the charger to select a proper charging regime including , for example , maximum current , charge time , charge completion indications , current and voltage variations , and / or any other charging characteristic . example embodiments may further provide circuitry and charging methods for preventing damage to example battery chargers having low or no open circuit voltage . example chargers may have no open circuit voltage ; that is , the voltage potential when no battery pack is inserted is near zero between the charging terminals . as shown in fig1 , v oc ( open circuit voltage ) may be zero volts , whereas the voltage of battery terminals may be measurably higher ( v b ). by use of a conventional voltage measuring device , example chargers may begin charging only when a non - zero voltage potential is detected between charging terminals . for example , example chargers may begin charging shortly after time t i when voltage increases and indicates battery insertion . as also shown in fig1 , however , example chargers may not jump between v oc and v b as a step - function ; rather , the voltage transition is a continuous exponential due to the presence of capacitors in example batteries and chargers . thus , when the battery is withdrawn at time t w , the voltage potential does not immediately near zero or v oc . if example chargers activate at any voltage above v oc , then example chargers may continue to deliver power after a battery is removed at t w , which may damage components of example chargers . in order to prevent stressing components of example chargers , example chargers may include a further voltage detection mechanism , such as a microprocessor or voltage microcontroller , that senses voltage decrease instead of voltage at v oc . charging may be terminated by the microcontroller when voltage first starts to decrease , shortly after t w , instead of near t i2 , which may be much later than t w . for example , if a battery pack is charging in an example charger and voltage across the charging terminals is v b , then example chargers may continue delivering charging power while the voltage remains at v b . when the battery pack is removed at t w , voltage immediately begins decaying , and example chargers sense this decay and terminate the charging power . thus example chargers may cease delivering charging power well before terminal voltage reaches near zero and before battery components are damaged . as discussed above in earlier example embodiments , example chargers may have no open circuit voltage ; that is , the voltage potential when no battery pack is inserted may be near zero between the charging terminals . some battery types may have near - zero terminal voltage after fully discharging . for example , a ni - cad battery may have a very low voltage across its terminals after completely discharging , or a lithium ion battery may have a very low voltage across its terminals if damaged or in an inoperative state . because of low terminal voltage in both discharged battery packs and example chargers , battery presence and charge regime determination may require another mechanism to determine low - voltage battery presence . example chargers may include circuitry and associated charging methods that determine battery presence even if an inserted battery pack has low or no terminal voltage . as shown in fig1 , example chargers may perform an example method in order to determine battery presence . example methods include applying a toggle signal across the charger terminals at step s 100 . the toggle signal may be a voltage or current pulse of any magnitude sufficient to create an electrical response in potentially - inserted battery packs without damaging those packs . for example , as shown in fig1 , the toggle signal may be a square voltage pulse . the example pulse shown in fig1 has a maximum voltage of about 3 volts and a minimum voltage of about 0 volts . the example pulse in fig1 is applied for about 0 . 5 seconds and then no voltage is applied for about 0 . 5 such that the entire toggle signal cycles every second . the pulse used in example methods need not be square as shown in fig1 , but may be a variety of waveforms , including sawtooth and / or multi - stepped , depending on the types of batteries to be identified . as shown in fig1 and 13 , after applying the toggle signal at s 100 , the battery pack charger measures the terminal voltage at the signal maximum and minimum at step s 120 . for example , as shown in fig1 , the charger may measure the terminal voltage at tmax and tmin in order to measure the voltage at the signal maximum and minimum . if other pulse forms are used in example methods , other measuring times may be used in order to measure the signal maximum and minimum . example chargers may then determine the voltage difference across the terminals at tmax and tmin in step s 140 . this difference may then be compared against a no - pack threshold in step s 150 . the no - pack threshold may be , for example , a threshold corresponding to the voltage difference across the terminals when only air or a different non - battery material is between the terminals while a voltage pulse is applied from the charger across the charger terminals . such a threshold will generally be much higher compared to voltage measured when a conductor or battery is connected between the terminals , due to the differing resistance . the threshold may be compared through any method known in the art , including analog circuitry or digitally through a microprocessor in example batteries . if the voltage difference determined in step s 140 is above the no - pack threshold compared in step s 150 , the charger may determine that no battery is present in step s 160 and continue to apply to toggle signal until a battery is detected . that is , steps s 100 , s 120 , s 140 , s 150 , and s 160 may be repeated as long as the measured voltage is above the threshold , and thus , no battery is detected . if the voltage difference is below the no - pack voltage threshold , then example chargers may determine that a battery pack is present . example methods may then include proceeding with battery pack type detection in step s 170 . the battery pack type detection may be performed by any example embodiment previously discussed ; that is , example embodiment charger structures for discriminating based on pack type may be used in step s 170 . for example , differing terminal placement , characteristic battery resistance , and / or hall sensor presence may be determined in step 170 . based on these determinations , the battery pack may be charged or pre - charged in step s 190 based on their type . additionally , the charger may display an error message based on the results of step 150 and step s 170 in step s 190 . for example , if other battery type detection mechanisms determine that the battery is a lithium - ion battery , but there is initially no voltage across the li - ion terminals , the charger may display an error message because correctly functioning li - ion chemistries may not have zero - voltage states . in addition to the previously described structures and methods for determining pack type , step s 175 illustrates another method for determining pack type in a low - voltage situation . once the charger has proceeded through step s 150 to determine that a pack is present but in a low - voltage state , the example chargers may apply a longer charging current to the battery in step s 175 . this precharge may be of lesser duration and / or magnitude than a full charge for specific pack types , but may be sufficient to power electronics within an inserted battery . for example , example chargers may apply full charging current to the battery for about 4 seconds and then stop for 6 seconds while determining a response from the battery . batteries may include , for example , microchips communicatively connected to example chargers . such microchips may not be able to communicate with example chargers while in a low - voltage situation , and the precharge in step s 175 may power those microchips such that the charger may determine the type of battery based on characteristics of the microchip . by the step s 175 , example chargers may thus determine pack type and appropriate charging regime in packs in a low - voltage state before actual charging commences . once the battery pack has been determined in steps s 170 and / or s 175 , example chargers may apply an appropriate charge , precharge , or error message based on the results of the battery type detection and the voltage state of the battery . for example , some types of batteries may be capable of being charged normally while in a low - voltage state , while other batteries may have special precharging regimes applicable to a low voltage state . the example method shown in fig1 allows example chargers to so discriminate and apply appropriate charge regimes to batteries in a low - voltage condition . each of the aforementioned embodiments may be used alone and in combination for allowing battery packs having different charging characteristics and requirements to be charged using the same example charger . | 7Electricity
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reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the invention , an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . the invention is described with reference to a system 10 for use by a bank , although the system 10 may be employed by any type of institution offering financial services . the financial system 10 includes a delivery system 12 for providing financial services to a variety of remote devices . these remote devices include a screen phone 14 , an automated teller machine ( atm ) 16 , such as citibank &# 39 ; s cat / casst terminals , a personal computer 18 , or a personal data assistant ( pda ) 20 . the remote devices can practically be any type of device and can be installed with any suitable software for communicating with the delivery system 12 , such as a standard web browser or any other third party software product . the remote devices that the delivery system 12 can provide financial services to is therefore not limited to any particular class or type of remote device but instead may include any future device or system . further , the delivery system 12 provides services not only to customers of a financial institution but may also provide services internally to the institution , such as at staff terminals 26 . the delivery system 12 , furthermore , provides financial services over a plurality of different delivery networks . as an example , the delivery system 12 may deliver financial services to the screen phone 14 , personal computer 18 , or pda 20 via dial - up access or through an application server , such as the home services delivery system ( hsds ), which is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 485 , 370 to moss et al . and which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the delivery system 12 may provide financial services to remote devices 24 through an internet service provider ( isp ) 22 or an on - line service provider 22 , such as through the internet or world wide web . the delivery system 12 advantageously is able to provide financial services over a variety of communication paths , such as the internet , a land - line telephone network , a cellular network , or a cable network , and can be easily modified to operate over new transmission paths or new transmission protocols . with reference to fig2 , a delivery system 12 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises plural sets of service components . these sets of service components include a touch point and display set 30 , a touch point interface services set 40 , and a touch point services set 50 . in general , the touch point and display set 30 provides actual customer display and input facility and the touch point interface services set 40 provides an interface to the touch point services set 50 . the touch point services set 50 provides presentation mapping and front door security for the delivery system 12 . the delivery system 12 also includes a peripheral device services set 60 providing peripheral device interface and management services . a system services set 70 provides logging , event brokering , service registry and crypto services and a dialog services set 80 provides welcoming , navigation shell and application specific dialogs . a transaction services set 90 provides transaction coordination and esp message formatting and an external service provider interface services set 100 provides message sequencing and esp interface protocols . a customer services set 110 provides customer identification , relationship , account , acquirer , and issuer services and a business services set 120 provides rule brokering and language services . a session services set 130 provides session start up and session and delivery vehicle context . the touch point and display set 30 provides the actual customer display and input facility on the remote device . the touch point and display set 30 includes a touch point and display component 31 that displays pages on the remote device screen and sends customer inputs to the delivery system 12 . the touch point and display component 31 is responsible for managing the link / session level protocols with an application server on the remote device . the touch point and display component 31 also decodes the server interface protocol and outputs a page to the local screen of the remote device . the touch point and display component 31 acquires customer inputs , including choice selections and forms input , encodes the input in the server interface protocol , and sends the customer input to the touch point interface set 40 . for internet sessions with the delivery system 12 , the touch point and display component 31 preferably comprises a web browser that handles protocols such as tcp / ip , https , and , less preferably , ftp . the touch point interface services set 40 provides an interface to the touch point services set 50 and includes a touch point interface component 41 . the touch point interface component 41 is responsible for managing the link / session 25 level protocols with a remote device . the touch point interface component 41 , for instance , notifies the session services set 130 to start a new session on initial contact from a remote device . the touch point interface component 41 also encodes messages in the interface protocol , sends messages to the touch point services set 50 , and decodes messages received from the touch point services set 50 . the touch point interface component 41 further routes received messages to an appropriate session front door man component 51 of the touch point services set 50 . for internet sessions with the delivery system 12 , the touch point interface component 41 preferably comprises a web server which handles the protocols such as tcp / ip , https , and , less preferably , ftp . the touch point services set 50 is responsible for final device specific presentation layout and front door security and includes the front door man component 51 and a presentation manager component 52 . the front door man 10 component 51 guards access of a remote device into a session . for remote sessions , the front door man component 51 adds a session security token to outgoing messages and verifies the session security token for incoming messages . for sessions with a cat / casst 16 , the front man component 51 may simply pass through communications . although the front door man component 51 has been shown as a single component , the front door man component 51 preferably comprises a separate component for each type of remote device . the presentation manager component 52 is responsible for mapping a canonical representation of information on pages into a specific style layout in a 20 device specific presentation format . thus , the same application can have different presentation styles on different device types . for instance , the same application may have different presentation styles depending on whether the application is displayed on a personal computer 18 , a pda 20 , a screen phone 14 , a cat 16 , a third party kiosk terminal , or another type of remote device . the style templates can be ˜ customized by region to support local cultural differences in areas such as color schemes , graphics , icons , and font sizes . the presentation manager component 52 maps tagged phrases and data from the application into specific fields of a particular page template referenced by the application . a template controls the layout and representation of frames on a page , multi - media elements , 30 choice and data fields , and input forms on the page for a specific style and device type . the presentation manager component 52 also encodes the resulting page in the device specific format for the particular remote device and sends the page to the front door man component 51 . the presentation manager component 52 also receives incoming messages from the remote device , converts choice information and form fields from the device specific format to a tagged canonical representation , and routes the representation to the appropriate component within the dialog services set 80 . the presentation , manager component 52 uses delivery system specific templates to enforce consistent layout styles across pages having similar choices , data fields , and forms . a template can be the superset of all possible objects on a page since the presentation manager component 52 can “ drop out ” fields and choices which are not associated with any data . reference is made to a related application ser . no . 08 / 741 , 121 , “ method and system for automatically harmonizing access to a software application program via different access devices ,” filed oct . 30 , 1996 which is incorporated herein by reference . the peripheral device services set 60 is responsible for handling application requests for peripheral device services and for managing the software components that handle such requests . peripheral device services set 60 , for instance , provides a custom high - level application interface to peripheral devices associated with a remote device , such as the cat / casst 16 . the peripheral device services set 60 includes a peripheral device handler component 61 , a peripheral device manager component 62 , and a session device manager component 63 . the peripheral device handler component 61 represents and controls a specific kind of connected peripheral hardware device . several kinds of peripheral devices may be connected to a service delivery platform for the cat / casst 16 . the peripheral device handler component 61 preferably comprises a plurality of peripheral device handler components 61 with each peripheral device handler component 61 providing a generic device management interface and a specific service interface . further , the peripheral device handler component 61 is not limited to a single component , but may comprise specific subcomponents to interface with its associated peripheral hardware device . the peripheral device handler component 61 loads and activates needed subcomponents and initializes the specific peripheral device hardware . the peripheral device handler component 61 maintains persistent peripheral - specific management statistics and reports these statistics as well as status of the peripheral device upon request . the peripheral device handler component 61 also notifies interested parties of changes in peripheral device status and recovers peripheral device hardware functionality after a failure . the peripheral device handler component 61 finalizes by releasing any needed system resources and deactivates and unloads subcomponents . in addition to its device management responsibilities , the peripheral device handler 61 also provides application services . for instance , the peripheral device handler component 61 tests the connected hardware device for correct operation , normalizes the service interface so that similar devices share a common interface , and translates application requests into detailed hardware device requests . as will be appreciated to those skilled in the art , the specific nature of the services rendered by the peripheral device handler component 61 depends upon the specific hardware device type . the peripheral device manager component 62 manages the components that interface with the connected peripheral devices . the peripheral device manger component 62 loads the peripheral device handler component 61 for the connected devices during startup and initializes the peripheral device handler component 61 during startup . the peripheral device manager 62 notifies interested parties of changes in peripheral device availability , finalizes the peripheral device handler component 61 during shut down , and unloads the peripheral device handier component 61 during shut down . in addition to its responsibilities for device management , the peripheral device manager component 62 also provides application services . for instance , the peripheral device manager component 62 coordinates usage of the peripheral devices by customers versus diagnostics and serializes application requests to each peripheral device . the peripheral device manager component 62 also routes each application request to the appropriate peripheral device handler component 61 and reports status of all connected peripheral devices upon request . the session device manager component 63 is an in - session component that coordinates the control access to control devices via an acquisition mechanism . upon request , the session device manager component 63 first determines the availability and capability of the acquired device and returns the device reference to the client . the session device manager component 63 queries the peripheral device manager component 62 to determine devices available to the system , queries the delivery capabilities to determine the available remote devices and creates instances of those devices for use by session components and services acquired device requests from the dialog services set 80 for requested type of interface for a specific device . the types of interfaces supported , for instance , include management interface , application interface , and diagnostic interface . the delivery system 12 is not limited to any particular type of peripheral device . further the delivery system 12 is not limited to peripheral devices that are associated with any particular type of remote device , such as the cat / casst 16 , but rather may be associated with any remote device . the peripheral devices include , as examples , a touch screen , screen display , form printer , card reader , pin encrypter , envelope depository , cash dispenser , speech generator , and sound generator . the peripheral devices also may include an audio generator , video player , proximity detector , and a biometric scanner . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , the status of a peripheral device and statistics associated with that device will vary with the particular peripheral device . for instance , with a card reader , the status may be up / down and capture bin full . the statistics associated with a card reader may include the number of cards read , the bad reads , cards captured , long time - outs and short time - outs . as another example , the status of a depositor may include up / down , ink low , or bin full and the statistics for the depositor may include the number of envelopes captured . the system services set 70 provides common services for all sessions within a server , including logging , event brokering , service registration , and cryptographic services . the system services set 70 includes a process controller component 71 , a logger component 72 , an event broker component 73 , a services registry component 74 , a crypto man component 75 , an instrumentation component 76 , a system management agents component 77 , and a test manager component 78 . the process controller component 71 starts up all the non - session system service and peripheral device management processes in the delivery system 12 . the components that the process controller starts includes the logger component 72 , the event broker component 73 , the services registry component 74 , the crypto man component 75 , the instrumentation component 76 , the system management agents component 77 , and the test manager component 78 . the process controller component 71 further starts up the peripheral device manager component 62 in the peripheral device services set 60 and a session controller component 131 in the session services set 130 . the logger component 72 writes and manages log files and works in conjunction with an nt log facility . the logger component 72 , for instance , adds standard headers to log entries and writes the log entries to a log . the event broker component 73 provides a way for a business to do specialized processing of events for the purpose of monitoring and acting upon activities in a server . local business provided components can register with the event broker component 73 to receive specified events . the event broker component 73 evaluates filtering rules associated with events and then calls the registered component as a result of a rule succeeding . the event broker component 73 , for example , could decide when to send notifications to a system management system . the services registry component 74 registers the mini - apps and legacy app bridges that are available . the services registry component 74 has a createcomponent function that , given a well - known name for a service , will look up the full class name and create the component . the services registry component 74 works in the context of the procedures for software distribution and cutover / fallback of releases in order to maintain a registry of the mini - apps and legacy apps that are currently available . the services registry component 74 also provides information to a navigation shell component 82 within dialog services set 80 about the mini - apps and legacy apps that are currently available . the crypto man component 75 performs cryptographic functions necessary to handle security . the crypto man component 75 manages secret keys associated with external service providers and performs authentication of public key certificates . the crypto man component 75 holds security keys for each external service provider , which may be multi - level keys for each external service provider . further , the keys may be shared secret or private key associated with a public key . the crypto man component 75 also updates keys and uses keys to generate message mac and encrypt message . the crypto man component 75 also encrypts and re - encrypts customer pin / tpin . many components of the delivery system 12 need to update counters or provide some means by which they may be monitored or controlled , especially components that need to support being monitored and controlled by the system management facilities . several instruments allow interested components to observe changes in other components . each instrument provides a point of contact or rendezvous between an instrument updater and its interested observers . whenever an instrument updater changes the instrument value , the interested observers are notified of the change , giving the opportunity to observe the changed instrument value . all instruments are created and maintained by the instrument manager component 76 . both instrument updaters and instrument observers obtain references to instruments from the instrument manager component 76 . each kind of instrument has a publisher that defines the name of the instrument and the value of the various instrument properties . the instrumentation component 76 performs an important function of keeping a record of counters and controlled variables in a persistent store . the supported instruments include , but are not limited to , the counter instrument , bounded counter instrument , status instrument , and control instrument . the instrument component 76 creates and maintains counters , maintains a value , publishes a list of the status values and names , registers and unregisters value observers , and increments or decrements a value . the instrumentation component 76 also notifies registered observers when a value changes and notifies registered observers when a limited counter value crosses a threshold , such as a lower bound or an upper bound threshold . the system management agents component 77 comprises three agent components : a management protocol agent , a command dispatch agent , and a status management agent . the management protocol agent interfaces with an external system management product on the system 10 and translates a specific system management protocol to or from a format supported by the command dispatch agent and the status monitor agent . the management protocol agent translates an incoming management request into an inquiry or modify for the command dispatcher agent , translates a system management alarm from the status monitoring agent into the remote system management protocol , and supports secure access to the management server . the command dispatch agent translates requests for actions or status into the proper control instrument variables needed to control a component or retrieve its status . the command dispatch agent translates inquiries / modify requests to proper instrumentation component instrumentation objects , such as control variable , counter , and status indicator . the status monitor agent monitors status instrument variables and events , determines if an external system management product needs to be notified , and sends any important “ alarms ” to the external system management product . the status monitoring agent registers for events from the event broker component 73 , registers for changes to instruments , state machine correlates and filters information , uses instruments for some local action or inquiry , and sends a “ higher level alarm ” to the management protocol agent and / or to an event broker management protocol agent . the test manager component 78 manages the testing and tracing of components in the system 12 . the test manager component 78 collects information from the various components in the system 12 by wiring itself into them during component creation . then , the components that have been wired for test report method entries and exits to the test manager component 78 during their operation . the configuration of which components are under test or trace can be driven by scripts or by an on - line test management user interface . the test manager component 78 records information reported by the components under test in a log or it can report the test results to the tester through the test management user interface . the test manager component 78 therefore knows which components are under trace and test and wires new components for tracing and testing . the dialog services set 80 is responsible for the semantic content and interaction with the customer and for initiating transactions on the customer &# 39 ; s behalf the dialog services set 80 includes a welcome mat component 81 , at least one navigation shell component 82 , at least one mini - app dialog component 83 , and at least one legacy app bridge component 84 . although the navigation shell component 82 , the mini - app dialog component 83 and the legacy app bridge component 84 have been shown as single components , each of these components may comprise a plurality of components . the welcome mat component 81 outputs the initial welcome page to the customer and collects customer identity and preference information . after determining the issuer of the customer id and possibly authenticating the customer , the welcome mat component 81 instantiates several customer services objects to hold information about the customer and then starts a navigation shell component 82 which carries out the next level of dialog with the customer . the welcome mat component 81 establishes connection sessions with a back door man component 101 in the esp interface services set 100 as needed by a session . the welcome mat component 81 also acquires devices needed by the session and creates a scam transaction executor to handle unsolicited scam events from a host . the welcome mat component 81 presents an out of service or welcome page , enables a card reader , and waits for card read events . if the card event is an administration card , the welcome mat component 81 instantiates an administrative welcome mat component . the welcome mat component 81 collects various information from the customer including language choice and other preferences , such as navigation style . the welcome mat component 81 also collects customer id information , such as cin / pin and public key certificate , in a manner consistent with the customer remote device and mode of access , such as dial - in or internet . the welcome mat component 81 handles retries if errors occur on customer identity input , for instance by re - reading a card , and asks customer id component 111 for issuer . the welcome mat component 81 instantiates a profile transaction executor component 91 to authenticate the customer and get the customer &# 39 ; s relationships or customer profile . this process typically involves interactions with the issuer external service provider , but may alternatively be performed locally based on information in a smartcard . the transaction executor component 91 instantiated by the welcome mat component 81 will instantiate the following customer service components : customer id component 111 , customer relationship component 113 , account component 115 , and issuer component 112 . the welcome mat component 81 will also initialize legacy app bridge components 84 , and start a navigation shell component 82 based on delivery capabilities , acquirer rules , and customer preferences . the welcome mat component 81 may rely on separate micro - app dialog subcomponents to do some parts of the dialog that may be common to several business functions or which may vary depending on the remote device peripherals . for instance , the welcome mat component 81 may rely on a hello screen micro app , a language select micro app , and a get pin customer data micro app . the welcome mat component 81 may do four things for customer authentication based on acquirer rules and the type of customer id , such as public key certificate , atm card , credit card , on - us , or off - us . the welcome mat component 81 may provide immediate local authentication using public key certificates or may provide immediate authentication with the issuer , waiting for a response . the welcome mat component 81 may also provide background authentication with the issuer while going on to the navigation shell component 82 or may defer authentication to the first transaction . with deferred authentication , the welcome mat component 81 may need to instantiate a default customer relationship component 113 and a default set of product types , such as checking , savings , or credit card . if a rule broker component 121 does not have a registered issuer for the card / cin prefix number , a customer id component 111 is instantiated and marked invalid , further authentication of the customer is skipped , and a navigation shell component 82 for invalid customers is started . invalid customers may still be allowed to use certain information only in mini - app dialogs . the navigation shell component 82 informs the customer of the range of mini - apps that are available and provides top level navigation across these applications . the navigation shell component 82 assigns a frame space within which a mini - app runs . to support complex grouping of functions or a variety of navigation styles , the navigation shell component 82 may contain shells within shells . the navigation shell components 82 available for selection by a customer include linear , which guides customers through detailed question and answer steps ; nonlinear broad branching , such as pull - down menus ; preferred , such as customer specified short cuts ; or query , which may include a search engine or natural language searching capabilities . the navigation shell component 82 obtains lists of possible services available from services registry component 74 , checks rules to see what services are actually available in the current system context , and makes the customer aware of the range of mini - apps available . the range of mini - apps available will be based on the customer &# 39 ; s relationship , the issuer / acquirer rules , and the set of dynamically registered mini - apps . the mini - apps may be organized and identified by the navigation shell component 82 with names , icons , or any other type of representation . the navigation shell component 82 instantiates additional navigation shell components 82 as necessary and instantiates mini - app dialog component 83 as requested by the customer . the navigation shell component 82 supports switching between concurrently active mini - app dialogs and , at the end of a session , instantiates and calls end of session mini - app . the delivery system 12 preferably supports the customer leaving a mini - app to enter the navigation shell component 82 and to start another mini - app , while leaving the former mini - app suspended in its current context state . the customer can later exit from the new mini - app and go back to the former mini - app or can switch between multiple concurrently active mini - apps . in an environment where the screen has imbedded frames , a main navigation shell component 82 may , for example , invoke one or more sub shell components 82 to control individual frames . the mini - app dialog component 83 manages the dialog with a customer for a specific business function in a specific dialog style . the mini - app dialog component 83 , for instance , may manage the business functions of transferring funds or bill payment in the styles of question and answer or forms . the mini - app dialog component 83 presents information and choices to the customer and collects and validates customer inputs . the mini - app dialog component 83 is responsible for the content of information on pages and the flow of the customer interaction , but preferably not the style and layout of the presentation . the mini - app dialog component 83 may comprise several different mini - app dialog components 83 with different dialog styles for the same business function . the mini - app dialog components 83 may support different modes of the customer entering information , such as guiding the customer through detailed question and answer steps or forms with multiple input fields . after collecting the necessary customer inputs for a particular business function , the mini - app dialog component 83 uses a transaction executor component 91 to carry out the function by doing transactions with external service providers and operating peripheral devices , such as a cash dispenser or depositor . the mini - app dialog component 83 implements the customer - visible control flow for a particular function in a specific dialog style . the flow may be tailored based on the customer relationship and on various countries / business rules . the mini - app dialog component 83 uses a language man component 122 within the business services set 120 to do translation of phrases into target languages for display or print . the mini - app dialog component 83 assembles phrases and formatted data into pages , for display or print , with each page constructed in a canonical format by setting properties of named objects within named templates . the mini - app dialog component 83 sends pages to the presentation manager component 52 which handles the final style and layout for the specific remote device . the mini - app dialog component 83 collects customer inputs and validates customer inputs using business rules . validation , for instance , includes basic field validations as well as cross - field validations . the mini - app dialog component 83 instantiates and calls transaction executor components 91 to do transactions with external service providers and also operates remote devices , such as a cash dispenser or a depositor , needed by the business function . the mini - app dialog component 83 queues transaction data for printed record and increments transaction counters in the instrumentation component 76 . a mini - app dialog component 83 may , for instance , use separate mini - app dialog subcomponents 83 to do some parts of the dialog that may be common to several business functions , such as pin entry , account resolution , and entering currency amount . the legacy app bridge component 84 is a bridge that enables a legacy application set to operate in the delivery system 12 . the legacy app bridge component 84 translates data between customer and business services objects in the delivery system 12 in the form that data is stored in the legacy applications . a different legacy app bridge component 84 may exist for each type of legacy application set , such as uscat , asiacat , latincat , and eurocat . on entrance to a legacy application , the legacy app bridge component 84 obtains data from the session services set 130 and customer services set 110 and translates the data into the global data structures needed by the legacy application . on exit from a legacy application , the legacy app bridge component 84 takes modified data from the legacy structures and puts the data back to the customer services set 110 within the delivery system 12 . the legacy app bridge component 84 translates legacy pages into the canonical page structures needed by the presentation manager component 52 and interfaces with the back door man component 101 to send messages to external service providers . the legacy app bridge component 84 also interfaces with the logger for logging errors and transactions . during initialization of the legacy app bridge component 84 , the rule broker component 121 and various rule authorities , primarily acquirer and issuer , may need to be interrogated to obtain data needed to populate static tables used by the legacy applications for processing rules . depending upon the extent of migration , the legacy app bridge component 84 may have several different relationships between it and the navigation shell component 82 . for instance , the navigation shell component 82 may provide the top level navigation across the new mini - app dialog component 83 as well as the individual legacy app bridge component 84 . for some card types and issuers , the navigation shell component 82 may be faceless and all business functionality is provided by the legacy apps . in this alternative , top level navigation may be provided within the legacy applications . for cat applications , one of a pool of cat / tafe runtimes will be assigned to a session at start - up . the legacy applications will be assigned a frame space within which the navigation shell component 82 “ plays ” its applications . individual cat level 3 functions will be individually registered and exposed . the navigation shell component 82 supports exposing cat level 3 functions without the need to traverse the existing level 2 menu structure . the transaction services set 90 handles external service provider transactions needed to accomplish particular business functions . the components within the transaction services set 90 provide transaction coordination and external service provider message formatting . in some cases , more than one transaction executor component 91 may be associated with a given business function . some examples of typical transaction executor components 91 are profile transaction component , scam transaction component , withdrawal component , deposit component , transfer component , transaction journal component , get payee list component , update payee list component , and make a payment component . each transaction executor component 91 performs a particular business function , such as cash withdrawal , by doing transactions with external service providers . the transaction executor component 91 validates properties of data obtained from mini - app dialog components 83 to determine whether the required information needed to do the transaction exists . if the data is missing , the transaction executor component 91 immediately returns an error . the transaction executor component 91 collects additional information needed to do the transaction from other objects , such as customer id component 111 , acquirer component 114 , issuer component 112 , or account component 115 . the transaction executor component 91 formats messages to be sent to external service providers and orchestrates complex transactions by sending messages to multiple service providers , serially or concurrently , as necessary . the transaction executor component 91 also parses response messages and returns information as properties of a transaction object and recovers from external service provider transaction failures . the transaction executor component 91 may also reverse transactions during a recovery . the transaction executor component 91 calls system logger component 72 to record an audit trail of transactions . the external service provider interface services set 100 provides protocol support for interfacing with external service providers 22 . the external service provider interface services set 100 includes the back door man component 101 and the external service provider interface component 102 . the back door man component 101 multiplexes messages from multiple transaction executor components 91 in several sessions to a single external service provider . the back door man component 101 provides message sequencing over all messages sent to a particular external service provider and also provides response routing back to the requesting transaction executor component 91 . the back door man component 101 secures messages exchanged with an external service provider , such as with mac or encryption . the back door man component 101 generates sequence numbers , adds external service provider envelope to outgoing messages , and sends outgoing messages to the external service provider interface manager . the back door man component 101 is responsible for retry of messages and checks sequencing of incoming messages . the back door man component 101 routes response messages to the proper transaction executor component 91 and routes incoming unsolicited messages to a registered or well - known system component . the back door man component 101 switches between alternate or back - up external service providers to provide error recovery , load sharing , or alternate routing . the back door man component 101 can support multiple outstanding requests simultaneously . during operation , the back door man component 101 knows which of the alternate or back - up external service providers are active , the name / addresses of external service providers , server id information , message sequence numbers , and message security context . the external service provider interface manager component 102 provides protocol support for connecting to an external service provider 22 . for example , the external service provider interface manager component 102 might provide x . 25 , 3270 , or sna protocol support . the external service provider interface manager component 102 provides protocol support for a specific type external service provider interface , if needed . the customer services set 110 provides a category of services that includes all information specific to the customer who initiates a session . all information related to identifying the customer , the issuing business of the customer , the customer &# 39 ; s profile , and all the customer &# 39 ; s accounts are the component objects included within this category of services . the customer services set 110 includes a customer id component 111 , an issuer component 112 , a customer relationship component 113 , an acquirer component 114 , and an account component 115 . the customer id component 111 contains information and answers questions about a customer &# 39 ; s identity and associated information . the customer id component 111 supports query of customer id and card information , supports update of customer id and card information , and identifies card issuer . the customer id component 111 knows the customer primary id including the cin , encrypted pin / tpin , and public key certificate . the customer id component 111 also knows the status and profile action code indicating id validity : valid , invalid , or unknown . the customer id component 111 has card information , if a card was used , including the type of card , such as atm , credit card , smartcard , and tracks present and track data . the customer id component 111 knows the tier of service a card supports , the advisory message text to be displayed , the primary relationship type code , and the deposit only flag . the customer id component 111 has links to account list , an issuer list , and a customer relationship list . the customer id component 111 may also store the name of a customer , mail address of customer , e - mail address of customer , and phone numbers of the customer and provide this information to the customer or external service provider 22 so that this information does not have to be requested more than once . the issuer component 112 represents the issuing business for the customer - id information that was used to start a session . the issuer component 112 is the rule authority for all general , issuer related , non mini - app specific business rules . the issuer component 112 supports query of issuer information and supports answering questions about general issuer business rules . the issuer component 112 has information about the issuer of customer &# 39 ; s identity , for instance , business code , financial institution identifier , and issuer type , such as bank card , credit card , or other third party card . the issuer component 112 knows the pin length supported and the issuer country and iso currency code for the issuer default currency . the issuer component 112 has a list of customer relationships for the issuer and a list of accounts for the issuer . the issuer component 112 also knows the products and services supported and the transaction and product limits . the issuer component 112 is informed of the issuer &# 39 ; s presentation rules , such as data , format , and account number masking , and the issuer &# 39 ; s local rules , such as collect call support , currency , and product names . the issuer component 112 also knows the issuer &# 39 ; s servicer - esp communication rules , for instance , profile message support , the languages supported , and the navigation schemes supported . the issuer component 112 knows when or how to authenticate customer , such as by local validation of public key certificate , immediate to issuer , background to issuer , or delayed to first transaction . the customer relationship component 113 contains information and can answer questions about a customer &# 39 ; s relationship . the information contained within the customer relationship component 113 includes the accounts and products owned by the customer , customer type , preferences and privileges . the customer relationship component 113 supports query of customer relationship information and supports update of customer relationship information . the customer relationship component 113 knows the owner of the customer relationship or issuer , the customer relationship id , the customer relationship type , such as citibank account or citigold , and the customer relationship nickname . the customer relationship component 113 has a list of accounts / products associated with a customer , a list of account categories , and a list of accounts for the customer . the customer relationship component 113 also knows the customer &# 39 ; s predefined transactions and has an account summary status . the customer relationship component 113 has the list of payees and the payee list status . the customer relationship component 113 knows the customer privileges or limitations , such as the number of quotes allowed for that customer . some businesses , such as those in mexico , venezuela , or brazil , can have multiple relationships per card . in the top level navigation , the customer may select one of them as the primary relationship to use for a session . the transfer application , however , can transfer between accounts in different relationships . the acquirer component 114 contains information and answers about the acquirer . the acquirer component 114 represents the acquiring business for a session and is the rule authority for business rules that are acquirer related , but not mini - app specific . for rules that are acquirer related and mini - app specific , separate rule authorities may be registered as part as a dynamic installation of a mini - application . the acquirer component 114 supports query of acquirer information and processes certain specific rules associated with the acquirer . the acquirer component 114 knows information about acquiring business for a session , for instance a financial institution identifier and business code , and knows the country or region of acquirer . the account component 115 contains information and can answer questions about a particular account . each individual account preferably has only one account component 115 with the account details and rules varying for the particular individual account . the account component 115 supports query of account information and supports update of account information . the account component 115 knows the business owning the account , the category of the account , and the product type and subproduct type of the account . the account component 115 also knows the fund family code and fund code , the category code , the account name , account number , and account details , such as currency code , balances , and terms . the account component 115 has information on the functional privileges and limitations and also information on associated link accounts . the individual accounts may be customer owned or payee accounts that can be the target of a transfer or bill payment . the business services set 120 provides formal mechanisms for dealing with business rules , language support , and acquirer services . the business services set 120 includes a rule broker component 121 and a language man component 122 . the rule broker component 121 formalizes a mechanism for dealing with business rules that have conventionally been ad hoc . the rule broker component 121 is a central registry for all business questions . other components within a session address named business questions to the rule broker component 121 . the rule broker component 121 routes the question to the rule authority or authorities that have registered for a rule . by having a separable rule authority for each mini - app specific business rule , new rules can be added independently without affecting the rest of the delivery system 12 . the rule broker component 121 supports the concept of overrides , which allow the dynamic registration of a new rule authority when changes to business rules are necessary . the rule broker component 121 may either answer questions directly or route questions to another component , such as an account component 115 or the issuer component 112 . the rule broker component 121 is also responsible for interfacing into rules databases and knows what component will answer each question . the language man component 122 provides the application with a facility to resolve the necessary text phrase needed in a particular context . the context includes the language selected by the customer and the type of device in use . the language man component 122 provides a repository of phrases which allows an application to be written in a language and device independent way . from the application point of view , all phrases are named . when an application needs to display a phrase , the application queries the language man component 122 for the correct text for this phrase name given a specified language choice and the current presentation device type , which has been provided by the presentation manager component 52 . the language man component 122 can also extend this capability to the use of phrases with imbedded variables . thus , the application may supply additional parameters to be inserted into the phrase at a required point . to resolve a request , the language man component 122 uses a phrase repository to look up the correct version of a particular phrase , with the repository being segmented . a set of “ global ” phrases are usable by all applications and a mini - app dialog specific set of phrases is established . thus , given the id of a requesting mini - app dialog component 83 , the repository specific to that mini - app dialog component 83 is searched first and then , if the phrase is not found , a global repository is searched . the phrase repository allows a degree of independence in the creation of mini - app dialog components 83 . no coordinated update to the global repository is needed to release a new mini - app dialog component 83 and a mini - app dialog 83 can override the global phrase . the language man component 122 also provides apis for the dynamic construction of phrases needed to deal with gender and plural issues encountered in some languages . the language man component 122 looks up a requested phrase in a phrase repository and returns the phrase based on the client id , language id , locale , phrase medium , phrase formulate , and device type and may be qualified by the device , as well , such as short form of the phrase for a small display on the device . the language man component 122 is backed by a set of development tools to create and maintain phrase repositories . these development tools provide for creation and deletion of phrase ids , mechanisms to add , change , and delete phrase text in the repository , multi - lingual text entry , and specification of variable insertion points as well as graphic files or sound or video files . the session services set 130 includes a session controller component 131 , a session component 132 , and a delivery capabilities component 133 . the session controller component 131 manages all the sessions in the delivery system 12 . when a new customer contacts the delivery system 12 , the session controller component 131 starts a session by instantiating a session bubble for the session . the session bubble , for instance session bubble s shown in fig2 , bounds a secure set of resources allocated to one and only one customer session . the session controller component 131 is aware of the type of customer remote device a start session request came from and the broad product type of service requested so that the appropriate type of session bubble can be instantiated . the session controller component 131 creates a session when a customer contacts the delivery system 12 by instantiating a new instance of the session object . the session controller component 131 maintains a registry of all active sessions with handles to the session objects . the session controller component 131 also terminates a session when a customer abnormally breaks the connection . the session component 132 manages the resources associated with this session . the session component 132 brings up some initial session resources and is the registry for the brought up session components . the session component 132 also knows certain session context information as well as all assigned session resources and services . the session component 132 instantiates and initializes the following resources when a session is created and deletes them when the session is terminated : delivery capabilities component 133 , rule broker component 121 , front door man component 51 , presentation manager component 52 , acquirer component 114 , language man component 122 , and welcome mat component 81 . the session component 132 sends touch point attached notification to each of the components and supports registration of additional session components that need to be accessed globally by the session . the session component 132 recovers resources when a session abnormally terminates and logs significant session events , such as start or end of session and session errors . the session component 132 has session initiation information including the session id and the start of session time . the session component 132 also has the handles for linking to many other session components and knows which navigation shell components 82 and mini - app dialog components 83 are active . the session component 132 also knows the reason for the end of a session . the delivery capabilities component 133 holds data and answers questions about the delivery capabilities of a remote device for a particular session . the information contained within the delivery capabilities component 133 is communicated either explicitly or implicitly in the start up message from the remote device causing the initiation of a session . the delivery capabilities component 133 is available for interrogation from other components within the delivery system 12 . the delivery capabilities component 133 answers questions about the delivery capabilities of a remote device . for instance , for a web browser remote device , the delivery capabilities would include the html level , less preferably , ftp , picture formats , applet types , script types , and international fonts . the delivery capabilities component 133 is instantiated by the session controller component 131 with the initial capabilities based on access mode , for example , internet , dial - in , or cat . an example session will now be described with reference to fig3 a to 3c and fig4 a to 4c . at a step e 1 , a customer initiates a session . the customer may initiate a session in various ways depending upon the remote device used to communicate with the delivery system 12 . for instance , the customer may use a screen phone 14 , a cat / casst 16 , a personal computer 18 , or a pda 20 . the customer may also use a remote device 24 and an external service provider 22 to communicate with the delivery system 12 . the customer , regardless of the particular remote device used , initiates the session through the touch point and display component 31 of the delivery system 12 . at a step e 2 , a start banking message is sent from the touch point and display component 31 to the touch point interface component 41 . at step e 3 , the touch point interface component 41 sends the start session message to the session controller component 131 . at step e 4 , the session controller instantiates session component 132 . at step e 5 , the session component 132 then instantiates the delivery capabilities component 133 and the session device manager component 63 . at step e 6 , the session component 132 instantiates the front door man component 51 . the session component 132 instantiates the presentation manager component 52 at step e 6 and instantiates the presentation manager component 52 at step e 7 . at step e 8 , the session component 132 instantiates the rule broker 5 component 121 and at step e 9 instantiates the language man component 122 . at step e 10 , the session component 132 instantiates the acquirer component 114 and at step e 11 instantiates the welcome mat component 81 . at step e 12 , the welcome mat component 81 sends a logon to presentation manager component 52 . the presentation manager component 52 , at step e 13 , formats the screen based on device specific template and sends formatted information to the front door man component 51 . at step e 14 , the front door man component 51 assigns a session cookie and sends a response via the touch point interface component 41 to the customer . as reflected in steps e 1 through e 14 , a customer can access the delivery system 12 with any type of remote device . in response , the delivery system 12 will create a session bubble specific for that customer . this session bubble will preferably have a session component 132 , a delivery capabilities component 133 , a session device manager component 63 , a rule broker component 121 , a welcome mat component 81 , a front door man component 51 , as well as various other components dedicated for that particular session . through the presentation manager component 52 , front door man component 51 , touch point interface component 41 and touch point and display component 31 , the delivery system 12 can format messages to any type of remote device and can custom tailor this message according to the desires of a particular customer . the delivery system 12 is also capable of providing uniformity across the various remote devices so that the customer is presented with a consistent and familiar interface regardless of the remote device used . an example of the process of authenticating a customer will now be described with reference to fig5 a to 5d and fig6 a to 6c . at step e 21 , a customer enters his or her cin and pin at the touch point and display component 31 which forwards the information to the touch point interface component 41 . at step e 22 , the touch point interface component 41 forwards the message to the appropriate session bubble based on the session id in the session cookie . at step e 3 , the front door man component 51 performs a security check on the cookie and other parameters before forwarding the message to the presentation manager component 52 . at step e 24 , the presentation manager component 52 routes the input to the dialog services set 80 . for instance , the presentation manager component 52 may route the input based on mime type and url to the appropriate dialog welcome mat component 81 . at step e 25 , the welcome mat component 81 asks the rule broker component 121 who is the issuer based on the cin . the welcome mat component 81 , in turn , instantiates the customer id component 111 at step e 26 and instantiates the issuer component 112 at step e 27 . at step e 28 , the welcome mat component 81 instantiates the profile transaction executor component 91 for authenticating the customer and then passes the cin and encrypted pin to the transaction executor component 91 . at step e 29 , the transaction executor component 91 formats a reply message and sends the message to the host through the back door man component 101 . at step e 30 , the back door man component 101 adds a universal message sequence and , at step e 31 , the external service provider interface component 102 provides protocol gateway to the external service provider 22 . at step e 32 , a response is returned to the back door man component 101 and the back door man component 101 routes the response to the appropriate transaction executor component 91 . at step e 33 , the transaction executor component 91 extracts information from the external service provider message and gives this information to the welcome mat component 81 . at step e 34 , the transaction executor component 91 instantiates the customer relationship component 113 which , in turn , instantiates the account components 115 at step e 35 . at step e 36 , the welcome mat component 91 instantiates the navigation shell component 82 which sends initial navigation choices to the customer at step e 37 . at step e 38 , the presentation manager component 52 formats style of screen display and sends a response to the customer via the front door man component 51 , touch point interface component 41 , and touch point and display unit 31 . the selection of a mini - app will now be described with reference to fig7 a and 7b and fig8 a and 8b . at step e 41 , the customer selects a mini - app with the touch point and display component 31 and the request is sent into the delivery system 12 . at step e 42 , the presentation manager component 52 demultiplexer the request based on mime - type and url and sends the request to the navigation shell component 82 . a step e 43 , the navigation shell component 82 instantiates the appropriate mini - app dialog component 83 . at step e 44 , the mini - app dialog component 83 returns choices to the customer . at step e 45 , a back and forth dialog occurs between the customer and the mini - app dialog component 83 until all information is collected for a function . during this step , the mini - app dialog component 83 directs business rule questions to the rule broker component 121 for resolution during the dialog . at step e 46 , after all information has been collected , the mini - app dialog component 83 instantiates the transaction executor component 91 for the selected function . at step e 47 , the transaction executor component 91 formats a message to the external service provider 22 and does the transaction with the external service provider 22 . at step e 48 , the transaction executor component 91 extracts information from the host message and passes the information to the mini - app dialog component 83 . as step e 49 , the mini - app dialog component 83 formulates content of response and sends the response to the presentation manager component 52 for formatting . at step e 50 , the presentation manager component 52 formats style and layout of response and sends the response to the customer via the front door man component 51 , touch point interface component 41 , and touch point and display component 31 . to allow for both local delivery to the cat 16 and to other remote devices , the basic rendering model is indirect . preferably , none of the components within the dialog services set 80 draw directly to the screen but rather produce a stream of data , the app stream , that will ultimately be rendered by the touch point and display components 31 . the app stream is preferably an html encoded stream of named , objects or tokens with a named template or forms . the dialog services set 80 may then set the properties of these named objects within named templates . although the dialog services set 80 may set any property of a named object , the delivery system 12 preferably separates content from style so that a specific mini - app can be leveraged and delivered across many delivery vehicles . in general , the mini - app dialog component 83 will operate by setting the values of named 20 properties of named objects and named templates , such as templatex . objecty . propertyz = value . the presentation manager component 52 , using delivery vehicles specific named templates , is responsible for style and mapping to the encoding language of the target device . the presentation manager component 52 takes the app stream received from the mini - app dialog component 83 and , based on delivery vehicle specific templates , merges the data based on mapping rules and produces the final token stream that is sent to the touch point and display component 31 . a one to one mapping exists between canonical templates that mini - app dialog components reference and delivery vehicle specific templates that the presentation manager component 52 uses . delivery vehicle specific templates include specific information on the layout , colors , and mapping of individual objects . a set of emerging standards from microsoft and wc3 on advance style sheets , including style sheets that allow precise x , y positioning of objects may be used as part of the templating mechanism . separation of content from style provides many benefits . for instance , separation allows the style and layout of a presentation to be defined and changed independent of the code in the mini - app dialog components 83 . also , separation allows a single mini - app dialog component 83 to deliver its functions to more than one target delivery vehicle through the abstraction of individual objects or tokens . the delivery system 12 allows and encourages the use of abstract objects in the app stream . for instance , the use of an abstract object like “ choice ” instead of a specific object like “ button ” allows the choice to manifest itself in many ways on the target delivery vehicle . a choice could manifest itself in one case as a cat button , in another as a windows style button , as an html anchor , or as an item in a scrolling list . the delivery system 12 preferably supports activex visual controls within delivery vehicle specific templates . the delivery system 12 , however , is preferably expanded so as to map controls to alternative objects for presentation on delivery vehicles that do not support activex controls . the delivery system 12 also encourages the grouping of logically related named objects into named groups . the grouping facilities allow the masking out of a group so that it will not be delivered to certain delivery vehicles based on the capabilities of that device or screen real estate . the delivery vehicle specific templates define layout and style both for frame sets and within a frame . a frame is a well - known concept within web browsers and is a rectangular portion of screen real estate , which may be bordered or borderless . a frame set defines the layout of frames within an overall screen window . the frame set defines the width and height of each frame and an initial link to the html page or program that will provide the content for that frame . the presentation manager component 52 manages the overall display . based on templates , the presentation manager component 52 assigns a frame or frames to a navigation shell component 82 . in turn , based on templates , the navigation shell component 82 assigns a frame to a mini - app dialog component 83 . within a frame , the layout of that frame is controlled by a delivery vehicle specific template . by assigning frames that bound the display space of specific mini - app dialog components 83 , an independence between one mini - app dialog component 83 and another can be maintained and different navigation shell components 82 may be installed independently of the mini - app dialog component 83 . the presentation manager component 52 will model the display space as a set of frames and , based on the delivery vehicle specific templates for non - framed devices , the presentation manager component 52 will merge information from many frames into a single frame for delivery to a remote device . the canonical templates that mini - app dialog components 83 use are bounded by a frame . the mini - app dialog components 83 are responsible for setting the properties of the named objects within its canonical templates . one of these properties that the mini - app dialog component 83 is responsible for setting for “ choice ” objects is a link . a link is a standard universal resource locator ( url ) that specifies the target object , such as the mini - app dialog component 83 , and a list of parameters that will be returned if this choice is selected by the customer . the activation of links by the customer is one of the main ways of making choices and navigating through a mini - app dialog component 83 . in addition to links , data entered by the customer in input fields , select lists , check boxes , radio buttons , as well as in other ways will be returned to the mini - app dialog component 83 in the app stream in the standard html encoding style of name - value pairs . the basic app stream interface can be produced with any programming language . for instance , any programming language that can produce a text stream can also produce an app stream . the programming language preferably should be able to communicate via com but otherwise has no restrictions . the app stream is a multi - channeled stream capable of supporting the basic text based app stream as well as other mime types . although the delivery system 12 encourages leveraging one mini - app dialog component 83 over a large range of delivery vehicles , the delivery system 12 does not preclude writing mini - app dialog components 83 targeted towards a specific delivery vehicle or class of delivery vehicles . the mechanism of passing the app stream between mini - app dialog components 83 and the presentation manager component 52 would remain the same . the mini - app dialog component 83 is still responsible for content and the presentation manager component 52 for style and layout . in this case , however , the range of visual object types or capabilities may only be available on a specific delivery vehicle and might not lend itself to abstraction . for example , the inclusion of client - side scripting may only be available on certain devices or class of devices and may not be easily abstracted . the delivery system 12 can easily support multi - media . html has well - known means for embedding and referencing a wide range of media types , for instance graphics , sounds , and movies . the delivery system 12 preferably uses standard html encoding techniques to incorporate this ever expanding set of media types into the delivery system 12 for use by remote devices . to support various error conditions and easy switching and restarting of mini - app dialog components 83 , the presentation manager component 52 preferable caches the last page output for each frame that it manages . a fundamental advantage of the delivery system 12 is the independence of one mini - app dialog component 83 from another . the delivery system 12 provides a safe environment for the dynamic insertion and registration of new mini - apps with their navigation shell components 82 . the delivery system 12 can introduce a new mini - app dialog component 83 so as to require a complete testing cycle only on the introduced application and not a regression test of the entire delivery system 12 . the mini - app dialog components 83 are therefore preferably packaged as separate entities . for instance , a mini - app dialog component 83 may include an executable (. exe ) for the mini - app dialog component 83 including the transaction executor component 91 as a dll or ole object . the mini - app dialog component 83 also includes a rule file , including all new rule entries to be registered with the rule broker component 121 . also , when appropriate , the mini - app dialog component 83 includes a rules engine file per rule for any rules that can be interpreted by the general purpose rules engine and a rule database file per rule that supplies any needed data to support mini - app specific rule authorities . the mini - app dialog component 83 also includes a language file including all mini - app specific language phrases needed and , when appropriate , a template file containing all mini - app specific templates . an example of a netcat server 200 is shown in fig9 . the netcat server 200 has the ability to present a traveling customer their “ home screens .” this ability is accomplished without the need to load cat software for , all regions on all cats 16 around the world . the basic notion is to have at least one netcat server 200 for every region . on this netcat server 200 , a region &# 39 ; s cat software will run and it will be capable of being “ remotely projected ” through any acquiring cat 16 around the world , thus providing almost all of the customers home screens around the world . differences from the customer &# 39 ; s home screen will show up on the initial welcome screen , until the customer &# 39 ; s issuer is identified , and during certain transactions , notably cash withdrawal , where foreign exchange rates will have to be displayed and regulatory requirements of the acquiring country will have to be honored . to start a netcat session , the traveling customer dips his or her card at “ foreign ” cat 16 and a session bubble starts up normally at the cat 16 . when the welcome mat component 81 determines that this customer is off - region , the welcome mat component 81 makes a connection to the appropriate regional netcat server 200 . the welcome mat component 81 on the cat 16 communicates with the session controller component 131 on the netcat server 200 to start up a session . the welcome mat component 81 on the netcat server 200 , after given card parameters upon start up , instantiates the customer id component 111 and issuer components 112 on the netcat server 200 . after netcat server 200 authenticates the customer , with its own external service provider , the netcat server 200 starts up a navigation shell component 82 on the netcat server 200 . the cat 16 exposes / copies certain of its components to the netcat server 200 for its use . the cat 16 , for instance , exposes the session component 132 , the acquirer component 114 , the delivery capabilities component 133 , the front door man component 51 , the peripheral device manager component 62 , the transaction executor components 91 , and the welcome mat component 81 . the netcat server 200 uses these components for business rule inquiries , for delivery to cat screen , for operation of the cat peripherals , and for inquiry about the capabilities of the hosting cat , such as fonts supported and pictographic printing . an example of a cat 16 is shown in fig1 with the exposed components marked with a black dot . the delivery system 12 supports an orderly migration of cat functionality from implementation with ags applications to implementation with service components on all platforms where ags is used to delivery cat look - and - feel functionality . an example of the interaction between cat ags applications and service components will be described with reference to fig1 . the ags applications are executed within an instance of a tafe process , the legacy run time ags driver and associated functionality , and share a single persistent global data store . at the time a cat application is invoked , session context is completely represented by the current state of the persistent global data and the content of the exit message tafe passes to the application . if this context can be instantiated by alternate means , then the business / customer functionality normally performed by the ags level one and level two applications need not be performed before running a level three transaction application . at a high level , pretransaction session context is imported to the tafe and a level three application is invoked with exit message . after a return from level three application with exit message , post transaction session context is exported from tafe . for the case of a complete session performed in ags , the interaction includes importing prelanguage selection session context to tafe , invoking level two application with exit message , returning from level two application with exit message , and exporting post end - of - session context from tafe . the vehicle for import and export preferably is elf formatted messages that can be defined in an ags data dictionary and received and sent by ags applications . these messages may be defined to be composed by the persistent global variables and tables that comprise the necessary context such that no data manipulation is required in ags after receipt of the import message or prior to sending the export message . the delivery system 12 does not specify the handling of these message within tafe or whether they are implemented as a single import message and a single export message per interaction . in general , the session services set 130 must capture and maintain sufficient session context information from which to derive the context representation required by the ags application to be invoked . the required context will vary in detail by target ags application set , such as uscat , eurocat , asiacat , latincat and icc . the required context will also vary with the application being invoked such as a level two or level three application . the legacy application bridge component 84 , whether representing an ags session or an individual ags transaction application , preferable is capable of constructing and interpreting elf messages using the data name space appropriate to the target ags application . the legacy app bridge component 84 embodies the knowledge of the other components it queries and in the specific properties it assesses in order to assemble the session context that it delivers to tafe . likewise , the knowledge of the components and properties that must be updated by the modified session context at the completion of an ags processed transaction or session is also embodied by the legacy app bridge component 84 . the delivery system 12 is not limited to any particular manner for initiating a cat ags application . as an example , however , a pre - initialized tape ags driver process is associated with the session bubble . within the bubble , a faceless level one application waits on receipt of a start of session context message . the legacy app bridge component 84 for the customer selected transaction sends a start of session context message to the tafe including track two data . the message sent to the tafe preferably does not contain data from an element id range specific to a card issuer . the level one application receives the message and updates session context and persistent global memory . using the track two data , preinitialized static tables , and existing functionality , the level one application creates and sends the exit message to invoke the level two application appropriate to the card issuer . in this example , the level two application is a faceless , special purpose replacement for the original level two application . the level two application is specific to the element id range of the issuer and sends a request message for the remainder of the session context data . the request message is routed from the tafe to the legacy app bridge component 84 . the legacy app bridge component 84 queries other service components in order to construct and return a response message containing the remainder of the session context , including data in the element id range specific to the level two application that sent the request . the level two application receives the message and updates the session context and persistent global memory . using the transaction type code , language code , and application state code received in the context data , together with existing functionality , the level two application creates and sends the exit message to invoke the level three application appropriate to the transaction type . the level three application processes the transaction and presents screens , sends and receives external service provider messages , device messages and logging messages , and updates session context in persistent global memory . upon completion , the level three application sends an exit message to return to the level two application . the level two application sends a message containing the updated post transaction session context which tafe routes to the legacy app bridge component 84 . the level two application also sends an exit message to return to the level one application . the level one application waits in receipt of another start of session context message . the legacy app bridge 84 receives the post transaction session context and processes it causing the session context to be updated in the other appropriate service components . in this example , the level one and level two applications perform no customer or business functionality . the role of the level one and level two applications instead is preferably limited to receiving and returning context data and invoking the appropriate lower level application . the delivery system 12 , however , can vary from that described above . one advantage of the delivery system 12 is the separation of individually - installable business rules from the code embodied in the transactions specific components . application components needing answers to rule questions asks the rule broker component 121 without knowing any details about how the rules are encoded and answered . the rule broker component 121 routes the question to the appropriate component which can supply an answer . components which supply rule answers may be installed independently of components which ask the rule questions . in addition , any data used by a rule “ answerer ” may be installed or replaced independently from components which use that data to determine answers to rule questions . in general , a business rule is a statement of policy driven by business or regulatory needs , which defines context specific behavior of the applications . a business rule in the delivery system 12 may comprise any statement policy driven by business or regulatory needs , which defines context - specific behavior of an application . business rules are discrete items which may be modified independently from other application components . examples of business rules are choosing dispense amounts to display , maximum pic retries , assignment of product types to summary categories , assignment of product types to product categories , and the number of account digits on print records . on average , fifty to one hundred business rules may exist per region with most of the rules being issuer rules and a fewer number of acquirer rules . the rule broker component 121 is a single entity which components of the delivery system 12 may access to obtain answers to the business rule questions which affect application processing . the rule broker component 121 receives rule registration requests , registers rules in a rule registry , receives rule queries and routes them to the registered provider for that rule . the rule broker component 121 provides a mechanism for rule authorities to register themselves as answers for particular rule questions . when application components query the rule broker for a particular rule , the rule broker component 121 routes the query to the appropriate rule authority or to the rule engine . the rule broker component 121 itself is not aware of the actual semantics of any of the rules . in the preferred embodiment , the rule broker component 121 is used by the mini - app dialog components 83 , the transaction executor components 91 , the presentation manager component 52 , the navigation shell component 82 , the welcome mat component 81 , and the legacy app bridge component 84 . although the delivery system 12 preferably includes the rule broker component 121 , certain components within the delivery system 12 can be direct answerers of questions when appropriate . the rule authority is a component which can answer rule questions . components within the delivery system 12 act in the role of a rule authority component if they register themselves with the rule broker component 121 as the answerer of a named rule . for instance , the issuer component 112 , the acquirer component 114 , and the delivery capabilities component 133 may each be a rule authority . the rule authority components register rules with the rule broker component 121 and provide answers for the rules that they have registered . the rule authority components may access separately installable data to answer rule questions and this data may be separate from the rule registry information used by the rule broker component 121 and the rule engine . the rule engine is a general rule interpreter . the rule engine can answer a rule query based on parameters passed in the query and some interpretable rule data in the rule database . unlike rule authorities , the rule engine has no specific knowledge of rules or applications . the rule engine determines answers for rules and is used by the rule broker component 121 and calls the rule registry . in operation , each rule registered with the rule broker will have a unique name which includes a version identifier . the name will be passed separately from other parameters in a rule query . all rule query parameters aside from the name will be passed in a self - defining way , for instance , a rule query may contain a name , type , and value for each parameter . each rule registered with the rule broker will exist as an independent record in a rule registry . a rule in the rule registry will be defined as either data , such as an encoded string , which can be interpreted by a general rules engine or a rule authority which is registered to answer a rule . a component &# 39 ; s registration of a rule may override a previous component &# 39 ; s registration for that same rule . each registered rule will define the expected type of parameters to be passed and rules can be dynamically added to the rule registry independently of all other rules . the rule broker component 121 will route a rule query either to the general rules engine or to a sequence of rule authorities until an answer is obtained or no more authorities are available . the rule broker component 121 routes queries based only on the rule name and does not validate the parameter list . the rule authority or authorities are responsible for validating the parameters . a preferred protocol exists between the rule broker and components querying the rule broker . any component querying the rule broker must be prepared to handle the case of “ no answer ” gracefully . for example , a no answer may occur when no such rule is registered or when the component registered to answer the rule cannot answer . also , the rule broker component 121 must return a specific “ no answer ” answer to a requester when no answer is available . further , the rules engine and all rule authorities should dynamically check the parameter list and return the appropriate “ no answer ” if a discrepancy between the expected and received parameters exist . a set of complex rules , spanning multiple configuration tables , is used in the ags implementation when choosing what dispense amounts are displayed on selection buttons to a customer withdrawing cash at a cat 16 . the existing “ withdraw cash ” application is tightly coupled to the structure of these tables . the acquirer component 114 might register as a rule authority for the “ whatdispenseamounts ?” question . the input parameters for this question include the product type , which specifies the product being withdrawn from , and the currency . the output parameters include the result code and the variable length list of amounts . some of the session data needed to answer the question , such as card type and level of service , is available from known session components and consequently is not passed as input . the acquirer component 114 , in processing the request , may query whatever database contains specific rules for dispense amounts and ask the peripheral device manager component 62 to determine what denominations are available . as another example , a rule “ maxpicretries ?” to be processed by the rule engine is registered in the rule database . this rule has no input parameters and has output parameters of a result code and maxpicretries . as rule data , some interpretable data which indicates that a “ business options ” table should be searched for the maxpicretries value matching the session values of issuer and card type . all of the session data needed to answer the question , such as the issuer and card type , is available from known session components so no specific input parameters are needed . the rule engine searches the specified table for a match on the session issuer and card type and returns the value of maxpicretries for that match . the delivery system 12 is preferably language neutral . the applications can be written in any language which supports the object model used to specify the delivery system 12 . consequently , different components may be implemented in different languages and may migrate to a different language over time . as examples , visualbasic , c ++, and java may be used in implementing the components of the delivery system 12 . the delivery system 12 is also not limited to any particular integrated development environment ( ide ). the ide , however , should have support for multi - user shared development and should have integration with a configuration management capability . the ide should also support a tool “ plug - in ” capability to allow tools to be added which are unique to the delivery system 12 . some examples of these “ plug - in ” tools include configuration tools . to allow for the maintenance of system configuration information and test tools including host and device emulators . other tools include software distribution tools to standardize the method by which software upgrades are distributed , system management and logging tools , security protocols , and middle - ware for distributed object support in legacy system interfaces . further tools include template development tools for both canonical and device specific templates , a rules database editor , services registry maintenance tools , and language man repository editor . the ide preferably supports all of the selected targeted languages so as to minimize retraining and allows reuse of “ plug - in ” of tools across development languages . the operating system for the delivery system 12 is preferably microsoft &# 39 ; s windows nt but may alternatively operate on other operating systems , such as a macintosh or a unix operating system . a component in the delivery system 12 may comprise any piece of hardware or software that is potentially independently replaceable with the software components being embodied as either executables (. exes ) or dynamically loaded libraries (. dlls ). components generally have well - defined interfaces . an application , in contrast , is a set of components that does a specific business function , such as cash withdrawal and may comprise several components . each application in the delivery system 12 preferably comprises one or more dialog components 83 for handling the user interface , one or more business rule components 121 , and one or more transaction executor components 91 for handling the message interface with external service providers 22 . the delivery system 12 advantageously provides a common application base for customer activated applications for all remote devices . thus , a financial institution need not have a first delivery system for its atms , a second delivery system for its staff tellers , a third delivery system for personal computers or pdas , and a fourth delivery system for external service providers . instead , home banking devices such as a personal computer 18 , a smart phone 14 , an internet browser remote device 24 , and a pda 20 may all access the books of a financial institution through the delivery system 12 . in addition , the delivery system 12 may provide financial services to its customers through its cat / casst 16 and to its employees through branch and csr staff platforms 26 . the delivery system 12 supports convergence to a base set of reusable global application components . these components may be reassembled in different combinations and organizations to form application suites or they may be customized for the environment in which they are used . furthermore , the global application component may be complemented by components from a local business . the delivery system 12 provides state of the art user interfaces . the interfaces provided by the delivery system 12 support integration of standard 15 multi - media elements , such as pictures , video , and audio . the interfaces also support customizations needed for specific devices , languages , countries , and other local business needs . the interfaces further support multiple co - existing application navigation paradigms and also support the user working in multiple application components at a single time . the delivery system 12 substantially improves development and maintenance cycle time . the delivery system 12 uses prefabricated components and templates instead of “ from scratch ” development . the delivery system 12 may embrace widely accepted industry standards for component interfaces so that off the shelf “ plumbing ” may connect components and enable plugging - in third party components . the delivery system 12 supports “ plug and play ” application components that can automatically configure themselves for the environment and automatically insert themselves into top level navigation menus . the delivery system 12 supports high productivity prototyping / development tools for top level navigation definition and user interface design , making use of predefined look - and - feel standards . the delivery system 12 separates different parts of an application so that changes in one part do not affect other parts . the delivery system 12 provides a smooth gradual migration from legacy applications into a new architecture . the delivery system 12 supports the harmonious coexistence of software built under the delivery system 12 along with existing legacy ags applications . as a result , financial institutions do not need to introduce a totally new system but rather may leverage their existing legacy ags applications while taking advantage of the delivery system 12 . it should be recognized that the system and method disclosed are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention . numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is only limited by the following claims . | 6Physics
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the preferred embodiment ( s ) of the present invention is ( are ) illustrated in fig1 - 5 , like reference numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the various drawings . referring to fig1 a block diagram of an exemplary telecommunications network 10 according to the teachings of the present invention is shown . telecommunications network 10 is preferably constructed pursuant to the advanced intelligent network ( ain ) architecture 10 . telecommunications network 10 includes a service control point ( scp ) 12 coupled to a signal transfer point ( stp ) 14 through a signaling system no . 7 ( ss7 ) link set 16 specified by the consultative committee on international telephone and telegraph ( ccitt ). an ss7 link set may include up to sixteen 56 kb / s links . stp 14 is in turn coupled to one or more service switching points ( ssp ) 18 also via ss7 link sets . ssps 18 connect telephone service customers 20 to the telecommunications network . a wireless telephone system 22 is further coupled to stp 14 to provide wireless telecommunications services to wireless service customers 26 . wireless telephone system 22 may include a wireless or cellular switch residing in a mobile telecommunications switching office ( mtso ) 24 . wireless telephone system 22 encompassing one or more mtso 24 may include a number of land - based transmission towers 28 and / or satellite - based wireless transponders ( not shown ). calls may originate from a non - wireless telephone customer 20 to another non - wireless telephone customer 20 , from a wireless telephone customer 26 to another wireless telephone customer 26 , from a non - wireless telephone customer 20 to a wireless telephone customer 26 , and vice versa . according to the teachings of the present invention , a prepay wireless platform 50 is coupled to cellular switch 24 to provide live call management therefor . prepay wireless platform 50 may also be hereinafter referred to as a prepay call management platform 50 . preferably , prepay wireless platform 50 is s co - located with cellular switch 24 or located on - site with cellular switch 24 . the communications span between cellular switch 24 and prepay wireless platform 50 may be a t1 line , an ss7 link set , or any other suitable medium according to any other suitable communications protocol . it is important to note that prepay call management platform 50 may also be coupled to ssp 18 to provide prepay live call management to non - wireless telecommunications systems in a similar manner . although the detailed description below is directed toward applications to a wireless telecommunications system , the discussion is equally applicable to a non - wireless telecommunications system . [ 0021 ] fig2 is a block diagram of an exemplary prepay wireless telecommunications architecture 60 according to the teachings of the present invention . a number of customer interface facilities 62 , such as authorized sales agents 64 , retail outlets 66 , and replenishing locations 68 are employed to provide a network of convenient access points to the customers . card readers 69 may be employed at customer interface facilities 62 to read customer data stored in a deposit card issued to each prepay customer . a log 70 of customer information is kept at each respective customer interface facility 62 to record the customer names , account numbers , and the transaction amounts . the customers may activate prepay wireless service and replenish their accounts at any of these customer interface facilities 62 . further , customer interface facilities 62 may also include a clearinghouse network 80 which includes a large number of nationwide or global retail locations , such as the travelers express ™, that may also be used to replenish prepay wireless accounts . clearinghouse 80 may further maintain a log 70 of its customer information . authorized sales agents 64 , retail outlets 66 , and replenishing locations 68 may have dial - up connections to clearinghouse network 80 , which may be coupled to a command center 84 through a packet switching x . 25 span specified by the ccitt , for example . clearinghouse 80 may further be coupled to an optional command center 84 via an x . 25 link , for example . command center 84 may serve to oversee the operations of prepay wireless telecommunications service and as an interface between customer interface units 62 and clearinghouse 80 to prepay wireless platforms 50 . a log 70 of customer information may also be maintained at command center 84 . command center 84 preferably communicates with one or more prepay wireless platforms 50 via a frame relay network 90 . each wireless platform 50 maintains a database 92 of its customers . prepay wireless platforms 50 may further communicate with one another and to one or more roaming platforms 96 via frame relay network 90 . each roaming platform 96 preferably maintains a roaming customer database 98 . at other sites or cities , co - located prepay and roam wireless platforms 93 may serve the local wireless subscriber community . databases 99 storing customer data related to prepay accounts and roaming capabilities are coupled to each prepay / roam platform 93 . prepay / roam platforms 93 may communicate with one another and with prepay wireless platforms 50 and roaming platforms 96 via frame relay network 90 . as each customer activates a prepay wireless account , he / she is assigned a primary or home prepay wireless platform 50 , where data associated with the customer &# 39 ; s prepay account is stored . in operation , cash , bank drafts , credit cards , and telephone company billing may be used to replenish the prepay wireless account at any customer interface facility 62 . a deposit card ( not shown ) which has a magnetic strip , embedded chip , or another storage medium recording the customer &# 39 ; s name and account number may be issued to each customer . customer interface facilities 62 preferably employ data card readers 69 to obtain the information stored in the customer &# 39 ; s deposit card and to immediately relay this information and the transaction amount to the customer &# 39 ; s home prepay wireless platform 50 . the transaction amount is then immediately posted to the customer &# 39 ; s account to reflect the new balance . this transaction is similar to a credit card or debit card transaction at a point of sale ( pos ). if authorized , the customer may also dial a pre - assigned code with the wireless telephone to replenish his / her account with a credit card . constructed in this manner , the customer may immediately begin to use the wireless services . [ 0025 ] fig3 is a block diagram of an exemplary prepay wireless platform 50 according to the teachings of the present invention . prepay wireless platform 50 includes a primary call manager unit 102 and an optional backup call manager unit 110 . primary call manager unit 102 may include one or more switch matrices 104 , each being coupled to a respective call processor 106 . call processors 106 provide voice prompts and announcements , account balance computations , call progress monitoring , and call blocking . automatic voice announcements may be programmed to provide the customer the remaining balance in the prepay account at the beginning of a call and reminders to replenish accounts prior to call termination when a preset minimum is reached . if desired , multi - lingual voice announcements may be configured to meet the customer &# 39 ; s preference . backup call manager 110 may be similarly constructed with one or more standby switch matrices 104 and a standby processor 106 . the number of standby switch matrices and standby call processors is dependent on the level of redundancy required , which may be 1 : 1 , 2 : 1 , 3 : 1 , etc . switch matrices 104 may be implemented with nortel ™ meridian ™ switches and other switches of similar operational characteristics and functionality . it may be seen that primary and standby call manager units 102 and 110 may be implemented by only a computing processor if prepay wireless platform 50 is more highly integrated with the carrier &# 39 ; s switch 24 , so that the functionality of switch matrix 104 is carried out thereby . primary and standby call manager units 102 and 110 are preferably co - located with cellular switch 24 and are coupled thereto via a t1 , ss7 , or any other suitable link . call processors 106 are further coupled to a database server 114 , which maintains a pair of mirrored databases 116 to provide redundancy and ensure the integrity of the data . database server 114 and call processors 106 may be implemented by any processor unit with adequate processing capacity and speed , and may be a personal computer , a workstation , a mini - computer , or the like . database server 114 is further coupled to a router 118 which provides data and message routing functions between prepay wireless platform 50 and customer service / system administration / pos terminals 120 via a local area network ( lan ), and to customer interface facilities 62 ( fig2 ) via frame relay network 90 . in operation , prepay wireless platform 50 may accept dual - tone multifrequency ( dtmf ), multifrequency ( mf ), or primate rate addressing protocols from cellular switch 24 . when cellular switch 24 recognizes a prepay wireless customer by the mobile identification number ( min ), cellular switch 24 transfers the call to prepay wireless platform 50 for account balance verification , individual account processing requests , and then routes the call back to the cellular carrier for call completion . however , if there is insufficient funds in the caller &# 39 ; s account , the call is not completed except calls for emergency 911 or customer service , for example . if a caller &# 39 ; s account balance is exhausted while in the middle of a call , the call is disconnected immediately . because prepay wireless platform 50 is directly coupled to the cellular carrier &# 39 ; s switch and resides in close proximately or on - site with the cellular switch , local calls stay within the carrier &# 39 ; s network . further , customer data is readily accessible by the cellular switch &# 39 ; s personnel via a lan connection or a local dial - up protocol . more importantly , live in - call management is possible to avoid unnecessary credit exposure . [ 0031 ] fig4 is a flowchart of an exemplary prepay wireless call processing procedure 200 according to the teachings of the present invention . referring also to fig3 switch matrix 104 of prepay wireless platform 50 receives a call from cellular switch 24 , as shown in block 202 . cellular switch 24 recognizes a prepay wireless call by the min , or more specifically , by the customer group office code ( npa - nxx ). prepay wireless customers may be assigned customer group office codes within a predetermined range for ease of recognition . upon receiving a call , a database lookup of database 116 is performed to locate the data related to the prepay wireless customer , such as the account balance , as shown in block 204 . call processor 106 then determines the rate per minute the present call is to be charged , which is dependent on whether the call is local or long distance , or the access and air time fees and applicable taxes , etc . from the rate per minute , the amount of time available for the call is computed based on the amount of funds available in the customer &# 39 ; s account , as shown in block 206 . this computed amount , in number of minutes , for example , is the maximum allowable call duration . if the time is zero , as determined in block 208 , then a voice announcement is played by call processor 106 to inform the customer , and the call is disconnected , as shown in blocks 210 and 212 . the process then terminates 214 . if , on the other hand , there are sufficient funds left in the account to connect the call , the call is released back to cellular switch 24 for line termination , as shown in block 220 . once the call is released to cellular switch 24 , call processor 106 starts a call duration timer , as shown in block 222 . call processor 106 further monitors the call for hardware answer supervision that indicates call completion , as shown in block 224 . the call is torn down and disconnected when either of two conditions shown in block 226 becomes true : 1 . the call is disconnected at the originating or terminating equipment ; or 2 . the call duration timer has reached the computed maximum allowable call duration . as soon as one of the above conditions is true , the call is disconnected , as shown in block 230 . the amount of funds expended by the call is then computed and immediately posted to the customer &# 39 ; s account balance stored in databases 116 , as shown in blocks 232 and 234 . the process then terminates in block 214 . [ 0037 ] fig5 is a flowchart of an exemplary prepay wireless call processing with roaming 240 according to the teachings of the present invention . cellular switch 24 transfers the call to a manual or credit card roaming platform 96 after it recognizes the call as unauthorized to roam , as shown in block 242 . roaming platform 96 may be a platform that is on - site with a cellular switch 24 , such as an american roaming network offered by national telemanagement corporation of dallas , tex . roaming platform 96 then performs a database lookup to determine if the npa - nxx of the caller &# 39 ; s min is an authorized home carrier prepay area code exchange . additionally , roaming platform 96 determines whether the roam market or carrier ( the wireless carrier serving the caller ) allows prepay roaming with the caller &# 39 ; s home market or carrier , as shown in block 244 . if either condition is not met , then the call is processed as a credit card call or a manual roaming call , as shown in block 246 . if both conditions in block 244 are satisfied , then roaming platform 96 looks up the caller &# 39 ; s home market and transfers the call thereto , as shown in block 248 . in addition , as shown in block 250 , roaming platform 96 sends certain data to the caller &# 39 ; s home prepay wireless platform 50 , such as the area or location the request for service originates from , and what type of service is requested and the rate for that type of service if the rate is determined by the roam carrier . typically , the roam carrier dictates both the scope of the local calling area and the long distance rates applicable to calls terminating outside of the local calling area . the caller &# 39 ; s home market dictates the access and air time fees charged to the caller while making calls within the roam market . once the call is transferred to home prepay wireless platform 50 , call processor 106 performs further database lookups to make several determinations . in block 252 , call processor 106 determines whether prepay call is allowed to roam . the option to roam in other markets may be flagged in multiple locations , such as a system - wide flag which indicates whether roaming is permitted for any subscriber to that prepay wireless platform 50 , and an individual subscriber may be flagged to indicate whether roaming is permitted for that particular subscriber . if either flag indicates that the caller is not allowed to roam , then the call is processed as a credit card or manual roaming call in block 246 . if the caller is allowed to roam , then the minimum balance required for the roaming call is computed , as shown in block 254 . if the account balance of the caller is not equal to or greater than the minimum balance , the caller cannot roam on the prepay account , and the call is processed as a credit card or manual roaming call in block 246 . if there is sufficient funds in the caller &# 39 ; s account , then the amount of time available for the roaming call is computed or the maximum allowable call duration , as shown in block 260 . this value may be determined by first consulting an established rate table for the roam market and maintained at prepay wireless platform 50 . the rate table ( not shown ) may include information such as the roaming charges delineated by time of day , by call , and / or minutes of use . the call roaming minute rate is thus determined . further , calling restrictions , if any , are looked up in database 116 and adhered to . the computation for the amount of time available for the call also takes into account any long distance charges and applicable taxes . home prepay wireless platform 50 then returns the computed maximum allowable call duration value and any calling restrictions to roaming platform 96 , and also releases the call back to the roaming platform &# 39 ; s switch for termination , as shown in block 264 . a prepay wireless platform co - located with roaming platform 96 then starts a call duration timer and monitors for call termination in blocks 266 and 268 . if the call is disconnected at either the originating or terminating equipment or the call duration timer reaches the predetermined maximum allowable call duration received from home prepay wireless platform 50 , as determined in block 270 , then the call is disconnected in block 272 . the amount used up by the call is computed and immediately posted to the caller &# 39 ; s account balance stored at home prepay wireless platform 50 to reflect a lower amount , as shown in block 274 and 276 . the process then terminates in block 247 . constructed and operating in this manner , live call management is possible to protect wireless carriers from fraud and calls made on depleted accounts . further , complete records of all activation and replenishment transactions and details of each call are available to the prepay wireless service administration and the cellular carriers , unlike systems which route prepay calls to remote switches for processing . prepay wireless customers may activate or replenish their accounts at a comprehensive network of easily accessible locations , which relays the transaction amounts to the account balance databases in real - time . no cumbersome access codes , pins , and debit cards are required to use the prepay wireless service of the present invention . although several embodiments of the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that a myriad of mutations , changes , substitutions , transformations , modifications , variations , and alterations can be made therein without departing from the teachings of the present invention , the spirit and scope of the invention being set forth by the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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referring now to the drawings and to fig1 - 3 in particular , an intravascular pump and balloon catheter assembly 12 according to the invention is shown . the assembly 12 comprises a primary catheter 14 having a distal end 16 and a proximal end 18 , a secondary catheter 20 having a distal end 22 and a plurality of supply catheters 24 extending therefrom , and a plurality of arteriotomy cannulae 26 selectively attached to the terminal ends 28 of the supply catheters 24 . each of these subcomponents will be described separately . first , the primary catheter 14 comprises a catheter body 32 and an inflatable member or balloon 34 provided on the exterior surface of the catheter body . preferably , the balloon is provided adjacent the distal end 16 of the catheter body 32 . one end of an inflation lumen 36 is fluidly connected to the balloon and a conventional luer connector and stopcock valve 38 is provided on the other end thereof . the balloon 34 is adapted for selective inflation from a retracted state as seen in fig2 and an expanded state as seen in fig1 and 3 through the application of fluid under pressure through the connector / valve 38 and lumen 36 . an intravascular pump 40 is also incorporated into the primary catheter 14 . preferably , the pump 40 is mounted in the lumen 42 of the catheter body 32 , adjacent the distal end 16 . the pump 40 is mounted a spaced distance from fluid inlets 58 provided on the distal end 16 of the catheter body 32 . the pump 40 comprises a rotor 44 rotatably mounted inside the pump body 46 and a stator 48 fixedly mounted to the interior of the pump body 46 . rotation of the rotor 44 inside the pump body 46 is controlled by a suitable drive mechanism 54 provided a spaced distance from the pump . the rotor 44 is interconnected to the drive mechanism 54 by a drive cable 50 extending proximally therefrom . preferably , the drive cable 50 is provided inside a cable sheath formed from a compatible material . examples of acceptable structures for the intravascular blood pump 40 are seen in pct patent application wo 89 / 05164 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 846 , 152 and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 944 , 722 , each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference . one example of an acceptable drive mechanism is seen in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 895 , 557 which is expressly incorporated herein by reference . the proximal end 18 of the primary catheter 14 has a conventional connector 56 provided thereon . the connector 56 is adapted to telescopically receive a complementary connector 60 provided on the distal end 22 of the secondary catheter 20 . the connectors 56 , 60 cooperate to establish fluid communication between the lumen 42 of the primary catheter 14 and the lumen of the secondary catheter 20 . the secondary catheter is commercially available from the dlp division of medtronic , inc ., located in grand rapids , mich . the secondary catheter 20 comprises a main body 62 with a lumen extending therethrough and a plurality of supply catheters 24 extending therefrom . preferably , the main body 62 has a clamp 63 provided thereon which can be used to close the lumen and prevent the flow of fluid therethrough . a conventional interconnection 64 is provided at the junction of the main body 62 of the secondary catheter 20 and each of the supply catheters 24 . the lumens of each of the supply catheters 20 are fluidly connected to the lumen of the main body 62 . preferably , each secondary catheter 20 has a clamp 66 provided on the body thereof and a conventional connector 68 provided on the terminal end thereof . the connectors 68 of the supply catheters 24 are adapted to be telescopically received in the proximal end 72 of the arteriotomy cannulae 26 . a lumen extends through the body of the cannula 26 to an aperture provided at the distal end 74 . the distal end 74 is adapted to be received in a blood vessel so that blood can flow through the primary catheter 14 , secondary catheter 20 , supply catheter 24 and cannula 26 . the cannulae 26 are commercially available from the dlp division of medtronic , inc . located in grand rapids , mich . one application of the intravascular pump and balloon catheter assembly 12 according to the invention is seen in fig1 . in this embodiment , the assembly 12 is adapted for use in repairing an aortic aneurysm . the process is performed by first inserting the distal end 16 of the primary catheter 14 into the aorta 80 through an incision 82 provided upstream from the affected aortic tissue 84 . the distal end 16 of the catheter is inserted with the balloon 34 in the retracted state . next , one or more of the cannulae 26 are inserted into the aorta 80 downstream from the affected tissue 84 through an appropriate incision 88 . a suitable fluid is supplied through the inflation lumen 36 to inflate the balloon until it fully occludes the fluid flow through the aorta 80 . while it is preferred that the balloon fully occludes the fluid flow , this condition is not necessary . the balloon could be adapted to only partially occlude the aorta 80 . simultaneously , or prior to the inflation , the pump 40 is activated by the drive mechanism 54 . fluid is drawn into the distal end 16 of the primary catheter 14 and flows to the secondary catheter 20 and the fluidly connected cannula 26 . once these fluid interconnections are established and the pump 40 is activated , the pump 40 creates an effective bypass of the affected tissue 84 of the aorta 80 . with the bypass in place , the aorta can be cross clamped both upstream and downstream of the affected tissue 84 by a pair of clamps 90 , 92 . next , the affected tissue 84 of the aorta 80 can be opened so that the necessary repair of the aneurysm can be performed . depending upon the location of the affected tissue , the fluid flow from the aorta could be terminated for one or more arteries . as seen in fig1 an artery 94 fluidly connects to the aorta 80 intermediate the clamps 90 , 92 . in order to continue the flow of blood to the artery 94 and the tissue serviced by the artery , one of the cannula 26 is inserted into the artery 94 and the appropriate clamp 66 is opened . with this arrangement , oxygenated blood is drawn through the intravascular pump and supplied to the aorta 80 downstream from the clamp and to arteries intermediate the clamps 90 , 92 on the aorta . the arteriotomy cannulae 26 can also be tapped into other arteries requiring an enhanced fluid flow or arteries 96 , as seen in fig1 intermediate the balloon 34 and the upstream aortic clamp 90 in which the natural blood flow is disrupted . using this structure , bypass for the cross clamped aorta is achieved while simultaneously providing means for supplying pressurized blood flow to other affected arteries . use of the intravascular pump is ideal for patients having a weakened heart or which are otherwise prevented from generating strong blood flow . the pump will create a significant pressure differential between the inlet of the pump and the outlet so that all arteries fluidly connected to the outlet of the pump will be provided with an adequate supply of blood . experimentation has shown that use of the intravascular pump according to the invention reduces the required amount of anticoagulant drugs such as heparin . it is believed that this beneficial effect is the result of the reduced surface area which the blood contacts during the bypass procedure . regardless of the cause , the benefit is substantial because surgeons can now reduce the amount of heparin introduced into the bloodstream during an aneurysm repair procedure and thereby speed recovery from the surgical procedure . fig4 shows an alternative application of the intravascular pump and balloon catheter assembly 12 according to the invention . in this application , a patient 100 has a catheter 102 inserted into the right femoral artery 104 . the catheter 102 can be used for a host of different conventional procedures . one problem experienced by patients having devices , such as the catheter 102 , inserted into the femoral artery is the sufficiency of the blood flow to the right leg 106 , downstream from the insertion point 108 of the catheter 102 . the intravascular pump and balloon catheter assembly 12 according to the invention can be used to divert some of the blood flow from the left femoral artery 110 to the right femoral artery 104 , downstream from the insertion point 108 of the catheter 102 . specifically , the distal end 16 of the catheter assembly 12 is inserted into the left femoral artery 110 through an appropriate incision 112 . at least one of the arteriotomy cannulae 26 extend from the primary catheter 14 and is inserted through an appropriate incision into the right leg 106 , downstream from the insertion point of the catheter 108 . the pump 40 is activated so that at least a portion of the blood flowing through the left femoral artery 110 is redirected to the right femoral artery 104 downstream from the occlusion caused , in this example , by the catheter . in the embodiment described above , the balloon is not inflated in the left femoral artery 110 so that blood flow continues therethrough . if it is necessary to inflate the balloon in order to properly position and secure the distal end 16 of the primary catheter in the artery , then some means must be provided for redirecting a portion of the blood flow to the remainder of the left leg . in the embodiment seen in fig4 a second arteriotomy cannula 26 is inserted through an appropriate incision into the left artery , downstream from the incision 112 . with this structure , the blood flow through the left femoral artery 110 is split between the right femoral artery 104 and the remainder of the left femoral artery 110 . an alternative to utilizing a second cannula 26 for tapping into the left femoral artery 110 would be to provide one or more apertures directly on the primary catheter body 14 so that some of the blood flow through the primary catheter is directed to the cannula 26 while a portion of the blood flows out the apertures , back into the femoral artery 110 . as is evident , the intravascular pump and balloon catheter assembly according to the invention 12 can be used in any application in which blood flow within a vessel must bypass an occlusion or restriction in flow . the incorporation of the secondary catheter and the cannulae on the primary catheter allow for a wide range of applications and adaptions of this basic structure . reasonable variation and modification are possible within the spirit of the foregoing specification and drawings without departing from the scope of the invention . | 0Human Necessities
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ffu / ml : a measurement of the concentration of the live virus in a given amount of fluid / harvest . this is measured by spreading a known amount of the viral fluid over a layer of cultured cells which are infected by the virus , then counting the number of areas in the culture which look infected . target titer : each single human dose of rotavirus vaccine should contain not less than 10 5 . 5 ffu / dose to raise the vaccine immunogenecity , till end of shelf life of the vaccine which is referred as the target titer . the required virus bulk is added on the basis of bulk titer and the target titer for the formulation on volume basis . typical rota virus bulk titers are around 10 7 . 5 per dose while the formulation titers were targeted around 10 6 . 0 or 10 5 . 5 per dose , except a few batches were also formulated around 10 4 . 0 titer to check the effect of vaccine titer on stability for a given composition . all components are finally expressed in weight / volume percentage terms . typical target titer was around 10 6 . 0 at the time of preparation of the vaccine ; the objective being to achieve a vaccine formulation with a titer at the minimum of 10 5 . 0 after giving an allowance of 0 . 5 log loss in titer ( with a margin for titer estimation error around +/− 0 . 30 ), after 2 years of storage at 2 °- 8 ° c . any composition which shows a titer loss greater than 0 . 3 compared to the zero day titer at 2 - 8 ° c . is considered as exhibiting signs of instability . of course , titer losses are quite high at 25 ° c . and 37 ° c . as a function of storage time , but these results are used only for screening purposes . the total dose volume exemplified in the various formulations ranges from 0 . 5 ml to 2 . 0 ml has formulations considering the fact that , the vaccine is able to be easily absorbed by the infant . the excipients ( sugars ) are dissolved in the desired novel buffer solution ( s ) as is a common practice in biological preparations while the stabilizers [( human serum albumin ( hsa )/ lactalbumin hydrolysate ( lah )] are made as aqueous solutions ( in water for injection ) and all solutions are sterile filtered . both these solutions are prepared on weight / volume basis . while vaccine + buffer is known with 2 . 5 ml as the total volume , based on acid neutralization studies , lower buffer volumes have also been tested . this was also corroborated with information available in public domain on commercial rotavirus vaccines . as required , detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein with the help of examples ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the invention , which can be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . further , the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention . small scale studies were conducted using t flasks and cf1 ( cell factory 1 ), further scaled upto cf40 to study the comparative infectivity and yields of rotavirus in vero cells . post infection , fluid viral harvest ( vh ) per ml in terms of yield of harvest was observed after every 48 hours . three sets of experiments were conducted using t flasks and cell stacks and average of the three experiments was considered and the results are shown in the table below . hence , it is evident from the experiments that recombinant trypsin has given comparatively better yields than porcine trypsin since porcine trypsin contains chymotrypsin as impurity as well as free of any potential hazards associated with pcv 1 and 2 , along with pcbs as well . buffering capacity of various novel buffers and vaccine with buffer formulations an ideal buffer can be selected by measuring the buffering capacity of a particular buffer . buffering capacity is measured as the amount of buffer which would maintain ph to neutral conditions of a given formulation , in highly acidic environments . usually the closer the buffered ph is to the pka , the greater is the buffering capacity . the buffering capacity of various buffers was tested using 34 meq of hydrochloric acid . the buffering capacity results acted as a base to include such buffers in vaccine formulations . the buffering capacity of buffers and vaccine formulations were conducted using 34 meq of hydrochloric acid and the well established baby rosette rice assay undertaken in the prior art . following novel buffers have been checked for their buffering capacities which might be included in the rotavirus vaccine formulations : magnesium hydroxide carbonate , carbonate - bicarbonate buffer and citrate - bicarbonate buffer combination systems are strong buffers and even after addition of 20 ml concentrated hydrochloric acid ( hcl ) also , ph came down to around 6 . 5 to 7 . 0 from the original ph . lactate bicarbonate buffer and 0 . 05m citrate and 0 . 1m bicarbonate buffers are moderate wherein the ph reaches to 5 . 5 to 6 . 0 after addition of 20 ml of hcl . all the above said buffer ( s ) are able to neutralize 5 ml of hcl where the ph is in the range of 9 . 0 to around 7 . 0 . since the volume of gastric juice is approximately 3 . 0 ml to 5 . 0 ml , all these buffers can be used as buffers for retaining the vaccine ph in the stomach . when these buffers are used for formulation , due to the presence of other excipients along with buffers 1 ml of vaccine is able to neutralize 5 ml of acid , but ph is around 6 . 0 instead of 7 . 0 . ph 6 . 0 will not destabilize the viral antigen and hence these buffers can be added to oral vaccine formulations . apart from the above mentioned novel buffers ammonium acetate based mixed buffers were checked for buffering capacity ammonium acetate based mixed buffer combination systems have not been cited in any prior art literature relating to rotavirus vaccine formulations . the buffering capacity of such ammonium based mixed bufers have been evaluated . mixed buffers with ammonium salts ( ammonium acetate + ammonium bicarbonate + di ammonium ortho phosphate of 0 . 5 m ) was checked to confirm its buffering capacity . to 0 . 5 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid , mixed buffer was added from 0 . 5 ml to 2 ml and ph was checked . it is evident from the above table that even after addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid to 0 . 5 ml of buffer , the buffer is able to retain the ph of 7 . 25 which indicates that these ammonium buffers are strong buffers which can resist the ph changes upon the addition of concentrated acid and also when the buffer is added progressively from 0 . 5 ml to 2 . 0 ml ph , increased in the range of 7 . 7 to 8 . 0 . in our efforts to develop stable novel vaccine and buffer compositions , a large number of formulations have been prepared with various buffers at a wide range of concentration . a few guiding factors have been framed while developing such compositions : acid neutralizing capacity or buffering capacity of the chosen buffer . volume of buffer required to be less than 2 . 0 ml for the prescribed acid system . stability of the buffer + virus vaccine combination . for such studies , the pure liquid vaccine compositions without buffers which have been found to be stable at 2 °- 8 ° c . have served as the base compositions . again to recapitulate , compositions which show a titer loss less than 0 . 5 log or those whose final titer is greater than 105 . 50 are considered to be stable compositions . buffering capacity using 34 meq hcl of various vaccine formulations with citrate bicarbonate , carbonate bicarbonate and citrate phosphate buffer was also tested and provided in the table mentioned below . baby rossette rice assay : since rotavirus vaccine is administered orally , it will get exposed to gastric acidity where the ph is around 1 . 8 to 2 . 0 due to which rotavirus antigen will get inactivated . to prevent this inactivation of virus potential , buffers used in formulations retains the formulation at neutral ph levels . rotavirus inactivation takes place at ph 2 . 0 or 3 . 0 but at ph 4 . 0 , no or minimal inactivation takes place . the buffering capacity of a given formulation is defined as the time measured to maintain the ph of the formulation above 4 . 0 and is evaluated by baby rossette rice assay which is a validated method and referred in the prior art . procedure for brr assay : in a 50 ml beaker water for injection was added to the formulation to a final volume of 10 ml . the beaker was placed in water bath and the temperature maintained at 37 ° c . the initial ph of the solution was measured and recorded . thereafter , 4 . 0 ml of 0 . 1n hydrochloric acid was added to the beaker containing the final volume of 10 ml formulation . at the same time the pump for addition of 0 . 5 ml / minute of 0 . 1n hcl using peristaltic pump was switched on . the ph values along the time was recorded per minute , until the ph of 4 . 0 or above is retained . stop the clock and pump . ( reference : geigy scientific tables , volume 1 , 1981 addition , page 126 ). several rotavirus vaccine formulations with novel buffer - combination systems were checked for buffering capacity ( the respective components of the formulation details have been mentioned wherever applicable ). buffering capacity results are mentioned in the table below . brr assay results of novel buffer formulations and reference formulations ( fig1 ) citrate bicarbonate buffer is 0 . 03 m trisodium citrate and 0 . 3 m sodium bicarbonate buffer . formulation example bv - 8 contains sucrose 40 . 0 % w / v , trehalose 0 . 5 % w / v , lactose 5 . 0 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate 0 . 5 % w / v , rhsa 0 . 08 % w / v , 0 . 5 m di ammonium hydrogen ortho - phosphate , ammonium acetate and ammonium bicarbonate mixed buffer along with rotavirus antigen 116e of a dose volume of 1 ml . formulation example bv - 9 contains sucrose 30 . 0 % w / v , trehalose 2 % w / v , lactose 5 . 0 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate 1 % w / v , rhsa 0 . 08 % w / v , 0 . 5 m di ammonium hydrogen ortho - phosphate , ammonium acetate and ammonium bicarbonate mixed buffer along with rotavirus antigen 116e of a dose volume of 1 . 5 ml . cpb is 0 . 35 m trisodium citrate and 0 . 05 m potassium phosphate buffer . formulation example bv - 10 contains sucrose 40 % w / v , trehalose - 0 . 5 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate - 0 . 5 % w / v , rhsa - 0 . 35 % w / v , 0 . 05m potassium phosphate and 0 . 35m trisodium citrate buffer along with rotavirus antigen 116e , up to a dose volume of 2 . 0 ml . formulation example bv - 11 contains sucrose - 40 % w / v , trehalose - 0 . 5 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate 0 . 5 % w / v , rhsa - 0 . 35 % w / v , 1 . 1m potassium phosphate buffer upto a dose volume of 2 ml . 2 . 5 ml of citrate bicarbonate has been also measured separately which were administered to infants separately prior to administration of the vaccine according to earlier practices which maintained ph of 4 and above for about 12 minutes . formulation examples bv - 8 and bv - 9 of bbil are the ammonium based mixed buffer batches and are able to neutralize and maintained the ph above 4 . 0 for about 15 minutes . certain formulation examples bv - 10 include buffer combination system prepared wherein the citrate concentration is raised to 0 . 35 m and phosphate is reduced to 0 . 05 m and checked for bufering capacity using 2 . 0 ml as dose volume . buffering capacity was observed and found to be 12 minutes . this formulation also is able to neutralize enough acid and shows good buffering capacity . hence in this buffer 0 . 35m citrate was considered . among the novel buffers , some of the most advantageous buffers showing better stability compared to others include the carbonate - bicarbonate buffer system , magnesium hydroxide carbonate buffer , citrate - bicarbonate buffer system , and a mixed buffer with ammonium salts . the final stability of vaccines with these novel buffers along with final rotavirus vaccine formulations and processes of manufacturing the same have been performed . the experiments include incorporation of zinc ions for further stability of the final rotavirus vaccine formulations zinc ions have been observed to enhance the stability of vaccine by interacting with the composition in a manner that is known in the art . inge erk et . al journal of virology , vol . 77 , no . 6 mar . 2003 , p . 3595 - 3601 demonstrates that , the major capsid proteins of the vp6 trimers of rotavirus play a significant role in achieving viral flexibility in presence of zinc ions at a given ph and temperature . the novel formulations of rotavirus vaccine therefore , include zinc ions also to render better stability to the rotavirus antigen in the final formulations . the human rotavirus strain 116e is a naturally attenuated ( human - bovine reassortant ). stability studies of the final formulations with the rota virus antigen have been performed at various temperature ranges . various vaccine formulations have been subjected to temperatures at 2 ° to 8 ° c ., and 25 ° c . observations of the vaccine titer were taken in terms of ffu / dose ( focus forming units ) which were taken at regular time intervals based upon the protocols . a maximum drop within the range of 0 . 3 log loss of the vaccine titer was considered to be maintained as a stable rotavirus vaccine formulation with the new buffer systems at 2 - 8 ° c . as explained earlier , virus titer of the vaccine is measured as a function of storage time to assess the formulation stability . for each cases , as described in the below examples , it was observed that , after 24 months of storage , at 2 - 8 ° c . the vaccine formulation was found to be stable ( with a minimum or no loss considering the error bar ). however , at room temperature a maximum of 1 . 5 log loss in vaccine titer was observed for a period of six months . such a loss in vaccine titer concludes vaccine stability at 25 ° c . for six months . formulation example bv - 10 contains sucrose 40 % w / v , trehalose - 0 . 5 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate - 0 . 5 % w / v , rhsa - 0 . 35 % w / v , 0 . 05m potassium phosphate and 0 . 35m trisodium citrate buffer along with rotavirus antigen 116e , upto a dose volume of 2 . 0 ml . formulation example bv - 11 contains sucrose - 40 % w / v , trehalose - 0 . 5 % w / v , lactalbumin hydrolysate 0 . 5 % w / v , rhsa - 0 . 35 % w / v , 1 . 1m potassium phosphate buffer upto a dose volume of 2 ml . vaccine formulations with 0 . 03m citrate and 0 . 3m bicarbonate buffer ( cb buffer ) trisodium citrate , dehydrate of ( molecular weight 294 . 1 gm ) to an amount of 9 . 6 gm and sodium bicarbonate anhydrous ( molecular weight . 84 . 01 gm ) to an amount of 25 . 6 gm was sequentially added to 500 ml in a sterile glass bottle so as to achieve 0 . 032m of citrate and 0 . 3m of bicarbonate . the components were dissolved completely and the volume was made up to 1 liter with wfi ( water for injection ). ph was checked and maintained to a level between 8 . 2 and 8 . 4 . the buffer vessel was then transferred into 2 l stainless steel ( ss ) pressure vessel and connected with filter . the solution was filtered through 0 . 2μ filter under biosafety cabinet by using compressed air . the buffer was collected into another sterile bottle and the bottle was labeled and stored at 2 - 8 ° c . for future use . formulations were made using this ( 0 . 032m ) citrate ( 0 . 3m ) bicarbonate buffer combination system prepared including rotavirus antigen 116e at 10 6 ffu / dose and other stabilizers and components as mentioned below at dose volumes as mentioned in the following table corresponding to each formulation ( identified by unique formulation number as appropriate allotted by bharat biotech international limited in the tables ), and stability of the vaccine formulation at 2 ° to 8 ° c ., and 25 ° c . was tested at various time intervals till 2 years approximately which is given in the accompanying graphs ( fig5 and 6 ). rotavirus vaccine stability at 2 - 8 ° c . with cb buffer ( fig1 ) rotavirus vaccine stability at 25 ° c . with cb buffer ( fig2 ) vaccine formulations with carbonate and bicarbonate buffer ( s ) ( 0 . 2m and 0 . 1m ) ( cab buffer ) one of the other well suited buffer systems to use for vaccine preparations that will be ingested and assimilated by the human body , is the carbonate - bicarbonate buffer system . this is because this buffer system is responsible for about 80 % of extracellular buffering and is present in blood plasma in the form of a combination of carbonic acid ( h2co3 ) and bicarbonate ( hco3 -) to maintain a ph between 7 . 35 - 7 . 45 . this system is highly conducive to use in an organic environment as it fulfils the requirements of non - inhibition of enzymatic action , useful alkaline ph range , simplicity and reasonable good stability . this combination buffer system , has not been reported in the prior art , especially at bicarbonate molarities less than 0 . 15m . sodium carbonate anhydrous ( molecular weight 105 . 99 gm ) to an amount of 1 . 69 gm and sodium bicarbonate anhydrous ( molecular weight . 84 . 01 gm ) to an amount of 15 . 4 gm was sequentially added to 500 ml in a sterile glass bottle so as to achieve 0 . 2m of carbonate and 0 . 2m of bicarbonate . the components were dissolved completely and the volume was made up to 1 liter with wfi ( water for injection ). ph was checked and maintained to a level between 9 . 2 and 9 . 5 . the buffer vessel was then transferred into 2 l stainless steel pressure vessel and connected with filter . the solution was filtered through 0 . 2μ filter under biosafety cabinet by using compressed air . the buffer was collected into another sterile bottle and the bottle was labeled and stored at 2 - 8 ° c . for future use . sodium carbonate anhydrous ( mw . 105 . 99 ) to an amount of 0 . 53 gm and sodium bicarbonate anhydrous ( mw . 84 . 01 ) to an amount of 7 . 98 gm was sequentially added to 500 ml in a sterile glass bottle so as to achieve 0 . 1m of carbonate and 0 . 1m of bicarbonate . the components were dissolved completely and the volume was made up to 1 liter with wfi ( water for injection ). ph was checked and maintained to a level between 9 . 2 and 9 . 5 . the buffer vessel was then transferred into 2 l stainless steel pressure vessel and connected with filter . the solution was filtered through 0 . 2 μl filter under biosafety cabinet by using compressed air . the buffer was collected into another sterile bottle and the bottle was labeled and stored at 2 - 8 ° c . for future use . formulations were made using this 0 . 2m carbonate - bicarbonate buffer combination system and 0 . 1m carbonate - bicarbonate buffer combination system prepared including rotavirus antigen 116e at 10 6 ffu / dose and other stabilizers and components as mentioned below at dose volumes as mentioned in the following table corresponding to each formulation ( identified by unique formulation numbers as mentioned in table 3 ( g )), and stability of the vaccine formulation at 2 ° to 8 ° c ., and 25 ° c . was tested at various time intervals till 2 years approximately which is given in the accompanying graph ( fig7 and 8 ). rotavirus vaccine formulation stability at 2 - 8 ° c . with cab buffers ( fig3 ). rotavirus vaccine formulation stability at 25 ° c . with cab buffers ( fig4 ). magnesium hydorxide carbonate dihydrate ( molecular weight of 314 . 98 gm ) was sequentially added to 500 ml water for injection in a sterile glass bottle so as to achieve 0 . 1m of magnesium hydroxide carbonate . the components were shaked well for homogeneity , since this salt is water insoluble . the suspension was made to a volume of 1 liter with water for injection . dissolved completely and the volume was made up to 1 liter with wfi ( water for injection ). ph was checked and maintained to a level between 10 to 10 . 5 . the solution was sterilized by autoclaving at 121 ° c . for 30 minutes . the buffer was collected into another sterile bottle and the bottle was labeled and stored at 2 - 8 ° c . for future use . formulations using this 0 . 1m magnesium hydroxide carbonate buffer combination system were prepared including rotavirus antigen 116e at 10 6 ffu / dose and other stabilizers and components as mentioned below at dose volumes as mentioned in the following table corresponding to each formulation ( identified by unique formulation numbers as mentioned in table 3 ( j )), and stability of the vaccine formulation at 2 ° to 8 ° c ., and 25 ° c . was tested at various time intervals till 2 years approximately which is given in the accompanying graph ( fig9 ). di ammonium hydrogen ortho phosphate ( mol wt . 132 . 06 gm ) to an amount of 66 . 03 gm , ammonium acetate ( mol wt . 77 . 08 gm ) to an amount of 38 . 54 gm and ammonium bicarbonate ( mol wt . 79 . 02 gm ) to an amount of 39 . 51 was added to 500 ml water for injection in a sterile glass bottle so as to achieve 0 . 5 m of the mixed buffer with the ammonium salts . the components were dissolved completely and the volume was made up to 1 liter with wfi ( water for injection ). ph was checked and maintained to a level between 7 . 6 and 7 . 8 . the buffer vessel was then transferred into 2 l stainless steel pressure vessel and connected with filter . the solution was filtered through 0 . 2μ filter under biosafety cabinet by using compressed air . the buffer was collected into another sterile bottle and the bottle was labeled and stored at 2 - 8 ° c . for future use . formulations using this 0 . 5 m of mixed buffer combination system were prepared including rotavirus antigen 116e at 10 6 ffu / dose and other stabilizers and components as mentioned below at dose volumes as mentioned in the following table corresponding to each formulation ( identified by unique formulation numbers as mentioned in table 3 ( l )), and stability of the vaccine formulation at 2 ° to 8 ° c ., was tested at various time for a period of 1 year which is given in the accompanying graphs ( fig1 to 13 ). ph values of buffers and vaccine formulations before and after formulations after stability period it is also important to check the ph of the buffers used in different formulations and the corresponding ph values while the buffers are present in the final vaccine formulations . this is to check the given ph ranges of the final vaccine formulation during and after storage period of the vaccine . such data is presented below . the bicarbonate based systems are above ph 8 , which is above the physiological buffer ph . however , the vaccine is stable even over 2 years at 2 - 8 deg c . after stability period . further , experiments were conducted with fixed formulation components while changing the various buffers , and the stability of the vaccine formulations were studied over prolonged periods of time . corresponding fig1 and 14 shows comparative vaccine stability with various novel buffers and fixed formulation components which include sucrose 40 % w / v , trehalose 0 . 5 % w / v , lah 1 % w / v , rhsa 0 . 35 % w / v and rotavirus antigen 116e . 1 . wainwright , w h . the development of live , attenuated rotavirus vaccines : a manufacturer &# 39 ; s resource guide . seattle : path ; 2006 . 2 . bharat biotech &# 39 ; s international pct publication wo2007 / 132480 ( granted indian patent 242868 and granted in uk 0821386 . 0 ) and wo2011 / 07363 . 4 . inge erk et . al journal of virology , vol . 77 , no . 6 mar . 2003 , p . 3595 - 3601 . 7 . guidelines to assure the quality , safety and efficacy of live attenuated rotavirus vaccines ( oral ) who technical report series no 941 , 2007 . 8 . harry b . greenberg , mary k . estes , rotaviruses : from pathogenesis to vaccination , doi : 10 . 1053 / j . gastro . 2009 . 02 . 076 . ( gastroenterology 2009 ). 8 . penelope h . dennehy , rotavirus vaccines : an overview , clinical microbiology reviews , january 2008 , vol . 21 , no . 1 , p . 198 - 208 . 9 . bresee j s , glass r i , ivanoff b , gentsch j . current status and future priorities for rotavirus vaccine development , evaluation and implementation in developing countries . vaccine 1999 ; 17 : 2207 - 22 . 10 . ( ref : geigy scientific tables , volume 1 , 1981 addition , page 126 ). | 0Human Necessities
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as a preliminary matter , it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application . many methods , embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described , as well as many variations , modifications , and equivalent arrangements , will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the following description thereof , without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention . the following disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments , adaptations , variations , modifications and equivalent arrangements , the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof . turning to the figures , fig3 illustrates a configuration of packet analyzers 2 corresponding to a single host 4 , or a defined group of hosts 4 . it will be appreciated that reference numeral 4 may refer to either a single host , or a group of hosts , where the group may comprise multiple devices that access a network through , for example , a gateway , a cable modem , a dsl modem , or other similar device . preferably , each packet analyzer is a leaky bucket state machine known in the art . a given host 4 may transmit multiple types of packet traffic to a communication network 6 , such as , for example , the internet . packet traffic is received by a central device 8 , such as a switch or router , which evaluates the content of the traffic packets to determine what to do with them . in general , switch 8 , which , as described above may be a layer 2 switch or layer 3 router , inspects traffic stream packets sent by each host , or group of hosts , connected to the switch to determine if the pattern of traffic sent by the host ( s ) is similar to conventional traffic pattern norms for the network . traffic whose patterns are deemed to be outside of a range that is predetermined to be ‘ normal ’ may be dropped , discarded , or throttled . traffic whose patterns are deemed to be “ normal ” will be passed . traffic that is passed may include packets that contain instructions for the central device &# 39 ; s 8 central processor unit (“ cpu ”) to execute . other traffic packets may be associated with traffic that is passive , or that is destined for other parts of the network 6 , and thus pass through the central device 8 on to their final destination with minimal processing by the central device &# 39 ; s processor , or cpu . because packets that are generated by network hackers and attackers are generally the same types of packets that would be sent by a well - behaved , legitimate host in the course of normal network operation , simply dropping packet type ( s ) that are used in a particular attack may also interfere with normal network operation . in addition , inspecting traffic from all hosts connected to a switch can cause the cpu to exhaust its resources at the switch , thus leading to the dos problem that the attacker is trying to create . furthermore , it is difficult to give preferential treatment to the traffic from one host over another , because it is not known which host ( s ) will be acting as an attacker at any point in time . to accomplish this task , traffic arriving at the switch 8 is first classified into categories of characteristics , or types , known in the art . for example , the classified categories of traffic might include arp traffic , dhcp traffic , routing protocol traffic ( such as rip , ospf , bgp , is - is , etc . ), http - based web surfing traffic , traffic that must be processed by the switch ( such as icmps ), and traffic that the switch must forward . in addition to protocols , other categories of common characteristics may include range of layer 4 ports , range of layer 2 mac addresses , range of ip addresses , layer 5 identifiers and service identifiers , all of which are known in the art . other characteristics for relating packets and streams of traffic may be included , or added as dos attacks evolve . thus , traffic types are not limited to the categories listed above . however , a common thread among the types of traffic packets that typically cause central device &# 39 ; s 8 processor to become overloaded include those that contain instruction for the cpu to execute one or more operations , thus consuming processor resources that could otherwise be used for responding to other requested traffic operations . for each type of traffic characteristic being analyzed , ( i . e ., where a packet analyzer 2 is assigned to a particular packet characteristic type ), the normal traffic pattern for the particular characteristic or type is assumed to be known , either from empirical measurements or through traffic engineering estimates . the known traffic pattern is then used in determining a threshold to compare actual traffic to . for example , a host may be permitted to send arps into the network , but it might be assumed that under normal operation conditions , a single host should never need to send arp packets at a rate exceeding one arp packet per second . thus , a host that injects arp packets into the network at a rate exceeding one arp packet per second may be considered to be outside the ‘ normal ’ range of arp operation . accordingly , a second and subsequent arp during a given sample period of one second would exceed the 1 arp per second threshold , and would be discarded . to determine whether a threshold rate for a particular type of packet is being exceeded during a period , packet analyzers 2 may include a leaky bucket counter state machine . leaky bucket algorithms are known in the art for measuring whether traffic characteristics ( e . g . flow rate for a given packet type / characteristic ) of a packet stream are exceeding corresponding thresholds . as further known in the art , a leaky bucket can be implemented in hardware ( if high - speed operation is desired ) or can be implemented in software ( if lower - speed operation is permissible ). a hardware aspect is preferably implemented with a field programmable gate array , and a software implementation may be implemented as software code on a compact disc , or similar media . the software code can then be loaded into a computer memory connected to a central device or cmts at a head end of a cable network operator , or a central office of a dsl operator , for examples . regardless of how it is implemented , each leaky bucket 2 instantiation typically has associated with it three variables . these variables include the current depth of the bucket ( d ) ( i . e . the number of packets currently buffered ), the high water mark of the bucket ( w ) ( i . e . the threshold ), and the period at which the bucket is drained ( p ). when a packet is received the bucket depth d is ‘ filled ’, and thus incremented by one ( d = d + 1 ). as each successive sample period p elapses , the bucket depth d is “ drained ” by one ( d = d − 1 ). therefore , d is derived from the flow rate of packets during p , and the high water mark w corresponds to the threshold that should not be exceeded . accordingly , the following pseudo code may be used to determine if a packet of a given type should be allowed to pass . if ( d & lt ; w ) increment d ; allow packet to pass ; else drop packet . algorithm 1 as each sample period p elapses the following pseudo code is executed : therefore , a burst of up to w packets may be passed if d = 0 when the first packet of the burst arrives , but on average only one packet every p seconds will be allowed to pass . bursts of greater than w packets within a short period of time will typically result in some packets being dropped . in an aspect , for each traffic type , or characteristic , a separate leaky bucket state machine is implemented for each host or group of hosts that are known to the switch 8 . thus , if two traffic categories ( e . g . arp and dhcp ) are to be monitored for 100 hosts , then 200 unique leaky bucket state machines 2 would be maintained . each leaky bucket state machine 2 permits packets determined to compose ‘ normal ’ traffic patterns to pass to the switch for the corresponding traffic type and host corresponding to the state machine . it will be appreciated that a leaky bucket state machine 2 can be designed to operate on a single host 4 from among a plurality of host , or on a group of hosts within the plurality of hosts . operating on a single host 4 provides more granularity , or resolution , for the throttling mechanism , with the price being that a larger number of leaky bucket state machines that must be maintained . operating on a group of hosts offers simplicity because there are fewer leaky bucket state machines 2 , with the tradeoff being a lower level of granularity for the throttling mechanism . if the defined traffic types that are being analyzed are normally routed to the cpu of switch / router 8 , then leaky bucket state machines 2 provide protection against localized router / switch attacks . this limits the rate at which packets of a particular type , or characteristic , are delivered to the cpu of the switch 8 from an attacking host 4 . however , a benefit is that the protection does not preclude packets of other types from being delivered as desired and the protection does not preclude packets of other hosts 4 from being delivered as desired . thus , adverse impacts on well - behaved hosts and well - behaved packet flows are minimized , while protection against overloading the cpu of switch 8 with an unusually large amount of operation execution requests from a host , or group of hosts , is minimized . if the defined traffic types that are being analyzed are normally routed through the switch , then leaky bucket state machines 2 may provide protection against attacks on network devices other than local switch / router 8 . these attacks on other devices may include router / switch attacks on remote routers or switches , direct host attacks on remote users , and indirect host attacks that are destined for remote routers in the network , which generate the icmp unreachable messages . the protection facilitated by using state machines 2 in this manner limits the rate at which packets of a particular type are delivered to each of those remote end - points . however , a benefit of this approach is that the protection does not preclude packets of other types from being delivered as desired and the protection does not preclude packets of other hosts from being delivered as desired . thus , the central device cpu protection minimizes negative impacts on well - behaved hosts and well - behaved packet flows while maximizes protection . turning now to fig4 , a system 10 incorporates a first stage 12 of packet analyzers as described in reference to fig3 for determining for each of a plurality of characteristic types whether a traffic stream for each of a plurality of hosts 4 , or group of hosts 4 , connected to a network 6 exceeds a predetermined threshold . in addition , a second stage 14 , a third stage 16 and a fourth stage 18 are shown for providing refinement of the protection facilitated by the first stage . as described above in reference to fig3 , the first stage 12 of leaky bucket state machines 2 detects traffic corresponding to individual characteristics for each host 4 , or group of hosts , and throttles packets corresponding to particular characteristics according to predetermined criteria , or threshold rates , associated with the particular packet characteristics . in this aspect , a single state machine may throttle streams having packets corresponding to particular characteristic , such that each stream within the plurality of streams is similarly related by common characteristics . for example , packets of multiple tcp streams from a given host , or group of hosts 4 , may be throttled by a single state machine 2 . however , if resources ( hardware silicon or memory for software ) are plentiful , a separate state machine 2 may be assigned to each of multiple streams having unique characteristics . thus , each of multiple tcp streams from the same host could have a dedicated state machine 2 assigned to it . accordingly , while packets of each of the multiple tcp streams would be similarly related to packets of the other streams , inasmuch as all packets are tcp streams , they are uniquely related to other packets of the stream because they collectively compose a separate stream . therefore , a separate state machine 2 assigned to a particular stream can identify only packets that are uniquely related to that stream , and only cause dropping of packets of the stream to which it is assigned . in addition to first stage 12 , second stage 14 of leaky bucket state machines 20 analyzes aggregate traffic for each host , or group of hosts 4 , with respect to groupings of packets having similarly related characteristics . the traffic packets may be similarly related and grouped according to whether traffic is intended to cause switch 8 to execute instructions , or whether the switch is to merely pass packets on to some other network component . if a user , or host 4 , is determined to be sending too much aggregate traffic to either the cpu in the switch — a first similarly related characteristic group , or to the world ( i . e ., traffic passing through the switch to other destinations of the network )— a second similarly related characteristic group , the appropriate state machine causes extra packets to be discarded , or dropped . for example , if each individual host 4 is in compliance with host - specific threshold limits for arp packet traffic , packets are not discarded at first stage 12 . however , if each host 4 in host group # 1 is sending just barely below the maximum threshold rate as determined in its associated first stage 12 arp state machine 2 , state machine 20 a , may determine that in aggregate , all the hosts in host group # 1 are sending too many arp packets according to historical , or estimated , arp packet maximums . thus , state machine 20 a , may discard arp packets according to algorithm 1 above . thus , first stage 12 of leaky bucket state machines 2 combined with the leaky bucket state machine 20 a , of second stage 14 protects against router / switch attacks against the cpu within the router / switch 8 . likewise , first stage 12 in combination with leaky bucket state machine 20 a 2 illustrates a throttle that restricts traffic that is destined to hosts other than the cpu of switch 8 . in addition to first stage 12 and second stage 14 , third stage 16 is similar to first stage 12 in that it comprises separate state machines 22 , one for each type of packet characteristic anticipated that may be susceptible to being hijacked for use in a network attack . however , third stage 16 analyzes aggregate packets from all of hosts 4 rather than a specific host or group of hosts . third stage 16 of leaky bucket state machines 22 can be implemented so that they do not limit their scope to a particular user or group of users . even though packets have survived the first and second stages , state machines 22 in third stage 16 analyze different packet types and determine if the aggregate rate combined from all hosts for a particular packet type is exceeding a threshold , and if so , performs the throttling function by causing packets to be dropped . as with third stage 14 comprising state machines 22 , state machines 24 of fourth stage 18 are implemented so as not to limit their scope to a particular user 4 , or group of users . leaky bucket state machine 24 a , analyze the aggregate rate combined from all hosts 4 for all packet types combined that are directed at the cpu of switch 8 . if this aggregate rate exceeds a predetermined aggregate threshold associated with a characteristic , or type , of packets destined for switch 8 , state machine 24 a , perform the throttling function according to algorithm 1 . this provides even more protection for the cpu of switch 8 , because the aggregate total of all hosts 4 will be limited so that the switch processor is not overloaded , thus providing protection against distributed dos attacks from a large number of coordinated users . similarly , state machine 24 a 2 prevents attacks against other components and devices 26 of network 6 from a large number of coordinated users 4 . the aspects described above are useful when implemented in many different types of network elements . as discussed above , the aspects are useful with respect to switches and routers . another useful deployment of this invention is within a cable modem termination system (“ cmts ”), which serves as the central aggregation point for a cable data network managed by a cable tv operator . in a cable data network , the cmts may include a switch / router at the head - end operated by a cable tv service provider . it connects to the internet and connects to a network , typically a coaxial cable , or hybrid - fiber coax plant that runs to subscriber &# 39 ; s homes . the hosts within the cable data network are connected to the cmts via a cable modem , which is a device that resides in a subscriber &# 39 ; s home . it is noted that the cable modem itself is also a host . it may be desirable to group the cable modem and the hosts which lie behind it ( other devices in the subscriber &# 39 ; s home ) as a single entity , thus creating a “ host group ” or “ group of hosts ” as described above . the cmts may wish to treat the group of hosts as a whole instead of treating each of these hosts separately . it will be appreciated that this can result in simplification at the cmts because less state machines will need to be instantiated . in a cable data network system , it is also possible to deploy the aspects within a cable modem as opposed to deploying it in the cmts , or in a switch connected to the cmts , or elsewhere at the head end location . this distributed approach places the leaky bucket state machines for a particular host within the cable modem that is used by that host . as discussed above , the state machines may be implemented as software or as hardware circuits , with speed traded off in favor of lower cost in the former , and lower cost traded off in favor of faster execution in the latter . these and many other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing specification when read in conjunction with the appended drawings . it is to be understood that the embodiments herein illustrated are examples only , and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the claims when accorded a full range of equivalents . in addition , although leaky bucket algorithms 1 and 2 described above are preferably used in state machines , other packet control , or policing , algorithms known in the art may be used as deemed appropriate or desirable by traffic engineering personnel . furthermore , while the preferred embodiments are described as being preferably directed toward use in docsis networks where a plurality of cable modems are connected over a network via a cable modem termination system , the aspects described herein are equally applicable for other type of networks . | 7Electricity
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the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the fig2 through 7 . throughout the drawings , like or equivalent reference numerals or letters will be used to designate like or equivalent elements for simplicity of explanation . fig2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the image data processing apparatus according to the present invention . fig3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment . and fig4 is a diagram showing an image displayed in the paste - in editing operation . in fig2 numeral 1 denotes a user - interface which is an inputting device such as a keyboard or a mouse . numeral 2 denotes a position adjusting means for adjusting the position of an image to be pasted . numeral 3 denotes data processing means for processing the pasted image data . numeral 4 denotes image display means for displaying the edited image data . numeral 5 denotes data compressing means for compressing the edited image data . numeral 6 denotes optimal value detecting means which detects an amount of the image data compressed by the data compressing means 5 and then judges whether the amount of image data would be adequate or not . numeral 7 denotes data storing means for storing the image data compressed by the data compressing means 5 . a user performs an editing work for pasting images by using the user - interface 1 . the user defines the paste - in position of the paste - in image by the positioning means z for adjusting the position of the paste - in image according to the mouse and the like ( step b in fig3 ). the data of the paste - in image is pasted to the base image data by the data processing means 3 after the position of the paste - in image has been defined ( step c in fig3 ). the edited image is displayed by the image display means 4 like a monitor ( step d in fig3 ). in a case of storing the edited image data , the image data is compressed through a block encoding scheme of the jpeg system by the data compressing means 5 ( step e in fig3 ). the block encoding scheme of the jpeg system typically performs a dct transform wherein the image data is divided into 8 × 8 pixel blocks . the amount of compressed image data is detected by the optimal value detecting means 6 for judging whether the amount is adequate or not for the amount of image becoming minimum ( step f in fig3 ). here if the image data could be further compressed the position of the pasted image b is fine - adjusted by feeding back the image data to the position adjusting means 2 so as that the pasted image is moved in steps of pixels in the vertical ( v ) and horizontal ( h ) directions , sa shown in fig4 ( steps b , f in fig3 ). the pasted image b is fixed in the position when the amount of the compressed image data has become minimum , and then the image data is stored in the data storing means 7 such as a hard - disc ( step g in fig3 ). in this embodiment it is possible to decrease the amount of the image data to be stored so as that the amount of the compressed image data is minimized through the automatic adjusting the position of the pasted image in the given space . fig5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention . fig6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of this embodiment . the elements the same as those of the former embodiment showing in fig2 will be explained by assigning the same reference numerals . in this embodiment , the minimum value of the amount of the image data is achieved by calculating parameters such as total sums of conversion coefficients in the dct transform which indirectly represent amounts of compressed image data and then comparing the parameters with each other , not but directly comparing the amounts of the compressed image data like the former embodiment as shown in fig2 . hereinafter the parameters which become indications of practical amount of the image data will be generally referred as to &# 34 ; activity &# 34 ;. in fig5 numeral 1 denotes a user - interface which is an inputting device such as a keyboard or a mouse . numeral 2 denotes a position adjusting means for adjusting the position of an image to be pasted . numeral 3 denotes data processing means for processing the pasted image data . numeral 4 denotes image display means for displaying the edited image data . numeral 5 denotes data compressing means for compressing the edited image data . numeral 7 denotes data storing means for storing the image data compressed by the data compressing means 5 . numeral 8 denotes activity calculation means for calculating an activity of the edited image data . numeral 9 denotes optimal value detecting means for detecting the activity calculated by the activity calculation means 8 and including whether the activity has a adequate value or not . the operation of this embodiment will be explained by using the flowchart of fig6 . a user performs an editing work for pasting images by using the user - interface 1 . the user defines the paste - in position of the paste - in image by the positioning means 2 for adjusting the position of the paste - in image according to the mouse and the like ( step a1 in fig6 ). then a paste - in position in the vertical ( v ) direction is initialized to the location given by the following equation . i . e .. &# 34 ; location = 4 . preset ref &# 34 ; ( step b1 in fig6 ). when the paste - in position is thus defined , the data of the image to be pasted is pasted in the base image data by using the data processing means s ( step cl in fig6 ). the image data processed by the data processing means 3 is input to the activity calculation means 8 . in the activity calculation means 8 an activity &# 34 ; act &# 34 ; is calculated by shifting slightly in the vertical ( v ) direction ( step d1 in fig6 ). the position where the activity &# 34 ; act &# 34 ; takes the least value is defined a reference position in the vertical ( v ) direction ( steps e1 , f1 , g1 in fig6 ). next , a paste - in position in the horizontal ( h ) direction is also initialized to the location siren by the equation , i . e ., &# 34 ; location =- 4 , preset ref &# 34 ; ( step i1 in fig6 ). now another activity &# 34 ; act &# 34 ; is calculated by shifting the image data slightly in the horizontal ( h ) direction by temporarily pasting the image data in keeping the reference value in the horizontal ( h ) direction being fixed ( step k1 in fig6 ). the position where the activity &# 34 ; act &# 34 ; takes the least value is defined the finalized paste - in position . the shifting range of the paste - in position basically takes the block size in the dct transform . in the case that the block has the 8 × 8 size , the paste - in position is shifted within - 4 to + 3 pixels in relative positions from a reference position assigned by the user . the number of shifting in this case , that is , the required number of activity calculations is the 8 times in the vertical ( v ) direction and the 8 times in the horizontal ( h ) direction thus resulting the 16 times in total in every image paste work . here if the part of the image to be pasted lies off the edge of the base image due to the reference position being within one block from the edge of the base image , the shifting outside the base image and the activity calculation will be omitted . in this embodiment , the minimum of the compressed image data is obtained by comparing the activities such as the sums of the conversion coefficients in the dct transform . although the method of comparing the compressed image data is complicated and takes much time , the method is able to easily define the optimum past - in position by comparing the activities . fig7 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of this invention . the elements the same as those of the former embodiment showing in fig1 will be explained by assigning the same reference numerals . in fig7 numeral 1 denotes a user - interface which is an inputting device such as a keyboard or a mouse . numeral 2 denotes a position adjusting means for adjusting the position of an image to be pasted . numeral 3 denotes data processing means for processing the pasted image data . numeral 4 denotes image display means for displaying the edited image data . numeral 5 denotes data compressing means for compressing the edited image data . numeral 1 denotes data storing means for storing the image data compressed by the data compressing means 5 . numeral 10 denotes trimming means for trimming an image to be pasted . a user performs an editing work for pasting images by using the user - interface 1 . in this time , when the image to be pasted has a rectangular shape while the image is highly contrasted from the color on the perimeter of the base image or the image has a relatively rough pattern , the image to be pasted may have the highest compression efficiency by being located its one edge on the boundary of the dct transformed block . for this reason , the image to be pasted is automatically trimmed by the trimming means 10 so as that the horizontal and vertical magnitudes of the image take integral multiples of the dct block with the 8 × 8 pixels . after that , the image is pasted on the base image so as that all the four edges of the image to be pasted overlap the four boundaries of the dct block of the base image . at this time the paste - i position is defined to the position nearest to the position assigned by the user so that the pasted image does not give the user any incompatibility . in this embodiment , the amount of image data to be stored can be decreased with reason that the number of blocks in the block conversion of the image to be compressed can be decreased by pasting the trimmed image on the base image so as that the all edges of the trimmed image overlap the boundaries of the base image . as described above , the present invention can provide an extremely preferable image data processing apparatus to decrease the amount of compressed image data by shifting the image to be pasted in steps of pixel units . it is also able to improve the picture quality , because that the present apparatus is able to decrease the image distortions such as block distortions , mosquito noises and the like . while there have been illustrated and described what are at present considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made , and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the present invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teaching of the present invention without departing from the central scope thereof . therefor , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention . but that the present invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . the foregoing description and the drawings are regarded by the applicant as including a variety of individually inventive concepts , some of which may lie partially or wholly outside the scope of some or all of the following claims . the fact that the applicant has chosen at the time of filing of the present application to restrict the claimed scope of protection in accordance with the following claims is not to be taken as a disclaimer or alternative inventive concepts that are included in the contents of the application and could be defined by claims differing in scope from the following claims , which different claims may be adopted subsequently during prosecution , for example , for the purposes of a divisional application . | 6Physics
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it is a discovery of this invention that certain small organic molecules can specifically modulate mitotic kinesin activity only when the kinesin is bound to a microtubule . these molecules however do not act as competitive inhibitors for microtubule binding and for atp binding . this is a previously unknown mechanism of kinesin ( or other motor , e . g ., myosin or dynein ) modulation . thus , in one embodiment , this invention provides methods of identifying kinesin inhibitors that do not block the microtubule binding site and the atp binding site , but depend on the presence of microtubules for mitotic kinesin inhibitory activity . such specific modulators are characterized by the fact that they can bind to the kinesin motor protein only if the protein is also bound to a microtubule . in one embodiment , this invention therefore provides methods of identifying such microtubule dependent mitotic kinesin modulating compounds , especially small organic molecules . the methods involve screening the “ test ” compound &# 39 ; s ability to competitively inhibit binding of a moiety ( e . g ., atp or an atp analogue ) at the atpase site , screening the same compound &# 39 ; s ability to competitively inhibit binding of a moiety ( e . g ., a microtubule ) at the microtubule binding , and finally testing the activity of the kinesin motor protein after treatment with the test compound in the presence of microtubules and testing the activity of the kinesin motor protein after treatment with the test compound in the absence of microtubules and comparing those two activities . thus , in an embodiment , the instant method of identifying a compound that specifically modulates the activity of a kinesin motor protein bound to a microtubule , said kinesin motor protein having a microtubule binding site and a kinesin atpase binding site , comprises the steps of : a ) assaying for competitive inhibition of said motor protein by said compound at said kinesin atpase binding site ; b ) assaying for competitive inhibition of said motor protein by said compound at said microtubule binding site ; c ) assaying for inhibition of said motor protein by said compound in the absence of microtubules ; d ) assaying for inhibition of said motor protein by said compound in the presence of microtubules ; e ) identifying a compound as a kinesin - bound - to - microtubule modulator when said compound inhibits said motor protein activity in the presence of microtubules , is not a competitive modulator at said microtubule binding site and at said kinesin atpase binding site , and does not inhibit said motor protein activity when microtubules are absent . in an embodiment , the kinesin motor protein is ksp and the compound of the invention inhibits the kinesin motor activity of ksp . mitotic kinesin inhibitor compounds that are identified through the method described hereinabove may offer advantages over mitotic kinesin inhibitors that have been previously described in that the compounds identified through the instant method may be efficacious against tumors or cancers that are resistant to the mitotic kinesin inhibitors ( previously described ) that do not depend on the presence of microtubules for activity , but are instead competitive inhibitors with either microtubules or atp . methods of identifying competitive inhibition are well known to those of skill in the art . briefly , in the classical michaelis - menton model of enzyme kinetics , competitive inhibition is easily recognized experimentally because the percent inhibition at a fixed inhibitor concentration is decreased by increasing the substrate concentration . thus , where a compound competitively inhibits binding at the microtubule binding site , increasing the microtubule concentration at a fixed concentration of test compound can restore the original ( inhibitor - free ) maximal rate of reaction ( v max ). conversely , where inhibition is non - competitive , increasing the substrate concentration will not restore the maximal rate of reaction ( vmax ). assays for specific inhibition at the microtubule binding site are illustrated in example 1 . for a detailed discussion of analysis of reaction kinetics to recognize competitive , noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition , see , e . g ., lehninger ( 1975 ) biochemistry worth pub ., inc . new york , n . y . in another embodiment , this invention provides methods of modulating ( e . g . inhibiting ) kinesin motor activity in a cell . the methods involve contacting the cell with one of the compounds that have been identified as inhibiting a kinesin motor protein by the mechanism described above . the cell , although preferably a mammalian cell , need not be so limited . other suitable cells include , but are not limited to , fungal cells and microbial cells . the cell can be in vitro or in vivo . where the method is practiced in a therapeutic context ( e . g . to ameliorate the effects of a pathological condition characterized by hyperproliferation of one or more cells ) the compounds identified by the assays described herein as modulating ksp mitotic kinesin activity only when the kinesin is bound to a microtubule , while not acting as competitive inhibitors for microtubule binding and for atp binding . the compounds that have been identified as modulating ksp mitotic kinesin activity only when the kinesin is bound to a microtubule , while not acting as competitive inhibitors for microtubule binding and for atp binding include : the term “ molecular motor protein ” refers to cytoskeletal molecule ( s ) that utilize chemical energy to produce mechanical force , and drive the motile properties of the cytoskeleton . the terms “ kinesin ” and “ kinesin superfamily ” as used herein refer to a superfamily of eucaryotic motor proteins used to transport a large variety of cargoes along microtubule “ tracks ”. members of the kinesin superfamily are believed to be essential for mitotic and meiotic spindle organization , chromosome segregation , organelle and vesicle transport and many other processes that require microtubule based transport . the common feature of kinesins in the presence of a conserved ˜ 350 amino acid motor domain which harbors the microtubule binding , atp - hydrolyzing , and force transducing activities ( see , e . g ., barton et al . ( 1996 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 93 ( 5 ): 1735 - 1742 , and goldstein , ( 1993 ) annu . rev . genet ., 27 : 319 - 351 ). the term “ kinesin motor protein ” is used to refer to one or more proteins involved in the transduction of chemical energy into mechanical energy . kinesin is a force generating enzyme that hydrolyzes atp to adp and p i and uses the derived chemical energy to induce protein movement ; for example , plus end directed movement along microtubules . not all kinesins induce plus end directed movement : some are minus end and some depolymerize microtubules . ksp is a plus - end kinesin . this ubiquitous microtubule motor is thought to power anterograde organelle transport along microtubules . the term kinesin motor is intended to include kinesin related proteins inhibition of which inhibits kinesin motor activity . kinesin heavy and light chains have been cloned and sequenced from a number of species including , but not limited to drosophila ( genbank m24441 ), squid optic lobe ( genbank j05258 ), sea urchin and human ( genbank x65873 ), and rat ( m75146 , m75147 , m75148 ), and the like ( see , e . g ., yang et al . ( 1989 ) cell 56 : 879 - 889 , wright et al . ( 1991 ) j . cell . biol ., 113 : 817 - 833 , navone et al . ( 1992 ) j . cell . biol ., 117 : 1263 - 1275 , and cyr et al . ( 1991 ) proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 88 : 10114 - 10118 ). in addition , the scientific literature is replete with detailed descriptions of kinesins ( kinesin motors ) and kinesin related proteins ( see , e . g ., kreis and vale ( 1993 ) guidebook to the cytoskeletal and motor proteins , oxford university press , oxford , vale ( 1990 ) curr . opin . cell . biol , 2 : 15 - 22 ; vale ( 1987 ) ann . rev . cell . biol ., 3 : 347 - 378 ; and references therein ). the terms “ kinesin motor inhibitor ” or “ inhibition of kinesin motor activity ” refers to the decrease or elimination of kinesin / microtubule mediated transduction of chemical energy ( e . g . as stored in atp ) into mechanical energy ( e . g ., force generation or movement ). such a decrease can be measured directly , e . g ., as in a motility assay , or alternatively can be ascertained by the use of surrogate markers such as a decrease in the atpase activity of the kinesin protein , and / or a decrease in the affinity and / or specificity of kinesin motor protein - microtubule binding interactions , and / or in a decrease in mitotic activity of a cell or cells . conversely , a “ kinesin motor agonist ” or “ upregulator of kinesin motor activity ” refers to the increase of kinesin / microtubule mediated transduction of chemical energy ( e . g . as stored in atp ) into mechanical energy ( e . g . force generation or movement ). the term “ test compound ” refers to a compound whose anti - kinesin motor activity it is desired to determine . such test compounds may include virtually any molecule or mixture of molecules , alone or in a suitable carrier . the term “ detecting the binding ” means assessing the amount of a given second component that binds to a given first component in the presence and absence of a test composition . this process generally involves the ability to assess the amount of the second component associated with a known fixed amount of the first component at selected intervals after contacting the first and second components . this may be accomplished e . g ., by attaching to the second component a molecule or functional group that can be visualized or measured ( e . g ., a fluorescent moiety , a radioactive atom , a biotin that can be detected using labeled avidin ) or by using ligands that specifically bind to the second component . the level of binding is preferably detected quantitatively . binding or a change in binding is indicated at the first detectable level . a change in binding , which can be an increase or a decrease , or presence versus absence , is preferably a change of at least about 10 %, more preferably by at least about 20 %, still more preferably by at least about 50 %, still even more preferably by at least about 75 %, even more preferably by at least about 150 % or 200 % and most preferably is a change of at least about 2 to about 10 fold ( e . g ., as compared to a control ). the phrase “ detecting a change in kinesin motor activity resulting from said contacting ” refers to determining the presence , absence or quantifying the alteration in kinesin motor activity caused by a particular composition ( e . g . a test compound ). the detecting can involve any one or more of a variety of assays for kinesin motor activity as described herein . a change in activity , which can be an increase or a decrease , or presence versus absence , is preferably a change of at least about 10 %, more preferably by at least about 20 %, still more preferably by at least about 50 %, still even more preferably by at least about 75 %, even more preferably by at least about 150 % or 200 % and most preferably is a change of at least about 2 to about 10 fold ( e . g ., as compared to a control ). the term “ compound ” as used herein refers to organic or inorganic molecules . the term includes , but is not limited to polypeptides , proteins , glycoproteins ( e . g . antibodies ), nucleic acids , oligonucleotides , and inorganic molecules . the term “ small organic molecule ”, as used herein , refers to a compound that is an organic molecule of a size comparable to those organic molecules generally used in pharmaceuticals . the term excludes biological macromolecules ( e . g ., proteins , nucleic acids , etc .). preferred small organic molecules range in size up to about 5000 da , more preferably up to 2000 da , and most preferably up to about 1000 da . by “ protein ” herein is meant at least two covalently attached amino acids , which includes proteins , polypeptides , oligopeptides , and peptides . the protein may be made of naturally occurring amino acids and peptide bonds , or synthetic peptidomimetic structures . thus “ amino acid ”, or “ peptide residue ”, as used herein means both naturally occurring and synthetic amino acids . for example , homo - phenylalanine , citrulline , and norleucine are considered amino acids for the purposes of this invention . “ amino acid ” also includes imino acid residues such as proline and hydroxyproline . the side chains may be in either the ( r ) or the ( s ) configuration . in the preferred embodiment , the amino acids are in the ( s ) or l - configuration . if non - naturally occurring side chains are used , non - amino acid substituents may be used , for example to prevent or retard in vivo degradations . the term “ competitive inhibition ” is used to refer to competitive inhibition in accord with the michaelis - menton model of enzyme kinetics . competitive inhibition is recognized experimentally because the percent inhibition at a fixed inhibitor concentration is decreased by increasing the substrate concentration . at sufficiently high substrate concentration , v max can essentially be restored even in the presence of the inhibitor . conversely , “ non - competitive inhibition ” refers to inhibition that is not reversed by increasing the substrate concentration . the term “ cell ” is used to refer to any cell including , but not limited to mammalian , fungal , microbial and invertebrate cells . preferred cells include tumor cells including , but not limited to , carcinomas , including breast , ovary , prostate , skin , and colon ; brain cancers , including meningioma , glioma , oligodendroglioma , embryonic cancers ; sarcomas ; leukemias , and lymphomas . preferred cells also include neurons . particularly preferred neurons are those related to neurodegenerative diseases including alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , huntington &# 39 ; s disease , frontotemporal dementias , and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . preferred cells further include cells derived from the gastrointestinal system including esophagus , stomach , intestine , pancreas , liver , lung , heart , and vascular system as sell as cells from the central and peripheral nervous system , kidney , bladder , muscular system and the bone system . “ in vivo ” refers to in the living body of an organism . “ in vitro ” refers to outside the living body , such as , an artificial environment , for example , a test tube or a cell or tissue culture . the term “ modulate ” as used herein refers to increasing or decreasing an activity of a molecule . thus , for example , a kinesin motor modulator acts to increase or decrease ( inhibit ) kinesin motor activity . the compounds identified by the methods of the invention find use in a variety of applications . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , mitosis may be altered in a variety of ways ; that is , one can affect mitosis either by increasing or decreasing the activity of a component in the mitotic pathway . stated differently , mitosis may be affected ( e . g ., disrupted ) by disturbing equilibrium , either by inhibiting or activating certain components . similar approaches may be used to alter meiosis . the kinesin motor protein modulators of this invention are useful in a wide variety of contexts . in particular , preferred modulators of this invention act to inhibit activity of kinesin mediated transport . the kinesins ( members of the kinesin superfamily ) are implicated in microtubule - mediated transport activities . as such they participate in a wide variety of activities including , but not limited to mitotic and meiotic spindle organization , chromosome segregation , organelle and vesicle transport and many others processes that require microtubule based transport . modulation ( e . g . inhibition ) of kinesin motor proteins therefor has profound effect on cellular function acting , for example , to inhibit meiosis and / or mitosis , and consequently inhibiting cellular growth and / or proliferation , e . g . in vitro or in humans and other non - human animals . as powerful anti - mitotics or anti - meiotics , the kinesin inhibitors of this invention have a wide variety of uses , particularly in the treatment ( e . g ., amelioration ) of , e . g . human and veterinary , pathological conditions characterized by abnormal cell proliferation . such conditions include , but are not limited to : fungal infections , abnormal stimulation of endothelial cells ( e . g ., atherosclerosis ), solid tumors and tumor metastasis , benign tumors , for example , hemangiomas , acoustic neuromas , neurofibromas , trachomas , and pyogenic granulomas , vascular malfunctions ( e . g ., arteria - venous malformations ), abnormal wound healing , inflammatory and immune disorders , bechet &# 39 ; s disease , gout or gouty arthritis , abnormal angiogenesis accompanying : rheumatoid arthritis , psoriasis , diabetic retinopathy , and other ocular angiogenic diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity ( retrolental fibroplastic ), macular degeneration , corneal overgrowth , corneal graft rejection , neuroscular glaucoma , oster webber syndrome , and the like . in addition , it is expected the kinesin motor protein inhibitors of this invention are useful in the treatment / mitigation of a number of neurodegenerative disorders . in an embodiment , the compounds of the invention are used to modulate mitotic spindle formation , thus causing prolonged cell cycle arrest in mitosis . by “ modulate ” herein is meant altering mitotic spindle formation , including increasing and decreasing spindle formation . by “ mitotic spindle formation ” herein is meant organization of microtubules into bipolar structures by mitotic kinesins . by “ mitotic spindle dysfunction ” herein is meant mitotic arrest and monopolar spindle formation . the compounds of the invention are useful to bind to and / or modulate the activity of a mitotic kinesin . in an embodiment , the mitotic kinesin is a member of the bimc subfamily of mitotic kinesins ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 284 , 480 , column 5 ). in a further embodiment , the mitotic kinesin is human ksp , although the activity of mitotic kinesins from other organisms may also be modulated by the compounds of the present invention . in this context , modulate means either increasing or decreasing spindle pole separation , causing malformation , i . e ., splaying , of mitotic spindle poles , or otherwise causing morphological perturbation of the mitotic spindle . also included within the definition of ksp for these purposes are variants and / or fragments of ksp . in addition , other mitotic kinesins may be inhibited by the compounds of the present invention . the compounds of the invention are used to treat cellular proliferation diseases . disease states which can be treated by the methods and compositions provided herein include , but are not limited to , cancer ( further discussed below ), autoimmune disease , arthritis , graft rejection , inflammatory bowel disease , proliferation induced after medical procedures , including , but not limited to , surgery , angioplasty , and the like . it is appreciated that in some cases the cells may not be in a hyper - or hypoproliferation state ( abnormal state ) and still require treatment . for example , during wound healing , the cells may be proliferating “ normally ”, but proliferation enhancement may be desired . the compounds , compositions and methods provided herein are particularly deemed useful for the treatment of cancer including solid tumors such as skin , breast , brain , cervical carcinomas , testicular carcinomas , etc . in particular , cancers that may be treated by the compounds , compositions and methods of the invention include , but are not limited to : cardiac : sarcoma ( angiosarcoma , fibrosarcoma , rhabdomyosarcoma , liposarcoma ), myxoma , rhabdomyoma , fibroma , lipoma and teratoma ; lung : bronchogenic carcinoma ( squamous cell , undifferentiated small cell , undifferentiated large cell , adenocarcinoma ), alveolar ( bronchiolar ) carcinoma , bronchial adenoma , sarcoma , lymphoma , chondromatous hamartoma , mesothelioma ; gastrointestinal : esophagus ( squamous cell carcinoma , adenocarcinoma , leiomyosarcoma , lymphoma ), stomach ( carcinoma , lymphoma , leiomyosarcoma ), pancreas ( ductal adenocarcinoma , insulinoma , glucagonoma , gastrinoma , carcinoid tumors , vipoma ), small bowel ( adenocarcinoma , lymphoma , carcinoid tumors , karposi &# 39 ; s sarcoma , leiomyoma , hemangioma , lipoma , neurofibroma , fibroma ), large bowel ( adenocarcinoma , tubular adenoma , villous adenoma , hamartoma , leiomyoma ); genitourinary tract : kidney ( adenocarcinoma , wilm &# 39 ; s tumor [ nephroblastoma ], lymphoma , leukemia ), bladder and urethra ( squamous cell carcinoma , transitional cell carcinoma , adenocarcinoma ), prostate ( adenocarcinoma , sarcoma ), testis ( seminoma , teratoma , embryonal carcinoma , teratocarcinoma , choriocarcinoma , sarcoma , interstitial cell carcinoma , fibroma , fibroadenoma , adenomatoid tumors , lipoma ); liver : hepatoma ( hepatocellular carcinoma ), cholangiocarcinoma , hepatoblastoma , angiosarcoma , hepatocellular adenoma , hemangioma ; bone : osteogenic sarcoma ( osteosarcoma ), fibrosarcoma , malignant fibrous histiocytoma , chondrosarcoma , ewing &# 39 ; s sarcoma , malignant lymphoma ( reticulum cell sarcoma ), multiple myeloma , malignant giant cell tumor chondroma , osteochondroma ( osteocartilaginous exostoses ), benign chondroma , chondroblastoma , chondromyxofibroma , osteoid osteoma and giant cell tumors ; nervous system : skull ( osteoma , hemangioma , granuloma , xanthoma , osteitis deformans ), meninges ( meningioma , meningiosarcoma , gliomatosis ), brain ( astrocytoma , medulloblastoma , glioma , ependymoma , germinoma [ pinealoma ], glioblastoma multiform , oligodendroglioma , schwannoma , retinoblastoma , congenital tumors ), spinal cord neurofibroma , meningioma , glioma , sarcoma ); gynecological : uterus ( endometrial carcinoma ), cervix ( cervical carcinoma , pre - tumor cervical dysplasia ), ovaries ( ovarian carcinoma [ serous cystadenocarcinoma , mucinous cystadenocarcinoma , unclassified carcinoma ], granulosa - thecal cell tumors , sertoli - leydig cell tumors , dysgerminoma , malignant teratoma ), vulva ( squamous cell carcinoma , intraepithelial carcinoma , adenocarcinoma , fibrosarcoma , melanoma ), vagina ( clear cell carcinoma , squamous cell carcinoma , botryoid sarcoma ( embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma ), fallopian tubes ( carcinoma ); hematologic : blood ( myeloid leukemia [ acute and chronic ], acute lymphoblastic leukemia , chronic lymphocytic leukemia , myeloproliferative diseases , multiple myeloma , myelodysplastic syndrome ), hodgkin &# 39 ; s disease , non - hodgkin &# 39 ; s lymphoma [ malignant lymphoma ]; skin : malignant melanoma , basal cell carcinoma , squamous cell carcinoma , karposi &# 39 ; s sarcoma , moles dysplastic nevi , lipoma , angioma , dermatofibroma , keloids , psoriasis ; and adrenal glands : neuroblastoma . thus , the term “ cancerous cell ” as provided herein , includes a cell afflicted by any one of the above - identified conditions . the compounds of the instant invention may also be useful as antifungal agents , by modulating the activity of the fungal members of the bimc kinesin subgroup , as is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 284 , 480 . the compounds of this invention may be administered to mammals , preferably humans , either alone or in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers , excipients or diluents , in a pharmaceutical composition , according to standard pharmaceutical practice . the compounds can be administered orally or parenterally , including the intravenous , intramuscular , intraperitoneal , subcutaneous , rectal and topical routes of administration . the pharmaceutical compositions containing the active ingredient may be in a form suitable for oral use , for example , as tablets , troches , lozenges , aqueous or oily suspensions , dispersible powders or granules , emulsions , hard or soft capsules , or syrups or elixirs . compositions intended for oral use may be prepared according to any method known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceutical compositions and such compositions may contain one or more agents selected from the group consisting of sweetening agents , flavoring agents , coloring agents and preserving agents in order to provide pharmaceutically elegant and palatable preparations . tablets contain the active ingredient in admixture with non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable excipients which are suitable for the manufacture of tablets . these excipients may be for example , inert diluents , such as calcium carbonate , sodium carbonate , lactose , calcium phosphate or sodium phosphate ; granulating and disintegrating agents , for example , microcrystalline cellulose , sodium crosscarmellose , corn starch , or alginic acid ; binding agents , for example starch , gelatin , polyvinyl - pyrrolidone or acacia , and lubricating agents , for example , magnesium stearate , stearic acid or talc . the tablets may be uncoated or they may be coated by known techniques to mask the unpleasant taste of the drug or delay disintegration and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby provide a sustained action over a longer period . for example , a water soluble taste masking material such as hydroxypropyl - methylcellulose or hydroxypropylcellulose , or a time delay material such as ethyl cellulose , cellulose acetate butyrate may be employed . formulations for oral use may also be presented as hard gelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent , for example , calcium carbonate , calcium phosphate or kaolin , or as soft gelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with water soluble carrier such as polyethyleneglycol or an oil medium , for example peanut oil , liquid paraffin , or olive oil . aqueous suspensions contain the active material in a mixture with excipients suitable for the manufacture of aqueous suspensions . such excipients are suspending agents , for example sodium carboxymethylcellulose , methylcellulose , hydroxypropylmethyl - cellulose , sodium alginate , polyvinyl - pyrrolidone , gum tragacanth and gum acacia ; dispersing or wetting agents may be a naturally - occurring phosphatide , for example lecithin , or condensation products of an alkylene oxide with fatty acids , for example polyoxyethylene stearate , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphatic alcohols , for example heptadecaethyleneoxycetanol , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and a hexitol such as polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol anhydrides , for example polyethylene sorbitan monooleate . the aqueous suspensions may also contain one or more preservatives , for example ethyl , or n - propyl p - hydroxybenzoate , one or more coloring agents , one or more flavoring agents , and one or more sweetening agents , such as sucrose , saccharin or aspartame . oily suspensions may be formulated by suspending the active ingredient in a vegetable oil , for example arachis oil , olive oil , sesame oil or coconut oil , or in mineral oil such as liquid paraffin . the oily suspensions may contain a thickening agent , for example beeswax , hard paraffin or cetyl alcohol . sweetening agents such as those set forth above , and flavoring agents may be added to provide a palatable oral preparation . these compositions may be preserved by the addition of an anti - oxidant such as butylated hydroxyanisol or alpha - tocopherol . dispersible powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueous suspension by the addition of water provide the active ingredient in admixture with a dispersing or wetting agent , suspending agent and one or more preservatives . suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above . additional excipients , for example sweetening , flavoring and coloring agents , may also be present . these compositions may be preserved by the addition of an anti - oxidant such as ascorbic acid . the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may also be in the form of an oil - in - water emulsion . the oily phase may be a vegetable oil , for example olive oil or arachis oil , or a mineral oil , for example liquid paraffin or mixtures of these . suitable emulsifying agents may be naturally occurring phosphatides , for example soy bean lecithin , and esters or partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol anhydrides , for example sorbitan monooleate , and condensation products of the said partial esters with ethylene oxide , for example polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate . the emulsions may also contain sweetening , flavoring agents , preservatives and antioxidants . syrups and elixirs may be formulated with sweetening agents , for example glycerol , propylene glycol , sorbitol or sucrose . such formulations may also contain a demulcent , a preservative , flavoring and coloring agents and antioxidant . the pharmaceutical compositions may be in the form of a sterile injectable aqueous solution . among the acceptable vehicles and solvents that may be employed are water , ringer &# 39 ; s solution and isotonic sodium chloride solution . the sterile injectable preparation may also be a sterile injectable oil - in - water microemulsion where the active ingredient is dissolved in the oily phase . for example , the active ingredient may be first dissolved in a mixture of soybean oil and lecithin . the oil solution then introduced into a water and glycerol mixture and processed to form a microemulation . the injectable solutions or microemulsions may be introduced into a patient &# 39 ; s blood stream by local bolus injection . alternatively , it may be advantageous to administer the solution or microemulsion in such a way as to maintain a constant circulating concentration of the instant compound . in order to maintain such a constant concentration , a continuous intravenous delivery device may be utilized . an example of such a device is the deltec cadd - plus ™ model 5400 intravenous pump . the pharmaceutical compositions may be in the form of a sterile injectable aqueous or oleagenous suspension for intramuscular and subcutaneous administration . this suspension may be formulated according to the known art using those suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents which have been mentioned above . the sterile injectable preparation may also be a sterile injectable solution or suspension in a non - toxic parenterally acceptable diluent or solvent , for example as a solution in 1 , 3 - butane diol . in addition , sterile , fixed oils are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium . for this purpose any bland fixed oil may be employed including synthetic mono - or diglycerides . in addition , fatty acids such as oleic acid find use in the preparation of injectables . compounds of formula i may also be administered in the form of suppositories for rectal administration of the drug . these compositions can be prepared by mixing the drug with a suitable non - irritating excipient which is solid at ordinary temperatures but liquid at the rectal temperature and will therefore melt in the rectum to release the drug . such materials include cocoa butter , glycerinated gelatin , hydrogenated vegetable oils , mixtures of polyethylene glycols of various molecular weights and fatty acid esters of polyethylene glycol . for topical use , creams , ointments , jellies , solutions or suspensions , etc ., containing the compound of formula i are employed . ( for purposes of this application , topical application shall include mouth washes and gargles .) the compounds for the present invention can be administered in intranasal form via topical use of suitable intranasal vehicles and delivery devices , or via transdermal routes , using those forms of transdermal skin patches well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . to be administered in the form of a transdermal delivery system , the dosage administration will , of course , be continuous rather than intermittent throughout the dosage regimen . compounds of the present invention may also be delivered as a suppository employing bases such as cocoa butter , glycerinated gelatin , hydrogenated vegetable oils , mixtures of polyethylene glycols of various molecular weights and fatty acid esters of polyethylene glycol . when a compound according to this invention is administered into a human subject , the daily dosage will normally be determined by the prescribing physician with the dosage generally varying according to the age , weight , sex and response of the individual patient , as well as the severity of the patient &# 39 ; s symptoms . in one exemplary application , a suitable amount of compound is administered to a mammal undergoing treatment for cancer . administration occurs in an amount between about 0 . 1 mg / kg of body weight to about 60 mg / kg of body weight per day , preferably of between 0 . 5 mg / kg of body weight to about 40 mg / kg of body weight per day . the instant compounds are also useful in combination with known therapeutic agents and anti - cancer agents . for example , instant compounds are useful in combination with known anti - cancer agents . combinations of the presently disclosed compounds with other anti - cancer or chemotherapeutic agents are within the scope of the invention . examples of such agents can be found in cancer principles and practice of oncology by v . t . devita and s . hellman ( editors ), 6 th edition ( feb . 15 , 2001 ), lippincott williams & amp ; wilkins publishers . a person of ordinary skill in the art would be able to discern which combinations of agents would be useful based on the particular characteristics of the drugs and the cancer involved . such anti - cancer agents include , but are not limited to , the following : estrogen receptor modulators , androgen receptor modulators , retinoid receptor modulators , cytotoxic / cytostatic agents , antiproliferative agents , prenyl - protein transferase inhibitors , hmg - coa reductase inhibitors and other angiogenesis inhibitors , inhibitors of cell proliferation and survival signaling , apoptosis inducing agents and agents that interfere with cell cycle checkpoints . the instant compounds are particularly useful when co - administered with radiation therapy . in an embodiment , the instant compounds are also useful in combination with known anti - cancer agents including the following : estrogen receptor modulators , androgen receptor modulators , retinoid receptor modulators , cytotoxic agents , antiproliferative agents , prenyl - protein transferase inhibitors , hmg - coa reductase inhibitors , bv protease inhibitors , reverse transcriptase inhibitors , and other angiogenesis inhibitors . “ estrogen receptor modulators ” refers to compounds that interfere with or inhibit the binding of estrogen to the receptor , regardless of mechanism . examples of estrogen receptor modulators include , but are not limited to , tamoxifen , raloxifene , idoxifene , ly353381 , ly117081 , toremifene , fulvestrant , 4 -[ 7 -( 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 - oxopropoxy - 4 - methyl - 2 -[ 4 -[ 2 -( 1 - piperidinyl ) ethoxy ] phenyl ]- 2h - 1 - benzopyran - 3 - yl ]- phenyl - 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate , 4 , 4 ′- dihydroxybenzophenone - 2 , 4 - dinitrophenyl - hydrazone , and sh646 . “ androgen receptor modulators ” refers to compounds which interfere or inhibit the binding of androgens to the receptor , regardless of mechanism . examples of androgen receptor modulators include finasteride and other 5α - reductase inhibitors , nilutamide , flutamide , bicalutamide , liarozole , and abiraterone acetate . “ retinoid receptor modulators ” refers to compounds which interfere or inhibit the binding of retinoids to the receptor , regardless of mechanism . examples of such retinoid receptor modulators include bexarotene , tretinoin , 13 - cis - retinoic acid , 9 - cis - retinoic acid , α - difluoromethylornithine , ilx23 - 7553 , trans - n -( 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) retinamide , and n - 4 - carboxyphenyl retinamide . “ cytotoxic / cytostatic agents ” refer to compounds which cause cell death or inhibit cell proliferation primarily by interfering directly with the cell &# 39 ; s functioning or inhibit or interfere with cell mitosis , including alkylating agents , tumor necrosis factors , intercalators , hypoxia activatable compounds , microtubule inhibitors / microtubule - stabilizing agents , inhibitors of mitotic kinesins , inhibitors of kinases involved in mitotic progression , antimetabolites ; biological response modifiers ; hormonal / anti - hormonal therapeutic agents , hematopoietic growth factors , monoclonal antibody targeted therapeutic agents , topoisomerase inhibitors , proteasome inhibitors and ubiquitin ligase inhibitors . examples of cytotoxic agents include , but are not limited to , sertenef , cachectin , ifosfamide , tasonermin , lonidamine , carboplatin , altretamine , prednimustine , dibromodulcitol , ranimustine , fotemustine , nedaplatin , oxaliplatin , temozolomide , heptaplatin , estramustine , improsulfan tosilate , trofosfamide , nimustine , dibrospidium chloride , pumitepa , lobaplatin , satraplatin , profiromycin , cisplatin , irofulven , dexifosfamide , cis - aminedichloro ( 2 - methyl - pyridine ) platinum , benzylguanine , glufosfamide , gpx100 , ( trans , trans , trans )- bis - mu -( hexane - 1 , 6 - diamine )- mu -[ diamine - platinum ( ii )] bis [ diamine ( chloro ) platinum ( ii )] tetrachloride , diarizidinylspermine , arsenic trioxide , 1 -( 11 - dodecylamino - 10 - hydroxyundecyl )- 3 , 7 - dimethylxanthine , zorubicin , idarubicin , daunorubicin , bisantrene , mitoxantrone , pirarubicin , pinafide , valrubicin , amrubicin , antineoplaston , 3 ′- deamino - 3 ′- morpholino - 13 - deoxo - 10 - hydroxycamminomycin , annamycin , galarubicin , elinafide , men10755 , and 4 - demethoxy - 3 - deamino - 3 - aziridinyl - 4 - methylsulphonyl - daunorubicin ( see wo 00 / 50032 ). examples of proteasome inhibitors include but are not limited to lactacystin and bortezomib . examples of microtubule inhibitors / microtubule - stabilising agents include paclitaxel , vindesine sulfate , 3 ′, 4 ′- didehydro - 4 ′- deoxy - 8 ′- norvincaleukoblastine , docetaxol , rhizoxin , dolastatin , mivobulin isethionate , auristatin , cemadotin , rpr109881 , bms184476 , vinflunine , cryptophycin , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - pentafluoro - n -( 3 - fluoro - 4 - methoxyphenyl ) benzene sulfonamide , anhydrovinblastine , n , n - dimethyl - l - valyl - l - valyl - n - methyl - l - valyl - l - prolyl - l - proline - t - butylamide , tdx258 , the epothilones ( see for example u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 284 , 781 and 6 , 288 , 237 ) and bms188797 . some examples of topoisomerase inhibitors are topotecan , hycaptamine , irinotecan , rubitecan , 6 - ethoxypropionyl - 3 ′, 4 ′- o - exo - benzylidene - chartreusin , 9 - methoxy - n , n - dimethyl - 5 - nitropyrazolo [ 3 , 4 , 5 - k1 ] acridine - 2 -( 6h ) propanamine , 1 - amino - 9 - ethyl - 5 - fluoro - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 9 - hydroxy - 4 - methyl - 1h , 12h - benzo [ de ] pyrano [ 3 ′, 4 ′: b , 7 ]- indolizino [ 1 , 2b ] quinoline - 10 , 13 ( 9h , 15h ) dione , lurtotecan , 7 -[ 2 -( n - isopropylamino ) ethyl ]-( 20s ) camptothecin , bnp1350 , bnpi1100 , bn80915 , bn80942 , etoposide phosphate , teniposide , sobuzoxane , 2 ′- dimethylamino - 2 ′- deoxy - etoposide , gl331 , n -[ 2 -( dimethylamino ) ethyl ]- 9 - hydroxy - 5 , 6 - dimethyl - 6h - pyrido [ 4 , 3 - b ] carbazole - 1 - carboxamide , asulacrine , ( 5a , 5ab , 8aa , 9b )- 9 -[ 2 -[ n -[ 2 -( dimethylamino ) ethyl ]- n - methylamino ] ethyl ]- 5 -[ 4 - hydrooxy - 3 , 5 - dimethoxyphenyl ]- 5 , 5a , 6 , 8 , 8a , 9 - hexohydrofuro ( 3 ′, 4 ′: 6 , 7 ) naphtho ( 2 , 3 - d )- 1 , 3 - dioxol - 6 - one , 2 , 3 -( methylenedioxy )- 5 - methyl - 7 - hydroxy - 8 - methoxybenzo [ c ]- phenanthridinium , 6 , 9 - bis [( 2 - aminoethyl ) amino ] benzo [ g ] isoquinoline - 5 , 10 - dione , 5 -( 3 - aminopropylamino )- 7 , 10 - dihydroxy - 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethylaminomethyl )- 6h - pyrazolo [ 4 , 5 , 1 - de ] acridin - 6 - one , n -[ 1 -[ 2 ( diethylamino ) ethylamino ]- 7 - methoxy - 9 - oxo - 9h - thioxanthen - 4 - ylmethyl ] formamide , n -( 2 -( dimethylamino ) ethyl ) acridine - 4 - carboxamide , 6 -[[ 2 -( dimethylamino ) ethyl ] amino ]- 3 - hydroxy - 7h - indeno [ 2 , 1 - c ] quinolin - 7 - one , and dimesna . examples of inhibitors of mitotic kinesins , and in particular the human mitotic kinesin ksp , are described in pct publications wo 01 / 30768 , wo 01 / 98278 , wo 03 / 050 , 064 , wo 03 / 050 , 122 , wo 03 / 049 , 527 , wo 03 / 049 , 679 , wo 03 / 049 , 678 and wo 03 / 39460 and pending pct appl . nos . us03 / 06403 ( filed mar . 4 , 2003 ), us03 / 15861 ( filed may 19 , 2003 ), us03 / 15810 ( filed may 19 , 2003 ), us03 / 18482 ( filed jun . 12 , 2003 ) and us03 / 18694 ( filed jun . 12 , 2003 ). in an embodiment inhibitors of mitotic kinesins include , but are not limited to inhibitors of ksp , inhibitors of mklp1 , inhibitors of cenp - e , inhibitors of mcak , inhibitors of kif14 , inhibitors of mphosph1 and inhibitors of rab6 - kifl . “ inhibitors of kinases involved in mitotic progression ” include , but are not limited to , inhibitors of aurora kinase , inhibitors of polo - like kinases ( plk ) ( in particular inhibitors of plk - 1 ), inhibitors of bub - 1 and inhibitors of bub - r1 . “ antiproliferative agents ” includes antisense rna and dna oligonucleotides such as g3139 , odn698 , rvaskras , gem231 , and inx3001 , and antimetabolites such as enocitabine , carmofur , tegafur , pentostatin , doxifluridine , trimetrexate , fludarabine , capecitabine , galocitabine , cytarabine ocfosfate , fosteabine sodium hydrate , raltitrexed , paltitrexid , emitefur , tiazofurin , decitabine , nolatrexed , pemetrexed , nelzarabine , 2 ′- deoxy - 2 ′- methylidenecytidine , 2 ′- fluoromethylene - 2 ′- deoxycytidine , n -[ 5 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzofuryl ) sulfonyl ]- n ′-( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl ) urea , n6 -[ 4 - deoxy - 4 -[ n2 -[ 2 ( e ), 4 ( e )- tetradecadienoyl ] glycylamino ]- l - glycero - b - l - manno - heptopyranosyl ] adenine , aplidine , ecteinascidin , troxacitabine , 4 -[ 2 - amino - 4 - oxo - 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 3h - pyrimidino [ 5 , 4 - b ][ 1 , 4 ] thiazin - 6 - yl -( s )- ethyl ]- 2 , 5 - thienoyl - l - glutamic acid , aminopterin , 5 - fluorouracil , alanosine , 11 - acetyl - 8 -( carbamoyloxymethyl )- 4 - formyl - 6 - methoxy - 14 - oxa - 1 , 11 - diazatetracyclo ( 7 . 4 . 1 . 0 . 0 )- tetradeca - 2 , 4 , 6 - trien - 9 - yl acetic acid ester , swainsonine , lometrexol , dexrazoxane , methioninase , 2 ′- cyano - 2 ′- deoxy - n4 - palmitoyl - 1 - b - d - arabino furanosyl cytosine and 3 - aminopyridine - 2 - carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone . examples of monoclonal antibody targeted therapeutic agents include those therapeutic agents which have cytotoxic agents or radioisotopes attached to a cancer cell specific or target cell specific monoclonal antibody . examples include bexxar . “ hmg - coa reductase inhibitors ” refers to inhibitors of 3 - hydroxy - 3 - methylglutaryl - coa reductase . examples of hmg - coa reductase inhibitors that may be used include but are not limited to lovastatin ( mevacor ®; see u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 231 , 938 , 4 , 294 , 926 and 4 , 319 , 039 ), simvastatin ( zocor ®; see u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 444 , 784 , 4 , 820 , 850 and 4 , 916 , 239 ), pravastatin ( pravachol ®; see u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 346 , 227 , 4 , 537 , 859 , 4 , 410 , 629 , 5 , 030 , 447 and 5 , 180 , 589 ), fluvastatin ( lescol ®; see u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 354 , 772 , 4 , 911 , 165 , 4 , 929 , 437 , 5 , 189 , 164 , 5 , 118 , 853 , 5 , 290 , 946 and 5 , 356 , 896 ) and atorvastatin ( lipitor ®; see u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 273 , 995 , 4 , 681 , 893 , 5 , 489 , 691 and 5 , 342 , 952 ). the structural formulas of these and additional hmg - coa reductase inhibitors that may be used in the instant methods are described at page 87 of m . yalpani , “ cholesterol lowering drugs ”, chemistry & amp ; industry , pp . 85 - 89 ( 5 feb . 1996 ) and u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 782 , 084 and 4 , 885 , 314 . the term hmg - coa reductase inhibitor as used herein includes all pharmaceutically acceptable lactone and open - acid forms ( i . e ., where the lactone ring is opened to form the free acid ) as well as salt and ester forms of compounds which have hmg - coa reductase inhibitory activity , and therefor the use of such salts , esters , open - acid and lactone forms is included within the scope of this invention . “ prenyl - protein transferase inhibitor ” refers to a compound which inhibits any one or any combination of the prenyl - protein transferase enzymes , including farnesyl - protein transferase ( fptase ), geranylgeranyl - protein transferase type i ( ggptase - i ), and geranylgeranyl - protein transferase type - ii ( ggptase - ii , also called rab ggptase ). examples of prenyl - protein transferase inhibitors can be found in the following publications and patents : wo 96 / 30343 , wo 97 / 18813 , wo 97 / 21701 , wo 97 / 23478 , wo 97 / 38665 , wo 98 / 28980 , wo 98 / 29119 , wo 95 / 32987 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 420 , 245 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 523 , 430 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 532 , 359 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 510 , 510 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 589 , 485 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 602 , 098 , european patent publ . 0 618 221 , european patent publ . 0 675 112 , european patent publ . 0 604 181 , european patent publ . 0 696 593 , wo 94 / 19357 , wo 95 / 08542 , wo 95 / 11917 , wo 95 / 12612 , wo 95 / 12572 , wo 95 / 10514 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 661 , 152 , wo 95 / 10515 , wo 95 / 10516 , wo 95 / 24612 , wo 95 / 34535 , wo 95 / 25086 , wo 96 / 05529 , wo 96 / 06138 , wo 96 / 06193 , wo 96 / 16443 , wo 96 / 21701 , wo 96 / 21456 , wo 96 / 22278 , wo 96 / 24611 , wo 96 / 24612 , wo 96 / 05168 , wo 96 / 05169 , wo 96 / 00736 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 571 , 792 , wo 96 / 17861 , wo 96 / 33159 , wo 96 / 34850 , wo 96 / 34851 , wo 96 / 30017 , wo 96 / 30018 , wo 96 / 30362 , wo 96 / 30363 , wo 96 / 31111 , wo 96 / 31477 , wo 96 / 31478 , wo 96 / 31501 , wo 97 / 00252 , wo 97 / 03047 , wo 97 / 03050 , wo 97 / 04785 , wo 97 / 02920 , wo 97 / 17070 , wo 97 / 23478 , wo 97 / 26246 , wo 97 / 30053 , wo 97 / 44350 , wo 98 / 02436 , and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 532 , 359 . for an example of the role of a prenyl - protein transferase inhibitor on angiogenesis see european j . of cancer , vol . 35 , no . 9 , pp . 1394 - 1401 ( 1999 ). “ angiogenesis inhibitors ” refers to compounds that inhibit the formation of new blood vessels , regardless of mechanism . examples of angiogenesis inhibitors include , but are not limited to , tyrosine kinase inhibitors , such as inhibitors of the tyrosine kinase receptors flt - 1 ( vegfr1 ) and flk - 1 / kdr ( vegfr2 ), inhibitors of epidermal - derived , fibroblast - derived , or platelet derived growth factors , mmp ( matrix metalloprotease ) inhibitors , integrin blockers , interferon - α , interleukin - 12 , pentosan polysulfate , cyclooxygenase inhibitors , including nonsteroidal anti - inflammatories ( nsaids ) like aspirin and ibuprofen as well as selective cyclooxy - genase - 2 inhibitors like celecoxib and rofecoxib ( pnas , vol . 89 , p . 7384 ( 1992 ); jnci , vol . 69 , p . 475 ( 1982 ); arch . opthalmol ., vol . 108 , p . 573 ( 1990 ); anat . rec ., vol . 238 , p . 68 ( 1994 ); febs letters , vol . 372 , p . 83 ( 1995 ); clin , orthop . vol . 313 , p . 76 ( 1995 ); j . mol . endocrinol ., vol . 16 , p . 107 ( 1996 ); jpn . j . pharmacol ., vol . 75 , p . 105 ( 1997 ); cancer res ., vol . 57 , p . 1625 ( 1997 ); cell , vol . 93 , p . 705 ( 1998 ); intl . j . mol . med ., vol . 2 , p . 715 ( 1998 ); j . biol . chem ., vol . 274 , p . 9116 ( 1999 )), steroidal anti - inflammatories ( such as corticosteroids , mineralocorticoids , dexamethasone , prednisone , prednisolone , methylpred , betamethasone ), carboxyamidotriazole , combretastatin a - 4 , squalamine , 6 - o - chloroacetyl - carbonyl )- fumagillol , thalidomide , angiostatin , troponin - 1 , angiotensin ii antagonists ( see fernandez et al ., j . lab . clin . med . 105 : 141 - 145 ( 1985 )), and antibodies to vegf ( see , nature biotechnology , vol . 17 , pp . 963 - 968 ( october 1999 ); kim et al ., nature , 362 , 841 - 844 ( 1993 ); wo 00 / 44777 ; and wo 00 / 61186 ). other therapeutic agents that modulate or inhibit angiogenesis and may also be used in combination with the compounds of the instant invention include agents that modulate or inhibit the coagulation and fibrinolysis systems ( see review in clin . chem . la . med . 38 : 679 - 692 ( 2000 )). examples of such agents that modulate or inhibit the coagulation and fibrinolysis pathways include , but are not limited to , heparin ( see thromb . haemost . 80 : 10 - 23 ( 1998 )), low molecular weight heparins and carboxypeptidase u inhibitors ( also known as inhibitors of active thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor [ tafia ]) ( see thrombosis res . 101 : 329 - 354 ( 2001 )). tafia inhibitors have been described in pct publication wo 03 / 013 , 526 and us , ser . no . 60 / 349 , 925 ( filed jan . 18 , 2002 ). “ agents that interfere with cell cycle checkpoints ” refer to compounds that inhibit protein kinases that transduce cell cycle checkpoint signals , thereby sensitizing the cancer cell to dna damaging agents . such agents include inhibitors of atr , atm , the chk1 and chk2 kinases and cdk and cdc kinase inhibitors and are specifically exemplified by 7 - hydroxystaurosporin , flavopiridol , cyc202 ( cyclacel ) and bms - 387032 . “ inhibitors of cell proliferation and survival signaling pathway ” refer to pharmaceutical agents that inhibit cell surface receptors and signal transduction cascades downstream of those surface receptors . such agents include inhibitors of inhibitors of egfr ( for example gefitinib and erlotinib ), inhibitors of erb - 2 ( for example trastuzumab ), inhibitors of igfr , inhibitors of cytokine receptors , inhibitors of met , inhibitors of pi3k ( for example ly294002 ), serine / threonine kinases ( including but not limited to inhibitors of akt such as described in wo 02 / 083064 , wo 02 / 083139 , wo 02 / 083140 and wo 02 / 083138 ), inhibitors of raf kinase ( for example bay - 43 - 9006 ), inhibitors of mbk ( for example ci - 1040 and pd - 098059 ) and inhibitors of mtor ( for example wyeth cci - 779 ). such agents include small molecule inhibitor compounds and antibody antagonists . “ apoptosis inducing agents ” include activators of tnf receptor family members ( including the trail receptors ). the invention also encompasses combinations with nsaid &# 39 ; s which are selective cox - 2 inhibitors . for purposes of this specification nsaid &# 39 ; s which are selective inhibitors of cox - 2 are defined as those which possess a specificity for inhibiting cox - 2 over cox - 1 of at least 100 fold as measured by the ratio of ic 50 for cox - 2 over ic 50 for cox - 1 evaluated by cell or microsomal assays . such compounds include , but are not limited to those disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 474 , 995 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 861 , 419 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 001 , 843 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 020 , 343 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 409 , 944 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 436 , 265 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 536 , 752 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 550 , 142 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 604 , 260 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 698 , 584 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 710 , 140 , wo 94 / 15932 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 344 , 991 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 134 , 142 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 380 , 738 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 393 , 790 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 466 , 823 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 633 , 272 , and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 932 , 598 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . inhibitors of cox - 2 that are particularly useful in the instant method of treatment are : 3 - phenyl - 4 -( 4 -( methylsulfonyl ) phenyl )- 2 -( 5h )- furanone ; and 5 - chloro - 3 -( 4 - methylsulfonyl ) phenyl - 2 -( 2 - methyl - 5 - pyridinyl ) pyridine ; compounds that have been described as specific inhibitors of cox - 2 and are therefore useful in the present invention include , but are not limited to : parecoxib , celebrex ® and bextra ® or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . other examples of angiogenesis inhibitors include , but are not limited to , endostatin , ukrain , ranpirnase , im862 , 5 - methoxy - 4 -[ 2 - methyl - 3 -( 3 - methyl - 2 - butenyl ) oxiranyl ]- 1 - oxaspiro [ 2 , 5 ] oct - 6 - yl ( chloroacetyl ) carbamate , acetyldinanaline , 5 - amino - 1 -[[ 3 , 5 - dichloro - 4 -( 4 - chlorobenzoyl ) phenyl ] methyl ]- 1h - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole - 4 - carboxamide , cm101 , squalamine , combretastatin , rpi4610 , nx31838 , sulfated mannopentaose phosphate , 7 , 7 -( carbonyl - bis [ imino - n - methyl - 4 , 2 - pyrrolocarbonylimino [ n - methyl - 4 , 2 - pyrrole ]- carbonylimino ]- bis -( 1 , 3 - naphthalene disulfonate ), and 3 -[( 2 , 4 - dimethylpyrrol - 5 - yl ) methylene ]- 2 - indolinone ( su5416 ). as used above , “ integrin blockers ” refers to compounds which selectively antagonize , inhibit or counteract binding of a physiological ligand to the α v β 3 integrin , to compounds which selectively antagonize , inhibit or counteract binding of a physiological ligand to the αvβ5 integrin , to compounds which antagonize , inhibit or counteract binding of a physiological ligand to both the α v β 3 integrin and the α v β 5 integrin , and to compounds which antagonize , inhibit or counteract the activity of the particular integrin ( s ) expressed on capillary endothelial cells . the term also refers to antagonists of the α v β 6 , α v β 8 , α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 5 β 1 , α 6 β 1 and α 6 β 4 integrins . the term also refers to antagonists of any combination of α v β 3 , α v β 5 , α v β 6 , α v β 8 , α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 5 β 1 , α 6 β 1 and α 6 β 4 integrins . some specific examples of tyrosine kinase inhibitors include n -( trifluoromethylphenyl )- 5 - methylisoxazol - 4 - carboxamide , 3 -[( 2 , 4 - dimethylpyrrol - 5 - yl ) methylidenyl ) indolin - 2 - one , 17 -( allylamino )- 17 - demethoxygeldanamycin , 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenylamino )- 7 - methoxy - 6 -[ 3 -( 4 - morpholinyl ) propoxyl ] quinazoline , n -( 3 - ethynylphenyl )- 6 , 7 - bis ( 2 - methoxyethoxy )- 4 - quinazolinamine , bibx1382 , 2 , 3 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 - hexahydro - 10 -( hydroxymethyl )- 10 - hydroxy - 9 - methyl - 9 , 12 - epoxy - 1h - diindolo [ 1 , 2 , 3 - fg : 3 ′, 2 ′, 1 ′- k1 ] pyrrolo [ 3 , 4 - i ][ 1 , 6 ] benzodiazocin - 1 - one , sh268 , genistein , sti571 , cep2563 , 4 -( 3 - chlorophenylamino )- 5 , 6 - dimethyl - 7h - pyrrolo [ 2 , 3 - d ] pyrimidinemethane sulfonate , 4 -( 3 - bromo - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) amino - 6 , 7 - dimethoxyquinazoline , 4 -( 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) amino - 6 , 7 - dimethoxyquinazoline , su6668 , sti571a , n - 4 - chlorophenyl - 4 -( 4 - pyridylmethyl )- 1 - phthalazinamine , and emd121974 . combinations with compounds other than anti - cancer compounds are also encompassed in the instant methods . for example , combinations of the instantly claimed compounds with ppar - γ ( i . e ., ppar - gamma ) agonists and ppar - δ ( i . e ., ppar - delta ) agonists are useful in the treatment of certain malignancies . ppar - γ and ppar - δ are the nuclear peroxisome proliferator - activated receptors γ and δ . the expression of ppar - γ on endothelial cells and its involvement in angiogenesis has been reported in the literature ( see j . cardiovasc . pharmacol . 1998 ; 31 : 909 - 913 ; j . biol . chem . 1999 ; 274 : 9116 - 9121 ; invest . ophthalmol vis . sci . 2000 ; 41 : 2309 - 2317 ). more recently , ppar - γ agonists have been shown to inhibit the angiogenic response to vegf in vitro ; both troglitazone and rosiglitazone maleate inhibit the development of retinal neovascularization in mice . ( arch . ophthamol . 2001 ; 119 : 709 - 717 ). examples of ppar - γ agonists and ppar - γ / α agonists include , but are not limited to , thiazolidinediones ( such as drf2725 , cs - 011 , troglitazone , rosiglitazone , and pioglitazone ), fenofibrate , gemfibrozil , clofibrate , gw2570 , sb219994 , ar - h039242 , jtt - 501 , mcc - 555 , gw2331 , gw409544 , nn2344 , krp297 , np0110 , drf4158 , nn622 , g1262570 , pnu182716 , drf552926 , 2 -[( 5 , 7 - dipropyl - 3 - trifluoromethyl - 1 , 2 - benzisoxazol - 6 - yl ) oxy ]- 2 - methylpropionic acid ( disclosed in u . s . ser . no . 09 / 782 , 856 ), and 2 ( r )- 7 -( 3 -( 2 - chloro - 4 -( 4 - fluorophenoxy ) phenoxy ) propoxy )- 2 - ethylchromane - 2 - carboxylic acid ( disclosed in u . s . ser . nos . 60 / 235 , 708 and 60 / 244 , 697 ). another embodiment of the instant invention is the use of the presently disclosed compounds in combination with gene therapy for the treatment of cancer . for an overview of genetic strategies to treating cancer see hall et al ( am j hum genet . 61 : 785 - 789 , 1997 ) and kufe et al ( cancer medicine , 5th ed , pp 876 - 889 , bc decker , hamilton 2000 ). gene therapy can be used to deliver any tumor suppressing gene . examples of such genes include , but are not limited to , p53 , which can be delivered via recombinant virus - mediated gene transfer ( see u . s . pat . no . 6 , 069 , 134 , for example ), a upa / upar antagonist (“ adenovirus - mediated delivery of a upa / upar antagonist suppresses angiogenesis - dependent tumor growth and dissemination in mice ,” gene therapy , august 1998 ; 5 ( 8 ): 1105 - 13 ), and interferon gamma ( j immunol 2000 ; 164 : 217 - 222 ). the compounds of the instant invention may also be administered in combination with an inhibitor of inherent multidrug resistance ( mdr ), in particular mdr associated with high levels of expression of transporter proteins . such mdr inhibitors include inhibitors of p - glycoprotein ( p - gp ), such as ly335979 , xr9576 , oc144 - 093 , r101922 , vx853 and psc833 ( valspodar ). a compound of the present invention may be employed in conjunction with anti - emetic agents to treat nausea or emesis , including acute , delayed , late - phase , and anticipatory emesis , which may result from the use of a compound of the present invention , alone or with radiation therapy . for the prevention or treatment of emesis , a compound of the present invention may be used in conjunction with other anti - emetic agents , especially neurokinin - 1 receptor antagonists , 5ht3 receptor antagonists , such as ondansetron , granisetron , tropisetron , and zatisetron , gabab receptor agonists , such as baclofen , a corticosteroid such as decadron ( dexamethasone ), kenalog , aristocort , nasalide , preferid , benecorten or others such as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 789 , 118 , 2 , 990 , 401 , 3 , 048 , 581 , 3 , 126 , 375 , 3 , 929 , 768 , 3 , 996 , 359 , 3 , 928 , 326 and 3 , 749 , 712 , an antidopaminergic , such as the phenothiazines ( for example prochlorperazine , fluphenazine , thioridazine and mesoridazine ), metoclopramide or dronabinol . in an embodiment , an anti - emesis agent selected from a neurokinin - 1 receptor antagonist , a 5ht3 receptor antagonist and a corticosteroid is administered as an adjuvant for the treatment or prevention of emesis that may result upon administration of the instant compounds . neurokinin - 1 receptor antagonists of use in conjunction with the compounds of the present invention are fully described , for example , in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 162 , 339 , 5 , 232 , 929 , 5 , 242 , 930 , 5 , 373 , 003 , 5 , 387 , 595 , 5 , 459 , 270 , 5 , 494 , 926 , 5 , 496 , 833 , 5 , 637 , 699 , 5 , 719 , 147 ; european patent publication nos . ep 0 360 390 , 0 394 989 , 0 428 434 , 0 429 366 , 0 430 771 , 0 436 334 , 0 443 132 , 0 482 539 , 0 498 069 , 0499 313 , 0 512 901 , 0 512 902 , 0 514 273 , 0 514 274 , 0 514 275 , 0 514 276 , 0 515 681 , 0 517 589 , 0 520 555 , 0 522 808 , 0 528 495 , 0 532 456 , 0 533 280 , 0 536 817 , 0 545 478 , 0 558 156 , 0 577 394 , 0 585 913 , 0 590 152 , 0 599 538 , 0 610 793 , 0 634 402 , 0 686 629 , 0 693 489 , 0 694 535 , 0 699 655 , 0 699 674 , 0 707 006 , 0 708 101 , 0 709 375 , 0 709 376 , 0 714 891 , 0 723 959 , 0 733 632 and 0 776 893 ; pct international patent publication nos . wo 90 / 05525 , 90 / 05729 , 91 / 09844 , 91 / 18899 , 92 / 01688 , 92 / 06079 , 92 / 12151 , 92 / 15585 , 92 / 17449 , 92 / 20661 , 92 / 20676 , 92 / 21677 , 92 / 22569 , 93 / 00330 , 93 / 00331 , 93 / 01159 , 93 / 01165 , 93 / 01169 , 93 / 01170 , 93 / 06099 , 93 / 09116 , 93 / 10073 , 93 / 14084 , 93 / 14113 , 93 / 18023 , 93 / 19064 , 93 / 21155 , 93 / 21181 , 93 / 23380 , 93 / 24465 , 94 / 00440 , 94 / 01402 , 94 / 02461 , 94 / 02595 , 94 / 03429 , 94 / 03445 , 94 / 04494 , 94 / 04496 , 94 / 05625 , 94 / 07843 , 94 / 08997 , 94 / 10165 , 94 / 10167 , 94 / 10168 , 94 / 10170 , 94 / 11368 , 94 / 13639 , 94 / 13663 , 94 / 14767 , 94 / 15903 , 94 / 19320 , 94 / 19323 , 94 / 20500 , 94 / 26735 , 94 / 26740 , 94 / 29309 , 95 / 02595 , 95 / 04040 , 95 / 04042 , 95 / 06645 , 95 / 07886 , 95 / 07908 , 95 / 08549 , 95 / 11880 , 95 / 14017 , 95 / 15311 , 95 / 16679 , 95 / 17382 , 95 / 18124 , 95 / 18129 , 95 / 19344 , 95 / 20575 , 95 / 21819 , 95 / 22525 , 95 / 23798 , 95 / 26338 , 95 / 28418 , 95 / 30674 , 95 / 30687 , 95 / 33744 , 96 / 05181 , 96 / 05193 , 96 / 05203 , 96 / 06094 , 96 / 07649 , 96 / 10562 , 96 / 16939 , 96 / 18643 , 96 / 20197 , 96 / 21661 , 96 / 29304 , 96 / 29317 , 96 / 29326 , 96 / 29328 , 96 / 31214 , 96 / 32385 , 96 / 37489 , 97 / 01553 , 97 / 01554 , 97 / 03066 , 97 / 08144 , 97 / 14671 , 97 / 17362 , 97 / 18206 , 97 / 19084 , 97 / 19942 and 97 / 21702 ; and in british patent publication nos . 2 266 529 , 2 268 931 , 2 269 170 , 2 269 590 , 2 271 774 , 2 292 144 , 2 293 168 , 2 293 169 , and 2 302 689 . the preparation of such compounds is fully described in the aforementioned patents and publications , which are incorporated herein by reference . in an embodiment , the neurokinin - 1 receptor antagonist for use in conjunction with the compounds of the present invention is selected from : 2 -( r )-( 1 -( r )-( 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) ethoxy )- 3 -( s )-( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 4 -( 3 -( 5 - oxo - 1h , 4h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo ) methyl ) morpholine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , which is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 719 , 147 . a compound of the instant invention may also be administered with an agent useful in the treatment of anemia . such an anemia treatment agent is , for example , a continuous erythropoiesis receptor activator ( such as epoetin alfa ). a compound of the instant invention may also be administered with an agent useful in the treatment of neutropenia . such a neutropenia treatment agent is , for example , a hematopoietic growth factor which regulates the production and function of neutrophils such as a human granulocyte colony stimulating factor , ( g - csf ). examples of a g - csf include filgrastim . a compound of the instant invention may also be administered with an immunologic - enhancing drug , such as levamisole , isoprinosine and zadaxin . thus , the scope of the instant invention encompasses the use of the instantly claimed compounds in combination with a second compound selected from : an estrogen receptor modulator , an androgen receptor modulator , retinoid receptor modulator , a cytotoxic / cytostatic agent , an antiproliferative agent , a prenyl - protein transferase inhibitor , an hmg - coa reductase inhibitor , an hiv protease inhibitor , a reverse transcriptase inhibitor , an angiogenesis inhibitor , a ppar - γ agonist , a ppar - δ agonist , an inhibitor of inherent multidrug resistance , an anti - emetic agent , an agent useful in the treatment of anemia , an agent useful in the treatment of neutropenia , an immunologic - enhancing drug , an inhibitor of cell proliferation and survival signaling , an agent that interferes with a cell cycle checkpoint , and an apoptosis inducing agent . the term “ administration ” and variants thereof ( e . g ., “ administering ” a compound ) in reference to a compound of the invention means introducing the compound or a prodrug of the compound into the system of the animal in need of treatment . when a compound of the invention or prodrug thereof is provided in combination with one or more other active agents ( e . g ., a cytotoxic agent , etc . ), “ administration ” and its variants are each understood to include concurrent and sequential introduction of the compound or prodrug thereof and other agents . as used herein , the term “ composition ” is intended to encompass a product comprising the specified ingredients in the specified amounts , as well as any product which results , directly or indirectly , from combination of the specified ingredients in the specified amounts . the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” as used herein means that amount of active compound or pharmaceutical agent that elicits the biological or medicinal response in a tissue , system , animal or human that is being sought by a researcher , veterinarian , medical doctor or other clinician . the term “ treating cancer ” or “ treatment of cancer ” refers to administration to a mammal afflicted with a cancerous condition and refers to an effect that alleviates the cancerous condition by killing the cancerous cells , but also to an effect that results in the inhibition of growth and / or metastasis of the cancer . in an embodiment , the angiogenesis inhibitor to be used as the second compound is selected from a tyrosine kinase inhibitor , an inhibitor of epidermal - derived growth factor , an inhibitor of fibroblast - derived growth factor , an inhibitor of platelet derived growth factor , an mmp ( matrix metalloprotease ) inhibitor , an integrin blocker , interferon - α , interleukin - 12 , pentosan polysulfate , a cyclooxygenase inhibitor , carboxyamidotriazole , combretastatin a - 4 , squalamine , 6 - o - chloroacetyl - carbonyl )- fumagillol , thalidomide , angiostatin , troponin - 1 , or an antibody to vegf . in an embodiment , the estrogen receptor modulator is tamoxifen or raloxifene . also included in the scope of the claims is a method of treating cancer that comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula i in combination with radiation therapy and / or in combination with a compound selected from : an estrogen receptor modulator , an androgen receptor modulator , retinoid receptor modulator , a cytotoxic / cytostatic agent , an antiproliferative agent , a prenyl - protein transferase inhibitor , an hmg - coa reductase inhibitor , an hiv protease inhibitor , a reverse transcriptase inhibitor , an angiogenesis inhibitor , a ppar - γ agonist , a ppar - δ agonist , an inhibitor of inherent multidrug resistance , an anti - emetic agent , an agent useful in the treatment of anemia , an agent useful in the treatment of neutropenia , an immunologic - enhancing drug , an inhibitor of cell proliferation and survival signaling , an agent that interferes with a cell cycle checkpoint , and an apoptosis inducing agent . and yet another embodiment of the invention is a method of treating cancer that comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula i in combination with paclitaxel or trastuzumab . the invention further encompasses a method of treating or preventing cancer that comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula i in combination with a cox - 2 inhibitor . the instant invention also includes a pharmaceutical composition useful for treating or preventing cancer that comprises a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula i and a compound selected from : an estrogen receptor modulator , an androgen receptor modulator , a retinoid receptor modulator , a cytotoxic / cytostatic agent , an antiproliferative agent , a prenyl - protein transferase inhibitor , an hmg - coa reductase inhibitor , an hiv protease inhibitor , a reverse transcriptase inhibitor , an angiogenesis inhibitor , a ppar - γ agonist , a ppar - δ agonist ; an inhibitor of cell proliferation and survival signaling , an agent that interferes with a cell cycle checkpoint , and an apoptosis inducing agent . kinesin motors are effective atpases hydrolyzing atp to adp , thereby providing energy for force generation . by examining adp release from kinesin in the presence of varying concentrations of kinesin motor modulator ( e . g ., adociasulfate ), the activity of the kinesin motor modulator can be quantified . one such adp release assay is described in the examples . in another embodiment , the atpase activity assay utilizes 0 . 3 m pca ( perchloric acid ) and malachite green reagent ( 8 . 27 mm sodium molybdate ii , 0 . 33 mm malachite green oxalate , and 0 . 8 mm triton x - 100 ). to perform the assay , 10 μl of reaction is quenched in 90 μl of cold 0 . 3 m pca . phosphate standards are used so data can be converted to mm inorganic phosphate released . when all reactions and standards have been quenched in pca , 100 μl of malachite green reagent is added to the to relevant wells in e . g ., a microtiter plate . the mixture is developed for 10 - 15 minutes and the plate is read at an absorbance of 650 nm . if phosphate standards were used , absorbance readings can be converted to mm pi and plotted over time . as explained above , it was a discovery of this invention that small organic molecules can specifically modulate kinesin activity without mimicking the binding of either microtubules or atp to the kinesin motor protein . the molecules thus are not competitive inhibitors of microtubule and atp binding . this is a previously unknown mechanism of kinesin ( or other motor , e . g ., myosin or dynein ) inhibition . thus , in one embodiment , this invention provides methods of identifying such kinesin motor protein inhibitors that do not specifically block the microtubule or atp binding sites . it is also expected that some small organic molecules will facilitate interactions at the microtubule binding site and similar assays can be used to identify such enhancers of kinesin motor activity . such specific inhibitors are characterized by the fact that they are not competitively inhibited by , and do not competitively inhibit , binders of the microtubule binding site and binders at the atpase site . in one embodiment , this invention therefor provides methods of identifying compounds , especially small organic molecules which change kinesin motor activity only when the motor protein is bound to microtubules . the methods involve screening the “ test ” compound &# 39 ; s ability to competitively inhibit binding of a moiety ( e . g ., atp or an atp analogue ) at the atpase site , screening the same compound &# 39 ; s ability to competitively inhibit binding of a moiety ( e . g ., a microtubule ) at the microtubule binding at the microtubule binding site , and finally , comparing the compound &# 39 ; s inhibitory activity in the atpase assay in the presence and absence of microtubules . methods of identifying competitive inhibition are well known to those of skill in the art . briefly , in the classical michaelis - menton model of enzyme kinetics , competitive inhibition is easily recognized experimentally because the percent inhibition at a fixed inhibitor concentration is decreased by increasing the substrate concentration . thus , where the compound competitively inhibits binding at the microtubule binding site , increasing the microtubule concentration at a fixed concentration of test compound can restore the original ( inhibitor - free ) maximal rate of reaction ( v max ). conversely , where competition is non - competitive increasing the substrate concentration will not restore the maximal rate of reaction ( vmax ). assays for specific inhibition at the microtubule binding site are illustrated in example 1 . for a detailed discussion of analysis of reaction kinetics to recognize competitive , noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition , see , e . g ., lehninger ( 1975 ) biochemistry worth pub ., inc . new york , n . y . this is the same paragraph as on p 4 ! conventionally , new chemical entities with useful properties are generated by identifying a chemical compound ( called a “ lead compound ”) with some desirable property or activity , creating variants of the lead compound , and evaluating the property and activity of those variant compounds . however , the current trend is to shorten the time scale for all aspects of drug discovery . because of the ability to test large numbers quickly and efficiently , high throughput screening ( hts ) methods are replacing conventional lead compound identification methods . in one preferred embodiment , high throughput screening methods involve providing a library containing a large number of potential therapeutic compounds ( candidate compounds ). such “ combinatorial chemical libraries ” are then screened in one or more assays , as described herein , to identify those library members particular chemical species or subclasses ) that display a desired characteristic activity . the compounds thus identified can serve as conventional “ lead compounds ” or can themselves be used as potential or actual therapeutics . devices for the preparation of combinatorial libraries are commercially available ( see , e . g ., 357 mps , 390 mps , advanced chem tech , louisville , kent ., symphony , rainin , woburn , mass ., 433a applied biosystems , foster city , calif ., 9050 plus , millipore , bedford , mass .). a number of well known robotic systems have also been developed for solution phase chemistries . these systems include automated workstations like the automated synthesis apparatus developed by takeda chemical industries , ltd . ( osaka , japan ) and many robotic systems utilizing robotic arms ( zymate ii , zymark corporation , hopkinton , mass . ; orca , hewlett - packard , palo alto , calif .) which mimic the manual synthetic operations performed by a chemist . any of the above devices are suitable for use with the present invention . the nature and implementation of modifications to these devices ( if any ) so that they can operate as discussed herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art . in addition , numerous combinatorial libraries are themselves commercially available ( see , e . g ., comgenex , princeton , n . j ., asinex , moscow , ru , tripos , inc ., st . louis , mo ., chemstar , ltd , moscow , ru , 3d pharmaceuticals , exton , pa ., martek biosciences , columbia , md ., etc .). any of the assays for anti - kinesin motor activity described herein are amenable to high throughput screening . as described above , the adocia - derived compounds may be screened for anti - kinesin motor activity in binding assays , motility assays , or assays for anti - mitotic activity . high throughput systems for such screening are well known to those of skill in the art . thus , for example , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 559 , 410 discloses high throughput screening methods for protein binding , while u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 576 , 220 and 5 , 541 , 061 disclose high throughput methods of screening for ligand / antibody binding . in addition , high throughput screening systems are commercially available ( see , e . g ., zymark corp ., hopkinton , mass . ; air technical industries , mentor , ohio ; beckman instruments , inc . fullerton , calif . ; precision systems , inc ., natick , mass ., etc .). these systems typically automate entire procedures including all sample and reagent pipetting , liquid dispensing , timed incubations , and final readings of the microplate in detector ( s ) appropriate for the assay . these configurable systems provide high throughput and rapid start up as well as a high degree of flexibility and customization . the manufacturers of such systems provide detailed protocols the various high throughput . thus , for example , zymark corp . provides technical bulletins describing screening systems for detecting the modulation of gene transcription , ligand binding , and the like . examples provided are intended to assist in a further understanding of the invention . particular materials employed , species and conditions are intended to be illustrative of the invention and not limiting of the reasonable scope thereof . the compounds of the instant invention described in the examples were tested by the assays described below and were found to have kinesin inhibitory activity . other assays are known in the literature and could be readily performed by those of skill in the art ( see , for example , pct publication wo 01 / 30768 , may 3 , 2001 , pages 18 - 22 ). cloning and expression of human poly - histidine tagged ksp motor domain ( ksp ( 367h )) plasmids for the expression of the human ksp motor domain construct were cloned by pcr using a pbluescript full length human ksp construct ( blangy et al ., cell , vol . 83 , pp 1159 - 1169 , 1995 ) as a template . the n - terminal primer 5 ′- gcaacgattaatatggcgtcgcagccaaattcgtctgcgaag ( seq . id . no . : 1 ) and the c - terminal primer 5 ′- gcaacgctcgagtcagtgat gatggtggtgatgctgattcacttcaggcttattcaatat ( seq . id . no . : 2 ) were used to amplify the motor domain and the neck linker region . the pcr products were digested with asei and xhoi , ligated into the ndei / xhoi digestion product of prseta ( invitrogen ) and transformed into e . coli bl21 ( de3 ). cells were grown at 37 ° c . to an od 600 of 0 . 5 . after cooling the culture to room temperature expression of ksp was induced with 100 μm iptg and incubation was continued overnight . cells were pelleted by centrifugation and washed once with ice - cold pbs . pellets were flash - frozen and stored − 80 ° c . cell pellets were thawed on ice and resuspended in lysis buffer ( 50 mm k - hepes , ph 8 . 0 , 250 mm kcl , 0 . 1 % tween , 10 mm imidazole , 0 . 5 mm mg - atp , 1 mm pmsf , 2 mm benzimidine , 1 × complete protease inhibitor cocktail ( roche )). cell suspensions were incubated with 1 mg / ml lysozyme and 5 mm β - mercaptoethanol on ice for 10 minutes , followed by sonication ( 3 × 30 sec ). all subsequent procedures were performed at 4 ° c . lysates were centrifuged at 40 , 000 × g for 40 minutes . supernatants were diluted and loaded onto an sp sepharose column ( phamacia , 5 ml cartridge ) in buffer a ( 50 mm k - hepes , ph 6 . 8 , 1 mm mgcl 2 , 1 mm egta , 10 μm mg - atp , 1 mm dtt ) and eluted with a 0 to 750 mm kcl gradient in buffer a . fractions containing ksp were pooled and incubated with ni - nta resin ( qiagen ) for one hour . the resin was washed three times with buffer b ( lysis buffer minus pmsf and protease inhibitor cocktail ), followed by three 15 - minute incubations and washes with buffer b . finally , the resin was incubated and washed for 15 minutes three times with buffer c ( same as buffer b except for ph 6 . 0 ) and poured into a column . ksp was eluted with elution buffer ( identical to buffer b except for 150 mm kcl and 250 mm imidazole ). ksp - containing fractions were pooled , made 10 % in sucrose , and stored at − 80 ° c . microtubules are prepared from tubulin isolated from bovine brain . purified tubulin (& gt ; 97 % map - free ) at 1 mg / ml is polymerized at 37 ° c . in the presence of 10 μm paclitaxel , 1 mm dtt , 1 mm gtp in brb80 buffer ( 80 mm k - pipes , 1 mm egta , 1 mm mgcl 2 at ph 6 . 8 ). the resulting microtubules are separated from non - polymerized tubulin by ultracentrifugation and removal of the supernatant . the pellet , containing the microtubules , is gently resuspended in 10 μm paclitaxel , 1 mm dtt , 50 μg / ml ampicillin , and 5 μg / ml chloramphenicol in brb80 . the kinesin motor domain ( 20 nm ) is incubated with microtubules , atp ( 1 mm 1 : 1 mgcl 2 : na - atp ), and compound at 23 ° c . in buffer containing 80 mm k - hepes ( ph 7 . 0 ), 1 mm egta , 1 mm dtt , 1 mm mgcl 2 , and 50 mm kcl . the reaction is terminated by a 2 - 10 fold dilution with a final buffer composition of 80 mm hepes and 50 mm edta ( or , alternately , with a 1 : 1 addition of reaction volume to stop buffer ( 1 . 8m kcl and 50 mm edta )). free phosphate from the atp hydrolysis reaction is measured via a quinaldine red / ammonium molybdate assay by adding a 1 . 5 times volume of quench c ( e . g ., to a mixture of 401 reaction volume + 40 μl stop buffer is then added 120 μl quench c ). quench a contains 0 . 1 mg / ml quinaldine red and 0 . 14 % polyvinyl alcohol ; quench b contains 12 . 3 mm ammonium molybdate tetrahydrate in 1 . 15 m sulfuric acid . quench c is a 2 : 1 ratio of quench a : quench b the reaction is incubated for 5 - 10 minutes at 23 ° c ., and the absorbance of the phospho - molybdate complex is measured at 540 nm . the in vitro substrate competitive profiles of the compounds described in table 1 below were determined using a michaelis - menton analysis with the assay described above , but varying assay concentrations of one of the substrates ( atp or microtubule ) in the presence of excess of the second substrate . thus , the concentration of atp was varied between 4 μm and 500 μm , in the presence of 2 μm of microtubules . and the concentration of microtubules was varied between 0 . 01 μm and 5 μm , in the presence of 1 mm of atp . in order to identify compounds useful in the methods of the instant invention , the assay described above was then performed in the presence ( 0 . 5 μm ) and absence of microtubules . results are shown in tables 1 and 2 . compounds that are commercially available are noted by the source and catalog number . cells are plated in 96 - well tissue culture dishes at densities that allow for logarithmic growth over the course of 24 , 48 , and 72 hours and allowed to adhere overnight . the following day , compounds are added in a 10 - point , one - half log titration to all plates . each titration series is performed in triplicate , and a constant dmso concentration of 0 . 1 % is maintained throughout the assay . controls of 0 . 1 % dmso alone are also included . each compound dilution series is made in media without serum . the final concentration of serum in the assay is 5 % in a 200 μl volume of media . twenty microliters of alamar blue staining reagent is added to each sample and control well on the titration plate at 24 , 48 , or 72 hours following the addition of drug and returned to incubation at 37 ° c . alamar blue fluorescence is analyzed 6 - 12 hours later on a cytofluor ii plate reader using 530 - 560 nanometer wavelength excitation , 590 nanometer emission . a cytotoxic ec 50 is derived by plotting compound concentration on the x - axis and average percent inhibition of cell growth for each titration point on the y - axis . growth of cells in control wells that have been treated with vehicle alone is defined as 100 % growth for the assay , and the growth of cells treated with compounds is compared to this value . proprietary in - house software is used to calculate percent cytotoxicity values and inflection points using logistic 4 - parameter curve fitting . percent cytotoxicity is defined as : the inflection point is reported as the cytotoxic ec 50 . facs analysis is used to evaluate the ability of a compound to arrest cells in mitosis and to induce apoptosis by measuring dna content in a treated population of cells . cells are seeded at a density of 1 . 4 × 10 6 cells per 6 cm 2 tissue culture dish and allowed to adhere overnight . cells are then treated with vehicle ( 0 . 1 % dmso ) or a titration series of compound for 8 - 16 hours . following treatment , cells are harvested by trypsinization at the indicated times and pelleted by centrifugation . cell pellets are rinsed in pbs and fixed in 70 % ethanol and stored at 4 ° c . overnight or longer . for facs analysis , at least 500 , 000 fixed cells are pelleted and the 70 % ethanol is removed by aspiration . cells are then incubated for 30 min at 4 ° c . with rnase a ( 50 kunitz units / ml ) and propidium iodide ( 50 μg / ml ), and analyzed using a becton dickinson facscaliber . data ( from 10 , 000 cells ) is analyzed using the modfit cell cycle analysis modeling software ( verity inc .). an ec 50 for mitotic arrest is derived by plotting compound concentration on the x - axis and percentage of cells in the g2 / m phase of the cell cycle for each titration point ( as measured by propidium iodide fluorescence ) on the y - axis . data analysis is performed using the sigmaplot program to calculate an inflection point using logistic 4 - parameter curve fitting . the inflection point is reported as the ec 50 for mitotic arrest . a similar method is used to determine the compound ec 50 for apoptosis . here , the percentage of apoptotic cells at each titration point ( as determined by propidium iodide fluorescence ) is plotted on the y - axis , and a similar analysis is carried out as described above . methods for immunofluorescence staining of dna , tubulin , and pericentrin are essentially as described in kapoor et al . ( 2000 ) j . cell biol . 150 : 975 - 988 . for cell culture studies , cells are plated on tissue culture treated glass chamber slides and allowed to adhere overnight . cells are then incubated with the compound of interest for 4 to 16 hours . after incubation is complete , media and drug are aspirated and the chamber and gasket are removed from the glass slide . cells are then permeabilized , fixed , washed , and blocked for nonspecific antibody binding according to the referenced protocol . paraffin - embedded tumor sections are deparaffinized with xylene and rehydrated through an ethanol series prior to blocking . slides are incubated in primary antibodies ( mouse monoclonal anti - α - tubulin antibody , clone dm1a from sigma diluted 1 : 500 ; rabbit polyclonal anti - pericentrin antibody from covance , diluted 1 : 2000 ) overnight at 4 ° c . after washing , slides are incubated with conjugated secondary antibodies ( fitc - conjugated donkey anti - mouse igg for tubulin ; texas red - conjugated donkey anti - rabbit igg for pericentrin ) diluted to 15 μg / ml for one hour at room temperature . slides are then washed and counterstained with hoechst 33342 to visualize dna . immunostained samples are imaged with a 100 × oil immersion objective on a nikon epifluorescence microscope using metamorph deconvolution and imaging software . a round - bottomed flask fitted with an addition funnel and an overhead mechanical stirrer was charged with p - toluenesulfinic acid , sodium salt ( 1 . 5 eq ) followed by tert butylcarbamate ( 1 . 5 eq ). the flask was then charged with acetonitrile ( 500 ml ) and the contents stirred and placed under a positive pressure of nitrogen . to the resulting slurry was added benzaldehyde ( 1 . 0 eq ) in one portion . the resulting mixture was then cooled to 10 ° c . using an ice bath . to the addition funnel was added chlorotrimethylsilane ( tmscl ) ( 2 . 0 eq ) and this was slowly added to the reaction mixture to maintain an internal temperature below 25 ° c . ( total addition time was 15 min ). after complete addition of the tmscl , the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature ( 23 ° c .). the reaction was then monitored by hplc until completion ( 24 hours ). to the heterogeneous mixture was added water ( 500 ml ) and the resulting suspension was stirred for 30 min . the solids were isolated by filtration and the filter cake was washed with water ( 100 ml ). the solid was dried in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . at 30 torr for 24 hours to give the product as a fluffy white solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ ; 7 . 82 - 7 . 78 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 50 - 7 . 40 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 38 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 hz ), 6 . 01 - 5 . 90 ( d , 1h , j = 10 . 4 hz ), 5 . 86 - 5 . 79 ( d , 1h , j = 10 . 3 hz ), 2 . 45 - 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 20 ( br , 9h ); 13 c nmr ( 100 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 154 . 0 , 144 . 9 , 133 . 8 , 130 . 0 , 129 . 7 , 129 . 6 , 129 . 4 , 128 . 8 , 128 . 6 , 81 . 0 , 73 . 8 , 27 . 9 , 21 . 5 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 82 - 7 . 78 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 50 - 7 . 40 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 38 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 hz ), 6 . 01 - 5 . 90 ( d , 1h , j = 10 . 4 hz ), 5 . 86 - 5 . 79 ( d , 1h , j = 10 . 3 hz ), 2 . 45 - 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 20 ( br , 9h ); 13 c nmr ( 100 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 154 . 0 , 144 . 9 , 133 . 8 , 130 . 0 , 129 . 7 , 129 . 6 , 129 . 4 , 128 . 8 , 128 . 6 , 81 . 0 , 73 . 8 , 27 . 9 , 21 . 5 . the product was isolated from the crude reaction mixture by crystallization from ethyl acetate as small white needles ; mp 113 - 114 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 8 . 01 - 7 . 90 ( d , 2h , j = 7 . 6 hz ), 7 . 53 - 7 . 46 ( t , 1h , j = 7 . 6 hz ), 7 . 43 - 7 . 34 ( t , 4h , j = 7 . 6 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 20 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 35 - 6 . 25 ( d , 1h , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 6 . 12 - 6 . 00 ( d , 1h , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 1 . 50 - 1 . 38 ( br , 9h ); 13 c nmr ( 100 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 196 . 1 , 155 . 2 , 137 . 4 , 134 . 5 , 133 . 5 , 129 . 0 , 128 . 5 , 128 . 2 , 128 . 0 , 79 . 8 , 59 . 7 , 28 . 3 ; anal . calcd for c 19 h 21 no 3 : c , 73 . 29 ; h , 6 . 80 ; n , 4 . 50 . found : c , 72 . 91 ; h , 6 . 76 ; n , 4 . 42 . employing the above described procedure , but substituting benzyl carbamate for tert - butyl carbamate , the title compound was prepared . a mixture of n -( 4 - aminophenyl ) acetamide ( 9 . 7 g , 65 mmol ), ethyl 3 - oxohexanoate ( 10 g , 65 mmol ) and 2 drops conc . hcl in 30 ml ethanol was heated at reflux overnight . after approximately 18 h , the reaction mixture was cooled to r . t . and the solids collected by filtration . the solids were washed with methanol and air dried to afford the crude product as a solid , which was used without further purification in the subsequent reaction . the crude product ( 9 . 0 g ) described in step 1 was mixed with 50 ml of diphenylether . the mixture was heated with a heating mantle at 260 ° for 2 h then cooled to r . t . the resulting solid was collected by filtration , washed with etoac to give a grey solid , which was used directly in the next step . the crude product ( 5 . 9 g ) described in step 2 and dimethylsulfate ( 4 . 6 ml , 48 mmol ) were mixed in toluene and heated at reflux for 2 . 5 h . the reaction mixture was cooled to r . t . and the precipitate was collected by filtration . the solids were washed with toluene , air dried then added to a mixture of 50 ml 1n aq . naoh and 100 ml etoac . the solids were filtered and washed with etoac . the filtrate was transferred to a separatory funnel and the layers separated . the aqueous layer was extracted with excess etoac . the organic layers were combined and the solvent removed under vacuum to afford the product as a yellow solid , ms : m / z 259 ( mh + ). an intimate mixture of the crude product ( 4 . 0 g ) described in step 3 and ammonium acetate ( 40 g , 52 mmol ) were heated at 140 ° to 150 ° for 4 h . the reaction mixture was cooled to r . t . to provide the crude product which used immediately without further purification . to the above crude reaction mixture described in step 4 was added 30 ml water and 40 ml conc . hcl . the resulting mixture was heated at 90 ° for 5 h then cooled to r . t . the remaining precipitate was collected by filtration . the aqueous filtrate was concentrated under vacuum then made basic by addition of aq . sodium hydroxide . the aqueous mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and extracted with excess etoac . the organic layers were combined , dried with a drying agent and the solvent removed under vacuum to afford a solid , ms : m / z 202 ( mh + ). to a solution of ( 2e )- 3 -( 4 - chlorophenyl ) prop - 2 - enoic acid ( 2 . 0 g , 11 mmol ) in 50 ml methylene chloride was added oxalyl chloride ( 1 . 05 ml , 12 . 1 mmol ) and n , n - dimethylformamide ( 0 . 05ml , 0 . 6 mmol ). the resulting mixture was stirred at r . t . for 6 h . the solvent was removed under vacuum . the resulting solid was diluted with hexanes and the solvent removed under vacuum to provide an off - white solid , which was used without further purification . to a solution of the product described in step 5 ( 60 mg , 0 . 3 mmol ) in 1 . 5 ml hoac was added the product described in step 6 ( 64 mg , 0 . 32 mmol ). the resulting mixture was stirred at r . t . for 6 h then the solvent removed under vacuum . the residue was purified by preparative tlc eluting with chloroform / 2n ammonia in methanol ( 9 / 1 ) to afford the product , ms : m / z 366 ( mh + ). following a procedure similar to that described above for example 3 , the following compound was prepared from 2 - propylquinoline - 4 , 6 - diamine : step 1 : a mixture of 1 , 3 - indandione ( 1 . 71 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 6 . 29 mmol ), and dmf ( 5 ml ) was heated to 40 ° c . a deep red color was obtained . after which , 3 - methoxybenzyl chloride ( 5 . 16 mmol ) was added . the resulting mixture was stirred at 40 ° c . for 14 d . the mixture was allowed to cool and was aged at rt for an additional 6 d . the reaction was partitioned between water and ethyl acetate . the organic layer was washed with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered , and concentrated . the residue was purified via preparative plate chromatography ( 4 × 1500 % plates ) eluting with hexane : ethyl acetate ( 6 : 1 ). a second chromatography ( 2 × 1500μ plates ) eluting with hexane : ethyl acetate ( 2 : 1 ) yield the desired compound , 3 - 2 . step 2 : bis alkylated indandione 3 - 2 ( 0 . 44 mmol ) was dissolved in 1 : 1 ethyl acetate : ethanol ( 10 ml ). glacial acetic acid ( 0 . 1 ml ) was added followed by pd ( oh ) 2 ( 78 mg , ˜ 50 % h 2 o ). the vessel was evacuated and purged with nitrogen ( 3 ×) and then hydrogen ( 3 ×). the reaction stirred at rt under a hydrogen balloon for 2 d and was filtered though a pad of celite rinsing with ethyl acetate . the filtrate was concentrated and purified via preparative plate chromatography ( 4 × 1000μplates ) eluting with hexane : ethyl acetate ( 6 : 1 ) to give 3 - 3 . step 3 : indane 3 - 3 ( 0 . 05 mmol ) was dissolved in anhydrous methylene chloride ( 2 ml ) and cooled to 0 ° c . under nitrogen . a solution of boron tribromide ( 0 . 34 mmol ) in methylene chloride ( 1 . 0 m ) was added . after 2 h , the reaction was quenched with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate . the mixture was partitioned between water and ethyl acetate . the organic layer was washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered , and concentrated . the residue was concentrated and purified via preparative plate chromatography ( 1 × 1000μ plate ) eluting with hexane : ethyl acetate ( 2 : 1 ) to give compound 5 . to a solution of methyl 7 - methoxy - 2 - naphthoate [ synlett , ( 1991 ), ( 6 ), p - 405 ] ( 9 . 5 g , 44 mmol ) in ethanol ( 100 ml ) was added a solution of potassium hydroxide ( 7 . 4 g , 132 mmol ) in water ( 100 ml ), and the resulting mixture heated at reflux for 16 hours . the mixture was cooled and the ethanol remove in vacuo . the residue was diluted with more water ( 100 ml ) and extracted with dichloromethane ( 3 × 100 ml ). the aqueous layer was acidified by the addition of 5n hcl and extracted with dichloromethane ( 3 × 100 ml ). the combined extracts were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and evaporated to give the title compound as a white solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso ) 3 . 91 ( 3h , s ), 7 . 31 ( 1h , dd , j 9 . 0 and 2 . 6 ), 7 . 54 ( 1h , d , j2 . 6 ), 7 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 4 and 1 . 6 ), 7 . 92 ( 2h , t , j 8 . 4 and 8 . 1 ), 8 . 53 ( 1h , d , j 0 . 6 ), 13 . 00 ( 1h , s ). a suspension of 7 - methoxy - 2 - naphthoic acid ( 7 . 0 g , 34 . 6 mmol ) and 48 % hydrobromic acid ( 100 ml ) was heated at reflux for 14 hours . the cooled mixture was evaporated to dryness , and the resulting solid triturated with acetone , filtered and dried to give the title compound as a pale brown solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso ) 7 . 23 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 9 and 2 . 5 ), 7 . 31 ( 1h , d , j 2 . 3 ), 7 . 76 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 5 and 1 . 6 ), 7 . 86 ( 2h , t , j 8 . 0 ), 8 . 39 ( 1h , s ), 9 . 95 ( 1h , s ), 12 . 95 ( 1h , brs ). to a solution of 7 - hydroxy - 2 - naphthoic acid ( 7 . 15 g , 38 mmol ) in anhydrous n , n - dimethylformamide ( 100 ml ) was added potassium carbonate ( 15 . 75 g , 114 mmol ), followed by benzyl bromide ( 11 . 3 ml , 95 mmol ). the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 14 hours . the mixture was poured into water ( 500 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ), the combined ethyl acetate layers were washed with water ( 2 × 200 ml ), sat . nacl ( 100 ml ), dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and evaporated to give the title compound . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso ) 5 . 24 ( 2h , s ), 5 . 41 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 41 ( 7h , m ), 7 . 43 - 7 . 46 ( 4h , m ), 7 . 70 ( 1h , d , j 2 . 5 ), 7 . 86 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 5 and 1 . 7 ), 7 . 96 ( 2h , t , j 9 . 8 and 9 . 1 ), 8 . 55 ( 1h , d , j 0 . 5 ). to a suspension of benzyl 7 -( benzyloxy )- 2 - naphthoate ( 8 . 77 g , 23 . 8 mmol ) in ethanol ( 100 ml ) was added a solution of potassium hydroxide ( 5 . 34 g , 95 . 2 mmol ) in water ( 100 ml ), and the resulting mixture heated at reflux for 2 hours . the mixture was cooled and the ethanol removed in vacuo . the residue was diluted with more water ( 100 ml ) and extracted with dichloromethane ( 2 × 100 ml ). the aqueous layer was acidified by the addition of conc . hcl , and the mixture extracted with 10 % methanol in dichloromethane ( 3 × 150 ml ). the combined organic layers were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and evaporated . the residue was triturated with acetone , filtered and dried to give the title compound as a light brown powder . 1 h nmr ( 360 mhz , dmso ) 5 . 26 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 41 ( 4h , m ), 7 . 53 ( 2h , d , j 7 . 1 ), 7 . 65 ( 1h , d , j 2 . 4 ), 7 . 85 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 5 and 1 . 5 ), 7 . 92 ( 2h , m ), 8 . 51 ( 1h , s ), 13 . 03 ( 1h , s ). to a suspension of 7 -( benzyloxy )- 2 - naphthoic acid ( 500 mg , 1 . 8 mmol ) in anhydrous toluene ( 15 ml ) was added triethylamine ( 0 . 251 ml , 1 . 8 mmol ), followed by diphenylphosphorylazide ( 0 . 388 ml , 1 . 8 mmol ). the resulting mixture was heated at reflux for 1 hour , after which time 3 - tert butylaniline ( 537 mg , 3 . 6 mmol ) was added , and heating continued for a further 12 hours . the cooled reaction mixture was evaporated and the residue treated with methanol where upon a precipitate formed which was removed by filtration and dried to give the title compound as a pale orange solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso ) 1 . 29 ( 9h , s ), 5 . 22 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 02 ( 1h , d , j 8 . 2 ), 7 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j 9 . 0 and 2 . 7 ), 7 . 21 ( 1h , t , j 7 . 8 ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 36 ( 4h , m ), 7 . 41 ( 2h , t , j 7 . 4 and 7 . 0 ), 7 . 50 - 7 . 53 ( 3h , m ), 7 . 71 ( 1h , d , j 9 . 0 ), 7 . 73 ( 1h , d , j 8 . 6 ), 8 . 04 ( 1h , d , j 2 . 0 ), 8 . 69 ( 1h , s ), 8 . 78 ( 1h , s ). to a nitrogen flushed solution of n -[ 7 -( benzyloxy )- 2 - naphthyl ]- n ′-( 3 - tert - butylphenyl ) urea ( 424 mg , 1 mmol ) in a mixture of ethyl acetate ( 80 ml ) and methanol ( 20 ml ) contained in a parr flask was added 10 % palladium on carbon ( 100 mg ), and the resulting mixture hydrogenated at 50 psi for 2 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtration , and the filtrate evaporated to dryness . the oily residue was crystallized from dichloromethane , filtered and dried to give the title compound as a white solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso ) 1 . 29 ( 9h , s ), 6 . 91 ( 1h , dd , j 9 . 0 and 2 . 3 ), 6 . 99 - 7 . 02 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 19 - 7 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 30 ( 1h , dd , j 8 . 2 and 1 . 2 ), 7 . 49 ( 1h , m ), 7 . 64 ( 1h , d , j 8 . 6 ), 7 . 67 ( 1h , d , j 8 . 6 ), 7 . 87 ( 1h , d , j 1 . 6 ), 8 . 69 ( 1h , s ), 8 . 73 ( 1h , s ), 9 . 62 ( 1h , s ); m / z ( es + ) 335 ( m + h + ). | 6Physics
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referring to fig1 through 3 , a first embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter . note that the following descriptive embodiment is an example of a fuel cell system mounted in a fuel cell - powered vehicle . fig1 is an overall structural view showing a fuel cell system according to the present invention . as shown in fig1 , a fuel cell 1 includes a stack , which is formed by stacking a plurality of cells , each of which includes a solid polymer electrolyte 1 a ( e . g ., a solid polymer ion - changing membrane , which is referred to as an “ electrolyte membrane 1 a ”), an anode electrode ( negative pole ) 1 b , and a cathode electrode ( positive pole ) 1 c , said anode electrode 1 b and cathode electrode 1 c sandwiching the electrolyte membrane 1 a . for the sake of simplicity , only a single cell is shown in the figure . in the fuel cell 1 , the anode electrode 1 b is supplied with hydrogen as a fuel gas , and the cathode electrode 1 c is supplied with air containing oxygen as an oxidant gas . when the anode electrode 1 b is supplied with hydrogen , hydrogen ions are produced in the anode electrode 1 b by a catalytic reaction , which reach the cathode electrode 1 c through the electrolyte membrane 1 a . in the cathode electrode 1 c , the hydrogen ions electrochemically react with oxygen contained in the air , such that electrical power is generated . note that , at a time of power generating , water is formed in the cathode electrode 1 c side , and that part of the formed water back - diffuses to the anode electrode 1 b side through the electrolyte membrane 1 a , as a phenomenon . a fuel gas supply path 2 is connected to the anode electrode 1 b of the fuel cell 1 to supply a hydrogen gas as a fuel gas . an oxidizing agent gas supply path 3 is connected to the cathode electrode 1 c of the fuel cell 1 to supply air as an oxidizing agent gas . a hydrogen tank 4 , which receives a hydrogen gas , is connected to the upstream side of the fuel gas supply path 2 via an on - off valve 5 . the on - off valve 5 is controlled by an unillustrated controller such that the hydrogen gas can be supplied from the hydrogen tank 4 to the anode electrode 1 b side in response to an opening motion of the on - off valve 5 . to the anode electrode 1 b of the fuel cell 1 is connected a fuel gas circulating path 6 , which returns an unreacted hydrogen gas that has passed through the inside of the anode electrode 1 b , to an inlet side of the anode electrode 1 b . the fuel gas circulating path 6 is connected and merged with the fuel gas supply path 2 through an ejector 7 at the inlet side of the anode electrode 1 b , so that the unreacted hydrogen gas is mixed with fresh hydrogen and then resupplied to the anode electrode 1 b . further , a fuel gas discharge path 9 is provided in a branching manner at a portion of an outlet side of the anode electrode 1 b of the fuel gas circulating path 6 . on the fuel gas discharge path 9 are provided three branch paths 9 a , 9 b , and 9 c , which have respective valves , i . e ., a drain valve 10 , a purge valve 11 , and an air discharge valve 12 . the drain valve 10 is intended mainly to discharge residual water in the fuel gas circulating path 6 to a catching tank 13 . of the three valves 10 , 11 , and 12 , the drain valve 10 has a smallest opening area . the purge valve 11 is intended mainly to appropriately discharge water and other impurities which reside in combination in the fuel gas circulating path 6 when the fuel cell system is in operation . of the three valves 10 , 11 , and 12 , the purge valve 11 has an intermediate opening area . the air discharge valve 12 is intended to discharge a gas to purge the inside of the fuel gas circulating path 6 . of the three valves 10 , 11 , and 12 , the air discharge valve 12 has a largest opening area . the three branching paths 9 a , 9 b , and 9 c are merged at the downstream sides of the respective valves 10 , 11 , and 12 , and then connected to a discharge gas inlet 14 a of a dilution box 14 , which will be described hereinafter , and which corresponds to an oxidizing agent gas dilution means . note that , in this embodiment , openings 10 a , 11 a , and 12 a of the valves 10 , 11 , and 12 , respectively , through which gases flow , constitute “ a discharge port element ” or “ discharge ports ” of the present invention . in the mean time , a compressor 8 to pressurize and convey a gas is connected to the upstream side of the oxidizing agent gas supply path 3 . further , to the cathode electrode 1 c of the fuel cell 1 is connected an oxidizing agent gas discharge path 16 , which discharges air that has passed through the cathode electrode 1 c . on the oxidizing agent gas discharge path 16 is provided a back - pressure control valve 17 , which regulates an internal pressure of the cathode electrode 1 c . the downstream side of the oxidizing agent gas discharge path 16 is connected to a diluent gas inlet 14 b of the above - described dilution box 14 . as described , the dilution box 14 has the discharge gas inlet 14 a connected to the fuel gas discharge path 9 , and the diluent gas inlet 14 b connected to the oxidizing agent gas discharge path 16 . in addition thereto , it has a discharge outlet 14 c , which is connected to a dilution gas discharge path 18 that opens outside the system . in the dilution box 14 , a hydrogen gas , which enters via the discharge gas inlet 14 a from the fuel gas discharge path 9 , is mixed with air , which flows from a diluent gas inlet 14 b side toward a discharge outlet 14 c side . the hydrogen gas diluted thereby is discharged through the dilution gas discharge path 18 to the outside of the system . note that a hydrogen gas concentration sensor 19 is provided on the dilution gas discharge path 18 at the downstream side of the dilution box 14 , and detection signals emitted therefrom are inputted to the unillustrated controller . on the oxidizing agent gas supply path 3 is provided in a branching manner a feed path 20 , which introduces pressurized air ( i . e ., an oxidizing agent gas ) from the compressor 8 to an inlet side of the anode electrode 1 b . on the feed path 20 is provided an air feed valve 21 , opening and closing of which the controller controls . the air feed valve 21 , in a normal position thereof , closes the feed path 20 . it opens the feed path 20 , at a time of purging of the anode electrode 1 b , under control of the controller . note that , in this embodiment , the feed path 20 and the air feed valve 21 together with the compressor 8 constitute “ anode purging means ” of the present invention . hereinafter , control of the fuel cell system when the fuel cell - powered vehicle is stopped will be described with reference to a flowchart of fig2 , while referring to a time chart of fig3 . note that , when an ignition switch of the fuel cell - powered vehicle is turned on , the air feed valve 21 , the drain valve 10 , the purge valve 11 , and the air discharge valve 12 are normally closed , whereas the on - off valve 5 is open . when the ignition switch is turned off , in step s 100 , the controller initially closes the on - off valve 5 and increases a flow rate of the compressor 8 . step s 101 judges whether or not a time t that elapses after the on - off valve 5 is closed reaches a predetermined time t 1 . after it reaches the predetermined time t 1 , the routine proceeds to next step s 102 . note that , until it proceeds to step s 102 , the fuel cell system continues consumption of power generation due to a burden . in step s 102 , such consumption of power generation is stopped , and the air feed valve 21 and the drain valve 10 are opened . after the air feed valve 21 is thus opened , pressurized air flows from the compressor 8 through the feed path 20 to the anode electrode 1 b and hence to the fuel gas circulating path 6 . the air , which has thus flowed in the fuel gas circulating path 6 , dilutes residual hydrogen gas in the path 6 and together flows through the drain valve 10 into the dilution box 14 . this process is continued until an elapsed time t reaches a predetermined time t 2 ( step s 103 ). after a time in which it has reached t 2 , the routine proceeds to next step s 104 . in step s 102 , as mentioned above , when the drain valve 10 is opened , the gas in the fuel gas circulating path 6 flows in the dilution box 14 through the discharge gas inlet 14 a . at this time , since hydrogen gas gradually flows in the diluent box 14 through the drain valve 10 due to the small opening area of the drain valve 10 , the fuel gas is sufficiently diluted in the dilution box 14 by air which is introduced through the diluent gas inlet 14 b . thus , peak concentration of a discharge gas , which is discharged outside through the dilution gas discharge path 18 , is controlled below a predefined value , as shown in fig3 . then , after a certain time has passed , the routine proceeds to step s 104 , where the purge valve 11 and the air discharge valve 12 are simultaneously opened by the controller , such that a residual hydrogen gas in the fuel gas circulating path 6 is rendered to flow at once in the dilution box 14 . at this time , large quantities of gas from the fuel gas circulating path 6 flow in the dilution box 14 . in the fuel gas circulating path 6 , dilution to a certain level is already realized by air fed from the compressor 8 in previous steps ( i . e ., s 102 , s 103 ). therefore , in the dilution box 14 , satisfactory dilution is realized due to further mixing with a lot of air . as a result , emission concentration of hydrogen , which is discharged from the dilution gas discharge path 18 , is also controlled below a predetermined level ( see fig3 ). at the same time , a gas in the fuel gas circulating path 6 is discharged therefrom at once through the purge valve 11 and the air discharge valve 12 , and therefore , water and other impurities , which reside in the fuel gas circulating path 6 , can be reliably outwardly discharged . as described above , in the present fuel cell system , it is structured such that , the drain valve whose opening area is smallest ( of all related valves ) is firstly opened for ( at least ) a predetermined period , and thereafter , the purge valve 11 and the air discharge valve 12 , both of which have lager opening areas , are opened . the problems in which a hydrogen gas , which has a high concentration beyond a level of the diluting ability of the dilution box 14 , simultaneously enters the dilution box 14 can be avoided . further , by changing an opening area of the drain valve 10 and an opening time of the same , hydrogen gas concentration in the fuel gas circulating path 6 and the dilution box 14 can be regulated . it is thus possible to reduce the time required for purging , while maintaining the hydrogen concentration below a predetermined level . it is also possible to reduce the time required for power generation just after the ignition switch ( of the fuel cell - powered vehicle ) is turned off . note that , although , in the present embodiment , the oxidizing agent gas supply path 3 has the feed path 20 provided thereon in a branching manner through which air as a purging / scavenging gas is introduced to the anode electrode 1 b side , instead , a tank or the like dedicated to purging a gas can be separately provided . nevertheless , in cases such as the embodiment in which the feed path 20 and the air feed valve 21 are provided and in which the air in the oxidizing agent gas supply path 3 is used as a purging gas , there is no need to separately provide a purge gas supply unit to be used exclusively . as a result , a reduction in size and manufacturing cost reductions of the whole system can be achieved . further , in the above - mentioned embodiment , it is structured such that the timing of opening of the purge valve 11 and the air discharge valve 12 after the drain valve 10 is opened is controlled and determined based on an elapsed time ( see step s 103 of fig2 ). however , a structure is possible in which the hydrogen gas concentration at a downstream side of the dilution box 14 is controlled based on detection signals emitted from the hydrogen gas concentration sensor 19 and in which the purge valve 11 and the air discharge valve 12 are opened when the hydrogen gas concentration is below a predetermined level . next , a second embodiment depicted in fig4 through 6 of the present invention will be described . although a basic structure of a fuel cell system of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment , they are distinctly different in that a flow control valve 30 with continuous ( or stepless ) opening - area settings is provided on the fuel gas discharge path 9 connecting the anode electrode 1 b of the fuel cell 1 and the discharge gas inlet 14 a of the dilution box 14 . note that , for convenience of explanation , parts and portions of the second embodiment which are common to the first embodiment or which can be used in common are denoted by the same reference numerals , and a repeated description will be appropriately omitted . hereinafter , control of the fuel cell system when the fuel cell - powered vehicle is stopped will be described with reference to a flowchart of fig5 and a time chart of fig6 . when the ignition switch is turned off , in step s 200 , the controller closes the on - off valve 5 and increases a flow rate of the compressor 8 . step s 201 judges whether or not a time t that elapses after the on - off valve 5 is closed reaches a predetermined time t 1 , and after it reaches the predetermined time t 1 , the routine proceeds to next step s 202 . note that the fuel cell system continues consumption of power generation due to a burden . in step s 202 , such consumption of power generation comes to a stop , and the air feed valve 21 opens , and further , control of the flow control valve 30 starts in such a manner that the flow volume of the gas flowing through the fuel gas discharge path 9 gradually increases . at an initial or earlier stage of control in which the hydrogen gas concentration in the fuel gas circulating path 6 is high , the volume of a hydrogen gas , which flows in the dilution box 14 from the fuel gas circulating path 6 , is low , and therefore , the hydrogen gas in the dilution box 14 is reliably diluted below a predetermined value . further , as time goes by after control of the flow control valve 30 starts , the hydrogen gas in the fuel gas circulating path 6 is gradually diluted by air . therefore , even if the volume of a gas , which flows from the fuel gas circulating path 6 into the dilution box 14 , gradually increases , it is possible to control a hydrogen gas emission concentration of the gas , which was diluted in the dilution box 14 , below a predetermined value . the present invention is by no means limited to the above - mentioned preferred embodiments . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , although the aforementioned embodiments are ones in which a fuel cell system according to the present invention is applied to a fuel cell - powered vehicle , it is possible for the present invention to be applied to an apparatus other than a fuel cell - powered vehicle . again , as is appreciated from the foregoing description , while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above , it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting . additions , omissions , substitutions , and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be considered as being limited by the foregoing description , and is only limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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the present disclosure discloses an atomizer and an electronic cigarette which can prevent users from smoking the non - atomized e - liquid and can make the user feel more comfortable when smoking . the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely hereinafter in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure . apparently , the described embodiments are only a part of rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure . other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on these embodiments of the disclosure without creative work fall within the protection scope of the disclosure . referring to fig1 , an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following . an electronic cigarette body , sequentially provided with a suction nozzle cover 101 , an atomizing assembly 102 and a battery assembly 103 configured to power the atomizing assembly 102 . inside the atomizing assembly 102 , there are provided with an e - liquid storage space 1021 configured to store e - liquid , an atomizing core 1022 which is configured to atomize the e - liquid and is connected to the e - liquid storage space 1021 and electrically connected to the battery assembly 103 . specifically , e - liquid storage cotton is provided in the e - liquid storage space 1021 . in the actual implementation , other e - liquid mediums or no e - liquid medium may be provided in the e - liquid storage space , which is not limited herein . in this embodiment , the atomizing core 1022 is specifically a heating wire assembly . in the actual implementation , the atomizing core can also be achieved in another way , such as a heating band or an ultrasonic atomizing assembly , which is not limited herein . in the atomizing assembly 102 , a smoke channel 1023 configured to emit the smoke to the suction nozzle cover 101 is further provided . the smoke channel 1023 is configured to connect the atomizing core 1022 to the suction nozzle cover 101 , and extends along the axis of atomizing assembly 102 . referring to fig2 , a structural diagram of a suction nozzle cover of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . at least two smoke outlet gaps 1011 interconnected to the smoke channel 1023 are provided on the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 . the smoke outlet gaps 1011 extend from the center of the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 to the periphery of the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 , and the center of the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 is located on the axis of the atomizing assembly 102 . the suction nozzle cover 101 covers an end surface of the atomizing assembly 102 . when the user smokes , the e - liquid atomized by the atomizing core 1022 is delivered to suction nozzle cover 101 with air flow through the smoke channel 1023 , and is delivered to the mouth of the user via the smoke outlet gaps 1011 . in the prior art , part of the smoke condenses inside the smoke channel 1023 , and in a case that large air flow is generated by the smoking of the user , the condensed e - liquid will fly to the suction nozzle cover 101 in a straight line along the smoke channel 1023 at the force of the air flow , so that the user smokes the non - atomized e - liquid . in the present embodiment , at least two smoke outlet gaps 1011 are provided on the end surface of the suction nozzle cover 101 , so that the force generated when the user smokes is dispersed onto the smoke outlet gaps 1011 . since the area of each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 is small , the speed of the air flow generated in the smoke channel when the user smokes can be reduced , and the force applied on the condensed e - liquid in the smoke channel is effectively reduced . a part of the condensed e - liquid directly adheres to the inner wall of the smoke channel 1023 to avoid emitting , and large - grained smoke is further filtered via the smoke outlet gaps 1011 when the smoke emits from the smoke outlet gaps 1011 . the probability of taking in condensed e - liquid or large - grained smoke by the user is reduced , thereby enhancing user experience of the electronic cigarette . in addition , since the smoke outlet gaps 1011 extend from the center of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover 101 to the peripheries of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover 101 , the smoke emits from the center to the periphery of the suction nozzle cover 101 . the smoke is decentralized , and emits mildly , so that the smoke is similar to the tobacco smoke . the feel of the smoking is comfortable , the situation that the torrent smoke impinges the mouth of the smoker in the prior art is avoided , and the user experience is further improved . in this embodiment , since the condensed e - liquid is drop - shaped , the volume is large . thus , in this embodiment , the width of the arc smoke outlet gaps 1011 of the suction nozzle cover 101 is , preferably , less than or equal to 0 . 7 mm , and more preferably , 0 . 3 mm . in this manner , in a case that a small part of e - liquid flies to the smoke outlet gaps 1011 at the force of the air flow , it cannot enter the mouth of the user because of the restriction of area of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 , and then flows back to the smoke channel 1023 under gravity , or the user can toss the e - liquid out from the smoke outlet gaps 1011 . in the present embodiment , preferably , an elastic layer is provided on the side wall of the suction nozzle cover 101 conterminous to the atomizing assembly 102 ( not shown in the drawings ). the joint sealing between the suction nozzle cover and atomizing assembly may be achieved , and the leakage of the e - liquid from the joint of the suction nozzle cover and the atomizing assembly is avoided . the smoke outlet gaps 1011 may be arranged on the suction nozzle cover 101 in multiple ways . specifically , in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the suction nozzle cover 101 is a hollow tube . the end of the suction nozzle cover 101 facing the atomizing assembly 102 is completely open , and is connected to the atomizing assembly 102 . the end of the suction nozzle cover 101 back to the atomizing assembly 102 is provided with the end surface 1012 , and the smoke outlet gaps 1011 are provided on the end surface 1012 . in this embodiment , eight smoke outlet gaps 1011 are provided on the suction nozzle cover 101 , which are in a shape of “ union jack ” on the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 . in the actual implementation , the smoke outlet gaps 1011 provided on the suction nozzle cover 101 may be of other numbers , and may be arranged in other shapes on the end surface 1012 , which are not limited herein . in this embodiment , each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 on the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 is in a shape of a straight line . in the actual implementation , each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 may be in other shapes . referring to fig3 , a structural diagram of a suction nozzle cover 101 of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . in this embodiment , the smoke outlet gaps 1011 are different from those shown in fig2 in that the shapes are arc . it should be noted that , each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 may be in regular circular arc shape , or in other arc shapes , which is not limited herein . even more , the periphery of each of the smoke outlet gaps may be an arc - like line consisting of multiple straight line segments rather than an arc . in this embodiment , the arc - shaped smoke outlet gaps can better prevent non - atomized e - liquid from entering into the mouth of the user . since the smoke channel extends along the axis of the atomizing assembly , and the center of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover is located on the axis of the atomizing assembly , in a case that non - atomized e - liquid flies with the air flow to the suction nozzle cover 101 , the e - liquid will adhere to the center of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover , and move along the smoke outlet gaps under the force of the air flow . in this embodiment , since each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 are in an arc shape , the e - liquid will move in a straight line from the center of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover 101 to the periphery of the end surface of the suction nozzle cover due to inertia , so that the e - liquid will gradually deviate from the smoke outlet gaps in the process of moving , thereby avoiding that the e - liquid enters the mouth of the user through the smoke outlet gaps . referring to fig4 , a structural diagram of a suction nozzle cover 101 of an electronic cigarette according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . in this embodiment , the suction nozzle cover 101 is different from that shown in fig2 in that , the cross - sectional area of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 , which is perpendicular to the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 , gradually increases from the center of the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 to the periphery of the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 . specifically , in this embodiment , the shape of the opening of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 on the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 is a triangle with the center of the end surface 1012 as an apex angle . in the actual implementation , the smoke outlet gaps 1011 may be in other shapes , for example , a sector with the center of the end surface 1012 as a vertex . the above is exemplary description of shapes of the smoke outlet gaps , and is not a limit . in this embodiment , since the cross - sectional area of the smoke outlet gaps , which is perpendicular to the end surface 1012 , gradually increases from the center to the periphery of the end surface 1012 , the amount of smoke which the smoker smokes may be increased in one aspect , and the probability that the non - atomized e - liquid enters into the mouth of the user via the center of the end surface 1012 may be reduced in another aspect . referring to fig5 , structural diagrams of a suction nozzle cover of an electronic cigarette from two angles of view according to another embodiment of the present disclosure are shown , in this embodiment , the suction nozzle cover is different from that shown in fig4 in that , a circular truncated cone 501 is provided on the end surface 1012 of the suction nozzle cover 101 on the side facing the atomizing assembly 102 , the circular truncated cone 501 includes a upper surface 502 and a lower surface which parallel to each other , and the upper surface 502 is smaller than the lower surface . the center axis of the circular truncated cone 501 passes through the center of the end surface 1012 , the upper surface 502 of the circular truncated cone 502 faces the atomizing assembly 102 , and the lower surface of the circular truncated cone 501 covers at least parts of the smoke outlet gaps . specifically , in this embodiment , the lower surface of the circular truncated cone 501 covers two thirds of the smoke outlet gaps on the end surface 1012 . the above description is only for illustration , and is not a limit . at least two through - holes 504 are provided between the side 503 of the circular truncated cone 501 and each of the smoke outlet gaps on the end surface 1012 , the through - holes 504 on the side 503 of the circular truncated cone 501 and the smoke outlet gaps on the end surface 1012 are in one - to - one correspondence , and the through - holes 504 are configured to connect the smoke channel to the corresponding smoke outlet gaps . in this embodiment , the circular truncated cone 501 is arranged such that the upper surface of the circular truncated cone 501 is located in the center area of the end surface 1012 , the through - holes 504 of the circular truncated cone 504 are provided between the side face of the circular truncated cone 501 and each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 , and there is no through - hole 504 between the upper surface of the circular truncated cone 501 and the smoke outlet gaps 1011 on the end surface of the suction nozzle cover . in this manner , the non - atomized e - liquid will hit the upper surface of the circular truncated cone 501 when flying to the center of the end surface 1012 under the force of the air flow , and cannot enter the smoke outlet gaps 1011 , thereby preventing the user from smoking the non - atomized e - liquid . and even if some e - liquid adheres on the side face of the circular truncated cone 501 , since the upper surface of the circular truncated cone 501 faces the atomizing assembly and the upper surface is smaller than the lower surface , the side face of the circular truncated cone 501 is advantageous for the e - liquid to drop back to the smoke channel under gravity , thereby avoiding that the e - liquid enters the through - holes 504 on the side face of the circular truncated cone 501 under the force of the air flow when adhering to the side face of the circular truncated cone 501 . in the actual implementation , the circular truncated cone 501 according to this embodiment may be replaced with a circular cone . correspondingly , the center axis of the circular cone passes through the center of the end surface , the apex of the circular cone faces the atomizing assembly , and the lower surface of the circular cone covers at least parts of each of the smoke outlet gaps 1011 . the through - holes 504 are provided on the side of the circular cone , and correspond one - to - one to the smoke outlet gaps . in the present disclosure , the atomizing assembly 102 in the electronic cigarette body may be implemented with a variety of structure . a specific structure of the atomizing assembly of the electronic cigarette is described in detail in conjunction with fig1 hereinafter . referring to fig1 , the atomizing assembly 102 further includes an atomizing sleeve 1024 . a tubular support frame 1025 is provided in the atomizing sleeve 1024 . specifically , the support frame 1025 is a fiberglass pipe . in the actual implementation , the support frame 1025 may be made of other materials , which is not limited herein . an e - liquid storage space 1021 encircles the outside wall of the support frame 1025 , supported holes 1027 are provided on the side wall of the support frame 1025 , and the direction of the support holes 1027 is perpendicular to that of the support frame 1025 . an atomizing core 1022 passes through the support holes 1027 , and is fixed inside the support frame 1025 . two ends of the atomizing core 1022 are inserted into the e - liquid storage space 1021 , so as to atomize the e - liquid in the e - liquid storage 1021 . a smoke channel 1023 extends along the empty center of the support frame 1025 from the atomizing core 1022 to the suction nozzle cover 101 . preferably , a circular seal ring 1026 is provided at the end of the support frame 1025 facing the suction nozzle cover 101 , so as to seal the e - liquid storage space 1021 between the support frame 1025 and the atomizing sleeve 1024 . the smoke channel in the support frame 1025 is interconnected to the suction nozzle cover 101 via the through - hole in the center of the seal ring 1026 , such that the atomized e - liquid enters into the suction nozzle cover 101 through the through - hole in the center of the seal ring 1026 . in this embodiment , by providing the seal ring , the e - liquid in the e - liquid storage space 1021 can be prevented from flowing to the suction nozzle cover 101 . since parts of atomized e - liquid flies to the suction nozzle cover 101 under the force of the air flow and adheres to the inner wall of the suction nozzle cover 101 . under gravity , the e - liquid will slowly flow to the atomizing assembly and accumulate on the side of the seal ring 1026 facing the suction nozzle cover 101 . therefore , preferably , an inner side of the seal ring 1026 is funnel - shaped , and the area of opening of the seal ring 1026 at the side facing the suction nozzle cover 101 is larger than that facing the atomizing assembly . in this manner , the e - liquid accumulated on the side of the seal ring 1026 facing the suction nozzle cover 101 will gradually flow to the center of the seal ring 1026 along the inner side of the seal ring 1026 , and flow back to the smoke channel 1023 in the atomizing assembly 102 through the through - hole in the center of the seal ring 1026 , avoiding being taken in by the user . in the present disclosure , the battery assembly 103 in the electronic cigarette body may be implemented with a variety of structure . a specific structure of the battery assembly of the electronic cigarette is described in detail in conjunction with fig1 hereinafter . referring to fig1 , the battery assembly includes : a sensing assembly 1033 configured to generate a trigger signal ; and a microcontroller electrically connected to the sensing assembly ( not shown in the drawings ). as shown in fig1 , in this embodiment , the sensing assembly preferably is implemented with an air flow sensing switch . the intensity of pressure in the electronic cigarette decreases when a user smokes through the suction nozzle cover 101 . the air flow sensing switch 1033 generates a trigger signal after detecting the decrease of the intensity of pressure . the microcontroller controls the battery 1032 of the battery assembly 103 to power the electronic cigarette after detecting the trigger signal , so as to enable the atomizing core 1022 of the electronic cigarette to atomize the e - liquid to form the smoke for the user . certainly , the arrangement of the sensing assembly is not limited to that shown in fig1 . for example , an operation button can be provided on the surface of the electronic cigarette , the user presses the operation button if he wants to smoke , and the operation button generates the trigger signal based on the operation of the user . the microcontroller controls the battery 1032 of the battery assembly 103 to power the electronic cigarette after detecting the trigger signal , so as to enable the atomizing core 1022 of the electronic cigarette to atomize the e - liquid to form the smoke for the user . the present disclosure further discloses an atomizer , which is configured to form an electronic cigarette in conjunction with a battery assembly . a suction nozzle cover and an atomizing assembly are provided on the atomizer , and the suction nozzle cover is provided on an end surface of the atomizing assembly . in this embodiment , a connector detachably connected to the battery assembly is provided at one end of the atomizer away from the suction nozzle cover , which is the prior art and is not described herein . in addition , in the atomizer according to the present embodiment , the structure of the suction nozzle cover and atomizing assembly is the same as that described above , which is not described herein . the above embodiments are described in a progressive manner . each of the embodiments focuses on differences from other embodiments , and references may be made to each other with respect to the same or similar portions among these embodiments . the above description of the embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present disclosure . various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art , and the general principle defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without deviating from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure . therefore , the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments described herein , but in accordance with the widest scope consistent with the principle and novel features disclosed herein . | 7Electricity
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the frequency of a vibrating spring mass system is proportional to √{ square root over ( k / m )}, where k = the spring constant and m = the system mass . the bypass valve 30 of fig2 and 3 form such a spring mass system and the frequency of vibration of the sound generated during cylinder deflation is affected by the spring constant of the spring 40 and the mass of the valve member 32 . conventional bypass valves , such as that depicted in fig2 and 3 , utilize a spherical valve member 32 ( i . e ., a ball ) that is formed of synthetic sapphire having a diameter of 3 / 32 of an inch and a mass of 28 mg . the typical spring 40 of the conventional bypass valve has a spring constant on the order of 80 gm / cm . the resultant frequency of the sound generated during cylinder deflation is in the range of 3000 hz . while decreasing the spring constant and / or increasing the mass of the ball will decrease the system vibrating frequency , such a change would not affect the actual sound level ( i . e ., amplitude ). however , the human ear perceives the loudness of sound differently at different frequencies . this effect is seen in the robinson - davidson equal loudness curves adopted by the international standards organization as the basis for iso 266 : 1987 , shown in fig4 . for instance , a sound with a loudness of 10 db at 3 , 000 hz will sound 33 % as loud at 1 , 000 hz and 10 % as loud at 100 hz , and a 20 db sound at 3 , 000 hz will sound 65 % as loud at 1 , 000 hz and 36 % as loud at 100 hz . since the sound levels generated by conventional bypass valves during deflation of the penile prosthesis cylinders are low and the primary frequencies of the generated sounds are in the range of 3 , 000 hz , modifying the spring constant and poppet mass can have a significant affect on the sound frequency and therefore the perceived loudness . embodiments of the invention are directed to decreasing the system vibrating frequency such that the sound generated during cylinder deflation is perceived as having a lower amplitude than that generated by the conventional bypass valve . this is accomplished by increasing the mass of the poppet 31 and / or decreasing the spring constant of the spring 40 . in accordance with one embodiment , the mass of the poppet 31 is increased relative to the conventional design discussed above through an increase in the size of the valve member 32 ( e . g ., greater than 3 / 32 of an inch ) of the poppet 31 . in one exemplary embodiment the poppet 31 includes a spherical valve member 32 having a diameter of ⅛ of an inch or more . the poppet 31 can take on other non - spherical shapes , such as that described below , that have a larger volume than conventional valve members . thus , even if the material forming the valve member 32 and the spring 40 are conventional , the larger volume valve member 32 will have greater mass than the conventional design resulting in a reduction to the frequency of vibration of the system and a perceived reduction in the noise level . in another embodiment , the poppet 31 is formed of a material that is more dense than the synthetic sapphire of conventional poppets 32 . for example , the valve member 32 can be formed of stainless steel or other relatively dense material ( e . g ., titanium carbide ) that is not subject to corrosion and is appropriate for human implantation . the increase in the mass of the otherwise conventional poppet 31 and spring 40 system , will result in a decrease in the frequency of vibration of the system and a perceived reduction in the noise level . in accordance with another embodiment , the spring constant of the spring 40 is decreased to provide a reduction to the frequency of vibration of the poppet 31 and spring 40 system . embodiments of the invention include setting the frequency of vibration of the spring 40 and poppet 31 system to less than 2500 hz through an increase in the density of the poppet 31 , an increase in the volume of the poppet 31 , and / or a decrease in the spring constant of spring 40 . in another embodiment , the frequency of vibration of the spring 40 and poppet 31 system is set to below 1500 hz using the same techniques . in accordance with one exemplary embodiment , the frequency of vibration of the spring 40 and poppet 31 system is decreased significantly below the 3000 hz frequency of the conventional valve member and spring systems by increasing the mass of the poppet 31 to approximately 5 times that of the conventional valve member and by reducing the spring constant of the spring 40 by one - third of that of the conventional spring . in one embodiment , the mass of poppet 31 is increased by forming the valve member 32 out of stainless steel and increasing the diameter of the spherical valve member 32 to ⅛ of an inch . these changes in the mass of the valve member and the spring constant relative to the conventional bypass valve result in a decrease in the frequency of the sound generated during cylinder deflation by approximately 63 %. thus , a conventional bypass valve sound of 10 db and at a frequency of 3000 hz that is generated during cylinder deflation can be reduced to 1100 hz . this reduction in the frequency is perceived by the human ear as a further reduction in loudness by approximately 67 %. in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , vibratory movement of the poppet within the bypass cavity is resisted to thereby reduce noise that is generated during cylinder deflation operations . in general , frictional resistance is applied to the poppet to impede vibratory movement of the poppet relative to the valve seat . fig5 - 9 are a simplified cross - sectional views of a bypass valve 50 of an inflatable penile prosthesis in accordance with embodiments of the invention . the bypass valve 50 includes a spring 51 and a poppet 52 comprising a valve member 54 and a stem 56 that extends from the valve member 54 . the bypass valve 50 also includes some of the conventional elements described above , which are numbered accordingly . the valve member 54 operates as described above to engage the valve seat 36 to seal the input port 38 during inflation and steady state operating conditions , as shown in fig5 . in accordance with one embodiment , the poppet 52 includes a sealing position , shown in fig5 , in which a side 58 of the valve member 54 that is opposite the stem 56 engages the valve seat 36 to seal the input port 38 . in one embodiment , the side 58 of the valve member 54 has a spherical shape or convex shape , which facilitates the sealing of the circular valve seat 36 . the side 58 of the valve member 54 can take on other shapes that conform well to the perimeter of the valve seat 36 . the poppet 52 also includes a deflating position , shown in fig6 - 9 , in which the valve member 54 is displaced from the valve seat 36 thereby opening the input port 38 to a flow of fluid 42 from the cylinders 12 ( fig1 ). during cylinder deflation operations , forces will be applied to the poppet 52 that encourage its vibration toward and away from the valve seat 36 , as indicated by arrow 60 . the stem 56 extends from a side 62 of the valve member 54 that is opposite the side 58 designed to seal the valve seat 36 . the stem 56 is configured to engage a portion of the spring 51 during cylinder deflation operations . this contact with the spring 51 occurs at a location of the spring 51 where there is relative movement between the spring 51 and the stem 56 . as a result , a frictional force is generated at the contact point that resists movement of the poppet 52 relative to the spring 51 . this frictional resistance to movement of the poppet 52 dampens the vibratory movement of the poppet 52 during cylinder deflation operations and reduces noise . the amount of frictional resistance between the poppet 52 and the spring 51 depends on the surfaces of the spring 51 and the stem 56 , the contact area , and the pressure applied between the stem 56 and the spring 51 . the amount of frictional resistance to movement of the poppet 52 can be set based on empirical testing to provide the desired damping of the vibratory movement of the poppet 52 and noise reduction based on the flow of fluid that is generated during cylinder deflation operations . in the embodiment illustrated in fig5 , the stem 56 of the poppet 52 is received within the cylindrically shaped spring 51 . in one embodiment , the stem 56 is sized to allow the poppet 52 to pivot slightly relative to a longitudinal axis 63 ( fig5 ) of the cavity 34 during cylinder deflation operations , such that an end 64 of the stem 56 contacts the spring 51 , as shown in fig6 . this contact dampens vibratory movement of the poppet 52 , as discussed above . in the embodiment of the bypass valve 50 provided in fig7 , the spring 51 has a diameter d that varies along its length . in one embodiment , the spring 51 includes one or more conically shaped sections 66 . in another embodiment , the spring 51 has an hourglass shape , as shown in fig7 . the variable diameter d of the spring 51 results in at least one constricted portion 68 that contacts the stem 56 and provides the desired frictional resistance to the vibratory motion of the poppet 52 . in one embodiment , the spring 51 has a generally cylindrical shape when the poppet 52 is in the sealing position ( fig5 ). however , when the spring 51 is forced to contract during cylinder deflation , the spring 51 buckles into an arced shape resulting in contact with the stem 56 , as illustrated in fig8 . the contact provides the desired dampening of vibratory motion of the poppet 52 . in the embodiment of the bypass valve 50 shown in fig9 , the stem 56 has a diameter d that varies along its length . in one embodiment , the stem 56 includes one or more conical sections 70 . the variable diameter of the stem 56 results in an expanded section that contacts the spring 51 and provides the desired frictional resistance to the vibratory motion of the poppet 52 . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0Human Necessities
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the present invention provides a method and apparatus for avoiding writeback conflicts between execution units sharing a common writeback port . in the following description numerous specific details are set forth , such as particular execution unit pipeline lengths and instruction codes , in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it will be appreciated , however , by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details . in other instances , well known control structures and gate level circuits have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the present invention . particularly , many functions are described to be carried out by various logic circuits . those of ordinary skill in the art , having been described the various functions , will be able to implement the necessary logic circuits without undue experimentation . referring first to fig1 a typical computer system which may utilize a microprocessor that implements the present invention is shown . as shown in fig1 there is computer 100 which comprises three major components . the first of these is the input / output ( i / o ) circuit 101 which is used to communicate information in appropriately structured form to and from other parts of the computer 100 as well as out of the computer 100 . also shown as part of the computer 100 is the central processing unit ( cpu ) 102 and memory 103 . these two latter elements are those typically found in most general purpose computers and almost all special purpose computers . in fact , the several elements contained within computer 100 are intended to be representative of this broad category of data processor . many commercially available computers having differing capabilities may be utilized with a processor incorporating the present invention . also shown in fig1 is an input device 105 , shown in a typical embodiment as a keyboard . there is also shown as an input device a graphics tablet 107 . it should be understood , however , that the input device may actually be in any other well - known input device ( including , of course , another computer ). a mass memory device 104 is coupled to i / o circuit 101 and provides additional storage capabilities for the computer 100 . the mass memory may include other programs , fonts for different characters and the like and may take the form of magnetic or optical disc drive or any other well - known device . it will be appreciated that the data retained within mass memory 104 , may , in appropriate cases , be incorporated in standard fashion into computer 100 as part of memory 103 . in addition , three typical computer display devices are illustrated , the display monitor 108 , the plotter 109 and a laser printer 110 . each can be used to display images or documents or other data utilized by the computer 100 . a cursor control device 106 , such as a mouse , trackball or stylus are also coupled to i / o circuit 101 . other pointing devices may suitably be used as appropriate . the preferred embodiment of the present invention is intended to be implemented in a microprocessor that executes the well - known intel architecture microprocessor instruction set . the present invention may , however , be implemented in any microprocessor having a microarchitecture in which a plurality of functional units share a common writeback path and which may face the contention of multiple functional units simultaneously needing to write back over the common writeback path . the microprocessor of the present invention , prior to executing intel architecture microprocessor instructions , decodes them into a more simple , stylized sequence of &# 34 ; micro operations .&# 34 ; the micro operations are then analyzed and rescheduled according to resolved dependencies thus implementing out - of - order execution . the sequence below shows the mapping of six instructions of the dhrystone trace into their constituent micro operations (&# 34 ; gn &# 34 ; is general register n ): __________________________________________________________________________intel architecture instructions micro operations__________________________________________________________________________000014e8 : pushw bp & lt ; tos fbfffc3c & gt ; stw in ( g5 , g4 ) out ( memfbfffc3c ) sub in ( spo , co ) out ( spo ) 000014e9 : movw ea , r esp ebp mvw in ( g4 ) out ( g5 ) 000014eb : leave & lt ; tos fbfffc3c & gt ; add in ( g5 , co ) out ( g4 ) ldw in ( g5 , memfbfffc3c ) out ( g5 ) 000014ec : retn ldw in ( g4 , memfbfffc40 ) out ( to ) add in ( spo , co ) out ( spo ) jmp in ( to ) out () 00001625 : xorw ea , r edi edi xor in ( g7 , g7 ) out ( g7 ) 00001625 : addw ib , ea esp & lt ; imm 18 & gt ; add in ( g4 ) out ( g4 , flags 0 ) __________________________________________________________________________ it can be seen that the push of the bp register is converted into two micro operations . the first performs the store of the register and the second adjusts the stack pointer . these two micro operations are not dependent on each other . the &# 34 ; microcode &# 34 ; corresponding to the push has been written explicitly to allow maximal parallelism wherever possible . it can be seen that some complex instructions translate into multiple micro operations which may or may not be related to one another , and simple instructions map directly into a unique micro operation ( such as xor or add ). fig2 illustrates a portion of the microprocessor incorporating the present invention . the preferred embodiment microprocessor implements out - of - order execution . the portion of the microprocessor illustrated in fig2 can be considered the out - of - order core of the microprocessor . the first element of the out - of - order core illustrated in fig2 is the reservation station 20 . the reservation station is a buffer in front of the functional units that holds micro operations that are waiting for needed resources in order to execute . these needed resources include the source data operands ( that previous micro operations may not yet have created ) and a functional unit with which to execute the micro operation . the reservation station performs several functions . it serves as a buffer for instructions and for source data that is already available . this source data may have already been stored in the reservation station and be waiting for an instruction to act upon it . in other cases , the reservation station maintains decoded instructions and is &# 34 ; watching &# 34 ; all the result / writeback buses from all the execution interfaces &# 34 ; looking &# 34 ; for source data that it needs for its micro operations . when the watched - for data arrives on the result bus 120 , the reservation station grabs it and writes it into the appropriate source data field . once all the source operands for a micro operation are in the reservation station , the reservation station determines when an appropriate execution unit is available and schedules the data ready micro operation for dispatch to an available execution unit . the reservation station 20 of fig2 is illustrated having five dispatch ports . primarily , micro operations in the embodiment illustrated will be dispatched over either dispatch port 0 or dispatch port 1 . in the preferred embodiment , there are five execution units coupled to dispatch port 0 from reservation station 20 . these are the floating point add unit 31 , the floating point and integer multiply unit 32 , the floating point divide unit 33 , integer execution unit 34 , and a wire unit 35 . as was described , the complex intel architecture microprocessor instruction set is reduced to a simpler stream of micro operations . these micro operations , when they are data - ready , are operated on by the various execution units . most applications heavily utilize the integer execution unit . integer execution unit 34 is designed to be able to process data - ready micro operations in one clock cycle . it is therefore referred to as a single - cycle functional unit . the integer execution unit 34 receives an instruction code sequence and source operand data having a width of 32 bits per operand . the floating point execution units 31 , 32 and 33 carry out more complicated tasks when they receive data - ready micro operations . these functional units receive source data operands having a width of 86 bits . in the preferred embodiment , a floating point add instruction requires three clock cycles to execute , an integer multiply requires four clock cycles , and a floating point multiply instruction requires five clock cycles to execute . floating point divides and square roots , which are both carried out by the floating point divide unit 33 , have variable length latencies depending upon the precision required for their result . the wire unit 35 is a hybrid execution unit implemented in the preferred embodiment for various catch - all instructions . it is similar to a floating point unit in that its input stream takes 86 - bit operands , but it is more like an integer execution unit in that it performs its operations in a single clock cycle . dispatch port 1 from reservation station 20 also has two execution units coupled to it . there is an integer execution unit 36 and a jump unit 37 . the integer execution unit 36 may be identical to the execution unit 34 , or it may have additional or different functionality . two integer execution units are provided because of the high volume of integer micro operations common in most code thereby enhancing performance of the overall system . of course , additional integer execution units may be provided in alternative architectures . after an execution unit executes a micro operation , its result is propagated on a write back bus 120 to the reorder buffer 40 and back to the reservation station 20 . the reorder buffer 40 serves as the place where the results of out - of - order operations are collected so that they can later be committed to machine state in strict yon neumann program order . thus , the reorder buffer is where the out - of - order core reassembles the instruction stream into its original program order . at the same time that execution units write back to the reorder buffer 40 , they simultaneously write back to the reservation station 20 , because the result of an execution unit &# 39 ; s operation may provide a source operand needed for the execution of another micro operation waiting in the reservation station . as can be seen from fig2 the five execution units from dispatch port 0 all use the same writeback path 120 to the reorder buffer and to the reservation station 20 . this is where certain conflicts may develop and is the motivation for the present invention . a conflict develops where , for example , an integer multiply instruction and floating point add instruction are issued on consecutive clock cycles from the reservation station . because the integer multiply executes in a four cycle pipeline and the floating point add unit has a three cycle pipeline , consecutively issued instructions to these two units creates a situation in which both desire to provide result data to the write back bus 120 simultaneously . this cannot be done . similarly , if an integer instruction is dispatched to the integer execution unit 34 two clock cycles after a floating point add has been dispatched or three clock cycles after an integer multiply has been dispatched , the integer execution unit and the multiply unit will also both need to write back on the same clock cycle . this also cannot happen . fig3 illustrates a more detailed view of two execution units coupled to write back to the reorder buffer 40 and reservation station 20 over writeback bus 120 . the floating point add unit 31 and multiply unit 32 , for example , receive data - ready micro operations from the reservation station . the floating point add unit 31 comprises a three - stage execution pipeline . thus , though it requires three clock cycles to complete one micro operation , it may receive a micro operation every clock cycle and provide an output every clock cycle . the three stages of the pipeline are illustrated in fig3 as the first stage functional circuit block 41 , second stage functional circuit block 42 and third stage functional circuit block 43 . at the front end of each stage of the execution unit pipeline are latches or registers for buffering the data stream into each functional stage . these are illustrated as latches 44 , 45 and 46 , respectively preceding the first , second and third floating point add pipeline stages . similarly , the integer portion of multiply functional unit 32 receives its micro operations from the reservation station , but has a four stage execution pipeline shown as first stage 47 , second stage 49 , third stage 50 , and fourth stage 51 . in front of each of these stages , respectively , are latches or buffers 52 , 53 , 55 and 56 . as was described above , when a dispatched integer multiply instruction is followed one clock cycle later by a dispatched floating point add instruction , both functional units will be ready to write back result data at the same time over the same writeback bus 120 , a writeback contention . to avoid this , the pipeline of the floating point add functional unit 31 is conditionally extended by one clock cycle . a fourth latch or pipe extension buffer 60 receives the output from the third pipe stage 43 of the unit . buffering the functional unit &# 39 ; s result through a fourth buffer delays , by one clock cycle , the output of the unit . thus , in the case where a floating point add has been dispatched one clock cycle after a floating point multiply , its result will need to be written back one clock cycle after the floating point multiply result is written by utilizing the pipe extending register . as an alternative to the pipe extension buffer 60 , other one cycle buffering techniques may be implemented , such as a one cycle delay line . to control the pipeline length of the floating point add unit 31 , a multiplexing circuit 61 is implemented . the multiplexer circuitry 61 receives as input signals a result directly from the third pipe stage 43 of the floating point add unit and a previous clock cycle &# 39 ; s buffered result from the pipeline extending buffer 60 . the multiplexer 61 is controlled by control logic 62 which determines when the pipeline length of the floating point add unit should be extended . when the control logic 62 determines that a writeback conflict will exist , it instructs the multiplexer 61 to select the signal coming through the pipe extension buffer 60 to be the signal to be written back from the functional unit . when no writeback conflict exists and no writeback result is pending in the extension buffer 60 , the control logic instructs the multiplexer 61 to select the output directly from the third pipe stage 43 of the floating point add unit . in determining whether the floating point add unit should extend the functional unit &# 39 ; s pipeline length , the control logic 62 measures the activity occurring at the different pipe stages of the floating point add and integer multiply functional units . the control logic 62 may implement comparing circuitry which determines that if a multiply is in multiply pipe stage 4 at the same time a floating point add is in the third pipe stage of that functional unit , then there will be a writeback conflict , and the floating point add unit needs to extend its pipeline length by one clock cycle . other comparisons may be performed , so long as the comparison is designed to indicate that a writeback conflict will exist . those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to implement the control logic 62 without undue experimentation for determining when a writeback conflict exists . when no writeback conflict will exist after one has previously existed , the control logic 62 of the floating point add unit 31 will reset the length of the floating point add pipeline to be three clock cycles . if valid bits are implemented in the buffering elements , then the pipe extension buffer 60 will have its valid bit reset indicating a three clock - cycle pipeline . the above discussion of lengthening a functional unit pipeline considered the case of a writeback conflict where two functional units have a one pipe stage pipeline length difference . it is of course possible for two functional units to have a pipeline length difference of more than one pipe stage . in order to optimally implement the present invention for such a case , the pipe extension buffer 60 needs to provide buffering for n deep entries where n is the difference in the number of pipeline stages of the conflicting functional units . another aspect of the present invention will be described simultaneously with respect to fig2 and 4 . other writeback conflicts can develop with respect to those execution units receiving their inputs from dispatch port 0 of the reservation station 20 . there are two single - cycle execution units , the integer execution unit 34 and wire unit 35 ( fig2 ). if a micro operation is dispatched to either of these execution units when a floating point unit is at the final stage of its pipeline , both the single - cycle unit and the floating point unit will need to write back result data simultaneously . thus , the reservation station 20 must be inhibited from dispatching single - cycle micro operations prior to when a floating point unit will want to write back its result data . the floating point units are therefore provided with a signal path to the reservation station 20 for signaling that certain types of operations should not be dispatched for one clock cycle . the logic in the reservation station receives these signals and considers them in performing its scheduling algorithms . because the reservation station of the preferred embodiment requires a two clock - cycle pipeline for the scheduling of micro operations , the reservation station needs to receive the inhibit signal at least two clock cycles prior to the dispatch of any micro operations to be inhibited . the first stage 41 of the floating point add functional unit 31 , upon receiving a floating point add instruction , signals the reservation station not to issue any single - cycle micro operations . this prevents the reservation station from issuing a single - cycle micro operation to either integer execution unit 34 or the wire unit 35 two cycles later which would then be attempting to write back result data at the same time as the floating point add result was being written back . likewise , the second pipeline stage 49 of the multiply functional unit 32 signals the reservation station 20 not to issue any single - cycle micro operations two cycles later which would result in the same writeback conflict with that unit . one more floating point unit must be considered in the cluster receiving micro operations from dispatch port 0 . the floating point divide unit performs both floating point division and square root functions . this functional unit in the preferred embodiment is not pipelined . floating point divides and square roots can have very long latencies , up to and including fifty to sixty clock cycles . while one operation is being performed therein , no other micro operations may be dispatched to this functional unit 33 . accordingly , the floating point divide unit upon receiving a micro operation signals the reservation station 20 to inhibit the dispatch of any subsequent micro operations to it until the floating point divide unit 33 has performed its result writeback . alternatively , upon dispatching a divide , the reservation station logic may be designed to self - inhibit back - to - back divides . in addition , the floating point divide unit is capable of determining the number of clock cycles it will require for performing a received micro operation . with this information , the floating point divide unit 33 signals three cycles before writeback that no one cycle micro operations should be issued from the reservation station 20 . likewise , five , six and seven clock cycles prior to writeback , the floating point divide unit 33 signals that no three cycle , four or five cycle micro operations should be dispatched from the reservation station 20 , respectively . it should be understood that when the reservation station is inhibited from dispatching only one class of micro operation ( i . e ., a three cycle floating point add ), others may still be dispatched ( i . e ., single cycle operations or longer multiply operations ). the implementation of both the pipe lengthening of the floating point add unit and the inhibiting of the reservation station from issuing certain conflicting micro operations eliminates the potential problem of a writeback conflict by execution units sharing a common writeback path . the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described as being implemented in an out - of - order executing microprocessor . the present invention may , however , be implemented by any processor in which the above - described writeback conflicts exist . although the present invention has been described in terms of preferred and implemented embodiments , it will be appreciated that various modifications and alterations might be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the invention should , therefore , be measured in terms of the claims which follow . | 6Physics
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as shown in fig1 , information is entered into a database as a serial string of inputs i 1 , i 2 , and i 3 . each input string represents a named entity having an address . in practice , the information may consist of any set of related data which may include but not be limited to contact information ( address , telephone numbers , e - mail addresses , etc . ), accounting information , organized lists , or any other data that is or can be related to other data within an organized data structure . as data is entered , it is preferably stored contiguously in one or more string buffers , as in fig2 , and a pointer is returned to the table buffer . however , before each input field value is stored , the string buffer is checked to see whether the same value already exists within that buffer . if the same value does exist , a pointer to the existing value is returned and processing moves to the next input field . if that value does not exist , however , it is stored in the string buffer , preferably contiguously , and a pointer to that value is returned . once this is done for each field in the entry , a record is added to the table , and the index is updated . the string buffers , tables and indexes are all expandable to meet demand . although a single string buffer , table buffer , and index buffer are referenced , it will be understood that each buffer may comprise more than one continuous segment , and that such occurrence will have little or no effect upon the application or efficiency of the invention . the string buffers and pointers are maintained by using either b trees , b + trees or other suitable data structure . fig3 references field values from the string buffer with pointers ( offsets within the string buffer ) indicating the memory locations in one or more string buffer ( s ) at which each field value may be found . pointers have a fixed size and are maintained in one or more table buffers . each pointer is a number comprising n - bytes . in the preferred embodiment , n = 4 bytes , although pointers of any reasonable size can be used . where n = 4 bytes , and each record has five fields or columns , as in the example depicted in the drawings , each record in the string buffer , regardless of length , will be referenced using only 20 bytes of memory in the table buffer . this may be seen , for example , in the storage of record r 1 in the string buffer ( fig2 ). the “ name ” value for the first record (“ abc ”) is stored at string buffer offset 00 . a pointer in the table buffer to that value points to offset 0 in the string buffer . the “ address ”, “ city ”, “ state ”, and “ zip code ” fields for record r 1 are similarly pointed to at offsets 4 , 14 , 21 and 29 , respectively . record r 2 may similarly be located by reference to fig2 and 3 . however , as is shown in fig3 , the “ city ” and “ state ” fields for record r 2 are the same as for record r 1 , and will not be duplicated in the string buffer ( fig2 ). rather , as shown in fig3 , pointers to “ city 1 ” and “ state 1 ” for record r 2 will point to the offsets in the string buffer where those values are already stored , at offsets 14 and 21 . similarly , record r 3 has a value for “ state ” that is the same as for records r 1 and r 2 . hence , the pointer in record r 3 points to offset 21 in the string buffer , and avoids the need for duplicate values to be entered into the string buffer . as shown in fig4 , each pointer (“ val ”) in the table buffer is a 4 - byte value , the positions within that buffer being of a uniform size . each record utilizes five 4 - byte values , or a total of 20 bytes . the indicators “ r1 ,” “ r2 ,” and “ r3 ” are not part of the table itself , but are given only for reference in showing the structure of the table . fig5 shows an index buffer in which the beginning offset for each record in the table buffer is given . the index buffer shows the records in alphabetical order , with “ abc ” being the “ name ” for the first record , and being located by referring to offset 00 in the table buffer which , in turn , references offset 00 in the string buffer . the second record begins with a “ t ” ( for entity “ test 1 ”). in the index buffer , the second alphabetical record is shown with a value of 40 . referring to offset 40 in the table buffer , the offset at location 66 in the string buffer is where the record begins , as can be verified by reference to fig2 . the third record alphabetically begins with the name “ wxyz ,” and may be located in the index buffer at value 20 , referring to offset 20 in the table buffer , which points to location 40 in the string buffer . fig1 - 5 depict the data structure of the invention in idealized format . that is , each entry is located contiguous to the preceding and subsequent entries , with no gaps in the relevant memory buffers . in practice , however , such is seldom the case , as memory storage may require the use of non - contiguous blocks of memory . this is particularly so where long term storage may be maintained on a disc drive . because of this potential limitation , fig6 , 7 , and 9 represent the efficient memory utilization of the invention under conditions that may be encountered in practice . fig6 depicts a string buffer comprising four non - contiguous buffers , each beginning at offset “ 1 ” and being capable of holding fewer than 30 characters . a comparison of fig1 and 6 shows that identical data has been entered and stored in memory , with fig6 showing the data distributed across four non - contiguous string buffers . fig7 depicts a table buffer comprising two non - contiguous buffers , each beginning at offset 0 . in this depiction , however , pointers to the string buffer are made by first referencing the buffer number ( 1 - 4 ), followed by the offset within that buffer . for example in table buffer no . 1 , the first field (“ name ”) in record ( r 1 ) is referenced as string buffer no . 1 , offset 1 . the second field (“ address ”) is referenced at string buffer no . 1 , offset 5 . this procedure is followed for all pointers in the table buffer . once entered , such information can be stored and later recalled for display or printing as shown in fig8 . in fig8 , the information is formatted as discrete records divided into separate fields as mailing addresses in the united states , each record having five fields , each field representing an entity name , a street or box office address , a city , a state , and a zip code . fig9 depicts an index buffer in which records stored in the string buffer of fig6 and the table buffer of fig7 may be retrieved or listed in alphabetical order , using the same buffer number — offset location schema as described for fig6 and 7 . it will be understood that the embodiments shown herein are exemplary and instructional , and that the invention is not limited to such embodiments and examples , but may be used for the efficient storage of any items of related data or information without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . | 6Physics
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with initial reference to fig1 a nozzle 10 according to the present invention may be connected as part of an oil mist lubrication system . as depicted therein , such a system typically includes an oil mist source 12 connected to the nozzle 10 by means of a flexible mist transporting tube 14 . it is a particular advantage of a preferred embodiment of the present invention that the nozzle 10 may be formed as a part of the transport tube 14 or , alternatively , may constitute a separate element , coupled thereto by fittings as known in the art . the nozzle 10 is mounted on an appropriate support structure 16 , positioned to direct its oil drop output towards a portion of a machine to be lubricated , as illustrated by the mechanism 18 . the mist source 12 , as known in the art , produces an air - based aerosol in which oil particles are suspended in the form of droplets typically between 1 and 5 micron in diameter . the aerosol mist is transported through the tube at a velocity range of about 14 to 22 meters per second . if such a mist were to be directly directed to the mechanism 18 the droplets would remain in air suspension , forming a diffuse mist unsuitable for localized point lubrication . the present invention converts such a mist into a coherent series of larger drops which may be effectively and accurately directed at the localized points of the mechanism to be lubricated , and which do not form in an irregular manner which would otherwise result in dripping or misdirection of the lubricant stream . in addition , because the mist may partially agglutinate into drops or a film within the transport tube 14 , the present invention also converts such delivered lubricant into the series of drops of consistent size . both phases of the lubricant may be present ; the present invention allows both phases to be collected and delivered as a coherent drop series . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the nozzle 10 may consist of an outer tube or sleeve 20 , preferably of circular cross - section , forming a nozzle housing . it is contemplated that the tube may be of a plastic material , such as ptfe or another fluropolymer . a typical inner diameter for the sleeve is about 0 . 09 inches . the tube may be rigid or flexible , and thus may be straight or curved along its length . the sleeve has an entrance 26 at a first end , which is coupled to the mist source , and an exit 28 at the other end . supported within the sleeve is a central nozzle core 24 , which may be formed of an appropriate structural material , such as brass . the nozzle core 24 supports an element for separating suspended oil from the carrier air and an element for collecting both the thus - separated oil , as well as oil entering the nozzle in large drops or as a surface film , and channeling all such oil to the interior of the carrier gas stream exiting from the nozzle through exit 28 . the core may thus include a first portion positioned proximate the entrance 26 upon which is mounted a helix 22 , and a second portion proximate the exit 28 supporting a needle - like assembly 30 . the overall length of the core 24 is on the order of 1 . 2 inches , the helix portion being approximately 0 . 65 inches long and the needle - like assembly being on the order of 0 . 42 inches long . as may be seen , the helix 22 comprises a plurality of thread turns about the core , with a preferred pitch of about 12 tpi . it need not be of constant pitch , however . the threads of the helix engage the inner wall 32 of the sleeve member 20 , forming a circuitous passageway along the helix between the inner wall and the core for the oil and carrier gas supplied to the nozzle through the entrance 26 . the helix serves as a means for separating oil particles in the supplied oil mist stream from the carrier air flow . the discharge of the mist on the thread of the helix imparts a rotational velocity to the mist and an angular momentum to the oil particles , developing a radial velocity component which directs them radially outwardly during their travel about the helix and into contact with the inner sleeve wall 32 . the rotational velocity imparted to the input stream also causes any of the oil which may have previously coalesced from the mist in the transport tube to travel along the inner wall of the sleeve about the helix . the mist droplets coalesce together and combine with the previously coalesced oil , the combined flow moving along the inner sleeve wall about the passageway defined by the helix as a result of the continuing mist air flow being applied to the nozzle . as the mist air continues its circuitous route , a greater proportion of the remaining suspended lubricant is removed therefrom . it has been found that , with a helix of approximately 6 turns , virtually all of the lubricant is removed from the mist stream during its passage through the helix . the oil remains on the inner sleeve wall 32 beyond the termination of the helix . it continues to migrate therealong under the influence of the carrier air flow until it reaches the needle - shaped assembly 30 , which collects the oil and channels it into the interior of the now essentially oil - free exiting airflow . as may be best seen in fig3 the needle - like assembly may include a plurality of flutes 40 extending out from the core 24 . the flutes may be six in number , evenly spaced about the circumference of the central stem , with curved edges , which are in contact with the inner wall of the sleeve . the flutes taper to a conical portion 36 terminating in point 38 . the conical portion and point extend beyond the exit 28 of the sleeve . as the oil propelled in a helical manner reaches the flutes angled to its path , it spreads over the surface of the flutes and continues to be driven forward along the flutes by the carrier gas . the material of the needle - like assembly is chosen to have surface tension properties more favorable to the oil than the inner wall of the sleeve , and thus the oil forms a film , and remains on the flutes , as they taper inwardly and away from the sleeve inner wall . when the core 24 is of brass , the needle - like assembly , as well as the helix , may be of the same material . the needle - like assembly may be solid or be of a sintered porous structure to assist in attracting the oil from the sleeve inner wall . the oil is thus transferred from the sleeve towards the interior of the nozzle by the flutes . as the flute surfaces merge into the conical surface 36 the oil film travels to the needle point 38 . there it collects , forming a droplet of growing diameter , until the force exerted upon the droplet by the carrier air exiting from the nozzle is sufficient to remove it from the point , carrying the droplet with the carrier air flow until it impinges upon the target to be lubricated . flowing as a thin laminar annular sheet , the carrier gas envelops the forming droplet , and as a result of the velocity and thus pressure gradient existing in the middle of the stream , the flowing carrier tends to entrain the surrounding ambient air into its stream , thus focusing the airflow into a narrow beam with significant thrust . this increases the operational distance from the nozzle exit to the target by an order of 10 over conventional nozzles of the same exit diameter . it also reduces the amount of carrier gas flow required to form and propel the oil droplets . the continuing influence of the carrier flow promotes the continuing development of the droplets and their migration towards the needle point , where they are carried off when they reach the critical size . with a constant carrier air flow the drops are of consistent size . as shown in fig4 the needle - like assembly may include a conical portion 42 of concave profile , conjugated with the carrier gas flow channels formed by the flutes to form a smooth transition from the flute portion . the radius of curvature may be on the order of 0 . 19 inches , with an included angle of the point 38 of about 18 degrees . such a configuration may allow for better entrainment of surrounding air 44 into the exiting air flow when the nozzle is placed flush or below the surface 46 of the support structure 16 , typically in a mounting sleeve 48 threaded into a counterbore or mounting hole 50 . the figure further shows the needle tip terminating in an extended flexible fiber 86 , along which the drops travel prior to release into the exiting air flow . the fiber may be of the same material as the main portion of the assembly , or may be of another material as appropriate . it is contemplated that the use of polypropylene for the needle - like assembly may allow the fiber 86 to be drawn from the needle tip . various other alternative embodiments for the present invention are contemplated , each of said embodiments comprising means for separating the liquid , such as oil from the aerosol and second means for directing the separated liquid into the interior of the exit air stream for formation into a sequence of droplets which are to be carried by the airstream to the target . thus , in the embodiment set forth in fig5 the helix 22 which separates the liquid from the airstream forms a member separate and apart from the needle - shaped assembly 30 . each may be individually positioned in the sleeve 20 . in accordance with the invention , the needle - shaped assembly can be utilized separate and apart from the helix member . as further shown in fig6 and 7 , other embodiments for the invention contemplate that the inner diameter of the sleeve portion in which the helix is located differs from the inner diameter of the sleeve portion in which the flute assembly is mounted . in fig6 the helix diameter is greater than the flute diameter ; a transition region 52 is provided between the respective sleeve portions . in fig7 the helix diameter is less than the flute diameter ; a step 54 accommodates the different sleeve diameters . while the liquid - removing helix is shown in the forgoing figures as having a single lead , it may also be formed with multiple leads and with multiple ends to the needle - like assembly . such a multiple lead , multiple end embodiment is presented in fig8 . as shown therein , the twin helix 78 is formed from a pair of leads . in addition , the needle - like assembly 56 is formed by a wire 58 wrapped about the end of the core 24 . the wire is mounted to the core at point 60 and engages the inner wall 32 of the sleeve at points 62 , allowing liquid transfer from the sleeve wall to the needle - like assembly to occur . the ends of the wires are positioned within the interior of the exiting carrier flow , and are pointed into tips 64 . the end of the core 24 is similarly tapered to a point 84 , and offset from the center of the flow to define a generally triangularly arranged triple tip arrangement . such multiple points may be used to generate larger size drops than a single point , the drop being formed between the points , and may incorporate fibers 86 , only one of which is shown , extending from the needle tips . as shown in fig9 the needle point may alternatively be of other than a true point . in fig9 it is presented in the form of a vertically - oriented wedge 66 . the shape of the point may be used to control the size of the drops formed . fig1 depicts an embodiment of the invention in which the nozzle is formed with a right - angle bend . such a construction is of applicability when the nozzle is to be mounted in a confined space . as shown , the nozzle sleeve in which the helix and needle - like assembly are mounted is divided into rear sleeve 98 , which may comprise a portion of the mist transport tube , and forward sleeve 100 . the two sleeve portions are interconnected by elbow 90 having internal right - angle passageway 92 which joins the sleeve passageways together . while the elbow 90 is shown as a 90 degree coupling , it is to be recognized that it may be constructed with any appropriate angle between the sleeve portions . helix 94 is mounted in rear sleeve 98 , while needle - like assembly 96 is mounted in the forward sleeve 100 . nozzle core portion 102 , from which the needle - like assembly extends , may support an auxiliary helix 104 , which further assists in removing the oil mist from the carrier gas , and which can provide additional support for the needle - like assembly within the sleeve . the sleeve 100 may be provided with an exterior thread 104 , which allows the nozzle assembly to be mounted in the bore 106 in support structure 108 . the elbow 90 is constructed of an appropriate material , such as ptfe , to maintain the flow of oil along its inner surface between the sleeve portions . as shown in fig1 , it is further contemplated that a plurality of nozzles of the present invention may be coupled to a single mist source to allow a contoured surface to be lubricated . as shown therein , multiple nozzle body 68 includes a plurality of passageways 70 coupled to a common inlet 72 . the major axis of each of the passageways is chosen in accordance with the relative positioning of the surface or element to be lubricated . a helix 74 and a needle - shaped assembly 76 , formed either as a unitary member or as discrete elements , are mounted in each of the passageways , resulting in multiple lubricant jets being directed at the target . it is to be recognized that other embodiments and adaptations of the invention are possible without departing from the intended scope of the invention . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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referring now in specific detail to the invention , as shown in fig1 , there is illustrated an overall representation of an alignment arrangement 10 for calibrating semiconductor process tool equipment relative to two foup load ports 12 , 14 through a laser beam projection 16 to an automated overhead track system 18 , the latter of which was previously installed in a fabrication plant or facility . as explained in detail hereinbelow , the alignment arrangement 10 comprises a jig base plate 20 supporting a primary laser mount 22 and at least two secondary laser mounts or prism attachments 24 , 26 ; one at each side of the primary laser mount 22 . the alignment arrangement , and in essence , the jig base plate 20 , is adapted to have the laser beams 16 projected to suitable reference points or locations on the overhead track system 18 , such beams being projected from the secondary laser mounts or prism attachments 24 , 26 , respectively , and with the central laser mount being directed so as to provide for alignment with a structure 29 providing for foup ports . referring to fig2 of the drawings , there is illustrated in detail the alignment apparatus 10 presetting the location of the semiconductor process tool . the apparatus 10 includes jig base plate 20 supporting the primary laser mount 22 and also the secondary laser mounts or prism attachments 24 , 26 flanking the primary laser mount and being supportedly spaced along a ball rail 30 for x - positional adjustment . the ball rail 30 may be a thompson ball rail , as is known , on which the laser mounts 22 , 24 , 26 are lockable in adjustable positions by means of end horizontal position locking mechanisms 34 for each of the laser mounts . furthermore , provided on the jig base plate 20 is another ball rail 36 at each end of ball rail 30 , for positioning in the y - direction , transversely of x - ball rail 30 , at both ends thereof , which is also lockable and adjustable by means of the locking devices 38 . these locking devices 38 are mounted on ball slides , which may be thompson ball slides as is known in the technology , and which facilitates the x - ball rail 30 being displaced in the y - direction . furthermore , provided on the jig base plate 20 are y - scales 40 adjacent the y - ball rails 36 , which may be either in english or metric systems ; and also an x - directional scale 42 for a horizontal english or metric system measurement . the laser mounting jig base plate 20 is formed with a number of through holes 44 , which will facilitate the plate being temporarily fastened to the fabrication facility floor . the jig base plate or laser mounting plate 20 is equipped with a pair of bubble levels 46 , 48 for measuring the horizontal level , and also a pair of bubble levels 50 , 52 to measure the level in a transverse direction to the horizontal . tool stop positioner brackets 60 , 62 are provided on the jig base plate 20 so as to be reciprocatably adjustable along parallel guide rails 64 , 66 through gearing 68 . the brackets can be locked for equal movement to the right or left , based from the tool center line cl . thus , the brackets 60 , 62 can be selectively spread apart or brought together for multiple foup positions from a single tool center . for example , as indicated in fig2 of the drawings , this bracket spacing is for a two foup position , as represented by the center line or also by the two side laser mounts or prism attachments 24 , 26 . alternately , the alignment apparatus 10 may have the brackets 60 , 62 adjusted relative to each other regarding their mutual spacing so as to accommodate three foups 70 , as shown in fig4 , or four foups 72 , as shown in fig5 of the drawings . the geared ball rails may be adapted to provide for different tool stop positions , and may consist of thompson geared ball rails . as indicated hereinbefore , the present alignment apparatus 10 provides the automated overhead material track or transport system 18 with an alignment to the locations of large scale and heavy semiconductor process tool equipment prior to the actual process tool arrival at its final fabrication plant locale . thus , the process tool is moved into position and a foup loader bracket employed for centering a 2 , 000 pound 300 mm wafer transport , and also acting as a physical hard stop with a laser reference position directed to the overhead track from the alignment fixture or apparatus . the apertures and laser beams then set the locations of the precision interface relative to the process tool . the alignment apparatus 10 is then temporarily fastened to the plant floor in a rigid manner employing the through holes 44 in the mounting or jig base plate 20 by bolting the latter to the floor . in essence , the majority of semiconductor fabrication equipments components , which are provided for industrial fabrication locations , necessitate the employment of multiple chambers , modules , load ports and auxiliary equipment , which are literally bolted together to form an equipment body , referred to as a “ process tool ”. consequently , in the event that such process tools are not precisely located , this would require correction with respect to an overhead track system of extremely heavy process tool equipment , rendering the entire arrangement uneconomical and subject to errors in the accurate positioning thereof . in contrast with the prior art , the present invention provides for a precise foup port alignment method and semiconductor process tool alignment arrangement relative to a previously installed overhead track system , so as to be able to commence the complicated installation of an accumulation of hardware forming the process tool in a manner whereby the final connection of the foup load port the process tool to a kinematic load port interface is correct and extremely accurate in an assured and entirely dependable manner . while it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects stated above , it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art , and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 7Electricity
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referring now to the drawings , the invention in fig1 to 3 is shown generally at numeral 10 in the form of a packet 12 which is formed of porous sheet material containing dry particles 16 . the preferred range of porosity of the porous material forming the packet 12 is in the range of 0 . 2 to 10 microns , 5 microns being preferred . the preferred form of the porous sheet material is a synthetic plastic , preferably polyester , e . g . spinbonded polyester under the trademark reemay ®, series 2000 , # 2275 or # 2200 . paper filter material may also be used , although paper filter material is very hygroscopic and can prematurely absorb excess amounts of water to the detriment of the functioning of the packet as described herebelow . the primary features of the porous sheet material forming the packet 12 as depicted in fig3 are a porosity sufficient to allow water to pass into the packet 12 for oxygen to escape from the packet 12 through the porous material , and for any remaining undissolved particles 16 described herebelow to be retained within the packet 12 . a uniform mixture of dry loose particles 16 are placed within the packet 12 and then sealed therein along seal lines 14 . the particles 16 represent a mixture of an alkali metal ferrate ( vi ) and a quantity of dry beach sand . typically , ferrate ( vi ) only needs to be about 50 % pure , containing other insoluble inert impurities such as iron oxide . ferrate ( vi ) has a chemical formula of feo 4 − 2 . the preferred form of the alkali metal cation combined with the ferrate ( vi ) is one that dissolves in water , namely , li , na , k , rb and cs . potassium k is preferred for both economy and manufacturing ease and availability . the intent of this invention is to disinfect contaminated water with oxygen o released from the packet 12 . by placing one of the inventions 10 into a container c filled with contaminated water w as seen in fig1 purifying and disinfecting oxygen o is released from the packet 12 in the direction of the arrows b into the contaminated water w . the presence of the dry beach sand mixed with the alkali metal ferrate ( vi ) within the mixture 16 insures by adequate presence of the inert insoluble sand particles that the packet 10 , when dropped into the water w , will preferably sink to the bottom of the container c in the direction of arrow a in fig1 . when the packet 12 is at the bottom of the container c , the oxygen o is released by the following chemical formula : the liberated oxygen is dispersed uniformly upwardly into the contaminated water w in the direction of arrows b . the preferred source of dry ferrate ( vl ) is described in one of co - applicant &# 39 ; s previous u . s . pat . no . 4 , 545 , 974 . utilization of ferrate ( vi ) in its dry form is preferred due to its stability in packet form , substantially reduced cost , and the elimination of chlorinated hydrocarbons as a side product within the contaminated water . residue left within the packet 12 after water disinfection is typically in the form of iron oxide and potassium oxide , both of which are non - toxic . however , the limited porosity of the sheet material forming the packet 12 as above described prevents this residue from entering into the now disinfected water , which residue would otherwise increase the turbidity and cloudiness thereof . what the present invention accomplishes on an overall basis is the reduction of biological oxygen demand ( b . o . d .) and chemical oxygen demand ( c . o . d .). by substantially reducing these two factors present in the contaminated water , the disinfected water is ready for consumption and , when in sufficiently concentrated form as below described by example , may also serve as a wound disinfectant . a mixture of 0 . 25 g potassium ferrate ( vi ) ( k 2 feo 4 ) particles with 1 . 75 g of clean dry sand ( 2 . 0 g total ) in a small tea bag approximately 1 ″ square will disinfect five ( 5 ) gallons of contaminated water killing all bacteria contained therein . this example mixture contains sufficient inert sand to cause the packet 12 to sink to the bottom of the container c as depicted in fig1 for optimal disinfecting oxygen o release . a larger mixture of 7 g of potassium ferrate ( vi ) particles plus 93 g of clean dry sand ( 100 g total ) uniformly mixed was prepared . two ( 2 ) g of this dry mixture in packet form will purify one gallon of water . a mixture of 0 . 25 g ferrate ( vi ) plus 1 . 75 g of clean dry sand in a packet 14 placed into one gallon of contaminated water will produce a disinfectant wash for wounds . time factor when the invention is utilized in shade or unlit areas at room temperature , the disinfecting process above described will take approximately ten ( 10 ) hours . the color of the contaminated water will first turn to purple due to the presence of fe 6 + and then to brown fe 3 + when the oxygen release is completed . however , when the same reaction is caused to occur in sunlight , the reaction time is reduced to about 1 to 1¼ hours . it is also here noted as shown in example 2 above that the addition of clean dry sand also serves as an effective dilutent of the potassium ferrate ( vi ) so that , when mixed in larger quantities at desired proportions , smaller packet sized portions of that uniform mixture may be more accurately prepared to effect the desired controlled disinfecting of predetermined volumes of contaminated water . the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown generally at numeral 10 in fig1 to 3 wherein a quantity of clean dry sand or more generally inert , insoluble particles , are added in sufficient quantity to cause the packet 12 to sink to the bottom of the container c . however , as shown in fig4 the dry particle mixture 16 ′ of potassium ferrate ( vi ) and dry sand may include only a sufficient amount of the dry sand particles to cause the packet 12 ′ to become partially submerged in the contaminated water w so that oxygen is liberated in the direction of arrows e at or near the surface of the contaminated water . again , this embodiment is not preferred , but is nonetheless useful in effecting water decontamination as above described . while the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention , which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein , but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles . | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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referring to the drawings in detail , it will be seen that a part arraying apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed at one side of a conveyor 11 for transporting trays , for example , the empty tray indicated in dot - dash lines at t in fig1 . a suitable sensor 12 , for example , in the form of a bar - code reader , is disposed adjacent conveyor 11 for detecting the types of empty trays t being transported thereby . the apparatus 10 according to this invention is shown to generally comprise a tray - stocking device 13 for receiving empty trays from conveyor 11 and maintaining a stock of the empty trays on which parts are to be arrayed . in the illustrated embodiment , tray - stocking device 13 is shown to be in the form of a gravity - feed conveyor having an elongated frame 14 extending transversely with respect to conveyor 11 from a position below the adjacent side of conveyor 11 and being inclined downwardly in the direction toward the end of frame 14 remote from conveyor 11 . rollers 15 extend inwardly from the opposite sides of frame 14 at spaced apart locations along the latter and are freely rotatable . thus , an empty tray placed on rollers 15 of device 13 adjacent the relatively high end of frame 14 will be induced , by the force of gravity , to move longitudinally along frame 14 toward the relatively low end of the latter . an elevator 16 for transferring trays is shown on fig1 to include a fluid - pressure operated linear motor , for example , in the form of an hydraulic cylinder 17 , mounted vertically below the relatively high end of frame 14 and including an upwardly directed ram or rod 18 on which a tray - receiving plate 19 is mounted . tray 19 is dimensioned so as to be movable vertically between the confronting or inwardly directed ends of rollers 15 at the relatively high end portion of frame 14 . thus , tray - receiving plate 19 is movable vertically between a lowered position shown in full lines in fig1 and in which plate 19 is disposed below the tray supporting level of rollers 15 at the upper end portion of frame 14 , as when rod 18 is fully retracted in cylinder 17 , a raised position indicated in broken lines at 19a , as when rod 18 is fully extended , and an intermediate position indicated in broken lines at 19b , as when rod 18 is only fractionally extended and in which the tray - receiving plate 19b is at the same level as the tray - conveying surface of conveyor 11 for the transfer of trays therebetween . a pusher 20 ( fig1 ) is provided at the side of conveyor 11 remote from apparatus 10 at a position along conveyor 11 that is substantially laterally aligned with elevator 16 . when tray - receiving plate 19 is in its intermediate position indicated at 19b on fig1 pusher 20 is operable to push a tray t laterally off conveyor 11 and onto receiving plate 19b so that the tray then occupies the position indicated in dot - dash lines at ta . if rod 18 is thereafter fully retracted into cylinder 17 for moving plate 19 to the lowered position shown in full lines in fig1 the tray supported by plate 19 is deposited on the freely rotatable rollers 15 at the upper end portion of frame 14 and , as previously noted , will be induced by gravity to move longitudinally along frame 14 toward the relatively low end of the latter . frame 14 is seen to be of sufficient length so that a plurality of trays , for example , five trays as in the illustrated embodiment , can be accommodated in a line extending from the high end toward the low end of frame 14 for maintaining a stock of the empty trays on device 13 . an elevator 21 for transferring empty trays from tray - stocking device 13 is shown to include a fluid - pressure operated linear motor , for example , in the form of an hydraulic cylinder 22 , mounted vertically below the relatively low end of frame 14 and including an upwardly directed ram or rod 23 on which a tray - receiving plate 24 is mounted . tray 24 is dimensioned so as to be movable vertically between the confronting or inwardly directed ends of rollers 15 at the relatively low end portion of frame 14 . thus , tray - receiving plate 24 is movable vertically between a lowered position shown in full lines in fig1 and in which tray 24 is disposed below the tray - supporting level of rollers 15 at the lower end portion of frame 14 , as when rod 23 is fully retracted in cylinder 22 , and a raised position indicated in broken lines at 24a , as when rod 23 is fully extended . it will be appreciated that , when plate 24 is in its lowered position , the empty tray tb at the head end of the line of trays on stocking device 13 can move downwardly along frame 14 over plate 24 so as to abut against a stop 25 at the relatively low end of frame 14 . thereafter , as when a sensor 26 detects the presence of empty tray tb on rollers 15 at the lower end portion of frame 14 , elevator 21 is made operative to fully extend its rod 23 for moving tray - receiving plate 24 vertically upward to its raised position shown at 24a and correspondingly lifting the tray tb thereabove . in order to ensure that , when tray tb is lifted by movement of plate 24 to its raised position , the tray tc next in line on stocking device 13 will not move further toward the lower end of frame 14 and thereby interfere with the subsequent return of plate 24 to its lowered position , apparatus 10 is further shown on fig1 to include a tray - stopping device 27 . more particularly , device 27 is movable by plate 24 to an inoperative position in which it is out of the path of travel of trays on device 13 when plate 24 is in its lowered position , and , in response to movement of plate 24 to its raised position , device 27 is made operative to engage the tray tc next in line for preventing further gravity feed of the trays toward abutment 25 . in the illustrated embodiment , tray - stopping device 27 is shown to include a bracket 28 secured to frame 14 below the path of travel of the trays on rollers 15 , and a lever 29 pivoted on bracket 28 for rocking movements between an operative position , shown in full lines on fig1 in which lever 29 extends immediately below tray tc and engages the latter at the leading or downhill side of the tray by means of an upwardly directed flange 29a at the free end of lever 29 , and a depressed or downwardly deflected inoperative position , shown in broken lines at 29 &# 39 ; on fig1 and in which flange 29a is below the path of movement of trays on rollers 15 so as to avoid interference therewith . the lever 29 is preferably biased , as by a spring , not shown , to its operative position shown in full lines on fig1 and flange 29a on lever 29 is preferably provided with a lip extending therefrom to be engageable from above by an adjacent edge portion of plate 24 for moving lever 29 to its inoperative position in response to the return of tray - receiving plate 24 to its lowered position . thus , when plate 24 is moved upwardly to its raised position for similarly elevating tray tb at the head end of the line of trays on device 13 , tray - stopping device 27 is operative to hold tray tc that is next in line in the position illustrated . thereafter , when plate 24 is returned downwardly to its lowered position , lever 29 of device 27 is displaced to its downwardly deflected inoperative position so that the tray tc can move further downwardly along rollers 15 to the position against abutment 25 , and thereby provide space on device 13 for an additional tray at the end portion of frame 14 adjacent conveyor 11 . the apparatus 10 according to this invention further comprises a substantially horizontal conveying line 31 extending above tray - stocking device 13 on a frame 30 and also being arranged transversely with respect to the direction of movement of the trays on conveyor 11 . the conveying line 31 is shown to include guide rails 32a and 32b extending along the opposite sides of conveying line 31 and being spaced apart for suitably guiding and supporting the individual trays during movement along conveying line 31 . the guide rail 32a is divided , at its mid - portion , to define a gap ( not shown ) through which each tray can be moved in and out of conveying line 31 , as hereinafter described in detail . conveying line 31 is further shown to have a holding plate 33 reciprocable along conveying line 31 from and to a tray - receiving position shown in the drawings . the holding plate 33 is formed with a tray - receiving cutout 34 ( fig2 and 3 ) having an opening 34a at the side of conveying line 31 constituted by rail 32a . suitable drive means , for example , as indicated at 35 in fig1 is connected with holding plate 33 for effecting the reciprocal movements of the latter in the direction along conveying line 31 . when tray tb at the head end of the line on tray - stocking device 13 is lifted from the latter by the movement of tray - receiving plate 24 to its raised position indicated at 24a in fig1 the raised tray is inserted , from below , in cutout 34 of holding plate 33 . thereafter , when holding plate 33 is displaced along conveying line 31 in the direction of the arrow 36 on fig2 the tray in cutout 34 is moved slidably off the raised plate 24a and engaged , at its opposite sides , by guide rails 32a and 32b . the movement of holding plate 33 in the direction of arrow 36 brings the tray within cutout 34 to a middle position along conveying line 31 at which the gap is provided between the portions of guide rail 32a . after holding plate 33 has been displaced in the direction of arrow 36 to an extent sufficient to cause rails 32a and 32b to slidably support the tray , tray - receiving plate 24 can be returned from its raised position indicated at 24a ( fig1 ) to its lowered position 24 . a structure 37 suitably supported on frame 30 is interposed in the gap between the portions of guide rail 32a and extends from conveying line 31 to define a tray - accommodating station . a transferring mechanism 38 is provided below conveying line 31 at the location along the latter corresponding to station 37 . the transferring mechanism 38 includes an upwardly directed actuating pin 39 that is engageable from below with a tray moved by holding plate 33 to the position of station 37 . then , mechanism 38 is operable to transfer the tray from cutout 34 in plate 33 through the gap in guide rail 32a into tray - accommodating station 37 . after suitable parts have been arrayed on the tray at station 37 , as hereinafter described , mechanism 38 is operable to return the tray with arrayed parts thereon to conveying line 31 . at station 37 there is provided a vibrator 40 which is selectively operable in various vibrating modes for correspondingly vibrating the tray transferred to station 37 . further , at station 37 there is provided a device 41 , for example , in the form of a tiltable table , for inclining the tray td disposed at station 37 in the direction downwardly away from conveying line 31 . a parts supplying mechanism 42 is mounted above conveying line 31 adjacent station 37 for selectively supplying parts to tray td disposed at such station . in the illustrated embodiment , the parts supplying mechanism 42 is shown to include an hexagonally shaped magazine 43 defining six separated receptacles 44 for containing six different types of parts . the magazine 43 is selectively rotatable about a central post 45 for aligning a selected one of the receptacles 44 with a gate 46 operable , as by a solenoid 47 ( fig2 and 3 ), for permitting discharge of parts from the selected receptacle 44 through gate 46 and onto the inclined tray td . when inclined tray td is vibrated , the parts discharged from the selected receptacle 44 through gate 46 flow across tray td and are arrayed on the latter . the superfluous parts flowing across tray td are directed by a chute 48 into a parts return mechanism 49 which returns the superfluous parts to the corresponding receptacle 44 , as indicated by the arrows 50 on fig3 . while parts are being arrayed on a tray at station 37 , holding plate 33 is returned in the direction of the arrow 51 in fig2 to the position there shown , that is , to its tray - receiving position for receiving another tray lifted by plate 24 . after the arraying of parts on a tray at station 37 has been completed , the operation of vibrator 40 is halted and tiltable table 41 is returned to its horizontal position . then , transferring mechanism 38 is operated to return the tray with parts arayed thereon to conveying line 31 . thereafter , when holding plate 33 is displaced in the direction of the arrow 36 in fig2 for moving a new tray in cutout 34 to the position of station 37 , the leading edge 33a of holding plate 33 propels the tray with parts arrayed thereon ahead of plate 33 along conveying line 31 . when the tray with parts arrayed thereon has been thus moved out from under parts supplying mechanism 42 , a tray - pushing cylinder 52 ( fig1 ) is made operative for further propelling that tray along conveying line 31 to a terminal end position above the location of elevator 16 . as the tray with parts arrayed thereon is thus propelled to the terminal end of conveying line 31 , it is released from the guide rails 32a and 32b of conveying line 31 and supported on plate 19 of elevator 16 which is then at its raised position indicated in broken lines at 19a in fig1 . thereafter , the tray - receiving plate 19 is lowered to its intermediate position indicated in broken lines at 19b , and a tray pusher 53 is made operative to propel the tray with parts arrayed thereon off plate 19b and back onto conveyor 11 for further transport by the latter away from the part arraying apparatus 10 according to this invention . the sequential operations of the part arraying apparatus 10 according to this invention will now be described : as an empty tray t is transported by conveyor 11 , the type of such tray is detected by sensor 12 . then , the empty tray is pushed laterally off conveyor 11 in the direction of arrow a ( fig2 ) by pusher 20 onto tray - receiving plate 19 which is at its intermediate position 19b . thereafter , elevator 16 is operated to displace plate 19 to its lowered position and thereby deposit the tray ta onto rollers 15 at the relatively high end of tray stocking device 13 . the successive trays move along device 13 in the direction toward the lower end thereof , as indicated by the arrow b . when a tray tb at the head end of the line of trays on device 13 is detected by sensor 26 , elevator 21 is operated to move the respective tray - receiving plate 24 from its lowered position below tray tb to its raised position indicated at 24a in fig1 whereby tray tb is lifted , as indicated by the arrow c in fig2 to engage in cutout 34 of holding plate 33 . thereupon , holding plate 33 is displaced by its drive means 35 for moving the tray in cutout 34 along conveyor line 31 , as indicated by the arrow d in fig2 . when the tray is thereby brought into alignment with the gap in guide rail 32a , transferring mechanism 38 is made operative to displace the tray out of conveying line 31 in the direction of the arrow e ( fig2 ) into tray - accommodating station 37 . thereafter , based upon the type of tray disposed at station 37 , magazine 43 is selectively rotated to position adjacent gate 46 that receptacle 44 which contains the parts to be arrayed on such tray . then , table 41 is tilted , and vibrator 40 is operated in the vibrating mode required for arraying such parts , while gate 46 is selectively opened to permit the discharge therethrough of at least the quantity of parts required for arraying on the tilted and vibrated tray . thus , the discharged parts flow from gate 46 across the tilted and vibrated tray td and into chute 48 , as indicated by the arrows a in fig3 so as to be returned to the respective receptacle through mechanism 49 , and as indicated by the arrow 50 . when the arraying of parts on the tray at station 37 has been completed , the vibration of the tray is halted , and the inclined table 41 is returned to its horizontal position . then , transferring mechanism 38 is operated to restore the tray with arrayed parts thereon to conveying line 31 , as indicated by the arrow f in fig2 . when holding plate 33 is again displaced to engage its leading edge 33a with the tray having arrayed parts thereon , the latter is moved into the operating range of cylinder 52 which completes the displacement of the tray along conveying line 31 to its terminal end , as indicated by the arrow g in fig2 . finally , the tray with parts arrayed thereon is moved downwardly from the terminal end of conveying line 31 on tray - receiving plate 19 of elevator 16 and , when such tray - receiving plate reaches its intermediate position indicated at 19b , pusher 53 is operative to return the tray with arrayed parts thereon to conveyor 11 . it will be appreciated that , in the apparatus 10 according to the present invention , the movements of the elevators 16 and 21 , the pushers 20 and 53 , the drive means 35 , the transferring mechanism 38 , the cylinder 52 and the magazine 43 , and the operations of the vibrator 40 and tilting table 41 may all be controlled automatically in the described sequences and in response to signals from sensors 12 and 26 by means of a suitable , conventional microprocessor . thus , the described operations of the apparatus 10 can all be automatically controlled and performed without any manual intervention other than possibly the resupplying of parts to the receptacles of magazine 43 . furthermore , since the type of tray is detected by sensor 12 as the tray is being transported on conveyor 11 to apparatus 10 , various types of trays can be transported to tray - stocking device 13 , and the corresponding types of parts can be stored in respective receptacles 44 of magazine 43 to be arrayed on the respective types of trays as the latter are individually positioned at station 37 . it is also to be noted that the mode of vibration of each tray by vibrator 40 may be selectively determined in response to detection of the type of such tray so that the arraying of various types of parts on the respective trays can be most efficiently performed . it will also be appreciated that , since a number of empty trays , for example , five trays , are provided on the inclined tray - stocking device 13 , the operations of the part arraying apparatus 10 can be smoothly performed in an uninterrupted or uniformly timed manner without interference from the possibly erratic arrival of empty trays from conveyor 11 . although an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment , and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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the present road markers are particularly adapted for highway and remote applications , as they are designed to have long operating life while being mechanically and electronically simple . nonetheless , the markers can be used or configured for use in many other applications . such long life is especially advantageous for highway applications as it significantly reduces the costs associated with maintenance and / or replacement . the long operating life is achieved through the use of a suitable housing material , along with suitable combinations of solar cells , batteries , and control circuitry and / or control programming . typically the road markers include a housing that has a cavity opening downward . the cavity contains the illumination components , including one or more low energy consumption light emitting elements ( typically light emitting diodes ( led * s ), energy storage components such as batteries ( or , if desired , storage capacitors ), one or more solar cells , and any needed circuitry and logic components , e . g ., a processor . the cavity is filled with an encapsulation or potting material , which protects the internal components as well as the housing . the encapsulation material is typically a resin , e . g ., an epoxy resin , and should provide both good strength and a degree of residual flexibility ( e . g ., in order to prevent cracking and / or separation of the material and / or damage to encapsulated components ). the encapsulation material fills the cavity and supports the housing so that it is not broken during impact , e . g ., impact from car and truck tires . the encapsulation material also generally seals the internal components against moisture . further , the encapsulation material can provide a bonding surface for attaching the marker to a road surface . in general , these markers are powered by at least one solar cell , and typically a set of such solar cells . these cells are used to recharge a long life expectancy battery , which should be able to be trickle charged without significant deterioration in capacity during its operational lifetime . the markers can be configured in various ways . for example , markers can be designed for continuous operation , thereby allowing use of simplified circuitry with minimal logic and sensor requirements . alternatively , markers can be configured with detection and control circuitry and logic devices such that the marker can be illuminated under low light conditions and not when the environment is well illuminated . the marker can also be configured to operate in either the continuous operation mode or the dark only mode depending on whether there is sufficient light to maintain the batteries in a good charge state . in these designs , a processor can monitor the voltage output of the solar cell via an internal analog to digital converter in order to distinguish dark conditions from light conditions and / or can control the duration and / or frequency of light flashing . as a further alternative , markers can be made with yet another operating mode , in which light is produced only when particularly adverse visibility conditions are present , e . g ., when fog or other conditions result in substantial light reflection ( e . g ., when roads are wet such that extensive fine spray is created by vehicle traffic . thus , the marker can also incorporate a reflected light sensor , e . g ., a fog sensor . for example , a phototransistor can be used to monitor the amount of led light that is reflected back to the unit . this can also be read by another channel of the internal analog to digital converter . in fog conditions or other types of wet conditions , more light will be reflected back to the case . when such conditions are detected , the processor can pulse the leds . the processor can also use another analog to digital channel to detect the state of the battery . markers that include a reflected light sensor can be designed to operate in any of multiple modes . for example , based on input from a light condition sensor , a fog sensor , and a charge state sensor , a device can be configured to operate in any of three different modes . mode one : with good sun the battery will be fully charged ( or nearly so ) so the leds can be flashed continuously ( which can be selected to be as brightly as is possible or can be selected to be at reduced brightness ). this mode can be eliminated if desired . mode two : with moderate sun the batteries will be in good condition but often not fully charged , so the leds will be flashed only when it is dark . mode three : when there is insufficient sun , so that the batteries are not getting fully charged . under these conditions , the unit will only wake up once in a while to check if there is fog or moisture or similar conditions . if such adverse visibility conditions are present , then the leds will be flashed . if desired , the led flashing can be slowed and / or the intensity reduced to reduce energy consumption in order to prolong operation . in this fashion the marker provides the maximum amount of safety that can be provided given the solar conditions . in alternate embodiments , the marker utilizes only mode one , or modes one and two . the marker can be supplied ready to use . for example , when the unit is first made it can be tested fully before encapsulation . the battery can be fully charged at assembly . in order to prevent discharge , the unit can be held in an essentially inactive state until it is to be installed , or even until after it is actually installed . for example , in order to keep it fully charged during storage , it can be put into a sleep mode , e . g ., by flashing a sequence of light on - light off to a detector , e . g ., the photocell . the processor can be configured to recognize this as a sleep signal and put itself into a low power mode and not flash the leds under any conditions at all . the processor can wake up periodically , e . g ., once every few seconds , to see whether there is another potential command sequence of light signals on its detector . there would then be another sequence of signals that will wake the marker circuitry up and start it running in its normal operation modes . the sequences of light would be selected to be so exclusive the odds of the unit seeing ambient light conditions as a command sequence will be virtually impossible . such command sequences can be provided by a control light source ( e . g ., a programmable light source ) that will send these sequences . for example , the control light source can be designed to cover the top of the marker and deliver the light pulses to the solar cells . instead of light command sequences , other types of command signals can be used , for example , radio signals or magnetic signals . in another alternative , the marker goes into “ sleep ” mode ( non - flashing ) when it receives no illumination sufficient to cause a battery charging current ( e . g ., in particular embodiments at least 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , or more ma for a particular period of time . it is recognized that control of marker operation can be achieved in a variety of ways . for example , control programs can be implemented in hardware , in software , or in a combination of hardware and software . all such implementations are included in the present invention . those skilled in such implementations can perform such software programming and / or hardware implementation in conventional ways , e . g ., using programming languages and coding techniques normally used for embedded processor programming . housings for the present markers can be constructed in many different ways , but should be constructed of a material or materials resistant to a number of different environmental conditions , such as weathering , temperature variation , chemical exposure , and mechanical impact . generally , the present markers incorporate a single piece housing . typically a plastic material is utilized , such as a polycarbonate . for convenient construction , a polycarbonate can be selected that can be molded , e . g ., by a drape method , stamp method , or vacuum forming method . one such material is sold as lexan ® xl10 ( ge plastics ). other polycarbonates , including other lexan ® products , can also be used , including formable products with abrasion resistant surfaces . similar products are also available from other manufacturers . following assembly of marker components in the housing , the housing cavity is typically filled with a potting or encapsulation material . generally , a material is used that is liquid , and hardens following filling of the cavity , for example , epoxy resins . advantageously , a resin is selected that hardens sufficiently to protect the housing against breakage from impacts from motor vehicle tires and devices such as snowplows , while not being so rigid that the encapsulation material is prone to cracking . as indicated above , the road markers include low energy consumption light emitting components . currently , leds are readily available and can be used for those components . other light emitting components can be used that have similar or lesser energy consumption . unless specific to leds , where leds are mentioned herein , such other light emitting components are intended also ; in such contexts mention of led is intended to be exemplary . a variety of leds and led configurations can be used . in some applications , leds are utilized that emit about 9 candela ( 9000 med ) each . each led will typically flash ( be illuminated ) for only 0 . 5 milliseconds ( ms ) to a few milliseconds . in particular embodiments , each led is illuminated for 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , or 15 ms . in particular embodiments , the illumination period for each led can be varied , e . g ., between 1 and 20 ms , 2 and 20 ms , 2 and 15 ms , 2 and 12 ms , 2 and 10 ms , 4 and 20 ms . in particular embodiments , the illumination period is selectable or automatically selected based on battery charge state and / or illumination level . in particular embodiments , different flash rates are utilized . for example , the flash rate for an individual led can be 60 – 400 flashes per minute , or 70 – 300 , 100 – 300 , 150 – 300 , 200 – 300 , 200 – 400 , 70 – 100 , 100 – 120 , 120 – 140 , 140 – 160 , 160 – 180 , 170 – 190 , 180 – 200 , 200 – 220 , 220 – 240 , 240 – 260 , 260 – 280 , 280 – 300 , 300 – 320 , 320 – 340 , 340 – 360 , 360 – 380 , or 380 – 400 flashes per minute . in certain embodiments , the leds flash approximately 3 times per second , e . g ., 160 – 200 times per minute . in particular embodiments , a light emitting component , e . g ., led , has a rated duty cycle of 0 . 5 – 100 %, 0 . 5 – 60 %, 0 . 5 – 40 %, 0 . 5 – 20 %, 0 . 5 – 10 %, 0 . 5 – 5 %. in particular embodiments , a light emitting component is used with a duty cycle of 0 . 5 – 40 %, 0 . 5 – 20 %, 0 . 5 – 10 %, 0 . 5 – 5 %, 0 . 5 – 2 %, 0 . 2 – 10 %, 0 . 2 – 5 %, or 0 . 2 – 2 %. while markers can be constructed such that one led is pointed in each direction in which light emission is desired ( e . g ., outward from each side from which light emission is desired ), advantageously multiple leds can be directed respectively in one or more light emitting directions , e . g ., 2 , 3 , 4 , or even more . the multiple leds can be pointed in the same general direction , but varied slightly , thereby providing a greater visible range for approaching drivers . for example , a device can be made with 3 leds to flash in a single general direction . the leds can be slightly staggered in position so that one will point up a few degrees higher ( e . g ., about 6 degrees up ) and one will point a few degrees lower ( e . g ., about 6 degrees lower ) in relation to the direction of the center led . this provides better visibility coverage under many conditions , e . g ., when the marker is mounted on top of a hill or in a gully . ( see , e . g ., fig5 .) in many applications , illumination from only one side of the marker is needed . however , in some cases , it can be desirable to have illumination from more than one side , e . g ., from two opposing sides . in such cases , one or multiple leds can be directed to emit light through such additional side . for example , multiple leds with slightly varying orientation can be used to emit from the additional side . multiple leds can also be used to provide greater lateral visibility by similarly varying the angle of individual leds laterally ( which can be separate or in combination with vertically varied leds ). ( see , e . g ., fin . 1 .) while leds can be mounted in various ways , in certain of the present markers , the leds will stick out of the sides of a circuit board . they can be held by separate pieces , e . g ., separate molded polycarbonate pieces . leds can also be selected that are colored ( i . e ., not white or warm white ). such colored leds can be used for special applications , e . g ., to indicate a wrong direction for vehicle travel ( e . g ., using red ), or to mark particular locations ( e . g ., the location of a fire hydrant ). colored filters can also be used for these purposes , but with resulting loss in light intensity . supply of electrical power to operate the light emitting components is provided by internal storage components , such as rechargeable batteries . in order to provide long operating life , batteries are incorporated that can be trickle charged with significant deterioration in capacity or current stability . certain nickel metal hydride ( nmh ) batteries provide such characteristics . a particular type of suitable battery is the panasonic h series batteries , e . g ., a format . a large variety of different charge control circuits can be utilized , e . g ., circuits are described in patents cited in the background . however , detection of the need to recharge and detection of when the battery is charged can both be done by simple voltage measurements . an exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig1 – 4 incorporates 3 solar cells , e . g ., producing about 1 . 5 volts under useful sun conditions , and a single 1 . 25 – 1 . 6 volt battery , for example a 1 . 2 v battery , e . g ., a panasonic h series battery . particular embodiments use a 2000 ma hour version . because of the characteristics of this type of battery , the charging circuit can be a simple diode so that the battery can be solar charged even when it is completely depleted and unable to power any of the control circuitry . exemplary processors that can be used include a microchip pic ‘ nanowatt ’ device , such as a pic16f818 or pic16f819 ( differ only in the amount of internal memory ). the processor is connected to directly flash up to 6 leds using its output pins . the leds can be flashed one at a time so that only a single current limit circuit will be used to set brightness of the leds . the current limit device can be a circuit or a simple resistor . in order to reduce energy consumption while maintaining a sufficient apparent light intensity , additional energy conservation methods known in the art can be used , for example , the method described in wo 01 / 58219 ( pct application pct / il01 / 00083 ). this reference is incorporated herein in its entirety . road markers can be placed using a variety of different methods and materials as described in the literature , e . g ., patents listed in the background . typically , the marker will be placed on concrete or asphalt paving materials , and will be fixed with a strong adhesive , e . g ., an adhesive as typically used for attaching current road markers . preferably , however , the adhesive is free , or substantially free of fillers ( e . g ., solid fillers ) and colorants ( i . e ., less than 2 % by weight of such additives ). for example , a clear epoxy adhesive can be used that is free or substantially free of such fillers and colorants . thus , the performance of the adhesive can be maximized . the marker can be placed on a flush surface , but is preferably placed in a new cut , shallow trough . ( see , e . g ., fig5 .) the new cut contributes to strong adhesion with the adhesive . use of such a trough is advantageous as it decreases the likelihood that the marker will become detached from the surface , e . g ., due to tire or snow plow contact . in particular applications , the depth of the trough is from 0 . 25 up to 1 . 25 the height of the marker , e . g ., from 0 . 5 to 1 . 25 , 0 . 5 to 1 , 0 . 75 to 1 . 25 , 0 . 75 to 1 , 0 . 9 to 1 . 25 . it can also be helpful to enhance the adhesive bond to the bottom of the marker . this can be accomplished in various ways , e . g ., by increasing the roughness of the bottom of the marker , such as by embedding a bonding material such as a clean natural or synthetic stone material ( e . g ., clean garnet ) in the bottom surface of the encapsulating material ( see , e . g ., fig5 ), by using a thin layer of a strong adhesive to attach such a bonding material , or by mechanically roughening the bottom of the marker . a bonding material can be selected of suitable size and composition to achieve a strong bond . an exemplary material is garnet ( e . g ., emerald creek ), which can be near gem quality , clean subangular . a blend or mix of sizes can be beneficial , e . g ., 36 × 16 mesh size . an exemplary embodiment of the present road markers is illustrated in fig1 – 4 . as shown in fig1 , road marker 10 includes a housing 12 generally in the shape of a truncated rectangular pyramid , having four inclined sides 14 , 16 , 18 , and 20 , and a top 22 . reflective tape is adhered to the inside of each of the four sides . three leds , 24 , 26 , and 28 directed outward from side 14 , directed at angles differing horizontally by about 10 degrees , and three leds 30 , 32 , and 34 directed outward from side 18 are connected to a circuit board 36 that is mounted under to top 22 of the housing 12 . mounted on the top of circuit board 36 are three solar cells , 36 , 38 , and 40 . as shown in fig2 and fig3 , battery 42 is positioned under circuit board 36 , supplying electrical power to the electronics on the circuit board , and to the leds . following placement of the internal components , the remaining space 44 ( see fig2 ) within housing 12 is filled with a potting or encapsulation material . a different led orientation is shown in fig5 , where leds 224 , 226 , and 228 are oriented at angles differing vertically by about 7 degrees . in this case , the marker is installed in a shallow new cut 260 in pavement 262 using granular garnet 270 embedded in the bottom surface 280 of the encapsulating material and adhesive layer 290 . for additional component identification , components a – f are : a : circuit board b : solar cell c : battery d : led e : electronics f : reflective tape exemplary circuitry for the marker is is illustrated in fig4 . this exemplary design uses a tiny microcontroller ( u 2 ) 100 that runs a software program in order to run all aspects of this design . such a program is readily coded using conventional methods . a single 1 . 2 volt battery ( bt 1 ) 42 runs all powered functions . a high efficient charge pump ic ( ui ) 102 supplies two separate voltage outputs 104 and 106 to run the processor 100 and the led drives 108 and 110 . in order to run either white or blue leds a voltage doubler circuit is used , as this type of led may drop as much as 3 . 6 volts across it when it is on . the exemplary design allows for up to two banks of 3 leds on either side . each bank can be configured for either a high voltage led ( white or blue ) or a normal led ( amber or red ). all 6 leds can also be of the same type ( either high voltage or normal ), or can be a combination of both high voltage and normal . this exemplary design is able to flash all leds for 24 hours a day , however if the unit is in a low charging situation ( very dim light ) it will drop down to flashing only when it detects a dark situation . the leds flash about 3 times a second , but are only on for one to a few thousands of a second to save power . if power is abundant the unit will flash the leds for about 10 ms ( thousands of a second ), however this drops down to only 1 ms ( or 2 ms ) if power is scarce . the leds are run at more than their full rated brightness which can be done because their on time compared to off time is high ( they are off at least 30 times more than they are on ). this low duty cycle provides low power usage . for simpler presentation , we break the description of this exemplary design in the following sections : solar charging and battery section , power supply section , and led flashing section . the solar charging and battery section includes parts : solar cells sc 1 to sc 3 36 , 38 , and 40 , transistor q 1 114 , diode d 8 116 , resistor r 4 118 , battery ( bt 1 ) 42 , and connections to the microprocessor 100 . the solar cells each make 0 . 5 volts in sun , and make up to 450 ma ( thousands of an amp ). three solar cells in series charge the battery when the sun is bright enough . there are three different paths for this charging to happen . the microcontroller 100 checks the voltages at the connections to its pins a 0 and a 1 . the voltage at a 0 is dependent on the amount of power being made by sc 1 , and is used to tell if it is dark or light out , as well as to gauge the amount of available power . a 0 and a 2 connect to an internal a to d converter in the microcontroller . a 1 is used to measure the voltage on the battery . in a normal mode the battery is charged and is above 1 . 3 volts . the processor opens the transistor q 1 114 by putting a logic low on it &# 39 ; s gate and disconnects the solar cells from the battery 42 . then it measures the voltage at a 1 . if a 1 is above 1 . 3 volts the transistor q 1 114 will be left off in order not to overcharge the battery . there is still a potential charge path through diode d 8 116 , however with the battery 42 at 1 . 3 volts the voltage at the anode of d 8 116 will be between 1 . 3 volts and 0 . 2 volts depending on the current being made by solar cells sc 2 38 and sc 3 40 . the voltage at the cathode will be between ground and 0 . 5 volts , so this diode will never be forward biased . when q 1 114 is off d 8 116 prevents the battery from discharging through the load of the solar cells . the approach using the mosfet q 11 14 allows this unit to run with greater efficiency and control than if just a diode were used . this is because while even a good diode drops 0 . 3 volts , this mosfet when it is on will drop only about 0 . 05 volts , therefore saving power . this mosfet approach also allows the use of 3 solar cells rather than 4 . in a mode where the battery power is too low to run the processor , q 1 114 is turned off by resistor r 4 118 . this will happen when the battery 42 is down below 0 . 9 volts . under these conditions d 8 116 will go into conduction and begin to charge up the battery . with enough light to charge and the battery at 0 . 9 volts , the voltage at anode of d 8 116 could go as low as − 0 . 1 volt , since the cathode would be at 0 . 5 volt it will go into conduction ( this diode is rated for only 0 . 3 volts drop at 1 amp ). this will allow charging to happen , and when the battery 42 is restored to above 0 . 9 volt the charge pump ( u 1 ) 102 will run and the processor will start . this consists of u 1 102 , c 2 120 , c 3 122 , c 4 124 , c 5 126 , c 6 128 and c 7 130 . u 1 102 is a super efficient charge pump based power converter . it takes the battery input voltage and makes a doubled voltage output at out 1 ( up to 40 ma ), and a regulated 3 volt output at out 2 . the 3 volt supply is used to run the microprocessor . the regulated nature of this allows it to be used as an absolute voltage reference for the a to d conversion . the doubled voltage is used as the supply for the led flashing circuit . the lower voltage was used for this because it saves power over using the 3 volt section . if we were using the 3 volt supply we would be wasting more power because it is too high a voltage for the normal ( 2 volt ) leds , while not being enough for the white and blue ( 3 . 6 volt ) leds . this section consists of d 7 132 , r 3 134 , c 7 130 , r 2 136 , j 1 138 and leds ( d 1 to d 6 ) 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , 34 . if the unit is only going to flash amber and red leds ( normal leds ), components d 7 132 , r 3 134 and c 7 130 need not be present . j 1 136 is installed to provide a positive power rail to all the leds . in this mode of operation , power is supplied through resistor r 1 140 from the doubled battery voltage output of u 1 102 ( out 1 ). in this mode the processor pulls down one of it &# 39 ; s outputs on b 0 to b 6 in order to light the leds one at a time . jumper j 1 138 is a 0 ohm resistor , and it is installed whenever all the leds are of either of the two types , normal or high voltage . in the event that different types of leds are going to be used , j 1 is not installed , so that the high voltage positive supply can be sent to leds d 1 through d 3 , while normal positive led power is sent to d 4 to d 6 . in this application all parts are present except for j 1 . the high voltage led supply ( for white and blue ) uses d 7 132 , r 3 134 and c 7 130 in conjunction with the processor outputs from ra 6 and ra 7 to make a high enough voltage to forward bias these leds ( require up to 3 . 6 volts ). in this case the output from out 1 is passed through d 7 132 , through r 3 134 on to c 7 130 . c 7 130 is charged by having pins b 0 to b 5 at 3 volts , reverse biasing the leds , while having outputs ra 6 and ra 7 are held at logic low . when the cap is charged there will be at least 1 . 5 volts on the + side with respect to the − side . to light an led , ra 6 and ra 7 are brought up to 3 volts while one of the outputs ( b 0 to b 5 ) are brought low . the + end of c 7 130 will try to go up to at least 4 . 5 volts but will be discharged when it hits the voltage where the diode will go into conduction . the exemplary design described above , is intended to be illustrative , and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will be able to select alternate components and circuitry to provide a long - life , low power consumption road marker within the present invention . all patents and other references cited in the specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains , and are incorporated by reference in their entireties , including any tables and figures , to the same extent as if each reference had been incorporated by reference in its entirety individually . one skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to obtain the ends and advantages mentioned , as well as those inherent therein . the methods , variances , and compositions described herein as presently representative of preferred embodiments are exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention . changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art , which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention , are defined by the scope of the claims . it will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that varying substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . for example , variations can be made to the particular materials and components . thus , such additional embodiments are within the scope of the present invention and the following claims . the invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements , limitation or limitations which is not specifically disclosed herein . thus , for example , in each instance herein any of the terms “ comprising ”, “ consisting essentially of ” and “ consisting of ” may be replaced with either of the other two terms . the terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention that in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed . thus , it should be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and optional features , modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art , and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims . in addition , where features or aspects of the invention are described in terms of markush groups or other grouping of alternatives , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the markush group or other group . each such individual member or subgroup is specifically included in the present description . also , unless indicated to the contrary , where various numerical values are provided for embodiments , additional embodiments are described by taking any 2 different values as endpoints of a range . such ranges are also within the scope of the described invention . thus , additional embodiments are within the scope of the invention and within the following claims . | 4Fixed Constructions
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electrosurgery uses electrical energy to heat tissue and cause a variety of effects such as cutting , coagulation and ablative necrosis . the heat arises as the energy dissipates in the resistance of the tissue . the effect is dependent on both temperature and time . lower temperatures for longer times often yield the same effect as higher temperatures for shorter times . normal body temperature is approximately 37 ° c . no significant long - term effect is caused by temperatures in the range of 37 ° c . to 40 ° c . in the range of 4 ° c . to 44 ° c ., cell damage is reversible for exposure times less than several hours . in the range of 45 ° c . to 49 ° c ., cell damage becomes irreversible at increasingly short intervals . the following table states expected effects at higher temperatures : temperature (° c .) effect 50 - 69 irreversible cell damage - ablation necrosis . 70 threshold temperature for shrinkage of tissue . ( some collagen hydrogen bonds break at 60 - 68 ; those with cross - linkages break at 75 - 80 .) 70 - 99 range of coagulation . hemostasis due to shrinkage of blood vessels . 100 water boils . 100 - 200 desiccation as fluid is vaporized . dependent on the length of time during which heat is applied , carbonization may occur , and at higher temperatures , occurs quickly . this table is not intended as a statement of scientifically precise ranges above and below which no similar effects will be found , and instead , is intended as a statement of generally accepted values which provide approximations of the ranges of the stated effects . limitation of the appended claims in accordance with this and the further details of this description is intended to the extent such details are incorporated in the claims , and not otherwise . as a consequence of the foregoing effects , preferred “ soft ” coagulation occurs at temperatures slightly above 70 ° c . heat denatures and shrinks tissues and blood vessels , thereby leading , as desired , to control of bleeding . cells are generally not ruptured . “ soft ” coagulation is generally assured with voltages below 200 peak volts . sparks are avoided . “ forced ” coagulation can be accomplished with bursts of electrical energy . electric arcs are generated . deeper coagulation is achieved , at the cost of some carbonization and an occasional cutting effect . spray coagulation is also possible . tissue cutting occurs by desiccation , when the concentration of electrical energy , also referred to here as energy density , is acute , and the temperature of tissue is raised above 100 ° c . for both coagulation and cutting by electrical energy , a sine wave waveform is employed , with a frequency of about 500 khz . for cutting , increasing voltage to as much as 600 peak volts leads to higher spark intensity which results in deeper cuts . frequencies above 300 , 000 hz avoid stimulating nerve and muscle cells , and generally assure that the effect on tissue is substantially purely thermal . in contrast with the rf energy tissue - cutting electrosurgery tools of the past , significant purposes of the present invention are to provide a mechanism of avoiding desiccation of tissue at the electrode / tissue interface and to achieve sealing of tissues . by “ sealing ,” the effects of hemostasis , or arresting of bleeding ; “ aerostasis ,” or arresting of the passage of air ; and closure of tissues such as blood vessels against larger - scale passage of blood , among other effects , are intended . more specifically , the effect of sealing at the cellular level is a primary focus , as is sealing at the vascular level . referring to fig1 key elements of a preferred electrical circuit according to the invention include an electrosurgical unit 10 , a switch 12 , and electrodes 14 , 16 . an effect is created on tissue 18 of a body 20 . one electrode such as electrode 14 acts as a positive or active electrode , while the other such as electrode 16 acts as a negative or return electrode . current flows directly from one electrode to the other primarily through only the tissue , as shown by arrows 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 . no pad is needed under the patient . this is a bipolar configuration . referring to fig2 a forceps 30 according to the invention is an endoscopic forceps , and includes manual handles 32 , 34 , an elongated shaft 36 , and jaws 38 , 40 . the handles 32 , 34 pivot together and apart and through a suitable mechanism ( not shown ; present in the incorporated prior art ) control the jaws 38 , 40 to also pivot together and apart about a pivot connection 42 . referring to fig3 each jaw 38 , 40 is formed in two parts , hinged together . the jaw 38 includes a link portion 44 connected directly to the forceps shaft 36 , and the jaw 40 includes a link portion 46 also connected directly to the forceps shaft 36 . a jaw portion 48 hingedly fastened to the jaw link portion 44 completes the jaw 38 ; a jaw portion 50 hingedly fastened to the jaw link portion 46 completes the jaw 40 . as stated in the background of the invention , a wide variety of alternatives to the structure described and shown in fig2 are possible . prominent examples from those incorporated include the structures of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 403 , 312 ( yates et al .) issued apr . 4 , 1995 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 395 , 312 ( desai ) issued mar . 7 , 1995 ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 318 , 589 ( lichtman et al .) issued jun . 7 , 1994 still referring to fig3 a solution supply tube 52 supplies electrolytic solution to an electrode strip 47 along the jaw portion 48 , as will be described . a solution supply tube 54 supplies electrolytic solution to a similar strip 49 along the jaw portion 50 . a wire 56 electrically connects to the solution supply tube 52 ; a wire 58 electrically connects to the solution supply tube 54 . all the supplies 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 , both solution and electrical , extend from the proximal or manual handle end of the shaft 36 , and connect to solution and electrical sources . referring to fig4 and in a second form of a jaw , designated 140 , a jaw portion 150 similar to jaw portion 50 in fig3 includes a longitudinal dimension in the direction of arrow 160 . a plurality of longitudinal grooves 162 are spaced side - by - side across the inner face 164 of the jaw portion 150 . the grooves 162 extend the full longitudinal length of the jaw portion 150 . the same is true of a mirror image jaw portion , not shown . both jaw portions are incorporated in a structure as in fig3 and could be placed in substitution for jaw portions 48 , 50 in fig3 . grooves , not shown , also preferably extend along the corresponding jaw portions 48 , 50 of fig2 - 3 . orientations of the grooves other than longitudinal are considered possible , within the limit of construction and arrangement to substantially retain solution along the operative jaw portions . bodily tissues to be manipulated have a natural surface roughness . this roughness significantly reduces the area of contact between the forceps jaws and manipulated tissues . air gaps are created between conventional smooth - surfaced jaws and tissues . if the jaws were energized when dry , electrical resistance in the tissues would be increased , and the current density and tissue temperature would be extremely high . in practice , tissue surfaces are sometimes wet in spots , and yet tissue wetness is not controlled , such that electrical power is to be set on the assumption the inner jaw surfaces are dry . this assumption is necessary to minimize unwanted arcing , charring and smoke . in contrast , in a forceps according to the invention , whether the jaw portions are grooved or smooth , whether the grooves are longitudinal or otherwise oriented , the jaw portions are uniquely formed of a material such as hollow stainless steel needle tubing such that solution infusion openings 166 may be and are formed in the jaw inner faces such as the inner face 164 , as in fig4 . further , the solution supplies 52 , 54 shown by example in fig3 may and do open into the openings 166 , to supply solution to the openings 166 . as most preferred , the openings 166 are laser drilled , and have a diameter in a range centered around four thousandths ( 0 . 004 ) of an inch , and most preferably in a range from two to six thousandths ( 0 . 002 - 0 . 006 ) inches . the purpose of the openings 166 is to infuse solution onto and / or into the tissue adjacent to and otherwise in contact with the forceps jaw portions inner surfaces . it is understood the openings are appropriately as small in diameter as described above to assure more even flow among the openings than would otherwise occur . further , the openings need not be so closely spaced as to mimic the surface roughness as tissues . microporous surfaces are possibly acceptable , while they are also not necessary . infusion of fluid through the jaws is to be maintained in a continuous flow during and throughout the application of rf energy in order for the desired tissue effect to be achieved . with the described structure and similar structures and methods within the scope of the invention , numerous advantages are obtained . deeper and quicker coagulation is possible . the conductive solution infused onto and into the tissues maintains relatively consistent maximal electrical contact areas , substantially preventing hot spots and allowing higher power than soft coagulation . little to no arcing , cutting smoke or char is formed . jaw and tissue surface temperatures are lower than otherwise , resulting in significantly less adhesion of tissue to jaw surfaces , and substantially no desiccation . one mode of coagulation may be used in the place of the three modes soft , forced , and spray . coagulation is possible of even the most challenging oozing tissues such as lung , liver and spleen tissues . coagulation is more precise , where other coagulation modes sometimes spark to the sides and produce coagulation where not desired . also , and importantly , electrosurgical cutting by desiccation may be avoided , and tissue sealing achieved . as desired , tissue sealing may occur alone , or be accompanied with mechanical cutting , as by a retractable and advancable blade as in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 458 , 598 , and as with blade 1210 in fig1 , or otherwise . the tissue sealing itself is understood to occur by flow of electrolytic solution to the manipulating portions of the forceps in combination with energization of the solution with electrical energy , and when included , in combination with pressure on , or compression of the tissue . compression of tissue is understood to deform tissues into conditions of sealing of tissues and especially vascalature . compression of tissue followed by application of solution and energy is understood to permanently maintain compressed deformation of tissue , when present , and to shrink tissue and cause proteins to fix in place . additional understanding of others is provided in the yates et al . patent referenced above . the body of the forceps itself may or not be energized . as most preferred , the solution primarily provides the beneficial functions and effects of the instrument . the effectiveness and extent of the tissue sealing is a function primarily of the type of tissue being manipulated , the quantity of electrolytic solution supplied to the tissue , and the power of the electrical energy supplied to the solution . tissues not previously considered to be suitable for manipulation , as by cutting , are rendered suitable for manipulation by being sealed against flow of fluids , including bodily fluids and air . with the invention , for example , lung tissue may be cut after sealing , with the tissue adjacent the sealed tissue retaining blood and air . examples of the principal parameters of specific uses of the invention are provided in the following table . it is understood that the combined consequences of the parameters are that energy density in the tissue to be treated is in a range to effect sealing of the tissue . however , in general , a power output of 7 to 150 watts is preferred . fluid quantity power tissue effect 2 cc &# 39 ; s per minute 20 watts for 30 1 cm diameter hemostasis per electrode seconds vessel through the vessel 2 cc &# 39 ; s per minute 30 watts for 45 lung tissue hemostasis and per electrode seconds aerostasis 4 cc &# 39 ; s per minute 40 watts for 90 2 cm thickness hemostasis per electrode seconds liver tissue in the examples for which the table is provided , the electrolytic solution is saline . in the first example , the device in use was a device as in fig2 with electrodes of 16 gauge tubing , 1 cm long . the tool in use in the second and third examples was a forceps as in fig6 with jaw portions 348 , 350 , to be described , 4 mm wide and 2 . 8 cm long . no desiccation was observed at the tissue / electrode interface . the device of fig2 is preferred for vessel closure . a wide variety of the currently installed electrosurgical generators could and will provide proper waveforms and power levels for driving the described forceps . the waveforms need only be sine waves at about 500 khz , and the power need only be about 30 or more watts . as example of available generators , valleylab generators are acceptable and widely available . the electrolytic solution supplied to the forceps need only be saline , although a variety of non - toxic and toxic electrolytic solutions are possible . toxic fluids may be desirable when excising undesired tissues , to prevent seeding during excision . use of a pressure bulb is possible , as shown in fig8 . a flexible reservoir such as an intravenous ( iv ) bag 410 is surrounded with a more rigid rubber bulb 412 that is pressurized with air through an attached squeeze bulb 414 . the reservoir is filled with solution through an injection port 416 . an outflow line 418 has a filter 420 and a capillary tube flow restrictor 422 to meter flow . a clamp or valve 424 and connector 426 are also provided . a typical flow rate is one to two ( 1 - 2 ) cc / min at a maximum pressure of approximately sixteen pounds per square inch ( 16 psi )( 52 mmhg ). an example of opening diameters , numbers , and flow rate is as follows : opening diameter , 0 . 16 mm ; number of openings , 13 per cm ; and flow rate , 2 cc &# 39 ; s per minute . a long slit has also been used and found acceptable . in this embodiment , flow rates of 0 . 01 to 50 cc / min are preferred . it is understood that highly significant to the invention is the spacing of a plurality of solution openings along the jaw inner surfaces . single openings as in ohta et al ., that effectively pour fluid adjacent one portion of forceps , are generally not considered suitable or effective . openings along outer surfaces of the jaws , opposite inner surfaces , are also generally not considered suitable or effective . referring to fig4 and 5 , the configurations of the most preferred solution openings are disclosed . referring to fig5 in a jaw 240 , longitudinally spaced openings 166 are rotated from those shown in fig4 in a jaw portion 250 , to turn the openings away from most direct contact with tissues , and more carefully eliminate any unintended plugging of the openings . electrical insulators 268 in the form of elongated strips extend alongside the tubes which include the openings 166 . referring to fig6 open surgical forceps 330 include jaws 338 , 340 with jaw portions 348 , 350 . as with jaw portion 350 in fig7 the jaw portions 348 , 350 include spaced solution incision openings 166 in the central longitudinal groove of a plurality of grooves 162 . a central channel 370 of both jaw portions 348 , 350 , as shown relative to jaw portion 350 in fig7 supplies solution to the openings 166 from solution supplies 52 , 54 . as with the endoscopic forceps of fig2 - 5 , the open surgical forceps 330 benefits from the unique enhancement of electrosurgical functions through the infusion of electrolytic solutions onto and into tissues through the spaced , laser drilled , solution infusion openings in the grooves 162 . referring to fig9 and 10 , open surgical devices 430 and 530 also include jaws 438 , 440 and 538 , 540 , respectively . the jaw portions of these devices are curved , and in the case of device 430 , circular , to adapt the invention to specialized surgical situations of tissue manipulation , such as those in which fluid flow is to be terminated all around a tissue to be isolated and resected or excised . an example of such a tissue is a lesion or tumor of lung tissue . in endoscopic or open surgery , such lesions or tumors may be encircled and / or isolated , surrounding tissue sealed , and the lesions or tumors thereafter resected . preferably , a one centimeter margin is resected about any lesion or tumor , with the lesion or tumor . as shown , the devices 430 , 530 are formed of substantially square cross - section tubing , best shown in the cross - sectional drawing of fig1 . as most preferred , the tubing incorporates a central , depressed , cross - sectionally rectangular , and elongated groove 462 and equilaterally spaced , cross - sectionally triangular , parallel , and elongated outer grooves 464 , 465 . laser drilled openings 466 , similar to openings 166 described above , are located in and spaced along the central groove 462 . alternate cross - sectional shapes of tubing may be employed , as exemplified in fig1 . flatter operative , e . g ., inner faces of tubing are preferred within limits of constructing and arranging the operative faces to facilitate firm grasping and holding of tissue . non - operative surfaces , being less of concern , may adapt to a variety of contours for a variety of alternate reasons . further , malleable tubing may be employed , to permit the surgeon to shape the operative portions of the invented devices to specific physiological situations . the infusion of conductive solutions , referred to here also as electrolytic solutions , simultaneously with the application of rf energy to tissues is discussed in further detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 431 , 649 entitled “ method and apparatus for r - f ablation ,” in the name of peter m . j . mulier and michael f . hoey ; in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 609 , 151 , entitled “ method and apparatus for r - f ablation ,” in the name of peter m . j . mulier . the foregoing patents are commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention , and are incorporated by reference here . the preferred embodiments , and the processes of making and using them , are now considered to be described in such full , clear , concise and exact terms as to enable a person of skill in the art to make and use the same . those skilled in the art will recognize that the preferred embodiments may be altered and modified without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . for example , if the invented device is incorporated in forceps , the forceps may be varied in a range from excision and cutting biopsy forceps , to endoscopic forceps , dissecting forceps , and traumatic , atraumatic and flexible endoscopic grasping forceps . the jaws may close into full and tight contact with each other , or close into spaced relationship to each other , to accommodate tissue for purposes other than cutting . as expressed above , parallel spaced relationship is considered most preferably for uniformity of application of pressure across tissue to be affected . a variety of features such as jaw serrations , single acting and double acting jaws , closing springs , ratchet locks , fingertip rotation rings , color coding and smoke aspiration may or may not be included with the features described in detail . devices according to the invention may be constructed and arranged to grasp , hold , fix , cut , dissect , expose , remove , extract , retrieve , and otherwise manipulate and treat organs , tissues , tissue masses , and objects . endoscopic forceps according to the invention may be designed to be used through a trocar . bipolar and monopolar currents may both be used . with monopolar current , grounding pads may be placed under patients . the described grooves may be eliminated in favor of alternative grooves . for purposes of the appended claims , the term “ manipulate ” includes the described functions of grasping , holding , fixing , cutting , dissecting , exposing , removing , extracting , retrieving , coagulating , ablating and otherwise manipulating or similarly treating organs , tissues , tissue masses , and objects . also for purposes of the appended claims , the term “ tissue ” includes organs , tissues , tissue masses , and objects . further for purposes of the appended claims , the term “ electrical energy sufficient to affect tissue ” includes electrical energy sufficient to raise tissue temperature to cause non - reversible effect on tissue as described above . to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter regarded as invention , the following claims conclude this specification . | 0Human Necessities
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as already stated , the embodied sunscreen assembly is attached to the top of the vehicle roof via a magnetic vehicle mounting assembly . the bottom surface of the attaching assembly is preferable a non - marring surface such as plastic , a rubber , or a padded surface . fig1 shows a prospective view of the invention when installed on a vehicle , such as the exemplary car seen in the figure . a sunscreen assembly 101 is attached to the vehicle through the use of a vehicle mounting assembly 102 . vertical side curtains 150 , 151 are part of the sunscreen assembly and are attached around the perimeter of the horizontal sunshade . the curtains provide a more complete shade coverage . one end of a security cable 103 is attached to the sunscreen assembly and the other end is locked inside the vehicle to prevent theft . fig2 shows a bottom view of a flattened , partial sunscreen assembly that is used to provide shade for a vehicle . the exact dimensions of the flattened sunshade will vary depending upon the width and length of the vehicle , and also the height of the windows . in one embodiment , the flattened sunshade is generally rectangular in shape with optionally rounded edges . the partial sunscreen assembly that is shown comprises a cutout hole 202 , various vertical curtains 203 a - d , reinforcing ribs 204 , rib attachment pockets 205 , 206 a - b and a horizontal sunshade 207 . the vertical curtains are attached to the outer perimeter edge of the horizontal sunshade as shown . the horizontal sunshade 207 and vertical curtains 203 a - d are preferably manufactured from a flexible material that is uv resistant and lightweight . the material can be supplied from a variety of industrial and commercial cloths , and preferably incorporates the ability to dissipate heat quickly . the cutout hole is designed to fit inside a pair of snap rings as shown in fig3 a - 3b . the use of a flexible material for the horizontal sunshade and the vertical curtains provides for convenient storage as the sunscreen assembly may be conveniently folded , rolled up , or folded and rolled up . the reinforcing ribs may be telescopic if desired , and this would allow additional ability to fold up and roll the sunscreen into a shorter , more compact space . in one simplified embodiment , the reinforcing ribs are simple plastic boards . in another embodiment , they incorporate a hinge that allows the sunshade to be smaller in length in when stored . in this case , the hinge would have a locking mechanism for use . fig3 a shows details of a sunscreen clamping / mounting assembly . an upper snap ring 303 and a lower snap ring 302 are used to capture the horizontal sunshade 310 . the upper snap ring preferably includes a handle 308 . the upper and lower snap ring include four magnets 313 a - b for attaching to a vehicle base mounting assembly . this allows the sunscreen assembly to be attached with the lower snap ring or by flipping it over to attach with the upper snap ring . similarly , in another embodiment , only the lower snap ring includes four magnets 313 b for attaching the vehicle base mounting assembly . alternately , instead of magnets the snap rings include four members that are made from a magnetic material for attaching to the vehicle base mounting assembly via a magnetic force . fig3 b ( view bb of fig3 a ) shows that the upper snap ring and lower snap ring connect via an insert 312 into a matching insert groove 311 . the insert design could be continuous around the upper snap ring , or a plurality of narrow width protruding inserts . the horizontal sunshade 310 has a hole large enough to accommodate the insert method of connecting the upper and lower snap rings . in alternate embodiments , the upper and lower snap rings are connected together by other mechanical methods such as the use of screws , rivets , and threaded parts . a series of snap ring magnets 313 in the lower snap ring are used to engage with the vehicle mounting assembly . fig3 c shows the vehicle mounting assembly which includes opposite polarity ring magnets 305 in the vehicle mounting base 309 to provide an attaching force . in one embodiment , the vehicle mounting base 309 is conceived as a cylindrical shape and oriented as shown with upper and lower flat surfaces . in other embodiments , it could also be rectangular with two parallel flat surfaces . see fig5 a - b for other embodiments . a plurality of evenly spaced vehicle magnets 306 are mounted in the vehicle mounting base 309 lower flat surface . it is generally conceived that the snap rings and vehicle mounting assembly are made of plastic , wood , or a non - magnetic metal , except for the magnets . the horizontal sunshade with curtains and reinforcing rubs is inserted between the upper and lower snap rings , and the two snap rings are then locked together to create a sunscreen assembly . the snap rings are centrally located on the horizontal sunshade . the sunscreen assembly is then attached to the vehicle mounting assembly 301 when in condition of use . this is illustrated in fig1 . two handles , 307 , 308 are used to set the vehicle mounting assembly 301 on top of the vehicle , and also put the clamping ring on top of the sunscreen to secure it to the vehicle . the use of handles is not a strict requirement . the sunscreen assembly will be securely installed on top of the vehicle mounting assembly by action of opposite polarity magnets 313 , 305 . the sunscreen assembly is centered on the vehicle mounting base 309 by using the centering spike 304 . to remove the sunscreen assembly , the snap rings are easily rotated 20 to 45 degrees to disengage the opposite polarity magnets . the sunscreen assembly is then removed from the top of the vehicle mounting assembly . it is conceived in an embodiment of the invention that the vehicle mounting assembly will remain on top of the vehicle when the vehicle is in motion , and magnets with sufficient attaching strength are used so that it be securely attached to the top of the vehicle during a variety of low speed driving conditions , such as a parking lot . however , this is only one embodiment . in another embodiment , the vehicle operator removes the vehicle mounting assembly , if desired , by using the handle to tip it up and lift it off . fig4 shows an exploded view of the sun cover assembly . the sunscreen assembly 201 and the vehicle mounting assembly 301 are shown . an upper snap ring 401 , a horizontal sunshade with attached curtains 402 , stiffening ribs 404 , a lower snap ring 403 , and the vehicle mounting assembly 301 are shown . the sunscreen assembly 201 is shown in exploded form , but the vehicle mounting assembly 301 is not . fig5 a - 5b show alternate embodied vehicle mounting assemblies . the vehicle mounting magnets are mounted in the lower flat surface on the very bottom of the mounting base 501 , 503 . the magnets can either protrude from the bottom flat surface or be flush with it . similarly , ring magnets 505 , 506 are mounted on the upper flat surface 502 , 504 of the vehicle mounting base . the ring magnets can either protrude from the top flat surface or be flush with it . fig6 shows the method of removing the sunscreen assembly from the vehicle mounting assembly . in the top step 601 , the sunscreen assembly is mounted on the vehicle mounting assembly . in the middle step 602 , the sunscreen assembly is partially rotated , such as 20 to 90 degrees to release the magnets . in the bottom step 603 , the sunscreen assembly is lifted off of the vehicle mounting assembly . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described , the invention may be modified and adapted to various operational methods to those skilled in the art . therefore , this invention is not limited to the description and figure shown herein , and includes all such embodiments , changes , and modifications that are encompassed by the scope of the claims . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views , fig1 shows a target assembly or apparatus 10 having a flexible rim 12 which encircles a conventional , portable dart target 14 . fig2 a is a close - up view of the flexible rim 12 engaging target 14 in a conventional manner . to permit flexure , yet retain rigidity for stability , rim 12 may be made of polymer plastics which are chosen with the appropriate characteristics and are well known to those skilled in the art . protruding outwards , as seen in fig1 from rim 12 are posts 16 which provide a pivot point in much the same way as the base of a teeter totter . however , as a substitute for posts 16 a solid side wall could be utilized to increase rigidity . pivot rod 18 functions as the pivot point for pivot arms 20 . pivot arms 20 are generally &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; shaped and rigidly connect the discharge means or grid assemblies 22 with the secondary target plates 24 as best seen in fig2 . obviously a variety of mechanical connections beteewn the secondary target plates 24 and grid assemblies 22 could be utilized to provide simple mechanical motion . a spring 26 biases the secondary target plate 24 outward and and the grid assembly 22 against the target 14 . an abutment plate 28 is rigidly attached to rim 12 to provide a stationary abutment for spring 26 . referring now to fig3 an enlargement relative to fig1 but actually less than actual size , the grid assembly 22 ( which constitutes the discharge means ) includes a grid 30 made of hard metal so as to withstand the striking of darts and not deteriorate appreciably . the grid 30 is supported by rim 32 which also spaces the grid 30 from target 14 . grid 30 optionally may include a free or open space 34 which provides a secure space on target 14 which cannot be subjected to the discharging forces of grid 30 . it can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that a conventional dart thrown against target 14 within grid 30 will enter between the wires of grid 30 and penetrate target 14 in a conventional manner . the rules of the game will normally define the primary targets as being within the circumference of rims 32 . thereafter an opponent may throw a second projectile ( which may also be a dart , or a ball , bean bag or the like ) against a secondary target plate 24 . upon being struck , the secondary target plate 24 will cause pivot arm 20 to pivot , thereby causing grid assembly 22 to move away from target 14 so as to discharge the previously thrown dart from target 14 . positioned centrally in target assmbly 10 are central grid assemblies 22a actuated by pivot arms 20a when secondary targets 24a are struck . the grid assemblies 22a , pivot arms 20a , and secondary targets 24a are identical in function to the corresponding grid assemblies 22 , pivot arms 20 and secondary target plates 24 , however the grid assemblies 22a and pivot arms 20a are configured somewhat differently . referring now to fig4 there is shown a conventional dart 36 having an adapter 38 to facilitate use with the grid assemblies 22 . the adapter 38 comprises a washer - like base 40 rigidly attached to a cylindrical sleeve 42 which tighly engages the needle - like point of the dart 36 . the adapter 38 , which is optional , provides an abutment surface as base 40 will abut grid 30 during operation so as to provide a greater discharging surface . the foregoing embodiment may also be modified for use with dart targets having pin - like protrusions which hold darts having mating protrusions in place . this type of dart target may be accommodated for use with the embodiment of fig1 simply by making the grid openings of grid 30 sufficiently large so as to surround the pin - like protrusions and provide sufficient clearance for movement of the grid assemblies 22 in response to the striking of a secondary target plate 24 . referring now to fig5 there is shown an alternate embodiment of the present invention configured in the shape of a &# 34 ; tic - tac - toe &# 34 ; board . obviously specially marked darts having &# 34 ; x &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; o &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; visibly configured thereon may be used to produce the conventional &# 34 ; tic - tac - toe &# 34 ; scoring in a manner well known to those skilled in the art . the target assembly 50 includes a base portion 52 having penetrable primary grid portions 54 and central semicircular target grid portions 54a . the primary target grid portions 54 , 54a are honeycomb - like in structure as is well known to those skilled in the art so as to be capable of receiving a dull pointed , safety - type dart whose cylindrical shaft is just slightly smaller in diameter than the grid openings . fig8 is a close - up of a portion of grid 54 which reveals the approximate configuration of a grid opening 56 . however , similar opening or gripping configurations could be utilized to achieve similar results . base portion 52 includes side portions 58 , and secondary target and discharge assemblies 59 , one of which is shown in fig6 . the secondary target and discharge assemblies include pivot arms 60 which are pivotably mounted by pivot pins 62 . for ease of assembly , the pin 62 may be rigidly attached to the pivot arm 60 with the side opening 64 being closely conformed and having indentations which receive the ends of pin 62 so as to provide pivoting in a conventional manner . the pivot arms 60 rigidly connect secondary targets 66 to the discharging plates 68 . however , alternately a series of mechanical components could be used to transmit the mechanical action with a similar effect . positioned rigidly on discharging plate 68 are a series of pins , posts or protrusions 70 , as illustrated schematically in fig6 , and 8 . note that number and size ( length and width ) is not shown correctly in fig6 , and 8 as these showings are for illustrational purposes only and the actual size depends on the size of the dart shaft , the size of the opening in the target grid , and the strength of the materials used . the entrance of the protrusions 70 into primary target grid portion 54 is best illustrated in fig8 . note that while there is sufficient clearance between the grid portion 54 and protrusions 70 so as to allow free passage , at the same time protrusion 70 can safely discharge any dart 72 ( as seen in fig6 ) located within the grid opening 54 . secondary targets 66a operate in conjunction with semicircular target grid portions 54a in a manner similar to subassembly 59 shown in fig6 but are merely configured differently and have extended pivot arms 60a attached thereto which are configured so as not to interfere with the actuation of adjacent discharging plates 68 . discharge plates 68 are biased into nonactuated or nondischarging positions by springs 74 which extend from secondary target plates 66 to abut base extensions 75 . in operation , it can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that after a dart 72 has penetrated primary target grid portion 54 an opposing player may throw a second projectile , which may be in the form of a dart , ball , bean bag , or the like , at a secondary target plate 66 to force the secondary target plate 66 down ( as seen in fig6 ) or back ( as seen in fig5 ) thereby initiating a pivot action . discharging plate 68 associated therewith will consequently pivot upwards ( as seen in fig6 ) or forward ( as seen in fig5 and 7 ) whereupon protrusions 70 will pass into the corresponding grid openings 56 to discharge any dart located therein . target assemblies 10 , 50 preferably are mounted on vertical surfaces by conventional means , i . e . hooks , nails , or the like , but may be placed on a horizontal surface as well . in playing a game of tic - tac - toe each player may be supplied with a given total of projectiles , for example nine . he may chose ( before the game begins ) to include in that number some defensive projectiles ( bean bags for example ) as well as offensive projectiles ( darts ). during the game , in which the object is to get three of one player &# 39 ; s darts in a row , the player may chose as his turn to throw a defensive projectile , such as a bean bag , to dislodge the projectile of the opponent . as shown for the first embodiment , and naturally includable in the second embodiment , there may be safety zones 34 or tertiary targets ( fig3 ) in which no defensive discharging effort will work . these can be created by removing the protrusions or grid wires in the corresponding areas . as stated , a strategy is involved both in choosing the type of projectiles , offensive or defensive totaling a certain number , and deciding which type of projectile , offensive or defensive , to throw . obviously , other embodiments and modifications of the present invention will readily come to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and drawings . it is , therefore , to be understood that this invention is not to be limited thereto and that said modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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the embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention . upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures , those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein . it should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims . the present invention is directed at providing options for designers of vehicles and tires . specifically , in the effort to provide more information to a vehicle controller , tire pressure or other tire conditions may be sensed and reported through a wireless connection comprising a transponder and an interrogator . the present invention presents several variations of these elements for additional functionality and design opportunities when providing an interrogation system to interrogate tire conditions on a vehicle . fig1 illustrates a vehicle 10 with a body 12 and tires 14 as is conventional . the body 12 may delimit wheel wells 16 within which tires 14 are substantially located during vehicle operation . a vehicle controller 18 may be associated with the vehicle 10 , and is contained within the body 12 . a transponder 20 may be positioned within one or more of the tires 14 and wirelessly communicate with a respective interrogator 22 positioned at least partially within the respective wheel wells 16 , or other location proximate to the tires 14 sufficient to establish wireless communication with the transponder 20 . fig2 illustrates a more detailed view of a tire 14 with the associated transponder 20 . the tire 14 may comprise a rim 24 and a tread element 26 as is well understood . positioned within the tire 14 is the transponder 20 , which may comprise an antenna 28 and a wireless communication circuit 30 . a tire condition sensor 32 may be associated with the transponder 20 . the tire condition sensor 32 may be a pressure sensor , a temperature sensor , humidity sensor , tread sensor , or any other type of sensor that measures or detects an environmental condition relating to the tire 14 or a condition about the tire 14 itself . the wireless communication circuit 30 and the tire condition sensor 32 may be integrated into a single unit as needed or desired . further information about the wireless communication circuit 30 , the antenna 28 , and the tire condition sensor 32 may be found in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 181 , 423 ; 4 , 529 , 961 ; 5 , 473 , 938 ; 6 , 087 , 930 ; 5 , 977 , 870 ; 5 , 562 , 787 ; 5 , 463 , 374 ; 5 , 844 , 130 ; 5 , 541 , 574 ; and 4 , 160 , 971 ; and u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ , filed jun . 6 , 2002 , entitled “ capacitive pressure sensor ,” all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in an exemplary embodiment , the wireless communication circuit 30 comprises the onetag ™, as shown in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 678 , 271 , filed oct . 3 , 2000 , entitled “ wireless communication device and method ,” or microinsert ™, as shown in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 618 , 505 , filed jul . 18 , 2000 , entitled “ wireless communication device and method ,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference , and sold by the assignee of the present invention . these devices are compatible with the intellitag interrogators sold by intermec of 6001 36th avenue west , everett , wash . 98203 - 9280 . u . s . patent application no . 60 / 378 , 384 entitled “ rfid temperature device and method ,” discloses a temperature sensor , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . an example of a humidity sensor is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 342 , 295 entitled “ moisture sensor ,” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . an example of a tread sensor is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 028 , 503 entitled “ system for the detection of tire tread separation ,” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . note that any type of sensor may be used as the tire condition sensor 32 . the interrogator 22 is schematically illustrated in fig3 a - 3c . an interrogator 22 may comprise an antenna 34 , a demodulator 36 , and a baseband processor 38 . further , filters , mixers , and the like may be present as is well understood . to provide additional design options for the designer of the vehicle 10 , the interrogator 22 may be distributed in a number of different embodiments . as illustrated in fig3 a , the antenna 34 , the demodulator 36 , and the baseband processor 38 are all integrated into a single unit and positioned in a wheel well 16 . processed data and power flow to and from the vehicle controller 18 and the baseband processor 38 over the link 40 . fig3 b illustrates an embodiment , in which the baseband processor 38 is integrated into the vehicle controller 18 , but the antenna 34 and the demodulator 36 are integrated into a single unit and positioned in the wheel well 16 . the demodulated , but unprocessed signal and power are passed to and from the vehicle controller 18 and the demodulator 36 over the link 42 . fig3 c illustrates a third embodiment , in which the baseband processor 38 and the demodulator 36 are integrated into the vehicle controller 18 . only the antenna 34 is positioned in the wheel well 16 . raw , undemodulated signals and power pass to and from the antenna 34 and the baseband processor 38 over the link 44 . together , these three embodiments provide a variety of options for designers to use when incorporating interrogators into vehicles . as noted earlier , provision of more options provides more flexibility for the designers and improves the likelihood that an acceptable design may be located that meets the design criteria of the designer . note that these three embodiments do not match the intermec device , but the components of the intermec device could be split into such an arrangement by one of ordinary skill in the art . with this background of hardware , some of the other aspects of the present invention may now be discussed . in the past , some systems have continuously interrogated the transponder 20 with the interrogator 22 . this wastes power , and raises electromagnetic compatibility ( emc ) issues , as well as fcc compliance issues . as vehicles become more complicated , with more circuitry associated therewith , the dangers of crosstalk and fugitive radio frequency ( rf ) emissions becomes more serious . thus , the ability to interrogate selectively may give the designers more options in addressing these concerns . selective interrogation may also prevent the interrogator 22 from erroneously interrogating transponders 20 that are positioned on nearby vehicles or transponders 20 positioned on other tires 14 of the vehicle 10 . while all of these are concerns during the design phase , another concern is that of speed . typically , the interrogator 22 must transmit initially a data sequence to initialize a reading from the tire condition sensor 32 . this is followed by a reception of the data from the transponder 20 . this query and response occupy a certain amount of time . if the transponder 20 is not in the field of view when the first byte of the initial data sequence is sent , the rest of the message is wasted , and the transponder 20 has to remain in the field of view until another message is sent , potentially doubling the amount of time needed and halving the vehicle speed at which the transponder 20 can be read . accurate synchronization ensures that only one cycle of the protocol is needed to read the data , and this allows for maximum speed . as illustrated in fig4 , the interrogator 22 generates an electromagnetic field 46 , which in an exemplary embodiment is a lobe - shaped field . the precise frequency of the field 46 is a design choice , but is typically an rf field . it may be desirable to interrogate the transponder 20 when the transponder 20 is within the field 46 . thus , the circumferential position 48 of the transponder 20 must be determined , so that the interrogation may begin proximate in time to the transponder 20 entering the field 46 . two techniques for determining the circumferential position 48 of the transponder 20 are illustrated in fig7 and 9 . from the circumferential position 48 , the time window to initiate interrogation of the transponder 20 may be derived . armed with the time window in which it may be appropriate to interrogate the transponder 20 , modifications may be made to an antenna structure such that focused interrogation occurs . the basic objective is to optimize communication between the interrogator 22 and the transponder 20 such that nearly continuous communication is provided . one way to achieve this is through the use of multiple antennas . if the multiple antennas transmit simultaneously , the radiation pattern of the group may become distorted with interference induced nulls . since the location and speed of the transponder 20 is known , the antenna need only communicate with the transponder 20 over a narrower arc of rotation of the wheel 14 . further , multiple antennas may be fired sequentially based on the known position and speed , thereby addressing any distortion concerns . two such antenna structures 70 are illustrated in fig5 and 6 . in the first embodiment of fig5 , a plurality of transmit antennas 72 are used in conjunction with a single receive antenna 74 . in the embodiment shown , five transmit antennas 72 a - 72 e are illustrated , although it should be appreciated that fewer or more transmit antennas 72 may be used if needed or desired . the transmit antennas 72 a - 72 e generate corresponding electromagnetic lobes 76 a - 76 e . the lobes 76 a - 76 e are narrow and extend sufficiently far to reach the expected location of the transponder 20 . the transponder 20 responds with an electromagnetic signal that is received by the receive antenna 74 . because the reflected signal from the transponder 20 will typically have a signal to noise ratio of 20 db to 50 db , the lobe structure of the receive antenna 74 need not be as precise as that of the transmits antennas 72 . a second embodiment , illustrated in fig6 , of antenna structure 70 arranges a plurality of dual function antennas 78 a - 78 e about the wheel well 16 . each antenna 78 both transmits and receives an electromagnetic signal with a focused lobe 80 . as the transponder 20 moves through the field of view of the antennas 78 , the antennas may sequentially alter functions to achieve the maximum downlink , transmit , critical path , adequate uplink and receive . for example , initially the first antenna 78 a may be in a transmit mode while second antenna 78 b was in a receive mode . the remaining antennas 78 c - 78 e may be disconnected . as the transponder 20 moves in front of the second antenna 78 b , then the second antenna 78 b is used to transmit , while first and third antennas 78 a and 78 c are used to receive . the remaining antennas 78 d and 78 e remain disconnected . the transponder 20 may then move into lobe 80 c , effectively being in front of third antenna 78 c , so third antenna 78 c is used to transmit and second and fourth antennas 78 b and 78 d are used to receive . first and fifth antennas 78 a and 78 e are disconnected . this process continues until the transponder 20 leaves the lobe 80 e , or the last lobe of the antenna structure 70 . fig7 illustrates a first embodiment of transponder 20 location determination . it is possible that the present invention may be carried out while the vehicle 10 is not operating , however it is assumed for the purpose of explanation that the present invention is performed while the vehicle is operating . thus , the process starts when the vehicle 10 starts ( block 100 ). initially , before acquisition of the transponder 20 by the interrogator 22 , the interrogator 22 emits the electromagnetic field 46 ( block 102 ). the transponder 20 enters the field 46 as a function of the rotation of the tire 14 ( block 104 ). alternatively , the transponder 20 may be in the field 46 as soon as the field 46 is activated . in either event , the transponder 20 responds to the interrogation signal ( block 106 ) as is well understood . the interrogator 22 or the vehicle controller 18 may determine the time elapsed during which the transponder 20 responded ( block 108 ). in the event that the transponder 20 started in the field 46 , or to reduce the likelihood of a spurious first signal , the determination may wait until the first edge of response is detected after an absence of a response . that is , the determiner ( the vehicle controller 18 or the interrogator 22 ) confirms that there is no response at first , and the interrogator 22 remains active and waits until a response has been detected before beginning to measure the period of time during which there is a response . when an edge is detected indicating that a signal is being received at the interrogator 22 , the waiting ends and the measuring begins . from the time determination and the size of the wheel 14 , a circumferential velocity 48 may be determined ( block 110 ). the size of the wheel 14 determines the arc through which the transponder 20 passes . the portion of the arc that is within the field 46 may be divided by the time calculated and the circumferential velocity is determined thereby . once the absence of a response is detected , the interrogator 22 may be deactivated ( block 112 ). with the circumferential velocity and the size of the wheel 14 , the vehicle controller 18 or the interrogator 22 may calculate an estimated time until the transponder 20 re - enters the field 46 ( block 114 ). the portion of the arc that is outside the field 46 is divided by the circumferential velocity 48 to provide the time estimate . the interrogator 22 may be turned on or reactivated immediately prior to the estimated time of reentry ( block 116 ). in a preferred embodiment , an absence of a response would be detected and confirmed , and then the transponder 20 would enter the field 46 , resulting in a response . this likewise accommodates acceleration and deceleration within reason . it is contemplated that the phrase “ immediately prior to the estimated time of re - entry ” is to be interpreted as allowing for acceleration at the highest rate possible by the vehicle 10 . a determination is made if the vehicle 10 has been turned off ( block 118 ). if the answer is no , the process repeats . if the answer is yes , the process ends ( block 120 ). note that the precise order of events need not occur as indicated and that rearrangements of the process are contemplated . the second embodiment , described in fig7 , may require additional hardware . to explain this additional hardware , reference is made to fig8 , in which the vehicle controller 18 is shown schematically connected to a plurality of inputs . specifically , the vehicle controller 18 is connected to an odometer 50 , a tachometer 52 , an axle sensor 54 , a transmission sensor 56 , and / or a fuel injection computer 58 as well as the interrogator 22 . from the various inputs , the vehicle controller 18 may determine with some precision the rotation of a wheel 14 , and from knowledge already in the possession of the vehicle controller 18 , deduce the location and speed of the transponder 20 . note that not all the inputs need be used , and some require more processing than others to derive the rotational speed of the wheels 14 . other sensors or inputs could also be used if needed or desired . additionally , a memory 60 may be associated with the vehicle controller 18 in which data may be stored , such as the last location of the transponder 20 prior to the engine being turned off . with these inputs , the second embodiment of turning on and off the interrogator 22 depending on the location of the transponder 20 may be explicated with reference to fig9 . the vehicle 10 starts ( block 150 ) such as when the ignition is turned on . the vehicle controller 18 references the memory 60 to determine the last circumferential location of the transponder 20 ( block 152 ). this may have been determined and entered by factory calibration , by the mechanic who last rotated and / or changed the tires 14 , or by storage from the last time the vehicle 10 was operated . alternatively , this may be determined by empirically , such as through the method of fig7 . the vehicle controller 18 or the interrogator 22 determines if the transponder 20 is within the area of field 46 when the field 46 is active ( block 154 ). if the answer is no , the vehicle controller 18 may reference the inputs such as the axle sensor 54 or the transmission sensor 56 to determine the location of the transponder 20 , and determines from its present location and the speed of the vehicle when the transponder 20 will enter the area of the field 46 ( block 156 ). after the determination of block 156 , or if block 154 is answered positively , the interrogator 22 is activated ( block 158 ). if the transponder 20 was outside of the area of field 46 , then the interrogator 22 is turned on immediately prior to the expected arrival of the transponder 20 within the area of the field 46 . the interrogator 22 receives a response signal from the transponder 20 while the transponder 20 is within the field 46 ( block 160 ). the vehicle controller 18 or the interrogator 22 determines if the transponder 20 has left the field 46 ( block 162 ). if the answer is no , the process repeats . if the answer is yes , then the interrogator 22 is turned off ( block 164 ). the vehicle controller 18 determines if the vehicle has been turned off ( block 166 ). if the answer is no , the process repeats as indicated . if the answer is yes , the process ends ( block 168 ). again , as noted above , the exact order of the method need not be as linear as indicated and variations in the order of the steps are contemplated as well as performing some steps concurrently instead of consecutively . a third aspect of the present invention relates to how the transponder 20 may have at least a dual mode functionality depending on the type of rf field to which the transponder 20 is subjected . during manufacturing , many transponders 20 and tires 14 may be proximate one another . in such instances , it may be desirable to operate in a first mode such that the transponder 20 responds in a first fashion so that a single interrogation 22 can interrogate a transponder 20 , such as during manufacturing of the tire 14 . however , this slows down the response time of each transponder 20 since the interrogator 22 must distinguish between different transponders 20 . however , when the transponder 20 is installed on a tire 14 that is in operation of a vehicle 10 , it may be desirable to operate in a second mode so that the transponder 20 can interrogator 22 and the transponder 20 can communicate more quickly since the transponder 20 is no longer competing for bandwidth against other transponders 20 and thus the transponder 20 responds in a second fashion . other modes could also be incorporated into the transponder 20 as needed or desired . reference is made to fig1 , wherein a flow chart illustrating this dual modality is presented . initially , the transponder 20 enters an rf field ( block 200 ). this may be an rf field 46 or a field such as is present in a manufacturing environment . the transponder 20 determines if there is an amplitude modulation ( am ) component to the field ( block 202 ). alternatively , the presence of a known byte will serve the same role , in which case the step becomes the equivalent step of the transponder 20 determines if a known byte is present . if the answer is no , there is no am component ( thus indicating that the transponder is in a field analogous to field 46 ), the transponder 20 begins to transmit pressure data derived from the tire condition sensor 32 and a checksum with as much speed and bandwidth as is available ( block 204 ). the transponder 20 then determines if the transponder 20 is still in the field 46 ( block 206 ). if the answer is no , the process ends ( block 208 ) until the transponder 20 detects a new rf field ( block 200 ). if the answer to block 206 is yes , the transponder 20 determines if the field 46 has changed ( block 210 ). if the answer to block 210 is no , the process repeats as indicated . if the answer to block 210 is yes , then the transponder may switch modes ( block 212 ). if , however , the determination at block 202 indicates that there is an am component to the field ( or there is a known byte present ), then the transponder 20 may enter a contention access protocol mode ( block 214 ). this may include a time division multiplex system , a frequency division multiplex system , or the like as needed or desired . an exemplary contention access protocol is that based on the carrier sense multiple access ( csma ) protocol commonly used for ethernet connections . the transponder 20 transmits information and data when authorized ( block 216 ) and this transmission conveys the information requested by the field that caused the transponder 20 to enter this mode ( block 218 ). the transponder 20 may make a determination that the transponder 20 is still in the field ( not shown ) and / or a determination that the field has changed ( block 220 ). if the field has changed , the transponder 20 may switch modes ( block 212 ). if however , the field has not changed , the transponder 20 may repeat the process as indicated . while the above has been termed as a test for the presence of an am field or a known byte , equivalently , a test for the presence of a continuous rf field , or one modulated by a continuous clock signal could also be used to trigger entry into the mode where the transponder 20 sends data from the tire condition sensor 32 continuously and as quickly as possible . the clock possibility is an interesting variation in that it allows the transponder 20 to use the clock frequency ( known to be accurate ) as a reference against which the transponder 20 can measure the output of the tire condition sensor 32 . note that some of the determination steps are not explicit , and the presence or absence of a field may cause the determination . this is especially true when the transponder 20 is a passive device rather than an active device . however , the transponder 20 , and particularly the wireless communication circuit 30 , may include the intelligence and memory to have complex functionality if needed or desired . also note that the present invention may include the transfer of information of any kind concerning the tire 14 , including pressure , and this information is not limited to pressure information . those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention . all such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow . it should be noted that that although pressure of the tire 14 is monitored , that other tire conditions in lieu of or in addition to pressure may be monitored using the present invention as well . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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in the following description , various aspects of the present invention will be described . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention . for purposes of explanation , specific numbers , materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding 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 . in other instances , well known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention . parts of the description will be presented in terms of operations performed by a computer system , using terms such as data , flags , bits , values , characters , strings , numbers and the like , consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . as well understood by those skilled in the art , these quantities take the form of electrical , magnetic , or optical signals capable of being stored , transferred , combined , and otherwise manipulated through mechanical and electrical components of the computer system ; and the term computer system include general purpose as well as special purpose data processing machines , systems , and the like , that are standalone , adjunct or embedded . various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn , in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention , however , the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent . in particular , these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation . referring now fig1 , wherein a block diagram illustrating the integrated facilitation of it management of the present invention , in accordance with one embodiment , is shown . as illustrated , in accordance with the present invention , data associated with it projects 102 are collected and stored . more particularly , as will described in more detail below , project data 102 are associated with a number of performance metrics of it projects . also illustrated , in accordance with the present invention , “ integrated ” dashboard generator / viewer 112 , scorecard generator / viewer 114 and investment map generator / viewer 116 are provided to generate it project dashboards 122 , it portfolio scorecards 124 and it investment mapsmap 126 respectively . it project dashboards 122 are designed to assist it project managers to manage their respective projects , whereas it portfolio scorecards 124 are designed to assist “ mid - level ” it portfolio mangers to manage their respective it portfolios . it investment map 126 in turn are designed to assist an it executive ( or its business partners ) to manage the entire it investment of his / her enterprise . more particularly , project dashboards 122 , portfolio scoreboards 124 and investment maps 126 are logically integrated ( as denoted by arrows 132 and 134 ) to facilitate more in - depth understanding of issues surfaced by investment maps 126 and by scorecards 124 . fig2 illustrates an organization of project data 102 in accordance with one embodiment . as alluded to earlier , in accordance with the present invention , project data 102 are associated with performance metrics designed to show where it projects stand . in one embodiment , the performance metrics are key performance categories ( kpc ). in one embodiment , these performance metrics ( or kpc ) include budget metrics , staffing metrics , project size and quality metrics , and progress metrics . in one embodiment , the budget metrics include expense to budget ratios for a number of expense categories , such as personnel expenses , overhead expenses and the like . in another embodiment , the staffing metrics include current staffing level to staffing requirement ratios for a number of staffing categories , such as senior analysts , software engineers with web design skills , software engineers with c ++ programming skills , engineers with networking skills and the like . in yet another embodiment , project size and quality metrics include metrics measuring the quantity of code and documentation being developed , the amount of defects encountered or removed from these code and documentation . in yet another embodiment , the progress metrics includes metrics measuring a number of task completion to schedule milestone indicators for a number of project phases , e . g . feasibility phase , design phase , unit test phase , functional test phase and system test phase . in alternate embodiments , data may also be stored for other performance metrics ( or kpc ) in addition to or in lieu of some or all of the above enumerated example metrics / categories . for the illustrated embodiment , project data 102 are stored in tables 202 of a relational database , with each table storing a subset of the data ( in columns ) for a subset of the projects ( in rows ). the data may be organized into the various tables in any one of a number of application dependent manner , taking into consideration the number projects , the number of performance metrics as well as other factors . in alternate embodiments , project data 102 may also be stored employing other data organization techniques , including but limited to flat files , hierarchical databases and the like . in one embodiment , historic data are also stored and maintained for some or all of the metrics for which data are being stored . in one embodiment , user annotations for all or selected ones of the metrics are also stored . in one embodiment , the data to be stored , and whether historical and / or annotations are to be stored , are user defined . the user definition may be provided through any one of a number of “ input dialogues ” known in the art . fig3 a - 3 c illustrate a dashboard , a scorecard , and an investment map of fig1 in further detail , in accordance with one embodiment each . as described earlier , dashboard 122 is designed to assist a project manager in managing a project . as shown in fig3 a , for the illustrated embodiment , dashboard 122 includes a number of graphical depictions 302 a - 302 d for a number of aspects of a project ( as indicated by one or more of the earlier described performance metrics ). the graphical depictions 302 a - 302 d may include the illustrated non - linear graph 302 a , histogram 302 b , pie chart 302 c , linear graphs 302 d , as well as other depictions . the various graphical depictions 302 a - 302 d are “ tiled ” in the illustrated presentation . in other embodiments , the graphical depictions 302 a - 302 d are arranged in a cascaded overlapping manner instead . further , a dashboard 122 may present graphical depictions for multiple projects instead . in a preferred one of the embodiments , a project manager may select the subject matters ( i . e . the projects and their performance metrics / categories ) to be graphically depicted , the graphical depictions to be employed , as well as the manner in which the graphical depictions are to be presented . these selections may be specified by the project manager through any one of a number of “ selection dialogues ” known in the art . as described earlier , scorecard 124 is designed to assist a portfolio manager in managing the portfolio of it projects he / she is responsible for . as shown in fig3 b , for the illustrated embodiment , each scorecard 124 is a tabular presentation of where the projects of a portfolio stand on various performance indicators , with measurements of the various performance indicators of the projects occupying columns 306 of corresponding rows 304 . each performance indicator may correspond to a performance metric or may be an aggregate , weighted or otherwise , of a number of performance metrics ( which may or may not be individually depicted in the subject scorecard ). additionally , in lieu of conventional numerical and / or textual presentation , the measurements may be advantageously depicted in symbols 308 ( in color or otherwise ) to enable the current standing of a performance indicator of a project to be easily highlighted for a portfolio manager . furthermore , for selected ones of the performance indicators , corresponding cross project composite measures are automatically computed and presented in columns of a cross project row ( the top row , for the illustrated embodiment ). likewise , the cross project composite measures may be “ aggregated ” in a weighted or non - weighted manner , as well as presented in symbolic fashion ( color or otherwise ). similarly , the contributing projects for the computation of the cross project composite measures may or may not be part of the subject scorecard . most importantly , the presented projects are logically linked to their dashboards 122 , to facilitate a portfolio manager to drill down or focus on a project if necessary . in one embodiment , scorecards 124 may be used to present the status of portfolios of portfolios ( as opposed to projects ) instead . but , for ease of understanding , the remaining description will primarily focus on scorecards 124 being used to present the status of portfolios of projects . similar to dashboard 122 , in a preferred one of the embodiments , a portfolio manager may select the projects of a portfolio and the performance indicators of the projects to be included , the manner the performance indicators are to be “ aggregated ”, whether any cross project composite measures are to be computed , the manner in which the cross project composite measures are to be computed , as well as the manner in which the measurements are to be presented . these selections may too be specified by the portfolio manager through any one of a number of “ selection dialogues ” known in the art . as also described earlier , investment maps 126 are designed to assist an it executive in managing it investments of his / her enterprise . as shown in fig3 c , for the illustrated embodiment , an investment map 126 graphically depicts a selected subset of the it portfolios in accordance with risk , technology type , their size and their soundness . each it portfolio is graphically represented by a “ bubble ”. in alternate embodiments , other graphical representations may be employed instead . the size and soundness of a portfolio are depicted by the size and color of the “ bubble ”. the risk and technology type of the portfolio determines the placement of the “ bubble ”, e . g . with risk determining the y - axis value and the technology type determining the x - axis value . in alternate embodiments , the technology type , risk , size and soundness may be conveyed through other visual attributes instead . again , most importantly , the portfolios are logically linked to their scorecards 124 to facilitate an it executive to drill down or focus on a portfolio if necessary . in one embodiment , the technology type of each portfolio is characterized by the portfolio manager as being evolutionary in nature , or instrumental in establishing a new computing platform or technologically transforming in nature . in one embodiment , the characterization may be accomplished through quantified indices ( which in turn are employed to generate the normalized x - coordinates ). similarly , the risk of each portfolio is characterized by the portfolio manager as being high , medium or low . in one embodiment , the characterization may also be accomplished through quantified indices ( which in turn are employed to generate the normalized y - coordinates ). in like manner , a portfolio manager also specifies how the size of a portfolio is to be measured , e . g . in terms of total dollars budgeted , total staffing , total number of lines of code to be written and so forth , as well as how “ soundness ” of a portfolio is to be measured , e . g . by the number of critical performance indicators in an “ alert ” state , or by the number of projects having at least one critical performance indicators in the “ alert ” state , or both . these specifications may too be made by the portfolio managers through any one of a number of “ selection dialogues ” known in the art . in alternate embodiments , investment maps 126 may depict the status of a selection of it portfolios relative to other performance metrics / categories ( as opposed to risk , technology type etc .). again , the performance metrics / categories to be referenced in the depiction of the status of it portfolios may be user specified , through any one of a number of known “ specification dialogues ” known in the art . fig4 a - 4 c illustrate the relevant generation operational flows of the dashboard generator / viewer , the scorecard generator / viewer , and investment map generator / viewer of fig1 , in accordance with one embodiment each . as illustrated by fig4 a , for dashboard generator / viewer 112 , upon start of the dashboard generation process for a project , at 402 , dashboard generator / viewer 122 selects one of the specified graphs for generation . at 404 , dashboard generator / viewer 122 generates the selected graph for the specified performance metrics . the manner of generation is graph dependent , i . e . whether it is a histogram or a pie chart and so forth , to be generated . the generation of these types of graphs are known in the art , accordingly will not be further described . at 406 , upon generation of the selected graph , dashboard generator / viewer 122 determines if additional graphs are to be generated . if so , dashboard generator / viewer 122 returns to 402 , otherwise , dashboard generator / viewer 122 continues at 408 , where it arranges the graphs for presentation . for the earlier described embodiment , dashboard generator / viewer 122 places and tiles the generated graphs . as illustrated by fig4 b , for scorecard generator / viewer 114 , upon start of the scorecard generation process for a portfolio , at 412 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 selects one of the project of the portfolio for generation . at 414 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 selects one of the specified performance indicators . at 416 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 determines the measurement value of the selected performance indicator for the selected project . the manner of determination is performance indicator dependent . for some performance indicators , the determination may simply involve determining whether a performance metric is higher or lower than a threshold value , for others , the determination may involve any one of a number of intermediate computations such as additions , subtractions , multiplications or divisions known in the art . at 418 , upon determining the measurement value of a performance indicator for a project , scorecard generator / viewer 124 determines if measurement values for additional performance indicators are to be determined . if so , scorecard generator / viewer 124 returns to 414 , otherwise , scorecard generator / viewer 124 continues at 420 . at 420 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 determines if the portfolio has additional projects to be processed . if so , scorecard generator / viewer 124 returns to 412 , otherwise , scorecard generator / viewer 124 continues at 422 . at 422 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 determines the cross project measure values for applicable ones of the performance indicators . finally , at 424 , scorecard generator / viewer 124 displays the generated scorecard . as illustrated by fig4 c , for investment map generator / viewer 114 , upon start of the map generation process , at 432 , map generator / viewer 126 selects one of the portfolios for generation . at 434 , map generator / viewer 126 selects a project of the selected portfolio . at 436 , map generator / viewer 126 “ aggregates ” the performance metric values for the selected project . the manner of “ aggregation ” is performance metrics dependent . for some performance metrics , the “ aggregation ” may simply involve summation of performance metric values , for others , the “ aggregation ” may involve a number of intermediate transformation or normalization operations known in the art . at 438 , upon aggregating the performance metrics for a project , map generator / viewer 126 determines if the selected portfolio has more projects to be processed . if so , map generator / viewer 126 returns to 434 , otherwise , map generator / viewer 126 continues at 440 . at 440 , map generator / viewer 126 determines color of the bubble representation , to appropriately represent the soundness of the portfolio . additionally , map generator / viewer 126 determines the size of the bubble representation , to appropriately represent the total investment of the portfolio , as well as the proper placement of the bubble representation , to appropriately depict the technology type and risk associated with the portfolio . at 442 , map generator / viewer 126 determines if additional portfolios are to be processed . if so , map generator / viewer 126 returns to 432 , otherwise map generator / viewer 126 continues at 444 , and displays the generated map . fig5 a - 5 b illustrate the relevant viewing operational flows of the scorecard generator / viewer and investment map generator / viewer of fig1 , in accordance with one embodiment each . as illustrated by fig5 a , for map generator / viewer 116 , upon being notified of the selection of a portfolio by a user ( e . g . by way of clicking on the bubble representation using a cursor control device such as a mouse ), map generator / viewer 116 determines the identity of the selected portfolio , 502 . upon determining the identity of the selected portfolio , at 504 , map generator / viewer 116 invokes scorecard generator / viewer 114 to display the scorecard for the selected portfolio , thereby facilitating an it executive in drilling down and focusing on a portfolio of interest . as illustrated by fig5 b , for scorecard generator / viewer 114 , upon being notified of the selection of a project by a user ( e . g . by way of clicking on the row of a project using a cursor control device such as a mouse ), scorecard generator / viewer 114 determines the identity of the selected project , 512 . upon determining the identity of the selected project , at 514 , scorecard generator / viewer 114 invokes dashboard generator / viewer 112 to display the dashboard for the selected project , thereby facilitating an it executive / a portfolio manager in drilling down and focusing on a project of interest . fig6 illustrates a network environment suitable for practicing the present invention , in accordance with one embodiment . as illustrated , network environment 600 includes data server 602 , it executive computing device 604 , portfolio manager computing devices 606 , and project manager computing devices 608 . server 602 and computing devices 604 - 608 are coupled to each other via networking fabric 610 . further , server 602 and computing devices 604 - 608 are incorporated with the earlier described teachings of the present invention . more particularly , server 602 is employed to store project data 102 , and provided with dashboard , scorecard and investment map generator / viewer 112 - 116 to facilitate generation and viewing of the earlier described dashboards , scorecards and investment map for an enterprise , by it executives , portfolio managers , and project managers as described earlier , using computing devices 604 - 608 . server 602 is intended to represent one or more servers coupled to each other through a local or a wide area network . in one embodiment , dashboard , scorecard and investment map generator / viewer 112 - 116 may execute exclusively on server 602 with the results transmitted to display on computing devices 604 - 608 through networking fabric 610 . in other embodiments , part or all of dashboard , scorecard and investment map generator / viewer 112 - 116 may be executed on computing devices 604 - 608 instead . further , there may be more than one executive computing device 604 , as well as having computing devices that serve as a computing device with more than one role , e . g . for an it executive as well as a portfolio manager or a project manager . networking fabric 610 is intended to represent a wide range of interconnected private and public networks , each constituted with networking equipment such as gateways , switches , routers and the like , such as the internet . fig7 illustrates a computer system suitable for use as either server 602 or computing devices 604 - 608 of fig6 in accordance with one embodiment . as shown , computer system 700 includes one or more processors 702 ( typically depending on whether it is used as server 602 or one of computing devices 604 - 608 ) and system memory 704 . additionally , computer system 700 includes mass storage devices 706 ( such as diskette , hard drive , cdrom and so forth ), input / output devices 708 ( such as keyboard , cursor control and so forth ) and communication interfaces 710 ( such as network interface cards , modems and so forth ). the elements are coupled to each other via system bus 712 , which represents one or more buses . in the case of multiple buses , they are bridged by one or more bus bridges ( not shown ). each of these elements perform its conventional functions known in the art . in particular , system memory 704 and mass storage 706 are employed to store a working copy and a permanent copy of the programming instructions implementing the teachings of the present invention . the permanent copy of the programming instructions may be loaded into mass storage 706 in the factory , or in the field , as described earlier , through a distribution medium ( not shown ) or through communication interface 710 ( from a distribution server ( not shown ). the constitution of these elements 702 - 712 are known , and accordingly will not be further described . thus , a novel method and apparatus for facilitating management of it investment has been described . while the present invention has been described in terms of the above illustrated embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described . the present invention can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . for example , in addition to the above described dashboard , scorecard and investment map , the present invention may also be practiced with a “ management notebook ” encapsulating the various project data for a project manager , and navigationally coupling e . g . the dashboards to these “ management notebooks ”. the description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present invention . it will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above - described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention . the scope of the present invention should , therefore , be determined only by the following claims . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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fig3 , 4 , 5 and 7 illustrate a multi mode ion source having multiple ionization volumes that are generally aligned and have a common beam line . fig3 , 5 and 7 illustrate an embodiment in which each of the ionization volumes are defined by chambers . fig4 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which one ionization volume is defined by a chamber and a second ionization volume is defined by the space adjacent the chamber . referring first to fig3 , a first embodiment of the multi - mode ion source 100 is illustrated shown with only a portion of a source housing 49 and vacuum pump 50 shown . the multi mode source 100 includes a first ionization chamber 110 and a second ionization chamber 120 juxtaposed in a side by side or tandem relationship with respect to each other . as will be discussed in more detail below , the chamber 110 is configured to be used with a conventional specie of feed material while the ionization volume 120 is configured to be used with a cluster feed material . in addition , the ionization volume 110 is configured to be used in an arc discharge mode while the ionization volume 120 is configured to be used in a non - arc discharge mode , such as a direct electron impact mode . an indirectly - heated cathode ( ihc ) 140 is disposed within the ionization chamber 110 . an gas or vapor inlet port 115 is formed in one wall of the ionization volume 110 to enable gaseous , sublimated or vaporized atomic species to be received within the ionization chamber 110 . process gas , e . g ., bf 3 , arsine , phosphine , sbf 5 , co 2 or other dopant - containing gases , is injected into the ionization chamber 110 through the inlet port 115 , as is well known in the art . the gaseous or vapor atomic species are ionized within the ionization chamber 110 in order to produce a monomer ion beam along a beam line 130 . more particularly , an arc plasma is formed by the ihc emitter 140 which ionizes the process gas by way of a negative arc voltage applied between the ihc emitter 140 and the ionization chamber 110 , as is well known in the art ( the power supply and electrical connections are not shown in the figure ). the ionized gas or beam is then extracted from the ionization chamber 110 by electrodes , as further described herein . an external magnetic field 300 is applied along the height of the multi mode ion source 100 , that is , orthogonal to the beam direction 130 and parallel to a line joining cathode and anticathode in the arc discharge source 110 as is known in the art . the magnetic field confines the electrons emitted from the ihc emitter 140 and the plasma column that is formed by the electrons . the multi - mode ion source 100 also includes a second ionization chamber 120 configured for use in direct electron impact ionization . the ionization chamber 120 is disposed adjacent the ionization chamber 110 in a side by side or tandem relationship . the ionization chamber 120 includes a separate gas or inlet port 125 in order to receive gaseous , sublimated or vaporized molecular feed material suitable for producing molecular and cluster ions . the molecular and cluster ions are extracted to form an ion beam , aligned along a common axis , e . g ., the beam line axis 130 . the ionization chamber 120 is electrically and thermally isolated from the ionization chamber 110 by means of isolation standoff 152 and a radiation shield 150 . a potential can be applied between the chambers 110 and 120 . due to the configuration of the ion source 100 , the heat generated by the ihc discharge source chamber 110 does not adversely affect the operation of the much cooler operational environment of the electron impact source chamber 120 . in one embodiment of the invention , the ionization chamber 120 is mounted to and in thermal communication with a source block 600 , for example , as illustrated in fig7 , which is actively temperature controlled to a given temperature , for example , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 686 , 595 , hereby incorporated by reference , thus preventing either thermal dissociation or condensation of the cluster - producing feed materials introduced into the ionization chamber 120 . in this embodiment the potential of the ionization chamber 120 is maintained at the same potential as the potential of the source block 600 . the ion energy of the formed beam is given by e = ev e , where v e is the extraction supply potential . when the ionization chamber 120 is active , the ionization chamber 110 is inactive and is maintained at the same potential as 120 , namely at v e . when chamber 110 is active , it is held at v e , but chamber 120 is held at a negative potential v with respect to v e , i . e ., v & lt ; v e . thus , the ions produced in chamber 110 exit through aperture 160 in the downstream wall formed as an electrode , 165 , and are accelerated into aperture 180 resident in chamber 120 . in order to extract the ionized beam from the source chamber 110 or 120 , it is well known to use a slot in the downstream wall of the chamber aligned with the beam line . in this multi mode source 100 , in order to extract the beam from the ionization chamber 110 , a slot 160 is formed in the downstream wall of the chamber as an electrode , 165 ( fig5 a - 5 c and 7 ) of the ihc discharge chamber 110 and aligned with an opening 170 formed in the standoff 150 . the opening 170 is , in turn , aligned with a slot 180 in an upstream wall , 185 of the ionization chamber 120 , which , in turn , is aligned with another slot 190 in the downstream wall of the ionization chamber 120 , formed as an electrode 195 . the electrode 165 or slot 180 may act as a plasma electrode for extracting the ihc plasma ions from chamber 110 , which may be accomplished by applying a negative potential to the ionization chamber 120 with respect to the ionization chamber 110 . with such a configuration an ion beam from the ionization chamber 110 travels through the ionization chamber 120 along the beam - line axis 130 . ion beams generated in the ionization chamber 120 similarly travel along the beam - line axis 130 . for producing the cluster ions in the ionization chamber 120 , an electron gun 200 is disposed outside of the chamber 120 . a cluster , such as b 18 h 22 , or molecular feed material is fed into the ionization chamber 120 , e . g ., through a port 125 opening directly into the electron impact source chamber 120 . as discussed , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 107 , 929 , hereby incorporated by reference , power is applied to the electron gun 200 and the electrons emitted from the electron gun 200 are trapped by the external magnetic field 300 and form an ionization column , from which cluster ions are extracted by an extraction electrode 195 which forms the slot 190 . ions are accelerated to the full energy over the extraction gap between extraction electrode 195 and suppression electrode 210 , which sits in a negative potential as is known in the art . the suppression electrode 210 is followed by a ground electrode 220 . electrodes 210 and 220 are moveable back and forth along the beam line direction 130 with respect to the slot 190 as the ion beam energy changes , e . g ., in the embodiments discussed above , a small gap is needed for low energy and large gap for higher energies . fig4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the multi mode ion source 100 in accordance with the invention . this embodiment includes an ionization chamber 110 , including its ihc emitter 140 , as described above , for use in an arc discharge mode and a slot 160 . in accordance with an important aspect of this embodiment of the invention , the source housing walls 49 , only a portion being shown , and the airspace downstream of the ionization chamber 120 define the ionization volume for the direct electron impact mode of operation . more particularly , in this embodiment , the radiation shield 150 and associated slot 170 , as well as chamber 120 and slot 180 are eliminated . this embodiment of the invention also includes the electron impact electron gun 200 , electrode 195 with slot 190 , the source housing 49 , the pump 50 , and electrodes 210 and 220 . the operation of the ihc discharge chamber 110 functions as described above , except that the electrode 195 may be used as the extraction electrode for the ihc discharge source chamber . more significantly , the electron impact source is formed by the electron impact electron gun 200 , source housing walls 49 and the electrode 195 incorporating slot 190 . the electron gun 200 ionizes the molecular gas introduced into the source 100 via port 125 . the ionized molecular beam is extracted through slot 190 as described above . fig5 a , 5 b and 5 c illustrate the configuration of the electrodes for the ionization volumes along with simulated ion beams from the respective ion sources as illustrated in fig3 , wherein fig5 a illustrates the electrode configuration of the extraction electrodes and the ground suppression electrodes for the multi - mode ion source along with a simulated ion beam extracted from a direct electron impact ionization volume ; fig5 b and 5 c are similar but for simulated ion beams extracted from the arc discharge ionization volume for different extraction potentials . more particularly , fig5 a illustrates a cluster extraction mode of the electron impact source through extraction slot 190 of electrode 195 and electrodes 210 and 220 . in this mode the ihc discharge chamber 110 and the electron impact chamber 120 are at the same potential and ions are produced by the electron beam emitted from electron gun 200 which ionizes the cluster feed material injected into chamber 120 through a the port 125 . the extraction gap between electrodes 195 and 210 is relatively large due to the lower cluster ion density . fig5 b and 5 c show the extraction operation in connection with the arc plasma discharge mode of the ihc discharge chamber 110 . a potential is applied to each source chamber 110 , v 1 , and 120 , v 2 , wherein v 1 is greater than v 2 , and the ions produced by the ihc discharge chamber 110 are extracted from the plasma in chamber 110 through the slot 160 of the electrode 165 . the extraction gap between electrodes 165 and 195 is fixed ; however , the potential can be varied , as illustrated in fig5 b and 5 c . furthermore , the gap between electrode 195 and electrode 210 has been determined to affect the expansion of the ion beam such that , in the arc discharge mode produced by the ihc discharge source 110 , the gap should be much smaller than the gap between the electrode 195 and electrode 210 when the electron impact source 120 is producing a molecular ion beam . referring to fig7 , multi - mode two ion sources in tandem , such as shown in fig7 . the tandem approach preserves the geometry of most conventional ion implanters , requiring minimal changes to their beam forming optics . the first source 110 is in most respects a conventional bernas - type source commonly in use today , having the ability to crack fluorinated compounds such as bf 3 and sbf 5 , and producing copious amounts of monomer ion currents and multiply - charged ions . the second source 120 is an electron - impact type source as disclosed , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 452 , 338 ; 6 , 686 , 595 and 7 , 107 , 929 , hereby incorporated by reference , and used for the purpose of generating molecular ions and clusters , such as , b 18 h x + , b 10 h x + , c 7 h x + , for example , as illustrated in fig6 , ions derived from p 7 ( sime 3 ) 3 , and others . a source 120 is coupled to a source block 600 , as is discussed in the aforementioned patents . as shown , the bernas source 110 is separated from the source block 600 by standoffs 152 . by using such a configuration , each source can be operated independently at their optimum temperatures . in addition , the size of the extraction slots of each source can be likewise separately optimized for the higher plasma density of the bernas - type source and the lower plasma density of the electron impact source . separation of feed gases is also a feature of the invention , so that thermally sensitive vapors such as b 18 h 22 are not fed into a hot ionization chamber 120 . also , when cleaning gases are required , such as f cleaning of deposits formed by b 18 h 22 , for example , the f can be fed separately into the source running b 18 h 22 , and not unduly expose the bernas source to f etching . switching between species ( e . g ., monomer versus cluster ) is accelerated by this technique since the unused source is in standby , so that required f cleaning , or cooling of hot parts , do not contribute to the species change times , increasing the available beam time of the implanter , reducing processing costs . | 7Electricity
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referring now to the drawings in detail , and more particularly to fig1 the reference character 11 represents a user &# 39 ; s work station . unit or work station 11 includes a keyboard 12 and a central processing unit ( cpu ) 13 . telephone 14 is coupled to modem 15 , and modem 15 is coupled to modem 16 . modem 16 is coupled to work station 11 . voice data is transmitted to and from telephone 14 to work station 11 via modems 15 and 16 . a cellular telephone may also be used to communicate with station 11 . work station 11 is coupled to the internet 17 so that e - mail messages , data , voice and audio information may be sent to and from station 11 . a server 18 is coupled to station 11 so that server 18 may hold and store information waiting to be sent to station 11 . server 18 may also be used as a conduit to other work stations ( not shown ) on a local area network . a user storage device 19 , i . e ., disk drive , cd drive , etc . is connected to station 11 so that device 19 may store information . a video display 20 is coupled to station 11 so that information may be displayed on display 20 . postal security device ( psd ) 21 is coupled to central processing unit 13 . psd 21 is a secure device which stores postal funds and performs accounting on disbursed funds . virtual meter 22 is coupled to central processing unit 13 . virtual meter 22 provides an alternative mechanism for accessing , disbursing and accounting of postal funds by coupling to internet 17 via cpu 13 for internet access . printer 31 is also coupled to central processing unit 13 . psd 21 and meter 22 are used to affix postage to mail . document generation station 23 is coupled to central processing unit 13 . document generation station 23 is used to produce personalized mail pieces that may contain different inserts that are inserted into mail pieces and sealed by generation station 23 . station 23 may be the documatch ™ system manufactured by pitney bowes inc . of 1 elmcroft road , stamford , conn . facsimile 24 is coupled to modem 25 , and modem 25 is coupled to modem 26 . modem 26 is coupled to central processing unit 13 . graphic and text information are transmitted to and from facsimile 24 to cpu 13 via modems 25 and 26 . voice response unit 27 is coupled to cpu 13 . voice response unit 27 generates an acoustic speech signal that communicates an intended message to a human request for information . the human may enter information into unit 27 by pressing various keys on a telephone when prompted by unit 27 . the keyed information is then entered into cpu 13 . a scanner 28 is coupled to cpu 13 . scanner 28 may scan information that is subsequently digitized and sent to cpu 13 . copies of scanned information may be produced using printer 31 . a voice synthesis system 29 is coupled to cpu 13 . system 29 converts voice data into a format that cpu 13 converts to alphanumeric text . system 29 may also be used to instruct cpu 13 to perform various functions . personal computer 30 is coupled to cpu 13 . information and data may be transmitted to and from computer 30 and cpu 13 . the information may also be processed by one or both of the aforementioned computers . speaker 32 is coupled to cpu 13 . speaker 32 permits one to hear the voice messages sent by the devices capable of producing audio messages , i . e ., telephone 14 , internet 17 , server 18 , unit 27 , system 29 , etc . fig2 is a drawing of a flow chart showing the executive routine of this invention . this program begins in decision block 100 . block 100 determines whether or not there are any very important messages that were previously received and were not processed and were stored in the received message data bases , i . e ., data bases 110 - 121 ( fig3 ). if decision block 100 determines that there are very important messages or other messages in the data base , the program will proceed to block 101 . block 101 will process the information contained in the message . if block 100 determines that there are no very important messages or other messages in the data base , the program will proceed to decision block 102 . block 102 will determine whether or not there are any new received messages . if decision block 102 determines that there are new received messages , the program will proceed to block 103 . block 103 will receive the new message ( s ). if block 102 determines that there are no new messages , the program will proceed to decision block 104 . block 104 determines whether or not there are any messages to be transmitted . if decision block 104 determines that there are messages to be transmitted , the program will proceed to block 105 . block 105 will transmit the message ( s ). if block 104 determines that there are no messages to be transmitted , the program will proceed to decision block 106 . block 106 determines whether or not one wants to know the status of the message ( s ) all ready responded to . if decision block 106 determines that the status of the messages is wanted , the program will proceed to block 107 . block 107 will review the status of the sent messages . if block 106 determines that the status of the messages is not wanted , the program will proceed back to the input of decision block 100 . fig3 is a flow chart showing the routine for processing new incoming messages . the program receives messages in block 103 and then goes to block 108 . block 108 determines the priority of the received message . the priority of the received message is determined by a priority indicator embedded in the received message if the indicator exists . if the priority indicator is set , it overrides other factors like the subject or originator of the message . fig6 depicts the automatic routing of received messages as a function of routing rules or factors . then the program goes to block 109 . block 109 identifies the message type and stores the message in the appropriate data base along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by e - mail , the message will be stored in block 110 e - mail data base along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by synthesized voice , the message will be stored in block 111 synthesized voice data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was scanned , the message will be stored in block 112 scanned data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted with some unknown message type , the message will be stored in block 113 unknown type data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by telephone , the message will be stored in block 114 telephone message data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by video , the message will be stored in block 115 video data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was originally transmitted in a hard copy ( paper ) format and copies were made by the system to be eventually sent in a hard copy ( paper ) form , the scanned image of the hard copy message will be stored in block 116 hardcopy data base , along with its priority if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by facsimile , the message will be stored in block 117 facsimile data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by a voice response unit , the message will be stored in block 118 voice response unit data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by a personal computer , the message will be stored in block 119 personal computer data base , along with its priority . if block 109 determines that the message was transmitted by the server , the message will be stored in block 120 server data base , along with its priority . the data bases of blocks 110 - 120 are object - oriented data bases . an attribute “ priority ” exists for each object ( message ). the attribute is set by the contents of the “ priority indicator ” which was determined in block 108 . data bases 110 - 120 are logical data bases . the physical data base is normally the one associated with the type of message , i . e ., lotus notes for e - mail block 110 . if block 109 determines that the message is a response to the message previously stored in data bases 110 - 120 , the message will be stored in block 121 response to message sent database . block 109 will tag the highest priority message ( s ) as “ a very important message ( s )”. all the messages from blocks 110 - 120 with their priority will be stored in block 122 . block 122 will also tag the other messages in priority order . then the program will go to decision block 123 . decision block 123 will determine whether or not additional messages are to be processed . if block 123 determines that there are additional messages to be processed , the program will go back to the input of block 108 . if block 123 determines that there are no additional messages to be processed , the program will go to block 124 to return to the executive routine to determine if there are any messages to be transmitted in block 104 ( fig2 ). fig4 a and 4b are a flow chart showing the routine for processing received messages and transmitting messages . the program begins in block 101 ( fig4 a ) message processing . then the program goes to decision block 125 . decision block 125 determines whether or not there are any very important messages to be processed . if block 125 determines that there are one or more very important messages , the program goes to block 126 to inform the user of the existence of the very important messages . then the program goes to block 130 . if block 125 determines that there are no very important messages to be processed , the program goes to decision block 127 . decision block 127 determines whether or not the user wants to read , view or listen to other stored messages . if block 127 determines that the user does not want to read other messages , the program goes to block 128 to return to the executive routine to determine if there are any new received messages in block 102 ( fig2 ). if block 127 determines that the user wants to read , view , or listen to other stored messages , the program goes to block 130 . block 130 displays to the user : the type of message ; the date and time of arrival of the message ; and the author of the message . block 130 will list the very important messages as the highest priority messages to be read , viewed , listened to , and resolved . now the program goes to block 131 to allow the user to read , view , or listen to one or more messages . block 131 will link the message to the appropriate application for reading the message or launching the application . now the program goes to decision block 132 . decision block 132 determines whether or not to forward the message ( s ). if block 132 determines to forward the message ( s ), the program goes to block 133 to forward the message to another user ( s ). the routing rules of fig6 will be used to forward the message ( s ). then the program goes to block 135 . if block 132 determines not to forward the message , the program goes to decision block 135 . decision block 135 determines whether or not to delete the message ( s ). if block 132 determines to delete the message ( s ), the program goes to block 136 to delete the message ( s ). then the program goes to block 138 . if block 135 determines not to delete the message ( s ), the program goes to decision block 138 . decision block 138 determines whether or not to store the message ( s ) with an expiration date . if block 138 determines to store the message ( s ) with an expiration date , the program goes to block 139 to store the message ( s ) with an expiration date . then the program goes to block 140 . if block 138 determines not to set an expiration date , the program goes to block 140 resolution . block 140 ( fig4 b ) continues to process the received messages . then the program goes to decision block 141 . decision block 141 determines whether or not the message is a response to a previously responded to message . if block 141 determines the message is a response to a previously responded to message , the program goes to block 142 to update the sent message data base with this fact . then the program goes to decision block 143 . if block 143 determines that another response to the message is not necessary , the program goes to return block 200 . then the program returns to the executive routine to determine if there are any new received messages in block 102 ( fig2 ). if block 143 determines that another response to the message is necessary , the program goes to transmit information ( message ) block 105 . if block 141 determines the message is not a response to a previously responded to message , the program goes to decision block 144 . decision block 144 determines whether or not the user wants to respond at all . if block 144 determines that the user does not want to respond , the program goes to block 201 to return to the executive routine to determine if there are any new received messages in block 102 ( fig2 ). if block 144 determines that the user wants to respond , the program goes to decision block 145 . block 145 determines whether or not the user wants to respond now or later . if block 145 determines that the user wants to respond now , the program goes to transmit information ( message ) block 105 . if block 145 decides to respond later , the program will go to block 147 to set the date / time indicator which will notify the user when to respond . then the program will go to block 202 to store the information ( message ) in “ message to be sent in the future data base ”. now the program will go to return block 203 , which returns to the execution routine to determine if there are any new received messages in block 102 ( fig2 ). decision block 146 will receive an input from transmit information ( message ) block 105 . block 105 is also entered from executive routine block 104 if there is a need to send a message ( s ). block 146 will determine if it is the right date / time to transmit a message that was stored . if block 146 determines that it is the proper date / time to send the message , the program will go to block 204 to obtain the message from the message to be sent in the future data base . if block 146 determines that the message is not the proper date / time to send a message , the program will go to block 148 . block 148 will decide the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message . the choice of media , i . e ., delivery mechanism , determined by block 148 will be dependent upon : the performance of the media ; compatibility to the recipient &# 39 ; s media ; the cost of delivering the message ; and other user determined criteria . if block 148 decides that e - mail is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 149 to launch the e - mail application . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that the use of a document generation system ( for hard copy output ) is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 150 to launch the word processing application . now the program will go to block 206 to launch the print application , which may be the documatch ™ system . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that facsimile is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 151 to launch the facsimile application . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that voice is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 152 to launch the appropriate voice application . the appropriate voice application may be telephone , the internet , a voice response unit , real voice , synthesized voice , or any combination of the above . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that video is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 153 to launch the video application . the video application may transmit canned video responses or real tine video responses . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that a memory card is the best media to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 154 to launch the memory card application . then the program will go to the input of decision block 205 . if block 148 decides that a combination of all or some of the above mechanisms are desired to transmit a new message or respond to a received message , the program will go to block 208 to launch the applications for the selected combination ( all combinations are possible ). then the program will go to decision block 205 . decision block 205 will determine whether or not to transmit a new message or send a response to a received message . if block 205 decides not to transmit or respond to the message the program will go to decision block 209 . decision block 209 will determine whether or not to respond to other received messages . if block 209 decides not to respond to other received messages , the program will go to block 210 to return to the executive routine to determine the status of the already responded to messages in block 106 ( fig2 ). if block 209 decides to respond to other received messages , the program will go to block 105 transmit information . if block 205 decides to transmit or respond to the message , the program will go to block 212 to send the message . then the program will go to block 213 . block 213 will store in the sent message data base : the message recipient ; the date and time the message was sent ; the mechanism of transmitting the message ; whether or not a return receipt was requested ; and the message content . at this point the program will go to block 214 to return to the executive routine to determine the status of the already responded to messages in block 106 ( fig2 ). now the program goes to block 107 ( fig5 ) to review the status of the sent message ( s ). then the program goes to block 170 to retrieve the messages and attributes stored in the sent message data base . the messages in the sent message data base will be stored first according to their very important message status and then by their type . now the program will go to decision block 171 . decision block 171 will determine whether or not to delete any messages . if block 171 decides to delete any messages , the program will go to delete the selected message ( s ). if block 171 decides not to delete any messages or block 172 has deleted one or more messages , the program will go to decision block 173 . decision block 173 will determine whether or not to retransmit a follow up response to message ( s ) already responded to . if block 173 decides to retransmit a follow up response to message ( s ) already responded to , the program will go to block 174 to select the message ( s ) that is / are going to be responded to again . then the program goes to block 105 to transmit the message ( s ). if block 173 decides not to retransmit a follow up response to message ( s ) already responded to , the program will go to block 167 to return to the executive routine to determine whether or not there are any very important messages in block 100 ( fig2 ). fig6 is an illustration of a priority table that depicts the automatic routing of received messages as a function of routing rules . the above specification describes a new and improved integrated system and method for receiving , transmitting , and routing messages . it is realized that the above description may indicate to those skilled in the art additional ways in which the principles of this invention may be used without departing from the spirit . it is , therefore , intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 6Physics
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referring to fig1 there is shown an inherent shutdown assembly for a nuclear reactor . the poison mass or neutron absorber 10 is contained within a casing 12 and is held above the core region ( not shown ) of the reactor . the core region is normally segmented into subassembly units such as by wall 14 which is usually hexagonal . wall 14 serves as a containment vessel for the fuel rod bundles and for the core coolant which flows through the core region up and around the absorber mass . when the temperature of this coolant reaches a critical value or when the neutron flux of the core region reaches a critical level , it is necessary for poison mass 10 to be inserted into the core region . the poison mass 10 will then absorb excess neutrons , thereby causing the reactor to shut down . the poison mass container 12 is held in a position above the core region by the interrelated combination of support structure 16 , latch 18 , and sensor - trigger 20 . sensor - trigger 20 is in contact with the core coolant and in response to the temperature of the core coolant being equal to or greater than a critical value , it triggers release of latch 18 allowing descent of absorber mass 10 into the core region either by gravity or with a mechanical assist . in addition , sensor - trigger 20 may include means for sensing the neutron flux and for releasing latch 18 with the neutron flux at a critical level . in prior art devices the sensor , trigger , latch and support comprise a one - time - only use unit , which , in order to provide for the necessary structural support of poison mass 10 , had to have large parts and perhaps external connection . the present disclosure describes a self - contained device in which the sensing and triggering function are separated from the support function , greatly reducing the necessary bulk of the sensor - trigger resulting in a fast response time . further , the device is resettable so as to be capable of being tested in situ or ex - reactor . referring to fig1 and 2 , there is shown in detail sensor - trigger 20 . the size of sensor - trigger 20 , as shown in fig1 and fig2 relative to that of the other elements , should not be considered limiting . in fact , sensor - trigger 20 can be significantly smaller than the other elements . the sensor trigger includes a container 24 rigidly coupled at one end to an immovable anchor such as wall 26 . wall 26 in a nuclear reactor might be the subassembly wall or some other support of the reactor . container 24 is flexible such as by being in the form of a bellows and should be of a material which has strength at the particular temperatures involved and which has high heat conductivity . for example , container 24 might be of stainless steel bolted or welded to wall 26 . cover plate 28 closes the other end of container 24 , which in this embodiment is cylindrical , such as by the welding of plate 28 to container 24 . container 24 is free to flex about its coupling to wall 26 . latch rest 34 extends from plate 28 . latch rest 34 which is of a material whose melting point is well above the critical temperature extends through slot 33 of wall 35 . this limits the flexing motion of container 24 to two dimensions . wall 35 may extend from wall 26 . within container 24 is a fuse material 36 whose melting point is about at the critical temperature at which release of poison mass 10 should occur . below the critical temperature fuse material 36 is , of course , solid and provides structural support for maintaining container 24 in a linear condition as shown in fig1 i . e . so that shoulder 38 of latch 18 may rest upon latch rest 34 supporting support structure 16 in a manner to be described . with the core coolant , which is in contact with container 24 , approaching the critical temperature , fuse material 36 softens and at the critical temperature melts so that the structural support provided by fuse material 36 collapses . since the fuse material will melt and expand to form a liquid , it is desirable that the volume of container 24 assumed by the fuse material in the solid state should not completely fill up the interior of container 24 . with the collapse of the structural support of container 24 as provided by fuse material 36 , the weight of latch 18 upon latch rest 34 forces container 24 to bend and bow about wall 26 and forces latch rest 34 to move down within slot 33 , as shown in fig2 . the latch 18 therefore is released . after release of latch 18 , a spring means such as coil spring 40 , whose melting point is well above the critical temperature and which extends between plate 28 and wall 26 , acts to bias container 24 back to its linear position as shown in fig1 . spring means 40 is not limited to being a coil spring but could be any type of spring including a wire stretch between plate 28 and wall 26 . in fact , container 24 might be so constructed as to have an inherent bias to a linear position while still being flexible thereby negating the need for a separate spring . with the container 24 returned to a linear condition by spring means 40 and with the temperature of the core coolant below the critical temperature , fuse material 36 hardens once again giving the container 24 structural strength in the linear position of fig1 . spring 42 permits latch 18 to be bent away from rest 34 thereby allowing shoulder 38 of latch 18 to be reset on latch rest 34 . thus , the device is reusable . for the sensing of neutron flux and for the triggering of release when the neutron flux reaches a critical level , a fissionable material may be in some manner placed within container 24 in contact with fuse material 36 . this may be done by coating the wall 43 of container 24 with a fissionable material or by interspersing within fuse material 36 fissionable material or by putting a block of fissionable material within fuse material 36 . as sensor - trigger 20 is positioned just above the core region , such fissionable material in container 24 will be exposed to neutron flux . as the neutron flux increases , the temperature of the fissionable material in container 24 will increase thereby heating the fuse material . as fuse material 36 is heated by the fissionable material it will melt when it reaches its melting point . in sensing neutron flux , the sensor - trigger acts in all respects as described for the sensing and triggering due to increase in core coolant temperature . the desirable material to be used as fuse material 36 is determined by the critical temperature at which release of the objects should occur . for example , in a nuclear reactor where this temperature might be 700 ° c ., fuse material 36 might be , for example , aluminum which has a melting point at approximately 700 ° c . of course , any other metal or alloy may be used as fuse material 36 provided it has the desirable melting point and necessary strength to support the weight of the object . it is not necessary that the fuse material actually melt before release will occur . this is determined by the particular shape and strength of fuse material 36 and release may , in fact , occur as the material is softened . by experimentation with particular shapes and weights involved , one can determine the ideal temperature at which release will occur for a particular fuse material 36 . for use with a neutron poison release assembly , it is advantageous to have a support structure 16 which will release poison mass 10 with only a small downward movement of latch 18 . for example , the mechanism shown in fig1 would support poison mass 12 with minimal support of latch 18 by sensor - trigger 20 . support structure 16 is in two identical halves 45 each of which contains a chamber 46 . halves 45 are positioned on either side of wall 14 and are held together by links 49 . spheres 47 are within chambers 46 and engage indentations 48 in casing 12 through wall 14 and are held there by cam surfaces 50 of chambers 46 . when latch 18 is released by sensor - trigger 20 , the outward pressure on spheres 46 due to the weight of poison mass 10 and gravity force the opposing halves 45 to move down , removing spheres 47 from indentations 48 . this releases casing 12 containing poison mass 10 which then falls into the core region . stops 52 limit the downward movement of structure 16 . the device may be reset by providing means for lifting structure 16 such as with a manipulator arm 54 and for lifting poison mass 10 such as with a grasper 56 gripping knob 57 . in situ testing may be accomplished with external heating means such as a resistance heater 60 which is coupled to a power supply not shown . the heater 60 may be positioned below sensor trigger 20 so that coolant passing heater 60 may be heated to the critical level before contacting container 24 thereby indirectly heating the fuse material to the critical level . this allows for in situ testing of the device . the inherent properties of the device allow for confinement of the entire mechanism for shutdown activation within the immediate core region . in this way the complete shutdown action depends upon basic properties intrinsic to the shutdown assembly , e . g . the melting point of the fuse material and the biasing of the spring means . this eliminates dependence upon active components , such as used in external electric circuitry for sensing and logic functions , resulting in a low failure rate when called upon to perform as intended . | 6Physics
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referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is seen a square - waveform voltage generator 1 which is connected through a series capacitor 2 and a secondary winding 3 to an evaluation circuit 4 . the secondary winding 3 is wound on a soft - magnetic magnet core 5 , on which a compensation winding 6 and a primary winding 7 are also located . the evaluation circuit 4 is constructed in such a way that it detects positive and negative current peaks which flow through the secondary winding 3 , and supplies an input of a downstream amplifier 8 with a voltage which corresponds to a mean value of the positive and negative current peaks . according to the invention , the soft - magnetic magnet core 5 has a flat magnetization characteristic , that is to say a magnetization characteristic in which induction increases virtually linearly with field strength over a wide range . such a magnetization characteristic can be produced in soft - magnetic materials in particular by tempering in a cross field . the square - waveform voltage generator 1 supplies a sawtooth - waveform voltage through the series capacitor 2 to the secondary winding 3 , which produces an alternating current at a relatively high frequency in the secondary winding . according to the invention , the circuit is chosen in such a way that this current in the secondary winding is sufficient to drive the soft - magnetic magnet core alternatively into positive and negative saturation . when no current is flowing through the other windings on the magnet core 5 , then both the positive and the negative current peaks through the secondary winding 3 are of equal magnitude . however , when a current to be measured is flowing in the primary winding 7 of the soft - magnetic magnet core 5 , the latter is premagnetized , so that the alternating current which is produced in the secondary winding 3 , for example in the positive direction , drives the magnet core into saturation more rapidly than in the negative direction . if the premagnetization is reversed by a reverse current in the primary winding 7 , a positive current in the secondary winding 3 will lead to the magnet core 5 being saturated later , and a negative current will lead to saturation earlier . in consequence , different current peaks are produced in the secondary winding 3 in the two half - cycles . the evaluation circuit 4 uses anti - parallel connected diodes to detect the value for both the positive and the negative peak current and to form a mean value therefrom . this mean value is essentially proportional to the premagnetization of the magnet core 5 , and is thus proportional to the current to be measured in the primary winding 7 . the amplifier 8 which connected to the output of the evaluation circuit 4 in turn has an output that drives a current through the compensation winding 6 which is also located on the soft - magnetic magnet core 5 . furthermore , a resistor 9 has a first terminal connected in series with the compensation winding 6 and a second terminal connected to ground 10 . a voltage drop then occurs across this resistor , which is proportional to the current in the compensation winding 6 and thus also to the current in the primary winding 7 of the soft - magnetic magnet core 5 . this proportionality results from the fact that the evaluation circuit 4 , with the downstream amplifier 8 , controls the compensation current in each case in such a way that the mean value of the positive and negative current peaks is equal to zero , so that there is no premagnetization in the magnet core 5 . this current sensor has the advantage of permitting even relatively large currents to be measured correctly , since the primary current does not cause any saturation of the magnet core 5 . furthermore , even relatively rapid current changes can be detected , since the magnet core has a flat magnetization characteristic and thus does not go straight into saturation in the event of sudden changes in the primary current , when the compensation current has not yet been matched . the mean - value voltage , which rises in consequence , makes it possible for the evaluation circuit 4 to recorrect the compensation current rapidly . a voltage which is proportional to the primary current to be measured in the primary winding 7 thus occurs across the resistor 9 and , in fact , depends on the polarity with respect to ground 10 of the direction of the current in the primary winding 7 . if a reference voltage is then desired which is particularly suitable for evaluation in digital display or control devices , then it is desirable to have a voltage which has only one polarity ( positive or negative ) with respect to ground . with reference to fig2 it is seen that in consequence it is possible to use a bridge amplifier configuration 13 instead of the amplifier 8 . the bridge amplifier configuration 13 is formed of two amplifiers 11 and 12 and has outputs 14 and 15 that are connected to the terminals of the compensation winding 6 . this results in a voltage across a resistor 16 which can be amplified through an additional amplifier 17 and in each case has only a positive or a negative value with respect to ground 10 , irrespective of the direction of the current to be measured in the primary winding 7 . a configuration which manages without the compensation winding 6 is illustrated in fig3 . the configuration is essentially similar to that according to fig1 with the difference that the output of the amplifier 8 is connected through a low - pass filter , for example an inductance 18 acting as a low - pass filter , to the terminal of the secondary winding 3 which leads to the square - waveform voltage generator 1 . the compensation current then likewise flows through the secondary winding 3 and from there through a low - pass filter 19 , for example a low - pass filter including an inductance and a capacitance as well as through the resistor 9 , to ground 10 . in order to keep the low - frequency compensation current away from the evaluation circuit 4 , a high - pass filter , for example a further capacitor 20 , is connected between this evaluation circuit 4 and the low - pass filter 19 . | 7Electricity
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referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is seen a retriever 1 having a cover 2 attached to a cup - shaped base 3 by a screw 4 . the screw 4 not only holds the cover 2 to the base 3 , but also connects a belt clip 5 to the cover . the belt clip 5 has a hole 10 formed in a shorter leg 6 thereof through which the screw 4 may be tightened and a smaller , non - illustrated hole in a longer leg 7 through which the screw holds the belt clip to the cover 2 . a chain which is not illustrated in fig1 , but will be described in more detail below , is spring - loaded in the retriever 1 and ends at a ring 8 which is retracted against a ferrule 9 . such a retriever is available from the hillman group of cincinnati , ohio as model # 701290 under the designation key retriever . according to the invention , a flashlight 30 is connected to the ring 8 by another chain 31 . as is seen in fig2 , the flashlight 30 has a front cap 32 and a rear cap 33 , which are screwed onto a hollow body 34 . the body 34 contains a light source , such as a bulb 35 having a side terminal screwed or otherwise engaged in a socket 36 which is in turn connected to a reflector 37 . however , one or more leds may be used instead of the bulb . batteries 40 are biased against one another and against a base terminal of the bulb 35 by a spring 41 . a first lead 42 is electrically connected to the socket 36 and extends toward the rear cap 33 and a second lead 43 is electrically connected to the spring 41 and extends toward the rear cap 33 . both leads 42 , 43 are l - shaped in the vicinity of the end cap 33 and terminate with a gap there between . a switch 51 includes an actuator in the form of a plunger 45 which protrudes through the end cap 33 and through the gap 44 and terminates in a conductive crosspiece 46 . a non - conductive washer 47 of the switch 51 is fixedly disposed on the plunger 45 . a spring 48 normally biases the washer 47 against the l - shaped end of the leads 42 , 43 . however , if the plunger 45 is pulled to the right in fig2 against the force of the spring 48 , the conductive crosspiece 46 electrically interconnects the leads 42 , 43 and closes the circuit containing the batteries and the bulb , so that the bulb is turned on . if the plunger 45 is no longer pulled to the right in fig2 , the spring 48 moves the washer 47 and with it the plunger and the crosspiece to the left in fig2 and the bulb is turned off . a hole 49 in the end of the plunger is connected to the chain 31 by a ring 50 shown in fig1 . since the stiffness or spring constant k of the retriever spring is greater than the stiffness or constant k of the switch spring 48 , every time the flashlight 30 is extended from the retriever in an extension direction e , the plunger will be pulled and the bulb will turn on . every time the flashlight is retracted in a retraction direction r , the plunger will be returned to its normal rest position and the bulb will be turned off . it should also be noted that any attachment device could be used in place of a belt clip to attach the retriever to a stationary object , such a piece of furniture or a counter , where the flashlight is to be used . in the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig3 , the retriever 1 is once again shown , but with the cover 2 removed . it can be seen that the cup - shaped base 3 has a threaded socket 11 for receiving the screw 4 . a spool 13 has a base portion 14 rotating on the base 3 and a cylindrical portion 15 perpendicular to the base portion 14 . the cylindrical portion 15 has an opening 16 and a slot 17 . the socket 11 has a slot 18 for receiving one end of a spring 19 . the other end of the spring 19 passes through the opening 16 and is locked in place by passing through the slot 17 . a chain 20 is wound around the spool 13 between the base portion 14 and the cylindrical portion 15 and has a non - illustrated end connected to the spool 13 . a portion of the chain 20 below the base portion 14 near the point of connection to the spool 13 is shown in a broken - away portion of the base portion 14 . the chain 20 passes through the ferrule 9 which is disposed in a recess in the base 3 . all of the features of the retriever 1 described above are present in the hillman key retriever mentioned above . according to the invention , a switch 21 has an l - shaped , inflexible , electrically - conductive stop 22 fixedly mounted to the side of the cup - shaped base 3 . the switch 21 also has a switch spring in the from of a resilient , l - shaped , electrically - conductive finger 23 fixedly mounted to the side of the cup - shaped base 3 . an actuator in the form of a washer 24 is fixedly connected to the chain 20 . in the extended position of the chain 20 shown in fig3 a , the washer 24 has pushed the tip of the resilient finger 23 against and in electrical contact with the inflexible stop 22 . however , when the chain is retracted into the retriever , to the left in fig3 , the washer is lifted off the resilient finger 23 as shown in fig3 b and passes under the base portion 14 . therefore , the resilient finger 23 bounces back to its unbiased condition in which the tip of the finger 23 is moved away from the stop 22 . two electrical leads 25 are strung along the chain 20 from a non - illustrated flashlight into the retriever 1 . the electrical leads 25 protrude beyond the end of the chain at the point of connection to the spool 13 . one end of one of the electrical leads 25 is connected to the stop 22 and one end of the other of the electrical leads 25 is connected to the finger 23 . the other end of one of the electrical leads 25 is connected to the lead 42 and the other end of the other of the electrical leads 25 is connected to the lead 43 in the flashlight . in contrast to the first embodiment shown in fig2 , the flashlight of the second embodiment has no switch integral therewith , but instead the switch 21 will turn on the bulb 35 when the chain 20 is pulled and shut off the bulb 35 when the chain is retracted by the spring 19 . the distance by which the chain must be pulled to turn on the bulb is adjustable by suitable placement of the washer 24 along the chain 20 . in the third embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig4 , a standard pull switch 60 , such as is used for a ceiling fan or a ceiling light , is disposed in the flashlight 30 . an actuator in the form of a chain 61 of the pull switch is connected between a non - illustrated switch spring in the pull switch 60 and the chain 31 leading to the retriever 1 , so that when the flashlight is pulled , the switch 60 will turn on the bulb . when the flashlight is pulled again , after the chain has been retracted by the retriever 1 , the bulb will turn off . in the fourth embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig5 , an element , such as a capacitive proximity switch 70 , is disposed in or on the flashlight 30 . when a user approaches or grasps the flashlight , the proximity switch turns on the bulb . when the user releases the flashlight for retraction toward the retriever 1 , the bulb turns off . in this case , the proximity switch acts as the switch and the actuator . alternatively , an element 71 could be placed in or on the retriever 1 , forming a transmitting pair with the element 70 . elements 70 and 71 would communicate through radio waves , acoustic waves or microwaves , for instance , so that when the flashlight with the element 70 has been extended a certain distance from the element 71 , the bulb would turn on . element 70 is both the switch and the actuator . in the fifth embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig6 , a cable - actuated position sensor 80 is disposed in the flashlight 30 . the sensor 80 has a cable 81 wound on a reel 82 against the force of a spring 83 . the cable 81 is connected to the chain 31 . when the cable 81 is extended by a certain distance , the sensor 80 turns on the bulb . when the cable is retracted , the sensor 80 turns off the bulb . in this embodiment , a belt clip or other fastener may be used instead of the retriever , in which case the cable 81 is directly connected to the ring 8 which is fixed in place at the fastener . in all of the embodiments described above , it is not necessary to use a chain 31 between the retriever 1 and the flashlight 30 . instead , any type of cord , line or cable which is capable of winding on the spool 13 may be used . in the second embodiment of fig3 , the leads 25 themselves may replace the chain 31 . the use of the generic word “ line ” in the claims includes all of the possibilities mentioned above . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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various embodiments of the power screwdriver with a clutch assembly or a disengaging mechanism according the present invention are shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration . the screwdriver according to the present invention is designed to be used with a power tool , but may be modified to be used with hand tools , such as conventional screwdrivers . fig1 - 5 illustrate a first embodiment of the screwdriver 10 . fig1 illustrates a perspective view of the screwdriver 10 which is ready to be mounted to a driver motor ( not shown ) through a mounting plate 5 . the screwdriver 10 includes a sleeve member 20 , a bracing member 50 , a housing 70 , a spindle assembly 120 ( fig4 ) and a clutch assembly 200 ( fig5 ). an opening 14 formed in the front of the sleeve member 20 is for inserting the head portion of a screw to engage the driver bit 122 ( fig3 ). as shown in fig2 the sleeve member 20 includes a stopper sleeve 12 , a sleeve body 30 and a band 40 . the stopper sleeve 12 has a cylindrical spout 16 in the front end for inserting a screw into the opening 14 and is threadably secured to the front end of the sleeve body 30 . the projection of the stopper sleeve 12 is adjusted by controlling the threading depth of the stopper sleeve 12 in relation to the sleeve body 30 . the adjustment of the threading depth controls the penetration depth of a screw into a work surface . for example , if the stopper sleeve 12 is completely threaded into the front end of the sleeve body 30 , then the penetration depth of a screw into a work surface will be deeper . conversely , if the stopper sleeve 12 is partially threaded into the front end of the sleeve body 30 , then the penetration depth of a screw into a work surface will be shallower . also shown in fig2 is a ring 40 configured for mounting on the other end of the sleeve body 30 . the ring 40 is substantially cylindrical and is made of a rigid material , such as steel . the ring 40 is preferably formed with an elongated rectangular strip having a t - shaped extrusion 44 and equally shaped receptacle . in the preferred embodiment , the t - shaped receptacle is slightly larger than the t - shaped extrusion 44 by a gap 42 to allow the ring 40 to slightly expand in its diameter in response to the outward movement of the ball bearings 35 . the ball bearings 35 are inserted into each respective receptacle 36 which is formed substantially in opposite location of each other . the cross - sectional illustration showing the placement and arrangement of the ball bearings 35 is better illustrated in fig3 . there is also provided in fig2 a bracing member 50 having a cylindrical inner member 52 and a cylindrical outer member 54 integrated into a single piece member . a cylindrical void 53 formed between the inner member 52 and the outer member 54 is configured for slidably mounting the sleeve member 20 . in particular , the sleeve body 30 coupled with the ring 40 is slidably inserted into the cylindrical void 53 . when properly inserted , the ball bearings 35 engage and rest in one of the indents 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 or 59 . a track 60 is formed between the indents 55 - 59 for guiding the movement of the ball bearings 35 . indents 55 - 57 are used to adjust the desired depth of the screw before the clutches disengage . indent 58 may be selected to use the screwdriver 10 without the help of the clutch assembly , for example , to unscrew the embedded screw . indent 59 is used to replace a driver bit 122 . although not shown in fig2 the identical track 60 and the indents 55 - 59 are formed on the opposite side of the inner member 52 . between individual indents 55 - 59 , there provided a bump 61 to hold the ball bearing 35 into a designated indent . however , the height of the bump 61 is such that a sufficient twisting force applied to the sleeve body 30 will allow the ball bearing 35 to travel to adjacent indents . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the outer member 54 has a pair of threaded receptacles 62 ( only one shown in fig2 but both are shown in fig3 ) configured for receiving mounting screws 63 . the mounting screws 63 are inserted into respective threaded receptacles 62 when the bracing member 50 is slidably inserted into a cylindrical hole formed between the body of the housing 70 and a spindle guide 74 . in particular , the mounting screws 63 are threaded into the threaded receptacles 62 when the threaded receptacles 62 are aligned with windows 72 . in other words , the mounting screws 63 are inserted through the windows 72 and then securely mounted into the threaded receptacles 62 with a portion of screws 63 protruding from the bracing member 50 so that the movement of the bracing member 50 is restricted to the opening defined by the windows 72 formed in the housing 70 . the arrangement of the internal components of the screwdriver 10 is now explained in reference to fig3 which illustrates a cross - sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention . in the preferred embodiment , there provided in the interior of the housing 70 a bracing member coil 76 inserted around the spindle guide 74 and positioned between the bracing member 50 and the bottom wall of the spindle guide 74 to resist against a pressing movement of the bracing member 50 toward the bottom wall of the spindle guide 74 . a pair of press cylinders 80 , each having a ball bearing rotatably embedded or secured to one end and a hollow hole on the other end , are placed on the outer perimeter 79 of the spindle guide 74 substantially opposite of each other , as shown in fig3 . each press cylinder 80 has inside a press coil 78 which rests against the bottom wall of the bracing member 50 to provide a resistive force against the bracing member 50 when the bracing member 50 is axially pressed toward the bottom wall of the spindle guide 74 . fig4 illustrates the spindle assembly 120 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . the spindle assembly 120 includes a spindle 100 , a bit coupler 130 , a spindle coil 115 and a spindle sleeve 110 . as shown in fig3 the spindle 100 is inserted into an axial opening 181 defined by the clutch assembly 200 through a center opening of the spindle guide 74 . in particular , the lower end of the spindle 100 , which has an angled surface having , for example , a hexagonal cross - section , is inserted into the correspondingly configured axial opening 181 of the clutch assembly . once the spindle 100 is inserted into the axial opening , the spindle coil 115 is placed around the spindle 100 and abuts against the top surface of the spindle guide 74 ( shown in fig3 ). thereafter , the spindle 100 and the spindle coil 115 are inserted into the spindle sleeve 110 having a cylindrical opening . as shown in fig4 the spindle sleeve 110 has a first opening 112 which is smaller in diameter than that of a second opening 114 . the first opening 112 is sufficiently large to snugly fit the spindle 100 therein . conversely , the second opening is sufficiently large to accommodate the spindle coil 115 , as shown in fig3 . one end of the spindle coil 115 rests on the shoulder 113 created by the connecting region of the first opening 112 and the second opening 114 . the driver bit 122 is then placed inside an opening 106 . the opening 106 is formed axially along the length of the spindle 100 for receiving a driver bit 122 and is configured to have an angled inner surface , such as hexagonal , to receive a similarly shaped driver bit 122 without any slippage . after the driver bit 122 is inserted , the bit coupler 130 is mounted onto the neck member 102 of the spindle 100 . the top potion of the spindle 100 has a neck member 102 which has a smaller outer diameter and is configured to receive the bit coupler 130 . once the bit coupler 130 is mounted onto the neck member 102 , a flexible indent 132 formed in the interior of the bit coupler 130 protrudes through the opening 104 formed on the neck member 102 , as shown in fig4 . as a result , the indent 132 protrudes out of the interior wall of the cylindrical opening 106 , thus firmly engaging a receptor ring 124 which is formed substantially around the driver bit 122 . in the preferred embodiment , the bit coupler 130 has two oppositely placed shoulders 134 ( only one is shown in fig4 ) for restricting the movement of the spindle sleeve 110 and two indents 132 ( only one is shown in fig4 but both are shown in fig3 ) to releasably hold the driver bit 122 . to either install or release the driver bit 122 from the spindle 100 , the sleeve member 20 ( shown in fig2 ) is moved to the indent 59 of the bracing member 50 . in that event , a groove 13 ( see fig3 ) of the sleeve body 30 pushes the spindle sleeve 110 at point 15 toward the spindle guide 74 , thus allowing the indents 132 to extend outward to release the driver bit 122 from the spindle 100 . fig5 illustrates the clutch assembly 200 of the present invention . the clutch assembly 200 is provided between the gear member 140 ( fig3 ) and the spindle 100 . the clutch assembly 200 includes a first clutch 160 and a second clutch 180 , in which the first clutch 160 is formed on the forward surface of the main gear 142 . the gear member 140 includes a main gear 142 and an auxiliary gear 144 formed on the forward surface of the main gear 142 . the auxiliary gear 144 has gear teeth which have a wider thickness on the top and a narrower thickness on the bottom in which the transition between the top and the bottom is sloped . the gear teeth of the auxiliary gear 144 are configured to engage the first inner teeth 164 of the first clutch 160 . the main gear 142 and the auxiliary gear 144 have a common shaft 146 . in the preferred embodiment , the shaft 146 has a neck member 148 having a substantially square cross - section . also shown in fig5 is the first clutch 160 having the second inner teeth 162 . the second inner teeth 162 forms a larger diameter than that of the first inner teeth 164 and is configured to engage the second clutch 180 . the first clutch 160 has a cylindrical plate - like shape . the second clutch 180 shown in fig5 has a large cylindrical portion 182 having an outer teeth 184 for engaging the second inner teeth 162 of the first clutch 160 . the second clutch also has an elongated cylindrical body 196 with a neck portion having a receptor 183 for receiving an engaging ball 188 . once the engaging balls 188 ( only one is shown in fig5 but the preferred embodiment has at least two engaging balls 188 and corresponding receptors 183 , as shown in fig3 ) are inserted into the receptors 183 , a neck sleeve 220 is placed around the neck portion to hold the engaging balls 188 in the receptors 183 . the receptors 183 are sized and configured to hold the engaging balls 188 and to partially protrude a portion of the engaging balls 188 toward the inner opening . the neck sleeve 220 is made of a resilient material or is axially cut to allow it to be expanded when the engaging balls 188 are pushed outward . as described above with respect to the spindle assembly 120 , the elongated cylindrical body 196 has an opening for receiving the lower portion of the spindle 100 . the elongated cylindrical body 196 also has a rectangular window 185 for receiving a clip 202 . the second clutch 180 engages the first clutch 160 , and the shaft 146 of the gear member 140 is inserted into a center opening 189 axially formed in the second clutch through the opening defined by the first inner teeth 164 . when the shaft 146 is properly inserted , the neck member 148 is aligned with the rectangular opening 185 of the second clutch 180 . the clip 202 is then inserted into the rectangular opening 185 to firmly hold the neck member 148 . the clip 202 may be made of any suitable resilient material , such as plastic . a clutch coil 210 is provided between the first clutch 160 and the gear member 140 and is adapted to normally urge the first clutch 160 in a direction away from the gear member 140 . referring further to fig5 there provided in the large cylindrical portion 182 of the second clutch member 180 is a pair of receptacles 186 each configured to receive a ball bearing 230 supported by a push pin 250 which is supported by a spring 240 . the cross - sectional view of the above arrangement is better shown in fig3 . each receptacle 186 has a sloped surface 187 . similarly , the push pins 250 have the sloped surface corresponding to the sloped surface 187 of the receptacles 186 . the operation of the screwdriver according to the first embodiment is discussed below . after the desired depth adjustment has been made by adjusting the stopper sleeve 12 with respect to the sleeve body 30 , the tip of the driver bit 122 is applied to the head of a screw ( now shown ), and the screw is positioned on the work surface . at this point , the first inner teeth 164 of the first clutch 160 is positioned on the upper portion of the auxiliary gear 144 . the second clutch 180 is also engaged with the second inner teeth 162 of the first clutch 160 . in this position , the ball bearings 230 are positioned on the lower portion of the sloped surface of the receptacles 186 . as a result , when the driver motor rotates , the first 160 and the second 180 clutches are synchronously rotated which in turn rotates the spindle 100 containing the driver bit 122 . when the stopper sleeve 12 makes a contact with the work surface , the stopper sleeve 12 is gradually pulled backwards . the backward movement of the stopper sleeve 12 causes the bracing member 50 and the press cylinders 80 to be moved backwards until the ball bearings in the press cylinders 80 push the first clutch 160 away to force the disengagement from the second clutch 180 . in effect , when the screw is completed embedded into the work surface , the first clutch 160 is completely disengaged from the second clutch 180 . once the first clutch 160 separates from the second clutch 180 , the first inner teeth 164 rests on the lower portion of the auxiliary gear 144 of the gear member 140 ( shown in fig5 ). because the first clutch 160 is separated , the ball bearing 230 which is supported by a push pin 250 gradually moves up the sloped surface 187 of the receptacles 186 . because the first clutch 160 is separated from the second clutch 180 , the shaft 146 of the gear member 140 rotates while the second clutch 180 does not . as a result , the neck member 148 held by the clip 202 is rotated against the clamping force of the clip 202 thus making a clamping sound . this sound is a notice to the operator that the clutches are no longer engaged . as the operator removes the screwdriver 10 from the work surface , the clip 202 around the neck member 148 forces the first clutch 160 and the second clutch 180 to align properly so as to engage each other without causing grinding and gear teeth wear . fig6 - 8 illustrate a second embodiment of the screwdriver 300 . the second embodiment shown in fig6 includes a stopper sleeve 312 slidably coupled to the front end of a bracing member 350 and a housing 370 which is slidably coupled to the near end of the bracing member 350 . fig7 shows an exploded view of the components making up the second embodiment of the present invention , which includes an inner spindle 320 having a neck member 326 for mounting a brace 324 . an extension 325 formed on one end of the brace 324 is inserted into a slot 323 which is configured and formed to receive the extension 325 . the extension 325 is inserted through the slot 323 to releasably engaging the driver bit . although not shown in fig7 an additional extension may be formed on the other end of the brace 324 for insertion into an additional slot formed next to the slot 323 to firmly hold the driver bit in the inner spindle 320 . during operation of the screwdriver , as shown in fig8 the top portion of the bracing member 350 firmly holds the brace 324 against the neck member 326 thus holding the driver bit 399 within the inner spindle 320 . to replace the driver bit 399 , the bracing member 350 is pulled down until the top portion of the bracing member 350 no longer makes a contact with the brace 324 . this allows the brace 324 to be pushed outward when the driver bit 399 is pulled away from the inner spindle 320 . the inner spindle 320 is then inserted into an elongated cylindrical opening 342 of the outer spindle 340 . the inner spindle 320 is securely coupled to the outer spindle 340 by placing a spindle washer 322 on a track 348 formed around the outer spindle 340 . the spindle washer 322 has enlarged ends 322a which penetrate through openings ( not shown ) in the track 348 and engage the groove 332 formed on the inner spindle 320 . the assembly of the inner spindle 320 and the outer spindle 340 is inserted into a spindle coil 362 . the bottom portion of the spindle coil 362 rests on the shoulder 344 of the outer spindle 340 . as shown in fig7 the inner spindle 320 further includes a bump 321 formed on the outer surface of the inner spindle 320 . the bump 321 is positioned between the flat surface 328 and the curved surface 329 . the bump 321 allows the movement of the engaging balls 345 from the flat surface 328 to the curved surface 329 when a sufficient pressure is applied to the sleeve member 312 , i . e ., when the sleeve member 312 is pressed against the work surface . the inner spindle 320 and the outer spindle 340 assembly is slidably inserted into an opening of the bracing member 350 . the bracing member 350 has a pair of receptacles 352 ( only one is shown in fig7 but both are shown in fig8 ) for receiving engaging balls 345 . each receptacle 352 is aligned with a rectangular window 346 and the flat surface 328 formed on the body of the inner spindle 320 so that when the engaging balls 345 are inserted into the receptacles 352 , each engaging ball 345 rests on the corresponding flat surface 328 of the inner spindle 320 , as shown in fig8 . the bracing member 350 also has a number of grooves formed on its outer surface of the cylindrical body . the first groove 353 is configured to be fitted with a washer 316 . once the washer 316 is in place , the housing 370 is inserted through the bottom portion of the outer spindle 340 . the interior of the housing 370 also has an inner groove 372 to receive the washer 316 . as a result , the bracing member 350 is securely engaged inside the housing 370 with the washer 316 . the stopper sleeve 312 is placed on the top of the bracing member 350 and held into place by a band 314 . the band 314 is in the form of a rectangle with semi - circular ends and is made of a flexible but rigid material so that when pressure is applied on the semi - circular ends , the rectangular portion expands outward . this is helpful since the band 314 has a pair of opposite facing tabs 315 which engage the grooves 355 - 357 through a pair of slits 318 formed on the stopper sleeve 312 . as a result , the position of the stopper sleeve 312 with respect to the bracing member 350 can be adjusted depending on the placement of the band 314 on one of the grooves 355 - 357 . the above embodiments of the present invention may be used with driver bits 400 and 410 having uniquely constructed tips for used with the screws having the matching heads of 402 and 412 , respectively , in fig7 . the operation of the screwdriver according to the second embodiment is discussed below in reference to fig8 . after the desired depth adjustment has been made by adjusting the stopper sleeve 312 with respect to the bracing member 350 by adjusting the location of the band 314 with respect to the grooves 355 - 357 , the tip of the driver bit 399 is applied to the head of a screw ( now shown ), and the screw is positioned on the work surface . at this point , the engaging balls 345 are positioned on the flat surfaces 328 of the inner spindle 320 , as shown in fig8 . as a result , as the driver motor is rotated , the outer spindle 340 and the inner spindle 320 are rotated in sync , which in turn rotates the driver bit 399 . when the stopper sleeve 312 makes a contact with the work surface , the stopper sleeve 312 is gradually pulled backwards . the backward movement of the stopper sleeve 312 causes the bracing member 350 to move backwards until the engaging balls 345 on the flat surfaces 328 are pushed toward the curved surface 329 portion of the inner spindle 320 . because the curved surface 329 has a cylindrical outer surface , the engaging balls 345 no longer apply pressure on the inner spindle 320 to turn the inner spindle 320 in the same rotational direction of the main motor . this in effect stops the rotation of the driver bit 399 . as an alternative to using the above embodiment with the stopping function , the second embodiment of the present invention may also be used as a conventional screwdriver by positioning the stopper sleeve 312 near the end of the bracing member by coupling the band 314 into a middle groove 354 . this allows the driver bit 399 to be exposed outside of the stopper sleeve 312 . this option may be used for removing ( i . e ., unscrewing ) embedded screws . while the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof . the accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention . the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims , rather than the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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referring generally to fig1 , a computer system enclosure 20 is featured . enclosure 20 includes a chassis 22 , a front bezel 24 , a rear panel 26 , an access panel 28 , and two moveable catches 30 for securing access panel 28 to chassis 22 . each movable catch 30 is operated by a catch release 32 accessible from the exterior of chassis 22 . in the illustrated embodiment , each moveable catch 30 is disposed on two sides 33 of chassis 22 , towards rear panel 26 . each catch release 32 is disposed in a recess 34 in each side 33 so as to minimize the profile of catch release 32 . in the illustrated embodiment , access panel 28 is released from chassis 22 by sliding both catch releases 32 towards rear panel 26 . referring generally to fig2 , chassis 22 is illustrated with access panel 28 in an open , or unsecured , position . the closed , or secured , position of panel 28 is shown in dashed lines . as best illustrated in fig8 , access panel 28 includes two tabs 36 used to secure access panel 28 to chassis 22 . alternatively , access panel 28 may be configured with one tab , or more than two tabs . referring again to fig2 , to secure access panel 28 to chassis 22 each tab 36 is seated under a lip 38 on the top rear portion of front bezel 24 . lip 38 and tabs 26 enable access panel 28 to be pivoted into the closed position . however , lip 38 prevents movement of tabs 36 when access panel 28 is in the closed position on chassis 28 . alternatively , the end of access panel 28 proximate front bezel 24 can be secured to chassis 22 by another mechanism , such as a hinge . fig2 also illustrates latch 40 of access panel 28 . chassis 22 and access panel 28 are preferably formed of sheet metal with latch 40 being formed by a series of bending operations on access panel 28 . however , latch 40 can also be formed separately . latch 40 includes an angled latch portion 42 , a flat latch portion 44 , and a connecting member 46 . access panel 28 also includes two support rails 48 that extend along the sides of panel 28 . as best illustrated in fig8 , each support rail 48 includes a plurality of holes 50 . a ground spring 52 is disposed between each hole 50 and the main cover portion 54 of access panel 28 . each rail 48 rests on a first bracket surface 56 and a second bracket surface 58 on each side 33 of chassis 22 . first bracket 56 includes a plurality of ground tabs 60 . each ground tab 60 is configured for insertion through each hole 50 of access panel 28 so as to contact ground spring 52 and ground access panel 28 to chassis 22 . second bracket 58 is configured with a leaf spring 62 to bias access panel 28 to an open position . referring generally to fig3 and 3a , movable catch 30 also includes an inner member 64 secured to release switch 32 , shown in dashed lines . as best illustrated in fig1 , inner member 64 is connected to release switch 32 through a hole 66 in chassis 22 . movable catch 30 includes a block portion 68 that extends through hole 66 . block 68 has a side opening 70 that allows movable catch 30 to travel along a guide member 72 formed in chassis 22 . block 68 could be disposed on release switch 32 or inner member 64 . however , in the illustrated embodiment , block 68 is disposed on release switch 32 . chassis 22 also includes two tabs 74 that cooperate with block 68 and guide member 72 to secure a biasing spring 76 . in the illustrated embodiment , inner member 64 includes a raised member 78 having an angled catch portion 80 and a flat catch portion 82 . inner member 64 also includes a hole 84 through which a screw 86 is inserted to secure inner member 64 to release switch 32 . as best illustrated in fig9 , release switch 32 includes a corresponding threaded hole 88 into which screw 86 is threaded . as best illustrated in fig1 , inner member 64 includes four guideposts 90 that are configured for insertion into four guide holes 92 in central block 68 . referring again to fig3 , the illustrated embodiment of raised member 78 includes a second angled catch portion 94 and a second flat catch portion 96 . second angled catch portion 94 and second flat catch portion 96 are symmetrical about an axis with angled catch portion 80 and flat catch portion 82 . the symmetry of inner member 64 allows a single design to be used on opposite sides of chassis 22 . in the exemplary embodiment , two movable catches 30 are used to secure access panel 28 to chassis 22 . the operation of each movable catch 30 , preferably , is identical . therefore , for clarity the following discussion of the operation of movable catch 30 will refer only to a single movable catch 30 . referring generally to fig4 and 4a , as access panel 28 is being closed , angled latch portion 42 of access panel 28 contacts first angled catch portion 80 of inner member 64 . in this view , as access panel 28 is pivoted downward , angled latch portion 42 forces inner member 64 to the right , causing spring 76 to be compressed . angled latch portion 42 of access panel 28 slides along the surface of angled catch portion 80 as it forces inner member 64 to the right . referring generally to fig5 , access panel 28 eventually pivots to a point where angled latch portion 42 no longer engages angled catch portion 80 . when that point is reached , the force of compression in spring 76 pushes block 68 to the left towards a biased position . the movement of movable catch 30 to the biased position causes flat catch portion 82 to be placed over flat latch portion 44 . flat catch portion 82 blocks movement of flat latch portion 44 . the flat catch portions 82 of two movable catches 30 and lip 38 thus cooperate to secure access panel 28 to chassis 22 . additionally , the spring force of leaf spring 62 must be overcome to place access panel 28 in the closed position . referring generally to fig6 and 6a , release switch 32 is operated to displace movable catch 30 from the biased position to gain access to chassis 22 . an operator displaces movable catch 30 laterally to remove flat catch portion 82 from its blocking position over flat latch portion 44 . as best illustrated in fig6 a , the force of leaf spring 62 then forces edge 98 of access panel 28 upward . this makes it easier for an operator to grab access panel 28 and remove it from chassis 22 . referring generally to fig7 and 7a , electromagnetic shielding for enclosure 20 is provided by a system of ground springs 52 and ground tabs 60 . each tab 60 on chassis 22 is inserted through a respective hole 50 in support 48 of access panel 28 when access panel 28 is installed in a closed position on chassis 22 . in the illustrated embodiment , ground springs 52 are formed of a strip of metal fixed at one end 100 to support 48 . each tab 60 contacts a free end 102 of a respective ground spring 52 , thus grounding panel 28 to chassis 22 . referring generally to fig8 , a bottom view of access panel 28 is featured . preferably , access panel 28 is made from a sheet metal . in the illustrated embodiment , latch 40 and support rails 48 are formed by a series of bending operations on the sheet metal of access panel 28 . referring generally to fig9 and 10 , front and back views of the release switch 32 are illustrated . fig9 illustrates the side of catch release 32 facing inner member 64 . fig1 illustrates the side of catch release 32 that is visible from the exterior of protective enclosure 20 . raised ridges 103 are provided on the outer surface of release switch 32 to enable an operator to more easily operate release switch 32 . referring generally to fig1 , an exterior view is shown of base 22 . this view illustrates recessed landing 34 , hole 66 , and guide member 72 . referring generally to fig1 and 13 , front and back views of inner member 64 are illustrated . fig1 illustrates the side of inner member 64 that faces catch release 32 . fig1 illustrates the side of the inner member that faces the interior of enclosure 20 . referring generally to fig1 , an alternative embodiment of a chassis 104 is shown . in the illustrated embodiment , chassis 104 is configured so that movable catch 30 is proximate to front bezel 24 so that access panel 28 may be removed from the front of chassis 22 , rather than the back . it will be understood that the foregoing description is of preferred exemplary embodiments of this invention , and that the invention is not limited to the specific forms shown . for example , elements , such as latch 40 and brackets 56 and 58 described as portions of chassis 22 and access panel 28 , may be formed separately and secured to chassis 22 and access panel 28 . these and other modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the elements without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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the present invention is directed to voice processing systems characterized by a number of distinct aspects . in general , the systems and methods of the present invention intends to reduce the burden on users and developers of speech recognition systems by enabling training files and voice models to be readily shared between disparate applications . further , initial training and voice model adaptation can be implemented with greater efficiency by sharing voice information across multiple disparate applications . in one aspect , the present invention provides a “ voice processing substrate ” or “ voice processing service ” upon which other software applications can build . by providing high quality voice recognition and speech recognition services ubiquitously , existing software applications can become “ voice - enabled ” with significantly lower development cost . moreover , applications that would not have been practical heretofore due to the high cost and proprietary nature of voice recognition software , are made viable by the distributed and highly portable and scaleable nature of the present invention . in another aspect , the present invention involves applications of the voice processing service such as interactive voice response , dictation and transcription services , voice messaging services , voice automated application services , and the like that share a common repository of speech recognition resources . these applications , typically implemented as software applications , can leverage the aggregate knowledge about their user &# 39 ; s voice and speech patterns by using the shared common speech recognition resources . in yet another aspect the present invention involves a distributed voice processing system in which the various functions involved in voice processing can be performed in a pipelined or parallel fashion . speech tasks differ significantly in purpose and complexity . in accordance with this aspect of the present invention , the processes involved in speech processing are modularized and distributed amongst a number of processing resources . this enables the system to employ only the required resources to complete a particular task . also , this enables the processes to be implemented in parallel or in a pipelined fashion to greatly improve overall performance . the present invention is illustrated and described in terms of a distributed computing environment such as an enterprise computing system using public communication channels such as the internet . however , an important feature of the present invention is that it is readily scaled upwardly and downwardly to meet the needs of a particular application . accordingly , unless specified to the contrary the present invention is applicable to significantly larger , more complex network environments as well as small network environments such as conventional lan systems . fig1 shows an exemplary computing environment 100 in which the present invention may be implemented . speech server 101 comprises program and data constructs that function to receive requests from a variety of sources , access voice resources 105 , and provide voice services in response to the requests . the provided voice services involve accessing stored voice resources 105 that implement a central repository of resources that can be leveraged to provide services for a wide variety of requests . the services provided by speech server 101 may vary in complexity from simply retrieving specified voice resources ( e . g ., obtaining a speech sample file for a particular user ) to more complex speech recognition processes ( e . g ., feature extraction , phoneme recognition , phoneme - to - text mapping ). requests to speech server 101 may come directly from voice appliances 102 , however , in preferred examples requests come from “ voice portals ” 110 . voice portals comprise software applications and / or software servers that provide a set of fundamental behaviors and that are voice enabled by way of their coupling to speech server 101 . example voice portals include interactive voice response ( ivr ) services 111 , dictation service 112 and voice mail service 113 . however , the number and variety of applications and services that can be voice - enabled in accordance with the present invention is nearly limitless . because voice portals 110 access shared speech server 101 and shared voice resources 105 , they do not each need to create , obtain , or maintain duplicate or special - purpose instances of the voice resources . instead , the voice portals can focus on implementing the logic necessary to implement their fundamental behaviors , effectively outsourcing the complex tasks associated with voice processing . a set 103 of voice appliances 102 represent the hardware and software devices used to implement voice - enabled user interfaces . exemplary voice appliances 102 include , but are not limited to , personal computers with microphones or speech synthesis programs , telephones , cellular telephones , voice over ip ( voip ) terminals , laptop and hand held computers , computer games and the like . any given speaker may use a plurality of voice appliances 102 . likewise , any given voice appliance 102 may be used by multiple speakers . a variety of techniques are used to perform voice processing . typically speech recognition starts with the digital sampling of speech followed by acoustic signal processing . most techniques include spectral analysis such as fast fourier transform ( fft ) analysis , lpc analysis ( linear predictive coding ), mfcc ( mel frequency cepstral coefficients ), cochlea modeling and the like . using phoneme recognition , the preprocessed files are parsed to identify groups of phonemes and words using techniques such as dtw ( dynamic time warping ), hmm ( hidden markov modeling ), nns ( neural networks ), expert systems , n - grams and combinations of techniques . most systems use some knowledge of the language ( e . g ., syntax and context ) to aid the recognition process . the precise distribution of functionality amongst the various components shown in fig1 can vary significantly . modularization of components allows components to be placed or implemented rationally within the network architecture . for example , analog - to - digit conversion ( adc ) and digital signal processing ( dsp ) steps may occur within voice appliances 102 such that a digital preprocessed signal is communicated to voice portals 110 . alternatively , this pre - processing can be performed by voice portals 110 , or can be out - sourced to speech server 101 . in many applications it is preferable to perform these preprocessing functions as near to the analog voice source ( e . g ., the speaker ) as possible to avoid signal loss during communication . conversely , it is contemplated that copies of shared voice resources can be stored permanently or temporarily ( i . e ., cached ) within voice portals 111 and / or voice appliances 102 so that more complex functions can be implemented without access to speech server 101 each instance . each of the devices shown in fig1 may include memory , mass storage , and a degree of data processing capability sufficient to manage their connection to a network . the computer program devices in accordance with the present invention are implemented in the memory of the various devices shown in fig1 and enabled by the data processing capability of the devices shown in fig1 . in addition to local memory and storage associated with each device , it is often desirable to provide one or more locations of shared storage such as disk farm ( not shown ) that provides mass storage capacity beyond what an individual device can efficiently use and manage . selected components of the present invention may be stored in or implemented in shared mass storage . fig2 shows conceptual relationships between entities in a specific embodiment of the present invention . voice appliance 102 interacts with a speaker and communicates a voice signal over network 201 to voice portal 110 . the term “ voice signal ” is intended to convey a very broad range of signals that capture the voice utterances of a user in analog or digital form and which indicate an identity of the speaker . the speaker identification can be to a specific individual speaker , or an indication of a group to which the speaker belongs ( e . g ., english - speaking children from phoenix , ariz .). the speaker identification can take a variety of forms , and may be explicitly provided by the speaker or voice appliance 102 or implied from the connection through network 201 using techniques such as caller id , area code information , or reverse telephone directory lookup . network 201 may comprise the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) including cellular phone networks , as well as local area networks ( lans ), wide area networks ( wans ), metropolitan area networks ( mans ), as well as public internetworks such as the internet . any network or group of networks that are capable of transporting the voice signal and speaker identification information are suitable implementations of network 201 . internet 202 is an example of a data communication network suitable for exchanging data between components of the present invention . while internet 202 is an example of a public ip - based network , a suitable public , private , or hybrid network or internetwork topology including lans , wans , and mans are suitable equivalents in most applications . voice portal 110 comprises speech - enabled application 204 and speech recognition ( sr ) front - end 203 . application 204 implements desired fundamental behaviors of the application , such as looking up telephone numbers , weather information , stock quotes , addresses and the like . speech enabled application has an interface that couples to sr front end 203 . this interface may be configured to receive voice - format data such as phoneme probabilities or text input , but may also be configured to receive commands or other structured input such as structured query language ( sql ) statements . front - end 203 implements a defined interface that is protocol compliant with network 201 to communicate request and response traffic with voice appliances 102 . sr front - end 203 receives requests from voice appliances 102 where the requests identify the speaker and include a voice signal . sr front - end generates a request to speech server 101 to access shared resources 105 needed to process the voice signal so as to generate input to speech enabled application 204 . the processing responsibilities between sr front - end 203 and speech server 101 are agreed upon in advance , but can be varied significantly . in a particular example , the requests from sr front end 203 include a digitized speech signal , and the responses from speech server 101 include a set of phoneme probabilities corresponding to the speech signal . it is contemplated that a typical system will involve multiple sr front - end devices 203 communicating simultaneously with a single speech server 101 . each front end 203 may handle multiple voice appliances 102 simultaneously . one advantage of the present invention is that centralized speech server 101 can be configured to process these requests in parallel more readily than could individual voice appliances 102 . in such cases , requests to speech server 101 are preferably accompanied by a source identification that uniquely identifies a particular sr front - end 203 and a stream identifier that uniquely identifies a particular voice session that is using the identified sr front end 203 . in some cases the speaker id can also be used to identify the session , although when a particular voice appliance 102 is conducting multiple simultaneous sessions , the speaker id alone may be an ambiguous reference . this information can be used to route the resources 105 to appropriate processes that are using the resources . sr front end 203 exchanges request / response traffic with speech server 101 over the internet 202 in the example of fig2 . the request / response traffic comprises hypertext transfer protocol ( http ) packets over tcp / ip in the particular example , although other protocols are suitable and may be preferable in some instances . for example , universal datagram protocol ( udp ) can be faster , although offers poorer reliability . the benefits of various protocol layers and stacks are well known and readily consulted in the selection of particular protocols . voice resources 105 comprise speaker - dependent signatures 207 and speaker group signatures 208 in a particular embodiment . speaker - dependent signatures 207 comprise one or more voice models associated with a particular speaker . in contrast , speaker group signatures 208 comprise one or more voice models that are associated with a group of speakers such as english speaking children from phoenix , ariz ., rather than a particular speaker . group signatures are a useful middle ground where a particular speaker cannot be identified with certainty , but the speaker can be identified generally as a member of a particular speaker group . the voice models essentially implement a mapping between voice signals and symbols , words , word portions ( e . g ., n - grams ), phonemes , commands , statements , and the like ( collectively referred to as “ tokens ”) that have meaning to one or more speech enabled applications 204 . this mapping can be implemented in a variety of data structures such as lookup tables , databases , inverted indices as well as other data structures that enable mapping functionality . in a preferred implementation the mapping is captured in a neural network training file that can be used to enable an artificial neural network to output appropriate tokens in response to voice signal inputs . an optional feature in accordance with the present invention is the inclusion of signature caches 205 and / or 206 . signature cache 205 is useful in environments where a given speaker or set of speakers frequent the sr front end 203 , yet the sr front end 203 still requires general purpose adaptability to any speaker . for example , the speech enabled application may provide services to a single speaker for an extended period of time ranging from a few minutes to days . in such cases , sr front end 203 can implement processes to search its own cache 205 for matches to a voice signal thereby avoiding repeated reference to speech server 101 . an sr front end 203 that uses a cache will typically exhibit somewhat greater complexity to implement processes that manage the cache , and that use the cache content instead of services provided by speech server 101 . each cache entry within signature cache 205 may include , for example , a speaker identification , and an association between a particular voice signal and a token corresponding to the voice signal . when sr front end 203 receives a new speech signal , it checks cache 205 for a matching speech signal and returns the token ( e . g ., a set of phoneme probabilities ) without having to access speech server 101 . when a speech signal does not find a match in cache 205 , a conventional reference to speech server 101 is performed . similarly , some voice appliances 102 may benefit by caching signatures in signature cache 206 . for example , a home telephone set or office workstation may be used by a small number of speakers frequently , yet still be available for use by other speakers . the voice resources corresponding to the frequent speakers are cached locally in signature cache 206 . when one of the frequent speakers uses the voice appliance 102 , voice services can be implemented within the appliance 102 itself . however , when an infrequent ( i . e ., uncached ) speaker uses the appliance 102 , voice resources are either downloaded to the appliance 102 , or to an sr front end 203 . such functionality enables a rather simple , lightweight voice recognition system implemented within an appliance 102 to offer high quality , speaker dependent functionality without training , assuming speech server 101 contains signatures corresponding to the speakers . fig3 shows an exemplary format of a request made from sr front end 203 to speech server 101 . each request includes a speaker id , source address identifying a particular sr front end 203 , optional context information , and a voice signal . the context information may include information about the application 204 , information about the speaker ( e . g ., age , language , accents ), speaker location , information about the voice appliance 102 , or a stream id for multiprocessing . the context information is used to adapt the processes undertaken in speech server 101 . the voice signal field includes all or a portion of a voice signal to be processed . it is contemplated that some applications may be configured such that voice processing occurs in the front end 203 or within voice appliance 102 . in these cases , the voice signal field includes processed data structures such as the output of a fourier transform instead of raw voice data . in such cases , it may not be necessary to send the voice signal to speech server 101 at all , instead , speech server 101 serves to supply the raw speaker - dependent resources needed to sr front end 203 and / or voice appliance 102 . fig4 shows a simplified flow diagram of processes undertaken within a voice processing system in accordance with the present invention . as noted hereinbefore , the processes shown in fig4 can be distributed throughout the various components shown in fig1 and fig2 or may all be implemented in speech server 101 . step 401 of capturing a voice signal is typically performed by a microphone or other acoustic energy sensor within a voice appliance 102 . filtering , framing , and analog to digital conversion step 402 preferably takes place as close to step 401 as practicable to avoid transmission of analog voice signals . however , it is common to transfer voice signals over great distances using radio and telephony subsystems . hence , the filtering , framing and adc step 402 may occur within voice appliance 102 , at a device coupled to appliance 102 through a voice or data communication network , or a combination of these locations . moreover , filtering may be explicitly performed by analog or dsp filter circuits , or implicitly by bandwidth constraints or other transmission channel characteristics through which analog voice signals are passed . in step 403 , features of interest are identified within a voice signal . features are patterns within the voice signal that have a likelihood of corresponding to phonemes , but phonemes are not directly extracted in step 403 . features may include , for example , mathematical properties such as frequency distribution , amplitude distribution , deviation , and the like of the processed voice signals . these features can be used to infer or identify phonemes in step 404 . phonemes are abstract units of a phonetic system of a language that correspond to a set of similar speech which are perceived to be a single distinctive sound in the language . phonemes represent identifiable components within a speech stream that , while they do not have linguistic meaning in themselves , are units with high occurrence within a spoken language . in extracting phonemes from a speech signal , it is rare to make exact matches . it is often useful to associate a probability with one or phonemes indicating a likelihood that the particular phoneme is in fact a correct representation of the speech signal . once particular phonemes are identified , they can be used alone or in combination to create associations with tokens such as particular text , commands , or the like in step 405 . step 405 functions to associate the extracted features with tokens . in contrast with features , tokens are abstract units that have linguistic meaning . words , phrases and punctuation symbols , for example , are tokens that carry linguistic meaning . however , there are a wide variety of more abstract tokens that represent actions , or other complex linguistic structures that are not literally reflected in words of a particular language . for example , a token or set of tokens may represent the concept “ search government databases for information about patent litigation involving speech recognition systems ”, however , the token may be an sql query , a java object , an xml document , or other abstraction of the actual verbiage that reflect the concept in the english language . a response is generated to application 204 including the tokens along with identification information that enables the application processing step 406 to associate the tokens with the voice signal that generated the request . many applications 204 can use a set of phoneme probabilities , or other feature sets , directly . for example when application 204 is expecting a constrained choice between “ yes ” and “ no ”, or expecting a single - digit numeric response ( e . g ., “ one ”, “ two ”, etc . ), it is relatively easy to determine the correct token from the feature sets directly . in such cases , the present invention enables the feature extraction process 403 to supply features directly to application processing step 405 such that the step of associating tokens with features can be performed within the application 204 itself . similarly , some applications may involve supplying phoneme probabilities directly from step 404 so that token association may occur elsewhere . the application processing step 405 implements the voice enabled behavior using the features , phonemes , and / or tokens that it is supplied in steps 403 through 406 respectively . fig5 illustrates an important concept that speech server 101 can be implemented as a distributed computing system using distributed hardware and software resources that are coupled together by network 501 . this enables , among other things , the provision of differential levels of service and parallel request processing for improved performance . in one example , the various services shown in fig5 may communicate with each other directly through network 501 to pass a voice processing task from service to service until it is completed . alternatively , the individual services 502 - 506 may communicate directly with voice portal 110 and / or voice appliance 102 to perform their functions without knowledge of the other components within speech server 101 . in a purely http implementation , the various services can receive an http request , perform their process , and return the partially or completely processed data to the requesting voice portal 110 or voice appliance 102 using http redirection mechanisms as needed , passing the partially processed data as attributes within the http redirection responses . in the implementation of fig5 speech server 101 comprises signal processing services such as service 502 that provides digital signal processing services . while dsp functionality is often implemented within a voice appliance 102 itself , thin clients may lack the resources to perform dsp processes . moreover , even where a voice appliance 102 could perform dsp functions , it may be desirable to have dsp service 502 perform the functions to achieve the benefits of faster , more powerful processors and up - to - date algorithms that can be implemented in dsp service 502 . dsp service 502 receives a digitized voice signal , for example , and returns a processed digital signal that may implement filtering step 402 ( shown in fig4 ). process 503 provides feature extraction services described hereinbefore . process 504 provides feature to perform , for example phoneme mapping as a specific implementation of step 404 and 405 . alternatively , process 505 provides features and / or phonemes - to - command mapping as an implementation of step 406 . a number of processes 505 may be provided for particular applications so that the command mapping is specific to a particular application 204 . requests can be directed to particular instances of process 505 to meet the needs of the application associated with the request . language translation process 506 illustrates a more complex voice processing process contemplated by the present invention . language translation process 506 may receive text from process 504 , for example , and perform a language - to - language translation ( e . g ., english to spanish ). this results in text returned to the requesting voice portal 110 or voice appliance 102 in a different language than was originally spoken . a number of complex services similar to language translation service 506 will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , a speakers utterances may be translated into properly formed c ++ code constructs as a program authoring tool , properly formed sql queries to be applied to a database , and the like . to this point , the present invention has been described as a mechanism to receive speech signals and translate them into some other meaningful form . additionally , it is contemplated that speech services 101 may also provide services that convert abstract tokens into speech signals that can be audibly presented through an appliance 102 having a speaker . fig6 illustrates an embodiment in which station - to - station duplex voice exchange is implemented between voice appliances 102 in a manner that is functionally analogous to conventional telephone service . conventional phone service provides a medium in which all parties to a conversation hear a voice that sounds substantially like the speaker . although conventional telephone service limits audio bandwidth to reduce the amount of data that is being transported , it remains a very inefficient means to communicate voice information between two points . the implementation of the present invention shown in fig6 enables high levels of compression while retaining the benefits of conventional phone service . in general , the embodiments shown in fig6 use speaker - dependent voice models or signatures to be used to compress the audio information that is transmitted between stations . each speaker is associated with a tx signature used to convert the speaker &# 39 ; s voice into tokens ( as described hereinbefore ), and an rx signature used to convert tokens into a replica of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice . the rx signatures are akin to tx signatures in that they implement mappings between tokens and voice signals using either mapping data structures and algorithms , or neural networks , or both . in a first implementation shown in the upper portion of fig6 each appliance 102 implements processes to use speaker dependent signature files to encode and decode voice signals . the appliance 102 used by speaker 1 , for example , includes a tx signature file for speaker 1 , and an rx signature file for speaker 2 . the appliance 102 used by speaker 2 , conversely , includes a tx signature file for speaker 2 , and an rx signature file for speaker 1 . at the appliance 102 operated by speaker 1 , speaker 1 &# 39 ; s voice is encoded to tokens and tokens received from the appliance 102 operated by speaker 2 are decoded into audible speech signals that can be presented through a speaker . conversely , at the appliance 102 operated by speaker 2 , speaker 2 &# 39 ; s voice is encoded to tokens and tokens received from the appliance 102 operated by speaker 1 are decoded into audible speech signals that can be presented through a speaker . in this manner , station - to - station voice communication is enabled with highly compressed data communication between the stations . in an alternative implementation shown in the lower portion of fig6 appliances 102 communicate through voice portals 110 such that some or all of the voice processing functions required to associate voices signals with tokens are performed by the voice portals 110 . in such as case , voice appliances 102 may be substantially conventional telephone sets . voice portals 110 perform the token to voice signal mapping functions transparently and communicate voice signals with the respective voice appliances 102 . the communication between voice portals 110 , however , can be compressed as described above greatly reducing the overall network bandwidth consumed by a given station - to - station voice communication . although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example , and that numerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , as hereinafter claimed . | 6Physics
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holder 1 ( fig1 ) is formed from injection molded , shatterproof plastic material having self - hinge properties . the material is not brittle and not extremely rigid and may be either clear or colored . holder 1 further includes side walls 2 , tabs 4 , and a bottom wall 7 . the holder is attachable to a person &# 39 ; s wrist by means of a wrist mount assembly 25 ( fig4 ) which is rotatably mounted to the holder through hole 5 in the bottom wall . the presently preferred sizing of the holder is for a set of 4 &# 34 ;× 6 . 5 &# 34 ; corner rounded cards which set may be a stack up to 1 / 2 &# 34 ; thick . the presently preferred thickness of the side walls is 1 / 8 &# 34 ; for safety . tabs 4 ( fig1 - 3 ) are hingedly attached to the upper edges of the side walls 2 by living hinges and loosely contain , for easy placement and removal , properly sized visual aid contents of the holder . the visual aids may take the form of 4 inch by 6 . 5 inch plastic cards having rounded corners and having patterns of ice dances printed on them . the tabs snap into recesses in the top edges of side walls 2 . when closed they project into the holder over the edges of the contents . fig3 illustrates the tabs in their closed positions in solid lines and in their open positions in broken lines . each of the vertical comers 1 ( fig1 ) of the side walls is curved , and all edges are rounded , as seen for example at 11 in fig3 . bottom wall 7 includes a finger hole 3 ( fig1 ) which facilitates removal of the visual aids from the holder . hole 5 in the bottom wall of the holder allows for attachment of the wrist mount assembly 25 ( fig4 ). the hole is located within a dimple 6 illustrated in fig1 and 2 . dimple 6 is a recess which allows the wrist mount assembly to rotate beneath the visual aid contents . wrist mount assembly 25 comprises a strap plate 34 ( fig4 and 6 - 8 ), which is molded with or bonded to , disk 36 , and a rivet swivel 30 ( fig5 and 6 ), which is comprised of a rivet head 27 and a rivet stem 28 . the wrist mount assembly is made from the same material as the holder and may be either injection molded or formed from sheets of plastic bonded together . the rivet stem 28 and the disk 36 are bonded together through hole 5 in the bottom wall 7 . friction between the mount assembly and the bottom wall of the holder is sufficient to maintain the holder in a set position but allows the holder to be rotated by hand . each element of the wrist mount assembly includes a small centering hole 29 for facilitating accurate positioning of the mount parts prior to bonding . strap plate 34 has curved ends which match the curvature of disk 36 , as seen in fig7 . the strap plate includes slots 26 ( fig4 , 7 and 8 ) for receiving a pair of straps or bands for attaching the holder to a user &# 39 ; s wrist . the straps or bands may be made from various materials such as leather , nylon , or hook and loop fasteners . in use , tabs 4 are moved to their open positions and visual aid contents are inserted into the holder . tabs 4 are then snapped into their closed positions above the contents . wrist straps are inserted through slots 26 in strap plate 34 and the holder is attached to the wrist of a user . the straps may be applied directly to the user &# 39 ; s wrist or may be applied over the sleeve of the user &# 39 ; s apparel . | 0Human Necessities
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[ 0048 ] fig1 shows a strongly simplified schematic circuit diagram of a conventional output driver for integrated circuits . with reference to this conventional output driver , the essential elements and design issues necessary for understanding the invention will be described . the output driver in fig1 is a highly simplified type of a push - pull ocd ( pp - ocd ). this particular type of output driver is frequently used in memory ( especially drams ) and other vlsi systems . it includes a push - up circuit and a pull - down circuit , which are for simplicity represented by the transistors 10 and 12 , respectively . the transistors 10 and 12 are connected in an inverter - like configuration , wherein the inverter inputs ( the gates of the transistors 10 and 12 ) are connected to a data pre - driver 14 and the inverter output being connected to an electrostatic discharge unit ( esd ) 16 . the input of the data pre - driver 14 is connected to the integrated circuit and the data output ( dq ) of the electrostatic discharge unit 16 is connected via a transmission line 18 to an external circuit 20 . it should be understood that this external circuit could also be an integrated circuit on the same chip as the output driver . the typical waveform at the output ( dq ) of such a pp - ocd is shown in fig2 . when no data is to be transmitted , the output ( dq ) of the output driver remains at a reference voltage vref , which is typically half of the external supply voltage vdd . when a logic “ 1 ” is to be transmitted , the p - mos transistor 10 ( the push - up circuit ) will be active and the output will be pushed - up from the vref value by an amount “ swing * 0 . 5 ”. similarly , when a logic “ 0 ” is to be transmitted , the output ( dq ) will be pulled - down by an amount “ 0 . 5 * swing ”. as explained above , since the output driver is communicating with the external world through the transmission line 18 , it is necessary that the resistance of the p - transistor 10 and the n - transistor 12 of the output driver equal the characteristic impedance z 0 of the transmission line 18 so that the output ( dq ) of the output driver remains at vref potential when no data is transmitted . this is known as the symmetry of operation for pp - ocd . now , the characteristic impedance of the transmission line 18 may change with temperature ( t ). further , the resistance of the p - mos transistor 10 ( the push - up circuit ) and of the n - mos transistor 12 ( the pull - down circuit ) may change with process ( p ), voltage ( v ) and temperature ( t ). as a result , the resistances of the transistors 10 , 12 will not match the characteristic impedance z 0 of the transmission line 18 . hence , depending on the pvt - conditions , the resistances of the transistors 10 , 12 have to be adapted to the characteristic impedance z 0 of the transmission line 18 in order to ensure symmetry of operation . otherwise , data will be degraded when it reaches the receiving end 20 . according to the invention , the output impedance of the output driver is controlled using an impedance control circuit 22 cooperating with a dummy circuit 24 . in the following , an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to fig3 and 4 . referring to fig3 embodiments of an output driver of the push - up / pull - down type is depicted . specifically , fig3 a shows a highly simplified type of a pp - ocd . in addition to the schematic output driver shown in fig1 the output driver according to fig3 a includes impedance adjusting means 24 . for the pull - up circuit 10 , which includes at least one p - mos ( driving ) transistor , the impedance adjusting means 24 include a first group of p - mos transistors 26 . the transistors 26 are connected in parallel between a high supply voltage vdd and the drain contact of the p - transistor of the pull - up circuit 10 . in fig3 a the first group of transistors 26 only includes two transistors . however , it should be understood that in order to improve the adjustability of the output impedance of the push - up circuit 10 more than two p - transistors can be used in the first group 26 . similarly , a second group of n - mos transistors 28 is connected in parallel between the source contact of an n - mos transistor of the pull - up circuit 12 and a low supply voltage ( ground ). the gate contacts of the p - transistors of the first group 26 are connected with a n - bit data line , if n p - transistors are included in the first group 26 . thus , the gates of the p - transistors of the first group 26 can be addressed individually by the impedance adjusting data 30 - p . similarly , the gate potentials of the second group 28 can be individually controlled by the impedance adjusting data 30 - n . the other parts of the driver circuit shown in fig3 a resemble corresponding parts previously described with reference to fig1 . in fig3 b , an advanced type of a preferred diver circuit according to the invention is depicted . in this embodiment , the driver circuit includes a data pre - driver 14 , a push - up circuit 10 , a pull - down circuit 12 and an esd 16 . the data pre - driver 14 drives the push - up and pull - down circuits 10 and 12 . the data pre - driver 14 includes the data input data ( corresponds to datain in fig3 a ) and inputs for the impedance adjusting data 30 - p and 30 - n . furthermore , an enable input is provided . in fig4 the impedance control circuit 22 and the dummy circuit 32 used in conjunction with the driver circuit shown in fig3 a or 3 b are depicted . the dummy circuit 32 includes a scaled - down replica of the driver circuit shown in fig3 a or 3 b . this dummy driver circuit 34 includes a dummy push - up circuit 36 and a dummy pull - down circuit 38 being replica of the circuits 10 and 12 , respectively . the transistors included in the dummy driver circuit 34 are , for example , scaled - down by a scaling factor 8 relative to the transistors of the ( actual ) driver circuit shown in fig3 . similar to the driver circuit depicted in fig3 the dummy driver circuit 34 is also connected to a “ transmission line ”. however , this transmission line is a dummy transmission line 40 representing an electrical replica of the ( actual ) transmission line 18 . the impedance of the dummy transmission line is scaled up by the same factor of 8 to account for the scaling down of the transistor dimensions . contrary to the ( actual ) transmission line 18 , the dummy transmission lines 40 are not connected to an external circuit . instead , the dummy transmission lines 40 are connected to the low supply voltage ( ground ) in case of the dummy pull - up circuit 36 and to the high supply voltage ( vdd ) in case of the dummy push - down circuit 38 . therefore , the complete electrical environment of the driver circuit is modeled by the dummy circuit 32 . in order to determine the impedance adjusting data 30 - n , 30 - p necessary for matching the output impedance of the driver circuit to the characteristic impedance z 0 of the transmission line 18 , the impedance control circuit 22 outputs ( dummy ) impedance adjusting data ( dummyocd_pf & lt ; 3 : 0 & gt ;; dummyocd_nf & lt ; 3 : 0 & gt ;) to the dummy circuit 32 . subsequently , the impedance control circuit 22 compares the voltage drops on the dummy transmission lines 40 ( vmeasp ; vmeasn ) with a predetermined reference voltage in a voltage comparator of the impedance control circuit 22 . if this voltage is , for example , equal to vdd / 2 , then the output impedance of the dummy circuit 33 equals the characteristic impedance of the dummy transmission line . these impedance adjusting data 30 - n ; 30 - p are subsequently outputted to the driver circuit as shown in fig3 . in the following , the operation of the impedance control circuit 22 will be described in detail with reference to fig4 and 5 . when the integrated circuit is operating , the impedance control circuit 22 dynamically calibrates the output impedances of the push - up and pull - down circuits 10 , 12 sequentially . this is achieved by determining the ( dummy ) impedance adjusting data necessary for proper impedance matching within the dummy circuit 32 . subsequently , the ( determined ) impedance adjusting data 30 - n ; 30 - p ( the so called current control bit ) are outputted to the ( actual ) driver circuit . the calibration routine takes place periodically and hence the impedance adjusting data of the ( actual ) output driver will updated at regular intervals . a calibration routine of the impedance control circuit 22 and the dummy circuit 32 might , for example , have the following steps : step 1 : the pwron signal is used to detect whether the chip is getting full power or not . when pwron signal is low , the impedance control circuit 22 will not operate . when the pwron signal is high , then only the impedance control circuit 22 can be operated and cal_on signal is also high . step 2 : when both pwron and cal_on signals are high , the calibration control operation can be started by applying a short pulse at the cal_pulse input . the calibration sequence includes the following : first it will calibrate the n - mos transistor part ( the pull - down circuit ), then the p - mos transistor part ( the push - up circuit ). thus , a short pulse at the cal_pulse input will trigger the start_n signal to be high , which in turn will pass the clock signal to the n - bit counter for the n - mos transistors . the counter will start counting from 0 . 1 . . . and so on . the counter outputs are the ( dummy ) impedance adjusting data for the dummy driver circuit . so , once the counter starts counting , the ( dummy ) impedance adjusting data for the n - transistors of the dummy driver circuit 34 will change and hence the resistance of the pull - down circuit 38 will change accordingly . hence , vmeasn potential will be changed . the potential vmeasn is compared with the reference potential vref in the comparator of the impedance control circuit 32 . when vmeasn just exceeds vref , the comparator output n_finish will be high , indicating that the resistance of the pull - down circuit 38 is equal to the characteristic impedance of the transmission line z 0 . this n_finish signal will reset the start_n signal and hence the clock signal to the counter will be stopped . thus , the counter will stop counting and the last counter outputs will be loaded to the load registers for n - transistors by the load_n signal . the load registers will output the correct impedance adjusting data to the pull - down circuit 12 of the ( actual ) driver circuit . step 3 : also , when the n - transistor calibration is finished , then the p - transistor calibration will be started by the load_n signal to make the start_p signal high . hence , the n - bit counter for the p - transistors will get the clock and start counting from 0 . 1 . . . and so on ( in fig4 n = 4 ). the counter outputs will change the resistance of the p - transistors ( the pull - up circuit 36 ) in the dummy driver circuit 34 in the same way as previously described with reference to the pull - down circuit 38 . thus , when vmeasp crosses vref , the comparator output p_finish will be high , which in turn will stop the counter by stopping the clock and the last counter outputs will be loaded in the load register for the p - transistors and will be outputted as the correct impedance adjusting data 30 - p for the push - up circuit 10 of the driver circuit . overflow detectors are used to detect overflow conditions in both the counters and once an overflow is detected , it will stop the counter so as to prevent it from running in a continuous never ending loop . in the overflow case , the respective load registers and , hence , impedance adjusting data will be loaded with all logic “ 1 ” signals . step 4 : when power is switched on , the impedance adjusting data of the actual output driver needs proper starting values for operation . when the pwron signal is high after power is switched on , the load registers for the p - transistors and n - transistors are loaded with preset - val_p & lt ; 3 : 0 & gt ; and preset - val_n & lt ; 3 : 0 & gt ; respectively . then , with every calibration cycle , the impedance adjusting data are updated and loaded with correct values in accordance with the previously described calibration principle . the test mode signals ( all signals starting with tm_ ) allow to check the functionality of the impedance control circuit 22 as well as to manually control the impedance adjusting data of the ( actual ) driver circuit from the external world . once the tm_cal_cont is high , the impedance control circuit 22 enters into the test mode operation . the outputs of the 4 bit_counters are directly connected to the impedance adjusting data of the ( actual ) driver circuit . the 4 bit_counter for the p - transistors is then driven by tm_clk_p and the 4 bit_counter for the n - transistors is then driven by tm_clk_n , respectively . by applying clock pulses to tm_clk_p and tm_clk_n , the respective counters can be incremented and , hence , the respective impedance adjusting data of the ( actual ) driver circuit can be changed . the tm_cal_reset signal is used to reset the necessary flip - flops asynchronously irrespective of whether tm_cal_count is high or low . for higher precision , counters with higher number of bits (& gt ; 4 bits ) can be used which will make the resistance of the p - transistors and n - transistors in the pp - ocd to be very close to the characteristic impedance z 0 of the transmission line 18 . | 7Electricity
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for the purposes of promoting and understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that some of the features which are not relevant to the invention may not be shown for the sake of clarity . the humidity sealing principle is shown in fig1 . on the housing surface ( h ) which preferably has a low roughness the test - carrier - tape ( t ) is pressed by the sealing material ( g ). the sealing force ( f ) presses the flexible gasket around the test media tape . the remaining leakage channels ( l ) are minimized by selection of gasket material , tape thickness , sealing force is and the time pattern in which the sealing means is being moved . a body fluid testing device ( 10 ) is shown in fig2 . the drawing of the device shows a housing ( 11 ) and a display ( 12 ) for displaying test results as well as instructions of use . at the front end of the device there can be seen a tip portion ( 20 ) over which the test media tape ( 30 ) runs . a test medium at the front end of the testing device is exposed by the tip portion in a tip like manner which facilitates the application of body fluid . the tip portion for this reason at least partially projects out of the contour of the housing ( 11 ) of the testing device to be accessible for a body portion ( e . g ., finger or arm ). at the tip portion there can be seen an illuminated area ( 30 ′) which indicates the position for sample application . fig3 shows an improved embodiment of the sealing concept of the present invention . a portion of the test media tape ( 30 ) is located outside the housing ( 50 ) of the supply portion . the housing has an opening ( 51 ) via which tape can be taken out . the squares ( 52 , 53 ) depicted on the housing show the locations on the housing surface onto which gaskets of the sealing means ( not shown ) press during sealing of the opening . using two ( or more ) gaskets for sealing improves leakage protection . it is preferred to employ annular gaskets as shown , which annularly presses onto a region around the opening ( 51 ) to include the opening within the cross - sectional area of the annular gaskets . when two or more annular gaskets are employed , it is preferred when an annulary gasket fully includes the next smaller annular gasket . in fig4 there is depicted a cross - sectional view of fig3 taken along line a - a . fig4 only shows the portion of fig3 which is left to the container opening as well as the opening . it can be seen that the gaskets are not aligned vertical to the surface of the housing ( 50 ) but that they are inclined or angled relative to vertical . the exterior gasket ( 53 ) in direction from its base portion ( 53 b ) to its free end ( 53 e ) is inclined away from the opening ( 51 ). the interior gasket ( 52 ) is inclined in direction from its base portion ( 52 b ) to its end portion ( 52 e ) towards the opening . inclination of the exterior gasket serves to block incoming air more efficiently as a gasket without such inclination would achieve . due to the inclination the sealing is strengthened when air tries to enter the housing ( this is the case when the pressure inside the housing is lower than the outside pressure ) since the air pressure increases the pressure of the end portion ( 53 e ) of the gasket onto the surface ( 54 ) of the container ( 50 ). the same principle applies to the interior gasket for the inverse case when the pressure inside the housing is higher than the outside pressure . as can be further seen in fig4 it is advantageous when the gaskets taper from their base portion towards their free end portion . the smaller the gasket at the end portion , the more flexible it is to match with the shape of the tape thus reducing the cross section of the leakage areas . the smaller the area covered by the annular gasket around said opening ( 51 ), the lower the required force to achieve a small leakage channel ( l ). in this embodiment the pressure means ( 55 ) has the shape of a plate to whose underside the gaskets are fixed . it is particularly preferred to fix the gaskets to the plate by two component molding of plate and gasket . a spring means ( not shown ) for applying pressure to the pressure plate ( 55 ) belongs to the testing device . further in fig4 there can be seen that the test media tape does not necessarily need to be wrapped on a reel . the arrangement of the tape within the storage container is more or less arbitrary but needs to avoid jams or blockage . fig5 shows a cross - sectional view of an embodiment having a trapezoidal sealing means ( 60 ) which presses onto an inclined surface ( 62 ) of the supply container ( 50 ). the sealing means itself can be made from a sealing material ( e . g ., rubber gum ) or a sealing material ( gasket ) can be present on the surface of the sealing means which presses onto the surface of the supply container . sealing in this embodiment again is made when a free tape portion is located in the region where the sealing means presses against the test media tape . the angle shown in fig5 preferably is in the range from 0 to 45 degree . fig6 is a similar embodiment as shown in fig5 . instead of a trapezoid sealing means , a form fitting sealing means ( 61 ) is employed . the surface of the housing ( 50 ) has a contour ( 62 ) at the opening which fits to a contour ( 63 ) of the sealing means ( 61 ). the contours of the sealing means can be made from a material functioning as a gasket itself ( e . g ., rubber gum ) or a gasket can be present on the surface of the sealing means . however , even the inverse sealing principle with a gasket fixed on the surface of the housing can be employed . fig7 shows a cross - sectional view of a test media tape container ( 50 ) having a sealing means . the test media tape ( 30 ) is wrapped on a reel ( 57 ). from the reel the tape is guided through a diffusion channel ( 70 ) and leaves the container via the opening of the container . in rest the opening is sealed by an annular gasket ( 53 ) which is fixed to a first arm of a lever ( 80 ). such levers are also known as a “ dancer ” in the art . the lever has a center of rotation ( 81 ). a spring element ( 82 ) keeps the gasket pressed onto the container surface . the test media tape ( 30 ) is located between gasket and container surface in the way already described ( i . e . a free tape portion is located between gasket and container surface ). the tape located outside the container is guided over a wheel at the other arm of the lever . when tape is drawn in the direction as shown in fig7 the tape tension rotates the lever ( 80 ) against the spring force ( 82 ) around ( 81 ). this movement reduces the contact pressure of the gasket ( 53 ). the tape starts slipping through the gasket . thus the tape section inside the housing gets tensioned . on further movement the friction of the reel increases the tape tension and thus causes a larger lift of the gasket . the opening created is large enough to leave through a test medium without touching the gasket . the tape now can be drawn out of the container . when a sufficient tape portion has been taken out of the container , the testing device ( or a user ) stops tearing the tape and the sealing is closed due to a movement of the lever caused by the spring element . in this embodiment it is advantageous when the reel ( 57 ) is friction loaded since the force acting on the lever is created by retention of the tape . in other embodiments a friction loading of the supply reel is also advantageous since it may avoid uncontrolled winding - up of the tape which can lead to jamming . furthermore a tape properly wound on a reel has the advantage that test media underneath the outermost tape layer are shielded against humidity which already may have entered the housing . a further important ( but optional ) measure to keep humidity away from unused test media is the diffusion channel ( 70 ) of fig7 . this channel serves to decrease the convectional exchange of air between the interior of the container and the surrounding environment during opening of the sealing . the channel limits the air exchange at the opening and thus the amount of humidity intake during the time of taking out a new test medium from the container . the humidity in the channel decreases along the way from the opening to the reel . the prevention of convection by the channel limits the intake of humidity into the container to diffusion which is a much slower material transport than convection . fig8 shows a further embodiment of a self sealing test media cassette . self sealing in this context means that the cassette itself closes its opening without the need for forces from the outside acting on it to close its sealing . the cassette further opens the sealing on tensioning of the test media tape which is a preferred embodiment . the lever ( 80 ′) of this embodiment has a first lever arm mostly inside the test media supply container ( 50 ). as in the foregoing figure the test media tape ( 30 ) is guided over a roller at one arm of the lever while the other arm of the lever holds an annular sealing gasket for sealing the container opening . when the test media tape is tensioned the lever is actuated and opens the sealing to free the tape so that a fresh portion of test media tape with an unused test medium can be taken out . after this the tension force applied to the tape can be reduced and the lever rotates driven by the spring means ( 82 ′) of the cassette to close the container opening . fig9 a , 9 b , 9 c , and 9 d shows a testing device ( 10 ) with a test media cassette ( 50 ) inserted into it as well as steps of using this device . as can be seen from fig9 a , the testing device comprises a housing ( 100 ) in which the cassette is received . the cassette has a supply portion ( 50 a ) containing a supply reel ( 57 ) onto which uncontaminated test media tape ( 30 ) is wrapped . fig9 depicts the test media portions ( 31 ) as pads which are fixed to a tape . the test pads are fixed to the tape via a double sided adhesive tape . production of the test media tape therefore can easily be achieved by first removing a protection foil from a first side of an double side adhesive , applying a test medium pad to it and then removing a protection foil from a second side of the double sided adhesive and applying the compound structure of test medium pad and adhesive to the tape . this process can be easily automated . alternatively , a double sided adhesive can first be applied to the tape and then applying a test medium pad to the adhesive . other production methods , such as gluing test media to the tape , are possible as well . used ( contaminated ) test media tape is wrapped onto a storage reel ( 58 ) in the storage section of the test media cassette . transport of the test media tape is made by a motor ( 110 ) of the testing device ( 10 ) which has a gear wheel for engaging with the gears of the storage reel and to rotate the storage reel . it is normally sufficient to employ only a single motor for winding the storage reel in a direction to move tape from the supply reel to the storage reel . for proper positioning of test media for sampling and / or testing it may be advantageous to move the tape in inverse direction as described before . this may be achieved by a separate motor winding the supply reel or a mechanics allowing a movement of the supply reel with the motor for rotating the storage reel . further it is possible to employ a spring mechanically coupled to a friction loading means which is coupled to the supply reel . when tape is withdrawn from the supply reel by winding tape onto the storage reel the spring is loaded and the spring tension may be used to move back the tape a bit . this can be achieved by rotating back the motor and the supply reel will also rotate back caused by the spring tension so that the tape is still held under a sufficient stress to press it onto the tip for proper detection as well as to avoid jams caused by loose tape . by such a mechanism it is possible to properly position a test medium e . g ., on the tip ( 20 ) when it has been moved too far at first . however , it is preferred to avoid such a process by positioning of the test media by proper movement in one direction ( the transport direction ) only . positioning of the test media on the tip may be achieved by the same optics as employed for reading the test media . it is , however , also possible to employ a separate position detection means which preferably operates optically . detection of proper positioning can be achieved by employing test media and tape of different reflectance so that a reflectance monitoring during tape transport indicates by a change in reflectance when a test medium comes into reading position . however , it may also be advantageous to employ indication marks — as e . g ., black bars — to the tape which are detected optically when they are detected by the positioning detection means . the testing device further comprises a control unit which controls the steps of tape transport , opening and closing of the sealing , and reading of test media . the control unit or a separate calculation unit is further employed for calculation of analytical results from the obtained readings . the position detection means may also be controlled by the control unit . the cassette further comprises a tip ( 20 ) over which the tape is guided . this ( optional ) tip serves for a convenient sample application by e . g ., the finger tip . for more details of the tip and how the tape is prevented from falling off the tip reference is made to the copending european patent application no . 02026242 . 4 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the cassette further has a recess for receiving a metering optics ( 102 ) belonging to the testing device . the part of the optics visible in fig9 a is a light coupling element for coupling light into the tip ( 20 ) to illuminate a test medium located on the tip . when sample is applied to this test medium the intensity of light reflected back from the underside of the test medium changes and the reflection intensity ( preferably at a particular wavelength ) can be read by a detector ( not shown ) and the intensity can be converted by the control unit or a calculation unit into an analytical concentration . with the aim to get optical readings from the test medium , it is either preferred to employ a tape material which is mostly transparent for the light to be detected or to employ a tape with a recess below the test medium as known from optical test elements as e . g ., sold under the brand name glucotrend . ( departing from the embodiment shown in fig9 a it is , however , also possible to employ test media which operate as known from electrochemical test elements . in such embodiments the testing device contacts the test medium in use with electrodes and employs a test device controlling the application and measurement of current or power to obtain readings which can be converted into analyte concentrations .) optical as well as electrochemical concentration measurement with disposable test elements is , however , well known in the art and therefore will not be described in more detail . fig9 a shows the testing device ( could also be called a testing system since the testing device houses a test media cassette ) in its storage position with the sealing ( 52 , 55 ) closed . the testing device comprises a pressure actuator ( e . g ., a coil spring ) which presses the sealing plate ( 55 ) having an annular gasket ( 52 ) at the side facing away from the actuator onto an opening of the cassette ( 50 ). it can be seen that a free tape portion is located between the opening of the cassette and the gasket when the sealing is closed . this embodiment has a diffusion channel ( 70 ) connecting the opening with the supply section in which the uncontaminated test media tape is contained . it can be further seen that the supply section ( 50 a ) is closed against the surrounding when the sealing is closed , while the storage section ( 50 b ) is partially open to the surrounding . the test media cassette further has rollers or pins ( 59 ) over which the tape is guided . fig9 b shows the testing device with the sealing opened . opening can be achieved by moving the pressure plate ( 55 ) away from the opening against the force of the pressure actuator . this can be done by a reverse attractor which withdraws the pressure plate from the opening ( e . g ., an electromagnet which attracts the pressure plate ). fig9 b also shows that the test medium ( 31 a ) has been moved from a position on the supply reel ( see fig9 a ) into a position within the diffusion channel but still located within the supply section . it has to be understood that fig9 b is a snapshot of in between a test medium transport phase . the depicted position of the test medium is no typical waiting position but a position to last only shortly to keep the time period of opening the sealing as short as possible . the arrow shows the direction of tape transport . in fig9 c the sampling position for sampling body fluid can be seen . the test medium ( 31 a ) is located on the tip and the sealing is again closed . after body fluid application to the test medium on the tip , the testing device reads light reflected from the underside of the test medium to obtain a reading which can be converted into analyte concentration . it has to be understood that it is preferred if the body fluid application and reading are conducted in the same tape position so that no additional tape transport requiring opening of the sealing is necessary . however , it may also be advantageous to employ a reading position which is apart from the sampling position since this enables a reading optic or electrochemical analysis unit within the testing device at a different place . the closed sealing of fig9 c can be obtained by deactivating the reverse actuator so that the pressure actuator again presses the pressure plate onto the opening of the supply section . fig9 d again is a snapshot taken during the transport of the used test medium into the storage section ( 50 b ). when the used test medium is located inside the storage section , the sealing again is closed . as shown in fig9 d it is preferred when the distance between two successive test media is so large that a succeeding test medium is still located within the supply section when the preceding test medium is already within the storage section . it is even more preferred when the succeeding test medium is still on the reel , covered by a layer of tape so that it is protected against humidity . fig1 shows a test media cassette ( 50 ) with a supply section ( 50 a ) in which a supply reel ( 57 ) is being located . the test media tape leaves the supply section via a diffusion channel ( 70 ). at the opening of the supply section which is located at the outer end of the diffusion channel a sealing means ( 80 ′) is located . this sealing means has an axis ( 81 ′) by which it is rotationally fixed to the housing of the cassette . the sealing means has a sealing section to which an annular gasket ( not shown ) is fixed . when the cassette is in rest ( i . e . no tearing force applied to the tape ) the sealing section presses onto a surface surrounding the opening of the cassette ( i . e . at the outer end of the diffusion channel in this embodiment ). the force to achieve this pressing action is applied to the sealing means ( 80 ′) via a spring means ( 59 ) which integrally belongs to the cassette ( non - integral or even spring means not belonging to the cassette may also be contemplated ). the integral spring means in the shown case is a nose of plastic material which can be produced in the same production step as the cassette housing ( e . g ., by injection molding ). when the sealing means ( 80 ′) is assembled , the nose ( 59 ) is deformed and spring tension acting onto the sealing means is created by the nose which attempts to get back into unstressed condition . when tape ( 30 ) is withdrawn from the supply section the tape needs to be tensioned to overcome the holding forced of the sealing means and / or the friction of the supply reel . as can be seen the sealing means has a rounded section which together with the cassette housing creates a wound channel in which the tape runs . when the tape is stressed it tries to assume a straight direction and therefore it acts on the rounded section of the sealing means so as to move the sealing means against the force of the spring means ( 59 ). this movement opens the sealing and lets the test media tape pass through . fig1 further shows a chamber connected to the supply section which is filled with a drying agent ( 71 ), which is a molecular sieve in the depicted case . fig1 shows the hydraulic sealing concept . the housing has an upper section 100 a and one lower section ( 100 b ) which form a channel at the outlet of the storage section through which the test media tape runs . within this channel region , there is located a pouch 105 filled with fluid . the pouch is made of a flexible material ( e . g ., polyethylene ) which in its rest position has the shape as depicted in fig1 . in this position , the channel is opened so that test media tape can be withdrawn from the supply section and test media ( 31 ) can pass through . when pressure is applied to a portion of the pouch located outside the channel , the portion of the pouch located in the channel region expands and form fittingly engages the tape within the channel . pressure application can e . g . be made by a stamp ( 110 ). for obtaining a tight sealing of the supply section against humidity , the channel is closed by the pouch when no unused test media are to be withdrawn . in this closed position , a free tape region between two successive test media is located in the channel and is form fittingly sealed by the hydraulic sealing means . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes , equivalents , and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventions defined by following claims are desired to be protected . all publications , patents , and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication , patent , or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forth in its entirety herein . | 0Human Necessities
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the present invention aims at providing a sodium hypochlorite production electrolytic cell that is free of a risk of corrosion or short circuits with easy - to - assemble and easy - to - disassemble features , in addition to greatly improving efficiency of electrolysis and durability of the electrolytic cell , by applying a simple convex - concavo assembly method for assembly or disassembly of each component installed inside the housing , without requiring welding work or adhesives . the electrolytic cell for producing sodium hypochlorite described herein has a hollow housing including an internal space that is extended in its longitudinal direction , a brine supply hole installed at a lower portion of one side thereof , a brine discharge hole installed at an upper portion of the other side thereof ; a separator that is tightly coupled to an inner wall of the housing and divides the inner space of the housing into multiple electrode chambers ( c ), the separator including a cut area forming a hydrogen discharge path ( p ) at an upper area in between the inner wall of the housing and the cut area , a rectangular space ( s ) passing through a central portion thereof , corresponding electrode plate insertion grooves formed at a certain interval on the upper and lower sides of the rectangular space ( s ), and fixation bar insertion grooves formed on edge portions that are closely coupled to the inner wall of the housing ; electrode plates that are arranged serially or side by side inside the electrode chambers ( c ), maintaining a regular interval between each electrode plate , by each of the electrode plates being inserted into the electrode plate insertion grooves of the separator in a vertical direction ; and separator fixation bars that are inserted into the fixation bar insertion grooves formed in the separator to fix the separator at the inner wall of the housing , separator fixation grooves being formed at locations where the separator is installed . the electrolytic cell disclosed herein is characterized in that all the components arranged inside the housing are coupled with each other by using a simple concavo - convex assembly method that facilitates easy and convenient assembly and disassembly of the structure , resulting in excellent effects in electrolysis performance and durability as a result of not using any metallic materials except for the electrode plates , thus eliminating a risk of corrosion or short circuits . in addition , the electrolytic cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes multiple separators separating electrode chambers ( c ) that are installed inside the housing , and a hydrogen gas discharge path ( p ) is installed between inner walls of the housing at an upper portion of the separators . further , a space ( s ) for installing electrode plates is formed at a central portion of the housing , thus allowing brine and sodium hypochlorite to move smoothly between the electrode chambers ( c ) through the space ( s ), and hydrogen gas be quickly discharged through the hydrogen discharge path ( p ), thus preventing a risk of dangerous explosion due to the hydrogen gas . furthermore , according to an embodiment , since electrode plate insertion grooves are formed at a regular interval at the upper and lower portions of the space ( s ) of the separator , each of the electrode plates is inserted into a corresponding one of the electrode plate insertion grooves at the upper and lower portions , and the separator is tightly fixed to the inner wall of the housing by the separator fixation bar such that the regular intervals of the electrode plates can be maintained for a long period of time even at pressure levels of the brine ranging from 1 to 6 bar . fig1 and 2 illustrate the structures of conventional electrolytic cells , fig3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the electrolytic cell according to an exemplary embodiment the present invention , fig4 is a traversal cross - sectional view of the electrolytic cell shown in fig3 , fig5 illustrates the structure of the separator ( 20 ) and the electrode plate ( 30 ), shown in fig4 , coupled to each other , fig6 is an oblique view illustrating the structure of the separator fixation bar ( 40 ) shown in fig4 , fig7 is an oblique view of the separators ( 20 a , 20 b ) according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention , and fig8 is a longitudinal cross - sectional view of an electrolytic cell formed with the separators ( 20 a , 20 b ) shown in fig7 . the present invention will be described in detail as follows , referring to the drawings listed above . however , components that are apparent to those skilled in the art , well known in the art , or identical to known components in the conventional technology will be omitted even if such components are essential for the present invention . in addition , new terms or drawing numerals shall be assigned to each component of the present invention regardless of those used in fig1 and 2 which describe prior patent literature . referring to fig3 and 4 , an electrolytic cell for producing sodium hypochlorite according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a hollow housing ( 10 ), a separator or a plurality of separators ( 2 ) and electrode plates ( 30 ) installed inside the housing ( 10 ), and separator fixation bars ( 40 ). of these components , components other than the electrode pates ( 30 ), i . e ., the housing ( 10 ), the separators ( 20 ), and the separator fixation bars ( 40 ), may be made of non - conductive materials , preferably injection molding materials such as polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), fiberglass reinforced polypropylene , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ( abs ) resin , teflon resin , and the like . the housing ( 10 ) has a hollow structure that is commonly found in conventional electrolytic cells , an inner space extended in its longitudinal direction formed therein . the housing ( 10 ) further has a brine supply hole ( 11 ) installed at an upper end portion of one side thereof and a brine discharge hole ( 12 ) installed at an upper end portion of the other side thereof . in addition , an anode terminal ( 13 ) is installed at one side of the housing ( 10 ), and a cathode terminal ( 14 ) is installed at the other side of the housing ( 10 ). the positions of the brine supply hole ( 11 ) and the brine discharge hole ( 12 ) may be changed as necessary , and the number of the brine supply hole ( 11 ) and the brine discharge hole ( 12 ) may also be increased as necessary . the separator ( 20 ) according to an embodiment of the present invention is tightly coupled to the inner wall of the housing ( 10 ) to divide the inner space of the housing ( 10 ) into multiple electrode chambers ( c ). further , the separator ( 20 ) includes a cut area ( 21 ) forming a hydrogen discharge path ( p ) between the inner wall of the housing ( 10 ) and the cut area ( 21 ), as shown in fig4 . furthermore , as shown in fig5 ( a ), a rectangular space ( s ) passes through the central portion of the separator ( 20 ), and corresponding electrode plate grooves ( 22 ) are serially formed at a regular interval on the upper and lower sides of the space ( s ). also , fixation bar insertion grooves ( 23 ) are formed at edge portions of the separators ( 20 ) excluding the cut areas ( 21 ), that is , at edge portions that are tightly coupled to the inner walls of the housing ( 10 ). although there are no limitations on the number of such fixation bar insertion grooves ( 23 ), the number of the fixation bar insertion grooves ( 23 ) may be 2 ˜ 5 , preferably 3 . the separators ( 20 ) may vary in shape depending on the cross - sectional shape of the housing ( 10 ), and may have a circular shape as shown in fig4 ( a ), a rectangular shape as shown in fig4 ( b ), or a polygonal shape ( not shown in drawing ). the number of the separators ( 20 ) used depends on the quantity of electrode chambers ( c ) and in general , 1 to 20 electrode chambers may be formed in each housing ( 10 ). further , at least one separator ( 20 ) is installed inside the electrode chamber ( c ). the structure of the electrode plate ( 30 ) has a rectangular plate shape as generally found in conventional electrolytic cells . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , each electrode plate ( 30 ) is inserted vertically into each of the upper and lower electrode insertion grooves ( 22 ) of the separator ( 20 ) such that the electrode plate ( 30 ) passes through the upper space ( s ) in the longitudinal direction , neighboring separators ( 20 ) being separated at regular intervals , as shown in fig5 ( b ). in this embodiment , the spacing between one of the electrode plates ( 30 ) and the other one of the electrode plates ( 30 ) that is adjacent to the one electrode plate ( 30 ) is determined by the spacing between the electrode insertion grooves ( 22 ). in general , a spacing of 0 . 5 ˜ 6 mm is formed when the brine is salt water , and a spacing of 0 . 5 ˜ 8 mm is formed when the brine is sea water . when this range of spacing is maintained for the electrode plates ( 30 ), the current density for each electrode plate ( 30 ) remains within a range of 0 . 05 ˜ 0 . 5 a / cm 2 , consuming electric power in a range of 3 . 0 ˜ 9 . 0 kw / kgcl 2 . the base materials or substrate forming the electrode plates ( 30 ) are titanium , tantalum , tin , zirconium , stainless , nickel , and the like as is the case with general electrode plates . if all or part of such base material is coated with anodizing materials , they become anodic and if they are not coated , the base materials become cathodic . for example , ruthenium , iridium , platinum , rhodium , and palladium may be used as anodizing materials . in the electrolytic cell shown in fig3 , electrode plates ( 30 ) are formed in such a way as to alternate anodes coated with an anodic material and cathodes that are not coated . thus , the difference between the number of the anode plates and the number of the cathode plates is 1 , resulting in n − 1 number of electrodes . the separator fixation bar ( 40 ) is a rectangular pole , as shown in fig6 , and is inserted into a fixation insertion groove ( 23 ) of the separator ( 20 ). separator fixation grooves ( 41 ) are formed at respective positions where the separators ( 20 ) are installed . the separators ( 20 ) are fixated on the inner wall of the housing ( 10 ) by the separator fixation bars ( 40 ) such that the separators ( 20 ) are not twisted due to the pressure of brine , and moreover , the separator fixation bars ( 40 ) support the electrode plates ( 3 ) such that intervals between the electrode plates ( 30 ) are maintained in a secure manner for a prolonged period of time . fig7 illustrates a structure of a separator ( 20 ) according to another embodiment of the present invention . the separator ( 20 ) is formed with a type a separator ( 20 a ) having relatively narrowly arranged electrode plate insertion grooves ( 22 ) and a type b separator ( 20 b ) having relatively widely arranged electrode plate insertion grooves ( 22 ). in other words , the spacing between the electroplate insertion grooves ( 22 a ) of the type a separator ( 20 a ) is half the spacing between the electroplate insertion grooves ( 22 b ) of the type b separator ( 20 b ). therefore , one electrode plate insertion groove ( 22 b ) of the type b separator ( 20 b ) overlaps two electrode plate insertion grooves ( 22 a ) of the type a separator ( 20 a ) when the type a separator ( 20 a ) and the type b separator ( 20 b ) are tightly coupled with each other . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , electrode plates ( 30 ) cut to a specific length are used with type a separators ( 20 a ) and type b separators ( 20 b ). such electrode plates ( 30 ) may be unipolar electrodes having either an anode or cathode function , or bipolar electrodes having both anode and cathode functions at a single electrode . such bipolar electrode may be formed by coating an anodizing material only one side of a base material that is cut into left and right pieces having a specific length . fig8 illustrates the structure of an electrolytic cell , in which electrode pates ( 30 ) are installed on the type a separator ( 20 a ) and the type b separator ( 20 b ). as shown in the magnified view in fig8 , a type a separator ( 20 a ) and a type b separator ( 20 b ) are installed between the electrode chambers ( c ) by being tightly coupled with each other , the electrode plate ( 30 a ′) being installed within two matching electrode plate insertion grooves ( 22 a , 22 b ) in such a way as to penetrate the two separators ( 20 a , 20 b ), and both ends of the electrode plate ( 30 b ′) being inserted into only the electrode plate insertion groove ( 22 a ) of the type a separator ( 20 a ) where only the electrode plate insertion groove ( 22 a ) of the type a separator ( 20 a ) is installed . in doing so , one electrode ( 30 ′) is arranged over the two electrode chambers ( c ), and both sides of each electrode plate ( 30 ′) are firmly supported and prevented from being moved in either a leftward or rightward direction by being blocked by the type b separator ( 20 b ). in this embodiment , each electrode plate ( 30 ′) is arranged such that the anodes and the cathodes intersect with an adjacent electrode plate ( 30 ′). the following is a mechanism and effects of the present invention , referring to the electrolytic cell illustrated in fig3 . brine supplied from a brine supply device ( not shown in the drawing ) runs into the housing ( 10 ) through the brine supply hole ( 11 ). a preferred temperature of the brine ranges from 5 to 40 ° c ., and it is preferable to maintain a pressure of 0 . 5 ˜ 6 bar . then , electrolytic reactions that produce sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen gases are triggered by the brine passing through the electrode plates ( 30 ) arranged vertically in series . then , the brine and sodium hypochlorite pass each electrode chamber ( c ) in order via the space ( s ) formed at the central portion of each electrode ( 30 ), and the hydrogen gas is eventually discharged through the brine discharge hole ( 12 ) after moving upward and passing through the hydrogen discharge path ( p ) at the upper portion of the separator ( 30 ). the brine and the sodium hypochlorite are also separated from each other by a separate device after being discharged out of the housing ( 10 ) through the brine discharge hole ( 12 ) at the upper portion of the housing ( 10 ). the electrolytic cell according to the present invention may be assembled as follows : first , the electrode plates ( 30 ) are inserted into the electrode insertion grooves ( 22 ) of the separator ( 20 ) one by one , and then , the separator fixation grooves ( 41 ) of the separator fixation bar ( 40 ) are inserted into the fixation bar insertion grooves ( 23 ) of the separator ( 20 ); and finally , the assembly is completed by inserting the assembled structure into the housing ( 10 ) in the longitudinal direction . disassembly of the electrolytic cell may be performed by releasing the separator fixation bar ( 40 ), as well as the separator ( 20 ) and the electrode plates ( 30 ), out of the housing ( 10 ) by pulling the separator fixation bar ( 40 ) from the housing ( 10 ). therefore , the electrolytic cell according to the present invention is easy to assemble and disassemble . | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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fig1 is a side view of a bicycle in which a particular embodiment of an antitheft device according to the present invention may be employed . the bicycle includes a frame 1 with a double - loop type of frame unit 2 and a front fork 3 ; a handle component 4 ; a drive component 5 ; a front wheel 6 ; a rear wheel 7 in which a four - speed internal shifting hub 10 is mounted ; front and rear brake devices 8 ( only the front brake device is shown in figure ); and a shift control element 9 for conveniently operating the internal shifting hub 10 . the drive component 5 has a gear crank 18 that is provided to the lower portion ( bottom bracket portion ) of the frame body 2 , a chain 19 that is wrapped around the gear crank 18 , and the internal gear hub 10 . various components , including a saddle 11 and a handle component 4 , are attached to the frame 1 . a bicycle speed sensor 12 furnished with a bicycle speed sensing lead switch is mounted on the front fork 3 . this bicycle speed sensor 12 outputs a bicycle speed signal by detecting a magnet 13 mounted on the front wheel 6 . the handle component 4 has a handle stem 14 that is fixed to the upper portion of the front fork 3 and a handlebar 15 that is fixed to the handle stem 14 . brake levers 16 and grips 17 which constitute part of the brake devices 8 are mounted at either end of the handlebar 15 . a shift control element 9 is mounted on the right - side brake lever 16 . as shown in fig2 the shift control element 9 has a control panel 20 formed integrally with the right - side ( front - wheel ) brake lever 16 , two control buttons 21 and 22 disposed next to each other to the left and right on the lower portion of the control panel 20 , a control dial 23 disposed above the control buttons 21 and 22 , and a liquid - crystal display component 24 disposed to the left of the control dial 23 . the current riding speed is displayed on the liquid - crystal display component 24 , as is the speed step selected at the time of the shift . the control buttons 21 and 22 are triangular push buttons . the control button 21 on the left side is used to perform shifts to a higher speed step , while the control button 22 on the right side is used to perform shifts to a lower speed step . the control dial 23 is used to switch among two shifting modes and a parking mode ( p ), and it has three stationary positions : p . a , and m . here , the shift mode comprises an automatic shift ( a ) mode and a manual shift ( m ) mode . the automatic shift mode is for automatically shifting the internal shifting hub 10 by means of a bicycle speed signal from the bicycle speed sensor 12 , and the manual shift mode is for shifting the internal shifting hub 10 through the operation of the control buttons 21 and 22 . the parking mode is for locking the internal shifting hub 10 and controlling the rotation of the rear wheel 7 . a shift control component 25 ( fig3 ) that is used to control shifting is housed inside the control panel 20 . the shift control component 25 comprises a microcomputer consisting of a cpu , a ram , a rom , and an i / o interface . as shown in fig3 the shift control component 25 is connected to the bicycle speed sensor 12 , an actuation position sensor 26 composed of a potentiometer ( for example , a potentiometer that senses the actuation position of the internal shifting hub 10 ), the control dial 23 , and the control buttons 21 and 22 . the shift control component 25 is also connected to a power supply 27 ( consisting of a battery ), a motor driver 28 , the liquid - crystal display component 24 , a memory component 30 , and another input / output component . a shift motor 29 is connected to the motor driver 28 . various types of data , such as the password ( pw ) discussed below or the tire diameter , are stored in the memory component 30 . the relation between the speed step and the speed during the automatic shift mode is also stored . the shift control component 25 controls the motor 29 according to the various modes , and also controls the display of the liquid - crystal display component 24 . as shown in fig4 the internal gear hub 10 primarily has a hub axle 41 that is fixed to the rear portion of the bicycle frame 1 , a driver 42 that is located around the outer periphery at one end of the hub axle 41 , a hub shell 43 that is located around the outer periphery of the hub axle 41 and driver 42 , a planet gear mechanism 44 for transmitting motive power between the driver 42 and the hub shell 43 , and a sound - generating mechanism 100 for antitheft purposes . the planet gear mechanism 44 is made up of a total of four steps , one direct and three speed - increasing . the driver 42 is a roughly cylindrical member , one end of which is rotatably supported by the hub axle 41 via balls 45 and a hub cone 46 . a hub cog 47 is fixed as an input element around the outer periphery at one end . a notch 42 a that expands outward in the radial direction from the space in the center is formed in the driver 42 . three of these notches 42 a are formed at roughly equal angles in the circumferential direction . the hub shell 43 is a cylindrical member having a plurality of steps in the axial direction , and the driver 42 is housed in a housing space 43 a around the inner periphery thereof . one side of the hub shell 43 is rotatably supported around the outer periphery of the driver 42 via balls 50 , and the other by the hub axle 41 via balls 51 and a hub cone 52 . flanges 53 and 54 for supporting the spokes 7 a ( fig1 ) of the rear wheel 7 are fixed around the outer periphery at both ends of the hub shell 43 . a cover 55 is fixed to the outer side wall at one side of the driver 42 , and the distal end of the cover 55 extends so as to cover the outer peripheral surface at one end of the hub shell 43 . a sealing member 56 is positioned between the inner peripheral surface at the distal end of the cover 55 , and the outer peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 . the planet gear mechanism 44 is housed in the housing space 43 a inside the hub shell 43 , and has first , second , and third sun gears 60 , 61 , and 62 , three planet gears 63 ( a - c ) ( only one planet gear is shown in the figures ) that mesh with these , and a ring gear 64 . the sun gears 60 to 62 are lined up in the axial direction around the inner periphery of the driver 42 and the outer periphery of the hub axle 41 , and furthermore are allowed to rotate relative to the hub axle 41 . the planet gears 63 are rotatably supported via a support pin 65 within the notches 42 a in the driver 42 . a first gear 63 a , a second first gear 63 b , and a third gear 63 c are formed integrally with the planet gears 63 . the first gear 63 a meshes with the first sun gear 60 , the second gear 63 b meshes with the second sun gear 61 , and the third gear 63 c meshes with the third sun gear 62 . the ring gear 64 is located on the outer peripheral side of the planet gears 63 , and inner teeth are formed around the inner periphery . this ring gear 64 meshes with the second gear 63 b of the planet gears 63 . as shown in fig5 to 8 , a pair of stopping protrusions 41 a are formed at the locations where the sun gears 60 to 62 are disposed . four housing spaces 60 a to 62 a are formed apart from each other in the peripheral direction around the inner periphery of the sun gears 60 to 62 . the first sun gear 60 is depicted in fig5 and 7 , whereas the third sun gear 62 is depicted in fig6 and 8 . between the hub axle 41 and the inner periphery of the sun gears 60 to 62 are positioned a selective clutch mechanism 70 for preventing the sun gears 60 to 62 from performing relative rotation in the forward direction or for allowing them to rotate relative to the hub axle 41 , a lock mechanism 90 for preventing the third sun gear 62 from performing relative rotation in the opposite direction from the forward direction or for allowing it to perform relative rotation , and an actuation mechanism 91 for actuating the selective clutch mechanism 70 and the lock mechanism 90 . these actuation mechanism 91 , lock mechanism 90 , and sound - generating mechanism 100 constitute an antitheft device . the selective clutch mechanism 70 has a function whereby it selectively links one of the three sun gears 60 to 62 to the hub axle 41 , and a function whereby it does not link any of the sun gears 60 to 62 to the hub axle 41 . the selective clutch mechanism 70 has a plurality of drive pawls 71 , 72 , and 73 that are disposed in the housing spaces 60 a to 62 a of the sun gears 60 to 62 , and the distal ends of which are able to mesh with the stopping protrusions 41 a of the hub axle 41 , and has annular wire springs 74 , 75 , and 76 for energizing the distal ends of the drive pawls 71 to 73 toward the hub axle 41 . the drive pawls 71 to 73 are swingably supported at their base ends in the pawl housing spaces 60 a to 62 a where they face each other , and are able to mesh at their distal ends with the stopping protrusions 41 a . when the drive pawls 71 to 73 are stopped by the stopping protrusions 41 a of the hub axle 41 and thereby linked to the hub axle 41 , the sun gears 60 to 62 are no longer able to rotate in the forward direction ( clockwise in fig5 ) in relation to the hub axle 41 but can perform relative rotation in the opposite direction ( counterclockwise in fig5 ). when the drive pawls are released , relative rotation is possible in both directions . the lock mechanism 90 , as shown in fig6 has a pair of lock pawls 92 which are capable of meshing at their distal ends with the stopping protrusions 41 a of the hub axle 41 at the inner surface of the third sun gear 62 and which are positioned in the pawl housing space 62 a of the third sun gear 62 . the distal ends of the lock pawls 92 are energized toward the hub axle 41 by the wire spring 76 that energizes the drive pawls 73 . the lock pawls 92 are swingably supported at their base ends in another pawl housing space 62 a opposite from the pawl housing space 62 a in which the drive pawl 73 is housed , and they are capable of meshing at their distal ends with the stopping protrusions 41 a on the opposite side from the drive pawls 73 . when the lock pawls 92 are stopped by the stopping protrusions 41 a of the hub axle 41 and thereby linked to the hub axle 41 , the third sun gear 62 is no longer able to rotate relatively in the opposite direction from the forward direction ( counterclockwise in fig6 ), but is able to rotate relatively in the forward direction ( clockwise in fig6 ). when the lock pawls are released , relative rotation is possible in both directions . the actuation mechanism 91 has a sleeve 77 . the sleeve 77 is rotatably fitted over the outer periphery of the hub axle 41 , and has a plurality of drive cam components 94 a and lock cam components 94 b at the locations where the drive pawls 71 to 73 and the lock pawls 92 are disposed on the outer periphery . when these drive cam components 94 a strike any of the drive pawls 71 to 73 , and the lock cam components 94 b strike lock pawls 92 , the struck pawls are raised , and the linkage between the hub axle 41 and the sun gears 60 to 62 is released by these pawls . an operator 78 is fixed to one end of the sleeve 77 , and the sleeve 77 can be rotated by the rotation of the operator 78 . the rotation of the sleeve 77 then causes the cam components 94 to selectively actuate the drive pawls 71 to 73 and the lock pawls 92 , so that the linkage and locking of the sun gears 60 to 62 with the hub axle 41 are controlled . as shown in fig4 a reduction mechanism 95 is linked to the operator 78 . the reduction mechanism 95 reduces the speed of rotation of the shift motor 29 , and transmits rotation to the operator 78 . the actuation position sensor 26 , which is used to fix the sleeve 77 of the internal shifting hub 10 in one of the actuation positions vp ( in one of the shift positions v 1 to v 4 of the speed steps or in the locked position pk ), is disposed inside the reduction mechanism 95 . with a structure such as this , a large speed - increasing power transmission path with the largest speed increasing ratio is created when the drive pawl 71 strikes a stopping protrusion 41 a of the hub axle 41 , and the first sun gear 60 is selected ; a medium speed - increasing power transmission path with the second - largest speed increasing ratio is created when the second sun gear 61 is selected ; and a small speed - increasing power transmission path with the smallest speed increasing ratio is created when the third sun gear 62 is selected . if none of the sun gears has been selected , then a direct - coupled power transmission path is created . also , when the lock pawls 92 strike the stopping protrusions 41 a of the hub axle 41 , rotation of the third sun gear 62 is locked in the opposite direction from the forward direction , and when another sun gear ( such as the first sun gear 60 ) is linked with the hub axle 41 by the drive pawls , the internal shifting hub 10 is locked . a first one - way clutch 80 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 and the outer peripheral surface at the other end of the driver 42 . a second one - way clutch 81 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 and the outer peripheral surface of the ring gear 64 . these one - way clutches 80 and 81 are both roller - type , one - way clutches , which reduces noise during idle running when a shift is made , softens the shock when a shift is made , and allows for smoother shifting . the sound - generating mechanism 100 is provided to the left end ( in fig4 ) of the hub axle 41 within the hub shell 43 . as shown in fig9 to 11 , the sound - generating mechanism 100 has a spring washer 101 that rotates integrally with the sleeve 77 , a noise - emitting cam 102 positioned on the hub axle 41 such that it is able to move in the axial direction but unable to rotate , a noise - emitting washer 103 that presses against the noise - emitting cam 102 , and a noise - emitting spring 104 disposed in a compressed state between the noise - emitting washer 103 and the hub cone 52 . the spring washer 101 is a member that is nonrotatably stopped by the sleeve 77 , and it has around its outer periphery an engagement tab 105 that strikes the noise - emitting cam 102 . the noise - emitting cam 102 has a cylindrical cam body 106 and a stopping washer 107 that stops the cam body 106 and the hub axle 41 such that they can move in the axial direction but cannot rotate . a cam component 108 that strikes the engagement tab 105 is formed at the right end ( in fig1 ) of the cam body 106 . the cam component 108 is formed such that the cam body 106 is moved axially to the left by the rotation of the sleeve 77 toward the locked position pk . a large number of noise - emitting grooves 109 are formed at regular intervals in the circumferential direction at the left end of the cam body 106 . the noise - emitting grooves 109 are inclined in the forward direction . the noise - emitting washer 103 has a disk - shaped washer body 110 and a ratchet pawl 111 that is swingably supported on the washer body 110 . numerous noise - emitting tabs 112 that engage with the noise - emitting grooves 109 are formed around the outer periphery of the washer body 110 . the ratchet pawl 111 is able to mesh with ratchet teeth 113 formed in the inner peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 when the hub shell 43 rotates in the forward direction . this sound - generating mechanism 100 emits noise through the vibration of the noise - emitting washer 103 when the sleeve 77 is in the locked position and when the rear wheel 7 rotates in the forward direction . shifting and locking are performed by actuating the shift motor 29 through mode selection with the control dial 23 of the shift control element 9 , through shift operation with the control buttons 21 and 22 , and through rotating the sleeve 77 via the operator 78 . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the actuation and control of the shift control component 25 . when the power is turned on , initialization is performed in step s 1 . here , circumference data used for calculating speed is set to a diameter of 26 inches , and the speed step is set to second gear ( v 2 ). in step s 2 , a decision is made as to whether the control dial 23 has been set to the parking mode . in step s 3 , a decision is made as to whether the control dial 23 has been set to the automatic shift mode . in step s 4 , a decision is made as to whether the control dial 23 has been set to the manual shift mode . in step s 5 , a decision is made as to whether some other processing , such as tire diameter input , has been selected . when the control dial 23 is turned to position p and set to the parking mode , the flow goes from step s 2 to step s 10 . in step s 10 , the dial p processing shown in fig1 is executed . when the control dial 23 is turned to position a and set to the automatic shift mode , the flow goes from step s 3 to step s 11 . in step s 11 , the automatic shift processing shown in fig1 is executed . when the control dial 23 is turned to position m and set to the manual shift mode , the flow goes from step s 4 to step s 12 . in step s 12 , the manual shift processing shown in fig1 is executed . when other processing is selected , the flow goes from step s 5 to step s 13 , and the selected processing is executed . with the dial p processing in step s 10 , a decision is made as to whether 30 seconds has elapsed since the dial was turned to position p in step s 21 in fig1 . in step s 22 , a decision is made as to whether the password pw has been registered . this decision is made on the basis of whether the password pw has already been stored in the memory component 30 . if the password has already been registered , the flow moves on to step s 23 . in step s 23 a decision is made as to whether the left control button 21 has been operated . the purpose of operating the control buttons 21 and 22 here is to input the password for unlocking the locked internal shifting hub 10 . in step s 24 a decision is made as to whether the right control button 22 has been operated . in step s 25 a decision is made as to whether the password lr inputted by operation of the two control buttons 21 and 22 matches the registered password pw . if there is no match , the flow moves on to step s 26 . in step s 26 a decision is made as to whether the password still does not match after it has been inputted three times . if it has yet to be inputted three times , the flow returns to step s 23 , and the re - inputting of the password is permitted . if the password does not match the registered password pw after three inputs , the flow moves on to step s 27 . in step s 27 , the system waits for 10 minutes to pass , and when 10 minutes have elapsed , the flow returns to step s 23 , and the re - inputting of the password is permitted . once 30 seconds have elapsed since the dial was turned to the p position , the flow moves from step s 21 to step s 30 . in step s 30 , the shift motor 29 is driven by the motor driver 28 , and the actuation position vp is set to the locked position pk . as a result , the sleeve 77 is rotated via the operator 78 , the drive pawl 71 is raised as shown in fig7 and 8 so that the first sun gear 60 and the hub axle 41 are locked in just the forward direction , and the lock pawls 92 are raised so that the third sun gear 62 and the hub axle 41 are nonrotatably locked in the opposite direction from the forward direction . when the two sun gears 60 and 62 are thus locked , if an attempt is made to rotate the driver 42 by rotating the crank gear 18 , the system will try to make the largest upshift since the first sun gear 60 is locked in the forward direction , but since the third sun gear 62 cannot turn backward , the planet gear mechanism 44 is locked and cannot move . accordingly , the bicycle cannot be pedaled away , making its theft more difficult . if the bicycle is pushed by hand at this point , the one - way clutch 80 will allow it to move forward even if the planet gear mechanism 44 is locked . if , however , the sleeve 77 is rotated to the locked position pk , the cam body 106 of the sound - generating mechanism 100 will be pressed by the engagement tab 105 of the spring washer 101 that rotates along with the sleeve 77 , and will move from the position indicated by ( a ) in fig9 and 11 to the positions indicated by ( b ) and ( c ) in fig1 and 11 ( that is , will move to the left in the axial direction ). as a result , the ratchet pawl 111 of the noise - emitting washer 103 meshes with the ratchet teeth 113 of the hub shell 43 , and rotates integrally with the hub shell 43 only in the forward direction . at this point , the noise - emitting tabs 112 of the noise - emitting washer 103 go in and out of the noise - emitting grooves 109 of the noise - emitting cam 102 , creating a loud impact sound . consequently , a loud noise is produced when the bicycle is pushed by hand in a locked state , and this also deters theft . if the password pw has not been registered , the flow moves from step s 22 to step s 31 . in step s 31 , the code registration processing illustrated in fig1 is executed . here , a decision is made as to whether the control button 21 was operated in step s 41 in fig1 . if the control button 21 was operated , the flow moves to step s 42 , and the left number l ( a 10 - digit number ) is increased by one . in step s 43 a decision is made as to whether the control button 22 was operated . the flow returns to step s 41 until the control button 22 is pushed , and the left number l is increased by one . when the control button 22 is operated , the flow moves to step s 44 , and the right number r ( a 1 - digit number ) is increased by one . in step s 45 a decision is made as to whether the control button 21 was operated again . the flow returns to step s 43 until the control button 21 is operated , and the right number r is increased by one . when the control button 21 is operated , the flow moves to step s 46 , and the inputted number lr is stored as the password pw in the memory component 30 . a password pw is thus registered after being selected from among 100 two - digit numbers lr ranging from “ 00 ” to “ 99 .” in step s 23 , if it is decided that the control button 21 was operated during unlocking , the flow moves on to step s 32 . in step s 32 the left number l is increased by one , just as when the password was registered . if it is decided that the control button 22 was operated , the flow moves from step s 24 to step s 33 . in step s 32 , the right number r is increased by one , just as when the password was registered . if the inputted number lr matches the password pw in step s 25 , the flow moves to step s 34 , and the actuation position vp is set to first gear v 1 . as a result , the sleeve 77 is rotated by the shift motor 29 and positioned at the first gear v 1 , the lock pawl 92 of the third sun gear 62 comes out , and all of the drive pawls 71 to 73 come out . this means that all of the sun gears 60 to 62 are free to rotate with respect to the hub axle 41 . as a result , when the bicycle is pedaled , the rotation of the driver 42 is transmitted directly to the hub shell 43 via the first one - way clutch 80 . with the automatic shift processing of step s 11 , the actuation position vp is set to a speed step corresponding to the bicycle speed sp . when the position is different from this , shifts are made one gear at a time toward this . here , in step s 51 in fig1 , a decision is made as to whether the bicycle speed sp is at or below the speed s 1 on the basis of the speed signal from the bicycle speed sensor 12 . in step s 52 a decision is made as to whether the bicycle speed sp is over the speed s 1 and at or below the speed s 2 . in step s 53 a decision is made as to whether the bicycle speed sp is over the speed s 2 and at or below the speed s 3 . in step s 54 a decision is made as to whether the bicycle speed sp is over the speed s 3 . when the bicycle speed sp is low ( at or below the speed s 1 ), the flow moves from step s 51 to step s 55 . in step s 55 a decision is made as to whether the current actuation position vp is first gear v 1 . if the actuation position vp is not first gear v 1 , the flow moves on to step s 56 , and the actuation position vp is adjusted to first gear v 1 one speed step at a time . if the bicycle speed sp is medium low ( over the speed s 1 and at or below the speed s 2 ), the flow moves from step s 52 to step s 57 . in step s 57 a decision is made as to whether the current actuation position vp is second gear v 2 . if the actuation position vp is not second gear v 2 , the flow moves on to step s 58 , and the actuation position vp is adjusted to second gear v 2 one speed step at a time . if the bicycle speed sp is medium high ( over the speed s 2 and at or below the speed s 3 ), the flow moves from step s 53 to step s 59 . in step s 59 a decision is made as to whether the current actuation position vp is third gear v 3 . if the actuation position vp is not third gear v 3 , the flow moves on to step s 60 , and the actuation position vp is adjusted to third gear v 3 one speed step at a time . if the bicycle speed sp is high ( over the speed s 3 ), the flow moves from step s 54 to step s 61 . in step s 61 a decision is made as to whether the current actuation position vp is fourth gear v 4 . if the actuation position vp is not fourth gear v 4 , the flow moves on to step s 62 , and the actuation position vp is adjusted to fourth gear v 4 one speed step at a time . here , when the first sun gear 60 and the hub axle 41 are linked by the shift motor 29 , the bicycle is in fourth gear v 4 , the rotation inputted from the chain wheel to the driver 42 is increased by the largest gear ratio determined by the number of teeth on the first sun gear 60 , the first gear 63 a and second gear 63 b of the planet gears 63 , and the ring gear 64 , and this rotation is transmitted to the hub shell 43 via the second one - way clutch 81 . when the second sun gear 61 is selected and linked to the hub axle 41 , the bicycle is in third gear v 3 , the rotation of the driver 42 is increased by a medium ( the second largest ) gear ratio determined by the number of teeth on the second sun gear 61 , the second gear 63 b of the planet gears 63 , and the ring gear 64 , and this rotation is transmitted to the hub shell 43 via the second one - way clutch 81 . when the third sun gear 62 is selected and linked to the hub axle 41 , the bicycle is in second gear v 2 , the rotation of the driver 42 is increased by the smallest gear ratio determined by the number of teeth on the third sun gear 62 , the second gear 63 b and third gear 63 c of the planet gears 63 , and the ring gear 64 , and this rotation is transmitted to the hub shell 43 via the second one - way clutch 81 . if none of the sun gears 60 through 62 is selected , first gear v 1 is engaged , and the rotation of the driver 42 is transmitted directly to the hub shell 43 , as above . unselected sun gears perform relative rotation in the opposite direction from the forward direction with respect to the hub axle 41 . when any one of the sun gears is selected and speed is stepped up by the planet gear mechanism 44 , the driver 42 and the hub shell 43 perform relative rotation in the direction in which meshing with the first one - way clutch 80 is released . with the manual shift processing of step s 11 , gear shifts are made one at a time by operation of the control buttons 21 and 22 . in step s 71 in fig1 a decision is made as to whether the control button 21 was operated . in step s 72 a decision is made as to whether the control button 22 was operated . when the control button 21 is operated , the flow moves from step s 71 to step s 73 . in step s 73 a decision is made as to whether the current actuation position vp is fourth gear v 4 . if the current actuation position vp is fourth gear v 4 , the flow moves on to step s 74 , and fourth gear v 4 is maintained without a shift being made . if the current actuation position vp is not fourth gear v 4 , then the flow moves to step s 75 , and the actuation position vp is moved one speed step higher . when the control button 22 is operated , the flow moves from step s 71 to step s 73 . in step s 73 a decision is made as to whether current actuation position vp is first gear v 1 . if the current actuation position vp is first gear v 1 , the flow moves on to step s 77 , and first gear v 1 is maintained without a shift being made . if the current actuation position vp is not first gear v 1 , the flow moves to step s 78 , and the actuation position vp is moved one speed step lower . during these shifts , the sensing results from the actuation position sensor 26 are compared with the positional data for each actuation position stored ahead of time in the memory component 30 , the results of which are used to perform positioning control of the shift motor 29 . thus , according to this embodiment , entering the parking mode with the aid of the control dial 23 allows this mode to be maintained as long as the entered password does not match the registered password , and hence impedes the unlocking of the antitheft device containing the lock mechanism 90 . in addition , entering the parking mode with the aid of the control dial 23 allows the planetary gear mechanism 44 to be locked by the lock mechanism 90 and the sound - generating mechanism 100 to produce a sound , making it impossible for an unauthorized person to pedal the bicycle away and generating a sound when the bicycle is pushed . this arrangement can minimize bicycle theft . in the above - described embodiment , a lock mechanism 90 was provided between a hub axle 41 and a sun gear 62 that performed relative rotation , and a sound - generating mechanism 100 was separately provided between the hub axle 41 and the hub shell 43 to prevent theft . it is also possible , however , to position an antitheft device 85 endowed with sound - generating and locking functions between the hub axle 41 and the hub shell 43 , that is , to provide the device to a running component that performs relative rotation as shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , an internal shifting hub 10 a has an antitheft device 85 in which the sound - generating mechanism 100 in fig4 is endowed with a locking function in addition to a sound - generating function . the sun gear 62 is therefore devoid of any lock pawls . except for the presence of the antitheft device 85 , this embodiment has the same structure and operation as embodiment shown in fig4 and the corresponding description will therefore be omitted . the antitheft device 85 is provided to the left end ( in fig1 ) of the hub axle 41 within the hub shell 43 . as shown in fig1 through 20 , the antitheft device 85 has a spring washer 101 a that rotates integrally with the sleeve 77 , a moving cam 102 a , a moving member 103 a , a moving spring 104 a , and a lock ring 114 . the moving cam 102 a is nonrotatably installed while allowed to move axially in relation to the hub axle 41 . the moving member 103 a presses against the moving cam 102 a , the moving spring 104 a is disposed in a compressed state between the moving member 103 a and a hub cone 52 , and the lock ring 114 is pressed against the moving member 103 a . the spring washer 101 a is a member that is nonrotatably stopped by the sleeve 77 , and it has around its outer periphery an engagement tab 105 a that strikes the moving cam 102 a . the moving cam 102 a has a cylindrical cam body 106 a and a stopping washer 107 a that stops the cam body 106 a and the hub axle 41 such that they can move in the axial direction but cannot rotate . a cam component 108 a that strikes the engagement tab 105 a is formed at the right end ( in fig2 ) of the cam body 106 a . the cam component 108 a is formed such that the cam body 106 a is moved axially to the right by the rotation of the sleeve 77 toward the locked position pk . the moving member 103 a has a disk - shaped flange component 115 and a cylindrical component 116 integrally formed along the inner periphery of the flange component 115 . a step 1 15 a is formed on the flange component 115 in its midportion as viewed in the radial direction . a lock ring 114 is rotatably supported by the step 115 a . as shown in fig2 , respective radial irregularities 114 a ( only those located on the side of the lock ring 114 are shown ) are formed on the surface of the flange component 115 facing the lock ring 114 and on the surface of the lock ring 114 facing the flange component 115 . the presence of such irregularities 114 a increases the frictional force between the lock ring 114 and the moving member 103 a and causes these components to vibrate and to produce sound during relative rotation . serration teeth 114 b are formed in the outer peripheral portion of the lock ring 114 , as shown in fig2 . these serration teeth 114 b can engage with serration teeth 113 a formed in the inner peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 . four protrusions 116 a are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical component 116 as shown in fig2 . the protrusions 116 a engage four grooves 41 c formed in the outer peripheral surface of the hub axle 41 . as a result of this arrangement , the moving member 103 a is nonrotatably supported by the hub axle 41 while allowed to move in the axial direction . a thread and a stopping groove are formed in the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical component 116 . a pressure ring 117 is mounted around the outside of the cylindrical component 116 as shown in fig1 . the pressure ring 117 , which is nonrotatably supported on the cylindrical component 116 while allowed to move in the axial direction , is allowed to come into contact with the lock ring 114 . in addition , a pressure nut 118 is screwed on the outer periphery at the right end of the cylindrical component 116 . a coned disk spring 119 is disposed between the pressure nut 118 and the pressure ring 117 . the pressure exerted by the coned disk spring 119 can be adjusted by adjusting the fastening of the pressure nut 118 ; the frictional force between the lock ring 114 and the flange component 115 of the moving member 103 a can be adjusted via the pressure ring 117 ; and the rotation of the hub shell 43 can be controlled arbitrarily . for example , maximizing the frictional force produced by the coned disk spring 119 makes it possible to bring the system into a locked state with minimal rotation of the hub shell 43 . furthermore , reducing the frictional force weakens the force with which the rotation of the hub shell 43 is controlled and allows the hub shell 43 to rotate in relation to the hub axle 41 . in this case as well , a frictional force is generated when the coned disk spring 119 is energized , and the rotation is controlled , unlike in a free - rotating state . this embodiment allows the rotation of the hub shell 43 ( that is , the rotation of the rear wheel 7 ) to be freely controlled by adjusting the energizing force of the coned disk spring 119 within a range that extends essentially from the locked state to the free - rotating state . in the antitheft device 85 thus configured , the engagement tab 105 a of the spring washer 101 a rotating along the sleeve 77 moves into the cam component 108 a when the sleeve 77 is rotated from a shift position to the locked position pk . when the engagement tab 105 moves into the cam component 108 a , the moving cam 102 a and the moving member 103 a energized by the moving spring 104 a move to the right from the position designated as ( a ) in fig1 and 20 to the position designated as ( b ) in fig1 and 20 . as a result of this , the serration teeth 114 b of the lock ring 114 engage with the serration teeth 113 a of the hub shell 43 , and the rotation of the hub shell 43 is controlled by the force of friction between the lock ring 114 and the moving member 103 a . the corresponding frictional force can be altered as needed by adjusting the energizing force of the coned disk spring 119 through the tightening of the pressure nut 118 . therefore , pedaling fails to rotate the rear wheel 7 or rotates it only slightly . at this time , an attempt to forcefully turn the hub shell 43 results in the relative rotation of the moving member 103 a and the lock ring 114 and causes the lock ring 114 and the moving member 103 a to vibrate and to emit a loud vibrating noise under the action of the irregularities 114 a . thus , loud noise is produced when the bicycle is pressed by hand or the pedals are pressed and the hub shell 43 is rotated in the locked state , making the bicycle more difficult to steal . another feature is that even when the sleeve 77 is mistakenly placed in the locked position by an accidental action during riding , the rear wheel 7 is still prevented from being locked abruptly because the rotation of the rear wheel 7 is controlled by friction . in the first embodiment described above , the sun gears are locked to prevent the bicycle from being pedaled away when the sleeve 77 is in the locked position . however , the bicycle can still be moved by pushing . by contrast , this embodiment entails directly coupling the hub shell 43 with the hub axle 41 to achieve locking . this controls the rotation of the hub shell 43 ( and rear wheel 7 ) even when an attempt is made to push the bicycle , making it more difficult to push the bicycle and reducing the likelihood of a theft . although the two embodiments described above referred to internal shifting hubs 10 and 10 a in which an operator 78 was actuated by a motor , it is also possible to rotate a sleeve and to perform shifting and antitheft locking by linking a shift control element and an operator with the aid of a shifting cable , and by mechanically operating the shift control element . for example , in fig2 the shift control element 9 a has a body unit 160 formed integrally with the right - side brake lever 16 and a control element 161 rotatably mounted on the body unit 160 . the body unit 160 has a circular display component 162 for displaying a shift position or the parking position and a lock component 163 for maintaining the control element 161 in the parking position when this position has been reached . the display component 162 has a transparent dial 164 on which numbers indicating shift positions 1 through 4 and a letter indicating parking position p are marked at regular intervals in the circumferential direction , and an indicator 165 that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the control element 161 on the reverse side of the dial 165 . the indicator 165 points to one of the five positions comprising a parking position and four shift positions . as shown in fig2 , the lock component 163 has a cylindrical lock 170 , a lock cam 171 that rotates in conjunction with the cylindrical lock 170 , a lock body 172 actuated by the lock cam 171 , and a leaf spring 173 for energizing the lock body 172 to the right in fig2 . the lock cam 171 is an oval member that is rotated by the rotating cylindrical lock 170 , assuming a normal position achieved during shifting and shown in fig2 a as a straight - up position , an open position achieved by a 45 - degree turn to the left from the normal position and shown in fig2 b , and a locked position achieved by a 90 - degree turn to the right from the normal position and shown in fig2 c . the lock body 172 is a rectangular member provided with a rectangular opening 172 a in the center and supported while allowed to move to the left and right in fig2 inside a rectangular opening 160 a formed within the body unit 160 . the outer peripheral surface of the lock cam 171 presses against the inner peripheral surface of the opening 172 a in the lock body 172 . the vertical dimension of the opening 172 a [ is ] considerably greater than the lengthwise dimension of the lock cam 171 . in addition , the transverse dimension is slightly greater than the medium lengthwise dimension of the lock cam 171 so that the lock body 172 cannot move in any significant way to the right or left when the lock cam 171 is in the locked position . a rectangular stopping protrusion 174 is formed on the lateral surface of the lock body 172 facing the control element 161 . the end face of the control element 161 facing the body unit is provided with a stopping groove 166 that is stopped by the stopping protrusion 174 in the locked position and with a movement groove 167 that faces the stopping protrusion 174 in the normal position . a protrusion 168 between the movement groove 167 and the stopping groove 166 functions as a stopper for preventing the system from leaving a shift position and moving to the parking position in the normal running state even when the control element 161 is actuated by striking the stopping protrusion 174 . the control element 161 is supported by the body unit 160 while allowed to be placed in five positions : a parking position and four shift positions . the shift positions can be changed by the rotation of the control element 161 with the thumb and the index finger . the control element 161 is linked to a cable winder ( not shown ) provided to the body unit 160 , and the inner cable of a shifting cable 180 whose tip is fixed to the cable winder is taken up or paid out by rotation . the tip of the inner cable of the shifting cable 180 is linked to the operator 78 . when the shift control element 9 a is in the normal position ( fig2 a ), that is , when the cylindrical lock 170 is not engaged , the control element 161 can be turned to one of the four shift positions because the stopping protrusion 174 is positioned in the movement groove 167 . when a key is inserted into the cylindrical lock and turned 45 degrees to the left , the lock cam 171 is rotated in the same manner , and the open position is reached . at this time , the lock body 172 is allowed to move to the left in fig2 in opposition to the energizing force of the leaf spring 173 ( fig2 b ). this releases the stopped state formed by the striking of the protrusion 168 and the stopping protrusion 174 , and allows the control element 161 to rotate to the parking position . the stopping protrusion 174 faces the stopping groove 166 when the control element 161 is rotated to the parking position . when the key is turned 135 degrees to the right from the open position in this state , the lock cam 171 is rotated in the same manner and is moved to the locked position . at this time , the lock body 172 is moved to the left in fig2 by the energizing force of the leaf spring 173 ( fig2 c ). as a result , the stopping protrusion 174 engages the stopping groove 166 , and the control element 161 is nonrotatably locked . the lock cam 171 is maintained in the parking state in the locked position if the key is removed from the cylindrical lock 170 in this state . conversely , to release the parking state the key is inserted into the cylindrical lock 170 and turned 135 degrees to the left , placing the lock cam 171 in the open position . when this is done , the lock body is moved to the left , allowing the control element 161 to be rotated . the lock cam 171 is placed in the normal position when the key is turned 45 degrees to the right after the control element 161 has been placed in one of the shift positions . in this state , the lock body 172 is moved to the right by the energizing force of the leaf spring 173 , and the stopping protrusion 174 is placed into the movement groove 167 . in this state , the control element 161 can move solely among the four shift positions , as described above . as a result , the parking position cannot be engaged even by mistake . in this state , the key is removed and riding is started . as shown in fig2 , an internal shifting hub 10 b has essentially the same structure as the one shown in fig1 , the difference being that a shifting cable is directly linked to the operator 78 . the embodiment shown in fig1 contemplates an arrangement in which the operator 78 is turned by the motor 29 , whereas the embodiment shown in fig2 contemplates an arrangement in which the operator 78 is turned by the shifting cable . in all other respects the structure is the same as in the embodiment shown in fig1 , and the corresponding description will therefore be omitted . this embodiment contemplates an arrangement in which rotating the control element 161 of the shift control element 9 a into the parking position results in the rotation of the operator 78 , in the corresponding rotation of the sleeve 77 to the locked position pk , and in the controlled rotation of the internal shifting hub 10 b so that a sound is produced when the hub shell 43 is rotated . as a result , the likelihood of a theft is reduced and bicycle theft is prevented in the same manner as in the two embodiments described above . in addition , placing the control element 161 in the parking position makes it possible for this state to be maintained by the cylindrical lock 170 , so a return to a shift position is impossible until the cylindrical lock 170 is unlocked . this impedes the unlocking of the antitheft device 85 in the antitheft position and makes theft less likely . although the three embodiments described above referred to an internal shifting hub 10 for a rear wheel 7 , it is also possible to mount the antitheft device 85 inside a front hub 120 for a front wheel 6 as shown in fig2 . in this embodiment the front hub 120 has a hub axle 41 b and a hub shell 43 b rotatably supported on the hub axle 41 b . serration teeth 113 b are formed in the inner peripheral surface of the hub shell 43 b . a sleeve 77 a is rotatably mounted around the outside of the hub axle 41 b , and a lock lever 121 is rotatably mounted in the base - end portion of the sleeve 77 a . the structure of the antitheft device 85 is the same as in the second embodiment above , and the corresponding description will therefore be omitted . in this embodiment , a lock control element is disposed , for example , on the handlebar 15 . this lock control element may have essentially the same structure as the shift control element 9 a . specifically , the lock control element may be equipped with a body unit and a control element . the control element may move among the parking position and riding positions . these riding positions correspond to the plurality of shift positions . the lock control element is provided with a means that allows a cylindrical lock or the like to be locked with a key in the parking position and that prevents a return from the parking position to a riding position unless a numeric password has been inputted , a key inserted , or another such unlocking operation performed . it is possible to link such a lock control element and the lock lever 121 with the aid of a cable , to allow the lock control element to rotate the sleeve 77 a , and to move the moving member between a locked position and an unlocked position . although the embodiments described above involved providing a wheel hub with an antitheft device , it is also possible to mount the antitheft device 85 a inside the internal shift crank 130 of a drive component 5 , as shown in fig2 . in this embodiment the internal shift crank 130 can be locked or shifted between two steps ( high and low ). the internal shift crank 130 has a bottom bracket 132 ( which has a crank axle 131 that is mounted on the bottom bracket component 2 a of the bicycle frame body 2 ), left and right crank arms 133 a and 133 b , a planetary gear mechanism 134 , a crank gear 135 linked to the planetary gear mechanism 134 , and an antitheft device 85 a provided to the planetary gear mechanism 134 . the crank axle 131 is rotatably supported on the cylindrical bottom bracket 132 , and the crank arms 133 a and 133 b are nonrotatably mounted at both ends with the aid of a mounting bolt 140 . the bottom bracket 132 has a cylindrical bracket body 141 for supporting the crank axle 131 , a case component 142 integrally formed at the right end of the bracket body 141 , and an attaching bolt 143 mounted on the left end of the bracket body 141 . the bottom bracket 132 is mounted on the bottom bracket component 2 a by tightening , with the aid of the attaching bolt 143 , the bracket body 141 inserted into the bottom bracket component 2 a , and is nonrotatably stopped in relation to the frame body 2 by a fixing arm 144 mounted on the case component 142 . the case component 142 , which is designed to house the planetary gear mechanism 134 in its interior , has a disk component 142 a disposed at the right end of the bracket body 141 and a cylindrical component 142 b extending to the right in fig2 away from the outer peripheral portion of the disk component 142 a . as shown in fig2 , the planetary gear mechanism 134 has a ring gear 145 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical component 142 b , three planetary gears 146 ( only one is shown in fig2 ) that mesh with this ring gear 145 , and a sun gear 147 that meshes with the planetary gears 146 . the planetary gears 146 are arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction around an annular frame body 148 fixed to the crank gear 135 , and they are rotatably supported on the frame body 148 . the frame body 148 is rotatably supported by a crank arm 133 b and the case component 142 , and a swingable drive pawl 155 is disposed around the inside of this frame body . only the forward rotation of the crank axle 131 is transmitted by the drive pawl 155 to the frame body 148 . the frame body 148 can be rotated by the drive pawl 155 only in the forward direction integrally with the crank axle 131 . in addition , a large number of stopping grooves 148 a are radially formed in the left - side surface of the frame body 148 . the planetary gears 146 have a large gear tooth 146 a and a small gear tooth 146 b . the large gear tooth 146 a meshes with the ring gear 145 , and the small gear tooth 146 b meshes with the sun gear 147 . the sun gear 147 is rotatably mounted on the crank axle 131 . a drive pawl 149 is disposed inside the sun gear 147 , which is rotated by the drive pawl 149 in conjunction solely with the forward rotation of the crank axle 131 . a switching disk 151 is nonrotatably mounted around the inside of the cylindrical component 142 b of the case component 142 while allowed to move in the axial direction . the switching disk 151 is axially moved by the turning of a switching lever 152 . the switching disk 151 is also energized to the left in fig2 by an energizing means ( not shown ). the switching lever 152 is swingably supported by the case component 142 , an inclined cam ( not shown ) is formed on the lateral surface that strikes this switching disk 151 , and the switching disk 151 is moved in the axial direction by turning . a shifting cable is mounted on the upper end . the shift control element has , for example , three positions ( high - speed position , low - speed position , and parking position ) and can be locked in the parking position to allow this position to be preserved . this shift control element may be essentially the same as that disclosed in relation to the third embodiment . a radial stopping groove 151 a capable of meshing with the stopping grooves 148 a formed in the frame body 148 are formed in the right - side surface of the switching disk 151 . together with the switching disk 151 , these stopping grooves 148 a and 151 a constitute the antitheft device 85 a . in addition , a switching pawl 151 b designed to turn the drive pawl 155 without driving is formed at the right end around the inside of the switching disk 151 . furthermore , a tooth component 151 c for meshing with the cylindrical component 142 b is formed around the outside of the switching disk 151 . the crank gear 135 rotates integrally with the frame body 148 . the crank gear 135 is rotatably supported by the crank arm 133 b and the case component 142 via the frame body 148 . when the shift control element is turned to the high - speed position in the internal shift crank 130 thus configured , the switching lever 152 is turned via the shifting cable ( as shown in fig2 a ), and the switching disk 151 is moved to the high - speed position on the left side . in this state , the frame body 148 and the crank axle 131 are linked by the drive pawl 155 . as a result , the forward rotation of the crank axle 131 is directly transmitted to the frame body 148 , and the crank gear 135 is rotated at the same rotational speed as the crank axle 131 . when the shift control element is turned to the low - speed position , the switching lever 152 is turned via the shifting cable as shown in fig2 b , and the switching disk 151 is moved to the low - speed position in the center . in this state , the drive pawl 155 is turned by the switching pawl 151 b of the switching disk 151 , and the drive pawl 155 cannot perform driving . as a result , the link between the frame body 148 and the crank axle 131 is released . when this is done , the forward rotation of the crank axle 131 is transmitted to the sun gear 147 via the drive pawl 149 . when the sun gear 147 is rotated in the forward direction , the planetary gear 146 rotates around its axis in the opposite direction and revolves around the sun gear in the forward direction at a reduced speed . as a result , the crank gear 135 rotates at a reduced speed via the frame body 148 . when the shift control element is turned to the parking position , this state is preserved by the input of a password , the use of a key , or the like . when the shift control element is placed in this parking position , the switching lever 152 is turned via the shifting cable , and the switching disk 151 is placed in the locked position on the right , as shown in fig2 c . in this state , the drive pawl 155 is turned by the switching pawl 151 b of the switching disk 151 , and cannot be driven any longer . in addition , the stopping groove 151 a and the stopping grooves 148 a engage with each other , and the frame body 148 is linked to the case component 142 and locked via the switching disk 151 . consequently , the crank axle 131 is locked and the crank gear 135 does not rotate when an attempt is made to rotate the crank arms 133 a and 133 b in the forward direction . when , however , the crank arms 133 a and 133 b are caused to rotate in the backward direction , the drive pawl 149 disengages from the sun gear 147 , and the crank axle 131 is able to rotate even if the frame body 148 has been locked . however , the rotation of the crank axle 131 is not transmitted to the crank gear . consequently , the bicycle cannot be pedaled away in this locked state , making its theft less likely . it is also possible for the switching disk to be energized by a suitable energizing means from the left side in fig2 , and for the switching disk and the frame body 148 to perform relative rotation in the locked position . in this case , the rotation is controlled , and sound is produced by relative rotation . fig2 depicts another embodiment , which is a modification of the third embodiment described above . in this embodiment , as with the third embodiment , a shift control element 9 b is locked in the parking position by a key 181 . in fig2 , the shift control element 9 b has a body unit 160 b formed integrally with the right - side brake lever 16 and a control element 161 a rotatably mounted on the body unit 160 b . the body unit 160 b has a circular display component 162 a for displaying a shift position or the parking position and a lock component 163 a for maintaining the control element 161 a in the parking position when this position has been reached . the display component 162 a is rotatably supported on the body unit 160 b , and is allowed to rotate in conjunction with the control element 161 a . an indicator 165 a for displaying [ i ] numbers indicating the four shift positions 1 through 4 drawn on the body unit 160 b and [ ii ] a letter indicating parking position p is mounted on the surface of the display component 162 a . the indicator 165 a points to the parking position or to one of the shift positions ( four operating positions ). as shown in fig2 and 30 , the lock component 163 a has a cylindrical lock 170 a that can be rotated with the key 181 , a lock member 172 b that moves rectilinearly in conjunction with the cylindrical lock 170 a , and a coil spring 173 a for energizing the lock member 172 b to the right in fig2 . the cylindrical lock 170 a is used , for example , in a bicycle horseshoe - shaped lock , and contains in its interior a cylindrical component 170 b rotatable by the key 181 . this cylindrical component 170 b can be rotated by the insertion of the key 181 between the first horizontal position shown in fig2 and a second position ( shown in fig2 ) obtained by turning the key 90 degrees counterclockwise from the first position . a protruding pin 171 a extends into the back surface ( reverse surface in relation to the key - insertion surface ) of the cylindrical component 170 b of the cylindrical lock 170 a . the lock member 172 b , which is a channel steel shape , is supported by the body unit 160 b while allowed to move in the axial direction of the handle assembly . a slot 172 c for stopping the protruding pin 171 a of the cylindrical component 170 b is formed in the lateral surface of the lock member 172 b facing the cylindrical lock . due to the stopping of the protruding pin 171 a by the slot 172 c , the lock member 172 b is advanced to or retracted from [ i ] the forward position shown in fig3 a and [ ii ] the unlocking position shown in fig3 b ( and reached by retraction from the forward position ) by the rotation of the cylindrical component 170 b between the first and second positions . the coil spring 173 a , which is stopped by a stopping tab 160 c whose base portion is disposed on the body unit 160 b and by a stopping tab 172 d whose tip is disposed on the lock member 172 b , energizes the lock member 172 b in the direction of the control element 161 a . the end face of the control element 161 a that is opposite the body unit 160 b is provided with a stopping groove 166 a that faces the tip of the lock member 172 b when the control element 161 a has been moved to the parking position , and with a moving groove 167 a that faces the tip of the lock member 172 b when the shift positions of gears 1 to 4 have been reached . the stopping groove 166 a has a c - shape to enable the tip of the lock member 172 b to be stopped in accordance with the parking position , and the moving groove 167 a has a fan shape in accordance with the shift positions of gears 1 to 4 . a wall component 168 a between the moving groove 167 a and the stopping groove 166 a presses against the tip of the lock member 172 b in a normal riding state , and thus functions as a stopper for preventing the system from being switched from a shift position to the parking position or vice versa by the operation of the control element 161 a . the control element 161 a is supported by the body unit 160 b while allowed to be placed in five positions : four shift positions and a parking position . the operating positions can be changed by the grasping and rotation of the control element 161 a with the thumb and the index finger . the control element 161 a is linked to a cable winder ( not shown ) provided to the body unit 160 b , and the inner cable of a shifting cable 180 whose tip is fixed to the cable winder is taken up or paid out by rotation . the tip of the inner cable of the shifting cable 180 is linked to the operator 78 of the internal shifting hub 10 b ( fig2 ). when the key 181 is inserted into the cylindrical lock 170 a of the shift control element 9 b , the coil spring 173 a energizes the lock member 172 b in the direction of the control element 161 a , so the cylindrical component 170 b is also placed in the first position ( fig3 a ). the result of this is that when the control element 161 a is placed in one of the four shift positions , the tip of the lock member 172 b protrudes into the moving groove 167 a , and the control element 161 a can be rotated solely among the shift positions of gears 1 to 4 . when the control element 161 a is in the parking position , the tip of the lock member 172 b protrudes into the stopping groove 166 a , and the control element 161 a is locked in the parking position . inserting the key 181 into the cylindrical lock 170 a turns the cylindrical component 170 b 90 degrees from the first position to the second position ( shown in fig3 b ) when the system is moved from the parking position to a shift position or vice versa . as a result , the lock member 172 b retracts in opposition to the energizing force of the coil spring 173 a , and the tip of the lock member 172 b disengages from the moving groove 167 a or the stopping groove 166 a . this arrangement allows the control element 161 a to be rotated among the shift positions and the parking position . the control element 161 a can therefore be moved from the parking position to a shift position or vice versa when , for example , the control element 161 a is turned with the right hand while the key 181 is held in the left hand and the cylindrical component 170 b is turned to the second position . when the force exerted by the left hand is released after the operation of the control element 161 a has been completed , the lock member 172 b is advanced by the energizing force of the coil spring 173 a , and the cylindrical component 170 b turns from the second position to the first position . the tip of the lock member 172 b is thus stopped by the moving groove 167 a or the stopping groove 166 a , and the control element 161 a is rotated solely among the four shift positions or is locked in the parking position . the key 181 is removed from the cylindrical lock 170 a in the normal riding state , and the key 181 is inserted into the cylindrical lock 170 a ( and the cylindrical component 170 b is turned from the first position to the shift position ) only when the bicycle is locked during parking or is unlocked at the start of riding . this arrangement makes it possible to retract the lock member 172 b and to turn the control element 161 a from a selected state to the parking state or vice versa . when the control element 161 a is turned to the parking position , the operator 78 linked to an inner cable is rotated , the sleeve 77 is turned to the locked position pk in a corresponding manner , the rotation of the internal shifting hub 10 b is controlled , and the hub shell 43 rotates and produces sound . as a result , theft can be impeded and bicycle theft prevented in the same manner as in the embodiments described above . in addition , this state is maintained when the control element 161 a is placed in the parking position , making a return to a shift position impossible as long as the lock member 172 b is not retracted by the cylindrical lock 170 a . this impedes the unlocking of the antitheft device 85 in the antitheft position and makes theft less likely . in addition , the key 181 is not used during riding and should be inserted into the cylindrical lock 170 a solely during locking or unlocking , making it possible to keep this key in a key holder together with the bicycle lock key inserted into the lock during riding , and thus reducing the likelihood of the key 181 being lost . while the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention , further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the size , shape , location or orientation of the various components may be changed as desired . the functions of one element may be performed by two , and vice versa . in the embodiments described above , the antitheft device was provided to an internal shifting hub , a front hub , or a crank , but the present invention is not limited to these options alone , and the antitheft device may be provided to any component as long as this component can rotate during riding . four - step gear shifters were used in the embodiments described above , but the gear shifter having a plurality of speed steps also encompasses continuously variable gear shifters . thus , the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed . instead , the true scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims . | 1Performing Operations; Transporting
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fig1 shows the structure of a radio communication system with which the method in accordance with the present invention can be used . it consists of a number of mobile switching centers msc , that are networked together or provide access to a fixed network pstn . furthermore , these mobile switching centers msc are each connected to at least one base station controller bsc . each base station controller bsc , in turn , enables a connection to at least one base station bs . such a base station bs can establish a communication link to subscriber stations ms through a radio interface . for this purpose , at least individual base stations bs are equipped with antenna devices ae that have a number of antenna elements ( a 1 – a m ). fig1 shows examples of connections v 1 , v 2 , vk for the transmission of useful information and signaling information between subscriber stations ms 1 , ms 2 , msk , msn and a base station bs . the functionality of this structure can be transferred to other radio communication systems in which the present invention can be used , particularly for subscriber access networks with a wireless subscriber connection . fig2 is a schematic showing the structure of a base station bs . a signal generating device sa assembles the transmitted signal for the subscriber station msk to form radio blocks and assigns it to a frequency channel tch . a transmitting / receiving pair tx / rx receives the transmitted signal s k ( t ) from the signal generating device sa . the transmitting / receiving pair tx / rx includes a beam shaping network in which the transmitted signal s k ( t ) for the subscriber station msk is combined with transmitted signals s 1 ( t ), s 2 ( t ), . . . , that are meant for other subscriber stations to which the same transmitting frequency is assigned . the beam shaping network has a multiplier m for each transmitted signal and each antenna element , that multiplies the transmitted signal s k ( t ) with a component ( w i ) j ( k ) of a weighting vector ( w i ) ( k ) that is assigned to the receiving subscriber station msk . the output signals of the multipliers m , each of which is assigned to one of the antenna elements ae 1 , ae 2 , . . . , ae m , are added by an adder ad 1 , ad 2 , . . . , ad m , converted to analog by a digital analog converter dac , converted to the transmitting frequency ( hf ) and amplified in a power amplifier pa before they reach the antenna element ae 1 , . . . , ae m . a structure similar to the beam shaping network described , that is not specifically shown in the illustration , is arranged between the antenna elements ae 1 , ae 2 , . . . , ae m and a digital signal processor dsp , in order to break down the received mixture of uplink signals into the contributions from the individual subscriber stations and apply these separately to the dsp . a storage device se contains a set of weighting vectors ( w 1 ) ( k ) , ( w 2 ) ( k ), . . . , ( w m ) ( k ) for each subscriber station msk , from which the weighting vector ( w i ) ( k ) used by the multipliers m is selected . fig3 is a schematic showing the structure of a subscriber station msk for implementing a first embodiment of the method in accordance with the present invention . the subscriber station msk has a single antenna a that receives the downlink signal emitted from the base station bs . the received signal from antenna a , converted to the base band , is applied to a rake searcher rs that serves to measure the differences in the transit times of contributions of the downlink signal that have reached antenna a over different propagation paths . the received signal is also present at a rake amplifier ra that has a number of rake fingers , three of which are shown in the illustration , and each of which has a delay element del and a combiner - descrambler ee . the delay elements del delay the received signal , in each case by a delay value τ 1 , τ 2 , τ 3 , . . . provided by the rake searcher rs . the combiner - descramblers ee each supply a sequence of estimated symbols at their outputs , whereby it is possible that the results of the estimation may differ for individual descramblers because of the different phase positions of the downlink signal for the descrambling code and spread code in the individual fingers of the rake amplifier . the symbol sequences delivered by the combiner - descramblers ee also contain the results of the estimation of training sequences emitted from the base station that are quasi - orthogonal and characteristic of each antenna element of the base station . a signal processor sp is used to compare the results of the estimation of these training sequences with the symbols actually contained in the training sequences that are known to the subscriber station . using this comparison , the impulse response of the transmission channel between the base station bs and the subscriber station msk can be determined for each individual finger or tap . a maximum ratio combiner mrc is also connected to the outputs of the combiner - descramblers ee , that combines the individual estimated symbol sequences to form a combined symbol sequence with the best possible signal - noise ratio , and supplies this to a voice signal processing unit ssv . the functioning of this unit ssv , that converts the received symbol sequence to an audible signal for a user or changes received tones to a sequence of transmit symbols , is sufficiently well known and need not be described here . the signal processor sp determines , for each tap individually , the impulse responses of each antenna element ae 1 , . . . , ae m and combines these impulse responses , in the manner known , such as from the cited de 198 03 188 , to form a spatial covariance matrix r xx . the changes to this covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )} over time reflect , on the one hand , the long - term development over time of the different transmission paths between the base station bs and the subscriber station msk and , as well as their phase fluctuations over a short period . the processing of the spatial covariance matrices in a data processor re of the subscriber station is detailed in the patent application of the applicant filed on 4 jul . 2000 under official file reference 100 32 426 . 6 . this description is not completely repeated at this point , because not all of its details are significant for an understanding of the present invention . on the one hand , by averaging over a sequence of spatial covariance matrices { overscore ( r xx )} individually received for each training sequence of the downlink signal , an average spatial covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )} is created . from this , averaged covariance matrix control vectors are determined as intrinsic vectors that must be transmitted to the base station bs in order to be used there as weighting vectors . on the other hand , short - term intrinsic values for each control vector are determined from the “ short - term ” spatial covariance matrices r xx that provide information on the contribution to the received signal that a transmission path corresponding to the particular intrinsic vector produces . after the weighting vectors have been transmitted to the base station bs , all that the subscriber station msk still requires is to determine , using the short - term intrinsic values , that control vector or a combination of control vectors that provide it with the best reception , and to communicate information regarding the selected vectors to the base station bs so that this can then use the corresponding weighting vector or a combination of weighting vectors to send the downlink signal to the subscriber station msk . because of the movement of a subscriber station , the components of the control vectors can change over time . thus , it is necessary from time to time to adapt the weighting vectors used by the base station bs to the control vectors determined by the subscriber station . the present invention deals with the problem of how this can take place with the best possible utilization of the transmission bandwidth available for the purpose . fig4 shows a flow diagram of a first , simple version of the method in accordance with the present invention for updating the weighting vectors w 1 , w 2 , . . . , w m used by the base station bs for sending to the subscriber station msk . the method starts from a status s 0 in which the base station bs has an available set w 1 , w 2 , . . . , w m of weighting vectors , and a set of reference control vectors s 1 , s 2 , . . . , s m is available at the subscriber station msk that , such as in the manner described above , have been received via an intrinsic vector analysis of the long - term covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )}. in this case , it is assumed that these two sets of vectors agree with respect to the accuracy with which information can be transmitted via the measured control vectors from the subscriber station msk to the base station bs . the question of how the base station bs receives such a set of weighting vectors w 1 , w 2 , . . . , w m is to be dealt with at a later point . the subscriber station msk periodically performs an intrinsic vector analysis of the long - term covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )} that , for this purpose , is held at a current state ; for example , by a sliding average value formation over the short - term covariance matrices r xx . the period with which the intrinsic vector analysis can be performed can be permanently predetermined ; but it also can be varying relative to the speed of change of the intrinsic vectors and be agreed between the subscriber station msk and base station bs . via an intrinsic vector analysis of this kind , a set of intrinsic vectors is obtained in step s 1 that are used as new control vectors s 1 ′, s 2 ′, . . . , s m ′ and differ generally from the reference control vectors s 1 , s 2 , . . . , s m . to be able to estimate the extent of the changes of the new control vectors compared to the reference control vectors , it is first necessary to sort the newly received control vectors s 1 ′, s 2 ′, . . . , s m ′ in step s 2 or , more precisely , to determine which of the new control vectors has preceded which of the reference control vectors in each case . here it is assumed that the control vectors have to be redetermined so frequently in each case that the difference in direction of a new control vector from that from which it has been produced is less in each case than from all the other control vectors . the sorting can , therefore , proceed so that the new control vectors s 1 ′, s 2 ′, . . . , s m ′ are scaled and the one for which the expression ∑ i s i - s p ( i ) ′ 2 takes the smallest value is selected using all possible permutations p ( i ) of the m control vectors . these newly received control vectors are re - sorted corresponding to this permutation , with the result that s 1 ′ is produced from s 1 , s 2 ′ from s 2 , etc . the difference d i = s i ′– s i is then determined for all control vectors and , in step s 4 , sent to the base station bs . the base station adds each received vectorial difference d i to the corresponding weighting vector w i used by it and from now on uses the weighting vectors w i updated in this way to send to the subscriber station msk . the newly received control vectors s i ′ are stored in step s 6 by the subscriber station msk in order to be used in the succeeding period of the method as reference control vectors s i if steps s 1 to s 3 are repeated . because the components of the differential vectors d i must clearly be numerically smaller than those of the control vectors s i or s ′ i in order to guarantee the possibility of assignment in step s 2 , distinctly fewer bits are required for their transmission to the base station bs than if the numerical values of the components of the vectors s i ′ themselves have to be transmitted . because the numerical values of the differences are , in general , lower in line with how short the period is with which steps s 1 to s 6 are repeated , the number of bits that must be reserved for transmission of the differences is that much smaller the shorter the period is . it is therefore possible to frequently update the weighting vectors w i used by the base station bs without the bandwidth required for this increasing in proportion to the updating frequency . fig5 shows a development of the method from fig4 . steps s 0 to s 3 in fig5 are identical with those in fig4 and therefore need not be described again . an object of the method in fig5 is to reduce the uplink bandwidth required for the updating of the weighting vectors even more than is possible with the method according to fig4 . for this purpose , a step s 10 follows the step s 3 , in which each differential vector d i received for a pair of reference vectors and new control vectors s i or s i ′ is replaced by a discretized differential vector δ i , whose components ( δ i ) j are defined by the following formula . ( δ i ) j = { + 1 + i if re ( d i ) j & gt ; 0 and im ( d i ) j & gt ; 0 + 1 - i if re ( d i ) j & gt ; 0 and im ( d i ) j & lt ; 0 - 1 + i if re ( d i ) j & lt ; 0 and im ( d i ) j & gt ; 0 - 1 - i if re ( d i ) j & lt ; 0 and im ( d i ) j & lt ; 0 the roughly discretized differential vector δ i obtained in this way is transmitted in step s 11 to the base station bs and there used in step s 12 , in a manner similar to that described above for step s 5 , to update the weighting vectors w i . in this way , the bandwidth required for updating is reduced to a minimum size ; i . e ., one bit each for the imaginary part and real part of each component of the differential vector . the result of discretizing is that a precise agreement ( in the context of the measuring accuracy of the subscriber station msk ) between the control vectors and the weighting vectors can no longer be produced . this is , however , no longer detrimental because the weighting vectors w i still represent quite a good approximation of the control vectors s i . in contrast to step s 6 , in step s 13 a reference control vector s i is not replaced by the new control vector s i ′, but instead by s i + d i . this ensures that the reference control vector s i , that remains stored at the subscriber station msk for a repetition of the method , furthermore agrees with the corresponding weighting vector w i of the base station bs . in the event that the correction of the weighting vector w i in step s 12 was greater than the actual measured change , this overcorrection is automatically cancelled by a repetition of steps s 1 to s 3 , s 10 to s 12 in a succeeding period of the method , with the result that if a component of a control vector s i does not change in the course of further repetitions of these steps , the corresponding value of the weighting vector w i oscillates about the value of the control vector s i . if the change of the reference control vector s i in step s 13 was not sufficiently great to take account of a determined change of the new control vector s i ′, a second correction of the corresponding value in the same direction takes place in the succeeding period of the method . fig6 shows , in the complex numerical level , two values w a , w b of a component of a weighting vector and the values that these components can assume in each case after performance of step s 12 in fig5 . it can be seen that in the case of component w a , that has a smaller amount than w b , the change in the phase angle ω a due to the change of step s 12 can be substantially greater than the phase angle ω b to avoid this effect , a polar representation can be used in place of the cartesian representation of complex components assumed above . in a case of this kind , the discretized differential vector d i can be defined as follows . ( δ i ) j = { ( + 1 , + 1 ) if ( s i ′ ) j & gt ; ( s i ) j and phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) & gt ; phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) ( + 1 , - 1 ) if ( s i ′ ) j & gt ; ( s i ) j and phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) & lt ; phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) ( - 1 , + 1 ) if ( s i ′ ) j & lt ; ( s i ) j and phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) & gt ; phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) ( - 1 , - 1 ) if ( s i ′ ) j & lt ; ( s i ) j and phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) & lt ; phase ( ( s i ′ ) j ) as such , if the first bit of the bit pair ( d i ) j has the value 1 or − 1 , the amount of the corresponding weighting vector must be increased or reduced by one unit , and if the second bit has the value 1 or − 1 the phase angle must be increased or reduced by one step width , that can be arbitrarily set . fig7 shows the values in the complex numerical levels that the component w a , or w b can assume with this variant before and after performance of the matching step s 12 . with this variant , the number of steps required to bring about a given phase rotation of the component is independent of the amount of the component itself and depends only on the width of the step . with this variant , it is also possible to permit negative amounts of components . this , for example , avoids the possibility of reversing the phase of a component w c of amount 1 by 180 ° independent of the predetermined step width of the phase angle in the course of two periods of the method , by setting the amount to 0 during a first implementation of the updating step s 12 and setting the amount to − 1 during a second implementation in the course of a succeeding period , and thus obtaining the component designated as w c ′ in the illustration . a phase rotation through 180 ° also can be completed in only one step if the discretizing is chosen so that the amplitude value 0 is not contained if , for example , a step of + 0 . 5 leads to − 0 . 5 . fig8 shows a preferred development of the method from fig5 . steps s 0 to s 2 in this case are again the same as in fig4 and 5 . it is assumed in this case that the new control vectors s 1 ′, s 2 ′, . . . , s m ′ are each obtained with a unit amount during the intrinsic vector analysis , whereas the amounts of the reference control vectors s i , . . . , s m can deviate from 1 . after the new control vectors in step s 2 have been assigned to the reference control vectors s 1 , . . . , s m , an index i is arbitrarily chosen in step s 20 , in order to then check in step s 21 whether the direction deviation between the new control vector s i ′ and reference control vector s i exceeds a limit value . an overshoot of this kind can , for example , be detected if the scalar product of the two vectors is less than the amount of the old control vector by a predetermined amount ; e . g ., 1 %. if the overshoot is detected , that is if the change in direction of the control vectors is strong , the method branches to step s 22 , in which a differential vector d i is calculated in accordance with the following formula . with α being a real constant and greater than 1 . the first term on the right side of this formula is a vector parallel to the new control vector s i ′ with the amount of the reference control vector s i . the second term is a vector parallel to the reference control vector s i with an amount reduced by the factor α . the difference d i is therefore a vector that is essentially antiparallel to s i and s i ′. if the limit value is not overshot , or the change in direction is slow , the differential vector d i is calculated according to the following formula d i = s i s i ′ = 1 α s i , with αhaving the same value as above . the differential vector d i in this case is essentially parallel to s i and s i ′. the differential vector d i obtained in this way is then , in step s 24 , reshaped to the discretising differential vector δ i in the same way as is known from step s 10 of fig5 . the precise direction of the discretized differential vector δ i is , of course , different to that of the differential vector d i , but the rough orientation parallel or antiparallel to s i and s i ′ is , however , retained . in step s 25 , a check is carried out to determine whether indices i remain that are still unprocessed and , if so , the process returns to step s 20 , selects a new index and processes this in the manner described above . after all the differential vectors δ i obtained in this way have been received , they are , as already described with reference to fig5 , sent in step s 11 to the base station bs and there added to the weighting vectors w i in step s 12 . furthermore , the sum s i + δ i is stored in step s 13 in order to be used by the subscriber station msk in a succeeding period of the method as a reference control vector s i . if during this method the direction of a control vector changes only slowly , the amount of the reference control vector and of the corresponding weighting vector , whose development mirrors the reference control vector , increases from period to period due to the parallel orientation of the added discretized differential vectors , thus enabling an increasingly more sensitive control of the direction of the weighting vector at the base station bs . the amount of a control vector with a rapidly changing direction on the other hand reduces over time , with the result that the direction of this control vector , or of its corresponding weighting vector at the base station , can be changed considerably in just a few periods . in this way , an automatic matching of the sensitivity of the directional control to the changeability of the direction of the control vectors is obtained without any additional signaling expense . the same advantage can be achieved in other ways via the method shown in fig9 . steps s 0 , s 1 , s 2 , s 20 of this method are the same as already described with reference to fig8 . in contrast to the embodiment in fig8 , it is , however , accepted here that the reference control vectors s i are scaled to 1 exactly the same as the new control vectors s i ′. the differential vector d i = s i ′− s i calculated in step 30 following step s 20 is therefore a direct measure of the change of direction of the ith control vector . a check is carried out in step s 31 to determine whether the change in direction exceeds a limit value . if so ( i . e ., if the change in direction of the control vector is fast ), a step width d is increased in step s 32 ; otherwise , the method branches to step s 33 where the step width d is reduced . the increase in the step width d in step s 32 can , for example , be achieved by multiplying the step width d with a predetermined factor α that is greater than 1 , or by using a fixed predetermined initial value , whereas the reduction in the step width in step s 33 can be achieved by dividing the step width d by a fixed value that is greater than 1 . because the multiplication , or division , with d can take place repeatedly in successive periods of the method , the step width is variable within wide limits . the determination of the discretized differential vector δ i in step s 34 , following the determination of the step width d , is the same as in step s 24 of fig8 . the discretized differential vector δ i and the step width d are transmitted in steps s 35 and s 36 to the base station bs and the weighting vector w i corresponding to the control vector s i is updated using the formula w i := w i + dδ i . with this variant of the method , the change of the weighting vector w i resulting from a given discretized differential vector δ i is greater the more pronounced the change in the direction of the corresponding control vector s i , whereas it always reduces further the longer the direction of the control vector changes only slightly . an updating of the weighting vectors well matched to different change behavior also can be achieved in this way . the transmission of the step width in this case also can take place for all components of a control vector , or in the case where several control vectors are to be transmitted ( e . g ., the selected intrinsic vectors ), jointly for several control vectors . it is to be expected that the speed of change of all intrinsic vectors is the same or at least similar because they are essentially dependent on the speed with which the propagation conditions can change . in this way , the transmission of the step width takes up hardly any bandwidth . in step s 38 , the old weighting vector s i is replaced by s i + dδ i . the old control vector s i thus changes in step with the weighting vector w i . if in the succeeding step s 39 it is detected that not all indices i are being processed , the method repeats the steps from step s 20 for a further index i . otherwise , the updating is completed and , after a predetermined time span , the subscriber station msk begins the process again from step s 1 as new . with the method described above with reference to fig4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , problems can arise in that , due to an error in the transmission of the differential vectors d i or δ i to the base station bs , a deviation creeps in between the values of the weighting vectors w i and those of the reference control vectors s i , that with proper functioning of the transmission should be identical with the weighting vectors . there are several possibilities of rectifying this problem . one of the first is that shown in the flow diagram in fig1 , whose steps at the point marked s 50 can be inserted into the method of fig4 , 5 , 7 and 9 . the first of these steps is the estimation by the subscriber station msk ( s 51 ) of the weighting vectors w i used by the base station . an estimation of this kind is possible using so - called dedicated pilot bits , that are specifically transmitted from the base station bs for each antenna element ae 1 , . . . , ae m and are compared by the subscriber station msk with one of the channel estimates obtained from the common pilot bits . there is some uncertainty attached to the estimation by the subscriber station msk . therefore , a deviation between the weighting vectors estimated by the subscriber station msk and the old control vectors s i should be considered to indicate the presence of a transmission error only if it exceeds a limit value lim . the subscriber station msk therefore checks , in step s 52 , whether such a limit violation is present . if not , it is assumed that the weighting vector w i used by the base station bs is correct and nothing further takes place . if on the other hand it is found that a deviation is present , the reference weighting vector s i is adapted in step s 53 using the formula s i := s i + b ( w i − s i ). in this case b is a constant , the value of which is greater than 0 and ≦ 1 . a value of b = 1 corresponds to the complete replacement of the old control vector s i by the estimated weighting vector w i . a procedure of this kind is sensible only if the estimation can be sufficiently accurate . if the estimation is subject to uncertainties , then it is more useful to select a value of b which is between 0 and 1 , so that the reference control vector s i after the correction of step s 53 lies between its value before the correction and that of the estimated weighting vector w i . a further possibility of compensating for errors in the transmission of the differential vector over a period of time with the methods according to fig4 , 5 , 8 and 9 is to multiply the reference control vector s i , in the same way as also the weighting vector w i in step s 50 , with a forget factor that is chosen to be close to 1 but less than 1 . a multiplication of this kind does not change the direction of both vectors but it does lead to a discrepancy between the control vectors and the weighting vectors that has resulted due to a transmission error , that with each repetition of step s 50 is reduced by the forget factor so that the base station and subscriber station over time return to a harmonization of the vectors without a controlling external influence , merely by the ongoing updating of the weighting factor by the transmission and addition of the differential vector . the shortening of control vectors in step s 50 partially cancels the effect of an extension by the adding of an outwards - directed discretized differential vector d i in step s 13 . therefore , with this variant of the method , the amount of s i cannot be any arbitrary size and the control of the direction of s i cannot be any arbitrary sensitivity , if the forget factor is a fixed constant . to avoid such a restriction , it can be useful to use a forget factor that is a function of the amount of the control vectors instead of a constant forget factor . the forget factor can , for example , be defined for all control vectors uniformly as a function of the amount of the longest control vector or as a function of the sum of the amounts of the control vectors , with the function converging from below with respect to 1 with increasing argument . it is also conceivable to define a separate forget factor for each of the control vectors relative to its amount s i in each case . a second embodiment of the method in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig1 . with this embodiment , no differential vectors representative of the change of the control vectors are transmitted from the subscriber station to the base station , so that a single transmission error cannot lead to longer persisting deviations between control vectors and weighting vectors . with this method , the subscriber station msk first determines a set of control vectors s i , s 2 , s m from a long - term covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )}, in the manner described above . the intrinsic vectors of undetermined amount obtained in this way are scaled in step s 61 . a possible scaling method is the scaling of each control vector to the amount 1 . in this way , when control vectors of 2m numerical values , necessary to completely transmit the m complex - significant components of such a vector whose number corresponds to the number m of the antenna elements of the base station , are being transmitted to the base station bs in step s 62 , one can be omitted in each case . this numerical value can be reconstructed in step s 63 at the base station by using the scaling rule . the reconstructed vectors are stored in step s 64 for use as weighting vectors w i in the base station bs . the saving of the transmission of a numerical value can be achieved using any scaling rule . a particularly advantageous possibility is to perform the scaling of the control vectors s i in each case in such a way that a fixed predetermined component , such as the real part of the first component , assumes the value 1 . this value then need not be transmitted and it simply can be added again at the base station without any calculation steps being necessary to do so . of course , a cartesian representation with real and imaginary parts also can be replaced by a polar representation of the vector components with amount and phase . in this case , the amount of a component can be omitted during the transmission of a control vector to the base station bs . the transmission of a second numerical value can be made superfluous by a development of this second embodiment in that the phases of all components of a control vector are scaled . as a scaling rule , it can , for example , be assumed that the first component of each control vector should be positive and real . for this purpose , all components of a control vector are rotated about the sign - reversed phase of its first component . in this case , the imaginary part also or , where a polar representation is used , the phase of the first component , need not be transmitted to the base station because there it can be assumed to be 0 . this method makes possible a continuous updating of the weighting vectors used by the base station bs to send to the subscriber station msk . in particular , this method is suitable for supplying the base station bs the set of weighting vectors w i , . . . , w m assumed to be known in step s 0 of the method of fig4 , 5 , 8 and 9 . if the method according to fig1 is used for continuous updating of the weighting vectors of the base station , an error in the transmission of a high - significance bit can lead to a component of a weighting vector being grossly incorrect , which can cause poorly matched beam shaping for the subscriber station msk . to avoid such errors , a development of the variant of the inventive method provides that the base station bs performs a plausibility check of the received control vectors and uses a control vector as a weighting vector only if the plausibility check provides a satisfactory result . such a plausibility check can , for example , be carried out in that in successive periods of the method ( with control vectors being transmitted to the base station once in each period ) the control vectors are recorded and a new control vector is regarded as implausible if its deviation from its predecessor is greater than the difference between this predecessor and the latter &# 39 ; s predecessor by more than a predetermined factor . in such a case , it can , for example , be provided that the predecessor of the newly transmitted vector is continued in use unchanged as a weighting vector , or that the weighting vector is calculated by averaging , weighted if necessary , from the new control vector and its predecessor . a further possibility of dealing with transmission errors is , of course , the redundant or coded transmission of control vectors . such a procedure naturally requires the transmission of a greater amount of data from the subscriber station msk to the base station bs than in the case of a simple plausibility check as described above . there are , however , advantageous variants that can achieve effective protection against gross errors in the updating of weighting vectors with a minimum extra expense with regard to transmission bandwidth . with this variant , the most significant bit is transmitted twice for each numerical value of a control vector to be transmitted . if both versions of the bit are received identically by the base station , it can be assumed that these are correct and any errors in the transmission of less significant bits cannot lead to very serious errors in the beam shaping by the weighting vectors . if the two most significant bits received by the base station are unequal , then , of course , one of these bits must be faulty . which is the correct value cannot be determined via the transmission . this decision can , of course , be reached using a plausibility check in that , for instance , the value of the most significant bit that differs least from the corresponding numerical value received in the preceding period is assumed to be correct , or in that a change trend of the relevant numerical value is determined from recordings of a number of control vectors reaching back over earlier periods and the value of the most significant bit showing the least deviation from an extrapolation of the observed change trend is chosen . fig1 shows an alternative possibility of initializing the weighting vectors w 1 , w 2 , . . . , w m of the base station bs . in contrast to the method dealt with previously , in this case no control vectors are transmitted from the subscriber station msk to the base station bs to be used there as weighting vectors , but instead the base station bs itself , in step s 70 , carries out a measurement of the long - term covariance matrix { overscore ( r xx )} of the uplink signal received from the subscriber station msk . in step s 71 it performs , in the manner described above for the subscriber station msk , an intrinsic vector analysis of this covariance matrix . in step s 72 these intrinsic vectors are sorted according to a predetermined scheme e . g ., using the amounts of their intrinsic values . the subscriber station msk carries out a similar sorting for the vectors determined by it . because the transmission channels in the uplink and downlink direction in the long term are admittedly not completely , but still extensively , reciprocal , it can be assumed that in this way sets of weighting vectors or control vectors are received at the base station and subscriber station in each case in a sequence which largely coincides with at least an approximate agreement of the components . after this initialization , any existing deviations between the control vectors s 1 , . . . , s m of the subscriber station msk and the weighting vectors w i , . . . , w m of the base station bs balance out over time , exactly the same as deviations due to transmission errors , if a transmission error compensating method of the type described above is used , that in step s 50 performs the method steps of fig1 or the multiplication using the forget factor . because of this automatic error correction , fixed initial control vectors also can be used instead of explicit initialization . it is appropriate to choose their amounts to be very small so that large phase changes can be achieved with few steps . a further possibility , not illustrated , of initializing the weighting vectors w 1 , w 2 , . . . , w m of the base station is to transmit only a limited number of the high - significance bits in each case from a set of control vectors s 1 , s 2 , . . . , s m measured by the subscriber station msk . thus , for instance , it can be provided that even if the subscriber station is able to calculate the control vectors with an accuracy of 8 bits , only one or two of the most significant bits of each numerical value of such a control vector are transmitted to the base station , so that this begins transmission with weighting vectors that have only a rough approximation to the control vectors . in this case also , the error compensation of step s 50 over a period of time can achieve a more precise matching of a weighting vector to the respective corresponding control vector , provided the latter changes slowly enough . this method can be used not only during the initialization but also during the complete period . if necessary , the weighting vectors nevertheless can be transmitted in rough quantisizing , not to transmit their exact values but instead to make sure that the base station and mobile station sort control and weighting vectors in the same sequence , so that one of the changes of an nth control vector reported by the subscriber station to the base station can be applied to the correct weighting vector . it is , of course , possible to sort the intrinsic vectors at the subscriber station and base station in largely the same order using the intrinsic values , but discrepancies can occur if two intrinsic vectors have the same intrinsic values . to distinguish between such intrinsic vectors , a coarse transmission is sufficient , which in extreme cases contains only the signs of the components . although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims . | 7Electricity
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embodiments of the invention are directed to processes for formulating a glucose oxidase enzyme with a particular desired property , such as , for example , an improved resistance to peroxide . embodiments of the invention employ forced mutations that yield glucose oxidase enzymes that may or may not have an improved characteristic , such as an improved resistance to peroxide . screening and / or testing procedures may be employed to assist in identifying mutated enzymes that might have desired qualities , such as peroxide resistant qualities . an enzyme derived from embodiments of the invention may be suitable for use , for example , in a biosensor . an enzyme derived from these embodiments may improve the performance and stability of a sensor . various biosensor configurations employ active enzymes as part of the sensor structure . embodiments of the invention may be employed to produce active enzymes for various types of sensors . however , in one example embodiment , a process produces an enzyme for use in a sensor as described in co - pending u . s . patent application “ method for formulating and immobilizing a matrix protein and a matrix protein for use in a sensor ,” filed dec . 27 , 2001 , ( attorney docket number 047711 - 0288 ). [ 0027 ] fig2 shows a flowchart diagram of a process for utilizing a directed evolution procedure to formulate an enzyme having an improved resistance to peroxide , according to an embodiment of the invention . initially , the embodiment illustrated in fig2 involves selecting or obtaining several glucose oxidase genes . the glucose oxidase genes can be taken from , for example , a yeast or a bacteria . in an example embodiment , the glucose oxidase genes are taken from aspergillus niger (“ a . niger ” ). however , in other embodiments , the genes could be derived from any member of a group including , but not limited to , a . niger , penecillium funiculosum , saccharomyces cerevisiae , escherichia coli ( e . coli ), and the like . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the glucose oxidase genes could also be derived from other similar yeasts or bacteria . next in the example embodiment illustrated in fig2 a library of mutant genes or variants may be created . in this context , a mutation refers to a random change in a gene or chromosome resulting in a new trait or characteristic that can be inherited . the process of creating a library of mutants represents a change in the enzyme . mutation can be a source of beneficial genetic variation , or it can be neutral or harmful in effect . in these embodiments , the library of mutants may be created without necessarily knowing in advance whether any of the mutants will have the desired characteristics . the library of mutants or variants may be created in any of a number of ways . for example , the library of mutants could be created by procedures such as , but not limited to , error - prone polymerase chain reaction (“ error - prone pcr ”), gene shuffling , and other like procedures . in one embodiment , error - prone pcr may be employed to create the library of mutant genes . error - prone pcr , as compared to pcr , has a relatively high rate of mutation . in other embodiments , the library of mutants may be created by a gene shuffling process . in the case of gene shuffling , a library of variants is created by recombining two or more parent genes . the recombined gene sequences may or may not yield functional enzymes . however , the functionality of the enzymes will be tested during the screening procedure . more importantly , the gene - shuffled library of variants will yield a suitable genetic diversity . fig5 shows a flow diagram of a directed evolution procedure employing a gene - shuffling process for creating a library of mutants . after at least a portion of the library of mutants has been created or assembled , the example embodiment in fig2 involves inserting each of the mutated genes of the library of mutants into separate expression vectors . generally , a gene may not be transferred directly from its original or source organism to a host organism . one way , however , to introduce a mutated gene into a host organism is to first introduce a gene into a vector . a vector is able to carry the gene into a host organism . accordingly , at this point in the process of an example embodiment , each of the mutated genes may be inserted into an expression vector . in the example embodiment of fig2 each of the library of mutated genes which have been inserted into separate expression vectors are inserted into separate host organisms . the host organisms may be , for example , rapidly reproducing microorganisms which might be able to duplicate the recombined or mutated gene in large quantities . some examples of suitable host organisms include e . coli , a . niger , and the like . those skilled in the art will understand that other suitable host organisms are also available . in an example embodiment , e . coli may be employed as the host bacteria . in the example embodiment , once each of the library of mutants ( in expression vectors ) have been introduced into host organisms or bacteria , then each of the host organisms or bacteria may be placed into separate cells of a plate or tray . within these separate cells , colonies of each of the host organisms or bacteria may be grown using any conventional growth medium . while a plate or tray with separate cells is used in the example embodiment , any other suitable holder or receptacle in which the host organisms or bacteria could grow would also work . for example , in another embodiment , each of the host organisms or bacteria could be placed in their own separate plates or trays . once colonies of the host organisms or bacteria have grown , a screening procedure is employed in the example embodiment . in the example embodiment , the screening procedure is illustrated in fig3 . initially , the screening procedure involves testing for glucose oxidase . a given colony may not necessarily yield active glucose oxidase following the gene mutation , the injection into the bacteria , and the growth process . accordingly , the example embodiment includes determining whether the mutated genes that have been growing in the host organisms or bacteria yield active glucose oxidase . the test to determine whether a given colony contains active glucose oxidase may be conducted in any of a variety of ways . in one embodiment , the test for whether active glucose oxidase is present in a given colony comprises an assay which tests the production of peroxide . peroxide is generated upon glucose oxidase reaction with glucose . in one embodiment , leuco - crystal - violet , a substrate that changes color in the presence of active peroxide , is employed . however , in other embodiments , other substances may also be used such as , but not limited to , aminoantipyrine , and the like . in other embodiments , other methods can be used to test for the presence of active glucose oxidase . for example , the presence or absence of active glucose oxidase may be ascertainable by checking for fluorescence . the more fluorescent a given colony is , the more likely it is that it contains active glucose oxidase . those skilled in the art will appreciate that further methods to test for the presence of glucose oxidase can be employed in other embodiments without deviating from the scope or spirit of the invention . as illustrated in fig3 if it is determined that a given colony does not contain active glucose oxidase , then the sample in that colony will not be acceptable because a goal of the process is to formulate a peroxide resistant glucose oxidase . accordingly , in the example embodiment , for colonies in which active glucose oxidase is present , then the process proceeds to the next step in the screening procedure . for those colonies in which active glucose oxidase is not present , the process in concluded . as illustrated in fig2 the screening procedure in the example embodiment next involves determining whether the active glucose oxidase in the colonies that passed the first test in the screening procedure has peroxide - resistant properties . in the example embodiment , this portion of the screening procedure involves first incubating each remaining colony in peroxide . this may be done , for example , by placing a suitable amount of peroxide into the cells of the tray in which the colonies were grown . other embodiments may introduce suitable amounts of peroxide to the various colonies other ways . for example , the peroxide may be introduced to the various colonies in separate trays or other receptacles . after each of the remaining colonies has been incubated sufficiently with peroxide , the screening process then involves checking again for glucose oxidase activity . specifically , after the peroxide incubation process , each colony may be tested for active glucose oxidase in similar ways as described above . accordingly , after each of the remaining colonies has been incubated in peroxide , they may again be tested for glucose oxidase by , for example , using leuco - crystal - violet , a substrate which changes color in the presence of glucose oxidase . other embodiments could use a different means for testing for active glucose oxidase without straying from the scope or spirit of the invention . similarly , in other embodiments , the colonies could be incubated in peroxide and then tested for glucose oxidase activity one colony at a time or more than one colony at a time . in other words , it is not important to the invention that all colonies first be incubated in peroxide before any of the them can be tested for glucose oxidase . in the example embodiment , if any of the remaining colonies tested negative for active glucose oxidase after the peroxide incubation process , then they may be deemed not acceptable . the colonies that still have active glucose oxidase , after being incubated in peroxide , may exhibit a desirable peroxide - resistive characteristic . as illustrated in fig2 for the colonies that may exhibit the desirable peroxide - resistive characteristics , the screening procedure proceeds to the next step of testing functionality . the screening procedure next involves determining whether a given glucose oxidase enzyme possesses the desired functionality . thus , in embodiments in which the enzyme is being prepared for a biosensor , the procedure may involve testing whether a given glucose oxidase enzyme will work in a sensing device . in the example embodiment , this part of the screening procedure generally requires that the glucose oxidase be extracted from each of the remaining colonies . in the example embodiment , glucose oxidase may be extracted from the colonies using a purification column . those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are other procedures available for extracting the glucose oxidase from the colonies for other embodiments of the invention . in another embodiment , the process of assessing a given glucose oxidase enzyme &# 39 ; s functionality may proceed as follows . first , cell lysis , or the removal of the protein from the source , may be achieved by a gentle grinding in a homogenizer . it can also be done by gentle disruption via sonication . other embodiments might employ other means for removing the protein from the source . next , the cell components may be subject to fractionation using centrifugation techniques and then differential solubility . the protein may subsequently be purified using standard chromatography methods . next , the extracted protein may be characterized . this may be done by measuring the activity and concentration of the extract . once the enzyme has been sufficiently isolated and sufficiently concentrated , then it may be immobilized and placed into a sensor . the sensor may then be introduced into an accelerated test environment to determine whether the particular enzyme is indeed functional or is suitable for use in a sensing device . if the results of the test with the enzyme in the sensor are satisfactory , then the testing can stop . this test may be repeated with every colony that exhibited peroxide resistant glucose oxidase after the incubation period . in other embodiments , this test could be done on a subset of those colonies depending on other factors or characteristics . if a satisfactory glucose oxidase enzyme has not been identified after the screening procedure , then , in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 the process may continue by creating another generation of mutated genes . in the example embodiment in fig2 the entire cycle may be repeated as many times as desired . another embodiment of the process of formulating an enzyme with peroxide - resistive properties is illustrated at fig4 . the example embodiment illustrated at fig4 employs a forced mutation process . in this embodiment , instead of utilizing pcr or gene shuffling , mutations may be created by exposing organisms to harsh environments . the embodiment in fig4 first involves obtaining an organism , such as a . niger , penecillium , e . coli , or any other suitable organism . since this embodiment will ultimately create a library of mutants as discussed above , the organism may be placed in multiple cells of a plate or tray . other embodiments could employ other kinds of holders or receptacles in which to grow the organisms so long as the organisms are placed in separate colonies . another embodiment of the invention may use only a single cell or colony . next , this embodiment involves introducing a growth medium to each cell holding some of the organism . the growth medium may be any conventional growth medium such that the organisms may be sustained . the embodiment in fig4 next involves altering the environments of each of the separated organisms . in an embodiment in which the goal is to formulate a glucose oxidase enzyme with an enhanced peroxide resistance , the organisms &# 39 ; environments may be altered by adding a suitable amount of peroxide to each colony . in the example embodiment , the introduction of peroxide to the organisms &# 39 ; environments is done very gradually . in other embodiments , the introduction of peroxide to the organism &# 39 ; s environment may be more abrupt . the embodiment in fig4 next involves a screening procedure . after peroxide has been added to the environments of the various colonies , the screening procedure may be employed to determine which of the colonies are still active . in this embodiment , the test discussed above may be employed for determining whether glucose oxidase in each of the colonies remains active . other embodiments may employ other tests for determining whether a given colony contains active glucose oxidase . at this point in the process , an assessment may be made as to whether the number of colonies with active glucose oxidase is such that the process may proceed to testing the glucose oxidase in sensing devices . whether the number of remaining colonies is workable may depend on many factors and will vary for different embodiments of the invention . if a determination is made that there are too many remaining colonies to proceed to testing in sensing devices , then the environment may be made harsher by gradually adding more peroxide . in this embodiment , by repeating this cycle as many times as necessary , the environment may be continually and gradually made harsher until only a workable number of viable or active colonies remain . in the example embodiment in fig4 once the process yields a workable number of remaining colonies with active glucose oxidase , then the process may proceed to testing the glucose oxidase in sensing devices to assess functionality . the remaining colonies , which may possess the desirable peroxide resistant properties , may be tested for functionality as discussed above . in the example embodiment , this testing may be done by extracting glucose oxidase from the enzymes , incorporating the glucose oxidase in a sensor , and then effecting an accelerated test on the sensor to ascertain the functionality of the enzyme . the embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive of the invention . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims , rather than the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . | 2Chemistry; Metallurgy
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a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawing , wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views . reference to the preferred embodiment does not limit the scope of the invention , which is limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto . referring to fig1 and 2 , the present invention includes a base member 10 having a front 12 , rear 13 , bottom 14 , top 16 , and oppositely disposed sides 18 and 20 . first and second slots 22 and 24 are defined in base number 10 and are open to bottom 16 . additionally , the first and second slots 22 and 24 each extend from the front 12 to the rear 13 of the base member 10 . the base member 10 can be made from a variety of materials including a durable , light - weight plastic . the base member 10 has first and second inner surfaces 26 and 28 that form the upper portion of the first and second slots 22 and 24 , respectively . the first inner surface 26 is configured to fit between adjacent wheels on an in - line skate blade . in particular , first inner surface 26 is v - shaped so that it has first and second angled portions 66 and 68 . each angled portion 66 and 68 is concave so that the angled portions 66 and 68 conform to the curvature of adjacent in - line skate wheels . second inner surface 28 is substantially similar to first inner surface 26 and is v - shaped thereby defining third and fourth angle portions 70 and ( not shown ). third and fourth angled portions 70 and ( not shown ) are concave and conform to the shape of the adjacent in - line skate wheels . additionally , base member 10 defines a first inner slot 72 that extends from the front 12 to the rear 13 and is open to the first inner surface 26 . first inner slot 72 is sized to receive the blade of an ice skate . similarly , base member 10 defines a second inner slot 74 that extends from the front 12 to the rear 13 and is open to the second inner surface 28 . second inner slot 74 is also sized to receive the blade of an ice skate . in an alternative embodiment , first inner or ice - skate slot 72 can be positioned next to first slot 22 and open to bottom 16 rather than first inner surface 26 . similarly , second inner or ice - skate slot 74 can be positioned next to second slot 24 and open to bottom 16 rather than second inner surface 28 . a first strap 30 has a first end portion 32 and a second , oppositely - disposed end portion 34 . a first buckle 36 is mounted on the side of base member 10 . the first end portion 32 is operably connected to the bottom 16 of base member 10 at a position between first and second slots 22 and 24 . the second end portion 34 is operably connected to the first buckle 36 . a second strap 38 has a first end portion 40 and a second , oppositely - disposed end portion 42 . a second buckle 43 is mounted on the side 20 of base member 10 . the first end portion 40 is operably connected to the bottom 16 of base member 10 at a position between first and second slots 22 and 24 . the second end portion 42 is operably connected to the second buckle 43 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of means can be used to fasten the first and second straps 30 and 38 to the base member 10 . for example , buckles can be used as described above . there are a variety of different types of buckles that can be used . for example , some buckles will allow the straps to be removed from the buckle . other buckles will allow the strap to loosen , but not be released . additionally , other types of fasteners can be used in lieu of buckles . velcro brand fasteners are an example of an alternative fastener . in order to use base member 10 to carry in - line skates , the user can insert an in - line skate blade from one skate into first slot 22 so that first inner surface 26 is positioned between adjacent wheels . the user can then position first strap 30 around the boot and connect second end portion 34 of first strap 30 to first buckle 36 , thereby securing the in - line skate to base number 10 . the other skate from the pair is similarly attached to base member 10 by positioning the in - line skate blade into second slot 24 , extending second strap 38 around the skate boot , and connecting the second end portion 42 to the second buckle 43 . in this position , base member 10 is positioned perpendicular to the blades of the in - line skates . additionally , first and second inner surfaces 26 and 28 prevent base member 10 from sliding along the length of the in - line skate blades . ice skates are connected to the base member in a substantially similar manner . the primary difference is that the ice skate blades are placed in the first and second inner slots 72 and 74 . the present invention has many advantages . for example , because the slots are oriented so that the base unit is positioned perpendicular to the blades , the carrier needs to be made from only a minimal amount of material . as a result , it is light weight and compact . as a result a person can easily carry the base member 10 while skating , can easily throw the carrier and skates into a duffel bag with other equipment such as hockey gear , and can easily store the carrier when not is use . in addition to being light - weight and compact , the carrier is advantageous because it securely holds the skates together and keeps them from twisting relative to one another . as a result , skates are much easier to carry . having one set of slots sized for ice skates and another set of slots sized for in - line skates is also advantageous . such an embodiment makes the carrier versatile so that it can be used all year long . furthermore , there is added versatility because the same strap can be used to secure the skate boot regardless of the whether it is an ice skate or an in - line skate . this versatility results from the close proximity of the slots for receiving in - line skate blades and the slots for receiving ice - skate blades . additionally , first and second hockey - stick slots 48 and 50 are defined in base member 10 and extend from the front 12 to the rear 13 . the first and second hockey - stick slots 48 and 50 can be positioned so that they are open to top 14 . additionally , first and second liners 52 and 54 are positioned within first and second hockey - stick slots 48 and 50 , respectively . the first and second hockey - stick slots 48 and 50 are sized to receive a hockey - stick handle . the first and second liners 52 and 54 are made from a compliant material such as rubber that will conform to the shape and size of the hockey - stick handle . thus , the first and second liners will help to secure the hockey stick handles in the first and second hockey - stick slots 48 and 50 . one advantage of this embodiment is that both skates and hockey sticks can be carried in one hand . a strap handle 56 is operably connected to the base member 10 and has a first end 58 operably connected to the front 12 and a second end 60 operably connected to the rear 13 . a pad 57 is wrapped around the strap handle 56 . one skilled in the art will realize that other types of handles , such as plastic handles , can be used in place of strap handle 56 . additionally , a first flange 62 is operably connected to the side 18 of base member 10 . a second flange 64 is operably connected to the oppositely - disposed side 20 of base member 10 . a person can attach either a shoulder strap ( not shown ) or a waist strap ( not shown ) to the first and second flanges 62 and 64 . a waist strap is useful when the person is skating . they could easily carry base member 10 with them much like a fanny pack . additionally , the base member 10 defines first and second holes 44 and 46 . a person could attach their street shoes to base member 10 by tieing the shoe laces through first and second holes 44 and 46 . using the base member 10 in this manner is advantageous because the person can carry their street shoes with them while they are skating and can easily change between street shoes and in - line skates in case they stop and have to walk into a store , restaurant , concessions booth , or other business establishment . additionally , the user does not have to leave their street shoes unattended while they are skating . while the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment thereof , it is evident that different alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those in the art in view of the foregoing description . accordingly , the invention is not limited to these embodiments or the use of elements having specific configurations and shapes as presented herein . | 0Human Necessities
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although the invention is explained in detail in the foregoing by using examples , the invention is not limited by the following examples in any way and variations can be properly made therein as far as they can be in conformity to the scope described . and they are within the scope of the invention . hereinafter , the method of measurement and the measuring conditions in relation to the characteristic values according to the present invention will be explained below . the tenacity and the elastic modulus of a sample , of the present invention , with a length of 200 mm ( the distance between each of chucks ) were measured as follows . the sample was drawn at a drawing speed of 100 %/ min ., using “ tensilon ” ( orientic co ., ltd .). a strain - stress curve was recorded under an atmosphere of a temperature of 20 ° c . and a relative humidity of 65 %. the tenacity of the sample ( cn / dtex ) was calculated from a stress at the breaking point of the curve , and the elastic modulus ( cn / dtex ) was calculated from a tangent line which shows the largest gradient at or around the origin of the curve . the respective values were measured 10 times , and the 10 measured values were averaged . the values of the weight - average molecular weight mw , the number - average molecular weight mn , and the ratio of mw / mn were measured by gel permeation chromatograph ( gpc ). as the apparatus for gpc , gpc 150c alc / gpc ( manufactured by waters ) equipped with one column ( gpc ut802 . 5 manufactured by shodex ) and two columns ( ut806m ) was used . as a solvent for use in measurement , o - dichlorobenzene was used , and the temperature of the columns was set at 145 ° c . the concentration of the sample was 1 . 0 mg / ml , and it was measured by injecting 200 μl of the sample . the calibration curve of the molecular weight was found by the universal calibration method , using a polystyrene sample having a known molecular weight . dynamic viscosity measurement in the present invention was performed using the “ reo - vibron ddv - 01fp type ” ( manufactured by orientic co ., ltd .). filaments are divided or doubled so as to become 100 deniers ± 10 deniers as a whole , with making the arrangement of each monofilament as uniformly as possible , both the ends of fiber being wrapped in aluminum foil and pasted up by the cellulosic adhesive so that a measurement length ( distance between metallic chucks ) may be set to 20 mm . the overlap width in this case may be about 5 mm in consideration of fixation with metallic chucks . each specimen was carefully installed to the metallic chucks set as an initial width of 20 mm so that the fiber might not be slackened or twisted . this experiment was conducted after giving a preliminary modification for several seconds under the temperature of 60 ° c ., and the frequency of 110 hz beforehand . in this experiment , temperature distribution was determined on the frequency of 110 hz from the low temperature side at the increasing rate of about 1 ° c ./ min . for the temperature span between − 150 ° c . to 150 ° c . in the measurement , a static load was set as 5 gf , and the automatic regulation of the sample length was carried out so that fiber might not slacken . the amplitude of dynamic modification was set as 15 micrometers . ( ratio of a velocity of the fluid product issuing from the spinneret and a spinning speed ( draft ratio )) draft ratio ( ψ )= a spinning speed ( vs )/ a velocity of the fluid product issuing from the spinneret ( v ) base filaments with 440 dtex ± 40 dtex were prepared and the 100 filaments to be measured were knitted up by using a circular knitting machine . sampling was performed by selecting the part having no cast - off filament ( itotobi ) and cutting the knit to the size of 7 cm × 7 cm square or larger . when the test was conducted , one piece of cartridge paper was put under the sample since the mesh of the knit was rough . the portion to be measured , which was the outer part of the circular knit , was set so as to form an angle of 90 degrees to the mesh direction . a coup tester was used for evaluation . this apparatus is characterized in that a round blade runs on the sample with rotating in a direction opposite to the running direction and gets the sample cut , and that the aluminum foil exists on the back of the sample at the point where the cutting is over , and that the completion of the cutting test is detected when the electric conduction is permitted by a contact between the round blade and the aluminum foil which is existed on the back of the sample . the counting is conducted by a counter equipped with the apparatus at all times while the cutter is operating . the counted valued is recorded . this test is conducted by evaluating incision level of a test sample in comparison with a flat - woven cotton cloth with a mass ( metsuke ) of about 200 g / m 2 as a control . the test is started with a control , a control and a test sample being tested by turns , one set of the test is over when the test sample is tested five times and the sixth test for the control is performed . the evaluated value calculated here is referred to as “ index ”, which is calculated in accordance with the following formulas . a ={( a count value of the cotton cloth before tested )+( a count value of the cotton cloth before tested )}/ 2 the cutter used in this evaluation was a 45 mm φ for rotary cutter l type manufactured by olfa corporation . the quality of the material was tungsten steel sks - 7 with a blade thickness of 0 . 3 mm . the evaluation was conducted with applying a load of 320 g at the test . water was mixed to a premix material with maximum fiber content obtained in the dispersibility test for mortar premix to become a water / cement ratio of 45 % and then the mixture obtained was stirred for two minutes . the mortar paste was made into a test piece having a size of 10 × 10 × 40 ( cm ). curing period was set to be 14 days . four - point bending test with each span of 30 cm was conducted under the condition that the rate of deflection was 1 / 1500 of the span . to evaluate the effects of the filaments , the load values at the position where 2 mm of deflection was observed at the center point was compared with each other . and thus tenacity performance of the filament was determined . an organic fiber of monofilament type is obtained by converging ( sizing ) the filaments according to the present invention with a resin or a heat fusion fiber . to perform the slump test , fine aggregates were stirred with cement for 1 minute , coarse aggregates with a maximum diameter of coarse aggregate of 20 mm and water were further added to be kneaded for 2 minutes , and then an organic fiber of monofilament type and a water - reducing agent were added , so as to prepare a concrete paste . each compounding ratio was as follows : water / cement ratio was 50 %, fine aggregate ratio was 50 %. a unit quantity of water was 190 kg / m 3 , a maximum diameter of coarse aggregate was 20 mm , a mixing content of the filament was 1 volume %, and 2 % of a water - reducing agent of polycarboxylic acid type was added based on the content of cement . the slump test was performed in accordance with jis - a1101 . the concrete paste obtained in the slump test was made into a test piece having a size of 10 × 10 × 40 ( cm ) in accordance with the test method described in jci - sf4 “ test method of bending strength and bending toughness for fiber - reinforced concrete ”. curing period was set to be 28 days . four - point bending test with each span of 30 cm was conducted under the condition that the rate of deflection was 1 / 1500 of the span . maximum flexural strength and 2 mm - reduced flexural strength were evaluated as evaluation items . measurement of a rate of birefringence according to the present invention was conducted by using “ optiphot - pol ” manufactured by nikon corporation . seal liquid ( cedar oil or liquid paraffin ) was dropped on the slide . the sample cut at the angle of 45 degrees to the fiber axis with a length of 5 to 6 m is immersed into the liquid , with the cutting plane being turned up . the sample slide glass is put on a rotation stage . an analyzer is inserted , with adjusting so that a scale and a filament may become parallel , to be made a dark field of view . after that , a compensator is set to 30 and the number of stripes is counted . then , the scale “ a ” of the compensator of the point that the sample becomes the darkest when the compensator is turned in the direction from 30 to 40 and the scale “ b ” of the compensator of the point that the sample becomes the darkest first when the compensator is turned in the opposite direction . after that , the compensator is returned to 30 and an analyzer is removed , and then the diameter “ d ” of the sample is measured . after repeating the above measurement several times , a rate of birefringence ( δn ) is calculated based on the following formulas . the total draw ratio from spinning to drawing is given by the following formulas . the branch of an olefin polymer is determined by using 13 c - nmr ( 125 mhz ). the measurement was performed using randall &# 39 ; s method described in rev . macromol . chem . phys ., c29 ( 2 & amp ; 3 ), pp . 285 - 297 . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 115 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 3 and contained branched chains with at least 5 carbon atoms in a number of 0 . 4 per 1 , 000 backbone carbon atoms was extruded through a spinneret having 390 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 290 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the threadlike polyethylene extruded is allowed to pass through a thermally insulating zone with a length of 15 cm and then quenched at 20 ° c . and 0 . 5 m / s , and wound up at a speed of 300 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn with at least two sets of temperature controllable nelson rollers . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 8 times longer . the filament was further heated to 115 ° c . and was drawn to a length 5 . 0 times longer . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 1 . in addition , the obtained filaments were knitted up with the circular knitting machine , and incision resistance was evaluated . the results are also shown in table 1 . the drawn filament of example 1 was heated to 125 ° c . and was drawn to a length 1 . 3 times longer . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 1 . similarly , the obtained filaments were knitted up with the circular knitting machine , and incision resistance was evaluated . the results are also shown in table 1 . physical properties of nylon filament , polyester filament , polyethylene filament and polypropylene filament commercially available are also shown in table 1 . similarly , the filaments were knitted up with the circular knitting machine , and incision resistance was evaluated . the results are also shown in table 1 . a glove was made by the known method using a knitting machine by using each of the base filament obtained in example 1 , 2 and comparative examples 1 to 4 . the evaluation results of incision resistance are shown in table 2 . compared with the filaments in comparative examples 1 to 4 , the result that each of the filaments in example 2 and 3 was excellent in incision resistance level was obtained . separated or collected to become 440 dtex ± 40 dtex as a whole , the filaments were made into flat - woven textile with a weave density of 40 per 25 mm in both of the longitudinal and latitudinal directions . the inner material of an incision resistant vest was made by cutting the resultant textile . the material was combined with the outer material to make an incision resistant vest . the incision resistance of the vest was evaluated and the good result was obtained . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 115 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 3 and contained branched chains with at least 5 carbon atoms in a number of 0 . 4 per 1 , 000 backbone carbon atoms was extruded through a spinneret having 390 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 290 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the threadlike polyethylene extruded is allowed to pass through a thermally insulating zone with a length of 15 cm and then quenched at 20 ° c . and 0 . 5 m / s , and wound up at a speed of 300 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn with at least two sets of temperature controllable nelson rollers . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 8 times longer . the filament was further heated to 115 ° c . and was drawn to a length 5 . 0 times longer . the resultant filament had a breaking strength of a monofilament of 18 . 0 cn / dtex , a tensile modulus of 820 cn / dtex , and a monofilament fineness of 1 . 5 dtex . the cross - section shape of the resultant filament was round . this filament was cut into a length of 12 mm , and dispersibility evaluation for mortar premix and bend test for mortar were conducted . in addition , cured material which was formed by tying up the filaments to be 876 dtex to be cured with an epoxy resin ( resin pickup of 71 wt %) was made for conducting slump test and bend test for concrete . the drawn filament of example 3 was heated to 125 ° c . and was drawn to a length 1 . 3 times longer . the resultant filament had a breaking strength of a monofilament of 19 . 1 cn / dtex , a tensile modulus of 890 cn / dtex , and a monofilament fineness of 1 . 4 dtex . the cross - section shape of the resultant filament was round . this filament was cut into a length of 12 mm , and dispersibility evaluation for mortar premix and bend test for mortar were conducted . in addition , cured material which was formed by tying up the filaments to be 672 dtex to be cured with an epoxy resin ( resin pickup of 75 wt %) was made for conducting slump test and bend test for concrete . as a filament , a polyethylene filament with ultra - high molecular weight , which had a breaking strength of a monofilament of 29 . 8 cn / dtex , a tensile modulus of 1008 cn / dtex , and a monofilament fineness of 1 . 2 dtex with an elliptical shape of 1 : 8 ratio at cross - section , was used . this filament was cut into a length of 12 mm , and dispersibility evaluation for mortar premix and bend test for mortar were conducted . in addition , cured material which was formed by curing the polyethylene filament with ultra - high molecular weight “ 880t ” with an epoxy resin ( resin pickup of 160 wt %) was made for conducting slump test and bend test for concrete . as a filament , a polyvinylalcohol filament , which had a breaking strength of a monofilament of 7 . 5 cn / dtex , a tensile modulus of 240 cn / dtex , and a monofilament fineness of 378 dtex with a nearly round shape , was used . this filament was cut into a length of 6 mm , and dispersibility evaluation for mortar premix and bend test for mortar were conducted . in addition , a polyvinylalcohol filament , which had a breaking strength of 6 . 1 cn / dtex , a tensile modulus of 241 . 9 cn / dtex , and a fineness of 1650 dtex , was used for conducting slump test and bend test for concrete . the results from dispersibility evaluation for mortar premix , bend test for mortar , slump test and bend test for concrete are shown in table 3 . the results in table 3 indicate that an reinforcing effect with high tenacity is observed in the bend test for mortar since more filaments can be incorporated due to the high dispersibility for mortar premix . in addition , it is found from the slump test and the bend test that high performance can be given in both of the maximum breaking load in the bend test and 2 mm — reduced flexural strength since a small resin pickup can be achieved as the result of the proper control on resin pickup . next , the features of a monofilament - type organic fiber which is based on the present filament to which covering is applied with a heat fusion fiber were compared between the results obtained by example 5 and comparative example 7 . the features were evaluated with slump test and bend test for concrete . covering was applied to the present filament obtained in example 3 with a skin core - type heat fusion fiber which has a fineness of 190 t and is composed of polypropylene as a core and polyethylene as a shell . the resultant monofilament - type organic fiber was cut into a length of 30 mm , and the features were evaluated . in this case , the turn number of covering was 10 turns per 30 mm . covering was applied to the polyethylene filament with ultra - high molecular weight used in comparative example 5 , with a skin core - type heat fusion fiber which has a fineness of 190 t and is composed of polypropylene as a core and polyethylene as a shell . the resultant monofilament - type organic fiber was cut into a length of 30 mm , and the features were evaluated . in this case , the turn number of covering was 10 turns per 30 mm . the results from slump test and bend test for concrete are shown in table 4 . it is found from table 4 that the slump loss becomes smaller . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 115 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 3 and contained branched chains with at least 5 carbon atoms in a number of 0 . 4 per 1 , 000 backbone carbon atoms was extruded through a spinneret having 390 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 290 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the threadlike polyethylene extruded is allowed to pass through a thermally insulating zone with a length of 15 cm and then quenched at 20 ° c . and 0 . 5 m / s , and wound up at a speed of 300 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn with at least two sets of temperature controllable nelson rollers . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 8 times longer . the filament was further heated to 115 ° c . and was drawn to a length 5 . 0 times longer . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 5 . the drawn filament of example 6 was heated to 125 ° c . and was drawn to a length 1 . 3 times longer . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 5 . physical properties of nylon filament , polyester filament , polyethylene filament and polypropylene filament commercially available are also shown in table 5 . the filaments obtained in each of example 6 , 7 and comparative examples 8 - 11 were collected and twisted at the rate of 100 times per 1 m after adjusting the fineness . using the resultant fiber as a base fiber , ropes with 6 - strand laid having a thickness of about 10 mm φ were made for model evaluation ( wire rope structure ) and various measurements were conducted . the evaluation results were shown in table 6 . it is found that each rope in the examples is excellent in mechanical properties , high in wet performance and also high in strength per unit cross - sectional area , compared to each rope in the comparative examples . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 115 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 8 was extruded through a spinneret having 30 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 290 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the threadlike polyethylene extruded is allowed to pass through a thermally insulating zone with a length of 10 cm and then quenched at 20 ° c . and 0 . 5 m / s , and wound up at a speed of 500 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn with at least two sets of temperature controllable nelson rollers . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer . the filament was further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 6 . 0 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 4494 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 7 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 021 in this case . the filament which was obtained by extruding and quenching the high density polyethylene used in example 8 substantially in the same manner was wound up at a speed of 300 m / min . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 6 . 75 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 3033 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 7 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 009 in this case . the filament which was obtained by extruding and quenching the high density polyethylene used in example 8 substantially in the same manner was wound up at a speed of 400 m / min . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 6 . 5 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 3895 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 7 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 015 in this case . a drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 4494 was produced substantially in the same manner as in example 8 , except that the drawing temperature in the first stage was changed to 10 ° c . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 7 . a drawn filament was produced substantially in the same manner as in example 8 , except that the drawing was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer in the first stage , at 100 ° c . to a length 3 . 0 times longer in the second stage , and at 130 ° c . to a length 2 . 5 times longer in the third stage , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 5618 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 7 . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 152 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 4 was extruded through a spinneret having 30 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 300 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the filament which was quenched substantially in the same manner as in example 8 was wound up at a speed of 200 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer in the first stage . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 6 . 0 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 4044 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 7 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 018 in this case . the filament which was obtained by extruding and quenching the high density polyethylene used in example 8 substantially in the same manner was wound up at a speed of 100 m / min . the drawing in the first stage was carried out at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 7 . 0 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 1049 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant drawn filament are shown in table 8 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 002 in this case . a drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 4494 was produced substantially in the same manner as in example 8 , except that the drawing was carried out at 90 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer in the first stage . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 8 . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 121 , 500 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 5 . 1 was extruded through a spinneret having 30 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 270 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the filament was quenched substantially in the same manner as in example 8 . however , the filament was broken many times and only a non - drawn filament which was wound up at a speed of 300 m / min could be obtained . this non - drawn filament was drawn at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer in the first stage . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 4 . 5 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 2022 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 8 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 030 in this case . a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 55 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 3 was extruded through a spinneret having 30 holes with diameters of 0 . 8 mm so that the polyethylene could be discharged at 255 ° c . and at a rate of 0 . 5 g / min . per hole . the filament which was quenched in the same manner as in example 8 substantially was wound up at a speed of 300 m / min . this non - drawn filament was drawn at 25 ° c . to a length 2 . 0 times longer in the first stage . the filament was then further heated to 100 ° c . and was drawn to a length 7 . 0 times longer , so that the drawn filament with the total draw ratio of 3146 was produced . the physical properties of the resultant filament are shown in table 8 . the rate of birefringence of the non - drawn filament was 0 . 008 in this case . the spinning was carried out by using a high density polyethylene which had a weight - average molecular weight of 82 , 000 and a ratio of the weight - average molecular weight to a number - average molecular weight of 2 . 5 . however the polymer could not be extruded uniformly since the melt viscosity was too high . according to the present invention , in the case of producing a premix , a filament excellent in dispersibility can be obtained due to the cross - section shape of the filament , and a high tenacity can be given . also , even in the case that a shape is formed to monofilament - type organic fibers by using a sizing agent , the invention enables the filament to give a high breaking load and a high tenacity and to reduce a slump loss . in addition , according to the invention , a novel high strength polyolefin filament which has few falls of the performance by moisture absorption , water absorption etc . and thus has a high strength retention in a wet condition , and has a small diameter and a high tenacity , and does not form kinks , and is good in containment ability , which is most suitable for a variety of ropes for industrial use or consumer use such as ropes used in the marine industry , tethers , hawsers , yacht ropes , mountaineering ropes , various ropes for agricultural use , and various ropes for civil engineering , electric facilities or construction works , especially for use with circumferences of water in relation to marine vessels and marine industries , can be provided . according to the invention , the novel high strength polyolefin filament can be produced efficiently . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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fig1 illustrates an exploded view of a lift / suspension system 10 including an arm major bracket 12 having a vertically oriented left side 14 , a back 16 , a vertically oriented right side 18 , two opposing substantially vertically oriented bars 20 and 22 , a horizontal flange 24 with a slot 26 which is mounted between the upper region of the left side 14 , back 16 and right side 18 , and an integral support tube 28 located at the back 16 . support tube 28 can secure over and about a vertically oriented cylindrical mounting structure to allow the lift / suspension system 10 to be rotated about a vertical axis . the arm major bracket 12 includes opposing upper holes 30 and 32 located on the left side 14 and right side 18 , respectively , and opposing lower holes 34 and 36 located on the left side 14 and right side 18 , respectively , with like alignment protrusions 38 and 40 in between . plates 42 and 44 with holes 46 and 48 align to the alignment protrusions 38 and 40 of left and right sides 14 and 18 , respectively . screw holes 50 , 52 , 54 and 56 accommodate a plurality of screws 57a - 57n which secure into the left and right sides 14 and 18 to secure plates 42 and 44 against the ends of upper and lower rods 58 and 60 to secure the upper and lower rods 58 and 60 within the upper holes 30 and 32 and lower holes 34 and 36 of the arm major bracket 12 . a hex bolt 62 with a lower nut 64 and an upper nut 66 and a hex head 67 secures into a block 68 which includes two opposing pivot projections 70 and 72 . the hex bolt 62 and upper and lower nuts 66 and 64 secure in the slot 26 in flange 24 . the block 68 , having a configured backside shape , aligns to and is adjustable along the edges of the opposing bars 20 and 22 . adjustment of the hex head 67 positions the block 68 along the hex bolt 62 for adjustment of a gas spring tube 156 as later described in detail . an arm upper link bracket 74 includes a u - shaped member 75 having opposing left and right sides 76 and 78 , a back 80 , and a stiffening element 82 spanning left and right sides 76 and 78 . there are opposing lower holes 84 and 86 in left and right sides 76 and 78 , respectively , and opposing extreme upper left and right holes 88 and 90 and upper left and right holes 97 and 99 in the left and right sides 76 and 78 , respectively . an arm lower link bracket 92 , which aligns over and about and parallel to the left and right sides 76 and 78 of the arm upper link bracket 74 , is comprised of opposing left and right sides 94 and 96 having opposing lower holes 100 and 102 and opposing upper holes 104 and 106 . also included at the lower region of the arm lower link bracket 92 are opposing threaded holes 105 and 107 in the left and right sides 94 and 96 of the lower link bracket 92 for accommodation of cap screw stops 109a - 109b which are part of a plurality of cap screw stops 109a - 109n . the cap screw stops 109a and 109b , installed in holes 105 and 107 , respectively , limit the upward travel of the arm lower link bracket 92 and thus the arm upper link bracket 74 upon impinging stops 14a and 18a on major bracket 12 left and right sides 14 and 18 , respectively , as illustrated in fig5 . either adjacent opposing upper holes pair 111 and 113 or opposing lower holes pair 115 and 117 in the upper region of the arm lower link bracket 92 can accommodate cap screw stops 109c and 109n depending on whether the lift or the suspension mode will be utilized . as described in fig7 and 8 , cap screw stops 109c and 109n are installed in upper threaded holes 111 and 113 to engage arcuate slots 120 and 122 of an arm minor bracket 108 , later described in detail , to limit the movement of the arm lower link bracket 92 , and thus the arm upper link bracket 74 , in the suspension mode of operation . the lift / suspension system 10 can be configured for operation in the lift mode as described in fig5 and 6 by installation of the cap screw stops 109c and 109n in the lower threaded holes 115 and 117 . again , cap screw stops 109c and 109n are used only in the upper threaded holes 111 and 113 for operation in the suspension mode or used only in the lower threaded holes 115 and 117 for operation in the lift mode . gap screw stops 109a and 109b are not utilized in the suspension mode . the arm minor bracket 108 is fashioned much the same as the arm major bracket 12 and includes a left side 110 , a back 112 , a right side 114 , and an extension 116 for a tube 118 . left side 110 and right side 114 include stops 110a and 114a , respectively . opposing arcuate slots 120 and 122 are located in the left and right sides 110 and 114 of the arm minor bracket 108 . the arcuate slots 120 and 122 engage cap screw stops 109c and 109n which are installed in the opposing upper threaded holes 111 and 113 when the lift / suspension system 10 is utilized in the suspension mode . there are opposing upper holes 124 and 126 in the left and right sides 110 and 114 , respectively , opposing lower holes 128 and 130 in the left and right sides 110 and 114 , respectively , and alignment protrusions 132 and 134 located therebetween . also included are plates 136 and 138 with holes 140 and 142 for accommodation of the alignment protrusions 132 and 134 and with screw holes 144 , 146 , 148 and 150 for accommodation of a plurality of screws 151a - 151n . upper and lower rods 152 and 154 align through the opposing upper holes 124 and 126 and the opposing lower holes 128 and 130 , respectively , and are secured in place by plates 136 and 138 in the same manner as previously described for upper and lower rods 58 and 60 . the upper rod 152 also passes through the extreme upper holes 88 and 90 in the arm upper link bracket 74 to link the upper portion of the arm upper link bracket 74 to the arm minor bracket 108 . the lower rod 154 also passes through the upper holes 104 and 106 of the arm lower link bracket 92 to link the upper portion of the arm lower link bracket 92 to the arm minor bracket 108 . in a similar fashion , the upper rod 58 aligns through the upper holes 30 and 32 of the arm major bracket 12 and through the lower holes 84 and 86 at the lower region of the arm upper link u - shaped bracket 74 and the lower rod 60 aligns through lower holes 34 and 36 of the arm major bracket 12 and through holes 100 and 102 at the lower region of the arm lower link bracket 92 to collectively link the arm lower link bracket 92 and the arm upper link bracket 74 to the arm major bracket 12 . all of the previously described structure forms a four bar linkage which is dependent upon a pressurized gas spring 156 . a counterbalance system is incorporated to provide for support in either the lift mode or the suspension mode . a gas spring tube 156 with a tube 158 includes a clevis 160 having a connecting hole 162 and a rod 166 with u - shaped member 168 with opposing rounded slots 170 and 172 mounted to the lower end of rod 166 . the opposing rounded slots 170 and 172 of the u - shaped member 168 rotatingly engage the pivot projections 70 and 72 , respectively , to mount one end of the gas spring 156 to the adjustable block 68 on the hex bolt 62 . the clevis 160 of the gas spring 156 is connected via the connecting hole 162 either to a pin 174 which rotatingly secures in upper holes 97 and 99 of the arm upper link bracket 74 when the invention incorporates the lift mode , or is rotatingly secured to the upper rod 152 which extends between upper holes 124 and 126 when the invention is incorporated in the suspension mode . a threaded hole 161 in the clevis 160 accommodates a set screw 163 . the set screw 163 secures against pin 174 when lift mode is used . the set screw 163 is not installed when the suspension mode is used . outward tension of the rod 166 ensures engagement of the u - shaped member 168 with the pivot projections 70 and 72 of the block 68 . hex head 67 is adjusted to position block 68 along the edges of opposing bars 20 and 22 . positioning of block 68 adjusts the length , and thus the tension and mechanical advantage along the gas spring 156 . tensioning is adjusted in either the lift or suspension mode to provide the required amount of support for the load carried by the tube 118 at the end of the extension 116 . the adjustment of the counterbalance system incorporating the hex bolt 62 , block 68 , and bars 20 and 22 . the edges of the vertically oriented bars 20 and 22 are angled or appropriately shaped such that the desired angle or shape is derived by mathematical algorithms to provide optimal linear lift or suspension force over the complete range of adjustment . optimal combination of the lift mode derived adjustment path and the suspension mode derived adjustment path from algorithms are chosen to allow a utilization of the same arm upper link bracket 74 , arm lower link bracket 92 , and arm major bracket 12 for both lift and suspension modes . fig2 illustrates a perspective view of an assembled lift / suspension system 10 configured in the lift mode , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . a tray 200 and a positionable sliding support system 202 are shown as supported by the tube 118 of the lift / suspension system 10 . the lift / suspension system 10 is shown in the highest position where cap screw stops 109a and 109b ( not visible ) are installed in threaded holes 105 and 107 to limit the upward positioning of the lift / suspension system 10 . the positionable sliding support system 202 includes a lower extrusion 206 which slidingly engages another shorter mating upper extrusion 208 . a plurality of plastic rod members 210a - 210n are located at the inner surfaces of the upper extrusion 208 and are exposed to offer sliding contact surfaces against which the outer surfaces of the lower extrusion slide to provide for fore and apt adjustment of the tray 200 or other attached device . a large rod 212 secures to the bottom of the lower extrusion 206 . the large rod 212 rotatingly engages the tube 118 to offer pivotal adjustment of the support system 202 and tray 200 about the vertical axis of the large rod 212 . fig3 illustrates a top view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the lift mode where the lift / suspension system 10 has been lowered to a mid position , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . especially illustrated is the alignment of the arm lower link bracket 92 over and about the arm upper link bracket 74 as well as the mounted relationship of the arm lower link bracket 92 and the arm upper link bracket 74 to the arm major bracket 12 and the arm minor bracket 108 . fig4 illustrates an end view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the lift mode where the lift / suspension system 10 has been raised to the highest allowable position , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . fig5 illustrates a side view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the lift mode where the lift / suspension system 10 is positioned in the highest allowable position , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . in this position upward movement of the arm lower link bracket 92 , and thus the upward movement of the arm upper link bracket 74 , is limited and restricted by impingement of the cap screw stops 109a and 109b ( not visible ) in threaded holes 105 and 107 ( not visible ) with stops 14a and 18a located on left and right sides 14 and 18 of the arm lower link bracket 92 , respectively . fig6 illustrates a side view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the lift mode where the lift / suspension system 10 is positioned in the lowest allowable position , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . plates 42 and 136 are not illustrated for purposes of brevity and clarity . in this position downward movement of the arm lower link bracket 92 , and thus the downward movement of the arm upper link bracket 74 , is limited and restricted by impingement of the cap screw stops 109c and 109n ( not visible ) in lower threaded holes 115 and 117 ( not visible ) with left and right stops 110a and 114a ( not visible ) located on left and right sides 110 and 114 ( not visible ) of the arm minor bracket 108 , respectively . in the lift mode , the clevis 160 secures and connects the gas spring 156 to the pin 174 located in left and right upper holes 97 and 99 at the upper region of the arm upper link bracket 74 . fig7 illustrates a side view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the suspension mode where the lift / suspension system 10 is positioned in the highest allowable position , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . in this position upward movement of the arm lower link bracket 92 , and thus the upward movement of the arm upper link bracket 74 , is limited and restricted by impingement of the cap screw stops 109c and 109n ( not visible ), which are installed in and extend outwardly from upper threaded holes 111 and 113 ( not visible ), with the lower portions of arcuate slots 120 and 122 located on left and right sides 110 and 114 of the arm minor bracket 108 , respectively . cap screw stops 109a and 109b are not installed in threaded holes 105 and 107 . a tilt / swivel mount 204 which can support a monitor caddy or other device is illustrated as being attached to the tube 118 at the end of the extension 116 . the tilt / swivel mount 204 offers adjustment about a vertical axis and tilt adjustment about the horizontal axis . the tilt / swivel mount 204 is referred to in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 453 , 687 entitled &# 34 ; swivel / tilt mounting device for a cathode ray tube &# 34 ; held by harry c . sweere , the applicant . fig8 illustrates a cutaway side view of the lift / suspension system 10 configured in the suspension mode where the lift / suspension system 10 is positioned in the lowest allowable position where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described . plates 42 and 136 are not illustrated for purposes of brevity and clarity . in this position downward movement of the arm lower link bracket 92 , and thus the downward movement of the arm upper link bracket 74 , is limited and restricted by impingement of the cap screw stops 109c and 109n ( not visible ), which extend outwardly from upper threaded holes 111 and 113 ( not visible ), with the upper portions of arcuate slots 120 and 122 located on left and right sides 110 and 114 of the arm minor bracket 108 respectively . in the suspension mode , the clevis 160 rotatingly connects the gas spring 156 to the upper rod 152 located in left and right upper holes 124 and 126 at the upper region of the arm minor bracket 108 . various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof . | 8General tagging of new or cross-sectional technology
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please refer to fig1 a to 1e . fig1 a and 1b are schematic diagrams respectively illustrating a top view of a front surface and a back surface of a switchable antenna 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 c is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of the switchable antenna 10 . fig1 d and 1e are schematic diagrams respectively illustrating current distribution of the switchable antenna 10 operated in an omnidirectional mode and a directional mode . as shown in fig1 a to 1c , the switchable antenna 10 may be adapted to a wireless local area network ( such as ieee 802 . 11 wireless local area network ) to transmit and receive radio - frequency signals . the switchable antenna 10 comprises a substrate 12 , radiating portions 100 , 110 , antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 , switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 , extension sections 142 , 144 , 146 , chocks 152 a , 152 b , 154 a , 154 b , 156 a , 156 b , and resistors 162 , 164 , 166 . the radiating portion 100 is formed on an upper surface 12 a of the substrate 12 and comprises a center 101 and upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 extending from the center 101 . the radiating portion 110 is formed on a lower surface 12 b of the substrate 12 and comprises a center 111 and lower surface bend sections 112 , 114 , 116 extending from the center 111 . one end of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 is respectively coupled to a control module 14 , which is used for providing direct - current ( dc ) power through the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 and the extension sections 142 , 144 , 146 ; the other end of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 is grounded through the resistors 162 , 164 , 166 , respectively . therefore , when the control module 14 respectively turns on the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 would respectively serve as a reflector ; when the control module 14 respectively turns off the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 , the antenna element 122 , 124 , 126 would respectively serve as a parasitic radiating element . the chocks 152 a , 154 a , 156 a are respectively coupled between a system ground and the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 , and the chocks 152 b , 154 b , 156 b are respectively coupled between the control module 14 and the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 in order to limit the resonating radio - frequency signals in the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 and in order to prevent radio - frequency signals from interfering the control module 14 . in brief , by controlling the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 can respectively switch between a reflector and a parasitic radiating element , such that the switchable antenna 10 can be operated in an omnidirectional mode or a directional mode , and directivity of the switchable antenna 10 can be adjusted to avoid interference . specifically , when all of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 are switched off , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 would respectively serve as a parasitic radiating element to increase bandwidth . in such a situation , the switchable antenna 10 enters an omnidirectional mode to transmit and receive radio - frequency signals in all directions for detecting and searching stations or other operation requirements . when one of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 ( such as the switch element 136 ) is turned on , the corresponding one of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 ( i . e ., the antenna element 126 ) becomes a reflector , while the other the antenna elements still serve as a parasitic radiating element ( i . e ., the antenna elements 122 , 124 ), respectively . accordingly , the switchable antenna 10 changes into a directional mode such that radio - frequency signals are transmitted or received along a specific direction ( for example , toward a direction y ) to increase transmission efficiency and to reduce power consumption . when one of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 ( such as the switch element 136 ) is turned off , the corresponding one of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 ( i . e ., the antenna element 126 ) serve as a parasitic radiating element while the other antenna elements respectively turn into a reflector ( i . e ., the antenna element 122 , 124 ) in order to enhance directivity of the switchable antenna 10 toward a specific direction ( for example , opposite to the direction y ) and in order to avoid interference by means of the transmitted or received radio - frequency signals of narrow beamwidth . in order to improve quality of radio - frequency signals transmitted or received omnidirectionally , geometric structure of the switchable antenna 10 enables itself to form stable annular currents . specifically , the upper surface bend section 102 comprises portions 102 a , 102 b ; the upper surface bend section 104 comprises portions 104 a , 104 b ; the upper surface bend section 106 comprises portions 106 a , 106 b . with an enclosed angle θ 1 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 102 a , 102 b , an enclosed angle θ 2 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 104 a , 104 b , and an enclosed angle θ 3 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 106 a , 106 b , the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 respectively form a l - shaped structure with clockwise bending and are equally spaced apart . similarly , the lower surface bend section 112 comprises portions 112 a , 112 b ; the lower surface bend section 114 comprises portions 114 a , 114 b ; the lower surface bend section 116 comprises portions 116 a , 116 b . with an enclosed angle φ 1 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 112 a , 112 b , an enclosed angle φ 2 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 114 a , 114 b and an enclosed angle φ 3 of 90 degrees enclosed by the portions 116 a , 116 b , the lower surface bend sections 112 , 114 , 116 respectively form a l - shaped structure with counterclockwise bending and are spaced evenly around . as shown in fig1 c , along a vertical projection direction z , the centers 101 and 111 are aligned and the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 with a l - shaped structure bent clockwise and the lower surface bend section 112 , 114 , 116 with a l - shaped structure bent counterclockwise respectively form a t - shaped structure . accordingly , when the switchable antenna 10 transmits radio - frequency signals in an omnidirectional mode , currents flow in the radiating portion 100 , 110 clockwise or counterclockwise as shown in fig1 d , and hence the switchable antenna 10 can provide alford loop antenna effect . a null can also occur in the radiation pattern in the vertical projection direction z by means of geometry features of the switchable antenna 10 . moreover , because of time delay , radio - frequency signals generated from a t - shaped structure of the switchable antenna 10 and radio - frequency signals generated from another t - shaped structure of the switchable antenna 10 add up in phase to enhance the total intensity and to form an omnidirectional radiation pattern . in order to enhance directivity of the switchable antenna 10 , distances d 1 , d 2 , d 3 respectively between the center 111 and the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 may be in a range of 0 . 15 to 0 . 25 times operating wavelength corresponding to the center frequency ( i . e ., 0 . 15 times the operating wavelength ) to ensure a front - to - back ( f / b ) ratio of the operating frequency ( e . g ., 5150 mhz to 5850 mhz ) at 60 degrees ( i . e ., the elevation angle of 30 degrees from xy plane ) greater than 5 db . in other words , antenna resonance mechanism of the switchable antenna 10 functions as an annular antenna and therefore satisfies the requirements that distance between a reflector and a radiator of a yagi antenna is in a range of 0 . 15 to 0 . 25 times the operating wavelength . simulation and measurement may be employed to determine whether radiation pattern of the switchable antenna 10 at different frequencies meets system requirements . please refer to fig2 to 4b . fig2 is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna resonance ( voltage standing wave ratio , vswr ) simulation results of the switchable antenna 10 operated in an omnidirectional mode . in fig2 , antenna resonance simulation results of the switchable antenna 10 without the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 are presented by a dotted line , and antenna isolation simulation results of the switchable antenna 10 with the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 are presented by a solid line . as shown in fig2 , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 of the switchable antenna 10 can effectively broaden bandwidth . in practical application , a vast metal plate is usually disposed below the switchable antenna 10 to provide shielding or other functions . however , the vast metal plate would cause the radiation pattern of the switchable antenna 10 to shift upward and thus generate a tilt angle . in order to properly present characteristics of the switchable antenna 10 , the switchable antenna 10 can be sampled at 60 degrees ( i . e ., the elevation angle of 30 degrees from xy plane ). fig3 a is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 10 operated at 5500 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 all turned off . fig3 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 10 operated at 5500 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 turned on . fig3 c is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 10 operated at 5500 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 turned off . fig4 a is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic measurement results for the switchable antenna 10 measured at 60 degrees with the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 all turned off . fig4 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic measurement results for the switchable antenna 10 measured at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 turned on . as shown in fig3 a to 4b , when the number of the switch elements turned on grows the beamwidth is less divergent . on the other hand , please refer to fig5 a to 5d . fig5 a and 5b are schematic diagrams respectively illustrating a top view of a front surface and a back surface of a switchable antenna 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig5 c is a schematic diagrams illustrating a perspective view of the switchable antenna 50 . fig5 d is a schematic diagram illustrating an equivalent circuit , which the switchable antenna 50 maybe modeled as . as shown in fig5 a to 5c , the switchable antenna 50 may be adapted to a wireless local area network ( such as ieee 802 . 11 wireless local area network ) to transmit and receive radio - frequency signals as well . the switchable antenna 50 comprises a substrate 52 , radiating portions 500 , 510 , adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 , switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 , direct current blocks 542 , 544 , 546 , chocks 552 , 554 , 556 , 558 , and resistor 562 , 564 , 566 . the radiating portion 500 is formed on an upper surface 52 a of the substrate 52 and comprises upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 . the radiating portion 510 is formed on a lower surface 52 b of the substrate 52 and comprises a center 511 and lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 , reflection sections 572 , 574 , 576 and vias 582 , 584 , 586 extending from the center 511 . the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 correspond to the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 , and are electrically connected to the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 through the vias 582 , 584 , 586 which are disposed in the substrate 52 , respectively . as shown in fig5 d , one end of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 is respectively coupled to a radio signal processing module 56 which is used for providing alternating - current ( ac ) power and is coupled to a system ground through the chock 558 ; the other end of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 is electrically connected to the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and is coupled to a control module 54 which is used for providing direct - current ( dc ) power through the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 , the chocks 552 , 554 , 556 and the resistors 562 , 564 , 566 . therefore , when the control module 54 respectively turns on the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 can be respectively connected to the radio signal processing module 56 so as to transmit and receive radio - frequency signals ; when the control module 54 respectively turns off the switch element 532 , 534 , 536 , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 cannot connect to the radio signal processing module 56 . the chocks 552 , 554 , 556 , 558 can limit the resonating radio - frequency signals in the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and prevent radio - frequency signals from interfering the control module 54 . the direct current blocks 542 , 544 , 546 can prevent dc power in any of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 ( e . g ., the upper surface bend section 502 ) from being transmitted to other upper surface bend sections ( e . g ., the upper surface bend sections 504 , 506 ) through vias 582 , 584 , 586 . the reflection sections 572 , 574 , 576 are respectively disposed between two adjacent lower surface bend sections so as to enhance directivity of the switchable antenna 50 . briefly , by controlling the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 can respectively be connected to the radio signal processing module 56 , such that the switchable antenna 50 can be operated in an omnidirectional mode or a directional mode . moreover , with the reflection sections 572 , 574 , 576 , directivity of the switchable antenna 50 can be adjusted to avoid interference . specifically , when all of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 are switched on , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 are respectively connected to the radio signal processing module 56 , and the switchable antenna 50 can provide alford loop antenna effect together with the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 electrically connected . in such a situation , the switchable antenna 50 enters an omnidirectional mode to transmit and receive radio - frequency signals in all directions for detecting and searching stations or other operation requirements . when one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 ( such as the switch element 536 ) is turned off , only two of the upper surface bend sections ( i . e ., the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 ) are still connected to the radio signal processing module 56 , and the two upper surface bend sections respectively form a folded dipole antenna structure along with the corresponding lower surface bend section ( i . e ., the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 ). furthermore , with the corresponding reflection sections ( i . e ., the reflection sections 574 , 576 ), the switchable antenna 50 changes into a directional mode , such that radio - frequency signals are transmitted or received along a specific direction ( for example , toward a direction y ) to increase transmission efficiency and to reduce power consumption . when one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 ( such as the switch element 536 ) is turned on , only one of the upper surface bend sections ( i . e ., the upper surface bend section 506 ) is still connected to the radio signal processing module 56 , and the upper surface bend section forms a folded dipole antenna structure along with the corresponding lower surface bend section ( i . e ., the lower surface bend section 516 ). also , with the corresponding reflection sections ( i . e ., the reflection sections 574 , 576 ), directivity of the switchable antenna 50 toward a specific direction ( for example , opposite to the direction y ) is enhanced , and the beamwidth of the transmitted or received radio - frequency signals is narrower in order to avoid interference . in order to improve quality of radio - frequency signals transmitted or received omnidirectionally , geometric structure of the switchable antenna 50 enables itself to form stable annular currents . specifically , the upper surface bend section 502 comprises portions 502 a , 502 b , 502 c , the upper surface bend section 504 comprises portions 504 a , 504 b , 504 c , and the upper surface bend section 506 comprises portions 506 a , 506 b , and 506 c . with enclosed angles α 1 to α 6 of 90 degrees enclosed respectively by the portions 502 a to 506 c , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 respectively form a clockwise bending structure and are equally spaced apart . similarly , the lower surface bend section 512 comprises portions 512 a to 512 e , the lower surface bend section 514 comprises portions 514 a to 514 e , and the lower surface bend section 516 comprises portions 516 a to 516 e . with enclosed angles β 1 to β 12 of 90 degrees enclosed respectively by the portions 512 a to 516 e , the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 respectively form a counterclockwise bending structure and are equally spaced out . as shown in fig5 c , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 respectively form a closed folded dipole antenna structure along the vertical projection direction z . in addition , the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 can be electrically connected to the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 through the vias 582 , 584 , 586 . accordingly , when transmitting radio - frequency signals in an omnidirectional mode , the switchable antenna 50 can generate alford loop antenna effect . in order to enhance directivity of the switchable antenna 50 , the reflection sections 572 , 574 , 576 are respectively disposed between two adjacent lower surface bend sections and corresponds to the folded dipole antenna structure respectively formed from the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 so as to provide reflection characteristics as a yagi antenna . the adjustment element 522 comprises portions 522 a , 522 b , 522 c , the adjustment element 524 comprises portions 524 a , 524 b , 524 c , and the adjustment element 526 comprises portions 526 a , 526 b , and 526 c . with enclosed angles δ 1 to δ 6 enclosed respectively by the portions 522 a to 526 c , the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 respectively corresponding to the reflection sections 572 , 574 , 576 can form a bow structure and are equally spaced apart , thereby enhancing antenna gain around boundary of radiation pattern under a directional mode . in other words , the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 can increase beamwidth and therefore eliminate dead zones . specifically , please refer to fig6 a and 6b . fig6 a is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 50 operated at 2500 mhz with the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 . fig6 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 50 operated at 2500 mhz without the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 . as shown in fig6 a and 6b , beamwidth of the switchable antenna 50 with the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 is wider . besides , the geometric structure of the switchable antenna 50 ensures resistance matching under both an omnidirectional mode and a directional mode . specifically , when the switchable antenna 50 is operated in an omnidirectional mode , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 are all connected to the radio signal processing module 56 . when the switchable antenna 50 is operated in a directional mode , only some of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 ( such as the upper surface bend section 506 ) are connected to the radio signal processing module 56 . however , because one of the upper surface bend sections ( for example , the upper surface bend section 506 ) can be electrically connected to the corresponding lower surface bend section ( i . e ., the lower surface bend section 516 ) through the corresponding via ( i . e ., the via 586 ), and because the lower surface bend section ( i . e ., the lower surface bend section 516 ) can be electrically connected to the other lower surface bend sections ( i . e ., the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 ) through the center 511 ) and the corresponding upper surface bend sections ( i . e ., the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 ), when the switchable antenna 50 enters a directional mode to connect some of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 ( i . e ., the upper surface bend section 506 ) to the radio signal processing module 56 , reverse currents are conducted in the other upper surface bend section ( s ) and the other lower surface bend section ( s ) ( i . e ., the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 ), thereby achieving resistance matching . for example , fig7 a is a schematic diagram illustrating current distribution of the switchable antenna 50 operated in a directional mode . fig7 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna resonance simulation results of the switchable antenna 50 . in fig7 b , antenna resonance simulation results of the switchable antenna 50 operated in an omnidirectional mode are presented by a thin dotted line ; return loss ( scattering parameters s 11 ) simulation results of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 are respectively presented by a thick dotted line , a thin dash - dotted line and a thick dash - dotted line ; and antenna isolation simulation results of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 are respectively presented by a dashed line , a thick solid line and a thin solid line . simulation and measurement may be employed to determine whether radiation pattern of the switchable antenna 50 at different frequencies meets system requirements . in practical application , a vast metal plate is usually disposed below the switchable antenna 50 to provide shielding or other functions . however , the vast metal plate would cause the radiation pattern of the switchable antenna 50 to shift upward and thus generate a tilt angle . in order to properly present characteristics of the switchable antenna 50 , the switchable antenna 50 can be sampled at 60 degrees ( i . e ., the elevation angle of 30 degrees from xy plane ). please refer to fig8 a to 9c . fig8 a is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 50 operated at 2450 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 all turned on . fig8 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 50 operated at 2450 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 turned off . fig8 c is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic simulation results for the switchable antenna 50 operated at 2450 mhz and calculated at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 turned on . fig9 a is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic measurement results for the switchable antenna 50 measured at 60 degrees with the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 all turned on . fig9 b is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic measurement results for the switchable antenna 50 measured at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 turned off . fig9 c is a schematic diagram illustrating antenna pattern characteristic measurement results for the switchable antenna 50 measured at 60 degrees with merely one of the switch elements 532 , 534 , 536 turned on . as shown in fig8 a to 9c , when the number of the switch elements turned on drops , the beamwidth is less divergent . please note that the switchable antennas 10 , 50 are exemplary embodiments of the invention , and those skilled in the art can make alternations and modifications accordingly . for example , a switch element of a switchable antenna may be of various kinds such as a diode and a transistor . the number of switch elements may vary with the number of upper surface bend sections and an upper surface bend section may correspond to a plurality of switch elements . the switchable antenna in the aforementioned embodiments comprises three upper surface bend sections and three lower surface bend sections ; however , the present invention is not limited herein and a switchable antenna can comprise a plurality of upper surface bend sections and a plurality of lower surface bend sections . alternatively , it is also possible that a switchable antenna merely comprises two upper surface bend sections and two lower surface bend sections . besides , the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 are substantially of rotational symmetry to evenly distribute the space between the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 . in such a situation , the corresponding lower surface bend sections 112 , 114 , 116 are symmetric with respect to rotations about the center 111 . likewise , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 are substantially of rotational symmetry to space evenly around , such that the corresponding lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 have rotational symmetry . nevertheless , the present invention is not limited to this , and the configuration may be non - symmetrical , rectangle arranged and mirror symmetrical . sizes of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 , the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 and the lower surface bend sections 112 , 114 , 116 of the switchable antenna 10 may be respectively identical , and the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 of the switchable antenna 50 may also have the same size respectively , but not limited thereto — the exact size of each component is determined according to different system requirements or design considerations . additionally , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 , the portions 522 a to 526 c of the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 , the portions 102 a to 506 c of the upper surface bend sections 102 , 104 , 106 , 502 , 504 , 506 and the portions 112 a to 516 e of the lower surface bend sections 112 , 114 , 116 , 512 , 514 , 516 are substantially linear , but the antenna elements , the upper surface bend sections and the lower surface bend sections can have the shape of a curve . furthermore , lengths of the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 of the switchable antenna 10 can be in a range of 0 . 4 to 0 . 475 times operating wavelength corresponding to the center frequency to increase bandwidth as a parasitic radiating element . however , if the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 are not ideal switches and thus suffer effects of capacitance or inductance , when all of the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 are turned off , currents can still flow through the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 , respectively . in this case , the antenna elements 122 , 124 , 126 may be properly adjusted according to system requirements . for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 60 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 10 in fig1 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description , and the identical parts are not detailed redundantly . as shown in fig1 , the switch elements 132 , 134 , 136 of the switchable antenna 60 are respectively disposed between antenna elements 1022 , 1024 , 1026 and extension sections 1042 , 1044 , 1046 . the length of the antenna element 1022 is substantially equal to that of the extension section 1042 , the length of the antenna element 1024 is substantially equal to that of the extension section 1044 , and the length of the antenna element 1026 is substantially equal to that of the extension section 1046 . please note that length ratios of an antenna element to the corresponding extension section in the present invention is not limited thereto and may be adjusted according to characteristics of the corresponding switch element and equivalent lengths of the antenna element corresponding to the resonating radio - frequency signals . the configuration of an antenna element and the corresponding extension section may be appropriately modified as well . furthermore , an upper surface bend section may form a clockwise bent structure while the corresponding lower surface bend section may form a counterclockwise bend structure . alternatively , an upper surface bend section may form a counterclockwise bend structure while the corresponding lower surface bend section may form a clockwise bent structure correspondingly . bend structure may be a bent l - shaped structure , for example but not limited thereto . the number of portions constituting an upper surface bend section or a lower surface bend section is not limited to a specific number . for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 68 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 68 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 10 in fig1 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description . as shown in fig1 , an upper surface bend section 1302 comprises portions 1302 a , 1302 b , 1302 c , an upper surface bend section 1304 comprises portions 1304 a , 1304 b , 1304 c , and an upper surface bend section 1306 comprises portions 1306 a , 1306 b , 1306 c . a lower surface bend section 1312 comprises portions 1312 a , 1312 b , 1312 c , a lower surface bend section 1314 comprises portions 1314 a , 1314 b , 1314 c , and a lower surface bend section 1316 comprises portions 1316 a , 1316 b , 1316 c . please note that width ratios or length ratios of portions of an upper surface bend section or a lower surface bend section and the manner that widths and lengths vary depend on different system requirements , and are not limited thereto . structures of a lower surface bend section and an upper surface bend section of a switchable antenna can be properly adjusted , and configurations of a via vary correspondingly . for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 80 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 50 in fig5 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description . as shown in fig1 , an upper surface bend section 1402 comprises portions 1402 a to 1402 d , an upper surface bend section 1404 comprises portions 1404 a to 1404 d , and an upper surface bend section 1406 comprises portions 1406 a to 1406 d . a lower surface bend section 1412 comprises portions 1412 a to 1412 d , a lower surface bend section 1414 comprises portions 1414 a to 1414 d , and a lower surface bend section 1416 comprises portions 1416 a to 1416 d . correspondingly , vias 1482 , 1484 , 1486 are respectively disposed between the upper surface bend sections 1402 , 1404 , 1406 and the lower surface bend sections 1412 , 1414 , 1416 to electrically connect the upper surface bend sections 1402 , 1404 , 1406 and the lower surface bend sections 1412 , 1414 , 1416 . besides , a direct current block of a switchable antenna may be disposed in any position between a chock and the center of a radiating portion . for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 82 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 82 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 50 in fig5 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description . as shown in fig1 , direct current blocks 1442 , 1444 , and 1446 are respectively disposed at ends of the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 . however , the present invention is not limited to these , for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 84 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 84 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 50 in fig5 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description . as shown in fig1 , direct current block 1492 , 1494 , 1496 are respectively disposed within the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 . geometric structures of the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 of the switchable antenna 50 may be properly adjusted according to system requirements . for example , the number of portions of the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 is not limited to 3 , and the adjustment elements 522 , 524 , 526 may respectively comprise a plurality of portions to enhance antenna gain around boundary of radiation pattern under a directional mode , thereby broadening beamwidth and eliminating dead zones . moreover , enclosed angles enclosed by portions and width ratios or length ratios of the portions may also be adjusted correspondingly , which are not detailed redundantly . similarly , the number of portions of an upper surface bend section and a lower surface bend section may be properly adjusted according to system requirements . for example , the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 may respectively comprise a plurality of portions such that the upper surface bend sections 502 , 504 , 506 and the lower surface bend sections 512 , 514 , 516 respectively form a closed folded dipole antenna structure . please note that width ratios or length ratios of portions of an upper surface bend section or a lower surface bend section and the manner that widths and lengths vary depend on different system requirements , and are not limited thereto . an enclosed angle enclosed by portions of an upper surface bend section or a lower surface bend section may be appropriately modified according to system requirements . for example , please refer to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a perspective view of a switchable antenna 92 according to an embodiment of the present invention . since structure of the switchable antenna 92 is similar to that of the switchable antenna 10 in fig1 a , the same numerals and symbols denote the same components in the following description . as shown in fig1 , an enclosed angle α 4 ′ enclosed by portions 1702 b , 1702 c of an upper surface bend section 1702 is greater than 90 degrees , an enclosed angle α 5 ′ enclosed by portions 1704 b , 1704 c of an upper surface bend section 1704 is greater than 90 degrees , and an enclosed angle α 6 ′ enclosed by portions 1706 b , 1706 c of an upper surface bend section 1706 is greater than 90 degrees . an enclosed angle β 4 ′ enclosed by portions 1712 b , 1712 c of a lower surface bend section 1712 is greater than 90 degrees , an enclosed angle β 7 ′ enclosed by portions 1712 c , 1712 d and an enclosed angle β 10 ′ enclosed by portions 1712 d , 1712 e are less than 90 degrees , an enclosed angle β 5 ′ enclosed by portions 1714 b , 1714 c of a lower surface bend section 1714 is greater than 90 degrees , an enclosed angle β 8 ′ enclosed by portions of the portions 1714 c , 1714 d and an enclosed angle β 11 ′ enclosed by portions 1714 d , 1714 e are less than 90 degrees , an enclosed angle β 6 ′ enclosed by portions 1716 b , 1716 c of a lower surface bend section 1716 is greater than 90 degrees , and an enclosed angle 13 9 ′ enclosed by portions 1716 c , 1716 d and an enclosed angle β 12 ′ enclosed by portions of 1716 d , 1716 e are less than 90 degrees . therefore , the upper surface bend sections 1702 , 1704 , 1706 and the lower surface bend sections 1712 , 1714 , and 1716 respectively form a closed folded dipole antenna structure . to sum up , by controlling switch elements , a switchable antenna can be operated in an omnidirectional mode or a directional mode . with antenna elements or reflection sections , directivity of the switchable antenna can be adjusted to avoid interference . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims . | 7Electricity
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in data compression , the encoder is defined as a unit that generates a sequence of descriptors that are smaller than the original image . the simplest form of encoder would use the actual sample values as the descriptors . this is known as pulse code modulation ( pcm ). for pcm the set of descriptors is all possible values of the samples . this is the simplest method , and it is also the poorest from the standpoint of compression . a much better model is realized if we attempt to predict the sample value from one or more samples already coded in the image . as an example , assuming we are coding a line of pixels from the left to the right , we may use the sample to the left as an estimate for the current sample . the descriptor is the difference between the sample being coded and the predictor , or sample to the left . since in images the differences between one sample and the next are likely to be small , it is more efficient to encode the difference values than to encode each sample independently . this method is known as differential pulse code modulation , or dpcm . for dpcm , the set of descriptors is all possible difference values . fig1 shows a plot of samples in a typical line of image data , plotted as sample intensity 101 on the vertical axis and sample position 102 on the horizontal axis of the plot . in fig2 we show the differences between each sample in fig1 and it &# 39 ; s immediate neighbor on the left . the differences are plotted on the vertical axis 201 , with sample position on the horizontal axis 202 . it is obvious from inspecting fig2 that most of the difference values are very close to zero . this can be seen more clearly in fig3 and 4 , where fig3 is a histogram of the intensities for an entire image , with the sample intensity along the horizontal axis 301 and the number of occurrences for each intensity value on the vertical axis 302 . in a similar manner , fig4 shows the histogram of the differences between pixels . fig4 is plotted with the horizontal axis 401 representing the difference values and vertical axis 402 the number of occurrences for each difference value . the histogram of differences in fig4 are clustered very tightly around zero , indicating that small differences are very probable . given a known starting value , differences from one sample to the next can be used to exactly reconstruct the original sample values . therefore the set of differences is a representation that is entirely equivalent to the original . the essence of data compression is the assignment of shorter code words to the more probable values , and longer code words to the less probable ones . fig4 demonstrates the high probability of short code words in a typical image , resulting in a high compression ratio as most of the code words can be very small . a simple implementation of the dpcm encoding process is shown in fig5 where storage block 501 introduces a one sample delay into the input stream . this delayed sample value is subtracted from the next sample in arithmetic block 502 , resulting in the difference value ( descriptor ) between the pixel being processed and it &# 39 ; s left neighbor . the decoding process is similarly shown on fig6 where the left neighbor is stored in block 601 , and is then added to the current descriptor in arithmetic block 602 to reconstruct the original sample value . once the descriptor is calculated during compression , the next step is entropy coding . entropy coding is well known in the art , and can be done in a variety of ways , the most common of which is huffman coding and arithmetic coding . huffman coding is simpler and may be implemented with significantly lower computational overhead , and is the algorithm used in the preferred embodiment of the invention . fig7 is a simple representation of an entropy coder , where statistical model 701 converts the descriptors into the actual symbols to be coded . as an example , the statistical model may convert 16 contiguous zero values into one symbol indicating a run of 16 zeroes . block 702 then encodes the symbols into actual vlc ( variable length code ) codes using the code table stored in block 703 . during decoding , the compressed data is decoded into symbols in block 801 of fig8 using the code table stored in 802 , and translated back into descriptors in the statistical model 804 . the code tables used in the encoder and the decoder must be identical . the huffman statistical model for coding of dpcm differences segments the difference values into a set of approximately logarithmically increasing magnitude categories . each of the difference categories is a symbol , and is therefore assigned a huffman code . except for zero differences , the difference category codes do not fully describe the difference . therefore , immediately following the huffman code for the non - zero difference categories , ssss additional bits are appended to the code stream to identify the sign and fully specify the magnitude of the difference . there is one exception to this : ssss = 8 is not followed by any additional bits . if we normalize the image to lie between − 128 , 127 and use 2 &# 39 ; s complement arithmetic then there is no need for the additional bits as will be shown in fig9 . the coding table shown in fig9 is optimized for use with a texas instruments tms320c8x parallel multiprocessor dsp . the tms320c8x family of processors is particularly well suited for coding of this type , with instructions supporting bit detection logic . in particular , the left most one / left most zero instructions allow easy decoding of the category and vlc codes . in the usual decoding method known in the art the category code is extracted from the bitstream first , decoded , and then the extra bits defining the difference values are extracted and decoded in a separate step . in the embodiment of this invention the decoding is done in one step by extracting the combined code from the bitstream , and using the combined code as a pointer into a look up table ( lut ) to access the difference signal in one step . the size of the lut is small because of the careful selection of the vlc &# 39 ; s chosen . this leads to an efficient implementation where the left most one detection logic of the tms320c8x digital signal processor is used to determine the size of the next combined code , followed by a lut operation using the extracted combined code as the pointer . column 901 in fig9 contains the category ( ssss ), column 902 is the vlc representing the appropriate category , while in column 903 we show the intervals contained in each category . column 904 represents the bits required to express the intervals , and column 905 shows the combined code where xxx is used as place holders for the actual interval bits . column 906 contains the total number of bits required : vlc + interval bits . the process described can also be shown in the following code , written for the tms320c8x family of multiprocessing dsp &# 39 ; s . /* left_shift amount is the combined code which has a length of if the image being compressed is normalized to lie between − 128 , 127 and we use 2 &# 39 ; s complement arithmetic the last row in fig9 changes to the row shown in fig1 . in this case , for , ssss = 8 we do not need to send a code as shown in column 1001 . the wraparound property of 8 - bit 2 &# 39 ; s complement arithmetic allows large differences to be efficiently coded with smaller codes as the example shows in the following table : the multiple alu mode of the tms320c8x may be used very effectively to speed up the difference calculation during encoding . the image is segmented into 4 × 4 blocks as shown in fig1 where p 00 through p 33 represent the 16 pixels of the block . by using the top pixel as the predictor , rows 1 - 3 can be coded in three cycles as shown in fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 , the first row may be coded by using the mean m of the previous block as the predictor if the previous line is not available . the first row may be coded by using the mean m of the previous block as the predictor if the previous line is not available . although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7Electricity
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the following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description of the invention . fig1 provides a schematic depiction of an air cycle machine ( acm ) 10 . in the depicted embodiment , the acm 10 includes a compressor 12 , a heat exchanger 14 , a fan 16 , a turbine 18 , and a shaft 20 that connects the compressor 12 , the fan 16 , and the turbine 18 . during acm 10 operation , the compressor 12 receives a flow of air 21 from an engine compressor or auxiliary power unit ( not shown ) and further compresses the air 21 , thereby further heating the compressed air 21 . the air 21 is then delivered to the heat exchanger 14 , where the air 21 is cooled by the fan 16 by drawing cooler air through a portion of the heat exchanger 16 . the air 21 is then delivered to the turbine 18 , which expands the air 21 . as the air 21 expands across turbine blades 22 in the turbine 18 , the turbine 18 generates power to drive the compressor 12 and the fan 16 , and additionally cools the air 21 . the cooled air 21 is then used to cool and condition the aircraft cabin ( not shown ). the turbine 18 is rotationally mounted via a plurality of bearings , such as journal bearings 24 . moving now to fig2 , a flowchart is depicted of an icing prediction process 26 for predicting an amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 on the blades 22 of the acm turbine 18 . in the depicted embodiment the process 26 begins by obtaining aircraft operating data 32 . the aircraft operating data 32 represents certain operating conditions of an aircraft such as , for example , air temperature , humidity , and altitude , and can be obtained from sensors aboard an aircraft . however , it will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that various other aircraft operating data 32 may be used , and that the aircraft operating data 32 may be generated by any one of numerous types of sensors or other apparatus or systems . regardless of its specific makeup and how it is obtained , the operating data 32 is supplied to an acm model 34 , which generates turbine conditions data 36 representing operational conditions of the acm turbine 18 . the turbine conditions data 36 are in turn supplied to an icing model 38 , which determines the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 on turbine blades 22 . each of the steps in this generalized process is described in greater detail below . as depicted in fig2 , the aircraft operating data 32 can first be supplied to a performance model 40 in step 38 , and to the acm model 34 in step 44 . in step 46 the performance model 40 can be used to determine boundary conditions 48 for the acm 10 , which can be determined at least in part utilizing the aircraft operating data 32 supplied to the performance model 40 in step 38 . next , in step 50 , the boundary conditions 48 can be supplied to the acm model 34 . in certain preferred embodiments the performance model 40 can include an aircraft engine performance model and / or an auxiliary power unit performance model ; however , it will be appreciated that any number of particular performance models 40 can be used to derive boundary conditions for the acm 10 . it will be appreciated that various steps in the icing prediction process 26 , including for example steps 44 and 50 , among other steps , need not occur in the same order in which the steps are numbered or otherwise referenced herein . in step 52 , the acm model 34 preferably uses the aircraft operating data 32 and the boundary conditions 48 to generate the turbine conditions data 36 . the turbine conditions data 36 represents operational conditions of the acm turbine 18 such as , for example , temperature , pressure , and entrained moisture of air for the turbine 18 . it will be appreciated that the turbine conditions data 36 may represent various other conditions that may also have an effect on the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 . preferably the acm model 34 is a software - based model which uses the boundary conditions 48 to more accurately model the relationship between the aircraft operating data 32 and the turbine conditions data 36 . however , it will be appreciated that the acm model 34 and the performance model 40 can take any one of numerous different forms , and that in certain embodiments the acm model 34 may not use a performance model 40 and / or boundary conditions 48 . regardless of the type of the acm model 34 and / or performance model 40 used , the generated turbine conditions data 36 are used by the icing model 38 to determine the amount of ice formation 28 on and ice shed 30 from the acm turbine blades 22 . specifically , in step 54 the turbine conditions data 36 are supplied to the icing model 38 . next , in step 56 , the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 are determined using the icing model 38 , as set forth in greater detail below and in fig3 . next , in step 58 of a preferred embodiment , an amount of acm wear 60 can be determined based at least in part on the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 . in a preferred embodiment , the amount of acm wear 60 can be determined based at least in part on wear to the acm journal bearings 24 , which can be caused by imbalance conditions that can result from ice formation on and shedding from the acm turbine blades 22 . finally , in step 62 of a preferred embodiment , the determined acm wear 60 values can be aggregated over a predetermined period of time , in order to determine an amount of cumulative wear 64 for the acm 10 . one particular embodiment for determining the amount of cumulative wear 64 is discussed later in connection with fig1 , however , it will be appreciated that various measures of acm wear 60 may be used , and the amount of cumulative wear 64 may be determined in any one of a number of different manners . turning now to fig3 , a more detailed depiction of step 56 for a preferred embodiment is provided , showing intermediate steps 66 , 68 and 70 in determining the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 . first , in step 66 , the icing model 38 calculates an amount of collected water 72 on the turbine blades 22 , based at least in part on the turbine conditions data 36 and typical water droplet size distribution information 74 from the icing model 38 . the method by which the icing model 38 calculates the amount of water collected on turbine blades in step 66 is depicted in greater detail in fig4 . as shown therein , collection efficiency calculations are performed using the turbine conditions data 36 supplied in step 54 , which preferably includes values for turbine temperature 76 , pressure 78 and entrained moisture 80 of air surrounding the acm turbine 18 . as will be discussed later in connection with fig7 , these values can further be divided , for example , by using different temperature 76 values for different regions of the turbine 18 . the turbine conditions data 36 are used to compute collection efficiency , using a collection efficiency map 82 , which models collection efficiency 84 versus water droplet size . as is commonly known , and as set forth in formula 86 of fig5 , the collection efficiency 84 represents a ratio of the amount of the collected water 72 on a surface to the amount of entrained moisture 80 in surrounding air . as depicted in fig4 and 5 , when combined with the typical water droplet size distribution information 74 that is supplied from the icing model 38 , the collection efficiency map 82 can be used to calculate values of the collection efficiency 84 for the acm turbine 18 . the collection efficiency 84 values can then be combined with the values for the amount of entrained moisture 80 from the turbine conditions data 36 to calculate the amount of collected water 72 for the turbine blades 22 . this is done , for example , by multiplying the values for the collection efficiency 84 by the values for the entrained moisture 80 as shown in formula 88 of fig5 . in a preferred embodiment , the collected water calculations of step 66 may be based on an assumption that entrained moisture in air surrounding the acm turbine blades 22 is the only source of water and ice formation on the acm turbine blades 22 . while fig4 and 5 depict a preferred embodiment for calculating collected water , it will be appreciated that these calculations can take any one of numerous different forms . for example , the turbine conditions data 36 may include other values instead of , or in addition to , temperature 76 , pressure 78 , and entrained moisture 80 . it will be further appreciated that the droplet size distribution 74 values may be included at the time the icing model 38 is formed , or may be subsequently added and / or updated to the icing model 38 . similarly , it will be appreciated that the assumptions underlying the collected water calculations may vary , resulting in somewhat different calculations which may include , by way of example , calculations pertaining to other sources of water and ice formation . regardless of the specific variables , steps and assumptions used in the collected water calculations , the amount of collected water 72 is calculated in step 66 , for use in calculating the amount of ice formation 28 in step 68 . next , and returning now to fig3 , in step 68 the icing model 38 calculates the amount of ice formation 28 on the turbine blades 22 , preferably based at least in part on the amount of collected water 72 calculated in step 66 , and heat transfer parameters 90 from the icing model 38 representing heat transfer arising at least in part from air flow through the turbine 18 . as is commonly known , ice formation can occur , for example , when the collected or deposited water 72 freezes and accumulates on the acm turbine blades 22 . in a preferred embodiment , the calculations in step 68 are based in part on assumptions that ( i ) the acm turbine 18 represents a lumped heat capacity system and ( ii ) ice formation occurs uniformly over the turbine blades 22 . based on these assumptions , the heat transfer parameters 90 are used , in connection with the calculated values for the collected water 72 on the acm turbine blades 22 and the turbine conditions data 36 , to calculate the amount of ice formation 28 on the acm turbine blades 22 . it will be appreciated that the assumptions underlying the step 68 calculations may vary , resulting in somewhat different calculations which may include , by way of example , calculations pertaining to non - uniform ice formation . it will also be appreciated that various values of the turbine conditions data 36 may also be used in step 68 in combination with the calculated amount of collected water 72 from step 66 and the heat transfer parameters 90 , and that the heat transfer parameters 90 may be included at the time the icing model 38 is formed , or may be subsequently added and / or updated to the icing model 38 . regardless of the specific values , assumptions and information used , and when the heat transfer parameters 90 are supplied to the icing model 38 , the amount of ice formation 28 is calculated in step 68 , for use in calculating the amount of ice shed 30 in step 70 . next , in step 70 , the icing model 38 calculates the amount of ice shed 30 for the acm turbine blades 22 , preferably based at least in part on the amount of ice formation 28 calculated in step 68 , and values for maximum holding stress 92 of the acm turbine blades 22 . as is commonly known , ice shedding can occur , for example , when ice formed on the turbine blades 22 is subjected to centrifugal force that exceeds a holding force of the ice on the blades 22 . in a preferred embodiment , the calculations in step 70 are performed by balancing the holding force with the centrifugal force , to determine the amount of ice shed 30 . in one such preferred embodiment , the centrifugal force is determined at a midpoint radius of the turbine blade 22 , while the corresponding amount of holding force is determined by the maximum holding stress 92 values of the acm turbine blades 22 from the icing model 38 . it will be appreciated that the assumptions underlying the step 70 calculations may vary , resulting in somewhat different calculations . it will also be appreciated that various values of the turbine conditions data 36 may also be used in step 70 in combination with the calculated amount of ice formation 28 and the maximum holding stress 92 values , and that the maximum holding stress 92 values may be included at the time the icing model 38 is formed , or may be subsequently added and / or updated to the icing model 38 . as mentioned above , step 56 , including intermediate steps 66 , 68 and 70 , can be conducted with any number of turbine conditions data 36 . for example , the turbine temperature 76 values can be separated into turbine downstream temperature 96 and turbine upstream temperature 98 values as shown in fig6 below , and the entrained moisture 80 values can be used to calculate separate turbine downstream entrained moisture 106 and upstream entrained moisture 108 values as shown in fig7 . moreover , the results of the icing prediction process 26 can be used to calculate other icing values that are useful in graphical representation and analysis of the data , such as an amount of ice mass 116 remaining on the turbine blades 22 , a frequency of ice shedding 118 , and a maximum amount of ice 132 before shedding , as depicted in and discussed in connection with fig8 , 10 - 12 below . in addition , various techniques can be used , such as a first order lag model depicted in fig9 - 12 below , to represent dynamic conditions for the acm 10 that can cause time delay effects among one or more of the variables . these variations are discussed later in connection with the illustrative examples of graphical applications of the icing prediction process 16 , provided in fig6 - 12 . regardless of the specific values , assumptions , techniques and information used in step 56 , the data obtained from the icing prediction process 26 , including the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 , can be subsequently used in determining various other icing characteristics , as well as the acm wear 60 . for example , the icing prediction process 26 can be used , either onboard an aircraft or remotely , to calculate and monitor the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 for the acm turbine blades 22 under dynamic conditions . this enables the calculation and monitoring of the amount of acm wear 60 which , as mentioned above , can occur on the acm journal bearings 24 as a result of the ice formation 28 and the ice shed 30 on the turbine blades 22 . the icing prediction process 26 can also be used to predict future acm wear 60 based at least in part on information regarding flight patterns and history , and / or weather conditions or forecasts . also as mentioned above , the amount of ice formation 28 , ice shed 30 , and acm wear 60 can be monitored using the icing prediction process 26 over an extended period of time for calculating and monitoring the cumulative wear 64 for the acm 10 . this allows the acm 10 to be replaced or repaired prior to experiencing noticeable deleterious effects , thereby enhancing acm 10 performance and significantly reducing costs of replacing and / or repairing the acm 10 . in addition , the icing prediction process 26 can also reduce costs in situations where the acm 10 has not experienced substantial wear over a period of time , so that the acm 10 need not be prematurely repaired or replaced . as mentioned above , fig6 - 12 depict illustrative graphical examples for a particular empirical application involving the icing prediction process 26 . as will be appreciated , the icing prediction process 26 can be used in any one of numerous different applications , and these examples are for illustrative purposes only . first , fig6 depicts a turbine gas path temperature graph 94 , which is a graph of the turbine temperature 76 of the turbine 18 gas path , versus flight time . the turbine temperature 76 is preferably one of the turbine conditions data 36 , which is preferably determined at least in part by the acm model 34 using the aircraft operating data 32 , and most preferably also using boundary conditions 48 calculated by the performance model 40 . as shown in fig6 , the turbine temperature 76 values can be separated into separate values , for example through separate measurements and / or calculations , for turbine downstream temperature 96 and turbine upstream temperature 98 , among various other potential categories and sub - categories of the turbine conditions data 36 . fig6 shows the turbine downstream temperature 96 values on curve 100 , and the turbine upstream temperature 98 values on curve 102 . fig7 depicts a turbine entrained moisture graph 104 , which is a graph of the entrained moisture 80 versus flight time . the entrained moisture 80 is preferably calculated in the intermediate step 66 of step 56 of the icing prediction process 26 . as shown in fig7 , the entrained moisture 80 values can be separated into separate values for turbine downstream entrained moisture 106 and turbine upstream entrained moisture 108 , for example through separate measurements and / or calculations based at least in part on the values for turbine downstream temperature 96 and turbine upstream temperature 98 , respectively . fig7 shows the turbine downstream entrained moisture 106 values on curve 110 , and the turbine upstream entrained moisture 108 values on curve 112 . fig8 depicts an ice formation graph 114 , which is a graph of an amount of ice mass 116 on the turbine blades 22 versus flight time . the amount of ice mass 116 for any given point in time can be calculated based on the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 determined in step 56 of the icing prediction process 26 . for example , for any particular point in time , the amount of ice mass 116 can be calculated at least in part by subtracting the amount of ice shed 30 from the amount of ice formation 28 for the turbine blades 22 . as shown in fig8 , when graphed against flight time , the amount of ice mass 116 can be used in calculating a frequency of ice shedding 118 . the amount of ice mass 116 is measured in pounds in fig8 ; however , it will be appreciated that this and / or other variables can be measured in any number of different types of units . as shown , the frequency of ice shedding 118 in this particular example ranged from 0 . 067 hz to 16 hz . fig9 - 12 depict an extension of the application of fig6 - 8 , in which a time lag is introduced to the model . a time lag can be useful , for example , in incorporating effects of thermal dynamics upstream of the acm 10 . for example , certain aircraft operating data 32 and / or turbine conditions data 36 may have a delayed effect on the acm 10 or the turbine blades 22 thereof , which can be more accurately represented by a model incorporating a time lag . fig9 depicts , for illustrative purposes , a first order lag ( fol ) turbine entrained moisture graph 120 . as with the turbine entrained moisture graph 104 of fig7 , the fol turbine entrained moisture graph 120 also is a graph of entrained moisture 80 , separated into turbine downstream entrained moisture 106 and turbine upstream entrained moisture 108 , versus flight time in seconds . however , the fol turbine entrained moisture graph 120 includes a first order lag for turbine temperature 76 , with a time constant of 60 seconds . fig9 shows the turbine downstream entrained moisture 106 on curve 122 , and the turbine upstream entrained moisture 108 on curve 124 . it will be appreciated that various other time constants , lag modeling techniques and / or other techniques can be used to simulate time - delayed effects or other dynamic conditions affecting the acm 10 , and that such techniques can be used in fig9 as well as fig1 - 12 below , which , for illustrative purposes only , also include a first order time lag for turbine temperature 76 . fig1 depicts a first order lag ( fol ) ice formation and shedding graph 126 . as with the ice formation graph 114 of fig8 , the fol ice formation graph 126 also is a graph of the amount of ice mass 116 on the turbine blades 22 versus flight time , which can be used in calculating the frequency of ice shedding 118 . however , similar to fig9 , the fol ice formation graph 126 of fig1 also includes a first order lag for turbine temperature 76 , with a time constant of 60 seconds . as shown , in this particular example the frequency of ice shedding 118 ranged from 0 . 0106 hz to 0 . 124 hz with the first order time lag . fig1 depicts a first order lag ( fol ) shedding frequency graph 128 , which is a graph of the frequency of ice shedding 118 versus flight time in seconds , using the first order lag for turbine temperature 76 of fig9 - 10 . the values for the frequency of ice shedding 118 depicted in fig1 can be extracted from the fol ice formation graph 126 , as shown in fig1 - 11 . similarly , fig1 depicts a first order lag ( fol ) maximum ice graph 130 , which is a graph of values for a maximum amount of ice 132 that can accumulate before shedding occurs versus flight time , using the first order lag for turbine temperature 76 of fig9 - 11 as shown , the maximum amount of ice 132 is measured in pounds in fig1 . however , as mentioned above , it will be appreciated that the values , as for any of the other variables , can be measured in any number of different types of units . regardless of the units of measurement , the maximum amount of ice 132 can be calculated from the amount of ice mass 116 from the ( fol ) ice formation graph 126 of fig1 . as with various other variables mentioned above , the maximum amount of ice 132 before shedding can also serve as a valuable tool , for example , in controlling operating conditions of the acm 10 so as to control the amount of ice shed 30 from the acm turbine blades 22 , among various other potential applications . turning now to fig1 , another application of the icing prediction process 26 is shown . in the particular embodiment depicted in fig1 , the amount of cumulative wear 64 for the acm 10 can be determined through various calculations based at least in part on the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 , and / or various related variable values 134 , such as those depicted in fig6 - 12 above . first , an amount of imbalance force ( over time ) 136 can be calculated based on the values for the amount of ice formation 28 and ice shed 30 , and / or from related variable values 134 such as the amount of ice mass 116 , the frequency of ice shedding 118 , and the maximum amount of ice 132 . the amount of imbalance force 136 can in turn be used to calculate an amount of transmitted force ( over time ) 138 to the journal bearings 24 . the amount of transmitted force 138 can in turn be used , alone or in conjunction with the aircraft operating data 32 and / or other variables , to determine an amount of total force ( over time ) 140 to the journal bearings 24 . in addition , a bearing load capacity 142 for the journal bearings 24 can be calculated from the aircraft operating data 32 and / or other variables . finally , the amount of cumulative wear 64 for the acm 10 can be calculated at least in part from the total force 140 and the bearing load capacity 142 for the journal bearings 24 . as mentioned above , fig1 shows one application of the icing prediction process 26 for illustrative purposes only . it will be appreciated that the amount of cumulative wear 64 can be calculated using any one of numerous techniques using the results of the icing prediction process 26 , and it will further be appreciated that the icing prediction process 26 may have numerous different applications . while at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention , it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist . it should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability , or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention , it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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a multimedia unit ( stb ) as represented schematically by fig1 includes a receiver demultiplexer module ( rec , dmux ) in charge to filter the different received encrypted digital data streams containing essentially data of audio / video services a / v , control messages ecm , management messages emm and service information si . the control messages ecm are encrypted with a key k known by the security module sm , and contain at least one control word cw used as a decryption key of the audio / video services a / v data and at least one access condition ca . these control messages ecm are forwarded towards the access control module cak and then towards the security module sm for processing . the control words cw are extracted from the control message ecm and decrypted by the security module sm only when the access conditions ca contained in the message ecm correspond to the rights stored in the security module sm . they are then forwarded to the decryption module desc receiving the content data of audio / video services a / v from the receiver demultiplexer module ( rec , dmux ). the decryption module desc decrypts these data a / v in order to provide them in clear to the output of the multimedia unit . the management messages emm , also extracted from the input stream , are forwarded towards the security module sm allowing renewal and / or updating of the rights , which are stored therein . the service information si extracted from the input stream is processed by the access control module cak in order to create an electronic programs guide allowing the user to select some broadcast services and to access data describing these services . these data comprise information such as the broadcasting timetable , the type of service , the cost for an impulse purchase ( ippv ) of a television program , the rights to access the service , etc . the electronic program guide uses the rights information stored in the memory m 1 of the access control module cak . it should be noted that the memory m 1 of the access control module cak stores a copy of the rights table td contained in a memory m 2 of the security module . the right table td of which an example is shown in fig2 comprises lines numbered by an index in corresponding each to a right and columns containing the access conditions ca and the descriptions d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , . . . of rights d from each line . these descriptions d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , . . . comprise a service or program identifier , temporal data of validity of the access to the service or to the program such as dates for the beginning of validity and the expiry of the access , access rules such as a number of authorized access , content recording possibilities , etc . fig2 shows the mechanism for searching an index corresponding to an access right to a television channel executed by a decoder or more precisely by the software installed in the access control module cak . the user selects for example the channel 2 by means of a program guide displayed on a screen resulting from the services information table si provided by the received data stream and then stored in a memory of the access control module cak . the information table si associates each channel number c with a descriptor containing information such as the name n of the channel , the characteristics of broadcast programs in this channel as well as the access conditions ca to this channel . in the example of fig2 , when the user selects the channel 2 , the access control module cak explores the services information table si in order to determine an access condition ca for this channel and extracts for example the access condition ca defined by a code 0010 . this code 0010 is then used to search a right in the rights table td , and in case of success , the access control module cak transmits an index in = 1 to the security module sm . the latter , having the same rights table td in the memory m 2 , initiates the control of rights by comparing the code 0010 designated by the index in = 1 with the code of the access condition contained in the ecm control message that it has previously received and decrypted with the key k . when the comparison gives a positive result , i . e . when the codes of the access conditions ca are equivalent , the security module can authorize the decryption of the data of the selected program with the control word cw also extracted from the ecm control message . usually , the release of the control word cw results from a more advanced verification of the rights than the simple verification of equivalence between a code of an access condition ca from a control message ecm and the code designated by the index in in the rights table td . in fact , the security module sm additionally verifies the signature of all the rights included in the control messages ecm . this signature is decrypted with a key of the security module for obtaining a digest , and then the digest is compared with a digest calculated by the security module with the rights included in the control message ecm . when these two digests are equivalent , the security module considers that the rights of the ecm messages are authentic . the verification also concerns parameters associated to the rights contained in the rights tables td such as the temporal data of rights validity in respect to the current date and hour , the numbers and access types previously carried out , etc . when all these verifications produce positive results , the security module sm authorizes the decryption of the data of the selected program . it should be noted that the descriptor des of a channel can contain several access conditions ca corresponding each one , for example , to a given subscription type ( monthly , annual , limited to certain programs etc .). the control message ecm transmitted in the selected channel further contains one or more access conditions necessary to access the program . when the user passes from channel 2 to channel 6 , the access control module cak provides the index in = 4 to the security module because the access conditions ca to the channel 6 are not the same than those of channel 2 . in fact , the code 0013 from services information table si gives the index in = 4 in the rights table td . according to an embodiment , shown by fig3 , the rights table td is completed by a list s of services or programs authorized by the access conditions ca . to each list s of services corresponds a description of a right d defining , for example , a period of access to the service or the program , an number of authorized access , the possibilities of recording and / or of copying the content , etc . the access conditions ca contained in the control message ecm allow determining an index in corresponding to a list of services or programs for which a right d is attributed to and defined by a description d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , . . . . according to an embodiment , the access control module cak transmits to the security module the received control message ecm of the selected channel accompanied with the index in allowing determining the access right in the rights table td of the security module sm . according to a further embodiment , the access control module cak stores the results of the index in searches in a memory in the form of a transactions table indicating a search number , the channel number and the index found during this search . thus , during a channel change , the access control module cak firstly consults this transactions table in order to determine directly the index in of the right d to access the new channel . if the index in is not in the transactions table , the access control module cak explores the services information table si in order to determine the access condition ca code allowing searching the corresponding index in on the rights table td . this embodiment allows saving the time for extracting the access conditions ca code from the services information table si and for searching the corresponding index in in the rights table td . during frequent commutations ( zapping ) of channels often previously selected , this embodiment allows reducing at maximum the access rights evaluation time , which is the aim intended by the present invention . in this process , the access control module cak contributes to a fast search of the access right by making available a right index in to the security module sm . this index in allows avoiding a systematic search by the security module sm in the whole rights table td . however , such search is carried out in the case where the security module sm does not receive any index because of the absence of the right corresponding to the selected channel in the rights table td . this situation occurs for example when the user of the multimedia unit attempts to select a channel or service for which he does not have sufficient access rights , or when the rights table td stored in the memory m 1 of the access control module cak is obsolete or invalid . in such a case , the security module decrypts the control message ecm then compares the access conditions contained in the message with the rights stored in the rights table td , verifies said rights and decides to authorize the decryption of the control word cw if the configuration of the other stored rights allows it . for example a right to access several channels broadcasting football games can involve a temporary access right to a channel broadcasting rugby games . if the configuration of the other rights is incompatible or because of exclusion due to a parental control for example , the security module sm rejects the authorization for decrypting the control word cw . according to an option , the security module sm stores the index in of access conditions ca , which have been verified successfully , i . e . those corresponding to the rights whose results of the comparison with the rights of the control messages ecm have been positive . at reception of an index in , the security module sm firstly controls if this index in has already been provided previously by the access control module cak before accessing the rights table td stored in the memory m 2 . according to another option , when no index is transmitted to the security module by the access control module cak and when the index in of access conditions ca which have been successfully controlled are stored , the security module can initiate the control of the rights by using a previously stored index . this option also allows the acceleration of the exploration of the rights table by the security module in respect to a systematic exploration of the rights table that would be carried out when no index is transmitted or stored by the security module . according to an implementation , the operations of exploring the service information table si , of extracting an access condition ca to the selected service in the service information table si and of searching in the rights table td the index in corresponding to the right d associated with the selected service are carried out by a specific rights optimization module connected to the access control module cak . this rights optimization module driven by the access control module cak can be implemented in several manners namely : integrated in the multimedia unit stb on the access control module cak level which it collaborates with for the quick determination of access rights to the data broadcasted thanks to the previous search of the index in . integrated in the security module sm that is generally in the form of a removable smart card inserted in a reader connected to the stb multimedia unit or in the form of a fixed integrated circuit bound to a main board of the multimedia unit stb . the rights optimization module accesses at the same time to the rights table td stored in the memory m 2 of the security module sm and to the electronic programs guide generated by the access control module cak on the base of the service information table si . integrated in an improved security module as described in the european patent ep1766588b1 comprising at least two processors each connected to non - volatile programmable and erasable memories containing data and to random access memories used for the temporary storage of data during processing . in this type of security module , one of the processors is completely insolated with respect to accesses outward the security module thanks to buffer memories . this particular configuration allows increased security and protection for the operations of evaluation , processing and control of the access rights . the rights optimization module is preferably stored on a non - volatile memory connected to the isolated processor accessing a secured memory containing the rights table td . | 6Physics
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a so - called four cycle - type image forming apparatus 1 which is a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 . in the image forming apparatus 1 , recording paper is fed to a paper feed tray 2 where a feed roller 3 takes out the recording paper one at a time , and then a first conveying roller 4 and a second conveying roller 5 send the recording paper to between a transfer belt 6 and a transfer roller 7 . a toner image is formed on the transfer belt 6 by an imaging section 8 , and the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper by electrostatic force of the transfer roller 7 . then the recording paper is heated by a fixing roller 9 to fix the toner image before being discharged out of the apparatus by a discharge roller 10 . the imaging section 8 can form a toner image from four different developing color toners ( developers ), y ( yellow ), m ( magenta ), c ( cyan ), and k ( black ), and has a developing unit 11 and a photoconductor ( image carrier ) 12 . the image forming apparatus 1 has a sheet tension sensor 13 which detects the tension level of the recording paper set between the transfer roller 7 and the fixing roller 9 . further , in order to form a toner image on both sides , the image forming apparatus 1 includes a double - side printing unit 14 which turns the recording paper over and sends it to the second conveying roller 5 . the image forming apparatus 1 also includes a control panel 30 , which constitutes a selection section and a confirmation section , on the upper face of the apparatus main frame . the control panel 30 is constituted from , for example , an color liquid crystal touch panel which allows setting of image printing conditions ( later - described accent color mode , magenta monochrome mode , cyan monochrome mode , combination mode , etc .) and prior indication of output images . it is to be noted that selection of the accent mode and the like may be conducted in , for example , an external device , such as personal computers , which outputs image data to the image forming apparatus . the developing unit 11 and the photoconductor 12 are shown in fig2 in detail . an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 12 by unshown charger and exposure device . the developing unit 11 is a rotatable drum - type unit having developing devices 15 y , 15 m , 15 c and 15 k for respectively housing toners of four colors , y , m , c and k , which are placed every 90 degrees around a revolving shaft 17 , so that the toners of respective developing colors are fed to the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 12 to form ( develop ) a toner image . the respective developing devices 15 y , 15 m , 15 c and 15 k have developing rollers ( developer carriers ) 16 y , 16 m , 16 c and 16 k which can come into contact with the photoconductor 12 at a rotation position of the developing unit 11 , so that the toners retained on the surfaces of the developing rollers 16 y , 16 m , 16 c and 16 k in a uniform laminar state are attached to the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 12 . the development unit 11 is rotated normally or reversely in an illustrated arrow a or b direction , in order to serially form images of respective developing colors , y , m , c and k on the photoconductor 12 during image formation . fig2 shows the developing unit 11 in a standby position when the image forming apparatus 1 is not in image forming operation . in the standby position , the developing unit 11 stays in a position which is behind the position where a black developing roller 16 k comes into contact with the photoconductor 12 by theta degrees ( e . g ., 45 degrees ) in the rotation direction during image formation shown by arrow a . the perspective outside view of the developing unit 11 is shown in fig3 . the developing unit 11 is engaged with a developing unit driving gear 19 , which is driven by a developing unit drive motor ( driving section ) 18 , at one end so that the developing unit 11 is driven normally or reversely by the developing unit drive motor 18 in the arrow a or b direction in fig2 . the developing unit 11 has developing roller driving gears 20 y , 20 m ( unshown ), 20 c ( unshown ), and 20 k which rotate developing rollers 16 y , 16 m , 16 c and 16 k , respectively , as shown in fig4 . further , the imaging section 8 of the image forming apparatus 1 has a primary driving gear 22 driven by a developing roller drive motor 21 and a developing roller drive motor 21 which are secured independently of the developing unit 11 , so that when one of the developing roller driving gears 20 y , 20 m , 20 c and 20 k gears with the primary driving gear 22 at the rotation position of the developing unit 11 , one of the developing rollers 16 y , 16 m , 16 c and 16 k is rotated by the developing roller drive motor 21 . fig5 shows the association of respective components of the image forming apparatus 1 in terms of control . the entire operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is controlled by a cpu ( control section , determination section , and calculation section ) 24 . the cpu 24 emits a sheet transportation command signal to a feed roller 3 , a first conveying roller 4 , a second conveying roller 5 , a transfer roller 7 , a fixing roller 9 and a discharge roller 10 . the cpu 24 also emits a secondary transfer command signal for bringing the transfer roller 7 into tight contact with the transfer belt 6 and a fixation command signal which instructs the fixing roller 9 to maintain predetermined temperature . the sheet tension sensor 13 detects the tension level of the recording paper set between the transfer roller 7 and the fixing roller 9 , and outputs it to the cpu 24 . the cpu 24 controls the rotational speed of the fixing roller 9 in order to adjust the recording paper so as to provide suitable tension level . the cpu 24 instructs the imaging section 8 to form a toner image in time with transportation of the recording paper . the imaging section 8 rotates the developing unit 11 where necessary , forms toner images of predetermined developing colors on the photoconductor 12 , and primarily transfers the toner images from the photoconductor 12 to the transfer belt 6 . description is now given of the control performed by the cpu . fig6 is a flow chart showing the flow of a main routine , whereas fig7 is a flow chart showing the flow of a normal mode routine in fig6 . as shown in fig6 , at turn on , first , initial setting , such as warm - up operation and image stabilization control , is performed ( step s 1 ), and then the apparatus is in standby until a print command is issued ( step s 2 ). for example , upon reception of a print command and image data to be printed ( denoted as “ print data ” in fig6 as well as in other drawings ) from an external device such as personal computers , the image data is expanded to respective color data sets corresponding to y , m , c and k ( step s 3 ). then , it is determined whether or not an accent color mode is selected with respect to the image data ( step s 4 ). if the accent color mode is selected , an accent color mode routine is performed ( step s 5 ), whereas if the accent color mode is not selected , then a normal mode routine is performed ( step s 6 ). thus , processing of the image data for the first page is completed , and then it is determined whether or not a following page which should be processed in succession is present ( step s 7 ). if the following page is present , then the procedure returns to the image data processing of the step s 3 , whereas if no following page is present , then the apparatus returns to a print command waiting state of the step s 2 . in the normal mode routine as shown in fig7 , first , the developing unit 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow a by only 45 degrees from a standby position shown in fig2 , and is stopped in a developing position where a developing roller 16 y of a developing device 15 y faces the photoconductor 12 . this results in formation of a yellow image on the photoconductor 12 by the developing device 15 y ( step s 8 ). then , the developing unit 11 is sequentially rotated and stopped every 90 degrees in the direction of arrow a so that a magenta image , a cyan image , and a black image are sequentially formed on the photoconductor 12 by the respective developing devices 15 m , 15 c and 15 k which have reached the developing position ( step s 9 - s 11 ). the toner images formed on the photoconductor 12 are sequentially transferred on top of each other onto the transfer belt 6 , and then are collectively subjected to secondary transfer onto a sheet . once image formation processing of all four colors is completed , the developing unit 11 is returned to the standby position , and the processing is ended . next , before the accent color mode routine will be described in concrete , brief description is given to the control over image formation without using one or two developing colors based on image data containing a portion carrying an accent color . here in the accent color mode , the toner amount needed per dot when ymck colors , or reference colors are printed in one color is set as 100 %, and a ratio of the respective toner amounts of ymck colors used per dot to express the color of a certain output image is defined as a ymck concentration ratio . specific examples of the accent colors referred herein include images created by word , excel , power point ( registered trademark ) and the like , which are the software by u . s . microsoft corp ., in which a part of texts is emphasized by a color different from the color of other parts ( black ), such as deep red , and in which lines representing data of a graph view inserted in a part of the image are drawn in a color different from the color of other parts ( black ), such as brown . there are 40 kinds of standard colors generally used as accent colors in the word and the like , including , as shown in the table in fig8 , black , deep red , red , pink , rose , brown , orange , light orange , gold , beige , olive , deep yellow , lime , yellow , light yellow , deep green , green , sea green , bright green , light green , deep bluish green , bluish green , aqua , cyan , light cyan , deep blue , blue , light blue , sky blue , pale blue , indigo , blue gray , purple , plum , lavender , 80 % gray , 50 % gray , 40 % gray , 25 % gray , and white . corresponding to these respective colors , concentration ratios of ymck colors and relative concentration ratios of ymck colors with a highest concentration color set as 100 are shown in a table of fig8 . in this relative concentration ratio , sections shown with slanting lines are those having a relative concentration ratio of 40 % or less . there are 8 kinds of colors , in which one out of four ymck colors has a relative concentration ratio of 40 % or less , and these colors include pink , yellow , light yellow , cyan , light cyan , pale blue , 50 % gray , and 40 % gray . there are 12 kinds of colors in which two out of four ymck colors have a relative concentration ratio of 40 % or less , and these colors include deep red , brown , gold , deep yellow , green , sea green , deep bluish green , bluish green , deep blue , blue gray , purple , and plum . these 8 colors and 12 colors add up to 20 colors , which is equivalent to half the total 40 colors . as for these 20 kinds of colors , even when development with developing colors having a relative concentration ratio of 40 % or less are omitted or excluded and approximate colors are substituted for these developing colors , resultant output images provide mostly the same colors in appearance as those users desire , thereby implementing satisfactory color level . now , table 1 below shows typical examples of 8 kinds among the 20 kinds outputted in the standard colors and in the colors substituting for one or two developing colors having an equivalent concentration percentage of 40 % or less , which have been confirmed to have satisfactory color level by visual inspection . in table 1 , each ymck numeric value expresses the cmyk concentration ratio on the left - hand side in the table of fig8 . therefore , regarding the 20 kinds of colors , sparing the development operation with at least one developing color having an equivalent concentration percentage of 40 % or less , i . e ., preventing the corresponding developing device from stopping at the developing position and operating therein make it possible to suppress toner consumption , as well as to shorten output time and to reduce noise level due to the decrease of development operation . although description has been given in the assumption that the relative concentration ratio for allowing the development operation to be omitted should be 40 %, this is merely an example and the specific numeric value can be selected or changed on a control panel 30 or with a personal computer as users desire . moreover , an output image in the case of omitting development with one or two developing colors may be displayed on the control panel 30 for confirmation before printing . in this way , it becomes possible to modify the setting before outputting if an output image greatly varies from the color output that a user expected . description is now given of the flow of the accent color mode routine in detail with reference to fig9 . first , a counter y , a counter m , a counter c , and a counter k which count the dot number of respective colors are respectively set to 0 , while a value n and a value l in n row l line concerning all the dots formed in the whole image formation region are each set to 1 ( step s 20 ). then , respective color data of a dot in n row l line ( i . e ., herein the first row first line ) is acquired from ymck data sets obtained by the expansion processing of the step s 3 ( step s 21 ). a relative concentration ratio of y is calculated from the acquired respective color data ( step s 22 ). then , it is determined whether or not the relative concentration ratio of y is larger than 40 % ( step s 23 ). if the relative concentration ratio of y is larger than 40 %, the counter y increases the count value by only 1 ( step s 24 ), whereas if the relative concentration ratio of y is 40 % or less , the count value is not increased . hereafter , in the similar way , a relative concentration ratio of m is calculated ( step s 25 ), and it is determined whether or not the relative concentration ratio of m is larger than 40 % ( step s 26 ). if the relative concentration ratio of m is larger than 40 %, the counter m increases the count value by only 1 ( step s 27 ), whereas if the relative concentration ratio of m is 40 % or less , the count value is not increased . in the same manner , a relative concentration ratio of c is calculated ( step s 28 ), and it is determined whether or not the relative concentration ratio of c is larger than 40 % ( step s 29 ). if the relative concentration ratio of c is larger than 40 %, the counter c increases the count value by only 1 ( step s 30 ), whereas if the relative concentration ratio of c is 40 % or less , the count value is not increased . further in the same manner , a relative concentration ratio of k is calculated ( step s 31 ), and it is determined whether or not the relative concentration ratio of k is larger than 40 % ( step s 32 ). if the relative concentration ratio of k is larger than 40 %, the counter k increases the count value by only 1 ( step s 33 ), whereas if the relative concentration ratio of k is 40 % or less , the count value is not increased . next , the counter value n is increased by only 1 ( step s 34 ), and it is determined whether or not the value n is a predetermined value or more ( step s 35 ). the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot rows determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value n is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 21 to s 34 is repeatedly performed on all the dots after the second dot in l line ( herein the first line ). if it is determined that the value n is the predetermined value or more , then the value n is reset to 1 ( step s 36 ), the value l is increased by only 1 ( step s 37 ), and it is determined whether or not the value l is the predetermined value or more ( step s 38 ). the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot lines determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value l is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 21 to s 37 is repeatedly performed , by which the respective counters y , m , and c and k count the number of the dots whose ymck relative concentration ratio is 40 % or less among all the dots in n row l line in an image for one sheet . then it is determined whether or not the counted value of the counter y is 100 or more ( step s 39 ), and if the value is 100 or more , then y printing is performed ( step s 40 ), whereas if the value is smaller than 100 , then y printing is omitted . herein , while the value “ 100 ” is set up in consideration of the influence of errors which may be included in each of dot data and the like , it should be naturally understood that the value is not limited to this numeric value , and may be changed suitably . hereafter , it is determined in the similar way whether or not the counted values of the counters m , c , and k are 100 or more ( step s 41 , s 43 , s 45 ). if the value is 100 or more , m printing , c printing , and k printing are performed ( step s 42 , s 44 , s 46 ), whereas if the value is smaller than 100 , m printing , c printing , and k printing are omitted . thus , according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment , when the accent color mode is selected and when at least any one of the relative concentration ratios of ymck in the accent color is 40 % or less , image formation is controlled so that the toner of the color whose relative concentration ratio is 40 % or less is not used . that is , it becomes possible to suppress toner consumption and reduce a sound level by sparing the operation of the developing devices 15 y , 15 m , 15 c , and 15 k corresponding to developing colors which are not used . moreover , in the so - called four cycle - type image forming apparatus 1 , omitting the development with at least 1 color of toner as mentioned above means that a developing device which is dispensed from development can pass without stopping at the developing position , so that the time necessary for outputting an image of one sheet can be shortened . description is now given of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention . since the second embodiment is similar in structure to the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment except control by the cpu 24 , description below will be dedicated to the different control . the cpu 24 in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is capable of executing a magenta monochrome mode . in the magenta monochrome mode , when an accent color is included in a part of image data for one sheet for example , image formation of an accent color section is performed only with a magenta toner if a respective color concentration ratio of the accent color is in the numeric value range of c : 0 to 17 %, m : 65 to 100 %, y : 36 to 100 %, and k : 0 to 4 %. for more specific explanation , fig1 shows a color palette ( standard colors ) often used in word , excel , and powerpoint as well as a table presenting a concentration ratio of cmyk for 12 kinds of colors ( red varieties ) seen in ( 1 ) to ( 12 ) in the color palette . the range of the concentration ratio of these 12 kinds of colors is c : 0 to 17 %, m : 65 to 100 %, y : 36 to 100 %, and k : 0 to 4 %. even when only magenta toner is used in printing to express the difference of these 12 kinds of reddish colors by their shades , the accent color in the outputted image provides mostly the same colors in appearance as those users desire , thereby implementing satisfactory color level . therefore , when printing in this magenta monochrome mode , compared with the case of printing in normal mode , development with one through three developing colors can be omitted , which makes it possible to suppress toner consumption and to reduce a sound level . a control flow chart of the magenta monochrome mode is shown in fig1 a and 11b . in this control , first , initial setting , such as warm - up operation and image stabilization control , is performed ( step s 50 ), and then the apparatus is in standby until a print command is issued ( step s 51 ). upon reception of a print command and image data to be printed from an external devices , such as personal computers , a value n and a value l of n row l line concerning all the dots formed in the whole image formation region in one recording paper are each set to 1 ( step s 52 ), and the image data is expanded into respective color data sets corresponding to y , m , c and k colors and stored in a bit map memory ( step s 53 ). in this case , if the image data is a character image , then the data is replaced with the data which includes only k color but not y , m , and c colors before being stored in the bit map memory . next , y data on y color of a dot in n row l line ( i . e ., herein the first row first line ) is first acquired from ymck data obtained by the expansion processing ( step s 54 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the acquired y data is in the range from 36 % to 100 % ( step s 55 , s 56 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 57 , whereas if it is less than 36 %, then the procedure proceeds to a later - described step s 67 . in the case where the y concentration ratio is in the range , then m data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 57 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the m data is in the range from 65 % to 100 % ( step s 58 , s 59 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 60 , whereas if it is less than 65 %, then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 67 . in the case where the m concentration ratio is in the range , then c data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 60 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the c data is in the range from 0 % to 17 % ( step s 61 , s 62 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 63 , whereas if it is more than 17 %, then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 67 . in the case where the c concentration ratio is in the range , then k data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 63 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the k data is in the range from 0 % to 4 % ( step s 64 , s 65 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 66 , whereas if it is more than 4 %, then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 67 . in the case where the k concentration ratio is in this range , yck data among respective color data in the memory is replaced with 0 ( step s 66 ). that is , this dot is formed based only on m data , and the shade thereof will be expressed according to the m concentration ratio . next , the counter value n is increased by only 1 ( step s 71 ), and it is determined whether or not the value n is a predetermined value or more ( step s 72 ). the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot rows determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value n is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 54 to s 71 is repeatedly performed on all the dots after the second dot in l line ( herein the first line ). if it is determined that the value n is the predetermined value or more , then the value n is reset to 1 ( step s 73 ), the value l is increased by only 1 ( step s 74 ), and it is determined whether or not the value l is a predetermined value or more ( step s 75 ). the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot lines determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value l is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 54 to s 74 is repeatedly performed , by which checking is completed which determines whether or not the ymck concentration ratio of all the dots in n row l line in an image for one sheet is within the predetermined range . when any one of the ymck concentration ratios is not within the predetermined range , then it is determined whether or not the y concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 67 ), whether or not the m concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 68 ), whether or not the c concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 69 ) and whether or not the k concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 70 ), respectively , and if all the results are yes , then the procedure returns to the step s 71 . then only m printing and k printing are performed ( step s 81 , s 82 ), while y printing and c printing are omitted . and after yc printing is completed , it is determined whether or not a following page is present ( step s 83 ), and if the following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 52 , whereas if no following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 51 . if one of the ymck concentration ratios are not in the predetermined range and any one of the determination results in the step s 67 to step s 70 is no , then data on respective colors of ymck is re - acquired , the respective color data in the memory is updated , and printing with the respective colors of ymck is performed in sequence based on the updated ymck data ( step s 76 to s 80 ). once ymck printing is completed , it is determined whether or not a following page is present ( step s 83 ), and if the following page is present , the procedure returns to the step s 52 , whereas if no following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 51 . description is now given of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention . since the second embodiment is similar in structure to the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment except control by the cpu 24 , description below will be dedicated to the different control . the cpu 24 in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment is capable of executing a cyan monochrome mode . in the cyan monochrome mode , when an accent color is included in a part of image data for one sheet for example , image formation of an accent color section is performed only with a cyan toner if cm color concentration ratio of the accent color is in the numeric value range of c : 57 to 91 % and m : 34 to 81 %. for more specific explanation , fig1 shows a color palette ( standard colors ) often used in word , excel , and powerpoint as well as a table presenting a concentration ratio of cmyk for 12 kinds of colors ( blue varieties ) seen in ( 1 ) to ( 12 ) in the color palette . the range of the concentration ratio of these 12 kinds of colors is c : 57 to 91 %, m : 34 to 81 %, y : 0 %, and k : 0 %. even when only cyan toner is used in printing to express the difference of these 12 kinds of blue colors by their shades , the accent color in the outputted image provides mostly the same colors in appearance as those users desire , thereby implementing satisfactory color level . therefore , when printing in this cyan monochrome mode , compared with the case of printing in normal mode , development with one or two developing colors can be omitted , which makes it possible to suppress toner consumption and to reduce a sound level . a control flow chart of the cyan monochrome mode is shown in fig1 a and 13b . in this control , first , initial setting , such as warm - up operation and image stabilization control , is performed ( step s 90 ), and then the apparatus is in standby until a print command is issued ( step s 91 ). upon reception of a print command and image data to be printed from an external devices , such as personal computers , a value n and a value l in n row l line concerning all the dots formed in the whole image formation region in one recording paper are each set to 1 ( step s 92 ), and the image data is expanded into respective color data sets corresponding to y , m , c and k colors and stored in a bit map memory ( step s 93 ). in this case , if the image data is a character image , then the data is replaced with the data which includes only k color but not y , m , and c colors before being stored in the bit map memory . next , y data on y color of a dot in n row l line ( i . e ., herein the first row first line ) is first acquired from ymck data obtained by the expansion processing ( step s 94 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the acquired y data is 0 % ( step s 95 ), and if it is 0 %, the procedure proceeds to the following step s 96 , whereas if it is not 0 %, then the procedure proceeds to a later - described step s 105 . in the case where the y concentration ratio is 0 %, then m data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 96 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the m data is in the range from 34 % to 81 % ( step s 97 , s 98 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 99 , whereas if it is out of this range , then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 105 . in the case where the m concentration ratio is in the range , then c data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 99 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the c data is in the range from 57 % to 91 % ( step s 100 , s 101 ), and if it is in this range , the procedure proceeds to the following step s 102 , whereas if it is out of this range , then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 105 . in the case where the c concentration ratio is in the range , then k data on a dot in the first row first line is acquired ( step s 102 ). it is determined whether or not a concentration ratio of the k data is 0 % ( step s 103 ), and if it is 0 %, the procedure proceeds to the following step s 104 , whereas if it is not 0 %, then the procedure proceeds to the later - described step s 105 . in the case where the k concentration ratio is 0 %, m data among respective color data in the memory is replaced with 0 ( step s 104 ). that is , this dot is formed based only on c data , and the shade thereof will be expressed according to the c concentration ratio . next , the counter value n is increased by only 1 ( step s 109 ), and it is determined whether or not the value n is a predetermined value or more ( step s 110 ). the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot rows determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value n is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 94 to s 109 is repeatedly performed on all the dots after the second dot in l line ( herein the first line ). if it is determined that the value n is the predetermined value or more , then the value n is reset to 1 ( step s 111 ), the value l is increased by only 1 ( step s 112 ), and it is determined whether or not the value l is the predetermined value or more ( step s 113 ) the predetermined value herein refers to the number of dot lines determined in association with the whole image formation region set up for the recording paper . if it is determined that the value l is smaller than the predetermined value , the processing of the steps s 54 to s 74 is repeatedly performed , by which checking of the ymck concentration ratio of all the dots in n row l line in an image for one sheet is completed . in the steps s 95 , s 97 , s 98 , s 100 , s 101 and s 103 , when any one of the determination results , that is , the y concentration ratio is not 0 %, the mc concentration ratio is not within the respective predetermined ranges , and the k concentration ratio is not 0 %, is positive , then it is respectively determined whether or not the y concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 105 ), whether or not the m concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 106 ), whether or not the c concentration ratio is 0 % ( step s 107 ), and whether or not the k concentration ratio is 0 ( step s 108 ). if any one of the determination results is yes , then the procedure returns to the step s 109 . and only c printing and k printing are performed ( step s 119 , s 120 ), while y printing and m printing are omitted . and after ck printing is completed , it is determined whether or not a following page is present ( step s 121 ), and if the following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 92 , whereas if no following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 91 . if one of the ymck concentration ratios are not in the predetermined range and any one of the determination results in the steps s 95 , s 97 , s 98 , s 100 , s 101 , s 103 is no , then data on respective colors of ymck is re - acquired , the respective color data in the memory is updated , and printing with the respective colors of ymck is performed in sequence based on the updated ymck data ( step s 115 to s 118 ). once ymck printing is completed , it is determined whether or not a following page is present ( step s 121 ), and if the following page is present , the procedure returns to the step s 92 , whereas if no following page is present , then the procedure returns to the step s 91 . description is now given of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . since the second embodiment is similar in structure to the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment except control by the cpu 24 , description below will be dedicated to the different control . the cpu 24 in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is capable of executing control in a cm mode which is a combination of the above - mentioned cyan monochrome mode and the magenta monochrome mode . in the cm mode , when an accent color is included in a part of image data for one sheet for example , the same determination as the cyan monochrome mode and the magenta monochrome mode is made in association with the accent color , and then formation of the image including the accent color section is performed with the development of at least one color including y color being eliminated . although the concrete control flow is shown in fig1 a , 14 b and 14 c , each step in this flow is the same as those of the cyan monochrome mode shown in fig1 mentioned above and the magenta monochrome mode shown in fig1 , and therefore description is only given of the association between each step of fig1 a , 14 b and 14 c and each step of fig1 and 11 to prevent redundant explanation . steps s 130 to 133 in fig1 a correspond to the steps s 90 to 93 in fig1 , or the steps s 50 to s 53 in fig1 . steps s 134 to s 166 in fig1 a and 14b correspond to the steps s 94 to 113 in fig1 . step s 144 to 171 in fig1 b and 14c correspond to the steps s 54 to s 80 in fig1 . further , steps s 172 to s 175 in fig1 b correspond to the steps s 119 to s 121 in fig1 in combination with the step s 81 in fig1 . although in each of the embodiments , description has been given of the so - called four cycle - type image forming apparatus , the present invention is applicable to a so - called tandem type image forming apparatus in which four developing devices respectively corresponding to ymck and including a photoconductor are placed in a fixed position in parallel at specified intervals along a transfer belt . although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the spirit and the scope of the present invention , they should be construed as being included therein . | 6Physics
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some implementations of the described embodiments are discussed below . while specific implementations are discussed , it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only . a person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention . fig1 schematically illustrates an exemplary method ( 100 ) according to an aspect of the invention . the method may comprise the steps of : at an authentication client device locally determining ( 110 ) scores for a set of risk factors , at the authentication client device performing ( 120 ) a first client - side risk analysis using these risk factor scores , at the authentication client device summarising ( 130 ) the result of this first client - side risk analysis in a short risk information bit string , at the authentication client device generating ( 140 ) a one - time password by cryptographically combining a dynamic variable with a secret key that is shared with a verification server and merging the risk information bit string with the result of the cryptographic combination , sending ( 150 ) the one - time password to the verification server , at the verification server extracting ( 160 ) the risk information bit string from the received one - time password , at the verification server cryptographically verifying ( 170 ) the one - time password using the shared secret key , at the verification server performing ( 180 ) a second risk analysis using the extracted risk information bit string , taking appropriate action ( 190 ) depending on the result of the second risk analysis and the cryptographic verification of the one - time password . the above - described teachings may be implemented in apparatus form ( e . g ., a client side apparatus performing a risk analysis and / or a host - side apparatus performing a risk analysis ), system form ( a client - side , host - side , client - host combination ), and / or a method of performing a risk analysis . fig2 schematically illustrates an exemplary system ( 200 ) according to an aspect of the invention . in some embodiments a system for securing an interaction between an application and a user such as the system ( 200 ) illustrated in fig2 may comprise : an application server ( 210 ) for hosting server parts of the application ; an access device ( 230 ) for allowing the user ( 290 ) to ( remotely ) access the application ; an authentication client device ( 240 ) for generating an enhanced otp ; and a verification server ( 220 ) for validating the enhanced otp and performing a second risk analysis on the enhanced otp ; whereby the application server ( s ) and the access device may be connected and communicate with each other over a computer network ( 250 ) ( which may include a local area network , a wide area network , the internet , and a combination thereof ), the access device may be adapted to run a client part of the application , the authentication client device may be adapted to present the generated enhanced otp to the user , the access device may be further adapted to forward the generated dynamic credential to the application server or verification server for validation ; the verification server may be adapted to signal to the application server whether the enhanced otp has been verified to be valid and / or to communicate to the application server a risk level or a quality level that may have been assigned to the enhanced otp . in some embodiments the system may be adapted to perform any of the methods described above for generating and validating an enhanced otp . in some embodiments the verification server may be adapted to perform any of the methods described above for validating an enhanced otp . in some embodiments the application server and the verification server may be the same server . in some embodiments the application server and the verification server may comprise one or more server computers . in some embodiments the computer network may comprise the internet and / or a wireless telecommunications network . similarly , the computer network could be a local area network , a wide area network and / or a combination of each that includes a telecommunications network and / or the internet . in some embodiments the access device may have a user interface for locally interacting with the user . for example , in some embodiments the access device may have a user input interface such as a keyboard , a mouse , or a touchscreen for receiving user input . in some embodiments the access device may have a user output interface , such as a display or a loudspeaker , for presenting output , which may comprise visual or auditory signals , to a user . in some embodiments the access device may comprise a pc ( personal computer ), tablet computer , or smartphone . in some embodiments the application ( such as an internet banking application ) may comprise a server part that is running on a remote application server and a client part that is running on the user &# 39 ; s access device and that the user interacts with to access the server part of the application over , for example , the internet . in some embodiments the application may comprise a web - based application and the application server may comprise a web server . in some embodiments the application server may be accessed by the user using a web browser on the user &# 39 ; s access device . in some embodiments the client part of the application may comprise an applet ( such as a java applet ) or a script running in a web browser on the user &# 39 ; s host computer . in some embodiments the user may access the server part of an application with a smartphone . the smartphone may then function as the access device ( 230 ) and the client application running on the smartphone may comprise an app ( such as an internet banking app ) on the smartphone whereby the app may interact with the user through the user interface of the smartphone , and with the application server over , for example , the internet . in some embodiments the authentication client device may have a user interface for locally interacting with the user . for example , in some embodiments the authentication client device may have a user input interface such as a keyboard , a mouse , or a touchscreen for receiving user input . in some embodiments the authentication client device may have a user output interface , such as a display or a loudspeaker , for presenting output , which may comprise visual or auditory signals , to a user . in some embodiments the authentication client device may comprise a tablet computer or smartphone . in some embodiments the authentication client device may have an operating system such as a version of android or windows for mobile or windows phone . in some embodiments the authentication client device may run an authentication application for generating the enhanced otp . in some embodiments the authentication device may be adapted to perform any of the methods described earlier for generating an enhanced otp . a number of implementations have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made . for example , elements of one or more implementations may be combined , deleted , modified , or supplemented to form further implementations . accordingly , other implementations are within the scope of the appended claims . in addition , while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations , such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application . while various embodiments have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . in particular , it is , of course , not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter , but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible . thus , the breadth and scope of the teachings herein should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents . | 7Electricity
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fig1 a illustrates a perspective view of a fitting 10 for a tubular assembly . fig1 b is a cross - sectional view of the fitting 10 . in this embodiment , the fitting 10 includes a base member 12 and is shown as a ferrule . however , other fittings , connectors and couplings are contemplated including elbows , t - connectors , union crosses , reducers , and adapters . the base member 12 includes a first tubular portion 14 located at a first end 18 and a second tubular portion 16 located at a second end 22 . the base member 12 defines a first bore 15 extending between the first and second ends 18 , 22 along a longitudinal axis a . the first tubular portion 14 may define an inner tubular groove 19 extending from the first end 18 for receiving an end of a tube . the first tubular portion 14 may also include a lip 20 at the first end 18 and may include a first taper 21 extending from the lip 20 to the second tubular portion 16 . the second tubular portion 16 may include a second taper 31 extending from the first tubular portion 14 toward the second end 22 . the second tubular portion 16 defines a conical seat 27 extending from the second end 22 . each of the first and second tubular portions 14 , 16 can be made of stainless steels , nickel ( including alloys ), titanium ( including alloys ) or other materials depending on requirements . each of the first and second tubular portions 14 , 16 can be made by machining , forging , casting or other methods depending on materials used and fitting specifications . the fitting 10 also includes a retaining band 23 . the retaining band 23 includes a generally circular configuration and defines a second bore 17 for receiving a portion of the base member 12 therein . the retaining band 23 is configured to extend at least partially from the second end 22 toward the first tubular portion 14 and about the second tubular portion 16 . however , it is contemplated that the retaining band 23 may extend any length between the first and second ends 18 , 22 . the retaining band 23 may include a key 24 located at the proximal end 32 and extending radially inward from the second bore 17 ( shown in fig1 b ). the key 24 is configured to be inserted into a locating feature located on the outer surface 29 of the base member 12 for minimizing relative rotation between the retaining band 23 and the base member 12 . the locating feature as shown is a slot 25 extending from the first tubular portion 14 to the second end 22 . however , other configurations and locations of the locating feature 25 are contemplated . in another embodiment , the second tubular portion 16 and the retaining band 23 cooperate to define an interference fit to minimize relative rotation between the retaining band 23 and the base member 12 , thereby eliminating the need of a key and a locating feature . the retaining band 23 may be press fit around or molded over the base member 12 . the retaining band 23 may also be formed as a continuous piece or multiple of pieces . the retaining band 23 defines an engagement feature 26 on a radially outward surface 28 thereof . the engagement feature 26 may extend radially outward or radially inward from the outward surface 28 of the retaining band 23 . the engagement feature 26 may include a plurality of pockets 30 spaced circumferentially around the retaining band 23 and extending radially inward from the outward surface 28 . the pockets 30 may be equally spaced apart or may be spaced at unequal distances from each other . the engagement features 30 are located between a proximal end 32 and a distal end 33 of the retaining band 23 . the pockets 30 may be located closer to the proximal end 32 than the distal end 33 of the retaining band 23 to lessen stress levels in second end 22 of the base member 12 . other sizes , shapes , number and placement of the pockets 30 are contemplated . the engagement feature 26 may include other configurations than the pockets 30 , including one or more slots , grooves , bumps or raised protrusions . in another embodiment , the engagement feature 26 includes a plurality of pockets and bumps each extending from the outward surface 28 of the retaining band 23 . the retaining band 23 also defines a shoulder 37 located near the proximal end 32 . additionally , the retaining band 23 can be made of stainless steels , nickel ( including alloys ), titanium ( including alloys ) or other metals depending on requirements . the retaining band 23 can be made by machining , forging , casting or other methods depending on materials used and fitting specifications . the retaining band 23 may also include a material greater in hardness than the material of the base member 12 . fig2 a - 2b illustrates a tubular assembly 34 in an uninstalled position . the tubular assembly 34 includes a first tube 35 and a second tube 36 to be joined together with the fitting 10 . the first tube 35 is inserted into the inner tubular groove 19 of the first tubular portion 14 ( shown in 2 b and 2 d ). the first tube 35 can be connected to the first tubular portion 14 by welding , brazing , inertia bonding , or by other conventional methods known in the art . in another embodiment , the first tube 35 is inserted over the lip 20 . in yet another embodiment , the first tube 35 is connected to the end 18 of the first tubular portion 14 . the second tube 36 is connected to a coupling member 38 . the second tube 36 can be connected to the coupling member 38 by welding , brazing , inertia bonding , or by other conventional methods known in the art . the coupling member 38 defines a second interface 39 located at a third end 41 configured to be received at least partially within the first bore 15 of the base member 12 and adjacent to the first conical seat 27 . the tubular assembly 34 includes a fastening member 40 for fastening the first tube 35 and the second tube 36 to each other . the fastening member 40 may be configured as a nut for being engaged by a tool . the fastening member 40 defines a third bore 42 ( shown in fig2 b and 2d ) for receiving a portion of the base member 12 and the retaining band 23 therein . the fastening member 40 is moveable along longitudinal axis a to expose at least a portion of the second tubular portion 16 . the retaining band 23 may be configured to prevent the fastening member 40 from extending in the axial direction past the distal end 33 of the retaining band 23 . accordingly , the fitting 10 is mostly exposed when the fastening member 40 and the coupling member 38 are disconnected ( fig2 a - 2b ). the fastening member 40 includes a locking mechanism 44 extending radially inward from the third bore 42 . the locking mechanism 44 may be a spring loaded part or any other part configured to engage the pockets 30 to secure the retaining band 23 to the fastening member 40 . to allow for a smooth retraction of the fastening member 40 from the retaining band 23 , the pockets 30 may be configured with an arcuate profile extending along the longitudinal axis a . the arcuate profile reduces the amount of force required to pull the locking mechanism 44 from the pockets 30 and allows for easier disassembly of the fastening member 40 from the retaining band 23 . additionally , the tension of the spring of the locking mechanism 44 may be configured to resist disengagement from the pockets 30 , thereby minimizing axial movement of the fastening member 40 relative to the retaining band 23 . in another embodiment , the locking mechanism 44 is located on the retaining band 23 and the engagement feature 26 is located on the fastening member 40 . referring to fig2 c - 2d , the fastening member 40 may define a channel 46 ( shown in fig2 d ) extending radially inward from the third bore 42 . the fastening member 40 may also define a pair of orifices 48 for accessing the channel 46 . a thrust wire 50 may be inserted into the channel 46 through the orifices 48 to minimize axial movement of the fastening member 40 toward the second end 22 . fig2 c - 2d illustrate the tubular assembly 34 in an installed position . to install the tubular assembly 34 , the fastening member 40 is moved axially toward the second end 22 of the base member 12 , causing the locking mechanism 44 to engage the pockets 30 of the retaining band 23 . accordingly , the locking mechanism 44 and the pockets 30 cooperate to minimize relative rotation of the fastening member 40 and the retaining band 23 . thereafter , the coupling member 38 is inserted partially into the third bore 42 of the fastening member 40 . the coupling member 38 includes a plurality of first threads 52 configured to engage a corresponding plurality of second threads 54 of the fastening member 40 when the coupling member 38 is rotated about the longitudinal axis a relative to the fastening member 40 . the locking mechanism 44 and the pockets 30 cooperate to minimize relative rotation of the fastening member 40 about the longitudinal axis a while the coupling member 38 and the fastening member 40 are connected . in another embodiment , the locking mechanism 44 is configured to allow relative rotation of the fastening member 40 with respect to the retaining band 23 to secure the fastening member 40 to the coupling member 38 . after the coupling member 38 is connected to the fastening member 40 , the thrust wire 50 is inserted into the channel 46 through the orifices 48 . the thrust wire 50 engages the second taper 31 near the second tubular portion 16 and the shoulder 37 of the retaining band 23 to minimize axial movement of the fastening member 40 . accordingly , the locking mechanism 44 and the pockets 30 , as well as the thrust wire 50 , ensure that the first and second threads 52 , 54 do not loosen or back off , securely connecting the first and second tubes 35 , 36 to each other . although the different embodiments have the specific components shown in the illustrations , embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations . it is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the embodiments in combination with features or components from another one of the embodiments . the preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature . variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this disclosure . the scope of legal protection given to this disclosure can only be determined by studying the following claims . | 5Mechanical Engineering; Lightning; Heating; Weapons; Blasting
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the present invention , according to one embodiment thereof , is directed to a physio - ball that includes a support member . fig1 is a side view of a physio - ball 10 , according to one embodiment of the present invention . the physio - ball 10 includes a shell 12 . advantageously , the shell 12 is inflatable such that the physio - ball may be inflated for use and may be deflated for storage purposes . the shell 12 is preferably spherical in shape when inflated , although any other shape , e . g ., cylindrical , ovoid , etc ., may also be employed . preferably , the shell 12 is 55 cm , 65 cm or 75 cm in diameter , although any sizes may be employed . the shell 12 may be comprised of vinyl or latex , but preferably is comprised of a non - latex material . the shell 12 is filled with air or another type of fluid in order to provide a moderate degree of flexibility and compressibility when sat on by a user or when pressed upon by a user . the physio - ball 10 also includes a support member 14 . the support member 14 functions to provide a user with a surface , other than the surface of the shell 12 , that assists the user in balancing or supporting him or herself when using the physio - ball . for instance , fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the support member 14 according to one embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the support member 14 is a ring 16 having a circular cross - section . additional features illustrated in fig2 are discussed further below . it should be recognized that , while fig2 illustrates the support member 14 in the shape of a ring having a circular cross - section , the support member 14 may have any shape that is capable of assisting the user in balancing or supporting him or herself when using the physio - ball . for instance , the support member 14 may be curved , straight or any other shape , and / or may be in the form of a rim , lip , a handle , etc . fig1 illustrates that , in one embodiment , the support member 14 fully encircles the shell 12 . alternatively , the support member 14 may extend around one or more portions of the shell 12 , each portion extending less than the full circumference of the shell 12 . if the support member 14 does not fully encircle the shell 12 but instead extends around one or more portions of the shell 12 , those portions are advantageously disposed in symmetrical fashion around the circumference of the physio - ball 10 , so as to provide balance when used . fig1 illustrates that the support member 14 is positioned at approximately the vertical midpoint of the shell 12 . in this manner , the support member 14 is positioned at the widest diameter of the physio - ball 10 . in other embodiments , the support member 14 may be positioned above or below the vertical midpoint of the shell 12 . furthermore , fig1 illustrates that the support member 14 is positioned at a single vertical location of the shell 12 . in other embodiments , the physio - ball 10 may have more than one support member 14 , each support member 14 being positioned at a different vertical location , e . g ., at , above or below the vertical midpoint , of the shell 12 . fig2 illustrates that , in one embodiment , the support member 14 is configured to be engaged with a recess 18 of the shell 12 . in this manner , the support member 14 is at least partially supported by the shell 12 . alternatively , the shell 12 may have an projection rather than a recess , the projection operating to engage the support member 14 for the purpose of attaching the support member 14 to the shell . still further , the shell 12 may have neither a recess nor a projection , but rather may be sized and shaped relative to the support member 14 such that the support member 14 is maintained in position on the shell 12 by friction . the support member 14 may be formed of a rigid plastic or pvc material . other materials may also be employed . the support member 14 may be permanently attached to the shell 12 . for instance , fig2 illustrates one embodiment in which the support member 14 is integrated within the shell 12 by being disposed within a recess 18 and being kept within the recess 18 by an outer shell 20 that is permanently attached to the shell 12 . in another embodiment , the support member 14 is attached by glue , velcro , or some other type of adhesive . alternatively , the support member 14 may be removable from the shell 12 such that the physio - ball 10 may be used with or without the support member 14 . the physio - ball 10 of the present invention , in accordance with various embodiments described hereinabove , may be used in many different ways . for instance , the physio - ball 10 may be used as a seat , e . g ., a user may sit on top of the physio - ball while performing sit - ups or some other type of movement of the upper body relative to the lower body . in addition , a user may balance a portion of her body , e . g ., her feet or her hands , on the ball , thereby forcing the user to balance that portion of the body during the performance of an exercise . for instance , a user may position her feet , or her hands , on top of the physio - ball while performing push - ups , lunges , hip lifts , etc . the physio - ball 10 of the present invention , in accordance with various embodiments described hereinabove , has several advantages over conventional physio - balls . for instance , the physio - ball 10 enables a user to grasp the support member 14 with her hands , thus reducing the likelihood that her hands will slip off of the physio - ball during use . furthermore , the physio - ball 10 enables a user to position her feet on the support member 14 , e . g ., by standing on top of the support member 14 , by resting her feet on the support member 14 while performing push - ups , etc ., thus reducing the likelihood that her feet will slip off of the physio - ball during use . thus , the several aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention are most effectively attained . those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications of the exemplary embodiment described hereinabove may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . although various exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been described and disclosed in detail herein , it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby . | 0Human Necessities
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referring to fig1 the present invention relates to a base module 10 for an upright carpet extractor . the upper portion of a typical upright carpet extractor suitable for use in combination with the herein described base module 10 may be found in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 406 , 673 issued on apr . 18 , 1995 , titled “ tank carry handle and securement latch ”, the contents of which are included herein by reference . base module 10 comprises a lower housing 12 and an upper housing 14 which generally separate along parting line 13 . suction nozzle 16 and suction inlet 18 are part of the upper housing 14 similar to the suction nozzle structure as taught in the above referenced co - owned patent . as principally illustrated in fig2 , and 4 , lower housing 12 has suspended therein a floating carpet scrubbing brush assembly 20 . fig3 and 4 illustrate the forward portion of lower housing 12 with the upper housing , including the suction nozzle 16 , removed for clarity . the brush assembly may be powered by an air driven turbine 15 , or any other suitable motive power means typically used in the industry , through a suitable gear drive train or transmission 54 . a suitable air turbine driven gear train is taught in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 443 , 362 issued on aug . 22 , 1995 and titled “ air turbine ”. turning now to fig5 and 6 , brush assembly 20 comprises brush support beam 22 having five spaced apart , integrally molded , cylindrical bearings 24 a , 24 b , 24 c , 24 d and 24 e . rotatingly received within bearings 24 are axial shafts 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d and 26 e of gear brushes 25 a , 25 b , 25 c , 25 d and 25 e . it is to be noted that the axial shafts of brush gears 25 c and 25 e include extensions 28 and 29 , respectfully , for purposes to be described below . during manufacture of brush assembly 20 , the gear brush axial shafts 26 are first inserted into the appropriate bearing 24 and with gear brushes 25 in their uppermost position , with gear teeth 78 intermeshed , gear guards 32 a and 32 b are attached to support beam 22 , as described below , thereby forming brush assembly 20 , as illustrated in fig4 . once assembled the periperal lips 33 a and 33 b , on each gear guard 32 a and 32 b respectively , extend inwardly beyond the lower portion 84 ( see fig1 ) of gear teeth 78 thereby surrounding the row of rotary brushes and retaining each gear brush within the confines of the surrounding gear guards . thus each brush may float vertically , with respect to support beam 22 , limited in its uppermost travel by abutment of brush 25 with the lower portion of bearing 24 and limited in its lowermost travel by abutment of teeth 78 with lips 33 of gear guards 32 . also by providing a loose fit between the gear brush axial shaft 26 and bearing 24 each brush 25 may also tilt slightly with respect to the vertical axis . gear guards 32 a and 32 b are identical in construction so as to be interchangeable on either side of brush support beam 22 . to facilitate “ snap together ” assembly of each gear guard to the brush support beam , each gear guard 32 is provided with three integrally formed , horizontally extending , locking tabs 34 , as best seen on gear guard 32 b in fig5 extending parallel to and below the top cover plates 36 a and 36 b of gear guards 32 a and 32 b . further each gear guard ( 32 a and 32 b ) is provided guide and alignment openings 38 for receipt therein ( upon assembling the brush assembly ) of extended tabs 39 of brush support beam 22 . as the gear guards are brought together about brush support beam 22 and its associated gear brushes 25 , tangs 34 , on both gear guards 32 a and 32 b , slide under extended tabs 39 , of brush support beam 22 , engaging slots 41 thereby locking gear guards 32 a and 32 b to brush support beam 22 as illustrated in fig1 and 12 . it is to be noted that when assembled , extended tangs 39 are sandwiched between the gear guard top cover plate 36 a and 36 b and its associated tang 34 , as seen in fig1 , thereby providing lateral stability to the gear guards . integral to and extending upward from the opposite lateral ends of brush support beam 22 are “ t ” shaped rails 42 and 43 . t - rails 42 and 43 are slidably received within vertical guide slots 46 and 47 integrally molded into lower base module housing 12 , as best seen in fig3 , and 10 , whereby brush assembly 20 may freely move or float in the vertical direction within the brush assembly cavity 48 of housing 12 . during assembly of base module 10 , brush assembly 20 is inserted vertically into cavity 48 with t - rails 42 and 43 slidably engaging guide slots 46 and 47 respectfully . as brush assembly 20 is inserted into cavity 48 , tabs 51 on gear guards 32 a and b snap into vertically elongated openings 53 and grooves 57 respectively of housing 12 . as illustrated in fig2 , 9 , 11 , 16 , and 17 , outwardly projecting tangs 51 from gear guard 32 a slidingly engage vertical slots 53 of housing 12 and tangs 51 , projecting from gear guard 32 b , slidingly engage grooves 57 thereby floatingly retaining brush assembly 20 within cavity 48 . gear brush 25 c and 25 e ( see fig5 ) are provided with axle shaft extensions 28 and 29 , respectively , having a square lateral cross - section . axle shaft 28 is slidably received within drive gear 52 contained within gear box 54 as illustrated in fig6 . gear 52 is preferably powered by air turbine 15 through an appropriate gear train , such as that disclosed in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 443 , 362 identified above and incorporated herein by reference . as brush assembly 20 moves vertically , with respect to lower housing 12 , axle shaft 28 is slidably received within drive gear 52 as illustrated in fig6 a . gear brush rotation indicator 44 is fixedly attached to shaft extension 29 of gear brush 25 e and extends upward through opening 56 in the top 45 of brush cavity 48 of lower housing 12 so as to be visible to the operator through clear lens 19 of upper housing 14 as seen in fig1 . referring to fig2 , 16 , and 17 , brush assembly 20 floats freely within cavity 48 of lower housing 12 . the lower limit of brush assembly 20 , as illustrated in fig9 is controlled by tangs 51 which engage the bottom ledge 49 and 50 of slots 53 and grooves 57 . the upper travel of brush assembly 20 is limited by abutment of the brush assembly against the top portion 45 of cavity 48 . further , as brush assembly 20 floats vertically within cavity 48 t - rails 42 and 43 slidingly engaging slots 46 and 47 respectively of lower housing 12 thereby maintaining alignment of brush assembly 20 within cavity 48 and transferring the forces applied to brush assembly 20 , by movement of extractor 10 forward and rearward , to lower housing 12 . t - rails 42 and 43 are configured so as to permit brush assembly 20 to assume a laterally skewed or canted ( one end higher than the other ) relationship with respect to cavity 48 as it moves vertically . referring to fig1 and 2 , base module 10 is principally supported upon rear wheels 17 and suction inlet 18 of suction nozzle 16 . thus brush assembly 20 , by reason of the above described floating structure , is suspended within cavity 48 of lower housing 12 whereby brush assembly 20 bears none of the extractor weight and permits brushes 25 to “ float ” atop the surface being cleaned as they rotate . the weight of the extractor is supported by rear wheels 17 and suction inlet 18 . with the extractor center of gravity forward of rear wheels 17 and the floating characteristic of brush assembly 20 , suction inlet 18 will be in contact with the surface being cleaned thereby assuring maximum recovery of dispensed cleaning solution . the structure described hereinabove is preferably constructed with generous and loose tolerances that permit brush assembly 20 as a unit and the individual gear brushes 25 to separately move in other than vertical straight lines and thereby operate in skewed positions as may be dictated by the unevenness of the surface being cleaned . cleaning solution supply manifold 60 is positioned above brush assembly 20 and affixed to lower housing 12 , as illustrated in fig3 , and 7 . liquid cleaning solution is supplied to nipple 62 on manifold 60 by way of a flexible tube such as , for example , illustrated in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 406 , 673 . cleaning solution flows throughout manifold channel 64 to discharge orifices 66 a , 66 b , 66 c , 66 d and 66 e in the bottom thereof as shown in fig7 and 8 . brush support beam 22 includes a laterally extending trough - like floor 68 , as best seen in fig9 and 12 , separated into five zones or troughs 71 a , 71 b , 71 c , 71 d , and 71 e by walls 72 a , 72 b , 72 c , 72 d , 72 e , and 72 f as best illustrated in fig5 . as can be seen in fig6 and 6a , liquid cleaning solution cascadingly flows , by gravity , from manifold orifice 66 a into trough 71 a , from orifice 66 b into trough 71 b , from orifice 66 c into trough 71 c , from orifice 66 d into trough 71 d and from orifice 66 e into trough 71 e . in the configuration as illustrated in fig6 and 6a , no fluid flows into trough 71 c ′. the purpose of trough 71 c ′ is to provide symmetry to support beam 22 such that beam 22 requires no specific orientation during assembly . beam 22 may be positioned as shown in the figures or rotated 180 °. when rotated 180 ° trough 71 c ′ then receives fluid from orifice 66 c and supplies brush 25 c through conduit 74 c ′ with trough 71 c becoming non - functional . cleaning solution received in troughs 71 a , 71 b , 71 c , 71 d , and 71 e flows through fluid supply conduits 74 a , 74 b , 74 c , 74 d , and 74 e , respectively , and into center cups 77 a , 77 b , 77 c , 77 d , and 77 e of brushes 25 a , 25 b , 25 c , 25 d , and 25 e as best seen in fig6 . once deposited within brush cup 25 , the cleaning solution flows outward toward the surface being cleaned through openings 81 a , 81 b , 81 c , 81 d , and 81 e in the bottom of brush cups 77 a , 77 b , 77 c , 77 d , and 77 e , respectively . it is preferred that brush bristles 86 be of a soft texture such that when rotating and in contact with the surface being cleaned the brush bristles bend whereby the bottom of brush cup 77 is in contact with the surface being cleaned . thus the cleaning solution being dispensed through openings 81 flows directly onto the surface being cleaned . a circumferential rim or edge 88 is provided about the bottom periphery of cup 77 to prevent the centrifuging of cleaning solution radially outward . the preferred operational speed of brushes 25 has been found to be between 500 to 900 rpm for a brush of approximately two inches in diameter . for uniform distribution of cleaning solution on carpeted or other surfaces being cleaned , it is desirable that each brush 25 a , 25 b , 25 c , 25 d and 25 e receive a steady and equal flow rate of cleaning solution . therefore , the size of orifices 66 a , 66 b , 66 c , 66 d , and 66 e are preferably determined by empirical testing . it has been found , for the manifold configuration as illustrated herein , that orifice 66 b required a slightly larger diameter than that of the other four which are of equal size . in order to minimize the lead - time required to stop the flow of cleaning solution to the brushes , conduits 74 a , 74 b , 74 c , 74 d , and 74 e are oversized so as to be more than adequate to convey the flow rate being dispensed by orifices 66 into brush cups 77 thereby assuring that dispensed cleaning solution immediately flows through conduits 74 into brush cups 77 and exits through openings 81 onto the surface being cleaned and does not collect or back - up in troughs 71 a , 71 b , 71 c , 71 d , or 71 e . referring to fig5 , 14 , and 15 , gear brushes 25 c and 25 e are identical to brushes 25 a , 25 b , and 25 d in all respects except that brushes 25 a , 25 b , and 25 d do not include key shaft 28 or 29 . it is necessary for brush 25 c to have extended key shaft 28 as it is the preferred , power driven gear brush which drives the gear brush train . gear brush 25 e includes key shaft 29 so that gear brush rotation indicator 44 may be placed thereon to provide visual verification to the operator that the gear brushes are , in fact , rotating during use . each gear brush 25 is basically configured as a spur gear preferably having ten teeth which intermesh , as seen in figures , 6 , and 6 a such that when center gear brush 25 c rotates all other gear brushes rotate accordingly . ihe center hub of gear brushes 25 forms a hollow downwardly projecting cup 77 having a multiplicity of openings 81 circumscribing the bottom thereof . each gear tooth 78 has an upper tooth profile 82 and a lower profile 84 which approximates upper profile 82 . however , profile 84 is smaller in size and slightly indented from profile 82 , as seen in fig1 , 14 , and 15 , forming an offset 83 . only profile 82 of gear tooth 78 is intended to drivingly engage the corresponding tooth profile of the adjacent gear brush . each gear tooth 78 has a blind bore 79 , extending to offset 83 , into which bristle bundles 86 are compressively inserted . upon insertion of bristle bundles 86 into blind bores 79 lower profile 84 of tooth 78 may be expected to expand or bulge in the area of bore 79 . thus the offset 83 is sufficiently sized to prevent the bulge , in lower profile 84 , from extending beyond the upper profile 82 and thus assuring that the gear teeth of adjacent gear brushes , upon intermeshing , do not bind or otherwise interfere with one another . alternatively a downwardly extending circular ( or any other convenient configuration ) boss may be used to receive the bristle bundles and perform the function of alleviating gear binding . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment having five rotary brushes . however , obvious modifications and alterations ( including increasing or decreasing the number of brushes ) will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the specification . it is also to be understood that although the preferred embodiment disclosed hereinabove teaches rotary brushes having intermeshing spur gear configurations it is not to be considered outside the scope of our invention to use other types of brushes , such as a horizontal roll brush , and alternative drive means such as a belt drive etc . it is our intention to include all such modifications , alterations and equivalents in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof . | 0Human Necessities
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