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referring first to fig1 there is shown a partially sectioned , general view of an interrupting device 10 with which the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 of the present invention may be used . the interrupting device 10 depicted in fig1 is similar to one embodiment of the interrupting device shown in co - pending , commonly - assigned , co - filed u . s . patent application , ser . no . 951 , 687 , filed oct . 16 , 1978 , in the name of bernatt . it should be understood that the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 of the present invention is usable with other types of circuit interrupting devices 10 with only minor modifications thereof , as should be clear from the following description . typical of such interrupting devices are those depicted in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 030 , 481 ; 3 , 163 , 736 ; 3 , 508 , 022 ; and 3 , 769 , 477 . the interrupting device 10 is here briefly described for purposes of completing the background and environment of use of the mechanism 12 of the present invention . the interrupting device 10 includes an open - ended , elongated , insulative , generally cylindrical housing 14 , typically of porcelain and preferably having on the surface thereof a plurality of leakage - distance - increasing skirts 16 . the housing 14 contains the various elements of an interrupting unit 18 , as well as the mechanism 12 of this invention . the housing 14 is closed and preferably sealed at each open end by appropriate end members 20 and 21 , which may be attached to the housing 14 by any convenient means . the left - hand end member 20 is electrically connected to , and has attached thereto an end housing 22 including a pressure relief and pressure indicating mechanism 24 , which is more completely described in commonly - assigned , co - pending , co - filed u . s . patent application , ser . no . 951 , 686 , filed oct . 16 , 1978 in the name of bernatt . the right - hand end member 21 may have attached thereto , and be in electrical contact with , a housing 26 for an operating mechanism ( not shown , but indicated generally at 28 ) which may include a sensing and tripping mechanism for opening the interrupting device 10 and a high - speed closing mechanism for closing the device . the sensing and tripping mechanism of the operator 28 may be of the type more completely disclosed in co - pending , commonly - assigned , u . s . patent application , ser . no . 930 , 774 , filed aug . 3 , 1978 now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 203 , 083 in the names of opfer and vojta ; the closing mechanism may be of any known type . the interrupting device 10 is connected into a circuit ( not shown ) via a first terminal pad 30 which may be formed integrally with the housing 22 and which is therefore electrically connected to the left - hand end member 20 . a second circuit connection to the device may be provided by a second terminal pad 32 which may be formed integrally with the housing 26 and which is therefore electrically connected to the right - hand end members 21 . the interrupting unit 18 of the interrupting device 10 includes a stationary contact 34 and a movable contact 36 . the movable contact 36 normally engages the stationary contact 34 as shown in fig2 and is movable along a first path generally concurrent with the major axis of the housing 14 in a first direction to disengage the contacts 34 and 36 ( fig3 ) and in a second opposed direction along the first path to re - engage the contacts 34 and 36 ( fig2 ). the stationary contact 34 includes an elongated , conductive member 38 which is attached by any convenient method to an elongated conductive support 40 . the support 40 is in turn mounted to and electrically connected with a double - flanged member 42 which is mounted to and electrically connected with the left - hand end member 20 . referring additionally to fig3 the movable contact 36 into which the stationary contact 34 is insertable during engagement between the contacts 34 and 36 preferably terminates in a plurality of contact fingers 46 formed integrally with a conductive collar 48 . the collar 48 is connected by any convenient method to the left end of a movable , elongated conductive tube 50 . the conductive tube 50 is in turn connected at its right - hand end to an attachment nipple 52 ( fig1 b ) which is connected to the left end of an operating rod 54 connected to and reciprocated by the operating mechanism 28 . as more completely described in the co - pending application of opfer and vojta , the operating rod 54 moves through the right - hand end member 21 . a flexible bellows 56 is sealed between the connection nipple 52 and the right - hand end member 21 to prevent the leakage from within the housing 14 of pressurized arc - extinguishing gas contained therein . a cylinder 60 of a piston - cylinder arrangement 62 is defined by the outside of the tube 50 and the inside of a movable , coaxial metal cylinder 64 surrounding the tube 50 . the metal cylinder 64 is attached ( as by crimping , deformation , magnaforming , or the like ) as indicated at 66 to a peripheral groove 68 formed in a first sleeve 70 . the first sleeve 70 is connected to the left - hand end of the tube 50 near the mounting of the sleeve 48 thereto for movement therewith . a stationary piston 72 of the piston - cylinder arrangement 62 is carried by a hollow support 74 which is attached , at its right - hand end , to the right end member 21 and which coaxially surrounds the operating rod 54 and the tube 50 . thus , the piston 72 is stationary while the members defining the cylinder 60 of the piston - cylinder arrangement 62 , namely the tube 50 and the metal cylinder 64 , are jointly movable . a second sleeve 80 is connected to the left - hand end of the tube 50 in a manner similar to , and near , the first sleeve 70 . a portion 81 of the sleeve 80 surrounds the movable contact 36 . the sleeves 70 and 80 may be formed integrally if convenient . the second sleeve 80 carries on the portion 81 a nozzle structure 82 which initially surrounds both the movable and the stationary contacts 34 and 36 . the cylinder 60 of the piston - cylinder arrangement 62 is connected by passageways 84 formed through transverse walls 86 of the sleeves 70 and 80 to a chamber 88 defined between the movable contact 36 and the interior wall of the nozzle structure 82 . generally , the interrupting device 10 of the co - pending application of bernatt operates as follows . when circuit interruption is desired , the operating rod 54 is moved rightwardly . such rightward movement compresses the bellows 56 , but maintains gas pressure within the housing 14 , which may be pressurized through a filling port 90 in the right - hand end plate 21 with an arc - extinguishing gas such as sf 6 , or the like . rightward movement of the operating rod 54 also rightwardly moves the tube 50 ( via the connection nipple 52 ) and the movable contact 36 righwardly . additionally , both sleeves 70 and 80 move rightwradly at the same time due to their connection to the tube 50 . rightward movement of this entire assembly causes the movable contact 36 to disengage the stationary contact 34 and to open a gap therebetween . simultaneously , the volume of the cylinder 60 of the piston - cylinder arrangement 62 is decreased due to the relative movement of the piston 72 and both the metal cylinder 64 and the tube 50 . such volume decrease forces the sf 6 gas within the cylinder 60 through the passageways 84 into the chamber 88 , and from there to and across the gap now being opened between the stationary and movable contacts 34 and 36 . ultimately , at a subsequent current zero , the high - voltage arc , which is formed between and terminates on the contacts 34 and 36 , is extinguished . a constriction 92 in the rightwardly moving nozzle structure 82 ensures that the gas flowing therepast reaches sonic or near sonic velocity to further aid in circuit interruption . the significance of describing herein the type of circuit interrupting device 10 disclosed in the copending application of bernatt is that it is easy and convenient to tie - in mechanically to appropriate structure of the mechanism 12 , in this case the sleeve 70 , which moves simultaneously with the movable contact 36 . various modifications , well within the skill of the art , can be made to other types of prior art circuit interrupting device to provide a member or members which similarly move simultaneously with a movable contact anmd which are accessible for attachment to , or operation of , the mechanism 12 . referring now to fig1 - 3 , the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 of the present invention is shown and described in greater detail . the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 includes one or more resistors 100 which may be coaxially arranged about a ceramic support member 102 which extends from , and is attached to , the flange member 42 . the support member 102 preferably coaxially surrounds the support 40 . as noted , there may be one or more resistors 100 . typically , such resistors 100 are made of a carbon composition , and where more than one resistor 100 is used , they may be arranged end - to - end as shown . the resistor 100 , or one end of an end - to - end arrangement thereof , is connected at one end to the flanged member 42 . to facilitate such electrical connection , any convenient conductive structure , generally indicated at 104 , may be utilized . thus , one end of the resistor or resistors 100 is in constant electrical contact with the left - hand end member 20 and the terminal pad 30 . the other end of the resistor or resistors 100 carries a stationary electrode assembly 106 which may be mounted both to the resistor or resistors 100 and to the support member 102 . the stationary electrode assembly 106 includes a single cylindrical , or a plurality of , l - shaped ( in cross - section ) members generally designated 110 , mechanically mounted by and electrically connected with a mounting ring 112 . the mounting ring 112 traps the members 110 between itself and a cylindrical mounting pad 113 mounted on the support member 102 . the member or members 110 carry thereon one or more stationary electrodes 114 . the stationary electrodes 114 may be in a finger - like arrangement coaxial with the axis of the housing 14 . preferably , a single circular , toroidal stationary electrode 114 is used . the stationary electrode 114 is made of a refractory material which is capable of withstanding high temperatures and which is possessed of sufficient electrial conductance . preferred materials for the stationary electrode 114 are copper - tungsten , carbon or graphite . the stationary electrode 114 is in electrical contact with the left - hand terminal pad 30 via the resistor or resistors 100 , the conductive structure 104 , the flanged member 42 , the end member 20 , and the bell housing 22 . a cylindricl , conductive sleeve 120 surrounds the sleeves 70 and 80 and is movable relative thereto . electrical continuity is maintained between the sleeve 120 and the sleeves 70 and 80 by a sliding contact 121 held in a groove in the sleeve 80 . the sleeve 120 carries , at its left - hand end , one or more refractory movable electrodes 122 which are arranged to mate with and normally engage the stationary electrode 114 . the movable electrodes 122 are preferably made of copper - tungsten , carbon or graphite . the sleeve 120 carries on the outer surface thereof one or more flexible leaf spring - like members 124 , ( only one is shown ), preferably mounted as by brazing or welding at their left - hand end to the sleeve 120 near the electrodes 122 . the right - hand end of the leaf spring 124 is formed outwardly in a flare 125 and carries a finger 126 biased by the normal configuration of the leaf spring 124 to extend through an opening or notch 128 formed through the right end of the sleeve 120 . the finger 126 normally extends into an opening 129 formed in the right end of the sleeve 70 to engage a shoulder 130 forming a wall of the opening 129 . the opening 129 is normally aligned with the opening 128 . conveniently , the openings 128 and 129 are in the vicinity of the crimping 66 of the metal cylinder 64 to the first sleeve 70 . during an opening operation of the interrupting device 10 , the operating rod 54 is moved rightwardly . such rightward movement moves the connection nipple 52 and the tube 50 rightwardly . additionally , the movable contact 36 and the sleeves 70 and 80 attached to the tube 50 more rightwardly . such rightward movement of the sleeve 70 moves the sleeve 120 rightwardly due to the normal engagement between the finger 126 on the leaf spring 124 and the shoulder 130 . such rightward movement moves the movable electrode 122 away from the stationary electrode 114 , breaking electrical contact therebetween ( compare fig2 and 3 ). the breaking of this contact occurs before the stationary and moveable contacts 34 and 36 completely disengage due to the amount of overlap 131 therebetween , as may be seen in fig2 . thus , the pre - insertion resistors 100 are removed from the circuit between the terminal pads 30 and 32 prior to the disengagement of the stationary and movable contacts 34 and 36 . accordingly , circuit interruption is effected by such contacts 34 and 36 , and not arc is formed between the electrodes 114 and 122 . the above - described rightward movement of the tube 50 also causes rightward movement of the metal cylinder 64 . both of which move relative to the piston 72 causing a decrease in the volume of the cylinder 60 defined thereby . therefore , circuit interruption by the contacts 34 and 36 is aided by the sf 6 gas which is forced at high velocity by the piston - cylinder arrangement 62 through the passageways 84 , the chamber 88 , and the nozzle 82 to the now - opening gap between the contacts 34 and 36 . rightward movement of all of the above elements continues , and , at some subsequent current zero , the circuit is interrupted and the arc formed between the contacts 34 and 36 is extinguished . mounted to the hollow support 74 by a grooved ring ( fig1 b ) is a stationary tubular member 142 which holds , at its left end , a cam ring 144 . the cam ring 144 includes , in part , cam surfaces 146 so arranged that near the extreme of the rightward movement of the finger 126 , the cam surfaces 146 engage the flare 125 . as shown in phantom in fig2 engagement of the flare 125 by the cam surfaces 146 flexes the leaf spring 124 outwardly to disengage the finger 126 from the shoulder 130 by moving the finger 126 out of the opening 129 . a compression spring 150 located between the sleeves 70 and 80 , on the one hand , and the sleeve 120 , on the other hand , is normally compressed between an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; member 152 attached to the sleeve 120 and the bottom 154 of a blind passage 156 formed in the sleeves 70 and 80 . in its compressed state , the compression spring 150 biases the sleeve 120 and the movable electrode 122 carried thereby leftwardly , that is , toward the stationary electrode 114 . such biasing action of the compression spring 150 is normally prevented from effecting such leftward movement of the movable electrode 122 , however , due to the normal engagement between the finger 126 and the shoulder 130 . when the elements which move in conjunction with the operating rod 54 are near the full extent of their rightward movement , and the finger 126 disengages the shoulder 130 , the compression spring 150 moves the sleeve 120 and the movable electrode 122 leftwardly toward the stationary electrode 114 as shown in fig3 . the cam surfaces 146 are so arranged that they not only flex the leaf spring 124 and the finger 126 outwardly , but also prevent the finger 126 from reentering the opening 129 as long as the sleeves 70 and 80 are positioned rightwardly , as in fig2 and 3 . accordingly , having been moved outwardly by flexing of the leaf spring 124 , the finger 126 is free to ride on and over the outer surface of the sleeve 70 . thus , the compression spring 150 advances the movable electrode 122 back toward the stationary electrode 114 when the contacts 34 and 36 are fully separated defining the gap therebetween . this movement of the electrode 122 is accompanied by leftward movement of the sleeve 120 , the leaf spring 124 , the flare 125 , the finger 126 , and the member 152 . leftward movement of the movable electrode 122 is limited by engagement of a screw 157 or the like with the right end of a slot 158 formed in the sleeve 120 . the screw 157 may be mounted to the second sleeve 80 . subsequent reclosing of the contacts 34 and 36 is effected by leftward movement of the operating rod 54 . such leftward movement moves not only the movable contact 36 leftwardly , but also the sleeves 70 and 80 attached to the tube 50 . leftward movement of the sleeves 70 and 80 moves the sleeve 120 and the movable electrode 122 leftwardly due to the force of the spring 150 and the friction between the sliding contact 121 and the sleeve 120 . however , due to the previous initial leftward movement of the movable electrode 122 by the compression spring 150 , the movable electrodes 122 contact the stationary electrodes 114 prior to re - engagement of the contacts 34 and 36 ( see fig3 ). arcing occurs between the electrodes 114 and 122 until the electrodes are in physical engagement , at which point the pre - insertion resistors 100 are placed in parallel between the now - closing gap between the contacts 34 and 36 . a moment later , the contacts 34 and 36 re - engage as the sleeves 70 and 80 slide relative to the sleeve 120 , to condition the interrupting device 10 for normal current carrying . relative sliding between the sleeves 70 , 80 and the sleeve 120 moves the finger 126 toward the openings 128 , 129 and recompresses the spring 150 . ultimately , the finger 126 reenters the openings 128 and 129 to reengage the shoulder 130 . when the contacts 34 and 36 re - engage , they of course shunt the majority of the current away from the pre - insertion resistors 100 which therefore carry current only momentarily . the function of the pre - insertion resistors 100 is to reduce the inrush current on reclosing of the interrupting device 10 . such inrush current may be especially high and potentially damaging to the circuit containing the device 10 , especially when such device 10 switches a capacitor bank , which may result in inrush currents of 30 , 000 amperes or so . the device 10 is able to withstand fault closing currents as high as 40 , 000 amperes symmetrical . initially , when the electrodes 114 and 122 engage , the pre - insertion resistors 100 &# 34 ; see &# 34 ; the full line - to - ground voltage available in the circuit . at this instant , the inrush current is limited by such resistors 100 to a value ( 2 , 000 - 4 , 000 amperes ) equal to the line - to - ground voltage divided by the vector sum of the resistive value of the resistors 100 and the surge impedance of the circuit . shortly thereafter , current flow through the device 10 is limited by the steady - state impedance of the bank and the rest of the circuit , dropping , typically , to the vicinity of 100 to 400 amperes . when the contacts 34 and 36 re - engage , the 2 , 000 - 4 , 000 ampere current again flows , thus ensuring that only minimal distress of circuit occurs . one type of rather complicated prior art pre - insertion resistor mechanism is shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 836 to bischofberger . in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 836 , a stationary auxiliary contact is electrically and mechanically connected to a stationary main contact , the latter being selectively engaged by and disengaged from a movable main contact . a stationary , electrically conductive sleeve surrounds and is in continuous sliding electrical contact with , the movable main contact . a complexly - shaped carrier member is attached to the movable main contact and extends away therefrom through a slot in the sleeve . the carrier holds for sliding movement a multi - material rod , a front portion of which is conductive and an intermediate portion of which is insulative . the conductive front portion of the rod is a movable auxiliary contact positioned to engage and disengage the stationary auxiliary contact . a resistor has one end connected to the sleeve and the other end contacted to a contact member carried by an insulating tube which surrounds the rod and is carried by the sleeve . the contact member is in continuous , sliding electrical contact with the movable auxiliary contact . a spring acts between the carrier and a collar mounted to the rod to bias the movable auxiliary electrode toward the stationary electrode . a latch lever on the carrier is spring biased to engage the collar and to hold the rod and the carrier for joint movement with the carrier . a cam on the sleeve is positioned to disengage the latch lever from the collar when the carrier is in a given position with respect to the sleeve . when the main contacts and the auxiliary contacts engage , the spring is compressed between the carrier and the collar ; the latch lever engages the collar to prevent relative movement of the rod and the carrier . the resistor is paralleled with the engaged main contacts via a path that includes : the movable main contact , the sleeve , the one end of the resistor , the resistor , the other end of the resistor , the contact member , the movable auxiliary contact , the stationary auxiliary contact , and the stationary main contact . the insulative portion of the rod and the insulating tube are required to prevent shorting of the resistors . as the movable main contact moves to separate the main contacts , the carrier moves to separate the auxiliary contacts . after a certain amount of movement by the movable main contact and the carrier , the cam disengages the latch lever from the collar , permitting the spring to move the rod and the movable auxiliary contact back in an advanced position toward the stationary auxiliary contact . thus , following full opening of the main contacts , when the movable main contact moves toward the stationary main contact , the spring holds the movable auxiliary contact in its advanced position so that the auxiliary contacts engage before the main contacts . this parallels the resistor , via the above - described path , with the closing gap between the main contacts . following engagement of the auxiliary contacts , relative motion between the carrier and the collar recompresses the spring therebetween . as the main contacts re - engage , the latch lever again latches the collar . the mechanism of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 836 is quite complicated to make and to assemble . the structure and nature of the carrier , its attachment to the movable main contact , and the manner of associating the rod therewith are all quite complex . the compound nature of the rod -- conductive and non - conductive -- is undesirable from a manufacturing standpoint . additionally , the u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 836 mechanism uses to sliding contact interfaces , one between the contact member and the movable auxiliary contact , and the other between the sleeve and the movable main contact . it is usually desirable to minimize the number of sliding contacts in circuit interrupting devices . a comparison of the present invention with the u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 836 mechanism will show how much simpler to make and assemble the former is . no complicated carried is required ; parts are coaxial and simply configured . there are no compound -- conductive , non - conductive -- parts . sliding electrical contacts have been kept to a minimum -- one , to be precise . the above description is intended merely to show one preferred embodiment of the present invention . it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications therein may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . for example , the structure of the disclosed interrupting device 10 with which the present invention is described may be altered to varying degrees and still be usable with the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 of the present invention . moreover , other interrupting devices differing substantially from the design of the interrupting device 10 depicted in the figures may be utilized with the pre - insertion resistor mechanism 12 of the present invention . such different interrupting devices need only have a member which is movable with , or is tied to , a structure which moves with a movable interrupting contact for carrying the movable electrode structure as described herein . a stationary cam surface , or the like , similar to the cam surface 146 is easily incorporated into the device for permitting free movement of the movable electrode 122 back toward the stationary electrode 114 when the interrupting device is at or near its full opened position . additionally , it may be desired to simplify the mechanism 12 , as for example , by eliminating the spring 150 , the finger 126 , the leaf spring 124 , and the opening 128 . in this event , and referring to fig . 4 , the cam ring 144 may be modified by forming the cam surfaces 146 into an abutment 160 in the path of the end of the sleeve 120 . after sufficient rightward movement of the sleeves 70 and 80 , which carry the sleeve 120 therewith due to friction , the abutment 160 is engaged by the sleeve 120 , causing it and the electrodes 122 to remain stationary as the sleeves 70 and 80 continue to move . such action positions the electrodes 122 in their advanced position , similar to that shown in fig3 . a ball detent 162 in the sleeve 70 may co - act with one or more dimples 164 formed in the sleeve 120 in aid of the friction between the sliding contact 121 and the sleeve 120 to hold the electrodes 122 advanced during closing of the contacts 34 and 36 .
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a cmos image circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention is now described below with reference to fig1 . referring to fig1 a sensor array 10 includes a plurality of cells ( pixels ) 12 arranged at arrays of rows r 1 - rm and columns c 1 - cn . in order to read images from all cells 12 in one row , the cells are activated at the same time . a timing and control logic block 20 provides row selection signals rowsel on row selection lines rsl 1 - rsl m so as to select an activated row . a reset signal reset on reset lines rst 1 - rst m as generated by control logic block 20 is also provided to the cells 12 . a charge induced by light from the respective active cells 12 is read out , as a corresponding voltage , on respective column data lines 14 1 - 14 n coupled to the cells 12 in respective columns c 1 - c n . at a specific time , a voltage on respective columns 14 i corresponds to an image charge of only one activated cell in an associated column ci and an activated row . signal lines 16 1 - 16 m transfer voltages vdd and vtg for driving the cells 12 from the timing and control logic block 20 to the cells 12 . a ramp signal generator 30 generates a ramp signal vramp in response to a ramp enable signal ramp_en from the timing and control logic block 20 . the ramp signal vramp is a time varying reference signal that is varied with a predetermined inclination or slope . a counter 40 counts the period of a clock signal clk in response to a counter enable signal cnt_en . analog - to - digital converters ( adcs ) 50 1 - 50 n are connected to lower portions of the columns c 1 - c n , respectively . analog - to - digital converters 50 j receive a voltage vpxl j on the column data line 14 j , a ramp signal vramp generated from the ramp signal generator 30 , and an output cnt of the counter 40 to output a digital word d j . digital words d j outputted from the analog - to - digital converters 50 j are provided to an image data processor . circuit construction associated with one column of the cmos image circuit shown in fig1 is explained in detail as follows , with reference to fig2 . referring to fig2 a memory cell 12 includes nmos transistors 101 - 104 and a photodiode pd 1 . the nmos transistor 101 has a drain coupled to a power supply voltage vdd , a source coupled to a node 110 , and a gate connected to a reset signal reset through a reset signal line rst . the nmos transistor 102 has a current path disposed between a cathode of the photodiode pd 1 and the node 110 , and a gate coupled to a voltage vtg . the anode of the photodiode pd 1 is coupled to a ground voltage . the nmos transistor 103 has a drain coupled to a power supply voltage vdd , a source , and a gate coupled to the node 110 . the nmos transistor 104 has a drain coupled to the source of the nmos transistor 103 , a source coupled to a node 14 , and a gate connected to a row selection signal rowsel through a row selection line rsl . when the photodiode pd 1 is exposed to light , a voltage vpxl of the node 14 is determined according to intensity of the light . for example , as the intensity of the light becomes high , the voltage vpxl is lowered . the analog - to - digital converter 50 includes a correlated double sampling ( cds ) circuit 51 and an output circuit 52 . the cds circuit 51 has capacitors c 1 and c 2 and switches sw 1 and sw 2 . one end of the capacitor c 1 is coupled to the output circuit 52 . the switch sw 1 selectively connects the node 14 with the other end of the capacitor c 1 in response to a switching signal s 1 . one end of the capacitor c 2 is coupled to the output circuit 52 . the switch sw 2 selectively connects a ramp signal vramp from the ramp signal generator 30 with the other end of the capacitor c 2 . the switching signals s 1 and s 2 are provided from the timing and control logic block 20 . the output circuit 52 includes an inverter circuit 121 , a capacitor c 3 , an inverter 122 , switches sw 3 and sw 4 , and a latch 123 . the inverter circuit 121 has an input terminal for receiving an analog signal va outputted from the cds circuit 51 and an output terminal for outputting an output signal vout . the switch sw 3 connects an input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 with an output terminal thereof in response to a switching signal s 3 . the capacitor c 3 is coupled between the inverter circuit 121 and the inverter 122 . the inverter 122 has an input terminal for receiving the output vout of the inverter circuit 121 and an output terminal . the switch sw 4 connects an input terminal of the inverter 122 with an output terminal thereof . the latch 123 latches an output cnt of a counter 40 , and outputs data word d . the switching signals s 3 and s 4 are provided from the timing and control logic block 20 . an inverter circuit according to a first embodiment of the invention is now described below with reference to fig3 . in the first embodiment , an enable signal en is active high . referring to fig3 inverter circuit 121 includes an inverter 201 having a pmos transistor p 1 and an nmos transistor n 1 , and includes an enable transistor n 2 . the enable transistor n 2 is an nmos transistor . the pmos transistor p 1 has a source coupled to a power supply voltage vdd , a drain coupled to an output terminal of the inverter circuit 121 , and a gate coupled to an input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 . the nmos transistor n 1 has a drain coupled to the output terminal of the inverter circuit 121 , a source , and a gate coupled to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 . the enable transistor n 2 has a drain coupled to the source of the nmos transistor n 1 , a source coupled to a ground voltage vss , and a gate coupled to the enable signal en provided from control logic block 20 . when the enable signal is high , the inverter circuit 121 is enabled to receive an analog signal va inputted to the input terminal of the inverter 121 , and to invert and amplify the analog signal va . on the other hand , when the enable signal is low , the inverter circuit 121 does not operate . an inverter circuit according to a second embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to fig4 . in the second embodiment , an enable signal en is active low . referring to fig4 an inverter circuit 121 includes an inverter 201 having a pmos transistor p 1 and an nmos transistor n 1 , and includes an enable transistor p 2 . the enable transistor p 2 is a pmos transistor . the pmos transistor p 2 has a source coupled to a power supply voltage vdd , a drain , and a gate coupled to the enable signal en provided from a control logic block 20 . the pmos transistor p 1 has a source coupled to the pmos transistor p 2 , a drain coupled to an output terminal of the inverter circuit 121 , and a gate coupled to an input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 . the nmos transistor n 1 has a drain coupled to the output terminal of the inverter circuit 121 , a source , and a gate coupled to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 . when the enable signal en is low , the inverter circuit 121 is enabled to receive an analog signal va inputted to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 , and to invert and amplify the analog signal va . on the other hand , when the enable signal en is high , the inverter circuit 121 does not operate . the present invention will now be described more fully with regard to a preferred embodiment adopting the inverter circuit 121 shown in fig3 . a timing diagram of signals used in a cmos image circuit according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig5 . with reference to fig2 fig3 and fig5 in a reset sampling period when a reset signal reset on a reset signal line rst provided from the timing and control logic block 20 is high , a potential of the node 110 is set to a voltage vdd - vth that is defined by a threshold voltage of the nmos transistor 101 . a voltage vpxl of the node 14 increases in proportion to a voltage of the node 110 . the voltage of the node 110 sets a gate potential of a source follower transistor 103 . the transistor 103 amplifies a voltage applied to gate terminal of the transistor 103 . when the row selection transistor 104 is turned on by the row selection signal rowsel on the row selection line rsl , the voltage of the node 110 is detected by the cds circuit 51 which detects the corresponding voltage on the column line , and which provides the detected voltage to the output circuit 52 . in more detail , during the reset sampling period , the switches sw 1 , sw 2 , and sw 3 are switched on in response to the switching signals s 1 , s 2 , and s 3 of logic high , and the enable signal en is high . since the output vout of the inverter circuit 121 is fed back to the input terminal of inverter circuit 121 , an analog signal va inputted to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 is vdd / 2 . although the switching signals s 1 , s 2 , and s 3 subsequently become low , the analog signal va is maintained at the vdd / 2 level by way of the capacitor c 1 . in a signal sampling period , as the voltage vtg becomes high , the charge of the node 110 is transmitted to the photodiode pd 1 . the voltage of the photodiode pd 1 is in proportion to the intensity of light incident thereon . the voltage of the node 110 sets the gate potential of the source follower transistor 103 , so that the voltage vpxl of the column line 14 is set to a voltage corresponding to the voltage of the node 110 . the switches sw 1 and sw 2 are switched on in response to the switching signals s 1 and s 2 of logic high . the analog signal va is equivalently lowered with the variation degree h 1 of the voltage vpxl . subsequently , the switching signal s 1 becomes low and the switching signal s 2 is kept high . after the switching signal s 1 becomes low , the ramp enable signal ramp_en and the counter enable signal cnt_en are activated high . in response to the ramp enable signal ramp_en of logic high , the ramp signal generator 30 generates a ramp signal vramp rising with a constant inclination . since the switching signal s 2 is high , the analog signal va rises with the same rate as the ramp signal vramp . in response to the counter enable signal cnt_en of logic high , the counter 40 starts to count cycles of the counter enable signal cnt_en of logic high . because the enable signal en is deactivated low from a first falling edge to a second falling edge of the switching signal s 1 , the inverter circuit 121 does not operate during that period . if the inverter circuit 121 did not have the enable transistor n 2 , the source of the nmos transistor n 1 would have been directly coupled to the ground voltage vss , and since the analog signal va as inputted to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 is vdd / 2 , a current path would have been formed between the power supply voltage vdd and the ground voltage vss through the pmos transistor p 1 and the nmos transistor n 1 of the inverter circuit 121 . this would lead to an increase in power consumption of the inverter circuit 121 . however , with the enable transistor n 2 coupled between the source of the nmos transistor n 1 and the ground voltage vss , unnecessary power consumption is suppressed . although the inverter 121 is in a disabled state , there is no influence on the operation of the analog - to - digital converter 50 , because the analog signal va inputted to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 is stored in the capacitors c 1 and c 2 . when the analog - to - digital converter 50 of fig2 operates , part of signals inputted / outputted to / from the analog - to - digital converter 50 as illustrated in fig6 . referring to fig6 as the enable signal en is deactivated low at the first falling edge of the switching signal s 1 , the output signal vout of the inverter circuit 121 becomes high . when the enable signal en is activated high at the second falling edge of the switching signal s 1 , the inverter circuit 121 outputs an output signal vout according to the analog signal va inputted to the input terminal of the inverter circuit 121 . [ 0044 ] fig7 a shows output data based on the illuminance of light in the cmos image circuit according to the present invention , and fig7 b shows output data based on the luminance of light in an inverter circuit without an enable transistor . in view of fig7 a and fig7 b , it sould be understood that the enable transistor ( n 2 of fig3 and p 2 of fig4 ), stabilizes operation of the inverter circuit 121 . according to the present invention , the power consumption of an analog - to - digital converter is reduced . as a result , the power consumption of a cmos image device is reduced . while the present invention has been illustrated and described with regard to particular embodiments thereof , it will be understood that numerous modifications and substitutions may be made to the embodiments described and that numerous other embodiments of the invention may be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .
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embodiments of the present invention will now be described , by way of example , with reference to the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 a card validator according to the present invention comprises a box - like housing 1 which has a raised portion 1 a in one corner . a slot 2 extends down one side of the body 1 and into the raised portion 1 a . the slot 2 is blocked off within the raised portion 1 a but opens through the opposite end of the body 1 . the depth of the slot 2 is such that a card 3 can be held conveniently while it is swiped along the slot 2 . the validator is for validating cards 3 having both a magnetic stripe 4 and an embedded integrated circuit . the same data can be read from both the magnetic stripe 4 and the embedded integrated circuit . the data programmed into the integrated circuit is accessible via electrical contacts 5 . a red light - emitting diode 6 and a green light - emitting diode 7 project through the top of the body 1 . referring to fig2 a magnetic reading head 8 is mounted in a wall of the slot 2 for reading the data from the magnetic stripe 4 of a card 3 being swiped past . a set of contacts 9 is positioned in the same wall of the slot 2 towards its closed end . the contacts 9 are positioned so that , when a card 3 being swiped is arrested by the closed end of the slot 2 , they make contact with respective contacts 5 on the card 3 . referring to fig3 the body 1 ( fig1 ) houses processing circuitry 10 , including a microprocessor 11 and non - volatile memory 12 , a magnetic stripe reader 13 , including the head 8 , and a chip card interface 14 , including the contacts 9 . outputs of the processing circuitry 10 are connected to the red and green light - emitting diodes 6 , 7 . in order to perform chip data integrity checks , keys are provided on key programming cards 3 . these cards are identified by a characteristic signature recorded in their magnetic stripes . the operation and use of the card validator of fig1 will now be described with reference to fig4 . when a user wishes to validate a card 3 or program in integrity checking keys , the user swipes the relevant card 3 along the slot 2 towards its closed end , i . e . in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig1 . as the card 3 passes the head 8 , the data recording in its stripe 4 is read by the magnetic stripe reader 13 . this data is preceded by twenty ‘ 0 ’&# 39 ; s and is followed by a check character . the data read by the magnetic stripe reader 13 is stored by the microprocessor 11 ( step s 1 ). as the card 3 reaches the end of the slot 2 , its contacts 5 mate with the contacts 9 of the chip card interface 14 . the microprocessor 11 reads the data from the chip in the card 3 via the chip card interface 14 ( step s 2 ). if the data from the magnetic strip includes a characteristic signature , the microprocessor 11 recognises the card 3 as a key programming card ( step s 3 ). if the card 3 is recognised as a key programming card , the microprocessor 11 simply stores the data read from the card &# 39 ; s chip in the non - volatile memory 12 ( step s 4 ). if the card 3 is not a key programming card , the microprocessor 11 performs an integrity check ( step s 5 ) on the data from the card &# 39 ; s chip using a key from the nonvolatile memory 12 . if the data fails the integrity check , the microprocessor 11 causes the red light - emitting diode 6 to light up ( step s 6 ). if , however , the integrity check is passed , the microprocessor 11 compares the data from the chip ( step s 7 ), which corresponds to data recorded in the magnetic stripe 4 , with the data read from the magnetic stripe 4 . if the data from the two sources match , the microprocessor 11 causes the green light - emitting diode 7 to light up ( step s 8 ), otherwise the microprocessor 11 causes the red light - emitting diode to light up ( step s 6 ). if the green light - emitting diode 7 lights up , the user knows that it is safe to perform a transaction and pass the card 3 through the conventional card - reading transaction terminal or take an impression of the card 3 . however , if the red light - emitting diode 6 lights up , the user know that the card has been tampered with or damaged and should be rejected . referring to fig5 and 6 , in a second embodiment , the processing circuitry 10 includes a communications interface 15 . the microprocessor 11 is programmed so that the validator operates as described above with reference to fig4 ( steps s 11 to s 18 ) except that in an additional step s 19 ( fig6 ) an alarm signal is transmitted to a remote location , e . g . to security staff , using the communications interface when a card 3 fails the data integrity test or the data comparison test . referring again to fig5 and to fig7 in a third embodiment , the microprocessor 11 is programmed so that the validator operates as described above with reference to fig4 ( steps s 20 to s 27 ) except that data read from the card &# 39 ; s chip is communicated between the chip in a card 3 and a computer - based point - of - sale apparatus via the communications interface 15 ( step s 28 ) after a card has been validated . it should be noted that the data transmitted to the point of sale terminal is the data read from the card &# 39 ; s chip not the result of the validation process . consequently , the user can use the card validator as a chip card interface when the chip card processing infrastructure becomes available for the user and cards no longer have magnetic stripes . in the second and third embodiments , the communications interface 15 may also be used for loading integrity check keys . it will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to the embodiments described above . for instance , key programming cards may be identified by data stored in their chips .
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fig1 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates a system 20 for functional coverage analysis , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . a simulator 22 runs a suite of tests on a design under test , and a trace analyzer 24 generates trace files , containing lists of events that occurred during testing . ( an “ event ” in this context , as explained above , is a particular combination of values of attributes of the design under test , which corresponds to a line in the trace file in the embodiment of fig1 .) the trace files are processed by a coverage tool 26 in order to track the coverage of the testing program . to process and display the coverage results , coverage tool 26 typically uses a schema 28 and a coverage model 30 that are provided by a user 32 of the tool . the schema is a list of attributes that defines the part of the design to be tested , and thus defines the area over which the test coverage is to be measured by tool 26 . each attribute has a bounded set of values , which is referred to as the attribute domain . the model , which is based on the schema , represents the space of events that are of interest in evaluating the test coverage and indicates which events are legal . since each event is specified by multiple attributes , the cross - product space in which the model is defined is typically multi - dimensional . in order to simplify the presentation of the model , the user may choose projections of the model that allow the model to be more readily visualized in two -, three - or n - dimensional space , wherein n is the number of the attributes in the projection . additionally or alternatively , the user may select certain sub - domains or partitions of the model for analysis and presentation . in this exemplary embodiment , coverage tool 26 comprises a trace processor 34 , which arranges the coverage information from the trace files into a coverage database 36 , which is held in a suitable memory . the organization of the database is determined by a database generator 38 , on the basis of schema 28 . as testing by simulator 22 progresses , trace analyzer 24 and trace processor 34 add data to coverage database 36 , indicative of the events that have been covered . a coverage analyzer 40 processes the information in the coverage database and , on the basis of model 30 , presents the coverage model on an output device 42 , such as a terminal display or a printer . based on this presentation , user 32 is able to identify holes in the coverage that has been achieved , as well as blocks of events that have been covered , at various points in the course of testing by simulator 22 . the user may then specify additional tests to be performed by simulator 22 in order to plug holes that remain in the coverage model . additionally or alternatively , the coverage model may be applied by an automatic test generator , either autonomously or under the guidance of a user , in generating additional tests . typically , coverage tool 26 comprises one or more general - purpose computer processors , which are programmed in software to carry out the functions described herein . the software may be downloaded to the processor in electronic form , over a network , for example , or it may alternatively be supplied on tangible media , such as optical , magnetic or electronic memory media . the different functional elements of the coverage tool may be implemented as different processes running on the same computer , or they may alternatively be divided among different computers . furthermore , these elements may be integrated with other components of system 20 on a single computer . alternatively , some or all of these elements may be implemented in dedicated hardware or on a combination of hardware and software components . the coverage information in database 36 typically identifies three types of events : covered events , non - covered events , and illegal events . as an example , the above - mentioned article by lachish et al . describes a coverage model of a floating point processor . the elements of the model are shown below in table i : the coverage model might be expressed semantically as “ test that all instructions produce all possible target results in the various rounding modes supported by the processor both when rounding did and did not occur .” each combination of the attribute values that has been tested then becomes a covered event , while legal combinations that have not been tested are non - covered events . the semantically - expressed functional model , however , also includes illegal events . for example , the result of a “ fabs ” ( absolute value ) instruction should , in fact , never be negative . thus , events of the form & lt ; instr = fabs , result ={−}, . . . & gt ; are illegal . the embodiments that follow illustrate methods that may be used by coverage analyzer 40 in dealing with illegal events in presentation of the coverage model on output device 42 . fig2 is a simplified map 50 of an exemplary coverage model in a two - dimensional cartesian cross - product space . the model is based on two attributes , arbitrary referred to as x ( on the horizontal axis ) and y ( on the vertical axis ), both having integer domains { 1 , . . . , 6 }. each pair of possible values of the attributes is an event , represented by a corresponding square in the map . the map shows covered events 52 in the model , along with illegal events 54 and non - covered events 56 . although the embodiments shown in the figures present a coverage model in simple cartesian space , the principles of the present invention may also be applied to coverage models in other types of multi - dimensional spaces . examples of such spaces include trees , hybrid coverage spaces , and unions of cartesian spaces . these and other types of coverage representation are described by piziali in functional verification coverage and analysis ( kluwer academic publishers , boston , 2004 ). fig3 is a schematic map 60 showing a simplified presentation of the coverage model of fig2 that is generated by coverage analyzer 40 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , illegal events 54 are aggregated with covered events 52 into a quasi - covered area 62 . the remainder of the map provides a clear presentation of aggregated holes 64 , representing the areas of the cross - product space that remain to be covered by further testing . the user can clearly see in map 60 , for example , that the attribute value y = 3 has not yet been tested at all . there is no need for user 32 to specify tests that will cover the illegal events in the space , and thus there is no harm in aggregating the illegal events with the covered events . formally , if the set of covered events is denoted c , and the set of legal events is denoted l , the method used to generate map 60 may expressed by the pseudocode in table ii below : the tilde (˜) indicates negation . the function “ aggregate ” collects adjacent events that meet the criterion of “ raw data ,” i . e ., events that are legal but non - covered , so as to form holes of rectangular shape . any suitable algorithm may be used for this purpose . in the example shown in fig3 , “ aggregate ” collects events having the same y value and adjacent x values in order to form holes that are as long as possible . then , if two of these holes with adjacent y values have the same starting and ending x values , the two holes are merged together . the result in the present example is the set of holes & lt ;{ 2 , 3 , 4 }, 1 & gt ;, & lt ; 6 , 1 & gt ;, & lt ;{ 1 , 2 }, 2 & gt ;, & lt ;{ 4 , 5 , 6 }, 2 & gt ;, & lt ;{ 1 , . . . , 6 }, 3 & gt ;, & lt ;{ 5 , 6 },{ 5 , 6 }& gt ;. other aggregation algorithms may be used to give holes of other shapes . algorithms that may be used for this purpose are described , for example , in the above - mentioned article by lachish et al . fig4 is a schematic map 70 showing a simplified presentation of the coverage model of fig2 that is generated by coverage analyzer 40 , in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , illegal events 54 are aggregated with non - covered events 56 with the aim of giving holes that are well generalized , even if a certain number of illegal events are included in the holes as a result . as shown in fig4 , this strategy results in the definition of two large holes 74 , with a covered space 72 that also includes a number of illegal events . the upper hole & lt ;{ 1 , . . . , 6 },{ 1 , 2 , 3 }& gt ; includes three illegal events 76 . ( although illegal events 76 are marked in map 70 for the sake of conceptual clarity , the illegal events may be hidden within holes 74 for ease of visualization when coverage models of larger and more complex spaces are presented to the user .) this presentation is advantageous , however , in that it enables user 32 to visualize more readily and intuitively the areas of the cross - product space that remain to be covered and to devise more efficient , generalized test definitions to cover these areas . the method used to generate map 70 may be expressed in pseudocode form as follows : according to this strategy , holes are constructed by the “ aggregate ” function , as described above , over the union of all non - covered and illegal events ( equivalent to ˜( c ∩ l )). the holes are then evaluated , and any hole that contains no legal events is discarded from the set of holes . in other words , as long as a hole contains a single legal non - covered event , that hole is presented to the user . alternatively , other criteria may be applied in order to determine which illegal events to subsume in the coverage holes that are presented to the user . in particular , the actual distribution of illegal events in each “ impure ” hole may be used in determining how the hole is presented . (“ impure ” in this context refers to a coverage hole that contains one or more events that are not actually legal non - covered events .) for example , step ( 4 ) in table iii may specify that only holes containing a relatively low percentage of illegal events are preserved and presented to the user . additionally or alternatively , it may be required that the illegal events be distributed sparsely within the area of the hole , rather than clustered together . as another option , a similar strategy may be used to aggregate covered and illegal events ( as in the example of fig3 and table ii ), so that areas in the cross - product space that contain only illegal events are distinguished from covered areas 62 . further additionally or alternatively , when illegal events 76 are mixed into holes 74 , coverage processor 40 may generate an indication to user 32 of the “ purity ” of the holes . for example , the coverage processor may compute and display the density of illegal events within each hole . the holes may also be sorted for the user according to criteria such as geometrical size or absolute size ( eg ., the number of legal , non - covered events that the hole actually contains ), purity , or dimension ( the number of attribute values that are not covered at all in the hole ). other criteria for aggregating , evaluating and sorting holes or covered areas that include illegal events will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , not shown in the figures , sparsely - distributed covered , legal events are included in holes that are presented to user 32 of system 20 . for example , if events 76 in fig4 were legal events that had already been covered by testing in simulator 22 , these events might still be included in the presentation of hole 74 in order to give a clearer , more generalized definition of the hole boundaries . typically , covered events are included in a hole only if they are relatively widely spread and constitute no more than a predetermined percentage of the events in the hole . furthermore , if a lightly - covered hole ( i . e ., a hole containing some legal events ) contains another large hole that is either a pure hole or has a significantly lower coverage percentage , then this purer hole is typically displayed instead of the larger lightly - covered hole . although the embodiments described hereinabove deal primarily with the presentation of coverage holes , the principles of the present invention are also applicable , mutatis mutandis , to the dual problem of aggregating and displaying coverage blocks , i . e ., large covered spaces in the coverage model . visualization of such blocks may similarly be used in determining effective tests to cover the remaining non - covered spaces in the coverage model . furthermore , although the embodiments described above relate to simulation - based testing of a hardware design , the principles of the present invention may similarly be applied in other areas in which coverage may be an issue , such as software testing or production testing . it will thus be appreciated that the embodiments described above are cited by way of example , and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather , the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove , as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art .
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in all the embodiments illustrated the seat portions of the saddle ( 1 ) are preferably , but not essentially , designed to provide support directly below the ischial tuberosities of a cyclist . the seat portion ( 2 ) and the structure for attaching the saddle ( 1 ) to the frame of a bicycle need not be described in detail as they may vary widely to meet particular requirements not relevant to this invention . the support ( 3 ) for the seat portion ( 2 ) has secured thereto a spring plate ( 4 ). this plate ( 4 ) is secured at end ( 5 ) to the seat portion ( 2 ) support ( 3 ) and has a cantilevered forwardly extending end ( 6 ). the plate ( 4 ) is shown to have a shallow depth indicated at ( 7 ) but a substantial width indicated at ( 8 ). the plate ( 4 ) is preferably made of suitable spring steel but it will be appreciated that other materials can be used which will provide similar lateral support and longitudinally flexibility . the plate ( 4 ) is moulded into the separate seat portion ( 2 ) and nose portion ( 9 ), the material for which will be known to those skilled in the art . it will be appreciated that the design of the plate ( 4 ), including the dimensions and materials from which it is made , will be selected to give a compromise of least pressure to the pelvic area of the cyclist combined with adequate lateral support for the necessary balance of a cyclist during use . it will be appreciated that the plate ( 4 ) has a predetermined fixed resilience and this is not always desirable . the nose portion ( 9 ) should flex to meet the variable requirements of cyclists . to provide this for different cyclists additional resilient resistance can be provided by the inclusion of a tension spring ( 10 ) between the operatively upper parts of the nose portion ( 9 ) and the seat portion ( 2 ). the anchor assembly ( 11 ) within the seat portion ( 2 ) includes a screw ( 11 ) which enables the tension of spring ( 10 ) to be adjusted as required . this embodiment is illustrated in fig4 and 5 . referring to both of these embodiments , the nose portion ( 9 ) of the saddle ( 1 ) has an outer resilient covering similar to that of seat portion ( 2 ). these coverings are however separate but they may have an outer elastic or foldable sheath ( not shown ) which enables the nose portion ( 9 ) to flex relative to the seat portion ( 2 ) as shown in fig3 and 5 but without resulting in the gap ( 12 ) between the portions . as an alternative , suitably flexible or deformable material may be used to bridge the area between the nose ( 9 ) and seat portions ( 2 ) where the gap ( 12 ) would otherwise be formed . the saddle ( 1 ) has the advantages of the stability of the conventional fixed nose saddle providing balance to the cyclist . however the downward resilient flexibility under low pressure prevents the discomfort , and sometimes serious damage to the soft tissue to the pelvic outlet area of the cyclist . the combination of the spring plate ( 4 ) and tension spring ( 10 ) enables the benefits of the flexibility to be optimized . it will however be appreciated that the saddle may be varied in many ways from the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention . for example the flexible movement of the nose portion ( 9 ) can be obtained using a hinge assembly biased to hold the nose portion ( 9 ) in its normal position but allowing the hinge to open when downward pressure is exerted on the nose portion ( 9 ). one such further modified embodiment is illustrated in fig6 and 7 . in this embodiment the nose portion ( 9 ) has its end contiguous to the seat portion ( 2 ) enlarged and the upper edges ( 13 ) of this end are rounded . the end is rebated at ( 14 ) into the front end of the seat portion ( 2 ) as shown and the components are so chosen that the movement of the nose portion ( 9 ) relative to the seat portion ( 2 ) substantially avoids the formulation of the gap ( 12 ) when the nose portion ( 9 ) is flexed downwardly . this is achieved by securing the plate ( 4 ) to the under surfaces of the saddle portions ( 2 ) and ( 9 ). as an example of a further variation the flexible characteristics can be obtained during a moulding process wherein the saddle portions are moulded integrally from suitable synthetic resin materials . the invention thus provides a saddle ( 1 ) which is both safe and comfortable in use .
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fig2 illustrates an environment in which a system and method for optimized distribution of calls to call center resources may operate , according to embodiments of the invention . as illustrated in that figure , a caller 102 may initiate a call via a voice network 104 . the caller 102 may initiate that call in a variety of ways , for instance by initiating a cellular call or other wireless call to a customer support number , or by dialing an ( 800 ) number via a landline connection through the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) or other link . the call may likewise be initiated via a voice over internet protocol ( voip ) call or connection , or establishing a voice call or hybrid voice / data call via other wired or wireless channels , links or connections . the call may in embodiments be or include a direct - dialed , transferred , multi - party conference or other call or connection . once the call is initiated , according to embodiments of the invention in one regard the incoming call may be communicated to a routing engine 106 , which may for example be or include a server or other resource . the routing engine 106 may for instance be incorporated in an advanced intelligent network ( ain ) configuration or network , a signaling system 7 ( ss7 ) network or other communications network or fabric , and may in embodiments include or interface to intelligent call management ( icm ) hardware , software or other resources . according to embodiments of the invention , the routing engine 106 may host rules - based logic and other control to be applied to the incoming call , to analyze , route and manage the call during its duration . according to embodiments of the invention in one regard , the routing engine 106 may route the call directly to an automated call response resource 108 , before additional call processing takes place . that is , according to embodiments of the invention in one regard , the call may be transmitted to the automated call response resource 108 before further call discrimination and selective routing to remote resources , such as acds or others , takes place . as illustrated in fig2 , the automated call response resource 108 itself may be , include or interface to , for example , a set of interactive voice response farms 110 . that collection may include one or more interactive voice response farms each containing one or more interactive voice response units , for instance units presenting voice menus to prompt for keypad touch - tone , to capture voice responses for voice recognition processing , to receive telephone typewriter ( tty ) data , or to capture or process other input or data from , via or related to caller 102 and their inquiry . according to embodiments of the invention in one regard , the call may be distributed to one of the set of interactive voice response farms 110 based on load balancing criteria . thus routing engine 106 may transfer the call to an available ivr farm which , for example , has the greatest processor idle time , available bandwidth or the largest number of open or momentarily unused ports . other load balancing or other criteria may be used . it may be noted that according to embodiments of the invention in another regard , the automated call response resource 108 may periodically report utilization rates and other data to the routing engine 106 , to permit load balancing assignments to take place on a current basis . that updating may occur at comparatively short intervals of minutes or seconds , or more or less time according to implementation . that updating may be facilitated in embodiments where one provider owns or operates network connections between the routing engine 106 and automated call response resource 108 , including to reduce cost and contention in that updating channel . however , because in all cases the incoming call is directly transmitted to the set of interactive voice response farms 110 within automated call response resource 108 based on fast decisioning criteria , the call may arrive at a voice response unit within an interactive voice response farm in a comparatively short time , which in cases may be on the order of 250 milliseconds , or more or less . the caller 102 may thus be connected to an interactive voice response menu or other prompt or sequence in real - time or near - real - time after initiating the call and reaching the voice network 104 . the caller 102 may thus be engaged by the interactive voice response processing algorithms of the set of interactive voice response farms 110 . the caller 102 may be presented , for example , with a voice menu prompting them to enter keypad or touch - tone data , voice response data , tty data or other responses or data to capture details of their inquiry or other request . for example , the caller 102 may be prompted to speak or enter a telephone account number , a credit card account number , or other account , subscription or other number or identifier . the caller 102 may for example select a sequence of selections , prompts , notices , alerts and other messages and responses while connected to the automated call response resource 108 . in embodiments that connection and associated responses and data capture may generally take place for a few seconds to a few minutes or more or less , depending on the nature of the caller &# 39 ; s inquiry , resulting menu trees and other factors . the data captured up to the point that the initial interactive voice response interaction is complete may in embodiments be encapsulated in call information 114 , an object which may then be transmitted to the routing engine 106 . call information 114 may in one regard contain , for example , both call data and caller data as well as other information . call data may be or include data such as the dialed number identified via dialed number identification service ( dnis ), calling number data such as a ten - digit or other telephone number generated via automatic number identification service ( ani ) or other services , time of day or date of call origination , the carrier over which the call arrives or which bills or services the call , or other call parameters related to or identifying the originating call . caller data may contain , for instance , caller entered data such as touch - tone , keypad , voice response or other inputs , for instance in response to a voice prompt , tty or other menu or interface , such as for example account , subscriber , user name , social security or other identifiers or data . caller data may likewise in embodiments include data retrieved from past transactions or exchanges , for instance automatically retrieved or identified via the caller &# 39 ; s calling number , whether identified automatically or entered by the caller . other types , categories and formats of data are possible . the routing engine 106 may receive the call information 114 , and based on that data evaluate or determine a call type or call category for the in - process call . that is , the routing engine 106 may host and execute rules - based logic or other decisioning algorithms which identify , for example , a customer calling from their home telephone number who has correctly entered a product serial number for a product purchased less than 12 months ago may have a probable warranty or repair service call or inquiry . other call types or categories may include , for example , cellular or other telephone or telecommunications account inquiries , for instance for billing , subscription , service , cancellation , or other purposes . other types of calls such as financial inquiries or transactions including telephone banking inquiries or brokerage trades , mail order transactions , hotel , airline or other travel or other reservations , rebate or refund processing , locator services or other call categories , inquiries or types are possible . based on the call information 114 , the routing engine 106 may distribute any still - pending , incomplete or unsatisfied calls or inquiries to one of a further set of automatic call distributors 112 . the set of automatic call distributors 112 may be or include local or remote call distribution trunks or exchanges , which for instance in embodiments may be located off - premises , which in cases may be on a related or on a separate network from the resources of the owner or operator of the automated call response resource 108 . in embodiments , any one or more of the automatic call distributors within the set of automatic call distributors 112 may be dedicated or linked to specific customer support tasks or other resources . for example , one automatic call distributor may be dedicated to subscription or retention support , and connect with resources tailored to those functions . those resources may include , for example , a group of customer service representatives ( csrs ) who may be experienced in account subscriptions , and who may be supplied with application tools , such as databases or data mining tools , to resolve subscription , billing , service or other issues . each of the automatic call distributors may likewise connect to or communicate with a set of quality assurance or other automated voice recording resources as appropriate , to generate further queries , inputs or data access , including by way of caller voice recording . those ivr or other resources may for example be configured with menus or other interfaces to prompt the user for account subscription or other transactional information . because the routing engine 106 may in one regard assimilate a comparatively expanded degree of call , caller and related information before routing calls to specific units having specific customer support functions within the set of automatic call distributors 112 , the accuracy or appropriateness of overall call distribution may be enhanced . that is , the likelihood that caller 102 may be connected to or presented with information satisfying their inquiry may be greater compared to , for example , known platforms in which calls are routed to remote automatic call distributors before comparable information is known . moreover , and as illustrated in fig3 , call distribution efficiency according to embodiments of the invention may also be increased . that is , the total elapsed time during various stages of processing according to the invention may be economized , since the initial call routing to the automated call response resource 108 based on load balancing or other network factors may take place in real - time or near - real - time , as noted on the order of 250 milliseconds , or more or less . the caller 102 may then enter interactive voice response processing in the set of interactive voice response farms 110 , during which the dwell time may as illustrated be on the order of 30 seconds to 3 minutes , or more or less . during that period of processing the caller 102 is however still engaged in interactive prompts , and less likely to experience an impression of unnecessary wait time and delay . following the completion of the interactive voice response or similar session , the routing engine 106 may be able to make a determination of an appropriate destination , for example to a unit or site within the set of automatic call distributors 112 , within another comparatively short , real - time or near - real - time period , which as illustrated may be on the order of ½ second , or more or less . upon intake in the set of automatic call distributors 112 , the caller 102 may experience a wait time of , illustratively , 3 – 6 seconds or more or less while the call is sent to an appropriate csr , ivr or other matched resource . at this stage , further processing may be performed to calculate , for example , csr workload , for example by measuring the number of calls in queue or other metrics to distribute the call to an appropriately assigned representative . csr skill or toolsets may also be considered . other processing or ordering may be performed on calls for distribution to the set of automatic call distributors 112 . thus , according to the invention in one regard , from call intake to call completion the caller 102 may overall be expected to generally experience a significantly reduced or nominal amount of wait time during the processing of their call , compared to known support platforms . this is again in part possible among other things because of the immediate or near - immediate connection of calls upon to the automated call response resource 108 , as well as the front - end capture of call information 114 permitting accurate evaluations of call type and routing by routing engine 106 , before redirecting calls to matched csr or other resources . it may be noted that is cases , calls transferred to a given automatic call distributor or other resource in the set of automatic call distributors 112 may yet on occasion reach a csr or other resource not capable of satisfying the inquiry . in such cases , the call may be placed back into queue for further processing , for example , to be transmitted to routing engine 106 to redirect the call to another automatic call distributor or resources , for instance based on any updated call information 114 gained , or otherwise . fig4 illustrates overall call flow processing and distribution logic , according to embodiments of the invention . in step 402 , a customer service or other call may be initiated , for instance by a consumer or other caller 102 calling a wireless customer service number via a cellular connection , an ( 800 ) landline or other channel or connection . in step 404 , the call may access the switched long distance network or other networks or links , such as cellular telephone over the air connections , voice over ip ( voip ) connections or other wired , wireless , optical or other channels or connections . in step 406 , the call may be received in routing engine 106 , which may for example consist of one or more servers , routers or other hardware or infrastructure supporting circuit switched , packet switched or other routing or connections . in step 408 , the call may be automatically routed to an automated call response resource 108 , such as the set of interactive voice response farms 110 or other site or resources which may directly receive and respond to inbound or other calls . in embodiments , individual calls may be routed via routing engine 106 or otherwise to a given ivr farm or individual ivr units in the set of interactive voice response farms 110 , based on load balancing , failover or other network conditions within the automated call response resource 108 . in embodiments , a given ivr unit or farm in the set of interactive voice response farms 110 may have a certain number of ports or bandwidth available for new call assignment , and each farm may be maintained at 80 % load or other load , bandwidth or other levels . in embodiments of the invention in one regard , because in one respect the routing engine 106 already knows the initial destination to which the call will be directed , and also because load balancing information may be computed quickly or updated frequently , the latency or delay time in connection the call to the automated call response resource 108 may be minimal , in embodiments on the order of 250 milliseconds , or more or less . according to embodiments of the invention in another regard , because the automated call response resource 108 may in embodiments be co - located within the network of the provider providing the toll - free customer support or other service , the cost of transferring the call to the automated call response resource 108 may likewise be reduced to comparatively modest levels . in step 410 , automated call self - service , such as capture of caller entered digits or other caller data ( ced ) via keypad or voice recognition responses in response to voice menus or natural speech recognition engines , or other types of caller interaction or response , may be performed via the automated call response resource 108 . for example , the caller may be prompted to enter a credit card or other account number , a cellular telephone number , a social security or other identification code , or other information to the automated call response resource 108 . in further embodiments , the routing engine 106 may transmit part or all of call information 114 to the automated call response resource 108 . in those cases the automated call response resource 108 may respond to the call based or based in part on that information , for example , by presenting the user with a pre - loaded voice menu of access choices to an account which has been identified by a lookup against the calling number as a home telephone number , or by processing other call data . for some callers , the automated or self - service response provided via the automatic rollover to automated call response resource 108 may be sufficient to satisfy their inquiry , and the call may be terminated . the call may be terminated for example by automatic termination by the automated call response resource 108 , by the caller hanging up or otherwise . in step 412 , any uncompleted calls may be returned from the automated call response resource 108 to the routing engine 106 , for further discrimination and processing . in step 414 , the routing engine 106 or other control logic may route the call to an acd destination within set of automatic call distributors 112 , selecting an acd for instance based on call information 114 , and in cases other data or factors , such as load balancing between the set of automatic call distributors 112 , location or connection costs of those resources . in step 416 , call distribution processing may be performed via an acd or other distribution control , such as voice switching , assignment of a csr or other representative or agent , or other call processing or conditioning . in step 418 , the call may be transferred to a csr or other agent for live interaction , as appropriate . in step 420 , call transaction messaging may be performed , for instance , by a csr who may capture caller account or other data in a “ screen pop ” or other action , such as transmitting an email to the caller or other destination , or entering call information into a database . in cases the interaction with an agent or consultant may be sufficient to satisfy the caller &# 39 ; s inquiry and the call may be likewise terminated . in some portion or percentage of calls reaching the set of automatic call distributors 112 , the processing by the initial stage of acd and / or csr or other agent resources may not be sufficient to satisfy the caller &# 39 ; s inquiry or transaction . for instance , the caller may be inquiring regarding a transaction or bill from months or a year ago or more , the data for which may not be accessible to the csr within their tool set . in those and other cases , processing may proceed to step 422 in which an acd - to - acd transfer may be initiated . in step 424 , long distance or other lines or connections may be accessed to transfer the as - yet unsatisfied call to another acd or other site or resource . in step 426 , the call may be routed and transferred to the next acd or other resource in the set of automatic call distributors 112 or otherwise , for example to a site connected to database resources having archival records or other data . in step 428 , voice switching via the next acd may be performed , and in step 430 self - service voice processing or live agent interaction may be presented , as appropriate . in embodiments the call may be redirected further successive acd sites , if the inquiry is not satisfied , as appropriate . in step 432 , after ultimate satisfaction of the caller &# 39 ; s inquiry or transaction , processing may repeat , return to a prior processing point , jump to a further processing point or end . the foregoing description of the invention is illustrative , and modifications in configuration and implementation will occur to persons skilled in the art . for instance , while the invention has generally been described in terms of inbound customer service or other calls arriving over a single voice network , in embodiments the communications links over which calls are initially received may include multiple landline or air interfaces or networks , or voice - enabled data networks such as voice over ip ( voip ) networks , combinations of the same or others networks or connections . for further example , while the automated call response resource 108 has been described in terms of implantations incorporating a set of interactive voice response farms 110 , in embodiments other automated or programmed voice or other response units may be used . similarly , while embodiments of the invention have been illustrated as operating under control of a single routing engine 106 , in embodiments multiple local or remote routing engines or other decision logic may be implemented . other hardware , software or other resources described as singular may in embodiments be distributed , and similarly in embodiments resources described as distributed may be combined . again , while the invention has been illustrated generally in terms of call center networks supporting consumer level service functions , in the platform of the invention may be applied to government , corporate , academic or other support environments . the scope of the invention is accordingly intended to be limited only by the following claims .
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referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views , the principles of the present invention will be explained before describing the structure of the embodiment . in fig2 circles c1 , c2 and c3 represent outlines of conductors 12a , 12b of fig1 . when these circles c1 , c2 and c3 contacts each other , a radius r of a circle c circumscribing the circles c1 , c2 and c3 is represented by the following equation : ## equ2 ## where r is the radius of the circles c1 , c2 and c3 and x is the distance between center of the circle c and the center of the circle c1 . therefore diameter d 1 of the circle c is about 4 . 3r . in fig3 when the circles c1 and c2 contact each other at the center of a corresponding circumscribing circle c &# 39 ;, diameter d 2 of the circle c &# 39 ; is smaller than diameter d 1 of the circle c . in fig3 two small circles c4 , c5 of radius r 1 inscribed within the circle c &# 39 ; and the circles c1 , c2 can be described . when y is a distance between the center of circle c &# 39 ; and the center of small circle c4 , c5 and θ 2 is angle of the line linking both centers of the circles c1 and c2 and the line linking both centers of the small circles c4 and c5 , the following relations are given : by eliminating θ 2 and y from above equations ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ), the following equation ( 6 ) is derived : thus the diameter d 2 ( d 2 = 2r 2 ) of the circle c &# 39 ; becomes smaller than the diameter d 1 of the circle c if one of the three conductors 12a , 12b and 14 of fig1 is divided into two conductors which are circumscribed by the circle c &# 39 ;, along with the circles c1 and c2 as shown in fig3 . therefore according to equation ( 1 ) the stray capacitance of cable as shown in fig3 can be smaller than that of cable as shown in fig1 and 2 . now , an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig4 . the two low voltage conducting lines 20a , 20b contact each other at the center axis of the cable assembly 4 . these conducting lines 20a , 20b includes 19 stranded or twisted copper wires for conductor 21a , 21b and are covered by insulating conduits 22a , 22b made of e . g ., polytetrafluoroethylene sold under the trademark &# 34 ; teflon &# 34 ;. the diameter of conducting lines 20a , 20b is about 1 . 6 mm . two bare high voltage conducting lines 24a , 24b each having a diameter 1 . 1 mm are disposed so that each conducting lines 24a , 24b contacts both the conducting lines 20a , 20b . these conducting lines 24a , 24b include 30 stranded or twisted copper wires for conductors . the opposite ends of these conducting lines 24a , 24b are connected in parallel to the same terminals located at opposite ends of the lines 24a , 24b . in other words current flowing between the terminals is divided into the two conducting lines 24a , 24b . these conducting lines 20a , 20b and 24a , 24b are twisted along the center axis of the cable assembly 4 or the contact point of conduct lines 20a , 20b . a semi - conductive thin tape 25 is bound around them to form a cable core 26 . this tape 25 reduces non - uniformities in the electrical field in the cable core 26 to increase the insulating voltage of the cable assembly 4 . the surface of the tape 25 is covered with an insulating layer 24 , such as an ep rubber , whose thickness is 5 . 8 mm . the surface of the insulating layer 27 is covered with a shield layer 18 formed of wires such as copper of thin - gilt copper interwoven with fibers , such as cotton fibers . a sheath 19 made of , e . g ., chloroprene or vinyl and having a thickness of 1 . 2 mm surrounds the shield layer 18 . the diameter of this cable assembly 4 is about 19 . 4 mm . each dimension is shown in the following table 2 . table 2______________________________________ conductors high voltage low voltage______________________________________structure ( lines / mm ) 30 / 0 . 18 19 / 0 . 32diameter ( mm ) 1 . 1 1 . 6thickness of semi - -- -- conductive rubber ( mm ) thickness of -- 0 . 3insulating rubber ( mm ) thickness of semi - 0 . 2conductive tube ( mm ) diameter of core ( mm ) 4 . 8thickness of high 5 . 8voltage insulatinglayer ( mm ) thickness of 0 . 3shielding layer ( mm ) thickness of sheath ( mm ) 1 . 2total diameter ( mm ) 19 . 4______________________________________ this cable assembly can link three pairs of terminals . in fig7 two conductors 21a , 21b are respectively connected to filament coils 73 , 74 for large and small focus spots of a cathode 72 of an x - ray tube 7 . the other ends of conductors 21a , 21b are connected to a filament circuit . the two conductors 24a , 24b are connected to a common terminal of the filament coils 73 , 74 . the other ends of conductors 24a , 24b are connected to one output terminal of a high voltage transformer . of course , it is possible to use this cable assembly to link a pair or two pairs of terminals . in fig7 this cable assembly can link an anode 71 of the x - ray tube 7 and the other output terminal of the high voltage transformer . in this case it is preferable to short the conductors 21a , 21b and 24a , 24b at both input and output terminals . it is economical to do so without fabricating a particular cable for the anode . the cable assembly as defined in table 2 is capable of operating at an x - ray operating voltage and current of 75 kv and 0 to 2000 ma , respectively . the filament circuit can provide a filament current and voltage of 5a and about 1ov , respectively , to the coils 73 , 74 . the diameter d &# 39 ; 2 of the cable core 26 of the cable assembly 4 according to the present invention is smaller than that of a conventional cable . therefore the stray capacitance of the cable assembly of the present invention is smaller according to the equation ( 1 ). furthermore the thickness of the insulating conduit 22a , 22b and the semi - conductive tape 25 of the cable assembly 4 are thinner than the conventional cable of table 1 . therefore the diameter of the cable core 26 of the cable assembly 4 is about 4 . 8 mm thinner than the 8 . 5 mm diameter of the cable core of table 1 . the stray capacitance c x of the conventional cable 3 of table 1 measures 280 to 300 ( pf / m ) while the calculated value of this stray capacitance is 290 ( pf / m ). on the other hand the stray capacitance c &# 39 ; x of the cable assembly 4 according to the present invention measures 120 to 150 ( pf / m ) while its calculated value is 153 ( pf / m ). in case that the same insulating conduit and semiconductive tube as table 1 is used , the diameter of the cable core is reduced to 8 . 0 mm from 8 . 5 mm if the conductors are arranged as shown in fig3 . since the diameter d of the insulating layer is about 16 . 5 mm , the stray capacitance is reduced approximately 92 % based on the following calculation using the above - noted equation ( 1 ): another embodiment according to the present invention is shown in fig6 . in this embodiment , the cable assembly 6 is similar to the cable assembly 4 as shown in fig4 except for the two high voltage conductors 24c , 24d . the total area of the cross - sections of conductors 24a , 24b as shown in fig4 is 8 / 9 πr 2 . it is slightly less than cross - sectional areas of conductors 21a , 21b . in the case of tabie 2 , since the areas of the conductor 21a and summed conductors 24a and 24b are 8 . 0 mm 2 and 7 . 6 mm 2 , the resistance of conductors 24a and 24b increases . however , in the embodiment as shown in fig6 the cross - sectional areas of conductors 24c , 24d are oval areas which are circumscribed by the tape 25 and conducting lines 20a , 20b . the resistance of the cable 6 can be equal to or less than that of conductors 21a , 21b . the stray capacitance of the cable assembly 6 is the same as that of the cable assembly 4 . 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 .
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the present invention relates to high brightness fiber optic illumination systems . in particular , the present invention represents an led based light source for improved illumination systems relative to arc lamp and other led based light source systems . the illumination system 10 of fig1 is comprised of one or more led die or die array modules 12 , 24 and 26 spectrally and spatially combined by means such as dichroic beam splitters 42 and 44 coupled to a common source aperture 52 which substantially conserves the etendue or area , solid angle , index squared product . a preferred embodiment of the system couples into an optical fiber bundle to provide the high luminous power and high brightness required for medical endoscopic applications . other high brightness applications include , but are not limited to , projection systems , industrial illumination , photo curing , spot lights , and medical photodynamic therapy . prior to led based systems conventional arc lamp based projection systems were used comprised of a short arc lamp typically of the high pressure mercury , metal halide , or xenon lamp variety . the primary disadvantage of the short arc technology is lamp life , which is typically in the 500 to 1000 hour range . the cost of the arc lamp itself and the service cost to replace the lamps over the life of the product can be many multiples of the original cost of the complete illumination system . this drive hospital costs up which in turn drive the costs of medical insurance up . additional benefits of the led technology include reduced power consumption , low voltage operation , light intensity stability , ability to control correlated color temperature ( cct ) and color rendering index ( cri ), and the ability to modulate the source . the ability to modulate the source can be a significant benefit . for example , most of the endoscopic systems in use today are coupled to a video camera . typically video cameras incorporate an electronic shutter and typically the video signal is not integrated continuously . thus , there is an opportunity to modulate the led source in synchronization with the shutter . during the time when the shutter is closed , the led light source does not need to be on . thus , for example , if the shutter was open 50 % of the time , the light source could be modulated in synchronization producing 50 % less heat . thus , for the same average input power to the led light source the light output could be increased by an amount dependant on the operating point of the led source with respect to efficiency . a more conventional approach to producing white light by leds is to deposit a phosphor powder , typically of ce : yag ( cerium doped yttrium aluminum garnet , y 3 al 5 0 12 : ce 3 + ) suspended in an encapsulant material such as silicone , onto a blue led die or die array with a peak wavelength between about 445 nm and 475 nm . the light absorbed by the phosphor is converted to yellow light which combines with the scattered blue light to produce a spectrum that appears white . the apparent color temperature is a function of the density and thickness of the phosphor suspended in the encapsulant . while this approach is efficient , the amount of white light produced per unit area per unit solid angle is fundamentally limited by the amount of blue light extracted from the blue led die or die array , the quantum efficiency of the phosphor , the phosphors thermal quenching , and the back scattering , which is a function of the particle size of the phosphor or other luminescent material . while it is feasible to place a solid phosphor such as single crystal ce : yag over the top of the blue led die or die array , the change in effective path length with angle which increases from normal incidence as the rays approach the plane of the led die emitting surface produces a change in spectrum with angle resulting in a non - uniform far field distribution and undesirable color variation . furthermore , the efficiency of such a device would be limited by the total internal reflection of such a luminescent material due to its high index of refraction unless the surface was in contact with an index matching medium or included a structure to increase extracted radiance such as a photonic lattice , surface roughened or micro - lens array . the heart of the invention of fig1 is the led source module 12 comprised of a central rod 14 of luminescent material such as single crystal or sintered ceramic ce : yag , and other luminescent materials including : ( lu 1 - x - y - a - b y x gd y ) 3 ( al 1 - z - c ga z si c ) 5 o 12 - c n : cea a pr b with 0 & lt ; x & lt ; 1 , 0 & lt ; y & lt ; 1 , 0 & lt ; z & lt ;/= 0 . 1 , 0 & lt ; a & lt ;= 0 . 2 , 0 & lt ; b & lt ;= 0 . 1 , and 0 & lt ; c & lt ; 1 for example lu 3 al 5 o 12 : ce 3 + , y 3 al 5 o 12 : ce 3 + and y 3 al 4 . 8 si 0 . 2 o 11 . 8 n 0 . 2 : ce 3 + emitting yellow - green light ; and ( sr 1 - x - y ba x ca y ) 2 - z si 5 - a al a n 8 - a o a : eu z 2 + where 0 & lt ;= a & lt ; 5 , 0 & lt ; x & lt ;= 1 , 0 & lt ;= y & lt ;= 1 , and 0 & lt ; z & lt ;= 1 for example sr 2 si 5 n 8 : eu 3 + , emitting red light . other candidates include ( sr 1 - a - b ca b ba c ) si x n y o z : eu a 2 + where a = 0 . 002 to 0 . 20 , b = 0 . 0 to 0 . 25 , c = 0 . 0 to 0 . 25 , x = 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 , y = 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 , and z = 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 for example srsi 2 n 2 o 2 : eu 2 + ; ( sr 1 - u - v - x mg u ca v ba x )( ga 2 - y - z al z in z s 4 ): eu 2 + for example srga 2 s 4 : eu 2 + ; ( sr 1 - x - y ba x ca y ) 2 sio 4 : eu 2 + for example srbasio 4 : eu 2 + ; ( ca 1 - x sr x ) s : eu 2 + where 0 & lt ; x & lt ;= 1 for example cas : eu 2 + and srs : eu 2 + ; ( ca 1 - x - y - z sr x ba y mg z ) 1 - x ( al 1a + b b ) si 1 − b n 3 − b o b : re n where 0 & lt ;= x & lt ;= 1 , 0 & lt ;= y & lt ;= 1 , 0 & lt ;= z & lt ;= 1 , 0 & lt ;= a & lt ;= 1 , 0 & lt ;= b & lt ;= 1 and 0 . 002 & lt ;= n & lt ;= 0 . 2 and re is either europium ( ii ) or cerium ( ill ) for example caalsin 3 : eu 2 + or caal 1 . 04 si 0 . 96 n 3 : ce 3 + ; and m x v + si 12 -( m + n ) al m + n o n n 16 - n , with x = m / v and m comprised of a metal preferably selected from the group comprising li , m , ca , y , sc , ce , pr , nd , sm , eu , gd , tb , dy , ho , er , tm , yb , lu or mixtures including for example ca 0 . 75 si 8 . 625 al 3 . 375 n 0 . 625 : eu 0 . 25 as disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . 11 / 290 , 299 to michael r . krames and peter j . schmidt ( publication # 2007 / 0126017 ) which is herein explicitly incorporated by reference in its entirety ; and nano - phosphors embedded in a suitable matrix such as high index plastic or glass , with led die positioned along its length in a linear array of die or a single long led die attached to a high thermal conductivity board 18 , such as copper or aluminum core printed circuit board , which in turn is attached to heat sink 20 . the luminescent rod 14 would have the properties of high absorption of light in one part of the spectrum , blue in the case of ce : yag , emission with high quantum yield in a wavelength region generally longer than the excitation wavelength band , high index of refraction to trap a significant portion of the luminescent light produced such that it is guided or transmitted down the length of the rod toward an emitting aperture 52 . the emitting aperture would be index matched to an optical concentrator 22 such as a compound parabolic concentrator ( cpc ), compound elliptical concentrator ( cec ), compound hyperbolic concentrator ( chc ), taper , or faceted optic . the concentrators would generally be index matched and of solid dielectric , although liquids could work as well . the purpose of the concentrator is two - fold . first , it would be made of a material with an index of refraction approaching that of the rod ( approximately 1 . 82 for ce : yag ) and second , it would act to convert the light emitted over a hemisphere ( 2π steradians ) to an area and solid angle that can be readily imaged through dichroic beam splitters and re - imaging optics while substantially preserving the etendue ( area , solid angle , index squared product ) thereby maximizing the brightness . the output spectrum of the ce : yag rod source would cover the range between about 500 nm and 700 nm , with the predominant contribution in the green spectrum centered around 555 nm . the combination of this light with that from a blue led module 24 would produce white light suitable for many applications . for medical illumination , however , the relative spectral content is typically required to result in a high color rendering index ( cri ) on the order of 85 or greater . to accomplish this it is necessary to add additional light in the red spectral region from a third led source module 26 . in fig1 dichroic beam splitter 42 would transmit the red light of led module 26 and reflect the blue light of led module 24 . dichroic beam splitter 44 would transmit the combined blue and red spectrum of combined led modules 26 and 24 and reflect the green or yellow light of led module 12 . the combined white light spectrum from led modules 12 , 24 , and 26 would then be imaged by lens elements 46 and 50 to stop the input aperture 52 of fiber optic light bundle 54 . the lens elements 46 and 50 could be comprised of multiple lens elements which may include glasses or plastics of different dispersions to help optimize image quality . the lens systems stop 48 would assure that the extent of the far field of the light from each led module was similar so as not to result in color fringe effects at the edge of the illumination field . the size of each led source and their collection optics would be sized such as to produce substantially similar near and far field distributions for each led module . the lens system could also include diffractive or reflective components to help reduce the number of or optical elements and to reduce overall package size . the relative position of the led modules 12 , 24 , and 26 are interchangeable assuming that the dichroic beam splitters were changed in spectral characteristics to accommodate different arrangements . for example , led modules 12 and 24 could be switched in position such that beam splitter 42 would transmit red light , reflect blue and green light and beam splitter 44 would transmit red and green and reflect blue light . the spectrum of the led modules in a different system could include ultraviolet through mid infrared light assuming the optical elements where made of the proper transmitting materials and anti - reflection or reflection coatings . the led modules 24 and 26 would be comprised of an led array either index matched or not index matched to the collection optic depending on the extraction efficiency and method of the led die . for example blue die form cree ( ez1100 ) includes a micro lens array such that the benefit from index matching does not compensate for the increase in the etendue due to the index squared effect . thus for the case of these high performance blue die higher brightness is achieved by not index matching . the red die that are commercially available at this time do not typically include microstructures on their surface to significantly enhance extraction efficiency and thus do benefit from encapsulation , not from a brightness standpoint , but from an efficiency standpoint which due to decreased thermal load translates into improved performance . the collection optics could be comprised of similar optics as detailed for the led module 12 , however , in the case of the blue die , the cpc , taper , or other concentrator could be designed for no index matching . heat sinks 12 , 25 , and 34 of fig1 could be made out of any high thermal conductivity material including but not limited to copper and aluminum . the led or led arrays 16 , 30 , and 38 would be attached to led printed circuit boards ( pcbs ) 18 , 28 , and 36 which would in turn be thermally and mechanically attached to heat sinks 12 , 25 , and 34 respectively . in a preferred embodiment the pcbs would be made out of a high thermal conductivity material including but not limited to copper , diamond , aluminum , or composite materials . ideally the thermal resistance between the back side of the led die or die arrays would be minimized by direct eutectic attachment , soldering , or thermally conductive epoxy . the high thermal conductivity pcbs would act as heat spreaders thereby reducing the heat flux into the heat sinks 12 , 25 , and 34 . the heat sinks could be cooled by direct convection with air , conduction with various coolant fluids such as water , or radiation into the surrounding environment . heat pipes of various constructions have also been found to work very effectively as heat sinks heat pipes and diamond could also be used as the pcb material as they both are very effective heat spreaders with performance well above that of pure copper . fig2 shows a detailed view 60 of the led module 12 of fig1 from the side and in cross section as indicated in 70 . the luminescent rod 14 , which in a preferred embodiment would be single crystal or transparent sintered polycrystalline ce : yag would be characterized by high absorption in a spectral region such as blue in the region of 460 nm and very low extinction for wavelengths greater than the excitation wavelength band above 500 nm to 510 nm . the rod material 14 would also be characterized by exhibiting luminescence of the absorbed excitation light with high quantum yield . thus the led array 16 would in a preferred embodiment be comprised of blue led die such as those manufactured by cree inc . called ez1000 which are dimensionally on the order of 1 mm square by 0 . 120 mm thick . the light from the led array would be transmitted through the outer wall of luminescent rod 14 . the extinction coefficient of rod 14 would be doped to a level resulting in substantially all of the blue light being absorbed within the dimension of the rod prior to exiting the rod through its other side . to the extent that the excitation light was not absorbed with the first pass through the rod 14 , mirrors 72 could be positioned with a reflective surface close to the rod so as to cause the excitation light to pass back into the rod one or more times to maximize absorption by the rod . the reflectivity of the led die is on the order of 80 % which would also act to couple light that was not absorbed on the first pass through the rod back into it for another opportunity to be absorbed . the light could take multiple passes to be substantially absorbed . given the finite reflectivity of the mirrors 72 and diffuse reflectivity of the led die 16 it would be best to chose an extinction that would result in the order of 80 % or more of the excitation light being absorbed on the first pass through the rod 14 . alternatively , the sides of the rod through which the excitation light is not passing initially could be coated with a high reflectivity coating . it would be critical , however , that the reflectivity be very close to 100 % so as not to loose substantial luminous power upon multiple reflections as the luminescent light is transmitted toward the output aperture 62 . in a preferred embodiment the outside surface of the rod would not be coated at all so as to allow a substantial portion of the light generated within the rod to be guided by total internal reflection ( tir ) up the rod toward output aperture 62 . the fact that the luminescent material 14 has a relatively high index of refraction is fortunate as the higher the index of refraction the greater percentage of the light that is generated within the rod will be guided by tir toward the output aperture 62 . the luminescent light generated within the rod 14 would be substantially isotropic and thus would travel equally in all directions . thus half of the light that is bound to the rod by tir would travel in a direction opposite to the output aperture 62 toward mirror 66 which would act to send the light emitted in that direction back toward output aperture 62 , thereby substantially doubling the light reaching output aperture 62 . the mirror could also be effectively coated directly onto the end face of rod 14 in the vicinity of mirror 66 . fig3 shows an alternative embodiment 80 of the mirror elements 66 of fig2 comprised of modified mirror elements 82 containing the addition of small holes 84 through which high pressure air would cool rod 14 by high pressure air impingement . the holes would be sufficiently small as to minimally affect the mirrored surface area of mirrors 82 . high pressure air impingement has several times the film coefficient and thus heat transfer as compared to standard connected low pressure air . the effect of the slight increase in the index of refraction of the medium surrounding rod 14 on tir would be minimal . if direct contact cooling fluid was used without the sides of the rod being reflective , the higher than air index of refraction of the fluid would result in more loss out through the sides due to the decreased tir internal angle , thereby reducing overall led module efficiency . the reason it may be important to provide a means of removing heat build up from the rod is that there would be a small but finite heat absorption , convection and conduction to the rod from the led array 16 that would cause an increase in temperature of the rod if there were no means of removing this heat . this heat rise would result in reduced led module performance due to thermal quenching of the luminescent rod material . increasing the temperature of the rod material can decrease the quantum efficiency . fig4 shows an alternative embodiment 120 of led module 12 of fig1 where two modules 12 have been positioned in sequence to form a single multi - spectrum source . for example rod 122 of 120 could be made of a luminescent material with properties similar to those described for rod 14 for which the excitation band is within the long wavelength ultraviolet spectrum in the region of 240 nm to 420 nm . the high transmission region of the material would be in wavelengths longer than 420 nm and its luminescence could be in the blue to blue - green spectral region . likewise rod 124 could have similar absorption properties but comprise luminescence in the green to red region of the spectrum . both rods 122 and 124 would be characterized by high transmission in the spectral region containing wavelengths longer that 420 nm . the mirror 66 would act to reflect any light transmitted in the direction opposite output coupler 22 back toward 22 . in this way , led light module 120 could contain the full and desired spectrum of the white light source and would not require supplemental led modules 24 and 26 of fig1 nor dichroic beam splitters 42 and 44 . it would be necessary to use an index matching material between the two rods 122 and 124 such as melted schott sf6 glass or other suitable index matching material . alternatively , a single material or ceramic such as yag ( yttrium aluminum garnet ) could use different dopants in the regions corresponding to rods 122 and 124 such that the rod is continuous and there is no need for an index matching medium . alternatively , more than one dopant could be used evenly over the entire length of a single rod assuming the dopants did not interfere and reduce quantum efficiency . the length of the rods and excitation led arrays could be increased to achieve higher flux out of collection optic 22 . this is the primary distinction and advantage of this technology over prior art comprised of a thin planar luminescent material , as the out put can be increased by increasing the length of the rod rather than increasing the power density of the excitation source thereby resulting in output flux many multiples of that which could be achieved by prior art . the output of the system of fig4 could alternatively be directly coupled to an optical fiber bundle without the need for re - imaging optics . fig5 represents alternative cross sectional areas for rods including but not limited to circular , square , rectangular , and multiple sided polygons such as a hexagon and octagon . generally , even number of sides polygons have better spatial mixing than those with an odd number of sides although either could be used . likewise , the optical concentrator that would be index matched to one of the rod configurations could have a similar cross sectional shape . for example a rectangular or square cpc or taper could be used . a theta by theta cpc comprised of a taper coupled to a cpc such as described by welford and winston ( high collection nonimaging optics , w . t . welford and r . winston , academic press , 1989 ) could be used . fig6 shows various configurations 100 of a combination of luminescent rod and output concentrators . for example the rods 102 , 108 , and 114 , could be index matched to output couplers in the form of a taper 104 , cpc 110 , or combined theta by theta taper and cpc 116 . in general the concentrators would be made out of a material that is transparent and of similar index of refraction and would be coupled by means of an index matching medium . alternatively , the two components comprising a rod and concentrator could be mated by heating the components and allowing them to melt together . alternatively , the rod and concentrator could be made out of the same material such as ceramic ( phosphor particles sintered at temperatures on the order of 1800 ° celsius and under pressure causing the material to become transparent and substantially homogeneous ) such as ce : yag which could be doped in the region of the rod and not doped in the region of the concentrator thereby eliminating the need for index matching . fig7 shows a plot of index of refraction of the concentrator versus coupling efficiency for the case of ce : yag rod which has an index of refraction on the order of 1 . 82 for two rod geometries circular and square in cross section . the out - coupling efficiency into air ( index of refraction 1 ) of 30 % assumes that all the light emitted by the led die is absorbed within the rod and that one end of the rod is coated with a mirror with reflectivity of 100 %. thus , the efficiency can be improved by the order of 80 % by index matching to a concentrator with an index of refraction approaching that of the rod . the data also assumes that the output face of the concentrator is anti - reflection coated to minimize losses due to fresnel reflections at the air / dielectric interface . fig8 shows empirical data for a white light source transmitted through the side of a ce : yag rod of 1 mm in thickness as well as guided down its length of 50 mm . the cerium doping was 0 . 15 %. the data shows that for the 1 mm path length more than 90 % of the blue light was absorbed . the rod was not coated , so the maximum expected transmission would be on the order of 84 % due to fresnel reflection which is observed at a wavelength of about 400 nm where the ce : yag rod is substantially transparent . the fact that the output is above the expected maximum transmission for wavelengths greater than 500 nm is due to the contribution from the luminescent light emitted by the absorbed blue light in the incident white light . the broader absorption band shown in the 50 mm length is due to the fact that beer &# 39 ; s law is acting over 50 times the length exponentially . it is also apparent that the material does exhibit some degree of self absorption for which some of the absorbed light emitted as phosphorescence is absorbed through the length . thus for some applications it may be important to limit the length of the rod to minimize absorption at the short end of the emitted spectrum and to minimize heating due to self absorption . fig9 shows the combined spectrum of the system of fig1 with the thick black vertical lines representing the spectral region of the dichroic beam splitters . the current to the individual sources can be adjusted to result in a cri greater than 90 at a cct on the order of 5700 ° kelvin which is consistent with the values typical of short arc xenon lamps . the blue spectrum shown here is comprised of three blue led peak wavelength centered around 445 nm , 457 nm and 470 nm . the red band is comprised of the combination of led center wavelengths peaked near 630 nm and 650 nm . the effect of increasing the spectral widths in the blue and red spectral regions is primarily to increase the cri . the breadth and scope of the present invention 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 .
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as seen in fig1 and 2 , a resealable pouch 10 includes a front panel 12 and a back panel 14 that are connected , such as by folding , heat seal , and / or adhesive , along three peripheral edges to define a sealable interior space 16 therebetween , and an opening 18 is defined along a top edge 20 where the front and back panels are not connected so as to allow access to the interior space . a resealable elongate closure mechanism 22 extends along the front and back panels 12 , 14 near the opening 18 between a left edge 24 and a right edge 26 of the pouch 10 to allow the opening to be repeatedly sealed and unsealed , thereby closing and opening , respectively , the opening . preferably , the closure mechanism 22 provides an airtight seal such that a vacuum may be maintained in the interior space 16 for an extended period of time , such as days , months , or years , when the closure mechanism is sealed fully across the opening 18 . in one embodiment , the pouch 10 may include a second opening through one of the panels 12 , 14 covered by a vacuum check valve 28 to allow air to be evacuated from the interior space 16 and maintain the vacuum when the closure mechanism 22 has been sealed . the pouch 10 may also include relief on or along an interior surface of one or both of the front and back panels 12 , 14 to provide air flow channels 30 between the panels when a vacuum is being drawn through the check valve 28 . in this manner , the pouch 10 provides a complete evacuable system within which food , for example , may be stored in a reusable vacuum pouch . as best seen in fig2 , the closure mechanism 22 includes a closure element 32 that releasably interlocks and seals with an opposing closure element 34 . each closure element 32 , 34 has a substantially constant elongate cross - sectional profile that extends longitudinally between the left edge 24 and right edge 26 of the pouch 10 to form a continuous seal therealong when fully interlocked with the opposing closure element . in one embodiment , closure element 32 is disposed along the front panel 12 and the closure element 34 is disposed along the back panel 14 opposite the first closure element so as to resealably interlock along an entire length thereof . the closure element 34 has an elongate closure profile including a sealing section spaced between two interlocking members 36 , 38 , each projecting from a common side of a base member 40 . in one embodiment , the interlocking member 36 has an arrow - shaped male interlocking profile , and the interlocking member 38 has a channel - shaped female interlocking profile . the arrow - shaped male interlocking profile 36 includes a shaft extending outwardly from the base member 40 and a symmetrical head with barbs extending from opposite sides of a distal end of the shaft spaced from the base member . the channel - shaped female interlocking profile 38 includes two spaced arms extending from the base member 40 , each arm having an in - turned hook at a distal end thereof , to form a channel therebetween . the sealing section of the closure element 34 includes a sealing wall 42 and a sealing wall 44 spaced apart and projecting outwardly from the base member 40 . the sealing walls 42 , 44 in one embodiment are tapered , having a tip that is narrower than a base , thereby forming a tapered channel 46 therebetween . in one embodiment , the sealing walls 42 , 44 and the male and female interlocking profiles 36 , 38 are all approximately the same height from the base member 40 . the closure element 32 has an elongate second closure profile including a sealing section spaced between two interlocking members 48 , 50 , each projecting from a common side of a base member 52 . in one embodiment , the interlocking member 48 has a channel - shaped female interlocking profile , and the interlocking member 50 has an arrow - shaped male profile , complementary with the respective male and female interlocking profiles 36 , 38 , respectively , of the closure profile 34 . the sealing section of the closure element 32 includes at least one sealing rib that wedges into the tapered channel 46 between the opposing sealing walls 42 , 44 . in one embodiment , the sealing section includes a first sealing rib 54 disposed between a second sealing rib 56 and a third sealing rib 58 . each sealing rib 54 , 56 , 58 has a bulbous head 60 , such as a cross member , spaced from the base member 52 proximate a distal end of a wall 62 , which projects from the base member 52 . in one embodiment , each sealing rib 54 , 56 , 58 has a t - shaped cross - section . in other embodiments , the bulbous head 60 may have other shapes that project laterally from the wall 62 , such as rounded , asymmetrical , slanted , or multiple projections , for example . in a sealed state , the male interlocking profile 50 is interlocked with the female interlocking profile 38 , and the female interlocking profile 48 is interlocked with the male interlocking profile 36 . the bulbous head 60 of the sealing rib 54 is wedged tightly into the tapered channel 46 against the sealing walls 42 , 44 . the sealing wall 42 is wedged tightly between and against the bulbous heads 60 of the sealing rib 54 and the sealing rib 56 , and the sealing wall 44 is wedged tightly between and against the bulbous heads 60 of the sealing rib 54 and the sealing rib 58 . preferably , the geometry of the sealing walls 42 , 44 and the sealing ribs 54 , 56 , 58 is such that , when the interlocking profiles 36 , 38 , 48 , 50 are occluded together in the sealed state , the distal ends of the sealing walls are spaced from the base member 52 and the bulbous heads 60 are spaced from the base member 40 , thereby ensuring four air tight seals across the closure profiles 32 , 34 between the interlocking profiles 36 , 48 and 38 , 50 . further , the sealing sections are spaced from each interlocking member 36 , 38 , 48 , 50 , which provides a sealing section that forms an air tight seal independently of the interlocking members . of course , more or fewer sealing walls and sealing ribs may be used in other embodiments to form more or fewer air tight seals across the closure profiles . in order to develop differential opening and closing forces , one of the closure elements may be secured continuously to the respective panel along the entire profile of the base member , and the other closure element may be secured partially to the respective panel along only a portion of the profile . for example , in one embodiment , the closure element 34 is connected with the back panel 14 continuously between the interlocking member 36 and the interlocking member 38 . the closure element 32 is connected with the front panel 12 continuously between the interlocking member 48 and an interior side of the sealing rib 58 , and an interior end of the closure element 32 is unconnected with the front panel 12 between the interior end of the base 52 and the interior side of the sealing rib 58 . in this manner , differential opening and closing forces may be developed because the interior end and interlocking profile 50 of the base 52 of at least the closure element 32 is allowed to hinge away from the front panel 12 , thereby minimizing an opening force caused by the contents pushing outwardly against the front and back panels 12 , 14 . in other embodiments , the interior end of either or both closure profiles 32 , 34 may be unconnected with the respective panel 12 or 14 , or the interior end of both closure profiles may be connected with the respective panel . the closure elements 32 , 34 may be connected with the respective front and back panels 12 , 14 by many means , such as with adhesives or heat or ultrasonic welding . in one embodiment , the closure elements 32 , 34 are connected with the respective panels 12 , 14 using an intermediate layer 64 of connecting material , such as thermoplastic weld material , disposed between and connecting the base member 40 , 52 of the closure element with the respective panel 14 , 12 . in this embodiment , a hot layer of thermoplastic weld material 64 applied between each closure element 32 , 34 and the respective panel 12 , 14 melts and attaches to both the panel and the base member , thereby forming a thermoplastic weld therebetween , which in some embodiments may provide a good continuous air tight seal between each panel and the respective closure member . in one embodiment , the top edge 20 of one or both of the front and back panels 12 , 14 extends upwardly beyond an exterior end of the respective closure profile 32 , 34 . one or more grip ridges 66 project from an interior side of one or both of the panels 12 , 14 between the top edge 20 and the respective closure member 32 , 34 to provide additional finger traction for opening the closure mechanism . in a further embodiment , one or both of the closure elements 32 , 34 may include one or more textured portions , such as a bump or crosswise groove in one or both of the interlocking members 36 , 48 , in order to provide a tactile sensation , such as a series of clicks , as a user draws the fingers along the closure mechanism to signify sealing of the closure elements across the opening . in another embodiment , all of the closure elements 36 , 38 , 48 , 50 include textured portions along the length of the profile to provide tactile and / or audible sensations when closing the closure mechanism 22 . in one embodiment , the front and back panels 12 , 14 and closure mechanism 22 are formed by known extrusion methods . for example , the panels 12 , 14 may be extruded of thermoplastic material as a single continuous single - or multi - ply web , and the closure profiles 32 , 34 may be extruded of the same or different thermoplastic material separately as continuous lengths or strands . the panels 12 , 14 in one embodiment may be formed of multi - layer air impermeable film , such as an evoh ply adhesively secured between polypropylene and low density polyethylene plies . one panel , such as the back panel 14 , may be embossed or otherwise textured with a pattern , such as a diamond pattern , on both sides spaced between a bottom edge 68 and the closure mechanism 22 and may have a smooth area adjacent the bottom edge and top edge . the closure elements in one embodiment 32 , 34 may be extruded primarily of molten polyethylene with various amounts of slip component , colorant , and talk additives in a separate process . the fully formed closure profiles 32 , 34 may then be attached along opposite edges of one side of the web by placing or extruding a strip of molten thermoplastic weld material 64 onto the web along or adjacent to each edge of the web and immediately placing a closure member 32 , 34 onto each strip of molten thermoplastic weld material . the thermoplastic weld material 64 may then be allowed to cool , the web folded together between the two edges to place the closure members 32 , 34 in opposing resealable relation , and the web severed transverse to the web direction into discrete pouches , in a manner well known in the art , to form the pouch 10 . according to another embodiment , the web , intermediate layer of connecting material 64 , and the closure elements 32 , 34 may be extruded together simultaneously , and subsequently cooled , folded , and cut . if used , the check valve 28 may be formed on and / or attached to the web prior to folding . of course , various details shown in fig1 and 2 may be modified within the spirit of the present invention . for example , the specific orientation of the closure profiles 32 , 34 with respect to the interior 16 may be altered from the orientation shown in the drawings , such that , for example , the male interlocking profile 36 and the female interlocking profile 48 may be disposed on the interior side 16 of the sealing sections . in addition , the location and / or use of the check valve 28 and the air flow channels 30 may be modified as desired . other methods and materials suitable for forming structures of the present invention may be also be used . a pouch according to the present invention may be used to pack and store perishable items contained therein in an air - free or vacuum environment . according to one embodiment , the closure mechanism of the present invention can provide an air tight seal that is separate from the interlocking members so as to provide a more secure air tight seal . clearly , many other and varied uses of the pouch and closure mechanism disclosed herein are also possible . numerous modifications to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the invention and to teach the best mode of carrying out same . the exclusive rights to all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims are reserved .
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fig1 is a top , somewhat schematic view of an exemplary four - passenger aircraft 10 that includes the present invention . as is typical , aircraft 10 has two control columns or yokes 11 and 12 , either extending toward seats 15 and 16 from the instrument panel , or extending from front wall 18 , as shown , or extending upwardly as sticks , or pedestals from the floor , in front of seats 15 and 16 . airbag storage and actuating assemblies 20 and 21 are , respectively , attached to ( or constructed as an integral element of ) each of the yokes 11 and 12 , or are attached to the instrument panel . assemblies 20 , 21 are connected to airbag actuating control circuitry via cable 19 of fig2 . the airbags associated with assemblies 20 , 21 are each configured to produce dual lobes when actuated , such as 22 and 23 for assembly 20 , and 25 and 26 for assembly 21 . lobes 22 and 25 extend toward front wall 18 , while lobes 23 and 26 extend toward the respective occupants of seats 15 and 16 . fig2 presents a side view of yoke 11 , and the airbag actuation sequence from this yoke &# 39 ; s airbag assembly 20 . discharge of expansion gas at assembly 20 causes the airbag to expand , as is generally illustrated by the three sequential airbag positions 22a / 23a , 22b / 23b and 22c / 23c . the airbag is configured such that the forwardly - directed lobe 22 engages the aircraft &# 39 ; s front wall 18 at approximately the same time that the full extension of rear - facing lobe 23 engages the front of the pilot , or occupant in seat 15 . as a result , yoke 11 is maintained in a neutral position , and is not forced into a undesirable motion . as an example , an airbag inflation / deflation sequence takes place in about 1 / 10th second . rear seats 31 and 32 of aircraft 10 , fig1 likewise include airbag assemblies 33 and 34 which expand from the rear of seats 15 and 16 upon actuation thereof . by operation of the present invention , actuation of airbag assemblies 20 , 21 , 33 , 34 , in response to an initial accelerating impact upon aircraft 10 , will be effected only when normal aircraft operating parameters , such as aircraft weight , aircraft altitude , aircraft speed , and / or aircraft angle of attack indicate that airbag inflation will not be a hindrance to safety ; for example , an airbag inflation / deflation event will not be a hindrance to the pilot regaining aircraft control when aircraft operating circumstances indicate that continued aircraft control is likely . while the operating parameters of aircraft weight , altitude , speed , and / or angle of attack are suggested , these parameters are not to be taken as a limitation on the spirit and scope of the invention , since it is recognized that the aircraft operating parameters that are selected in accordance with the spirit and scope of the invention may vary ( for example , with aircraft size and type ). as used herein , the term acceleration force is to be considered generally synonymous with terms such as g force and deceleration force . mounted toward the tail of aircraft 10 are arrays 40 of conventional acceleration - activated sensor strings 41 , 42 and 43 . sensor strings 41 - 43 are made up of multiple sensors to enhance reliability . the central string , made up of sensors 41a , 41b and 41c , is essentially aligned with the central axis of aircraft 10 and , therefore , corresponds to the normal direction of travel of aircraft 10 . the left string of sensors 42a - 42c and right string of sensors 43a ≧ 43c are each offset in alignment from central string 41 , such as by 30 - degrees . this allows sensing of acceleration forces even when aircraft 10 is moving in a direction that is displaced from directly straight ahead , which frequently happens because of air currents , winds and the like . of course , it is possible to include additional strings of sensors in a fan pattern in an even more offset relation to the central axis of aircraft 10 . the majority voting , signal thresholding , or signal verification circuitry for responding to the output signals produced by array 40 , is mounted ( for example , at 44 ), and is likewise conventional . circuitry 44 is coupled to receive the acceleration signals and , when appropriate , to activate all of the above - mentioned aircraft airbag assemblies . the sensors of array 40 are activated by an injury - threatening acceleration that is located on the longitudinal aircraft axis , or is within a range of angular displacement from that axis , such as approximately 30 - degrees on either side thereof . single sensors , or strings 41 - 43 , are acceptable , but it is preferable to include two or more sensors in each full set of acceleration sensor strings for redundancy . if three sensors are used , as shown , and a majority output from at least two of the three sensors is needed to activate the airbag ( s ), the prospect of a false activation of the airbag ( s ) becomes very remote . fig3 is a diagrammatic showing of a feature of the invention , whereby inflation of aircraft airbag 82 adaptively takes place as a result of an output 81 from aircraft acceleration sensors 80 only when certain aircraft operating parameters or conditions are meet . in this figure , two aircraft - operating parameters 83 and 84 are arbitrarily designed as condition a and condition b . as stated , it is preferred , but not critical to the invention , that sensors 80 provide an output 81 only when a threshold or verification condition , such as majority voting , has been satisfied . an inhibit network 85 receives , as control inputs , output 81 from sensors 80 , output 86 from condition 84 , output 87 from condition 84 , and output 88 from a pilot &# 39 ; s manual airbag inhibit or on / off switch 89 . an output signal 90 from inhibit network 85 , when present , operates to activate an inflation / deflation event for airbag 82 . as an example of the operation of fig3 but without limitation hereto , network 85 is constructed and arranged to provide activation of airbag 82 only when signal 81 is present , and signal 88 is not present , and signal 86 is present , and signal 87 is not present , as is shown in fig3 . in other words , airbag 82 will be activated , or fired , only when all four of the following criteria are met : ( 1 ) acceleration sensor 80 indicates the presence of an excessive acceleration force on the aircraft , ( 2 ) the pilot has not disabled airbag actuation by operation of switch 89 , ( 3 ) aircraft operating parameter 83 is present , ( 4 ) aircraft operating parameter 84 is not present . as a feature of the invention , a visual or audio display 200 may be provided in all such embodiments of the invention to thereby alert the pilot to the fact that airbag 82 has been disabled . fig4 is a diagrammatic showing of a feature of the invention , whereby aircraft airbag 82 is provided with a variable inflation profile , or time of inflation by way of controllable delay network 95 . as with fig3 inflation of aircraft airbag 82 takes place as a result of an output 81 from aircraft acceleration sensors 80 . again , it is preferred , but not critical to the invention , that sensors 80 provide an output 81 only when a threshold condition , such as majority or magnitude voting , has been satisfied . controllable delay network 95 receives as three control inputs , output 81 from sensors 80 , output 96 from an aircraft condition 97 , such as aircraft ground and / or air speed , and output 98 from an aircraft condition 99 , such as 84 aircraft weight . an output signal 100 from network 95 , when present , operates to activate an inflation / deflation event for airbag 82 . as an example of the operation of fig4 but without limitation hereto , network 95 is constructed and arranged to provide activation of airbag 82 whenever signal 81 is present . however , the airbag &# 39 ; s time of inflation and / or the airbag &# 39 ; s inflation profile ( for example , a profile as shown in fig2 ) is controlled in accordance with a time delay and / or time delay profile that is adaptively established by aircraft conditions 97 and 99 . in accordance with the invention , the output signals 96 , 98 , representative of aircraft conditions 97 , 99 , may be binary signals , or they may be analog signals reflecting the magnitude of aircraft conditions 97 and / or 99 , it being recognized that aircraft speed and weight are important parameters , but are shown here as examples only . fig5 is a detailed showing of the invention that includes the features of fig3 and 4 , whereby the airbag assemblies 20 , 21 , 33 , 34 of fig1 are controlled in accordance with the invention . as stated , in accordance with the invention , actuation of airbag assemblies 20 , 21 , 33 , 34 is effected in response to an acceleration output signal from acceleration sensors 41 , 42 , 43 only when aircraft operating parameters ( for example , aircraft weight , altitude , speed , and / or angle of attack ) indicate a positive benefit would result from an airbag inflation , should an airbag inflation / deflation event occur . while not a limitation on the invention , it is contemplated that the control aspects of fig5 be implemented by the use of an adaptive programmable controller or apc 46 . apc 46 is shown as having four inputs . of course , as is usual , apc 46 would be programmed to accept many other inputs . a first input to apc 46 comprises input 47 that is present upon acceleration sensors 41 , 42 , 43 , indicating the occurrence of an excessive acceleration force on aircraft 10 , signal 47 being implemented by the output of a majority voting , verification , or thresholding network 48 of conventional construction and arrangement . a second input to apc 46 comprises an enable input 49 that enables apc 46 to operate upon the entry of certain arming information by the aircraft pilot . nonlimiting examples of such information are pilot headphones on , seat belt ( s ) fastener , and an aircraft usage authorization code . a third input to apc 46 comprises an input 50 that indicates the status of real - time aircraft operating parameters 64 . nonlimiting examples of such operating parameters are aircraft weight , aircraft ground and / or air speed 65 , aircraft altitude 66 , and aircraft angle of attack 67 relative to the horizontal . other aircraft operating parameters that are useful in accordance with the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art ; for example , the rate of change of altitude and / or speed , and a combination of any of these parameters . a fourth input 51 to apc 46 comprises an optional pilot - operable manual on / off switch 52 that can be selectively actuated by the pilot to completely disable inflation of airbag assembly 62 . five exemplary outputs are shown for apc 46 . 0f course , as is usual , apc 46 would be programmed to perform many other functions that are not related to the invention . a first output 55 from apc 46 operates to control flight data recorder 56 in a conventional manner . a second output 57 from apc 46 operates to activate emergency locator transmitter 58 , as will be described in relation to fig6 . a third output 59 from apc 46 operates to activate pilot display 60 in order to provide the pilot with visual and / or audio information relative to the operation of aircraft 10 and / or operation of the invention . a fourth output 161 from apc 46 operates to activate airbag assembly 62 , which comprises one or more of the airbag assemblies 20 , 21 , 33 , 34 of fig1 in accordance with the invention . while not a limitation on the invention , airbag assembly 62 is activated upon the energization of a well - known trigger means 63 . as explained relative to fig4 a controllable signal delay means may be provided to give a controlled profile of , or time of , inflation of airbag assembly ( for example , in accordance with aircraft weight ). a fifth output 61 , 64 , 161 from apc 64 operates to interrogate majority vote network a second time . for example , should excessive acceleration signal 47 be of marginal value , then it may be desirable to again interrogate acceleration sensors 41 , 42 , 43 to determine that an excessive acceleration event has in fact occured . fig6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuitry of fig5 . operation of programmed apc 46 to implement the invention begins at start event 70 . start event 70 occurs in a nonlimiting manner , as by manual operation of a start key by the pilot , or perhaps by operation of strain gages that are associated with the engine start of aircraft 10 . as a first decision to be made , block 178 determines if on / off switch 52 of fig5 is set to the off position . if it is , box 75 is enabled to inhibit activation of the airbag assembly . if switch 52 is set to the on position , decision box 71 becomes operable to continuously monitor output signal 47 from acceleration sensors 41 , 42 , 43 . as long as output 47 is not present , the operation of fig6 loops at decision box 71 . when an output signal 47 from acceleration sensors 41 , 42 , 43 is detected , decision box 72 operates to determine if ground and / or air speed 65 is above a given value whose magnitude is not critical to the invention , and will vary from one aircraft type to another . if aircraft speed 65 is above the given value , then decision box 73 operates to determine if aircraft altitude 66 is above a minimum value whose magnitude is again not critical to the invention , and will vary from one aircraft type to another . if aircraft altitude 66 is above the critical value , then decision box 74 operates to determine if aircraft angle of attack 67 is below a critical value whose magnitude is again not critical to the invention , and will vary from one aircraft type to another . as will be appreciated , the apc work flow of fig6 can be readily modified by those skilled in the art to include other aircraft operating parameters , such as aircraft weight , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . when an abnormal acceleration has occurred , but aircraft operation parameters 65 , 66 , 67 are such that airbag activation is not desirable , then airbag assembly 62 of fig5 is inhibited by function box 75 . however , when any one of the aircraft operating parameters 65 , 66 , 67 indicates that airbag inflation is desirable , then function box 76 is enabled to activate airbag assembly 62 . fig6 shows that function box 78 is enabled to activate emergency locator transmitter 58 of fig5 concurrently with activation of airbag assembly 76 . as an alternative procedure , function 78 can be enabled earlier in the process ( for example , by way of a yes output from function box 71 ). for purposes of convenience , the invention has been described while making reference to activation airbag assembly 62 in the absence of any one of the aircraft operation parameters 65 , 66 , 67 . however , it is within the spirit and scope of the invention to require the boolean operation of conjunction , logical multiplying , or anding of a number of such operation parameters as a determination of whether or not airbag assembly 62 is to be actuated in response to acceleration output signal 47 . fig7 shows a feature of the invention , whereby a plurality of the apc circuitry of fig5 is used to control airbag assembly 63 in a delayed manner relative to the actuation of a telescoping aircraft yoke 220 , as described in the above - mentioned related copending patent entitled &# 34 ; aircraft control yoke &# 34 ;. as is described in this copending patent application , yoke 220 comprises a generally horizontal tubular member 222 that extends outward from the aircraft &# 39 ; s generally vertical control panel ( not shown ). yoke member 222 is selectively movable in and out , as is represented by arrow 223 , as the pilot controls aircraft pitch . yoke member 222 is releasably attached to a second tubular yoke member 224 by a releasable coupling means ( not shown ). yoke member 224 terminates at pilot control grips or handles ( not shown ). by the use of these hand grips , the pilot controls aircraft pitch by moving yoke 222 , 224 , as is represented by arrow 223 , and the pilot controls aircraft roll by rotating yoke 222 , 224 about its axis 221 . as is described in this copending patent application , upon the need to inflate or activate an airbag assembly , such as 62 , yoke members 222 , 224 automatically uncouple , and a force means , such as gas - generating pellet 203 , selectively operates to provide a force in cavity 230 , thus causing yoke member 224 to move a given distance to the right , as is represented by arrow 231 . thus , airbag assembly 62 and telescoping yoke 222 , 224 are operated generally concurrently . means are provided , in accordance with this copending patent application , to enable the pilot to selectively and manually reset yoke 222 , 224 to its coupled position after an inflation / deflation event of airbag assembly 62 . an object of this embodiment of the present invention is to ( 1 ) activate airbag assembly 62 as a function of a combination of an excessive acceleration force signal 47 , and the real - time aircraft operating parameter signals 50 , as above described , and ( 2 ) to activate yoke air source trigger 203 of the above - mentioned copending patent application in a controlled manner prior to the activation of airbag assembly 62 . with reference to fig7 and as above described , excessive acceleration force input 47 provides a first input 47 to apc 46 , and real - time aircraft operating parameters provide a second input 50 to apc 46 . as a result , output 61 is applied to a first input 200 of an and gate 201 . output 61 from apc 46 also operates as an actuating input 202 to effect extension of an aircraft yoke with which airbag assembly 62 is associated and , more specifically , the immediate firing of yoke air source trigger 203 , as is described in the above - mentioned copending patent application . in addition , output 61 from apc 46 provides an enable input 204 to a second apc 204 that is constructed and arranged to perform the identical function that is performed by apc 46 ; i . e ., inputs 47 and 50 are also applied to apc 205 , and generally it is expected that apc 205 will then provide an output 206 that is functionally identical to output 61 from apc 46 . while output 206 from apc 205 can be connected to the second input 207 of and gate 201 in fig7 output 206 is shown connected to an nth apc 208 that is also constructed and arranged to perform the identical function that is performed by apcs 46 and 208 ; i . e ., inputs 47 and 50 are also applied to apc 208 , and generally it is expected that apc 208 will then provide an output 209 that is functionally identical to output 61 from apc 46 and output 206 from apc 205 . it will be appreciated that a number of apcs can be inserted in a string between apc 205 and 208 . should a predetermined number of apcs in the string 46 to 208 fail to provide an output signal in response to inputs 47 and 50 , yoke trigger source 203 will be activated , but airbag assembly 62 will not be activated . in this embodiment of the invention , all , or a predetermined number of apcs in the string , must provide an output indicating that airbag 62 should be inflated . that is , apc 46 must provide a first input 200 to and gate 201 , all intermediate apcs ( such as apc 205 ) must provide an enable input to the next apc in the apc string , and the last apc in the apc string ( such as apc 208 ) must provide a second input 207 to and gate 201 . only when these conditions are satisfied will airbag 62 experience an inflation / deflation event . fig8 shows another feature of the invention , whereby the apc circuitry of fig5 is used to control airbag assembly 63 in a delayed manner relative to the actuation of a telescoping aircraft yoke , as described in the above - mentioned copending patent application . an object of this embodiment of the invention is to ( 1 ) activate airbag assembly 62 as a delayed function of both an excessive acceleration force signal 47 and the real - time aircraft operating parameter signals 50 , as above described , and ( 2 ) to thereafter activate yoke air source trigger 203 of the above - mentioned copending patent application . as above described , excessive deceleration force input 47 provides a first input 47 to apc 46 , and real - time aircraft operating parameters provide a second input 50 to apc 46 . as a result , output 61 is applied to delay network 64 to activate airbag assembly 62 with a time delay of about 10 milliseconds . output 61 from apc 46 also operates as an actuating input 202 to effect extension of an aircraft yoke with which airbag assembly 62 is associated , as is described in the above - mentioned copending patent application . this effect is achieved by the immediate ( i . e ., with no time delay ) activation of yoke air source trigger 203 . thus , the yoke that is associated with airbag assembly 62 is caused to extend and move away prior to the extension of airbag assembly 62 . fig9 shows a variation of the fig7 embodiment of the invention wherein a verification , or thresholding network , such as majority voting network 300 , receives the outputs 200 , 206 and 209 from apcs 46 , 205 and 208 , respectively . in this embodiment of the invention , airbag assembly 62 is actuated as a function of all , or a designated number of the n apc circuits of fig7 determining that aircraft operating parameter , or parameters 50 , indicate a likelihood for continued control of the aircraft . the embodiment of the invention shown in fig9 does not require the sequential apc enable function of fig7 ; however , this sequential enable feature can be used in the fig9 embodiment , if desired . while the invention has been described in detail while making reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it is recognized that those skilled in the art will , upon learning of the invention , readily visualize yet other embodiments that are within the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , the spirit and scope of the invention is not to be limited by the above detailed description .
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the casting - integrated , direct acting solenoid hydraulic valve 10 shown in fig1 and 2 includes a valve body 12 formed of cast metal , preferably an aluminum alloy . the valve body 12 contains a valve spool 14 , formed with lands 16 - 19 ; a compression spring 20 urging the spool rightward ; an adapter 22 ; an armature pin 24 extending through the adapter and contacting the spool ; an electromagnetic solenoid 26 , which actuates the pin to move leftward when the solenoid is energized and allows the spool to move rightward when the solenoid is deenergized ; and a second compression spring 28 for maintaining the pin in contact with the spool . preferably spring 20 has a relatively low spring constant so that control pressure produced by valve 10 is substantially zero when no electric current is supplied to energize the solenoid 26 . the valve body 12 is formed with control ports 30 , 42 through which control pressure communicates with the chamber 32 containing the spool 14 ; a line pressure port 34 , through which line pressure communicates with the chamber ; sump port 36 , through which hydraulic fluid flows from the chamber to a low pressure sump ; and a exhaust ports 38 , 40 , through which the chamber 32 communicates with a low pressure exhaust . adapter 22 is continually held in contact with an installation datum or reference surface 46 formed in sump port 34 by the elastic force produced by a resilient clip 44 , which is secured to the outer surface of a housing 45 that encloses the solenoid 26 . in operation , valve 10 regulates control pressure in port 30 and feedback pressure in port 42 by producing a first sum of the force of spring 20 and the rightward net force due to control pressure in port 42 acting on the differential areas of lands 16 and 17 . balancing the first sum of forces is a second sum of leftward forces comprising the force of the solenoid - actuated pin 24 and the force of spring 28 . as the force of pin 24 increases , valve 10 opens a connection through metering edge 49 between line pressure in port 34 and control pressure in ports 30 , 42 . as metering edge 49 open , control pressure increases . when control pressure increases sufficiently for the current position of pin 24 , the differential feedback control pressure on lands 16 , 17 causes the metering edge 49 to close and metering edge 48 to open a connection between control pressure port 30 and to the low pressure exhaust through chamber 32 , exhaust port 38 and passage 72 . a single flycutting tool concurrently machines both of the metering edges 48 , 49 and the installation datum or reference surface 46 in the valve body . the solenoid module 50 includes adapter 22 , solenoid 26 , housing 45 and spring 28 . all edges that requiring precise relative positions are cut in a single operation for improved tolerances and manufacturing efficiency . metering edges are precision machined rather than cast for improved edge quality , location accuracy , and zero draft . high precision tolerances enable close control of leakage and pressure regulation accuracy . close tolerances enable flow control with a short stroke magnetic section 50 . a single metering control pressure port 30 at spool land 18 ( meter out - meter in , as shown in fig1 ) or dual metering control pressure ports 30 , 38 at control land 52 ( meter out - meter out , as shown fig3 ) can be accommodated with no change in tolerances . a clear division of tolerance responsibility is established for the two manufacturing groups . the valves shown in fig1 - 3 enable standard main control ( multi - bore including worm trail ) configurations while providing magnet interface tolerances . a control pressure bleed port 38 provides for spool position control and stability . tracking response is improved with no dead - zone to cross . low frequency hunting across the dead - zone is also prevented . in fig2 the diameter of control land 17 is larger than the diameter of land 16 of valve 10 ′. the large diameter land 16 of valve 10 ′ defines a large diameter spool end damper 60 for enhancing stability , permitting use of a relatively large diameter , contamination resistant damper port 62 . damper 60 is formed outside of the feedback path 64 for minimum feedback lag and improved stability . the diameter of damper 60 is large relative to the difference in diameter of the lands 16 and 17 . the large diameter of spool land 16 and damper 60 combined with flow notches enables high flow with short stroke magnet as well as fly cut manufacturing technique . the axial surface 68 of adapter 22 is located in chamber 32 due to contact with reference surface 46 such that , when solenoid 26 is deenergized and spool 14 moves rightward in the chamber , land 19 contacts surface 68 before the armature pin 24 contacts a stop surface 70 in the solenoid module , thereby preventing spring 28 from becoming fully compressed due to contacts among its coils . in this way , the spool end feature provides positive stop for forced over travel protection of the solenoid module 50 . damping chamber 60 is provided with an oil reservoir using an elevated vent 66 and fed from the control pressure bleed port 42 . the casting - integrated , direct acting solenoid hydraulic valves 10 , 10 ″ each includes a latch valve 80 formed in the valve body 12 of cast metal . valve 80 includes a spool 82 , formed with lands 84 , 86 ; a compression spring 87 urging spool 82 rightward ; exhaust port 88 ; line port 90 , connected to a source of line pressure whose magnitude is substantially constant ; an outlet port 92 , through which a clutch or brake 94 of the transmission is actuated ; a control port 96 communicating through passage 64 with control pressure ports 30 , 42 of regulator valve 10 ; and a control pressure feedback port 98 also communicating through passage 64 with control pressure ports 30 , 42 of regulator valve 10 . in operation , valve 80 supplies actuating pressure through line 100 to the cylinder 102 of a hydraulic servo that actuate the transmission control element 94 . when control pressure generated force is lower than spring installed load , spring 87 forces spool 82 to the right - hand end of the chamber , thereby closing line port 90 , opening control port 96 and communicating fluid at control pressure to the control element 94 through outlet port 92 and line 100 . as control pressure increases , spool 82 moves axially leftward along the valve chamber due to a force produced by control pressure in feedback port 98 acting in opposition to the force of spring 87 . after the clutch is fully engaged and control pressure increases further land 86 gradually closes port 96 , and land 84 maintains line port 90 closed . as control pressure increases further , land 86 closes control port 96 , and land 84 opens a connection between line port 90 and output port 92 , thereby bypassing valve 80 and pressurizing control element 94 using line pressure , which is based on static capacity of applied clutches . if control pressure increases further after valve 80 is latched , line pressure alone is applied to fully engage the control element 94 . the spool 14 of regulating valve 10 is maintained in its regulating position while valve 80 is latched . valve 80 is delatched by reducing control pressure , which causes land 84 to close line port 90 , and land 86 to reopen a connection between control port 96 and the transmission control element 94 through outlet port 92 and line 100 . fig4 shows the variation of outlet pressure in port 92 in response to current in solenoid 26 . the first portion of the relation occurs as control pressure is increased while control port 96 is connected to outlet port 92 and line port is closed . the second portion 106 occurs after point 108 where control port 96 closes and constant line pressure through port 90 opens to outlet port 92 bringing the control element to full capacity at 110 . the two portions allow for increased pressure to current resolution ( reduced gain ) while maintaining overall achievable pressure range , as seen when compared variation of system without latch feature . the feedback chamber 102 of valve 80 is not exhausted when valve 80 is latched , thereby eliminating the possibility of entrapping air in the lines feeding control element 94 . because the feedback chamber 102 of valve 80 is not exhausted when valve 80 is latched , those lines need not be refilled when valve 80 is delatched . the regulator valve 10 and latch valve 80 in combination provide functional advantages in transition states of clutch control by performing the latch transition while maintaining regulation control . as fig5 shows , upon delatching valve 80 , the position 112 of spool 14 of the regulator valve 10 remains in a control metering position because its spool was regulating to the deadheaded circuit 96 and compliance volume 98 while latched and provides superior transition when switched to regulating to the line 100 and control element 94 compared to a vbs - regulator - latch valve system 114 . a vbs - regulator - latch system commonly experiences pressure undershoots 116 past the desired delatch pressure 118 , whereas the delatch pressure transient 120 produced by the combination of valves 10 , 80 closely tracks the desired delatch pressure 118 with virtually no undershoot . the latch valve is applicable to both vbs / vfs actuated spool valves and direct acting solenoid controlled systems . 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 .
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referring to the drawing , a sterile aqueous solution of fermentable sugar from any source containing from about 10 to about 40 weight percent sugar , and preferably from about 15 to about 25 weight percent sugar , is taken from storage or directly from a saccharification unit in which the sugar is obtained by the hydrolysis of cellulose or starch , and is introduced through line 10 into a first temperature regulated , agitated fermentation vessel provided with ph control and means for introducing nutrients and the small amounts of oxygen conventionally employed for maintaining proper yeast metabolism during fermentation . sterile aqueous fermentable sugar can also be introduced , if desired , through lines 10 and 10a into a second fermentation vessel 29 having a construction identical or similar to that of the first . in the event the sugar solution contains more than 20 weight percent sugar , it is preferable to dilute the solution to about this level of sugar , advantageously with the nitrogen - rich still bottoms obtained from an ethanol distillation unit such as described in the aforesaid u . s . pat . no . 4 , 256 , 541 . the use of still bottoms when available possesses the two - fold advantage of recyling nitrogen to the fermentation system which would otherwise be lost upon concentration of the ethanol during distillation , and reducing process water consumption by avoiding water build - up in the stillage effluent . in addition to sugar , the foregoing solution may also contain significant amounts of partial hydrolysates ( e . g ., up to about 40 weight percent of the total carbohydrate present ) which can be saccharified to fermentable sugar under the influence of the saccharifying enzyme produced by the fermenting yeast and / or added saccharifying enzyme . a pumpable slurry of ethanol - producing yeast organisms free of contaminating organisms is conveyed from yeast storage into fermentation vessel 11 through line 12 . the yeast in fermentation vessels 11 and 29 can be maintained at a level of from about 2 to about 8 weight percent , and preferably at a level of from about 3 to about 6 weight percent , of the fermentation medium ( based on dry weight of yeast ). once continuous fermentation has started and a steady state has been achieved , there will be no need to add more yeast since sufficient quantities of make - up yeast are grown in fermentation vessel 11 . the temperature of the medium in each fermentation vessel is advantageously kept at a level of from about 68 ° f . to about 104 ° f ., and preferably at a level of from about 86 ° f . to about 99 ° f . the ph of each fermentation vessel is similarly regulated and can range from about 3 . 5 to about 5 . 5 and preferably from about 4 . 0 to 4 . 6 . conditions , themselves known in the art , are so maintained in fermentation vessel 11 as to maintain a relatively high rate of yeast cell propagation and viability therein . in general , it is desirable to maintain a level of viability of at least about 80 percent and preferably , at least about 90 percent , and an ethanol level ( by weight ) of from abut 5 percent to about 8 percent , and preferably from about 6 percent to about 7 percent , in fermentation vessel 11 . aqueous effluent containing ethanol , yeast cells and unconverted fermentably sugar is withdrawn from fermentation vessel 11 through line 13 and is driven by pump 14 through line 15 past cooler 16 ( which removes a sufficient amount of heat of fermentation from the effluent to maintain optimum temperature levels in vessel 11 ) and back to the fermentation vessel through line 17 . optionally , part or all of the effluent passing through line 17 can be diverted through lines 17b and 33 into second fermentation vessel 29 . a portion of the effluent is diverted from line 15 to line 18 where it enters first yeast separator 19 . the yeast separator , which can be a gravity separator , filter or preferably , a centrifuge , separates the fermentate into two streams : a first yeast slurry or &# 34 ; cream &# 34 ; which enters a first yeast slurry holding tank 21 through line 20 and a substantially yeast - free partial fermentate which enters partial fermentate surge tank 23 through line 22 . when the amount of yeast in fermentation vessel 11 falls significantly below a predetermined level , as much yeast slurry is taken as is necessary to restore such level from first yeast slurry holding tank 21 through line 24 and recycled by pump 25 through line 26 back to the fermentation vessel . the remaining portion of the yeast is delivered by pump 25 through lines 27 and 28 to a second fermentation vessel 29 . substantially yeast - free partial fermentate is taken from partial fermentate surge tank 23 through line 31 and is delivered by pump 32 through line 33 to second fermentation vessel 29 . a portion of the partial fermentate can also be recycled back to fermentation vessel 111 through line 34 so as to contribute to the maintainence of conditions favoring high yeast cell propagation therein . conditions of fermentation in the second fermentation vessel 29 are regulated in a known and conventional manner so as to provide a high level of conversion of the remaining sugar to ethanol . yeast viability in the vessel is preferably maintained at a level of at least about 70 percent and preferably at a level of a least about 80 percent . the ethanol concentration in the second fermentation vessel is desirably kept at a level of from above about 8 weight percent , and preferably , from about 10 to about 12 weight percent , of the fermentation medium therein . optimum temperature control is obtained by circulating effluent from line 35 by pump 36 through line 37 past cooler 38 and through line 39 back to the second fermentation vessel . a portion of the effluent is routed through line 40 where it is separated by a second yeast separator 41 into a second yeast slurry which enters second yeast slurry holding tank 43 through line 42 , and a substantially yeast - free final fermentate which enters final fermentate surge tank 45 through line 44 . yeast slurry is withdrawn from second yeast slurry holding tank 43 through line 46 and recycled by pump 47 through lines 48 and 28 back to second fermentation vessel 29 in amounts necessary to maintain a predetermined high level of yeast cells therein . excess yeast slurry is purged from the system through line 49 . final fermentate is taken from the tank 45 through line 50 and is forced by pump 51 through line 52 to storage or directly to a distillation unit for the recovery of ethanol in concentrated , e . g ., anhydrous form . a portion of final fermentate can also be recycled through line 52 back to second fermentation vessel 29 to help maintain conditions therein favoring high rates of ethanol production . metabolically evolved carbon dioxide gas containing ethanol is conveyed from each of fermentation vessels 11 and 29 through vent lines 54 and 55 , and common line 56 to a carbon dioxide gas absorption tower or scrubber for recovery of the ethanol . the data below represent a typical material balance for an ethanol fermentation process which is capable of producing up to 120 gallons / day of approximately 10 weight percent ethanol . table__________________________________________________________________________material balance for 120 gallons / day ethanol ( 10 weight percent ) process linecomponent 10 18 26 28 33 34 40 48 49 52 53 54 55 56__________________________________________________________________________water 294 . 14 978 . 95 337 . 41 8 . 48 290 . 70 342 . 37 996 . 95 409 . 93 8 . 81 290 . 45 295 . 71 0 . 53 0 . 25 0 . 78glucose 75 . 67 89 . 72 30 . 93 0 . 78 26 . 65 31 . 35 23 . 00 1 . 81 0 . 04 1 . 29 1 . 30 -- -- -- ethanol 71 . 48 24 . 58 0 . 62 21 . 19 25 . 09 104 . 10 46 . 25 0 . 99 32 . 78 33 . 36 0 . 38 0 . 18 0 . 56glycerol -- 6 . 98 2 . 48 0 . 06 2 . 12 2 . 34 10 . 28 4 . 65 0 . 10 3 . 28 3 . 36 -- -- -- nutrientsand vitamins -- 5 . 20 1 . 78 0 . 04 1 . 55 1 . 64 5 . 14 2 . 19 0 . 04 1 . 55 1 . 58 -- -- -- live yeast -- 61 . 20 59 . 70 1 . 50 -- -- 61 . 16 59 . 88 1 . 28 -- -- -- -- -- dead yeast -- 10 . 65 10 . 39 0 . 26 -- -- 22 . 63 22 . 51 0 . 48 -- -- -- -- -- oxygen -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0 . 34 -- 0 . 34nitrogen -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2 . 04 -- 2 . 04carbon dioxide -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 23 . 07 12 . 43 35 . 50total ( lb / hr ) 369 . 81 1224 . 00 467 . 26 11 . 74 342 . 21 402 . 79 1223 . 26 546 . 86 11 . 74 329 . 35 335 . 31 26 . 36 12 . 86 39 . 22__________________________________________________________________________
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fig1 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a data communication system 100 . the system 100 comprises a computer 102 , a server 104 and a data display device 106 incorporated in a mobile device 108 . in preferred embodiments the mobile device is a wristwatch , which is described later with reference to fig2 . the wristwatch may be a realisation of the mobile device or personal article . the computer 102 comprises data item specification software 110 for browsing data sources to locate and specify data items of interest to the user . the computer 102 , in conjunction with the software 110 , represent a form of realisation of at least part of a data specification means or selector . the software 110 is used to compile address data 112 containing addresses of data items for transmission to , and use by , data capture software 114 executable at the server 104 . the server 104 and the data capture software 114 represent a form of realisation of at least part of a data capture means or data capturer . in preferred embodiments , the address data 112 comprises urls of web - pages , such as , for example web - pages 116 and 118 , that are accessible by the internet 120 and respective web - servers 122 and 124 . for the purposes of illustration , the web - pages 116 and 118 are depicted as comprising respective data items 126 and 128 of interest to the user ( not shown ) stored on respective hdds 130 and 132 . the address data additionally comprises data identifying the specific location within the web - pages 116 and 118 of the data items 126 and 128 of interest . in preferred embodiments , the data item specification software 110 , in addition to collating address data 112 for data items of interest , also allows the time or frequency of retrieval of the data items to be specified , optionally , together with an indication of whether the data should be stored at the server in anticipation of receipt of a download request from the watch , forwarded to the wristwatch in anticipation of receipt of a request to display an item of data or forwarded to the wristwatch together with an indication that the user should be notified of the arrival of the data item or items . the computer 102 also supports mobile device configuration software 134 that is used to configure the mobile device 108 to receive and display the data items 126 and 128 of interest . the configuration software 134 allows the user to select an icon to be associated with each data item 126 and 128 . the icon will be displayed on the display of the mobile device to support selection of the data items for display . preferably , the configuration software produces configuration data 136 comprising icon data 138 , representing an icon or a number of icons , and metadata 140 that describes the data to be displayed or associated with the icon or icons . the mobile device 108 may be configured using the configuration data 136 via any suitable form of communication channel . for example , the mobile device 108 may communicate with the computer 102 and receive the configuration data via a direct link . the direct link may be a direct physical link , such as , for example , usb or a radio link using , for example , bluetooth , ieee 802 . 11b or some other wireless protocol . alternatively , the configuration data may be forwarded to the server 104 where the data capture software 114 can be arranged to forward the configuration data 136 to the mobile device using the existing radio communication infrastructure . the server 104 comprises , as indicated above , data capture software 114 that retrieves , using the address data 112 , and stores a copy 142 of a requested one of the data items 130 and 132 . the request for one of the data items is received from the mobile device 108 via a radio transceiver 144 operating under the control of communication software 146 . the transceiver 144 is arranged to exchange , via a suitable antenna 148 , data with the mobile device 108 wirelessly . the mobile device 108 , as indicated above , comprises a display 106 for displaying , amongst other things , selected data items . the mobile device 108 comprises a processor 150 , which in preferred embodiments , operates the device as a wristwatch and displays the time on the display 106 . the processor 150 is also operable to support data exchanges , using a radio transceiver 152 , with at least one of the server 104 and the mobile device configuration software 134 . the mobile device 108 comprises a memory 154 . the processor 150 is arranged to configure the memory 154 for storing the icon data 138 and , preferably or optionally , to configure the memory 154 in light of the metadata 140 to ensure that there is sufficient storage 156 available to store the selected data items associated with icon data 138 , that is , the metadata is arranged to ensure that a sufficient number of words are available to store the selected data associated with the icon data . the memory 154 can store , in the described embodiment , up to eight icons and can be configured to store selected data items corresponding to the eight icons . the icons are displayed on the display 106 and can be selected using a corresponding selection mechanism or means 158 . the selection mechanism or means 158 is used to select one of the displayed icons , which , in turn , causes a download request , corresponding to the selected icon , to be sent to the server 104 via the transceiver 152 . the data capture software 114 returns the selected data item , extracted from the stored copies 142 of the data items , corresponding to the selected icon . referring to fig2 , there is shown a preferred embodiment of a mobile device 108 in the form a wristwatch 200 . the wristwatch 200 comprises a body 202 bearing a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) 204 . the lcd 204 comprises a central data display portion 206 and a number of peripheral display regions 208 , which , together , perform the primary function of displaying the current time under the control of the processor 150 . the time may be displayed in numerical form using appropriate digits or in an analogue - type form using simulated analogue hands . in preferred embodiments , the lcd comprises eight peripheral display regions . preferably , the display regions form an annulus , with any given region being shaped as a truncated sector , or part annulus . the regions 208 and data display portion 206 are used , as a secondary function , to display the icons and corresponding data items in response to user actuation of one of a number of control buttons 210 to 214 . fig2 shows two regions 216 and 218 as containing respective icons 220 and 222 . in the illustrated example , the icons represent a current temperature , ° c ., and a sterling - dollar exchange rate , £/$. a rotatable bezel 224 to select one of the display regions 208 , that is , one of the regions containing an icon such as , for example , one of regions 216 and 218 . a currently selected icon is , in a preferred embodiment , indicated by having an increased display intensity relative to the other icons . in a preferred embodiment , as the bezel is rotated , the display intensity of the currently selected icon is increased relative to the other icons , which all assume the same relatively lower intensity . rotating the bezel 224 causes the change in intensity to step through the displayed icons , in effect , those regions that do not contain an icon are preferably not selectable . this facilitates speedier selection of a desired item of information . selecting an icon using the bezel 224 automatically causes a download request , corresponding to the selected icon , to be transmitted to the server 104 , which responds by forwarding the data item corresponding to the selected icon . the received data item is stored within one of the storage locations 156 corresponding to the selected icon and displayed on the central portion 206 of the lcd 204 . in preferred embodiments , the change in intensity is ephemeral , that is , it lasts for a predetermined period of time . this is done primarily to save power consumption . the watch also comprises the customary bracelet , strap or other means 226 to allow it to be worn by the user . it can be appreciated that the wristwatch , in addition to functioning as a watch , that is with time , date , chronograph , alarm etc . also has the additional function of being capable of displaying downloaded data . the manner of use of the system is as follows : on purchasing a wristwatch 200 , a user also receives the ip address of the server 104 , an identification code , password and software corresponding to the data item specification software 110 and the mobile device configuration software 134 . using the software loaded on to the computer 102 , the user gains access to a number of pages hosted by the server 104 that have the following objects : to enable up to eight internet site web - pages to be identified , and then to further identify the location a specific data item embedded within the web - pages . the user may , for example , specify the address of a meteorological web page as one of the eight addresses , and within that page identify a temperature being reported , say , for a city . another seven data items may be similarly identified . the user also specifies for each data item , the manner in which the data item should be captured . the capture might occur once in response to a request received from the wristwatch 200 , repeatedly in response to a request received from the wristwatch 200 or repeatedly irrespective of a request having been received from the wristwatch 200 . for example , a temperature reading for the city may be captured from the meteorological web page in response to a request or repeatedly following the request , or simply repeatedly in readiness for a request once specified . having specified to the server 104 the data items to be retrieved together with the periodicity or frequency of retrieval , the server 104 can retrieve the specified data items at the appropriate time or times . in preferred embodiments , on completion of a download , the wristwatch is arranged to produce an audible alert to indicate that the selected data item has been downloaded . having a continuing interest in the temperature , the user may execute a predetermined number , for example , two , of rapid movements of the bezel 224 , to and from the “° c .” icon or region , consequently generating and communicating a request for repeated downloads to the server 104 . in response , the server 104 monitors the data item , capturing it , for example , every hour and automatically downloads any change to the wristwatch 200 . if the user no longer wishes to be updated regularly , the bezel 224 may be placed in a neutral position , consequently generating and communicating “ stop monitoring message ” that is sent to the server 104 , which causes the data capture software to cease obtaining the data item . alternatively , or additionally , the monitoring mode of the data capture software may be terminated , for a currently selected icon , using the buttons 210 to 214 . in an alternative embodiment the watch may be provided with icons pre - configured . this avoids the need for the user to go through the steps of selecting sites of interest , but obviously does not permit reselection of sites of interest . it is envisaged that , for example , in accordance with this embodiment , when purchasing the watch , the user will select a watch at least partly upon the basis of the sites with which it is configured . alternatively configuration ( and possibly reconfiguration ) may take place at the retail outlet for example . in a further modification the icons can be printed on a suitable substrate ( re - writable if desired ) at the time of configuration , thus obviating the need to provide a dedicated region of the watch &# 39 ; s dynamic display for this purpose . other articles , such as key rings , pens or other writing instruments , jewellery or other adornments , pen knives or tools , bags , purses or wallets , spectacles , a game or plaything , or an item of clothing or footwear may not be normally provided with a display and , thus in order to adapt them for use as part of a data communication system , a display has to be provided in the case of a pen , for example , the display may be mounted of the body of the pen so as to be visible when held in normal writing manner . in the case of spectacles , by way of another example , the display could be a partially reflective surface to the lenses on to which information may be projected . fig3 shows a number of flowcharts 300 depicting the operation of an embodiment of the present invention . at step 302 , the data item specification software collates address and location data for an item of interest . that address and location data is stored and added to an address data file 112 containing address and location data for previously selected data items , if any , at step 304 . a corresponding icon to be display on the mobile device is selected at step 306 . data representing the icon at added , at step 308 , to the mobile device configuration data 136 together with metadata describing the nature of the selected data item , such as , for example , the number of words required to store a selected data item . a determination is made , at step 310 , as to whether or not the data item specification process has been completed . if the determination is that the data item specification process has not been completed , control is returned to step 302 . if the determination is that the data item specification process has been completed , the file 112 containing the address and location data is transmitted to the server 104 for use by the data capture software 114 at step 312 . the mobile device is configured using the collated configuration data 136 at step 314 . the configuration data 136 is received and acted upon by the mobile device at step 316 . the configuration process involves storing the icon data in memory and ensuring that a sufficient number of words of the memory are associated with each icon data to allow the storage of data corresponding to any requested data . the server 104 , at step 318 , receives the address data 112 for the specified data items and forwards that address data 112 to the data capture software 114 . the mobile device 108 detects an input representing a request for a data item from the user at step 320 . a download request is generated and sent to the server 104 at step 322 . the server 104 receives the download request at step 324 . the data capture software 114 , at step 326 , retrieves , preferably , in real - time , the selected data item using the address and location data 112 . at step 328 , the retrieved data item is transmitted to the mobile device 108 . the mobile device 108 receives the retrieved data item at step 330 and displays the received data item at step 332 . although the above embodiments have been described with reference to the real - time download of data items from the web - pages 126 and 132 in response to download requests received from the wristwatch , embodiments are not limited to such an arrangement . for example , embodiments can be realised in which the data capture means retrieves the data items in advance and caches those items until requested by the user of the wristwatch . alternatively , or additionally , the retrieved data items might be retrieved and forwarded to the memory of the wristwatch 200 in anticipation of user selection at some time in the future . whether the data is downloaded in real - time or not will depend to a certain extent upon the time sensitivity or importance of the data . although the above embodiments have been described with reference to a download request being sent automatically to the server 104 upon selection of a region , embodiments are not limited to such an arrangement . embodiments can be realised in which the automatic download request is not sent until one , or a combination , of the buttons 210 to 214 has been actuated . alternatively , the download request may not be generated and sent until an icon or region has been selected for a predetermined period of time . in both embodiments , the amount of traffic generated by the selection process will be reduced as compared to embodiments in which the download requests are generated and sent automatically . this may have the additional advantage that the battery of the wristwatch may last longer since fewer transmissions are made as compared to the automatic generation and transmission of download requests . the above embodiments have been described with reference to the intensity of the icons changing as the icons are selected using the bezel . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to such an arrangement . embodiments can be realised in which the bezel comprises a marker that is used to indicate which icon is currently selected . the region or icon selected is that region or icon that is closest to the marker of the bezel 224 . furthermore , the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to using a bezel as the selection mechanism or means . embodiments can be realised in which one , or a combination , of the buttons 210 to 214 can be used to select the icon of interest . for example , the first button 210 , when depressed , in conjunction with the third button 214 may cause the currently selected icon to change intensity and each subsequent depression may select the next clockwise icon . the above described data specification means is indicated as collating the address data of the selected data items . however , embodiments can be realised in which the data specification means , working with the data capture means , merely specifies the data items of interest and the data capture means collates the address data corresponding to those data items . also , the data capture means can , in response to the user specifying the timing of the data capture , using the data specification means , be used to collate the timing information rather than that information being collated at the data specification means . furthermore , although the above embodiments have been described such that each display regions is operated to display icons , embodiments can be realised in which selected ones of the display regions are used to display icons , that is , in use , not all regions may be used to display icon data . the above embodiments have been described with reference to the use of metadata to configure the memory of the mobile device . however , embodiments can be realised in which the memory of the device is pre - configured to receive data items have a particular size . such embodiments would remove , or at least reduce , the need for metadata to be specified and transmitted to the mobile device . furthermore , the collation of the metadata may be undertaken by the data capture means , which can then conveniently communicate that information to the mobile device using the transceiver 144 and communication software 146 . advantageously , the embodiments of the present invention allow article , having a primary function , to assume also a secondary function , which is related to data display . the reader &# 39 ; s attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification , and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference . all of the features disclosed in this specification ( including any accompanying claims , abstract and drawings ) and / or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed , may be combined in any combination , except combinations where at least some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive . each feature disclosed in this specification ( including any accompanying claims , abstract and drawings ) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same , equivalent or similar purpose , unless expressly stated otherwise . thus , unless expressly stated otherwise , each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features . the invention is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments . the invention extends to any novel one , or any novel combination , of the features disclosed in this specification ( including any accompanying claims , abstract and drawings ), or to any novel one , or any novel combination , of the steps of any method or process so disclosed .
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the subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter . it can be evident , however , that subject matter embodiments can be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the embodiments . as used in this application , the term “ component ” is intended to refer to hardware , software , or a combination of hardware and software in execution . for example , a component can be , but is not limited to being , a process running on a processor , a processor , an object , an executable , and / or a microchip and the like . by way of illustration , both an application running on a processor and the processor can be a component . one or more components can reside within a process and a component can be localized on one system and / or distributed between two or more systems . functions of the various components shown in the figures can be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software . when provided by a processor , the functions can be provided by a single dedicated processor , by a single shared processor , or by a plurality of individual processors , some of which can be shared . moreover , explicit use of the term “ processor ” or “ controller ” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software , and can implicitly include , without limitation , digital signal processor (“ dsp ”) hardware , read - only memory (“ rom ”) for storing software , random access memory (“ ram ”), and non - volatile storage . moreover , all statements herein reciting instances and embodiments of the invention are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents . additionally , it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future ( i . e ., any elements developed that perform the same function , regardless of structure ). content delivery systems are typically comprised of one or more gateway server devices and several different types of client content / service receivers . the content / service receivers go through many phases in an operational software download and boot process . thus , it is helpful to track and report the boot progress dynamically . the systems and methods disclosed herein allow content / service receivers to dynamically report their boot status and / or error codes to a display for easier troubleshooting between an end - user and a content / service provider &# 39 ; s technical support . in one instance , there is a common interface ( display ) shown to the end - user which keeps reporting up - to - date information during the various download / boot - up phases involved in one single screen so that any problem that occurs , can easily be troubleshot by visual inspection . fig1 shows a block diagram of a dynamic boot reporting system 100 that utilizes a dynamic boot reporting component 102 which can operate within a boot process 108 to retrieve information from boot components 104 and relay it as boot status information 106 . the boot process 108 is typically associated with a content / service receiver that facilitates in displaying content / services to an end - user . these types of devices , such as set top boxes , allow remote content / service providers to interface with various display devices such as , for example , televisions / monitors and the like . the content / service receivers can be connected to the content / service provider via various types of networks such as , for example , satellite networks , telephone networks ( e . g ., dsl , etc . ), cable networks , and / or cellular networks and the like . the content / service receivers can be connected via wired means and / or wireless means to one or both of the content / service provider and / or to a local display device ( e . g ., a device used to display the provided content and / or a device used to facilitate status information and the like ). for example , a wireless content / service receiver can utilize cellular communications to receive content / services from a provider and utilize , for example , bluetooth technology ( i . e ., short - range wireless , etc .) to transmit the content / services to a local display device . the techniques disclosed herein are also not limited to only ip based content / service receivers and can be applied to non - ip content / service receivers as well . the dynamic boot reporting component 102 typically operates within the boot process 108 to allow real - time reporting of the status of the boot components 104 . the boot components 104 can include , but are not limited to , software drivers associated with various components of a content / service receiver . the drivers are generally required to provide a controllable interface to lower level firmware that controls various hardware . however , the boot components 104 can also include any component of the content / service receiver that interacts and / or powers - up with the boot process 108 . for example , the integrity of a lookup table and / or other database / memory location can be checked during the boot process 108 . this information can then become part of the boot status information 106 reported by the dynamic boot reporting component 102 . other boot status information 106 can include , for example , connected device ( e . g ., displays , networks , etc .) statuses such as , for example , power status , and / or connection status , etc . the boot status information 106 is reported as it occurs by the dynamic boot reporting component 102 . this can aid in troubleshooting the boot process 108 . in fig2 , a dynamic boot reporting system 200 employs a dynamic boot reporting component 202 to obtain boot component status information 204 and report it as boot status information 206 . the dynamic boot reporting component 202 employs an acquisition component 208 and a reporting component 210 . the acquisition component 208 receives boot component status information 204 . the boot component status information 204 is obtained from various components of a content / service receiver that relay status information during a boot process and can include , but is not limited to , information from software drivers , hardware blocks , middleware , application , memory , and / or data and the like . the acquisition component 208 can accept optional acquisition preferences 212 . the optional acquisition preferences 212 can include preferences as to which boot components to receive information from and / or interface / protocol information necessary to interface with various boot components . thus , the optional acquisition preferences 212 can allow the acquisition component 208 to be updated / changed as necessary to make it compatible with different firmware and / or to modify content delivery parameters , and / or models , etc . of content / service receivers . the optional acquisition preferences 212 can be obtained by the acquisition component 208 via a local interface ( e . g ., from a connected display device and / or input device ) and / or via a remote interface ( e . g ., over a network ) and the like . the reporting component 210 obtains the boot component status information 204 from the acquisition component 208 and dynamically reports it as boot status information 206 . the boot status information 206 can be utilized , for example , to aid a troubleshooting process . the boot status information 206 can appear locally relative to the content / service receiver such as , for example , on a display device connected to the content / service receiver and / or on an integrated content / service receiver display . the boot status information 206 can also appear remotely such as , for example , on a display located near a content provider service technician and the like . thus , the reporting component 210 can report the boot status information 206 via any communication means to any location . as noted above , the communication means can include wired and / or wireless networks and the like . the reporting component 210 can also include multiple interface protocols to allow the boot status information 206 to be reported to multiple locations . the reporting component 210 can also be integrated with a content / service receiver &# 39 ; s video components to report the information via a connected display device using an osd . the reporting component 210 can also obtain optional reporting preferences 214 . the optional reporting preferences 214 can include preferences , for example , as to what boot status information is to be reported . thus , the optional reporting preferences 214 can allow the reporting component 210 to be updated / changed as necessary to make it compatible with boot processes , end - users and / or content / service receiver models , etc . the optional reporting preferences 214 can be obtained by the reporting component 210 via a local interface ( e . g ., from a connected display device and / or input device ) and / or via a remote interface ( e . g ., over a network ) and the like . this can greatly enhance a troubleshooting process by eliminating detailed information that is unlikely to assist a technician . this is usually important when the technician is assisting an unknowledgeable end - user over a telephone , etc . because the end - user may not be able to adequately interpret complicated data . on the other hand , the reported information may not be detailed enough to assist the technician . thus , in one instance , dynamic boot reporting system 200 can receive optional reporting preferences 214 via a remote interface and / or a technician can guide an end - user to submit the reporting preferences 214 via a local interface ( e . g ., front panel controls , switch and / or button , etc .). looking at fig3 , an example of a dynamic boot reporting system 300 with various interfaces 308 - 312 in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment is shown . in this example , the dynamic boot reporting system 300 utilizes a dynamic boot reporting component 302 running in a boot process 306 . the boot process 306 is generally associated with a content / service receiver . the dynamic boot reporting component 302 obtains boot status information from various boot components 304 and reports the information as boot status information via various interfaces 308 - 312 . the various interfaces 308 - 312 are not meant to be a conclusive list of possible interfaces and do not limit the techniques disclosed here in any manner . as an example , the dynamic boot reporting component 302 can interface with a local display device to relay information via an osd interface 308 to an end - user 314 and the like . the dynamic boot reporting component 302 can also interface with a content / service receiver to relay information via an integrated content / service receiver display 310 . other localized means of relaying information to an end - user 314 are also possible such as , for example , utilizing an audio interface to relay the boot status information to the end - user and / or directly to a technician 314 via a communication means ( e . g ., cell phone , telephone , etc .). in a typical trouble shooting process , a remote technician 316 is using the end - user 314 as an information relay component . thus , the end - user 314 can be partially and / or wholly eliminated from the information relaying by utilizing audio as mentioned and / or by having the dynamic boot reporting component 306 report the boot status information to a remote location device 312 . the remote location device 312 can be , for example , a display device and / or an audio device and the like . this allows the technician 316 direct access to the boot status information from the dynamic reporting component 302 and can substantially reduce troubleshooting time by eliminating the end - user 314 from the process . thus , the flexibility of the dynamic boot reporting system 300 substantially increases its worth in troubleshooting problems associated with a content / service receiver . the boot status information can be relayed to an end - user and / or technician via any means such as , for example , via a graphical user interface . referring to fig4 , an example 400 of a graphical user interface ( gui ) 402 associated with a dynamic boot reporting system in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment is shown . the example gui is only one representation of possible guis that can be used with the techniques disclosed herein and is not meant to limit guis in any manner . the techniques disclosed herein can utilize a set of status and / or error codes pertinent to an ip content / service receiver designs , but can also be expanded to any mode of content / service receiver operation easily . in one instance , a software component in the boot - code defines an event - based mechanism , wherein a driver &# 39 ; s status from different components corresponding to different phases in the boot process can be substantially simultaneously propagated from the driver to an application layer inside the boot code . a simple thread in the application layer of the boot code can then handle events and / or route them to appropriate fields of , for example , an on screen display ( osd ). one advantage of these techniques is that operators involved with equipment provisioning / customer support centers can easily troubleshoot boot issues associated with a content / service receiver . this reduces the call - volume and / or call - time ( from the user of the content / service receiver , etc . ), which saves money for the operator / support center , providing a better profit margin on the operations . in one example , the text indicators 404 , 406 at the top corners of the gui 402 can have the following definitions . this example is not meant to limit the possible information that can be displayed on the gui and is only meant as an example representation of a few types of data that can be provided by techniques disclosed herein . for example , the sequence of digits (‘ a / b / c / d / e / f ’) in the text indicator 404 on the top left hand side can represent data as indicated the tables below . table 1 shows possible states of a dhcp algorithm ( noted in the example 400 as “ a ” indicator ). this information can be utilized to assist in troubleshooting connection problems in ip based content / service receivers and the like . table 2 indicates which ip address is in use or can display zeros if the address is not known ( noted in example 400 as “ b ” indicator ). this information is helpful in determining network addressing issues and the like , since the operator , for example , can connect to a particular receiver of their choice , using the ip address , and do more troubleshooting remotely , as desired . table 3 “ c ” indicator definition of sap status indicator meaning 0 none 1 init 2 waiting for announcement e3 invalid announcement received e4 sap received , but no matching manufacturer / model id e5 sap received , but no size info e6 sap received , but no mtftp / tftp server info 7 sap complete table 4 “ d ” indicator definition of mtftp / tftp status for unit indicator meaning 0 none 1 tftp in progress 02 mtftp in progress 03 tftp complete 04 mtftp complete b0 mtftp recent block shown in “ e ” b1 beginning to show percent complete b2 beginning to show file version in “ z ” e0 tftp file not found e1 tftp timeout e2 tftp file too big e3 mtftp file not found e4 mtftp timeout e5 mtftp file too big table 6 “ f ” indicator definition on unit screens indicator meaning 10 unit init 20 unit is downloading file 30 download image validation 90 download finished a0 abort a1 awaiting user input e0 invalid image e1 usb enumeration failure the sequence of digits (‘ v / w / x / y / z ’) of the text indicator 406 on the top right hand corner can be defined as follows . v manufacturer id w model id x unit version y unit software version z software version to be downloaded the order and / or arrangement of the indicators are not generally significant except for ease of interpretation , and the indicators can appear in any order anywhere on the gui 402 . the gui 402 also is not required to have all of the indicators noted above . the gui 402 can have additional information such as , for example , download status and / or warnings / messages 408 and / or a completion status graphical indicator 410 and the like . the text indicators 404 and 406 can also be represented utilizing graphical means as well . the gui 402 itself can be located , for example , on a content / service receiver ( e . g ., on a display built into the content / service receiver ), on a display device attached to the content service / receiver , and / or on a remote display device connected to a network associated with the content service / receiver ( e . g ., displayed remotely so a remote technician can view the gui directly ) and the like . in view of the exemplary systems shown and described above , methodologies that can be implemented in accordance with the embodiments will be better appreciated with reference to the flow charts of fig5 - 7 . while , for purposes of simplicity of explanation , the methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks , it is to be understood and appreciated that the embodiments are not limited by the order of the blocks , as some blocks can , in accordance with an embodiment , occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other blocks from that shown and described herein . moreover , not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies in accordance with the embodiments . in fig5 , a flow diagram of a method 500 of dynamically reporting boot status information in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment is shown . the method 500 starts 502 by acquiring status information from boot components during and / or after a boot process of a content / service receiver 504 . the boot component status information can be acquired from various components of a content / service receiver that relay status information during a boot process and can include , but is not limited to , information from software drivers , memory , and / or data and the like . optional acquisition preferences can be used to augment the acquisition process . the optional acquisition preferences can include preferences as to which boot components to receive information from and / or interface / protocol information necessary to interface with various boot components . thus , the optional acquisition preferences can allow the acquisition process to be updated / changed as necessary to make it compatible with different firmware and / or models , etc . of content / service receivers . the optional acquisition preferences can be obtained for the acquisition process via a local interface ( e . g ., from a connected display device and / or input device ) and / or via a remote interface ( e . g ., over a network ) and the like . the status information is then dynamically reported during and / or after the boot process 506 , ending the flow 508 . optional reporting preferences can be used to augment the reporting process . the optional reporting preferences can include preferences , for example , as to what boot status information is to be reported . this can allow the reporting process to be updated / changed as necessary to make it compatible with boot processes , end - users and / or content / service receiver models , etc . the optional reporting preferences can be obtained via a local interface ( e . g ., from a connected display device and / or input device ) and / or via a remote interface ( e . g ., over a network ) and the like . interfaces such as , for example , guis and the like can be provided to allow user interactions with the reported information . for example , end - users and / or remote technicians and the like can interact with the displayed information to allow more details and / or definitions of error codes and the like to be displayed . looking at fig6 , a flow diagram of a method 600 of utilizing dynamic boot status information to troubleshoot a boot process in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment is depicted . the method 600 starts 602 by acquiring and reporting boot status information for a content / service receiver during and / or after its boot process 604 . the boot status information can be acquired from various components of a content / service receiver that relay status information during a boot process and can include , but is not limited to , information from software drivers , memory , and / or data and the like . the reported dynamic boot status information is then employed in a boot troubleshooting process 606 , ending the flow 608 . the reported dynamic boot status information can be employed in the troubleshooting process directly and / or indirectly . for example , the boot status information can feed directly into a troubleshooting process such as , for example , an automated troubleshooting process that can utilize the boot status information to analyze problems . the boot status information can also be used indirectly and / or relayed via a third party for use in a troubleshooting process as well . the above method 600 includes both machine automated , human interaction , and / or hybrid ( e . g ., machine / man interaction ) troubleshooting processes . turning to fig7 , a flow diagram of a method 700 of relaying the dynamic boot status information to various interfaces in accordance with an aspect of an embodiment is illustrated . the method 700 starts 702 by acquiring and reporting boot status information for a content / service receiver during its boot process 704 . the boot status information can be acquired from various components of a content / service receiver that relay status information during a boot process and can include , but is not limited to , information from software drivers , memory , and / or data and the like . the reported dynamic boot status information is then relayed to a local and / or a remote location 706 , ending the flow 708 . local locations can include , but are not limited to , devices connected to a content / service receiver and / or devices integrated into a content / service receiver . remote locations can include , but are not limited to , devices connected via a network , including wired and / or wireless networks and the like . the networks can include , but are not limited to , the internet , an intranet network , digital subscriber line ( dsl ) networks , satellite networks , cellular networks and the like . the communication protocols for relaying the information can vary widely , but are not limited to , any available standard and / or proprietary protocols and the like . devices can include , but are not limited to , visual , aural , and / or other sensory devices and the like ( e . g ., speakers , displays , touch feedback systems — braille , etc .). in other instances , a data packet , transmitted between two or more devices , that facilitates content delivery is comprised of , at least in part , information relating to dynamically reporting boot process information for a receiver of a content delivery system . it is to be appreciated that the systems and / or methods of the embodiments can be utilized in content / service delivery facilitating computer components and non - computer related components alike . further , those skilled in the art will recognize that the systems and / or methods of the embodiments are employable in a vast array of electronic related technologies , including , but not limited to , computers , settop boxes , mobile communication devices , and / or handheld electronic devices , and the like . what has been described above includes examples of the embodiments . it is , of course , not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the embodiments , but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the embodiments are possible . accordingly , the subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . furthermore , to the extent that the term “ includes ” is used in either the detailed description or the claims , such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “ comprising ” as “ comprising ” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim .
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prior to describing the wdm cross - connect of the present invention , the variables that are typically used to describe the properties of a wdm cross - connect will be defined . a detailed discussion of the wdm cross - connect of the present invention will then be provided , which will include a proof that utilizes these variables and that demonstrates the wide - sense , non - blocking nature of the wdm cross - connect of the present invention . a k × k wdm cross - connect that supports n & gt ; 1 wavelengths may be defined as a directed acyclic graph c =( v , a , λ ) where v is the set of nodes , a is the set of arcs between the nodes , λ ={ λ 1 , λ 2 , . . . , λ n } is the set of available wavelengths , and k is an integer equal to the number of input and output fibers . an arc is typically viewed as corresponding to a fiber having a single direction along which signals are permitted to flow . the node set v is partitioned into four subsets , namely , the set of input nodes , i , the set of output nodes , o , the set of optical switches , s , and the set of wavelength interchangers , w . sets i and o each contain k nodes . each node in the set i has an indegree of 0 and an outdegree of 1 whereas each node in set o has an outdegree of 0 and indegree of 1 . an arc directed out of a node in set i corresponds to an input fiber and an arc directed into a node in set o corresponds to an output fiber . a node in set w has an indegree 1 and an outdegree 1 whereas the indegree and outdegree of a node in set s are unconstrained , although in current practice they are likely to have an input degree and an output degree equal to 2 . the topology of a cross - connect as given by the directed acyclic graph is typically referred to as the fabric of the cross - connect . however , this definition of the fabric assumes that the wavelength interchangers are part of the fabric . in accordance with the present invention , the fabric is considered to be separate from the wavelength interchangers . therefore , in accordance with the present invention , the fabric should be considered as including the optical switches , the optical fibers and the nodes , which correspond to the locations where the optical fibers connect to the optical switches . it should be noted that this definition of the fabric is being used herein for illustrative purposes to describe the various aspects of the present invention . a demand , d , is defined as a 4 - tuple ( w , x , y , z ), where w is an input node , x is a wavelength , y is an output node and z is a wavelength . the wavelengths x and z will be referred to as the input and output wavelengths , respectively . a route , r , in c is a directed path from a node in set i to a node in set o . along each of the fibers in a route r , one of the n wavelengths is assigned such that consecutive fibers are assigned the same wavelength , unless the common node of the fibers is in set w . a route for a demand d =( w , x , y , z ) is a route from input node w to output node y such that , on the corresponding input fiber , the route is assigned wavelength x and on the corresponding output fiber , the route is assigned wavelength z . a valid demand set is a set of demands that satisfies the following conditions : ( i ) for each input node , a , and each wavelength , λ , there is at most one demand with both a as the input node and λ as the input wavelength ; and ( ii ) for each output node , b , and each wavelength , λ , there is at most one demand with both b as the output node and λ as the output wavelength . a demand set d ={ d 1 , d 2 , . . . , dm } is said to be satisfied by a cross - connect if there exists a set of routes r ={ r 1 , r 2 , . . . , rm } where : ( i ) r i is a route for d i , 1 ≦ i ≦ m ; and ( ii ) if for some value i ≠ j , r i and r j share some fiber , f , then they must be assigned distinct wavelengths along fiber f . such a route set , r , is referred to as a valid routing of the demand set d , and r is said to satisfy d . a wavelength interchanger , wi i , services a particular demand , d i , if the demand d i is routed through wavelength interchanger wi i . a discussion of the wdm cross - connect 10 of the present invention will now be provided with reference to fig3 . in accordance with the present invention , the fabric of the cross - connect 10 comprises three parts 11 , 12 and 19 . parts 11 and 12 are interconnected by one or more wavelength interchangers 13 . part 19 is connected to the input fibers 14 and to the output fibers 16 . the three parts 11 , 12 and 19 will be referred to hereinafter as fabric f 1 , fabric f 2 and fabric f 3 . the fabrics f 1 , f 2 and f 3 comprise the optical switches and the optical fibers that are connected to the optical switches at nodes of the fabrics . therefore , the fabrics themselves f 1 , f 2 and f 3 can be viewed as not including any devices for changing the wavelength of any signal . the operations of the wdm cross - connect 10 are controlled by the controller 15 , which may be , for example , a microprocessor programmed with appropriate software to execute the routing algorithm of the present invention . each of the fabrics f 1 , f 2 and f 3 can be any wdm cross - connect fabric that has a topology of any wide - sense or strictly non - blocking cross - connect . for example , each cross - connect could have a cross - bar design . any demand whose input and output wavelengths differ will be routed through f 1 11 to some wavelength interchanger 13 and then through f 2 12 . any demand whose input and output wavelengths are the same will be routed from a corresponding input optical fiber 14 of the first fabric f 1 11 through fabric f 3 19 and output onto an output optical fiber 16 of fabric f 2 12 . since f 1 , f 2 and f 3 can be based on standard wide - sense , non - blocking cross - connects , known algorithms a 1 , a 2 and a 3 exist for routing through f 1 , f 2 and f 3 , respectively . therefore , the routing algorithm of the present invention will only need to determine which wavelength interchanger 13 to route a demand through or which demand is to be routed through fabric f 3 19 . the algorithms a 1 and a 2 and a 3 may then be used as subroutines to route demands through the fabrics in the wdm cross - connect 10 . since full wavelength interchangers ( i . e ., devices that can change the wavelength of all signals entering it ) are currently , and are likely to remain , complicated and expensive devices , simpler devices that permit wavelength interchange amongst only a small number of wavelengths are of interest . thus , the problem of designing optimal wide - sense , non - blocking wdm cross - connects for the case where there are only two or three available wavelengths will now be discussed . in order to demonstrate the concepts of the present invention , it will be shown that a wide - sense wdm cross - connect can be designed that uses fewer wavelength interchangers than would be required for a similar strictly non - blocking wdm cross - connect . showing that the wdm cross - connect of the present invention is a wide - sense , non - blocking wdm cross - connect can be demonstrated by showing that there is a wavelength interchanger available for any new demand . first , it is assumed that the wdm cross - connect comprises 2k − 1 wavelength interchangers 13 and that new demand d exists of type ( x , y ). when this demand is made , there can be , at most , k − 1 existing demands using input wavelength x and k − 1 other existing demands using output wavelength y . in the worst case , therefore , each demand uses its own wavelength interchanger . this means that there are , at most , 2k − 2 wavelength interchangers that are blocked from servicing the new demand . therefore , if the wdm cross - connect 10 comprises 2k − 1 wavelength interchangers , then there must be one that can service the new demand . this is true even if the wdm cross - connect 10 does not use any algorithm for routing the demands . this gives rise to the question of whether or not fewer than 2k − 1 wavelength interchangers can be used if an algorithm is used to route the demands , which would enable the wavelength interchangers to be used more wisely . in accordance with the present invention , it has been determined a k × k wide - sense , non - blocking wdm cross - connect can be designed that utilizes only 2 wavelengths ( i . e ., colors ) and which requires only k wavelength interchangers . at least k wavelength interchangers are required since k demands that each require a change from a wavelength λ 1 to a wavelength λ 2 could occur . therefore , each demand would need its own wavelength interchanger . similarly , since , in the present example , there are only two types of demands ( i . e ., those that change from λ 1 to λ 2 and those that change from λ 2 to λ 1 ), each of k wavelength interchangers could service one of each type of such demands . that is , any routing algorithm that routes any demand whose input and output wavelengths differ through any of the available wavelength interchangers , and that routes any demand whose input and output wavelengths are the same through f 3 , is a routing algorithm that will always succeed . thus , for a k × k wdm cross - connect , k wavelength interchangers are both necessary and sufficient for the case of 2 colors ( i . e ., 2 wavelengths ). it will now be shown that a routing algorithm can be used that ensures using 8k / 5 wavelength interchangers in a cross - connect of the design shown in fig3 will result in a wide - sense , non - blocking wdm cross - connect in the case where there are three wavelengths . it is assumed here that three wavelengths are r , g and b are used . it will be shown that if express routes exist , which means that if there is a ( r , r ), ( b , b ) or ( g , g ) demand , then the wdm cross - connect 10 can route these demands without using a wavelength interchanger . the manner in which a determination can be made as to an upper bound on the number of wavelength interchangers that are needed for a wide - sense , non - blocking k × k cross - connect will now be discussed . demands of type ( b , g ), ( g , r ) and ( r , b ) will be defined herein as class a demands and demands of type ( g , b ), ( r , g ) and ( b , r ) will be defined herein as class b demands . the phrase class ( d )= a is used herein to indicate that demand d is a class a demand . the phrase class ( d )= b is used herein to indicate that demand d is a class b demand . constraints c a and c b are defined to mean that there are fewer than 7k / 5 wavelength interchangers that service a class a demand and 7k / 5 wavelength interchangers that service a class b demand , respectively . this assumes that there are only 8k / 5 wavelength interchangers available in the wdm cross - connect 10 . the motivation for defining constraints c a and c b is to demonstrate that , if there is a wavelength interchanger that is servicing class a demands , then it can be used to serve new class a demands ( i . e ., demands of a type other than those it is already servicing ). however , if these were the only constraints considered , problems relating to withdrawals might not be handled . stating the problem this way requires the re - use of wavelength interchangers already servicing the same class of demands ( as desired ), while avoiding problems that might result from withdrawals . thus , the proof is as follows : letting w ( x , y ) be the set of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( x , y ) demand , x , yε { r , b , g } and letting w ( x , y )=| w ( x , y )|, constraints c (( x , y ), ( y , z )), where x , y , zε { b , r , g }, are defined as c (( x , y ), ( y , z )): w ( x , y )+ w ( y , z )−| w ( x , y )∩ w ( y , z )|≦ 6k / 5 . such a constraint requires that the number of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( x , y ) demand and / or a type ( y , z ) demand is no more than 6k / 5 . six kinds of these constraints exist . the motivation for the c (( x , y ), ( y , z )) constraints is that when it is desired to insert a new type ( x , z ) demand , it can be blocked by other type ( x , z ) demands , namely , by type ( x , y ) demands or type ( y , z ) demands . thus , if there are , at most , 6k / 5 total of the latter two blockages , then there can be at most 2k / 5 remaining type ( x , z ) demands , which would need , at most , 8k / 5 wavelength interchangers to handle them . demands d 1 and d 2 are said to be mirror opposite demands if d 1 is a type ( x , y ) demand and d 2 is a type ( y , x ) demand , where x is one of r , b , or g and y is one of r , b , or g , but x and y are not the same . in order to prove that this constraint can be maintained as new demands are added ( or withdrawn ), an additional kind of constraint will be considered . letting e ({ g , r }) be the number of wavelength interchangers that are servicing mirror opposite demands of the type ( g , r ) and ( r , g ), letting e ({ b , g }) be the number of wavelength interchangers servicing mirror opposite demands of type ( g , b ) and ( b , g ), and letting w be the number of wavelength interchangers servicing mirror opposite demands of type ( b , r ) and ( r , b ), a constraint t ({ g , r }, { b , g } can be defined as e ({ g , r })+ e ({ b , g })≦ 4k / 5 . for the other pairs of mirror demands , analogous constraints can be defined . then , the routing algorithm of the present invention is as follows : route any new demand so that all constraints mentioned above are maintained . it will now be proven that such a set of constraints can always be maintained . that is , it will be shown that a routing algorithm can be created that will always be able to find a routing that does not violate any of the constraints . it will now be shown that these constraints can always be maintained when new demands are presented . throughout this proof , it will be assumed that a given a type ( b , g ) demand d is to be inserted . let a be the set of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( g , r ) demand but no other class a demand , b be the set of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( r , b ) demand but not other class a demand , c be the set of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( b , g ) demand ( they can also service other class a demands ) and d be the set of wavelength interchangers that service a type ( g , r ) and a type ( r , b ) demand but no type ( b , g ) demand . define α =| a |, β =| b |, γ =| c | and δ =| d |. the c a constraint could be forced to be violated if α + β + γ + δ = 7k / 5 and all these wavelength interchangers are blocked so that the wdm cross - connect 10 is prevented from routing the new type ( b , g ) demand through them . then , each wavelength interchanger in a must also be servicing a mirror opposite demand of type ( r , g ) and every wavelength interchanger b must be servicing a type ( b , r ) demand . however , for a wavelength interchanger in d to be blocking a type ( b , g ) demand , it must already be servicing a type ( b , g ) demand , but this contradicts the definition of d . thus , δ = 0 ( i . e ., d = 0 ). every wavelength interchanger in a and c services a demand with output wavelength g ( before d is routed ) and so α + γ & lt ; k . every wavelength interchanger in b and c service demands with input wavelength b and so β + γ & lt ; k . also , the total number of wavelength interchangers in a and b is inductively assumed to be bounded to be no more than 4k / 5 since it has been assumed that t ({ g , r }, { r , b }) holds true . that is , α + β ≦ 4k / 5 . adding these three inequalities results in the following : therefore , α + β + γ & lt ; 7k / 5 , and this contradicts the assumption that α + β + γ + δ = 7k / 5 ( since δ = 0 ). now , it will be shown that the t ({ g , r }, { b , g }) kind of constraints never need be violated either . supposing that e ({ g , r })+ e ({ b , g })= 4k / 5 , and a new type ( b , g ) demand d must be routed . supposing there are some available wavelength interchangers that are currently servicing a type ( g , b ) demand and that t ({ g , r }, { b , g }) would be violated if demand d is routed through one of them . thus , these wavelength interchangers can be thought of as being “ blocked ” from being used for routing d since that would cause the constraint to be violated . it will now be considered what could prevent routing d through some wavelength interchanger other than those servicing a type ( g , b ) demand . a wavelength interchanger might be servicing a type ( b , r ) demand or a type ( r , g ) demand , and that would block the routing of d through it . supposing there are a total of s wavelength interchangers blocked by any of these three types of demands . however , all of these types of demands are from class b and it has been shown that there are already 4k / 5 wavelength interchangers servicing class b demands ( namely , the 4k / 5 wavelength interchangers servicing the e ({ g , r })+ e ({ b , g })= 4k / 5 mirror opposite demands ). therefore , there are no more than 8k / 5 − 7k / 5 = k / 5 wavelength interchangers unaccounted for so far . of course , there could be some number , t , of wavelength interchangers blocked by demands of type ( b , g ) ( the same type as d ), but since the e ({ g , r })+ e ({ b , g })= 4k / 5 wavelength interchangers blocked with mirror opposite demands all have a g output wavelength , it is known that t & lt ; k / 5 , since d also has a g output wavelength . therefore , less than 8k / 5 wavelength interchangers have now been accounted for , and so there must be some wavelength interchanger left over that is not blocked ( i . e ., either in the usual sense or in the sense that routing d through it would increase the number of wavelength interchangers servicing mirror opposite demands ). therefore , d can be routed through one of these wavelength interchangers . now , the question of how the constraint c (( b , g ), ( g , x )) can be violated will be considered . considering the c (( b , g ), ( g , r )) constraint and supposing that it is about to be violated , the number of wavelength interchangers servicing one or both of these types of demands is 6k / 5 , and the demand d is blocked from going through any of them . such wavelength interchangers are either ( i ) already servicing a type ( b , g ) demand or , otherwise , ( ii ) servicing a type ( g , r ) demand as well as a type ( r , g ) demand . however , that would mean that there are 6k / 5 & gt ; k wavelength interchangers servicing demands with g output . thus , the set w 1 of wavelength interchangers servicing a type ( g , r ) demand that can also service d must be non - empty . similarly , considering the case of the other constraint c (( b , g ), ( r , b )) that d might be forced to violate , it is known that the set w 2 of wavelength interchangers that are currently servicing a type ( r , b ) demand that are not blocked from servicing d is also non - empty . however , the question remains of whether there exists a wavelength interchanger in w 1 ∩ w 2 . clearly , if there is some wavelength interchanger in d , then it is in w 1 ∩ w 2 . on the other hand , if it is assumed that δ = 0 ( i . e ., d = 0 ), then α + γ = β + γ = 6k / 5 and α + β + γ & lt ; 7k / 5 . this implies that γ = k , but since d has not been routed yet , it is known that γ & lt ; k . more explicitly , therefore , it can be seen that the constraints c a and c b are relevant , the real work is done by the c (( x , y ), ( y , z )) constraints , which are maintainable by maintaining the t ( ) constraints , since if those are maintained , it is never necessary to use more than 8k / 5 wavelength interchangers . this is true since , for demand d , at most 6k / 5 wavelength interchangers are blocking it that do not service a demand of the same type as d , and at most 2k / 5 − 1 other demands of the same type as d can exist . therefore , there is always at least one wavelength interchanger available . the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . however , those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments explicitly described herein . those skilled in the art will understand that modifications may be made to the embodiments discussed above that are within the scope of the present invention . it will also be understood that the present invention is not limited with respect to the types of components that are used to create the cross - connect 10 of the present invention . those skilled in the art will understand that a variety of different components may be used to produce the fabrics f 1 11 , f 2 12 and f 3 19 and the wavelength interchangers 13 . those skilled in the art will also understand that a variety of different types of controllers may be used for the controller 15 that performs the routing algorithm of the present invention .
| 7 |
as shown in fig1 - 7 , a golf club head 20 has an adjustable keel zone member 100 . the adjustable keel zone member 100 is positioned on a sole 26 of the golf club head 20 . the golf club head 20 also preferably has a body 22 with a crown 24 , a front wall 30 and the sole 26 . the golf club head 20 also has a heel end 36 , an aft end 37 and a toe end 38 . the golf club head 20 is preferably a multiple material golf club head such as disclosed in foster et al ., u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 240 , 425 , filed on sep . 29 , 2008 , for a golf club head , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club head such as disclosed in murphy et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 383 , 577 for a multiple material golf club head , which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club head such as disclosed in williams et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 390 , 269 for a golf club head , which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club head such as disclosed in gibbs et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 448 , 960 for a golf club head with variable face thickness , which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club head such as disclosed in hocknell et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 413 , 520 for a golf club head with high moment of inertia , which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club with an interchangeable shaft such as disclosed in hocknell et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 427 , 239 for a golf club with interchangeable head - shaft connection , which is hereby incorporated by reference . alternatively , the golf club head 20 is a club with an interchangeable shaft such as disclosed in evans et al ., u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 208 , 137 , filed on sep . 10 , 2008 , for a golf club with removable components , which is hereby incorporated by reference . the adjustable keel member 100 is preferably located in the fore - aft direction by the “ equilibrium line ” as shown in fig1 , which lies outside of shaft 21 . the adjustable keel member 100 is preferably located in the heel - toe direction by the target lie angle as defined in fig1 . an edge of the adjustable keel member 100 , oriented roughly parallel to the x axis contacts the ground at any lie angle within the desired range . the size of the adjustable keel member 100 is preferably a 1 ″ by 1 ″ square zone . the actual shape of the adjustable keel member 100 may be square , circular , triangular or other shape . the invention describes an adjustable keel member 100 on the sole of a club head located preferentially with respect to the club cg ( center of gravity ). within this adjustable multi - edged surface the club head will contact the ground for any of a wide range of practical orientations ( lie angles ) at address . the adjustable keel member 100 can be rotated to cause one of several edges to engage the ground plane , thus preferentially modifying the face angle at address without affecting loft of the head at square impact . the address lie angle may be very different for different golfers . as a result , if the design intent is for the club to appear to have the same face angle for all golfers it must be stable over a wide range of address lie angles . as shown in fig9 , prior art drivers survey exhibit the undesirable behavior of excessive variation in face angle at different address lie angles as shown in fig9 . the sole surface within a defined proximity of the natural sole keel point (“ keel zone ”) is such that even if the club is addressed at different lie angles ( 40 - 60 deg ) the resulting perceived face angle will be constant within +/− 0 . 5 deg . the “ line of equilibrium ” is defined as a line that runs from a point on the underside of the grip at 5 ″ below the butt end thru the club center of gravity and extending thru the head . the keel zone is defined relative to this line . the adjustable keel member 100 is positioned in a keel zone of the golf club , which is defined as a local prismatic surface on the sole of a club head . the keel zone surface is prismatic to the “ x ” axis which is oriented in the fore - aft ( front - back ) direction of the head at nominal design orientation . the keel zone is located in the fore - aft direction by the “ equilibrium line ” described in the previous section . the keel zone is located in the heel - toe direction by the target lie angle as defined in table 1 . the center of the keel zone contacts the ground at the target lie angle and the zone is equally dispersed about the contact point in the heel and toe directions . the size of the keel zone is preferably 0 . 5 ″ wide fore - aft and 1 . 0 inches wide heel - toe as measured when viewed from along the vertical axis . the keel zone surface is within 0 . 05 ″ of this definition across the full extent of the surface . within this local prismatic surface the club head will contact the ground for any of a wide range of practical orientations ( lie angles ) at address . this causes the club to appear to have a stable face angle even when addressed at different lie angles . an equilibrium line of a golf club 19 is shown in fig1 , and runs from a point on the underside of the grip , preferably at 5 inches below the butt end through the club center of gravity and extending through the head . the sole surface , within a defined proximity of the sole keel point , is such that even if the club is addressed at different lie angles , between 40 - 60 degrees , the resulting perceived face angle will be constant within +/− 0 . 5 degrees . in one embodiment , the adjustable keel member 100 preferably has a width ranging from 0 . 50 - 0 . 60 inches in the fore - aft direction , centered on the equilibrium line and a width between 1 . 00 - 1 . 10 inches in the heel - toe direction located by the target lie angle . in this embodiment , the keel zone shape is prismatic to the surface of the sole , with a raised surface that is consistent in the heel - toe direction , and a surface that follows the contours of the club head in the front - aft direction . the golf club head 20 , when designed as a driver , preferably has a volume from 200 cubic centimeters to 600 cubic centimeters , more preferably from 300 cubic centimeters to 500 cubic centimeters , and most preferably from 350 cubic centimeters to 480 cubic centimeters . the volume of the golf club head 20 will also vary between fairway woods ( preferably ranging from 3 - woods to eleven woods ) with smaller volumes than drivers . the golf club head 20 preferably has a mass no more than 225 grams , and most preferably a mass of 180 to 215 grams . preferably the golf club head 20 has a body 22 that is composed of titanium , titanium alloy , stainless steel or other iron - alloys . alternatively , the body 22 may be composed of a lightweight metallic material , such as magnesium alloys , aluminum alloys , magnesium , aluminum or other low density metals . fig1 illustrates a golf club with a closed face angle . the golf club has a club head , a shaft with a grip attached at a butt end of the shaft . the keel zone makes the face angle of the golf club appear consistent at various lie angles . as shown in fig1 , the adjustable keel member 100 is positioned in a keel zone 102 of the golf club head 20 , preferably using a threaded bolt 101 placed through an aperture 111 of the adjustable keel member 100 and secured in a threaded aperture 112 within the keel zone 102 . the bolt 101 is removed for adjustment of the adjustable keel member 100 in order to adjust the face angle of the golf club 19 . as shown in fig1 , the adjustable keel member 100 is preferably triangular in shape with a first apex point 105 , a second apex point 106 and a third apex point 107 . a first edge 108 is between the first apex point 105 and the second apex point 106 . a second edge 109 is between the second apex point 106 and the third apex point 107 . a third edge 110 is between the first apex point 105 and the third apex point 107 . in a preferred embodiment , the first edge 108 has a constant height . the second edge 109 has a height that decreases from the second apex point 106 to the third apex point 107 . the third edge 110 has a height that decreases from the first apex point 105 to the third apex point 107 . preferably the third apex point 107 has a height h 2 as shown in fig1 , which is lower than a height h 1 for first and second apex points 105 and 106 . preferably the angle of inclination αk from the first or second apex points 105 and 106 to the third apex points 107 is three degrees . the adjustable keel member 100 is preferably composed of a metal material such as titanium alloy , aluminum alloy , stainless steel or a like material . fig1 - 22 show a golf club 19 with various face angles . fig2 shows the adjustable keel member 100 is a neutral position . fig2 and 25 show a golf club 19 grounded and at address . fig1 ( a ) illustrates a cross - sectional view of the golf club head 20 with the adjustable keel member 100 . the adjustable keel member 100 has a raised surface that remains consistent in the heel - toe direction . fig2 ( a ) illustrates a cross sectional view of the golf club head 20 and adjustable keel member 100 in the fore - aft direction . the adjustable keel member 100 has a raised surface that mimics the surface contours of the sole shape . in some embodiments , the heel end of the keel zone has a higher raised surface than the toe end . in other embodiments , the toe end of the alignment line has a higher raised surface than the heel end of the alignment line . an alternative embodiment is shown in fig2 - 32 . a golf club head 42 is generally designated . in a preferred embodiment , the club head 42 is generally composed of three components , a face component 60 , a mid - body 61 , and an aft - weight component 65 . the mid - body 61 preferably has a crown section 62 and a sole section 64 . the mid - body 61 optionally has a ribbon section 90 . the golf club head 42 , when designed as a driver , preferably has a volume from 200 cubic centimeters to 600 cubic centimeters , more preferably from 300 cubic centimeters to 500 cubic centimeters , and most preferably from 420 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters , with a most preferred volume of 460 cubic centimeters . the volume of the golf club head 42 will also vary between fairway woods ( preferably ranging from 3 - woods to eleven woods ) with smaller volumes than drivers . the golf club head 42 , when designed as a driver , preferably has a mass no more than 215 grams , and most preferably a mass of 180 to 215 grams . when the golf club head 42 is designed as a fairway wood , the golf club head preferably has a mass of 135 grams to 200 grams , and preferably from 140 grams to 165 grams . the face component 60 is generally composed of a single piece of metal , and is preferably composed of a formed or forged metal material . more preferably , the metal material is a titanium material . such titanium materials include pure titanium and titanium alloys such as 6 - 4 titanium alloy , sp - 700 titanium alloy ( available from nippon steel of tokyo , japan ), dat 55g titanium alloy available from diado steel of tokyo , japan , ti 10 - 2 - 3 beta - c titanium alloy available from rti international metals of ohio , and the like . other metals for the face component 60 include stainless steel , other high strength steel alloy metals and amorphous metals . alternatively , the face component 60 is manufactured through casting , machining , powdered metal forming , metal - injection - molding , electro chemical milling , and the like . the face component 60 generally includes a striking plate ( also referred to herein as a face plate ) 72 and a return portion 74 extending laterally inward from a perimeter 73 of the striking plate 72 . the striking plate 72 typically has a plurality of scorelines 75 thereon . the striking plate 72 preferably has a thickness ranging from 0 . 010 inch to 0 . 250 inch , and the return portion 74 preferably has a thickness ranging from 0 . 010 inch to 0 . 250 inch . the return portion 74 preferably extends a distance ranging from 0 . 25 inch to 1 . 5 inches from the perimeter 73 of the striking plate 72 . in a preferred embodiment , the return portion 74 generally includes an upper lateral section 76 , a lower lateral section 78 , a heel lateral section 80 and a toe lateral section 82 . thus , the return 74 preferably encircles the striking plate portion 72 a full 360 degrees . however , those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that the return portion 74 may only encompass a partial section of the striking plate 72 , such as 270 degrees or 180 degrees , and may also be discontinuous . the upper lateral section 76 preferably extends inward , towards the mid - body 61 , a predetermined distance to engage the crown section 62 . in a preferred embodiment , the predetermined distance ranges from 0 . 2 inch to 1 . 2 inch , more preferably 0 . 40 inch to 1 . 0 inch , and most preferably 0 . 8 inch , as measured from the perimeter 73 of the striking plate 72 to the rearward edge of the upper lateral section 76 . in a preferred embodiment , the upper lateral section 76 is substantially straight and substantially parallel to the striking plate 72 from the heel end 166 to the toe end 168 . the perimeter 73 of the striking plate 72 is preferably defined as the transition point where the face component 60 transitions from a plane substantially parallel to the striking plate portion 72 to a plane substantially perpendicular to the striking plate 72 . alternatively , one method for determining the transition point is to take a plane parallel to the striking plate 72 and a plane perpendicular to the striking plate portion , and then take a plane at an angle of forty - five degrees to the parallel plane and the perpendicular plane . where the forty - five degrees plane contacts the face component is the transition point thereby defining the perimeter of the striking pl the heel lateral section 80 is substantially perpendicular to the striking plate 72 , and the heel lateral section 80 preferably covers a portion of a hosel 54 before engaging an optional ribbon section 90 and a bottom section 91 of the sole section 64 of the mid - body 61 . the heel lateral section 80 is attached to the sole section 64 , both the ribbon section 90 and the bottom section 91 , as explained in greater detail below . the heel lateral section 80 extends inward a distance from the perimeter 73 a distance of 0 . 2 inch to 1 . 2 inch , more preferably 0 . 40 inch to 1 . 0 inch , and most preferably 0 . 8 inch . the heel lateral section 80 is preferably straight at its edge . at the other end of the face component 60 is the toe lateral section 82 . the toe lateral section 82 is preferably attached to the sole section 64 , both the ribbon 90 and the bottom section 91 , as explained in greater detail below . the toe lateral section 82 extends inward a distance from the perimeter 73 a distance of 0 . 2 inch to 1 . 2 inch , more preferably 0 . 40 inch to 1 . 0 inch , and most preferably 0 . 8 inch . the toe lateral section 82 preferably is preferably straight at its edge . the lower lateral section 78 extends inward , toward the aft - body 61 , a distance to engage the sole portion 64 . in a preferred embodiment , the distance d ranges from 0 . 2 inch to 1 . 2 inch , more preferably 0 . 40 inch to 1 . 0 inch , and most preferably 0 . 8 inch , as measured from the perimeter 73 of the striking plate portion 72 to the edge of the lower lateral section 78 . the mid - body 61 is preferably composed of a non - metal material , preferably a composite material such as continuous fiber pre - preg material ( including thermosetting materials or thermoplastic materials for the resin ). other materials for the mid - body 61 include other thermosetting materials or other thermoplastic materials such as injectable plastics . alternatively , the mid - body 61 is composed of low - density metal materials , such as magnesium or aluminum . exemplary magnesium alloys are available from phillips plastics corporation under the brands az - 91 - d ( nominal composition of magnesium with aluminum , zinc and manganese ), am - 60 - b ( nominal composition of magnesium with aluminum and manganese ) and am - 50 - a ( nominal composition of magnesium with aluminum and manganese ). the mid - body 61 is preferably manufactured through metal - injection - molding . alternatively , the mid - body 61 is manufactured through casting , forming , machining , powdered metal forming , electro chemical milling , and the like . the mid - body 61 is preferably manufactured through bladder - molding , resin transfer molding , resin infusion , injection molding , compression molding , or a similar process . in a preferred process , the face component 60 , with an adhesive on the interior surface of the return portion 74 , is placed within a mold with a preform of the mid - body 61 for bladder molding . such adhesives include thermosetting adhesives in a liquid or a film medium . a preferred adhesive is a two part liquid epoxy sold by 3m of minneapolis minn . under the brand names dp420ns and dp460ns . other alternative adhesives include modified acrylic liquid adhesives such as dp810ns , also sold by the 3m company . alternatively , foam tapes such as hysol synspan may be utilized with the present invention . a bladder is placed within the hollow interior of the preform and face component 60 , and is pressurized within the mold , which is also subject to heating . the co - molding process secures the mid - body 61 to the face component 60 . alternatively , the mid - body 61 is bonded to the face component 60 using an adhesive , or mechanically secured to the return portion 74 . the crown portion 62 of the mid - body 61 engages the ribbon section 90 of sole section 64 outside of the engagement with the face component 60 . the crown section 62 preferably has a thickness in the range of 0 . 010 to 0 . 100 inch , more preferably in the range of 0 . 025 inch to 0 . 070 inch , even more preferably in the range of 0 . 028 inch to 0 . 040 inch , and most preferably has a thickness of 0 . 033 inch . the sole section 64 , including the bottom section 91 and the optional ribbon section 90 , which is substantially perpendicular to the bottom section 91 , preferably has a thickness in the range of 0 . 010 to 0 . 100 inch , more preferably in the range of 0 . 025 inch to 0 . 070 inch , even more preferably in the range of 0 . 028 inch to 0 . 040 inch , and most preferably has a thickness of 0 . 033 inch . in a preferred embodiment , the mid - body 61 is composed of a plurality of plies of pre - preg , typically six or seven plies , such as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 248 , 025 , entitled composite golf head and method of manufacturing , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the hosel 54 is preferably at least partially disposed within the hollow interior of the club head 42 , and is preferably located as a part of the face component 60 . the hosel 54 is preferably composed of a similar material to the face component 60 , and is preferably secured to the face component 60 through welding or the like . alternatively , the hosel 54 may be formed with the formation of the face component 60 . the club head 42 preferably has a heel end 166 , a toe end 168 and an aft - end 170 that are substantially straight . as shown in fig3 , the heel end 166 has a distance , “ dhw ”, from a furthest forward extent of the club head 42 to a furthest rearward extent of the club head 42 that preferably ranges from 2 . 00 to 5 . 00 inches , more preferably from 3 . 0 to 5 . 0 inches , and most preferably from 4 . 5 to 5 . 0 inches . as shown in fig3 , the toe end 168 has a distance , “ dtw ”, from a furthest forward extent of the club head 42 to a furthest rearward extent of the club head 42 that preferably ranges from 2 . 00 to 5 . 00 inches , more preferably from 3 . 0 to 5 . 0 inches , and most preferably from 4 . 5 to 5 . 0 inches . as shown in fig3 , the aft end 170 has a distance , “ daw ”, from a widest extent of the heel end 166 of the club head to a widest extent of the toe end 168 of the club head 42 that preferably ranges from 2 . 00 to 5 . 00 inches , more preferably from 3 . 0 to 5 . 0 inches , and most preferably from 4 . 5 to 5 . 0 inches . in one embodiment , the distances dhw , dtw and daw are all equal in length ranging from 4 . 0 to 5 . 0 inches . in an alternative embodiment , the distances dhw and dtw are equal in length ranging from 4 . 5 to 5 . 0 inches . in a preferred embodiment , the aft weight component 65 is preferably positioned on a rear inlaid portion 68 of the mid - body 61 . the aft - weight component 65 generally includes two parts , a cap and a weight member . the weight member is preferably bonded to the cap using an adhesive material . the aft weight component 65 increases the moment of inertia of the club head 42 , influences the center of gravity , and / or influences other inherent mass properties of the golf club head 42 . the cap is preferably composed of a light - weight material , most preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy . the cap generally has a thickness ranging from 0 . 02 to 0 . 10 inch , and most preferably from 0 . 03 inch to 0 . 04 inch . the cap preferably has a mass ranging from 5 to 20 grams , and most preferably approximately 10 grams . individually , each weight member has a mass ranging from 5 grams to 30 grams . each weight member is preferably composed of a material that has a density ranging from 5 grams per cubic centimeters to 20 grams per cubic centimeters , more preferably from 7 grams per cubic centimeters to 12 grams per cubic centimeters . the “ dumbbell ” like shape of the weight member allows for the mass of the aft - weight component to be focused for a fade golf drive , a neutral golf drive or a draw golf drive . each weight member is preferably composed of a polymer material integrated with a metal material . the metal material is preferably selected from copper , tungsten , steel , aluminum , tin , silver , gold , platinum , or the like . a preferred metal is tungsten due to its high density . the polymer material is a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer material . a preferred polymer material is polyurethane , epoxy , nylon , polyester , or similar materials . a most preferred polymer material is a thermoplastic polyester polyurethane . a preferred weight member is an injection molded thermoplastic polyurethane integrated with tungsten to have a density of 8 . 0 grams per cubic centimeters . in a preferred embodiment , each weight member is composed of from 50 to 95 volume percent polyurethane and from 50 to 5 volume percent tungsten . also , in a preferred embodiment , each weight member is composed of from 10 to 25 weight percent polyurethane and from 90 to 75 weight percent tungsten . those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other weighting materials may be utilized for the aft weight component 65 without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . the placement of the aft weight component 65 allows for the moment of inertia of the golf club head 42 to be optimized . alternatively , the weight member is composed of tungsten loaded film , tungsten doped polymers , or similar weighting mechanisms such as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 386 , 990 , entitled a composite golf club head with an integral weight strip , and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other high density materials , such as lead - free pewter , may be utilized as an optional weight without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . yet another embodiment of the present invention , which comprises two contact points between a sole or bottom surface of the golf club and the ground , is disclosed in fig3 a , 33 b , 34 a , 34 b , 35 a - c , and 36 a - c . as shown in fig3 a , 33 b , 35 a - c and 36 a - c , a golf club head 200 has a body 220 with a front wall 230 , a crown 240 , a sole 260 , a heel end 270 , an aft end 280 , and a toe end 290 . the golf club head 200 further has an adjustable fitting member 300 positioned within a recessed area 310 in the sole 260 towards the aft end 280 of the golf club head 200 . the recessed area 310 preferably is closer to the heel end 270 of the golf club head 200 than the toe end 290 . the fitting member 300 preferably is secured to the sole 260 of the golf club head 200 with a bolt 320 that passes through a bore 301 in the fitting member 300 and engages a threaded bore 315 in the recessed area 310 of the sole 260 . an alternative embodiment of this design may dispense with the recessed area 310 altogether and permit the fitting member 300 to be directly attached to the surface of the sole 260 . an alternative embodiment may also employ other methods of attaching the fitting member 300 to the sole 260 of the club head 200 . as shown in fig3 a and 34b , the fitting member 300 preferably is triangular in shape and has three apex points 302 , 303 , 304 having differing heights . by rotating the fitting member 300 , the apex points 302 , 303 , 304 , each of which is located 120 degrees from the others , enable a golfer to adjust the face angle of the club to which the fitting member 300 is affixed to be oriented in open , neutral , or closed positions . in this embodiment , when the fitting member 300 is oriented such that the golf club has an open position , the club has a face angle of 2 degrees open . when the fitting member 300 is oriented such that the golf club has a neutral position , the club has a face angle of 0 degrees . when the fitting member 300 is oriented such that the golf club has a closed position , the club has a face angle of 2 degrees closed . the face angles may differ in alternative embodiments ; for example , a golf club head 200 with a fitting member 300 may have a face angle of 4 degrees open in open position and 4 degrees closed in closed position . as shown in fig3 a and 34b , each apex point 302 , 303 , 304 is assigned an indicium . the apex point having a “ neutral ” indicium 304 has the greatest , or most extended , height h 1 of the fitting member 300 . the apex point having a “ closed ” indicium 302 has the smallest , or most retracted , height h 3 of the fitting member . the apex point having an “ open ” indicium 303 has a height h 2 that is midway between that of the neutral 304 and closed 302 apex points . in other words , the apex point marked “ neutral ” 304 has a greater height h 1 than the heights h 2 , h 3 of both of the apex points marked “ closed ” and “ open ” 302 , 303 , and the apex point marked “ open ” has a greater height h 2 than the height h 3 of the apex point marked “ closed ” 302 . in the present embodiment , the fitting member 300 is adjusted by rotating the fitting member 300 such that the indicium that is highest along the vertical z axis represents the effective face angle . in other words , when a golfer wishes the club head 200 to have an open face angle , as shown in fig3 a and 36a , the golfer adjusts the fitting member 300 so that the apex point labeled “ open ” 303 is highest along the z axis and the apex point that contacts the ground is the one that is most retracted — the apex point marked “ closed ” 302 . fig3 a shows that , in this configuration , the golf club contacts the ground 400 at two points , a first point 410 near the front wall 230 of the golf club head 200 , and a second point 420 where the apex point marked “ closed ” 302 contacts the ground 400 . conversely , when a golfer wishes the club head 200 to have a closed face angle , as shown in fig3 c and 36c , the golfer adjusts the fitting member 300 so that the apex point labeled “ closed ” 302 is highest along the vertical z axis and the apex point that contacts the ground is the one that is most extended — the apex point marked “ neutral ” 304 . fig3 c shows that , in this configuration , the golf club contacts the ground 400 at two points , a first point 410 near the front wall 230 of the golf club head 200 , and a second point 420 where the apex point marked “ neutral ” 304 contacts the ground 400 . when a golfer wishes the club head 200 to have a neutral face angle , as shown in fig3 b and 36b , the golfer adjusts the fitting member 300 so that the apex point labeled “ neutral ” 304 is highest along the vertical z axis and the apex point that contacts the ground is one that has a medium height h 2 — the apex point marked “ open ” 303 . fig3 b shows that , in this configuration , the golf club contacts the ground 400 at two points , a first point 410 near the front wall 230 of the golf club head 200 , and a second point 420 where the apex point marked “ open ” 303 contacts the ground 400 . for each of these three positions , a golfer can place the club at address by rotating the club head 200 through its shaft axis until the apex point of the fitting member 300 that is located lowest along the z axis touches the ground . the adjustably oriented fitting member 300 of this invention changes the height of the most rearward contact point 420 between the club and the ground . the most forward contact point 410 between the club and the ground is provided by the sole 260 proximate the front wall 230 . this contact point 410 may be proximate the junction where the sole 260 and the front wall 230 or face meet . having two distinct contact points 410 , 420 on or connected with the sole 260 , particularly when these contact points 410 , 420 are spaced well enough apart from each other , creates a stable sole 260 which allows a golfer to obtain a desired face angle , both measured and perceived . the golf club head 200 of this embodiment , when designed as a driver , preferably has a volume from 200 cubic centimeters to 600 cubic centimeters , more preferably from 300 cubic centimeters to 500 cubic centimeters , and most preferably from 420 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters , with a most preferred volume of 460 cubic centimeters . the volume of the golf club head 200 will also vary between fairway woods ( preferably ranging from 3 - woods to eleven woods ) with smaller volumes than drivers . the golf club head 200 preferably is a multiple material golf club head such as disclosed herein , and the fitting member 300 is preferably composed of an aluminum alloy . in alternative embodiments , however , the club head 200 may be made of any material or material combinations disclosed herein , and the fitting member 300 may comprise hard plastic , graphite composite , magnesium , titanium or another metallic alloy . from the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readily understand that while the present invention has been described in association with a preferred embodiment thereof , and other embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings , numerous changes , modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claims . therefore , the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following appended claims .
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as shown in fig1 an optical source 1 provides light to a single mode fiber 2 which is coupled to a first fiber coupler 3 which acts as a fiber directional power splitter . fiber coupler 3 splits the light and directs it into two output fibers 4 and 5 . the light directed into fiber 5 from coupler 3 is not used in the embodiment as shown in fig1 but it could be used for monitoring purposes . alternatively , as will be discussed below with reference to fig4 the output can be used in connection with a photo detector . the light from the upper port of coupler 3 is directed into the fiber 4 and propagates along fiber 4 an arbitrary length l 1 limited only by the loss of the fiber to a remotely located fiber optic sensor 6 . the fiber optic sensor 6 may be constructed as shown in fig2 by mounting the fiber 4 in a glass capillary 7 and polishing the combined fiber and capillary flat . depending on the application , capillaries of outside diameter from 0 . 25 to 4 mm can be used . a partially reflective surface 8 is optically coated with , for example , a dielectric coating to create the partial reflection . this partially reflective fiber surface produces the first optical signal reflected from the sensor back along the fiber 4 . for an acoustic sensor , a highly reflective diaphragm surface 9 is fabricated from a polyester membrane approximately 0 . 5 to 5 microns thick and separated from the partially reflective surface 7 by a gap d 1 . the membrane or diaphragm may be mounted to an external structure 10 which may then be attached to the capillary holding the fiber . in practice , the external structure 10 is also a capillary of a larger diameter than the fiber capillary 7 . capillaries for the larger structure may vary from 0 . 3 to 6 mm in size . in the preferred approach , the diaphragm is attached with adhesive to the flat end of the larger capillary , with the highly reflective surface 9 preferably on the inside . the large capillary 10 is slid over the fiber capillary 7 to form the air gap d 1 between the reflective surfaces and then glued into place . a second gap can be left in the adhesive to provide static pressure relief . alternate pressure relief techniques could include a hole or notch in the larger capillary 10 , or even holes in the diaphragm . the alignment of the two capillaries is such that a reflection from the totally reflective diaphragm provides the second reflection along fiber 4 for the optical sensor . the air gap d 1 between the two reflective surfaces of the sensor is approximately 50 microns for the embodiment used in a medical application . an alternate approach would be to coat the fiber 4 with the partially reflective coating and then mount the fiber in the capillary . yet another approach could use an uncoated fiber attached to a graded index lens ( such as those provided by nsg america ) with the end of the lens appropriately coated to provide the partially reflective surface . the larger capillary 10 would then mount over the selfoc lens . and another approach would be to use a concave polish on the fiber capillary to form a gap , of approximately 50 microns between the fiber at the center of the capillary surface 8 to the end of the capillary . because of the excellent tolerances associated with optical polishing , the reflective diaphragm surface 9 can be mounted directly to the capillary end providing a high degree of accuracy and repeatability for the gap distance . many alternative approaches are possible in light of these teachings . for example , convex polishing is possible as are a variety of mechanical implementations not utilizing capillaries . the light transmitted from the partial reflective surface is airborne for a short distance d 1 , the size of the gap between the partially reflective fiber surface 8 and the totally reflective diaphragm surface 9 . it is desired that a large portion of both reflected light beams be coupled back into fiber 4 . this produces two guided waves propagating in the reverse direction in fiber 4 towards the coupler 3 . when these light waves encounter coupler 3 , a portion of the light is directed to the optical source 1 and the other portion is directed to a second fiber coupler 11 by a connecting fiber 12 . the fiber length between couplers 3 and 11 is usually of the order of 1 meter , however , the length of the fiber connecting the two couplers is limited only by the loss of the fiber 12 . light from the coupler 11 is propagated down a fiber 14 to a reference transducer 15 . the fiber 14 may be of any arbitrary length l 2 which is limited only by the loss of the fiber . as with the remote sensor 6 , this reference transducer 15 is provided with a partially reflecting surface 16 which reflects part of the light back along fiber 14 . light is also transmitted across an air gap of distance d 2 and a sufficient portion is reflected back by a reflective surface 17 . these reflected light waves are also reverse propagated in the fiber 14 to the coupler 11 . as with the coupler 3 , a portion of the reverse propagated light on coupler 11 is transmitted by the connector fiber 12 towards the source 1 through coupler 3 . the remainder is made incident on a light detector 18 where it is converted to an electrical analog . the configuration thus described constitutes a four beam interferometer . the four paths can be described using the following expressions ( which ignore the common paths from the source 1 to coupler 3 , coupler 3 to coupler 11 , and coupler 9 to the detector 18 ): ## equ1 ## the light travelling through these four paths interfere , producing 6 interference terms which are : ## equ2 ## wherein : e n = the electric field amplitude for path n v x , y = the visibility ( correlation ) coefficient for fields x and y inspection of the 6 interference terms shows that all the phase terms come from the air gaps in the sensor 6 and the transducer 15 . it has been assumed that polarization or birefringence effects are negligible for the air gaps and that the reflections are normal . the ideal optical source 1 for this configuration is a white light source . this is a source which has a very short coherence length . if d 1 = d 2 , and the white light source is used , then v 1 , 2 = v 1 , 3 = v 1 , 4 = v 2 , 4 = v 3 , 4 = 0 and v 2 , 3 is approximately one . this greatly simplifies the six interference terms leaving only one interference expression with a value , namely the fourth term . rewriting the expression under these conditions results in : p . sub . det = 3e . sub . 1 . sup . 2 + 3e . sub . 2 . sup . 2 + 3e . sub . 3 . sup . 2 + 3e . sub . 4 . sup . 2 + 2e . sub . 2 e . sub . 3 cos [ k ( 2d . sub . 1 - 2d . sub . 2 )] ( iii ) at present , there are no commercially available white light sources which can produce an ideal white light source having any appreciable power coupling into a single mode fiber . a device which closely resembles the spectral characteristics of a white light source , however , is a light emitting diode ( led ). most leds are surface emitting devices having emitting surfaces greater than 50 microns wide . these devices , however , do not couple much light into a single mode fiber and are impractical for use in a coherence selective sensor . in recent years , however , an led type device has been developed which overcomes the power coupling problem . it is called an edge light emitting diode ( eled ). it has a very small emitting diameter , typically 2 - 4 microns . the spectrum and coherence ( visibility ) of an eled device are shown in fig3 . this particular eled device is manufactured by oki and has a model number oe352g - 010 . when driven at 90 ma , it produces a power output at 25 ° c . of 150 micro - watts from the fiber pigtail . it is clear from the optical spectrum that this device is not a white light device . the peak power occurs around a wavelength of 1320 nm with power falling off by 30 db ( 1000x ) for 100 nm wavelength variation in either direction . the normalized coherence or visibility function is shown below the spectrum in fig3 . it is plotted against optical path length difference in microns . if 2d 1 and 2d 2 for the optic sensor system of fig1 are selected to be 120 microns or greater , and matched to within 15 microns of each other , then equation iii would be a valid equation because the visibility for the interference terms 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 and 6 would be 0 . 001 or less and the visibility for term 4 would be close to 1 . from this example , it can be seen that the eled has clearly demonstrated that it is an excellent source for coherence selective sensors . the preferred optical source which is capable of delivering more power than the eled , but having similar characteristics , is the super luminescent diode ( sld ). this type of optical source is constructed like a laser diode , but an optical absorber is built ( processed ) in - between the two laser facets . this absorber defeats the round trip cavity gain enough to prevent lasing , but with the addition of the reflection of the back facet , the device becomes a &# 34 ; super fluorescent &# 34 ; device , producing more output power than a standard eled . sld devices have the capability of delivering up to 350 micro - watts into a single mode fiber . some selected sld devices can deliver over 500 micro - watts . these sources are also available from oki , for example . the pertinent optical parameters for the coherence selective sensor 1 are the loss budget of the optical configuration , including fiber splices , connectors , component loss and the relative intensity noise ( r in ) of the optical source . the optical loss budget for each of the four paths listed in ( i ) is approximated in table 1 . the reflections from surfaces 8 and 16 are 25 % while reflections from surfaces 9 and 17 are 100 %. the mode overlap loss between the optical mode for light being back reflected from either the sensor or the reference transducer into the fiber and the propagating mode of that fiber is approximately 3 db . table 1______________________________________optical loss prediction for four optical paths path 1 path 2 path 3 path 4______________________________________config . power split - 12 . 0 - 12 . 0 - 12 . 0 - 12 . 0 ( double pass ) reflections - 11 . 0 - 11 . 5 - 11 . 5 - 12 . 0connector ( double pass ) - 2 . 0 - 2 . 0 - 2 . 0 - 2 . 0coupler loss ( double pass ) - 1 . 0 - 1 . 0 - 1 . 0 - 1 . 0______________________________________ the four fiber optic splice locations will be between the optical source 1 and coupler 3 , between coupler 3 and coupler 11 , between coupler 11 and the reference transducer 15 and between coupler 11 and the detector 18 . the splice between coupler 11 and the reference transducer 15 will be double passed , making a loss equivalent to 5 splices . the coherence selective sensor system configuration shown in fig1 is one which allows the combination of a remote &# 34 ; all fiber &# 34 ; sensor and a local optical processor ( including the reference transducer ) to constitute a single interferometric entity . both of the optical paths are present in the argument of the cosine term of equation iii . this means that any change in the path length of the sensor 6 or the reference transducer will change the phase of the interference signal . the reference path is adjusted to maintain interferometric quadrature . a servo system employed to maintain interferometric quadrature is shown in fig1 . the servo system guarantees that the interferometer will always be operating in its linear range . the optical signal generated from the interference described in equation iii , is detected as an amplitude signal on the detector 18 , which is preferably a photodetector , and amplified by an amplifier 20 . the signal is then multiplied in mixer 22 with the signal from a local oscillator 24 . the output of mixer 22 is a base band signal 25 combined with unwanted harmonics of the signal from the local oscillator 24 . the base band signal 25 is filtered with loop filter 26 which optimizes the closed loop transfer function of the servo . the loop filter 26 also removes any signals or harmonics associated with the local oscillator frequency . the filtered signal may then be amplified by amplifier 28 . a dither signal is applied to the servo as a means to determine whether or not the interferometer is in quadrature . this dither signal has a frequency well above the frequency range of interest for the sensor , and is generally sinusoid . a complete discussion of this type of interferometric servo system can be found in bush et al ., &# 34 ; synchronous phase detection for optical fiber interferometric sensors &# 34 ;, applied optics , vol . 22 , no . 15 , at p . 2329 ( aug . 1 , 1983 ). if a linear reference transducer 15 is used in the servo , the voltage feedback signal 30 ( to the reference transducer 15 ) will be linearly proportional to the entire phase of the interferometer . this feedback voltage will linearly track the sensor displacement ( and optical phase ) and is thus a replica of the desired signal . in the preferred embodiment , the transducer 15 consists of a mirror , attached to a piezoelectric actuator ; for example , tokin america nla - 2 × 3 × 9 and nla 2 × 3 × 18 . the physical construction of the transducer is similar to that of the sensor . the piezoelectric actuators act as devices to produce a proportional mechanical displacement for a given input signal . the first actuator 17 generates the optical dither signal while second device 32 provides the feedback element for the servo system . the advantage of using two actuators is that a smaller actuator with a higher resonant frequency can be used for the dither signal while a large actuator with a larger displacement per volt can be used for the feedback loop . although these devices are incorporated into the preferred embodiment , any device including mechanical , magnetic , hydraulic , etc ., could be used for the transducer element in alternate configurations . an alternate configuration would use a single piezoelectric actuator in place of the devices 17 and 32 . in such case , the signal from the local oscillator may be combined with the servo signal 30 in a summer with the combined signal fed back to the single piezoelectric actuator . to more easily understand the optical parameters which determine system performance , the electronic servo system will be considered as a &# 34 ; noiseless &# 34 ; system . in practice , this is a good assumption when the quiescent optical level on the detector 18 is greater than one micro - watt . a well used measure for determining optical performance of an interferometric sensor is to describe the minimum detectable ( dynamic or ac ) phase shift normalized to a 1 hertz resolution ( or noise equivalent ) bandwidth . if we assume equation iii holds for the coherence selective sensor system , and an optical power can be specified for the pigtailed optical source , the minimum detectable phase shift for the optical system may be predicted . from table 1 , the background intensity is determined from the first four terms in equation iii . this intensity level can be identified as an equivalent loss term when referenced to the optical source . taking the loss terms from table 1 , the equivalent loss ( from source to detector ) is determined to be 21 . 5 db . alternately , this means that the dc intensity level seen on the detector will be 0 . 071 % of the source intensity . it is this quiescent level which produces the ( assumed shot ) noise floor of the system . in order to equate this noise to a phase shift , the full fringe intensity for the interfering terms needs to be calculated . from equation iii and table 1 , the intensity produced by a π / 2 phase shift is approximated to be 1 / 6 that of the dc quiescent term . this would represent an equivalent loss ( for the peak signal ) of approximately 29 . 3 db . if this number is scaled for an rms value , it becomes a 32 . 3 db loss . this is all the information required to determine the minimum detectable phase shift . the minimum detectable phase is listed in table 2 for sources ranging from 100 to 4000 micro - watts . the calculation was made by determining the shot noise created by the quiescent offset and taking the ratio of it to the signal produced by a π / 2 interferometric phase shift . since the interferometer is linearized by the servo , this optical signal represents one radian . table 2______________________________________ minimum detectable phaseoptical power ( rms per root hz ) ______________________________________100 μw 8 . 5 μrad200 μw 6 . 0 μrad300 μw 4 . 9 μrad400 μw 4 . 2 μrad500 μw 3 . 8 μrad750 μw 3 . 1 μrad1000 μw 2 . 7 μrad2000 μw 1 . 9 μrad4000 μw 1 . 3 μrad______________________________________ table 2 shows the expected square root dependence with the input optical power . it is interesting to note that if a multi - longitudinal line laser diode had the proper coherence nulls in its visibility function , it could produce a minimum detectable performance of less than 2 micro - radians . in order to do this , the laser diode would have to have a relative intensity noise measurement less than - 120 db . performance equivalent or better than this number for devices operating at 1 . 3 micron wavelengths is available . see chen et al ., and &# 34 ; short - coherence - length and high - coupling - efficiency pulsed diode laser for fiber optic sensors ,&# 34 ; optics letters , vol . 13 , no . 8 at p . 628 ( august 1988 ). an alternative configuration shown in fig4 of the fiber optic interferometric sensor system consists of eliminating coupler 11 . in this configuration , the fiber 14 extends from coupler 3 to the reference transducer 15 . detector 18 is connected to the end of fiber 5 . in this configuration , for cw operation of the optical source 1 , a large light level establishes a high noise floor on the detector 18 due to the direct coupling from the optical source 1 to the detector 18 ; thus reducing the signal to noise ratio . the optical source is gated with pulse source 40 at approximately a 50 per cent duty cycle . the frequency is chosen such that for the combined lengths l 1 and l 2 , the return pulse from the sensor and transducer arrives at detector 18 at a different time than for the light directly coupled from the source 1 . thus , although the signal out of the optical source is on only 50 per cent of the time , the output of the detector is continuous . the received signal is then gated so that the detector output is only measured during the presence of the return signal of interest form the sensor and transducer . this is achieved with analog switch 42 . the switch is only at the appropriate pulse arrival time . an optional filter can be used to filter out high frequency switching noise prior to the mixer . as an example , if the combined length of the fibers l 1 and l 2 are 20 meters greater than the direct path from the optical source , a 10 mhz modulation of the source and sampling rate would provide the correct output . this rate is easily achieved for commercially available optical sources . longer lengths would require lower modulation frequencies . a start - up auto calibration is employed to adjust the modulation frequency to correct value for a given sensor length . the peak output power of the optical source 1 can be higher under these conditions than for cw operation , as long as the average power remains constant . this configuration provides 3 db lower loss than that of fig1 due to the elimination of one trip through an optical coupler . while a presently preferred embodiment of practicing the invention has been shown and described with particularity in connection with the accompanying drawings , the invention may otherwise be embodied within the scope of the following claims .
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fig1 shows a presently - preferred embodiment 101 of a mobile alarm device . mobile alarm device 101 is a mobile alarm clock . like most alarm clocks , device 101 is placed on a nightstand next to the user &# 39 ; s bed . mobile alarm device 101 has an exterior body 103 that contains and protects the internal workings of the clock . on the front of the clock is a liquid crystal diode or light - emitting diode ( lcd / led ) 105 for displaying the time . an on / off switch 109 activates or de - activates the alarm clock &# 39 ; s alarm . a snooze button 107 turns off the alarm for a predetermined period of time . not shown , but included in most alarm clocks are buttons for choosing whether a time value or and alarm lime value is to be set and buttons for advancing the values of the alarm time value or time value . mobile alarm device 101 further contains a pair of wheels 111 ( i and ii ). these wheels allow mobile alarm device 101 to be propelled forward in response to an alarm event such as the snooze button being activated . wheels 111 ( i and ii ) are slightly larger than the body of the alarm clock 103 to allow mobile alarm device 101 to move . wheels 111 ( i and ii ) are also larger to allow for the absorption of shock when mobile alarm device 101 rolls off the nightstand onto the floor . springs may be added to the axle holding wheels 111 ( i and ii ) to further absorb shock from the fall . the case 103 has the parts of the clock within situated as to create a low center of gravity . this arrangement keeps the orientation of the mobile alarm device such that the lcd / led 105 remains visible . after moving forward and dropping off the nightstand onto the floor , mobile alarm device 101 moves to another point in the room . when mobile alarm device 101 &# 39 ; s alarm goes off again , the user can only turn off the alarm by getting out of bed and finding mobile alarm device 101 . fig2 shows a schematic of the internals of a presently - preferred embodiment of mobile alarm device 101 . schematic 201 contains a controller 203 that controls the logic of mobile alarm device 101 , including the time , alarm , and propulsion functions . power to mobile alarm device 101 is supplied by battery 205 . time is displayed on lcd / led 105 . lcd / led 105 can also display the time at which the alarm should go off . the alarm can be set using switch 213 to have lcd / led 105 display the alarm time . the time displayed on lcd / led 105 can be set using advance button 207 . advance button 207 can also be used to advance the time of the alarm clock when switch 213 is not set . in a preferred embodiment , the alarm is audible and is provided via speaker 211 ; in other embodiments , the alarm may be any physical manifestation that is capable of awaking the user . when the alarm sounds , the user may either turn the alarm off or activate snooze button 107 . in the latter case , controller 203 responds by turning off the alarm and setting the alarm so that it will go off again after a snooze period has elapsed . additionally , controller 203 activates motor controller 215 that directs motors 217 connected to wheels 111 ( i and ii ) to propel mobile alarm device 101 forward , so that it falls from the nightstand where it has been placed . internal circuit board 201 is designed to help absorb the shock of falling from the nightstand . after landing on the floor , mobile alarm device 101 continues to move . controller 203 may vary the times and directions of motion such that each time the user activates the snooze button , the mobile alarm device stops at a different location . controller 203 may change the direction of mobile alarm device 101 by independently varying the speed of each of the motors 217 that drive wheels 111 ( i and ii ). if one wheel 111 ( i ) is turning faster than another wheel 111 ( i ), mobile alarm device 101 will turn around the slower wheel . wheels 111 ( i and ii ) can also be moved in opposite directions to make mobile alarm device 101 pivot . after a predetermined time has elapsed , mobile alarm device 101 comes to rest . when the snooze period expires , the alarm goes off again . the individual who activated the snooze button must now get up and locate mobile alarm device 101 in order to deactivate the alarm by activating switch 109 . now that the individual is out of bed , the alarm clock has completed its function . logic in controller 203 can cause mobile alarm device to become mobile in response to any kind of alarm event for which becoming mobile is desirable . in addition to the pressing of the snooze button , the alarm event could be the first instance of an alarm being signaled , a second instance of the snooze button being pressed , or a pre - programmed time , to name a few examples . in an alternate embodiment , controller 203 can include a microprocessor . the microprocessor may be capable of downloading new programs , and if it is , the user can change the kind of alarm event mobile alarm device 101 responds to and the way the device responds to the alarm event by downloading a new program for the device . fig3 shows a flowchart 301 of how controller 203 responds to an alarm event . flowchart 301 starts when the clock &# 39 ; s alarm has been set ( 303 ). audible alarm 211 is signaled ( 305 ) when a the time to which the alarm was set is reached ( 305 ). the user either switches the alarm off using switch 109 or depresses snooze button 107 ( 307 ). either action turns off audible alarm 211 ( 309 ). if the alarm has been switched off , then proceed to end ( 319 ). if snooze button 107 has been depressed , move mobile alarm device 101 forward for a first predetermined period of time ( 313 ). the period of time chosen is long enough for mobile alarm device 101 to reach the edge of a nightstand and fall to the floor . continue to move after mobile alarm device 101 is on the floor . controller 203 uses randomly - generated parameters which it provides to motor controller 215 to determine the direction of movement , its speed , and the length of time it continues in a given direction . the movement continues for a second predetermined period of time ( 315 ). mobile alarm device 101 moves in the directions specified by the direction parameters until the second time period has elapsed ; at that point , mobile alarm device 101 comes to rest ( 317 ). when the snooze period has elapsed , ( 321 ), the alarm is sounded ( 305 ). the manner in which mobile alarm device 101 behaves may be improved by adding components that make mobile alarm device 101 aware of itself and its environment . counters that record the rotation count of wheels 111 ( i and ii ) can be used to determine whether mobile alarm device 101 has stopped moving forward . a slow change indicates that mobile alarm device 101 is making no forward movement . counter rate increase to a steady state indicates forward movement . the counters could also be used to determine if mobile alarm device 101 is in mid - air as it would be when dropping off a nightstand . during the period of the fall , wheels 111 ( i and ii ) would spin at a higher rate . watching the higher counter rate could allow the controller 203 to determine when to start changing the direction of movement of mobile alarm device 101 . when the manner in which wheels 111 ( i and ii ) are rotating indicates that no forward movement is occurring , mobile alarm device 101 can evade the obstacle by reversing direction , turning , and moving on in the new direction . sensors that make mobile alarm device 101 aware of its external environment can also be used . proximity sensors could let the alarm device know how close it is to another object , allowing it to turn before hitting the object . there are many types of proximity sensors : sonic sensors , radio wave sensors , magnetic sensors , or photo - beam sensors , to name a few . the kind of sensor used will of course depend on factors like cost and the kind of environment mobile alarm device 101 is to be used in . fig5 shows a mobile alarm avoiding an object in its path in response to a sensor . in a first instance 503 the alarm device 101 is proceeding forward across the floor of a room towards an object 505 . in instance 507 the alarm device 101 strikes the object 505 . collision sensor 513 detects a physical collision or a potential collision . that a collision or potential collision has been detected is relayed to controller 203 . controller 203 causes motor controller 215 to have motors 217 reverse direction . this in turn causes mobile alarm device 101 to reverses direction ( 509 ) and proceed away from the object ( 511 ). the sensitivity of mobile alarm device 101 to its environment will vary with the sophistication of its sensors and the amount of computing power and memory it has . to give an extreme example , if mobile alarm device 101 can detect the presence of objects either by running into them or by using photonic or sonic sensors , mobile alarm device 101 can be placed on the floor and be permitted to “ explore ” its surroundings . as it does so , it can make a map of the surroundings . it can then use the map to determine the route it will take when it is moving in response to an alarm event . fig4 shows a several views of a mobile alarm device with docking station . mobile alarm device 401 is in a docking station 405 that contains a mechanism for charging battery 205 held in the body of mobile alarm device 103 . mobile alarm device 401 contains a set of wheels 407 for propelling mobile alarm device 401 from its docking station 405 . mobile alarm device 403 separates itself from the docking station 405 after snooze button 107 has been depressed . the time display need not be part of mobile alarm device 101 , but can instead remain on the nightstand , where it can be easily viewed by the sleeper . the minimal requirements for mobile alarm device 101 are that it be mobile , start moving in response to an alarm event , and have a switch which turns off the alarm . if the alarm is in mobile alarm device 101 , the switch can turn off the alarm directly ; otherwise mobile alarm device 101 can generate a signal in response to the switch that in turn causes the time display on the night stand to turn off the alarm . the time display and the mobile alarm device 101 can contain communications equipment such that they can share information by radio or infrared . if there is a docking station , the time display can be part of the docking station . fig6 shows several different ways of making the mobile alarm mobile . tracks instead of wheels allow mobile alarm device 601 to cross more varied terrain such as a deep shag carpet where a wheeled mobile alarm device 101 may become bogged down . a tracked mobility unit with arms allows alarm device 603 to climb over objects in its path or ascend or descend stairs . a mobility unit with legs like an insect allows alarm device 605 to walk across its terrain . alarm device 605 is weighted so that it always falls on its back . like an insect , it can right itself . the mobility units shown in fig6 are illustrative and exemplary only ; any device which makes it possible for mobile alarm device 101 to move out of reach of the sleeper may be employed in place of the wheels used in mobile alarm device 101 or of any of the mobility units shown in fig6 . the foregoing detailed description has disclosed to those skilled in the relevant technologies how to make and use a mobile alarm device and has further disclosed the best mode presently known to the inventor for implementing the mobile alarm device . it will however be immediately apparent to those skilled in the relevant technologies that the mobile alarm device may be implemented in many other ways . for example , mobility units that pull , winch , or vibrate could be used ; many different kinds of alarm events can cause the mobile alarm device to begin moving , and many techniques can be used to define how the mobile alarm device moves . these techniques may include varying the behavior of the mobile alarm device in response to sensors . users may be able to vary the behavior of a mobile alarm device by programming it themselves or by downloading a preexisting program . at the other technological extreme , mobile alarm devices with simple behaviors can even be implemented in mechanical clockwork . for all of the foregoing reasons , the detailed description is to be regarded as being in all respects exemplary and not restrictive , and the breadth of the invention disclosed herein is to be determined not from the detailed description , but rather from the claims as interpreted with the full breadth permitted by the patent laws .
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hereinafter , the several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings . the following preferred embodiments of the present invention are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , an image forming apparatus in accordance with the present invention is partially or entirely modifiable in structure , as long as the image forming apparatus resulting from the modification is capable of evaluating its transferring member in electrical resistance in terms of the lengthwise direction of the transferring member . in other words , the present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus having multiple photosensitive drums disposed in contact with its intermediary transferring member or recording medium conveying member , and an image forming apparatus which directly transfers a toner image from its photosensitive drum ( s ) or photosensitive belt ( s ) onto a recording medium . further , the present invention is also compatible with such a transferring means as a transfer belt that circularly rotates , although , in such a case , a lengthwise direction may be read as being a widthwise direction . the following descriptions of the preferred embodiments primarily concern the portions of an image forming apparatus , which are essential to the formation and transfer of a toner image . however , the present invention is applicable to various image forming apparatuses , such as a personal printer , a commercial printer , a copying machine , a facsimile machine , a multifunction image forming apparatus , etc ., which are made up of devices , equipment , housings ( casings ), etc ., in addition to the above - mentioned portions . incidentally , the general items related to the image forming apparatus , its transferring member , etc ., will not be illustrated , to avoid repeatedly describing the same items . fig1 is a schematic drawing of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention , and shows the general structure of the apparatus . fig2 is a perspective view of the primary transfer roller of the image forming apparatus . fig3 is a flowchart of the control sequence for the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus . referring to fig1 , the image forming apparatus 100 in the first embodiment is a monochromatic image forming apparatus . it has a photosensitive drum 1 and an intermediary transfer belt 7 . the photosensitive drum 1 is horizontally disposed in contact with the intermediary transfer belt 7 . a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 , which is an image bearing member , is transferred ( primary transfer ) onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in a transfer portion s 1 . then , it is conveyed by the intermediary transfer belt 7 to a transfer portion s 2 , in which it is transferred ( secondary transfer ) onto a recording medium p . the photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven . the image forming apparatus 100 has a charging apparatus 2 , an exposing apparatus 3 , a developing apparatus 4 , a primary transfer roller , and a cleaning apparatus 6 , which are disposed in the adjacencies of the photosensitive drum 1 , in a manner to surround the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . the photosensitive drum 1 is made up of a cylindrical substrate and a photosensitive layer . the substrate is formed of aluminum . the photosensitive layer is formed of amorphous silicon , which normally is chargeable to the positive polarity . the photosensitive layer covers virtually the entirety of the peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate . the photosensitive drum 1 is 84 mm in external diameter , and 330 mm in length . the photosensitive drum 1 is grounded through its substrate . it is rotationally driven by a motor ( not shown ) at a process speed of 300 mm / sec in the direction indicated by an arrow mark r 1 . as the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated , the charging apparatus 2 uniformly charges the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to roughly + 500 v ( dark potential level vd ). more specifically , the charging apparatus 2 discharges corona ( collection of positively charged particles ) in the adjacencies of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . as a result , the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 becomes charged . an electrical power source d 3 supplies the charging apparatus 2 with the positive voltage for discharging corona . the exposing apparatus 3 scans the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , with the beam of laser light which it projects , while modulating the beam according to the image formation data . as a result , the numerous exposed points of the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 reduce in potential level to roughly + 200 v ( light potential level vl ), effecting ( writing ) of an electrostatic image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . more specifically , the exposing apparatus projects a beam of laser light by driving its laser light source , while modulating the beam of laser light with the image formation data obtained by developing the image data ( turning on or off a laser light source according to image formation data ). the projected beam of laser light is deflected by a rotational mirror in a manner to scan the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum in the direction parallel to the axial line of the photosensitive drum . the developing apparatus 4 has a developer container 4 a , which contains black toner , which is a single component developer , which normally becomes charged to the negative polarity while it is stirred in the developer container 4 a . the developing apparatus develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , and it causes the negatively charged toner to adhere to the latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . the developing apparatus 4 has a development sleeve 4 b , which is disposed so that there is a minute gap between its peripheral surface and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . it is rotated in the opposite direction from the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 1 . as it is rotated , the black toner is borne in a thin layer on its peripheral surface of the development sleeve 4 b . the developing apparatus 4 also has a stationary magnet 4 c , which is disposed in the center of its hollow . as the development sleeve 4 b is rotated , the black toner on the peripheral surface of the development sleeve 4 b is made to crest by one of a magnetic pole of the magnet 4 c , rubbing therefore , the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . an electrical power source d 4 outputs to the development sleeve 4 b the combination of a development voltage vdc , which is roughly + 300 v of dc voltage , and an ac voltage , which is 1 . 2 k vpp in peak - to - peak voltage and 3 khz in frequency . as the combination is applied to the development sleeve 4 b , the black toner selectively adheres to the electrostatic image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , the black toner adheres to the numerous points of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , the potential level of which has reduced to a dark potential level vd , which is positive relative to the development voltage vdc . in other words , the electrostatic latent image is normally developed . the black developer does not adhere to the points of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , the potential level of which was made negative relative to the development voltage vdc by the exposure . as will be evident from the description given above , the exposing apparatus , charging apparatus , and developing apparatus make up a toner image forming means , which forms a toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . the intermediary transfer belt 7 is an endless belt . it is supported by a driver roller 8 , a tension roller 9 , and a backup roller 10 , by being stretched around them . it is rotationally driven by the driver roller 8 at a process speed of 300 mm / sec . however , there is roughly ± 0 . 5 % of a difference δv between the referential ( preset ) process speed of 300 mm / sec and those of the intermediary transfer belt 7 and photosensitive drum 1 . the intermediary transfer belt 7 is formed of an electrically resistive substance , more specifically , a mixture of polyimide resin , and a charge prevention agent , such as carbon black , which is dispersed in polyimide resin to adjust the volume resistivity of the mixture to a value in a range of 10 6 - 10 10 ω · cm . the intermediary transfer belt 7 is roughly 0 . 1 mm in thickness and 600 mm in circumference . the primary transfer roller 5 ( transferring member ) is kept pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 by a pair of springs ( not shown ), which press on the lengthwise ends of the transfer roller 5 , with the intermediary transfer belt 7 pinched between the primary transfer roller 5 and photosensitive drum 1 , forming thereby the transfer portion s 1 , in which the toner image is transferred onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 . the primary transfer roller 5 is rotated in the direction indicated by an arrow mark r 4 by the circular movement of the intermediary transfer belt 7 , upon which it is kept pressed . an electrical power source d 1 transfers ( primary transfer ) the toner image formed and borne on the photosensitive drum 1 , onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 by applying a transfer voltage v 1 , which is a positive dc voltage , between the grounded photosensitive drum 1 and primary transfer roller 5 . the transfer current , which flows through the transfer portion s 1 as the transfer voltage v 1 is applied thereto , separates the toner image from the photosensitive drum 1 , and electrostatically adheres to the portion of the intermediary transfer belt 7 , which is being moved through the transfer portion s 1 , while remaining pinched between the primary transfer roller 5 and photosensitive drum 1 . referring to fig2 , the primary transfer roller 5 is made up of a metallic core 5 a and an elastic layer 5 b . the metallic core 5 a is made of stainless steel , and is 8 mm in diameter . the elastic layer 5 b is formed of electrically conductive urethane sponge , covering virtually the entirety of the peripheral surface of the metallic core 5 a , and is 4 mm in thickness and 300 mm in length . the primary transfer roller 5 is roughly 1 × 10 7 ω · cm ( 23 ° c ., 50 % rh ) in electrical resistance . the resistance value was obtained by measuring the amount of electrical current , which flowed when a voltage of 1 , 500 v was applied between a metallic roller and the metallic core 5 a , while the primary transfer roller 5 is rotated in contact with the metallic roller by the rotation of the metallic roller at a peripheral velocity of 300 mm / sec , with the presence of a contact pressure of 5 n ( 500 gf ). referring to fig1 , the cleaning apparatus 6 has a cleaning blade 6 a , which is placed in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , in such a manner that its cleaning edge is on the upstream side of its base portion in terms of the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 1 . the cleaning apparatus 6 ( cleaning blade 6 a ) removes the transfer residual toner , that is , the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after being moved through the transfer portion s 1 , by rubbing ( scraping ) the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . the secondary transfer roller 11 is kept pressed against the backup roller 10 by being pressed by a pair of springs upon its lengthwise ends , one for one , with the presence of the intermediary transfer belt 7 between the secondary transfer roller 11 and backup roller 10 . it forms the transfer portion s 2 between the intermediary transfer belt 7 and secondary transfer roller 11 . the secondary transfer roller 11 ( transferring member ) is made up of a metallic core and an elastic layer . the metallic core is formed of stainless steel , and is 12 mm in diameter . the elastic layer is formed of electrically conductive urethane sponge , covering virtually the entirety of the peripheral surface of the metallic core . the elastic layer is 6 mm in thickness and 330 mm in length . the electrical resistance value of the secondary transfer roller 11 was measured with the use of a method similar to the method used for measuring the electrical resistance value of the primary transfer roller 5 . when it was measured with the application of 3 , 000 v , it was roughly 6 × 10 7 ω · cm ( 23 ° c ., 50 % rh ). an electrical power source d 2 transfers ( secondary transfer ) the toner image borne on the intermediary transfer belt 7 , onto the recording medium p by applying a transfer voltage v 2 , which is a positive dc voltage , between the grounded backup roller 10 , and the secondary transfer roller 11 . the transfer current , which flows through the transfer portion s 2 while the transfer voltage v 2 is applied to the secondary transfer roller 11 , supplies the toner image with the transfer charge , separating thereby the toner image from the intermediary transfer belt 7 , so that the toner image electrostatically adheres to the portion of the recording medium p , which is being conveyed through the transfer portion s 2 , while remaining pinched between the intermediary transfer belt 7 and secondary transfer roller 11 . the recording mediums p are pulled out one by one from a sheet feeding apparatus 14 , and delivered to a pair of registration rollers 15 . as each recording medium p reaches the pair of registration rollers 15 , it is kept on standby by the registration rollers 15 , and then , is released by the registration rollers 15 , to be fed into the transfer portion s 2 in synchronism with the arrival of the toner image on the intermediary transfer belt 7 at the transfer portion s 2 . as the recording medium p arrives at the transfer portion s 2 , it is conveyed through the transfer portion s 2 while remaining pinched between the secondary transfer roller 11 and intermediary transfer belt 7 . the cleaning apparatus 12 has a cleaning blade 12 a , which is placed in contact with the intermediary transfer belt 7 in such a manner that its cleaning edge is on the upstream side of its base portion , in terms of the rotational direction of the intermediary transfer belt 7 . the cleaning apparatus 12 ( cleaning blade 12 a ) removes the transfer residual toner , that is , the toner remaining on the intermediary transfer belt 7 after being moved through the transfer portion s 2 , by rubbing ( scraping ) the intermediary transfer belt 7 . after the toner image was transferred ( secondary transfer ) onto the recording medium p , while it was conveyed through the transfer portion s 2 , the recording medium p is conveyed to the fixing apparatus 13 , through which the recording medium p is conveyed through the fixing portion s 3 of the fixing apparatus , while remaining pinched between the two rollers of the fixing apparatus 13 . while the recording medium p is conveyed through the fixing portion s 3 , it is subjected to heat and pressure . as a result , the toner image on the recording medium p is welded ( fixed ) to the surface of the recording medium p . an image density sensor 19 detects the density of the toner image on the intermediary transfer belt 7 by measuring the reflected amount of the infrared light which it projects upon the toner image , and then , outputs a signal which reflects the measured density of the toner image to a control portion 110 . a temperature - humidity sensor 103 detects the ambient temperature and humidity of the photosensitive drum 1 and developing apparatus 4 , and outputs signals ( analog voltages ), which reflect the detected values of temperature and humidity , to the control portion 110 . a control panel is in the form of a touch sensitive liquid crystal display . an operator can make the control panel 108 display various information by inputting required information into the control portion 110 through the control panel 108 . referring to fig3 , as well as fig1 , the control portion 110 carries out steps s 14 - s 17 if it is immediately after the pre - rotation ( yes in s 11 ), immediately after the post - rotation ( yes in s 12 ), or immediately after a two hundredth copy was made since the last evaluation of the primary transfer roller 5 , or the like , in nonuniformity in electrical resistance ( yes in s 13 ). the control portion 110 optimizes the transfer portions s 1 and s 2 in transfer efficiency by setting values for the transfer voltage v 1 and transfer voltage v 2 by carrying out an active transfer voltage control ( atvc ) sequence , which will be described later . after the setting of the transfer voltages v 1 and v 2 , the control portion 110 sets the values for the parameters for the formation of an electrostatic image ( s 15 ), and the values for the parameters for the development of the electrostatic latent image ( s 16 ), so that the density level at which a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 converges to a preset value . after setting the values for the electrostatic image formation parameters and electrostatic latent image development parameters , the control portion 110 calculates the amount ( extent ) of the electrical resistance nonuniformity of the first and second transfer rollers 5 and 11 in terms of their lengthwise direction , by functioning as a calculating portion ( s 17 ). then , the control portion 110 determines whether or not the calculated extent of the electrical resistance nonuniformity of the first and second transfer rollers 5 and 11 is within a tolerable range . if the calculated extent of the electrical resistance uniformity is beyond the tolerable range , the control portion 110 interrupts the image forming operation , and displays across the control panel 108 a message which prompts the operator to replace the unsatisfactory roller ( s ), by functioning as an information outputting means . if it is not immediately after the pre - rotation , immediately after the post - rotation , or immediately after the two hundredth copy has just been made , since the last evaluation of the electrical resistance nonuniformity of the primary transfer roller 5 , or the like ( no in s 13 ), the control portion 110 carries out the image formation ( s 18 ). it is also as soon as the steps s 14 - s 17 are completed , that the control portion 110 carries out the image forming operation ( s 18 ). fig4 is a graph showing the relationship between the transfer current and transfer efficiency . fig5 is a graph showing the changes in the electrical resistance value of the primary transfer roller , which occurred as a substantial number of copies of a solid white image were continuously made , while keeping constant the transfer voltage , and the changes in the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller , which occurred when a substantial number of copies of a solid black image were continuously made , while keeping constant the transfer voltage . fig6 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of constant voltage applied to transfer ( primary transfer ) a solid white image , and the amount of the corresponding transfer current , and the relationship between the amount of constant voltage applied to transfer ( primary transfer ) a solid black image , and the amount of the corresponding transfer current . hereafter , in order to avoid a repetition of the same description , only the setting of the constant voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller 5 will be described . the steps to be taken to set the value for the constant voltage to be applied to the secondary transfer roller 11 are the same as the steps to be taken to set the values for the primary transfer roller 5 . referring to fig4 , as well as fig1 , the transfer efficiency of the transfer portion s 1 is highest when the current density of the primary transfer roller 5 per unit length in terms of the lengthwise direction of the transfer portion s 1 is within a specific range . fig4 , however , shows the relationship between the transfer current and transfer efficiency , in the first embodiment , when the image forming apparatus 100 was operated under a specific condition . in other words , the range in which the current density is highest is affected by the temperature and humidity of the environment in which the image forming apparatus 100 is operated , and the electrical properties of the toner . referring to fig4 , in the left portion of the graph , more specifically , when the transfer current density is below the range above which the transfer efficiency is in the highest range , it is impossible to transfer all the negatively charged toner particles on the photosensitive drum 1 so that a so - called “ weak current white spot ” is liable to occur . in the portion of the graph , more specifically , when the transfer efficiency is also below the range above which the transfer efficiency is in the highest range , an electrical charge is injected into the toner particles , reversing the toner particles in polarity . thus , the toner particles having just been transferred onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 transfer back onto the photosensitive drum 1 from the intermediary transfer belt 7 , in response to the transfer voltage v 1 . that is , a so - called “ strong current white spot ” is liable to occur . next , referring to fig5 , which shows the results of the test in which 100 , 000 copies of a solid white image and 100 , 000 copies of a solid black image were continuously made , while applying + 1 , 500 v of constant voltage to the primary transfer roller 5 , as well as fig1 , the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 5 gradually increased with the increase in the cumulative number of copies made . further , the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 5 increased faster when 100 , 000 copies of a solid white image were continuously made than when the 100 , 000 copies of a solid black image were continuously made . the reason for the occurrence of the phenomenon described above is as follows : when a solid black image is transferred , the electrical resistance value of the transfer portion s 1 is higher by the resistance value of the toner layer , and therefore , the electrical current , which flows through the elastic layer ( 5 b in fig2 ) of the primary transfer roller 5 , is lower in density , than when a solid white image is transferred . when the first solid black image was transferred in the transfer portion s 1 while applying + 1 , 500 v of constant transfer voltage , the current density was 1 . 56 μa , whereas when the first solid white image was transferred in the transfer portion s 1 while applying + 1 , 500 v of constant transfer voltage , the current density was 2 . 34 μa . the primary transfer roller 5 in the first embodiment is made up of a rubber sponge , which is capable of conducting ions . therefore , as electrical current flows through the primary transfer roller 5 , the primary transfer roller 5 becomes nonuniform in ion distribution , increasing thereby in electrical resistance . the rate of this increase in the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 is greatly affected by the density of the electrical current that flows into the primary transfer roller 5 , and the cumulative amount of electrical current that flows into the primary transfer roller 5 . referring to fig6 , which shows the results of the test in which the amount of the transfer current which flowed through the transfer portion s 1 when a solid white image was transferred by applying 0 - 2 , 200 v of constant voltages to the primary transfer roller 5 , and when a solid black image was transferred by applying 0 - 2 , 200 v of constant voltage to the primary transfer roller 5 , as well as fig1 , the amount of constant voltage necessary to make a given amount of transfer current flow when transferring a solid black image was higher by 200 v - 300 v than the amount of constant voltage necessary to make the same amount of transfer current to flow when transferring a solid white image . the reason for the above - described phenomenon is as follows : when a solid black image is transferred , the electrical resistance value of the transfer portion s 1 is higher , by the amount of the electrical resistance of the toner layer , than when a solid white image is transferred . therefore , in order to make the same amount of electrical current as the amount of current that flows through the transfer portion s 1 when a solid white image is transferred , when a solid black image is transferred in the transfer portion s 1 , the constant voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller 5 to transfer a solid black image must be higher than the amount of constant voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller 5 to transfer a solid white image . further , one of the electrical properties of the electrically conductive urethane sponge used as one of the materials for the elastic layer ( 5 b in fig2 ) of the primary transfer roller 5 is that as electrical current continuously flows through the urethane sponge in the same direction , the urethane sponge increases in electrical resistance . therefore , in a case when the transfer voltage applied to the primary transfer roller 5 is kept constant , if the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 increases , the amount by which electrical current flows into the transfer portion s 1 through the primary transfer roller 5 reduces , making it impossible to maintain the current density at the necessary level shown in fig4 . therefore , during the periods in which no image is formed , the control portion 110 sets the constant transfer voltage v 1 by carrying out the atvc ( active transfer voltage control ) sequence . the periods in which no image is formed are the pre - rotation period , that is , the period in which the image forming apparatus 100 is started up , the post - rotation period , that is , the period from the formation of the last copy to when the image forming apparatus 100 is turned off , and the period right after the image forming operation is suspended , because the cumulative number of copies made since the last setting of the constant voltage by the control portion 110 has reached a preset value . referring to fig5 , which shows the relationship among the cumulative number of copies made and the increase in the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 , which are the factors involved in the atvc , the resistance value of the primary transfer roller 5 continuously rises even during the continuous formation of two hundred copies . however , as long as the amount of increase in the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 is roughly equivalent to two hundred copies , it does not occur that the transfer efficiency deviates far enough from the range in which it is highest , to cause a toner image to be unsatisfactorily transferred . the atvc sequence to be carried out by the control portion 110 is as follows : the control portion 110 applies multiple voltages , which are different in magnitude , by controlling the power source d 1 , and measures the amount of the current which flows into the primary transfer roller 5 at each voltage level , through a current detection circuit a 1 . then , the control portion 110 obtains the proper value for the constant voltage to be applied to make a target amount ( 50 μa ) of current flow , based on the data regarding the relationship between the constant voltage applied to the primary transfer roller 5 , and the amount of transfer current caused to flow by the constant voltage . then , the control portion 110 controls the power source d 1 to output to the primary transfer roller 5 a constant voltage of the obtained value . for example , if the amount of transfer current detected when + 1 , 400 v of constant voltage was applied was 45 μa , and the amount of transfer current detected when + 1 , 600 v of constant voltage was applied was 55 μa , the control portion 110 sets the value for the constant voltage to be applied during an image formation , to + 1 , 500 v . then , the control portion 110 selects the target value for the transfer current , which corresponds to the ambient temperature and humidity of the developing apparatus , from one of the tables in a data storage apparatus 109 , based on the output of the temperature - humidity sensor 103 . here , for descriptive convenience , it is assumed that the selected target value for the transfer current , which corresponded to ambient temperature and humidity of 23 ° c . and 50 % rh , respectively , was 50 μa , and the value for the constant voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponded to the target value 50 μa for the transfer current , was set to + 1 , 500 v . the constant voltage , which is to be applied to the secondary transfer roller 11 during an image forming operation , is also set through an atvc sequence , similar to that used for setting the constant voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller 5 . here , it is assumed that the constant voltage was set to + 300 v to so that 50 μa ( target amount ) of transfer current would flow . after the completion of the atvc sequence , the parameters for electrostatic image formation were set . that is , first , the voltage level for the image area ( dark potential level vd ) was set to roughly + 500 v . then , the light potential level vl ( which corresponds to points of peripheral surface of photosensitive drum 1 , to which no toner is to be adhered , corresponds to solid white areas ) was set to roughly + 200 v . then , the control portion 110 forms on the photosensitive drum 1 an electrostatic latent image , which corresponds to a test patch , using the values set for the electrostatic latent image formation parameters . then , it forms an image of the test patch ( test patch image formed of toner ) on the photosensitive drum 1 by developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 , using the last set of values for the development parameters . then , it transfers ( primary transfer ) the toner image of the test patch from the photosensitive drum 1 onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 by applying the constant voltage set through the atvc sequence , to the primary transfer roller 5 . then , it measures the density of the toner image of the test patch on the intermediary transfer belt 7 by the image density sensor 19 . next , the control portion 110 adjusts the power source d 4 in output , that is , the dc voltage vdc to be outputted to the development sleeve 4 b by the power source d 4 . more specifically , if the toner image of the test patch was excessively high in density , the control portion 110 reduces the density level at which toner adheres to the photosensitive drum 1 , by reducing the dc voltage vdc , whereas if the toner image of the test patch was excessively low in density , the control portion 110 increases the density level at which toner adheres to the photosensitive drum 1 , by increasing the dc voltage vdc . with the employment of the above - described control , the amount , per unit area , by which toner is deposited on the photosensitive drum 1 , to form a toner image , converges to a preset referential value . therefore , the value of the electrical resistance of the toner layer ( toner image ), per unit length of the toner layer in terms of the lengthwise direction of the transfer portion s 1 , converges to a preset referential value . in the first embodiment , it is assumed that the development voltage vdc to be applied to the development sleeve 4 b was set to + 300 v , and the ac voltage to be applied to the development sleeve 4 b in combination with the development voltage vdc was set to 1 . 2 kvpp in peak - to - peak voltage and 3 khz in frequency . fig7 is a schematic drawing for describing the primary transfer of the test image . fig8 is a flowchart of the control sequence for evaluation of the nonuniformity of the primary transfer roller in electrical resistance . fig9 is a schematic drawing for describing the first measurement ( first detection ) of the transfer current , which uses the first test image g 1 . fig1 is a drawing of the equivalent circuit of the transfer portion s 1 during the first measurement ( first detection ). fig1 is a schematic drawing of the second measurement ( second detection ), in which a test image g 2 is used . fig1 is a drawing of the equivalent circuit of the transfer portion s 1 during the second measurement ( second detection ). referring to fig7 , as well as fig1 , if a substantial number of copies of an image , which is nonuniform in density in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 , are continuously made by the image forming apparatus 100 , the primary transfer roller 5 gradually becomes nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . if the nonuniformity continuously grows , some portions of the primary transfer roller 5 are liable to become unsatisfactory in terms of transfer performance . thus , the control portion 110 evaluates the primary transfer roller 5 in terms of its lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance for every two hundred copies formed by the image forming apparatus 100 . then , if it determines that the extent of the nonuniformity is outside the preset range , it prompts a user ( operator ) to replace the unsatisfactory primary transfer roller 5 through the control panel 108 . more specifically , the control portion 110 forms a toner image of the test image g 1 ( fig9 ) and a toner image of the test image g 2 ( fig1 ). the test image g 1 is nonuniform in the amount of toner per unit area ( which , hereafter , may be referred to as a toner deposition amount ), in terms of the direction parallel to the axial line of the primary transfer roller 5 . the test image g 2 is different from the test image g 1 only in the positioning of the solid white area and solid black area . then , it measures the amount of the transfer current , which flows through the transfer portion s 1 when the toner image of the test image g 1 is transferred , and when the toner image of the test image g 2 is transferred . the size of the test image g 1 is the same as a size of an a 4 recording medium . the half of the test image g 1 in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 is solidly white ( solid white portion gw ), and the other half is solidly black ( solid black portion gb ). the test image g 2 is reverse in toner distribution to the test image g 1 in terms of the direction parallel to the axial line of the primary transfer roller 5 . the amount of toner deposition , which corresponds to the solid white portion gw of the test image g 1 or g 2 , is virtually 0 mg / cm 2 , and that which corresponds to the solid black portion gb of the test image g 1 or g 2 is 0 . 65 mg / cm 2 . in terms of the direction parallel to the moving direction of the intermediary transfer belt 7 , the length of the test image g 1 is 60 mm , and so is that of the test image g 2 , which are greater than the circumference of the primary transfer roller 5 . the test images g 1 and g 2 are opposite in the positioning of the solid white portion and solid black portion . therefore , the impedance of the transfer portion s 2 , while the toner image of the test image g 1 passes through the transfer portion s 2 is equal to that of the transfer portion s 2 , while the toner image of the test image g 2 passes through the transfer portion s 2 . incidentally , it is presumed that two impedances are equal , which means that the difference between the two impedances is no more than ± 1 %. after the adjustment of the toner image density level , the control portion 110 makes the image forming apparatus 100 form the toner image of the test image g 1 and the toner image of the test image g 2 , using the electrostatic image formation parameters and electrostatic image development parameters , which were set immediately before the adjustment . then , the control portion 110 makes the image forming apparatus 100 transfer ( primary transfer ) the developed electrostatic image ( toner image of test image ) by applying to the primary transfer roller 5 the constant voltage which was applied immediately before the adjustment . with the employment of the above - described control , the toner deposition amount is restored to the previous level . that is , the electrical resistance of the toner layer is made the same as that when the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated the last time in its nonuniformity in electrical resistance . when determining the amount of the transfer current , the amount of transfer current is measured no less than eight times per full rotation of the transfer roller , while rotating the primary transfer roller 5 no less than one full turn . then , the averages of the no less than eight transfer current values , which correspond to the no less than eight measurements , is adopted as the amount of the transfer current , minimizing the errors attributable to the nonuniformity in electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 in terms of its rotational direction . further , the deviation in the output voltage of the power source d 1 is kept below ± 1 . 5 %, keeping thereby the deviation of the transfer current attributable to the deviation of the constant voltage below roughly 1 μa . if the amount of the transfer current , which flowed when the toner image of the test image g 1 was transferred , is the same as that which flowed when the toner image of the test image g 2 was transferred , the control portion 110 determines that the primary transfer roller 5 is uniform in the electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . referring to fig7 , the toner image of the test image g 1 and the toner image of the test image g 2 are the same in the amount of the electrical resistance measured in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 , that is , in the sum of the resistance of the portion 5 e and the resistance of the portion 5 f in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the transfer portion s 1 . therefore , as long as the primary transfer roller 5 is not nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction , the amount of the transfer current , which flows when the toner image of the test image g 1 is transferred , is the same as that when the toner image of the test image g 2 is transferred . if the difference in the amount of transfer current , which corresponds to the test image g 1 and that which corresponds to the test image g 2 , is no less than a preset amount , the control portion 110 warns a user ( operator ) that the primary transfer roller 5 is seriously nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . referring to fig9 , as well as fig1 and 7 , the control portion 110 makes the image forming apparatus 100 form a toner image of the test image g 1 on the photosensitive drum 1 , conveys the formed toner image of the test image g 1 to the transfer portion s 1 , and transfers ( primary transfer ) the toner image onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in the transfer portion s 1 . while transferring the toner image of the test image g 1 , the control portion 110 makes the current detection circuit a 1 , which is a current amount detecting portion , measure the amount of the transfer current i 1 ( s 23 ). referring to fig1 , in which reference character r 1 stands for the electrical resistance of the portion 5 f of primary transfer roller 5 ; reference character t 1 , the impedance of the solid black portion gb ; reference character r 2 , the electrical resistance of the area 5 e ; and reference character t 2 stands for the impedance of the solid white portion gw , the electrical current , which flows through the portion of the circuit , which is made up of the serially connected resistors r 1 and t 1 , and the electrical current which flows through the portion of the circuit , which is made up of the serially connected resistors r 2 and t 2 , join , creating the transfer current i 1 . further , the control portion 110 makes the image forming apparatus 100 form a toner image of the test image g 2 on the photosensitive drum 1 , conveys the formed toner image of the test image g 2 to the transfer portion s 1 , transfer ( primary transfer ) the toner image onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in the transfer portion s 1 . while transferring the toner image of the test image g 2 , the control portion 110 makes the current detection circuit a 1 , which is a current amount detecting portion , measure the amount of the transfer current i 2 ( s 24 ). referring to fig1 , the toner image of the test image g 2 is a reverse image to the toner image for the test image g 1 in the positioning of the solid black portion and solid white portion . the electrical resistance of the solid black portion is t 1 , and the electrical resistance of the solid white portion is t 2 . referring to fig1 , the electrical current which flows through the portion of the circuit , which is made up of the serially connected resistors r 1 and resistance t 2 , and the electrical current which flows through the portion of the circuit , which is made up of the serially connected resistance r 2 and resistance t 1 , join , creating thereby the transfer current i 2 . the control portion 110 calculates the values of the resistance r 1 and resistance r 2 , based on the amount of the transfer currents i 1 and i 2 , respectively . then , it obtains the current density distribution of the primary transfer roller 5 in terms of the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 ( s 25 ). then , the control portion 110 finds the current density range in which the transfer efficiency ( which was described before with reference to fig4 ) is satisfactorily high , by reading the table in the data storing apparatus 109 . then , it determines whether or not the density of the electrical current , which contributed to the transfer ( primary transfer ) of the solid black portion of the toner image of the test image g by flowing through the black portion , is within the above - mentioned high transfer efficiency range ( s 26 ). if the current density is outside the high transfer efficiency range ( no in s 26 ), the control portion 110 interrupts ( stops ) the image forming operation , and displays a message that prompts a user ( operator ) to replace the primary transfer roller 5 ( s 27 ). the control portion 110 evaluates the secondary transfer roller 11 in lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance by carrying out an operation sequence similar to the operational sequence carried out to evaluate the primary transfer roller 5 . the control portion 110 is capable of functioning as a portion for outputting an information regarding an anomaly . thus , if the current density was outside the high transfer efficiency range , the control portion 110 interrupts ( stops ) the image forming operation , and displays the message that prompts a user ( operator ) to replace the secondary transfer roller 11 . that is , in the case of an image forming apparatus having a display portion , the message is displayed on the display portion . in the case of a printer , or the like , which does not have a display portion , the control portion 110 outputs a visual signal , an acoustic signal , and / or the like . the extent of the nonuniformity of the secondary transfer roller 11 in electrical resistance may be evaluated by obtaining the difference or ratio between the value of the resistance r 1 and the value of the resistance r 2 , and comparing the obtained difference or ratio with the referential values stored in advance in the data storing apparatus 109 . further , the extent of the nonuniformity of the secondary transfer roller 11 in electrical resistance may be evaluated by obtaining the difference or ratio between the value of the transfer current i 1 and the value of the transfer current i 2 , and then , comparing the obtained difference or ratio with the referential values . in other words , the nonuniformity of the primary transfer roller 5 ( or secondary transfer roller 11 ) in electrical resistance can be easily evaluated using a method other than the method used in this embodiment , as long as the method other than that in this embodiment measures both the amount of the transfer voltage , which corresponds to the toner image of a test image , and the amount of the transfer voltage , which corresponds to the toner image of another test image , which is the same in electrical resistance value , but is reverse to the first test image in the positional relationship between the solid white portion and solid black portion . more specifically , in the first measurement , the control portion 110 makes the image bearing member ( 1 , 7 ) bear a toner image of the first test image g 1 , which is nonuniform in the toner deposition amount in terms of the direction parallel to the rotational direction of the image bearing member . then , it measures the amount of the transfer current , which flows through the transfer portion ( s 1 , s 2 ), to which the constant voltage is being applied , while the toner image is moved through the transfer portion , with the use of the current detecting portion ( a 1 , a 2 ). in the second measurement , the control portion 110 makes the image bearing member ( 1 , 7 ) bear a toner image of the second test image g 2 , which is reverse to the first test image g 1 , in the positional relationship , between the solid white portion and the solid black portion , and measures the amount of current ( transfer current ), which flows through the transfer portions ( s 1 , s 2 ), to which the constant voltage is being applied , while the toner image of the second test image g 2 is moved through the transfer station ( s 1 , s 2 ), with the use of the current detecting portion ( a 1 , a 2 ). if the difference between the value of the transfer current detected in the first measurement and that in the second measurement is greater than a preset value , the control portion 110 outputs the message that prompts a user to replace the transferring member ( 5 , 10 , and 11 ). in other words , in order to decide whether or not the nonuniformity of the transferring member in electrical resistance in terms of the lengthwise direction of the transferring member is outside the tolerable range , the control portion 110 relies on the fact that the relationship between the transfer current value obtained in the first measurement and that obtained in the second measurement is affected by the extent of the nonuniformity of the transferring member in electrical resistance in terms of the lengthwise direction of the transferring member . if the nonuniformity is beyond the tolerable range , the control portion 110 outputs a warning . outputting a warning means at least one among stopping the image formation , transmitting a warning signal to an external device , starting up another apparatus , displaying a message , or the like , etc . in the first measurement , the amount of current which flows through the serial combination of the transferring member , is possibly nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction and the toner image of the first test image g 1 , in the transfer portion . thus , if the transferring member is uniform in electrical resistance , the value of the transfer current directly reflects the resistance value of the toner image of the test image g 1 in the transfer portion . in the second measurement , the amount of the current which flows through the combination of the transferring member , which is possibly nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction , and the toner image of the test image g 2 , is detected . thus , if the transferring member is free of nonuniformity in electrical resistance , the value of the transfer current directly reflects the resistance value of the toner image of the test image g 2 . therefore , if the transferring member is free of nonuniformity in electrical resistance , the relationship between the transfer current value detected by the first measurement and the transfer current value detected by the second measurement is such that can be computed based on a simple characteristic , that is , the size , of the toner image of the test image g 1 and the size of the toner image of the test image g 2 . thus , it may be determined that the further the relationship between the transfer current value obtained in the first measurement and the transfer current value obtained in the second measurement from “ their relationship which corresponds to when the transferring member is free of nonuniformity in electrical resistance ”, which is computed based on the size of the toner image of the test image g 1 and the size of the toner image of the test image g 2 , the greater the extent of the nonuniformity of the transferring member in electrical resistance . fig1 is a schematic drawing for describing the equivalent circuit of the primary transfer portion . referring to fig1 , reference character rd stands for the electrical resistance of the photosensitive drum 1 ; reference character ritb , the electrical resistance of the intermediary transfer belt 7 ; reference character rt , the electrical resistance of the toner image ; and reference character rr stands for the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 . further , reference character t stands for the electrical resistance of the portion of the transfer portion , which excludes the electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 and contributes to the nonuniformity in electrical resistance of the primary transfer portion s 1 . the constant voltage v applied from the power source d 1 causes the transfer current i to flow through the serial circuit made up of the photosensitive drum 1 , toner image , intermediary transfer belt 7 , and primary transfer roller 5 . the value of the transfer current i can be obtained from the following equations : in a case when a substantial number of toner images of the test image g 1 are continuously transferred ( primary transfer ), the portion 5 e of the primary transfer roller 5 continuously transfers the solid white portion of the toner image of the test image g 1 , and the portion 5 f of the primary transfer roller 5 continuously transfers the solid black portion of the toner image . since electrical current flows through the solid white image portion of the toner image by a greater amount than the amount by which it flows through the solid black portion of the toner image , the electrical resistance r 2 of the portion 5 e becomes greater than the electrical resistance r 1 of the portion 5 f , making the primary transfer roller 5 nonuniform in electrical resistance . in reality , it is possible that a minute amount of electrical current c will leak into the toner - free portion of the image . in this embodiment , however , it is assumed that the effects of this minute amount of electrical current c are negligibly small . if a toner image of the test image g 1 is transferred ( primary transfer ) by applying the constant voltage v , the value of the overall resistance r 1 of the transfer portion when the constant voltage v is applied , the value of the transfer current i 1 , which flows through the transfer portion when the constant voltage v is applied , can be obtained by the following equations : i 1 = v / r 1 = v ( t 1 + t 2 + r 1 + r 2 )/{( t 1 + r 2 )( t 2 + r 1 )}. next , referring to fig1 , in the case where a toner image of the test image g 2 is transferred ( primary transfer ) by a constant voltage v , the value of the overall electrical resistance r 2 of the transfer portion to which the constant voltage v is applied , and the value of the transfer current i 2 , which flows through the transfer portion while the constant voltage v is applied thereto , can be obtained from the following equations : i 2 = v / r 2 = v ( t 1 + t 2 + r 1 + r 2 )/{( t 1 + r 2 )( t 2 + r 1 )}. the difference δi between the amount of transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 can be obtained from the following equation : δ i = i 1 − i 2 = v ( t 1 r 2 + t 2 r 1 − t 1 r 1 − t 2 r 2 )/( r 1 + t 1 + r 2 + t 2 ) ( 1 ) the electrical resistance t 1 and electrical resistance t 2 in equation ( 1 ) are constant , and are stored in advance in the data storing apparatus 109 . when the primary transfer roller 5 is brand - new , it is virtually uniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . therefore , r 1 ≈ r 2 , and , therefore , δi = 0 . in the above - described case , the primary transfer roller 5 has become nonuniform in electrical resistance in its lengthwise direction ( r 2 & gt ; r 1 ). there is the difference δi ( δi & lt ; 0 ) between the amount of the transfer current i 1 , which corresponds to the test image g 1 , and the amount of the transfer current i 2 which corresponds to the test image g 2 . the overall electrical resistance r 5 of the primary transfer roller 5 can be obtained from the following equation : substituting equation ( 2 ) for r 5 in equation ( 1 ) yields the following equation : δ i = v ( t 1 − t 2 ){( r 5 − r 2 )( t 1 + t 2 + r 2 )+ r 2 r 5 }{ r 2 r 5 − r 2 ( r 5 − r 2 )}/[( t 2 + r 2 )( t 1 + r 2 ){ t 1 ( r 5 − r 2 )+ r 2 r 5 }{ r 2 r 5 + t 2 ( r 5 − r 2 )}]. ( 3 ) the value of the electrical resistance r 5 can be obtained from an equation ( r 5 = v / i 5 ) by detecting the amount of the transfer current i 5 , which flows when transferring ( primary transfer ) a solid white image by applying the constant voltage v , the value of which is set through the atvc sequence carried out immediately before the transfer . the values of the difference δi (= i 1 − i 2 ), t 1 , and t 2 are known . therefore , the value of the electrical resistance r 2 can be computed . thus , the value of the electrical resistance r 1 can be calculated using equation ( 2 ), which shows the relationship among the resistance r 1 , resistance r 2 , and resistance r 5 (= 1 /( 1 / r 1 + 1 / r 2 )). with the value of the electrical resistance r 1 and the value of the electrical resistance r 2 known , the amount of the current which contributes to the toner image transfer by flowing through the solid black portion , the portion of the primary transfer roller 5 , the electrical resistance of which is r 1 , and the portion of the primary transfer roller 5 , the electrical resistance of which is r 2 , while the constant voltage v is applied , can be calculated . therefore , the current densities im 1 and im 2 , which correspond to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , respectively , can be calculated . thus , the point in time at which the primary transfer roller 5 is to be replaced is determined by obtaining the current densities im 1 and im 2 , which correspond to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , respectively , with the use of the above - described method . the nonuniformity of the secondary transfer roller 11 in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction is also evaluated by obtaining the current densities , which correspond to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , using a sequence similar to that used to evaluate the primary transfer roller 5 . fig1 is a graph for describing the unsatisfactory transfer which occurred as a large number of toner images of the test image g 1 or g 2 were continuously made . referring to fig1 , as well as to fig7 , a test in which 5 , 000 copies ( toner images ) of the test image g 1 were continuously made was carried out . during the test , the portion 5 e of the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponded to the solid white portion gw of the test image g 1 became higher in electrical resistance than the portion 5 f of the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponded to the solid black portion gb of the test image g 1 , by an amount equivalent to the cumulative difference between the amount of the transfer current which flowed through the portion 5 f , that is , the portion corresponding to the solid black portion gb , and the amount of the transfer current which flowed through the portion 5 e , that is , the portion corresponding to the solid white portion gw . as described above , the primary transfer roller 5 has a property that , as electrical current flows through the primary transfer roller 5 in a specific direction , it increases in electrical resistance by the amount corresponding to the cumulative amount of the electrical current . further , the electrical current , which flows through the transfer portion s 1 , flows more through the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponds to the solid white portion gw , which is lower in electrical resistance than the solid black portion gb , than through the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponds to the solid black portion gb . therefore , even if it is ensured by the atvc sequence that the total amount by which the transfer current flows through the primary transfer roller 5 is constant at 50 μa , the difference in electrical resistance between the portion 5 e , by which the solid white portions gw are continuously transferred , and the portion 5 f , by which the solid black portions gb are continuously transferred , gradually increases , eventually making the primary transfer roller 5 significantly nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . therefore , the density ( a / cm ) of the electrical current c , which flows at the time of the primary transfer of the portion of the toner image of the test image g 1 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 , is different from the density ( a / cm ) of the electrical current c , which flows at the time of the primary transfer of the portion of the toner image of the test image g 2 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 . during the pre - rotation step , which was carried out immediately before the starting of an image forming operation for continuously making a large number of copies , the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated regarding its lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance . then , during the image forming operation , the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated regarding its lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance , for every two hundredth copy . each time the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated regarding the lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance , the atvc sequence was carried out to reset the constant voltage to a specific value , which made the overall amount by which the transfer current flowed through the primary transfer roller 5 be 50 μa . referring to fig1 , in the first embodiment , the unsatisfactory transfer , which is referred to as a “ weak current white spot ” occurred when the current density ib was no more than 2 . 14 μa / cm , and the unsatisfactory transfer , which is referred to as a “ strong current white spot ” occurred when the current density ib was no less than 2 . 76 μa . therefore , as long as the current density ib was in the range between 2 . 14 μa / cm and 2 . 76 μa / cm ( 2 . 14 μa / cm & lt ; ib & lt ; 2 . 76 μa / cm ), the control portion 110 ( fig1 ) allowed the image forming apparatus 100 to carry out ( continue ) the image forming operation . however , when the current density ib was outside the above - mentioned range , the control portion 110 interrupted the image forming operation , and displayed a message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 . after the completion of the first atvc sequence , a solid white image was formed while applying + 1 , 500 of constant voltage . the amount of the transfer current , which was detected during this image forming operation , was 75 μa . thus , when there was no toner image in the transfer portion s 1 , the calculated impedance of the transfer portion s 1 was 2 × 10 7 ω . this impedance was the sum of the impedance of the photosensitive drum 1 , the impedance of the intermediary transfer belt 7 , and the impedance of the primary transfer roller 5 , which made up the transfer portion s 1 . further , the initial electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 itself was 1 × 10 7 ω . therefore , the sum ( 2 × t 2 ) of the impedance of the photosensitive drum 1 and the impedance of the intermediary transfer belt 7 was 1 × 10 7 ω . on the other hand , when the amount of the transfer current was detected while a solid black image were transferred , the sum ( 2 × t 1 ) of the impedance of the photosensitive drum 1 , the impedance of the intermediary transfer belt 7 , and the impedance of the toner image , was 2 × 10 7 ω . this operation sequence was intended to obtain the impedances t 1 and t 2 , which corresponded to the image portion ( portion of image , which is made up of toner ) and a non - image portion ( portion of image , which is free of toner ). thus , the value of the impedance t 1 and the value of the impedance t 2 were obtained by carrying out the operational sequence during the pre - rotation period , which was immediately before the first image was formed by the image forming apparatus 100 . thereafter , before starting an image forming operation in which a large number of copies were continuously made , the amount of the transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 were measured , while forming a toner image of the test image g 1 ( fig1 ) and a toner image of the test image g 2 ( fig1 ). the amount of the transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 were both roughly 62 . 5 μa . in other words , the current amount difference δi calculated using equation ( 1 ) was zero , confirming that the primary transfer roller 5 was virtually free of nonuniformity in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . thereafter , an operation for continuously forming two hundred copies of the test image g 1 was started , and two hundred toner images of the test image g 1 were continuously transferred ( primary transfer ) onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in the transfer portion s 1 to which the constant voltage of + 1 , 500 v was being applied . after two hundred copies of the test image g 1 were outputted , the atvc sequence was carried out . as a result , the constant voltage was set to + 1 , 530 v , which was higher by 30 v than the preceding constant voltage value . after the completion of the adjustment regarding the toner image density , a toner image of the test image g 1 and a toner image of the test image g 2 were formed while applying the constant voltage of + 1 , 530 v and measuring the amount of the transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 , in order to evaluate the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 . the difference δi between the amount of the transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 was roughly 0 . 2 μa . then , the value of the electrical resistance r 1 of the primary transfer roller 5 and the value of the electrical resistance r 2 of the primary transfer roller 5 were obtained based on the obtained value of the difference δi . then , the value of the current density ib 1 and the value of the current density ib 2 were calculated . the calculated value of the current density ib 1 , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 , was 2 . 39 μa / cm , and the calculated value of the current density ib 2 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 was 2 . 37 μa / cm . in other words , the current densities ib 1 and ib 2 are both higher than 2 . 14 μa / cm and lower than 2 . 76 μa / cm ( 2 . 14 μa / cm & lt ; ib & lt ; 2 . 76 μa / cm ). thus , the operation for forming a two hundred first toner image of the test image g 1 and the rest of the interrupted image forming operation was restarted . the image forming operation in which a large number of copies of the test image g 1 were continuously made and in which the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated for every two hundredth copy , was carried out , was interrupted after roughly 30 , 000 copies were made , and a message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 was displayed . then , the constant voltage was set to + 1 , 985 v through the atvc sequence . then , the amount of the transfer current i 1 and the amount of the transfer current i 2 were measured while applying a constant voltage of + 1 , 985 v . the difference δi between the transfer current i 1 and transfer current i 2 had increased to 4 . 0 μa . as described above , the deviation of the amount of the transfer current , which is attributable to the deviation of the constant voltage , was roughly 1 μa . therefore , the current amount difference δi of 4 . 0 μa was a reliable value . from the results of the test , which was carried out to measure the amount of transfer current while applying the constant voltage of 1 , 985 v after the atvc sequence , the electrical resistance r 5 of the primary transfer roller 5 measure after roughly 30 , 000 copies were made was 3 . 97 × 10 7 ω . the value of the impedance t 1 , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and was obtained first , was 4 × 10 7 ω , and the value of the impedance t 2 , which corresponds to the solid white portion of the test image g 1 , were 2 × 10 7 ω . substituting these values for the parameters in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), the calculated value of the electrical resistance r 1 and that of the resistance r 2 were 3 . 2 × 10 7 ω and 4 . 85 × 10 7 ω , respectively . thus , the current density ib 1 , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 was 2 . 60 μa / cm , which was greater than 2 . 14 μa / cm and less than 2 . 76 μa / cm ( 2 . 14 μa / cm & lt ; ib & lt ; 2 . 76 μa / cm ). however , the current density ib 2 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , was 2 . 14 μa / cm , which was smaller than the smallest value in the proper range ( 2 . 14 μa / cm & lt ; ib & lt ; 2 . 76 μa / cm ). next , a toner image of the test image g 2 was formed by forcefully restarting the interrupted image forming operation . the obtained copy confirmed that the so - called “ weak current white spot ” ( unsatisfactory transfer attributable to unsatisfactory amount of transfer current ) had occurred to the portion of the toner image , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , confirming that the judgment made by the control portion 110 was correct . incidentally , in this embodiment , in consideration of measurement errors , if the difference δi is no less than 3 . 5 μa , it is determined that the extent of the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 in its lengthwise direction has reached the level which will result in the formation of an unsatisfactory image . referring to fig1 , as well as to fig7 , regardless of the increase in the cumulative number by which toner images of the test image g 1 were made , it is ensured by the atvc that the average value of the overall electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 remains constant at 2 . 4 μa / cm . however , the portion 5 e of the primary transfer roller 5 , which transfers ( primary transfer ) the portion of the toner image , which corresponds to the solid white portion gw , is greater than the portion 5 f of the primary transfer roller 5 , which transfers the portion of the toner image , which corresponds to the solid black portion gb of the test image g 1 , in the speed at which their electrical resistance increases . therefore , the current density , which corresponds to the portion 5 e , which transfers ( primary transfer ) the solid black portion when a toner image of the test image g 2 is transferred ( primary transfer ), is made smaller than the current density , which corresponds to the portion 5 f , which transfers the solid black portion gb when a toner image of the test image g 1 is transferred . further , the amount of difference between the current density , which corresponds to the solid black portion the when the test image g 1 is transferred ( primary transfer ) and the current density , which corresponds to the solid black portion when the test image g 2 is transferred ( primary transfer ), gradually increases with the increase in the cumulative number of the copies , which are continuously made . thus , as a large number of toner images of the test image g 1 are continuously transferred ( primary transfer ) by the primary transfer roller 5 , it becomes impossible for a sufficient amount of transfer current to flow through the portion 5 e of the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponds to the solid white portion gw of the test image g 1 , and , therefore , the amount by which the toner fails to be transferred from the photosensitive drum 1 increases . that is , the so - called “ weak current white spot ” is liable to occur . on the other hand , as a large number of toner images of the test image g 2 are continuously transferred ( primary transfer ), an excessive amount of transfer current flows through the portion 5 f , and , therefore , the toner particles , which come into contact with the portion 5 f are reversed in polarity , being thereby transferred back onto the photosensitive drum 1 . that is , the so - called “ strong current white spot ” is liable to occur . incidentally , in the past , the point in time at which the primary transfer roller 5 is to be replaced was determined based on the overall electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 . further , the upper limit for the electrical resistance r 5 was set according to the maximum output value of the power source d 1 . in the case of the image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment , when the value of the constant voltage exceeded 5 kv , a defective image , more specifically , an image suffering from the white spots attributable to excessively high voltage was formed . therefore , it did not occur that the upper limit of the constant voltage is set to a value greater than 5 kv . however , replacing the primary transfer roller 5 as the value of the constant voltage exceeds 5 kv does not solve the problem that a large number of the same or similar copies are continuously made , the primary transfer roller 5 gradually becomes nonuniform in electrical resistance , which results in unsatisfactory transfer . further , the method , which relies on the overall current density of the transfer portion s 1 to control the point in time at which the primary transfer roller 5 is to be replaced , also cannot solve the problem that as a substantial number of the same or similar copies are continuously made , the primary transfer roller 5 gradually becomes nonuniform in electrical resistance , which results in unsatisfactory transfer . referring to fig1 , even if the overall current density of the transfer portion s 1 is kept constant by the atvc , regardless of the changes in the electrical resistance value of the primary transfer roller 5 , it is still possible that a part or parts of the primary transfer roller 5 fail to satisfactorily transfer the toner particles . that is , even if the atvc sequence is executed using a solid black toner image , so that the center value of the current density i will become 2 . 38 μa / cm , a part or parts of the primary transfer roller 5 may fail to satisfactorily transfer the toner particles because of the lengthwise nonuniformity of the primary transfer roller 5 in electrical resistance . therefore , regardless of which of the methods described above was employed , it was necessary that as soon as a part or parts of the primary transfer roller 5 actually failed to satisfactorily transfer the toner particles , whether or not the primary transfer roller 5 was to be replaced was determined by an expert to replace the primary transfer roller 5 before the value of the constant voltage reached 5 kv . in comparison , in the first embodiment , the primary transfer roller 5 , which is an example of a transferring member , forms the transfer portion s 1 , which is an example of a transfer portion , by being pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 , which is an example of an image bearing member , with the intermediary transfer belt 7 , which is an example of a transfer medium , placed between the primary transfer roller 5 and photosensitive drum 1 . the power source d 1 , which is an example of an electrical power supplying means , transfers a toner image from the photosensitive drum 1 , which is an example of an image bearing member , onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 , which is an example of a transfer medium , by applying transfer voltage to the transfer portion s 1 , which is an example of a transfer portion . the current detection circuit a 1 , which is an example of a current amount detecting means , detects the amount of the electrical current c , which flows through the transfer portion s 1 , which is an example of a transfer portion , while the transfer voltage is applied thereto . in step s 23 , which is an example of a first transfer current amount measuring step , the amount of transfer current is measured using a toner image of the test image g 1 , which is an example of an image which is made up of a solid white portion gw and a solid black portion gb , that is , an image which is extremely nonuniform in density . in step s 24 , which is an example of a second transfer current amount measuring step , the amount of transfer current is measured using a toner image of the test image g 2 , which is an example of an image , which is different from the test image g 1 only in the density distribution . the control portion 110 determines whether or not the extent of the lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 has exceeded the tolerable range , based on the results from step s 23 , which is an example of the first transfer current measurement , and the results from step s 24 , which is an example of the second transfer current measurement . then , if it determines that the measured extent of the lengthwise nonuniformity of the primary transfer roller 5 in electrical resistance has exceeded the tolerable range , it outputs a warning signal . outputting a warning signal means at least one among transmitting a warning signal to an external device , displaying some warning message ( sign ), or the like , etc . in other words , the control portion 110 generates a message that concerns ( at least resultantly ) the possibility that the unsatisfactory transfer attributable to the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , which is an example of a transferring member , may occur , based on the results from steps s 23 and s 24 , in which the amount of transfer current was measured . further , the control portion 110 is capable of issuing a warning signal , a warning message , a simple electrical signal , or an evaluation report , which are examples of an output which shows the result of the evaluation , by accessing the referential values or data base in the data storing apparatus 109 , and carrying out various computational processes . further , the control portion 110 outputs a message that recommends , requests , or demands a user to replace the transfer roller , and / or outputs an evaluation report , so that the primary transfer roller 5 will be resultantly replaced . therefore , while the value of the constant voltage is as low as + 1 , 985 v , which is significantly lower than + 5 , 000 v , the control portion 110 is capable of predicting the occurrence of the problem that a part or parts of the primary transfer roller 5 fail to satisfactorily transfer the toner particles , and outputting a message that requests a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 . therefore , it is possible to prevent all types of the unsatisfactory toner particle transfers which will possibly occur before the value for the constant voltage will have to be set to + 5 , 000 v while roughly 30 , 000 copies will be outputted . fig1 is a flowchart of the control sequence for evaluating the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller in the second embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is a schematic drawing for describing the transfer current amount measuring first step , which uses a test image g 3 . fig1 is a schematic drawing for describing the transfer current amount measuring second step , in which a test image g 4 is used . except for a part of the control sequence for evaluating the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment . therefore , the structural components and portions thereof , the portions of a test image , the control sequence steps , etc ., in fig1 - 17 , which are the same as the counterparts in fig1 - 4 , are given the same referential symbols as those given to the counterparts in the fig1 - 4 , one for one , and will not be described , to avoid repeating the same descriptions . referring back to fig1 , the control portion 110 detects an image , the copy of which will be continuously made by a large number , based on the output of a video counter 104 . then , it creates , by computation , a test image g 3 , which accurately reflects the above - mentioned image , and a test image g 4 , which is reverse in the positioning of the solid black portion and solid white portion . then , the control portion 110 carries out a primary transfer roller evaluation sequence , which is similar to that in the first embodiment , using the test images g 3 and g 4 . the video counter 104 obtains the image density distribution ( in terms of the direction parallel to the direction of the primary scanning line ) of an image to be formed ( copied ), by processing the image data of the received job . more specifically , it obtains the image density distribution of each portion of the image , which corresponds to each of the primary scanning lines . then , it adds up all the image density distributions obtained through the above - described processes . thus , the final image density distribution is the sum of all the image density distributions , which correspond to all the scanning lines , one for one . the image density was calculated per one centimeter in terms of the direction parallel to the primary scanning lines . the video counter 104 obtains the image density distribution in the direction parallel to the primary scan lines , for every image which the image forming apparatus forms . then , it adds up all the image density distributions it obtained since the last evaluation , and outputs to the control portion 110 , the data for identifying the toner image deviation on the photosensitive drum 1 . referring to fig1 , as well as to fig1 , the control portion 110 obtains the cumulative data from the video counter 104 ( s 21 ). referring to fig1 , the control portion 110 creates the test image g 3 , which is made up of a single solid black portion and two solid white portions . the positioning of the solid black portion corresponds to the high value ranges of the density distribution derived from the cumulative data . referring to fig1 , the control portion 110 creates the test image g 4 , which is made up of two solid black portions and a single solid white portion . it is a reverse image of the test image g 3 in terms of the positioning of the solid white portion and solid black portion ( s 22 ). as with the relationship between the test images g 1 and g 2 in the first embodiment , the test images g 3 and g 4 are created so that they are the same in the sum of the overall length of the solid black portion and overall length of the solid white portion in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 . therefore , the test images g 3 and g 4 are equal in electrical resistance value . the control portion 110 creates a pair of test images . one of the test images is made up of a single solid black portion , and two identical solid white portions , which are half in length in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller ( transfer portion ). the other test image is made up of two identical solid black portions , and a single solid white portion , which is twice the solid black portion in length . thus , the sum of the solid black portions , which correspond to the high density portions of the image , the cumulative data of which was detected by the video counter 104 , is equal to the sum of the solid black portions , which corresponds to the low density portions of the image , the cumulative data of which was detected by the video counter 104 . thus , in a case where multiple copies of the test image g 3 were continuously made , the control portion 110 evaluates the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 by forming a toner image of the test image g 3 and a toner image of the test image g 4 . needless to say , in a case where multiple copies of the test image g 1 were continuously made , a toner image of the test image g 1 and a toner image of the test image g 2 are automatically made through the same process . the control portion 110 forms a toner image of the test image g 1 on the photosensitive drum 1 , conveys the image to the transfer portion s 1 , and transfers ( primary transfer ) the image onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in the transfer portion s 1 . further , it measures the amount of transfer current i 1 by the current detection circuit , while transferring the image ( s 23 ). next , the control portion 110 forms a toner image of the test image g 2 on the photosensitive drum 1 , conveys the image to the transfer portion s 1 , and transfers ( primary transfer ) the image onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 in the transfer portion s 1 . further , it measures the amount of the transfer current i 2 by the current detection circuit a 1 , while transferring the image ( s 24 ). then , the control portion 110 calculates the value of the electrical resistance r 1 ( resistance of low resistance portion of transfer roller ) and the value of the electrical resistance r 2 ( resistance of high resistance portion of transfer roller ), based on the value of the transfer current i 1 and the value of the transfer current i 2 . then , it obtains the current density distribution in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the primary transfer roller 5 ( s 25 ). then , the control portion 110 accesses the data storing apparatus 109 and reads the ranges in which the transfer efficiency is high , as it was described with reference to fig4 , and determines whether or not the value of the density of the current which flowed through the portions of the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponded to the solid black portions to transfer ( primary transfer ) the toner particles , is in the high transfer efficiency range ( s 26 ). if the current density is outside the high transfer efficiency range ( no in s 26 ), the control portion 110 interrupts the image forming operation or prohibits the continuation of the image forming operation , and displays a message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 ( s 27 ). the control portion 110 also evaluates the secondary transfer roller 11 using an evaluation sequence similar to that used for evaluating the primary transfer roller 5 . if the obtained current density is outside the high transfer efficiency range , it interrupts the image forming operation or prohibits the continuation of the image forming apparatus , and displays a message that prompts a user to replace the secondary transfer roller 11 . incidentally , the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the transfer rollers 5 and 11 may be evaluated by obtaining the ratio between the value of the transfer current i 1 and transfer current i 2 , and comparing the obtained ratio with the referential values ( data ) stored in advance in the data storage apparatus 109 . either way , as long as two toner images , which are the same in overall resistance value , but are reverse in terms of the positioning of their solid black portions and solid white portions , are used , and both the amount of transfer current which flows when one of the toner images is transferred , and the amount of transfer current which flows when the other toner image is transferred , are measured , a method other than the one used in this embodiment , which makes it possible to easily evaluate the nonuniformity , electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 ( or secondary transfer roller 11 ), may be used . fig1 ( a ) and 18 ( b ) are schematic drawings for describing the first measurement of the transfer current , in which the test image g 1 is used . fig1 ( a ) and 19 ( b ) are schematic drawings for describing the second measurement of the transfer current , in which the test image g 2 is used . fig2 ( a ) and 20 ( b ) are schematic drawings for describing the first measurement of the transfer current , in which the test image g 3 is used . fig2 ( a ) and 21 ( b ) are schematic drawings for describing the second measurement of the transfer current , in which the test image g 4 is used . of fig1 ( a )- 21 ( b ), the drawing referenced by ( a ) is a test image , and the drawing referenced by ( b ) is an equivalent circuit of the transfer portion . referring to fig1 , the test image g 3 is made up of a single solid black portion and two solid white portions equal in length ( size ). the solid black portion occupies the center portion of the image . its size is equivalent to 50 % of the size of the test image g 3 . the two solid white portions sandwich the solid black portion . their size is equivalent to 25 % of the size of the test image g 3 . 50 , 000 copies of the test image g 3 were continuously made in an ambience which was 23 ° c . in temperature , and 50 % rh in humidity . then , the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated using a method similar to that used in the first embodiment , in which a toner image of the test image g 1 and a toner image of the test image g 2 were used , and the atvc sequence was carried out for every two hundred copies . in the case of the first embodiment , the control portion 110 interrupted the image forming operation , and displayed a message that prompted a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 , when the cumulative count of the copies made reached roughly 30 , 000 . in the case of this embodiment , however , the message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 was not displayed even after the cumulative count of the copies made exceeded 31 , 000 . further , the examination of the copies of the test images g 1 and g 2 formed for the evaluation of the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , which was carried out immediately after the completion of the 30 , 000th copy , revealed that the unsatisfactory transfer had already begun . that is , the portion of the primary transfer roller 5 , which continuously transferred the solid white portions , had increased in electrical resistance . therefore , the unsatisfactory transfer ( under current white spots ) had occurred to the portion of the toner image , which corresponded in position to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and the portion of the toner image , which corresponded in position to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 . the value to which the constant voltage was set through the atvc sequence , which was carried out immediately after the completion of the 30 , 000th copy , was + 1 , 985 v , as it was set in the first embodiment . however , the difference δi between the amount of the transfer current i 1 , which was measured when the test image g 1 was used , and the amount of the transfer current i 2 , which was measured when the test image g 2 was used , was virtually 0 μa . therefore , the control portion 110 determined that the electrical resistance r 1 and electrical resistance r 2 of the primary transfer roller 5 were equal in value . the center portion of the test image g 3 is solid black , which is high in impedance t 1 , whereas the two lateral portions of the test image g 3 are solid white , being relatively low in impedance t 2 . therefore , the portions of transfer portion s 1 , which correspond to the solid white portions of the test image g 3 , one for one , are higher in current density than the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 3 . thus , the electrical resistance r 2 , which corresponds to the lateral portions of the primary transfer roller 5 , that is , the portions which continuously transferred the solid white portions of the toner image , are higher in value than the electrical resistance r 1 , which corresponds to the center portion of the toner image . referring to fig1 ( b ), there is the following relationship between the overall impedance r 1 ′ of the test image g 1 and the total amount of electrical current i 1 ′, which flows through the test image g 1 when the constant voltage v is applied : referring to fig1 ( b ), there is the following relationship between the overall impedance r 2 ′ of the test image g 2 and the total amount of electrical current i 2 ′, which flows through the test image g 2 when the constant voltage v is applied : therefore , the amount of the difference δi (= i 2 ′− i 1 ′) is 0 : therefore , at least in the case where multiple copies of the test image g 3 are continuously made , the control sequence in the first embodiment , which uses the test images g 1 and g 2 , cannot accurately detect the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 . referring to fig2 ( b ), there is the following relationship between the overall impedance r 3 ′ of the test image g 3 and the total amount of electrical current i 3 ′, which flows through the test image g 3 when the constant voltage v is applied : referring to fig2 ( b ), there is the following relationship between the overall impedance r 4 ′ of the test image g 4 and the total amount of electrical current i 4 ′, which flows through the test image g 4 when the constant voltage v is applied : the amount of the difference δi between the amount of the transfer current which flows when the test image g 3 is used , and the amount of the transfer current which flows when the test image g 4 is used can be obtained from the following equation : δ i = i 4 ′− i 3 ′= 2 v ({ 1 /( r 2 + t 1 )+ 1 /( r 1 + t 2 )− 1 /( r 1 + t 1 )− 1 /( r 2 + t 2 )} ( 5 ). because of the difference between the solid white portion and solid black portion , t 1 ≠ t 2 . after the operation in which multiple copies were continuously made , the primary transfer roller 5 is nonuniform in electrical resistance . therefore , r 1 ≠ r 2 . therefore , the transfer current difference is not zero : δi ≠ 0 . therefore , the control portion 110 can accurately evaluate the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , by measuring the amount of difference δi obtained using the test images g 3 and g 4 , as it was capable in the first embodiment , using the test images g 1 and g 2 . the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 was evaluated for every two hundred copies , using the test images g 3 and g 4 . after the production of 30 , 000 copies of the test image g 3 , the constant voltage was set to + 1 , 985 v by the atvc sequence . then , the amount of the transfer current i 3 ′ was measured by making a toner image of the test image g 3 , and the amount of the transfer current i 4 ′ was measured by making a toner image of the test image g 4 . the difference δi between the amount of the transfer current i 4 ′ and the amount of the transfer current i 3 ′ was 4 . 0 μa . then , the density of the current which flowed through the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 3 , and the density of the current which flowed through the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 4 were calculated using the same procedure as was used in the first embodiment . the amount of the current which flowed through the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 3 was 2 . 6 μa / cm . however , the amount of transfer current which flowed through the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponded to the solid black portion of the test image g 4 was 2 . 14 μa / cm , which was insufficient . thus , the control portion 110 stopped the image forming operation after the completion of roughly 30 , 000 copies . then , it displayed the message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 . fig2 is a drawing of the test images in the third embodiment . except for a part of the control sequence for evaluating the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , the third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment . referring to fig2 , as well as to fig1 , the control portion 110 evaluates the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 using four different test images g 5 a , g 5 b , g 5 c , and g 5 d . the four test images g 5 a , g 5 b , g 5 c , and g 5 d are the same in size , and are made up of a combination of a solid black portion and a solid white portion , or a combination of a solid black portion and two solid white portions . in terms of the lengthwise direction of the test images , the solid black portion of each test image g occupies ¼ of the test image . the four test images are different in the position of the solid black portion in terms of the lengthwise direction of the test image ; as seen from the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the transfer roller , the four solid black portions are staggered from the adjacent ones by a length equal to the length of each solid black portion . after the completion of the atvc sequence , and adjustment of the image forming apparatus in the density level , the control portion 110 measures the amount of the transfer current i 5 a , the amount of the transfer current i 5 b , the amount of the transfer current i 5 c , and the amount of the transfer current i 5 d , by making a toner image of the test images g 5 a , a toner image of the test images g 5 b , a toner image of the test images g 5 c , and a toner image of the test images g 5 d . if the transfer currents i 5 a , i 5 b , i 5 c , and i 5 d are the same in value , the control portion 110 determines that the primary transfer roller 5 is not nonuniform in electrical resistance in terms of its lengthwise direction . the test images g 5 a , g 5 b , g 5 c , and g 5 d are the same in electrical resistance value . therefore , as long as the primary transfer roller 5 is not nonuniform in electrical resistance in its lengthwise direction , the transfer currents i 5 a , i 5 b , i 5 c , and i 5 d are equal in value . however , when the transfer currents i 5 a , i 5 b , i 5 c , and i 5 d are not equal in value , the control portion 110 calculates the difference δi between the highest transfer current value and lowest transfer current value , and compares the amount of the difference δi with a preset threshold value β . then , if δi & gt ; β , the control portion 110 stops the image forming operation , and displays the message that prompts a user to replace the primary transfer roller 5 . fig2 is a flowchart of the control sequence , in the fourth embodiment , for evaluating the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 . except for a part of the control sequence for evaluating the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 , the fourth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment . thus , the structural components and portions thereof , the portions of images , the control sequence steps , etc ., in fig2 , which are the same as the counterparts in fig8 , are given the same referential symbols as those given to the counterparts in the fig8 , one for one , and will not be described again , to avoid repeating the same description . referring to fig2 , as well as to fig1 , the control portion 110 forms a toner image of the test image g 1 on the photosensitive drum 1 , and measures the amount of the transfer current i 1 ( s 23 ). then , it forms a toner image of the test image g 2 on the photosensitive drum 1 , and measures the amount of the transfer current i 2 ( s 24 ). then , the control portion 110 calculates the amount of the electrical resistance r 1 and the amount of electrical resistance r 2 from the transfer currents i 1 and i 2 , respectively , and the value of the current density which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 , and the value of the current density which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 ( s 25 ). if both the value of the current density corresponding to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 and the value of the current density corresponding to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 are within the high transfer efficiency range ( yes in s 26 ), it permits the continuation of the rest of the interrupted image forming operation . however , if at least one of the value of the transfer current density , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 1 , and the value of the transfer current density , which corresponds to the solid black portion of the test image g 2 , is outside the high transfer efficiency range ( no in s 26 ), the control portion 110 reads the data regarding the density distribution of the images to be formed thereafter , using the video counter 104 . then , if the obtained density distribution is identical to the density distribution of the image which was being formed before the atvc sequence was carried out the last time ( yes in s 29 ), the control portion 110 permits the continuation of the rest of the interrupted image forming operation . however , if the former is not identical to the latter , the control portion 110 interrupts or prohibits the continuation of the image forming operation , and displays the message that prompts a user to replace the secondary transfer roller 11 . in the first embodiment , when the evaluation of the lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 revealed that the nonuniformity in electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 5 is outside the tolerable range , the control portion 110 unconditionally prohibited the continuation of the interrupted image forming operation . however , in the case when multiple copies of the test image g 1 have been continuously made , even if the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 is outside the tolerable range , the unsatisfactory transfer is unlikely to occur , as long as it is the formation of a toner image of the test image g 1 that is continued thereafter . that is , the unsatisfactory transfer is liable to occur when an image , for example , the test image g 1 , which has been copied , is switched to another image , for example , the test image g 2 , which is completely different in density distribution from the image which has been copied . that is , the switching of the image to be copied changes the transfer portion ( s 1 ) in the density distribution of the toner image to be transferred ; the portion of the transfer portion , through which the solid white portion of the preceding toner image have been moved , is made to accommodate the portion of the solid black portion of the toner image of the new image to be copied . thus , in this portion of the transfer portion , the higher impedance of the solid black portion adds to the electrical resistance of the corresponding portion of the primary transfer roller 5 , which has been increased by continuously facing the solid white portion of the toner image of the preceding image to be copied . thus , this portion of the transfer portion s 1 becomes insufficient in the amount of transfer current , failing to satisfactorily transfer the toner particles . that is , as long as the images to be continuously copied are the same in density distribution , the unsatisfactory transfer is unlikely to occur . in the fourth embodiment , therefore , the replacement of the primary transfer roller 5 is postponed until the next time the primary transfer roller 5 is evaluated in its lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance . therefore , the employment of this embodiment can reduce the image forming apparatus 100 in the length of downtime , slightly improving the image forming apparatus 100 in the availability factor . in the first embodiment , after making roughly 30 , 000 copies , the image forming operation is interrupted ( stopped ) if the value which shows the extent of the lengthwise nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of the primary transfer roller 5 becomes greater than the values in the tolerable range . this setup is intended to prevent unsatisfactory transfer , which is likely to occur when an image forming operation , which is being carried out to make a large number of copies of the same image is interrupted to carry out another image forming operation to form a copy or copies of another image , which is significantly different in density distribution . even after the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , which corresponded to the solid white portion of the toner image , fell in transfer current density below 2 . 14 μa / cm ( bottom limit ) because the portion of the primary transfer roller 5 , which corresponded to the solid white portion of the toner image , increased in its electrical resistance r 2 , the portion of the transfer portion s 1 , in which the solid black portions of the toner image were continuously transferred was 2 . 60 μa / cm in current density , which is in the tolerable range of 2 . 14 μa / cm - 2 . 74 μa / cm . fig2 is a schematic drawing of the image forming apparatus in the fifth embodiment of the present invention , and shows the general structure of the apparatus . fig2 is a schematic drawing of the image forming apparatus in the sixth embodiment , and shows the general structure of the apparatus . referring to fig2 , the image forming apparatus 200 is a full - color image forming apparatus which has an intermediary transfer belt 7 , and yellow , magenta , cyan , and black image forming portions sa , sb , sc , and sd , respectively . the four image forming portions are juxtaposed in tandem , in the straight line along the horizontal portion of the loop which the intermediary transfer belt 7 forms . the image forming portions sa , sb , sc , and sd are roughly the same in structure , although they are different in the color of the toner with which their developing apparatus is filled . the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d are kept pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , with the presence of the intermediary transfer belt 7 between the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d and photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , respectively , forming four transfer portions . after four toner images are formed on the photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , one for one , they are sequentially transferred in layers onto the intermediary transfer belt 7 , and are conveyed by the intermediary transfer belt 7 to the nip between the intermediary transfer belt 7 and a secondary transfer roller 11 , in which they are transferred together ( secondary transfer ) onto the recording medium . the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d of the image forming apparatus 200 , and the secondary transfer roller 11 of the image forming apparatus 200 , can also be evaluated in their nonuniformity in electrical resistance , using an evaluation sequence similar to those in the first to fourth embodiments . that is , they can be evaluated in their lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance , at a satisfactory level of accuracy , simply by performing the above - described operation for adjusting the density level at which a toner image is formed , in conjunction with the atvc sequence , that is , without the need for providing the image forming apparatus with an electrical resistance measuring apparatus dedicated to the measurement of the electrical resistance of the transfer rollers . referring to fig2 , the image forming apparatus 300 is a full - color image forming apparatus , which has a recording medium conveying belt 7 b , and yellow , magenta , cyan , and black image forming portions sa , s b , sc , and sd , respectively . the four image forming portions are juxtaposed in tandem , in a straight line along the horizontal portion of the loop which the intermediary transfer belt 7 b forms . the image forming portions sa , sb , sc , and sd are roughly the same in structure , although they are different in the color of the toner with which their developing apparatus is filled . the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d are kept pressed against the photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , with the presence of the intermediary transfer belt 7 b between the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d and photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , respectively , forming four transfer portions . after four toner images are formed on the photosensitive drum 1 a , 1 b , 1 c , and 1 d , one for one , they are sequentially transferred in layers onto the recording medium p , which is borne on the intermediary transfer belt 7 and is conveyed by the intermediary transfer belt 7 b . the transfer rollers 5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d of the image forming apparatus 300 can also be evaluated in their nonuniformity in electrical resistance , using an evaluation sequence similar to those in the first to fifth embodiments . that is , they can be evaluated in their lengthwise nonuniformity in electrical resistance , at a satisfactory level of accuracy , simply by performing the above - described operation for adjusting the density level at which a toner image is formed , in conjunction with the atvc sequence , that is , without the need for providing the image forming apparatus with an electrical resistance measuring apparatus dedicated to the measurement of the electrical resistance of the transfer rollers . incidentally , in the first to fifth embodiments , and miscellaneous embodiments , the test images were made up of one or more solid black portions gb and one or more solid white portions . however , the preceding embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , a test image has only to be nonuniform in the amount of toner deposition in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the transfer roller . for example , a test image may be made up of one or more solid black portions , which is 0 . 65 mg / cm 2 in the amount of toner deposition , and one or more solid halftone portions , which is 0 . 25 mg / cm 2 in the amount of toner deposition . as will be evident from the above description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention , according to the present invention , the formation of an image suffering from defects attributable to the nonuniformity , in electrical resistance , of a transferring member , can be prevented , with the use of a simple method . while the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein , it is not confined to the details set forth , and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims .
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tests for inhibitory effects of cpt and derivatives thereof on the attachment of fouling organisms barnacles are sessile cirripedia with calcareous shells and widespread . they firmly attach to the surfaces of vessels and various offshore artificial facilities , and are one of the major marine fouling organisms as well as one of the major target organisms in the study of antifouling technology . adults of balanus albicostatus were collected from the rocks and piers at baicheng coast in xiamen , and their cypris larvas were obtained by culturing in laboratory . it is the attachment of the cypris larvas that causes the barnacles to change from swimming life to attaching life . thus , inhibition of the attachment of the cypris larvas can verify the antifouling activity of the compounds . cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt were dissolved in ethyl acetate respectively , and a series of concentration gradient were set according to the results of pre - experiment . 1 ml of each solution was taken to a petri dish respectively , 1 ml of ethyl acetate was taken to another blank petri dish serving as control group . after the solvents evaporated completely and the compounds were distributed evenly on the bottom surfaces and the side surfaces of the petri dishes , each petri dish was added with 10 ml of membrane filtrated seawater ( filtrated by membrane with pore size of 0 . 22 μm , the same below ). each experimental group and control group had 3 paralleled cups , and each cup was added with about 30 cypris larvas of balanus albicostatus . stereomicroscope was used to observe the attachment of the cypris larvas 48 h after the addition , and the ec 50 values of cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt , which are half inhibition concentrations for the attachment of cypris larvas of balanus albicostatus , were determined . ( ec 50 refers to the effective concentration for inhibiting 50 % of the attachment of the tested organisms . the lower the value is , the higher the antifouling activity will be , the same below .) the test results are showed in fig1 and 2 . the results show that cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt can both significantly inhibit the attachment of cypris larvas of balanus albicostatus at low concentration , showing efficient antifouling activity . the half inhibition concentrations ( ec 50 ) of cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt for the attachment were 1 . 73 μg ml − 1 and 1 . 78 μg ml − 1 respectively . ( 2 ) test for inhibitory effect on the attachment of bugula bugulas are marine bryozoan and widespread in various sea areas in the world . they often attach to the surfaces of marine artificial facilities like mariculture netting , cages , vessels , buoys , etc ., and they are important marine fouling organisms as well . bugula neritina , also called multicellular bugula , its adults were collected from the fish culture net bins in western sea area of xiamen and put into an aquarium filled with fresh seawater after back to the laboratory to induce the release of their swimming larvas . it is the attachment of their swimming larvas that causes the bugulas to change from swimming life to attaching life . thus , inhibition of the attachment of the swimming larvas can verify the antifouling activity of the compounds . cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt were dissolved in ethyl acetate respectively , and a series of concentration gradient were set according to the results of pre - experiment . 1 ml of each solution was taken to a petri dish respectively ; 1 ml of ethyl acetate was taken to another blank petri dish serving as control group . after the solvents evaporated completely and the compounds were distributed evenly on the bottom surfaces and the side surfaces of the petri dishes , each petri dish was added with 10 ml of membrane filtrated seawater . each experimental group and control group had 3 paralleled cups , and each cup was added with about 30 larvas of bugula neritina . stereomicroscope was used to observe the attachment of the larvas of bugula neritina 48 h after the addition , and the half inhibition concentrations for the attachment of larvas of bugula neritina , ec 50 values of cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt were determined . the test results are showed in fig3 and 4 . the results show that cpt and 10 - hydroxyl - cpt have significant inhibitory effect on the attachment of larvas of bugula neritina , and the ec 50 values were 15 . 02 μg ml − 1 and 5 . 93 μg ml − 1 respectively . ( 3 ) test for inhibitory effect on the attachment of mussels by produced byssal threads mussels are common bivalve in marine fouling biocenoses , widespread , and are one of the major target organisms in the study of marine antifouling technology . mussels explore surfaces by their feet , looking for attachment substrate . if proper surfaces for attaching were found , mussels would produce byssal threads to attach to them . thus if the compounds inhibited mussels to produce byssal threads , the compounds could be proved to have antifouling activity . perna viridis were collected from the fish net bins in offshore sea area of zhangzhou , and in which those with shell length of 1 . 4 ˜ 2 . 4 cm were selected and washed with seawater , followed by gent cut - off of the byssal threads . and then the perna viridis were washed with membrane filtrated seawater . cpt were first dissolved in a trace of dimethyl sulfoxide , and then mixed with membrane filtrated seawater to prepare a series of concentration gradient . 4 ml of each solution was taken into a 12 - well plate , and each well was added with one perna viridis . 4 ml of membrane filtrated seawater containing a trace of dimethyl sulfoxide and one perna viridis were added into the control group . each experimental group and control group had 8 paralleled groups . after 24 - hours culture at room temperature , the amount of byssal threads produced by perna viridis were observed , and the half inhibition concentration of cpt for the attachment of perna viridis by produced byssal threads , ec 50 , were determined . the test results are showed in fig5 . the results show that cpt has significant inhibitory effect on the attachment of perna viridis by produced byssal threads , the ec 50 value was 10 . 78 μg ml − 1 . the other representative cpt derivatives listed in table 1 were tested by the same above methods , and generally the values of ec 50 were lower than 200 μg ml − 1 , which also had significant inhibitory effect on the attachment of fouling organisms , showing antifouling activity . cpt was well mixed with acrylic resin , rosin , iron oxide red , thixotropic agent and organic solvent , and also glass beads were added . the mixture was stirred in high - speed dispersion machine until the fineness of the paints was around 80 μm , then the glass beads were removed by filtration with 100 - mesh tulle , followed by discharge and obtaining the antifouling paint . marine antifouling paints containing compound of cpt and another antifouling agent were prepared by the same method stated in example 2 . the types and weight ratios for the compound of cpt and another antifouling agent respectively were cpt : cu 2 o ( 4 : 1 ), cpt : cu 2 o ( 2 : 1 ), cpt : cu 2 o ( 1 : 1 ), cpt : tcpm ( 1 : 1 ), cpt : znpt ( 1 : 1 ). five different marine antifouling paints were prepared according to the types and weight ratios above , wherein tcpm is n - 2 , 4 , 6 - trichlorophenyl maleimide , znpt is zinc pyrithione . antifouling efficiency in sea area test for antifouling paint containing cpt and paints containing compound of cpt and another antifouling agent as shown in table 2 , the tested antifouling agents were provided in three large groups : 1 ) cpt ; 2 ) compound of cpt and another antifouling agent ; 3 ) existing common antifouling agent ( as positive control ). all of the tested antifouling agents had a weight ratio of 20 % to the marine antifouling paints . the panel test in natural sea area was carried out referring to the national standard gb / t5370 - 2007 “ method for testing antifouling panels in shallow submergence ”. the prepared antifouling paints each were evenly coated on the epoxy resin panels ; paints with none antifouling agent and prepared by the same methods were provided as negative control ; each coated sample had 6 paralleled groups . the tested panels were fixed in iron frames after the paints had dried , and they were hanged on the test buoyant rafts in the sea area near dalipu island in xiamen in june , 2010 . after the tested panels had been immersed in seawater up to 3 , 6 , 9 and 12 months , they were then photographed , and the coverage ratios of the fouling organisms in each coated sample areas were analyzed and counted . herein , the coverage ratio of the fouling organisms is the ratio of surface area covered by marine large fouling organisms in the sample area divided by the whole surface area in the sample area ( the same below ), and the lower the value is , the higher the antifouling efficiency will be . the results of antifouling efficiency in sea area test on the prepared antifouling paints are shown in table 2 . during the test , the major large fouling organisms attaching to the tested panels were barnacles , mussels , oysters , sea squirts , sponges and bryozoans , etc . as can be seen from table 2 , the coverage ratios of the coated sample area with prepared antifouling agents containing cpt were far lower than the coverage ratios of the control coated sample area with none antifouling agent , which indicates that the paints prepared with cpt as antifouling agent have efficient antifouling performance , and the antifouling term is up to 12 months . as also can be seen from table 2 , among the antifouling agents which were used in the preparation of the paints with the same content of 20 % ( by weight ), cpt had better antifouling efficiency in sea area than the existing common antifouling agents of cuprous oxide ( cu 2 o ) and copper pyrithione ( cupt ). on the other hand , the compounds of cpt and another antifouling agent of cu 2 o , tcpm or znpt also showed certain antifouling efficiency , in which the cpt : cu 2 o ( 4 : 1 ) had the best antifouling efficiency . however , both the antifouling efficiencies and the antifouling terms of the group of compounds were not as good as the group of pure cpt , which further verifies that cpt has efficient antifouling activity . test for the application of antifouling paint containing cpt on the mariculture netting ( an artificial facility in water ) the preparation method of antifouling paint containing cpt was the same as stated in example 2 , the weight ratio of cpt in the antifouling paint was also set to 20 %. dip coating method was used , and the nettings were immersed in each of the prepared paints respectively , and then taken out to dry in the air . the nettings were fixed on plastic frames by ribbons respectively and hanged in the mariculture area of nacre in lingshui of hainan in november , 2010 . paint with none antifouling agent and prepared by the same method was provided as negative control ; the antifouling paint for wooden boats ( chlorinated rubber as base material and cuprous oxide as major antifouling agent ) which was bought from market was provided as positive control ; the clean netting that had never immersed in any paint was provided as blank control . each tested group had 3 paralleled groups . after the tested nettings had been immersed in seawater up to 3 , 6 , 9 and 12 months , they were then photographed , and the coverage ratios of the fouling organisms on the nettings respectively were analyzed and counted . the results of the test for application on the mariculture netting are shown in table 3 . during the test , the major large fouling organisms attaching to the nettings were bugulas , hydroides , sponges , sea squirts , oysters and seaweeds , etc . as can be seen from table 3 , the coverage ratios of fouling organisms on the nettings that coated with antifouling paint containing cpt were far lower than the nettings coated with none paint , which indicates that the antifouling paint containing cpt has good antifouling effect on mariculture netting , and the antifouling term is up to 12 months . on the other hand , the paint group with none antifouling agent did not show any antifouling effect , which indicates that the outstanding antifouling efficiency of marine antifouling paint containing cpt was derived from the antifouling activity of cpt . besides , it also can be seen from table 3 that the antifouling efficiency of marine antifouling paint containing cpt on the netting was better than the antifouling paint containing cu 2 o as main antifouling agent . generally , the results of the test indicate that the marine antifouling paint containing cpt has good antifouling application effect on mariculture netting . the preparation method of marine antifouling paint containing cpt was the same as stated in example 2 , the weight ratio of cpt in the marine antifouling paint was also set to 20 %. the prepared paint was evenly coated on each floating bed component in the same specification ( the floating bed component was a plastic foam board of 30 × 30 cm , coated with a plastic woven bag ). after the paints had dried , the floating bed components were fixed on bamboo frames , and hanged in the yundang lake in xiamen ( previously a natural harbor , due to the construction of the dam , it has become substantially enclosed artificial lagoon and exchanges part of water with western sea area of xiamen each day ) in august , 2010 . paint with none antifouling agent and prepared by the same method was provided as negative control ; the antifouling paint for wooden boats ( chlorinated rubber as base material and cuprous oxide as major antifouling agent ) which was bought from market was provided as positive control ; clean floating bed components that had never coated with any paint were provided as blank control . each tested group had 3 paralleled groups . after the tested floating bed components had been immersed in seawater up to 3 , 6 , 9 and 12 months , they were then photographed , and the coverage ratios of the fouling organisms on the floating bed component were analyzed and counted . the results of test for application on the floating bed are shown in table 4 . during the test , the major large fouling organisms attachting to the floating bed components were barnacles , bugulas , oysters , mytilopsis salleis , sea squirts , and seaweeds , etc . as can be seen from table 4 , the coverage ratios of fouling organisms on the floating bed components that coated with antifouling paint containing cpt were far lower than the floating bed components coated with none paint , which indicates that the antifouling paint containing cpt has good antifouling effect on floating bed components , and the antifouling term is up to 12 months . on the other hand , the paint group with none antifouling agent did not show any antifouling effect , which indicates that the outstanding antifouling efficiency of marine antifouling paint containing cpt was derived from the antifouling activity of cpt . besides , it also can be seen from table 4 that the antifouling efficiency of marine antifouling paint containing cpt on the floating bed components was better than the antifouling paint containing cu 2 o as main antifouling agent . generally , the results of the test indicate that the marine antifouling paint containing cpt also has good antifouling application effect on floating bed . “—” means the photos of the group in that month were forgotten to taken , and the coverage ratio of fouling organisms of this group was not counted .
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a first preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated generally in fig4 . this first preferred embodiment will be described in accordance with the concepts and systems theory which has been discussed above . it will first be presumed that 90 hz and 150 hz signals are summed at the detector of the receiver for the particular frequency being received . the output of the vhf localizer receiver is coupled into the present system on line 10 . the composite output from the glide slope receiver is coupled into the system through line 12 . a time devision multiplexing circuit 14a receives the localizer output 10 and the glide slope output 12 and will switch between these sources in order to make independent measurements of each of these signals . this time division multiplexer 14a serves another purpose in that , under control by the microprocessor , it will also provide the synchronous switching between the reference voltage level and ground in order to generate the rectangular waveform test signal . while this is a matter of circuit convenience , the synchronous switching is important for maintaining the proper control of the testing function . the time division multiplexer 14a is typically a portion of a 4052 integrated circuit chip . the test signal is generated by taking the output reference voltage from a zener diode 16 and coupling it through a voltage divider composed of resistors 18 and 20 . this output voltage is then coupled through circuit conductor 22 to a third input 14x of the time division multiplexer . a fourth input line 18 is coupled between ground potential and a fourth input 14y of the time division multiplexer 14a . when the microprocessor 24 senses a change in the ils receiver frequency , it will generate an output signal along circuit conductors 26a and b . these output lines carry various binary switching information through appropriate buffer amplifiers 27 to the appropriate switching controller 14c which is part of the time division multiplexer 14 . while these switchers are shown as being separated from the time division multiplexer 14 , they are actually part of the multiplexer 14 and are separated merely for the purposes of clarity in the schematic diagram . when the microprocessor 24 senses that a new ils frequency has been selected , it will generate a 30 hz signal of the proper duty cycle which is developed internally from a crystal controlled source and frequency divider network . since multiple control functions are required , various control output signals also will be generated . for the purpose of generating the test signal , the 30 hz signal of interest is generated along line 26b which is coupled to switcher 14c . this 30 hz signal which drives the switcher 14c will cause the multiplexer 14a to switch its output 14o between the inputs on lines 18 and 22 . thus , the output of the multiplexer 14a will be a rectangular waveform signal of known amplitude , determined by the zener 16 and the voltage divider 18 and 20 , and of a known duty cycle , determined by the microprocessor 24 which drives the switch 14c . in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention , the first test signal has a frequency of 30 hz and a duty cycle of 50 percent , indicating that the positive voltage is present for 1 / 2 of the cycle and the other half of the cycle is at ground potential . the second test signal has the same 30 hz frequency , but the duty cycle is changed to 32 percent . with regard to the first test signal , the output waveform is present for 800 milliseconds . this time period is required in order to allow the voltage level in each of the analog circuits within the system to achieve and maintain their steady state value ( with provisions made for the decay of all ringing and other transient switching signals .) the output of the multiplexer 14a may therefore be switched by the operation of the microprocessor 24 between the inputs to the multiplexer , namely the vhf localizer output 10 , the uhf glide slope output 12 , and the 30 hz rectangular waveform test signals of various duty cycles used for calibration . the output of the multiplexer 14a is coupled through a buffer amplifier 30 . the output of the buffer amplifier 30 is coupled into the two bandpass filters shown generally as 50 ( nominally the 90 hz filter ) and the second bandpass filter 52 ( nominally the 150 hz filter ). as previously discussed , each of these bandpass filters is well known in the art and comprises an operational amplifier with appropriate feedback so as to define a relatively sharp filtering function around the desired center frequency . the output of the first bandpass filter 50 is coupled through the circuit conductor 51 , through a rectifying diode 57 and a summing resistor 56 to the input of an operational amplifier 60 . in a similar manner the output of the second bandpass filter 52 is coupled through a circuit conductor 53 , through a rectifying diode 54 and a summing resistor 58 to the same input of the operational amplifier 60 . the summing resistors 56 and 58 , when taken together with the other feedback elements of the operational amplifier 60 , will determine the gain and frequency response of the filter . the operational amplifier 60 is used both as a summing amplifier and as an integrator in order to reduce the 90 hz and 150 hz ripple components , and harmonics thereof , produced by the rectification process . the output of the integrator 60 is a dc voltage representative of the ddm value for the signal along the x - axis of the plot illustrated in fig3 . this output voltage is coupled through a resistor 62 and capacitor 64c which form a low pass filter with a time constant which is substantially longer than any ripple frequency which may be present upon the output of the amplifier 60 . the dc output level from the low pass filter is coupled through the circuit conductor 45 to a first input of a phase locked loop voltage controlled oscillator 70 which is used as a voltage to frequency convertor . therefore , the dc output voltage from the integrator 60 will be converted by the voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) 70 to a frequency which is dependent upon the deviation from the desired or nominal flight path . the standard output frequency of the vco 70 is nominally 80 khz . since the frequency of the output signal of the vco 70 is measured and processed by the same microprocessor 24 which generates the other frequencies used throughout the system , any drift or other undesirable change of this 80 khz signal frequency will be cancelled out and compensated for by programming in the microprocessor 24 . the output of the vco 70 is coupled through a circuit conductor 71 to the input of a transistor 72 which is utilized in a buffer amplifier arrangement for adjusting and matching the voltage and impedance requirements of the various circuit subsystems . the output of the amplifier 72 is coupled through a circuit conductor 73 back to an auxiliary input 24e of the microprocessor 24 . the microprocessor 24 is programmed to count the output frequency of the vco 70 for exactly one - thirtieth of a second at the end of each 800 millisecond calibration period . the earlier portion of the calibration period is utilized only to charge all of the capacitors and other circuit elements to their steady state value . the one - thirtieth second counting interval is chosen to minimize the effect of ripple on the dc voltage controlling vco 70 . ripple produces undesired frequency modulation of the vco output , which could result in an erroneous count , not exactly proportional to the dc voltage component . during one cycle of any sinusoidal ripple component , however , the vco frequency will be low for one - half the time and high , by an equal amount , for the other half . if the counting interval spans an integer number of cycles of a ripple component , then , that ripple component will not affect the accuracy of the measurement . the one - thirtieth second counting interval spans an integer number of cycles of every ripple component produced by the 90 hz and 150 hz signal components , so the resultant count is truly proportional to the dc component of the control voltage . integer multiples of one - thirtieth second , such as one - fifteenth second or one - tenth second , would produce the same result , and could be used if desired . returning now to the calibration mode , the microprocessor 24 will first count the number of cycles received during the one - thirtieth second sampling window , with this number of cycles being proportional to the dc voltage produced on circuit conductor 45 by the 90 hz and 150 hz components of the first calibration signal . this number is digitally stored in the microprocessor 24 and will correspond to point b illustrated on fig3 . it must be recalled that point b corresponds to the 50 percent duty cycle signal which has been generated and measured during the first 800 millisecond test period . it will then be necessary to initiate a second 800 millisecond test and calibration period corresponding to the 32 percent duty cycle test signal for measuring the parameters required for point a as illustrated in fig3 . the sampling of the error signal during the test calibration window is identical to the one previously described and will produce a number stored in the microprocessor 24 representative of the output frequency of the vco 70 which is proportional to the dc voltage produced by the 90 hz and 150 hz components of this second calibration signal . this second number will represent the value of the test signal at point a illustrated in fig3 . therefore , the terms a , b , ddm1 , and ddm2 in the algorithm have now been provided during the two 800 millisecond test periods . after the test and calibration cycle , the microprocessor 24 will switch into an operational mode . since the duty cycles and amplitude ( hence ddm1 and ddm2 ) for each of the calibration signals are known , and since the vco frequencies for each of the respective duty cycles have been determined and have been stored in ram cells in the microprocessor 24 , the algorithm ( see table 1 ) as described previously can now be invoked on a real - time basis . the input variable is the frequency which is actually measured by the system from the 90 hz and 150 hz signals from the receiver . then this value is inserted into the algorithm , the output or final value of the algorithm is representative of a point lying along the ideal line , as illustrated in fig3 with the same x or ddm value as the real - time measurement . thus , the actual deviation from the center line or desired flight path has been calculated using the algorithm and the stored values in order to determine circuit drift and other variables which must be eliminated from the calculations in order to provide an exact deviation measurement . in the preferred embodiment , shown in fig4 localizer and glide slope deviation measurements are made alternately . a 200 millisecond sampling period is dedicated to a localizer measurement , the next 200 millisecond period to a glide slope measurement , the following to localizer , etc . in this manner , each component of the instrument landing system is sampled every 400 milliseconds . this sampling rate is rapid enough that changes in the positions of the deviation indicators appear to be continuous . to make deviation measurements , the microprocessor 24 applies control signals to time division multiplexer 14 to cause it to select either the localizer signal on line 10 or the glide slope signal on line 12 . simultaneously , the time division multiplexer selects capacitor 64a for localizer operation , or capacitor 64b for glide slope operation . these capacitors , in conjunction with resistor 62 , filter the dc voltage applied to vco 70 , and provide a sample - and - hold function to minimize settling time as the circuit switches back and forth between localizer and glide slope operation . within each 200 millisecond sampling interval , the first 167 milliseconds are allowed for circuit stabilization to a steady - state condition , and the measurement is made during the last one - thirtieth second . the microprocessor 24 arithmetically filters the digital representations of the deviation from the localizer and glide slope centerlines to minimize the effects of perturbations in the received signals , and generates outputs which control deviation indicators . in the preferred embodiment , these outputs are serial bit digital words which convey the deviation information to a digital flight path deviation indicator . in alternative embodiments , these outputs could be in parallel digital form , with several bits simultaneously present on a plurality of circuit conductors , or voltage or current analogs of deviation , produced by applying the digital output from the microprocessor 24 to standard digital - to - analog converter devices . since there are two deviation indicators , one for left to right and the other for altitude deviation , the microprocessor 24 will be required to alternately provide the information to the appropriate deviation indicators . however , since both of these deviation measurements are processed through the same 90 hz and 150 hz bandpass filters and the same voltage measurement circuits , only one set of calibration measurements will be required in order to provide complete error cancellation information for the aforementioned algorithm . the microprocessor 24 will be programmed such that separate ram memories will be provided for the left to right and for the vertical deviation displays . each of these displays will be updated during every other 200 millisecond period . the preferred embodiment of the self - calibrating ils system has been described as an example of the invention and the method as claimed . however , the present invention should not be limited in its application to the details and constructions illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the specification , since this invention may be practiced or contructed in a variety of other different embodiments . also , it must be understood that the terminology and descriptions employed herein are used solely for the purpose of describing the general system and the preferred embodiment thereof , and therefore should not be construed as limitations on the invention or its operability .
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an overview of an embodiment of a rapid access trigger lock system 100 is described with reference to fig1 . rapid access trigger lock system 100 may include a trigger lock comprising a primary section 102 and a secondary section 104 . a firearm 106 may be provided with a trigger guard 108 and a trigger 110 . primary section 102 and secondary section 104 may be configured to lock together to sandwich trigger guard 108 thereby preventing access to trigger 110 when the trigger lock is in a locked state . when placing the trigger lock onto a firearm , a locking bolt housing 112 may be guided through trigger guard 108 and inserted into a grooved cavity 114 . primary section 102 and secondary section 104 both may include a rubberized cushion 116 shaped to form a seal around trigger guard 108 when the trigger lock is in a locked state . the structure of the trigger lock may provide the means for removably securing a trigger lock to a firearm such that the trigger cannot be accessed or the firearm fired while the trigger lock is in the locked state . in the present embodiment , a locking bolt may be used to securely attach primary section 102 to secondary section 104 . however , alternative means for removably securing a trigger lock to a firearm are possible in other embodiments . furthermore , although this embodiment depicts a two - piece trigger lock , alternative single and multi - piece trigger locks are possible in other embodiments . the body of primary section 102 and secondary section 104 may be metallic in some embodiments . alternatively , other materials providing the requisite strength to provide support and prevent tampering are possible . primary section may further comprise a button 118 , a user interface 120 , and a radio frequency communication interface 122 . rapid access trigger lock system 100 may further include an access key 124 containing a radio - frequency identifier ( rfid ) 126 . in order to unlock a locked trigger lock , a user may position access key 124 within proximity to communication interface 122 . while access key 124 is in proximity to communication interface 122 , the user may press button 118 and thereby activate a trigger lock interrogation program which may transmit an interrogation signal . any nearby access keys 124 within proximity range of the interrogation signal may provide a response signal via rfid 126 containing the identifier of access key 124 . the trigger lock may receive the identifier and may perform authentication on the identifier . if the identifier is valid , the trigger lock may transition to an unlocked state . in the present embodiment , button 118 may be sized such that the user would only require one finger to press button 118 . therefore , provided that a valid access key 124 is within proximity range of the trigger lock , the trigger lock may be unlocked with only a single point of contact by the user . rapid access trigger lock system 100 may provide rapid access to a secured firearm in the case of an emergency without requiring the user to perform a complex procedure under stress . in the present embodiment , access key 124 is depicted as a bracelet . access keys 124 may be a wearable article such as a bracelet or a watch ; however , access key 124 may be any article that contains rfid 126 . in alternative embodiments , access key 124 may take the form of a ring as will be discussed in further detail below . by providing rfid 126 within an article worn by the user , the user may be relieved of the burden of trying to find the article to carry to the trigger lock during an emergency . with reference to fig2 the trigger lock is shown in the locked state from an overhead view facing downward towards the top of the slide of firearm 106 . primary section 102 has been inserted through the trigger guard of firearm 106 and mated with secondary section 104 . to secure the trigger lock to the firearm , primary section 102 may be rotated 90 degrees to lock into the grooves of grooved cavity 114 . although the present embodiment depicts primary section 102 being rotated into a locked position such that primary section 102 is oriented parallel to the slide of firearm 106 , in alternative embodiments primary section may be locked into a different orientation . such alternate orientations may include where primary section 102 is rotated into a locked position such that primary section 102 is oriented parallel to the grip of firearm 106 . in the present embodiment , a locking bolt is used to secure primary section 102 to secondary section 104 but other securing mechanisms are possible in alternative embodiments . for instance , there may be a clamshell type securing mechanism which when activated closes over the trigger guard of firearm 106 preventing access to the trigger . also , the clamshell mechanism may have teeth which extend into the trigger guard which prevent movement of the trigger while the clamshell mechanism is secured . with reference to fig3 a side elevation view of the trigger lock is depicted . the user may interact with components located on primary section 102 such as button 118 , for providing user input , and user interface 120 , for providing output to the user . in some embodiments , button 118 may be recessed so that the user may locate and activate button 118 using their sense of touch only . recessed button 118 permits a user to unlock a firearm in the dark or while maintaining visual focus in another direction . user interface 120 may be an led and provide a range of visual feedback to the user by flashing unique patterns . alternatively , user interface 120 may be a display , a vibrator or any other device to communicate with a user . communication interface 122 may be provided for sending and receiving signals including rfid interrogation signals . communication interface 122 may house communication equipment for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals . where the body of primary section 102 is metallic in some embodiments , communication interface 122 may include a durable , hard plastic covering which provides less attenuation of the signals . fig4 depicts the internal hardware components of the trigger lock disposed in primary section 102 . the trigger lock may comprise microprocessor 402 , database 404 , main battery 406 , backup battery 408 , servo motor 410 , locking bolt 412 , transceiver 414 for a wireless personal network , e . g ., bluetooth ®, rf transceiver 416 , and battery access door 418 . the trigger lock may be implemented using microprocessor 402 which processes stored software instructions to perform the functions of the trigger lock described in this specification . although the present embodiment uses a microprocessor , any computing device capable of processing software instructions may be used in alternative embodiments . database 404 may be used to store authorized identifiers and may be referenced by microprocessor 402 during identifier authentication . main battery 406 may provide electrical power to the trigger lock for use in performing the functions of the trigger lock described in this specification including those of button 118 and user interface 120 . backup battery 408 may be provided in some embodiments which provides backup power to database 404 to prevent erasure of authorized identifiers in the event that main battery 406 is exhausted . alternatively , database 404 may be stored in a non - volatile memory , eliminating the need for backup power . in the present embodiment , servo motor 410 may be provided to rotate locking bolt 412 to enable locking and unlocking of the trigger lock . in the present embodiment , locking bolt 412 may be disposed within locking bolt housing 112 . as described above , other locking mechanisms may be provided in alternative embodiments . communication interface 122 may include bluetooth ® transceiver 414 and rf transceiver 416 . rf transceiver 416 may be used to perform rf interrogation on nearby access keys 124 . in some embodiments , bluetooth ® transceiver 414 may be provided to communicate area unlock signals as will be described in greater detail below . although the present embodiment employs transceivers , other means of communicating electromagnetic signals , such as transmitter / receiver pairs may be used in alternative embodiments . battery access door 418 may be used to insert and remove main battery 406 and may positioned to allow access in both locked and unlocked states . with reference to fig4 and 5 a periodic wake - up process is depicted . in order to conserve battery life , microprocessor 402 may enter a low - power hibernation mode while the trigger guard is not being operated . however , microprocessor 402 may wake - up periodically to check the voltage of main battery 406 and to detect whether any area unlock signals are present . the concept of area unlock signals will be discussed further below . the periodic wake - up process may begin when a “ power down ” timer expires and microprocessor 402 powers up at block 502 . microprocessor 402 may then read the voltage of main battery 406 at block 504 . it may be determined whether the voltage of main battery 406 is below a threshold at block 506 . if the voltage of main battery 406 is below the threshold , microprocessor 402 may instruct user interface 120 to flash , display or otherwise indicate a “ low battery ” signal at block 508 . microprocessor 402 may then check for an area unlock signal at block 510 . it may be determined whether an area unlock signal has been received at block 512 . if an area unlock signal has been received at block 512 , microprocessor 402 may instruct servo motor 410 to unlock the trigger lock at block 514 , instruct user interface 120 to flash , display or otherwise indicate an “ unlocked ” signal at block 516 , and initiate an “ open lock ” timer at block 518 . at the expiration of the “ open lock ” timer , microprocessor 402 may instruct servo motor 410 to re - lock the trigger lock at block 520 . the “ open lock ” timer may provide a window during which the user can disassemble the trigger lock and remove it from the firearm . if the user fails to remove the trigger lock from the firearm during the window , the trigger lock may re - lock to prevent unauthorized access to the firearm trigger . if at block 512 it is determined that an area unlock signal has not been received , or if the trigger lock is re - locked at block 520 , microprocessor 402 may start the “ power down ” timer and re - enter the low - power hibernation mode at block 522 . as an alternative to the “ power down ” timer described above with regard to block 502 , the arrival of area unlock signal may trigger exit of the low power state . although the present embodiment depicts performing the read voltage and voltage determination at blocks 504 and 506 respectively , prior to performing area unlock signal check and determination at blocks 510 and 512 respectively , this process may be performed in a different order or simultaneously in alternate embodiments . similarly , although the present embodiment depicts blocks 514 , 516 , and 518 occurring in a particular order , this process may be performed in a different order or simultaneously in alternate embodiments . with reference to fig4 and 6 a key read process 600 is depicted . key read process 600 may begin when the user presses button 118 in block 602 . next , microprocessor 402 may power up from a low - power hibernation mode in block 604 . microprocessor 402 may then perform an rf interrogation process to read any nearby access keys 124 in block 606 and start a “ read ” timer in block 608 . microprocessor 402 may determine whether an access key 124 is read during the window provided by the “ read ” timer at block 610 . if the “ read ” timer expires without an access key 124 being read , microprocessor 402 may instruct user interface 120 to flash , display or otherwise indicate a “ no key ” signal at block 612 and re - enter the low - power hibernation mode at block 630 . alternatively , if it is determined at block 610 that an access key 124 is read during the window provided by the “ read ” timer , microprocessor 402 may determine whether rfid 126 provided by access key 124 is invalid at block 614 . if microprocessor 402 determines that rfid 126 is invalid at block 614 , microprocessor 402 may instruct user interface 120 to flash , display or otherwise indicate a “ bad key ” signal at block 616 and re - enter the low - power hibernation mode at block 630 . alternatively , if it determined at block 614 that rfid 126 is not invalid , microprocessor 402 may determine whether valid rfid 126 is a master key in block 618 . as discussed in more detail below , a master key may be a type of access key 124 which permits a user to program microprocessor 402 to accept a new access key 124 . if microprocessor 402 determines at block 618 that rfid 126 is a master key , microprocessor 402 may then perform a new user key creation process 700 at block 632 . once new user key creation process 700 is completed , microprocessor 402 may re - enter the low - power hibernation mode at block 630 . alternatively , if microprocessor 402 determines at block 618 that rfid 126 is not a master key , microprocessor 402 may instruct servo motor 410 to unlock the trigger lock at block 620 , instruct bluetooth ® transceiver 414 to transmit an “ area unlock ” signal ( as will be discussed in further detail below ) at block 622 , instruct user interface 120 to flash , display or otherwise indicate an “ unlocked ” signal at block 624 , and initiate an “ open lock ” timer at block 626 . at the expiration of the “ open lock ” timer , microprocessor 402 may instruct servo motor 410 to re - lock the trigger lock at block 628 . the “ open lock ” timer may provide a window during which the user can disassemble the trigger lock and remove it from the firearm . if the user fails to remove the trigger lock from the firearm during the window , the trigger lock may re - lock to prevent unauthorized access to the firearm trigger . if the trigger lock is re - locked at block 628 , microprocessor 402 may re - enter the low - power hibernation mode at block 630 . although the present embodiment depicts performing read access keys at block 606 prior to performing the start “ read ” timer block 608 , this process may be performed in a different order or simultaneously in alternate embodiments . similarly , although the present embodiment depicts blocks 620 , 622 , 624 , and 626 occurring in a particular order , this process may be performed in a different order or simultaneously in alternate embodiments . further , although the present embodiment provides a particular process for detecting an rfid identifier and distinguishing between unauthorized , authorized , and master key identifiers , this process may be performed using a different order in alternative embodiments . with reference to fig4 and 7 new user key creation process 700 is depicted . using process 700 , a user may add a new access key 124 with a new unique identifier stored in rfid 126 to the list of authorized access keys stored in database 404 . to facilitate this function , the user may be provided with a unique master key . the unique function of the master key may be to initiate process 700 when the master key is presented as access key 124 during key read process 600 . process 700 may be initiated upon a determination that the master key has been detected from key read process 600 at block 702 . once process 700 is initiated at block 702 , microprocessor 402 may initiate a “ key read ” timer , instruct user interface 120 to display or indicate a “ present new key ” signal , and interrogate nearby keys at block 704 . in response to the “ present new key ” signal , the user may position the new access key 124 within proximity to communication component 122 . if the “ key read ” timer expires without an access key 124 detected by microprocessor 402 , process 700 may end and microprocessor 402 may return to key read process 600 at block 710 . if an access key 124 is detected at block 704 but the rfid 126 identifier is already stored in database 404 , microprocessor 402 may instruct user interface 120 to display or indicate an “ already stored ” signal at block 706 . next , process 700 may end and microprocessor 402 may return to key read process 600 at block 710 . if an access key 124 is detected at block 704 and that access key 124 contains a new rfid 126 identifier , microprocessor 402 may add the rfid 126 identifier to database 404 and instruct user interface 120 to display or indicate a “ key added ” signal at block 708 . next , process 700 ends and microprocessor 402 may return to key read process 600 at block 710 . with reference to fig8 a process for providing an area unlock signal is depicted . in some embodiments , a user may have the ability to unlock a plurality of nearby trigger locks , or other devices , with a single contact of a first trigger lock . when a user presses button 118 of first trigger lock 802 while positioning a valid access key 124 within proximity of first trigger lock 802 , first trigger lock 802 may broadcast an area unlock signal 804 in addition to unlocking first trigger lock 802 . in this embodiment , access key 124 takes the form of a ring worn by the user ; however , access keys 124 may take other forms as described above . in the present embodiment , area unlock signal 804 sent from first trigger lock 802 may be received by a relay device 806 . relay device 806 may be a cellular telephone in some embodiments ; however other devices which can receive and broadcast electromagnetic signals may perform the role of relay device 806 in alternative embodiments . alternatively , no relay device may be necessary and area unlock signal 804 broadcasted from first trigger lock 802 may independently unlock nearby trigger locks , or other devices . upon receiving area unlock signal 804 , relay device 806 may transmit a relay signal 808 to secondary trigger locks 810 and 812 . relay signal 808 may be identical to area unlock signal 804 in some embodiments or different from area unlock signal 804 in alternative embodiments . relay signal 808 and area unlock signal 804 may be encrypted to provide additional protection from unauthorized access . in some embodiments , relay device 806 may be activated only by signals from those first trigger locks 802 that relay device 806 has been paired with . similarly , only those secondary trigger locks 810 and 812 may be activated which have been paired with relay device 806 . upon receiving relay signal 808 , secondary trigger locks 810 and 812 unlock . in the present embodiment , secondary trigger locks take the form of trigger lock 810 attached to a single firearm and / or lock 812 attached to a gun rack . relay signal 808 may be received by one or more secondary trigger locks and each secondary trigger lock may unlock one or more firearms in alternative embodiments . additionally , relay device 806 may be configured such that a user could initiate the relay signal 808 directly from the device 806 , e . g ., opening a trigger lock directly from a cellular telephone . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments , which are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation , and the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow .
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the present invention relates to a testing element , a testing apparatus , and a testing system which are used in a laboratory test . examples of a laboratory test include tests which use , as a main analysis mechanism , a chemical reaction such as a biochemical reaction . the tests include , but are not limited to , a genetic test and a protein test . a first aspect of the present invention relates to a testing element used in a laboratory test . a testing element according to the present invention includes an information recording section at the surface of and / or inside the testing element , and the information recording section stores information on a characteristic of the testing element . among testing elements used in testing apparatuses to detect values required for testing , there are many testing elements whose characteristics may change values to be detected . it is considered that these elements need to be calibrated before each use such that a value obtained by each element is equivalent to a value obtained by one of a reference measurement method and a measurement method specified by a vendor or the like . a characteristic of a testing element here refers to a parameter specific to the element which may affect variations in measured values . variations include an individual difference of an element generated during manufacture and an individual difference caused by a change with time and also include individual differences caused by sets of detection conditions , such as temperature , humidity , and reagent lot , and individual differences generated during use . individual differences generated during manufacture include one generated during a manufacturing process and one generated during assembly . many of the individual differences can be allowed for as margins of error at the time of designing while some are unavoidably generated . individual differences caused by a change with time include one caused by vibrations during transport and also include one caused by oxidation with oxygen in the air , one caused by moisture absorption or drying resulting from humidity , and one caused by erroneous operation at the time of installation of a testing element . since testing elements are used differently , objects to be considered as characteristics of the elements are different . for example , a characteristic in a first embodiment ( to be described later ) of this invention is a value of resistance used throughout a heater electrode system while a characteristic in a second embodiment ( also to be described later ) of this invention is dimensions , surface roughness , and the like related to the pressure resistance of a channel fluid path . the present invention is not limited to these . any other parameter , such as a current value in electrochemical measurement , may be used as a characteristic of the testing element according to the present invention as long as the parameter serves as a factor causing variations in measured values from elements and it requires calibration . the above - described factors cause variations in measured values from individual elements . in a setting for a laboratory test , it is thus necessary to measure in advance how much a value obtained by an element deviates from a reference value and adjust ( calibrate ) a value obtained by actual measurement , at the time of each measurement . in the present invention , the characteristic of an element is measured in advance as information on a characteristic and it is stored in the information recording section at the surface of and / or inside the testing element . by reading out a use condition and a result - correcting condition corresponding to the information on the characteristic of the element from a table prepared in advance and setting the conditions at the time of measurement , a measured value can be adjusted to an accurate value without the need of calibration before each measurement . the use condition is a condition for using the element and it is set so as to adjust the characteristic of the element . the result - correcting condition is a condition for correcting an obtained result according to the characteristic of the element . the conditions are prepared as control parameters in the table . as the information recording section for storing the information on the characteristic of the element which is placed in the testing element according to the present invention , any unit can be adopted as long as a balance between the amount of information stored and the cost of the testing element is achieved . for example , a one - dimensional bar code or a two - dimensional bar code ( e . g ., a qr code ( registered trademark )) may be used . in addition to this , information may be recorded using a non - contact semiconductor memory device ( a semiconductor chip which reads out information through wireless communication ), such as an rf - ic or a felica ( registered trademark ), and the information may be read out in a non - contact wireless manner . a manufacturing plant for the element , the date and time of manufacture , and the like may be recorded in the information recording section , in addition to the above - described information on the characteristic of the element which is measured in advance . the present invention can be suitably used especially in a testing element which has a micro structure and which performs a laboratory test using a fine amount of reactant . examples of such a testing element include a testing element which has a fine fluid path with a width of the order of micrometers formed so as to have a width of 1 μm to 900 μm , preferably 10 μm to 500 μm , and a depth of 10 μm to 1 , 000 μm , preferably 10 μm to 300 μm . the amount of reactant preferably falls within the range of 5 nl to 500 μl . alternatively , a testing element including a plurality of fluid paths and a plurality of heater electrodes for heating the interiors of the fluid paths can be used . such a testing element can subject a reagent ( containing a nucleic acid derived from a specimen ) flowing in the fluid paths to temperature cycles for a pcr ( polymerase chain reaction ) and thus it can be suitably used as an element for dna analysis using a pcr . in this case , characteristics of the fluid paths may be stored as respective pieces of information in the information recording section . a second aspect of the present invention relates to a testing apparatus for performing testing . when testing elements are set , a testing apparatus according to the present invention reads out information stored in an information recording section of each testing element with , e . g ., an infrared reader and sets a use condition and a result - correcting condition for the element based on the read - out information on a characteristic of the testing element . the testing apparatus according to the present invention includes a data record . the serial number of each testing element set in the testing apparatus , a characteristic of the element , a use condition , and a result when the element is used are recorded in the data record . statistical processing of such results enables calculation of use conditions and result - correcting conditions with fewer errors for the respective testing elements . other pieces of information , such as test type , reagent used , and test date and time , may be stored in the data record . a result of a test performed under a read - out use condition is statistically processed , and items necessary for the test , such as test type , reagent type , and the amount of reagent , are saved . by accumulating the pieces of information in a table and giving feedback when performing a similar test , prompt and efficient testing can be performed . alternatively , it is also possible to record a manufacturing plant , the date and time of manufacture , and the like of the testing element and use the pieces of information to control variations generated during a manufacturing process . if the elapsed time to use of the testing element is calculated from the date of manufacture and a use date and recorded , the elapsed time can also be used to correct a result brought about by a change with time . the temperature , humidity , and atmospheric pressure of the installation environment of the apparatus , vibrations around the apparatus , and the like may be measured and may be stored together with a test result . this enables an empirical rule ( e . g ., a rule that a difference occurs between a test result on a fine day and a test result on a rainy day ) to be verified as data and be applied to calibration and a finer testing can be enabled . a third aspect of the present invention relates to a testing system for performing testing . in the present invention , one or a plurality of testing apparatuses is connected to a testing system over a network , and a usage environment among the testing apparatuses is controlled . a testing system according to the present invention includes a database and a communication device . a table set downloaded from a wide area network is stored in the database . the testing apparatuses access the testing system and refer to tables stored in the testing system . the testing apparatuses update use conditions and result - correcting conditions in respective tables of the testing apparatuses , and then the apparatuses set use conditions and result - correcting conditions for testing elements . the communication device is connected to the wide area network . the testing system accesses respective remote servers prepared by vendors over the wide area network and it downloads table sets to be referred to by the testing apparatuses from the remote servers into the database . the testing system collects test results , use conditions , and pieces of information specific to the testing elements , such as a serial number specific to an element , from the testing apparatuses , and it complements the table sets stored in the database , with the collected pieces of information . with the above - described configuration , the latest table sets can be constantly downloaded from the remote servers of the vendors , and if a defective product ( unusable lot ) is found , information indicating , e . g ., discontinuance of use of a corresponding testing element can be acquired and be distributed to the testing apparatuses . the testing system can also share information with a testing system connected over the wide area network and perform subsequent tests with higher accuracy , by statistically processing pieces of information collected from the testing apparatuses and uploading the pieces of information to the network . the testing system can also constantly update and improve target test items based on the latest information by connecting to the remote servers prepared by the vendors . a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig1 to 4 . the present embodiment is directed to a test using a reaction in which the amount of fluorescence in a reagent is changed by introducing the reagent into a fine channel fluid path and continuously heating the reagent . as a method for continuously heating the reagent , a heater metal which produces heat is brought into contact with the channel fluid path containing the introduced reagent through a protective film . this enables prompt and stable heating . by using platinum as the material for the heater which produces heat , the temperature of the heating element is detected , by and measuring a value of resistance of the heater , according to a physical constant . accordingly , the relationship between the temperature of the reagent and the amount of fluorescence produced and measured at the temperature can be known . fig1 illustrates a testing element 40 used in the present embodiment . fig2 illustrates a testing apparatus 51 used in the present embodiment . in the testing element 40 , a reagent is introduced through a reagent inlet 1 and discharged through a reagent outlet 2 . a pump ( not shown ) is connected to the reagent outlet 2 . a negative pressure is generated by the pump to suck the reagent . the reagent moves through a channel fluid path 3 in contact with a heater electrode 4 . the reagent in the channel fluid path 3 is heated by the heater electrode 4 when the heater electrode 4 is powered through wiring electrodes 5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ). a value of resistance used throughout the system of the heater electrode 4 is recorded in an information recording section 10 , and information in the information recording section 10 is taken out from the information recording section 10 by a reading apparatus 11 . the reading apparatus 11 emits detection light 12 and acquires the information recorded in the information recording section 10 by using reflected return light . in the present embodiment , manufacturing process errors of individual testing elements generated during a testing element manufacturing process are measured . an item to be measured is a value of resistance . a process factor makes testing elements different in film thickness and the total amount of metal and thus it causes the test elements to have deviated values of resistance . a value of resistance also varies depending on the state of contact with a wiring metal . the amount of heat generated by input power varies with a change in a value of resistance in a testing element . to maintain a certain rate of temperature rise , power input to a heater metal which is arranged for each channel and which is in contact with the channel needs to be changed according to a deviation of the value of resistance of the heater metal . when a value of resistance in a testing element varies , an error occurs in a temperature to be measured . for this reason , values of resistance of respective channel fluid paths are measured in advance for each of testing elements , and the values are recorded on the surface of the testing element using a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code . simultaneously , a manufacturing plant and the date and time of manufacture are recorded as information on characteristics of the testing element . although an example using a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code as a commonly used unit is described herein , information may be recorded using a non - contact semiconductor memory device , such as an rf - ic or a felica ( registered trademark ), and may be read out in a non - contact wireless manner . a unit suitable for each case can be adopted in view of the balance between the amount of information used and the cost of a testing element . the testing element 40 is set in the testing apparatus 51 . simultaneously , a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code is read with an infrared reader , and recorded information is passed as a use condition value to the testing apparatus . the testing apparatus refers to a table based on the read - out use condition value and it sets a use condition and a result - correcting condition . in the testing apparatus 51 in fig2 , information recorded in the information recording section 10 is taken out by the reading apparatus 11 and it is passed to a control circuit 15 . the control circuit 15 causes a wiring electrode ( a ) 21 and a wiring electrode ( b ) 22 to input power based on the passed information . a condition under which the testing element 40 is used and a result are recorded in a data record 30 . a use condition for the testing element 40 with even fewer errors can be calculated by statistically processing such results . the testing apparatus 51 stores a test type , a reagent used , a use date and time , the serial number of an element , and the like as data in the data record 30 together with a test result . the testing apparatus 51 statistically processes a result of performing a test based on a use condition and a result - correcting condition recorded in and read out from each testing element and saves items necessary for a test , such as test type , reagent type , and the amount of reagent . the elapsed time to use can be calculated from a manufacture date and a use date , and it can be used to calibrate a result considering a change with time . accumulated data can be promptly fed back when a testing element is used next time , and a similar test can be more efficiently performed . the testing apparatus 51 may measure the temperature , humidity , and atmospheric pressure of the installation environment of the apparatus , vibrations around the apparatus , and the like by using a thermometer , a hygrometer , and a vibration sensor and store the data together with a test result . in this case , establishment of an environment which can verify , as data , an empirical rule ( e . g ., a rule that a difference occurs between a test result on a fine day and a test result on a rainy day ) enables finer testing . in a testing system in fig3 , a testing system 50 is connected to one or a plurality of testing apparatuses 51 over a network 52 . the testing system 50 includes a database 53 and a communication device 54 , and the communication device 54 is connected to a wide area network 55 . the testing system 50 controls a usage environment among the plurality of testing apparatuses 51 . for example , the testing system 50 distributes table sets ( which may be part or the whole of a table ) to be referred to the testing apparatuses and updates items to be referred to in a table in each testing apparatus . the testing system 50 also collects pieces of information specific to testing elements , such as test results , use conditions , result - correcting conditions , and the serial number of an element , from the testing apparatuses , and complements the table sets with the collected pieces of information . the testing system accesses respective remote servers 56 ( which are connectable over a network ) prepared by vendors to download the latest data table sets . if a defective product ( unusable lot ) is found , the testing system acquires information indicating , e . g ., discontinuance of use of a corresponding testing element and distributes the information to the testing apparatuses . the testing system collects use information and result - correcting conditions from each testing apparatus , statistically processes the use condition and result - correcting condition of each testing element of each testing apparatus , and shares information with a testing system connected over a network such that subsequent tests can be performed with higher accuracy . the testing system can update and improve target test items by connecting to the remote servers prepared by the vendors . in this embodiment , the present invention has been described as use of a qr code ( registered trademark ). however , even if a semiconductor chip , such as an rf - ic , which wirelessly reads out information is embedded in an information recording section 19 , as illustrated in , e . g ., fig4 , information , such as a use condition , which is associated with use of a testing element , can be read out . a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig5 . the present embodiment relates to a medical testing element , a medical testing apparatus , and a medical testing system , to which the present invention is applied . a medical testing element as referred to herein is typified by μ - tas , and the term generally indicates elements used in medical test and diagnosis and the like , such as a dna chip , a lab - on - a - chip , a microarray , and a protein chip . the present embodiment will describe a medical test which performs testing by continuously introducing a reagent into a fine channel fluid path . methods for continuously introducing a reagent include the process of sucking a reagent supplied to an inlet with , e . g ., a pipet by using a suction unit , such as a pump or a syringe , and the process of pressure - feeding a reagent supplied to an inlet by using a pressurization unit , such as a syringe . another available method includes the process of feeding a reagent by using ultrasonic waves or saw ( surface acoustic waves ). the process of generating a negative pressure by using a pump and sucking a reagent by utilizing a pressure difference will be described here . introduction of a reagent into a fine channel fluid path requires control of a fine pressure . generally , a dye or a fluorescent dye is introduced to make a reagent visible , and pressure is controlled while the state of the reagent in a channel fluid path is monitored , thereby sucking a desired amount of reagent and drawing the reagent to a desired position . if the state of the reagent is completely monitored , and the behavior of the monitored reagent is completely fed back for control of a pump , a desired amount of reagent can be drawn to a desired position . however , introduction of a stable amount of reagent and the process of promptly keeping a reagent at a desired position are difficult , due to a delay in a control feedback loop or the insufficient specifications of a monitor unit . in such a case , the process of measuring the pressure resistance of each channel fluid path in advance and informing the medical testing apparatus side of a different pressure resistance for each medical testing element enables a desired reagent to be handled in a short time . the pressure resistance of a channel fluid path results mainly from the dimensions ( opening area ) of the channel fluid path and surface roughness at an inner wall of the channel fluid path . there are several methods for forming a channel fluid path . among them , a method for creating a channel fluid path using sand blast will be exemplified without limitation hereinafter . a substrate is prepared , a resist material used in a semiconductor process is applied to the substrate , and a pattern is written by the method of , e . g ., lithography . after an unnecessary part of the resist material is removed , a desired pattern is left . the pattern is used as a mask , and particulate glass beads are blasted all over the substrate at high speed . due to the difference in hardness between the resist material and the material for the substrate , the substrate material is ground according to the written pattern , in which process microscopic asperities are unavoidably formed . by cleaning the resist material after a desired number of channel fluid paths are engraved , pattern fluid paths can be obtained while the substrate has a smooth surface . another flat substrate is compression - bonded to the substrate with the engraved pattern fluid paths . if a glass material is used as the material for the substrates , and two surfaces to be bonded are processed so as to have ultra - smooth surfaces , both the substrates can be brought into optical contact and be bonded to each other at this time . in the channel fluid paths thus formed , there are variations in the depths and forms of grooves formed by engraving as machining errors generated during sand blasting . surface roughness may occur also at the surface of each formed groove depending on the particle diameter of a glass bead used in sand blasting . generally , since a pattern for a plurality of channel fluid paths is formed in one substrate , and the plurality of channel fluid paths are cut off after being formed , 20 to 50 channel fluid paths for a testing element which are cut off from the same substrate are considered as being formed under relatively uniform conditions . dimensions and surface roughness , however , may differ depending on , e . g ., the blasting direction in sand blast . testing elements which are cut off from another substrate are often different in the dimensions of a channel fluid path and surface roughness because the testing elements include a lot error . with reference to fig5 , which is a schematic view of a medical testing element 41 used in the present embodiment , a reagent is introduced through a reagent inlet 1 and reacts at a reaction section 61 , while it is sucked by a pump ( not shown ) which is connected to a reagent outlet 2 . a mixed reagent ( a ) 62 and a mixed reagent ( b ) 63 which are to react with the reagent for a test are arranged in a channel fluid path . respective sections for the mixed reagents each include a unit configured to control pressure . each section can mix an arbitrary amount of reagent into the channel fluid path . the channel fluid path of the medical testing element 41 includes a form error 65 and surface roughness 64 which are generated during manufacture . the form error 65 and surface roughness 64 are responsible for non - uniformity in fluid path resistance throughout the element . in addition to such a difference specific to each channel fluid path that is generated during a manufacturing process , effects of surface modification during a storage period are non - negligible . in a liquid reagent in a fine fluid path , the flow velocity near the surface of the fluid path is substantially zero , and a laminar flow is established . how a flow velocity difference is generated largely depends on the surface condition . even a glass substrate of , e . g ., quartz glass , is expected to suffer various effects , such as effects from ultraviolet rays , effects of exposure to air containing oxygen and carbon dioxide , and effects of dust adsorption during transport or during use . surface modifications as described above cause variations in fluid path resistance . effects of a difference in fluid path resistance on control of a liquid reagent in a channel fluid path can be avoided by making the liquid reagent in the channel fluid path visible after setting of a testing element and changing a control parameter while monitoring the liquid . however , this requires a complicated mechanism , and desired control is difficult to achieve . an error generated during a manufacturing process can be avoided by measuring , in advance , channel dimensions , surface roughness , and the like and recording a measurement result in a medical testing element . for this reason , for each medical testing element , the dimensions and surface roughness of each channel fluid path are measured in advance , and a value of fluid path resistance of each channel of the medical testing element is calculated from measured values . the calculated values of fluid path resistance are recorded in an information recording section 10 at the surface of the medical testing element by using a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code . simultaneously , a manufacturing plant and the date and time of manufacture are recorded as pieces of information . the present embodiment describes an example using a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code as a commonly used unit . however , information may be recorded using a non - contact semiconductor memory device , such as an rf - ic or a felica ( registered trademark ), and may be read out in a non - contact wireless manner . the medical testing element 41 is set in a medical testing apparatus . simultaneously , a qr code ( registered trademark ) or a bar code is read with an infrared reader , and recorded information is passed as a use condition value to the medical testing apparatus . the medical testing apparatus refers to a table based on the read - out use condition value and sets a use condition and a result - correcting condition . the medical testing apparatus 41 stores a test type , a reagent used , a use date and time , the serial number of an element , and the like as data together with a test result . the medical testing apparatus statistically processes a result of performing a test based on use conditions recorded in and read out from medical testing elements and saves items necessary for a test , such as test type , reagent type , and the amount of reagent . the elapsed time to use can be calculated from a manufacture date and a use date , and the information can be used to calibrate a result considering a change with time . accumulated data can be promptly fed back when a testing element is used next time , and a similar test can be more efficiently performed . the medical testing apparatus measures the temperature , humidity , and atmospheric pressure of the installation environment of the apparatus , vibrations around the apparatus , and the like and stores the data together with a test result . establishment of an environment which can verify , as data , an empirical rule ( e . g ., a rule that a difference occurs between a test result on a fine day and a test result on a rainy day ) enables finer testing . a medical testing system controls a usage environment among a plurality of medical testing apparatuses . the medical testing system distributes table sets to be referred to the medical testing apparatuses and performs updating . the medical testing system also collects test results , use conditions and result - correcting conditions , and pieces of information specific to testing elements , such as the serial number of an element , from the medical testing apparatuses and complements the table sets with the collected pieces of information . the medical testing system accesses respective remote servers ( which are connectable over a network ) prepared by vendors to download the latest data table sets . if a defective product ( unusable lot ) is found , the medical testing system acquires information indicating , e . g ., discontinuance of use of a corresponding medical testing element and distributes the information to the medical testing apparatuses . the medical testing system collects use information and result - correcting conditions from each medical testing apparatus , statistically processes the use condition of each medical testing element of each medical testing apparatus , and shares information with a testing system connected over a network such that subsequent tests can be performed with higher accuracy . the medical testing system can update and improve target test items by connecting to host servers prepared by vendors . while the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions . this application claims the benefit of japanese patent application no . 2011 - 100981 , filed apr . 28 , 2011 , which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety .
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the present invention provides the ability for the predetection combiner to prevent capture by strong but distorted signals by using a prior knowledge of the form of an undistorted signal . that is , in some form , evaluate the overall quality of each of the received if signals to be used to weight the four individual channels on a system approach . long haul troposcatter systems in existence today use post detection combiners and the out - of - band noise detector as a measure of both signal quality and strength . the present invention utilizes the effective amplitude modulation index of each diversity channel as a measure of its quality . the diversity signal , as transmitted , may contain amplitude fluctuation which results in an effective amplitude modulation index . the channel multipath distortion as well as channel thermal noise will tend to increase the relative size of these fluctuations and therefore increase the amplitude modulation index . this measure can thus be used to weight each input if channel according to its quality without regard to the type of signal transmitted . the use of predetection combining has the advantage over the baseband combiner in the fm threshold region because all usable diversity signals are combined before detection instead of being demodulated individually and then combined as accomplished in a baseband combiner . this in turn will result in lowering the fm threshold . turning now to fig1 there is shown a prior art predetection combiner apparatus utilizing an agc unit 10 to receive the system 70 mhz if . input signal . the output signal of the agc unit 10 is applied simultaneously to mixer units 11 , 12 . the output of mixer 11 is filtered in filter unit 13 and applied to mixer unit 12 . the output signal of mixer unit 12 is applied to summing unit 14 which sums this signal with the output signals from the other system channels ( not shown ). the summed output signal from summing unit 14 is filtered in filter unit 15 and applied simultaneously to detector unit 16 and to the other system channels ( not shown ) in the troposcatter radio system . the detector unit 16 applies its output signal to agc unit 10 to condition the incoming 70 mhz i . f . input signal . there is shown in fig2 one channel of a basic four channel predetection combiner which has been modified to include a distortion weighting unit 20 . in fig2 the distortion weighting unit 20 correlates the amplitude distortion of the summed signal against the amplitude distortion on each input channel . the channel with the highest correlation will be attenuated the most . this process never resets , it is always working to minimize output distortion in a mean square sense for the combination of the four channels . fig3 shows the system channel distortion weighting apparatus for a two channel predetection combiner , the other two if channels which are not shown , being the same . as the input signal becomes distorted due to multipath propagation , unequal gains , excessive thermal noise , etc ., these amplitude fluctuations will increase with respect to the higher quality channels . by measuring the strength of the ac component of each signal envelope with respect to its average dc component , a measure of channel quality is thus obtained which reflects both channel distortion and background noise . with distortion weighting of this type , the predetection combiner operation becomes relatively independent of signal parameters . the operation of the system channel distortion weighting apparatus of fig3 will be better understood by the following discussion of the signal paths and waveforms in the present circuit . the discussion will refer only to one half of the circuit shown , however , it applies equally to the other portion of the block diagram since they are mirror images of each other . the diversity channel input signal which appears at point a is an amplitude distorted signal which was induced by channel distortion plus thermal noise . at point b , the diversity channel signal is the same as at point a except that the signal has been processed by the main agc gain . the main agc is utilized to control the level of the output signal . after envelope detection of the channel signal by the envelope detector , the signal at point c is an envelope ( no carrier present ) at a constant rms value . the envelope of point c is filtered in high pass filter 50 to remove the dc component and to provide the ac component of the envelope which is now proportional to the percentage amplitude distortion of the signal . the signal at point d is the envelope of point c ( the ac component of the envelope ) referenced about the baseline , zero . at point e , the ac component of amplitude fluctuations of the combiner output appear . there can be one of two possible conditions . in case 1 , the input channel envelope to point d contributes most to output distortion . in case 2 , another channel contributes most to output distortion . in other words , the signal at point e is different from the signal at point d . at point f , the filtered output of the correlator appears as the correlation between the single channel distortion envelope and the combiner output distortion envelope . in the present example , the correlation between point d and e is d times e for either case 1 or case 2 . in case 1 , the result is some positive voltage . in case 2 , the result is approximately zero dc . a dc value at correlator output will occur only when diversity input in question is significantly contributing to distortion on the output . resultant dc signal is then used to turn down gain on that channel . at point g , the output of the difference amplifier is the difference between individual channel distortion level ( dc proportional voltage ) and a reference distortion level . for case 1 , the individual channel distortion is greater than the reference distortion . therefore , the output at point g is voltage which reduces gain of that channel . for case 2 , the individual channel distortion is less than the reference distortion . therefore , the output at point g would be a voltage which increases the gain of that channel . the difference amplifier insures that the diversity channel is not attenuated more than necessary . thus , if all inputs are distorted , the difference amplifier will tend to minimize the output distortion by preventing any single channel to contribute to this distortion more than others . there is shown in fig4 , 8 and 10 a plot of the total probability distribution versus the baseband signal - to - noise ratio for a modified and an unmodified communications link from youngstown to verona . in fig5 , 9 and 11 , there is shown a plot of the total probability densities versus the baseband signal - to - noise ratio for a modified and an unmodified communications link from youngstown to verona . there is shown in fig1 and 13 a plot of the errors in a modified versus an unmodified system on a transmission link between youngstown and ontario . although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment , it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of a variety of alternative embodiments within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
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benzimidazole is wellknown as a chemical compound , its first synthesis going back to over a hundred years ( synthesis by reaction of o - phenylenediamine with formic acid : wundt , ber . 11 , 826 ( 1878 )). this compound is very stable , particularly under heat , and it can withstand the action of concentrated acids , such as sulfuric and hydrochloric acids , and of alkalis . moreover , this compound has a wellknown biological activity , due to its chemical relation with histamine , and to its presence in the molecule of vitamin b12 ( where it forms a bridge between the cobalt and one of the lateral chains , bonding of said chain being achieved with an amino - alcohol residue ). benzimidazole and its derivatives are also already known to have pharmacological properties , which are not incompatible with their use within the scope of the present invention . for example , the action of some of its derivatives on vasomotricity has been described , as well as the action of others against malaria . it has also been shown that some of its derivatives exhibited remarkable fungicidal properties , of spectrum higher than that of griseofulvine , which are due to the blocking of the protein synthesis but which can be inhibited by the antagonist action of adenine , guanine , nucleic acids and vitamin b12 . . . a study of the various pharmacological properties of the benzimidazole and of its derivatives has revealed the innocuousness of those substances . in particular , the ld 50 of benzimidazole has been determined by the &# 34 ; up and down &# 34 ; method in mice . said ld 50 varies after 30 days , from 0 . 520 to 0 . 610 mg / g . in the course of his works , the applicant has determined the selective affinity and persistant concentration of benzimidazole and its derivatives , at the level of the gastro - duodenum mucosae , as well as the advantage that there is in ingesting said product or products at the same time as food products liable to cause stimulation and hypersecretion of said mucosae . the selective affinity of benzimidazole towards the gastric mucose in mice and dogs as well as in humans , was established by autoradiographic and gammagraphic techniques , using the benzimidazole labeled with carbon 14 or iodine 131 and injected by intraperitoneol or intraveinous route . it was found in both cases that the distribution of the labeled product was homogeneous already 15 minutes after the injection , but that after 3 hours , the radioactivity of most of the tissues was very low , except for that of the stomach and of the gastric contents which continue to increase and keeps up for over 6 hours to disappear within 24 hours . said tests have also shown that the benzimidazole is easily and totally eliminated , especially through the urinary system , and is free of any residual toxicity both in animals and humans , even at the concentrations observed at the level of the gastro - duodenum mucosae . the applicant also measured the ed 50 in mice ( 22 - 28 g ), in anti - salivation tests ( salivation induced by subcutaneous injection of pilocarpine : ed 50 & gt ; 100 mg / kg p . o .) and intestinal motricity tests ( using charcoal : ed 50 & gt ; 100 mg / kg p . o .). up to doses of over 100 mg / kg p . o ., the benzimidazole has no effect on salivation and does not reduce intestinal motricity . the present invention recommends the use of this compound and / or of at least one of its derivatives in food products . it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide food products which contain benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives , and more particularly food products the ingestion of which is known to cause the stimulation and hypersecretion of the gastric and / or duodenum mucosae ; said food products being known for their acidity . according to the invention , said food products contain said benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives , in efficient quantity to arrive at the expected result which is to improve assimilation by the body system . a perfect digestion of the products is thus reached in that said products have been made digestible . the combination of the food product with the benzimidazole , and / or at least one of its derivatives , according to the invention , is very advantageous . it makes it possible to abort any gastro - duodenum non - tumorous disorders , to prevent pains ( stomach pains ) from occurring , after the ingestion of products known to be difficult to digest . it has a preventive action . the applicant has further established that gastric disorders also affected young children and newborn babies . thus , according to one of its aspects , the invention relates to food products for children and / or newborn babies , which contain benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives . one example is milk for newborn babies , in powder form if appropriate . examples of food products , which advantageously contain benzimidazole and / or one of its derivatives , according to the invention , are as follows : pasta , bread , sauces , jam , marmalade , jellies , sweets , ice - creams , chocolates , desserts , biscuits , coffee , tea , sausages , oils , . . . it will be noted at this stage that , in the present text , the terms &# 34 ; food product &# 34 ; includes drinks such as alcoholic drinks , fruit juices , gaseous or non - gaseous mineral waters , . . . the quantity of benzimidazole and / or analogue or analogues used is not critical insofar as the product is not toxic and has no secondary effects . an adult can ingest between 15 and 30 mg daily , against 5 to 15 mg for a newborn baby or a child ( 8 - 10 years old ) without any danger . it is of course advised to use a sufficient quantity of the product in order to obtain the expected result . incidently , it should be noted that the presence of the benzimidazole , and / or of at least one of its derivatives , in the food products , does not affect either their flavor , ( taste and smell ), or their appearance . bread containing , for 100 g , between 15 and 25 mg of benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives ; coffee containing , for 1 kg , about 500 mg of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; pasta containing , for 1 kg , about 150 mg of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; sauces containing , for 100 g , between 50 and 60 mg of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; jam containing , for 1 kg , about 100 mg of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; alcoholized drinks such as whisky , cognac , liqueurs , wines , champagnes , . . . containing for example between 60 and 200 mg / liter of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; beers containing for example between 30 and 70 mg / liter of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; fruit juices or analogues , such as grape juice , orange juice , grapefruit juice , lemon juice , pineapple juice , peach juice , apple juice or lemonade , coca - cola or cider , . . . containing for example between 25 and 60 mg / liter of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives ; gaseous or non - gaseous mineral water , . . . containing for example between 10 and 25 mg / liter of benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives . for making the bread which , according to the invention , contains benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives , the flour used will advantageously contain between 20 and 25 mg of said benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives per kg . it is clear from the foregoing that the action of the benzimidazole and / or of at least one of its derivatives , is not strictly limited to such or such a quantity for such or such a type of product . the combination of a food product with benzimidazole , and / or at least one of its derivatives , does not either raise any elaboration problems , particularly due to the stability of said chemical substances . according to another of its aspects , the invention relates to a method for preparing a food product and to a method for treating a food product so as to facilitate its assimilation by the body system , said methods consisting in : either including benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives , during the preparation of the food product ; or adding said benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives in said prepared food product . the use of said benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives during the preparation of the product and at the final product stage , cannot be excluded . the invention therefore proposes a novel use of the benzimidazole and of its derivatives , in food products , in order to make them easier to assimilate for the body system . in other words , the invention proposes a method to facilitate the assimilation of food products in the body system , which method consists in incorporating benzimidazole and / or at least one of its derivatives therein .
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a data transmitting and receiving system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig2 is a block diagram of a data transmitting and receiving system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the data transmitting and receiving system includes a transmission unit 100 for transmitting data , a receiving unit 200 for receiving data , and channels ch , chb , and chr for transmitting data between transmission unit 100 and receiving unit 200 . transmission unit 100 includes a transmission controller 110 , an error detection code generator 120 , a parallel - serial converter 130 , an output driver 140 , a pre - emphasis controller 170 , a receiving driver 180 , and a re - transmission determiner 190 . receiving unit 200 includes an input driver 210 , an equalizer controller 240 , a serial - parallel converter 250 , a receiving controller 260 , an error detector 270 , a re - transmission requester 280 , and a transmission driver 290 . as transmission controller 110 outputs k - bits output data ( dout ), error detection code generator 120 outputs s - bits error detection code ( ec ) associated with the output data ( dout ). parallel - serial converter 130 receives the k - bits output data ( dout ) and the s - bits error detection code ( ec ), performs a parallel to serial conversion , and outputs differential output data ( do and dob ). output driver 140 receives the differential output data ( do and dob ), converts this data in relation to the transmission characteristics of channels ch and chb , and generates output data signal ( do and dob ). in the illustrated embodiment , output driver 140 includes a transmission driver 150 and a pre - emphasis driver 160 . transmission driver 150 performs impedance - matching and differential amplification of the differential output data ( do and dob ). pre - emphasis driver 160 converts the differential output data ( do and dob ) based on the characteristics of channels ch and chb in response to a pre - emphasis control signal ( pre_con ) provided by pre - emphasis controller 170 , and outputs the converted data . output driver 140 combines the output signals from transmission driver 150 and the output signals from pre - emphasis driver 160 to generate output data signals ( do and dob ) suitable for transmission over channels ch and chb . channels ch and chb communicate the output data signals ( do and dob ) provided by transmission unit 100 to receiving unit 200 as distorted data signals ( di and dib ). that is , distorted data signals ( di and dib ) correspond respectively to the output data signals ( do and dob ), but have been distorted by the unique transmission characteristics of channels ch and chb . input driver 210 of receiving unit 200 includes a receiving driver 220 and a receiving equalizer 230 adapted to receive the distorted data signals ( di and dib ). receiving driver 220 performs impedance matching in order to receive as much of the distorted data signals ( di and dib ) as possible without any undesired signal reflections . also , receiving equalizer 230 restores data integrity to the distorted data signals ( di and dib ) in relation to an equalization control signal ( eq_con ) provided by equalizer controller 240 , and thereafter outputs differential input data ( di and dib ). serial - parallel converter 250 receives the differential input data ( di and dib ), performs a serial to parallel conversion , and outputs k - bits input data ( din ) to receiving controller 260 , and outputs s - bits error detection code ( ec ) along with the k - bits input data ( din ) to error detector 270 . error detector 270 analyzes the input data ( din ) and the error detection code ( ec ), determines whether an error is present in the input data ( din ), and outputs an error signal ( er ) to receiving controller 260 and re - transmission requester 280 indicating the error in the input data ( din ). receiving controller 260 ignores the input data ( din ) when it contains an error , but regularly performs an indicated operation when the input data ( din ) is error free . re - transmission requester 280 outputs error indication data ( edo ) and a corresponding equalization correction signal ( con 2 ) in response to the error signal ( er ). equalizer controller 240 receives the equalization correction signal ( con 2 ) from re - transmission requester 280 when it is necessary to adjust the equalization coefficient of receiving equalizer 230 , and thereby change the value of the equalization control signal ( eq_con ). transmission driver 290 impedance matches the error indication data ( edo ) in relation to the transmission characteristics of the “ return ” channel chr , amplifies the error indication data ( edo ), and thereby generates an error indication signal ( edo ). the error indication signal ( edo ) may become distorted error indication signal ( edi ) during its return communication through channel chr to transmission unit 100 . receiving driver 180 of transmission unit 100 corrects distortion in the distorted error indication signal ( edi ) to form return error indication data ( edi ). in response to the return error indication data ( edi ), re - transmission determiner 190 outputs a re - transmission signal ( retry ) and a pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ). the re - transmission signal ( retry ) is applied to transmission controller 110 in order to request re - transmission of the errant data , and the pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ) is applied to pre - emphasis controller 170 in order to change the pre - emphasis control signal ( pre_con ). in the data transmitting and receiving system shown in fig2 , when a bit error is apparent in the input data ( din ), it is assumed that the error is caused by random noise in the data channel , and a re - transmission of data is requested . however , when errors are detected in the same packet of input data ( din ) more than a predetermined number of times ( i . e ., following “ n ” retry attempts ), it is assumed that the errors are being caused by systematic noise , so that the equalization coefficient used by receiving equalizer 230 and / or the pre - emphasis coefficient used by pre - emphasis driver 160 should be corrected . for example , when errors are detected in the same input data ( din ) twice or more , the equalization coefficient and / or the pre - emphasis coefficient may be corrected accordingly . thus , after transmission unit 100 first transmits the output data signals ( do and dob ) and error detector 270 in receiving unit 200 detects an error , re - transmission requester 270 does not output the equalization correction signal ( con 2 ), but outputs only the error indication data ( edo ). also , when the corresponding error indication signal ( edo ) is output from transmission driver 290 of receiving unit 200 to transmission unit 100 , re - transmission determiner 190 does not generate the pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ), but outputs only the re - transmission signal ( retry ) to allow transmission unit 100 to re - transmit data . therefore , since re - transmission requester 280 and re - transmission determiner 190 do not output the correction signals ( con 2 and con 1 ), respectively , the pre - emphasis control signal ( pre_con ) and the equalization control signal ( eq_con ) output from pre - emphasis controller 170 and equalization controller 240 are unchanged . however , if an error is again detected in re - transmitted data , re - transmission requester 280 outputs the equalization correction signal ( con 2 ) to equalization controller 240 so that equalization controller 240 may adjust the equalization control signal ( eq_con ). in response to the changed equalization control signal ( eq_con ), the equalization characteristics of receiving equalizer 230 are controlled so that data may be received without error . in another embodiment , the pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ) may be output from re - transmission determiner 190 of transmission unit 100 instead of outputting the equalization correction signal ( con 2 ) from re - transmission requester 280 of receiving unit 200 . in this case , re - transmission determiner 190 of transmission unit 100 outputs the pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ) so that pre - emphasis controller 170 may change the pre - emphasis control signal ( pre_con ). thus , the pre - emphasis characteristics applied by pre - emphasis driver 160 may be controlled so that data is transmitted without error . although both the pre - emphasis correction signal ( con 1 ) and the equalization correction signal ( con 2 ) may be output at the same time , only one of them is normally output because simultaneously altering more than one feedback loop variable may result in data errors unrelated to a control signal variation . thus , when a data transmitting and receiving system is implemented with a re - transmission determiner 190 and a re - transmission requester 280 capable of outputting their respective correction signals ( con 1 and con 2 ), only one of these circuits is typically enabled at any given point in time relative to the generation of a correction signal . therefore , a data transmitting and receiving system such as the one shown in fig2 is capable of re - transmitting data a predetermined number of times when there is an error in data transmission , and is further capable of preventing errors from occurring in the data transmission by correcting a pre - emphasis coefficient in transmission unit 100 or an equalization coefficient in receiving unit 200 when systemic errors are repeatedly detected . assuming as is typical that the data transmitting and receiving system has been initialized in relation to the anticipated channel conditions , it will only necessary to minimally correct the pre - emphasis coefficient or the equalization coefficient . fig3 a and 3b are circuit diagrams further illustrating the output driver shown in fig2 . as noted , output driver 140 of fig2 may includes transmission driver 150 and pre - emphasis driver 160 . in fig3 a , a transmission driver 151 includes two nmos transistors n 1 and n 2 as differential amplifiers . thus , the nmos transistors n 1 and n 2 differentially receive and amplify the differential output data ( do and dob ), respectively , and output the amplified data . two resistors r 1 and r 2 , which are connected to a power supply voltage vcc , are loads used for impedance - matching . typically , each of the resistors r 1 and r 2 has a defined resistance of ( e . g .,) 50ω . also , a constant current source cc 1 is connected to a ground voltage vss and keeps the driving capability of the transmission driver 150 constant . here , the constant current source cc 1 is typically embodied by an nmos transistor having a gate terminal to which a constant voltage is applied . a pre - emphasis driver 161 of fig3 a has almost the same configuration as transmission driver 151 . however , pre - emphasis driver 161 does not include a load for impedance - matching unlike transmission driver 151 . in addition , pre - emphasis driver 161 does not receive the power supply voltage vcc but is connected to an output signal of transmission driver 151 so that pre - emphasis driver 161 changes the output signals of transmission driver 151 and the output data signals ( do and dob ). transmission driver 151 receives the differential output data ( do and dob ) as input signals , and pre - emphasis driver 161 receives , as input signals , delayed differential output data ( ddo and ddob ) obtained by delaying the previous differential output data ( do and dob ) by a predetermined amount of time . also , a variable current source vc 1 is connected to the common ground voltage vss so as to control the driving capability of pre - emphasis driver 161 . the variable current source vc 1 controls the amount of current in response to the pre - emphasis control signal “ pre_con ” output from pre - emphasis controller 170 and may be embodied by a plurality of nmos transistors . in other words , the nmos transistors of the variable current source vc 1 have gate terminals to which respective bits of the pre - emphasis control signal “ pre_con ” are applied , and are enabled in response to the pre - emphasis control signal “ pre_con ” to control current supplied to the ground voltage vss . therefore , in output driver 140 of fig3 a , when transmission driver 151 outputs output signals which are impedance - matched and amplified in response to the differential output data ( do and dob ), pre - emphasis driver 161 pre - emphasizes the output signals of transmission driver 151 and transmits output data signals ( do and dob ). fig3 b illustrates another example of output driver 140 receiving only one data stream ( i . e ., a single output data —( do )) unlike output driver 140 of fig3 a which receives the differential output data ( do and dob ). a typical data transmitting and receiving system differentially transmits and receives data to enhance the accuracy of signals , but it is obvious that transmission unit 100 may output single data as well as differential data . when single data is output , two channels ch and chb need not be provided between transmission unit 100 and receiving unit 200 , but ( under the working assumptions illustrated above ) only a single channel ch is required , along with return channel chr . a transmission driver 152 of fig3 b is an inverter , which receives the single output data ( do ) as an input signal , inverts the output data ( do ), and outputs the inverted data . a pre - emphasis driver 162 of fig3 b includes a first plurality of inverters ( inv 11 through inv 1 n ), each of which receives and inverts the single output data ( do ), transfer portions ( hp 1 , through hpn ) which are enabled in response to pre - emphasis control signals ( pre_con 1 through pre_conn ) output from pre - emphasis controller 170 , delay the inverted single output data ( do ) by respectively different predetermined amounts of time , control the voltage levels of the delayed data , and output the data of which voltage levels are controlled . pre - emphasis driver 162 also includes a second plurality of inverters ( inv 21 through inv 2 n ), which receive the signals output from the transfer portions ( hp 1 through hpn ) and output the signals at respectively different levels . the single output data ( do ) is output as output signals that are controlled to respectively different levels and delayed by respectively different predetermined amounts of time . therefore , when transmission driver 152 receives the next single output data ( do ) and outputs the output signal , pre - emphasis driver 162 combines the output signals of second inverters ( inv 21 through inv 2 n ) and outputs a pre - emphasized output data signal ( dob ). since the output data signal ( dob ) is obtained by inverting and pre - emphasizing a single output data ( do ), receiving unit 200 must invert distorted data signal ( dib ) received through channel “ ch ”. fig4 a and 4b are block diagrams illustrating the possible implementations and corresponding operation of an equalizer adapted for use within embodiments of the invention . typically , a feed forward equalizer ( ffe ) or a decision feedback equalizer ( dfe ) may be used as the equalizer . fig4 a illustrates an ffe including a plurality of transfer portions ( hf 1 through hfn ), which receive an input signal ( vin ), delays the input signal ( vin ) for predetermined amounts of time , and output the delayed signals at respectively different levels . the transfer portions ( hf 1 , . . . , and hfn ) output the signals at respectively different levels in response to the input signal ( vin ) when the next input signal ( vin ) is applied and allow a combiner add 1 to combine the output signals with the next input signal ( vin ). in this case , the transfer portions ( hf 1 through hfn ) are selectively enabled to control the equalization intensity of the input signal ( vin ). in other words , the next input signal ( vin ) is equalized with reference to the previous input signal ( vin ). fig4 b illustrates a dfe , which includes a plurality of transfer portions ( hd 1 through hdn ) and a level determiner dm . when an input signal ( vin ) # is applied to the dfe , the level determiner dm determines the level of the input signal ( vin ) and outputs an output signal ( vout ) at a “ high ” or “ low ” level . then , the transfer portions ( hd 1 through hdn ) receive the output signal ( vout ), delay the output signal ( vout ) for predetermined amounts of time , and output the delayed signals at respectively different levels . the respective signals output from the transfer portions ( hd 1 through hdn ) are combined with the next input signal ( vin ) by a combiner add 2 and applied to the level determiner dm . in other words , the next input signal ( vin ) is equalized with reference to the previous output signal ( vout ). the ffe operates at high speed , but makes it difficult to determine timing because it delays and outputs signals in an analog manner . in contrast , although the dfe operates at low speed by use of feedback , the dfe refers to an output signal ( vout ) of which level is determined , so that it is resistant to noise . fig5 is a block diagram of an input driver adapted for use with the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 . in fig5 , an ffe is used as input driver 210 of fig2 . input driver 210 includes a receiving driver 221 and a receiving equalizer 231 and has almost the same configuration as output driver 140 of fig3 a . distorted data signals ( di and dib ) are received from transmission unit 100 through channels ch and chb into receiving driver 221 . receiving driver 221 includes two nmos transistors n 5 and n 6 as differential amplifiers . thus , the nmos transistors n 5 and n 6 differentially receive and amplify the distorted data signals ( di and dib ) and output the amplified data . like the resistors r 1 and r 2 of fig3 a , two resistors r 3 and r 4 , which are connected to a power supply voltage vcc , are loads used for impedance - matching . typically , each of the resistors r 3 and r 4 has a resistance of 50ω . also , a constant current source cc 2 is connected to a ground voltage vss and keeps the driving capability of receiving driver 221 constant . here , the constant current source cc 2 is typically embodied by an nmos transistor having a gate terminal to which a constant voltage is applied . receiving equalizer 231 does not receive the power supply voltage vcc but is connected to an output terminal of receiving driver 221 so that receiving equalizer 231 changes the output signals of receiving driver 221 and outputs differential input data ( di and dib ). receiving driver 221 receive the distorted data signals ( di and dib ) as input signals , and receiving equalizer 231 receives , as input signals , delayed distorted data signals ( ddi and ddib ) obtained by delaying the received distorted data signals ( di and dib ) by a predetermined amount of time . also , a variable current source vc 2 is connected to a common ground voltage vss so as to control the driving capability of receiving equalizer 231 . the variable current source vc 2 controls the amount of current in response to the equalization control signal ( eq_con ) output from equalization controller 240 and may be embodied by a plurality of nmos transistors . in other words , the nmos transistors of the variable current source vc 2 have gate terminals to which respective bits of the equalization control signal ( eq_con ) are applied , and are enabled in response to the equalization control signal ( eq_con ) to control current supplied to the ground voltage vss . therefore , within input driver 210 of fig5 , when receiving driver 221 amplifies the distorted data signals ( di and dib ) and performs impedance - matching of the amplified data , receiving equalizer 231 equalizes the output signals of receiving driver 221 and outputs the differential input data ( di and dib ). according to the present invention as described above , when bit errors are detected more than a predetermined number of times during communication of data , a data transmitting and receiving system may be adjusted to a more optimal state of operation by correcting a pre - emphasis coefficient in the transmission unit or an equalization coefficient in the receiving unit without interrupting its regular operation to run a specialized mode designed to optimize system performance . therefore , a data transmitting and receiving system according to an embodiment of the invention may efficiently operated in real time without data loss . exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein and , although specific terms are employed , they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation . accordingly , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims .
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a depth image camera is known that generates a depth image in which each pixel has a pixel value corresponding to a distance to a subject that appears in the pixels . the position and the shape of the subject in the real space , which appears in the depth image , may be identified by analyzing the depth image generated by imaging the subject using the depth image camera . however , it may be difficult to identify a fingertip in the depth image that has been obtained by imaging a hand , depending on an imaging environment or the like . in such a case , the fingertip position is not identified accurately , so that there is a possibility that information different from information desired by the user is input to the input device . therefore , an object of the technology discussed in the embodiment is to provide an input device that detects the fingertip position even when it is difficult to identify the fingertip on the depth image . the input device is described below with reference to diagrams . such an input device detects a position at which the fingertip of a user has touched a table , from a depth image obtained by imaging the hand of the user using the depth image camera , and generates an input signal corresponding to the position . fig1 is a diagram illustrating a range of a distance that a depth image camera is able to represent on a depth image . for a hand 120 of the user , which is a subject in a certain distance range 110 , a depth image camera 100 generates a depth image having pixel values depending on a distance to the hand 120 . for example , as the distance to the hand 120 becomes larger , the values of the corresponding pixels on the depth image also become larger ( that is , the pixels become white as the distance becomes farther ). here , for example , it is assumed that a table 130 is provided at the position farther from the depth image camera 100 than the hand 120 , as the surface on which the finger touches when the user performs an input operation . in this case , on the depth image , pixels in which the table 130 appears and pixels in which the hand 120 appears have different pixel values . fig2 a is a diagram illustrating a depth image of a hand away from a table , which is obtained by the depth image camera . in a depth image 200 , a table 201 located relatively far from the depth image camera is represented relatively white , and a hand 202 located relatively near the depth image camera is represented relatively black . as described above , when the table 201 and the hand 202 are separated from each other , differences between the values of pixels included in the area in which the hand 202 appears and the values of pixels included in the surrounding area in which the table 201 appears become large on the depth image 200 . therefore , the fingertip position may be accurately identified on the depth image 200 . on the contrary , for example , when the user put the hand close to the table in order to perform an input operation , a difference between a distance from the depth image camera to the hand and a distance from the depth image camera to the table becomes small . therefore , in the depth image , differences between the pixel values of pixels in which the table appears and the pixel values of pixels in which the hand appears become small . fig2 b is a diagram illustrating a depth image when an index finger has come into contact with the table surface . in a depth image 210 , a difference between a distance from the depth image camera to the fingertip of the index finger and a distance from the depth image camera to the table 201 is small , so that it is difficult to identify the fingertip of an index finger 202 a of the hand 202 in the depth image 210 . therefore , the input device according to the embodiment obtains , in advance , the length of a finger from the finger base to the fingertip , which is used for an input operation by the user ( for example , an index finger ), based on a depth image obtained by capturing the finger by the depth image camera in a state in which the finger is away from the background , and stores the length in the storage unit . in addition , for example , when the input device detects an input operation , the input device sets , as the fingertip position , the position separated from the finger base by the length of the finger , which is stored in advance , in the longitudinal direction of the finger , which has been obtained on the depth image from the finger base and a portion in which the finger is identified . fig3 is a schematic perspective view of an input device . fig4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the input device illustrated in fig3 . an input device 1 includes a projection device 2 , a mirror 3 , a depth image camera 4 , a communication unit 5 , a storage unit 6 , and a control unit 7 . the units included in the input device 1 are accommodated in a housing 10 having a u - shaped in a vertical direction viewed from the side surface . in the following description , for convenience of explanation , the surface of the input device , which faces the user , is referred to as a front surface . the projection device 2 is , for example , a liquid - crystal projector , and is provided on the front surface side of the housing 10 so that the display surface faces upward . the projection device 2 projects video so as to display video on the display surface , in accordance with a video signal that has been received from the control unit 7 . the video from the projection device 2 is , for example , projected on the table surface or the like on which the housing 10 is provided so as to be reflected by the mirror 3 provided on the lower side of a top part 10 a of the housing 10 , which protrudes into the front surface side . the depth image camera 4 is an example of a depth image generation unit , and is provided in the top part so as to face downward so that the imaging range includes a range in which the video that has been projected from the projection device 2 appears . it is desirable that the depth image camera 4 is provided so that the surface of the table on which the housing 10 is mounted is included within the distance range in which the distance is represented as pixel values on the depth image . in addition , the depth image camera 4 generates a depth image in which the imaging range appears , at certain imaging cycles ( for example , 30 m sec to 100 m sec ). in addition , the depth image camera 4 outputs a depth image to the control unit 7 each time the depth image camera 4 generates the depth image . the communication unit 5 includes an interface used to connect the input device 1 to a further device and a control circuit of the interface . in addition , for example , the communication unit 5 transmits a video signal that has been received from a further device , to the control unit 7 . alternatively , the communication unit 5 outputs , to a further device , an input signal that has been received from the control unit 7 , which corresponds to an input from the user . the storage unit 6 includes , for example , a volatile or nonvolatile semiconductor memory circuit . in addition , the storage unit 6 stores a video signal indicating a video projected by the projection device 2 , various pieces of information used to detect an input operation from the user , for example , information used to detect the fingertip position of the user from the depth image . the control unit 7 includes one or a plurality of processors and the peripheral circuit . in addition , the control unit 7 is coupled to the projection device 2 , the depth image camera 4 , the communication unit 5 , and the storage unit 6 through a signal line , and controls the entire input device 1 . in addition , the control unit 7 detects the fingertip position of the user by analyzing the depth image that has been received from the depth image camera 4 . in addition , the control unit 7 detects an input from the user , based on the fingertip position , and generates an input signal corresponding to the input . a configuration element related on input processing including fingertip position detection processing , which is executed by the control unit 7 is described below in detail . fig5 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 7 . the control unit 7 includes a hand area detection unit 11 , a finger length measurement unit 12 , a registration unit 13 , a provisional contact determination unit 14 , a fingertip position calculation unit 15 , and a contact determination unit 16 . each of the units included in the control unit 7 may be provided , for example , as a function module achieved by a computer program executed on a processor included in the control unit 7 . the units may be provided in the input device 1 as a separate circuit , independent of the control unit 7 , or may be provided in the input device 1 as a single integrated circuit that achieve the functions of the units , independent of the control unit 7 . the finger length measurement unit 12 and the registration unit 13 are used for registration processing in which registration of the length of a certain finger of the user , and a reference image that is a depth image when an object that is a target to be touched is merely included in within the imaging range of the depth image camera 4 is performed in a case in which the user performs an input operation . in addition , the provisional contact determination unit 14 , the fingertip position calculation unit 15 , and the contact determination unit 16 are used for input processing . in addition , the hand area detection unit 11 is used for both of the registration processing and the input processing . the units related to the registration processing are described below . at first , in a case in which the user performs an input operation , the control unit 7 obtains , from the depth image camera 4 , a depth image when an object that is a target to be touched is merely included in the imaging range . in addition , the depth image is transmitted to the registration unit 13 . the registration unit 13 stores the depth image in the storage unit 6 as a reference image . the object that is the target to be touched when the user performs the input operation is , for example , a table on which the input device 1 has been mounted . in the following description , for convenience of explanation , the object that is the target to be touched when the user performs the input operation is referred to as a reference object . each pixel of the reference image has a pixel value corresponding to a distance between the position of the reference object corresponding to the pixel and the depth image camera 4 . after that , the control unit 7 obtains , from the depth image camera 4 , a depth image that has been obtained by imaging the hand of the user in a state in which the hand of the user is located over the reference object and closer to the depth image camera 4 than the reference object within the imaging range . at that time , it is desirable that the hand of the user is in the state in which merely a finger that touches the reference object is extended outward at the time of the input operation , and the other fingers are bent . in addition , the control unit 7 transmits the depth image to the hand area detection unit 11 . the hand area detection unit 11 detects a hand area that is an area in which the hand appears on the depth image . therefore , the hand area detection unit 11 calculates a difference absolute value between the pixel value of each of the pixels of the depth image and the pixel value of each of the corresponding pixels of the reference image . in addition , the hand area detection unit 11 obtains a difference image in which each of the pixels has each of the difference absolute values . the hand is closer to the depth image camera 4 than the reference object , so that differences between the pixel values of the pixels in which the hand appears and the pixel values of the corresponding pixels of the reference image are relatively large values . on the contrary , the pixel values of pixels in which the hand does not appear are identical to the pixel values of the corresponding pixels of the reference image . therefore , the hand area detection unit 11 generates a binary image including different values corresponding to pixels , the pixel values of which are equal to or more than a certain binarization threshold value , and pixels , the pixel values of which are less than the binarization threshold value , by comparing the pixel values with the binarization threshold value , for each of the pixels of the difference image . thus , in the binarization image , aggregate of pixels in which the pixel values of the difference image are the binarization threshold value or more corresponds to the hand area . the certain binarization threshold value may be a value that has been set in advance , or a value obtained from a statistic amount of the pixel values of the difference image , for example , an average value or a median value the pixel values of the difference image . the hand area detection unit 11 transmits the binary image of the hand area to the finger length measurement unit 12 . the finger length measurement unit 12 measures the length of the finger that touches the reference object at the time of the input operation , from the hand area . fig6 is a diagram illustrating processing in which the length of the finger is detected . as illustrated in fig6 , for the binary image indicating the hand area , which has been generated from the depth image , an x axis is set for the horizontal direction , and a y axis is set for the vertical direction . in addition , it is assumed that “ x = 0 ” is satisfied at the left edge of the binary image , and the value of “ x ” is increased as the value approaches the right edge . in addition , it is assumed that “ y = 0 ” is satisfied at the upper edge of the binary image , and the value of “ y ” is increased as the value approaches the lower edge . in this example , the hand of the user appears on the binary image in a state in which the index finger has been extended outward , and the tip end of the index finger faces upward . in the embodiment , the finger length measurement unit 12 traces a plurality of contour points pi ( x i , y i ) ( i = 0 , 1 , . . . and , m ) that are pixels on the contour of the hand area 601 in order from the lower left contour point p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ), and identifies the contour point located at the fingertip . after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 obtains the position of the finger base by identifying the contour point corresponding to the finger base . in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets , as the length of the finger , a distance l between the position in the real space , which corresponds to the fingertip position on the binary image and the position in the real space , which corresponds to the finger base on the binary image . the finger length measurement unit 12 detects , as the contour point , a pixel the adjacent pixel of which is included in the background area that is the area from which the hand area is removed on the binary image , from among pixels included in the hand area . in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point that is the closest to the corner of the lower left end of the binary image , as the p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point adjacent to the p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ), as “ p 1 ( x 1 , y 1 )”. similarly , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point adjacent to the contour point pi ( x i , y i ) as “ p ( i + 1 )( x i + 1 , y i + 1 )”. after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 identifies the contour point located at the fingertip . therefore , the finger length measurement unit 12 obtains an increment in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction ( ax , ay ) of a line connecting the mutually - adjacent two contour points pi ( x i , y i ) and p ( i + 1 ) ( x i + 1 , y i + 1 ), in order from the contour point p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ). however , “ ax =( x i + 1 − x i )” and “ ay =( y i + 1 − y i )” are satisfied . in the embodiment , the finger length measurement unit 12 obtains the increment ( ax , ay ) in order from the contour point closest to the lower left end of the contour of the hand area , so that “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & lt ; 0 ” are satisfied while the contour point approaches the fingertip . in addition , the fingertip is located at the uppermost of the binary image , so that “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & gt ; 0 ” are satisfied in the contour points on the right side of the fingertip . therefore , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point pi ( x i , y i ) at which a distance ct from the contour point p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ) becomes a certain threshold value th 1 or more for the first time , and “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & gt ; 0 ” are satisfied , as the contour point located at the fingertip . the number of pixels corresponding to the minimum value of the length of the finger , which is assumed on the binary image , is set as the threshold value th 1 . after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 detects the contour point on the left side of the finger and the contour point on the right side of the finger , which respectively correspond to the finger base . in the embodiment , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the position at which a change in an inclination of the contour of the finger is large , as the contour point of the position of the finger base . therefore , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point located at the fingertip as the pt ( x t , y t ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 obtains an inclination a ( n ) of a line connecting mutually - adjacent two contour points pn ( x n , y n ) and p ( n − 1 )( x n − 1 , y n − 1 ), in order from the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) to the p 0 ( x 0 , y 0 ), in order to detect the contour point on the left side of the finger , which corresponds to the position of the finger base . the inclination a ( n ) is calculated by the following equation . a ( n )=| ay / ax |=|{ y n − 1 − y n }/{ x n − 1 − x n }| ( 1 ) the finger length measurement unit 12 compares an absolute value | a ( n − 1 )− a ( n )| of a difference between the inclination a ( n ) and the inclination a ( n − 1 ) with a threshold value th 2 . in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point p ( n − 1 ) ( x n − 1 , y n − 1 ) at which an absolute value | a ( n − 1 )− a ( n )| of the difference becomes the threshold value th 2 or more for the first time , as the contour point pl ( x l , y l ) on the left side of the finger , which corresponds to the position of the finger base . the threshold value th 2 is set , for example , at 0 . 7 . similarly , the finger length measurement unit 12 obtain an inclination a ′( n ) of a line connecting the mutually - adjacent two contour points pn ( x n , y n ) and the p ( n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 ), in order from the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) to the pm ( x m , y m ), in order to detect the contour point on the right side of the finger , which corresponds to the position of the finger base . the inclination a ′ ( n ) is calculated by the following equation . a ′( n )=| ay / ax |=|{ y n + 1 − y n }/{ x n + 1 − x n }| ( 2 ) the finger length measurement unit 12 compares an absolute value | a ′( n + 1 )− a ′( n )| of a difference between the inclination a ′ ( n ) and the inclination a ′ ( n + 1 ) with the threshold value th 2 . in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point p ( n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 ) at which the absolute value | a ′( n + 1 )− a ′( n )| of the difference becomes the threshold value th 2 or more for the first time , as the contour point pr ( x r , y r ) on the right side of the finger , which corresponds to the position of the finger base . the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the middle point between the contour point pl ( x l , y l ) on the left side of the finger and the contour point pr ( x r , y r ) on the right side of the finger , which respectively correspond to the positions of the finger base , as the finger base position pb ( x b , y b ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets a distance between the position in the real space , which corresponds to the finger base position pb ( x b , y b ) and the position in the real space , which corresponds to the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) of the fingertip , as the finger length l . in the embodiment , the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) of the fingertip and the finger base position pb ( x b , y b ) are obtained on the binary image that has been generated from the depth image . therefore , distances from the depth image camera 4 to the positions in the real space , which correspond to the pt ( x t , y t ) and the pb ( x b , y b ) are obtained from the values of the pixels corresponding to the coordinates of the pt ( x t , y t ) and the pb ( x b , y b ) on the depth image . in addition , coordinates of each of the pixels on the depth image uniquely correspond to a direction from the depth image camera 4 . therefore , the positions in the real space , which correspond to the pt ( x t , y t ) and the pb ( x b , y b ) are obtained from the distances from the depth image camera 4 to the positions in the real space , which respectively correspond to the pt ( x t , y t ) and the pb ( x b , y b ), and the coordinates of the pt ( x t , y t ) and the pb ( x b , y b ) on the depth image . the finger length measurement unit 12 transmits the finger length l to the registration unit 13 . fig7 and 8 are operation flowcharts illustrating the finger length measurement processing . the hand area detection unit 11 detects the hand area that is an area in which the hand of the user in a depth image that has been obtained by the depth image camera 4 , from the depth image ( step s 101 ). the finger length measurement unit 12 detects the contour point pi ( x i , y i ) ( i = 0 , 1 , . . . and , m ) of the hand area ( step s 102 ). the finger length measurement unit 12 resets the distance ct and an index i indicating the position of the contour point at 0 ( step s 103 ). after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 selects two adjacent contour points pi ( x i , y i ) and p ( i + 1 ) ( x i + 1 , y i + 1 ), and obtains an increment ( ax , ay ) in the horizontal direction and vertical direction of the line connecting the two contour points ( step s 104 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & lt ; 0 ” are satisfied ( step s 105 ). when “ ax ≦ 0 ” or “ ay ≧ 0 ” is satisfied ( yes in step s 105 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether the distance ct is the threshold value th 1 or more ( step s 106 ). when the distance ct is the threshold value th 1 or more ( yes in step s 106 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & gt ; 0 ” are satisfied ( step s 107 ). when “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & gt ; 0 ” are satisfied , the finger length measurement unit 12 identifies the contour point pi ( x i , y i ) as the fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) ( step s 108 ). in step s 105 , when “ ax & gt ; 0 ” and “ ay & lt ; 0 ” are satisfied ( no in step s 105 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 adds “ 1 ” to the distance ct ( step s 109 ). in addition , in step s 106 , when the distance ct is less than the threshold value th 1 ( no in step s 106 ), or when “ ax ≦ 0 ” or “ ay ≦ 0 ” is satisfied in step s 107 ( no in step s 107 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 resets the distance ct at 0 ( step s 110 ). after step s 109 or s 110 , the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether all contour points have been selected ( step s 111 ). when all of the contour points have been selected ( yes in step s 111 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 ends the finger length measurement processing without calculation of the length of the finger . in this case , it is desirable that the finger length measurement processing is executed , based on the depth image that has been obtained by imaging the hand of the user again . when not all of the contour points have been selected ( no in step s 111 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 adds “ 1 ” to the index i ( step s 112 ). after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 repeats the processing in step s 104 and the subsequent steps . as illustrated in fig8 , after the fingertip position has been identified in step s 108 , the finger length measurement unit 12 identifies the left and right contour points corresponding to the positions of the finger base . therefore , the finger length measurement unit 12 resets an index n indicating the position of the contour point at a number t of the contour point corresponding to the fingertip position ( step s 113 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 selects the adjacent two contour points pn ( x n , y n ) and p ( n − 1 ) ( x n − 1 , y n − 1 ), and obtains an inclination a ( n ) of a line connecting the two contour points ( step s 114 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 selects the adjacent two contour points p ( n − 1 ) ( x n − 1 , y n − 1 ) and p ( n − 2 ) ( x n − 2 , y n − 2 ), and obtains an inclination a ( n − 1 ) of a line connecting the two contour points ( step s 115 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether an absolute value | a ( n − 1 )− a ( n )| of a difference between the inclination a ( n − 1 ) and the inclination a ( n ) is the threshold value th 2 or more ( step s 116 ). when the absolute value | a ( n − 1 )− a ( n )| is less than the threshold value th 2 ( no in step s 116 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether the index n is “ 2 ” ( step s 117 ). when the index n is “ 2 ” ( yes in step s 117 ), the contour point of the lower left edge has been already selected , so that the finger length measurement unit 12 ends the finger length measurement processing without identification of a contour point corresponding to the finger base . in this case , it is desirable that the finger length measurement processing is executed , based on the depth image that has been obtained by imaging the hand of the user again . when the index n is more than “ 2 ” ( no in step s 117 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 subtracts “ 1 ” from the index n ( step s 118 ). after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 repeats the processing in step s 114 and the subsequent steps . in addition , in step s 116 , when the absolute value | a ( n − 1 )− a ( n )| is the threshold value th 2 or more ( yes in step s 116 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point p ( n − 1 ) ( x n − 1 , y n − 1 ) as the contour point pl ( x l , y l ) located at the finger base on the left side ( step s 119 ). when the contour point pl ( x l , y l ) located at the finger base on the left side is obtained , the finger length measurement unit 12 resets the index n indicating the position of the contour point at the number t of the contour point corresponding to the finger position in order to obtain the contour point pr ( x r , y r ) located at the finger base on the right side ( step s 120 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 selects the adjacent two contour points pn ( x n , y n ) and p ( n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 ), and obtains an inclination a ′ ( n ) of a line connecting the two contour points ( step s 121 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 selects the adjacent two contour points p ( n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 ) and p ( n + 2 ) ( x n + 2 , y n + 2 ), and obtains an inclination a ′ ( n + 1 ) of a line connecting the two contour points ( step s 122 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether an absolute value | a ′( n + 1 )− a ′( n )| of a difference between the inclination a ′ ( n + 1 ) and the inclination a ′ ( n ) is the threshold value th 2 or more ( step s 123 ). when the absolute value | a ′( n + 1 )− a ′( n )| is less than the threshold value th 2 ( no in step s 123 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 determines whether the index is “( m − 2 )” ( step s 124 ). when the index n is “( m − 2 )” ( yes in step s 124 ), the contour point of the lower right edge has been already selected , so that the finger length measurement unit 12 ends the finger length measurement processing without identification of a contour point corresponding to the finger base on the right side . in this case , it is desirable that the finger length measurement processing is executed , based on the depth image that has been obtained by imaging the hand of the user again . when the index n is less than “( m − 2 )” ( no in step s 124 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 adds “ 1 ” to the index n ( step s 125 ). after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 repeats the processing in step s 121 and the subsequent steps . in addition , in step s 123 , when the absolute value | a ′( n + 1 )− a ′( n )| is the threshold value th 2 or more ( yes in step s 123 ), the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the contour point p ( n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 ) as the contour point pr ( x r , y r ) located at the finger base on the right side ( step s 126 ). after that , the finger length measurement unit 12 sets the middle point of the contour point pl ( x l , y l ) and the contour point pr ( x r , y r ) as the finger base pb ( x b , y b ) ( step s 127 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 calculates a distance between the position in the real space , which corresponds to the fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) and the position in the real space , which corresponds to the finger base pb ( x b , y b ), as the finger length l ( step s 128 ). in addition , the finger length measurement unit 12 ends the finger length measurement processing . the registration unit 13 stores the finger length l that has been received from the finger length measurement unit 12 , in the storage unit 6 . at that time , for example , when the control unit 7 has received identification information of the user through the communication unit 5 , the registration unit 13 may store the finger length l in the storage unit 6 so as to be associated with the identification information of the user . similarly , when the control unit 7 has received information indicating the type of the finger , the length of which has been measured by the control unit 7 ( for example , the index finger , the middle finger , or the like ) through the communication unit 5 , the registration unit 13 may store the finger length l in the storage unit 6 so as to be associated with the information indicating the type of the finger . the units related to the input processing are described below . the hand area detection unit 11 generates a binary image indicating a hand area , from a depth image , similar to the registration processing . in addition , the hand area detection unit 11 transmits the binary image to the provisional contact determination unit 14 . the provisional contact determination unit 14 is an example of a finger position identification unit , and obtains the position of a portion in the real space , which is included in the hand area , of a finger used for an input operation and the position in the read space of the finger base . at the time of execution of the input processing , the finger of the user , which is used for the input operation , approaches a reference object , so that it is probable that it is difficult to identify the fingertip of the finger on the depth image . therefore , the provisional contact determination unit 14 executes processing similar to that of the finger length measurement unit 12 , and identifies the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) of the tip end portion of the finger used for the input operation and the finger base pb ( x b , y b ) that are included in the hand area . the identified contour point pt ( x t , y t ) is the tip end portion of the finger , which is identified on the depth image , so that , in the following description , the contour point pt ( x t , y t ) is set as the provisional fingertip position . fig9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a provisional fingertip position on the binary image and an estimated actual fingertip position . typically , when the user performs an input operation using the input device 1 , the user causes not the finger base but the fingertip to approach the reference object . therefore , even when it is difficult to identify the vicinity of the tip end of the finger in the depth image , it is probable that the finger base is identified . thus , as indicated by the dotted line in a binary image 900 , the hand area 901 does not include a part of the finger , but includes a portion close to the finger base . in addition , the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) is detected in the vicinity of the finger base , as compared with the actual fingertip position p ( x , y ). the provisional contact determination unit 14 respectively obtain the positions in the real space , which correspond to the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) and the finger base pb ( x b , y b ), from the values of the pixels corresponding to the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) and the finger base pb ( x b , y b ) on the depth image . in addition , the provisional contact determination unit 14 obtains a distance from the reference object to the position of the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) in the real space , as the height of the provisional fingertip . at the time of an input operation by the user , the user causes the fingertip to approach the reference object , so that it is assumed that the height of the provisional fingertip is reduced . thus , when the height of the provisional fingertip is less than the certain threshold value α , it is probable that the fingertip has come into touch with the reference object , that is , that the user has performed the input operation . therefore , when the height of the provisional fingertip is less than the certain threshold value α , the provisional contact determination unit 14 notifies the fingertip position calculation unit 15 of the positions of the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) and the finger base pb ( x b , y b ) in the real space . the threshold value α is set , for example , depending on measurement accuracy of the depth image camera 4 . the threshold value α is set , for example , at the minimum value of a distance in which it is difficult to identify two objects at positions away from each other on the depth image . for example , the minimum value of a distance between the reference object and the hand , in which the hand is identified is obtained from a plurality of depth images obtained by imaging the hand using the depth image camera 4 while the distance between the reference object and the hand is changed , and the minimum value is set at the threshold value α . when the height of the provisional fingertip is the certain threshold value α or more , it is assumed that the user does not perform an input operation . therefore , in this case , the provisional contact determination unit 14 resets the provisional fingertip position pt ( x t , y t ) and the finger base pb ( x b , y b ). in addition , the provisional contact determination unit 14 executes the above - described processing when a depth image is obtained next time . the fingertip position calculation unit 15 calculates , as the fingertip position p , the position far from the position of the finger base in the real space by the finger length l , in the longitudinal direction of the finger , which has been obtained from the position of a portion of the finger used for the input operation in the real space , which is included in the hand area , and the position of the finger base in the real space . in the embodiment , the fingertip position calculation unit 15 obtains a direction from the position of the finger base in the real space to the position of the provisional fingertip position in the real space as the longitudinal direction of the finger . fig1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a provisional fingertip position and an actual fingertip position , which is viewed from the side surface . in fig1 , the axis in the height direction in the real space , that is , the axis in the direction from the reference object to the depth image camera 4 is set as a z axis . however , “ z = 0 ” is satisfied at the position of the depth image camera 4 . in addition , in the real space , an axis corresponding to the x axis and an axis corresponding to the y axis on the depth image that are orthogonal to the z axis are respectively set as an x axis and y axis . in the z axis direction , an area close to a reference object 1000 as compared with the threshold value α is an area in which the fingertip is not detected , and an area far from the reference object 1000 as compared with the threshold value α is an area in which the fingertip is detected . thus , in a finger 1001 , the position at which the distance from the reference object 1000 is the threshold value α is detected as a provisional fingertip position pt . here , it is typically difficult for the finger to come into contact with the reference object while the user merely bends the fingertip . therefore , when the finger 1001 is extended outward straight , the actual fingertip position p is located on an extension line of a line 1002 connecting the finger base pb and the provisional fingertip position pt , which indicates the longitudinal direction of the finger , and is located away from the finger base pb toward the provisional fingertip position pt by the finger length l . thus , the actual fingertip position p ( px , py , pz ) in the real space is calculated by the following equation . m ( yz )=√{ square root over (( y 1 − y 2 ) 2 +( z 1 − z 2 ) 2 )} m ( xy )=√{ square root over (( y 1 − y 2 ) 2 +( x 1 − x 2 ) 2 )} here , “ m ( yz )” is the length on a yz plane in the real space , from the provisional fingertip position pt to the actual fingertip p , and “ m ( xy )” is the length on an xy plane in the real space , from the provisional fingertip position pt to the actual fingertip p . in addition , ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) respectively correspond to an x axis coordinate , a y axis coordinate , and a z axis coordinate of the provisional fingertip position pt in the real space . in addition , ( x2 , y2 , z2 ) respectively correspond to an x axis coordinate , a y axis coordinate , and a z axis coordinate of the finger base pb in the real space . in addition , “ θxy ” indicates an angle between the x axis and a line from the provisional fingertip position to the finger base on the xy plane in the real space . similarly , “ θyz ” indicates an angle between the y axis and a line from the finger base to the provisional fingertip position on the yz plane in the real space . the fingertip position calculation unit 15 notifies the contact determination unit 16 of the estimated actual fingertip position p ( px , py , pz ) in the real space . the contact determination unit 16 compares the coordinate pz in the z axis direction of the estimated actual fingertip position in the real space ( that is , a distance from the depth image camera 4 to the fingertip position ) with a contact determination threshold value d . the contact determination threshold value d is set as a distance from the depth image camera 4 to the reference object . in addition , the contact determination unit 16 determines that the fingertip have come into contact with the reference object when the pz is the distance d or more . the contact determination threshold value d may set as a value obtained by subtracting a margin 13 corresponding to a measurement error from the distance from the depth image camera 4 to the reference object ( for example , a few mm to 1 cm ). when the contact determination unit 16 determines that the fingertip has come into contact with the reference object , the contact determination unit 16 generates an input signal corresponding to the coordinates ( px , py ) on the xy plane of the fingertip position , and outputs the input signal to a further device through the communication unit 5 . fig1 is an operation flowchart illustrating the input processing including the fingertip position detection processing . each time the control unit 7 obtains a depth image by the depth image camera 4 , the control unit 7 executes the input processing in accordance with the following operation flowchart . in addition , in the following operation flowchart , step s 201 to s 204 correspond to the fingertip position detection processing . the hand area detection unit 11 detects a hand area that is an area in which the hand of the user appears in a depth image that has been obtained by the depth image camera 4 , from the depth image ( step s 201 ). the provisional contact determination unit 14 detects the finger base pb of the finger of the user , which is used for an input operation , and the provisional fingertip position pt , from the hand area , and obtains the positions of the finger base pb and the provisional fingertip position pt in the real space ( step s 202 ). in addition , the provisional contact determination unit 14 determines whether the height from the reference object to the provisional fingertip position pt is less than the certain threshold value α ( step s 203 ). when the height from the reference object to the provisional fingertip position pt is the certain threshold value α or more ( no in step s 203 ), the provisional contact determination unit 14 determines that the finger of the user is not in contact with the reference object . in addition , the control unit 7 ends the input processing . when the height from the reference object to the provisional fingertip position pt is less than that the certain threshold value α ( yes in step s 203 ), the fingertip position calculation unit 15 obtains the fingertip position in the real space . for example , the fingertip position calculation unit 15 sets , as the fingertip position , the position away from the finger base pb in the direction from the finger base pb to the provisional fingertip position pt by the finger length l that is stored in the storage unit 6 ( step s 204 ). the contact determination unit 16 determines whether a distance pz from the depth image camera 4 to the fingertip position is the contact determination threshold value d or more ( step s 205 ). when the distance pz is less than the contact determination threshold value d ( no in step s 205 ), the contact determination unit 16 determines that the finger of the user is not in contact with the reference object . after that , the control unit 7 ends the input processing . when the distance pz is the contact determination threshold value d or more ( yes in step s 205 ), the contact determination unit 16 determines that the finger of the user has come into contact with the reference object at the fingertip position . after that , the contact determination unit 16 generates an input signal corresponding to the coordinates of the fingertip position in the real space , and performs output of the input signal ( step s 206 ). in addition , the control unit 7 ends the input processing . as described above , such an input device may detect the fingertip position even when it is difficult to identify the finger of the user in the depth image obtained by imaging the finger of the user . in a modification , as a reference point used to set the longitudinal direction of the finger used for an input operation , the provisional contact determination unit may obtain a further point in the portion of the finger , which is included in the hand area , instead of the provisional fingertip position . for example , the provisional contact determination unit may respectively identify contour points pl 2 and pr 2 at positions away from the left and right contour points pl and pr of the finger base pb , by a certain distance , along the contour of the finger , and may obtain the middle point of the two contour points pl 2 and pr 2 , as the reference point used to set the longitudinal direction of the finger . in a further modification , the input device may be installed on a desktop computer or a display integrated computer . in this case , for example , a depth image camera is installed on the upper part of the display included in the computer so as to face downward . in addition , the computer detects the fingertip position of the finger of the user , which has come into contact with the table on which the computer has been mounted , in accordance with each of the above - described embodiments and the modification . in addition , for example , the computer displays a cursor at the position on the display , which corresponds to the fingertip position of the user in order for the user to confirm the input . in addition , a computer program that causes a computer to achieve each of the functions by the control unit of the input device according to each of the above - described embodiments and the modifications may be provided so as to be recorded to a computer readable medium such as a magnetic recording medium or an optical recording medium . all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions , nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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fig3 schematically illustrates an exemplary memory subsystem 200 with load - reduced memory modules in accordance with embodiments described herein . the memory subsystem 200 is designed , for example , to deliver higher speed and higher memory density with lower thermal dissipation as compared with conventional memory subsystems . as shown in fig3 , the memory subsystem 200 is coupled to a memory controller 201 , of any type well - known in the art . the memory subsystem 200 typically includes a plurality of memory modules 202 , such as dimms or rdimms , details of which are shown only for one for clarity . components of the memory modules 202 may be mounted on or in printed circuit boards ( pcbs ) 400 , which may be arranged in a vertical stack ( as shown ), or in a back - to - back array . each module 202 includes a plurality of memory devices 204 ( such as drams or sdrams ). the memory devices 204 may advantageously be arranged in a plurality of rows or ranks . in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , the memory devices 204 are arranged in four ranks , designated a , b , c , and d , although embodiments with less than or more than four ranks may be employed . each memory module 202 is includes one or more load - reducing switching circuits 216 . the load - reducing switching circuits 216 bidirectionally buffer data signals between the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 . in the exemplary embodiment of this disclosure , each of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 is connected to one memory device 204 in each of the four ranks , a , b , c , and d . for the sake of this disclosure the devices in rank a are designated 204 a ; those in rank b are designated 204 b ; those in rank c are designated 204 c ; and those in rank d are designated 204 d . in the embodiment of fig3 , each load - reducing switching circuit 216 has the same bit width for example 8 bits , as the associated memory devices 204 . in other embodiments , the bit widths of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 and the memory devices 204 may be different . for example , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may have a bit width of 16 and the memory devices 204 may have bit width of 8 with each load - reducing switching circuit 216 connected to two memory devices 204 in each rank . each memory module 202 includes a module controller 220 . the module controller 220 is coupled to address and control lines 240 ( e . g ., bank address signals , row or rank address signals , column address signals , address strobe signals , and chip - select signals ) from the system memory controller 201 . the module controller 220 registers address and control lines 240 in a manner functionally comparable to the address register of a convention rdimm . the registered address and control lines 240 are supplied to the memory devices 204 . additionally , the module controller 220 supplies control signals for the load - reducing switching circuits 216 . the control signals indicate , for example , the direction of data flow , that is , to or from the memory devices . the module controller 220 may produce additional chip select signals or output enable signals based on address decoding . in certain embodiments , the memory modules 202 may include electrical components that are electrically coupled to one another . the electrical components may be surface - mounted , through - hole mounted , or otherwise connected to the pcb 400 . these electrical components may include , but are not limited to , electrical conduits , resistors , capacitors , inductors , and transistors . in certain embodiments , at least some of these electrical components are discrete , while in other certain embodiments , at least some of these electrical components are constituents of one or more integrated circuits . various types of memory modules 202 are compatible with embodiments described herein . for example , memory modules having memory capacities of 512 mb , 1 gb , 2 gb , 4 gb , 8 gb , as well as other capacities , are compatible with embodiments described herein . in addition , memory modules having widths of 4 bytes 8 bytes , 9 bytes , 16 bytes , 32 bytes , or 32 bits , 64 bits , 72 bits , 128 bits , 256 bits , as well as other widths ( in bytes or in bits ), are compatible with embodiments described herein . furthermore , memory modules compatible with embodiments described herein include , but are not limited to , single in - line memory modules ( simms ), dual in - line memory modules ( dimms ) small - outline dimms ( so - dimms ), unbuffered dimms ( udimms ), registered dimms ( rdimms ), fully - buffered dimms ( fbdimms ), mini - dimms , and micro - dimms . in some embodiments , the pcbs 400 are mountable in module slots ( not shown ) of the computer system . the pcbs 400 of some such embodiments have a plurality of edge connections ( not shown ) configured to make electrical contact with corresponding contacts of the module slots and to the various components of the memory modules on the pcbs , thereby providing electrical connections between the computer system and the components of the memory module . memory devices 204 compatible with embodiments described herein include , but are not limited to , random - access memory ( ram ), dynamic random - access memory ( dram ), synchronous dram ( sdram ), and double - data - rate dram ( e . g ., ddr , ddr2 , ddr3 , etc ). in addition , memory devices having bit widths of 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 , as well as other bit widths , are compatible with embodiments described herein . memory devices 204 compatible with embodiments described herein have packaging which include , but are not limited to , thin small - outline package ( tsop ), ball - grid - array ( bga ), fine - pitch bga ( fbga ), micro - bga ( μbga ). mini - bga ( mbga ), and chip - scale packaging ( csp ). in some embodiments , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may include one or more functional devices , such as a programmable - logic device ( pld ), an application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a field - programmable gate array ( fpga ), a custom - designed semiconductor device , or a complex programmable - logic device ( cpld ). in some embodiments , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may be custom devices . in some embodiments , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may include various discrete electrical elements ; while in other embodiments , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may include one or more integrated circuits . each of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 , in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure , is inserted into one or more of the data lines 218 connected to one memory device in each of the ranks a , b , c , d . thus , each load - reducing switching circuit 216 is connected to one each of the memory devices 204 a , 204 b , 204 c , and 204 d . each data line 218 thus carries data from the system memory controller 201 , through the load - reducing switching circuits 216 , to the memory devices 204 a , 204 b , 204 c , 204 d connected to each of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 . the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may be used to drive each data bit to and from the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 instead of the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 directly driving each data bit to and from the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 . specifically , as described in more detail below , one side of each load - reducing switching circuit 216 is coupled to a memory device in each rank , while the other side of the load - reducing switching circuit 216 is coupled to the corresponding data line 218 of the memory controller 201 . to reduce the memory device loads seen by the system memory controller 201 , the load - reducing switching circuit 216 is advantageously configured to be recognized by the system memory controller 201 as a single memory load . this advantageous result is desirably achieved in certain embodiments by using the load - reducing switching circuit 216 to electrically isolate the memory devices 204 from the memory controller 201 . therefore , in the example of fig3 , each data bit from the system memory controller 201 sees , for one memory module 202 , a single load , which is presented by one load - reducing switching circuit 216 , instead of the four memory devices 204 a , 204 b , 204 c , 204 d to which the load - reducing switching circuit 216 is coupled . in comparison to the standard jedec four rank dimm configuration ( see fig2 ), the memory system 200 may reduce the load on the system memory controller 201 by a factor of four . fig4 schematically illustrates an exemplary load - reducing switching circuit 216 compatible with embodiments described herein . in one embodiment , the load - reducing switching circuit 216 includes control logic circuitry 302 used to control the various components of the load - reducing switching circuit , which may include buffers , switches , and multiplexers among other components . the illustrated embodiment is 1 - bit wide and switches a single data line 218 between the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 . in other embodiments , the load - reducing switching circuit 216 may be multiple bits wide , for example , 8 bits , and switch a corresponding number of data lines 218 . in a multiple bit wide embodiment , the control logic circuitry 302 may be shared over the multiple bits . as a part of isolating the memory devices 204 from the system memory controller 201 , in one embodiment , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 allow for “ driving ” write data and “ merging ” read data . in the operational embodiment shown in fig4 , in a write operation , data entering a load - reducing switching circuit 216 via a data line 218 is driven onto two data paths , labeled path a and path b , preferably after passing through a write buffer 303 . the ranks of memory devices 204 are likewise divided into two groups with one group associated with path a and one group associated with path b . as shown in fig3 , rank a and rank c are in the first group , and rank b and rank d are in the second group . accordingly , the memory devices 204 a , 204 c of rank a and rank c are connected to the load - reducing switching circuits 216 by a first one of the two data paths , and the memory devices 204 b , 204 d of rank b and rank d are connected to the load - reducing switching circuits 216 by a second one of the two data paths . in other embodiments , the driving of write data and merging of read data may be performed over more than two data paths . as is known , column address strobe ( cas ) latency is a delay time which elapses between the moment the memory controller 201 informs the memory modules 202 to access a particular column in a selected rank or row and the moment the data for or from the particular column is on the output pins of the selected rank or row . the latency may be used by the memory module to control operation of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 . during the latency , address and control signals pass from the memory controller 201 to the module controller 220 which produces controls sent to the control logic circuitry 302 which then controls operation of the components of the load - reducing switching circuit 216 . for a write operation , during the cas latency , the module controller 220 , in one embodiment , provides enable control signals to the control logic circuitry 302 of each load - reducing switching circuit 216 , whereby the control logic circuitry 302 selects either path a or path b to direct the data . accordingly when the control logic circuitry 302 receives , for example , an “ enable a ” signal , a first tristate buffer 304 in path a is enabled and actively drives the data value on its output , while a second tristate buffer 306 in path b is disabled with its output in a high impedance condition . in this state , the load - reducing switching circuit 216 allows the data to be directed along path a to a first terminal y 1 , which is connected to and communicates only with the first group of the memory devices 204 , i . e ., those in ranks a and c . similarly , if an “ enable b ” signal is received , the first tristate 304 opens path a and the second tristate 306 closes path b , thus directing the data to a second terminal y 2 , which is connected to and communicates only with the second group of the memory devices 204 , i . e ., those in ranks b and d . for a read operation , the load - reducing switching circuit 216 operates as a multiplexing circuit . in the illustrated embodiment , for example , data signals read from the memory devices 204 of a rank are received at the first or second terminals y 1 , y 2 of the load - reducing switching circuit 216 . the data signals are fed to a multiplexer 308 , which selects one to route to its output . the control logic circuitry 302 generates a select signal to select the appropriate data signal , and the selected data signal is transmitted to the system memory controller 201 along a single data line 218 , preferably after passing through a read buffer 309 . the read buffer 309 may be a tristate buffer that is enabled by the control logic circuitry 302 during read operations . in another embodiment , the multiplexer 308 and the read buffer 309 may be combined in one component . in yet another embodiment , the multiplexer 308 and the read buffer 309 operations may be split over two tristate buffers , one to enable the value from y 1 to the data line 218 and another to enable the value from y 2 to the data line 218 . the load - reducing switching circuits 216 present a load on the data lines 218 from the write buffer 303 and the read buffer 309 . the write buffer 303 is comparable to an input buffer on one of the memory devices 204 , and the read buffer 309 is comparable to an output buffer on one of the memory devices 204 . therefore , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 present a load to the memory controller 201 that is substantially the same as the load that one of the memory devices 204 would present . similarly , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 present a load on the first and second terminals y 1 , y 2 from the multiplexer 308 and the first tristate buffer 304 ( on the first terminal y 1 ) and the second tristate buffer 306 ( on the second terminal y 2 ). the multiplexer 308 is comparable in loading to an input buffer on the memory controller 201 , and the first and second tristate buffers 304 , 306 are each comparable to an output buffer on the memory controller 201 . therefore , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 present a load to the memory devices 204 that is substantially the same as the load that the memory controller 201 would present . additionally , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 operate to ameliorate quality of the data signals passing between the memory controller 201 and the memory devices 204 . without the load - reducing switching circuits 216 , waveforms of data signals may be substantially degraded or distorted from a desired shape between source and sink . for example , signal quality may be degraded by lossy transmission line characteristics , mismatch between characteristics of transmission line segments , signal crosstalk , or electrical noise . however , in the read direction , the read buffer 309 regenerates the signals from the memory devices 204 thereby restoring the desired signal waveform shapes . similarly , in the write direction , the first tristate buffer 304 and the second tristate buffer 306 regenerate the signals from the memory controller 201 thereby restoring the desired signal waveform shapes . referring again to fig3 when the memory controller 201 executes read or write operations , each specific operation is targeted to a specific one of the ranks a , b , c , and d of a specific module 202 . the load - reducing switching circuit 216 on the specifically targeted one of the memory modules 202 functions as a bidirectional repeater / multiplexor , such that it drives the data signal when connecting from the system memory controller 201 to the memory devices 204 . the other load - reducing switching circuits 216 on the remaining memory modules 202 are disabled for the specific operation . for example , the data signal entering on data line 218 entering into load - reducing switching circuit 216 is driven to memory devices 204 a and 204 c or 204 b and 204 c depending on which memory devices are active and enabled . the load - reducing switching circuit 216 then multiplexes the signal from the memory devices 204 a , 204 b , 204 c , 204 d to the system memory controller 201 . the load - reducing switching circuits 216 may each control , for example , a nibble - wide data path or a byte - wide - data path . as discussed above , the load - reducing switching circuits 216 associated with each module 202 are operable to merge data read signals and to drive data write signals , enabling the proper data paths between the system memory controller 201 and the targeted or selected memory devices 204 . thus , the memory controller 201 , when there are four four - rank memory modules , sees four load - reducing switching circuit loads , instead of sixteen memory device loads . the reduced load on the memory controller 201 enhances the performance and reduces the power requirements of the memory system , as compared with , for example , the conventional systems described above with reference to fig1 and 2 . operation of a memory module using the load - reducing switching circuit 216 may be further understood with reference to fig5 , an illustrative timing diagram of signals of the memory module 202 . the timing diagram includes first through eighth time periods 501 - 508 . when the memory devices 204 are synchronous memories , each of the time periods 501 - 508 may correspond to one clock cycle of the memory devices 204 . the first , second , and third time periods 501 - 503 illustrate write operations with data passing from the memory controller 201 to the memory module 202 . the fourth time period 504 is a transition between the write operations and subsequent read operations . the timing diagram shows a write operation to the first group of memory devices 204 a , 204 c connected to the first terminals y 1 of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 and a write operation to the second group of memory devices 204 b , 204 d connected to the second terminals y 2 of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 . recalling the cas latency described above , each write operation extends over two time periods in a pipelined manner . the write to the first group of memory devices 204 a , 204 c appears in the first time period 501 when system address and control signals 240 pass from the memory controller 201 to the module controller 220 . the module controller 220 evaluates the address and control signals 240 to determine that data is to be written to memory devices 204 a , 204 c in the first group . during the second time period 502 , the module controller 220 supplies control signals to the control logic circuitry 302 to enable the first tristate buffer 304 and to disable the second tristate buffer 306 and the read buffer 309 . thus , during the second time period 502 , data bits pass from the data lines 218 to the first terminal y 1 and on to the memory devices 204 a , 204 c . similarly , the write to the second group of memory devices 204 a , 204 c appears in the second time period 502 when system address and control signals 240 pass from the memory controller 201 to the module controller 220 . the module controller 220 evaluates the address and control signals 240 to determine that data is to be written to memory devices 204 b , 204 d in the second group . during the third time period 503 , the module controller 220 supplies control signals to the control logic circuitry 302 to enable the second tristate buffer 306 and to disable the first tristate buffer 304 and the read buffer 309 . thus , during the third time period 503 , data bits pass from the data lines 218 to the second terminal y 2 and on to the memory devices 204 b , 204 d . the fifth , sixth , seventh , and eighth time periods 505 - 508 illustrate read operations with data passing to the memory controller 201 from the memory module 202 . the timing diagram shows a read operation from the first group of memory devices 204 a , 204 c connected to the first terminals y 1 of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 and a read operation from the second group of memory devices 204 b , 204 d connected to the second terminals y 2 of the load - reducing switching circuits 216 . recalling the cas latency described above , each read operation extends over two time periods in a pipelined manner . the read from the first group of memory devices 204 a , 204 c appears in the fifth time period 505 when system address and control signals 240 pass from the memory controller 201 to the module controller 220 . the module controller 220 evaluates the address and control signals 240 to determine that data is to be read from memory devices 204 a , 204 c in the first group . during the sixth time period 506 , the module controller 220 supplies control signals to the control logic circuitry 302 to cause the multiplexer 308 to select data from the first terminal y 1 , to enable the read buffer 309 , and to disable the first tristate buffer 304 and the second tristate buffer 306 . thus , during the sixth time period 506 , data bits pass from the memory devices 204 a , 204 c via the first terminal y 1 to data lines 218 and on to the memory controller 201 . the read from the second group of memory devices 204 b , 204 d appears in the seventh time period 507 when system address and control signals 240 pass from the memory controller 201 to the module controller 220 . the module controller 220 evaluates the address and control signals 240 to determine that data is to be read from memory devices 204 b , 204 d in the second group . during the eighth time period 508 , the module controller 220 supplies control signals to the control logic circuitry 302 to cause the multiplexer 308 to select data from the second terminal y 2 , to enable the read buffer 309 , and to disable the first tristate buffer 304 and the second tristate buffer 306 . thus , during the eighth time period 506 , data bits pass from the memory devices 204 b , 204 d via the second terminal y 2 to data lines 218 and on to the memory controller 201 . since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art , the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure . accordingly , this disclosure encompasses all changes and modifications that do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of the subject matter of this disclosure .
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the invention is described in connection with representative embodiments , with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of an embodiment of a surface - mounted , high - stability piezoelectric oscillator 100 of the temperature - controlled type ( hereinafter referred to as a “ piezoelectric oscillator ”). the piezoelectric oscillator 100 comprises a base printed circuit board 10 ( called a “ base board ”) and a sub printed circuit board 40 . the base board 10 is made of an insulating material . on the sub printed circuit board 40 are mounted a temperature - control circuit and / or electronic components 31 for an oscillation circuit . also mounted to the sub printed board 40 is a crystal - vibrating 32 affixed using conductive adhesive 21 . on the under - surface of the base board 10 , external terminals 15 are arranged in multiple ( e . g ., four or six ) places . the external terminals facilitate mounting of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 on the surface of a circuit board pb ( refer to fig3 ). to visually observe a meniscus state of soldering after surface - mounting , the external terminals 15 can be electrically connected with the electronic component 31 or the crystal - unit 32 by plated wiring or by lead wires on the surface of the base board 10 . also mounted to the base board 10 are first ends of respective metal supports 50 made of brass or the like . the first ends are inserted in recesses 11 and affixed using conductive adhesive 21 . opposing second ends of the metal support 50 are affixed to the sub printed circuit board 40 using conductive adhesive 21 . the entire assembly is covered with a metal case 48 so as to seal the two - tiered base board 10 and sub printed circuit board 40 . the piezoelectric oscillator 100 having such construction generally has a size from approximately 3 mm square to approximately 50 mm square . fig2 a - 2b depict the base board 10 and external terminal 15 . fig2 a is an enlarged view showing the metal support 50 affixed to the base board 10 , and also showing an external terminal 15 . fig2 b shows the under - surface of the base board 10 . as shown in fig2 a , the metal support 50 includes a flange 51 and a shaft 54 . the shaft 54 has a shank 52 extending from the flange 51 . the diameter of the shaft 54 is approximately 0 . 03 mm to approximately 1 mm , and the diameter of the flange 51 is approximately 0 . 04 mm to approximately 3 mm . the flange 51 may have a diameter of approximately twice the diameter of the shaft 54 . the recess 11 is formed in the base board 10 such that the shank 52 may be inserted therein . the base board 10 is made of a glass - epoxy laminate or other insulating material . the thickness of the base board 10 is approximately 0 . 6 mm to approximately 3 mm , and the depth of the recess 11 is approximately 90 % to approximately 30 % of the thickness of the base board 10 . alternatively , the base board 10 can be made of an insulating material other than glass - epoxy laminate , such as a thermoset resin for glass cloth or glass non - woven fabric base material , an epoxy - resin laminate , a composite laminate , a paper - base epoxy - resin laminate , or a paper - base phenolic resin laminate . recess or groove processing may be easily applied to these various materials by laser processing , drilling , routing , or the like . the diameter of the recess 11 desirably is smaller than the diameter of the flange 51 , and equal to or larger than the diameter of the shank 52 . the recess 11 can be formed in the base board 10 using a flat router in the edge . copper plating 12 is applied around the recess 11 . the external terminal 15 and the copper plating 12 are electrically connected to each other . the flange 51 of the metal support 50 and the copper plating 12 are affixed using the conductive adhesive 21 . the groove 13 extends at least part way around the external terminal 15 . in this regard , the groove 13 a is formed only in the under - surface of the base board 10 destined to be surface mounted on the circuit board pb ( refer to fig3 ). the groove 13 a does not extend up the side surface in this embodiment . the groove 13 is configured to facilitate visual observation of a meniscus state of solder on the external terminal 15 from the side surface of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 . the groove 13 b is formed entirely in the under - surface of the circuit board pb because processing is easily applied to such end . the depth of the grooves 13 ( 13 a and 13 b ) ranges from 0 . 1 mm to 80 % of the thickness of the base board 10 . the width of the groove 13 is 0 . 1 mm to 2 . 0 mm . with these combinations of depth and width of the groove 13 , solder overflow is suppressed in the groove 13 , especially considering the size of the surface - mount piezoelectric oscillator 100 . ( solder overflow is still dependent on the amount of solder sol applied to the circuit board pb , but this variable can be controlled .) in this embodiment , solder overflow is suppressed by flow of excess solder into the groove 13 a or into the groove 13 b , or into both grooves . fig3 a - 3b show a piezoelectric oscillator 100 being mounted on the circuit board pb . fig3 a is a side view of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 before mounting , and fig3 b is a side view of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 after mounting . in fig3 a pads 115 are formed on a circuit board pb on which an electronic device or the like is mounted . the pads 115 form respective parts of a circuit . solder sol is applied to the pads 115 by application of a solder paste followed by passage through a reflow furnace of infrared type or hot - air type ( not shown ). solder is usually applied to the pads 115 at a predetermined thickness by application of solder paste sol using a squeegee ( not shown ) that urges the paste through a perforated metal mask made from stainless steel ( not shown ). then , the piezoelectric oscillator 100 is mounted to regions in which the solder sol has been applied . the mounting of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 is usually performed by a numerically controlled ( nc ) surface - mounting machine . as shown in fig3 b , during mounting of the piezoelectric oscillator 100 , superfluous solder sol may enter the groove 13 . this flow into the groove prevents formation of solder balls or the like even if a somewhat excessive amount of the solder paste is transferred to the pads 115 . a solder resist could be formed between the external terminals 15 to avoid generating short - circuits between the external terminals . however , with the depicted embodiment , the need for solder resist is eliminated because the grooves accommodate the excess solder . the shape of the external terminal 15 can be similar to conventional shapes . the external terminals 15 on the under - surface of the base board 10 can extend up the side surfaces of the base board 10 . this configuration allows visual observations of a meniscus state of soldering . a crystal oscillator 150 is now described with reference to fig4 a - 4c . fig4 a is an overall perspective view ; fig4 b is a cross - sectional view ; and fig4 c is a top view with the metal lid 61 removed . the crystal oscillator 150 is a surface - mount type , comprising an insulating ceramic package 60 and a metal lid 61 that covers the package . the metal lid 61 desirably is made of kovar ( iron ( fe )/ nickel ( ni )/ cobalt ( co ) alloy ). the ceramic package 60 comprises a bottom ceramic layer 60 a , a wall ceramic layer 60 b , and seat ceramic layer 60 c . these layers are punched from green sheets formed from a slurry containing ceramic powder including alumina as a main material , a binder , and the like . instead of using ceramic powder containing alumina as the main ingredient to form the material of the ceramic package 60 , any of various other materials can be used such as glass ceramic , zero x - y shrinkage glass ceramic substrate , aluminum nitride , mullite , or the like . as understood from fig4 b , the package 60 constructed from the ceramic layers 60 a - 60 c forms a cavity . the electronic component ( s ) 31 and / or tuning - fork type crystal - vibrating piece 33 is mounted in the cavity . copper plating 12 , electrically connected with the electronic component ( s ) 31 , is formed in a portion of the top surface of the seat ceramic layer 60 c . at least two external terminals 15 , formed in the lower surface of the ceramic package 60 , are mounted on the surfaces of the pads 115 of the circuit board pb . the copper plating 12 connects to the external terminals 15 . a metallized layer is provided on the upper surface of the wall ceramic layer 60 b . a sealing material 39 , made from a low - temperature - brazing filler metal , is formed on the metallized layer for bonding the metal lid 61 . the wall ceramic layer 60 b and the metal lid 61 are welded together by the sealing material 39 . the tuning - fork type crystal - vibrating piece 33 has , in its proximal portion , an adhesion region intended to be electrically connected using conductive adhesive 37 . specifically , copper plating 12 , electrically connected with an external electrode , is formed on the seat ceramic layer 60 c , and the proximal end of the tuning - fork type crystal - vibrating piece 33 is bonded to the seat ceramic layer 60 c using the conductive adhesive 37 . as affixed , the crystal - vibrating piece extends parallel to the bottom ceramic layer 60 a and produces a predetermined vibration . as disclosed in fig4 a - 4c , a groove 13 is formed around the external terminals 15 of the crystal oscillator 150 . consequently , when mounting the crystal oscillator 150 on the circuit board pb , any superfluous solder sol flows into the groove 13 . hence , even if an unintended larger amount of solder paste is applied to the pads 115 ( e . g ., using a squeegee ), a solder ball or the like is not formed , and short - circuits are avoided . fig5 a - 5d show a method for manufacturing the ceramic package 60 , specifically the bottom ceramic layer 60 a . fig5 a shows a first green sheet 60 a 1 made from alumina . the lattice - shaped broken lines 69 denote expected partition lines . in this example , a portion of the first green sheet enclosed by the parting lines 69 is a rectangle of 5 mm by 7 mm . to form the groove 13 , as shown in fig5 a , rectangular through - holes 18 are formed in the first green sheet 60 a 1 along the parting lines 69 using a punching machine or the like . the thickness of the first green sheet 60 a 1 dictates the depth of the groove 13 . next , a second green sheet 60 a 2 sized identically to the first green sheet 60 a 1 is prepared . the second green sheet 60 a 2 is a flat plate lacking the through - holes . then , the first green sheet 60 a 1 and second green sheet 60 a 2 are stacked . thus , as shown in fig5 b , the through - holes 18 become blind via - holes 19 . next , when the stacked sheet is cut along the parting lines 69 to form multiple units each destined to become a bottom ceramic layer 60 a having the overall configuration as shown in fig5 c . then , when the wall ceramic layer 60 b and seat ceramic layer 60 c are stacked on and integrated with the bottom ceramic layer 60 a , a pre - calcination ceramic package 60 is formed . although the wall ceramic layer 60 b and seat ceramic layer 60 c are not shown in fig5 ( d ) , printing is performed at the blind via - holes 19 of the bottom ceramic layer 60 a during application of vacuum suction . thus , the external terminals 15 are formed by screen printing of a conductive paste including tungsten , molybdenum , or the like . the screen printing is not performed to the entire blind via - holes 19 . rather , the conductive paste is applied only in the central portions of the blind via - holes 19 to form the grooves 13 . although not specifically described , this screen - printing technique is also performed to the copper plating 12 of the wall ceramic layer 60 b and to the seat ceramic layer 60 c . the stacked structure formed as described above is calcinated for a predetermined time at approximately 1500 ° c . to form the ceramic package 60 having the grooves 13 . in the foregoing description , screen printing is performed after cutting along the parting lines 69 . however , the ceramic package 60 may be produced by a process having a different other than that described above . for example , screen printing of the conductive paste may be performed to the large green sheet 60 a before partition . then the sheet is calcinated and cut along the parting lines 69 . the foregoing description pertained to the package 60 being made of ceramic . alternatively , the package can be made of a filled resin , with the same grooves 13 being formed around the external terminals 15 . exemplary filled - resin materials are epoxy resin , bismaleimide - triazine ( bt ) resin , polyimide resin , glass epoxy resin , glass bt resin , and the like . with a resin package , the groove 13 may be formed by laser processing , drilling , routing , or the like . in the foregoing description , the first green sheet 60 a 1 and the second green sheet 60 a 2 are stacked to form the bottom ceramic layer 60 a . alternatively , a boss , die , or the like defining a shape complementary to the shape of the groove 13 may be urged against a single green sheet to form the grooves 13 . as explained above , the grooves 13 extend depthwise into the base board and can be formed by laser processing , drilling , routing , or the like to a base board made of a resin laminate . alternatively , the grooves 13 can be formed by punching or similar method before calcining a ceramic base board . fig6 a - 6d show representative sectional profiles of the grooves 13 . in fig1 to 5 described above , the sectional profile of the grooves 13 was rectangular . but , any of various other sectional profiles can alternatively be used . fig6 a depicts a triangular profile for the grooves 13 . such a profile can be formed easily by drilling or routing . however , if the width and the depth of a triangular - profiled groove 13 are the same as a corresponding rectangular groove , the volume of the triangular groove is less than of the rectangular groove . hence , the triangular groove can accept less overflowing solder sol than a rectangular groove having the same depth and width . fig6 b shows a groove 13 having a sectional profile that is semi - circular . this profile is suitable if the grooves are formed by embossing . fig6 c shows a groove 13 that provides progressively larger cross - sectional area with increased depth . although special routing or the like must be used to form such grooves , since the volume of the groove 13 increases with depth , the amount of overflowing solder sol that can be accommodated in such a groove may be larger than with other types of grooves . fig6 d shows rectangular grooves 13 formed with shoulders ( i . e ., the grooves are separated from the external terminals 15 by a distance δl ). the grooves 13 described above are formed directly at the sides of the external terminals 15 . however , the grooves need not be formed directly to the sides . the grooves 13 described above formed as a single groove around each respective external terminal 15 . alternatively , multiple grooves ( e . g ., two ) can be formed around the terminals . the foregoing description has been in the context of mounting an electronic device , such as piezoelectric oscillator 100 or crystal oscillator 150 , to a circuit board pb . this is not intended to be limiting . the principles described herein can be applied to other types of electronic devices , such as a package having chip on board ( cob ) structure , and pin grid array ( pga ) structure , or a ball grid array ( bga ) package . these various electronic devices are often manufactured using resin packages . since a resin package has rich mechanical processability , grooves may be formed economically and with high precision using mechanical techniques such as drilling or routing . the description has been in the context of crystal oscillators . alternatively , a crystal unit may be used and , in particular , a large - sized device is preferable among electronic devices . before applying the solder sol , a solder resist may be applied to the circuit board pb between places where the solder sol is to be applied .
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fig1 illustrates a sectional view of a portion 1 of a semiconductor device with an arrangement of adjacent n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b positioned in a wn - well 2 , and of metal pads 4 a , 4 b , 5 a , 5 b contacting same , in accordance with prior art . the semiconductor device may , e . g . be an integrated ( analog or digital ) computing circuit , or a semiconductor memory device such as functional memory device ( pla , pal , etc . ), or a table memory device ( e . g . rom or ram ), in particular a dram , e . g . a ddr dram ( double data rate dram ). the metal pads 4 a , 5 a positioned “ at the front ” on the semiconductor device illustrated in fig1 may e . g . be connected to corresponding ( not illustrated ) output pads of the semiconductor device , and the metal pads 4 b , 5 b positioned “ at the rear ” may e . g . be connected to corresponding ( not illustrated , either ) signal driver devices . as is further illustrated in fig1 , the front metal pads 4 a , 5 a contact the respective n - diffusion resistor 3 a , 3 b — via a corresponding diffusion metal contact 6 a , 7 a — at a region positioned at the front end of the n - diffusion resistor 3 a , 3 b , and the rear metal pads 4 b , 5 b contact the respective n - diffusion resistor 3 a , 3 b — via a corresponding diffusion metal contact 6 b , 7 b — at a region positioned at the rear end of the n - diffusion resistor 3 a , 3 b . by the fact that the resistance value of the respective n - diffusion resistor 3 a , 3 b connected between the corresponding signal driver device and the corresponding output pad is chosen correspondingly high , a linearization of the driver behavior may be achieved with the semiconductor device . for generating the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b , the corresponding region on the semiconductor device or the chip , respectively , is — relatively strongly — n - doped . the resistance value of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b may , for instance , be set to the respectively desired amount by selecting ( e . g . with respectively identical length l of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b ) their width or breadth b correspondingly — differently — large ( in the development shown in fig1 , for instance , the ( first ) n - diffusion resistor 3 a is designed with a — relatively large — breadth b ′, and the ( second ) n - diffusion resistor 3 a with a — relatively small — breadth b ″, so that a relatively low resistance value results for the first n - diffusion resistor 3 a , and a relatively high resistance value results for the second n - diffusion resistor 3 b ). for technological reasons , the — relatively strongly n - doped — diffusion regions of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b are embedded in a — relatively weakly n - doped — region ( namely the above - mentioned wn - well 2 ). in order to save chip space , several ( in particular all ) n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b are arranged — side by side — in one single wn - well 2 ( i . e . in addition to the first and second n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b illustrated in fig1 , several further , not illustrated n - diffusion resistors ). consequently , the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b ( and the further , not illustrated n - diffusion resistors ) are — via the parasitic resistor formed by the wn - well 2 — connected with one another , so that adjacent n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b mutually influence each other in their respective — effectively — resulting resistance value . this influence is the higher , the greater the difference between the resistance values of respectively adjacent n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b is . for this reason — in the arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b according to prior art as illustrated in fig1 —, the distance a between respectively adjacent n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b must be chosen relatively large ( in particular in the case of a relatively great difference between the resistance values of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b ). this — relatively large — distance a between the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b leads to a relatively large chip space needed altogether for the arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 3 a , 3 b . fig2 shows a sectional view of a portion 11 of a semiconductor device with an arrangement of adjacent n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e positioned in a wn - well 12 , and of metal pads 14 a , 14 b , 14 c , 14 d , 14 e , 14 f , 15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d contacting same , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the semiconductor device may e . g . be an integrated ( analog or digital ) computing circuit , or a semiconductor memory device such as functional memory device ( pla , pal , etc . ), or a table memory device ( e . g . rom or ram ), in particular a dram , e . g . a ddr dram ( double data rate dram ). as is illustrated in fig2 , the metal pads 14 a , 14 c , 14 e , 15 a , 15 c — positioned further “ at the front ” on the semiconductor device vis - à - vis the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — contact the respective n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — via a corresponding diffusion metal contact 16 a , 17 a — at a region positioned at the front end of the n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e . in analogy , the metal pads 14 b , 14 d , 14 f , 15 b , 15 d — positioned further “ at the rear ” on the semiconductor device vis - à - vis the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — contact the respective n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — via a corresponding diffusion metal contact 16 b , 17 b — at a region positioned at the rear end of the n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e . as will be explained in detail further below , the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e are — via the metal pads 14 a , 14 c , 14 e , 15 a , 15 c and the metal pads 14 b , 14 d , 14 f , 15 b , 15 d — connected between ( not illustrated ) output pads of the semiconductor device and corresponding ( not illustrated , either ) signal driver devices of the semiconductor device . for generating the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e , the corresponding region on the semiconductor device or the chip , respectively , is — in a way known as such — relatively strongly n - doped . as is further illustrated in fig2 , the — relatively strongly n - doped — diffusion regions of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e are embedded in a — relatively weakly n - doped — region ( namely the wn - well 12 already mentioned above ). in order to save chip space , several ( e . g . more than two , three , or four , in particular all ) n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e of the semiconductor device are positioned in one single wn - well 12 ( i . e . in addition to the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e illustrated in fig2 , a plurality of further , not illustrated n - diffusion resistors ). the above - mentioned n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e positioned in one and the same wn - well 12 all have a substantially identical structure . in particular , the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e all have substantially the same length 1 , and the same width or breadth b , and the same depth t . for this reason , a — substantially — identical individual resistance value r results for all of the above - mentioned n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e . as is further shown in fig2 , the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — being positioned side by side — are , viewed in longitudinal direction of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e , alternately displaced “ to the front ” or “ to the rear ” ( namely such that every second n - diffusion resistor ( e . g . the first , third , and fifth n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e ) is displaced to the “ rear ” e . g . by a respectively identical , for instance by substantially half a resistor length ½ , and the remaining n - diffusion resistors positioned therebetween ( here e . g . the second and fourth n - diffusion resistors 13 b , 13 d ) are displaced by a corresponding length ( e . g . half a resistor length ½ ) to the “ front ”. the central axes ( in particular the central transverse axes ) of every second of the adjacent n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e ( i . e . the central axes of the first , third , and fifth n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e , and the central axes of the second and fourth n - diffusion resistors 13 b , 13 d ) each lie in one and the same plane ( extending transversely from the top to the bottom through the semiconductor device ). furthermore — also with every second n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e ( i . e . with the first , third , and fifth n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e , and with the second and fourth n - diffusion resistors 13 b , 13 d )— the respective front ends of the corresponding n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e or 13 b , 13 d , respectively ( and thus the corresponding — front — diffusion metal contacts 16 a or 17 a , respectively , of the corresponding n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e or 13 b , 13 d , respectively ) lie in one and the same plane ( extending in parallel to the above - mentioned central planes ). an analogy — also with every second n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e ( i . e . with the first , third , and fifth n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e , and with the second and fourth n - diffusion resistors 13 b , 13 d )— the respective rear ends of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e or 13 b , 13 d , respectively ( and thus the corresponding — rear — diffusion metal contacts 16 b or 17 b , respectively , of the corresponding n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e or 13 b , 13 d , respectively ) lie in one and the same plane . as is further illustrated in fig2 , the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e are — alternately — displaced to the “ front ” or to the “ rear ”, respectively , to such an extent that the respective front ends of the first , third and fifth n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 c , 13 e displaced to the “ rear ” ( and thus their front diffusion metal contacts 16 a ) each lie substantially in the same plane as the respective rear ends of the second and fourth n - diffusion resistors 13 b , 13 d displaced to the “ front ” ( and thus their rear diffusion metal contacts 17 b ). every second of the respectively adjacent metal pads 14 a , 14 b , 14 c , 14 d , 14 e , 14 f , 15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d has an identical length k ′ or k ″, respectively ( in particular has every second of the respective front metal pads 14 a , 14 c , 14 e , and every second of the respective rear metal pads 15 b , 15 d a — relatively great , first — length k ′, and the metal pads 14 b , 14 d , 14 f , 15 a , 15 c therebetween have a — relatively small , second — length k ″, so that — despite the above - mentioned displaced arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — the respective front ends of all respective front metal pads 14 a , 14 c , 14 e , 15 a , 15 c , and the respective rear ends of all respective rear metal pads 14 b , 14 d , 14 f , 15 b , 15 d each are substantially positioned in one and the same plane ). as already explained above , each of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e has a — substantially — identical individual resistance value r . depending on the respectively desired resistance value r desired of an intermediate resistor — which is to be formed by the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e and is to be connected between a particular signal driver device and the pertinent output pad —, a particular number of n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e is connected in parallel and is connected with the corresponding output pad and the pertinent signal driver device ( so that — for e . g . two n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b connected in parallel — e . g . a total resistance value r total of r / 2 results for the resulting intermediate resistor , for three n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c connected in parallel , e . g . a total resistance value r total of r / 3 , etc .). for connecting the corresponding n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e in parallel between a particular output pad and a pertinent driver device , the corresponding front metal pads 14 a , 14 c , 14 e , 15 a , 15 c of the respective n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e to be connected in parallel are — jointly — connected to the corresponding output pad , and the corresponding rear metal pads 14 b , 14 d , 14 f , 15 b , 15 d of the respective n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e to be connected in parallel are — jointly — connected to the corresponding signal driver device . by the fact that the resistance value r total of the respective intermediate resistor that is connected between the corresponding signal driver device and the corresponding output pad — and that is formed by the corresponding number of n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e connected in parallel — is chosen appropriately ( in particular such that the following applies : r total ≅ r desired ), a linearization of the driver behavior may be achieved with the semiconductor device . since all n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e have the same individual resistance value r , and due to the relatively large distance c between two respectively adjacent n - diffusion resistors lying in the same plane , which results from the displaced arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e ( e . g . the distance c between the second n - diffusion resistor 13 b and the fourth n - diffusion resistor 13 d ), the influence of the parasitic resistor — formed by the wn - well 12 and connecting the individual n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e with one another — on the effectively resulting individual resistance r ′ of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e — taking into account the parasitic resistor —( or on the total resistance value r total ′ effectively resulting by the above - mentioned parallel connection — taking into account the parasitic resistor —) is relatively minor . for this reason , in the arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e illustrated in fig2 , the distance a between directly succeeding n - diffusion resistors lying in displaced planes ( e . g . the distance a between the first n - diffusion resistor 13 and the second n - diffusion resistor 13 b , the distance a between the second n - diffusion resistor 13 b and the third n - diffusion resistor 13 c , etc .) may be chosen relatively small . this — relatively small — distance a between the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e leads to a relatively small chip space needed altogether for the arrangement of the n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e . since the structure of each n - diffusion resistor 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e is identical to the structure of the remaining n - diffusion resistors 13 a , 13 b , 13 c , 13 d , 13 e ( and since each n - diffusion resistor is arranged appropriately vis - à - vis the remaining ones ), a standard environment is provided which — once — modelled and verified , enables an exact predictability of the respective — effectively — resulting resistance values .
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fig1 shows an exemplary intake manifold assembly 10 for an eight - cylinder v - type engine 1001 in accordance with aspects of the present invention . however , it is understood that aspects of the invention are applicable to v - type engines having any number of cylinders . the intake manifold assembly consists of a plenum 10 , top lid 40 , individual runners 20 , and an intake tract 30 . plenum 10 is positioned centrally between the two v - type cylinder heads 1002 and runners 20 connect the plenum 10 to the cylinder heads 1002 . the intake tract 30 is bounded by the valley cover 1003 of the v - type engine 1001 , the runners 20 , and the bottom of the plenum 10 . fig2 shows an exploded view of the exemplary intake manifold assembly , including a plenum 10 , runners 20 , top lid 40 attached to the top of the plenum , and an intake tract 30 attached to the bottom of the plenum 10 . fig3 shows a representation of a side view of the intake manifold . the intake tract 30 has a throttle body mounting flange 301 , with a front - facing opening , to facilitate attachment of a front - facing throttle body . openings 204 in the cylinder head mounting flange 201 allow air to transition from the runners 20 , into the engine cylinder heads . fig4 shows a top view of the intake manifold assembly . for an eight - cylinder v - type engine , there are eight runners 20 , with one or more injector ports 202 on each runner . the injector ports 202 , facilitate the mounting of devices used to inject fuel or other liquids or gases into the individual engine cylinders . cylinder head mounting flanges 201 contain fastener locations 203 to attach the intake manifold to the engine cylinder heads . the intake tract 30 extends horizontally outward , in the forward direction , from the plenum 10 to allow mounting of the throttle body on the throttle body mounting flange 301 with front - facing opening . on the exemplary intake tract , provision has been made to accommodate an air pressure sensor 302 . fig5 shows a front view of the intake manifold assembly . the opening 303 of the intake tract 30 can be configured to face towards the front or rear of the engine , by re - configuration of the cylinder head mounting flanges 201 and fasteners 203 used to fasten the intake manifold to the engine cylinder heads . the throttle body mounting flange 301 , on the front - facing opening of the intake tract , contains mounting points 304 to facilitate fixing a throttle body to regulate airflow into the intake tract 30 . other intake manifold configurations are possible , including removal of the intake tract 30 , blocking the bottom - facing plenum opening by means of a lid , and re - configuring the lid 40 to accommodate a top - facing throttle body mounting flange . fig6 shows a top view of the intake manifold with the top lid 40 removed to expose the inner features of the plenum 10 . the top lid 40 is attached to the plenum 10 by means of fasteners located at one or more fastener locations 205 on the top of the plenum . the top - facing opening 102 facilitates attachment of a blocking lid , or other types of lids to accommodate various downward facing throttle bodies or carburetors . fig7 is a cross - sectional view of the intake manifold along line x - x represented in fig4 . after regulation of air by a throttle body attached to the throttle body mounting flange 301 , it is shown that the air can freely travel through the front - facing opening 303 in the intake tract 30 , into the plenum 10 via the bottom - facing opening 302 . plane 302 represents the bottom - facing opening to the plenum , and connection point of the intake tract 30 , to the underside of the plenum 10 . after the air has entered the plenum 10 , it is distributed to the runners 20 via plenum ports 101 , and travels down the runners 20 and into the engine cylinder heads . arrow 304 is a representation of the directional airflow passing through the intake tract 30 and into the plenum 10 . fig8 is a cross - sectional slice of the intake manifold along line y - y represented in fig4 . the cross - section shows the air volume contained within the lower intake tract 30 , the plenum 10 and the runners 20 . one or more injector ports 202 may be formed into each of the runners 20 , to facilitate passage of gasses and liquids being injected into the air path . arrow 305 shows the airflow path as it exits the intake tract 30 and flows in an upward direction into the plenum 10 , through the bottom - facing opening in the plenum . airflow is distributed from the plenum 10 into the runners 20 via the plenum ports 101 . the runners facilitate airflow to the exemplary engine cylinder heads 1002 . while specific embodiments of the present invention have been provided , it is to be understood that these embodiments are for illustration purposes and not limiting . many additional embodiments will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art reading this disclosure .
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referring to fig1 and 2 , a portable apparatus 100 includes an electronic device 10 and a fastening device 20 detachably attached to the electronic device 10 for positioning the electronic device 10 to another object ( not shown ). the electronic device 10 may be a handheld flat screen television , a portable disc player , and so on . the electronic device 10 is substantially rectangular - shaped , and includes a front casing 11 and a rear casing 13 . the front casing 11 engages with the rear casing 13 to define a first receiving space . components of the electronic device , such as a display module ( not shown ) may be disposed in the first receiving space . the front casing 11 may have a viewing surface . the electronic device 10 further defines four locking slots 14 in an outer surface of the rear casing 13 . the four locking slots 14 are located in the vicinity of four corners of the rear casing 13 correspondingly . referring to fig2 , 3 , and 4 , the fastening device 20 includes a cover 30 , two locking mechanisms 50 are disposed in the cover 30 . the cover 30 includes a platform cover 31 , a support cover 33 engaged with the platform cover 31 , and a fixing member 35 disposed between the platform cover 31 and a support cover 33 . the platform cover 31 supports the rear casing 13 of the electronic device 10 when the fastening device 20 is attached to the electrical device 10 . the platform cover 31 includes an outer platform surface 312 and an inner platform surface 313 . the platform cover 31 defines four first through holes 311 , the four first through holes 311 communicate between the outer platform surface 312 and the inner platform surface 313 of the platform cover 31 . the openings 311 may locate at four corners of the platform cover 31 correspondingly . the four first through holes 311 correspond with the four locking slots 14 of the electrical device 10 . a plurality of fixing posts 315 protrude from the inner platform surface 313 correspondingly . the support cover 33 includes an inner support surface 332 and an outer support surface 333 on opposite sides of the support cover 33 . the inner surface 332 faces the platform cover 31 . two guiding slots 331 are defined in the support cover 33 communicating between the inner surface 332 and the outer surface 333 . the two pushing slots 331 are arc - shaped . the two pushing slots 331 are substantially located near shorter edges of the support cover 33 correspondingly . two supporting portions 335 protrude from the outer surface 333 . the two supporting portions 335 are adjacent to the two pushing slots 331 , and are used for contacting with an object which the electronic device 10 is fastened on . the fixing member 35 is substantially rectangular - shaped . the fixing member 35 may include a chassis 350 , and four dampening members 351 . the four dampening members 351 are fixed at four corners of the chassis 350 correspondingly . a fixing hole 3511 is defined in each dampening member 31 , and used for the fixing post 315 to pass through , such that the fixing member 35 can be elastically fixed on the platform cover 31 . a positioning block 355 , a stopping block 357 , a first paw 359 , a second paw 361 , and a chassis platform 363 protrude from the chassis 350 . the positioning block 355 , the stopping block 357 , and the first paw 359 are aligned along a first line aa 1 , with the stopping block 357 located between the positioning block 355 and the first paw 359 . two mounting holes 352 and a opening 353 are defined in the chassis 350 . the opening 353 is located between the two mounting holes 352 . the first line aa 1 passes through the two mounting holes 352 and the opening 353 . a positioning post 365 protrudes from the center of the chassis platform 363 . the positioning post 365 and the second paw 361 are arranged in a second line bb 1 , and the positioning post 365 is located in a rotating center o of an actuating member 55 ( fig5 ). two sliding slots 367 and two entrances 368 are defined in the chassis 350 . each of the two sliding slots 367 is substantially a quarter circle arc - shaped and arranged in a same circle , the center of which is the rotating center o of the actuating member 55 . one of the two sliding slots 367 is located between the second paw 361 and the positioning post 365 , and the second line bb 1 extends through the center of the two sliding slots 367 . the two entrances 368 communicate with the two sliding slots 367 correspondingly , and located at one end of the sliding slots 367 correspondingly . each of the locking mechanisms 50 includes a hook 51 , a locking member 53 , the actuating member 55 , a first resilient member 59 and a second resilient member 57 . the actuating member 55 , the first resilient member 59 , and the fixing member 35 constitute a rotating system 70 . the hook 51 is fixed on the chassis 350 of the fixing member 35 , and is used for latching onto the electronic device 10 . the hook 51 includes a fastening portion 511 and a hooking portion 513 disposed on the fastening portion 511 . the fastening portion 511 defines two fastening holes 5111 corresponding to the two mounting holes 352 defined in the chassis 350 . thus , the hook 51 may be fastened on the fixing member 35 via a screw , a bolt , and so on . the hooking portion 513 is capable of passing through the through hole 311 and insertable into the locking slot 14 to hook on the electronic device 10 . the actuating member 55 may be an integrated member . the actuating member 55 includes a positioning portion 552 , a driving portion 5571 , and a connecting portion 557 connecting the driving portion 5571 to one side of the positioning portion 552 . the positioning portion 552 is elongated , and includes a positioning hole 551 , two hook - shaped claws 559 , an actuating portion 555 , a post 553 , and a button 558 . the positioning hole 551 is defined in the middle of the positioning portion 552 . the positioning hole 551 is used for receiving the positioning post 365 ; therefore , the actuating member 55 is rotatably attached on the chassis platform 363 of the fixing member 35 , and pivotally rotatable around the rotating center o . the two hook - shaped claws 559 are disposed at opposite ends of the positioning portion 552 correspondingly . the claws 559 face the fixing member 35 corresponding to the sliding slots 367 . the two claws 559 are installed into the sliding slots 367 from the entrances 368 and slidably clasp the fixing member 35 , in order to prevent the actuating member 55 from disengaging with the fixing member 35 when rotated . the actuating portion 555 and the post 553 are also disposed at opposite ends of the positioning portion 552 , but face the support cover 33 , and opposite to the two claws 559 . the actuating portion 555 bends perpendicularly from one end of the positioning portion 552 . the button 558 is located on the outer surface 333 of the support cover 33 . the button 558 is fixable on the actuating portion 555 after the actuating portion 555 pass through the corresponding pushing slot 331 , in order to be conveniently pushed by a user . the connecting portion 557 is flat shaped . the connecting portion 557 extends from one side of the positioning portion 552 along an elongating direction , and parallel with the fixing member 35 . the driving portion 5571 is an arc - shaped wall vertically extending from an edge of the connecting portion 557 . the center of driving portion 5571 is the rotating center o of the actuating member 55 . a height of the driving portion 5571 gradually decreases along a clockwise rotating direction of the actuating member 55 in fig4 . the driving portion 5571 includes a driving surface 5573 which is a top surface of the driving portion 5571 . the driving surface 5573 is an inclined surface with respect to the plane of the rotating surface of actuating member 55 . the first resilient member 59 is a torsion spring , and includes a first end 591 , a second end 592 , and a winding 593 connecting the first end 591 and the second end 592 . the first end 591 is fixed on the post 553 , and the second end 592 is fixed on the second paw 361 . the winding 593 is freely disposed between the post 553 and the second paw 361 . therefore , the first resilient member 59 provides a torsional force to limit the actuating member 55 located at two ends of the sliding slots 367 . the locking member 53 is substantially elongated , and pivotally attached on the fixing member 35 . the locking member 53 includes a base 530 , a shaft 531 , a locking portion 533 , a driven portion 537 , and a post 535 . the shaft 531 and the locking portion 533 are disposed at opposite ends of the base 530 correspondingly . the shaft 531 is pivotally fixed on the positioning block 355 , in order to pivotally fix the locking member 53 on the fixing member 35 . the locking portion 533 is a protruding block and faces the fixing member 35 . the locking portion 533 is used for passing through the opening 353 and the through hole 311 , and inserting into the rest space of the corresponding locking slot 14 of the electronic device 10 , to prevent the hooking portion 513 from drawing from the locking slot 14 . the post 535 protrudes from a side surface of the locking member 53 adjacent to the shaft 531 , and faces the stopping block 357 . the driven portion 537 is contacting with the driving portion 5571 the driven portion 537 may be a protruding block opposite to the post 535 and adjacent to the locking portion 533 . the driven portion 537 is supported on the driving surface 5573 , thus , the driven portion 537 may be pushed to move toward a first direction d 1 and a second direction d 2 ( fig5 ), when the actuating member 55 is actuated . the first direction d 1 is a reverse direction of the second direction d 2 , and perpendicular to the rotating surface of the actuating member 55 . the second resilient member 57 may be a torsion spring . the second resilient member 57 is fixed on the post 535 of the locking member 53 , with one end pressing the locking member 53 and the other end resisting against the first paw 359 of the fixing member 35 , to prevent the locking portion 533 from withdrawing back from the through hole 311 . in assembly , first , the positioning posts 365 are passed through the positioning holes 551 of the corresponding positioning portion 552 rotatably connecting the actuating member 55 on the chassis platform 363 of the fixing member 35 . therefore , the contacting surface between the actuating member 55 and the fixing member 35 is reduced . then , the claws 559 are inserted into the corresponding sliding slots 367 from the corresponding entrances 368 and hook onto the fixing member 35 , thereby , preventing the actuating member 55 from disengaging with the fixing member 35 , when the actuating member 55 rotates with respect to the fixing member 35 . second , the locking member 53 is pivotally attached on the fixing member 35 , and engages with the actuating member 55 . the shaft 531 is fixed on the positioning block 355 of the fixing member 35 , and rotatable with respect to the positioning block 355 . the driven portion 537 are located on the driving surface 5573 of the driving portion 5571 , the locking portion 533 is passes through the opening 353 , and the post 535 contacts with the stopping block 357 . third , a screw or a bolt pass through the fastening hole 5111 of hook 51 and mounting hole 352 of the fixing member 35 to fix the hook 51 on the fixing member 35 , therefore , the hooking portion 513 is aligned with the locking portion 533 . after that , the first end 591 of the first resilient member 59 is fixed on the post 553 , the second end 592 is fixed on the second paw 361 , and the winding 593 is in a normal state . the second resilient member 57 is fixed on the post 535 of the locking member 53 , with one end pressing on the locking member 53 and the other end resisting against the first paw 359 of the fixing member 35 , to prevent the locking portion 533 from withdrawing back from the through hole 311 . finally , the fixing posts 315 pass through the fixing holes 3511 of the dampening members 351 to attach the fixing member 35 on the platform cover 31 , and the hooking portion 513 of the hook 51 and the locking portion 533 of the locking member 53 pass through the through hole 311 for inserting into the locking slot 14 . and the support cover 33 is engaged on the platform cover 31 with the actuating portion 555 passing through the corresponding pushing slot 331 . then the button 558 sleeves on the actuating portion 555 to be conveniently pushed , thereby actuating the locking member 53 . further referring to fig5 and 6 , the locking portion 533 is withdrawn from the locking slot 14 of the electronic device 10 and the through hole 311 of the platform cover 31 along the first direction d 1 . the driven portion 537 is supported at the highest position of the driving portion 5571 with respect to the rotating surface of the actuating member 55 . each claw 559 is located at one end of the sliding slot 367 , and the first resilient member 59 applies a first torsional force to one end of the positioning portion 552 of the actuating member 55 to limit the actuating member 55 . referring to fig7 and 8 , when the electronic device 10 needs to be assembled on the fastening device 20 , the hooking portion 51 is inserted into the corresponding locking slot 14 . then , the button 558 is pushed , overcoming the first torsional force of the first resilient member 59 , and slides into the other end of the pushing slot 331 . the actuating member 55 rotates around the positioning post 365 on the rotating surface with respect to the fixing member 35 , and the claws 559 slide to the other end of the sliding slots 367 correspondingly . the first resilient member 59 applies a second torsional force to one end of the positioning portion 552 of the actuating member 55 to limit the actuating member 55 . the driven portion 537 slides from the highest position to the lowest position of the driving portion 5571 due to a pressing force from the second resilient member 57 . the locking portion 533 passes through the opening 353 and the through hole 311 and inserts into the locking slot 14 along the second direction d 2 to prevent the hooking portion 51 from disengaging from the electronic device 10 . therefore , the electronic device 10 is assembled on the fastening device 20 . it is to be understood , however , that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure , the present 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 present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed .
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with continued reference to the drawing , fig1 illustrates in exploded perspective view the connector shown generally at 20 comprising a first wire organizer shown generally at 22 , a second wire organizer shown generally at 24 and a contact element means shown generally at 26 . first wire organizer 22 is comprised of insulating members 28 and 30 which have been pre - applied to organize core wires such as wire 32 as will be discussed further with respect to fig3 of the drawing . each of said wire organizers has means for securing a plurality of core wires , for example , a plurality of core wire sockets such as wire socket 34 which extends generally through first wire organizer 22 from its front 36 to its back 38 . insulating members 28 and 30 are further provided with a plurality of leg openings such as leg opening 40 which extends from the top 42 to the bottom 44 of first wire organizer 22 . it is important to note that the axis of each of said leg openings is generally normal to the axis of a corresponding wire socket and communicates with a corresponding wire socket . second wire organizer 24 is preferably identical and / or complementary to first wire organizer 22 and comprises insulating members 46 and 48 . specifically , insulating member 48 may be substantially identical to insulating member 28 and insulating member 46 may be substantially identical to insulating member 30 . second wire organizer 24 is shown as being pre - applied to core wires such as wire 50 of another cable wherein core wires such as wire 50 and core wires such as wire 32 are to be connected by the connector 20 . first and second wire organizers 22 and 24 are aligned into a mating relationship by male member 52 and complementary female recess 54 . thus it can be seen that insulating member 46 may be identical to insulating member 30 when reversed top to bottom . leg openings such as leg opening 40 extend through insulating members 46 and 48 the same as they do with respect to insulating members 28 and 30 . it can be seen with respect to insulating member 46 and therefore with respect to insulating member 30 that all leg openings 40 are provided with shoulder means 56 which partially block leg openings 40 as will be discussed further with respect to fig4 . although the first and second wire organizers have been described as being preferably identical and complementary for economy and ease of use , it is understood that variations in configuration are within the scope of the invention which will provide communication between the leg openings and the wire sockets to allow insertion of a contact element means which will secure wire organizers together and will electrically interconnect core wires within the wire sockets . with continued reference to fig1 contact element means 26 is illustrated as comprising a plurality of crimpable generally c - shaped contacts such as contact 58 . contact 58 is shown in fig1 to be in an open or uncrimped condition and is shown in fig2 to be in an installed or crimped condition . uncrimped contacts such as contact 58 are held in position relative to each other by a film strip 60 of insulating material which has been coated on one side thereof with sealing material . the sealing material which holds contacts such as contact 58 in place also secures film strip 60 as shown in fig2 to provide an environmental sealing layer . contacts 58 are made from electrically conductive material such as copper . contacts 58 have first and second ends shown generally at 59 and 61 . contacts 58 are bifurcated at each end at 62 to provide means to displace wire insulation from wires 32 and 50 . bifurcations 62 at each end of contact 58 define respective pairs of staggered legs 64 , 66 , and 68 , 70 . it can be seen in fig4 that the ends of the legs , primarily legs 68 and 66 , are provided with barb - like means 72 which make gripping contact with shoulder means 56 of insulating members 30 and 46 . the pair of legs 64 and 66 of first end 59 are uneven , leg 66 being substantially longer than leg 64 . similarly , the pair of legs 68 and 70 of second end 61 are uneven , leg 68 being substantially longer than leg 70 . the pairs of legs are , therefore , staggered with respect to each other and , when contact 58 is crimped into connected position as shown in fig2 then 66 and 68 are in overlapping relationship . the overlapping relationship of the above - mentioned legs means that wire organizer 22 is secured to wire organizer 24 by a contact 58 having a leg 66 which extends completely through wire organizer 22 and is secured to wire organizer 24 . likewise leg 68 of contact 58 extends completely through the second wire organizer 24 and becomes secured to the first wire organizer 22 . more generally stated , the first and second ends 59 and 61 , respectively , provide the ability of the contacts to secure the wire organizers together and to electrically interconnect the core wires . when the contact element means are clamped around the organizers , the first end 59 of each contact extends through the first wire organizer 22 and grips the second wire organizer 24 . the second end 61 of each contact extends through the second wire organizer 24 and grips the first wire organizer 22 . this relationship of contact ends and wire organizers is hereby defined as the interlocking and overlapping relationship . it can be seen in fig3 and 4 that the leg openings such as leg opening 40 are generally normal to and communicate with the axis of the wire sockets 34 . it can likewise be seen that the crimping of contact 58 over first and second wire organizers 22 and 24 cause the pairs of legs 64 , 66 and 68 , 70 to displace the insulation on wire 32 and wire 50 . specifically , bifurcated first and second ends 59 and 61 of contact 58 displace wire insulation to make electrical contact between wire 32 and wire 50 . identical contacts will likewise interconnect respective pairs of core wires organized in first and second wire organizers 22 and 24 it is within the scope of the invention to have the ends 59 and 61 not be bifurcated and have the ends displace insulation from one side . it can be seen in fig3 that the first and second wire organizers 22 and 24 securely grip wires 32 and 50 in wire sockets 34 . this is accomplished by projections 74 on the surface of insulating members 28 , 30 , 46 and 48 . the projections 74 displace insulation on wires 32 and 50 to firmly grip the wires . insulating members 28 and 30 are secured to each other and insulating members 46 and 48 are secured to each other by an adhesive or equivalent mechanical means . it is further within the scope of the instant invention to utilize wire organizers such as 22 and 24 which are one piece in construction and which have equivalent wire socket securing means for securing a plurality of core wires . although a five wire organizer has been illustrated , in actual application the organizer accommodates 50 core wires as is the standard in the united states . live bridging is the ability to tap into a cable without loss of service . apparatus of the instant invention provides for live bridging and likewise provides for test points which may be used during construction of cable systems to verify the connectors at the time of placement and later to convert the cables to other uses . fig2 illustrates bridge means 76 which may be utilized to make conductive contact between bridge wires such as bridge wire 78 and wires 32 and 50 . bridge means 76 is provided with conductive tangs such as tang 80 which is connected to bridge wire 78 . conductive tang 80 is complementary with respect to connector 20 as can be seen from fig1 and 2 . specifically , contacts such as contact 58 have a narrowed body 82 between first and second ends 59 and 61 which is complementary to the opening in conductive tang 80 . likewise the surfaces of insulating members 30 and 46 are provided with tang recesses 84 . body 82 defines a means for live bridging of electrically interconnected core wire . tang 80 is capable of penetrating film strip 60 to make mating complementary contact with contact 58 within tang recess 84 . it should be noted in fig1 that the first and second wire organizers 22 and 24 and their respective insulating members are provided with a general contact recess 86 which is preferred in order to make a compact connector . contacts such as contact 58 are embedded within wire organizers 22 and 24 for a flush configuration . contact element means 26 and its component contacts such as contact 58 are positioned over the first and second wire organizers and crimped into contact position by use of tools ( not shown ). it is within the scope of the invention to crimp contacts such as 58 either individually or in gang . fig5 and 6 illustrate a unique device for pulling a preconnectorized cable through a small duct . fig5 illustrates pulling apparatus for cable 88 which has a plurality of wire organizers such as organizers 22 or 24 as discussed earlier , bundled together into partial banks 92 of organizers as will be discussed later . towing eyelet 89 is connected by tensioning means 95 to the outside sheath of cable 88 by expandable braid 91 . in this device a section of the cable jacket or sheath is removed exposing the core over which is located a clamp 90 which is similar to a rubber band clamping means . expandable braid 91 grips the sheath of cable 88 when said braid is tensioned , tending to force the cable sheath into further contact with clamp 90 . clamp 90 therefore transfers a portion of the pulling load on the sheath of cable 88 to the core by transferring pulling load to the clamp 90 . clamp 90 prevents extension of the cable sheath with respect to the core to equilibrate the loads on the cable sheath and core and thereby prevent extension of one with respect to the other . it can be appreciated that the above described device is useful with any cable wherein extension of the cable sheath with respect to the core is of concern . the device illustrated in fig6 comprises an expandable braid means 94 which when tensioned grips the peripheral binder groups of wires within the core of the cable in a space between the partial banks 92 of wire organizers and the end of a stripped - away cable 88 . towing eyelet 93 is connected by tensioning means 97 to the braid means 94 and outside towing plastic cap 96 which is shrunk down into secured contact with the outside surface or sheath of cable 88 . the cap 96 defines a clamping means which makes secured contact with the sheath of the cable . the combination of the internally applied expandable braiding means 94 and the cap 96 balance load to equilibrate the loads on the cable sheath and the core to prevent extension of one with respect to the other and any consequential damage to quarter banks of organizers . it can likewise be appreciated that the above described device is useful with any cable wherein extension of the cable sheath with respect to the core is of concern . the method for organizing the binder groups into partial banks and for selecting the proper number of binder groups for each partial bank is dependent upon the dimensional limits of the wire organizer , the gauge of wire used in the cable and the pair size number of the cable . in determining the dimensional limits of the wire organizer , it was necessary to make certain assumptions . as discussed above , applicants found that the number of partial - banks should be four , hereinafter , quarter - banks . next applicants assume the most difficult practical use , namely , where the user desires to send a 3600 pair cable through a four inch duct . further , applicants assume that the 3600 pair cable has an outside diameter of 3 . 55 inches ( d cable = 3 . 55 &# 34 ; and r cable 1 . 775 &# 34 ;) with the jacketing material having a thickness of 0 . 150 leaving the core a diameter of 3 . 25 &# 34 ; ( d core = 3 . 25 , r core = 1 . 625 ), as is standard in the industry . further , applicants assume no greater than 50 or 25 pair of core wires in each binder group as is standard in the united states . however , other countries such as germany have only 20 pair in each binder group which is an easier case as will be appreciated hereinafter . the form factor of the wire organizers in each case will be limited most by the size permissible in the first quarter - bank since the only space available to the wire organizer without increasing the outer diameter of the cable is the space vacated by the stripped sheath 102 as shown and indicated by numeral 100 in fig7 . additionally , the wire organizer cannot occupy the entire space , rather there must be sufficient space for the preconnectorized core wires . thus the inside of the organized cable in cross - section comprises a series of alternating wire organizers and core wires as shown in fig7 and indicated by the numerals 22 and 32 , respectively . thus , as can be seen in fig7 only wire organizers having a width of w and a thickness of t may be used in the cable without increasing the outside diameter of the cable . the relationship formed by the above is equivalent to the relationship of a chord to a circle , which may be written as : ## equ1 ## substituting into the general formula for determining the maximum dimensional size of the cable organizer yields the following : ## equ2 ## given the radius of the cable and the radius of the core , the width and thickness are then related . in the particular example where a 3600 pair cable is used , the radius of the cable will typically be 1 . 775 inches , and the radius of the core will be no more than 1 . 625 inches . thus , the width of the organizer w must be as follows : ## equ3 ## as can be seen in fig9 this relationship is represented by line 104 , which is the upper limit for the width and thickness of the wire organizer . the wire organizer is designed to physically protect the core wires inserted therein as previously discussed . also as previously discussed , the wire organizer must permit electrical contact with the core wires , grip the core wires , and insulate the core wires from each other by proper spacing . while the typical 3600 pair wire contains a 26 gauge core wire having approximately a diameter ( d ) of 0 . 02 inches , the wire organizer is designed to fit smaller pair cables such as those where the maximum conductor diameter typically expected is 22 gauge or 0 . 05 inches . hence , applicant chooses the lower limit of the width of the wire organizer as no less than 0 . 05 inches . preferably , however , the width of the wire organizer is not less than 0 . 25 inches , to accomplish the above cited objectives within a tolerable range . the minimum width of the wire organizer is represented by line 106 in fig9 . as stated previously , the maximum diameter ( d ) of a particular conductor expected for use with this type of cable end organizer is 0 . 05 . the minimum thickness of the wire organizers is represented by line 108 in fig9 . as stated previously , the maximum width of the wire organizers is limited by the length l and the number of rows n taken up by the preconnected wires , as shown in fig1 . the objective is for the connected wires to occupy the minimum space possible . in this endeavor , as shown in fig1 , the wires are placed in overlapping fashion and squeezed together . there is an optimum number of rows n which allow the minimum length l . in order to find this minimum length l and optimum number of rows n , one uses the following mathematical relationships : ## equ4 ## given that the wire organizers take up an angle θ and a width w while the preconnectorized core wires take up a circumferential length l and an angle α , the number of wire organizers with connected core wires that can fit around the core n 1 is related as follows : ## equ5 ## as is standard in the industry , a particular pair size cable includes a core wire having a particular gauge or diameter ( d ). for instance , a 3600 pair cable has a 26 gauge wire while other smaller pair cable typically have larger core wire , namely 24 and 22 gauge . by the following mathematical relationship , the optimum number of rows for 22 , 24 and 26 gauge core wire is 3 , 4 , and 5 , respectively ( assuming 50 core wires per binder group and consequently per organizer ): working out the second mathematical relationship yields a minimum possible length l for each connected core wire binder group as follows : finding the row length yields the following α &# 39 ; s for each gauge as follows : substituting for α yields the mathematical relationships for each particular core wire size as shown in fig1 . it has been found that the minimum wire organizer width w to accomplish the aforementioned objectives and purposes is approximately 0 . 25 inches . as can be seen from the graph in fig1 , the number of wire organizers in the first quarter - bank for 26 gauge wire is less than 21 , for 24 gauge wire the number of wire organizers in the first quarter - bank is less than 16 , and for 22 gauge wire , the number of wire organizers in the first quarter - bank is less than 12 . as a practical matter , the user would not want to place the maximum number of wire organizers around the core in the first quarter bank since it becomes increasingly difficult to work with such a larger number of binder groups . in the preferred embodiment , use is made of between 13 and 15 wire organizers in the first quarter bank for a 3600 pair cable . thus , while the first quarter - bank as shown in fig1 and denoted by the numeral 92 could be as many as 20 , one would practically limit the number of wire organizers to 14 because it is easier to work with a smaller number of wire organizers and , further , enough binder groups have been removed from the core that the remaining quarter banks b1 , c1 , and d1 may be connected without increasing the outside diameter of the cable . more particularly , quarter bank d1 of cable 88 may contain half the number of total binder groups less the binder groups connected in quarter - bank a1 without increasing the outside diameter of the cable as previously discussed . the next problem to be solved is how many binder groups should be connected in the second quarter bank , b1 . as will be appreciated , there is considerably more space in which to connect these binder groups because up to 20 pairs of binder groups occupying the proportional space have already been connected in first quarter - bank a1 in addition to the space vacated by the removed sheath . as a practical matter , there is no particular problem in obtaining the required number of connected binder groups in the second quarter - bank . however , because quarter bank c1 will have even more space in which to connect the binder groups because more binder groups will have been connected in b1 , one connects approximately one - third of the one - half binder groups which will be organized in total in the b1 and c1 quarter - banks . for a 3600 pair cable , for example , one connects 28 binder groups in quarter bank b1 , and 44 binder groups in quarter - bank c1 . as shown in fig1 , a second connected cable having four axially spaced apart and serially connected quarter - banks is pulled to a common location . as can be seen in fig1 and as is standard in the industry , the cables 88 and 108 are folded back and corresponding quarter - banks are matched . it will be noted that quarter banks a1 and d1 of cable 88 are matched with quarter banks c2 and b2 of cable 108 and quarter - banks b1 and c1 of cable 88 are matched with quarter - banks d2 and a2 of cable 108 forming full banks 110 and 112 as shown in fig1 . when the banks are folded back and matched with the corresponding banks of the other cable , they are connected by means of a separate external crimp contact means , described previously . while the instant invention has been described by reference to what is believed to be the most practical embodiments , it is understood that the invention may embody other specific forms not departing from the spirit of the central characteristics of the invention . it should be understood that there are other embodiments which possess the qualities and characteristics which would generally function in the same manner and should be considered within the scope of this invention . the present embodiments therefore should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being limited solely to the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all equivalents thereto being intended to be embraced therein .
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in fig1 the robot 1 has just fed the work station of a milling machine 2 comprising an l - shaped framework 3 . on the horizontal part 3a of framework 3 is mounted a longitudinal slide 4 , that may be drawn nearer or farther from the vertical part 3b of framework 3 . a transverse slide 5 is mounted on slide 4 and a machining head 6 is slidably mounted on part 3b of framework 3 . the machining head 6 carries a device 7 which drives a milling tool 8 in rotation . a gripping block 9 , described in detail hereinafter , is rigidly fixed to slide 5 . the robot 1 comprises a body member 10 which may pivot on a base 11 . rails 12 , integral with body member 10 , serve to guide a block 13 which thus may be vertically displaced with respect to body member 10 . the block 13 may , moreover , pivot about an arbor 14 . it carries a cylindrical arm 15 which may slide along and turn about its axis in block 13 . at its end , arm 15 is provided with a clamp 16 . during processing a series of identical workpieces , clamp 16 may permanently hold a workpiece holder 17 described in detail hereinafter and adapted to the sizes and shape of the workpieces 18 to be processed . in the embodiment represented in fig1 to 4 , the shape of workpieces 18 has been chosen as parallelepipedal so as to simplify the explanation . workpieces 18 are conducted the one after the other into the station shown at 19 by a chain 20 equipped with receptacles 21 . in the embodiment represented , station 19 is the charging station for the workpieces 18 to be processed and also the discharging station for the processed workpieces 18a . the workpiece being at the work station of milling machine 2 has been designated by the reference numeral 22 to distinguish it from the workpieces still being in receptacles 21 of chain 20 . the robot 1 has thus grasped workpiece 22 in station 19 and transferred it to the work station of the milling machine 2 . when machining workpiece 22 will be complete , robot 1 will transfer the processed workpiece back to station 19 , therefore also called discharging station . it is the assembly constituted by the gripping block 9 and the workpiece holder 17 which constitutes the novel part of the apparatus according to the invention . the various working members of this assembly are shown in fig4 . the workpiece holder 17 comprises a bed plate 23 having the general form of an elongated rectangle . in the middle of this rectangle , a bore 24 is provided in bed plate 23 . bore 24 extends through projections 25 and 26 and opens in a cylindrical recess 27 . a hollow cylindrical centering shaft 28 , provided with a collar 29 , is rigidly fixed to the bed plate 23 . one end of shaft 28 is therefore engaged in bore 24 and the collar 29 is sunk in recess 27 . the other end of shaft 28 is frusto - conical . a rod 30 passes through shaft 28 , in which it may freely slide , but without play . rod 30 lies under the action of a return spring 31 bent between a collar 32 of rod 30 and a guide ring 33 fixed to shaft 28 . two orienting pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ;, diametrally opposed and equidistant from shaft 28 are fixed to bed plate 23 near the small edge thereof . the pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; are formed as a single piece with an abutting collar 35 . a clamp composed of the two jaws 36 and 37 is mounted on the bed plate 23 . the jaw 36 is rigidly fixed , but in detachable manner , to the bed plate 23 by screws ( not shown ), positioning studs ( now shown ) exactly center jaw 36 on bed plate 23 . jaw 37 is jointed on jaw 36 and may be actuated in the one and the other direction about a gudgeon 38 by a double - acting ( pneumatic or hydraulic ) jack 39 incorporated in jaw 36 . finally , jaw 36 is provided by two indentations 40 ( see also fig2 ). the gripping block 9 is fixed to slide 5 by two bolts 41 . it is provided with a central cylindrical bore 42 , in which a jacket 43 is fixed . a sleeve 44 is engaged without play in jacket 43 . the bore 45 of sleeve 44 is adjusted to shaft 28 . a chamfer 46 is formed at the end of bore 45 opening in the front face of the gripping block 9 . an annular groove 47 is provided in the external face of sleeve 44 so that only a thin elastic wall 48 remains of sleeve 44 . the groove 47 and the jacket 43 form a sealed chamber 49 filled with oil which may be set under pressure . eight bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;; 51 , 51 &# 39 ;; 52 , 52 &# 39 ;; 53 , 53 &# 39 ; ( fig2 ), force - fitted in sockets 54 provided in the front face of the gripping block 9 , are disposed at 45 ° to each other around bore 45 . the bore axis of each of these bushes is at a distance from that of bore 45 which is equal to that of the axis of each of the pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; to that of shaft 28 . a chamfer 55 is formed at the opening of the bore of each of the bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;; 51 , 51 &# 39 ;; 52 , 52 &# 39 ;; 53 , 53 &# 39 ;. a jack 56 is mounted on the rear face of the gripping block 9 . one example of practising the method according to the invention will now be deducted from fig1 and 4 . with this example , processing the workpieces 18 comprises milling two crosswise slots 57 in each of the smaller faces of workpieces 18 ( fig3 ) and a larger slot 58 in one of the longer side faces thereof . moreover , clamp 16 of robot 1 grips the workpiece holder 17 during all the time a series of identical workpieces , such as workpiece 18 , is automatically processed . for this purpose , clamp 16 engages the indentations 40 of the workpiece holder 17 . at the beginning of a processing cycle , the arm 15 of robot 1 is directed toward chain 20 . jack 39 , which is controlled in a manner well known to those skilled in the art , maintains jaw 37 distant from jaw 36 . the robot 1 conducts the workpiece holder 17 toward chain 20 until the free space between jaws 36 , 37 lies over the workpiece which has been conducted by chain 20 into the charging station 19 . the robot 1 then causes the workpiece holder 17 to descend so that jaws 36 , 37 surround the workpiece being at the charging station . that descending motion of the workpiece holder under the control of robot 1 continues until jaws 36 , 37 rests on the receptacle 21 being at the charging station . in that position of the workpiece holder 17 , jack 39 causes jaw 37 to move toward jaw 36 until the workpiece 18 being in the charging station is firmly clamped between these jaws . the robot 1 can thus lift the workpiece clamped between jaws 36 , 37 out of the receptacle 21 and direct it toward the work station of the milling machine 2 . since the receptacles 21 of chain 20 are obviously identical , it will be observed that jaws 36 , 37 always clamp at the same height the workpiece of the series to be processed being at the charging station 19 . in other words , every workpiece of said series will occupy exactly the same position with respect to jaws 36 , 37 and consequently to the workpiece holder . the movement of the robot 1 , which causes the workpiece holder 17 to transfer the grasped workpiece from the charging station to the work station , may be swift . when the workpiece holder 17 arrives near to the gripping block 9 , the axes of the centering shaft 28 and the orienting pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; will not necessarily coincide with those of the bore 45 of sleeve 44 and of the bores of bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ; because of the imprecision of the rapid displacement of the robot 1 . the offset of shaft 28 and of pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; with respect to the corresponding bores of the gripping block 9 is , however , rather slight so that upon thrusting the workpiece holder 17 against the gripping block 9 , the frusto - conical end of shaft 28 will enter at least the chamfer 46 . the robot 1 , of course , ensures that thrusting action by causing arm 15 to slide along its axis . in order to permit , firstly , the frusto - conical end of shaft 28 to slide along chamfer 46 until shaft 28 enters bore 45 of sleeve 44 so as to center the workpiece holder 17 on the gripping block 9 , and secondly , the conical point of pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; to slide then along chamfers 55 of bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ; until pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; enter the bores of bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;, so as to correctly orientate the workpiece holder on the gripping block 9 , the controls of the rotary motions of body member 10 on base 11 , of block 13 around arbor 14 and of arm 15 around its axis obviously must be interrupted , thereby allowing body member 10 to freely rotate on base 11 , block 13 to do the same around arbor 14 , and also arm 15 to freely rotate around its axis . due to that control interruption of the robot 1 , clamp 16 may freely follow , firstly , the possible transverse displacement of the workpiece holder 17 until shaft 28 enters bore 45 of sleeve 44 , and secondly , the possible rotary motion of the workpiece holder until pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; enter the bores of bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;. when shaft 28 and pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; are fully engaged , in the manner of pegs , in the corresponding bores of sleeve 44 and bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;, respectively , the control of the sliding motion of arm 15 is also switched off . the displacement of the workpiece holder toward the gripping block 9 under the thrusting action of robot 1 is stopped by the abutment of collars 35 against bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;. in this position , the oil in chamber 49 is placed under pressure by means well known to those skilled in the art . that pressure tends to deform wall 48 toward the interior of bore 45 , thus very strongly squeezing shaft 28 to an extent unabling the workpiece holder 17 to escape from the gripping block 9 . all other means of removably locking the workpiece holder 17 in the axial position shown in fig1 could obviously just as well be used . once the workpiece holder 17 has been locked to the gripping block 9 , the workpiece holder 17 , and consequently the workpiece 22 being at the work station are held by the gripping block 9 only , to the exclusion of the robot 1 , of which the clamp 16 continues , however , to grip the workpiece holder 17 , but without exerting any holding action thereon . since the gripping block 9 is itself fixed to an element of the milling machine 2 , the workpiece 22 occupies the exact position desired on the milling machine 2 . the milling tool 8 thus may enter into action . if jack 39 were not powerful enough to satisfactorily hold workpiece 22 during processing , jack 56 would be activated in a manner well known to those skilled in the art to increase the gripping effort on jaw 37 by the intermediary of rod 30 . piston 59 of jack 56 is , indeed , in contact with rod 30 and thrusts the latter against jaw 37 against the action of return spring 31 . in the position shown in fig1 the milling tool 8 is going to form the two crosswise slots 57 in the upper smaller face of workpiece 22 , by appropriate displacements of slides 4 and 5 . as disclosed hereinabove , clamp 16 of robot 1 is allowed to freely follow the displacements that the workpiece holder 17 effects with slides 4 and 5 . when the first pair of slots 57 is machined , the control of robot 1 is again switched on and , simultaneously , the pressure in chamber 49 is released . the robot 1 then somewhat moves the workpiece holder 17 away from the gripping block 9 so as to disengage the orienting pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; from the bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;, but not the shaft 28 from bore 45 . furthermore , robot 1 causes its arm 15 to turn through 180 ° around its axis , at least approximately , so as to set pin 34 opposite the bore , or at least opposite the chamfer 55 of bush 50 &# 39 ;, and pin 34 &# 39 ; opposite the bore , or at least the chamfer 55 of bush 50 . as previously , the robot 1 then thrusts the workpiece holder 17 against the gripping block 9 , the oil in chamber 49 is placed under pressure and the control of the robot is again switched off , so that clamp 16 may follow the new displacements of workpiece 22 during milling the two crosswise slots 57 on the other small face of this workpiece . when this second milling operation is complete , the robot 1 disengages the orienting pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; from bushes 50 &# 39 ;, 50 , like previously from bushes 50 , 50 &# 39 ;, and causes arm 15 to turn through 90 ° about its axis so as to engage now pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; in the bores of bushes 51 , 51 &# 39 ;. in this new position , the milling tool 8 forms slot 58 . processing workpiece 22 is thus complete . the robot 1 , after its control has been switched on again , then completely disengages the workpiece holder 17 from the gripping block 9 and returns the processed workpiece over the vacant receptacle 21 at the charging and discharging station 19 . the jack 39 then moves jaw 37 away from jaw 36 , thus permitting the processed workpiece to fall into the vacant receptacle 21 . the chain 20 then moves one step forward , so as to bring the following workpiece of the series at station 19 . a new processing cycle , identical with that disclosed in detail hereinabove , thus can immediately start . bushes 52 , 52 &# 39 ; and 53 , 53 &# 39 ;, not used in the example described , may serve to hold the workpiece holder 17 inclined at 45 ° according to machining operations which would have to be effected on another series of workpieces . the number of bushes , of course , could be increased so as to permit the insertion of the workpiece holder 17 in differently inclined positions , for example at 30 ° or at 60 °. in lieu of bore 45 and of the cylindrical shaft 28 , a prismatic shaft or one of any other non - circular section could also be used and a corresponding opening be formed in sleeve 44 . although such forms are more complicated to produce than that represented and described , such a solution would have the advantage of eliminating the orienting pins 34 , 34 &# 39 ; and the corresponding bushes of the gripping block . the orientation of the work holder 17 on the gripping block 9 would , indeed , be ensured by the form itself of shaft 28 and that of the corresponding opening of sleeve 44 . in that event the workpiece holder 17 could be inclined on the gripping block 9 at any angle , merely by adequately orienting sleeve 44 in jacket 43 . to process series of workpieces of another form than that chosen in the example described hereinabove , it suffices , in numerous cases , simply to change the jaws 36 , 37 of the workpiece holder . according to the nature of the operations to be effected on a series of workpieces , bores for the insertion of the workpiece holder could be provided in a non - horizontal direction in another gripping block . the block 9 could also be fixed to a vertical or inclined member of another work station . the member of the work station to which the gripping block is fixed need not be a movable member . it could be a portion of the framework or even of the base of the work station . finally , the work station need not form part of a machine tool ; it could form part for example of a transfer printer . a user already possessing a robot thus merely need acquire one gripping block , one corresponding bed plate of the workpiece holder and a set of jaws , like jaws 36 , 37 , to be mounted on this bed plate , to be able to feed automatically and with great precision the machines that he already possesses , conforming to the method according to the invention . the apparatus according to the invention is particularly advantageous when the work station to be fed in numerically controlled . with respect to the robot , it will preferably be of the type progammable by memorization of the movements initially accomplished by hand . the robot is not compelled to hold the workpiece holder permanently during processing a series of identical workpieces . if processing the workpieces of a series is relatively long and is effected in a single insertion position of the workpiece holder 17 in the gripping block 9 , then the robot would advantageously leave the workpiece holder 17 , and the time of processing the workpiece carried thereby be used to feed a second work station , identical with the represented one and also equipped with a gripping block , identical with the gripping block 9 , a second workpiece holder , identical with the workpiece holder 17 , and carrying a workpiece of the series , being inserted in this second gripping block . for the purpose of feeding such a second work station , the robot arm 15 , after having left the workpiece holder 17 at the first work station , would be conveyed to the second work station , where clamp 16 would grip the second workpiece holder and take it away from the second station , together with the workpiece having been processed at the second work station . the robot arm 15 would then transfer the processed workpiece to the discharging station , cause the second workpiece holder to deliver the processed workpiece at that station and , after chain 20 has advanced one step , cause the second workpiece holder to grasp a further workpiece to be processed and feed it to the second work station in the manner disclosed hereinabove in relation with the represented work station . finally , clamp 16 would leave the second workpiece holder and the robot arm 15 be conveyed back to the first work station , where clamp 16 would grip again the workpiece holder 17 and transfer it to the discharging station . that pendular processing method is only then recommended , when the processing time of a workpiece is almost equal to the time used by the robot to carry out the different operations disclosed hereinabove to feed a second work station . but then the pendular processing method obviously has the advantage to substantially increase the production . when the workpieces of a series to be processed should be subjected to several different operations , it may be advantageous to practise the method according to the invention in accordance with a further example , which can be deducted from fig5 . fig5 shows a robot 60 having four arms 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 mounted on a rotatable platform 65 , which turns through 90 ° at each step . each one of these four arms permanently holds a workpiece holder 66 differing , in principle , from the workpiece holder 17 of the first example only in the gripping jaws for the workpieces to be processed . the four workpiece holders 66 are identical . around the robot 60 are disposed : a chain 67 , which conducts the workpieces 68 to be processed to a charging station and carries away the processed workpieces 69 from a discharging station , and three different work stations 70 , 71 , 72 . the position of chain 67 and stations 70 , 71 , 72 is chosen so that one of the arms 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 of robot 60 is at least approximately opposite chain 67 and one of the stations 70 , 71 , 72 at each step of platform 65 . fig5 is supposed to show the set represented at the beginning of any cycle of processing the workpieces 68 . when platform 65 arrived in the position shown , at the end of the preceding cycle , the arm 61 conducted a processed workpiece to the discharging station , i . e . above a vacant receptacle of chain 67 . arm 61 then permitted the workpiece holder 66 that it carries to let the processed workpiece fall into said vacant receptacle , as in the first example . afterwards , chain 67 moved one step forward and the arm 61 caused its workpiece holder 66 to grasp the workpiece 68 to be processed , which has just arrived at the charging station which , in this example too , coincides with the discharging station . during the same motion of platform 65 , arm 62 of robot 60 arrived opposite the work station 70 , where it inserted the workpiece holder 66 that it carries in the gripping block 73 of this station , so as to submit the conducted workpiece to first processing operations . in the same way , arms 63 and 64 inserted their workpiece holder 66 in the gripping blocks 74 and 75 of the work stations 71 and 72 , respectively , so as to continue and to complete the processing operations of the already partially processed workpieces that they carry . platform 65 advances one step by rotating through 90 ° when that of the operations described , which is the longest , is complete . at each step of platform 65 , a completely processed workpiece is thus delivered to chain 67 . the distribution to different work stations of the processing operations to be carried out on a workpiece obviously improves the production . the work flow at each work station is similar to that described in the first example for practising the method according to the invention . workpiece holders and gripping blocks are also disposed as in this first example . the number of work stations is obviously not limited to three . the robot need only have one more arm than the number of work stations .
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various embodiments of the invention are generally directed to a switch design enabling selective connection of one or more inputs from a series of available inputs . the inventive switch design has insertion loss that is not dependent on the number of available inputs , or the number of connected inputs . fig2 is a diagram conceptualizing a switch arrangement according to the invention . in the embodiment of fig2 , n inputs , i 1 - i n , are made available to be connected to the output , o , via switches s 1 - s n . in this arrangement , each switch s 1 - s n , is connected to a conductor leg l 1 - l n , which in turn is connected to the main transmission line tx . conductor legs l 1 - l n , and main transmission line tx may be made using , e . g ., conventional microstrip , stripline , or other transmission line technology . when the conductors and transmission lines described herein are made using microstrip or stripline technology , they may simply be referred to as conductive traces . each conductor leg measures λ / 2 , so that the condition of the switch is reflected at the point of connection of the leg l to the main transmission line tx . that is , the same electric field and magnetic field existing at the switch are projected onto the point of connection of the leg l to the main transmission line . thus , for example , if the switch is in the open position , then at the switch the electric field is zero , e = 0 . since the length of leg l is λ / 2 , the electric field at the point connecting the leg to the main transmission line is also zero . of course , the length of the leg l may be a multiple of length λ / 2 , i . e ., it may be n λ / 2 , where n is a whole number . similarly , the distance between any two leg connections on the transmission line is also set to λ / 2 , or more precisely , m λ / 2 , wherein m is a whole number not necessarily equal to n . as can be understood from the above explanation , in the embodiment of fig2 , one or more of inputs i 1 - i n may be connected to the output . however , regardless of how many input are made available or of how many inputs are connected at any given time , the total insertion loss always equals the insertion loss of a single switch s 1 - s n . fig3 is an example of a linear switch 300 according to an embodiment of the invention , with its top removed so that internal elements can be seen . the switch 300 has five inputs , i 1 - i 5 , and one output , o . inside the switch , a main transmission line , tx , is formed using , e . g ., microstrip or stripline technology , over an insulative substrate 320 . conductive legs l 1 - l 5 , are connected to the main transmission line tx , along points that are separated by nλ / 2 . each of the leg l 1 - l 5 , is of length mλ / 2 , wherein n and m are natural whole numbers and need not be the same . on each leg l 1 - l 5 , a switch s 1 - s 5 , such as a pin diode , is connected at the other end , opposite the end connected to the main transmission line tx . fig4 illustrates a switched antenna array 410 utilizing a switch 400 according to embodiment of the invention . the antenna array comprises of four antennas , a 1 - a 4 , each having main beam b 1 - b 4 , aimed at a particular direction in space . the switch 400 is constructed according to any of the embodiments described herein , or according to the principles of the invention as described herein . the switched may be used so that one antenna may be selected at a time , so as to transmit or receive towards one direction in space . the antennas may also be polled sequentially to cover a large swath of space . also , when using the antennas in a sequential polling mode , such as , for example , when tracking a moving object , the inventive switch may be used according to the following method . that is , rather than switching from one antenna to the next in the sequence , first the second antenna in the sequence is connected . due to the special design of the switch , wherein each leg &# 39 ; s length and separation is nλ / 2 , the resulting signal from the two antennas is the sum of their signal . then , the first antenna is disconnected , so that the resulting signal is that of the second antenna . in this manner , no “ jump ” or discontinuity results in reception or in space , rather tracking is done smoothly and continuously . that is , using the inventive switch in essence provides three positions , or three types of signals , for every two antennas . another problem that is known in the art is that conventional switches , such as pin diode switches behave somewhat as capacitors . this may present an unacceptable load at the output of the main line tx . fig5 illustrates an embodiment of a switch array according to the invention , which unloads charge from the individual switches . the switch is made of one central conductor in the form of a circular patch c 1 , made by , for example , microstrip or stripline technology . the circular conductor serves as a large capacitor , capable of unloading the charge on the individual switches s 1 - s 4 . the switches s 1 - s 4 , are connected to the central conductor c 1 by conductors l 1 - l 4 . the length of each conductor l 1 - l 4 , is nλ / 2 . in this manner , the condition of the each individual switch s 1 - s 4 , is reflected to the point of connection of each leg l 1 - l 4 , to the central conductor c 1 . lead 515 is connected to the center of conductor c 1 to form the output of the switch . notably , due to the circular geometry of the central conductor c 1 , the space separating each connection of one of legs l 1 - l 4 , to another is immaterial . as long as the length of each leg l 1 - l 4 , is kept to nλ / 2 , this switch will enable selecting any connection combination of the inputs i 1 - i 4 , to the output lead 515 . moreover , the capacitance of the individual switches s 1 - s 4 , would not load the output , as it will be absorbed by the central conductor c 1 . finally , it should be understood that processes and techniques described herein are not inherently related to any particular apparatus and may be implemented by any suitable combination of components . further , various types of general purpose devices may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein . it may also prove advantageous to construct specialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein . the present invention has been described in relation to particular examples , which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different combinations of hardware , software , and firmware will be suitable for practicing the present invention . for example , the described software may be implemented in a wide variety of programming or scripting languages , such as assembler , c / c ++, perl , shell , php , java , hfss , cst , eeko , etc . the present invention has been described in relation to particular examples , which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different combinations of hardware , software , and firmware will be suitable for practicing the present invention . moreover , other implementations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims . it should also be noted that antenna radiation is a two - way process . therefore , any description herein for transmitting radiation is equally applicable to reception of radiation and vice versa . describing an embodiment with using only transmission or reception is done only for clarity , but the description is applicable to both transmission and reception .
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a thickness or size of each layer is magnified , omitted or schematically shown for the purpose of convenience and clearness of description . the size of each component does not necessarily mean its actual size . it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being ‘ on ’ or “ under ” another element , it can be directly on / under the element , and one or more intervening elements may also be present . when an element is referred to as being ‘ on ’ or ‘ under ’, ‘ under the element ’ as well as ‘ on the element ’ can be included based on the element . hereinafter , an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows a lighting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the lighting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a light source unit 100 including a first light source unit 110 , a second light source unit 130 and at least one third light source unit 150 , an rgb sensor 200 , a controller 300 and a power supplier 400 . the lighting apparatus shown in fig1 includes one third light source unit 150 as well as the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . a lighting apparatus shown in fig5 includes a plurality of third light source units 150 a and 150 b as well as the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 emit lights having different color temperatures from each other and different color coordinates from each other . that is , the first light source unit 110 emits light having a first color temperature and a first color coordinate . the second light source unit 130 emits light having a second color temperature and a second color coordinate . since the embodiment of the present invention relates to a lighting apparatus , the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 are able to emit white light . the at least one third light source unit 150 emits light having a color temperature and a color coordinate which are different from those of the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . the third light source unit 150 may include a light emitting diode ( led ) capable of emitting light having a color temperature and a color coordinate which are different from those of the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . the rgb sensor 200 outputs an r component signal , a g component signal and a b component signal , each of which corresponds to light quantities of an r ( red ) component , a g ( green ) component and a b ( blue ) component , respectively , of the light output from the first light source unit 110 to the third light source unit 150 . that is , the rgb sensor 200 senses each of the light quantities of the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light mixed with lights emitted from a plurality of the light source units . the rgb sensor 200 may include an r filter , a g filter and a b filter in order to detect the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light . the r filter , g filter and b filter transmit their corresponding components . that is , the r filter transmits the r ( red ) component . the g filter transmits the g ( green ) component . the b filter transmits the b ( blue ) component . here , the rgb sensor 200 may include an analog / digital converter ( not shown ) for converting an analog signal into a digital signal . when the analog / digital converter is included , a first light signal , a second light signal and a third light signal may be digital signals . the controller 300 controls light quantities of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 such that a color coordinate of the light emitted from the first light source unit 110 , a color coordinate of the light emitted from the second light source unit 130 , and a color coordinate of the light emitted from the at least one third light source unit 150 are placed within an area formed by the color coordinates of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the at least one third light source unit 150 . the operation of the controller 300 will be described later in detail . the power supplier 400 supplies voltage changing the light quantities of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 under the control of the controller 300 . here , the power supplier 400 is able to supply alternating current voltage having a controlled duty ratio to the first light source unit 110 to the third light source unit 150 under the control of the controller 300 . to this end , the power supplier 400 may include a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) generator . the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 may include leds . the light quantity of the led is changeable depending on the duty ratio of the alternating current voltage . fig2 shows a color coordinate system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to increase an area capable of controlling a color coordinate . that is , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 , the color coordinate of the light of the lighting apparatus transforms along a straight line connecting the color coordinate of the first light source unit 110 and the color coordinate of the second light source unit 130 . on the contrary , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes , as shown in fig2 , the third light source unit 150 as well as the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . the rgb sensor 200 outputs the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal of the light output from the first light source unit 110 to the third light source unit 150 . the controller 300 calculates tristimulus values of x , y and z by using the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal . the tristimulus values of x , y and z may be calculated by using a kind of light illuminated to an object , a surface defined by reflectance , and a color matching function of the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal . the controller 300 calculates a color coordinate of the light from the light source units by using the tristimulus values of x , y and z . an x component of the color coordinate is calculated by x /( x + y + z ). a y component of the color coordinate is calculated by y /( x + y + z ). a z component of the color coordinate is calculated by 1 −( x + y ). in the embodiment of the present invention , the controller 300 sequentially calculates the tristimulus values and the color coordinate . however , when the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal are input , corresponding color coordinate value thereof may be stored in advance in the controller 300 . when the calculated color coordinate is out of an area formed by the color coordinates of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 , the controller 300 controls the light quantities of the first , the second and the third light source units 110 , 130 and 150 and causes the light of the lighting apparatus to be within the area . as a result , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to emit light having a color coordinate located within a triangular area formed by the color coordinate of the first light source unit 110 , the color coordinate of the second light source unit 130 and the color coordinate of the third light source unit 150 . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to control the light quantity in accordance with standard color coordinates located within an area formed by the color coordinate of the first light source unit 110 , the color coordinate of the second light source unit 130 and the color coordinate of the third light source unit 150 . for this purpose , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a memory 500 . the memory 500 stores the standard color coordinates . the standard color coordinates of the memory 500 may correspond to a color coordinate for some points on the black body locus or to a color coordinate for some points approaching the black body locus . in order to obtain the standard color coordinate by using the color coordinates of the lights emitted from the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 , the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 may be controlled during the manufacturing process of the lighting apparatus such that the light quantities of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 change . that is , during the manufacturing process of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , light quantities of the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light emitted from the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the third light source unit 150 are measured by a measuring device . the tristimulus values of x , y and z are calculated by using the measured light quantities of the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component . through the tristimulus values of x , y and z , a corresponding color coordinate can be calculated . when the corresponding color coordinate calculated through the tristimulus values of x , y and z are on the black body locus or approach the black body locus , the calculated color coordinate may be used as a standard color coordinate . the standard color coordinate obtained by the aforementioned method is stored in the memory 500 . here , the standard color coordinate , as described above , is located within the area formed by the color coordinates of the light source units . meanwhile , the controller 300 receives an r component signal , a g component signal and a b component signal from the rgb sensor 200 and generates a comparative color coordinate . then , the controller 300 compares the comparative color coordinate with the standard color coordinate read from the memory 500 and generates a duty ratio control signal for reducing an error value between the standard color coordinate and the comparative color coordinate . here , in order to generate the comparative color coordinate , the controller 300 calculates a corresponding tristimulus values by using the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal , and calculates the comparative color coordinate by using the tristimulus values . unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 , it is difficult for the lighting apparatus to emit light having a color temperature approaching the black body locus . for example , when the first light source unit 110 emits light having a color temperature of 6500k and the second light source unit 130 emits light having a color temperature of 2700k , the color temperature and color coordinate of the light , as shown in fig3 a , transform along a straight line in accordance with the light quantity changes of the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . as a result , there is a big difference between the transformation of the color temperature and color coordinate of the light and the transformation of the color temperature and color coordinate of the black body locus . meanwhile , as shown in fig3 b , when the lighting apparatus includes not only the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 but the third light source unit 150 , the lighting apparatus is able to emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate similar to those of the black body locus . for example , when the first light source unit 110 emits light having a color temperature of 6500k , the second light source unit 130 emits light having a color temperature of 2700k and the third light source unit 150 emits greenish white light , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate , each of which transforms along the black body locus in accordance with the light quantity changes of the first light source unit 110 to the third light source unit 150 . in the foregoing description , the black body locus has been used as a standard for the color temperature of the lighting apparatus . however , it is possible to set a standard color coordinate of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention on the basis of macadam curve or ansi bin curve which are other standards for the color temperature of a lighting apparatus . the macadam curve shown in fig4 a shows a color distribution at the same color temperature . color distribution is greater at a specific color temperature toward an outer ellipse at the specific color temperature . as shown in fig4 a , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first light source unit 110 having a color temperature of 6500k and the second light source unit 130 having a color temperature of 2700k , the color distributions are increased at the color temperatures of 5000k , 4000k and 3500k of the light emitted from the lighting apparatus . therefore , it can be seen that the characteristic of the lighting apparatus is deteriorated . on the other hand , as described in the embodiment of the present invention , when a standard color coordinate is set such that the color distribution at each color temperature is within 3 - step macadam ellipse , the light quantity changes of the first to the third light source units 110 , 130 and 150 are controlled in accordance with the standard color coordinate , thereby improving the characteristic of the lighting apparatus . as a result , as regards each of the lights emitted from the light source units 110 , 130 and 150 of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , the color distribution at each color temperature may be within 3 - step macadam ellipse . as shown in fig4 b , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first light source unit 110 having a color temperature of 6500 k and the second light source unit 130 having a color temperature of 2700 k , the color temperature transformation of light emitted by the lighting apparatus may not be located at the center of the ansi bin curve . on the contrary , in the embodiment of the present invention , a standard color coordinate can be set such that the color temperature transformation of light emitted by the lighting apparatus is close to the center of the ansi bin curve . the light quantity changes of the first to the third light source units 110 , 130 and 150 are controlled in accordance with the standard color coordinate , thereby improving the characteristic of the lighting apparatus . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may include four or more light source units fig5 shows a lighting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention . while the lighting apparatus of fig5 includes four light source units , the lighting apparatus is allowed to include four or more light source units . the plurality of the third light source units 150 a and 150 b emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate which are different from those of the first light source unit 110 and the second light source unit 130 . the plurality of the third light source units 150 a and 150 b also emit lights having color temperatures different from each other and having color coordinates different from each other . in other words , the color coordinate and the color temperature of the light emitted from a third light source unit 150 are different from those of another third light source unit 150 . therefore , as shown in fig6 , light quantities of the light source units 110 , 130 , 150 a and 150 b may be controlled such that a color coordinate of the light from the lighting apparatus is placed within an area ( a dotted - lined quadrangle ) formed by the color coordinates of the first light source unit 110 , the second light source unit 130 and the plurality of the third light source units 150 a and 150 b . the standard color coordinates are located within the area ( a dotted - lined quadrangle ) formed by the color coordinates of the first , the second and a plurality of the third light source units 110 , 130 and 150 a and 150 b . the controller 300 controls the light quantities of the first , the second and the third light source units 110 , 130 and 150 a and 150 b such that an error between the standard color coordinates and the color coordinate of light actually emitted is reduced . accordingly , as regards the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , an area capable of controlling the color coordinate may be increased . fig7 shows a lighting apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention . fig7 shows , unlike fig1 , that optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 having mutually different wavelengths are added to the one or more light source units 100 having the same color temperature , so that an area in which the color coordinate can be controlled . as shown in fig7 , the lighting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light source unit 100 , a first optical exciter 120 , a second optical exciter 140 , and at least one third optical exciter 160 , an rgb sensor 200 , a controller 300 and a power supplier 400 . the lighting apparatus shown in fig7 includes one third optical exciter 160 as well as the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . a lighting apparatus shown in fig1 includes a plurality of third optical exciters 160 a and 160 b as well as the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . the light source unit 100 may include a plurality of light emitting diodes ( leds ). the leds of the of the light source unit 100 may emit lights having the same color temperature to each other . therefore , the structure of the light source unit 100 may become simple . the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 receive the light emitted from the light source unit 100 and emit lights having different wavelengths from each other . to this end , the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 may include a luminescent film respectively . the luminescent film includes a resin layer and a fluorescent substance . the fluorescent substance is located between the resin layers . the light emitted from the light source unit 100 excites the fluorescent substance of the luminescent film . the fluorescent substance emits light having a specific wavelength . here , the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 emit lights having different color temperatures from each other and different color coordinates from each other . that is , the first optical exciter 120 emits light having a first color temperature and a first color coordinate . the second optical exciter 140 emits light having a second color temperature and a second color coordinate . since the embodiment of the present invention relates to a lighting apparatus , the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 can emit white light . here the first optical exciter 120 may emit light having a color temperature of 6500 k and the second optical exciter 140 may emit light having a color temperature of 2700 k . the third optical exciter 160 emits light having a color temperature and a color coordinate which are different from those of the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . the rgb sensor 200 outputs an r component signal , a g component signal and a b component signal , each of which corresponds to light quantities of an r ( red ) component , a g ( green ) component and a b ( blue ) component , respectively , of the light output from the first optical exciter 120 to the third optical exciter 160 . that is , the rgb sensor 200 senses each of the light quantities of the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light mixed with lights emitted from a plurality of the optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 . the rgb sensor 200 may include an r filter , a g filter and a b filter in order to detect the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light . the r filter , g filter and b filter transmit their corresponding components . that is , the r filter transmits the r ( red ) component . the g filter transmits the g ( green ) component . the b filter transmits the b ( blue ) component . here , the rgb sensor 200 may include an analog / digital converter ( not shown ) for converting an analog signal into a digital signal . when the analog / digital converter is included , a first light signal , a second light signal and a third light signal may be digital signals . the controller 300 controls light quantities of the light source unit 100 such that a color coordinate of the light emitted from the first optical exciter 120 , a color coordinate of the light emitted from the second optical exciter 140 , and a color coordinate of the light emitted from the at least one third optical exciter 160 are placed within an area formed by the color coordinates of the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the at least one third optical exciter 160 . the operation of the controller 300 will be described later in detail . the power supplier 400 supplies voltage changing the light quantities of the light source unit 100 under the control of the controller 300 . here , the power supplier 400 can supply alternating current voltage having a controlled duty ratio to the light source unit 100 under the control of the controller 300 . to this end , the power supplier 400 may include a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) generator . when the light source unit 100 includes light emitting diodes , the light quantity of the light emitting diode is changeable depending on the duty ratio of the alternating current voltage . fig8 shows a color coordinate system according to the third second embodiment of the present invention . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can increase an area capable of controlling a color coordinate . that is , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 , the color coordinate of the light of the lighting apparatus transforms along a straight line connecting the color coordinate of the light emitted from the first optical exciter 120 and the color coordinate of the light emitted from the second optical exciter 140 . on the contrary , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the third optical exciter 160 as well as the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . the rgb sensor 200 outputs the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal of the light output from the first optical exciter 120 to the third optical exciter 160 . the controller 300 calculates tristimulus values of x , y and z by using the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal . the tristimulus values of x , y and z may be calculated by using a kind of light illuminated to an object , a surface defined by reflectance , and a color matching function of the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal . the controller 300 calculates a color coordinate of the light from the optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 by using the tristimulus values of x , y and z . an x component of the color coordinate is calculated by x /( x + y + z ). a y component of the color coordinate is calculated by y /( x + y + z ). a z component of the color coordinate is calculated by 1 −( x + y ). in the embodiment of the present invention , the controller 300 sequentially calculates the tristimulus values and the color coordinate . however , when the r component signal , g component signal and b component signal are input , corresponding color coordinate value thereof may be stored in advance in the controller 300 . when the calculated color coordinate is out of an area formed by the color coordinates of the lights emitted from the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the at least one third optical exciter 160 , the controller 300 controls the light quantities of the light source unit 100 and causes the light of the lighting apparatus to be within the area . here , the light of the lighting apparatus is light mixed with lights emitted from a plurality of the optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 . as a result , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to emit light having a color coordinate located within a triangular area formed by the color coordinate of the light emitted from the first optical exciter 120 , the color coordinate of the light emitted from the second optical exciter 140 and the color coordinate of the light emitted from the third optical exciter 160 . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to control the light quantity of the light source unit in accordance with standard color coordinates located within an area formed by the color coordinate of the light emitted the first optical exciter 120 , the color coordinate of the light emitted from the second optical exciter 140 and the color coordinate of the light emitted from the third optical exciter 160 . for this purpose , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a memory 500 . the memory 500 stores the standard color coordinates . in order to obtain the standard color coordinate by using the color coordinates of the lights emitted from the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 , the light source unit 100 is controlled during the manufacturing process of the lighting apparatus such that the light quantity of the light source unit 100 changes . during the manufacturing process of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , light quantities of the r ( red ) component , g ( green ) component and b ( blue ) component of light , which is emitted from the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 in accordance with the light quantity change of the light source unit 100 , are measured by a measuring device . unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 , it is difficult for the lighting apparatus to emit light having a color temperature approaching the black body locus . for example , when the first optical exciter 120 emits light having a color temperature of 6500k and the second optical exciter 140 emits light having a color temperature of 2700k , the color temperature and color coordinate of the light transform along a straight line in accordance with the light quantity changes of the lights emitted from the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . as a result , there is a big difference between the transformation of the color temperature and color coordinate of the light and the transformation of the color temperature and color coordinate of the black body locus . meanwhile , when the lighting apparatus includes not only the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 but the third optical exciter 160 , the lighting apparatus is able to emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate similar to those of the black body locus . for example , when the first optical exciter 120 emits light having a color temperature of 6500k , the second optical exciter 140 emits light having a color temperature of 2700k and the third optical exciter 160 emits greenish white light , the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is able to emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate , each of which transforms along the black body locus in accordance with the light quantity changes of the first optical exciter 120 to the third optical exciter 160 . in the foregoing description , the black body locus has been used as a standard for the color temperature of the lighting apparatus . however , it is possible to set a standard color coordinate of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention on the basis of macadam curve or ansi bin curve which are other standards for the color temperature of a lighting apparatus . the macadam curve shown in fig9 a shows a color distribution at the same color temperature . color distribution is greater at a specific color temperature toward an outer ellipse at the specific color temperature . as shown in fig9 a , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first optical exciter 120 having a color temperature of 6500k and the second optical exciter 140 having a color temperature of 2700k , the color distributions are increased at the color temperatures of 5000k , 4000k and 3500k of the light emitted from the lighting apparatus . therefore , it can be seen that the characteristic of the lighting apparatus is deteriorated . on the other hand , as described in the embodiment of the present invention , when a standard color coordinate is set such that the color distribution at each color temperature is within 3 - step macadam ellipse , in accordance with the standard color coordinate , the light quantity of the light source units 100 is controlled , and the light quantities of the first to the third optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 are hereby changed , thereby improving the characteristic of the lighting apparatus . as a result , as regards each of the lights emitted from the optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , the color distribution at each color temperature may be within 3 - step macadam ellipse . as shown in fig9 b , unlike the embodiment of the present invention , when the lighting apparatus includes only the first optical exciter 120 having a color temperature of 6500 k and the second optical exciter 140 having a color temperature of 2700 k , the color temperature transformation of light emitted by the lighting apparatus may not be located at the center of the ansi bin curve . on the contrary , in the embodiment of the present invention , a standard color coordinate can be set such that the color temperature transformation of light emitted by the lighting apparatus is close to the center of the ansi bin curve . the light quantity of the light source unit 100 is controlled in accordance with the standard color coordinate . as a result , the light quantities of the first to the third optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 are changed , thereby improving the characteristic of the lighting apparatus . the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may include four or more optical exciters . fig1 shows a lighting apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . fig1 shows , unlike fig5 , that optical exciters 120 , 140 , 160 a and 160 b having mutually different wavelengths are added to the one or more light source units 100 having the same color temperature , so that an area in which the color coordinate can be controlled . while the lighting apparatus of fig1 includes four optical exciters , the lighting apparatus is allowed to include four or more optical exciters . the plurality of the third optical exciters 160 a and 160 b emit light having a color temperature and a color coordinate which are different from those of the first optical exciter 120 and the second optical exciter 140 . the plurality of the third optical exciters 160 a and 160 b also emit lights having color temperatures different from each other and having color coordinates different from each other . in other words , the color coordinate and the color temperature of the light emitted from a third optical exciter 160 a are different from those of another third optical exciter 160 b . accordingly , as shown in fig1 , the light quantity of the light source unit 100 is controlled such that a color coordinate of the light from the lighting apparatus is placed within an area ( a dotted - lined quadrangle ) formed by the color coordinates of the first optical exciter 120 , the second optical exciter 140 and the plurality of the third light source units 160 a and 160 b . the standard color coordinates are located within the area ( a dotted - lined quadrangle ) formed by the color coordinates of the first , the second and a plurality of the third optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 a and 160 b . the controller 300 controls the light quantity of the light source unit 100 such that an error between the standard color coordinates and the color coordinate of light actually emitted is reduced . accordingly , since the light quantities of the first , the second and a plurality of the third optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 a and 160 b are changed , as regards the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention , an area capable of controlling the color coordinate may be increased . fig1 a shows how optical exciters of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention are arranged . as shown in the upper side of fig1 a , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 are arranged adjacently to the first optical exciter 120 . here , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 may be alternately arranged . the first optical exciter 120 is able to emit light having a color temperature of about 6500k . as shown in the lower side of fig1 a , the third optical exciter and the second optical exciter 140 are arranged in the order listed adjacently to the first optical exciter 120 . here , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 may be alternately arranged . the first optical exciter 120 is able to emit light having a color temperature of about 6500k . the second optical exciter 140 is able to emit light having a color temperature of about 2700k . fig1 b shows that the optical exciters 120 , 140 and 160 shown in the upper side of fig1 a are viewed from an “ a ” side and a “ b ” side . the figure on the upper side of fig1 b shows that the optical exciters are viewed from a “ b ” side . the figure on the lower side of fig1 b shows that the optical exciters are viewed from an “ a ” side . as shown in fig1 b , the light source unit 100 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes ( leds ) mounted on a printed circuit board ( pcb ). a part of the leds may be located in an area of the first optical exciter 120 . the rest of the leds may be located in areas of the second and the third optical exciters 140 and 160 . the controller 300 is able to change the light quantity of each of the leds included in the light source unit 100 through a duty ratio control . as described above , the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 may be alternately arranged and may be arranged adjacently to the first optical exciter 120 . the areas which the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 occupy at the time when the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 are alternately arranged is as shown in fig1 c , smaller than the area which the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 occupy at the time when the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 are arranged facing each other . as a result , when the second optical exciter 140 and the third optical exciter 160 are alternately arranged , the volume of the lighting apparatus can be reduced . while the embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings , it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . therefore , the foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . the present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses . the description of the foregoing embodiments is intended to be illustrative , and not to limit the scope of the claims . many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . in the claims , means - plus - function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures .
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hereinafter , a detailed description will be given of the present invention with reference to the appended drawings . according to the present invention , a graphite electrode for a redox flow battery is manufactured by mixing micro - sized graphite , carbon black and polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) particles at a weight ratio ( wt %) of 90 : 5 : 5 . as such , carbon black functions as a conductive material for increasing electrical conductivity of the electrode and ptfe is used as a binder of the electrode , and the weight ratio may vary depending on the type of electrode material . examples of graphite of the graphite electrode may include spherical graphite particles , lamellar graphite particles , fiber - shaped graphite particles , and flaky graphite particles , each of which has electrochemical activity . furthermore , the distribution of the graphite particles may range from 100 nm to 100 μm . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and any type of carbon - based electrode active material known to those ordinarily skilled in the art may be used . examples of the conductive material may include but are not limited to , not only carbon black , but also carbon nanotubes , graphene , ketjen black , super - p , vulcan , and artificial graphite ( ks6 , sfg6 ). the conductive material may be used in an amount of 1 ˜ 50 wt %. examples of the polymer binder may include but are not limited to , not only ptfe , but also polyvinylidene difluoride ( pvdf ), carboxyl methylcellulose ( cmc ), polyvinylalcohol ( pva ), and styrene butadiene rubber ( sbr ). any type of binder usable in typical electrode fabrication may be utilized . the binder may be used in an amount of 1 ˜ 20 wt % based on the total weight of the mixture . fig9 shows a process of manufacturing the graphite / dsa assembled electrode for a redox flow battery according to the present invention . at s 900 , the alcohol used may include ethanol , methylalcohol , isopropyl alcohol , or an organic solvent blend of the above alcohol and acetone . in the case where an organic solvent blend is used , alcohol may be mixed with another organic solvent at a volume ratio of 50 : 50 . the organic solvent blend may be used in an amount 0 . 5 ˜ 10 times the weight amount of the mixture composed of the graphite , the conductive material and the binder . in addition , the dsa electrode used in the present invention may be either a general dsa electrode or a dsa electrode manufactured using the process of fig1 . the dsa electrode may result from s 1000 to s 1030 of fig1 . specifically , a titanium ( ti ) mesh is first acid - washed with sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid , and then thermally treated at 400 ° c . for 30 hours in an air atmosphere . subsequently , the ti mesh is subjected to a procedure including dipping for 2 min in a solution of 10 wt % h 2 ircl 6 in ethanol and drying in a vacuum oven , and then a procedure including thermal treatment at 450 ° c . for 15 min in an air atmosphere and cooling , after which these procedures are repeated eight times or so , thus obtaining the dsa electrode . the ti substrate may be made of an alloy material including ti , and examples of an active material having electrochemical activity applied on the ti substrate may include noble metals , including ir , ru , ta , pt , au , pd , in and the like , and oxides thereof . the graphite / dsa assembled electrode obtained at s 930 of fig9 has a thickness of 50 ˜ 200 μm , and does not have to be a dsa current collector . in lieu of the dsa current collector , foam of cu , ti , al or ni or mesh thereof may be used , and may be manufactured by roll - pressing a current collector . the graphite / dsa assembled electrode according to the present invention may be utilized as an electrode of primary / secondary cells , metal - air fuel cells , super - capacitors , and other systems requiring electrodes having high durability and corrosion resistance . a better understanding of the present invention may be obtained via the following examples which are set forth to illustrate , but are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . 9 g of 10 μm sized artificial graphite particles ( mcmb 1028 , osaka gas ), 0 . 5 g of a conductive material denka black ( db , water content : 0 . 06 wt %, ash content : 0 . 02 wt %, apparent density 0 . 128 g / cm 3 , compression ratio : 100 %, denka corp . ), 0 . 5 g of ptfe and 10 g of ethanol were mixed , uniformly stirred at room temperature , and then kneaded while evaporating ethanol to prepare a paste , which was then made into a sheet . the electrode sheet thus obtained was rolled to a thickness of 200 μm , and then further rolled with a dsa electrode , thus manufacturing a graphite / dsa assembled electrode . the potential - current cycle properties of the electrode thus manufactured were measured depending on the scan rate in an electrolytic solution including 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 and an electrolytic solution including 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . the reference electrode and the counter electrode were a saturated calomel electrode ( sce ) and a pt gauze electrode , respectively . 8 . 5 g of 10 μm sized artificial graphite particles ( mcmb 1028 , osaka gas ), 1 g of a conductive material ks6 , 0 . 5 g of ptfe and 10 g of ethanol were mixed , uniformly stirred at room temperature , and then kneaded while evaporating ethanol to prepare a paste , which was then made into a sheet . the electrode sheet thus obtained was rolled to a thickness of 200 μm , and then further rolled with a dsa electrode , thus manufacturing a graphite / dsa assembled electrode . the potential - current cycle properties of the electrode thus manufactured were measured depending on the scan rate in an electrolytic solution including 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 and an electrolytic solution including 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . the reference electrode and the counter electrode were sce and a pt gauze electrode , respectively . 9 g of 18 μm sized natural graphite particles , 0 . 5 g of denka black ( db , water content : 0 . 06 wt %, ash content : 0 . 02 wt %, apparent density 0 . 128 g / cm 3 , compression ratio : 100 %, denka corp . ), 0 . 5 g of ptfe and 10 g of ethanol were mixed , uniformly stirred at room temperature , and then kneaded while evaporating ethanol to prepare a paste , which was then made into a sheet . the electrode sheet thus obtained was rolled to a thickness of 200 μm , and then further rolled with a dsa electrode , thus manufacturing a graphite / dsa assembled electrode . the potential - current cycle properties of the electrode thus manufactured were measured depending on the scan rate in an electrolytic solution including 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 and an electrolytic solution including 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . the reference electrode and the counter electrode were sce and a pt gauze electrode , respectively . the potential - current cycle properties of a graphite electrode commercially available for a lithium secondary cell were measured depending on the scan rate in an electrolytic solution including 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . the reference electrode and the counter electrode were sce and a pt gauze electrode , respectively . the potential - current cycle properties of a dsa electrode were measured depending on the scan rate in an electrolytic solution including 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . the reference electrode and the counter electrode were sce and a pt gauze electrode , respectively . fig1 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured from the artificial graphite / dsa assembled electrode of example 1 and a pt gauze electrode , in an electrolytic solution composed of 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig1 , v + 4 ions are oxidized to v + 5 near 1 . 2 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 near 0 . 6 v vs . sce potential . the reduced v + 4 ions are further reduced to v + 3 ions near − 0 . 3 v vs . sce , after which v + 3 is oxidized again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 6 v vs . sce . this cell exhibits a typical redox couple reaction . as the reaction rate progresses more rapidly from the second cycle , the stable redox couple reaction takes place up to the sixth cycle . thus , in the case where the artificial graphite / dsa assembled electrode manufactured according to the present invention is applied to a redox flow battery , high power density and energy efficiency may be obtained . fig2 shows the potential - current cycle curves when using the electrode of example 1 in an electrolytic solution composed of 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig2 , the redox couple reaction of v ions occurs near the potential similar to the results of example 1 , but the total reaction rate becomes slower compared to when in the electrolytic solution composed of 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 . these results show that the energy density of the redox flow battery depends on the concentration of the electrolytic solution and that the electrode according to the present invention is able to be used at a wider range of concentrations of the electrolytic solution . fig3 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured as in example 1 using the artificial graphite / dsa assembled electrode of example 2 , in an electrolytic solution composed of 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig3 , v + 4 ions are oxidized to v + 5 near 1 . 2 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 7 v vs . sce potential . although the reversibility of the reaction is better than when using the electrode of example 1 , the reaction rate is slower and increases at the second cycle . the redox couple reaction is insignificant at the first cycle . this is considered to be due to wettability of the electrode . fig4 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured as in example 1 using the artificial graphite / dsa assembled electrode of example 2 , in an electrolytic solution composed of 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig4 , v + 4 ions are oxidized to v + 5 near 1 . 05 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 85 v vs . sce potential . although the total reaction reversibility is better than when using the electrode of example 1 , the redox couple reaction is insignificant at the first cycle attributed to the wettability of the electrode , and the reaction rate becomes similar to that of example 1 from the second cycle . fig5 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured as in example 1 using the natural graphite / dsa assembled electrode of example 3 , in an electrolytic solution composed of 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig5 , v + 4 ions are oxidized to v + 5 near 1 . 25 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 7 v vs . sce potential , like the artificial graphite electrode . although the reaction reversibility is worse than when using the electrode of example 1 , the reaction rate is faster and gradually increases from the second cycle and thus becomes stable at the sixth cycle . the redox couple reaction is also insignificant at the first cycle . this is considered to be due to the wettability of the electrode . fig6 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured as in example 1 using the natural graphite / dsa assembled electrode of example 3 , in an electrolytic solution composed of 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig6 , the reaction reversibility is better than in the electrolytic solution composed of 2 m voso 4 and 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 , but the reaction rate is slower , and the redox couple reaction of v + 4 and v + 3 ions occurs effectively . fig7 shows the potential - current cycle curves of a half cell , which was manufactured as in example 1 using the graphite electrode of comparative example 1 , in an electrolytic solution composed of 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig7 , v + 4 ions are oxidized to v + 5 near 1 . 05 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 95 v vs . sce potential . although the reaction reversibility is evaluated to be the best , the reaction rate is slightly lower compared to examples 1 and 2 . as the cycle progresses , the reduction from v + 4 ions to v + 3 ions near − 0 . 15 v vs . sce potential and the oxidation from v + 3 ions to v + 4 ions near 0 . 20 v vs . sce potential take place , and thus the redox couple reaction increases because of the wettability of the electrode . fig8 shows the potential - current cycle curves when using the electrode of comparative example 2 in an electrolytic solution composed of 1 m voso 4 and 5 m h 2 so 4 . as shown in fig8 , the oxidation from v + 4 ions to v + 5 takes place near 1 . 05 v vs . sce potential , and the oxidized v + 5 ions are reduced again to v + 4 ions near 0 . 85 v vs . sce potential . the reaction reversibility is evaluated to be superior but the total reaction rate is low due to the decrease in the specific surface area of the electrode . as described hereinbefore , the present invention provides a graphite / dsa assembled electrode for a redox flow battery , a method of manufacturing the same and a redox flow battery including the same . in the case where the graphite / dsa assembled electrode for a redox flow battery according to the present invention is applied to a redox flow battery , high power density and energy efficiency can be obtained . although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications , additions and substitutions are possible , without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .
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it is imperative to have a surgical instrument storage system which allows very easy access to as well as rapid access to surgical instruments during a case . the surgical instrument holder of this disclosure meets all of the fundamental requirements of sterile surgical technique and packing , while allowing for quicker instrument counts and easier access during the operation or procedure . this in turn , will lead to decreased surgical time , decreased blood loss , and overall improved patient outcomes . with reference to fig1 , shown is a detailed side view of a surgical instrument holder 100 according to various embodiments . the surgical instrument holder 100 comprises at least one grouping 101 of slots 103 , or grooves , adapted to receive and hold in a fixed position handles or other components of various surgical instruments , such as clamps , scalpels , scissors , and other surgical instruments . while the slots 103 are shown as parallel to the lateral axis of the surgical instrument holder 100 , this is merely one example . in another embodiment , the slots 103 may be oriented diagonally . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be formed of a material such as styrofoam or some other hard foam , plastic such as polyethylene , rubber , paper , metal , or another suitable material . in one embodiment , the surgical instrument holder 100 is formed of stainless steel and configured to be sterilized in an autoclave along with any contained surgical instruments in a sterilization tray . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be solid in some embodiments and hollow in other embodiments . if the surgical instrument holder 100 is hollow , it may be preferred to form the surgical instrument holder 100 out of a rigid material , such as plastic or another rigid material . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be distributed as a sterile and disposable unit , or may be reusable and constructed of a material capable of sterilization , e . g ., stainless steel . the surgical instrument holder 100 may also be recyclable in some embodiments . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be packaged as a separate unit or as a part of a surgical package . each grouping 101 of slots 103 may be divided by a plurality of separators 106 . the separators 106 may be formed of the same or different material than the rest of the surgical instrument holder 100 , such as foam , plastic , etc . in one embodiment , each grouping 101 of slots 103 comprises five slots 103 divided by four separators 106 . however , a grouping 101 of slots 103 may comprise some other number or numbers of slots 103 in other embodiments . in one embodiment , a slot 103 is ⅛ inch wide and a separator 106 is 1 / 16 inch wide , though the widths may vary in other embodiments in order to receive instruments of varying widths . additionally , if the surgical instrument holder 100 is constructed out of a foam or other suitable material , slots 103 may be expanded by pressure or cutting out of the material . if the surgical instrument holder 100 is hollow , the slots 103 may be openings into the interior of the hollow surgical instrument holder 100 , or the slots 103 may be bounded by material ( e . g ., of the separators 106 ) along the depth of the slots 103 . in one embodiment , a surgical instrument holder 100 may comprise ten groupings 101 of slots 103 , adapted to receive fifty surgical instruments in total , though the total number of groupings 101 of slots 103 may vary in other embodiments . in various embodiments , each grouping 101 of slots 103 may be separated by a separation distance 109 . as a non - limiting example , the separation distance may be one inch . the separation distance 109 may be selected based on preventing contamination of groups of instruments , the length of the instruments being used , and other factors . by having a grouping 101 of some number of slots 103 , users can easily count the number of instruments in one or multiple groupings 101 . additionally , the order of the instruments stored in the slots 103 of a grouping 101 may be important . moreover , certain types of instruments may be arranged in one grouping 101 versus another grouping 101 . thus , the groupings 101 of slots 103 may be used to maintain logical groupings of instruments if desired . depending on the material of the surgical instrument holder 100 , the surgical instrument holder 100 may be divided into two or more pieces for convenience and grouping ability . the surgical instrument holder 100 may have a first end surface 112 separated from a grouping 101 by an end separation distance 115 of , as a non - limiting example , ½ inch . the first end surface 112 may also be associated with a height 117 . as a non - limiting example , the height 117 may be 1 and ¼ inches . the surgical instrument holder 100 may have a base surface 120 and a top surface 123 . in various embodiments , the base surface 120 may have an adhesive backing , suction mechanism , or another securing mechanism used to secure the surgical instrument holder 100 to a table surface . a securing mechanism such as an adhesive backing may be needed , for example , if the surgical instrument holder 100 is constructed of a lightweight material . referring next to fig2 , shown is a side view of the surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ) according to various embodiments . in particular , the surgical instrument holder 100 has a first end surface 112 ( fig1 ) and a second end surface 126 . as depicted in this non - limiting example , the surgical instrument holder 100 has ten groupings 101 ( fig1 ) of slots 103 ( fig1 ). the overall length of the depicted surgical instrument holder 100 may be , for example , 18 and ¾ inches or longer . fig3 depicts a top view of this example of a surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ). moving now to fig4 , shown is an end view of the surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ) according to various embodiments . the first end surface 112 ( fig1 ) is depicted as a semicircle . in other embodiments , the first end surface 112 may appear as an elongated semi - circle , a semi - ellipse , a polygon , or some other shape . the first end surface 112 is associated with a base width 403 . the second end surface 126 ( fig2 ) may be identical to the first end surface 112 . the first end surface 112 may be perpendicular to the base surface 120 ( fig1 ). turning now to fig5 , depicted is a perspective view of the surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ) according to various embodiments . as illustrated , the surgical instrument holder 100 is adapted to receive surgical instruments in each grouping 101 ( fig1 ) of slots 103 ( fig1 ) and to maintain the surgical instruments in an organized and accessible condition . in various embodiments , the surgical instrument holder 100 may be severable . as non - limiting examples , the surgical instrument holder 100 may be distributed in an extra long form or in a roll form . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be severed by cutting it , for example , with scissors , a knife , or by some other cutting tool . in one embodiment , the surgical instrument holder 100 may be severed by breaking or snapping it . to facilitate severing , the surgical instrument holder 100 may include lines or other indications showing a user where the surgical instrument holder 100 may be cut or broken along a lateral axis into two surgical instrument holders 100 . the surgical instrument holder 100 may be manufactured , for example , with indents or partial cuts to ease breaking or fracturing . in various embodiments , the surgical instrument holder 100 may contain a magnetic strip in order to facilitate secure retention of the surgical instruments contained by the surgical instrument holder . referring next to fig6 , shown is an alternative embodiment of a surgical instrument holder 200 . in contrast to the surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ), the surgical instrument holder 200 includes no slots . however , the surgical instrument holder 200 is formed of a material that is configured to deform under the weight of a surgical instrument 203 or another weight applied thereto . the deformation produces an indentation 206 so as to limit movement of the surgical instrument 203 . at least a portion of the surgical instrument holder 200 may be formed , for example , of a non - rigid foam material . in one embodiment , the material may be non - resilient , resulting in a permanent deformation of the material . in another embodiment , the material may be resilient , resulting in only a temporary deformation of the material . in one embodiment , indications such as lines may be provided on the surgical instrument holder 200 to show proper placement of a surgical instrument 203 or to define logical groupings of surgical instruments 203 . with reference to fig7 , shown is another alternative embodiment of a surgical instrument holder 300 . in contrast to the surgical instrument holder 100 ( fig1 ) and the surgical instrument holder 200 ( fig6 ), the surgical instrument holder 300 has one slot 303 running lengthwise . the slot 303 may be used to retain any number of surgical instruments in a fixed position . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure . many variations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiment ( s ) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims .
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one example of a voice presetting system in electronic musical instruments according to this invention is shown in fig1 which comprises a memory circuit 1 , a write and read control 2 , and a tone coloring control circuit 3 . the memory circuit 1 consists of a plurality of ( five in this case ) memory subsections and stores binary code signals 4 representing the manipulated states of tone lever switches l 1 , l 2 , l 3 and l 4 each having a binary encoder which will be described later in detail . the write and read control circuit 2 is connected to a mode setting switch set comprising an alternate switch ( reversible switch ), selection switches b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , b 4 and b 5 each comprising an individual selector switch , and a clear switch clr for producing a clearing signal 8 to switch a performance mode from a voice presetting mode to a manual mode . the switch set is adapted to produce a mode switching signal 6 for changing the control mode on the memory circuit 1 from a write mode to a read mode or vice versa , while the selection switches b 1 - b 5 are adapted to produce selection signals 7 for selecting the memory subsections in the memory circuit 1 . by receiving these signals 6 , 7 and 8 , the control circuit 2 produces control signals 5 which are employed to control the write and read operation of the memory circuit 1 . the tone coloring control circuit 3 receives binary code signals 9 read out of the memory circuit 1 , and for instance attenuates musical tone signal inputs v 1 , v 2 , v 3 and v 4 at predetermined degrees in response to the binary signals 9 thus received , thereby to produce a mixed musical tone signal vo . this signal vo thus produced is amplified by a power amplifier ( not shown ) to produce a musical tone . the musical tone signals v 1 through v 4 are , for instance , ones representing wood , string , flute and oboe voices , respectively . preferably , the switches set , b 1 through b 5 and clr are solid state switches such as pressure sensitive switches which employ a semiconductor . the system shown in fig1 is divided roughly into two sections : a voice presetting information signal forming section which is provided with a plurality of tone levers each having an encoder ( hereinafter referred to as tone lever switch assemblies when applicable ), for forming voice presetting information signals consisting of digital ( binary ) signals corresponding to the displacements of the levers ; and a voice presetting information signal processing section for processing the voice presetting information signals . fig2 a , 2b and 2c show one example of the tone lever switch assemblies for forming the voice presetting information signals . as is shown in fig2 a by schematic principle , the tone lever switch assembly is considered to be provided with a rotary switch 11 having four contacts which is operated by a tone lever having four positions , and an encoder 12 operating to convert the four switching conditions ( manipulated states ) of the rotary switch 11 into 2 - bit binary code signals . more specifically and actually , the tone lever switch assembly , as illustrated in fig2 b and 2c , comprises : a shaft 20 which is rotated by the tone lever ; a sector - shaped plate 21 to which the shaft 11 is rotatably secured ; a cover member 22 covering the plate 21 ; arc - shaped insulating members 26 and 27 which are disposed concentrically on the plate 21 , and electrically conductive layers 28a , 28b and 28c provided on the insulating members and grounded . the insulating member 26 and the conductive layers 28b and 28c form a first encoding surface , while the insulating member 27 and the conductive layer 28a form a second encoding surface . the shaft 20 has a fixed member 23 fixed thereto and a support member 24 fixed to the member 23 with bolts and nuts 25 . the support member 24 is provided with slide contacts 29 and 30 at its end portion so that the slide contacts 29 and 30 are slided along the first and the second encoding surface , respectively , as the shaft 20 is turned . to the slide contacts 29 and 30 , predetermined potentials are applied through resistors ro 1 and ro 2 from a d . c . source vcc . the contacts 29 and 30 are connected to input terminals of and gates 31a and 31b , respectively . to the input terminals of the and gates , a series circuit of a resistor r 1 and a capacitor c 1 and a series circuit of a resistor r 2 and a capacitor c 2 are connected , respectively , in order to eliminate noises which may be produced in sliding the slide contacts , that is , to prevent the occurrence of chattering . when both of the contacts 29 and 30 are in contact with the conductive layers , the first logical level ( for instance &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;) appears at both of the output terminals t 1 and t 2 of the and gates 31a and 31b . when the contacts 29 and 30 are in contact with the insulating members , the second logical level ( for instance &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;) appears at both of the output terminals t 1 and t 2 . furthermore , when one of the contacts is on the conductive layer while the other is on the insulating member , logical levels at the terminals t 1 and t 2 are different from each other . for instance , when the contact 29 is on the conductive layer while the contact 30 is on the insulating layer , the terminal t 1 is at the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level and the terminal t 2 is at the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level . in the tone lever switch assembly thus organized , the shaft 20 is turned by the tone lever causing the slide contacts 29 and 30 to slide along the first and the second surface thereby to make four angular displacements stepwise . these angular displacements are represented by 2 - bit binary signals which are obtained at the output terminals t 1 and t 2 , as was described above . the system shown in fig1 is provided with four tone lever switches l 1 through l 4 respectively for the musical tone signals v 1 through v 4 to be controlled , so that rates of controlling ( attenuating ) of the musical tone signals are set by converting the displacements of the respective tone levers into the 2 - bit binary signals . it goes without saying that the voice presetting information signal consisting of these 2 - bit binary signals can be changed by changing the switching positions of the tone lever switches . the voice presetting information signal processing section will now be described referring to fig3 in which different voice presetting information signals indicating different control rates described above are written in and read out to control the tone coloring operations . the memory circuit 1 comprises a flip - flop matrix pd1 1 - pd5 8 for storing five sets ( kinds ) of four two - bit binary signals from the tone lever switches l 1 - l 4 through signal lines td 1 - td 8 , and and gates pdg1 1 - pdg5 8 which are provided corresponding to the number of the flip - flops , for selectively reading out the contents of the flip - flops . the number of the flip - flops or the and gates is equal to the product of the number of the tone lever switches and the number of the selection switches . the write and read control circuit 2 comprises latch circuits sd 1 through sd 5 , and in response to the signals from the switches set , b 1 through b 5 and clr , controls the operation of the memory circuit 1 with the aid of control signals such as writing clock signals and reading level signals . the tone coloring control circuits 3 comprises : four control switch circuits sw 1 through sw 4 which receive four musical tone signals v 1 - v 4 , respectively , and are controlled respectively in response to the outputs of decoders dec 1 through dec 4 ; potentiometers pm 1 through pm 4 each of which has one terminal connected to an output terminal vo of the mixed musical tone signal and taps connected to switching channels ch . sub . 1 through ch . sub . 4 . the control circuit 3 thus organized , in response to the voice presetting information signal consisting of the binary signals d 1 through d 8 which are read out of the memory circuit 1 by the control circuit 2 , operates to control the musical tone signals v 1 through v 4 according to the control ( attenuation ) rate indicated by the information signal , thereby to produce a mixed output of these signals v 1 through v 4 . the control switch circuits sw 1 through sw 4 may be embodied as a well - known integrated circuit of transistors . each of the decoders dec 1 through dec 4 is to decode the 2 - bit binary signal into a signal which indicates one of the four displacements of the tone lever switch . accordingly , a 2 - 4 decoder may be employed as this decoder . the operation of the voice presetting system according to this invention will now be described referring to fig3 . first , for setting the memory circuit in a write mode , the switch set is turned on . as a result , a logical level 1 is applied to an input terminal of each of the and gates sg 1 through sg 5 , which are therefore opened for passing signals from the selection switches b 1 through b 5 , respectively . under these conditions , if one of the switches b 1 - b 5 , for instance the switch b 1 is depressed , the and gate ( set gate ) sg 1 produces a predetermined pulse whose pulse width is equal to the time during which the switch b 1 is depressed . since the output terminal of the gate sg 1 is connected to the clock input terminals of the flip - flops pd1 1 through pd1 8 , these flip - flops are rendered ready for writing the binary signals . accordingly , when a combination of displacements is obtained by operating the tone lever switches l 1 - l 4 and the switch b 1 is then depressed , the voice presetting information signal consisting of four two - bit signals which represent . the displacement combination thus obtained is written into first memory subsection constituted by the flip - flops pd1 1 - pd1 8 through the respective signal lines td 1 - td 8 . by setting the switches l 1 - l 4 so as to provide different displacement combinations and operating the selection switches b 2 - b 5 , different sets voice presetting information signals can be stored in the remaining memory subsections ( flip - flops ) in the memory circuit 1 , in accordance with the designation . it should be noted that the steps of the voice presetting operation are as follows : 2 -- then , depress one of the selection switches b 1 - b 5 . the switch set may be made to be in &# 34 ; write &# 34 ; position at any time , as long as it is before depressing the selection switch . in order to play music in the preset condition of the tone colors , first the switch set is turned off ( i . e ., made to be in &# 34 ; read &# 34 ; position ) by depressing it again . as a result , input terminals of and gates ( call gates ) cg 1 through cg 5 are at a logical level 1 , and therefore the and gates cg 1 through cg 5 are opened for passing the q outputs of the latch circuits sd 1 - sd 5 . under these conditions , if one of the selection switches , for instance the switch b 1 is depressed , a pulse having a predetermined width is applied as an input signal to the latch circuit sd 1 , and a pulse whose width is smaller than the predetermined width is applied to a control line cl which is connected the clock input terminals of the latch circuits sd 1 - sd 5 . accordingly , the q outputs of these circuits sd 1 - sd 5 are at 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 and 0 levels , respectively , while the outputs of the and gates cg 1 - cg 5 are at 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 and 0 levels . as a result , and gates ( data gates ) dg 1 through dg 8 are opened ( while and gates dg 1a - dg 8a being closed ) and and gates ( voice presetting data gates ) pdg1 1 - pdg1 8 are opened . accordingly , the voice presetting information signal stored in the flip - flops pd1 1 - pd1 8 is read out to the signal lines d 1 - d 8 which are connected to the decoders dec 1 through dec 4 respectively . the decoders dec 1 - dec 4 decode the binary signal inputs applied thereto through the signal lines d 1 - d 8 , and according to the displacement data of the tone levers , turn on one of the switching channels ch . sub . 1 - ch . sub . 4 in each of the control switch circuits sw 1 - sw 4 . as a result , the musical tone signals v 1 - v 4 are taken out through the respective potentiometers to the attenuation rates corresponding to the displacement data of the tone levers and are produced as a mixed tone signal output from the tone coloring control circuit 3 . the operation described above is also applied to the case where the switch b 2 , b 3 , b 4 or b 5 is depressed . the operations of the system described in paragraphs ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) relate to the performance in connection with the presetting faculty . however , the system according to this invention can operate in the manual mode in which the tone lever switches l 1 - l 4 operated by the performer during a performance directly control the tone colors to be produced . first , the switch clr is depressed that is , it is turned on before the switches b 1 - b 5 are depressed , to apply a predetermined pulse to the control line cl , as a result of which all of the q outputs of the latch circuits sd 1 - sd 5 are made to be at a 0 level . accordingly , the outputs 0 are produced by the and gates cg 1 - cg 5 , and the and gates dg 1 - dg 8 are closed while the and gates dg 1a - dg 8a are opened , whereby the binary signals from the tone lever switches l 1 - l 4 are applied to the signal lines d 1 - d 8 through the signal line td 1 - td 8 . thereafter , the operation of the tone coloring control circuit 3 is carried out in the same way as described in paragraph ( 2 ). thus , the performer can manually adjust the displacement data of the tone levers as desired during the performance to vary the ratios of controlling the musical tone signals . needless to say , the memory circuit can be constituted by ic memories , core memories , magnetic card reader - writers , and so forth . while the principles of this invention have been described above in connection with a specific embodiment , it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of invention . in other words , this invention can be applied not only to the setting of the displacement data of the tone levers by operating them manually but also to the setting of displacement data of movable members such as a pedal . furthermore , the invention can be applied not only to the presetting in tone coloring control but also to the presetting in controlling musical effects such as a vibrato effect and a tremolo effect . in addition , the present invention can be applied not only to the presetting in the rates of attenuating the musical tone signals , but also to the presetting in the ratios of amplifying the musical tone signals and to all of the presetting in the rates of controlling the musical tone signals such as rates of varying the waveforms of the musical tone signals and rates of varying the frequency modulation degrees or amplitude modulation degrees of the musical tone signals . accordingly , as is apparent from the description described above , the following merits are provided by the invention . 1 . the system according to this invention , unlike the conventional system , is not limited by the number of voice presetting levers or switches , and can therefore readily preset many different voice presetting information signals by increasing the storage capacity thereof . accordingly , the system can contribute to a performance rich in variation . 2 . the system can be made smaller by the use of techniques on printed circuit boards and integration circuits . 3 . since the number of mechanical components is reduced considerably in this system , troubles are scarecely caused in the system . that is , the system is higher in reliability . 4 . the number of the movable members to be provided is equal to the number of the musical tone signals to be controlled , and these movable members can be used both for the voice presetting performance and for the manual performance , according to this invention . accordingly , the present invention can eliminate the voice presetting board used for installing the voice presetting tone levers and its related components which are necessary in the conventional system , which leads to flexibility in designing the panel of an electronic musical instrument and to rendering the performer &# 39 ; s presetting operations simpler . 5 . it is unnecessary to introduce the musical tone signals to the panel of the electronic musical instrument . therefore , clear tone colors not including induction noises can be produced .
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in one aspect , the present invention embraces an improved top - drive power cable . in this regard , fig1 depicts an exemplary top - drive power cable 10 in accordance with the present invention . the power cable 10 includes one or more high - conductivity conductors 11 . in one embodiment , the power cable 10 may include high - conductivity conductors 11 of different sizes . the larger diameter conductors 11 a may be used as power conductors and the smaller diameter conductors 11 b may be used as grounding conductors . for example , the larger diameter conductors 11 a may be about 650 kcmil in size ( i . e ., having a cross - sectional area of about 650 , 000 circular mils ), thus having a diameter of about 20 . 5 millimeters . the smaller diameters conductors 11 b may be 2 / 0 awg ( american wire gauge ) in size ( i . e ., having a cross - sectional area of 133 , 000 circular mils ), thus having a diameter of about 9 . 3 millimeters . typically , the high - conductivity conductors 11 are copper , although other high - conductivity metals ( e . g ., aluminum , silver , or gold ) or metal alloys may be employed as an alternative to copper . the foregoing notwithstanding , those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the size of the high - conductivity conductors will depend upon the desired current - carrying capacity of the power cable 10 . indeed , because the current - carrying capacity of the power cable 10 depends upon the cross - sectional area of the high - conductivity conductors , greater current - carrying capacity requirements typically require larger diameter high - conductivity conductors . each conductor 11 a and 11 b may be individually insulated . for example , each conductor may be insulated with a chemically cross - linked polyolefin ( e . g ., having a thickness of between about one millimeter and three millimeters ). alternatively , and by way of example , the conductors may be insulated with silicone , a thermoset polymer , cross - linked polyethylene , halogen - free ethylene propylene rubber , and / or a low smoke , halogen - free cross - linked polyolefin . the power cable 10 may include electromagnetic shielding . as depicted in fig1 and by way of example , a layer of metal / polymeric tape 13 ( e . g ., aluminum / polyester tape ) may surround the high - conductivity conductors 11 . typically , the metal / polymeric tape has two sublayers : ( i ) a polymeric layer ( e . g ., a polyester layer ) and ( ii ) a metallic layer ( e . g ., a layer of aluminum or other highly conductive metal ). in one embodiment , a braided shield layer 14 may be positioned between a first layer of an aluminum / polyester tape 13 and a second layer of an aluminum / polyester tape 15 , thereby forming electromagnetic shielding . typically , the metallic sublayer of each tape is positioned adjacent to , and more typically in contact with , the braided shield layer 14 . typically , the braided shield layer 14 is formed from a braid of tinned copper . alternatively , the shield layer 14 is not braided but may be formed from a serving of tinned copper ( e . g ., a plurality of tinned copper wires helically wrapped around the cable ). that said , other materials such as copper , aluminum , or bronze may be used to form the shield layer 14 . for example , in an alternative embodiment the electromagnetic shielding may include a braided copper shield layer positioned between two layers of copper / polyester tape . in a particular embodiment , the wires used to form the braided shield layer 14 may be 30 awg in size ( e . g ., having a diameter of about 0 . 26 millimeter ). that said , other sized wires are within the scope of the present invention . the braided shielding layer 14 typically provides coverage ( i . e ., the extent to which the underlying material is concealed ) of between about 60 percent and 95 percent and , in combination with the tape layers 13 and 15 , provides effective electromagnetic shielding . a layer of rubber / fabric tape 16 may surround the electromagnetic shielding ( e . g ., surrounding the second layer of aluminum / polyester tape 15 ). alternatively , an armor layer ( e . g ., formed from braided bronze ) may surround the electromagnetic shielding . the power cable 10 includes one or more polymeric sheaths enclosing the high - conductivity conductors . in one embodiment and as depicted in fig1 , the power cable 10 includes a first polymeric sheath 17 and a second polymeric sheath 19 , typically enclosing a reinforcing layer 18 . each polymeric sheath may have a thickness of between about three millimeters and four millimeters . the polymeric sheaths 17 and 19 are typically formed of material that is resistant to drilling fluids , such as the “ mud ” used in drilling operations . typically , the polymeric sheaths 17 and 19 are formed from a low - smoke , zero - halogen ( lszh ), ester - based polymeric material . by way of example , the polymeric sheaths 17 and 19 may be formed from a cross - linked polyolefin or from nitrile rubber . as noted , a reinforcing layer 18 , typically formed of braided aramid fibers , may be positioned between the first polymeric sheath 17 and the second polymeric sheath 19 . the reinforcing layer 18 supports ( e . g ., provides mechanical strength to ) the power cable 10 when it is installed ( e . g ., suspended in a drilling rig ). in this regard , the reinforcing layer 18 typically has a breaking strength of at least about 10 , 000 lbf ( pound - force ) ( e . g ., about 20 , 000 lbf or more ). the power cable may be attached to a drilling rig by applying a grip ( e . g ., a basket - weave grip ) over the second polymeric sheath 19 . typically , the braided aramid fibers provide open coverage ( e . g ., coverage of between about 25 percent and 75 percent , more typically between about 40 percent and 60 percent , such as about 50 percent ). the second polymeric sheath 19 is typically extruded over the aramid braid so that a portion of the second polymeric sheath 19 fills the gaps in the aramid braid , thereby integrating the second polymeric sheath 19 and the reinforcing layer 18 . extruding the second polymeric sheath 19 over the aramid braid so that a portion of the second polymeric sheath 19 not only fills the gaps in the aramid braid but also helps to facilitate coupling between the second polymeric sheath 19 and the first polymeric sheath 17 ( e . g ., to prevent the second polymeric sheath 19 and the first polymeric sheath 17 from sliding relative to one another ). the aramid braid typically is formed from a plurality of flat aramid strands . for example , the aramid braid may include 48 , 36 , 32 , or 24 flat aramid strands . by way of example , each flat aramid strand may have a thickness of about 0 . 04 inch ( i . e ., about one millimeter ) and a width of about 0 . 135 inch ( i . e ., about 3 . 4 millimeters ). depending upon the size of the power cable 10 and its desired strength , aramid strands of other sizes may be employed . to facilitate the formation of a flat strand , aramid fibers may be impregnated with a resin . the resin reduces the friction between the aramid strands and helps to ensure that the aramid strands are uniform in size and shape . exemplary flat aramid strands ( e . g ., p hillystran ™ 49 ) are available from phillystran , inc . ( montgomeryville , pa .). typically , the aramid braid employs a braid angle ( i . e ., the acute angle measured from the axis of the braid to a braiding strand ) of between about 15 degrees and 45 degrees . more typically , the braid angle is between about 20 degrees and 30 degrees , such as between about 24 degrees and 27 degrees . the design of the reinforcing layer 18 ensures that it provides sufficient strength to the power cable 10 and helps to prevent the rotation or twisting of the power cable 10 during use . in other words , the reinforcing layer 18 provides torque compensation to the power cable 10 . the power cable 10 may contain fire - resistant and non - hygroscopic fillers 12 . exemplary materials that can be used as fillers include glass fibers and / or polypropylene . the power cable 10 typically has a weight of about 12 . 4 lbs / ft ( pounds per foot ). moreover , in typical embodiments the power cable 10 has a voltage rating of at least about 2 , 000 volts , a minimum bending diameter of about six feet , a breaking strength of at least about 20 , 000 lbf , and a maximum working load of at least about 3 , 000 lbs . the power cable 10 is expected to comply with the ieee 1580 standard , the ul 1309 standard , and the iec 60092 - 350 standard , each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . moreover , the power cable 10 is expected to be dnv and abs type approved and etl listed as a marine shipboard cable in accordance with the foregoing standards . in another aspect , the present invention embraces a connected pair of top - drive power cables . although the ensuing description relates to a connected pair of power cables , it is within the scope of the present invention to have more than two power cables connected together ( e . g ., three or more connected power cables ). fig2 depicts a connected pair 25 of two top - drive power cables 30 and 40 . typically , the power cables 30 and 40 are substantially identical . that said , it is within the scope of the present invention for the power cables 30 and 40 to have different designs and / or sizes . the power cables 30 and 40 may be connected with a plurality of bandings 45 along the length of the power cables 30 and 40 . for example , a banding 45 may be positioned approximately every 1 . 5 meters along the length of the power cables 30 and 40 . exemplary bandings 45 may have a width of between about 10 and 15 millimeters . typically , the bandings are constructed from stainless steel , although other materials are within the scope of the present invention . the connected pair 25 may include a core cable 50 ( e . g ., an independent wire rope core ( iwrc )) running parallel to and positioned between the power cables 30 and 40 . typically , the core cable 50 is stainless steel and has a breaking strength of at least about 85 , 000 lbf . alternatively , the core cable 50 may be formed from galvanized steel , aramid fibers , nylon , rayon , polyester ( e . g ., dacron ® polyethylene terephthalate ), and / or other synthetic materials . the core cable 50 may be attached to the connected pair 25 using a plurality of saddles 46 positioned along the length of the core cable 50 . typically , each saddle 46 includes two halves 46 a and 46 b that are placed around the core cable 50 . each saddle may have a length of between about 50 millimeters and 200 millimeters . typically , adjacent saddles are separated by a space of between about one meter and three meters . in an alternative embodiment , a saddle extending along a substantial length of the core cable 50 may be employed . the saddles 46 are attached to the connected pair 25 with the bandings 45 . moreover , the core cable 50 is mechanically coupled ( e . g ., potted ) to each end of connected pair 25 . accordingly , the core cable 50 provides additional mechanical support and torque resistance to the connected pair 25 . in the specification and / or figures , typical embodiments of the invention have been disclosed . the present invention is not limited to such exemplary embodiments . the use of the term “ and / or ” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . the figures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawn to scale . unless otherwise noted , specific terms have been used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation .
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preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings . it is intended , however , that unless particularly specified , dimensions , materials , relative positions and so forth of the constituent parts in the embodiments shall be interpreted as illustrative only not as limitative of the scope of the present invention . referring to fig1 showing a first embodiment , reference numeral 1 is a casing housing male and female rotors of a low - pressure stage compressor 2 and male and female rotors of a high - pressure stage compressor 3 . reference numeral 4 is a common rotor shaft connecting the male rotors of the lower and higher pressure compressors 2 and 3 . the rotor shaft 4 is connected to an electric motor not shown in the drawing at the suction side of the low - pressure stage compressor . reference numeral 5 is a shaft seal element ( mechanical seal ), 6 - 8 are bearings supporting the rotor shaft 4 for rotation at the suction side of the low - pressure stage compressor , at the intermediate part between the lower and higher pressure compressors , and at the suction side of the high - pressure stage compressor . a common female rotor shaft not shown in the drawing is supported by bearings in the same way . reference numeral 11 is an oil supply port for supplying lubricating oil h to the mechanical seal 5 , bearings 6 and 7 at the suction side of the low - pressure stage compressor and intermediate part respectively via an oil passage 12 . reference numeral 14 is an oil supply port for supplying lubricating oil h to the bearing 8 at the suction side of the high - pressure stage compressor via an oil passage 15 . reference numeral 13 is an oil passage for introducing lubricating oil h lubricated the mechanical seal 5 and bearing 6 to an oil supply hole 17 provided in the casing of the high - pressure stage compressor 3 to inject the oil into the compression cavities thereof . reference numeral 16 is an oil passage to introduce lubricating oil h lubricated the bearing 8 to an oil supply hole 17 . lubricating oil supplied to the bearing 7 at the intermediate section intrudes into the suction part of the casing of the high - pressure stage compressor 3 after lubrication of the bearing 7 . lubricating oil h is supplied from an oil separator not shown in the drawing located in the downstream side from the operating gas discharge port of the high pressure stage compressor 3 , and the lubricating oil h contains operating gas dissolved therein . reference numeral 18 indicates an inlet port for sucking operating gas r into the low - pressure stage compressor 2 . operating gas compressed in the low - pressure stage compressor 2 is introduced to the high - pressure stage compressor 3 via a gas passage 19 , further compressed therein , and discharged from a discharge port 20 . in the suction process of the screw compressor , meshing and rotation of the two helical rotors produces a series of volume - increasing cavities into which operating gas is drawn through the inlet port in the casing as the rotors rotate , and when the cavity volume reaches a maximum , each of the cavities is shut away from the inlet opening , then meshing and rotation of the two helical rotors produces a series of volume - reducing cavities as the rotors rotate . gas drawn in through the inlet port and captured in a cavity is compressed as the cavity reduces in volume , and then discharged through another port in the casing as the rotors further rotate . the oil supply hole 17 is located at a portion of the casing so that lubricating oil h flowing in the oil passage 13 ( 16 ) is injected into each of the compression cavities when the cavity c is reduced in volume , that is , the cavity is under compression process . it is preferable that the oil supply hole 17 is located so that lubricating oil h is injected into the cavity when pressure in the cavity is high , that is , when the internal volume ratio vi of the cavity c is large , because amounts of operating gas released from the lubricating oil injected into the cavity is reduced due to high pressure in the cavity and volumetric and compression efficiency of the high - pressure stage compressor , but if the pressure in the cavity is too high , blow back of the operating gas in the cavity toward the bearings and shaft seal element side occurs . it is necessary that pressure of lubricating oil h supplied to the bearings and shaft seal element ( bearing parts ) suffices the following formula in order to evade blow back of operating gas at the oil supply hole 17 toward the bearing parts . p max . int : maximum intermediate pressure , i . e ., maximum pressure operating gas at the suction side of the high - pressure stage compressor in assumable operation condition , vi : internal volume ratio , i . e ., maximum volume of a compression cavity in suction process as mentioned above / volume of the compression cavity when the oil supply hole 17 communicates with the compression cavity , p : pressure difference required to inject oil through the oil supply hole 17 into the compression cavity . in the above formula , volume ratio vi ≧ 1 , and k = 1 . 3 for example when operating gas is ammonia refrigerant . required pressure difference p is usually 3 - 5 kg / cm 2 . by supplying lubricating oil to the bearing parts at a pressure that suffices the above formula , lubricating oil can be supplied to the compression cavities of the high - pressure stage compressor 3 at a considerably higher pressure than that of intermediate pressure without occurrence of blow back of operating gas from the compression cavities toward the bearing parts . in fig1 , reference numeral 21 is an oil supply pipe for introducing lubricating oil to the oil supply port 11 . a throttle valve 23 and a pump 22 are provided to the oil supply pipe 21 , by which oil supply pressure to the bearing parts can be adjusted so that it suffices the above formula . according to the first embodiment , lubricating oil is supplied to the bearing parts and the oil having lubricated the bearing parts is supplied to the compression cavities of the high pressure stage compressor 3 , negative effect induced by flash - evaporated operating gas released from the mutual dissolving type lubricating oil supplied to the compression cavities is limited to the high pressure stage compressor 3 , negative effect thereof to the low - pressure stage compressor 2 can be evaded , and volumetric efficiency of the two - staged screw compressor is significantly increased and compression performance is improved as compared with conventional two - stage compressors . as pressure in the compression cavities of the high - pressure stage compressor 3 is high , amounts of operating gas released from the lubricating oil existing in the cavities compression of the high - pressure stage compressor decreases , so the negative effect is relatively small in the high pressure stage compressor 3 . further , as oil injection is done only into the compression cavities of the high pressure stage compressor 3 where pressure is high , the total amount of oil supply can be decreased , and amounts of operating gas released from the lubricating oil can be decreased totally . by determining pressure of supplying lubricating oil to the bearing parts to suffice the above mentioned formula , enough pressure can be obtained at the oil supply hole 17 for injecting the oil into the compression cavities of the high pressure stage compressor , and blow back of operating gas from the compression cavities does not occur . next , a second embodiment of the invention will be explained referring to fig2 and 3 . in the drawings , reference numeral 31 is a two - stage screw compressor . the compressor is composed the same as the screw compressor of fig1 , and constituents the same as those of the compressor of fig1 is denoted by the same reference numerals , and explanation is omitted . reference numeral 32 is an electric motor for driving the common rotor shaft 4 of the lower pressure and high - pressure stage compressor 2 and 3 . a drive shaft 32 a of the motor 32 is connected to the common rotor shaft 4 by means of a coupling 33 . reference symbol r indicates a refrigerant gas , and h indicates lubricating oil in which refrigerant gas is dissolved . the refrigerant gas r and lubricating oil h is discharged from the discharge port 20 of the high pressure stage compressor 3 together , the lubricating oil h is separated from the refrigerant gas r in an oil separator 34 . then the refrigerant gas r is condensed in a condenser 38 , expanded adiabatically through an expansion valve 39 , and evaporates in an evaporator 40 receiving heat from refrigeration loads . the evaporated refrigerant is supplied to the two - stage screw compressor 31 to be compressed again . on the other hand , lubricating oil h separated in the oil separator 34 is introduced to an oil tank 35 and from there sent by means of an oil pump 36 to an oil cooler 37 , then to the bearings 6 , 7 , 8 and shaft seal element 5 adjusted in pressure by the throttle valve 23 . with the construction of the second embodiment , by supplying lubricating oil h to the bearings 6 , 7 , 8 , and seal element 5 by adjusting supply pressure by means of the oil pump 36 and throttle valve 23 so that the supply pressure suffices the above mentioned formula , the lubricating oil can be supplied to the compression cavities c of the high pressure stage compressor without blow back of the operating gas in the cavities toward the bearing parts side . operation of refrigerating cycle in the refrigerating machine of the embodiment is performed so that evaporating temperature in the evaporator 40 is below − 35 ° c . by controlling opening of the expansion valve 39 . the lower the evaporation temperature of operating gas in the evaporator is , the smaller the specific gravity is , and heat capacity of suction gas per unit volume decreases . therefore , the suction gas is heated more easily by lubricating oil flowed out from the bearing parts and volumetric efficiency of the low - pressure stage compressor tends to reduce as evaporation temperature lowers . when oil injection to the compression cavities of the low - pressure stage compressor is done , volumetric efficiency thereof is further decreased . according to the embodiment , by returning the lubricating oil having lubricated the bearings 6 , 8 , and shaft seal element 5 to the compression cavities c of the high - pressure stage compressor 3 only , the further reduction in volumetric efficiency of the low - pressure stage compressor 2 is prevented . therefore , the lower the evaporating temperature is , the more remarkable the improvement by the invention in refrigeration efficiency is . fig3 is a graph showing a result of a test in which ammonia and polyalkylene glycol type lubricating oil ( mutual dissolving lube oil ) are used as a refrigerant and lubricating oil , and relation between evaporating temperature and cop improvement was investigated under operating condition of 3550 rpm and condensing temperature ( tc )= 35 ° c . it is recognized from the graph that when evaporation temperature is − 35 ° c . or below , cop is increased by more than 5 %. in this test , lubricating oil after lubricated the bearing parts is supplied to the compression cavities c of the high pressure stage compressor when internal volume ratio vi is in a range of 1 . 2 - 1 . 6 . from fig3 , it is recognized that the lower the evaporating temperature , the higher the improvement rate of cop . fig4 is a graph showing lubricating oil supply pressure required in the above mentioned test and that in a conventional two - stage screw compressor . in the drawing , intermediate pressure is pressure of operating gas at the suction side of the high - pressure stage compressor as mentioned before . in the conventional oil supply method , oil supply to the bearing parts is done by pressure difference between pressure in the oil separator located in the downstream side from the discharge port of the high - pressure stage compressor and that at the bearing parts , so assuming pressure loss in the oil supply path as 0 . 1 mpa . conventional oil supply pressure ≈ discharge pressure of operating gas from the high - pressure stage — 0 . 1 mpa . as can be recognized from fig4 , conventional oil supply pressure ( curve no . 2 ) falls short for supplying oil to the bearing parts when evaporation temperature is above − 35 ° c ., so blow back of operating gas from the oil supply hole 17 toward the bearing parts side will occur . according to the invention , to prevent occurrence of this blow back of operating gas , operation is controlled by adjusting opening of the expansion valve or limiting suction pressure of operating gas so that intermediate pressure does not become excessively high while monitoring the intermediate pressure , and oil supply pressure is controlled to be higher than necessary oil pressure ( curve no . 1 ) based on the formula presented before . for example , oil supply pressure is maintained at a sufficiently high pressure of 2 . 0 mpa in the case of fig4 . by controlling like this , returning pressure of lubricating oil to the compression cavities of the high - pressure stage compressor does not become excessively high while evading blow back of operating gas toward the bearing parts side . further , cop can be increased by 5 % or over as compared with the conventional two - stage screw compressor by lowering evaporating pressure to − 35 ° c . or lower . referring to fig6 , there is shown alternative embodiment of the two - stage screw compressor of fig1 . all of the elements of these two embodiments are identical with the exception that oil passage 13 shown in fig1 has been replaced with an external pipe 13 a in fig6 . it is preferred that the oil passage bringing the bearing parts in communication with the series of compression cavities is an oil pipe 13 a located outside of the two - stage compressor . with an external oil pipe 13 a , whether lubricating oil is flowing or not can be determined by surface temperature of the pipe or noise generated by the flowing oil . when oil flow in the pipe is not sufficient , surface temperature of the pipe decreases . according to the present invention , compression efficiency of two - stage screw compressor can be considerably increased as compared with conventional oil supply method only by slightly modifying lubricating oil supply method and construction . by applying a two - stage screw compressor according to the invention to a refrigerating apparatus , refrigerating capacity can be increased .
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hereinafter , a polyalkylene carbonate paint composition will be described in detail . the exemplary embodiments of the present invention to be described below are provided by way of example so that the idea of the present invention can be sufficiently transferred to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains . here , technical terms and scientific terms used in the present specification have the general meaning understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains unless otherwise defined , and a description for the known function and configuration obscuring the present invention will be omitted in the following description . the present inventors studied in order to develop an eco - friendly paint composition capable of having low smoke density , preventing generation of toxic gas , implementing excellent mechanical properties , processability , durability , color implementing property , gloss property , and solvent resistance . as a result , the present inventors found that in the case of mixing a polyalkylene carbonate diol resin and a polyol compound and containing a curing agent , a curing catalyst , and a solvent while adjusting oh values and weight average molecular weights of these compounds simultaneously with a mixing ratio , adhesive force with a metal may be strengthened , and coating film hardness , impact strength , and a delamination property may be significantly improved as well as the above - mentioned effects , thereby completing the present invention . a polyalkylene carbonate paint composition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may contain : a ) a polyalkylene carbonate diol resin having an oh value of 3 to 10 mgkoh / g and a weight average molecular weight ( mw ) of 1 , 000 to 30 , 000 g / mol ; b ) a polyol compound having an oh value of 51 to 61 mgkoh / g and a weight average molecular weight ( mw ) of 200 to 30 , 000 g / mol ; c ): a curing agent ; d ) a curing catalyst ; and e ) an organic solvent . in the present invention , the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin is used as a main resin , and the polyol compound is used as an auxiliary resin , such that compatibility may be increased , and a rapid and efficient curing reaction may be induced . particularly , the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition has an interpenetrating polymer network ( ipn ) structure due to a difference in curing reaction rate , such that cross - link density may be improved , and thus , physical properties may be improved . in the present invention , as the polyalkylene carbonate , polyalkylene carbonates filed by sk innovation co ., ( korean patent laid - open publication no . 2008 - 0015454 , no . 2009 - 0090154 , no . 2010 - 067593 , and no . 2010 - 0013255 ) may be used . the polyalkylene carbonate may be prepared by a copolymerization reaction of carbon dioxide and at least one epoxide compound selected from a group consisting of ( c2 - c20 ) alkyleneoxide substituted or unsubstituted with halogen , ( c1 - c20 ) alkyloxy , ( c6 - c20 ) aryloxy , or ( c6 - c20 ) ar ( c1 - c20 ) alkyl ( aralkyl ) oxy ; ( c4 - c20 ) cycloalkyleneoxide substituted or unsubstituted with halogen , ( c1 - c20 ) alkyloxy , ( c6 - c20 ) aryloxy , or ( c6 - c20 ) ar ( c1 - c20 ) alkyl ( aralkyl ) oxy ; and ( c8 - c20 ) styreneoxide substituted or unsubstituted with halogen , ( c1 - c20 ) alkyloxy , ( c6 - c20 ) aryloxy , ( c6 - c20 ) ar ( c1 - c20 ) alkyl ( aralkyl ) oxy , or ( c1 - c20 ) alkyl . preferably , the polyalkylene carbonate may be polypropylene carbonate . in the polypropylene carbonate , which is synthesized by a reaction of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide , carbonate from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide are cross - linked to each other , and as a result of nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ) analysis , an ether linkage to which propylene oxide is linked may account for 3 mole % or less . in the present invention , the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin may have a weight average molecular weight of 1 , 000 to 30 , 000 g / mol . in the case in which the weight average molecular weight of the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin is less than 1 , 000 g / mol , impact resistance , durability , and mechanical strength may be decreased , and in the case in which the weight average molecular weight thereof is more than 35 , 000 g / mol , dispersability , the gloss property , and solvent resistance may be deteriorated , and the curing reaction may not be smoothly carried out . the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin , which is the main resin of the present invention , has physical properties such as excellent mechanical strength and processability , and the like . however , since the oh value of the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin is too low to allow the ipn reaction to be sufficiently carried out to increase the cross - link density , the polyol compound is mixed as the auxiliary resin , such that the ipn reaction allowing the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition to have the ipn structure may be effectively carried out . the polyol compound may have a weight average molecular weight of , preferably 200 to 30 , 000 g / mol , more preferably 15 , 000 to 25 , 000 g / mol . as the polyol compound , any one or more selected from a group consisting of polyester polyol , polyether polyol , and polycarbonate polyol may be used . in the present invention , a preferable polyol compound may be polycarbonate diol resin . the polyol compound may have an oh value of 51 to 61 mgkoh / g , and an acid value of 0 . 5 mgkoh / g or less . in this case , a weight mixing ratio of the polyalkylene carbonate diol resin and the polyol compound may be 65 : 35 to 95 : 5 in order to improve a degree of cure , a gloss property , mechanical properties , processability , economical efficiency , and the like . the weight mixing ratio may be preferably 70 : 30 to 95 : 5 , more preferably 80 : 20 to 95 : 5 . the weight mixing ratio may be adjusted according to the selected physical properties . in the present invention , a preferable glass transition temperature of the polyalkylene carbonate may be 30 to 40 ° c . when the glass transition temperature is out of the above - mentioned range , processability or hardness of the coating film may be deteriorated . in addition , a content of the polyalkylene carbonate in the entire paint composition may be 25 to 65 weight %. in the case in which the content of the polyalkylene carbonate is less than 25 weight %, since it may be difficult to adjust a thickness of the coating film at the time of performing a painting process , the painting may be thinly performed , such that paintability of the paint may be deteriorated , and in the case in which a pigment is present , adhesive force of the pigment may be decreased . further , in the case in which the content is more than 65 weight %, it may be difficult to adjust a viscosity at the time of performing the painting process , smoothness and a defoaming property may be deteriorated , and popping , or the like , may be generated . in the present invention , the curing agent may include any one or more selected from polyamine based compounds and polyisocyanate based compounds . it is preferable that the polyamine based compound is a melamine based compound . an example of the melamine based compound may include hexa methoxy methyl melamine , hexa ethoxy methyl melamine , hexa propoxy methyl melamine , hexa butoxy methyl melamine , hexa pentyl oxy methyl melamine , hexa hexyl oxy methyl melamine , and the like , but is not necessarily limited thereto . an example of polyisocyanate based compound may include 2 , 4 - trilene diisocyanate , 2 , 6 - trilene diisocyanate , hydrogenated trilene diisocyanate , 1 , 3 - xylene diisocyanate , 1 , 4 - xylene diisocyanate , diphenyl methane - 4 , 4 - diisocyanate , 1 , 3 - bisisocyanatemethyl cyclohexane , tetra methyl xylene diisocyanate , 1 , 5 - naphthalene diisocyanate , 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl hexamethylene diisocyanate , 2 , 4 , 4 - trimethyl hexamethylene diisocyanate , triphenylmethanetriisocyanate , or the like , but is not necessarily limited thereto . in the present invention , the curing agent may impart mechanical properties including the coating film hardness and durability and according to the selected curing agent , a use amount of the curing agent may be adjusted . preferably , a content of the curing agent may be 0 . 1 to 30 weight % based on the entire paint composition . for example , in the case of using butylated melamine formaldehyde resin , the use amount thereof may be 2 to 20 weight %, and in the case of using a hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer , the use amount may be 0 . 5 to 5 weight %. in this case , preferably , the polyamine based compound and the polyisocyanate based compound may be simultaneously reacted in order to form the ipn structure of the resin , but may be sequentially reacted . the solvent used in the present invention may include a solvent capable of dissolving polyalkylene carbonate . the solvent is not particularly limited as long as the solvent does not dissolve a resin of ink contained in a base applied to a wet - on - wet system . for example , ketone , ether , ester , alcohol , or the like , may be used . more specifically , propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate ( pma ), methyl ethyl ketone ( mek ), or the like , may be used . in this case , a content of the solvent may be suitably adjusted , but preferably , pma and mek may be mixed at a volume ratio of 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 : 1 and used . more preferably , pma and mek may be mixed at a volume ratio of 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 : 1 and used , and the solvent may be used in a range of 0 . 5 to 70 weight % based on the entire weight of the composition . in the present invention , the curing catalyst may be contained together with the curing agent and used . for example , as the curing agent , diisocyanate and the butylated melamine formaldehyde resin may be used . in this case , any one or at least two curing catalyst selected from dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid , dibutyl tin dilaurate ( dbtdl ), p - toluene sulfonic acid , dinonyl naphthalene sulfonic acid , and dinonyl naphthalene disulfonic acid may be used . in this case , 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 weight % of the curing catalyst may be used based on the entire weight of the composition . a polypropylene carbonate paint composition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further contain any one or at least two additives selected from a pigment ; an inorganic filler selected from calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , calcium sulfate , magnesium sulfate , zinc oxide , magnesium oxide , aluminum oxide , calcium oxide , titanium oxide , calcium hydroxide , magnesium hydroxide , aluminum hydroxide , microcrystalline silica , fumed silica , natural zeolite , synthetic zeolite , bentonite , and clay ; an acrylic dispersant ; and a silicone based defoamer . as the pigment , any one selected from titanium dioxide , cyan blue , magenta , a yellow pigment , and a mixture thereof may be used . a content of the pigment may be in a range of 0 . 1 to 30 weight % based on the entire weight of the composition . according to the present invention , in order to stabilize the pigment and increase dispersability , the inorganic filler such as clay , for example , organo clay , or the like , or humed silica , or the like , may be used . a content of the inorganic filler may be 0 . 001 to 5 weight %, preferably 0 . 01 to 2 weight % based on the entire weight of the composition . in this case , the inorganic filler may impart a matte effect , or the like , while maintaining other physical properties . in addition , the composition may further contain a dispersant , a leveling agent , a coloring agent , an anti - precipitation agent , an anti - sagging agent , and the like , and contents thereof may be 0 . 01 to 5 weight %, respectively . in the present invention , in order to improve the smoothness and defoaming property , any one or more selected from acrylic compounds , vinyl based compounds , and silicon based compounds may be further contained . for example , there are 143 , 356 , 410 , 2163 , and 2105 made by byk company , and the like . particularly , in the composition according to the present invention , in the case of containing an acrylic modified polyester resin , smoothness , the defoaming property , the gloss property , and film formability may be significantly improved . further , the composition according to the present invention has excellent solvent power in order to secure smoothness and increase the gloss property of the paint . for example , a pma - mek solvent system has excellent solvent power for a polyalkylene carbonate resin , such that smoothness of the paint may be excellent , and dispersion stability of inorganic pigment particles may be increased . in this case , in order to increase stability of pigments , 0 . 001 to 5 weight % of clay or fumed silica may be used , but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto . it is preferable that the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition is baked at 180 to 280 ° c . for 10 seconds to 1 minute . further , in the present invention , in order to selectively improving physical properties , any one or at least two additives selected from a dye , an anti - oxidant , a sunscreen agent , an anti - static agent , an anti - blocking agent , a slip agent , a mixing agent , a stabilizer , a tackifier resin , a fluorescent whitening agent , a heat stabilizer , a photo - stabilizer , an ultraviolet absorber , and a lubricant , may be further contained . in addition , the present invention may provide a shaped body containing the above - mentioned polyalkylene carbonate diol paint composition . hereinafter , the present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following examples , and the following examples are for illustrating the present invention and not for limiting the present invention . 70 parts by weight of polypropylene carbonate diol ( ppc diol ) having a weight average molecular weight of 25 , 000 g / mol , including hydroxyl groups at both ends of a molecular chain , and having a glass transition temperature of 35 ° c . and 150 parts by weight of a solvent obtained by mixing cyclo hexane and methyl ethyl ketone ( mek ) at a weight ratio of 1 : 1 were put into a metal can and stirred , thereby obtaining a mixed solution . after 100 parts by weight of titanium dioxide was slowly put into the mixed solution while stirring the mixed solution , a glass bead having a diameter of 2 to 3 mm was put thereinto and the mixture was dispersed for 1 hour using a crusher type dispersion apparatus . in this case , an average particle size was measured using a grind gage and adjusted so as to be 5 μm or less . 20 parts by weight of a polycarbonate diol ( pcdl ) resin , 20 parts by weight of melamine , and 10 parts by weight of the solvent obtained by mixing cyclo hexane and methyl ethyl ketone ( mek ) at a weight ratio of 1 : 1 were added to the dispersion and stirred . further , 0 . 1 part by weight of byk - 180 was added thereto as an additive for dispersion stability and stirred . next , 0 . 5 parts by weight of p - toluene sulfonic acid and 0 . 5 parts by weight of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid were slowly added thereto as curing catalysts , thereby preparing a polypropylene carbonate paint composition . before painting , the paint composition was diluted with pma to the painting viscosity ( ford cup no . 4 , for 80 seconds at 25 ° c .) the diluted ppc paint composition was painted using a bar - coater as a top - coating paint so as to have a thickness of 15 μm onto a galvanized ( gi ) steel sheet ( 0 . 4 t ) on which an epoxy type under paint was painted at a dried coating thickness of 5 μm , then baked at 224 ° c . for 30 seconds , thereby manufacturing a sample for testing physical properties . results obtained by testing physical properties of the coating film were shown in the following table 1 . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for adjusting contents of the polypropylene carbonate diol resin , polycarbonate diol , and melamine to 65 parts by weight , 30 parts by weight , and 15 parts by weight , respectively . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for adjusting contents of the polypropylene carbonate diol resin , polycarbonate diol , and melamine to 75 parts by weight , 25 parts by weight , and 15 parts by weight , respectively . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for adjusting contents of the polypropylene carbonate diol resin , polycarbonate diol , and melamine to 70 parts by weight , 40 parts by weight , and 20 parts by weight , respectively . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for adjusting contents of the polypropylene carbonate diol resin , polycarbonate diol , and melamine to 98 parts by weight , 2 parts by weight , and 20 parts by weight , respectively . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for using polyester polyol instead of polycarbonate diol . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 3 except for using polyester polyol instead of polycarbonate diol . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for using polypropylene carbonate having a weight average molecular weight of 40 , 000 g / mole . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for using the same amount of methylene diphenyl isocyanate ( mdi ) instead of melamine . a paint composition was prepared by the same method as that in example 1 except for using the same amount of 2 , 4 - diamino - 6 - phenyl - s - triazine instead of melamine . as shown in table 1 , it may be appreciated that in the cases of examples according to the present invention , the gloss property and processability were excellent , and durability may be improved due to excellent hardness , and impact and delamination properties . on the contrary , it may be appreciated that in the case of comparative example 1 in which the ppc resin having a large molecular weight was applied , the reactivity was low , and thus , hardness was decreased , such that physical properties were deteriorated . therefore , it was confirmed that the polypropylene carbonate diol paint composition according to the present invention has excellent compatibility , processability , gloss property , solvent resistance , coating film hardness , impact and delamination properties , and adhesion , such that the polypropylene carbonate diol paint composition may be used in various fields for domestic uses , and the like , as well as architectural uses . the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition according to the present invention may have advantages in that the composition is an eco - friendly and has excellent compatibility , processability , and durability . in addition , the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition may have advantages in that smoke density is low , toxic gas is hardly generated , and the composition may have excellent coating - film hardness , impact strength , and delamination property by significantly increasing mechanical properties through high density cross - linking , and have excellent adhesive force with a metal . further , the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition according to the present invention may implement an excellent color and have high gloss and excellent solvent resistance , or the like , such that the polyalkylene carbonate paint composition may be variously used in a pcm paint field for domestic uses in addition to architectural uses , an exterior material for a vehicle , and the like .
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as used herein and unless otherwise indicated by context , the terms and phrases identified below have the meanings provided . further , when terms and phrases are used that refer to commercial products , the present invention is understood as applying to other products and applications with similar features . the term “ activex ” refers to software components from microsoft . they enable sound , java applets and animations to be integrated in a web page . the phrase “ application programming interface ” and the acronym “ api ” refer to a source code interface that a computer system or program library provides in order to support requests for services to be made of it by a computer program . the term “ channel ” refers to an alert module that may be part of the computer - based video editing system of the present invention . the channel may be configured to receive communications and be coupled to the edit module , such that a user may be notified of a preprogrammed event or contacted by another individual or entity during editing . thus , the channel may offer a dedicated location for content including but not limited to text , graphics , video , audio delivery from and transmission to any pre - determined location on e . g ., the internet . examples of content include but are not limited to advertisements , promotional information , requests for information and requested information . the phrase “ connection method ” refers to an interface method object that provides a way to exchange complex data between multiple interface instances . the phrase “ editable element ” refers to a media file as it is used within the application . the phrase “ editable format ” refers to a file format that provides an interface whereby the interface method or another program can modify the file . the editable format is advantageous in connection with the present invention because it enables higher quality playback of video , and better access to video and audio properties . a non - limiting example of an editable format is flv , which refers to flash video file format . the abbreviation “ edl ” refers to an edit decision list , which is a list of commands and / or properties used to display , manipulate , revise or play a movie . the phrase “ edited output file ” refers to the file produced by an application after the user has manipulated , combined , edited or otherwise changed or modified one or more videos that have been imported . the form that it may take includes , but is not limited to slideshows with or without sound , videos with or without sound , animation sequences with or without sound , and sound sequences with or without visuals , as well as combinations of these formats . the term “ file system ” refers to a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make them easy to find and to access them . file systems may use a storage device such as a hard disk or cd - rom and involve maintaining the physical location of the files , or they may be virtual and exist only as an access method for virtual data or for data over a network . the phrase “ hypertext transfer protocol ” and the acronym “ http ” refer to the set of rules for exchanging files ( text , graphic images , sound , video and other multimedia files ) on the world wide web . the phrase “ host application ” ( e . g ., real basic ) refers to the “ shell ” or “ wrapper ” application that is running on a user &# 39 ; s computer . the phrase “ input device ” refers to any device from which a user may edit the one or more media elements or any device from which the user may upload or import media elements or other images or text that may be incorporated into the media element , and may comprise a graphic user interface . examples of input devices include but are not limited to a personal computer , a digital camera , a touch activated video or television screen , a camcorder and a cellular telephone . the phrase “ import file ” refers to a series of events that enables a user to edit the chosen file through the interface method . the phrase “ input format ” refers to the format of a file before the file is brought into an application . exemplary input formats include but are not limited to text , gif , swf and avi . the phrase “ integrated application ” as used herein refers to an application that is at least in perception nested within or a child of another application . thus , it may refer to an application that launches within the current application , to possibly perform separate duties , such as sharing , emailing , etc . the phrase “ interface method ” refers to a method whereby a user of a computer can interact with visual elements on the screen . the method can provide feedback from the computer , as well as store information received from or generated by the user . the interface method also provides a platform on which to display various media types such as images , audio , graphics , and movies . the interface method is advantageous in connection with the present invention because it enables the editor module to take advantage of its ability to manipulate visual and audio files for playback . a non - limiting example of an interface method is flash , which is also referred to as adobe flash . when the interface method &# 39 ; s player executes its play command , it runs through a sequence of commands chosen by the user to make up the edited output file . through a loader , the interface method import the target files . a loader may for example , operate through a movie load method or a movie object method . the phrase “ master interface method file ” refers to a file that is hosted by the application , through e . g ., a browser or other software running on a computer . the phrase “ media conversion method ” refers to a method whereby a given file on a personal computer can be converted from one format to another , or a copy of the given file can be created in a second format . the method can be an application that can convert multimedia files from one format to another and execute basic editing commands using for example , known codecs . a non - limiting example of a media conversion method is the method employed by ffmpeg . a media conversion method takes argument that can determine how to change numerous properties of the output file ( s ). simply calling the media conversion method with the proper arguments , specifying input and output files does this . the media conversion method is advantageous for us in connection with the present invention because it transcodes audio / visual fields to a format that the interface method can manipulate . it also may enable capturing of the playback to the file system . the phrase “ media file ” refers to a video , image , audio or other file that is defined as acceptable to an application as it is used within the application . the phrase “ metadata insertion method ” refers to a method that reads a video file and puts duration information into it . it requires input and output filenames , and arguments to determine what to do with them . it may be used to inject metadata into the file , which a user can later access . the metadata insertion method may be advantageous for use in connection with the present invention because it enables access to certain audio / visual properties , thereby enabling more advanced editing . non - limiting examples of the metadata insertion method include flvtool and flvtool 2 . the phrase “ movie object ” refers to a data type of the interface method . the phrase “ multimedia file ” refers to a video , image or audio file . the phrase “ nullsoft scriptable installer ” refers to a software application that enables compression and extraction of files for installation on a computer . the term “ on2 ” refers to a commercial application that can convert multimedia files from one format to another and execute basic editing commands , as well as perform other operations . the phrase “ output format ” refers to the format of a file after it has been modified by an application . exemplary output formats include but are not limited microsoft word , acrobat / pdf , text and html . the phrase “ peer - to - peer ” ( or p2p ) as used herein and as described by wikipedia refers to a computer network that “ is a network that relies primarily on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively low number of servers . . . . a pure peer - to - peer network does not have the notion of clients or servers , but only equal peer nodes that simultaneously function as both ‘ clients ’ and ‘ servers ’ to the other nodes on the network . this model of network arrangement differs from the client - server model where communication is usually to and from a central server .” the phrase “ remote server ” refers to a computer other than the one running an application . a remote server may for example be accessible through the internet . the phrase “ runtime executable ” refers to a file whose contents are meant to be interpreted as a program by a computer . the phrase “ smil format thumbnail ” refers to an image formatted by the synchronized multimedia integration language . the term “ ssl ” refers to secure sockets layer , a protocol developed by netscape for transmitting private documents via the internet . ssl works by using a private key to encrypt data that &# 39 ; s transferred over the ssl connection . the phrase “ standardized digital editing format ” may be any format that allows for easy manipulation by a desired application . examples of types of files that may be imported and converted include but are not limited to wmv , avi , mpeg , quicktime , flv , jpeg and mp3 . the files may , for example , be converted to the editable format via the media conversion method though e . g ., on2 or other technology . these conversion applications enable a user to convert media files including but not limited to images and / or audio into a workable and editable format . the term “ timeline ” refers to a conceptual grouping of one or more multimedia files , their properties , and / or effects and / or transitions . a timeline may for example be created by : ( i ) clicking and dragging media to a “ timeline places media ” location within the timeline ; ( ii ) clicking an “ add media to timeline ” button , which also places media within the timeline ; and ( iii ) loading playback values such as begin and end and any other effect ( s ). the phrase “ video library ” refers an archive of videos that a user may access in order to create the edited video . the phrase “ media library ” refers to an archive of media elements that may or may not include videos that a user may access to in order to create the edited video . the acronym “ xml ” refers to a xml ( extensible markup language ) and is a w3c initiative that allows information and services to be encoded with meaningful structure and semantics that computers and humans can understand . the phrase “ xml file ” refers to a text file containing text formatted according to the xml specification ( http :// www . w3 . org / tr / rec - xml /). the phrase “ xml load method ” refers to an interface method object that manages the opening and parsing of xml . the phrase “ xml load object ” refers to an interface method object type that is created by the xml load method . according to a first embodiment , the present invention is directed to a computer - based video editing system that has or accesses a user interface . the user interface may be accessible from any computing device that is now known or that comes to be known and that a person of ordinary skill would appreciate as being useful with the present invention . exemplary user interfaces include but are not limited to graphic user interfaces displayed on personal computers , cellular telephones , kiosks , screen phones , television screens if appropriately configured with touch activated capabilities or other input devices such as keyboards for remote control , and portable wireless devices such as palm pilots and blackberries that have sufficient power and resolution . in various embodiments , the user interface comprises both a viewing screen and one or more input devices such as a computer keyboard , computer mouse or touch screen . the computer - based video editing system preferably comprises an import module , an edit module and a share module . these three modules are coupled to one another and are accessible through the user interface . as used herein , the phrase “ coupled to one another ” means that after accessing the video editing system , a user may access any one or more of the three modules in any sequence without opening or closing different programs . the modules may comprise one or more hardware , software , or hybrid components residing in or distributed among one or more local or remote computers . the modules may be physically separated or together and may each be a logical routine or part of a logical routine that carries out the embodiments disclosed herein . as fig1 shows , the three modules may be accessible through the same user interface , 17 . more preferably , the interface presents an icon or text representative of each of the three modules on a screen at the same time . a user may for example , access any one of the modules through the use of a computer mouse to drag an arrow or other icon displayed on a computer screen . any or all of the modules may be located on a stand - alone computer system or may be accessible through a web browser over a network such as the internet . although the editing system may be obtained from a remote server , the editing system is preferably downloaded to a local computer and run on the local computer . by downloading to a local computer , a user may use the application regardless of whether on - line . the import module , 18 , is designed for importing one or more media elements and converting said one or more media elements into a standardized digital editing format . the user may activate the import module through for example a single “ click ” and be able to initiate both the importing and converting functions . a “ media element ” is any combination or recording of video elements , e . g ., images recorded by a video camera . the images are in digital form when imported . the term imported is used interchangeably with the terms “ transcoded ” and “ converted .” if images are in analog form , a user may first convert the analog images into digital format . the import module is also capable of importing individual photos , individual graphics , animation , text files , etc . applications for importing files are well known , and include but are not limited to microsoft &# 39 ; s windows applications and applications of competitors that provide similar capabilities , including , but not limited to , divx , on2 flix ?, riva flv encoder and videozilla 2 . 5 . prior to importing , the media elements may be in any format that is capable of being converted into a standardized digital editing format . however , prior to being acted upon by the edit module , the media elements are converted into the standardized editing format . the edit module , 19 , is coupled to the import module and accessible through the user interface . the edit module may be used for editing one or more media elements . the media element that is created after editing may be referred to as an edited element such as an edited video element . preferably the edit module comprises means to combine imported media elements , to manipulate the images and to alter the images . for example , the edit module may comprise one or more , and preferably , all of the following means to edit the one or more media elements : linking two more or more videos together ( via for example a timeline ), adding an audio overlay , inserting a title sequence , cropping video segments , digitally altering the size of video segments , altering the color of video segments , inserting text , adding special effects ( such as sounds and bursts of light ) and inserting videos within videos . thus , in a simple case two media elements are uploaded and dragged to a video timeline in the order desired by a user . a title may be inserted at the start of the first media element and fade out and fade in effects may bridge the two sequences . the use of timelines in digital video editing is well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , and includes for example , the avid / 1 media composer from avid technology , inc . of tewksbury , mass ., adobe premiere pro ., final cut pro hd , and sony vegas 5 . the share module , 20 , is also accessible through the user interface and is coupled to the edit module for exporting said edited video to a user specified destination . examples of user specified destinations include but are not limited to a hard drive , a web - site , one or more e - mail accounts and a cellular telephone . further , the system may allow for peer - to - peer sharing . the system may optionally have a default position that is supplied by the user , instituted system - wide or assumed to be the same as the source of the video editing system . thus , a user may edit the file while the file is in a format such as the editable format saving the information and associated data as for example xml data , and then export through a file format such as the editable format to the user specified destination . as noted above , the import module , the edit module and the share module are accessible from said user interface . this is beneficial because it makes it easier for the user to share edited videos quickly and without being forced to execute additional applications , or to have knowledge of those applications . the computer - based video editing system may further comprise ( or be coupled to ) an input device . a user may import and edit from the same input device . alternatively , a user may import from one device ( e . g . a digital camera connected to a usb port ) and edit through a separate device such as a computer keyboard . according to some embodiments , a user accesses the import module , the edit module and the share module over the internet . thus , the input device may be remote from the other components of the video editing systems . alternatively , the import module , the edit module and the share module could already be located on the hard drive of a personal computer or on a lan network . these modules may all be downloaded from the internet or installed off of an electronic storage device . the computer - based video editing system may also comprise ( or be coupled to ) a video library . preferably , this video library is accessible from the import module . the video library may be located on the user &# 39 ; s hard drive , a portable memory stick , a cd , a dvd , the world - wide - web or a remote server . further , the computer - based video editing system may comprise a number of video libraries that are located in the same or different locations . the edit module of the computer - based video editing system may function in an integrated development environment . integrated development environments may contain one or more of a number of components , including a source code editor , a compiler and / or interpreter , and a build - automation tool . optionally , they may also comprise a debugger . according to some embodiments , the computer - based video editing system does not comprise a toolbar . in these embodiments there are simple icons on the screen that enable a user to activate a particular module . in certain of these embodiments all of the edit features described above are also similarly accessible from the same interface as the import module and the share module . similarly , the different destinations may also be accessible from that interface . as noted above , a user may access the computer - based video editing system on an individual personal computer , through a local area network ( lan ) or remotely over , for example , the internet . similarly , the computer - based video editing system itself can be configured to access one or more remote servers . when one or more remote servers are accessed , a plurality of users can work jointly on a video , and any user may send the finished or unfinished video to any one or more recipients . similarly , the system may be configured such that only the recipients have access to the finished work , either by being sent the work via e - mail or notification of its completion via e - mail , text message or other means , and being granted rights to see only a finished product . the finished work may also be sent to television or video screens if the appropriate configurations exist . sharing may take place in a number of ways . for example , via e - mail , the application would have an interface consisting of input fields : of “ from ” address , “ to ” address ( es ), subject , body , and send button . this application may access its own mail software , accessing common ports and protocols for sending mail . by way of another example via upload to a user &# 39 ; s site , the application would have an interface consisting of input fields of : ftp address , username , and password . the application would access its own ftp software , accessing common ports and protocols for ftp . by way of a third example via upload to an existing community site or blog , the application would have an interface consisting of input fields compliant with existing community site &# 39 ; s api , such as blogger api ( www . blogger . com / developers / api / 1_docs ) typepad , and veoh etc . technologically , the video editing system could reside in whole or in part on a server . this would be advantageous when remote users wish to work on a video at the same time , and / or when a user has limited storage capabilities . however , as noted above , in certain applications , it is advantageous for the user to have the application reside locally on e . g ., her hard drive , both for privacy and for convenience of use when access to the server is not feasible . according to another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for editing videos . this method comprises first accessing a user interface through , for example , a computer screen or interactive television screen . the user interface provides access to an import module , an edit module and a share module . the edit module may be coupled to said import module and said share module . the coupling can be wired or wireless and the modules can be part of the same device or logic routine . after accessing the user interface , the user may import one or more media elements while in a first format and convert said one or more media elements into a standardized digital editing format , wherein said importing and converting are initiated by activating said import module . the user may also then edit the one or more media elements by using said edit module , wherein said editing occurs while said sequences are in said standardized digital editing format to form an edited video . finally , the user may share said one or more media elements by using the share module to convert the editable element into a user specified format and export the video in said user specified format . the conversion of elements into a user specified format may , unless otherwise specified be accomplished by converting the editable elements themselves directly into the user specified format , or by obtaining the constituent properties of the editable elements and converting the portions of the initial media elements from the form in which they were originally stored or imported by the user . thus , if two original elements are in jpeg and gif forms and converted to the editable form of flash to form the edited video , the properties can be read from the flash file , and those properties can be used to pull the appropriate portions of the jpeg and gif files and convert those portions of the jpeg and gif files as defined by the properties into the new uniform output file that is saved and may be shared . as with the first embodiment , the accessing may , for example , be through one or more input devices including a computer , a camera , a touch activated screen , a camcorder and a cellular telephone . also as with the embodiments described above , the user interface may comprise icons through which to access the import module , the edit module , and the export module . exemplary display screens for user interfaces are shown in fig4 a - 4 c . fig4 a shows an interface with a channel . in fig4 a , there is a dialog bog asking the user to “ please select how you would like to share your movie ,” and providing options of ( i ) save to desktop ; ( ii ) save for email ; ( iii ) save for upload ; and ( iv ) cancel . in the lower portion of the screen ( the movie workspace ) is a timeline representing the videos that have been combined and certain media elements such as fade in and cross fade . on the right hand side there is a channel through which notification of e . g ., a television show is advertised . fig4 b is similar to fig4 a , except the dialog box is no longer present , and in the upper left box of the interface one can see an index of the clips of a particular user . to the right of the index is a preview and edit area in which a user can view a particular video segment , add effects , such as shortening the video ; converting to black and white , sepia or negative ; and adjusting the volume . fig4 c depicts an interface of the present invention as it might look without a channel and before a user selects a clip to preview and to edit , and before she moves any clips to the movie workspace . the user may also import media from , for example , a video library or an input device or other device that contains the desired image ( s ). these images may be located on a device or storage medium that is proximal to the user or remote , and accessible over the internet or other network . upon importing , the system accessed by the user will convert the media from its existing format into a standardized editing format . the user may then access the edit module and use any of the editing functions described in connection with the first embodiment . alternatively , she may import and convert one or more additional media elements . upon completion of the video , the user may share the images to any one or more destinations such as her own hard drive , a portable device , an e - mail account or within a file accessible through the video editing system . the share module may also be referred to as an export module . during sharing or exporting the edited video may be converted into the user specified format , which as noted above may be the same as or different from the first format . if the system is suitably designed , the user may also notify one or more recipients of the existence or the preparation of an edited video . the notification may be sent at the time that the user logs on , prior to importing and converting ; after importing and converting but prior to editing ; during editing ; and / or after editing . the notifications may be sent via any means that are now known or that come to be known and that would appear useful in connection with the present invention , e . g ., instant messaging , text messaging or e - mail with or without the video attached . a user may initiate the notification on a case - by - case basis or the system may contain a notification default such that every time a user logs on , a class of recipients is notified . the latter options may be beneficial when , for example , it is desired to monitor children , students , or employees . according to another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a computer readable storage medium for storing instructions . when executed by a computer , the computer readable storage medium causes the computer to access a computer - based video editing system , which may be stored remotely and thus accessed over the internet or locally , for example on the hard drive . in one embodiment , the computer - based video editing system comprises : ( a ) an import module for importing one or more media elements and converting the one or more media elements into a standardized digital editing format ; ( b ) an edit module coupled to the import module for editing the one or more media elements when in the standardized digital editing format to form an edited video ; and ( c ) a share module coupled to the edit module for exporting the edited video to a user specified destination . these modules are also preferably all accessible from the same interface . additionally , the computer storage medium of this embodiment also may contain instructions that affect the options and results of the other embodiments described above . a non - limiting application of the present invention may be further appreciated by reference to fig2 . as fig2 represents , a user may launch the application 1 from , for example , a personal computer connected to a remote server . by way of example , the application may be launched using the host application . during the launch , the application will check for dependencies , read the directory , write xml and load interface file ( s ) ( graphic user interface ). the tasks for each application launch may include ( 1 ) authentication — authenticate application via internet connection or existing valid license on a personal computer against a ) valid user / password , or b ) valid computer , etc . ; and ( 2 ) personalization — load any and all relevant files from a previous sessions with application or local ( default ) directories . what constitutes a relevant file will be based on preferences changed at last user session . xml is one example of a format that the application can use to store and retrieve these preferences , their details , and their dependencies . during the launch , a program such the interface method may be loaded , which would load a file such as an xml file and display thumbnails from the system . the thumbnails would provide access to the various modules . from the user &# 39 ; s perspective , clicking on an icon on a desktop may most easily launch the application . alternatively , the user may access a website and click on the icon within that website . as noted above , the application may reside on a local computer or on a server . when it resides on a local computer , the application may be configured to operate exclusively locally or to maintain connections to the internet . the user may then make decision 2 to either import a new file 3 or directly select a file from a list of available files 4 . importation may for example be called from a program such as interface method ( e . g ., flash ) or from the host application . when the importation is through the host application , the application may , for example , launch a choose dialog function , read in the file , check for acceptability of the format , determine an output name based on a naming conversion and the use of names by existing files and call a file based on that naming conversion . another application ( e . g . the media conversion method ), may open the requested file and test its format against the list of accepted formats , and return a corresponding message to the host application , identifying the location to be saved , and how the naming conventions are determined or are defined within the host application software . the file may then set parameters , including the prescribed output format , e . g ., the editable format , the audio output , e . g ., mp3 , the resolution e . g ., 640 × 480 pixels , the frame rate , e . g . # hz , the name and the location . a thumbnail may then be created and displayed on the interface . subsequently , an application may be called , to inject meta data , e . g ., duration . an exemplary application is the metadata insertion method . the new file may for example be located on the user &# 39 ; s hard drive or a removable device such as a video camera or videophone or a remote database such as a video library . the new file may then be added to list of available files and selected . if there is a pre - existing list of files associated with a user , these files may be collected and stored in a user &# 39 ; s account , then after launching , the user may directly select the file from that list . preferably , by the time that the file is in the list of selectable files , it is already converted into a standardized digital format . the file may be selected through , for example , application such as the interface method that loads the requested file from the system into the editable element preview area . after the user selects a file , she may make another decision 6 , either to play the editable element 7 or to edit the editable element using , e . g ., in / out sliders to change the size or duration of the editable element 8 . the editable element may , for example , be played following the execution of the interface method . similarly , the in / out sliders may be used through the interface method . the editable element may then be dragged to a video timeline 9 , by for example , the use of a computer mouse through an appropriate application such as the interface method . by dragging the editable element to the video timeline it may be combined with other editable elements in whatever orders the user desires . further , when a plurality of editable elements is on the timeline , their sequence can be rearranged . when the selected media element or editable element is placed into the timeline , playback values may also be loaded into the timeline . while the editable element is in the timeline the user may decide 10 to edit / preview more editable elements 5 , and then select another file from the list of available files 4 . she may also add media effects to the timeline 11 such as voice over , titles , captions , inserting editable elements between editable elements , animation , etc . the effects may be bridges between two video clips or over part of an editable element . during all edits , playback values are loaded into the timeline . the editing may be accomplished through use of an appropriate application , e . g . the interface method . the user may choose : ( i ) to import one or more images and then add them to the timeline ; ( ii ) to zoom in or crop the image ; ( iii ) to add one or more audio files ; ( iv ) to crop the beginning and / or end of the audio file ; ( v ) to add one or more titles and / or type words into the title ; and / or ( vi ) to add the titles to the timeline and / or rearrange any of the elements and / or re - edit any of the elements of the timeline . the user may also decide to preview the editable element 13 without editing it or without editing further if editing has already taken place and then decide 14 to save the editable element 15 for editing at a later time , or go back and do more importing and / or editing 12 . during preview , the edit area may be hidden from view and the editable element may be loaded into a movie preview area . alternatively all views of the initial interface may remain visible . the editable element may be saved in the standardized digital editing format or the user specified format . the user can also export the editable output file ( not shown ) to a specified destination such as a hard drive or send the video or notification of its completion to one or more recipients . exemplary saving options also include writing of variables from ( e . g . the interface method variables ) the timeline to a file ( e . g . an xml file ). upon playback , the file would be read and the requisite files opened to simulate a single movie playback . the files may remain in the editable format without ever creating a file that combines the various segments . a second option would be for the host application to use those variables and edit the editable elements to write a new binary edited output file to the file system in a common format , e . g ., avi , mpeg , or quicktime . a third option would be to use those variables or data to stitch together multiple clips into a common format e . g ., avi , mpeg , or qt . finally , the user may quit the application 16 . a user may , for example , access the system of the present invention while using a pentium iii or higher level computer , with a windows 2000 operating systems or higher . additionally , the computer may e . g . have a capacity of 128 mb ram and 1000 megahertz processor . further , the screen resolution is preferably at least 1024 × 768 . these capabilities may exist in personal computers , handheld devices such as the palm pilot or blackberry , and cellular telephones . as described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 124 , 366 , a typical computer system may include a processor that is connected to a memory system through an interconnection mechanism . the computer may also have a special purpose processor that may be used for performing special functions such as encoding or decoding data or complex mathematical or graphic operations . the particular language in which the software for the present invention may be programmed includes but is not limited to c , java and the host application . through this software , the computer talks to an application such as the media conversion method , directed reading and writing of files such as xml files , and reading of the hard drive or video library . an example of an embodiment of the present invention may be understood by reference to fig3 . as seen in the figure , the host application 31 may execute the interface method and the channel and be populated with xml files . when instructed , the interface method 33 activates the media conversion method 34 through a video encoding executable application . through this method , unconverted media files are accessed and retrieved 35 from e . g ., a hard drive . the video encoding executable applicable forms a converted media file 36 . to the converted media file metadata may be inserted through the metadata insertion method 37 . the metadata insertion method may act upon the converted media file multiple times and then may be called back by the interface file to for example , be saved or shared . simultaneously , the channel 32 may load xml files that are either stored within the application or downloaded from a remote server . the channel may be populated with media files that are in an editable format . after a file is converted , the host application , re - reads directory structure and writes the xml files based on the contents of the directories . it then reloads the interface method , which reflects the presence of the new media files . another exemplary embodiment of the invention is to be described in more detail below . this embodiment describes : ( i ) downloading of the host application ; ( ii ) installing the host application ; ( iii ) launching of the application ; ( iv ) importing a new media file ; ( v ) selecting media from a media list ; ( vi ) playing and pausing media ; ( vii ) adding effects to media ; ( viii ) editing the media file using begin / end slider ; ( ix ) adding a media file to the timeline ; ( x ) adding transitions to the timeline ; ( xi ) playing and pausing the edit mode ; ( xii ) saving the edited media ; and ( xiii ) sharing media and edited output files . the user downloads a host application using http or ftp from a website using a standard web browser or ftp client . installation is handled by an application such as windows os executable that is created with an installer such as the nullsoft scriptable installer . the installer puts the host application and the support files into pre - set directories on the user &# 39 ; s hard drive . the support files may include , but are not limited to : a method for encoding the multimedia files ( media conversion method ), a method for upgrading the user &# 39 ; s application to an appropriate version of the interface method graphic user interface files , and a shortcut to the application on the user &# 39 ; s desktop , etc . the host application can be launched from the installer and the host application can run on any appropriate computer , e . g ., windows personal computer including but not limited to those running windows 2000 , 2003 , me or xp , vista or apple computers running an apple operating system . when the host application is launched , it checks dependencies . for example it may : ( i ) detect whether there is an internet connection , and if present , downloads assets ; ( ii ) read a library directory in local file system — the library directory may e . g . contain media files ( video , audio and image ); ( iii ) write a library xml file to a local file system consisting of relevant file information ( e . g ., name , type , size , path ); ( iv ) check for the presence of internet connection and if available connect with remote server using http or https and request advertisements and / or other information ; ( v ) check for presence of external resources ( e . g ., media conversion method , the metadata insertion method ); and ( vi ) load a file such as a “ master ” interface method ( gui interface ) into the host application window as an activex object . the graphic use interface , e . g ., “ master ” the interface method file gui calls a function e . g . xmlloader function , which creates an xml object and loads a library file such as a xml file . the “ master ” interface method file gui displays a visual library list of available files with thumbnails . the import step allows for the conversion and import of a chosen media file into a standard format ( e . g ., flv , mp3 , jpeg , png or gif ) that can be used by the host application and the graphical user interface to preview , playback , manipulate , edit , save and share . by way of a first example , a user may choose selects file / import from the host application menu . in the host application , an function for importing files , e . g ., & lt ;& lt ; importfile & gt ;& gt ; function may be called when & lt ;& lt ; import & gt ;& gt ; is selected from application file menu and calls the & lt ;& lt ; importfile & gt ;& gt ; function . by way of another example , the user may clicks an “ import button ” present in the interface method &# 39 ; s graphic user interface . when & lt ;& lt ; import & gt ;& gt ; is selected , a function such as . fscommand may be called . the host application receives the command and directs it to the & lt ;& lt ; importfile & gt ;& gt ; function . next , the file may be processed . under a first exemplary processing case , the media file is a video and the host application launches & lt ;& lt ; choose file dialog box & gt ;& gt ; ( or other application to choose the file ), checks for acceptable format for importing ( e . g ., mov / quicktime , avi , mpeg ), determines an output file name based on pre - determined naming convention and existing files in library directory and determines the input file path . through use of , for example , the media conversion method , transcoding is accomplished . ffmpeg may be called via command line to transcode video file from an input format to output format with parameters . an application may be called via a command line to transcode the video file from an input format to output format with parameters . following transcoding , one or more , and preferably all of the following parameters may be defined : ( i ) name ; ( ii ) input file path ; ( iii ) size and aspect ratio ; ( iv ) frame rate ; ( v ) video format ; ( vi ) audio format ; ( vii ) data rate ; and ( viii ) output file path . the above parameters are then used to transcode and save a file such as the editable format file to the users library directory where it will be available to the host application and the interface method &# 39 ; s gui . a thumbnail image ( jpeg or png ) is also generated from a single frame of the imported media file . next an application such as the metadata insertion method may be called via a command line to inject meta data ( e . g ., video duration ) into newly transcoded file . under a second exemplary processing case , the media file may be audio . in this case , the host application : ( i ) launches & lt ;& lt ; choose file dialog box & gt ;& gt ;; ( ii ) checks for acceptable format for importing ( mp3 ); and ( iii ) transfers the chosen file into a library directory . under a third exemplary processing case , the media file is an image , and the host application : ( i ) launches & lt ;& lt ; choose file dialog box & gt ;& gt ;; ( ii ) checks for acceptable format for importing ( e . g ., jpeg , png or gif ); and ( iii ) transfers the chosen file into library directory . following processing , the host application may then re - write the library file , ( e . g .) xml file to reflect the new files in the library directory ; and load another hidden file such as “ load method ” file . the interface method ( or another application serving the same function ) may then call the xml load method function and send the result to the “ master ” through e . g ., the interface method connection method . in the interface method , clicking on icons or a tool bar such as a media file name or thumbnail loads the selected media file from local file system into a media preview area . one of the three exemplary cases below may be chosen based on the media type of file . under a first exemplary case for selecting media , the media type is a video file ( e . g ., the editable format ). an application such as the interface method may create a new empty file to store the editable element ( e . g ., a file denoted “ movie object ”) into which it loads the video file ( e . g ., the editable format ) by creating appropriate parameters , through e . g ., a new netconnection and netstream object and giving those objects the path to the editable format file , e . g ., flv . under a second exemplary case for selecting media the selected media type is an image file ( jpeg or gif ). in this case , the interface method may create a new empty file ( e . g ., image object ) into which it loads the image file using a function such as “ load method .” under a third exemplary case for selecting media , the selected media type is an audio file ( e . g ., mp3 ). in this case , an application such as the interface method creates a new sound object into which it loads the audio file by giving the sound object the path to the audio file . if the loaded media file is a editable element , a button or icon to play the clip , ( e . g ., “ play clip ” button ) may be present . clicking the “ play clip ” button plays the editable element in the preview area by starting the play method of the interface method . the play method is paused if the user clicks the “ play clip ” button again . in the interface method , the user can apply an effect to the currently selected media file by selecting an effect from an effects library . the effects include , but are not limited to : ( i ) change color and opacity ; ( ii ) change position , scale and orientation ; ( iii ) add text overlay ; and ( iv ) volume . the values of the effects may be saved as a property of the media file . if the loaded media file is an editable element , clicking and dragging sliders can change the duration of the element , e . g ., begin / end sliders sets can be used to begin and end ( start and stop ) property variables for the current editable element based on the sliders &# 39 ; positions relative to the editable element &# 39 ; s duration . the user can add media to the timeline to create a new composition or add to a composition on which the user is working . the user may add transitions in the timeline that create desired effects between media that appear in sequence . these transitions include , but are not limited to , fade in and fade out and overlaying / crossfade . clicking a “ play movie ” button may in certain applications , ( e . g ., the interface method ) hide the media preview area and play the contents of the timeline . the application then causes each piece of media to playback in order . playback of each media is a compilation of all effects and transitions that are in the current frame . if the media is a video , then the application seeks the correct point in the media ( e . g . netstream object ) that corresponds with the begin point and plays until the end point is reached . if the media is audio or an image , the application uses a timer to play the media for the appropriate time . the media or the timer is paused if the user clicks the play movie button again . saving an edited output file allows the user to store his or her progress on a particular project between edit sessions and to share finished edited output files with others . under a first exemplary case for saving an edited output file , the user selects an option for saving the file e . g ., & lt ;& lt ; file / save & gt ;& gt ; from the host application menu . in the host application , when save is chosen from the file menu , host application causes a function ( e . g ., . fscommand ) to be called and all edit decisions ( e . g ., the interface method &# 39 ; s timeline variables ) are sent to the host application . under a second exemplary case for saving an edited output file , the user clicks a save movie button in e . g ., the interface method gui . in the interface method , a function is called and all edit decisions ( the interface method timeline variables ) are sent to the host application . the methods that the application uses to save include but are not limited to saving to an edit decision list xml file and saving to a host application and a function such as the media conversion method or an equivalent . for example , when saving to an edit decision list xml file , the host application may write timeline variables to an xml file based on smil format . upon playback , the xml file would be read and the requisite media files opened to simulate a single movie playback . media files remain in the editable format or comparable format , and single movie is never created . by way of an alternative example , when employing a host application and a function such as the media conversion method , the host application may use the media conversion method , or equivalent to convert media files to a common format ( e . g ., mov / quicktime , avi , mpeg ). the host application or the media conversion method may then use the edit decision list to edit and stitch together media files to form a new binary video file and to write it to local file system in a common format . a user may share media and edited output file in many different ways . for example , a user may upload to a website . accordingly , the host application and graphic user interface such as the interface method make it possible to login and import the user &# 39 ; s media and edited output file to video sharing sites or the user &# 39 ; s own web site directly by utilizing video sharing sites api &# 39 ; s , ftp and / or http . video sharing sites and requisite authentication information could be added by a user or come pre - installed in the application . alternatively , the user may e - mail the edited output file . the host application and a graphic user interface such as the interface method make it possible to compose emails and attach media and edited output file . in still another alternative , sharing may be done peer - to - peer in which the host application and a graphic user interface such as the interface method make it possible to share media and edited output file through a peer to peer network established when the user is running the host application . in some embodiments , it is preferable to have a channel . as noted above , the channel in an interface comprised of elements that may be delivered from a specific internet location . the user may , through the channel , interact with that internet location , by for example , receiving notifications of up - coming events , promotion and contests , receiving coupons or receiving alerts that another user is on - line . the channel may be capable of communication and activity wholly at separate from the rest of the interface method and has the ability to download or to upload data in real - time . the programs of the present invention may be configured to display preprogrammed information in the channel at periodic or random intervals , and / or when the user is not on - line . an exemplary method for saving a movie that has been edited may be described by reference to fig5 . a user activates an interface module , which is a module within the edit module that enables a user to initiate the save protocol . the interface module gets properties from objects stored in memory that have been created by the user by using the gui , 24 . properties are saved as formatted text ( hereinafter referred to as an “ edl file ”) to memory , or to file . these properties may consist of dimensions , start times , stop times , location of original media file , etc . the properties describe the elements in the editable format that define the video , as well as media elements such as transitions , titles , etc ., and thus , the edl is a summary of the properties of the objects . the properties of the media elements are read from memory of the media elements prior to conversion to a standard editable format . thus , the edl file may be created by obtaining properties from a plurality of different file types . the edl file is passed to a conversion program (“ edl translator ”) 25 . a conversion program will convert the properties to commands readable by the executable (“ translation ”) application . the commands conform to the known api for the directshow and / or avisynth programs . a new “ commands list ” 26 is sent to the “ executable script ” 27 , which executes the api . directshow 28 and / or avisynth accesses the original media files specified in the commands list to output the edited movie file 29 based on the result of the commands in the “ commands list .” thus , a user may execute a computer program with instructions and modules that enable a user execute the following methods : ( i ) import a plurality of media elements , wherein said plurality of media elements are stored in a plurality of file types ; ( ii ) convert said plurality of elements into an editable format ; ( iii ) combine said plurality of elements to form a temporary combined media element ; ( iv ) gather properties of said temporary media element ; ( v ) create a file of said properties ; ( vi ) convert said file of said properties into a set of commands , wherein said commands are readable by an application programming interface ; ( vii ) execute said commands , wherein said executing comprises applying said commands to said plurality of media of elements to form an output media file ; and ( viii ) save said output media file , wherein said output media file comprises a uniform media type . any of the features of the various embodiments described herein can be used in conjunction with features described in connection with any other embodiments disclosed unless otherwise specified . features described in connection with the various or specific embodiments are not to be construed as not suitable in connection with other embodiments disclosed herein unless such exclusivity is explicitly stated or implicit from the context .
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the embodiment of fig1 and 2 is useful where the pipe is subjected to extrusion blow molding . thermoplastic translucent synthetic resin 3 is supplied from a hopper ( not shown ) to extruder 1 and is caused to flow toward head 5 as shown by the solid line arrow in fig1 . synthetic resin 3 is forced through the gap between dies 6 and point 7 , and thereby is extruded in tubular form . the tube is cooled and solidified by cooler 9 located downstream of head 5 , and forms pipe 10 of predetermined size . on the rear of head 5 , support 11 is affixed . light source 12 , preferably generating white light , is held by support 11 at the longitudinal axis of pipe 10 and at a point downstream of cooler 9 . surrounding pipe 10 at the point at which light source 12 is placed , is ring holder 14 with its axis concentric with that of pipe 10 . a plurality ( 8 shown in fig2 ) of light receivers are supported by holder 14 , and the light from light source 12 is received through the wall of pipe 10 by each light receiver . retention of each light receiver 18 by holder 14 is shown in fig3 . a plurality of translucent radial holes 16 are circumferentially spaced apart , each being equidistant from its neighbors . at the radially inner end of each radial hole 16 , there is formed mouth 17 of enlarged diameter and light receiver element 18 is retained therein . light receivers 18 are located so that they are equidistant from the axis of pipe 10 . as can readily be understood , the amount of light transmitted through pipe 10 , and hence the amount received by light receivers 18 , will vary based on the thickness of the wall . the output of the processing circuit will correspondingly vary . therefore , the processing circuit is adjusted so that a reference light amount , corresponding to the optimum desired wall thickness , is a predetermined value of , for example , 0 . the acceptable light intensity variation is preset so that , when the wall thickness is outside the desired range , the defect will be noted and appropriate action taken . for example , the process parameters of the distance between dies 6 and point 7 can be adjusted to maintain the wall thickness within the desired range . conversely , when the output level of the processing circuit proportionate to the amount of light received by each light receiver 18 is within the allowable range , the thickness of the pipe wall is known to be within the predetermined tolerances . in another embodiment ( see fig4 and 5 ), a notch is formed on the pipe wall by cutting blade 20 after pipe 10 is formed by extrusion blow molding . pipe 10 is urged through the inside of cylindrical body 21 so that the axes of the pipe and body are concentric . cutting blade 20 is held by blade holder 22 which is fixed to cylindrical body 21 . at the upstream part of cylindrical body 21 ( opposite the direction of the arrow ), a plurality of radial translucent holes 24 , spaced apart circumferentially , is located . at the radially inner end of each translucent hole 24 , mouth 25 , having an enlarged diameter , is formed to accommodate light receiver 26 , so that it is not easily released . light receivers 26 are held by cylindrical body 21 so that the distances from the center axis of pipe 20 to the light receiver surface of each light receiver 20 are equal . blade holder 22 is formed in approximately an l shape as shown in fig5 and the lower half thereof is inserted inside pipe 10 via notch 28 of narrow width formed in the wall thereof by cutting blade 20 . at the upstream end of blade holder 22 , light source 30 is supported . light source 30 is at the longitudinal axis of pipe 10 and adjacent the light receiving faces of light receivers 26 , so that the light generated passes through the pipe wall and impinges on the light receiving faces . with this embodiment , it is , of course , possible to obtain the same result as with the first embodiment ; moreover , light source 30 can be supported by blade holder 22 , thereby obviating the need for a separate member to support the light source . this simplifies the construction and maintains light source 30 at the center of the pipe with great precision . a further embodiment is shown in fig6 . there are radial translucent holes for holding a plurality of optical fibers 32 on holder 14 as in the first embodiment . however , the end of each optical fiber 32 is inserted into the translucent hole , and light receiver 33 is disposed adjacent the other end of optical fiber 32 . in this case , the translucent hole on holder 14 can be very small and still permit optical fiber 32 to be inserted therein ; hence , it is possible to have a much larger number of optical fibers than can be accommodated by the first embodiment . this provides greater precision in determining the pipe wall thickness . moreover , as it becomes possible to arrange various light receiving elements 33 collectively in a place distant from the pipe itself , the structure of the inspection apparatus is simplified and facilitation of maintenance and repair can be obtained . in the foregoing specific descriptions , the pipe is formed by extrusion blow molding . however , as is apparent , the present invention is similarly applicable to pipes obtained by any other procedure . in so doing , a single light receiver 18 may be used to receive light from the light source through the pipe wall . in this case , receiver 18 is rotated around the pipe , so that the entire surface area is tested . conversely , light receiver 18 may be fixed and the pipe rotated . furthermore , in each of the foregoing embodiments , the pipe has been moved axially , but the present invention can be similarly practiced by moving the light receiver without moving the pipe . although only a limited number of specific embodiments of the present invention have been expressly disclosed , it is , nonetheless , to be broadly construed , and not to be limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto .
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the invention is further explained in the experimental part of this description which is nonlimiting . until now , four surfactant specific proteins have been described . two hydrophilic proteins , surfactant protein a ( sp - a ) and surfactant protein d ( sp - d ), and two hydrophobic proteins , surfactant protein b ( sp - b ) and surfactant protein c ( sp - c ). the most abundant protein in surfactant is sp - a ( more than 50 %). sp - a consists of 28 to 35 kda peptides assembled into a large multimeric protein composed of 18 similar subunits . also sp - d is a large multivalent molecule comprising 12 monomers of 39 to 43 kda peptides . both proteins have a collagen - like sequence and a cooh — terminal ca 2 ˜ - dependent carbohydrate binding domain . they belong to the c - type mammalian lectins . the surfactant proteins b and c are extremely hydrophobic proteins which in general are dissolved in organic solvents . sp - b is a dimer which consists of two 8 kda peptides whereas sp - c is a monomer with a molecular weight of 8 kda , containing one ( canine ) or two ( human and pig ) palmitoyl groups . the suppression of the immune - system in the lungs and gut is mediated by ( alveolar ) macrophages . in mice after depletion of their alveolar macrophages by intratracheal instillation of clodronate containing multilamelar liposomes , followed by intratracheal instillation of antigen , a local immune response against the antigen can be detected . hence it seems feasible to develop vaccination protocols for vaccination via for example the airways comprising depletion of alveolar macrophages by clodronate containing liposomes , and intratracheal insertion of antigen . antigen , tnp - klh , was entrapped in liposomes consisting of lipids and various concentrations of surfactant proteins and intratracheally instilled in mice which were either depleted of their alveolar macrophages or in control mice . subsequently , the primary immune response against the antigen in these mice was determined after isolation of their spleen cells using an eli - spot assay . in addition , the secondary immune response was measured in mice which were i . p . injected with antigen after the instillation of antigen containing liposomes , in their sera using elisa &# 39 ; s specific for igg , igm and iga . young adult ( 8 - 12 weeks , female ) balb / c mice were obtained from harlan cpb ( the netherlands ). sp - a was isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with alveolar proteinosis as described ( 1 ). sp - a was dissolved in 5 mm hepes ph 7 . 4 ( 2 . 2 mg / ml ) and stored in small aliquots at − 70 ° c . sp - b and sp - c were isolated from porcine lung lavage . porcine lungs were obtained from the slaughterhouse and lavaged 3 - 5 times with a solution of 154 mm nacl . pulmonary surfactant was prepared from the bronchoalveolar lavage by the method of hawgood et al ( 2 ). lung surfactant was extracted with 1 - butanol ( 1 ). butanol was dried by rotary evaporation , and the residue was dissolved in chloroform / methanol / 0 . 1 m hcl ). ( 1 : 1 : 0 . 05 , v / v / v ). insoluble material was removed by centrifugation . sp - b and sp - c were separated from lipids and purified to homogeneity by sephadex lh - 60 ( pharmacia , uppsala , sweden ) chromatography as described ( 3 ). the proteins were stored in a mixture of chloroform / methanol ( 1 : 1 ; v / v ) at − 20 ° c . the concentration of the proteins was determined by quantitative amino acid analysis . the lh - 60 column fractions which contained the surfactant lipids were dried by rotary evaporation . the lipids were dissolved in chloroform / methanol ( 1 : 1 ; v / v ). the phospholipid concentration was estimated by determining the phosphorus concentration as described by bartlett ( 4 ). dipalmitoylphophatidylcholine ( dppc ), phosphatidylcholine ( eggpc ), phosphatidylglycerol ( eggpg ) and cholesterol were purchased from avanti polar lipids ( alabaster , ala ., usa ). 86 mg eggpc and 8 mg cholesterol were dissolved in 10 ml chloroform . the chloroform was dried by rotary evaporation . the lipid film was suspended in either 4 ml pbs ( control liposomes ) or 10 ml dichloromethylene - diphosphonate ( dmdp ) in pbs ( 0 . 189 g / ml ). the suspension was kept for 2 hours at room temperature . subsequently , it was sonicated for 3 min in a water bath sonicator and kept at room temperature for 2 hours . the dmdp - containing liposomes were suspended in 100 ml pbs and centrifuged at 15 , 000 g to remove free dmdp . the pellet was suspended in 4 ml pbs . lipids were dissolved in the presence or absence of sp - b and / or sp - c in chloroform . the chloroform was dried by rotary evaporation . the lipid film was suspended in 0 . 8 mg trinitrophenyl - keyhole limpet hemocyanin ( tnp - klh )/ ml pbs by vortexing . subsequently , the liposomes were sonicated for 1 min on ice using an mse ultrasonic disintegrator . for the experiments with sp - a , sp - a was either added to the lipid suspension together with the antigen or after the preparation of the antigen - containing liposomes . the mice were fixed in an upright position under anesthetization with 20 μl of a 4 : 3 ( v / v ) mixture of aescoket ( aesculaap , gent , belgium ) and rompun ( bayer , leverkussen , germany ), intramuscularly injected . using a nylon tube connected to a 1 ml syringe , 100 μl liposomes were injected through the glottis into the trachea . at day 0 , mice were intratracheally instilled with 100 p . 1 of either pbs or dmdp - liposomes or pbs liposomes . at day 2 , mice were intratracheally injected with 100 p . 1 of antigen - containing liposomes . to study the primary immune response , animals were autopsied at day 9 and their spleen cells were isolated to determine the number of tnp - antibody secreting cells using a spot - elisa . animals used to study the secondary immune response were injected intratracheally with the same suspensions at the same times as the mice used for the primary response , but were injected with 100 p . 1 tnp - klh ( 0 . 8 mg / ml pbs ) intraperitonealy at day 23 . the animals were sacrificed at day 30 , and their sera were collected in order to determine the tnp - antibody titers using an elisa . this assay was based on the method described by sedgwick and holt ( 5 ). briefly , microtiter plates were coated overnight at 4 ° c . with 5 p . g per well trinitrophenylated ovalbumin ( tnp - ova ). the plates were emptied and incubated with 1 % ( w / v ) bovine serum albumin ( bsa )/ ml pbs for 1 h at room temperature . the plates were rinsed twice with pbs . a single cell suspension of spleen cells ( 10 7 / ml rpmi 1640 supplemented with 1 % hepes ( w / v ), 1 % bsa ( w / v ) and 10 % fetal calf serum ( v / v ) was added to the first well of each row ( 150 p . 1 / well ) and serial diluted 1 : 2 in the same medium . after incubation at 37 ° c ., the wells were rinsed with 0 . 1 % tween 20 ( v / v ) in pbs ( pbt ) till the cells were lysed . subsequently , goat anti mouse igm ( 1 : 500 ; in 1 % bsa - pbt ; sanbio ) conjugated with alkaline phosphatase was added to each well ( 100 μl / well ) and the plates were incubated for 2 h at 37 ° c . after rinsing the plates four times , the alkaline phosphatase substrate , 5 - bromo - 4 - chloro - 3 — indolyl - phosphate ( 1 mg / ml amp buffer ( sigma ) supplemented with 1 % low melting agarose ( w / v ) was added to the wells ( 100 μl / well ) at 37 ° c . the plates were incubated overnight at 4 ° c . and the cells secreting tnp antibodies were counted . in order to detect specific antibodies against tnp in the sera of mice , an elisa was developed based on the method described by delemarre et al ( 6 ). in short , microtiter plates were coated with tnp - ova and incubated with 1 % bsa as described above . the plates were rinsed four times with pbt . for the determination of the igm and igg in the sera , the sera were diluted with pbt supplemented with 1 % bsa ( 1 : 7 ). in order to measure iga , the sera were diluted four times with same buffer . the diluted sera were added to the first well of each row ( 200 μl / well ) and serially diluted 1 : 1 in the pbtbsa bufter . after incubation of the plates for 2h at room temperature , the plates were rinsed four times with pbt . to each well , 100 μl of either biotinylated anti igm , or anti igg or anti iga was added . the plates were incubated for 1 h at room temperature and rinsed four times with pbt . the plates were incubated for 1 h at room temperature avidin conjugated hrp ( 1 : 5000 in pbt - bsa ), washed and the bound antibodies were visualised by incubation for 1 h at room temperature with the substrate o - phenylenediaminedihydrochloride ( 2 mg / ml 0 . 1 m phosphate - citrate buffer ph 5 . 5 supplemented with 0 . 015 % h 2 o 2 100 μl / well ). the reaction was terminated by adding 50 μl of 2 . 5 m h 2 so 4 . the absorbance at 492 nm was measured and the values were expressed as compared to positive control sera for either igm , or igg or iga . the control sera were included on each plate , and were raised in mice by immunisation with tnp - ova . depletion of am by dmdp containing liposomes followed by intratracheal instillation of antigen incorporated in small unilamellar vesicles ( suv ) leads to the production and secretion of specific igm antibodies in the spleen cells of mice ( fig1 ). the mice remained healthy throughout the experiment and no inflammatory responses were observed in the lungs of the treated mice . a maximal immune response is obtained at lower phospholipid concentrations , 5 mg / ml versus 20 mg / ml , when tnp - klh is incorporated in suv &# 39 ; s which contain the surfactant lipids and also the surfactant proteins sp - b and sp - c compared to suv &# 39 ; s which consists of only the surfactant lipids . however , at high lipid concentrations , 20 mg / ml , no difference is observed between suv &# 39 ; s containing the surfactant proteins and suv &# 39 ; s devoid of the hydrophobic proteins . the half maximal immune response for the surfactant suv &# 39 ; s which contained sp - b and sp - c was observed at a phospholipid concentration of 3 mg / ml . this concentration was used in the following experiments . in order to determine which surfactant protein ( s ) entrapped in antigen surfactant liposomes can enhance the immune response , the following experiment was performed . antigen liposomes were prepared which consisted of the surfactant lipids , and the various surfactant proteins . the lipid to protein ratio was approximately the same as the physiological ratio , i . e ., for sp - a : phospholipid / sp - a ( 15 : 1 ( w / w ), for sp - b : phospholipid / sp - b ( 100 : 0 . 5 - 1 ( w / w ) and for sp - c : phospholipid / sp - b ( 100 : 0 . 5 - 1 ) ( 3 , 7 ). the antigen liposomes which contained sp - b yielded a higher immune response than the other liposomes ( fig2 ). the liposomes which contained only sp - c of sp - a gave a similar immune response as the liposomes which consisted of the surfactant lipids . in addition , incorporation of sp - c in sp - b containing antigen liposomes did not influence the sp - b mediated enhancement of the immune response . in this experiment , sp - a was encapsulated in the antigen liposomes together with the antigen , when sp - a was added to the antigen - liposomes , i . e ., was not present in the liposomes , similar results were obtained ( results not shown ). to determine the concentration dependency of the sp - b induced enhancement of the immune response , various concentrations of sp - b were incorporated in antigen containing liposomes . an optimal immune response was observed as a phospholipid to protein ratio of 200 : 1 ( 3 mg phospholipid : 15 μg sp - b ) ( fig3 ). for stimulation of the immune response by antigen sp - b liposomes , the presence of the negatively charged phospholipid , phosphatidylglycerol ( pg ), in the liposomes is required ( fig4 ). since no effect of sp - b inclusion in the antigen - liposomes on the immune response was noted when the antigen - liposomes consisted of a lipid mixture of dppc , eggpc , cholesterol ( 61 : 30 : 9 ; w / w / w ) whereas the sp - b activity was restored when a mixture of the lipids dppc , eggpc , cholesterol and pg ( 55 : 27 : 8 : 10 ; w / w / w ) was used . influence of am depletion on the sp - b mediated stimulation of the immune response in order to determine if depletion of am by intratracheal instillation of dmdp - containing liposomes is needed to elicit an immune response via the airways when antigen sp - b liposomes are used , the following experiment was performed . mice were divided in three groups , group 1 was intratracheally instilled with only the antigen containing liposomes , group 2 was intratracheally injected with pbs liposomes followed two days later by the antigen liposomes , and group 3 received the dmdp liposomes and the antigen liposomes ( fig4 ). the use of pbs - containing liposomes instead of dmdp - containing liposomes or no liposome treatment at all prior to the intratracheal instillation tnp - klh encapsulated in the sp - b - dppc / pc / cholesterol / pg liposomes , yields an immune response in the spleen cells which is approximately the same as when the am were depleted , also when surfactant lipids were used instead of the dppc / pc / cholesterol / pl lipid mixture in combination with the hydrophobic surfactant proteins for antigen liposomes , similar results were obtained ( fig5 ). influence of sp - b containing antigen liposomes on the secondary immune response in these experiments , mice were either intracheally injected with dmdp - liposomes or not on day 0 . at day 2 , mice received intratracheal antigen - liposomes of different composition . at day 23 , mice were boosted with an ip injection of antigen . at day 30 , mice were sacrificed and the sera were collected to determine the titers of specific antibodies against the antigen as well as their classes . a high igm titer was detected in the sera of mice which were not depleted of their am , intratracheally primed with sp - b containing antigen liposomes , and boosted with antigen ( fig6 a ). additional depletion of am caused only a slight enhancement of the igm titers . in contrast , only a poor igg titer is observed when the animals were not depleted of their am with marginal effects of incorporation of sp - b in the antigen liposomes ( fig6 b ). higher igg titers are observed when the mice were depleted of their am prior to the intratracheal instillation of antigen liposomes , which can be further increased by the use of sp - b containing antigen liposomes . antigen entrapped in surfactant liposomes can induce a systemic immune response in mice , as shown after intratracheal instillation . no depletion of the alveolar macrophages by an intratracheal injection of dmdp - containing liposomes is needed to observe this immune response . a preferred method for the induction of the immune response via the airways is a method whereby the antigen is entrapped in liposomes which contain at least sp - b and phosphatidylglycerol . the sp - b effect is concentration dependent reaching a maximum at the physiological phospholipid : sp - b ratio of 100 : 0 , 5 - 1 . the observed pg dependency of sp - b is not surprising , since the positive charges of sp - b were reported to be essential for its activity ( 8 ) such as the phospholipid insertion in the surface film , which covers the alveoli , via the negatively charged pg ( 9 , 10 ). in a previous study from our laboratory , thepen et al ( 11 ) demonstrated that only a local , iga , immune response can be elicited in the lung after prior depletion of the alveolar macrophages by dmdp - containing liposomes . depletion of alveolar macrophages was necessary to induce an immune response via the airways , because alveolar macrophages were shown to inhibit immune responses probably via the suppression of t - cells and dendritic cells . depletion of alveolar macrophages which leads to the destruction of cells which may compete with the type ii cells for the uptake of antigen containing liposomes as well as a reduction of the suppression of the immune response is no longer needed to induce a primary immune response when animals are intratracheally injected with sp - b - containing antigen liposomes . the advantages for the use of sp - b containing liposomes are : a . naturally occuring in the form of surfactant , b . the homology of sp - b derived from different species ( canine , human , porcine rabbit ) is high ( more than 80 %), c . sp - b ( porcine , bovine ) containing liposomes , in the form of surfactant , have already been used to treat premature children . 1 ) sp - b containing liposomes can be used , as in this study , for immunisation via the airways . a systemic immune response , igm , can be obtained . no depletion necessary . 2 ) in combination with am depleting liposomes , sf - b - antigen liposomes can be used for immunisation . 3 ) since sp - b and surfactant analogue material is present in the intestines , immunisation via the intestines using sp - b containing antigen liposomes is effective . 4 ) in the lungs or in the intestines sp - b containing liposomes can be used to transport the following substances to the alveolar type ii cells ( or similar cells in the intestines ) a ) dna , sp - b coupled to modified sp - b has been shown to enhance transfection . probably sp - b , dna containing liposomes may work to get dna in vivo into the type ii cells . b ) transport of corticosteroids to alveolartype ii cells . these substances are used for immature children in order to induce the surfactant production by type ii cells . c ) transport of antioxidants to type ii cells . has been shown for sp - a containing liposomes . 1 . haagsman h p , hawgood 5 , sargeant t , buckley d , white r t , drickamer k , benson b j . 1987 . the major lung surfactant protein , sp28 - 36 , is a calcium - dependent , carbohydrate binding protein . j . biol . chem . 262 : 13877 - 13880 . 2 . hawgood et al . 1985 . effects of a surfactant - associated protein and calcium ions on the structure and surface activity of lung surfactant lipids . biochemistry 24 : 184 - 190 . 3 . oosterlaken - dijksterhuis m a , van eijk m , van buel b l m van golde lmg , haagsman h p . 1991 . surfactant protein composition of lamellar bodies isolated from rat lung . biochem . j . 274 : 115 - 119 . 4 . bartlett , g r . 1959 . phosphorous assay in column chromatography . j . biol . chern . 234 : 466 - 468 . 5 . sedgwick j d , holt pga . 1983 . solid - phase immunoenzymatic technique for the enumberation of specific antibody - secreting cells . j immunol meth . 57 : 301 - 309 . 6 . delemarre f g a , claassen e , van rooijen n . 1989 . the primary in situ immune response in popliteal lymph nodes and spleen of mice after subcutaneous immunisation with thymusdependent or thymus - independent ( type 1 and 2 ) antigens . anat . rec . 223 : 152 - 157 . 7 . phizackerley p j r , town m h , newman g e . 1979 . hydrophobic proteins of lamellated osmiophilic bodies isolated from pig lung . biochem j 183 : 731 - 736 . 8 . cochrane c g , revak s d . 1991 . pulmonary surfactant protein ( sf - b ): structure - function relationships . science . 253 : 566 - 568 . 9 . yu s h , possmayer f . 1992 . effect of pulmonary surfactant protein b ( sp - b ) and calcium on phospholipid adsorption and squeeze - out of phosphatidylglycerol from binary phospholipid monolayers containing dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine . biochim . biophys . acta . 1126 : 26 - 34 . 10 . yu sh , fossmayer f . 1992 . studies on surfactantassociated protein b mediated adsorption of surfactant phospholipids . am . rev . respir . dis . 145 : a874 . 11 . thepen t , van rooijen n . kraal g . 1989 . alveolar macrophage elimination in vivo is associated with an increase in pulmonary immune response in mice . j . exp . med . 176 : 499 - 509 .
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the present invention provides several new commands ( or “ interfaces ”) to enable tape positioning based on file numbers , providing the capability for high - speed access to data by specifying a file number . these commands are : position relative ( posrel ) command , used to space any given positive or negative number of file marks at high speed . position absolute ( posab ) command , used to perform high - speed locate to the beginning of any specific file . position sense ( posns ) command , used to obtain the current file number position . further , in read device characteristics ( rdc ) data , new bits are provided to indicate that each of these new commands is supported . the position relative command will provide the more convenient high - speed alternative to the current use of repeated forward space file commands to access the desired file on tape . however , the other positioning commands provide alternatives that can be considered in fulfilling the requirement for high - speed access when only file number , and not block id , is available . the posab , posrel and posns commands have further utility in providing a robust architecture for navigating residual data , e . g ., for data recovery . referring to the illustrations , like numerals correspond to like parts depicted in the figures . the invention will be described as embodied in an automated data storage and retrieval subsystem for use in a data processing environment . the following description of applicant &# 39 ; s method to record information to a movable tape medium , or to a movable tape medium disposed within a portable data storage cartridge is not meant , however , to limit applicant &# 39 ; s invention to either data storage and retrieval systems , or to magnetic tape applications , as the invention herein can be applied to data storage media in general . [ 0035 ] fig3 illustrates an exemplary hardware and software system 300 in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented , including a host system 390 , a tape subsystem 320 , and a plurality of tape drives 330 , 340 . host system 390 includes applicants &# 39 ; hierarchical storage management ( hsm ) program 310 . information is transferred between the host system 390 and secondary storage devices managed by a data storage and retrieval system , such as tape subsystem 320 , via communication link 350 . communication link 350 comprises a serial interconnection , such as an rs - 232 cable or an rs - 432 cable , an ethernet interconnection , a scsi interconnection , a fibre channel interconnection , a local area network ( lan ), a private wide area network ( wan ), a public wide area network , storage area network ( san ), transmission control protocol / internet protocol ( tcp / ip ), the internet , and combinations thereof . in the embodiment shown in fig3 tape subsystem 320 includes tape drives 330 and 340 . in other embodiments of applicants &# 39 ; data storage and retrieval system , tape subsystem 320 includes a single data storage drive . in alternative embodiments , applicants &# 39 ; data storage and retrieval system 320 includes more than two data storage drives . a plurality of portable data storage media 360 are stored within applicants &# 39 ; data storage and retrieval system . in certain embodiments , a plurality of data storage media 360 are each housed in a portable data storage cartridge , such as a plurality of portable tape cartridges ( not shown in fig3 ). each of such portable data storage cartridges may be inserted in one of tape drives , and thereafter accessed by the tape subsystem 320 . in alternative embodiments , alternative storage media may be substituted for the tape cartridges . any type of non - volatile storage media could be used , including optical disks , holographic units , digital video disc ( dvd ), compact disc - read only memory ( cd - rom ), non - volatile random access memory ( ram ), etc . for ease of reference , all such data storage media are referred to herein as “ tape cartridges ” or “ data storage cartridges ”, although it should be recognized that the invention is not strictly limited to tape cartridges . the tape subsystem 320 further includes program logic to manage tape drives 330 and 340 , and plurality of data storage cartridges 360 . in alternative embodiments , tape subsystem 330 and host system 390 may be located on a single computer machine . host system 390 comprises a computer system , such as a mainframe , personal computer , workstation , etc ., including an operating system such as windows , aix , unix , mvs , etc . ( windows is a registered trademark of microsoft corporation ; aix is a registered trademark and mvs is a trademark of ibm corporation ; and unix is a registered trademark in the united states and other countries licensed exclusively through the open group .) the hsm program 310 in the host system 390 may include the functionality of hsm type programs known in the art that manage the transfer of data to a tape library , such as the ibm dfsms implemented in the ibm mvs operating system . the ibm dfsms software is described in “ dfsms / mvs v1r4 general information ,” ibm document no . gc26 - 4900 - 05 , published by ibm ( copyright 1997 , ibm ), which publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in addition to including known hsm functions , such as recall and migration , the hsm program 310 would further include additional program instructions to perform the operations of the preferred embodiments of the present invention . the hsm program 310 may be implemented within the operating system of the host system 390 or as a separate , installed application program . the tape subsystem 320 comprises a computer system , and manages a plurality of tape drives and tape cartridges . the tape drives 330 and 340 may be any suitable tape drives known in the art , e . g ., the magstar 3590 tape drives . data storage cartridges 360 may be any suitable tape cartridge device known in the art , ( magstar is a registered trademark of ibm corporation ) such as eccst , magstar , ibm 3420 , 3480 , 3490e , 3590 tape cartridges , etc . the tape subsystem 320 may be a manual tape library in which the user must manually mount data storage cartridges ( in this case , tape cartridges 360 , as shown in fig2 and 3 ) into the tape drives 330 / 340 , or an automated tape library ( atl ) in which a robotic arm mounts tape cartridges 360 in the library into the tape drives 330 / 340 . for example , referring now to fig1 a , automated data storage and retrieval system 100 is shown having a first wall of storage slots 102 and a second wall of storage slots 104 . portable data storage cartridges 360 ( not shown in fig1 a ), such as tape cartridges , are individually stored in these storage slots . data storage and retrieval system 100 includes one or more accessors , such as accessors 110 and 120 . an accessor is a robotic device which accesses portable data storage media from first storage wall 102 or second storage wall 104 , delivers that accessed media to data storage devices 130 / 140 for reading and / or writing data thereon , and returns the media to the proper storage slot . referring now to fig1 b , data storage device 130 includes device controller 132 . controller 132 includes microprocessor 134 in communication with non - volatile memory 136 . in certain embodiments , microprocessor 134 communicates with non - volatile memory 136 via communication link 135 . in other embodiments , non - volatile memory 136 is integral to microprocessor 134 . device microcode 138 is stored in non - volatile memory 136 . device microcode comprises a computer program product which controls the operation of a data storage device , such as data storage device 130 ( fig1 a )/ 140 ( fig1 a )/ 230 ( fig2 ). library controller 160 communicates with host computer 390 via communication link 392 . referring now to fig1 c , library controller 160 includes microprocessor 162 , volatile memory 164 , and non - volatile memory 166 . in certain embodiments , microprocessor communicates with volatile memory 164 via communication link 163 . in other embodiments , volatile memory 164 is integral to microprocessor 162 . microprocessor 162 communicates with non - volatile memory 166 via communication link 165 . library operating system 168 is stored in non - volatile memory 166 . operating system 168 comprises a computer program product that controls the operation of data storage and retrieval systems 100 ( fig1 a )/ 200 ( fig2 ), and tape subsystem 320 ( fig3 ). referring once again to fig1 a , operator input station 150 permits a user to communicate with applicant &# 39 ; s automated data storage and retrieval system 100 . devices 180 and 190 each comprise a direct access storage device ( dasd ) cache . in certain embodiments dasd cache 180 and 190 comprise a plurality of hard disk drives , which are configured into one or more raid arrays . in certain embodiments , information transferred between host computer 390 and data storage and retrieval system 100 is buffered in dasd caches 180 and 190 . import / export station 172 includes access door 174 pivotably attached to the side of system 100 . portable data storage cartridges can be placed in the system , or in the alternative , removed from the system , via station 172 / access door 174 . [ 0046 ] fig2 shows system 200 , which comprises another embodiment of applicant &# 39 ; s data storage and retrieval system . system 200 includes first storage wall 202 and second storage wall 204 . storage walls 202 and 204 each include a plurality of storage elements in which can be stored a plurality of portable data storage cartridges 360 . system 200 includes one or more data storage devices , such as device 230 . device 230 comprises a floppy disk drive , an optical disk drive , a magnetic tape drive , and the like . system 200 further includes operator control panel 250 ( not shown in fig3 ). as shown in fig2 system 200 further includes library controller 260 . library controller 260 controls the operation of accessor 210 and data storage device 230 . as shown in fig3 system 300 further includes one or a plurality of portable data storage cartridges , such as tape cartridges 360 , each of which contains data storage media internally disposed therein . referring again to fig3 tape subsystem 320 , such as data storage and retrieval system 100 ( of fig1 a )/ 200 ( of fig2 ), receives commands from the hsm program 310 in the host system 390 and performs the operations requested by the hsm program 310 , such as migration and recall , to transfer data between the host system 390 and the components managed by the tape subsystem 320 . in preferred embodiments , the tape subsystem 320 can simultaneously process numerous input / output requests from the host system 390 and any other attached system directed toward the tape drives 330 / 340 and tape cartridges 360 managed by the tape subsystem 320 . moreover , in certain embodiments , hsm program 310 in the host system 390 is capable of multi - tasking , simultaneously executing numerous input / output operations , and simultaneously transmitting multiple i / o requests to the tape subsystem 320 to execute . in further embodiments , a plurality of host systems 390 may communicate with the tape subsystem 320 and / or a host system 390 may communicate and transfer data to a plurality of tape subsystems 320 , each subsystem providing access to a library of tape cartridges 360 . as illustrated in fig4 ( a graphical representation of the posrel command ) and 5 ( a flowchart 550 representing the steps of the posrel command ), the present invention comprises a new position relative ( posrel ) command 400 , which requests the logical medium to be adjusted to a position relative to the current logical medium position . an exemplary posrel command 400 causes 8 bytes of data to be transferred from the channel to the control unit , which may occur synchronously or asynchronously . in asynchronous operation , such data may include a bit to notify the program of completion of the positioning . order parameters may be further specified , wherein a command reject , parameter error may be returned if an undefined order code is specified . as fig4 and 5 illustrate , in one exemplary embodiment , order codes of position relative 400 may include space block ( sb ) 401 , space tape mark ( stm ) 402 , space sequential tape mark ( sstm ) 403 , and space end of data ( seod ) 404 . as shown in fig5 when a posrel command is received , at step 500 , a determination is made regarding which order code is received , at step 501 . the space block ( sb ) order 401 of the posrel command 400 causes relative positioning on a logical block basis . if , at step 501 , a determination is made that an sb order has been received , the value of the count argument ( n ) is determined , at step 502 . a positive value , n , of the count argument causes positioning in the forward logical direction to point just after ( on the end of partition ( eop ) side ) the nth block after the current position , at step 503 . a negative value of n causes positioning in the backward logical direction to point just before ( on the beginning of partition ( bop ) side ) the nth block before the current position , at step 504 . file marks are counted as logical blocks , just as data logical blocks ; however , a space block order 401 which encounters a tape mark will normally complete with a unit exception and the logical medium will remain positioned just following ( respectively prior to ) the first tape mark encountered when moving in the forward ( respectively backward ) direction . the order is subject to unit checks for bop , eop , void , or beginning of data ( bod ) encountered . the order is not subject to unit exception for logical end of partition ( leop ) encountered . the count argument specifies a twos complement value which is used to specify the number of logical blocks to skip over from the current logical medium position . a positive count indicates motion in the logical forward direction ( towards eov or eop ), at step 503 . a negative count indicates motion in the logical backwards direction ( towards beginning of volume ( bov ) or bop ), at step 504 . a count of zero results in no logical movement of the medium , at step 505 ; however , it does force a synchronization . in one embodiment , only values between − 8388608 and + 8388607 are permitted . if a count value more negative than − 8388608 or more positive than + 8388607 is specified , then the order will terminate with unit check indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 506 . this order is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the forward space block and backward space block commands . this order may also be subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for space block 401 commands . in addition , it may be subject to boundary exceptions for forward at eop , backward at bop , and end of data mark , as well as data check for void . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . in a residual data domain ( i . e ., unindexed data left in a data medium beyond an end of data ( eod ) mark , after deletion of a file or a portion of a file , that remains recoverable until sanitizing of the data medium has taken place ), all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( locate ( loc ), forward space file ( fsf ), backward space file ( bsf ), forward space block ( fsb ), backward space block ( bsb ), posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only ( i . e ., relatively slowly ). crossing an end of data ( eod ) boundary into a residual data domain can only occur if permitted by device control page 3 ( dcp3 ). the first motion command which attempts to cross eod will be terminate with unit check status indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command will likely terminate with unit check status indicating data check , block sequence error . a third motion command will normally succeed . if unit exception status or unit check status is returned to the posrel command 400 then the current actual position on tape may not be known since anywhere between 0 and n blocks may have been spaced over when the error occurred . therefore , before issuing the posrel command 400 , the host software should : a ) issue a read block identifier ( rbid ) command and save the returned block id as the “ starting block position ” value and b ) save the initially requested count field passed in with the posrel command 400 as the “ requested block count ” value . in addition , after the posrel command 400 has failed with either the unit exception status or the unit check status , the host software will need to issue another rbid command and save the returned block id as the “ ending block position ” value . these saved values can then be used as aids in recovery for when either the unit exception status is returned due to having encountered a tape mark or when the unit check status is returned . it is also noted that if the unit check status is due to a lost positioning type of error then the only recovery possible is either a rewind or an unload of the tape . the space tape mark ( stm ) order 402 of the position relative command 400 causes relative positioning on a tape mark basis . if , at step 501 , a determination is made that an stm order has been received , the value of the count argument ( n ) is determined , at step 507 . a positive value of the count argument , n , causes positioning in the forward logical direction to point just after ( on the eop side ) the nth tape mark after the current position , at step 508 . a negative value of n causes positioning in the backward logical direction to point just before ( on the bop side ) the nth tape mark before the current position , at step 509 . the order is subject to unit checks for bop , eop , void , or eod encountered . the space tape mark order 402 will not complete with unit exception due to a tape mark encountered . the order is not subject to unit exception for leop encountered . the count argument specifies a twos complement value which is used to specify the number of tape marks to skip over from the current logical medium position . a positive count indicates motion in the logical forward direction ( towards eov or eop ), at step 508 . a negative count indicates motion in the logical backwards direction ( towards bov or bop ), at step 509 . a count of zero performs no operation except for synchronization , at step 510 . only count values between − 8388608 and + 8388607 are permitted . if a count value more negative than − 8388608 or more positive than + 8388607 is specified , then the order will terminate with unit check indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 511 . this order is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the forward space file and backward space file commands . this order may also be subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for space file commands . in addition , it is subject to boundary exceptions for forward at eop , backward at bop , and end of data mark , as well as data check for void . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . crossing an eod boundary into a residual data domain can only occur if permitted by dcp3 . the first motion command which attempts to cross eod will be terminate with unit check status indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command will likely terminate with unit check status indicating data check , block sequence error . a third motion command will normally succeed . if unit check status is returned to the posrel command 400 then the current actual position on tape may not be known since anywhere between 0 and n tape marks may have been spaced over when the error occurred . therefore , before issuing the posrel command 400 , the host software should : a ) issue a rbid command and save the returned block id as the “ starting block position ” value and b ) issue a posns command ( described hereinbelow ) and if the file number field is indicated as valid then save the returned file number as the “ starting file position ” value and c ) save the initially requested count field passed in with the posrel command 400 as the “ requested tape mark count ” value . in addition , after the posrel command 400 has failed with the unit check status , the host software will need to : a ) issue another rbid command and save the returned block id as the “ ending block position ” value and b ) issue another posns command and if the file number field is indicated as valid then save the returned file number as the “ ending file position ”. these saved values can then be used as aids in recovery for when the unit check status is returned . note that if either of the saved file number values from the posns command are not valid then the host will have to rely solely on using the saved block ids returned by the rbid commands for the recovery process . it is also noted that if the unit check status is due to a lost positioning type of error then the only recovery possible is either a rewind or an unload of the tape . the space sequential tape mark ( sstm ) order 403 of the position relative command 400 causes relative positioning on a sequential ( multiple adjacent ) tape mark basis ( as with end of data set ( eods ) marks on a volume ). if , at step 501 , a determination is made that an sstm order has been received , the value of the count argument ( n ) is determined , at step 512 . a positive value of the count , n , causes positioning in the forward logical direction to point just after ( on the eop side ) the first set of n consecutive tape marks ( n tape marks with no interspersed data logical blocks ) following the current position , at step 513 . a negative value of n causes positioning in the backward logical direction to point just before ( on the bop side ) the first of a set of n consecutive tape marks before the current position , at step 514 . the order is subject to unit checks for bop , eop , void , or eod encountered . the space sequential tape mark order 403 will not complete with unit exception due to a tape mark encountered . the command is not subject to unit exception for leop encountered . the count argument specifies a twos complement value which is used to specify the number of consecutive sequential tape marks to search for starting from the current logical medium position . a positive count indicates motion in the logical forward direction ( towards eov or bop ), at step 513 . a negative count indicates motion in the logical backwards direction ( towards bov or bop ), at step 514 . a count of zero performs no operation except for synchronization , at step 515 . only count values between − 8388608 and + 8388607 are permitted . if a count value more negative than − 8388608 or more positive than + 8388607 is specified , then the command will terminate with unit check indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 516 . this order is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the forward space file and backward space file commands . this order may also be subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for space file commands . in addition , it is subject to boundary exceptions for forward at eop , and backward at bop , and end of data mark , as well as data check for void . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . the last data set on a volume is normally terminated with two consecutive tape marks . if a count of 2 is specified and a set of 3 consecutive tape marks are encountered while searching in the forward direction ( before any single pair of tape marks ) the command completes with good status positioned after the second of the 3 tape marks . in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . crossing an eod boundary into a residual data domain can only occur if permitted by dcp3 . the first motion command which attempts to cross eod will be terminate with unit check status indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command will likely terminate with unit check status indicating data check , block sequence error . a third motion command will normally succeed . if unit check status is returned to the posrel command 400 then the current actual position on tape will likely not be known since a search for the first occurrence of n sequential tape marks was being made when the failure occurred . therefore it is recommended that before issuing the posrel command 400 the host software should : a ) issue a rbid command and save the returned block id as the “ starting block position ” value and b ) save the initially requested count field passed in with the posrel command 400 as the “ requested number of sequential tape marks ” value . these saved values can then be used as aids in recovery for when the unit check status is returned . it is also noted that if the unit check status is due to a lost positioning type of error then the only recovery possible is either a rewind or an unload of the tape . the space end of data ( seod ) order 404 of the position relative command 400 causes the logical medium to attempt positioning just prior to the first end of data mark encountered in the forward direction relative to the current position . seod positioning occurs , at step 517 , if , at step 501 , a determination is made that an seod order has been received . the order is subject to unit checks for void or bop encountered . the order is not subject to unit exception for leop encountered . the count field is ignored for this order . values are not checked . this order is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the forward space file and backward space file commands . this order may also be subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for space file commands . however , it is not subject to boundary exception , end of data , but it is subject to boundary exception , forward at eop , as well as data check for void . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . crossing an eod boundary into a residual data domain can only occur if permitted by dcp3 . the first motion command which attempts to cross eod will be terminate with unit check status indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command will likely terminate with unit check status indicating data check , block sequence error . a third motion command will normally succeed . if unit check status is returned to the posrel command 400 then the current actual position on tape will likely not be known . therefore , before issuing the posrel command 400 , the host software should issue a rbid command and save the returned block id as the “ starting block position ” value . this saved value can then be used as an aide in recovery for when the unit check status is returned . it is also noted that if the unit check status is due to a lost positioning type of error then the only recovery possible is either a rewind or an unload of the tape . position relative 400 may have utility during open processing for rapid positioning , especially on a file basis . proper arithmetic must be done to assure that header and trailer labels are accounted for . as illustrated in the flowchart 650 of fig6 for locating to a given file in a multivolume aggregate , the following protocol may be used : the process begins at step 600 , after which the maximal file written on the medium ( reported in new medium sense fields as well as volume log fields , which are available via the read buffered log command ) is checked , at step 601 . if the desired file exists on the current volume , which determination is made at step 602 , then the correct number of tape marks ( using the stm order 402 of position relative 400 , which is supported for all drives and media ) is spaced , at step 606 , and header and trailer labels are taken into account , after which execution is complete . if , at step 602 , it is determined that the desired file does not exist on the current volume , or if the maximal file written field is indicated as being invalid , then a spacing to end of data ( seod order 404 ) is performed , the position is backed up , and the final file on the media is checked , at step 603 . in an ibm 3590 system , model e drives and extended length media all report a valid current file number through position sense , or the application may have created meta data of its own for determining actual file number . except in the case of an invalid maximal file field and with the assumption that the tape is nearly full , the seod 404 may execute very rapidly since the logical end of tape is very close to the physical end of tape , just on a different wrap half . the volume is unloaded , at step 604 , and the next volume of the aggregate is loaded , at step 605 . the procedure of steps 601 - 6005 is repeated until the desired file is found . it is noted that the lb ( locate block ) order is functionally equivalent to the locate command . an lpri ( locate physical reference index ) order may be provided for data recovery programs . if residual data access is not prohibited in dcp3 , then lpri permits the drive to be positioned without regard to logical formatting constructs ( end of data marks , logical blocks , tape marks , etc .). those skilled in the art will recognize that this order should be used with care to avoid data loss or corruption . the seod 404 order of position relative 400 may be used for utilities that rebuild a volume &# 39 ; s device block map ( dbm ) to permit subsequent high speed positioning , that is , assuming that the tape volume is not currently write protected . if the dbm is valid , seod 404 operates at high speed ; if the dbm is not valid , seod 404 operates at read speed . on completion , a valid dbm will be rebuilt ; on unload the valid dbm will be rewritten to the volume vcr . as illustrated in fig7 ( a graphical representation of the posab command ) and 8 ( a flowchart 850 representing the steps of the posab command ), the present invention comprises a new position absolute ( posab ) command 700 , which requests the logical medium to be adjusted to the position indicated by the position pointer specified in the parameter data . the command works in conjunction with the data reported by the position sense command ( as described hereinbelow ). an exemplary posab command 700 causes 28 bytes of data to be transferred from the channel to the control unit , which may occur synchronously or asynchronously . in asynchronous operation , such data may include a bit to notify the program of completion of the positioning . order parameters may be further specified , wherein a command reject , parameter error may be returned if an undefined order code is specified . as fig7 and 8 illustrate , in one exemplary embodiment , order codes of position absolute 700 may include locate block ( lb ) 701 , locate file ( lf ) 702 , and locate physical reference index ( lpri ) 703 . as shown in fig8 when a posab command 700 is received , at step 800 , a determination is made regarding which order code is received , at step 801 . the locate block ( lb ) order 701 of the position absolute command 700 requests the logical medium to be adjusted to the logical block indicated by the logical block number and the partition number ( if valid ) position pointer specified in the parameter data . the command works in conjunction with the data reported by the position sense command . an exemplary lb order causes 28 bytes of data to be transferred from the channel to control unit . this data may include order flags ; validity flags ; identifier flags ; partition number ( pn ); file number ( fn ); logical block number ( lbn ); and physical reference index ( pri ). the order flags may include bits to indicate synchronous / asynchronous operation of the command , as well as an indicator that program notification of completion will be provided when the command is executing as asynchronously . the identifier flags may include bits representing , e . g ., logical block number type ( i . e ., 22 bit ( stripped ) logical block number or 32 bit logical block number ). the validity flags may include bits representing , e . g ., partition number ( pn ) valid , if set , and logical block number ( lbn ) valid , if set . the partition number must be 0 on a non - partitioned volume , if the pn field is indicated as valid . on a partitioned volume , the partition number field is set to the partition number to be positioned to prior to further positioning . partition numbers are assigned incrementally starting with 0 for the first partition on the volume . if the pn field is indicated as invalid , the current partition is assumed . the file number and physical reference index are ignored for this order . the logical block number ( lbn ) uniquely identifies a logical block within the specified partition and the current ( possibly residual ) data domain . the associated position indicated is immediately prior to the specified logical block . logical block numbers are assigned incrementally starting with 0 for the first logical block within the partition . as the flowchart 850 of fig8 illustrates , the ending position for lb is achieved with the following exemplary procedure : at step 802 , a determination is made whether pn ( n ) is indicated as valid . if so , then the tape is positioned to bop of the indicated partition , at step 804 , and the lbn is validated , at step 812 . if the pn cannot be found , which determination is made at step 802 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating execution exception , partition not found , at step 808 . if the pn is indicated as invalid , which determination is made at step 802 , then the tape remains at current position , at step 810 , and the lbn is checked , at step 812 . if lbn is indicated as valid , then , at step 816 , a determination is made whether lbn n − 1 is valid . if lbn n − 1 is valid , then , at step 814 , from the current position , the tape is repositioned immediately following logical block n − 1 ( assuming n was specified ). lbn n − 1 is validated at step 816 . if n = 0 , which determination is made at step 816 , the tape is positioned to bop according to device dependent mechanisms , at step 818 . if the lbn n − 1 cannot be found , as determined at step 816 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating execution exception , block not found , at step 822 . if neither pn nor lbn is valid , then the command is presented unit check status indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 820 . if the specified logical block number type does not match the block pointer format currently active for the device , then the command may be presented unit check status indicating command reject , parameter in conflict ( step not shown ). the command locate block order is subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for position absolute commands . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . any motion command which attempts to cross an end of data mark as a result of specifying a logical block number not in the current domain for the current partition or in the non - residual domain if the target partition differs from the current partition , will terminate with a unit check indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command which attempts to move beyond the end of data mark will succeed , if the dcp3 control enabling residual data access is set ( otherwise it will terminate with a unit check indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered ). in this case , the medium is now positioned in a residual data domain . the first motion command will likely fail with a unit check indicating data check , block sequence error . this command is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the locate command except that an additional execution exception is added : partition not found , and an additional command reject is added : parameter in conflict ( to cover the case where the specified logical block number type does not match the block pointer format currently active for the device ). in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . the position pointer returned by the position sense command may be used as the final 24 bytes of the position absolute command 700 parameter data . the locate file ( lf ) order 702 of the position absolute command 700 requests the logical medium to be adjusted to the file indicated by the file number and the partition number ( if valid ) position pointer specified in the parameter data . the command works in conjunction with the data reported by the position sense command . an exemplary lf order causes 28 bytes of data to be transferred from the channel to control unit , which may include order flags ; validity flags ; identifier flags ; partition number ( pn ); and file number ( fn ). the order flags may include bits to indicate synchronous / asynchronous operation of the command , as well as an indicator that program notification of completion will be provided when the command is executing as asynchronously . the validity flags may include partition number ( pn ) valid , if set , and file number ( fn ) valid , if set . the identifier flags are ignored for this order . on a non - partitioned volume , if the pn field is indicated as valid , the partition number must be 0 . on a partitioned volume , the pn field is set to the partition number to be positioned to prior to further positioning . partition numbers are assigned incrementally starting with 0 for the first partition on the volume . if the pn field is indicated as invalid , the current partition is assumed . the file number represents a file number within the specified partition and the current ( possibly residual ) data domain , where file numbers start from 0 at bop and increment following each tape mark . absolute file numbers may be non - unique across end - of - data mark ( residual data ) domains . for a labeled tape , each header label group defines a file , the user data defines a file , and the trailer label group defines a file . as the flowchart 850 of fig8 illustrates , the ending position for lf is achieved with the following exemplary procedure : at step 832 , a determination is made whether pn ( n ) is indicated as valid . if so , then the tape is positioned to bop of the indicated partition , at step 834 , and the fn is validated , at step 842 . if the pn cannot be found , which determination is made at step 832 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating execution exception , partition not found , at step 838 . if the pn is indicated as invalid , which determination is made at step 832 , then the tape remains at current position , at step 840 , and the fn is checked , at step 842 . if fn is indicated as valid , then , at step 836 , a determination is made whether fn n − 1 is valid . if fn n − 1 is valid , then , at step 844 , from the current position , the tape is repositioned immediately following tape mark n − 1 in the current partition ( assuming n was specified ). fn n − 1 is validated at step 836 . if n = 0 , which determination is made at step 836 , the tape is positioned to bop according to device dependent mechanisms , at step 848 . if fn n − 1 cannot be found , as determined at step 836 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating execution exception , file not found , at step 852 . if neither pn nor fn is valid , then the command is presented unit check status indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 851 . the order is subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for position absolute commands . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . any motion command which attempts to cross an end of data mark as a result of specifying a file number not in the current domain for the current partition or in the non - residual domain if the target partition differs from the current partition , will terminate with a unit check indicating boundary exception , end of data encountered . a subsequent motion command which attempts to move beyond the end of data mark will succeed , if the dcp3 control enabling residual data access is set ( otherwise it will terminate with a unit check indicating boundary exception , end - of - data encountered ). in this case , the medium is now positioned in a residual data domain . the first motion command will likely fail with a unit check indicating data check , block sequence error . this command is subject to the same unit checking rules as those for the locate command except that two additional execution exceptions are added : partition not found and file not found . in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . the position pointer returned by the position sense command may be used as the final 24 bytes of the position absolute command 700 parameter data . the locate physical reference index ( lpri ) order 703 of the position absolute command 700 requests the logical medium to be adjusted to the physical position indicated by the physical reference index specified in the parameter data . the command works in conjunction with the data reported by the position sense command . an exemplary lpri order causes 28 bytes of data to be transferred from the channel to control unit . such data may include order flags ; validity flags ; identifier flags ; and a physical reference index ( pri ). the order flags may include bits to indicate synchronous / asynchronous operation of the command , as well as an indicator that program notification of completion will be provided when the command is executing as asynchronously . the validity flags may include bits to indicate , e . g . physical reference index ( pri ) valid , if set . the identifier flags may include physical reference index type , tach regions ( least significant bit )+ wrap counter ( next most significant bit ), and / or segment & amp ; wrap identifier . the physical reference index ( pri ) defines a physical area on a tape volume that can be used as a starting point for subsequent searches by block or file number . as the flowchart 850 of fig8 illustrates , the ending position for lpri is achieved with the following exemplary procedure : at step 860 , a determination is made whether the pri is indicated as valid . if so , then the tape is positioned to a point nominally at the indicated pri , at step 861 . if the pri cannot be found , which determination is made at step 860 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating execution exception , physical reference index not found , at step 862 . if the pri is indicated as invalid , which determination is made at step 860 , then the command is presented unit check status indicating command reject , parameter error , at step 863 . this is never supported when device virtualization is active . the locate physical reference index order is subject to data checks or sequence checks depending on the settings specified in device control page 3 for position absolute commands . synchronization of any buffered write data will be attempted when this order is accepted . locate physical reference index will terminate with a unit check indicating protection exception , mode protect , if the dcp3 control enabling residual data access is not set — regardless of whether the pri is in the first ( or non - residual ) data domain or not . it is also subject to unit checking for execution exception , physical reference index not found . otherwise it follows the same unit checking rules as those for the locate command . in a residual data domain , all commands continue to operate as specified , however , all positioning ( loc , fsf , bsf , fsb , bsb , posrel 400 , posab 700 ) will be performed at read speed only . the position pointer returned by the position sense command may be used as the final 24 bytes of the position absolute command 700 parameter data . the present invention comprises a new position sense ( posns ) command , which retrieves the current logical medium position including partition number ( pn ), channel logical block number ( clbn ), file number ( fn ), and physical reference index ( pri ) associated with the channel logical block number on the physical medium . an exemplary posns command causes 28 bytes of data to be transferred from the control unit to the channel . such data may include a position pointer that comprises all fields that are defined and known at the time the command is issued . when the block pointer is undefined , as when there is no associated medium , the block pointers returned are consistent with the block pointers associated with beginning of volume ( bov ). the channel logical block number does not necessarily match the device logical block number . if a comparison of the scsi read position last block location does not match the current channel logical block number , then validity flag synchronization indicators of the position pointer are set to zero . if the block numbers match , then validity flag synchronization indicators are set to one . if it is necessary to have the position pointer fields synchronized between the channel and tape position , then the host may perform some form of tape position synchronization . if the device is in write mode then this could be accomplished via a sync command . if the device is in read mode then this could be accomplished via a rew command followed by a loc command back to the current channel position . it is noted that , since the control unit performs read ahead of the data from the device , issuing just a loc command from the host without issuing the rew command may result in only repositioning within the control unit and not within the drive . by also issuing the rew command the host is therefore guaranteed that the drive will actually be repositioned to the current channel position . it is further noted that , due to the drive &# 39 ; s internal implementation of data blocking within physical blocks , it may not be possible to guarantee that the locate physical reference index ( lpri ) position will be synchronized with the logical block number ( lbn ) or file number ( fn ) fields . the file number ( fn ) returned by the posns command when in either read mode or in write mode is always the file number associated with the beginning of the current file . for read mode , this is true independent of the current read direction ( either read forward or read backward / previous ). applicants &# 39 ; invention includes a data storage and retrieval system comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code disposed therein for implementing applicants &# 39 ; method to record information in alternative information storage architectures using a data storage device having a fixed device architecture . applicants &# 39 ; invention further includes a data storage and retrieval system comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code disposed therein for implementing applicants &# 39 ; method to increase the positioning speed of data storage media . the programming of the present invention may comprise a computer program product embodied as program code stored in a storage device , such as a magnetic disk drive or memory , etc ., in a computer , or may comprise an article of manufacture , such as a cd rom , magnetic tape , etc . the control logic described herein may be implemented in an hsm program maintained in a host system , which generates commands to cause the tape subsystem to perform the desired input / output operations with respect to tape cartridges ( or other data storage media ). those skilled in the art will recognize that some portions of the logic could be implemented in locations other than the host system , such as within the tape subsystem . moreover , the operations and components described herein with respect to the host system , tape subsystem , and hsm program may be implemented in a single computer machine or distributed across a plurality of computer machines . while the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail , it should be apparent that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims .
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generally , the following description includes apparatus for generating , by domain splitting , predictable and reproducible single - wall domains for conventional domain information storage system and also predictable and reproducible domains having multiple state wall topologies suitable for a greater than binary base data representation . the domains generated are for a lattice type of information store such as disclosed in u . s . patent application , ser . no . 395 , 336 , filed on sept . 7 , 1973 entitled &# 34 ; systems using lattice arrays of interactive elements &# 34 ; and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . the theory behind the instant invention is given in an article entitled &# 34 ; domain formation and associated wall states &# 34 ; by b . a . calhoun and otto voegeli , the inventor of this application , published in the ieee transaction on magnetics , vol . mag - 9 , no . 4 , december 1973 at pp . 617 - 621 . as is discussed therein , each splitting process creates a pair of bloch lines . all bloch lines produced in domain splitting have a given sense of rotation and are labelled as negative bloch lines . either one resultant domain acquires both lines or each of the two resulting domains acquires one of the lines , depending on the splitting mechanism and the topology of the walls to be split . the first process occurs when a direction of wall magnetization m in one wall segment is antiparallel to the magnetization of the other wall segment of the same domain to which it is to be recombined by the splitting process . the second process occurs when the bloch lines in the mother domain are on opposite sides of the splitting point . in the present invention , one of the two resultant domain acquires both of the bloch lines . although some theoretical aspects were discussed in the above publication , the results of domain splitting were indeterminate until the present invention . for instance on page 620 , experimental evidence , it is stated that an original or mother bubble domain having a state s = 0 can be split into two s = 0 bubble domains , or one s =- 1 and one s = 1 bubble domain . the end result before applicant &# 39 ; s invention was random . applicant &# 39 ; s invention shows how these processes can be controlled to obtain known wall states in the resultant domains after a splitting process . the process steps for generating binary state and multistate bubble domains according to the present invention is shown in fig1 a . the visualization of the ocurrence to the bubble domain in the process is illustrated in fig1 b , 2a db 2b . an apparatus for accomplishing the process is shown in fig3 . a representation of the different wall states achieved by the different bubble domains is shown in fig4 . for purposes of this description , wall state shall refer to the net rotation of wall magnetization . wall state s thus measures the integral number of times the wall magnetization m rotates about the film normal moving once counterclockwise about the domain boundary . wall topology is a more general term meaning the arrangement of wall magnetization including wall chirality as well as bloch line position . referring to fig1 and 3 , the domain d 0 is generated preferably by nucleation in a host magnetic material 10 of a rare earth orthoferrite or garnet material , for example , by applying electrical currents i 2 and i 3 to conductors 12 and 14 , respectively , in the presence of an in - plane magnetic field . the domain d 0 of diagram ( a ) of fig2 a includes two bloch lines b within its wall w . for the purposes of this disclosure , a domain having one pair of bloch lines is given a designation of a wall state s = 0 . the different states that can be acquired by a domain will be explained in more detail later in fig4 . the nucleation of a bubble domain with a pair of bloch lines can be accomplished by the activation of two transverse conductors by an electrical current as shown in fig3 with the application of an in - plane control field at the nucleation site . the resultant bubble domain will have one pair of bloch lines pointing in the direction of the unipolar in - plane control field . using the current direction i 2 and i 3 and an in - plane field pointing in the direction of the arrow 23 , a bubble domain 22a having a state s = 0 with bloch lines b will be nucleated . the domain d 0 in fig2 a and 3 is shown having a magnetization pointing out of the plane of the figure . this assumes that the convention is adapted that the host domain layer 10 is saturated magnetically in a negative or downward direction along an axis normal to the plane of the layer and that the magnetization of the single - wall domain are in a upward or positive direction along the same axis . consequently , the bias field h b for the domains is shown having a negative direction into the plane of the figure . the next step in the process is to position bloch lines , if any , prior to the splitting process . this is achieved by translating the domain to a center position 22b . the translation of the domain moves the bloch lines along the wall until they reach a steady stated position as indicated by domain 22b . the theory of such bloch line motion , resulting from gyro - magnetic spaces within a moving domain all , has been discussed by g . p . vella colerio et al . in the article &# 34 ; dynamic properties of ` hard ` magnetic bubbles &# 34 ;, published in the physical review letter , volume 29 , number 14 , oct . 2 , 1972 . once the bloch lines have reached the indicated position , their position remains unchanged by further translation as is shown by the domain in position 22c . domain translation for bloch line positioning is produced by currents i 1 and - i 2 . if current i 1 is of sufficient magnitude to lower the bias field h b below the run - out field , the domain will assume the elongated shape of the stripe domain 22c . the final domain length is determined by the current concentration produced by the constricted geometry of conductor 16 . the next step is to incline the wall magnetization in the elongated section by either applying a unipolar in - plane control field hc or a velocity component to the elongated domain . this is shown in fig1 b . the tilt or inclination direction of the wall magnetization as a result of the in - plane field or the velocity component depends upon the magnetization direction of the domain and the bloch wall magnetization direction . referring to fig1 b , the different diagrams , ( a )-( h ), show the reaction of the wall magnetization m within the bloch wall w according to the direction of an in - plane magnetic control field hc or a velocity producing means . the arrows hc and v shows the applied control field direction and the motion direction , respectively , of the diagrams on either side of the arrows . for instance , in diagrams ( a ) and ( b ), the direction of the magnetic control field produces the same downward inclination direction in the wall magnetization direction . the inclination direction of the wall magnetization as a result of the velocity direction v depends on the direction of magnetization of the bubble domain relative to the media and the direction of the wall magnetization . this is more fully described in the article &# 34 ; ferromagnetic domain theory &# 34 ;, by c . kittel and j . k . galt in &# 34 ; solid state physics 3 &# 34 ;, ( 1956 ) at p . 437 . the inclination of the wall magnetization produced in the domain d 2 of diagram ( d ) of fig2 a is shown in more detail in diagrams ( e ) and ( f ) of fig1 b , with diagram ( e ) representing the top wall of the domain in the plane of fig2 a and diagram ( f ), the bottom wall . the next step in the process of fig1 a is to split the stripe domain into two domains while the wall magnetization is inclined . this is accomplished in the diagram of fig3 when the current i 3 in conductor 14 is pulsed while the stripe domain is positioned thereunder . means for elongating and splitting bubble domains are well known as evidenced by the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 727 , 197 issued to hsu chang on apr . 10 , 1973 and entitled &# 34 ; magnetic means for collapsing and splitting of cylindrical domains &# 34 ;. the means shown in fig3 should not be taken to limit the present invention to the particular apparatus , it being evident that other apparatus could be substituted by those skilled in this art . referring to fig3 the direction of the current i 3 determines the edge of conductor 14 at which the stripe domain splits and reforms . the two walls of the stripe domain will recombine in the region of the in - plane control field hc and the domain d 0 is split into two domains d 1 and d 2 as shown in fig2 a . according to the present invention , domain d 1 will have a state s = 1 having no bloch lines . domain d 2 , however , since the recombining of the walls is under the influence of the control field h c , will have two pairs of bloch lines pointing in the direction of the applied control field h c . domain d 2 is therefore considered to have a state s =- 1 . by a similar process with the unipolar in - plane field h c pointing in an upward direction , it can be similarly shown that domain d 1 will have a pair of bloch lines pointing in an upward direction with domain d 2 keeping its one pair of bloch lines . both daughter domains will have a state s = 0 . it should be evident from diagrams ( e ) and ( f ) of fig1 b that a velocity component v applied to the elongated stripe domain in diagram ( d ) of fig2 a , in the reverse direction as the direction of the in - plane control field hc will accomplish the same wall magnetization inclination direction . therefore , the resultant bubble domains d 1 and d 2 will have the same wall states . domain d 1 will have a state d = 1 , no bloch lines , and domain d 2 will acquire all four bloch lines . the bloch lines b in diagram ( c ) are both on one side of the splitting mechanism , the wall magnetization m at the split is antiparallel and therefore one domain will get both added bloch lines . for utilization purposes , the domain having a state s = 1 can be annihilated and the state s =- 1 domain can be either used or placed through the process again to obtain a more negative state bubble domain as shown in fig4 . the several pairs of bloch lines for the more negative state bubble domain can be localized by propagation as before , elongated into a stripe domain and split in a unipolar in - plane field to add another pair of bloch lines . thus , bubble domains of many different wall topologies can be produced and stored in the utilization means for usage therein to represent numbers having a base in excess of two . several ways of accomplishing domains of wall topologies usable for storing data are shown in fig8 and 9 and will be discussed later . the bubble domain d 1 of fig2 a can be used to produce two bubble domains usable to represent binary data as shown in fig2 b . referring to fig2 b , the domain d 1 can be taken through the process steps of fig1 a to develop two daughter domains d 3 and d 4 . since a domain having a state s = 1 has no bloch lines , the step of positioning the bloch lines is not required . thus , if a bubble domain having a state s = 1 is generated according to the steps just discussed for fig2 a , this domain can be elongated , have its wall magnetization inclined , and split into two domains . the result is the steps diagrammed in fig2 b . after the step of elongating the bubble domain , the domain d , in diagram ( b ) of fig2 b has the wall magnetization structure as shown in diagram ( c ) and ( d ) of fig1 b , with diagram ( c ) representing the lower wall in the plane of fig2 b and diagram ( d ) representing the upper wall . thus , a velocity component v or a unipolar in - plane magnetic field h c in the same direction will cause a wall magnetization inclination direction in an upward direction resulting in domain d 4 getting the added pair of bloch lines . if the velocity component v or the magnetic control field h c is reversed in direction , the wall magnetization inclination direction will be as shown in diagram ( a ) and ( b ) of fig1 b . the result would be that domain d 3 would receive the pair of bloch lines and domain d 4 would have no bloch lines . the two bubble domains generated in fig2 b are usable to represent binary data information . the bubble domain having a state s = 1 can be recirculated in the process of fig2 b to continually generate bubble domains having a state s = 0 for storage by the utilization means . the process as developed in fig2 b can be the generating process step in arriving at the daughter domains shown in fig2 a . the process described in fig2 b can therefore become a recirculating device . the domain d 3 is recirculated and reused and the domain d 4 is used in a process according to fig2 a to produce two domains usable to represent binary data . fig4 shows the wall state s of various domains with an appendant wall topology . in fig4 arrows designate wall chiralities and bloch line polarities , respectively . the three domains having a wall state s equal to 1 exemplify that s is unchanged by line pairs with opposite sign ( left most domain ). such bloch lines can unwind while the magnetization remains continuous to yield either of the two other domains shown with the same state . in contrast , a transition between different states requires a discontinuity in the spin distribution and is thus opposed by an exchange energy barrier . as a result of this barrier , domains retain the state acquired during their formation over a fairly wide range of drive conditions . wall states are unlimited in integer values and therefore the number shown in fig4 should not be taken as limiting the present invention . an algebraic representation of the splitting process is shown between each state for the domains of fig2 a and 2b , and a further state s =- 2 is shown . every domain splitting process creates a new pair of bloch lines with the resulting two domains having wall states whose sum equals the state of the original domain . without chiral switching , the most positive state possible , after n number of splitting processes , is 1 . the most negative state possible is either - n or 1 - n , depending on whether the first domain was nucleated within or from an edge of the sample . if an n number of splitting processes n + 1 number of closed domains are generated from a first domain , then the sum of the n + 1 states equals the state of the first domain . in terms of bloch lines therefore , after n number of splitting processes there are 2n more lines with a state - 1 / 2 in the sample than there are lines with state + 1 / 2 . fig5 a and 5b show a visual representation of the generation of open - ended mother domains d 0 with unichiral wall magnetization . in fig5 a the domain d 0 having a clockwise chiral wall topology is generated by nucleation from an edge 30 or some magnetic discontinuity in a host domain layer 32 . a unipolar in - plane control field h c is generated across the edge 30 of the host layer 32 . to generate a domain d 0 having the clockwise chirality , the polarity of h c must be in the direction of the arrow 34 shown in fig5 a pointed in a downward direction in the plane of the figure . further as shown in fig5 b , a unichiral domain d 0 having a different wall topology but the same state s = 1 can be controllably generated by reversing the direction of the unipolar in - plane field h c . the field h c is shown pointed upward in the plane of the figure creating a domain d 0 having a counterclockwise chiral wall topology . thus , the polarity of the field h . sub . c across the nucleation area controls the wall chirality of the resultant domain . as is well known in the art , the direction of chirality of domains can be used to store binary data . further , the unichiral domains can be further split to form domains having a multiple state wall topology as shown in fig6 a and 6b . referring to fig6 a , the domain d 0 is shown generated by nucleation in diagram ( a ) from the edge 30 or some discontinuity in the host domain layer 32 . the domain d 0 has a clockwise chirality . in diagram ( b ), a unipolar in - plane field h i is generated as a wall magnetization inclining means across some section of the elongated domain segment . the two walls of the domain d 0 are then recombined by a conductor for instance , to form a unichiral segment domain d 1 attached to the edge 30 and a circular or bubble domain d 2 with a pair of bloch lines b separating the chiral wall segments of the domain d 2 . as shown in diagram ( c ) of fig6 a , the direction of chirality of the original mother domain d 0 and the direction of the in - plane field h c determined the wall state of the segment and the resultant bubble domain . in fig6 a the domain d 1 has a state s - 1 while the domain d 2 has a state s = 0 ( see fig4 ). in fig6 b , a domain d 0 having the same clockwise unichiral wall topology as shown in fig5 a is illustrated . in diagram ( b ) of fig6 b , the in - plane field h c is in the opposite or upward direction across the domain segment d 0 to that applied in fig6 a . with the opposite polarity of field h c and after the splitting process as shown in diagram ( c ), resultant segment domain d 1 has a state s = 0 with a pair of bloch lines in its wall . domain d 2 has a state s = 1 since it is a unichiral bubble domain . thus , by nucleating a bubble domain across an edge or discontinuity of the host magnetic material in a unipolar in - plane field , a controlled chirality segment domain can be created . this segment domain can be further split in a unipolar in - plane field directed across the segment to controllably generate a bubble domain having a known wall topology depending upon the chirality of the nucleated domain and the direction of the in - plane field placed across the segment . it is further obvious that the segment domain d 1 of fig6 b can be further elongated and further split as described previously to obtain multiple state wall topology segment or bubble domains . also the domain d 2 of fig6 a could be elongated as shown in the steps of fig2 b and controllably split in the presence of a directed unipolar in - plane field to creat higher state bubble domains . thus , another process for controllably generating bubble domains of a known wall topology includes the steps of applying a unipolar in - plane field across an edge or discontinuity of a bubble medium and generating an elongated segment domain from this edge of the bubble medium , as shown in fig5 a and 5b , inclining the wall magnetization in the elongated section of the segment bubble domain and splitting the segment domain into two domains . by controlling the inclination direction of the wall magnetization through the applied in - plane field or a velocity inducing means , the resultant segment bubble domain and circular bubble domain will have a known wall topology , as shown in fig6 a and 6b . fig7 shows a block diagram of an information storage system using magnetic domains having dissimilar wall topologies each with different dynamic properties . for a complete description of a magnetic domain system using different wall topology magnetic domains , reference is herein made to the aforementioned u . s . patent application , ser . no . 395 , 336 , filed on sept . 7 , 1973 , and the description is incorporated herein for the purposes of showing a system utilizing the domains produced according to the present invention . as was discussed in that application , domains having different wall states deflect at a different angle in a uniform field gradient . thus by using this different deflection characteristic an information store can , by using the present invention , store data having a base in excess of two . the information store of fig7 comprises a host magnetic layer 34 in which the domains exist . a domain wall topology control means 36 generates the domains having specific wall topologies according to the present invention and the data information to be stored in a store means 38 in the information storage device . a bias field generator 40 generates the field h z which controls the size of the domains in the host layer . a propagation means 42 controls the propagation of the domains in the host layer . there are many types of propagation means that can be used to suffice for the present invention including the well known t and i bar configuration as well as conductors and others well known in the art . the store means 38 could be any of the conventional bubble stores including a bubble shift register of common design or a lattice . to retrieve data stored in the store means 38 , the bubble domains are propagated into a domain sensing means 44 comprising for the preferred embodiment , a discriminating means 46 and sensors 48 . the discriminating means 46 capitalizes on the property of the domains having different wall states that all domains of one state will follow a certain path which path is different for other states . the domains can be selectively taken from the store means 38 and sent to the discriminating means 46 where they can be detected such as by being deflected into the different paths 52 , 54 or 56 depending upon the wall state of the particular domain . the discriminating means 46 separates domains having different properties representing different data so that each domain can be individually detected by the sensors 48 . the sensors 48 can comprise any type of magnetic domain sensing equipment such as magnetoresistive sensors . after being detected , the domains are either destroyed , sent to further circuitry , or returned to the domain wall topology control means 36 where they are selectively separated to indicate a specific data information again . a signal indicating the type of domain detected is sent to a utilization device 50 for use therein . the control of the sequences of operation for the domain wall state control means 36 , the bias field generator 40 , the propagation means 42 , the domain sensing means 44 , and the utilization device 50 is under the control of a control means 58 . the control means 58 controls the sequence of operation to form the domain according to the data required , to propagate the domain into the store means for storage , and then out of the store means for sensing when retrieval is required . the various means and circuits shown in fig9 may be any such element capable of operating in accordance with this invention . in fig8 a and 8b are illustrated in block diagram form and symbolic representation , various applications of the instant invention to a useful end . referring to fig8 a , the block diagrams illustrate that bubble domains can be nucleated or otherwise generated in a generating means 60 , can be elongated , have its wall magnetization inclined , and be split in a controlled wall state forming means 62 , which results in two bubble domains having a no . 1 state 64 and a no . 2 state 66 . the bubble domain can then be selectively used by a utilization means 68 for any binary representation . the three symbolic representations ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ) of fig8 a illustrate the potential states obtainable by changing the original bubble domain state and / or the direction of the wall magnetization inclining means such as the velocity or in - plane magnetic field direction . the wall magnetization inclining means is represented by the arrows in the three flow symbolic representations . in fig8 a ( c ), if a bubble domain starts with a state s = 1 , see fig2 b , the resulting bubble domain states are s = 1 and s = 0 . the no . 1 and no . 2 states flow paths are labled in the flow symbolic representations in the same position as in the block diagram . diagram representations ( a ) and ( b ) illustrate that reversing the wall magnetization inclination direction results in different daughter domain states . diagram ( b ) is representative of the procedure shown in fig2 a . fig8 b shows that a system can result with a binary representation by bubble domain states without requiring a decision in the utilization means . the block diagram includes a generating means 70 and a controlled wall state forming means 72 connected to an annihilating means 74 and a utilization means 76 . symbolically represented , therefore , the bubble domains developed on the right , no . 2 states , are used while the bubble domains developed on the left , no . 1 states , are annihilated . a bubble domain in nucleated or otherwise generated in the generating means 70 having a state s = 1 . the wall magnetization inclining means of the controlled wall state forming means 72 is direction activated according to the one of two bubble domain states required . if a bubble domain having a state s = 1 is required , the left or dotted path is taken . the domain having the state s = 0 is annihilated in the annihilating means 74 . if the reverse is required , the inclining means direction is reversed as represented by the arrow 78a which is pointing in the opposite direction to the arrow 78b in the dotted line path . using the solid line path with the reversed wall magnetization means direction , the utilized domain will have a state s = 0 while the annihilated bubble domain will have a state s = 1 . similar diagrams are shown in fig9 a and 9b . in fig9 a , three controlled wall state forming means are combined to provide a ternary system instead of a binary system . a generating means 80 starts by generating a bubble domain having a state s = 0 . this domain is directed to a controlled wall state forming means 82 wherein two domains both having a state s = 0 is generated . the no . 1 state bubble domain is directed to the second controlled wall state forming means 84 which operates on the bubble domain in the same fashion as the controlled wall state forming means 82 . again the resultant bubble domain with a no . 3 and no . 4 state both have a state s = 0 . the no . 3 state domain is recycled so that another bubble domain will not have to be nucleated in the generating means 80 . the no . 4 state bubble domain is directed to a utilization means 86 . the no . 2 state bubble domain is directed to the third controlled wall state forming means 88 wherein the wall magnetization inclining means is reversed relative to the controlled wall state forming means 82 and 84 . as shown in fig8 a , the resultant bubble domain no . 5 state and no . 6 state will have a wall state s =- 1 and s = 1 , respectively . these domains are also directed to the utilization means 86 . the utilization means 86 thus can select one of three domains as representing a ternary system storage . it should be evident that higher than binary and ternary states are possible using the present invention . further controlled wall state forming means can be added to accomplish a domain having a wall state s =- 2 and then a quadruplex system can be developed . other combinations of systems as shown in fig8 a and 8b can be connected to attain different binary and higher base bit storage systems . for instance , in fig9 b , a recirculating binary system is shown wherein the bubble domains utilized are further separated in wall states . a nucleating means 90 starts by generating the first bubble domain having a wall state s = 0 . this domain is directed to a controlled wall state forming means 92 wherein both resultant domains , no . 1 state and no . 2 state , have a wall state s = 0 . the no . 2 state domain is shown directed to another controlled wall state forming means 94 . the no . 1 state domain is recirculated so that no further domains need be nucleated . the controlled wall state forming means 94 uses the opposite wall magnetization direction means to generate a no . 3 and no . 4 state domains having a state s =- 1 , respectively . these domains are then directed to a utilization means 96 . the domain having a wall state s =- 1 and 1 are used because the difference between the two domains is 2 pairs of bloch lines . binary data is therefore not easily lost if , by some manner , the domain having a state s =- 1 loses one pair of bloch lines . the principles of the invention have now been made clear in an illustrative embodiment . it will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structures , arrangements , proportion , the elements materials and components used in the practice of the invention . for instance , a stripe domain is shown in the preferred embodiment being created by decreasing the bias field normal to this plane . it is evident that a stripe domain can be formed by other methods such as by the use of a loop conductor which causes a bubble domain entering the loop to elongate into a stripe domain . further , other sensing means which uses other properties of the multistate domains than the deflection property can be used . for instance , the number of lines in the bloch wall of a domain can be sensed directly by magnetoresistive sensing to sense the different states of the multistate domain . the appended claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace any such modification , within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention .
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referring now to fig1 - 4 , and as best illustrated in fig1 , a dressing or compress 100 is illustrated having a lower shell 102 and a flexible upper backing 104 which are joined or otherwise fastened to one another to form a series of enclosures 106 there between . the enclosures are provided for the containment and relatively uniform distribution of a plurality of fill granules 108 placed therein . the enclosures may be fashioned as filled pods which are draped from the backing . the shell 102 forms the contact surface of the dressing or compress used to drape or form the bottom of the filled enclosures which are to be placed against the tissue to be treated , and to conform to the shape of the treatment area . the backing forms the smoother outer surface of the dressing or compress facing away from the treatment area . the enclosures 106 may be defined as hexagons using patterned seams 110 for local symmetry and efficient regular plane division . an illustrative hexagonal pattern 200 of enclosures 202 is illustrated in fig2 . the enclosures might also be fashioned as circles , octagons , or of any desired shape as may be appropriated for the desired treatment . the enclosures may be selectively sized as appropriate to the application . each hexagonal shaped enclosure 202 has a lengthwise dimension 204 extending from a first corner to an opposite second corner thereof . for example , and not by way of limitation , this dimension may be in the range of from approximately one inch to approximately four inches in length . large treatment areas such as the human torso or appendages may best be served with enclosures having a dimension 204 extending lengthwise for approximately 4 inches . highly contoured areas such as the face may best be served with enclosures having a dimension 204 of approximately 1 inch in length . an alternate dressing or compress 300 is illustrated in fig3 , having a plurality of hexagonal patterned enclosures 302 . each of the enclosures may also be formed as a channel - like rectangle , as illustrated in fig4 . the embodiment of the dressing or compress 400 is formed to have several channel enclosures 402 formed within a wrap compress having securing ties 404 . so constructed , the dressing or compress 400 may be provided for the treatment of soreness or strains of the human back . the size of the enclosures and overall dressing are selected to serve the desired treatment . selected single sites for treatment such as the eye may best be treated using a single enclosure dressing or compress appropriately sized and shaped to rest comfortably in the eye hollow of the human face . the dressing or compress may be shaped as a regular or irregular polygon , any smooth closed curve , or any closed combination of line segments and smooth curves . the invention is not limited to constructions conforming to or only serving the human body . the invention provides a potentially useful treatment for the ailments of mammals and any animals benefiting from the healing properties of moisture and / or heat therapy . a fluid - permeable , i . e ., a vapor - permeable and / or a liquid - permeable protective outer cover ( not illustrated ) may be provided to encompass the compress . this may be preferable to limit contamination of the dressing or compress . for the treatment of open wounds , an uncovered disposable dressing ( not illustrated ) may be preferred for optimal formable contact with , and healing of , the exposed tissues . the fill contained within the enclosure or enclosures may comprise a synthetic porous crystalline granular aluminosilicate zeolite , commonly used as a molecular sieve material , or other substances with similar properties . the fill material may further comprise other inert additives and physical matrices without affecting the antimicrobial and hydrous efficacies of the fill . silver loading of the fill may be attained by the process of ion - exchange , as known . in this process , a solution containing atomic silver or a composition of silver bathes , or is passed through , a bed of the fill granules 108 ( fig1 ). an ion - exchange column method , as known in the art , may be performed in which an aqueous solution containing atomic silver or a composition of silver may be passed through a column bed of the fill granules , and the eluted solution may again be passed through the bed or may receive additional silver and then be again passed through the bed . various ion - exchange schedules known in the art may be applied to produce retention of the silver . the final content by weight of the atomic silver or silver composition may be as high as twenty percent of the final loaded fill granules . the loaded fill granules produced by ion - exchange will exhibit high retention of the silver even under subsequent exposure to fluids and microwave irradiation . the fill granules may comprise a blend of both loaded and unloaded zeolite or a substance retaining silver . the presence of the atomic silver or silver composition will not interfere with the useful properties of the fill granules such as the moisture desorption and adsorption properties which may be desirable in the use of the dressing or compress . the inherent hydrophilic nature of the zeolite provides that a substantial water content is available therein by absorption from the atmosphere . the water so absorbed may be sufficient , or may be supplemented by manually added water , for providing the microwave responsive water content of the dressing or compress . the compositions of silver used may include but are not limited to , silver compounds , and silver salts such as silver chloride and silver nitrate . the presence of the silver within the fill granules contained in the enclosure of the invention provides anti - microbial properties to the dressing or compress . the ion - exchange loaded fill granules will retain the silver despite microwave heating as may be required in the use of the dressing or compress , which prevents the release of silver into a treated wound if the invention is used as a dressing . further , the retention of the silver within the fill granules provides assured antimicrobial performance in a reusable and potentially washable , if so desired , moist heat therapy compress . in the described embodiments of the invention , the lower shell and the upper backing are each constructed of materials known in the art . each may therefore be comprised of multilayered laminates , for example , with pore sizes selectable to meet the moisture transmission and retention properties desired for the specific treatment sought . the dressing or compress is adapted to be placed and to remain in intimate contact with the area to be treated to maintain a heated and / or moist environment thereabout . dressing or compress constructions using woven textiles of natural fibers have been found to have limited spatial conformance to the various shapes , dimples , wrinkles and joints offered by the human body , although these materials may be used if so desired . accordingly , preferred dressing or compress constructions will use formable woven and non - woven synthetic materials or combinations thereof which may include , but are not limited to , synthetic olefin , polyester , urethane , and nylon . the shell and the backing may be fastened together across the area of the dressing or compress with a fill material , the fill granules 108 , received there between . the shell and the backing may be fastened to one another by methods which may include , but are not limited to , adhesive attachment , rf welding , ultra - sonic attachment , sewing , or patterned heat application using a template or forming die to form a seal . to provide for the secure placement of the dressing or compress , peripheral or attachment fastening devices may be included which may comprise the desired number of velcro ® fasteners , adhesives , high tactility polymer materials , and / or material ties . throughout the construction of the dressing or compress , attention and care is taken in the selection of materials regarding thermal response to microwave heating . for design simplicity , all synthetic , microwave non - responsive materials may be selected to provide that the fill and / or water content of a moistened dressing or compress provide the only substantial thermal response to microwave irradiation . although several embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in the foregoing specification , it is understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to which the invention pertains , having the benefit of the teaching presented in the foregoing description and associated drawings . it is thus understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed hereinabove , and that many modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the invention . moreover , although specific terms are employed herein , they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense , and not for the purposes of limiting the described invention . the words “ a ,” “ an ,” or “ the ” can mean one or more , depending upon the context in which the words are used hereinabove .
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in this description , unless otherwise noted , if the same reference numeral is used in different figs . it refers to the same entity . otherwise , reference numerals of each fig . start with the same number as the number of that fig . for example , fig3 has reference numerals in the “ 300 ” category and fig4 has reference numerals in the “ 400 ” category , etc . also , when the term “ signal ” is used , it is intended to include the plural “ signals ” if there is more than one electrical conductor involved in transmitting or receiving signals . similarly when the term “ path ” is used , it is intended to include the plural “ paths ” if there is more than one signal , such as a positive polarity signal and a negative polarity signal , being transmitted and received along such path or paths . in overview , exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter relate to ethernet test - set cables or methods for testing ethernet cables and their connections . in a first exemplary embodiment , a method is provided for testing ethernet cables and their connections . the method comprises connecting one end of an ethernet cable to an ethernet port of a first network element which is connected to other network elements over a network and connecting two other ends of the ethernet cable to two ethernet ports , respectively , of an ethernet test - set which controls the testing . thereafter , a test signal is sent from one of the two ethernet ports over the cable to the ethernet port of the first network element ; and a return test signal is received from the ethernet port of the first network element over the cable in the other of the two ethernet ports in the ethernet test - set . in a second exemplary embodiment , the cable includes first mutually - insulated conductive paths interconnecting a first ethernet port of an ethernet test - set and a first ethernet port of a first network element . there are also second mutually - insulated conductive paths , sheathed together with the first mutually - insulated conductive paths within the cable , interconnecting the first ethernet port of the first network element to a second ethernet port of the ethernet test - set . in a further feature , the transmit pins in the second ethernet port in the ethernet test - set can be connected , within the cable , to the receive pins in the first ethernet port in the ethernet test - set to prevent the energizing of a no - signal alarm which otherwise would be triggered by the test - set . in a third exemplary embodiment , the cable also includes third mutually - insulated conductive paths interconnecting the second ethernet port of the ethernet test - set and a second ethernet port of the first network element . in addition there are also fourth mutually - insulated conductive paths interconnecting the second ethernet port of the first network element to the first ethernet port of the ethernet test - set . in addition , the first conductive paths , the second conductive paths , the third conductive paths and the fourth conductive paths are sheathed together within the protective exterior of the cable for the entire length of the cable connecting the two ports of the first network element to the two ports of the ethernet test - set , except for a branching of the cable into two cables at both ends of the cable for connecting to the two ports of the network element and the two ports of the ethernet test - set . in a fourth exemplary embodiment , the testing method includes transmitting a first test signal from a first ethernet port of an ethernet test - set to a first ethernet port of a first network element within an ethernet cable over first mutually insulated conductive paths . then , the first test signal is transmitted from the first network element to a second network element along a first test signal path , the second network element including a far - end ethernet port with jumpered transmit to receive pins , the far - end port returning the first test signal to the first network element along a second test signal path , where the first and second paths together include ethernet cables and connections . then , the method includes returning the first test signal from the first ethernet port of the first network element to a second ethernet port of the ethernet test - set over second mutually insulated conductive paths that are bundled together with the first mutually insulated conductive paths within the cable for the entire length of the cable except for an end of the cable which is unbundled into two cables at the location of the ethernet test - set . ethernet ports using rj - 45 connectors can be so - called “ straight through cable ” connectors or “ crossover ” connectors . standard straight - through cable wiring must be used between certain pairs of network entities such as , e . g ., between a personal computer ( pc ) and a network hub or switch . likewise , standard crossover cable wiring must be used between other certain pairs of network entities such as , e . g ., between a first pc and a second pc or between a first hub and a second hub or between a first switch and a second switch . fig1 a , 1 b and 1 c are schematic diagrams of a commercially - available ethernet straight through cable as it would appear disassembled and assembled with standard straight through ethernet rj - 45 connectors on each end . in fig1 a , only the straight - through cable is depicted . the solid lines 101 , 102 , 103 and 104 represent conductive paths that connect from pins in ethernet connector plug 105 at the top of the sketch to other pins in ethernet connector plug 106 at the bottom of the sketch . the dotted lines represent possible connections between other pins in both connector plugs but which are not being used , at least in this application . in fig1 b , two ethernet ports 107 and 108 are shown , each including an ethernet jack having eight mutually - insulated and conductive pins labeled a , b , c , d , e , f , g and h respectively . alternatively , they could be labeled by the numbers “ 1 ” through “ 8 ” consecutively . in port 107 at the upper area of fig1 b , the pins are labeled from left to right but in port 108 at the lower area of fig1 b they are shown as being labeled from right to left where the direction of the labeling is immaterial . in port 107 , pin “ a ” is associated with the tx + signal standing for positive polarity signal transmission ; pin “ b ” is associated with the tx − signal standing for negative polarity signal transmission ; pin “ c ” is associated with the rx + signal standing for positive polarity signal reception ; and pin “ f ” is associated with the rx − signal standing for negative polarity signal reception . but , the ethernet jack associated with ethernet port 108 has a complementary association between signals and pin labels compared with those in port 107 ; for port 108 , pin “ a ” goes with rx +, pin “ b ” goes with rx −, pin “ c ” goes with tx + and pin “ f ” goes with tx −, thereby enabling a “ straight through ” connection between like - designated pins , as explained in the next paragraph . in fig1 c , the cable from fig1 a is shown assembled with the ports from fig1 b . as can be seen in fig1 c , in one direction , conductive path 101 connects a positive polarity signal transmitted ( tx +) from pin “ a ” of port 107 to pin “ a ” of port 108 where it is received ( rx +). conductive path 102 connects a negative polarity signal transmitted ( tx −) from pin “ b ” of port 107 to pin “ b ” of port 108 where it is received ( rx −). in the reverse direction , conductive path 103 connects a positive polarity signal transmitted ( tx +) from pin “ c ” of port 108 to pin “ c ” of port 107 where it is received ( rx +). and , conductive path 104 connects a negative polarity signal transmitted ( tx −) from pin “ f ” of port 108 to pin “ f ” of port 107 where it is received ( rx −). because all of these connections are between the same pin designations in the two connectors (“ a ” to “ a ”, “ b ” to “ b ” etc .) this is known as a “ straight through ” ethernet cable and rj - 45 connector . it matters not if the wiring actually twists within the cable , as shown , or if the cable itself twists , as long as the pin connections for each of the wires within that cable are from pin “ a ” to pin “ a ” etc ., as explained herein . fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c are schematic diagrams of a commercially - available ethernet crossover cable as it would appear disassembled and assembled with standard crossover rj - 45 connectors on each end . in fig2 a , only the crossover cable is depicted . the solid lines 201 , 202 , 203 and 204 represent conductive paths that connect from pins in ethernet connector plug 205 at the top of the sketch to other pins in ethernet connector plug 206 at the bottom of the sketch . the dotted lines represent possible connections between other pins in both connector plugs but which are not being used , at least in this application . in fig2 b , two ethernet ports 207 and 208 are shown , each including an ethernet jack having eight mutually - insulated and conductive pins labeled a , b , c , d , e , f , g and h respectively . alternatively , they could be labeled by the numbers “ 1 ” through “ 8 ” consecutively . in port 207 at the upper area of fig2 b , the pins are labeled from left to right but in port 208 at the lower area of fig2 b they are shown as being labeled from right to left where the direction of the labeling is immaterial . in port 207 , pin “ a ” is associated with the rx + signal standing for positive polarity signal reception ; pin “ b ” is associated with the rx − signal standing for negative polarity signal reception ; pin “ c ” is associated with the tx + signal standing for positive polarity signal transmission ; and pin “ f ” is associated with the tx − signal standing for negative polarity signal transmission . in this crossover cable instance , the ethernet jack associated with ethernet port 208 has an association between signals and pin labels identical to that in port 207 , where its pin “ a ” also goes with rx +, pin “ b ” also goes with rx −, pin “ c ” also goes with tx + and pin “ d ” also goes with tx −. this represents a different usage of pins from that used in the straight - through thereby enabling a crossover connection between unlike - labeled pins , as explained in the next paragraph in fig2 c , the cable from fig2 a is shown assembled with the ports from fig2 b . as can be seen in fig2 c , in one direction , conductive path 201 connects a positive polarity signal transmitted ( tx +) from pin “ c ” of port 208 to pin “ a ” of port 207 where it is received ( rx +). conductive path 202 connects a negative polarity signal transmitted ( tx −) from pin “ f ” of port 208 to pin “ b ” of port 207 where it is received ( rx −). in the reverse direction , conductive path 203 connects a positive polarity signal transmitted ( tx +) from pin “ c ” of port 207 to pin “ a ” of port 208 where it is received ( rx +). and , conductive path 204 connects a negative polarity signal transmitted ( tx −) from pin “ f ” of port 207 to pin “ b ” of port 208 where it is received ( rx −). because all of these connections are between different pin designations i . e ., from “ a ” to “ c ” and from “ b ” to “ 1 ” regardless of which direction the signal is moving , this is known as a “ crossover ” ethernet cable and rj - 45 connector . it matters not if the wiring actually twists within the cable as shown , or if the cable itself twists , as long as the pin connections at the ends of the wires within that cable are pins “ a ” and “ c ” or pins “ b ” and “ f ” as explained above . fig3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary arrangement 300 of ethernet connections that are under test , those connections being to , through , and / or between network elements in a network , the arrangement . ethernet test - set 301 includes at least two ethernet ports 302 and 303 . network element 304 , which can be , e . g ., a network gateway , hub , switch or router , or can include , but not be limited to , an add / drop multiplexer ( adm ), a reconfigurable optical add / drop multiplexer ( roadm ), a multi - service provisioning platform ( mspp ), or a digital cross connect , etc . can include multiple ethernet ports , one of which is port 307 . communication path 305 represents a test signal transmission path from port 302 in test - set 301 to port 307 in network element 304 . communication path 306 represents a test signal return path from port 307 in network element 304 to port 303 in test - set 301 . these test signal transmission and return paths are part of the complete signal path including all ethernet connections that are under test , those connections being to and through network element 304 , and between network element 304 and other network elements in a network . ( the complete signal path is included , but not shown , in fig3 .) for example , first network element 304 communicates with second network element 309 by way of transport network 308 which can include , for example , a synchronous optical network ( sonet ) and / or an optical network transmission ( ont ) network or other network . it is possible for transport network to include further ethernet links , ( not shown ). network element 309 can also be , e . g ., a network gateway , hub , switch or router , or can include , but not be limited to , an add / drop multiplexer ( adm ), a reconfigurable optical add / drop multiplexer ( roadm ), a multi - service provisioning platform ( mspp ), or a digital cross connect , etc . network layer one port 312 in network element 304 and network layer one port 313 in network element 309 both interface with transport network 308 , thereby establishing a link 314 through network 308 which would be a link between both layer one ports unless the path were changed to conform with other transmission protocol within cloud 308 . link 314 is shown as a straight line solely for ease of illustration but it should be understood that this link can be connected through different networks and network connections / elements and can span many thousands of miles across the united states and beyond . network element 309 also includes multiple ethernet ports , one of which is located at the far - end of the test signal path and is shown as port 310 with loop 311 inter - connecting its positive polarity tx + and rx + pins ( not shown ) as well as its negative polarity tx − and rx − pins ( not shown ) enabling the transmitted test signal to loop - back , essentially transmitting to itself . ( the tx +, rx +, tx − and rx − pins of port 310 are arranged similarly , or identical , to those in any of the ports shown in fig4 .) fig4 is a schematic diagram of detailed wiring interconnections in a novel ethernet cable 400 of the type used in the arrangement of fig3 . this cable is a crossover cable which is required in order to connect between an ethernet test - set and a network gateway , hub , switch or router , or an add / drop multiplexer ( adm ), a reconfigurable optical add / drop multiplexer ( roadm ), a multi - service provisioning platform ( mspp ), or a digital cross connect , etc . the cable contains a first set of mutually - insulated conductive paths 401 and 402 which interconnect , respectively , tx + on pin “ c ” and tx − on pin “ f ” in first ethernet test - set port 302 with rx + on pin “ a ” and rx − on pin “ b ,” respectively , in ethernet port 307 in first network element 304 . the cable also contains a second set of mutually insulated conductive paths 403 and 404 which interconnect , respectively , tx + on pin “ c ” and tx − on pin “ f ” in ethernet port 307 with rx + on pin “ a ” and rx − on pin “ b ,” respectively , in second ethernet test - set port 303 . the first and second sets of mutually insulated conductive paths are commonly sheathed in cable 400 for the entire length 405 of the cable connecting first network element 304 to ethernet test - set 301 , but for a branching of the cable into two cables 406 at one end of the cable located at ethernet test - set 301 . in operation , referring to fig3 and 4 together , a test signal is sent from test - set 301 in communication path 305 via wires 401 and 402 . that signal is conducted through the internals of network element 304 , which may include additional ethernet connections , and by which a corresponding network level one signal , such as an optical signal , is obtained and provided to network level one port 312 . the network level one signal is then transmitted from port 312 over transport network 308 and eventually to network layer one port 313 located in second network element 309 . in second network element 309 the level one signal is converted to an ethernet signal which is routed within network element 309 to ethernet port 310 located at the far - end of the test signal path . in port 310 , the signal is looped - back because the pins of port 310 are interconnected so that its tx + pin ( not shown ) is connected to its rx + pin ( not shown ) and its tx − pin ( not shown ) connected to its rx − pin ( not shown ). this interconnection causes the ethernet signal to begin a return trip with the return signal &# 39 ; s destination being the ethernet test - set 301 . the return signal is first converted back to a network level three signal in second network element 309 for transmission from level three port 313 over transport network 308 to be received eventually in level three port 312 in first network element 304 . the second , return path through transport network 308 need not be the same as the first , forward path through the network and , indeed , can be substantially different in length and character , and , as noted , the first and second paths can even contain other ethernet links . but , solid line 314 is provided to show that first and second communication paths , wherever they go , ultimately exist between ports 312 and 313 . in first network element 304 , the return signal is again changed from a level one signal to an ethernet signal and transmitted through pins “ c ” and “ f ” in port 307 and via wires 403 and 404 , respectively , to pins “ a ” and “ b ,” respectively , in second ethernet test - set port 303 . fig5 is a schematic diagram of detailed wiring interconnections in a cable 500 as shown in fig4 but with additional inter - connections between ports of an ethernet cable tester to disengage a no - signal alarm . all connections in fig5 are identical to those in fig4 except that connections 501 and 502 of fig5 are added to those in fig4 . connection 501 conductively interconnects the tx + pin “ c ” of second ethernet port 303 in ethernet test - set 301 with the rx + pin “ a ” of first ethernet port 302 in ethernet test - set 301 . connection 502 conductively interconnects the tx − pin “ f ” of second ethernet port 303 in ethernet test - set 301 with the rx − pin “ b ” of first ethernet port 302 in ethernet test - set 301 . the purpose of making these connections with these two jumper wires is to provide a connection to the two receive pins of port 301 which would otherwise appear open to test - set 301 . these jumper connections over - ride a “ no signal received ” alarm which otherwise would be energized by test - set 301 . this avoids an annoying false alarm while conducting the test . these two jumper wires interconnect pins on both ports 302 and 303 which are otherwise not used in this test procedure and on which there is no signal being transmitted or received , but the connection itself is sufficient to quell the alarm , at least for certain kinds of testers . a tester with which this alarm disable is particularly useful is an ixia corporation model 400t or model 1600t tester . fig6 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary arrangement 600 of network elements under test in relation to an ethernet test - set and with which another exemplary embodiment . in general , in this arrangement both ethernet test - set ports 302 and 303 receive return test signals on all of their receive ( rx + and rx −) pins , so the pin - jumper feature of the embodiment of fig5 is not needed to quell the no - signal alarm . advantageously , two network elements , each at the terminus of their respective test signal paths , can be simultaneously tested with the same ethernet test - set . in particular , ethernet test - set 301 is again connected to first network element 304 which , in turn , is again connected to second network element 309 , similarly to its connection of fig3 . this portion of fig6 involves communication paths 305 and 306 , and link 314 through transport network 308 , which is identical to what is depicted in fig3 , and operates exactly as described above for operation of fig3 . simultaneously with this fig3 related operation , a “ mirror - image ” operation can take place between ethernet test - set 301 , first network element 304 and third network element 604 . third network element 604 is shown interfacing with transport network 308 which involves a separate test path from that used in fig3 . communication path 601 represents a third test signal transmission path from port 303 in test - set 301 to port 603 in first network element 304 . communication path 602 represents a fourth test signal return path from port 603 in network element 304 to port 302 in test - set 301 . these test signal transmission and return paths are part of the complete second signal path including all ethernet connections that are under test in that second signal path , those connections being to and through network element 304 , and between network element 304 and third network element 604 . ( the complete second signal path is included , but not shown , in fig6 .) first network element 304 communicates with third network element 604 by way of transport network 308 , which can be , for example , a synchronous optical network ( sonet ) and / or an optical network transmission ( ont ) network or other network . network element 604 can also be , e . g ., a network gateway , hub , switch or router , or can include , but not be limited to , an add / drop multiplexer ( adm ), a reconfigurable optical add / drop multiplexer ( roadm ), a multi - service provisioning platform ( mspp ), or a digital cross connect , etc . network layer one port 605 in network element 304 and network layer one port 609 in network element 604 both interface with transport network 308 , thereby establishing a link 608 through network 308 between both layer one ports . link 608 is shown as a straight line solely for ease of illustration but it should be understood that this link can be connected through different networks and network connections / elements and can span many thousands of miles across the united states and beyond . network element 604 also includes multiple ethernet ports , one of which is located at the far - end of the signal path and is shown as port 606 with loop 607 inter - connecting its positive polarity tx + and rx + pins ( not shown ) as well as its negative polarity tx − and rx − pins ( not shown ). ( the tx +, rx +, tx − and rx − pins of port 606 are arranged similarly , or identical , to those in any of the ports shown in fig7 .) fig7 is a schematic diagram of detailed wiring interconnections in a novel ethernet cable 700 of the type used in the arrangement of fig6 . this cable is also a crossover cable which is required in order to connect between an ethernet test - set and a network gateway , hub , switch or router , or can include , but not be limited to , an add / drop multiplexer ( adm ), a reconfigurable optical add / drop multiplexer ( roadm ), a multi - service provisioning platform ( mspp ), or a digital cross connect , etc . all of the connections in fig6 that are identical to those in fig3 were previously described in connection with fig3 and won &# 39 ; t be repeated . the new connections are as follows . the cable contains a first set of mutually - insulated conductive paths 701 and 702 which interconnect , respectively , tx + on pin “ c ” and tx − on pin “ f ” in second ethernet test - set port 303 with rx + on pin “ a ” and rx − on pin “ b ,” respectively , in ethernet port 707 in first network element 304 . the cable also contains a second set of mutually insulated conductive paths 703 and 704 which interconnect , respectively , tx + on pin “ c ” and tx − on pin “ f ” in ethernet port 707 with rx + on pin “ a ” and rx − on pin “ b ,” respectively , in first ethernet test - set port 302 . the third and fourth sets of mutually insulated conductive paths are commonly sheathed in cable 700 for the entire length 705 or 706 of the cable connecting first network element 304 to ethernet test - set 301 , but for a branching of the cable into two cables , namely cable - pair 708 located at ethernet test - set 301 and cable - pair 709 located at network element 304 . in operation , referring to fig6 and 7 together , in addition to that operation described above with respect to fig3 and 4 , a test signal is sent from test - set 301 in communication path 601 via wires 701 and 702 . that signal is conducted through the internals of network element 304 , which may include additional ethernet connections , and by which a corresponding network level one signal , such as an optical signal , is obtained and provided to network level one port 605 . the network level one signal is then transmitted from port 605 over transport network 308 to network layer one port 609 located in third network element 604 . in third network element 604 the level one signal is converted to an ethernet signal which is routed within network element 604 to ethernet port 606 located at the far - end of this test signal path which is different from the test signal path associated with network element 309 . in port 606 , the signal is looped - back because the pins of port 606 are interconnected so that its tx + pin ( not shown ) is connected to its rx + pin ( not shown ) and its tx − pin ( not shown ) is connected to its rx − pin ( not shown ). this interconnection causes the ethernet signal to begin a return trip with the return signal &# 39 ; s destination being the ethernet test - set 301 . the return signal is first converted back to a network level three signal in third network element 604 for transmission from level three port 609 over transport network 308 to be received in level three port 605 in first network element 304 . the fourth , return path through transport network 308 need not be the same as the third , forward path through the network and , indeed , can be substantially different in length and character , but solid line 608 is provided to show that first and second communication paths exist between ports 605 and 609 . in first network element 304 , the return signal is again changed from a level one signal to an ethernet signal and transmitted through pins “ c ” and “ f ” in port 603 and via wires 703 and 704 , respectively , to pins “ a ” and “ b ,” respectively , in first ethernet test - set port 302 . for ease of reference with respect to reading the claims , the following information is a summary of an association between certain terms recited in the claims and reference numbers in the figs : support for these terms is not limited to this association . ethernet test - set first port may be 302 ; second port may be 303 . first mutually insulated conductive paths may be 305 ; second mutually insulated conductive paths may be 306 ; third mutually insulated conductive paths may be 601 ; fourth mutually insulated conductive paths may be 602 . first network element may be 304 . first network element first port may be 307 , second port may be 603 . second network element may be 309 . third network element may be 604 . first and second test signal paths may include paths 314 . third and fourth test signal paths may include paths 608 . in the preceding specification , various preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto , and additional embodiments may be implemented , without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow . accordingly , the specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense .
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the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents . it includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary . accordingly , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure . in addition , descriptions of well - known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness . the terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings , but , are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure . accordingly , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . it is to be understood that the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a component surface ” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces . by the term “ substantially ” it is meant that the recited characteristic , parameter , or value need not be achieved exactly , but that deviations or variations , including for example , tolerances , measurement error , measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art , may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide . various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a technique for identifying and setting a lighting device using a received signal strength indicator ( rssi ) in an electronic device . fig1 illustrates a communication environment of a control device and a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , a user can control lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 through a control device 100 . the control device 100 is an electronic device capable of communicating with the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . the control device 100 can include a communication unit for communicating with the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . for example , the control device 100 can include one of a smart phone , a portable terminal , a mobile phone , a mobile pad , a media player , a tablet computer , a handheld computer , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a wireless controller , and a wearable device , and combine functions of two or more of these devices . the control device 100 can be referred to as an electronic device . the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 are devices capable of outputting a light and communicating with the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and the control device 100 . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can communicate at least one of the second lighting device 200 - 2 , the third lighting device 200 - 3 , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , and the control device 100 . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can transmit and receive rssi signals to and from at least one of the second lighting device 200 - 2 , the third lighting device 200 - 3 , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , and the control device 100 . the communication between the control device 100 and the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can be established based on at least one of bluetooth ( bt ), bt low energy ( ble ), near field communication ( nfc ), wi - fi , wireless gigabit ( wigig ), zigbee , ultra wide band ( uwb ), infrared data association ( irda ), visible light communication ( vlc ), global system for mobile communication ( gsm ), enhanced data gsm environment ( edge ), code division multiple access ( cdma ), and long term evolution ( lte ). fig2 is a signal flow diagram between a control device and a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the control device 100 enters a light setting mode in operation 201 . the light setting mode indicates an interface for the control device 100 to control at least one lighting device . for example , to enter the light setting mode , the control device 100 can execute a user interface which supports the light setting mode . in operation 203 , the control device 100 transmits a first reference signal to at least one lighting device 200 . the first reference signal indicates a signal notifying the light setting mode entry of the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 transmits the first reference signal to the lighting device 200 . the lighting device 200 receives the first reference signal from the control device 100 . the lighting device 200 can confirm the light setting mode entry of the control device 100 based on the first reference signal . in doing so , the lighting device 200 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the lighting device 100 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the lighting device 200 at the preset cycles so that the lighting device 200 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operation 205 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the lighting device 200 automatically controls the light brightness of the lighting device 200 based on the rssi in operation 207 . the lighting device 200 can automatically control the light brightness according to the rssi and a preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the lighting device 200 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the lighting device 200 can vary according to a distance change between the control device 100 and the lighting device 200 . hence , the lighting device 200 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to a preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the first reference signal can include a message requesting information of the lighting device 200 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the first reference signal may not include the message requesting the information of the lighting device 200 . for example , before transmitting the first reference signal to the lighting device 200 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the information of the lighting device 200 . alternatively , after transmitting the first reference signal to the lighting device 200 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the information of the lighting device 200 . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the information of the lighting device 200 can differ . in operation 209 , the lighting device 200 transmits a second reference signal to the lighting device 100 . the second reference signal indicates a signal including the information of the lighting device 200 . for example , the second reference signal can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device 200 . in doing so , the control device 100 can receive an arbitrary signal from the lighting device 200 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the control device 100 to measure the rssi from the lighting device 200 . for example , the lighting device 200 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the control device 100 at the preset cycles so that the control device 100 can measure the rssi from the lighting device 200 . in operation 211 , the control device 100 can measure the rssi based on the arbitrary signal received from the lighting device 200 . in operation 213 , the control device 100 can display a light setting user interface ( ui ) on the screen display unit of the control device 100 based on the rssi . the light setting ui indicates a ui for controlling the lighting device 200 . for example , the light setting ui can be displayed as an icon . in operation 215 , the control device 100 can generate light setting information of the lighting device 200 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 217 , the control device 100 transmits the light setting information to the lighting device 200 . in operation 219 , the lighting device 200 sets the lighting of the lighting device 200 based on the light setting information . fig3 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig3 , the control device 100 includes a communication unit 301 , a display / input unit 303 , a storage unit 305 , a control unit 307 , and a light management unit 309 . the communication unit 301 processes to transmit and receive radio signals of data input and output via an antenna . for example , in the transmission , the communication unit 301 channel - encodes , radio frequency ( rf )- processes , and transmits data to transmit . in the reception , the communication unit 301 converts a received rf signal to a baseband signal and restores data by channel - decoding the baseband signal . in addition to those typical functions , the communication unit 301 can transmit the message requesting to transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device to the plurality of lighting devices . the communication unit 301 can receive at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device from the plurality of lighting devices . the device information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device . the rssi information can include the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device . the communication unit 301 can transmit the message for controlling at least one of the brightness , the light output time , and the light color of the lighting device , to the plurality of lighting devices . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the communication unit 301 can include an rssi receiver ( not shown ). the rssi receiver ( not shown ) can receive the signals from the plurality of lighting devices and measure the rssi of the received signals . the display / input unit 303 can include at least one of a touch screen for providing an input / output interface between the electronic device and the user , a sound output unit for outputting a sound signal , and a printer for printing a document or an object . the display / input unit 303 can be divided into the touch screen , the sound output unit , and the printer . the display / input unit 303 can provide an interface for user touch input / output . more specifically , the display / input unit 303 can act as a medium for forwarding the user touch input to the electronic device and showing the output of the electronic device to the user . the display / input unit 303 can provide a visual output to the user . for example , the display / input unit 303 can output a device image recognized by a camera of the electronic device . the visual output can include text , graphic , video , and their combination . the display / input unit 303 can adopt various display technologies . for example , the display / input unit 303 can employ a liquid crystal display ( lcd ), a light emitting diode ( led ), a light emitting polymer display ( lpd ), an organic led ( oled ), an active matrix oled ( amoled ), or a flexible led ( fled ). the touch screen of the display / input unit 303 is not limited to a touch screen using those display technologies . the touch screen can be divided into a screen display unit and an input unit . in addition to the typical function , the display / input unit 303 can display the plurality of lighting devices according to the rssi of the signals . the display / input unit 303 can further display at least one of the ui for controlling the at least one lighting device , the result of grouping the lighting devices , the light icons , the light names , the light settings , at least one group icon , at least one group name , and at least one group setting . the display / input unit 303 can display the positions of the lighting devices on the floor plan of the area including the lighting devices . the display / input unit 303 can display the result of recognizing the lighting devices using at least one of the multiple lists , the multiple icons , the multiple items , and their combination . the display / input unit 303 can display the lighting device in order of recognizing the lighting devices . the storage unit 305 stores microcode and various reference data of a program for the processing and the controlling of the control unit 307 . according to the typical function , the storage unit 305 can store at least one of the device information including at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device , and the rssi information including the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device . the control unit 307 controls the operations of the control device 100 . for example , the control unit 307 processes and controls voice communication and data communication . in addition to the typical function , the control unit 307 can measure the rssi of the signals received from the lighting devices . the control unit 307 can group at least one lighting device based on at least one of the rssi of the signals received from the lighting devices , the device information , and the rssi information received from the lighting devices . the control unit 307 can generate the message for controlling the at least one lighting device . fig4 is a block diagram of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig4 , the lighting device 200 includes a communication unit 401 , an output unit 403 , a storage unit 405 , a control unit 407 , and an rssi information generation unit 409 . the communication unit 401 processes to transmit and receive radio signals of data input and output via an antenna . for example , in the transmission , the communication unit 401 channel - encodes , rf - processes , and transmits data to transmit . in the reception , the communication unit 401 converts a received rf signal to a baseband signal and restores data by channel - decoding the baseband signal . in addition to those typical functions , the communication unit 401 can receive the message requesting to transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device 200 from the control device 100 . the communication unit 401 can transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information to the control device 100 according to the request message . the device information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device 200 . the rssi information can include the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device 200 . the communication unit 401 can receive the control message from the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the communication unit 401 can include an rssi receiver ( not shown ). the rssi receiver ( not shown ) can receive the signal from at least one of at least one other electronic device and the control device 100 and thus measure the rssi of the received signal . the output unit 403 indicates a light output device . for example , the light output unit 403 indicating a light emitting device . the output unit 403 can adopt various display technologies , for example , an lcd , an led , an lpd , an oled , an amoled , or an fled . the output unit 403 can output the light according to the rssi from the control device 100 . the storage unit 405 stores microcode and various reference data of a program for the processing and the controlling of the control unit 407 . according to the typical function , the storage unit 405 can store at least one of the device information including at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device , and the rssi information including the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device 200 . the control unit 407 controls the operations of the lighting device 200 . for example , the control unit 407 processes and controls voice communication and data communication . in addition to the typical function , the control unit 407 can measure the rssi of the signals received from the control device 100 . the control unit 407 can control at least one of the brightness , the light output time , and the light color of the lighting device 200 according to the control message received from the control device 100 . the control unit 407 can control the light brightness according to the rssi of the signal received from the control device 100 . fig5 is a flowchart of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig5 , the control device 100 measures the rssi of signals received from a plurality of lighting devices in operation 501 . the control device 100 can transmit a message requesting to transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device , to the lighting devices . the control device 100 can receive at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device , from the lighting devices . the device information can include at least one of the model name , the light output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device . the rssi information can include the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device . the at least one lighting device can be grouped based on at least one of the rssi of the signals received from the lighting devices , the device information , and the rssi information received from the lighting devices . the control device 100 can generate a message for controlling the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can transmit a message for controlling at least one of the brightness , the light output time , the light color of the lighting device , to at least one lighting device . in operation 503 , the control device 100 displays the lighting devices according to the rssi of the signals . the control device 100 can further display at least one of the ui for controlling the at least one lighting device , the result of grouping the lighting devices , the light icons , the light names , the light settings , at least one group icon , at least one group name , and at least one group setting . the control device 100 can display positions of the lighting devices in a floor plan of an area including the lighting devices . the control device 100 can display the result of recognizing the lighting devices using at least one of multiple lists , multiple icons , multiple items , and their combination . the control device 100 can display the lighting device in order of recognizing the lighting devices . fig6 is a flowchart of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig6 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi of a signal received from the control device 100 in operation 601 . the lighting device 200 can receive from the control device 100 a message requesting to transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information of the lighting device 200 . according to the request message , the lighting device 200 can transmit at least one of the device information and the rssi information to the control device 100 . the device information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device . the rssi information can include the rssi of at least one other lighting device measured by the lighting device 200 . in operation 603 , the lighting device 200 outputs the light according to the rssi . the lighting device 200 can receive a control message from the electronic control 100 . according to the control message received from the control device 100 , the lighting device 200 can control at least one of brightness , light output time , and light color of the lighting device 200 . the lighting device 200 can control the light brightness according to the rssi of the signal received from the control device 100 . fig7 illustrates a measurement of signals received at a control device from lighting devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig7 , the control device 100 can receive arbitrary signals from the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 at preset cycles . the control device 100 can determine the rssi of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 based on the arbitrary signals received from the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . the unit of the rssi is (−) dbm . for example , the control device 100 can determine the rssi of the arbitrary signal received from the first lighting device 200 - 1 as − 3 dbm . the control device 100 can determine the rssi of the arbitrary signal received from the second lighting device 200 - 2 as − 7 dbm . the control device 100 can determine the rssi of the arbitrary signal received from the third lighting device 200 - 3 as − 5 dbm . the control device 100 can determine the rssi of the arbitrary signal received from the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 as − 22 dbm . fig8 a and 8b are signal flow diagrams between a control device and a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig8 a , the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 801 . thereafter , the control device transmits a message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 803 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 receives the message notifying the light setting mode entry from the control device 100 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry can include a message requesting first light information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the first light information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the message notifying the light setting mode entry may not include the message requesting the first light information . for example , before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first light information . alternatively , after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first light information . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the first light information can differ . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the first lighting device 200 - 1 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the first lighting device 200 - 1 at the preset cycles so that the first lighting device 200 - 1 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operation 805 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 measures the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the first lighting device 200 - 1 automatically controls the light brightness of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the rssi in operation 807 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can automatically control the light brightness based on the rssi and the preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to a distance change between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 . hence , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to the preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . in operation 809 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can transmit the first light information to the control device 100 . the control device 100 can receive an arbitrary signal from the first lighting device 200 - 1 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the control device 100 to measure the rssi from the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the control device 100 at the preset cycles so that the control device 100 can measure the rssi from the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 811 , the control device 100 can measure the rssi based on the arbitrary signal . in operation 813 , the control device 100 displays the light based on the rssi . for example , the control device 100 can display the light setting ui on the screen display unit of the control device 100 . the light setting ui indicates a ui for controlling the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the control device 100 can display an icon corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 on the screen display unit of the control device 100 . in operation 815 , the control device 100 can generate first light setting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 817 , the control device 100 transmits the first light setting information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 819 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 sets the lighting of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the first light setting information . referring to fig8 b , the control device 100 can control the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . for example , the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 819 . in operation 821 , the control device 100 transmits a message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 823 , the control device 100 transmits a message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry can include a message requesting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the message notifying the light setting mode entry can include a message requesting information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . for example , the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the message notifying the light setting mode entry may not include the message requesting the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 or the second lighting device 200 - 2 . for example , before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . alternatively , after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can differ . similarly , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can differ . the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 at the preset cycles so that the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operations 825 and 827 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 measure the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the first lighting device 200 - 1 automatically controls the light brightness of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the rssi in operation 829 . the second lighting device 200 - 2 automatically controls the light brightness of the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on the rssi in operation 831 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can automatically control their light brightness according to the rssi and the preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can vary according to the movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can vary according to the distance changes between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . hence , the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to the preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . in operation 833 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 transmits first light information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 to the control device 100 . in operation 835 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 transmits second light information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 to the control device 100 . the control device 100 can receive arbitrary signals from the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the control device 100 to measure the rssi from the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the control device 100 at the preset cycles so that the control device 100 can measure the rssi from the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the second lighting device 200 - 2 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the control device 100 at the preset cycles so that the control device 100 can measure the rssi from the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 837 , the control device 100 can measure the rssi based on the arbitrary signal . in operation 839 , the control device 100 can display the light setting ui on the screen display unit of the control device 100 based on the rssi . the light setting ui indicates a ui for controlling the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 841 , the control device 100 can generate first light setting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . the control device 100 can generate second light setting information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 843 , the control device 100 transmits the first light setting information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 845 , the control device 100 transmits the second light setting information to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 847 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 sets the lighting of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the first light setting information . in operation 849 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 sets the lighting of the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on the second light setting information . in fig8 a and 8b , the two lighting devices 200 - 1 and 200 - 2 are depicted to ease the understanding . according to various embodiments of the present disclosure , the number of the lighting devices can exceed three . fig9 is a flowchart of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig9 , the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 901 . in operation 903 , the control device 100 transmits the message notifying the light setting mode entry to at least one lighting device . in operation 905 , the control device 100 transmits the message requesting light information to at least one lighting device . the message notifying the light setting mode entry can include the message requesting the light information . the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the light information can differ . in operation 907 , the control device 100 receives light information from the at least one lighting device . the light information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the at least one lighting device transmitting the light information . in operation 909 , the control device 100 measures the rssi . the control device 100 can receive an arbitrary signal from the at least one lighting device at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for measuring the rssi from the at least one lighting device in the control device 100 . for example , the at least one lighting device can transmit the arbitrary signal to the control device 100 at the preset cycles so that the control device 100 can measure the rssi from the at least one lighting device . in operation 911 , the control device 100 can display at least one light on the screen display unit of the control device 100 based on the rssi . for example , the control device 100 can display the light setting ui on the screen display unit of the control device 100 . the light setting ui indicates a ui for controlling the at least one lighting device . in operation 913 , the control device 100 can generate light setting information of the at least one lighting device according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 915 , the control device 100 transmits the light setting information to the at least one lighting device . in operation 917 , the control device 100 determines whether the setting of the at least one lighting device is finished . the control device 100 can determine whether the setting of the at least one lighting device is finished , based on the user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . when the setting of the at least one lighting device is finished , the control device 100 can transmit a message notifying the setting end to the at least one lighting device . when the setting of the at least one lighting device is not finished , the control device 100 returns to operation 911 . fig1 is a flowchart of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , in operation 1001 , the lighting device 200 receives information notifying the light setting mode entry . upon entering the light setting mode , the control device 100 can transmit the message to the lighting device 200 . in operation 1003 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi from the control device 100 . the lighting device 200 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates a signal for the lighting device 200 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the lighting device 200 at the preset cycles so that the lighting device 200 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operation 1005 , the lighting device 200 automatically controls the light brightness of the lighting device 200 . the lighting device 200 can automatically control the light brightness based on the rssi . for example , the lighting device 200 can automatically control the light brightness according to the rssi and a preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the lighting device 200 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the lighting device 200 can vary according to the distance change between the control device 100 and the lighting device 200 . hence , the lighting device 200 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to the preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . in operation 1007 , the lighting device 200 receives the message requesting light information of the lighting device 200 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry can include the message requesting the light information . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , before receiving the message notifying the light setting mode entry , the lighting device 200 can receive the message requesting the light information . for example , the time for the lighting device 200 to receive the message requesting the light information can differ . in operation 1009 , the lighting device 200 transmits the light information to the control device 100 . the light information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device 200 . in operation 1011 , the lighting device 200 determines whether the light setting information is received . the light setting information indicates the setting information of the lighting device 200 generated by the control device 100 . upon receiving the light setting information , the lighting device 200 sets the lighting based on the light setting information in operation 1013 . in operation 1015 , the lighting device 200 determines whether setting of the lighting device 200 is finished . the lighting device 200 can receive the message notifying setting end of the lighting device 200 from the control device 100 . based on the message notifying the setting end of the lighting device 200 , the lighting device 200 can determine whether setting of the lighting device 200 is finished . when the setting is not finished , the lighting device 200 goes back to operation 1011 . fig1 a and 11b illustrate rssi information received at a control device from lighting devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 a , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can receive a defined signal . the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can measure the rssi of the defined signal . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can generate rssi information by measuring the rssi of signals received from the second lighting device 200 - 2 , the third lighting device 200 - 3 , and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . the rssi can change according to a surrounding environment . for example , with an ambient noise , the rssi can frequently change due to the noise . thus , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can generate the rssi information by converting the rssi of a certain range to a preset representative value . for example , a value between − 5 dbm and 0 dbm can be converted to 1 , and a value below − 10 dbm and − 5 dbm can be converted to 2 . for example , the rssi information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 is shown in table 1 . the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can generate such rssi information , receive a message requesting the rssi information from the control device 100 , and transmit the rssi information to the control device 100 . the control device 100 can receive the rssi information from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and generate data integrating the rssi information . for example , the integrated data is shown in table 5 . the control device 100 can control and group the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 according to the integrated rssi information . the rssi information can be generated as a table . for example , the control device 100 can group the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 having the rssi information value ‘ 1 ’ among the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , into one group according to the data integrating the rssi information received from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can group the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 according to the rssi values of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 measured by the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can receive preset signals from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 at a spot of the control device 100 and thus detect rssi values of the signals received from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . for example , according to the detected rssi values , the control device 100 can group the lighting devices in a short range among the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , into one group . for example , according to the detected rssi values , the control device 100 can determine that the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 are close to each other and the fourth lighting device 200 - 54 is not close to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 , and thus group the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 into one group . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can change the criterion for grouping the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . for example , the control device 100 can receive device information including at least one of a model name , an output color , a color temperature , and watts from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . the control device 100 can group the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 according to the received device information . for example , the control device 100 can group lighting devices of the same model name among the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , into one group . the control device 100 can group lighting devices having the same watts among the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , into one group . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can group the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 according to at least one of the rssi values of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 received from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , the rssi information generated by the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , the data integrating the received rssi information generated by the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , and the device information received from the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can dim the light at a short distance from the control device 100 , and light up at a long distance from the control device 100 . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can control the light brightness based on the rssi value according to a signal received from the control device 100 . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can control their light brightness based on a value representing the rssi value range value according to the signal received from the control device 100 . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can determine the representative value corresponding to the rssi value from 1 to 5 , output the darkest light when the rssi value range measured from the received signal of the control device 100 belongs to 1 , and output the brightest light for 5 . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can determine the representative value of 1 when the rssi value range is between − 5 dbm and 0 dbm , the representative value of 2 when the rssi value range is between − 10 dbm and − 5 dbm , and the representative value of 3 when the rssi value range is between − 15 dbm and − 10 dbm . it is possible to set the representative value of the rssi value measured by the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and the light brightness corresponding to the representative value . the representative value according to the rssi value range and the light brightness corresponding to the representative value are shown in table 6 . for example , when the rssi value of the control device 100 measured by the second lighting device 200 - 2 falls below − 10 dbm and exceeds − 15 dbm , the second lighting device 200 - 2 can output the light at the brightness corresponding to the representative value ‘ 3 ’. for example , when the rssi value according to the signal received from the control device 100 measured by the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 falls below − 20 dbm and exceeds − 25 dbm , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can output the light at the brightness corresponding to the representative value ‘ 5 ’. the user can obtain the light brightness and determine the distance between the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and the user . the user can match the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 listed and displayed based on the distance in the control device 100 with the light brightness of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , and thus intuitively recognize the lighting devices displayed in the control device 100 . the light brightness according to the rssi value of the control device measured by at least one of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can be controlled variously . for example , when the rssi value falls below a threshold , the at least one lighting device can light up . by contrast , when the rssi value of the control device measured by the at least one lighting device exceeds the threshold , the at least one lighting device can dim the light . for example , the light close to the control device can be lighted up , and the light away from the control device can be dimmed . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the rssi value range , the representative value corresponding to the rssi value range , and the light brightness corresponding to the representative value can vary . the number of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can vary . referring to fig1 b , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be located out of a communication range of the control device 100 . the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can transmit its rssi information to at least one other lighting device in its communication range . for example , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be located in the communication range with the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 . the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can transmit its rssi information to at least one of the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 . for example , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can transmit its rssi information to the third lighting device 200 - 3 . the third lighting device 200 - 3 can forward its rssi information and the rssi information of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 to the control device 100 . still referring to fig1 b , the control device 100 can receive the rssi information of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 via the third lighting device 200 - 3 . for example , the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can build a short range communication mesh . the short range communication mesh can be referred to as a ble mesh . the short range communication mesh indicates a communication network among a plurality of electronic devices each including a short range communication module . for example , the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 can be in the communication range of the control device 100 . by contrast , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 is in the communication range of the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 but out of the communication range of the control device 100 . the control device 100 and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can communicate with each other using the short range communication mesh . for example , the control device 100 can transmit a message destined for the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , to the third lighting device 200 - 3 in its communication range . the third lighting device 200 - 3 can forward the message received from the control device 100 , to the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . similarly , the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can transmit a response message of the message received via the third lighting device 200 - 3 , to the third lighting device 200 - 3 . the third lighting device 200 - 3 can forward the response message to the control device 100 . for example , the third lighting device 200 - 3 can forward the rssi information of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 received from the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , to the control device 100 . that is , the control device 100 can receive the rssi information of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 being out of its communication range , via the third lighting device 200 - 3 . fig1 a , 12 b , and 12 c are signal flow diagrams between a control device and a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 a , the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 1201 . thereafter , the control device 100 transmits the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1203 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 receives the message notifying the light setting mode entry from the control device 100 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates the signal for the first lighting device 200 - 1 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the first lighting device 200 - 1 at the preset cycles so that the first lighting device 200 - 1 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operation 1205 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 measures the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the first lighting device 200 - 1 automatically controls the light brightness of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the rssi in operation 1207 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can automatically control the light brightness according to the rssi and the preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to the distance change between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 . hence , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to the preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1203 can include a message requesting first rssi information generated by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and first light information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the message notifying the light setting mode entry may not include the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . for example , before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . alternatively , after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information can differ . in operation 1209 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 transmits the first rssi information and the first light information to the control device 100 . in operation 1211 , the control device 100 can display the light setting ui on the screen display unit of the control device 100 based on the first rssi information . the light setting ui indicates the ui for controlling the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1213 , the control device 100 can generate first light setting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 1215 , the control device 100 transmits the first light setting information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1217 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 sets the lighting of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the first light setting information . referring to fig1 b , the control device 100 can control the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 . for example , the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 1219 . in operation 1221 , the control device 100 transmits a message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1223 , the control device 100 transmits the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates the signal for the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 at the preset cycles so that the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operations 1225 and 1227 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 measure the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the first lighting device 200 - 1 automatically controls the light brightness of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the rssi in operation 1229 . the second lighting device 200 - 2 automatically controls the light brightness of the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on the rssi in operation 1231 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can automatically control their light brightness according to the rssi and the preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . for example , the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can vary according to the distance changes between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . hence , the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness according to the preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1221 can include the message requesting first rssi information generated by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and second light information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1223 can include the message requesting second rssi information generated by the second lighting device 200 - 2 and second light information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1221 may not include the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1223 may not include the message requesting the second light information . for example , before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 in operation 1221 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 in operation 1223 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information . alternatively , after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 in operation 1221 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 in operation 1223 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information can differ . similarly , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information can differ . in operation 1233 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 transmits the first rssi information and the first light information to the control device 100 . in operation 1235 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 transmits the second rssi information and the second light information to the control device 100 . for example , the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . the control device 100 can display the light setting ui on the screen display unit of the control device 100 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . the light setting ui indicates the ui for controlling the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . for example , the control device 100 can arrange and display icons corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 1 on the screen display unit based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information in operation 1237 . for example , the control device 100 can determine the distance between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . in addition , the control device 100 can determine the distance between the control device 100 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . the control device 100 can arrange and display the icons corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 1 in an ascending order of the distance from the control device 100 . in operation 1239 , the control device 100 can generate first light setting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . the control device 100 can generate second light setting information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 1241 , the control device 100 transmits the first light setting information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1243 , the control device 100 transmits the second light setting information to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 1245 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 sets the lighting of the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on the first light setting information . in operation 1247 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 sets the lighting of the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on the second light setting information . referring to fig1 c , the control device 100 can transmit and receive signals to and from the second lighting device 200 - 2 via the first lighting device 200 - 1 . for example , the second lighting device 200 - 2 can be out of the communication range of the control device 100 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can be in the communication range of the control device 100 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . the control device 100 enters the light setting mode in operation 1219 . in operation 1221 , the control device 100 transmits a message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1223 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 forwards the message received from the control device 100 to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can receive an arbitrary signal from the control device 100 at a preset cycle . the arbitrary signal indicates the signal for the first lighting device 200 - 1 to measure the rssi from the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can transmit the arbitrary signal to the first lighting device 200 - 1 at the preset cycles so that the first lighting device 200 - 1 can measure the rssi from the control signal 100 . in operations 1225 and 1227 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 each measure the rssi of the arbitrary signal . the first lighting device 200 - 1 automatically controls its light brightness based on the rssi in operation 1229 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 can automatically control its light brightness according to the rssi and a preset rssi threshold . the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to movement of the control device 100 . that is , the rssi measured by the first lighting device 200 - 1 can vary according to the distance change between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 . hence , the first lighting device 200 - 1 can control to increase or decrease its light brightness according to a preset criterion based on the movement of the control device 100 . based on the message notifying the light setting mode entry of the control device 100 received from the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 automatically controls its light brightness based on the rssi in operation 1231 . upon receiving the message notifying the light setting mode entry from the first lighting device 200 - 1 , rather than the control device 100 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 can determine that it is out of the communication range of the control device 100 . to notify the out - of - communication range of the control device 100 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 can output no light or flicker the light . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1221 can include a message requesting first rssi information generated by the first lighting device 200 - 1 and first light information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1223 can include a message requesting second rssi information generated by the second lighting device 200 - 2 and second light information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure , the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1221 may not include the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . the message notifying the light setting mode entry in operation 1223 may not include the message requesting the second light information . for example , before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 in operation 1221 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . before transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 in operation 1223 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information . alternatively , after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the first lighting device 200 - 1 in operation 1221 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information . after transmitting the message notifying the light setting mode entry to the second lighting device 200 - 2 in operation 1223 , the control device 100 can transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information . for example , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the first rssi information and the first light information can vary . similarly , the time for the control device 100 to transmit the message requesting the second rssi information and the second light information can vary . in operation 1233 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 transmits the first rssi information and the first light information to the control device 100 . in operation 1235 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 transmits the second rssi information and the second light information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the first lighting device 200 - 1 forwards the second rssi information and the second light information to the control device 100 in operation 1237 . for example , the information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the first lighting device 200 - 1 . the information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 1239 , the control device 100 can display a light setting ui on its display / input unit 303 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . the light setting ui indicates the ui for controlling the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 . for example , the control device 100 can arrange and display icons corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 on the display / input unit 303 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . for example , the control device 100 can determine the distance between the control device 100 and the first lighting device 200 - 1 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . in addition , the control device 100 can determine the distance between the control device 100 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 based on at least one of the first rssi information and the second rssi information . the control device 100 can arrange and display the icons corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 in an ascending order of the distance from the control device 100 . in operation 1241 , the control device 100 can generate first light setting information of the first lighting device 200 - 1 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . the control device 100 can generate second light setting information of the second lighting device 200 - 2 according to a user &# 39 ; s input signal through the light setting ui . in operation 1243 , the control device 100 transmits the first light setting information and the second light setting information to the first lighting device 200 - 1 . in operation 1245 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 forwards the second light setting information to the second lighting device 200 - 2 . in operation 1247 , the first lighting device 200 - 1 sets its lighting based on the first light setting information . in operation 1249 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 sets its lighting based on the second light setting information . referring to fig1 b and 12c , the two lighting devices 200 - 1 and 200 - 2 are depicted to ease the understanding . according to various embodiments of the present disclosure , the number of the lighting devices can exceed three . the control device 100 can determine a condition for light group setting . the control device 100 can receive the light group setting condition from the user through the ui . for example , the control device 100 can display condition items of the light group setting through the ui on the display / input unit 303 . the condition items of the light group setting can include at least one of proximity , the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts . in operation 1211 , the control device 100 generates a group recommendation . the control device 100 can confirm that the user selects at least one of the light group setting condition items through the ui . for example , when the user selects the proximity item , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation based on the proximity of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can determine the proximity based on the rssi received from the at least one lighting device or the rssi information received from the at least one lighting device . when the user selects the model name item , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation based on the model name of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can group at least one lighting device of the same model name based on the model name of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can organize groups as shown in table 7 . for example , a model name of the first lighting device 200 - 1 and a model name of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can be ‘ abc ’. a model name of the third lighting device 200 - 3 and a model name of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be ‘ xyz ’. the control device 100 can divide the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 into a first group . the control device 100 can divide the third lighting device 200 - 3 and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 into a second group . when the user selects the output light color item , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation based on the output light color of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can group at least one lighting device of the same color light based on the output color light of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can organize groups as shown in table 8 . for example , an output color of the first lighting device 200 - 1 and an output color of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can be red . an output color of the third lighting device 200 - 3 and an output color of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be blue . the control device 100 can divide the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 into a first group . the control device 100 can divide the third lighting device 200 - 3 and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 into a second group . when the user selects the color temperature item , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation based on the color temperature of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can group at least one lighting device of the same color temperature based on the color temperature of the at least one lighting device . a unit of the color temperature can be the kelvin ( k ). the control device 100 can determine a range of the color temperature so as to classify the at least one lighting device based on the color temperature . for example , the control device 100 can classify the color temperature range based on 1000 k . for example , the control device 100 can divide the color temperature range into 0 k through 999 k , 1000 k through 1999 k , 2000 k through 2999 k , and so on . the range can be divided variously . for example , the control device 100 can organize groups as shown in table 9 . for example , a color temperature of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can be 3000 k and a color temperature of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can be 3500 k . a color temperature of the third lighting device 200 - 3 can be 7000 k and a color temperature of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be 7500 k . the control device 100 can divide the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 belonging to the range from 3000 k to 3999 k , into a first group . the control device 100 can divide the third lighting device 200 - 3 and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 belonging to the range from 7000 k to 7999 k , into a second group . when the user selects the watts item , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation based on the watts of the at least one lighting device . for example , the control device 100 can group at least one lighting device of the same watts based on the watts of the at least one lighting device . a unit of watts can be the watt ( w ). the control device 100 can determine a range of the watts so as to classify the at least one lighting device based on the watts . for example , the control device 100 can classify the watts range based on 10 w . for example , the control device 100 can divide the watts range into 0 w through 9 w , 10 w through 19 w , 20 w through 29 w , and so on . the range can be divided variously . for example , the control device 100 can organize groups as shown in table 10 . for example , the watts of the first lighting device 200 - 1 can be 25 w and the watts of the second lighting device 200 - 2 can be 30 w . the watts of the third lighting device 200 - 3 can be 35 w and the watts of the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be 40 w . the control device 100 can divide the first lighting device 200 - 1 and the second lighting device 200 - 2 belonging to the range from 20 w to 29 w , into a first group . the control device 100 can divide the third lighting device 200 - 3 and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 belonging to the range from 30 w to 39 w , into a second group . fig1 is a flowchart of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , the control device 100 enters a light setting mode in operation 1301 . the control device 100 can transmit a message notifying the light setting mode entry to at least one lighting device . in operation 1303 , the control device 100 receives rssi information and device information of the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can transmit to the at least one lighting device a message requesting the rssi information and the lighting device information . the lighting device information can include at least one of the model name , the light output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device . the rssi information can include the rssi of the at least one lighting device . for example , the rssi information can include rssi information received at the at least one lighting device from at least one other lighting device . the control device 100 can receive the rssi information and the lighting device information from at least one lighting device . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can measure the rssi of at least one lighting device . in operation 1305 , the control device 100 analyzes the rssi information received from the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can analyze the received rssi information and obtain the distance between the at least one lighting device and the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can obtain the distance between the at least one lighting device and the control device 100 according to the rssi measurement of the at least one lighting device . in operation 1307 , the control device 100 arranges the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can control to arrange and display the at least one lighting device based on the determined distance in the display of the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can arrange and display the at least one lighting device in the ascending order of the distance from the control device 100 in the ui of the display . for example , the control device 100 can control to arrange the at least one lighting device and to display a list including at least one of the icon indicating the at least one lighting device type and the at least one lighting device name in the display . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can control to arrange and display the at least one lighting device in the display according to at least one of the model name , the light output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the at least one lighting device . in operation 1309 , the control device 100 determines whether to generate the group recommendation for the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can control to display the ui for determining whether to recommend the group of the at least one lighting device in the display of the control device 100 . the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation about the at least one lighting device according to the group recommendation determination through the ui . when the user inputs the group recommendation command through the ui , the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation about the at least one lighting device in operation 1311 . when the user inputs no group recommendation command through the ui , the control device 100 determines whether the individual light is selected in operation 1013 . upon receiving the group recommendation command from the user , the control device 100 generates the group recommendation in operation 1311 . the control device 100 can generate the group recommendation according to at least one of the rssi information and the device information received from the at least one lighting device . for example , when generating the group recommendation with the rssi information , the control device 100 can recommend the lighting devices at the short distance as one group according to the distance of the at least one lighting device . in operation 1313 , the control device 100 can determine whether the group or the light is selected . the control device 100 can receive a light group or individual light selection command from the user through the ui . when the user does not select the group or the light through the ui , the control device 100 receives rssi information and device information of at least one lighting device in operation 1303 . the control device 100 can receive rssi information and device information of at least one other lighting device so as to configure the at least one other lighting device . when the user selects the group or the light through the ui , the control device 100 switches to a setting screen for setting the group or the light in operation 1315 . the control device 100 can control to display a ui for setting the light group or the individual lights in the display of the control device 100 . when the setting of the at least one lighting device is finished , the control device 100 can transmit a message notifying the light setting end to the at least one lighting device . fig1 is a flowchart of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi in operation 1401 . the lighting device 200 can measure the rssi of at least one other lighting device . the lighting device 200 can generate rssi information including the rssi measurement information of the at least one lighting device . in operation 1403 , the lighting device 200 waits to receive data . the lighting device 200 can wait to receive data from the control device 100 . in operation 1405 , the lighting device 200 determines whether the data received from the control device 100 is a message notifying the light setting mode . when the received data is the message notifying the light setting mode , the lighting device 200 can transmit the rssi information generated in operation 1401 to the control device 100 in operation 1407 . when the received data is not the message notifying the light setting mode , the lighting device 200 waits for data in operation 1403 . in operation 1407 , the lighting device 200 transmits the rssi information to the control device 100 . the lighting device 200 can transmit the rssi information including rssi measurement information of at least one other lighting device to the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the lighting device 200 can receive a message requesting the device information of the lighting device 200 , from the control device 100 . the lighting device 200 can receive from the control device 100 the message requesting the device information including at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device 200 . in operation 1409 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi of the control device 100 . the lighting device 200 can measure the rssi of the control device 100 so as to control the light brightness according to the rssi of the control device 100 . in operation 1411 , the lighting device 200 controls the light brightness . the lighting device 200 can control the light brightness of the lighting device 200 according to the rssi of the control device 100 . for example , when the rssi of the control device 100 exceeds a threshold , the lighting device 200 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness of the lighting device 200 . when the rssi of the control device 100 falls below the threshold , the lighting device 200 can control to increase or decrease the light brightness of the lighting device 200 . it is possible to preset to control to increase or decrease the light brightness of the lighting device 200 . in operation 1413 , the lighting device 200 determines whether the setting of the lighting device 200 is finished . the lighting device 200 can be controlled by a control signal of the control device 100 . for example , the lighting device 200 can control the brightness and a light output time of the lighting device 200 according to a control message of the control message 100 . upon receiving a message notifying the control end of the lighting device 200 from the control device 100 , the lighting device 200 waits for data in operation 1403 . when not receiving the message notifying the control end of the lighting device 200 from the control device 100 , the lighting device 200 measures the rssi of the control device 100 in operation 1409 . the control device 100 can control the brightness of the at least one lighting device . the control device 100 can control the brightness of the at least one lighting device according to the position of the at least one lighting device . for example , when four lighting devices are placed in a lighting device recognition range , the control device 100 can control to increase the brightness of the lighting device away from the control device 100 according to the distances between the four lighting devices and the control device 100 . for example , the control device 100 can control to decrease the brightness of the lighting device close to the control device 100 and to increase the brightness of the lighting device away from the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the control device 100 can control to light up the light close to the control device and to dim the light away from the control device 100 . fig1 illustrates a ui for setting a lighting device in a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , the control device 100 can provide the user with a ui for controlling and grouping at least one lighting device 200 . for example , the control device 100 can receive signals for recognizing the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , from the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . the control device 100 can provide the ui including the recognition result of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . for example , the ui can include icons 1501 , 1505 , 1509 , and 1513 indicating a type of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 , and names 1503 , 1507 , 1511 , and 1515 of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . the names 1503 , 1507 , 1511 , and 1515 of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 can be displayed as model names or ids . the control device 100 can arrange and display the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 in an ascending order of the distance from the control device 100 . the control device 100 can measure the rssi values of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and determine the distances between the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and the control device 100 according to the rssi values . for example , when the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , the third lighting device 200 - 3 , and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 are close to the control device 100 in the named order , the control device 100 can display the first light icon 1501 and the first light name 1503 corresponding to the first lighting device 200 - 1 at the top of the display , the second light icon 1505 and the second light name 1507 corresponding to the second lighting device 200 - 2 at the second top position , the third light icon 1509 and the third light name 1511 corresponding to the third lighting device 200 - 3 at the third position , and the fourth light icon 1513 and the fourth light name 1515 corresponding to the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 at the fourth position , in the ascending order of the distance from the control device 100 . in doing so , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can control and output their brightness so that the user of the control device 100 can intuitively recognize the approximate distances of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 from the user . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can control and output the light brightness according to their measured rssi value of the control device 100 . for example , when the rssi value of the control device 100 measured by at least one of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 exceeds a threshold , the at least one lighting device can dim the light of the at least one lighting device . by contrast , when the rssi value of the control device 100 measured by the at least one lighting device falls below threshold , the at least one lighting device can increase the light brightness of the at least one lighting device . for example , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can dim the light as the distance to the control device 100 gets shorter , and light up as the distance to the control device 100 gets longer . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can light up as the distance to the control device 100 gets shorter , and dim as the distance to the control device 100 gets longer . the order of arranging the light icons and names 1501 through 215 displayed in the control device 100 can change according to the rssi values of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 measured by the control device 100 varying based on the movement of the user carrying the control device 100 . the brightness of the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 can change according to the rssi value of the signal of the control device 100 measured by the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 varying based on the movement of the user carrying the control device 100 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the number of the lighting devices recognized by the control device 100 can fall below or exceed four . the position , configuration , and number of the light icons 1501 , 1505 , 1509 , and 1513 and the light names 1503 , 1507 , 1511 , and 1515 of the lighting device setting ui can vary . fig1 illustrates a lighting device setting ui in a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig3 and 16 , the control device 100 can display a result of recognizing a plurality of lighting devices using icons or items . for example , when recognizing four lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 , the control device 100 can display a result of recognizing the four lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 by taking into account distances between the lighting devices 200 - 1 through 200 - 4 and the control device 100 . for example , when the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , the third lighting device 200 - 3 , and the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 are away from the control device 100 in the order named , the control device 100 can display a first light icon 1601 through a fourth light icon 1607 corresponding to the recognition result of the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 in the ascending order of the distance . the light icons 1607 through 1607 can be arranged and displayed in the ascending order of the distance from top to bottom , from left to right , or in a combination of the two manners . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the light icons 1601 through 1607 can be displayed in the order of recognizing the plurality of lighting devices in the control device . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the result of recognizing the plurality of lightings can be displayed variously . fig1 illustrates a lighting device group recommendation ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , the control device 100 can generate a light group recommendation . for example , the control device 100 can group the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 according to rssi information and light information received from the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 . for example , when grouping the first lighting device 200 - 1 through the fourth lighting device 200 - 4 based on the distance of the rssi information , the control device 100 can generate a recommendation for grouping the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 into one group . for example , in the ui , the control device 100 can display a first group recommendation 1701 , a first light icon 1703 , a second light icon 1707 , and a third light icon 1711 indicating the first lighting device 200 - 1 , the second lighting device 200 - 2 , and the third lighting device 200 - 3 belonging to the first group recommendation 1701 , and a first light name 1705 , a second light name 1709 , and a third light name 1713 so as to distinguish them from a fourth light icon 1715 and a fourth light name 1717 not belonging to the group . for example , the control device 100 can display the first light icon 1703 , the second light icon 1707 , the third light icon 1711 , the first light name 1705 , the second light name 1709 , and the third light name 1713 of the first group recommendation 1701 in a different color from the fourth light icon 1715 and the fourth light name 1717 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the position , configuration , and number of the first light icon 1703 through the fourth light icon 1715 and the first light name 1705 through the fourth light name 1717 of the lighting device group recommendation ui can vary . fig1 illustrates a lighting device group setting ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , when the user selects a lighting device group recommended by the control device 100 or selects and groups at least one lighting , the control device 100 can provide a lighting device group setting ui . the lighting device group setting ui can include icons 1801 indicating a type of the grouped lightings , a name 1803 of the light group , and information 1805 about the light group . for example , the light group name 1803 can be ‘ living room ’, and the group information 1805 can be ‘ a first light , a second light , and a third light at the center of the living room ’. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the position and configuration of the light icons 1801 , the group name 1803 , and the group information 1805 of the lighting device group setting ui can vary . fig1 illustrates a lighting device setting ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , the control device 100 can provide the user with a ui for setting the lights in addition to the light group setting . for example , the lighting device setting ui can include an icon 1901 indicating a type of the light , a light name 1903 , and light information 1905 . for example , the light name 1903 can include ‘ bedroom light 1 ’ and the light information 1905 can include ‘ the light on the left of the bed ’. the icon 1901 can vary according to the type of the light . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the position and configuration of the light icon 1901 , the group name 1903 , and the group information 1905 of the lighting device setting ui can vary . fig2 a and 20b illustrate a light arrangement information ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 a , the control device 100 can display marks 2001 through 2007 indicating positions of a first lighting device through a fourth lighting device on a floor plan . the control device 100 can display the marks 2001 through 2007 indicating the positions of the lighting devices on the floor plan so that the user can recognize the potions of the lighting devices . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , when at least one of the marks 2001 through 2007 indicating the positions of the lighting devices is selected , the control device 100 can display the lighting device setting ui for controlling the lighting device corresponding to the selected mark . referring to fig2 b , the control device 100 can display the rssi of signals received from the lighting devices on the floor plan . for example , the control device 100 can measure the rssi of the signals received from the lighting devices and display an rssi level of the lighting devices using a dotted line on the floor plan . the control device 100 can display the rssi level of the lighting devices using the dotted lines on the floor plan according to the rssi information received from the lighting devices . a smaller radius of the dotted line surrounding the lighting devices can indicate a higher rssi of the lighting devices . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the position and number of the marks 2001 through 2007 indicating the positions of the lighting devices can vary . fig2 illustrates a light arrangement information ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the control device 100 can display a floor plan marking a position of at least one lighting device recognized by the control device 100 . configuration of the floor plan can be preset by the user . for example , the user can configure the floor plan relating to a space of the user using a light arrangement information ui of the control device 100 , and store the floor plan in the control device 100 . for example , the user can organize the space of the floor plan through the light arrangement information ui of the control device 100 , and set positions of the lighting devices . the control device 100 can receive device information of the lighting devices from the lighting devices . the device information can include at least one of the model name , the output color , the color temperature , and the watts of the lighting device . for example , according to the device information received from the lighting devices , the control device 100 can display the lighting device information corresponding to the positions of the lighting devices at the positions of the lighting devices on the floor plan . for example , the position marks of the lighting devices can display the watts of the corresponding lighting devices . for example , the control device 100 can display positions of four 40 w lights in a living room 2101 , two 60 w lights in a first balcony 2103 , a 30 w light at a door 2105 , two 40 w lights and a 60 w light in a kitchen 2107 , two 20 w lights in a first bedroom 2109 , a 20 w light in a second bedroom 2111 , a 20 w light in a third bedroom 2113 , a 30 w light in a bathroom 2115 , a 30 w in a toilet 2117 , a 30 w light in a second balcony 2119 , and a 30 w light in a third balcony 2121 . the control device can create a group according to at least one of the model , the color , the color temperature , the watts , and the distance of the at least one lighting device and display the grouped light using the dotted line . for example , the control device can group the four 40 w lights of the living room 2101 into one group , the two 40 w lights of the kitchen 2107 into one group , and the two 20 w light of the first bedroom 2109 into one group , and display them using the dotted line . the control device can display information about the icons displayed in the floor plan using legends 2123 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the marks indicating the positions of the lights can be displayed in the same color according at least one of the model , the color , the color temperature , the watts , and the grouping of the lighting devices . for example , the control device 100 can display the 20 w lights in red , the 30 w lights in yellow , the 40 w lights in green , and the 60 w lights in blue . for example , the control device 100 can display the marks indicating the positions of the lights of the same group in the same color on the floor plan . for example , the control device 100 can display the grouped four 40 w lights of the living room 2101 in orange , the grouped two 20 w lights of the first bedroom 2109 in dark blue , and the grouped two 40 w lights of the kitchen 2107 in gray . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , when at least one of the marks indicating the positions of the lighting devices and the group marks is selected , the control device 100 can display a lighting device setting ui for controlling the lighting device or the light group corresponding to the selected mark . for example , when the user touches the 30 w light icon at the door 2105 on a display of the control device 100 , the control device 100 can display a ui for setting the 30 w light of the door 2105 . for example , when the user touches the dotted line grouping the four 40 w lights of the living room 2101 on the display of the control device 100 , the control device 100 can display a ui for setting the four 40 w lights of the living room 2101 . using the ui , the user can set the lights or the light group . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the construction of the floor plan , the position of the lighting device , the number of the lighting devices , and the group of the lighting devices can vary . fig2 illustrates a lighting device group setting ui of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the control device 100 can display a plurality of light groups . for example , the control device 100 can recognize a first lighting device through a fifth lighting device , classify them to a first group , a second group , and a third group based on a characteristic or a position of the lighting device , and then display marks 2201 through 2231 relating to the groups and the lighting devices according to the classified groups . for example , the control device 100 can display the marks 2201 through 2231 by classifying the first lighting device and the second lighting device to the first group , the third lighting device and the fourth lighting device to the second group , and the fifth lighting device to the third group . the marks 2201 through 2231 can include the first group light icon 2201 , the second group light icon 2213 , the third group light icon 2225 , the first group name 2203 , the second group name 2215 , the third group name 2227 , the first light icon 2205 through the fifth light icon 2229 , and the first light name 2207 through the fifth light name 2231 . the first group light icon 2201 , the second group light icon 2213 , and the third group light icon 2225 can indicate the number and the shape of the lights in the group . the first group name 2203 , the second group name 2215 , and the third group name 2227 can indicate a living room , a kitchen , a bedroom , a porch , an office , and a lobby according to the position of the group . the first light name 2207 through the fifth light name 2231 can be expressed as names indicative of the lighting devices , such as a name , an id , and a model name of the lighting device . while the three light groups of the five lighting devices are depicted in fig2 , the number of the lighting devices and the number of the light groups can vary . the configuration of the lighting device group setting ui can vary . certain aspects of the present disclosure can also be embodied as computer readable code on a non - transitory computer readable recording medium . a non - transitory computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system . examples of the non - transitory computer readable recording medium include a read - only memory ( rom ), a random - access memory ( ram ), compact disc - roms ( cd - roms ), magnetic tapes , floppy disks , and optical data storage devices . the non - transitory computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion . in addition , functional programs , code , and code segments for accomplishing the present disclosure can be easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains . at this point it should be noted that the various embodiments of the present disclosure as described above typically involve the processing of input data and the generation of output data to some extent . this input data processing and output data generation may be implemented in hardware or software in combination with hardware . for example , specific electronic components may be employed in a mobile device or similar or related circuitry for implementing the functions associated with the various embodiments of the present disclosure as described above . alternatively , one or more processors operating in accordance with stored instructions may implement the functions associated with the various embodiments of the present disclosure as described above . if such is the case , it is within the scope of the present disclosure that such instructions may be stored on one or more non - transitory processor readable mediums . examples of the processor readable mediums include a rom , a ram , cd - roms , magnetic tapes , floppy disks , and optical data storage devices . the processor readable mediums can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the instructions are stored and executed in a distributed fashion . in addition , functional computer programs , instructions , and instruction segments for accomplishing the present disclosure can be easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains . while the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various 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 present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents .
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a switch resistor modulation circuit is mainly used at a power supply with a frequency conversion function according to the invention to allow a user to change a switch resistance value between a vref pin and a rt / ct pin of a pwm controller according to different demands such as increasing efficiency or reducing power consumption for the computer system to make the pwm controller generate switch frequencies with different values . then , the power outputted to the motherboard by the computer system is changed to improve the efficiency of the computer system or reduce the power consumption . fig2 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply with a frequency conversion function according to an embodiment of the invention . a power supply mainly includes an emi and bridge rectifier 21 , an active pfc circuit 23 , a dc - dc converter 25 , a pwm controller 27 , and a switch resistor modulation circuit 29 . the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 is connected between a vref pin and a rt / ct pin of the pwm controller 27 . the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 further has a first switch ( sw 1 ), a second switch ( sw 2 ), and a third switch ( sw 3 ). the motherboard 30 is connected with the dc - dc converter 25 to receive a plurality of voltages outputted by the power supply . when the user thinks that a motherboard 30 in the computer system to be used does not need large power provided by the power supply , he or she may press the first switch ( sw 1 ). since the first switch ( sw 1 ) conducts , the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 connected between the vref pin and the rt / ct pin of the pwm controller 27 generates a switch resistor having a first resistance value . consequently , the pwm controller 27 can generate a correspondingly switching frequency according to the switch resistor having the first resistance value . the switching frequency may be 100 khz , and the pwm controller 27 outputs the pwm signal to the dc - dc converter 25 via the switching frequency ( 100 khz ). afterwards , the dc - dc converter 25 generates correspondingly power such as 300 w according to the received pwm signal and outputs the correspondingly power to the motherboard 30 to make the computer system operate at a normal mode . when the user thinks that the computer system to be used may reduce the power provided to the motherboard 30 by the power supply to save power , he or she may press the second switch ( sw 2 ). since the second switch ( sw 2 ) conducts , the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 connected between the vref pin and the rt / ct pin of the pwm controller 27 generates the switch resistor having a second resistance value . the second resistance value is larger than the first resistance value . as a result , the pwm controller 27 generates the correspondingly switching frequency according to the switch resistor having the second resistance value . the correspondingly switching frequency may be 80 khz , and the pwm controller 27 outputs the pwm signal to the dc - dc converter 25 via the switching frequency ( 80 khz ). the dc - dc converter 25 generates the correspondingly power such as 250 w according to the received pwm signal and outputs the correspondingly power to the motherboard 30 to make the computer system operate at a power save mode . when the user thinks that the computer system to be used will operate at an over clocking mode , and the power supply needs to provide a higher power to the motherboard 30 , he or she may press the third switch ( sw 3 ). since the third switch ( sw 3 ) conducts , the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 connected between the vref pin and the rt / ct pin of the pwm controller 27 generates the switch resistor having a third resistance value . the third resistance value is smaller than the first resistance value . as a result , the pwm controller 27 generates the correspondingly switching frequency according to the switch resistor having the third resistance value and outputs the pwm signal to the dc - dc converter 25 . the correspondingly switching frequency may be 120 khz , and the pwm controller 27 transmits the pwm signal to the dc - dc converter 25 via the switching frequency ( 120 khz ). the dc - dc converter 25 generates the correspondingly power such as 350 w according to the received pwm signal and outputs the correspondingly power to the motherboard 30 to make the computer system operate at the oc mode . fig3 is a schematic diagram showing a switch resistor modulation circuit in the power supply according to an embodiment of the invention . the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 is connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin of the pwm controller 27 . additionally , the switch resistor modulation circuit 29 includes a first control circuit 35 , a second control circuit 37 , and a third control circuit 39 . only one of the first switch ( sw 1 ), the second switch ( sw 2 ), and the third switch ( sw 3 ) may be triggered at the same time according to an embodiment of the invention . when the first switch ( sw 1 ) is triggered , the first control circuit 35 only provides the first switch resistor ( rt 1 ) to be connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . when the second switch ( sw 2 ) is triggered , the second control circuit 37 provides the first switch resistor ( rt 1 ) and the second switch resistor ( rt 2 ) connected in series to be connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . when the third switch ( sw 3 ) is triggered , the third control circuit 39 provides the third switch resistor ( rt 3 ) and the fourth switch resistor ( rt 4 ) connected in parallel to be connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . the equivalent resistance value of the third switch resistor ( rt 3 ) and the fourth switch resistor ( rt 4 ) connected in parallel is smaller than that of the first switch resistor ( rt 1 ). various switch resistor modulation circuits 29 with a same function may be designed by people skilled in the art according to the illustration of the embodiment in the invention . the circuit shown in fig3 is just taken as a workable example , but not used for limiting the invention . in the first control circuit 35 , when the first switch ( sw 1 ) is not triggered , an input voltage of a positive input of a first comparator ( c 1 ) is larger that of the negative input of the first comparator ( c 1 ) to make an output of the first comparator ( c 1 ) output a high level . as a result , a first bipolar junction transistor ( q 1 ), a first mos transistor ( m 1 ), and a first optical coupler ( p 1 ) is turned off , and thus a second bipolar junction transistor ( q 2 ) and a third bipolar junction transistor ( q 3 ) do not act . when the first switch ( sw 1 ) is triggered , the input voltage of the positive input of the first comparator ( c 1 ) is smaller than that of the negative input to make the output of the first comparator ( c 1 ) output a low level . consequently , the first bipolar junction transistor ( q 1 ), the first mos transistor ( m 1 ), and the first optical coupler ( p 1 ) is turned on to make the second bipolar junction transistor ( q 2 ) and the third bipolar junction transistor ( q 3 ) turned on . as a result , the first switch resistor ( rt 1 ) is connect with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . in the second control circuit 37 , when the second switch ( sw 2 ) is not triggered , the input voltage of the positive input of the second comparator ( c 2 ) is smaller than that of the negative input to make the output of the second comparator ( c 2 ) output a low level . consequently , the second mos transistor ( m 2 ) and the second optical coupler ( p 2 ) do not act , and thus the fourth bipolar junction transistor ( q 4 ) does not act . when the second switch ( sw 2 ) is triggered , the input voltage of the positive input of the second comparator ( c 2 ) is larger than that of the negative input to make the output of the second comparator ( c 2 ) output the high level . consequently , the second mos transistor ( m 2 ) and the second optical coupler ( p 2 ) are turned on to make a fourth bipolar junction transistor ( q 4 ) act . as a result , the first switch resistor ( rt 1 ) and the second switch resistor ( rt 2 ) connected in series are connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . in the third control circuit 39 , when the third switch ( sw 3 ) is not triggered , the input voltage of the positive input of the third comparator ( c 3 ) is smaller than that of the negative input to make the output of the third comparator ( c 3 ) output the low level . as a result , the third mos transistor ( m 3 ) and a third optical coupler ( p 3 ) do not act , and thus a fifth bipolar junction transistor ( q 5 ) do not act . when the third switch ( sw 3 ) is triggered , the input voltage of the positive input of the third comparator ( c 3 ) is larger than that of the negative input to make the output of the third comparator ( c 3 ) output the high level . consequently , the third mos transistor ( m 3 ) and the third optical coupler ( p 3 ) are turned on to make the fifth bipolar junction transistor ( q 5 ) act . as a result , the third switch resistor ( rt 3 ) and the fourth switch resistor ( rt 4 ) connected in parallel are connected with the vref pin and the rt / ct pin . as a result , with the power supply with the frequency conversion function used at the computer system according to the invention , the user can initiatively switch the first switch ( sw 1 ), the second switch ( sw 2 ), and the third switch ( sw 3 ) of the switch resistor modulation circuit according to different demands such as requiring better efficiency of the computer system or reducing the power consumption . then , the switch resistor modulation circuit can generate different resistance values to make the pwm controller connected with the switch resistor modulation circuit generate the correspondingly switching frequency , and the pwm signal is outputted to the dc - dc converter via the correspondingly switching frequency . as a result , the dc - dc converter can correspondingly output different power to the motherboard 30 according to the switch resistors with different the resistance values to make the computer system operate in the normal mode , the power save mode , or the over clocking mode . furthermore , the power supply with the frequency conversion function according to the invention is controlled to be in the normal mode , the power save mode , or the over clocking mode via three switches . people skilled in the art may use two switches to control the power supply with the frequency conversion function to operate in the normal mode and the power save mode or the normal mode and the over clocking mode . although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention . persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . therefore , the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above .
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referring now to the drawings , there is illustrated in fig1 a rear axle locking differential mechanism 10 , in which one or more of the side gears 12 , 14 is selectively rotationally fixed to a differential case housing 16 . the description refers to side gear 12 being secured against rotation to the left - hand case 16 , but either side gear 12 , 14 could be secured selectively to either the right - hand case 18 or the left - hand case 16 . the gear teeth of the right - hand side gear 14 are engaged with the gear teeth of one of the bevel pinions 20 . a pinion shaft 22 , which extends through the walls of case 18 , supports the bevel pinions 20 in rotation about the cylindrical surface of the pinion shaft 22 . a locking ring 24 , rotationally fixed to case 16 , can move axially within the differential case 16 . a return spring 26 , located between the locking ring 24 and a spring seat in the right - hand case 18 , provides an elastic force 29 , which keeps the locking ring 24 disengaged from the side gear 12 when an electromagnetic coil 28 , located in a coil assembly 30 , is de - energized . when coil 28 is energized , electric current flows through the coil windings producing a magnetic force , which acts on the lh differential case 16 moving the coil axially and pulling the coil towards the lh diff case 16 . three levers 32 , spaced angularly about axis 34 and located within the lh diff case 16 , are retained by a circular retainer ring 36 . the three levers 32 can each pivot about their own axis 38 , but are fixed to the lh diff case 16 in the other directions . the levers 32 contact the thrust bearing 33 at the upper cam surface 40 and the locking ring 24 at the lower cam surface 42 , the cam surfaces being formed on the levers 32 . fig3 shows the clutch actuation mechanism 44 with the coil de - energized , the air gap 45 between the coil 28 and the adjacent surface of the case 16 at a maximum , and the clutch disengaged . fig4 shows the clutch actuation mechanism 44 with the coil energized and the mechanism 44 at mid - stroke in the axial direction toward side gear 12 . fig5 shows the clutch actuation mechanism 44 with the coil energized and the mechanism 44 at the end of its engagement stroke in the fully locked state with the dog teeth 46 of locking ring 24 engaged with the dog teeth 48 of the side gear 12 . when coil 28 is energized , the coil moves toward the lh diff case 16 and its axial motion is transmitted to the locking ring 24 through the levers 32 . displacement of the locking ring 24 is a function of the coil displacement and the surface profile of the upper and lower cam surfaces 40 , 42 . displacement of the locking ring 24 is , in general , nonlinear as shown in fig7 . fig7 is a graph showing the variation of the axial force 50 generated by coil 28 as a function of coil air gap 45 , and the force 52 required by the coil to overcome the return spring force 29 . the total locking ring displacement can be significantly larger than the total coil displacement , thus a smaller initial coil air gap 45 can be used . since the initial coil air gap 45 is small , the size of the coil 28 can also be small resulting in less copper or another electric conductor . when the teeth 46 of the locking ring 24 mesh with the teeth 48 on the back face of the side gear 12 , the side gear cannot rotate with respect to the case 16 , because the locking ring is secured to the case against rotation . then the differential 10 is in a locked state . when the coil 28 is de - energized , the return spring 26 provides an axial force 29 on the locking ring 24 moving the locking ring out of meshing engagement with the side gear 12 . the return spring force 29 exerted on the coil 28 is amplified as a result of the lever multiplication obtained through the upper and lower cam surfaces 40 , 42 of the lever element . a mechanical retention feature keeps the locking ring 24 in mesh with the side gear 12 when the coil is energized . as fig8 illustrates , angled surfaces 60 , 62 are formed on each radial leg 64 of the locking ring , and angled surfaces 66 , 68 are formed on each mating recess 70 of the case 16 . the locking ring 24 is secured to case 16 against rotation by fitting each radial leg 64 in one of the recesses 70 , the differential case 16 being bolted to the vehicle structure . when torque is applied to lock ring 24 due to its engagement with the side gear 12 , contact between the inclined surfaces 60 , 62 of the locking ring 24 with inclined surfaces 66 , 68 of the case recesses 70 produces a force applied at the case and having an axial component . this axial force component keeps the lock ring teeth 46 in tight meshing engagement with the side gear teeth 48 , whenever torque is transmitted between the side gear 12 and locking ring 24 . 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 .
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the present invention is directed to a universal charge module and charging system that is capable of charging one or more batteries having different chemistries . as shown in fig1 - 3 , the basic charge module 10 of the present invention generally comprises an anton / bauer gold mount ® housing configuration . the gold mount ® housing is substantially rectangular in shape and is formed with a plurality of keyholes cut in a front surface thereof , each keyhole having an elongated ovoid or elliptical opening and a narrow depending slot . the keyholes include two upper slots 12 and a centrally located lower slot 14 disposed in a substantially triangular array for releasably attaching a battery , as described below . a positive , thumb - actuated pivoted locking mechanism 16 is also provided to selectively attach and release batteries ( not shown ) to the charge module . formed between the two upper keyholes is a connector block 18 . the connector block includes an open top recess in which two male contact terminals 20 are secured . the terminals are in the nature of banana plugs having expandable tips and a threaded shank . as best shown in fig1 , they are positioned at the bottom of the recess and connect to electrical contacts within the housing . the connector block and its operation are described in detail in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 247 , 962 and 4 , 822 , 296 , which are hereby incorporated by reference . the banana plug terminals provide a positive (+) and negative (−) circuit connection to a source of power through the charge module 10 to recharge batteries selectively attached to the charge module 10 . in operation , a battery ( not shown ) may be selectively attached to the charge module 10 by lining up posts or protrusions on the battery with the keyholes 12 , 14 of the charge module and sliding the battery so that the posts are received and secured in the depending slots of the keyholes . such a locking mechanism prevents the battery from being jarred loose and breaking the connection , both physical and electrical , with the charge module 10 . in the preferred embodiment , the universal charge module 10 is a self - contained charging device that features an on - board , 1 - 5 amp , buck / boost , dc / dc converter with voltage and current control . the charge module 10 is configured with internal power control circuitry and software that is capable of automatically identifying the type of battery and chemistry of the battery attached to the charge module . indeed , the battery , when in releasable engagement with the charge module 10 , relays its operating parameters to the charge module through the connections therebetween . the internal software , subsequent to detecting the exact battery chemistry , type , operating load , etc ., retrieves the appropriate charge profile for a battery having those parameters . the battery is then addressed with the charge routine specifically designed for that battery to reliably and safely charge the battery and optimize battery performance and service life . in this manner , the charge module 10 is capable of automatically detecting any type of battery attached thereto and specifically selecting the appropriate charge routine for that battery and applying such charge routine to the battery . an exemplary control circuit for accomplishing these features is discussed in detail below . the charge module also features a 9 - pin module interface connector 20 on the back side thereof for interfacing with a camera , charging station as described below , or other electronic device . this allows the module to detect the presence of a camera or other electronic device and switching from ac power mode to battery backup mode for ups power . the charge module further has an interface for connecting to any standard 75 , 150 or 300 - watt , 15vdc ac operated power supply 26 from which power is drawn to charge the battery attached to the module . this interface also allows the module to be connected to any standard 12v automotive based cigarette lighter type voltage source as a dedicated dc operated charger , a solar panel for remote charging , or any other available source . in any case , the internal circuitry and software will detect the nature of the incoming electrical stream and will tailor the outgoing signal to the specific charge profile of the battery . in connection with the 9 - pin module interface connector 20 , the universal charge module 10 also features module to module communications for identifying power supply sizes as well as the number of modules attached to a charge system , as described in detail below , so that the charge current per charge station can be automatically calculated . simultaneous versus sequential charge decisions can also be transmitted from module to module . moreover , the universal charge module 10 includes an on - board 5 - pin usb programming connector 22 , which allows the software installed on the charge module to be updated remotely . as will be readily appreciated , new battery systems that utilize multiple chemistries , charge regimes and cutoff methodologies are continually upgraded and designed by various manufacturers . these new battery systems often trigger software changes to existing products . with the 5 - pin usb connector / interface 22 , end users may connect the charge module 10 to a computer and access the internet to download the latest version of software or software updates directly to the charge module 10 so that the charge module is capable of safely and reliably charging any existing or future rechargeable battery . in the preferred embodiment , the universal charge module also features an on - board led display 24 for local charge status indication . both red and green led indicators may be used to indicate charge status , such as charging , fully charged , or not charging . the charge module also includes an on - board red and green led connector for remote led circuit board interface , as described below . additionally , the charge module may include a batt - or circuit for providing power down backup of battery and charger information in certain charger configurations , as discussed below . the charge module may also feature a battery (+) output for providing a means to add a 2 amp smart discharge interface . a schematic diagram of the universal charge module 10 attached to a power supply 26 is shown in fig5 . the charge module 10 of the present invention may be physically incorporated into cameras so that the charge module is in electrical communication with the camera circuitry . to this end , the charge module also includes a standard camera communications and anton / bauer afg interface for transmitting fuel gauge information to a camera to which it is attached , as best shown in fig5 . moreover , the charge module 10 also features a camera power output for detecting the presence of a camera and switching from ac power mode to battery backup mode for ups , or uninterruptible power supply , as discussed below . in yet another embodiment , as shown in fig6 , a smart lcd board 50 may be placed in electrical communication with either a stand - alone charge module 10 or may be interfaced with a base platform as part of a multi - position , multi - battery charger , as discussed in detail below . the smart lcd 50 interfaces with one or more charge modules 10 to display charge and discharge status information , as well as remote led indications . a usb / printer port 52 may also be connected to the smart lcd board 50 for supplying detailed discharge test information , controlling charge and discharge remotely , and obtaining detailed battery data . as with the charge module , the smart lcd board 50 , through the usb interface 52 , may obtain charge / discharge control and data over any standard ip connection . preferably , the smart lcd board 50 has a 2 line , 24 character , blue background , white foreground , backlit display 54 or full color graphics display . the smart lcd board 50 may also have test and display buttons 56 , 58 for scrolling text , selecting discharge tests , and toggling between different batteries if the batteries are connected to the smart lcd 50 as part of a multi - position system . the smart lcd 50 further has an 8 - channel communications interface 60 for communicating with up to 8 charge modules , creating an up to 8 - station charger . in addition , the smart lcd board 50 may have remote leds 62 for indicating charge status in lieu of the local charge module based leds 24 described above . alternatively , or in addition to the smart lcd board based leds 62 , the smart lcd board is capable of firing the local charge module based leds 24 remotely . moreover , as with the charge module 10 itself , the smart lcd board 50 may include a mini , 5 - pin programming connector 64 for simple software updates . the smart lcd board may also include a smart discharger communications port 66 for controlling and extracting discharge information from a smart discharge module . additionally , the smart lcd board 50 may also include a batt - or input 68 for providing power down charge status information . it will be readily appreciated that features may be optionally left off of the smart lcd board 50 to accommodate many different charger configurations . for example , the remote leds 62 may be included , but the lcd , discharger , pushbuttons , power down and usb printer capability left off . in essence , the charge module 10 and smart lcd board 50 of the present invention allows an end user to basically build a custom charging system with as few or as many charging stations and peripheral lcd board features as he or she desires . as alluded to above , in another embodiment , the charge module 10 may be interfaced with a standard anton / bauer or general base platform and power supply via the 9 - pin connector 20 . importantly , numerous charge modules may be interfaced with a base platform and power supply 26 to form an up to eight - position battery charger . this modularity allows an end user to build a battery charging system to accommodate however many batteries , of the same or different chemistry , as desired . in connection with the above , fig5 and 7 - 12 show examples of various charge module and charging system configurations for single and multi - position chargers that are possible with the charge module 10 and smart lcd board 50 of the present invention . it will be readily appreciated that numerous other configurations may be possible as well . while it is preferred that a 15vdc , 75 , 150 or 300 - watt power supply 26 be used in connection with the present invention , it should be appreciated that other power supply sizes of greater than 300 - watts and less than 75 - watts can be utilized . it will also be appreciated that numerous charger / battery combinations can be designed utilizing the charge module architecture with different style battery configurations . for example , as discussed above , fig5 shows the basic single station charge module 10 of the present invention connected to a power supply 26 . fig7 shows a 2 - position charging system 90 having one of the charge modules 10 in electrical communication with a video camera 100 . in this embodiment , the charging system is capable of operating as a dc power supply once a camera 100 or other device is connected and turned on . this unique system functions by separating the gold mount ® device from the power supply , allowing a user to simultaneously charge a battery and power a camera . when a 75 watt draw is exceeded , the system automatically stops charging and performs solely as a 150 watt power supply . when the camera is turned off or the load is reduced below 75 watts , the system 90 instantly resumes normal operation , as a simultaneous charger / power supply . fig8 shows a 2 - position charging system 70 hooked up to a power supply 26 . in this embodiment , the charging system 70 is capable of charging two batteries simultaneously , even if the batteries have different chemistries , as discussed above . an additional embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically in fig9 . in this embodiment , a 4 - position charging system 120 is disclosed . the charging system 120 is connected to a single power supply and is capable of simultaneously charging four batteries having the same or different chemistries , as discussed above . the system 120 disclosed in this embodiment is advantageous in that it allows a user to continuously cycle batteries over an extended period of time , such as all day shooting . fig1 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention . as shown therein , this charging system 130 features a dual position charger and smart lcd board 50 connected to a power supply 26 . turning now to fig1 , fig1 shows a four position charging system 140 having a smart lcd board 50 and a power supply 26 , according to yet another embodiment of the present invention . similar to fig1 , fig1 shows a four position charging system 150 having a smart lcd board 50 and a power supply 26 . in addition , charging system 150 has a smart discharger 152 in communication therewith , as described above . turning now to fig1 - 17 , a number of matrices showing various off - the - shelf power supply sizes coupled with various charge module configurations and the resultant available charge current and charge times per station are shown . in addition , fig1 - 20 show an exemplary remote charger control protocol in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , as alluded to above . fig2 - 23 illustrates one embodiment of the charge module control circuitry . in particular , fig2 - 23 illustrate exemplary charge module control circuitry for a four - position charging station , such as that shown schematically in fig9 , as discussed above . as will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , alterations in the configuration of the circuitry shown in fig2 - 23 are certainly possible without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention . although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed description , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of this disclosure .
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by way of overview and introduction , the present invention concerns a method and apparatus for engaging in a variety of strength building and cardiovascular developing exercises . the present invention is further directed at an apparatus that uses a modifiable low friction surface ( s ) to allow the user to simulate various gliding and sliding exercises . as seen in fig1 , the present invention provides for an exercise apparatus 100 that assists in the performance of low friction exercises , such as simulations of skating and gliding . the exercise apparatus 100 incorporates a base 102 . the base 102 is configured to have sufficient dimensions to accept a human user &# 39 ; s extremity , such as a hand or foot . in the depicted embodiment , the base 102 is roughly oval in form . however , the depicted embodiment in no way limits the potential dimensions of the base . in an alternative arrangement , the base device is triangular or rhomboid in dimensions with no diminishment of functionality . in an embodiment of the present invention , the base 102 is formed out of high impact , molded plastic . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that other materials are suitable for the construction of the base 102 . for example , various metals , synthetic materials , natural materials , and composite materials are all suitable for construction of the base portion of the present invention . the base 102 possesses a top surface 106 and a bottom surface 108 ( fig2 ). in the preferred embodiment , the base 102 is placed so that the bottom surface 108 is in contact with a level ground surface 101 , such as a floor , carpet , tile , or other horizontal surface that can support the user &# 39 ; s weight . in specific alterations of the present base 102 , the base is modified to accept a prosthetic or surgically altered appendage , such as possessed by an amputee . the base 102 of the device can be altered in size and / or configuration to accept those appendages without loss of the core functionality . the base is equipped with a restraint 104 that allows for the extremity to be secured against excessive forward and backward movement . in the depicted embodiment , the restraint 104 covers approximately half of the base of the device . in this configuration forward movement of the extremity beyond the edges of the base is prevented . the restraint 104 allows a user to control the movement of the device and effectuate the desired exercises without fear of slipping off the base 102 . the top surface of the base 106 is optionally equipped with a series of ridges or arrestors ( not shown ) which aid in channeling sweat and / or fluid away from the top surface . in yet a further embodiment , the top surface is also coated with a high friction substance that prevents the movement of the user &# 39 ; s extremity independent of the base 102 . for example , the top surface is coated with an abrasive or undulating material that provides increased friction between the extremity and the top surface . the bottom surface 108 of the base 102 , as shown in fig2 , can be formed as a separate part that is attached to the base 102 or as a surface that is integral to the base . in the depicted embodiment , the bottom surface of the base 108 has a convex shape relative to the overall base 102 as shown in fig5 . for instance , the bottom surface is curved 103 such that only a portion of the bottom surface 108 is in direct contact with the floor surface 101 at any given time . as further illustrated in fig2 the bottom surface 108 , whether convex shape or otherwise , is equipped with or formed of , a low friction substance 205 . for example , the bottom surface 108 is coated with teflon ® or teflon ®- like compound that reduces friction . alternatively , those skilled in the art would appreciate that the bottom surface can be constructed from alternative substances or coated with substances that significantly decrease the friction encountered when placed in contact with another flat surface , i . e . a floor 101 . as seen in fig3 , in an alternative arrangement , the bottom surface 108 is only partially equipped with a low friction coating 205 . alternatively , when only a portion of the bottom surface 108 is equipped with a low friction substance 205 , the other portions are equipped with no coating or a high friction coating 207 . the high friction coating or surface 207 can be either an application to the surface 108 or an engineered structure on surface 108 . for example , the high friction surface can be formed of a series of ridges or nodules built into the surface that increase surface contact with a floor surface 101 . in a particular embodiment of the apparatus , when the bottom surface 108 is convex in shape ( like that in fig5 ), a user is able to selectively apply pressure to different areas of the exercise device , thereby selectively engaging either the low - friction portions 205 or the high or normal friction portions 207 , depending on the particular activity desired . as seen in fig4 , the exercise device 100 is equipped with an anchor 202 for attaching an elastic band or cable 304 . in the illustrated embodiment , the anchor 202 is configured as a loop of material that is integral to the base 102 of the exercise device . in an alternative arrangement , the anchor 202 is a separate device that is joined to the base by adhesive or fasteners . in a further arrangement , the anchor is a recessed or extruded portion of the base 102 that is configured to accept an elastic chord 304 . the elastic chord 304 is equipped to connect at least two exercise devices 100 together such that they are coupled to one another via the elastic chord 304 . by combining multiple exercise devices together via elastic chords 304 , resistive strength building exercises can be performed . in an alternative arrangement the elastic chord 304 is connected on one end to the base device 102 , and on another end to a stationary object ( not shown ), such as an item of furniture . in yet another arrangement , the elastic chord 304 is attached to an extremity that is not currently engaged with an exercise device 100 , such as an ankle or a wrist . in an alternative embodiment , several exercise devices 100 are linked to one another via multiple elastic cables 304 . additionally , multiple elastic cables are employed to increase the resistance generated by the elastic cable 304 . also seen in fig4 , are the preferred placements of the user extremities 306 . fig5 depicts another alternative embodiment of the device described wherein the base 102 is equipped with a plurality of expandable cells 502 . the cells 502 are located on the surface of the convex - shaped base 102 and are coated or formed of a material having a high coefficient of friction . the cells 502 are in communication with an expanding device ( not shown ) integral to the exercise device 100 and preferably located within the base 102 . upon activation of the expanding device , the cells inflate or otherwise expand outwards , thereby extending beyond the bottom surface 108 of the base 102 . once extended , the bladders provide a sufficient high - friction surface area so as to prevent movement of the exercise device 100 over the surface 101 . thus , selective exercises can be undertaken without the fear of slippage . in this embodiment the device is equipped with a handle 504 that incorporates a control device . the handle / control device 504 allows for securely holding the device while positioning a trigger or switch ( not shown ) that activates the expanding device . in a specific embodiment , a pump mechanism 505 is co - extensive with the handle so that the pump directs a working fluid ( air , water etc .) into the cells causing them to expand by repeatedly squeezing of the handle . in yet a further embodiment , the pump has a release valve trigger that is also co - extensive with the handle . both inflating and deflating the cells can be accomplished with the same hand that is gripping the particular device . alternative expanding devices , such as solenoids or springs are also envisioned . those skilled in the art will appreciate the various means for expanding and contracting the cells 502 so described . as shown in fig6 , the cover 104 can be formed in multiple or separate pieces . furthermore , it is possible to have the cover 104 configured to be customizable to a given orientation . for example , by way on non - limiting example , the cover or covers can be replaced by specialty covers designed for a particular exercise or purpose . similarly , the covers can be arranged in different orientations given whether the device will operate as a foot device or hand device . the present invention provides a method for employing the above described elements so as to ensure that any number of general or specific strength building , cardiovascular , or resistance training exercises can be undertaken in any location , so long as that location is equipped with a flat surface capable of supporting the weight of the user . by way of non - limiting example , the device so described is capable of assisting the user in performing the following exercises : stationary mountain climbers ; moving mountain climbers ; feet pendulums ; frog movements ; hand and / or foot circles ; sideways slides ; sideways slides with pushups ; scissors ; jack knife ; tricep slide ; tricep slide with foot extension ; chair pushup and slide ; chest fly ; standing lunges : forward , side or backward ; standing lunges with squat ; swimmer crawl ; backward mountain climbers ; elevated chair feet scissors ; elevated chair scissors with pushup ; buddy wheel barrel ; ice skater ( standing ); fly and pushup combination ; standing foot slide ; alternate swimmer ( hands then feet ); and oblique slide ( one side at a time ). the method of the present invention includes a securing step , wherein the desired amount of devices are secured to the extremities for example , a user can secure a device to one or both feet and / or a device to one or both hands . under the circumstances wherein the user has secured multiple devices , the methodology includes a step of positioning the user and devices over a clear flat surface such as a floor or platform . once the proper position has been determined , the additional steps as described below can be undertaken . in situations where there are multiple devices the positioning step is repeated for each device . in the event that the device is equipped with elastic cabling or chords , an additional attachment step if provided . if the user only employs one device then the chord is secured to a stable object or to another extremity . for example , the strap can be secured to a door handle , item of furniture or to the wrist or ankle of the extremity not engaged with a device . after the position for exercising has been determined , and the optional securing step has been completed the user is free to engage in any number of exercises designed to enhance heath and conditioning . this exercise includes the step of moving the device with little resistance over the flat surface due to the low friction properties of the device . in the event that the user is employing an alternative arrangement of the device that incorporates low and high friction sections ( as in fig3 or 5 ) there is an additional step of shifting the device so that only the high or low friction surfaces are in direct contact with the floor surface . in this way , a stationary pivot point is provided for one of the users extremities . it should be understood that various combination , alternatives and modifications of the present invention could be devised by those skilled in the art . the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
| 0 |
fig1 shows an example of a structure of a light recording medium according to the present invention , wherein 1 is a substrate and 2 is a recording layer . the substrate 1 is composed of a synthetic resin or glass , its thickness is e . g . 1 . 5 mm or so in the case of a disc and 20 μm or so in the case of a tape , and it supports the recording layer 2 provided on at least one surface thereof . the recording layer 2 incorporates an organic dye as a light absorber in a base material , and more particularly , it also incorporates a surface lubricating material and a deforming agent . as the base material , there may be employed , for example , nitrocellulose , nylon , abs resins etc . the organic dye as the light absorber is not a single dye but a mixture of dyes having different light absorbing wavelengths from each other . this mixed dye is not of a multi - layered structure of dyes but is a uniform mixture of a plurality of dyes . ______________________________________ wavelength ( nm ) ______________________________________semiconductor laser 830 , 780 & amp ; 750helium - neon laser 633argon laser 515 & amp ; 488helium - cadmium laser 442 & amp ; 325______________________________________ and thus can be thought to substantially be present in the range of 400 - 900 nm . and , the light absorptivity varies depending on the organic dye incorporated , and as will be demonstrated by the experimental examples hereinbelow described , when dyes having different wavelengths from each other are mixed , the absorbing characteristics of the mixed dye is the sum of those of the respective dyes . therefore , by choosing the dyes , it is now possible to provide a recording medium having uniform light absorbing characteristics having no wavelength dependency in the above - described wavelength range . dyes for constituting the above mixed dye are desirably those exemplified in tables i , ii and iii given below , and they have been experimentally confirmed by the present inventors to be effective as light absorbers . table i shows dyes having a maximum light absorbing wavelength in the light wavelength range of 400 - 590 nm , table ii shows those in 590 - 750 nm and table iii shows those in 750 - 900 nm . it should be noted that they do not mean that each dye is chosen from each table to constitute a mixed dye but mean that a plurality of dyes are freely chosen to constitute a mixed dye which satisfies the above - described wavelength range . further , in order to achieve accurate writing as a light recording medium , it is desirable for it to have a light absorptivity of 80 % or more in the above wavelength range . however , since , as a practical problem , the absorptivity can easily fluctuate by e . g . the thickness of the recording layer etc ., ± 10 % is allowed as a variation for absorptivity , that is , a variation of ± 10 % is given to this 80 % as the center . therefore , on constituting a recording layer , dyes and the number and mixing ratio of the dyes to be mixed are chosen so as to satisfy these requisites . the mixing ratio is determined by the absorptivity coefficients of the chosen dyes . table i______________________________________light wavelength of 400 - 590 nm maximum wave - lengthdye ( nm ) ______________________________________solvent yellow 114 ( colour index ) 450solvent yellow 105 ( colour index ) 450solvent orange 78 ( colour index ) 450solvent orange 68 ( colour index ) 480solvent orange 71 ( colour index ) 500solvent orange 72 ( colour index ) 440solvent red 176 ( colour index ) 500solvent red 155 ( colour index ) 5202 &# 39 ;, 7 &# 39 ;- dichlorofluorescein 512rhodamine 110 ( commercial name , produced by 510eastman kodak co .) rhodamine 116 perchlorate ( commercial name , 525produced by eastman kodak co .) rhodamine 123 ( commercial name , produced by 511eastman kodak co .) solvent violet 33 ( colour index ) 580solvent blue 90 ( colour index ) 590oleosol fast black bl ( commercial name , pro - 580duced by sumitomo chemical co .) oleosol fast red bl ( commercial name , produced 520by sumitomo chemical co .) ______________________________________ table ii______________________________________light wavelength of 590 - 750 nm maximum wavelengthdye ( nm ) ______________________________________solvent blue 83 ( colour index ) 590disperse blue 5 ( colour index ) 635disperse blue 6 ( colour index ) 634disperse blue 7 ( colour index ) 623solvent blue 36 ( colour index ) 590 & amp ; 640solvent blue 11 ( colour index ) 608 & amp ; 652solvent green 3 ( colour index ) 640solvent blue 73 ( colour index ) 620solvent blue 55 ( colour index ) 610solvent black 22 ( colour index ) 600aizen spilon blue gnh ( commercial name , pro - 664duced by hodogaya chemical co .) aizen spilon blue 2 bnh ( commercial name , 670 & amp ; 630produced by hodogaya chemical co .) solvent blue 70 ( colour index ) 675oil color black by ( commercial name , produced 590by orient chemical co .) oil color black hbb ( commercial name , pro - 600duced by orient chemical co .) oil color black # 803 ( commercial name , pro - 645 & amp ; 595duced by orient chemical co .) oil color blue 603 ( commercial name , produced 635 & amp ; 534by orient chemical co .) ______________________________________ table iii______________________________________light wavelength of 750 - 900 nm maximum wavelengthdye ( nm ) ______________________________________ir - 140 ( commercial name , produced by 823eastman kodak co .) 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- diethylthiatricarbocyanine perchlorate 7731 , 1 &# 39 ;, 3 , 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, 3 &# 39 ;- hexamethyl - 4 , 4 &# 39 ;, 5 , 5 &# 39 ;- dibenzo - 7822 , 2 &# 39 ;- indocarbocyanine perchlorateir - 125 ( commercial name , produced by 795eastman kodak co .) ndl - 114 ( commercial name , produced by 800nippon kank - o shikiso co .) nk - 125 ( commercial name , produced by 760nippon kank - o shikiso co .) pa - 1002 ( commercial name , produced by mitsui 895toatsu chemicals inc .) pa - 1003 ( commercial name , produced by mitsui 885toatsu chemicals inc .) ______________________________________ fig2 - 7 set forth the experimental examples for confirming the effectiveness of the above - described light recording medium . fig2 shows the measured values of the transmittance of oil color blue 603 ( commercial name , produced by orient chemical co .) incorporated in nitrocellulose at a ratio by weight of 1 : 10 against wavelengths . as is clear from the figure , the transmittance reaches the minimum in the vicinity of 640 nm in wavelength . fig3 shows the measured values of the transmittance of nk - 125 ( commercial name , produced by nippon kanko shikiso co .) incorporated in nitrocellulose at a ratio by weight of 1 : 10 against wavelengths . in this case , the transmittance reaches the minimum in the vicinity of 760 nm in wavelength . therefore , by mixing oil color blue 603 and nk - 125 , a mixed dye showing a transmittance having minimum values in the vicinities of 640 nm and 760 nm in wavelength may be obtained . this is shown in fig4 . fig4 shows the transmittance of that obtained by incorporating oil color blue 603 and nk - 125 into nitrocellulose at a ratio by weight of 3 : 1 : 10 . as is clear from the figure , it can be seen that by making the transmittance in the vicinity of 700 nm in wavelength smaller , a flat transmittance over 590 - 790 nm or so in wavelength will be obtained . fig5 shows the transmittance of solvent blue 70 ( oleosol fast blue el ) incorporated in nitrocellulose at a ratio by weight of 1 : 10 . since this dye has a maximum light absorbing wavelength intermediate between those of the above two dyes , the transmittance curve of fig4 is made flat by a mixed dye of these three dyes . fig6 shows the transmittance where oil color blue 603 , nk - 125 and solvent blue 70 are incorporated in nitrocellulose at a ratio of 3 : 1 : 1 : 10 . as shown in the figure , it can be seen that a light absorptivity of 80 % or more is obtained over 580 - 800 nm or so in wavelength . therefore , it is evident that it is possible to widen the wavelength range by further incorporating other dyes . fig7 shows an experimental example in which a medium was constituted so as to be applicable to the wavelengths of the above - described various laser lights and the transmittance of that obtained by incorporating oleosol fast red bl , oleosol fast blue el , oil color blue 603 , nk - 125 and pa 1003 into nitro - cellulose at a ratio by weight of 7 . 5 : 1 : 3 : 1 . 5 : 1 . 5 : 16 . 5 was measured . it can be seen that light absorbing characteristics having no wavelength dependency over 400 - 900 nm in wavelength are obtained . therefore , according to the present invention , there may be obtained an organic based light recording medium which can accurately write information and also can accommodate to the progress of the future development of semiconductor lasers . further , it is also possible to employ a dye having a high refractive index as at least one among the dyes to be mixed , and by this , the reflectance of the recording layer is controlled , thereby providing a recording medium also excellent in reading information . as have been described above , according to the present invention , a plurality of dyes having light absorbing wavelengths different from each other are used in a recording layer to give uniform absorbing characteristics over a wide wavelength range , thereby providing an organic based light recording medium which functions effectively for various lasers .
| 8 |
fig1 illustrates a side view of a cable drum 2 of a hoisting device . the cable drum is supported rotatable on its axis 4 . at the other end of the cable drum 2 is arranged a drum brake 6 of the present invention . the drum brake 6 is activated to stop the cable drum 2 when the speed of the cable drum and thus the speed of the load hanging on the rope of the hoisting device exceeds a predetermined speed limit . in practice the speed limit of the peripheral velocity of the cable drum is 15 - 40 m / min . fig2 illustrates a cross sectional view along lines 11 -- 11 in fig1 . the drum brake 6 consists of three ratchet wheels 8 , 9 and 10 having teeth on their outer surface . the ratchet wheels encircle the brake drum 3 , which is coaxial with the cable drum and connected to it or is a structural part of the cable drum . the ratchet wheels almost entirely surround the brake drum 3 . each ratchet wheel 8 , 9 , 10 is open and its end 12 are connected to its other end 14 with a screw 16 . between the screw 16 and the other end 14 of the ratchet wheel is installed a spring 18 to provide a suitable pressing force between the ratchet wheel 8 and the brake drum 3 . respectively the ends of the ratchet wheels 9 and 10 are connected together with screws . each ratchet wheel 8 , 9 , 10 has teeth 20 , 22 and 24 respectively on its outer cylinder surface and there are slots between the teeth in every ratchet wheel . the ratchet wheels are essentially similar and their teeth are divided in a similar way but the teeth of the ratchet wheel 8 are transferred a distance 26 from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 9 and further the teeth of the ratchet wheel 9 are transferred a distance 26 from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 10 . the inner surface 28 of the ratchet wheel is lined with a brake lining 30 . the other side of the lining 30 is against the brake drum 3 . as illustrated in fig3 which is a cross sectional view along line 111 -- 111 of the fig2 the ratchet wheels 8 , 9 and 10 and their brake linings are parallel on the brake drum 2 . for triggering of the drum brake , a trigger mechanism 32 is arranged near the teeth of the ratchet wheels 8 , 9 , 10 . the trigger mechanism 32 comprises a body part 34 , a trigger member 36 installed movably therein and a spring 38 . the trigger member 36 is kept by an electromagnet 37 in its inactivated position as shown in the fig2 . when the speed of the cable drum exceeds a predetermined speed limit which is detected e . g . by a tachometer 5 arranged on the axis 4 of the cable drum , the electromagnet 37 is released by a control unit 40 with a signal via a conductor 42 and the trigger member 36 is moved towards the ratchet wheels by the spring 38 and into the slots between teeth thus causing the stopping of the ratchet wheels . in the embodiment of fig2 the ratchet wheel 10 will be stopped first and its brake lining begins to brake with a moment defined by the spring 18 of the ratchet wheel 10 . at the triggering moment the braking moment will be a little greater because of the fact that the static moment is greater than the dynamic friction moment . after a delay the second ratchet wheel 9 will be locked and further after another delay the ratchet wheel 8 will be locked thus causing an increase of the braking moment when the braking surface increases . the delay depends on the phase difference of the ratchet wheels and the speed of the cable drum . the parts of the hoisting equipment , like the hoisting ropes , are dimensioned to bear a force which effects when a nominal load is decelerated from the said speed limit in a certain time . as this safety means is to fulfill this deceleration requirement the starting moment in the beginning of the braking will be always lower than the dimensioned moment because only a part of the braking moment is used in the beginning . however , the full moment will be reached almost immediately after triggering the brake . in a normal case the static , i . e . detaching moment is about 30 - 40 % greater than the dynamic moment which is defined by the spring 18 . the brake may be unused for a long time , even for years , and then the static moment can be much higher , even 70 - 120 % greater than the dynamic moment because of corrosion or other age depending factors . in a very advantageous embodiment of the invention , identical ratchet wheels are used forming a modular structure . the number of ratchet wheels is defined case by case according to the required braking moment . the ratchet wheels can also differ from each other in their width and braking surface . also , the springs of the ratchet wheels can be different and the phase difference between the parallel ratchet wheels may be adjustable . the number of the ratchet wheels and their structure may have several alternatives within the scope of the present invention . the triggering mechanism can be actuated electrically or mechanically or other different ways depending on the speed of the cable drum or lifting rope . the embodiments of the invention may also differ from the above in other respects and the full scope is defined by the following claims .
| 1 |
referring now to fig4 a decision feedback equalizer 130 with adaptive decision correction according to the preferred embodiment of the invention includes some of the components of a prior art dfe which are indicated with reference numerals similar to those shown in fig2 and 3 but incremented by 100 . thus , the dfe 130 includes a feed - forward finite impulse response ( fir ) equalizer 132 , first and second summers 134 , 136 , a reference generator 137 and decision block 138 , and a feedback fir equalizer 140 . the feed - forward fir provides a feedforward equalized component ( rff ) to the summer 134 which is compared to the feedback equalized component ( rfb ) provided by the feedback fir 140 to provide an equalized estimated symbol ( r ). this estimated symbol ( r ) is provided to the second summer 136 which is also coupled ( via multiplier 152 ) to the output of a reference generator 137 which generates a reference ( known ) sequence ( tk ). in accord with the invention , periodic gain coefficients ( 1 + g ) are applied at multiplier 152 to the sequence ( tk ) to provide remodulated symbols ( t rm k ) which are fed as a sequence to the summer 136 . these remodulated symbols ( t rm k ) are also fed to the feedback fir 140 . the remodulated reference sequence ( t rm k ) is compared at the second summer 136 to the estimated symbol ( r ) to provide an error ( e g ) which is used as feedback in order to update the equalizer tap coefficients 131 ( cff ) and 139 ( cfb ) of the firs 132 and 140 . according to the invention , the error ( e g ) is also used as an input to the rbs estimator and decision modulator 150 ( which also receives an input ( r ) from summer 134 or an input t rm k from multiplier 152 ). once the training has been accomplished , instead of utilizing the reference generator 137 to provide the sequence tk , a decision block 138 is used to generate the sequence tk . thus , switch 161 is used to switch from the reference generator 137 to the decision block 138 . the decision block 138 utilizes the equalized estimated symbol ( r ) in making its decision as is well known in the art . in order to better understand the basic operations of the rbs estimator and decision modulator 150 , the periodic application of gain gj ( k ) to symbols tk to obtain remodulated symbols t rm k can be illustrated as a synchronously rotating commutator as shown in fig5 . the commutator diagram shown in fig5 shows three synchronously rotating switches 160 , 162 , 164 each of which has six positions j = 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 , 0 , each position referring to a time slot in the 6 * t period of an unknown rbs pattern . as illustrated in fig5 all of the switches are at the position j = 5 when the incoming stream of training symbols tk is at the start of a six symbol rbs pattern or frame . thus , the symbol sampled at switch 160 when it is in the first position j = 5 is labelled t ( 6k - 5 ). the gain coefficient applied to this symbol is selected at switch 162 which is synchronously at the same j = 5 position . the gain coefficient at this position is labelled [ 1 + g5 ( 6k - 5 )] and represents the gain coefficient which will be repeatedly applied to each t ( 6k - 5 ). switch 164 represents the remodulated symbols t rm k , each of which is calculated by multiplying the respective symbol tj ( k ) by the respective gain coefficient gj ( k ). it will therefore be understood that the rbs estimator and decision modulator 150 will generate a repeating pattern of six gain coefficients which are synchronized with the stream of training symbols in order to adjust the amplitude of the locally generated training symbols to match the rbs - altered amplitude of the symbols in the received signal stream r . when the locally generated training symbols are so remodulated , the dfe is permitted to correctly adjust the tap coefficients by comparing the estimated signal r with the remodulated reference signal t rm k which has now been adjusted to compensate for the effects of rbs on the estimated signal r . therefore , the tap coefficients for the symbols which have been affected by rbs are set differently than they would have been set were it not for the remodulation of the locally generated training symbols . the decision modulator 150 , according to the invention , operates adaptively to estimate the rbs pattern and assign the appropriate gain coefficients to each slot in the repeating rbs frame . as mentioned above , according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention , the adaptive decision remodulator calculates gain according to where gj . sub . ( 6 ( k + 1 )- j ) is a value of the j th decimated remodulation gain predicted for the time 6 ( k + 1 )- j , gj . sub . ( 6k - j ) is the current value of the j th decimated remodulation gain for the time 6k - j , μj is an adaptation constant for the j th gain , r . sub . ( 6k - j ) is the current value of the equalized ( estimated ) symbol , and e . sub . ( 6k - j ) is the current decision error using the current t rm . sub . ( 6k - j ). the adaptation constant μj is appropriately chosen as is known in the art . these gain coefficients are applied iteratively to repeating frames of symbols tk from the reference generator in order to generate remodulated values of t rm k according to each time a symbol tk is remodulated , a new error e is generated at the second summer 136 in fig4 according to each error e is used in equation ( 1 ) above to recalculate the gain coefficients for each j th slot in the rbs frame . the interaction of the equations ( 1a ) or ( 1b ) through ( 3 ) is shown diagrammatically in fig6 a and 6b which represent the application of the equations to each j th slot in the rbs frame . turning now to fig6 a , according to a first embodiment , the gain ( g ) for the j th slot of the rbs frame is added to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at 170a to provide a gain coefficient which is multiplied by the current training symbol ( t ) at 172a to produce a remodulated training symbol ( t rm ) which is subtracted from the equalized symbol ( r ) at 174a . the &# 34 ; summing &# 34 ; ( which takes place at the summer 136 in fig4 ) produces the decision error ( e ) which is used to calculate the predicted gain for the next iteration of the j th slot of the rbs frame . the error ( e ) is multiplied by the symbol ( r ) at 176a and this product is multiplied by the adaptation constant ( μ ) for this j th slot at 178a . the product created at 178a is then added to the present gain ( g ) at 180a to produce the gain for the next occurrence of this j th slot in the rbs frame at 182a . the accumulated set of six gains is stored at a buffer 184a ( such as a fifo ) which produces the current gain for summation at 170a and 180a based on the last predicted gain which is provided at 182a . turning to fig6 b , in an alternative preferred embodiment , the gain ( g ) for the j th slot of the rbs frame is added to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at 170b to provide a gain coefficient which is multiplied by the current training symbol ( t ) at 172b to produce a remodulated training symbol ( t rm ) which is subtracted from the equalized symbol ( r ) at 174b . the &# 34 ; summing &# 34 ; ( which takes place at the summer 136 in fig4 ) produces the decision error ( e ) which is used to calculate the predicted gain for the next iteration of the j th slot of the rbs frame . the error ( e ) is multiplied by the remodulated symbol ( t rm 6k - j ) at 176b and this product is multiplied by the adaptation constant ( μ ) for this j th slot at 178b . the product created at 178b is then added to the present gain ( g ) at 180b to produce the gain for the next occurrence of this j th slot in the rbs frame at 182b . the accumulated set of six gains is stored at a buffer 184b ( such as a fifo ) which produces the current gain for summation at 170b and 180b based on the last predicted gain which is provided at 182b . it will be appreciated that when the decision modulator is initialized , there are no gain values available for application to the summer 170a or 170b . according to the presently preferred embodiment of the invention , the buffer 184a or 184b is initially filled with six zeros . it will also be appreciated that the operations shown in fig6 are carried out independently for each of the six slots ( j = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 0 ) in the rbs frame . it will further be appreciated that these operations are carried out for k = n iterations of the rbs frame until the stream of symbols ( r ) has been adequately equalized . it will be understood that each slot j in the repeating frame may have a different gain coefficient . from frame to frame , however , the repeating gain coefficient applied to each particular slot j should become relatively constant . thus , after iteratively adjusting slot gains for n frames , the system should equalize with a constant repeating pattern of gain coefficients which may then be applied to the output of the decision block . it should be appreciated that the main precondition for the engagement of the adaptive decision modulator is that the equalizer has first reached a certain level of equalization prior to introducing the adaptive decision modulator into the loop ( i . e ., another switch , not shown , may be provided and used to bypass the rbs estimator and decision modulator ). for the type of impairments introduced by rbs , the steady state signal - to - noise ratio ( snr ) obtained by the dfe prior to introducing the adaptive decision modulator into the loop may be quite low ( e . g ., 21 db ). under these circumstances no further reduction in mse ( mean squared error ) is possible unless the adaptive decision modulator is introduced into the loop . however , using the adaptive decision modulator of the invention , the final equalizer coefficient solution substantially eliminates the affects of rbs . turning to fig7 the pcm modem equalizer of the invention is shown using a more generic &# 34 ; adaptive equalizer &# 34 ; 301 instead of a dfe . in fig7 components which are similar to those shown in fig4 are incremented by 100 . thus , incoming signals are received by the adaptive equalizer 201 which outputs an equalized estimated symbol ( r ). the estimated symbol r is fed to a decision block 238 , to a summer 236 , and , according to one embodiment , to the rbs estimator and decision modulator 250 . from the estimated symbol r , the decision block 238 generates a sequence of output decisions tk ( it being appreciated that during training , instead of the decision block 238 being utilized , a reference generator is utilized to provide tk ). the output decisions tk are multiplied by the output ( 1 + g ) of the rbs estimator and decision modulator 250 to provide remodulated symbols t rm k . differences between the remodulated symbols ( t rm k ) and the estimated symbols ( r ) are taken at the summation block 236 to generate error values ( e g ), and the error values are fed back to the adaptive equalizer 201 and the rbs estimator and decision modulator 250 . as can be seen from fig7 ( as well as fig4 - 6 ), the rbs estimator and decision modulator 250 utilizes the error values ( e g ) as well as either the estimated symbols ( r ) or the remodulated symbols t rm k in generating a gain ( g ). there have been described and illustrated herein a pcm modem equalizer with adaptive compensation for robbed bit signalling . while particular embodiments of the invention have been described , it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto , as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise . thus , while the invention has been described as being typically implemented in a dsp of the modem , it will be appreciated that different hardware and / or software can be utilized . indeed , the invention can be implemented as part of a &# 34 ; soft - modem &# 34 ;. also , while particular block diagrams were provided , it will be appreciated that the invention can be implemented using different equivalent blocks . thus , instead of a 6 * t fifo buffer , other types of buffers could be utilized . in fact , in certain circumstances , different buffers will be required . for example , in certain circumstances , particulars of the network cause an asymmetry in the translation of positive levels and negative levels . where this asymmetry is present , separate positive and negative corrective gains must be determined for each of the six slots , thereby requiring effectively twelve gain adjustments ( g ) to be determined . thus , the buffer must be capable of storing twelve values and being accessed upon demand , depending upon whether a positive or negative gain adjustment is required for the particular incoming value . similarly , in certain networks , the value of the robbed bit in even numbered rbs frames is not equal to the value of the robbed bit in odd numbered frames . in this case , corrective gains must be assigned separately to even and odd numbered frames , thereby requiring effectively twelve gain adjustments to be determined . of course , where the network has both the asymmetry and the changing robbed bit values present , twenty - four corrective gain adjustments must be determined and stored . it will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its spirit and scope as so claimed .
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fig1 - 12 and the following description and exhibit depict specific examples to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention . for the purpose of teaching inventive principles , some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted . those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall within the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention . as a result , the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below , but only by the claims and their equivalents . fig1 is a sectional view of the optical layout of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . particulate measurement system comprises : light source 10 , flexure mount 27 , meniscus lens 1 , input lens 6 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , device body 19 , integrating sphere 11 , transmit detector 17 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , lens 4 , and particle detector 5 . light source 10 is mounted in flexure mount 27 and projects a light along a first optical axis aa . flexure mount 27 is used to adjust or align the angular relationship between light source 10 and device body 19 . a cavity 8 is formed by meniscus lens 1 , input lens 6 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , and device body 19 . the media to be tested flows through cavity 8 along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the paper . gaskets or sealing devices , for example o - rings , may be used between the lens and the device body to help form a fluid tight seal around cavity 8 . output lens 7 is mounted in device body 19 and aligned with first optical axis aa . integration sphere 11 is mounted onto device body 19 near output lens 7 . integration sphere 11 has an entrance port 15 aligned with the first optical axis aa . transmit detector 17 is mounted substantially 90 degrees to entrance port 15 at an exit port 16 of integrating sphere 11 . meniscus lens 1 , field lens 2 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , and lens 4 are aligned along a second optical axis bb . particle detector 5 is mounted to device body and aligned with the second optical axis bb . the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 may be preferentially coated to alter the reflectivity or enhance stability , durability , or maintainability of the reflective surface . fig2 is a first side view of particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . light source 10 may be that of a laser , led , ( light emitting diode ), incandescent lamp , or discharge lamp , or any other source of coherent or non - coherent radiation capable of stimulating the detector to produce useful information . the ingress 41 and egress 44 of a flow through the nephelometric device is carried by inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 facilitated by connection 39 and 42 attached to device body 19 . a section view of clamp 33 in fig2 shows the means by which screw 36 applies force to clamp 33 to squeeze detector sleeve 32 to secure detector holder 34 to a fixed position . fig3 is a second side view , with the meniscus lens removed , of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . fig4 is a sectional view of the flow path of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . particulate measurement system comprises : meniscus lens 1 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , device body 19 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , lens 4 , particle detector 5 , inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 . the ingress 41 and egress 44 of a flow through the nephelometric device is carried by inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 facilitated by connection 39 and 42 attached to device body 19 . o - ring seals 45 and 46 seal tubing 43 and 40 to device body 19 . the first optical axis aa forms a line perpendicular to the paper and is centered in output lens 7 . fig5 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the detection path in an example embodiment of the invention . fig5 shows light scattered in the direction of meniscus lens 1 by particles in suspension media 47 at object plane 49 . meniscus lens 1 , field lens 2 , and lenses 3 and 4 along optical axis bb form an erect image at image plane 49 ″ of the particle located at object plane 49 . an intermediate image of the particles is formed by meniscus lens 1 along optical axis bb at image plane 49 ′, within field lens 2 . by forming the intermediate image within field lens 2 only that light which is reflected , scattered or emitted from particles toward meniscus lens 1 are brought to focus at image plane 49 ″. as result , no image of particles in suspension is formed as direct result of lenses 3 and 4 , but only as result of light impinging upon meniscus lens 1 . in one example embodiment of the invention , meniscus lens 1 is an emersion lens of refracting material greater than the refractive index of the suspension media . meniscus lens 1 has a concave refracting first surface in contact with the suspension media , and a convex reflecting second surface . the first and second surfaces need not be concentric and neither surface needs be concentric with object plane 49 . in one example embodiment of the invention the first refracting surface of meniscus lens 1 may be inert to the suspension media . because the second reflecting surface of meniscus lens 1 is protected by the first refracting surface , meniscus lens 1 may be cleaned without danger of damaging the more delicate reflecting surface . the first refracting surface allows for an additional degree of freedom in the correction of optical aberrations that may otherwise degrade the image quality at image planes 49 ′ and 49 ″ without need of aspheric surfaces to the advantage of lower production cost . because the main optical power of the meniscus lens is provided by the reflecting surface , problems with dispersion over a wide range of test wavelengths may be minimized . marginal ray 50 from object plane 49 is refracted by the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 , and propagates as ray 50 a to reflective convex surface of meniscus lens 1 . upon reflection on the coated convex surface of the lens the reflected ray 50 b is again refracted by the concave surface of the meniscus lens 1 and exits the lens as refracted ray 50 c . because object plane 49 and intermediate image plane 49 ′, within field lens 2 , are displaced along optical axis bb little refraction takes place on either side of field lens 2 as the index of refraction between suspension media 47 and index of refraction of field lens 2 are similar and the intermediate image 49 ′ is concentric , or nearly so , to the convex surface of field lens 2 . meniscus lens 1 provides a large numerical aperture that captures a large portion of the light scattered from a particle in suspension media 47 . in one example embodiment of the invention , in excess of 1 / 7 of the total scattered light may be utilized to impinge upon particle detector 5 at image plane 49 ″. marginal ray 50 c is refracted by lens 3 , as marginal ray 50 d , and emerges from lens 3 as marginal ray 50 e . field stop 9 defines the extent to which marginal rays scattered from particle in suspension media 47 will propagate through the optical system . an image of field stop 9 is formed at or near the surface of meniscus lens 1 as field stop image 9 ′. marginal ray 50 e propagates to lens 4 and is refracted as marginal ray 50 f , emerging from lens 4 as marginal ray 50 g where an erect image of the particle is formed from the scatted light from object plane 49 at image plane 49 ″. principle ray 51 follows a similar path through the optical system passing through the center of field stop 9 and also through the center of the image 9 ′ of the field stop formed at the surface of meniscus lens 1 . field stop 9 is positioned from lens 4 such that particle detector 5 is at the infinite conjugate of field stop 9 . thus , any portion of the image formed at field stop 9 impinges equally at the surface of particle detector 5 . detector 5 may be that of a photodiode , photo - multiplier tube ( pmt ), charged coupled device ( ccd ) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) image sensor , or any other means to convert light or radiation into quantifiable values of electrical potential or current . in one example embodiment of the invention , area array detectors such as ccd or cmos image sensors may be used to measure by spatial position and incremental area the intensity of the image formed on the image sensor . using this information , the device may measure size , shape , distribution , occurrence , and velocity of the particles in suspension at object plane 49 . the magnification of object to image along optical axis bb is selected to provide adequate resolution for the measurements of interest and defines the maximum area that can be measured in the suspension . if the size of the image sensor is 6 . 4 × 4 . 8 mm and the magnification of the optical system is 2 ×, then the maximum area that can be measured in the suspension is 3 . 2 × 2 . 4 mm . for a given image sensor a fixed number of photosensitive sites are present as example 640 × 480 pixels , therefore each pixel is 10 um and represents a resolution of 5 um object per pixel in suspension . if the particles to be measured are at least 2 to 3 times larger than the resolution of the system , then a reasonable measure of the size and shape of the object can be determined . the depth of the image along optical axis bb is a result of the diameter or width of the illuminating beam along optical axis bb and , or the depth of field of the imaging optical system . a defined measurement volume may be determined using the width of the illumination along optical axis bb , the depth of field of the imaging optical system , the magnification of the optical system , and the size of the particle detector . a count of the illuminated particles or fluorescent particles within the defined measurement volume may be reported as a count per cubic millimeter . if the image sensor is of an integrating type , as the case for ccd and cmos image sensors , the integration time — the time allotted for charge to accumulate on the photosensitive area of the device , may be used to determine the flow rate of the particles in suspension by measure of the number of pixels transgressed during the integration period . the resulting image is sometimes referred to as a “ streak ”, the length of which and the known integration time can be used to calculate the velocity of the particle , hence the flow rate of the suspension media . when the concentration of particles in suspension is sufficiently high , individual particles become indistinguishable at the image sensor but may be measured as a concentration of particles by means of the total charge accumulated during the known integration period on the image sensor , or ampere current product of particle detector 5 as that of a photodiode , that is correlated to nephelometric turbidity units ( ntu ), formazin nephelometric unit ( fnu ), mcfarlane units , or other standard nephelometric unit of measure of the cloudiness or haze of the suspension calibrated to a known concentration of nephelometric standard . the disclosed invention is not limited to a single detection path . fig6 is a block diagram of an optical layout when utilizing more than one detection path in an example embodiment of the invention . a second optical axis cc is introduced at substantially 90 degrees to optical axis bb , both at substantially 90 to the optical axis of the light source . light scatter from particle at object plane 49 is collected and transmitted along optical axis cc in the same manor as described for that of fig5 utilizing instead meniscus lens 1 a , field lens 2 a , lenses 3 a and 4 a , to form an erect image of the particle at particle detector 5 a . the two images are related , as the image formed at particle detector 5 a is the image profile of the image formed at particle detector 5 . in addition the two detectors , 5 and 5 a need not have the same spectral response nor is there a need for meniscus lens 1 and 1 a to have the same spectral reflectivity . indeed each optical path may be altered by the addition of optical filters or by means of coating reflectivity or by detector response such that each optical path is sensitive to different portion of the spectra so as to detect absorption or emission from particles in suspension media 47 at object plane 49 at unique wavelength ( s ). fig7 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the light source path in an example embodiment of the invention . it is desired to keep stray radiant energy from propagating along optical axis bb to particle detector 5 . it is therefore best practice not to illuminate more of the sample volume than that which can be imaged on to particle detector 5 . input lens 6 focuses light 53 as 53 a from light source 10 to illuminate that sample volume to which will contribute an image of the sample volume at particle detector 5 . after light has propagated through the sample volume , output lens 7 directs the transmitted light , not absorbed or scattered by the particles in suspension as light 53 b , into the entrance port 15 of integrating sphere 11 . coatings or finish on the inside surface 12 of the integrating sphere 11 are optimized to be diffusely reflective so as to uniformly illuminate the inside surfaces of the integrating sphere with the transmitted light . in so doing transmit detector 17 will measure the same intensity of light regardless of the exact angle or distribution of light within the transmit beam of light source 10 along optical axis of illumination aa . exit port 16 in the integrating sphere 11 is positioned at substantially 90 degrees to the entrance port of integrating sphere 11 . so as to prevent direct illumination of transmit detector 17 and thus reduce the sensitivities to beam incidence and position , the lines of sight of the detector 54 and 54 a of the transmit detector 17 does not include entrance port 15 or the incident transmit energy on the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 . signals generated from transmit detector 17 and particle detector 5 can be utilized to determine the ratio of transmitted light to scatted light or to measure the absorption or fluorescence of particles . another advantage of the novel use of an integrating sphere for the measure of transmitted light in a nephelometer is due to the redistribution of light across the inner surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 , resulting in a decrease in surface intensity at the transmit detector 17 , thereby eliminating the need for light traps or neutral density filters to reduce the maximum value for incident light impinging on the transmit detector 17 . a unique quality of the disclosed invention is the ability to image an object or mask , positioned along optical axis bb at field stop 9 , onto or near the surface of meniscus lens 1 . as shown in fig7 a , an annular mask 9 a place at the location of field stop 9 , is utilized to discriminate by permissible propagation only those rays which are reflected or scattered from object plane 49 at a high angle relative to optical axis bb . annular masks 9 b and 9 c used in lieu of stop 9 are utilized to change the permissible propagation angle of scatter while maintaining a constant optical system etendue . etendue is used to specify the geometric capability of an optical system to transmit radiation , its throughput . the numeric value of the etendue is typically a constant of the system and gets calculated as the product of the opening size and the solid angle that the system accepts light from . etendue may also be known as the collecting or light gathering capability of an optical system . an iris diaphragm , as shown in fig7 b , substituted for fixed field stop 9 of fig7 can be adjusted to alter the amount of light impinging on particle detector 5 and also the total included angle of scatter from object plane 49 . light scattered from a particle ( s ) towards the incident beam of illumination is referred to as “ back scatter ” in nephelometric terms . conversely , light scattered away from the source of illumination is referred to as “ forward scatter ”. light scattered from a particle neither toward or away from the incident light source is referred to as “ side scatter ” in nephelometric terms . apertures or masks in the forms as shown in fig7 c through fig7 g permit measurement of the amount , by scatter type , of light scatted from a particle ( s ). this is useful so as to be able to measure different concentrations of particles , as different types of scatter are more useful as to linearity or sensitivity depending on the concentration of particle ( s ) in the suspension media . a circular mask offset from optical axis bb placed at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 , as in fig7 c , is rotated eccentric to optical axis bb as 9 a , 9 b , and 9 c , to keep constant the etendue of the optical system with preferential selection of the scatter angle about optical axis bb as a conic section . two semi - circular masks rotated independently about optical axis bb laminated in close proximity to one another at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 is shown as 9 a , 9 b , 9 c , and 9 d in fig7 d . rotation of the masks independently creates a sector aperture through which a portion of scattered light about optical axis bb is permitted to pass through the optical system to particle detector 5 at the selected direction of scatter . a mask in the form of a shutter ( s ) is utilized to select an angular portion of the scatted or emitted light from object plane 49 as shown in fig7 e . a shutter is slide across the face of aperture 9 of fig7 to preferentially transmit or block the propagation of rays to particle detector 5 dependent on the angle of scatter of emission from object plane 49 . the shutter in position 9 a of fig7 e transmits light that is forward scattered from object plane 49 . two shutters independently adjustable orthogonal to each other laminated in close proximity at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 is shown in fig7 f . the aperture , a sector , formed by the two shutters can be translated off optical axis bb unlike that of the sector formed by the semi - circular masks of fig7 d . a pixilated mask at position of field stop 9 controlled by means of selective polarization of the scattered light passing through a polarizing film and electrically polarized liquid crystals as in a transmission lcd , ( liquid crystal display ), is utilized to block , by means of cross polarization , light from propagating through said lcd along optical axis bb . a pixilated mask can be substituted for any or all of the described forms of apertures previously described without preference . the choice of the mask effectively selects the angles of reflection that detector 5 will eventually process . alternately , when only the angle and or intensity of scattered or emitted light is to measured from object plane 49 and no image need be formed of the scattering particle ( s ), as in the case of presence of particles or fluorescence , then a image array such as a ccd or cmos image plane sensor is placed in substitution to field stop 9 as shown in fig7 g . light impinging on pixels of the image plane sensor is thus discriminated by angle of scatter or emission since an image of the pixel is formed at the surface of meniscus lens 1 as field stop image 9 ′. using the optical layout having multiple detection paths as shown in fig6 , multiple masks may be used having different masking areas , such that different measurements of the angle of scatter for particles may be made simultaneously . fig8 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the view area of the suspension media in an example embodiment of the invention . light from light source 10 propagates as marginal ray 53 to input lens 6 to form a caustic of illumination or focused image of the source at the object plane 49 . light not scattered or absorbed continues along optical path aa to exit lens 7 where upon the unabsorbed or light not scattered by particulate matter is relayed to inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 through input port 15 . alternately lenses 6 and 7 need not have optical power in the case where the light being emitted into the suspension media is collimated or focused and the subtended angle into integrating sphere is small . lenses 6 and 7 may be completely removed in the case where the suspension media need not be isolated from the external elements of the device , for example when the particles are suspended in air or some other gas or vapor . in one example embodiment of the invention , a plurality of illumination paths may be used . fig9 is a block diagram of a particulate measurement system utilizing a plurality of light source paths in an example embodiment of the invention . fig9 has light sources 10 , 10 a and 100 b projecting illumination along optical axis 52 , 52 a , and 52 b . in one example embodiment of the invention light source 10 , 10 a and 10 b need not have the same spectral emission or may have selected wavelength ( s ) of emission of by the introduction of optical filter material along optical axis 52 , 52 a , or 52 b , or by judicial selection of optical materials or coatings used for lenses 6 , 6 a , 6 b and , or lenses 7 , 7 a , and 7 b . another aspect of the present invention is the ability to introduce light into the detection path ( s ) of a known amount or percentage so as to facilitate the calibration or verification the operational readiness of the device without disruption to the flow or particle stream . a non - disruptive calibration or verification is accomplished by the introduction of light within the field of view of the detection optics along optical axis bb at the image plane of the field stop 9 ′, synonymous to the surface of meniscus lens 1 , as shown in fig1 . annular waveguide 60 , of transparent plastic , glass , or other suitable materials transports light from second light source 56 along optical axis 59 between the two face surfaces by means of total internal reflection , ( tir ), from outer edge of annular waveguide 60 to inner edge of annular waveguide 60 . the inner edge of annular waveguide 60 may be preferentially ground , etched , or coated so as to scatter light along optical axis bb as an annulus of marginal rays to form an image of annular waveguide 60 at field stop 9 and subsequently impinges equally onto particle detector 5 since particle detector is at the infinite conjugate of lens 4 . by selectively permitting second light source 56 to emit light at a known intensity , by provision of electrical or mechanical means , light is introduced along optical axis bb in addition to light scattered or emitted from particles simulated by light source 10 . since light introduced by light source 10 must travel through the suspension media the light is affected by the concentration of particles in the suspension media by means of absorption , scatter , and emission of light in the same manor as the transmitted light from light source 10 to transmit detector 17 . the ratio of the amount of transmitted light to detector 17 from light source 10 to the amount of light transmitted from second light source 56 to particle detector 5 is constant provided light source 10 and second light source 56 emit at a constant intensity and that all optical surfaces degrade in like manor . an abnormal condition exists as result of the ratio from the established value is in deviation by more than a prescribed amount as to warrant action for either correction of the abnormal condition or to compensate of the ratio so as to restore the ratio to the established value . since lenses 3 and 4 relay an image from within field lens 2 it is also possible to utilize this arrangement to opt for a material or construction for field lens 2 that will partially scatter by applied electrical field or other stimulation cause field lens 2 to change optical characteristics to the objective as to redirect light emitted into the edge of field lens 2 by means of scatter or to emit light within field lens 2 along optical axis bb and thus impinge upon particle detector 5 . this arrangement has the advantage of the light scattered or emitted is unimpeded and not transmitted through the suspension media and is unaffected by biological films or depositions of materials that come in contact with the suspension media , thus a more stable and reproducible calibration or verification source is result . alternately light may be introduced along optical axis bb through a central uncoated portion or aperture 58 in the optical coating of the convex surface of meniscus lens 1 as shown in fig1 . an image of second light source 56 is brought to focus at the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 synonymous with image 9 ′ of field stop 9 , by lens 57 through the uncoated central aperture 58 in meniscus lens 1 . the alternate scheme for the introduction of light from a second light source differs from the previously described method of fig1 since no physical radiator is present at concave surface of meniscus lens 1 but instead an image of second light source 56 , and that the light comprised of principle rays and not marginal rays . the light impinging on particle detector 5 is however indistinguishable in result between the method of light introduction of fig1 and fig1 as both effectively emit light at image plane 9 ′ of field stop 9 within the field of view of the detection optics along optical axis bb . another means to introduce light along the optical axis bb for the purpose of calibration or verification of operational readiness is disclosed for the present invention without the need for a second light source is shown in fig1 . light from light source 10 is emitted along optical axis bb through input lens 6 and output lens 7 through input aperture 15 of integrating hemisphere 13 to impinge on the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 . light is diffusely reflected by multiple incidences between inside surface 12 of the integrating sphere to emerge along optical axis 55 at exit aperture 16 of integrating sphere 11 . optical surface 62 , by example selectable by rotation about axis of rotation 63 with at least one transmitting surface or aperture 64 and at least one reflecting area 62 is positioned beyond the exit aperture 16 of integrating hemisphere 13 to reflect light substantially 90 degrees to optical axis 55 along optical axis 68 or transmit light along optical axis 55 dependent upon the alignment of aperture 64 or reflecting area 62 to optical axis 55 . positioning of reflecting surface 62 along optical axis 55 , reflects light emerging from exit aperture 16 to impinge upon transmit detector 17 positioned along optical axis 68 , thus a measure of the transmitted light from light source 10 is ascertained . positioning aperture 64 along optical axis 55 permits the transmission of light along optical axis bb through central aperture 58 of meniscus lens 1 by relay of emitted light from exit aperture 16 through aperture stop 65 , lens 66 , optical fiber 67 , and lens 57 . an image of the end of optical fiber 67 is formed at the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 through central aperture 58 synonymous to the image 9 , of field stop 9 , to impinge upon particle detector 5 in proportion to the light detected by transmit detector 17 by means of field lens 2 , and lens 3 , field stop 9 , and lens 4 .
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as can be seen in fig1 - 4 , the weft accumulator assembly of the invention consists in principle of at least one perforated cylidrical tube 1 , a control unit 1a to control the operation of the assembly , an airblower 2 mounted on one end 3 of the tube 1 with the nozzle pointing into the tube 1 , and a thread clamp or thread stopper 4 mounted on the opposite end of the tube 5 . a means for drawing off weft thread from the weft supply package 7a is also provided , e . g ., the rollers 6 . fig1 also shows how the accumulator is positioned with respect to certain other conventional parts of the weaving machine 7 which are known in the art , in particular the weft supply package 7a and the main nozzle 7b . the weft accumulator should preferably be constructed so that the blower 2 and the thread clamp 4 fit on the ends 3 and 5 of the tube 1 , and so form the end closures of the tube . the airblower 3 can of course be a conventional injector . the yarn clamp 4 in its simplest form can consist of two rectangular brake shoes or clamping blocks 8a and 8b whose plane of contact 9 lies in the diameter of the tube 1 and is preferably horizontal . the perforations 10 should preferably be distributed evenly over the wall of the tube 1 . thus , the openings 10 can be situated in axial planes with respect to the tube 1 , with the axial planes being separated from each other along the length of the tube by a constant distance a , as shown in fig2 . the method of operation of the weft accumulator is described in essence below . a length of weft thread is drawn off the weft supply package 7a by the weft supply rollers 6 , where the length of the weft is preferably a measured out , predetermined length , and is led by the supply rollers 6 to the air blower 2 . this blower or injector 2 blows the thread 11 into the tube 1 . the thread piles up in the tube at the clamp 4 so as to form coils of thread 12 against the inside wall of the tube 11 . the fact that the coils of thread 12 lie neatly and evenly against the inside wall of the tube can be explained as follows . when the tube 1 is empty , as shown in fig5 the airstream 13 from the airblower carries all the air to the end 5 of the tube 1 opposite the blower . it is therefore clear that , as shown schematically in fig5 the greatest quantity of air escapes through the perforations 10 nearest to the clamp 4 and opposite the blower . as a result , the thread 11 inside the tube 1 begins to coil at the end 5 of the tube 1 . this results in slightly less air escaping through the very last perforations , since they are blocked by the coils of thread 12 . since a greater proportion of air is thus forced to escape through the still unobstructed perforations adjacent the coiled thread in the tube , the thread 11 always comes to lie against the already formed coils 12 . the coils 12 are held against the inside wall of the tube 1 by the residual air flow through the perforations 10a against which the thread 11 lies . the warp thread 12 can then be drawn out of the tube 1 when the clamp 4 is opened . fig7 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the perforated cylindrical tube has one or more large openings or perforations 14 at the end 3 nearest the airblower 2 . this avoids the situation where the air blown into the tube by the airblower 2 is not able to escape when the tube 1 is nearly full of coiled thread , and thus prevents the coils 12 from being blown over one another as a result . excess air can always escape through the relatively large openings 14 . the preferred direction in which the thread 11 is coiled inside the tube depends on the direction of thread twist . the thread 11 is preferably coiled inside the tube 1 in a direction that partially untwists the thread . however , if the thread 11 is coiled inside the tube in the direction of the thread twist , is will not cause problems ; testing has shown that the direction of the thread coils laid inside the tube will reverse spontaneously at a certain moment to a direction that untwists the weft thread . in order to improve the airflow inside the tube 1 , and in particular to encourage the weft thread 11 to coil in partial direction , special measures can be taken according to a number of preferred embodiments . in a first embodiment to achieve this purpose , each perforation 10 in the tube forms an angle to the corresponding radius 15 of the tube , in a particular direction of rotation , as shown in the cross - section diagram in fig8 . another preferred embodiment ( fig9 ) comprises an airblower or injector which has a nozzle with a deflector element having spiral grooves 16 in order to impart a vortex motion to the airstream 13 blown into the tube 1 . this vortex motion forces the weft thread 11 to coil in a particular direction . in yet another embodiment , the warp thread 11 is encouraged to coil in a particular direction by positioning the perforations 10 in one or more spiral lines round the wall of the tube 1 , for example , as shown in fig1 . if the diameter of the perforated cylindrical tube 1 is made very small , in the order of 1 cm of smaller , preferably a small as 3 mm , this has the added advantage that the thread 11 is drawn out of the cylinder 1 with a minimum of resistance , thus providing a supply of weft thread for pick insertion with extremely low tension on the weft thread . the tube 1 can of course , be made of a large number of materials . however , it is preferably made of some transparent material so that the behaviour of the thread 11 inside the tube 1 can be checked visually . it is well known in the art that at high picking speeds the weft thread pick inserted into the shed must not be braked suddenly while it is being supplied in order to avoid breaking the weft thread . fig1 and 12 show embodiments of the weft accumulator of the present invention which offer a particular solution to this problem . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the perforated cylindrical tube 11 is divided into two in - line sections 1a and 1b by an adjustable thread brake 17 mounted approximately in the middle of the tube 1 . this thread brake 17 can consist of , for example , two brake shoes 18 and 19 which form a complete closure of the tube when completely engaged . the thread clamp 4 and the thread brake 17 are worked in such a way that the following operation cycle is repeated throughout the weaving process . when the thread clamp 4 is closed , section 1b of the cylinder is filled with coiled weft thread . at a certain moment during the filling of section 1b , the thread brake 17 is closed , so that section 1b then contains an initial length of thread 12 equal to the length of weft thread inserted into the shed during acceleration of the pick , plus the remainder of the pick inserted into the shed at normal picking speed . an additional length l1 of weft thread is next introduced into section 1a of the cylinder 1 , equal to the length which has to be inserted into the shed during the deceleration stage of the pick . to start the pick insertion , the thread clamp 4 is first opened , and the initial thread length l2 is taken from the section 1b , accelerated and led through the shed . following the insetion of the initial thread length l2 , the brake 17 exercises a relatively light braking force on the additional length of weft thread 11 . this provides the necessary gradual braking of the pick when the last length of weft thread l1 to be inserted into the shed is drawn from the accumulator , i . e ., the length contained in the first section 1a of the cylinder 1 . in a variation of the embodiment shown in fig1 , two accumulators of the type shown in fig1 can be placed in series , for example , as shown in fig1 . however , in this case the first accumulator is fitted with a thread brake 17 and the second with a thread clamp 4 . the operation of the embodiment shown in fig1 may be analogous to that of the embodiment shown in fig1 . in each of these figures , corresponding parts are indicated with the same numbers . it is clear that the term &# 34 ; perforated cylindrical tube &# 34 ; must be taken to include all tubes with a circular cross - section as well as other tubes with a regularly curved inside wall , e . g ., with an elliptical cross - section . the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein by way of example and shown in the accompanying figures ; on the contrary , such weft accumulators for weaving machines , together with their components , can be made in all forms and dimensions while still remaining within the scope of the invention .
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in a general way , the developer vessel of the present invention comprises a vessel proper , a receiving plate , an opening tab and a shutter . the vessel proper comprises a closed portion acting as the bottom when the vessel proper is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel proper is used as the hopper , a barrel and a tapered inclined portion ( frustoconical shoulder ). the receiving plate is arranged integrally with the vessel proper so that the receiving plate is connected to the inclined portion of the vessel proper . one of the characteristic features of the developer vessel of the present invention is that a substantially flat surface , substantially straight two side edges for fitting and attachment to a developing device and an opening communicating with the vessel proper are formed on the receiving plate . more specifically , the opening of the receiving plate exerts a function of filling the developer in the vessel proper and a function of discharging or feeding the developer in the vessel proper when the vessel proper is used as the hopper . since substantially straight side edges are formed on both the ends of the receiving plate , only by fitting and inserting the receiving plate in the state where the opening is located below , attachment to the developing device and dismounting therefrom can be accomplished easily and assuredly . moreover , since the substantially flat surface is formed , attachment of an opening tab described hereinafter can be performed easily . the second characteristic feature of the developer vessel of the present invention is that an opening tab composed of a film is peelably bonded to the flat supporting surface to cover the opening of the receiving plate and this film has a width smaller than the distance between both the attachment side edges of the receiving plate and has such a length that the film is folded on the fitting and inserting end of the receiving plate and the lapel of the folded film is protruded from the other end of the receiving plate . according to the present invention , by dint of the foregoing characteristic features , the developer vessel can be opened in the state where the developer vessel is attached as the hopper to the developing device , and the trouble of scattering of the developer powder can be effectively eliminated . in the first place , since the opening tab is bonded to the flat supporting surface of the receiving plate to cover the opening of the receiving plate scattering of the developer and contact of the developer with the outer atomosphere can be effectively prevented until the developer vessel is attached as the hopper to the developing device and is opened . furthermore , since the film of the opening tab is peelably bonded to the receiving plate , opening can be performed by peeling the film of the opening tab from the supporting surface of the receiving plate as occasion demands . moreover , since the width of the film of the opening tab is smaller than the distance between both the side edges of the receiving plate , peeling is possible in the state where both the side edges of the receiving plate are completely fitted in the developing device , and since the film of the opening tab is formed with such a length that the film is folded on the fitting and inserting end of the receiving plate and the lapel of the folded film is protruded from the other end of the receiving plate , the grip portion of the film is located outside even in the state where both the side edges are completely fitted to the developing device , and the film can easily be peeled from the supporting surface of the receiving plate by pulling this grip portion . still further , in the present invention , since a shutter having , on both the sides thereof , engagement portions that are dismountably engaged with both the side edges of the receiving plate , the film covering the opening can be effectively protected . the present invention will now be described with reference to embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates systematically respective members of a developer vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention in the disintegrated state . this developing vessel comprises a vessel proper 1 , a receiving plate 2 , an opening tab 3 and a shutter 4 . the vessel proper 1 is blow - formed from a single - layer or multi - player plastic parison , and the vessel proper 1 comprises a closed portion 11 acting as the bottom when the vessel is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel is used as the hopper , a barrel 12 and an inclined portion ( frustoconical portion ) 13 tapered toward the top end . in this embodiment , a short cylindrical neck 14 is formed on the top end of the inclined portion 13 , and a male screw 15 for connection to the receiving plate 2 is formed on the outer periphery of the neck 14 . the receiving plate 2 , for example , is injection - formed from a plastic material , and the receiving plate 2 has a substantially flat surface 21 , substantially straight side edges 22a ( 22b ) for fitting and attachment to the developing device , and an opening 23 communicating with the vessel proper 1 . the receiving plate 2 has a substantially square or rectangular shape , and it will be understood that the receiving plate 2 has an end 24 for fitting and insertion into the developing device and an opposite end 25 . in this embodiment , the receiving plate 2 has a short cylindrical connecting portion 26 on the side opposite to the flat supporting surface 21 and around the opening 23 , and a clamping female screw 27 is formed on the inner circumference of the connecting portion 26 . by engaging the male screw 15 of the vessel proper 1 with the female screw 27 of the receiving plate 2 , the vessel proper 1 and receiving plate 2 are clamped and integrated with each other . an engagement hole 28 or projection can be formed on the receiving plate 2 for regulating the position of the receiving plate 2 when it is fitted and attached to the developing device . furthermore , a dismounting grip 29 can be formed . a single - layer or multi - layer plastic film or a plastic film / aluminum foil laminate is used for the opening tab 3 . the opening tab 3 comprises a portion 31 to be bonded to the flat supporting surface 21 of the receiving plate 2 and a free lapel portion 32 . as shown in fig2 this film 3 has a width d 1 shorter than the distance d 0 between both the side edges 22a and 22b of the receiving plate 2 for fitting and attachment to the developing device , and as shown in fig3 the film 3 is folded along a folding line 33 in the vicinity of the fitting and inserting end 24 of the receiving plate 2 and a grip portion 34 is protruded outward from the opposite end 25 of the receiving plate 2 . at least the surface , confronting to the receiving plate 2 , of the opening tab 3 should be composed of a peelably bondable material , especially a heat - sealable material . by the peelable bonding or peelable heat sealing is meant a bonding or heat sealing capable of keeping a sealing state in an ordinary storage state but capable of being peeled by hands , and in general , a bonding or heat sealing having a seal strength ( peel strength ) of 100 to 1500 g / 1 . 5 cm of the width is meant . for example , it is impossible to attain a peelable bonding between polyethylene sheets or between polypropylene sheets but if a sealing layer of a blend comprising polyethylene ( polypropylene ) and a small amount of other resin such as polypropylene ( polyethylene ) or a rubber is used , it is possible to provide a peelable heat sealing . fig4 shows the sectional structure of an example of the opening tab preferably used in the present invention . a peelable heat - sealing layer 36 composed of a blend as mentioned above is formed on one surface of a base film 35 . the shutter 4 comprises a plate 42 having an engagement part 41 to be detachably engaged with both the side edges of the receiving plate . in the present embodiment , the engagement part 41 comprises a concave groove 43 slidably engaged with the side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate . as shown in fig5 assembling of the developer vessel is completed by engaging the shutter 4 with the receiving plate 2 having the opening tab 3 peelably bonded thereto . incidentally , the grip portion 34 is secured to the barrel 12 by bonding . referring to fig6 -( a ) and 6 -( b ) showing a main portion of the developing device to which the developer vessel of the present invention is attached , a developer supply zone 5 comprises , in general , a fitting portion 51 capable of fitting and attaching both the fitting ends of the receiving plate 2 of the developer vessel thereto and supporting them thereon , a developer - receiving portion 52 for receiving the developer from the opening 23 of the developer vessel and a developer - delivering mechanism 53 for feeding the developer in the developer - receiving portion 52 to a known magnetic brush roller or stirring roller ( not shown ). the fitting portion 51 comprises an upper frame 54 and a lower frame 55 , which are spaced from each other by a certain distance . a sealing member 56 for effecting sealing to the receiving plate 2 , which is composed , for example , of a polyurethane foam layer , is formed on the lower frame 55 . the developer - delivering mechanism 53 can be a spiral conveyor driven by a motor 57 , and in order to assuredly discharge the developer from the developer vessel as the hopper , a hammer 59 intermittently driven by the motor 57 through a cam mechanism 58 can be disposed in the developer - delivering mechanism 53 . a positioning engagement projection 60 to be engaged with the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate is arranged in front of the developer supply zone 5 . when the developer vessel is attached to the developing device of the copying machine and used as the hopper , at first , the shutter 4 is dismounted from the receiving plate 2 , and then , as shown in fig7 the developer vessel is fitted and inserted between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 of the developer supply zone 5 in such a manner that the receiving plate 2 is located below and the fitting end 24 of the receiving plate 2 is located ahead . at the time of insertion of the receiving plate , the fitting and attaching side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 slide between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 to effect fitting and insertion , and the positioning engagement projection 60 is engaged with the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate 2 , whereby the receiving plate 2 is attached to the developer supply zone 5 in the correctly positioned state . as shown in fig8 -( a ), in this positioned state , the opening tab film 3 is kept sealed to the supporting surface 21 of the receiving plate 2 , but the grip portion 34 of the opening tab 3 protrudes outward ( front side ) from the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 . at the time of opening , as shown in fig8 -( b ), the grip portion 34 of the opening tab 3 is gripped by the fingers and pulled toward an operator . by this pulling , the lapel portion 32 of the opening tab 3 is allowed to slide between the supporting surface 21 and the sealing member 56 toward the operator and the sealed portion 31 of the opening tab 3 is gradually peeled from the fitting end 24 toward the opposite end 25 to effect opening of the opening 23 . at this time , the sealing member 56 allows peeling of the opening tab 3 but always presses the opening tab 3 by an elastic pressure to prevent scattering of the developer powder 61 . thus , the developer powder 61 is discharged to the developer - receiving portion 52 through the opening 23 and is fed to the developing mechanism through the developer - delivering mechanism 53 . the receiving plate 2 of the developer vessel is intermittently hit by the hammer 59 to give vibrations to the receiving plate 2 , whereby discharge of the developer 61 can be performed smoothly so far as the developer is present in the vessel . when the developer is consumed , the grip portion 29 of the receiving plate 2 is gripped , lifted up slightly and pulled toward the operator , whereby the engagement between the positioning engagement projection 60 of the developer supply zone 5 and the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate 2 is released and the fitting side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 are slid between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 to detach the entire developer vessel from the developing device . if the shutter 4 is engaged with the fitting side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 through the concave groove 43 of the engagement portion 41 and the vessel is taken out in such manner that the receiving plate 2 gradually overlaps the shutter 4 , as shown in fig9 scattering of a very slight amount of the developer powder left adhering to the developer vessel can be completely prevented . various modifications can be made to the above - mentioned vessel of the present invention without departing from the spirit set forth in the appended claims . for example , if the vessel proper 1 is prepared by blow forming and the receiving plate 2 is prepared by injection forming and both the members are assembled , as shown in fig1 through 9 , there can be attained various advantages . namely , the vessel proper can be manufactured at a relatively low cost and the amount used of the resin can be reduced . furthermore , if a plurality of kinds of the vessel proper are prepared for one kind of the receiving plate , various combinations coping with a variety of copying machines and a variety of amounts filled of the developer can be provided . it must be understood that the vessel proper 1 and the receiving plate 2 are not limited to those of the above - mentioned embodiment . for example , as shown in fig1 illustrating another embodiment of the present invention , the vessel proper 1 can be constructed by an upper portion 16 and a lower portion 17 formed integrally with the receiving plate 2 . the upper portion 16 is prepared , for example , by injection forming and comprises a closed portion 11 acting as the bottom when the vessel is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel is used as the hopper , a short barrel 12a and a flange 18a arranged on the open end of the barrel 12a . the lower portion 17 is prepared integrally with the receiving plate 2 by injection forming and comprises a relatively long barrel 12b , an inclined part 13 and a flange 18b formed on the open end of the barrel 12b . the upper portion 16 and lower portion 17 are integrated with each other by ultrasonic welding or other welding between the flanges 18a and 18 b . in order to prevent scattering of the developer powder at the time of detachment of the developer vessel , it is preferred that the shutter 4 should have a structure as shown in fig1 . however , it must be understood that in order to protect the opening tab 3 attached to the receiving plate 2 , the shutter 4 can preferably have an engagement part to be fitted to the periphery of the receiving plate . referring to fig1 , 12 and 13 illustrating still another embodiment of the developer vessel of the present invention , the vessel proper 1 has a tapered short cylindrical neck 14a on the top end of the inclined portion 13 , and a plurality of projections 63 extending outward of the radius is formed on the outer periphery of the neck 14a ( see fig1 ). a sealing o - ring 64 is arranged on the outer periphery of the tapered neck 14a . the receiving plate 2 has a connecting part 26 having a shape corresponding to the outer periphery of the neck 14a of the vessel proper 1 on the side opposite to the flat supporting surface 21 , and an engagement part ( shoulder ) 65 to be engaged with the above - mentioned projections 63 is formed on the top end ( minimum diameter portion ) of this connecting part 26 . by pushing the neck 14a of the vessel proper into the connecting part 26 , the projections 63 are engaged with the engagement part 65 , whereby the vessel proper 1 and the receiving plate 2 are integrated with each other . moreover , since the o - ring 64 is disposed , the sealing can be attained between the inner circumference of the connecting part 26 and the outer periphery of the neck 14a even if a certain clearance or dimensional error is present between them . in the foregoing embodiments , the vessel proper and receiving plate are integrated with each other by mechanical clamping . however , it must be understood that the vessel proper and the receiving plate can be integrated by such means as bonding , heat sealing and ultrasonic welding . in order to prevent intrusion of moisture into the developer , it is preferred that the vessel proper 1 and receiving plate 2 be composed of a moisture - resistant resin , especially an olefin resin such as polyethylene , polypropylene or an ethylene / propylene copolymer . the developer vessel of the present invention has double actions . that is , the developer vessel of the present invention is used not only as a packaging vessel for containing the developer in the sealed state but also as a developer hopper attached to the developing device . this developer vessel can be opened after it has been attached to the developing device as the developer hopper , and the developer vessel can be opened and attached without scattering the developer in the environment . accordingly , prominent advantages can be attained by the present invention .
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specific reference is made in detail to the embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the invention is described in conjunction with the embodiments , it will be understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . the various embodiments are intended to illustrate the invention in different applications . further , specific details are set forth in the embodiments for exemplary purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , and components have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the invention . with reference to fig1 a system is shown for controlling 1394 devices by issuing audio video control ( av / c ) commands over a conventional network . in one embodiment , the conventional network is an internet protocol ( ip ) based network utilizing widely recognized tcp / ip standards . the system in fig1 is for illustrative purposes only . fewer or additional elements may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention . further , elements may be combined or separated without departing from the scope of the invention . to illustrate the transmission of an av / c command from one 1394 device to another 1394 device over the ip network , two set - top boxes are utilized to illustrate this capability ; two set - top boxes are not required to implement the invention . the system includes a set - top box 100 , a 1394 bus 125 , a digital video cassette recorder ( vcr ) 130 , a mini - disc ( md ) 135 , an ip network 140 , a remote application 145 , a set - top box 150 , a 1394 bus 175 , a digital video camera 180 , and an audio / video hard drivel 85 . the ip network 140 is coupled to the set - top box 100 , the remote application 145 , and the set - top box 150 , such that the remote application 145 may communicate with the set - top boxes 100 and 140 . additionally , the set - top box 100 may communicate with the remote application 145 and the set - top box 140 . similarly , the set - top box 140 may communicate with the remote application 145 and the set - top box 100 . when the remote application 145 and the set - top boxes 100 and 140 communicate with each other , they utilize a recognized standard such as tcp / ip . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . the 1394 bus 125 is coupled to the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 , such that the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 may communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 125 . when the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 125 , they utilize commands compatible with the 1394 standards . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . similarly , the 1394 bus 175 is coupled to the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 , such that the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 may communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 175 . when the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 175 , they utilize commands compatible with the 1394 standards . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . the set - top box 100 includes a network av / c module 105 , tcp / udp socket 110 , an application 115 , and an application 120 . the network av / c module 105 is coupled between the 1394 bus 125 and the tcp / udp socket 110 . the applications 115 and 120 are coupled to the tcp / upd socket 110 . the tcp / upd socket 110 is coupled to the ip network 140 . in other embodiments , additional or fewer applications are utilized within the set - top box . similarly , the set - top box 150 includes a network av / c module 155 , tcp / udp socket 160 , an application 165 , and an application 170 . the network av / c module 155 is coupled between the 1394 bus 175 and the tcp / udp socket 160 . the applications 165 and 170 are coupled to the tcp / upd socket 160 . the tcp / upd socket 160 is coupled to the ip network 140 . in other embodiments , additional or fewer applications are utilized within the set - top box . [ 0024 ] fig2 illustrates an exemplary network av / c module 200 . paths 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 merely illustrate an exemplary interface for the network av / c module 200 . the paths 210 and 220 couple the network av / c module 200 with an ip network 250 . the network av / c module 200 interfaces with the ip network 250 via the paths 210 and 220 utilizing a communications standard such as tcp / ip . the paths 230 and 24 couple the network av / c module 200 with a 1394 bus 260 . similarly , the network av / c module 200 interfaces with the 1394 bus 260 via the paths 230 and 240 utilizing a communications standard such as the 1394 command sets . commands from the ip network 250 pass through the path 220 and are received by the av / c module 200 . these commands received by the av / c module 200 from the ip network 250 are configured according to a standard such as tcp / ip . these commands may contain information such as a globally unique identification ( guid ) and av / c command as illustrated in fig3 b . the guid uniquely identifies a 1394 enabled device connected to a 1394 bus such as the 1394 bus 260 . however , the guid may identify a 1394 enabled device which is either not currently connected to a 1394 bus or currently connected to a 1394 bus that is connected to different network av / c module . the av / c command provides a signal to a 1394 enabled device . in this case , the signal is addressed to the unique 1394 enabled device which is identified by the guid . the signal may instruct the 1394 enabled device to start playing , start recording , stop all functions , fast forward , rewind , and the like . the av / c commands are quite varied depending on the specific capabilities of the associated 1394 enabled device . the network av / c module 200 tracks 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 260 . each of these 1394 devices have a unique guid . the network av / c module 200 maintains a list of all 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 260 by listing their unique guid and their respective location . an exemplary list is illustrated in fig3 b . other 1394 enabled devices which are not connected to the specific 1394 bus 260 are not tracked by the specific network av / c module 200 . after the network av / c module 200 receives a command from the ip network 250 , the network av / c module 200 checks if the guid identified in the command is associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 . the network av / c module 200 may check a list similar to the one in fig3 b . if the network av / c module 200 determines that guid in the command is associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 , then the network av / c module 200 translates the command from the ip network 250 into an appropriate av / c command conforming to 1394 standards and transmits this av / c command to the location of the 1394 device via the path 230 . the location of the 1394 device is tracked by the network av / c module 200 and may be referred to as a dynamic address . the location is stored in a list similar to the one in fig3 a . in one embodiment , if the network av / c module 200 determines that guid in the command is not associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 , then the network av / c module 200 takes no action . through the path 240 , 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 160 may transmit av / c commands to the network av / c module 200 . these av / c commands may be status confirmations , connect signals , disconnect signals , functional instructions , and the like . if the av / c command through the path 240 changes the status and / or dynamic address of the particular 1394 enabled device , the network av / c module 200 updates the tracking list similar to the one shown in fig3 a . if the av / c command through the path 240 is directed to a different device other than a 1394 enable device connected to the 1394 bus 260 , the network av / c module 200 translates the av / c command into a format suitable for transmission over the ip network 250 via the path 250 . the operation of the system of fig1 while initiating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig4 . at block 400 , the process of initiating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . at block 410 , the network av / c modules 105 and 155 obtain a list of 1394 devices by polling devices that are connected to the network busses 125 and 175 , respectively . for example , the digital vcr 130 and the md 135 would be discovered by the network av / c module 105 . in another example , the digital video camera 180 and the audio / video hard drive 185 are discovered by the network av / c module 155 . at block 420 , a device availability table is built by each of the network av / c modules 105 and 155 . the device availability table includes the guid of the device identified by the network av / c modules 105 and 155 . the device availability table may resemble the table in fig3 a . at block 430 , the dynamic addresses of the devices listed in the device availability table are discovered . at block 440 , the device availability table is updated with the dynamic addresses of the devices identified by the guid . in block 450 , the device availability table is selectively broadcasted to other devices that request this information . for example , the set - top box 150 and the remote application 145 may register that they are interested in the device availability table from the set - top box 100 . in this case , the network av / c 105 distributes the device availability table to the set - top box 150 and the remote application 145 . in one embodiment , the selective broadcast of the device availability table is performed via tcp / ip . in other embodiments , different transfer protocols may be utilized . in yet another embodiment , the device availability table may be broadcasted to other nodes which have registered to receive this information . in block 460 , the initiation of the network av / c terminates . the operation of the system of fig1 while updating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 of a status change is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig5 . at block 500 , the process of updating the device availability table within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . in block 510 , a 1394 enabled device changes status . a change in status includes a connection to a 1394 bus , disconnection to a 1394 bus , a connected device issues an autonomous bus reset without disconnecting from the bus , and the like . for example , the digital vcr 130 , the md 135 , the digital video camera 180 , and the a / v hard drive 185 being connected or removed from their respective 1394 busses would constitute a status change . in block 520 , a bus reset is performed on the appropriate 1394 bus . for example , if the digital vcr 130 or the md 135 is connected or disconnected from the 1394 bus 125 , a bus reset would be performed on the 1394 bus 125 . similarly , if the digital video camera 180 or the a / v hard drive 185 is connected or disconnected from the 1394 bus 175 , a bus reset would be performed on the 1394 bus 175 . in block 530 , a bus reset is received by a network av / c module . for example , if a bus reset is performed on the 1394 bus 125 , the network av / c module 105 receives the bus reset . similarly , if a bus reset is performed on the 1394 bus 175 , the network av / c module 155 receives the bus reset . in block 540 , the device availability table is updated based on the bus reset . for example , the bus reset is performed based on a connection or disconnection of a 1394 device , and the device availability table is updated accordingly . in block 550 , the device availability table , which was updated in the block 540 , is selectively broadcasted to other devices that request this information . in block 560 , the update of the network av / c terminates . the operation of the system of fig1 while the network av / c modules 105 and 155 process a command is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig6 . at block 600 , processing a command within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . at block 610 , a command is issued to a network av / c module via a tcp / ip message . for example , the network av / c module 105 may receive a command from the remote application 145 or the set - top box 150 . the command from the set - top box 150 may originate from the application 165 , the application 170 , the digital video camera 180 , or the av hard drive 185 . the command may include a play command , forward command , rewind command , stop command , record command , and the like . the particular command varies depending on the functionality of the device as the intended recipient of the command . the command may resemble the sample shown in fig3 b having a guid component and the actual av / c command . in block 620 , the network av / c module parses the command into the guid component and the av / c command . in block 630 , the network av / c module matches the guid from the command to the device availability table for the particular network av / c module . for example , if the network av / c module 105 parses the command , the network av / c module 105 matches the guid with the device availability table for the av / c module 105 . in block 640 , assuming that the guid was matched to the device availability table in the block 630 , the dynamic address is accessed from the device availability table with the network av / c module . in block 650 , the av / c command , previously parsed in the block 620 , is sent by the network av / c module to the dynamic address identified by the guid . in block 660 , the device identified by the dynamic address sends a confirmation back to the originating device through the corresponding network av / c module . in block 670 , the command processing within the network av / c terminates . for example , the an hard drive 185 originates a “ record ” command addressed to the digital vcr 130 . the network av / c module 155 receives the “ record ” command through the 1394 bus ; translates the “ record ” command into a tcp / ip message ; and broadcasts this message over the ip network 140 . [ block 610 ] the “ record ” command formatted is received by the network av / c module 105 and is parsed into the guid component ( digital vcr 130 ) and the av / c command ( record command ). [ block 620 ] the network av / c module 105 matches the guid component with the device availability table . the network av / c module 105 finds that the guid component matches the digital vcr 130 . [ block 630 ] the network av / c module 105 locates the dynamic address for the digital vcr 130 from the device availability table . [ block 640 ] the network av / c module 105 sends the av / c command ( record command ) to the dynamic address for the digital vcr 130 . [ block 650 ] the digital vcr 130 sends a confirmation back to the a / v hard drive 185 by sending a 1394 message back to the network av / c module 105 . the network av / c module 105 converts the 1394 message into a tcp / ip message addressed to the an hard drive with a “ confirmation ” command . the network av / c module 105 sends this tcp / ip message through the ip network 140 . [ block 660 ] by sending this “ confirmation ” command through the ip network 140 , the network av / c module 105 sends a command as described by block 610 . the operation of the system of fig1 while the network av / c modules 105 and 155 process an event notification is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig7 . at block 700 , processing an event notification within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . in block 710 , a 1394 enabled device generates an event notification . an event notification includes an end of tape message , a user initiated function , a battery warning , and the like . the user initiated function includes stop command , rewind command , record command , forward command , and the like . in block 720 , a network av / c module receives the event notification . for example , if the tape inside the digital video camera 180 runs out of tape , the digital video camera 180 generates an “ end of tape ” event notification . the network av / c module 155 receives this “ end of tape ” event notification . in block 730 , a network av / c module formats the event notification into a tcp / ip message and selectively broadcasts the notification to devices which are interested . in another embodiment the “ end of tape ” event notification is addressed to the md 135 . accordingly , the event notification is addressed to the guid corresponding to the md 135 . in block 740 , the event notification processing within the network av / c terminates . the flow diagrams as depicted in fig4 , 6 , and 7 are merely one embodiment of the invention . the blocks may be performed in a different sequence without departing from the spirit of the invention . further , blocks may be deleted , added or combined without departing from the spirit of the invention . the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . for example , the invention is described within the context of set - top boxes as merely embodiments of the invention . the invention may be applied to a variety of other devices . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed , and naturally many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents .
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fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a nasal insert that includes upwardly spiraling support member or strut 12 extending between top ring 10 and bottom ring 11 . fig1 illustrates the top ring 10 being a closed ring and strut 12 being a partial spiral . the top ring may have a diameter d 1 or other traverse measure that is smaller than a diameter d 2 or other transverse measure of the bottom ring . fig2 , 3 , 5 , 5 a , and 6 - 10 show various other embodiments of nasal inserts with spirally - or helically - oriented support member ( s ). the various constituent parts of a nasal insert may be made from different materials and / or have different stiffnesses . nasal insert constituent parts may be formed from a first material that is partially or completely encapsulated in or coated by a second material . while it may be preferable that the surfaces of the insert that contact nasal surfaces are made of soft plastics or polymers , inserts may also be made of metals , plastics , and / or polymers . for example , a nasal insert may have constituent part ( s ) made from a relatively stiff material coated with a relatively soft and / or pliable material . in some embodiments , constituent part ( s ) of an insert may be made from one or more pliable or flexible materials , that range in instantaneous hardness , as rated by astm d - 2240 , from shore 00 to shore d 90 . certain portions of constituent part ( s ) of an insert may be made from one material durometer , while others may be made from two . for example , the bottom ring may be stiffened with the addition of an inner hoop or stiffening ring of a first instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material that is over molded or embedded in a second different instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material , while the rest of the insert is made from either the same instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material as the second material , or from a third instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material different from the first and second materials . in some embodiments , the materials may be bio - absorbable and / or biodegradable materials . the insert may be placed in the nose to aid correct structural growth or during or following surgery to stent the airway open to aid healing . placed in such a way , an insert made of bio - absorbable or biodegradable materials will absorb and / or disappear over time eliminating the need to surgically remove it . if two or more flexible materials are used to form a constituent part of a nasal insert , they may be bonded chemically , mechanically , or chemically and mechanically to one another . similarly , if different constituent parts of a nasal insert are made from different materials ( or different combinations of materials , such as when two constituent parts have certain material ( s ) in common and certain material ( s ) not in common ) they may be bonded , chemically , mechanically or chemically and mechanically to one another . the support member 12 may be made from a material that is selected for its elastic properties so that support member 12 may serve as a spring mechanism between one or more tubular elements , 10 and 11 . the support member may contain a stiffening element embedded or over molded inside to provide vertical support . this member may be made with two distinct materials . the tubular elements may be made from a third , distinct , material . fig2 illustrates a second embodiment where the spiral support member 20 , which may contain a stiffening element to provide vertical support , serves as a spring mechanism for one tubular element 21 , which has openings through the wall , and may be made with the first material , or with a second , distinct , material . the spiral support member , as with other constituent parts , may be embedded inside or overmolded with a less stiff material . fig3 illustrates a third embodiment where the spiral support member 30 made of a first material , serves as a spring mechanism for one tubular element 32 that may be made with the first material , or with a second , distinct , material . fig5 illustrates an insert having two tubular elements 54 and 56 , supported by two spiral support members 50 and 52 . the insert may also include a filter , such as conical filter 58 , shown in fig5 a . the filter may be affixed to the insert in a variety of ways , such as by snap - fitting , press - fitting , interference fit , integral formation , etc . the insert and filter may define groove ( s ) and complementary ridge ( s ). the spiral support members may wrap in the same direction and may be placed opposed to one another in connecting to the first tubular element , such as shown in fig5 . the first material may be an inner ring which may have an interruption as illustrated in fig4 ( top view ) 40 and fig4 a ( side view ), that may have two or more protrusions 42 ( outward - facing ), 43 ( inward - facing ), and / or one or more holes 44 through the ring . fig4 b illustrates an embodiment of an inner ring 48 embedded in an outer material 49 , in a manner such that the inner facing surface of the inner ring is exposed 46 . this inner surface can define one or more grooves 47 . fig8 illustrates an example of a fig4 inner ring integrated into a nasal insert , in which the protrusions on the inner ring are mechanically and chemically bonded to the second material , and appear on the outer surface at anchor holes 80 . the first material ( i . e ., the stiff core ) may also be a vertically oriented support member that may wrap upwards in a circular direction to form a series of curves or one or more helixes ( element 60 in fig6 ; element 70 in fig7 ). fig9 shows cores 90 embedded in helical support members with anchor holes or protrusions at the start 92 , end 94 , or mid points as necessary . the first material may have ring , spiral , horizontal or vertical parts that are formed as one part or are formed as separate parts and then assembled , as demonstrated in fig1 . resilient — capable of returning to an original shape or position , as after having been compressed . spiral —( a ) a curve on a plane that winds around a fixed center point at a continuously increasing or decreasing distance from the point ; ( b ) a three - dimensional curve that turns around an axis at a constant or continuously varying distance while moving parallel to the axis ; a helix , such as a cylindrical or conic helix . helix — a three - dimensional curve that lies on a cylinder or cone , so that its angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis is constant . fig1 - 17 depict exemplary embodiments of nasal inserts having non - ridge - containing protrusion ( s ). including a protrusion on an insert may aid in reshaping the nasal air space , through gentle outwardly facing pressure by the insert on the nasal pathway , to allow greater airflow to be inhaled through the nasal pathway . the protrusions ( nodules ) may be located on any surface of the nasal insert . the one or more protrusions may be custom - positioned on the insert to facilitate a refined and personal fit . as shown in fig1 - 13 and 16 - 17 , a nasal insert may include one or more nodules ( rounded , non - ridge containing protuberances ) 112 ( fig1 ) and 124 ( fig1 ). a nodule or protuberance may be shaped like half of a pear that is cut in the longitudinal or latitudinal plane , or as a button , a rounded plane , as a semisphere or hemisphere , or as other rounded shapes . nodules may be convex as shown , or concave , or both , as desired to conform to or interface with nasal mucosa . nodules may be integrally formed in a nasal insert or may be formed as a separate part and assembled ( fig1 ). the nodule may be formed from a material having a different durometer than that of the nasal insert . the nodule may be softer than the material of the nasal insert . the nodule may include or contain a magnet . such a magnet may be sized , shaped , positioned , and / or provided with sufficient magnetic strength so that it may attract a second magnet included in or contained in the nodule of a second nasal insert , or included in or contained in an exterior tabular element . the nodule ( s ) may be integrated or formed separately in a varying array of nodule shapes 112 , 122 and may protrude at varying slopes so as to allow for maximum customization . nodules formed separately may be made part of a nasal insert kit for an individual &# 39 ; s selection . the nodules may attach with a self - securing mechanism 123 , which may be fitted through one or more through - wall openings or receptacles 121 . customization and comfort may be enhanced and this permits a more affordable method to customize the nasal insert for improved function and comfort . the nasal insert with the nodules may be formed so that they are connected by a member that originates from the inner surface wall , as shown in cross section fig1 , 150 of the tubular element , and extends distal from the tubular element fig1 , 130 and then through a rounded or angular corner 132 continues across a width at least double the span of the tubular elements diameter 134 where a mirrored rounded or angular corner 136 then returns the connecting member to the second tubular element on the inner surface wall . in use , the tubular elements may be rotated 180 degrees upward , so that the connecting member 140 turns around and forms a loop 142 . the ends 150 of the connecting member may originate inside the tubular element as demonstrated in fig1 in a profile drawing . fig1 , 16 a , 17 , and 18 show another embodiment , in which the tubular elements may include a tabular member 160 , 170 that is designed in the shape of an arc . the tabular member may be so sized and shaped as to capture the nasal alar 180 , thereby helping to secure the tubular member in the nose . the features described herein may be combined with the various features described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 290 , 047 , filed nov . 30 , 2005 , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 842 , 220 , filed may 10 , 2004 , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 434 , 669 , filed may 9 , 2003 , and u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 862 , 966 , filed may 22 , 2001 , now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 562 , 057 , which are incorporated by reference herein for such teachings . for example , the nasal inserts described herein may include tabs , connecting members , filters , intranasal drug coating / delivery , interrupted members , shapes , and other features as described in the cited references .
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fig1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention and fig5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention . the invention will now be described . the first embodiment will now be described in detail . three claws 4 having a tool gripping portion in their inner circumferential surfaces project to a tip end of a body 1 through a slant hole provided in the body 1 and are slanted to an axis of the body 1 . male screw portions 4 a are formed on the outside of the three claws 4 . a rotary nut 3 having a female screw portion 3 b is fitted around the claws 4 under the condition that it threadedly engages with the male screw portions 4 a . a rotary sleeve 2 made of synthetic resin ( may be made of metal material ) is fitted around the body 1 . a metallic annular member 8 is arranged within the rotary sleeve 2 . a plurality of small holes as recess portions 7 are provided in an annular shape at a predetermined interval in the annular member 8 . incidentally , this annular member 8 may be formed integrally with the rotary sleeve 2 or may be formed integrally with the rotary nut 3 . furthermore , it is possible to integrally form the annular member 8 , the rotary sleeve 2 and the rotary nut 3 with each other . also , the annular member 8 may be formed integrally with a flange portion 1 a of the body 1 . a back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 is formed into an outer conical surface . a receiving portion 5 is formed at the flange portion la of the body 1 and at a position facing the rotary nut 3 . a plurality of balls ( steel balls , ceramic balls , plastic balls ) as rolling members 6 are provided between the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 and a front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 . incidentally , the receiving portion 5 may be formed to extend the flange portion 1 a of the body 1 . also , the conical slant surface is not provided on the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 but may be provided on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 . alternatively , the conical slant surface may be formed both on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 and the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 . the receiving portion 5 is made of elastic member so that the balls are moved forwardly when the claws 4 grip the tool and a fastening reactive force is applied thereto in a thrust direction . reference numeral 9 denotes a clearance for allowing the receiving portion to be flexed . reference numeral 10 denotes a grip sleeve provided on the body 1 in a rotation preventing condition . incidentally , it is possible to take a structure where the rotary sleeve 2 extends rearwardly to dispense with the grip sleeve 10 . in this case , the electric rotary tool to be described later , in which a spindle is locked , is used . reference numeral 11 denotes a stopper for the rotary sleeve 2 . also , the electric power rotary tool 12 shown in the fig1 is of the type that the spindle is kept in a free condition during non - operation . it is of course possible to apply the present invention to an electric rotary tool where the spindle is locked during non - operation or an electric power rotary tool where an abrupt brake is effected when the rotating spindle is stopped . since the first embodiment has been constructed as described above , the tool is inserted between the three claws 4 , the grip sleeve 10 is gripped by one hand in order to rotate the rotary nut 3 , the rotary sleeve 2 is gripped and rotated by the other hand ( in case of the above - described electric power rotary tool where the spindle is locked , it is unnecessary to grip the grip sleeve 10 ), and the claws 4 are moved forwardly to be closed to grip the tool . at this time , the fastening reactive force in the thrust direction in accordance with the fastening of the tool is applied to the rotary nut 3 . the rotary nut 3 is finely moved rearwardly by an amount of backlash of the screw portions 4 a and 3 a by a lead angle of the screw portions 4 a and 3 a . a radial component of the fastening reactive force in the thrust direction is applied to the balls which are orbited while rotating about their own axes by the rotation of the rotary nut 3 . the balls are engaged within the small holes of the annular member 8 from a position shown in fig2 to a position shown in fig3 . the worker may readily recognize , by a sound and his sense , whether or not the balls are engaged within the small holes because the balls are received into and released away from the small holes when he rotates the rotary sleeve 2 . when the power rotary driver is operated under this condition and a predetermined work is performed by the tool , even if , for example , vibrations and shocks are transmitted from the tool , since the balls are engaged within the small holes , the resistance occurs from the edges of the small holes upon the release away from the small holes . the orbital rotation of the balls is suppressed corresponding to this resistance . accordingly , the rotary sleeve 2 and the rotary nut 3 are prevented from being loosened . incidentally , when the rotary nut 3 is rotated in the direction that it is to be loosened , the radial component ( pressure force ) is eliminated . in the first embodiment , since the recess portions or the like are not provided on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 or the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 which are the ball rolling surfaces , it is possible to perform the smooth rotation of the rotary sleeve 2 . accordingly , it is possible to obtain a large tool fastening force . it is possible to maintain the good fastening force , i . e ., the smooth rotation of the rotary sleeve 2 which is inevitable for the chuck device having the structure for gripping the tool only with the manual operation without any tool . also , in the case of the first embodiment , since the pressure force for engaging the balls with the small holes is not the entire fastening reactive force in the thrust direction but a part of the fastening reactive force , i . e ., the radial component , the pressure force is weak corresponding to this . even if the balls are located at the ridge line positions of the small holes , there is a little fear that the ridge lines would be damaged . also , in the first embodiment , by suitably selecting the slant angle of the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 , it is possible to change the pressure force to the small holes for the balls . it is therefore possible to readily obtain the pressure force for the use . also , since the receiving portion 5 has an elasticity , the balls that have been fitted in the small holes are kept under that condition by the elastic force . accordingly , it is possible to obtain a good loosening prevention effect . of course , if the elasticity of the receiving portion 5 is too weak , the loosening prevention effect is suppressed , the elasticity of the receiving portion 5 should be set at a suitable elasticity . furthermore , when the balls that are present within the small holes ride over the small holes by their orbital rotation , the balls are moved inwardly ( downwardly in fig1 ). in this case , if the receiving portion 5 is not a member having the elasticity , the inward movement of the balls is prevented . however , in this embodiment , since the receiving member 5 is the elastic member , such a problem may be solved . incidentally , in the first embodiment , the small holes are formed in the annular member 8 . however , recess portions or corrugated roughened surfaces may be used for the small holes . in this case , it is possible to directly provide the recess portions or the corrugated roughened surface on the inner surface of the rotary sleeve 2 without providing the annular member 8 . if the rotary sleeve 2 is made of synthetic resin , it is possible to utilize its elasticity . recess grooves 14 are provided in the inner surface of the annular member 8 arranged inside of the rotary sleeve 2 . a plurality of recess grooves 14 are provided at a predetermined interval in the radial direction extending in the thrust direction of the rotary nut 3 . fig5 shows the state before fastening and fig6 shows the state upon the fastening . in the second embodiment , if an annular member is provided inside of the grip sleeve 10 on the rear side of the annular sleeve 8 , with a plurality of projections which are engageable with the recess grooves 14 of the annular member 8 and which are extended in the thrust direction and juxtaposed at a predetermined interval in the radial direction being provided at the front of the annular member , and the loosening of the rotary nut 3 is prevented by the engagement with a projection and the corresponding recess groove 14 ( this engagement of course allows the fastening rotation of the rotary nut 3 ), another fastening loosing function is performed in addition to the loosening preventing function by the above - described movement controlling surfaces ( small holes or the like ). thus , the loosening of the rotary nut 3 may be prevented more positively corresponding to this . incidentally , in case of the structure where the rotary sleeve 2 extends rearwardly and the grip sleeve 10 is not present , the above - described annular member is provided in the rotation prevention condition together with the body 1 within the rotary sleeve 2 . various details of the invention may be changed without departing from its spirit nor its scope . furthermore , the foregoing description of the embodiments according to the present invention is provided for the purpose of illustration only , and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents .
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referring to the exploded view of fig1 the socket of the present invention includes bottom plate means comprising base plate 10 and bottom plate 30 , end plate 50 , cam or middle plate 100 and top plate 140 . the square metal base plate 10 contains a matrix of apertures 20 ; typically a 10 × 10 square matrix . additional apertures 25 are located in base plate 10 for aligning the additional plates above and adjacent to base plate 10 . alignment holes 25 are also used to receive screws to join together tightly the plates to form the socket . square metal bottom plate 30 has a flat bottom face and an upper face composed of two split level rectangular surfaces 34 , 36 which are split by a front facing surface 38 . in the large elevated surface 34 a matrix of apertures 40 is located which correspond to apertures 20 of base plate 10 . additional apertures 45 are located in bottom plate 30 which correspond with apertures 25 in base plate 10 . end plate 50 is substantially u - shaped and is positioned on the smaller rectangular upper surface 36 of bottom plate 30 . the longer , central section 54 of the end plate 50 , is a rectangular solid , with a midchannel 60 extending through section 54 from the front surface to the rear surface . two arms 56 a , b of end plate 50 abut surface 38 and have top surfaces slightly elevated above surface 34 of bottom plate 30 . end plate 50 contains several apertures 65 which correspond with certain of apertures 45 , 25 in the bottom plate 30 and the base plate 10 , respectively . between the arms 56 a , b of end plate 50 is positioned a cam pusher 70 which rests upon the surface 36 of bottom plate 30 . cam pusher 70 is composed of plastic and is essentially an l - shaped rectangular solid . there are two principal top surfaces 74 , 76 , one surface 76 being more elevated than the other surface 74 . the more elevated surface 76 has a cross channel 80 which aligns with the center of channel 60 in end plate 50 . three u - shaped co - linear sections 78 a , b , c extend from the lower surface 74 and form a channel for receiving a lever 90 , which is parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cam pusher 70 . lever 90 has two cam actuating surfaces 96 positioned between the three elevated sections 78 . when rotated by a lever handle 92 , cam plate 100 is actuated . cam plate 100 is composed of plastic or electrical insulating material similar to cam pusher 70 and slidably rests on surface 34 of middle plate 30 . the plate includes square section 112 which contains a matrix of square apertures 110 , typically a 10 × 10 square matrix , which corresponds to apertures 20 and 40 , and a narrow section 114 which is juxtaposed opposite cam pusher 70 . two protuberances 116 are juxtaposed opposite cam actuating surfaces 96 of lever 90 . cam friction wear plates 120 , each consisting of a right - angled piece of metal , are positioned on protuberances 116 . when lever handle 92 is fully lowered , cam actuating surfaces 96 touch inserts 120 and cause sliding motion of cam plate 100 . top plate 140 is composed of metal with a flat upper face containing a matrix of apertures 150 . two thicker sections on the bottom surface of top plate 140 ( not shown ) bridge cam plate 100 and rest directly on bottom plate 30 to space top plate 140 above and out of contact with cam plate 100 . apertures 155 in the top plate 140 align with corresponding apertures 65 , 45 , and 25 to juxtapose matrix 150 opposite matrix 110 . alignment holes 25 , 45 , 65 , 155 , secure the various parts together , such that only lever 90 and cam plate 100 can move with respect to top plate 140 . rectangular slot 160 directly above channel 60 and channel 80 allows lever handle 92 to be raised above top plate 140 . fig2 a is a cross - sectional view of a typical set of apertures . top plate 140 , cam plate 100 , bottom plate 30 , and base plate 10 when joined together align the respective matrices of aperatures 150 , 110 , 40 , 20 to form a clear path through all of the plates . the apertures in the matrices in top plate 140 , bottom plate 30 , and base plate 10 are typically circular . a cylindrical plastic insulator sleeve 170 is fitted inside each aperture in matrix 150 in top plate 140 and two cylindrical plastic insulator sleeves 172 , 174 are fitted inside each aperture in matrix 40 in bottom plate 30 . connector jack 181 includes a copper sleeve 178 which has two prongs 180 affixed to it at one end and extending from the other end the conducting electrical leads 184 . sleeve 178 is force fitted into sleeve 174 . prongs 180 extend upward through the apertures 110 in cam plate 100 and the apertures 150 in top plate 140 . in the &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; position , there is sufficient space between prongs 180 for insertion of a pin lead 182 of a semiconductor device without contacting either prong . thus , frictionless insertion of a multiple lead device into jacks 181 may be effected . when the cam lever handle 92 is lowered , cam plate 100 will slide to the left into the &# 34 ; closed &# 34 ; position as depicted in fig2 b . this forces prongs 180 to close with respect to each other , and to contact pin lead 182 . thus , electrical contact is made between each pin lead 182 of a multiple lead device and each connector jack 181 . as shown in fig2 a , affixed to and extending from each aperture within matrix 20 of base plate 10 is a cylindrical conducting tube 190 . fig3 shows the bottom side of base plate 10 and a portion of tubes 190 . the bottom plate means is separated , in the preferred embodiment , into bottom plate 30 and base plate 10 to allow tubes 190 to be affixed more conveniently . as shown in fig2 a , electrical leads 184 for each jack 181 pass through tubes 190 . a plastic insulating tube 198 is located inside each conducting tube 190 . this insulates the electrical leads 184 from the conductor tube 190 , and physically positions the conductor pair 184 in the center of tube 190 in order to optimize the transmission line characteristics thereof . tubes 190 are arranged in a configuration which extends electrical leads 184 into a predetermined number of planes which are parallel with the surface of base plate 10 . in the preferred embodiment four parallel planes are chosen which are designated in fig4 by the letters a , b , c , and d . there are thus four planes to which the tubes 190 extend and in which they terminate . fig5 shows the correlation between the apertures in matrix 20 of the base plate 10 and planes a , b , c , d to which their respective tubes 190 extend . to each of the apertures designated by the letter a is affixed a tube 190 which extends to plane a . similarly , to those apertures designated by the letters b , c , d , are affixed tubes 190 which extend to respective planes b , c , d . by this means , a high density concentration of electrical leads 184 passing through apertures in matrix 20 in the base plate 10 is distributed in a three - dimensional , multi - planar distribution in the half space defined by base plate 10 . in planes a , b , c , d circuit boards 195 are affixed to coaxial conductors formed by the tubes 190 and electrical leads 184 . the socket of the present invention is constructed principally of metal , and so each individual connector jack is electrically shielded from electromagnetic radiation emanating from adjacent connector jacks . the only region where coupling may take place is in that space occupied by the cam plate 100 . the thickness of cam plate 100 is minimized to diminish the possibility of &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; between the various connector jacks 181 . the effective shielding of each jack 181 allows for a high density arrangement of connector jacks 181 without a loss in resolution of electrical signal from the connections . as each electrical lead 184 emerges from the shielded region which is provided by the metallic plates , it passes through tubes 190 whose metallic conductance shields the electrical leads 184 from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; with other leads 184 and from external radiation . the flaring or diverging of the coaxial conductor 184 , 190 into multiple planes to connect with circuit boards 195 , further reduces the possibility of significant interference from electromagnetic radiation from adjacent electrical leads 184 . also the multi - planar termination of the coaxial conductors minimizes their length which reduces electrical interference either by crosscoupling or from an external source of radiation , and minimizes transit time of signals on electrical leads 184 . the method for constructing the socket allows for a plurality of conducting leads to pass through the socket by inserting insulating sleeves into the apertures in the matrices of the conducting top plate and the conducting bottom plate means , through which the conducting leads pass . the conducting leads are electrically connected to a plurality of circuit boards containing testing circuitry . to minimize the required length of these leads , and to shield them from cross - talk and external radiation , they pass through a flared array of conducting tubes to connect with a multi - planar distribution of the circuit boards . as shown in fig6 the method for constructing the flared array of conducting tubes including bending a plurality of conducting tubes into predetermined forms , extracting the pre - existing insulation therein which has provided structural support , aligning one such tube in each of the apertures in the matrix in the base plate , and firmly affixing these tubes to the base plate to form a flared array in the half - space defined by the base plate and opposite the socket , so that the tubes terminate in a predetermined number of planes which are parallel with the base plate . insulating sleeves are inserted through the conducting tubes and into the base plate . these sleeves insulate the conducting leads from the conducting tubes , and center these leads in the tubes , to optimize the high impedance transmission line characteristics of the tubes and leads . the method further includes providing a connector jack with a conducting lead of sufficient length to extend through both the socket and the conducting tubes , and threading one such conducting lead through each set of insulated apertures in the matrices in the socket plates and through the insulated conducting tubes . the terminations of the tubes are attached to circuit boards to which the jacks can be electrically connected by means of the conducting leads . thus the present invention has provided an improved zero insertion force socket into which a semiconductor device having a high density array of pin leads may be inserted . each of said pins is protected and shielded from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; and other electromagnetic radiation interference from adjacent pins . electrical connection between the pins and testing circuitry is shielded from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; and other electromagnetic radiation interference . the testing circuitry is physically distributed in a multi - planar configuration to separate physically individual electrical connections , and to minimize the length of such connections by providing a high density arrangement of the testing circuitry .
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embodiment 1 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows the cross - sectional structure of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device according to embodiment 1 . as shown in fig1 , on a hydrogen barrier film 14 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 11 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 12 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 13 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm formed in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 19 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 14 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 15 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 15 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 15 for exposing the third barrier layer 13 . the capacitor 19 includes a lower electrode 16 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 17 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( srbi 2 ta 2 o 9 ; hereinafter referred to as the sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm and an upper electrode 18 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 15 a . the capacitor dielectric film 17 is deposited by cvd , the lower electrode 16 is deposited by sputtering or the cvd , and the upper electrode 18 is deposited by the cvd . it is noted that a contact plug for electrically connecting a semiconductor substrate not shown to the lower electrode 16 of the capacitor 19 may be provided below the hydrogen barrier film 14 . now , the reason why the upper electrode 18 of platinum is deposited by the cvd in embodiment i will be described . as described above , the present inventor has found that the upper electrode is broken in the conventional fabrication method because platinum deposited by the sputtering has a relatively large thermal shrinkage factor . fig2 shows the relationships between a deposition temperature and a thermal shrinkage factor of platinum obtained in the respective deposition methods . at this point , it is assumed that the platinum is annealed after the deposition at a temperature of 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds . in a conventional capacitor , the upper electrode 107 is deposited by the sputtering performed at a temperature of approximately 200 ° c . in this case , it is understood from fig2 that the platinum shrinks by approximately 15 % through the annealing . on the other hand , in the case where the upper electrode 107 is deposited by the cvd performed at a temperature of approximately 200 ° c ., the platinum shrinks by approximately 10 %, which is lower by 5 % than that attained by the sputtering . furthermore , in the case where the deposition temperature of the platinum film is increased in employing the cvd , the thermal shrinkage factor is approximately 7 % or less when the deposition temperature is 300 ° c . or more , and it is confirmed that the upper electrode 18 is not broken in this case . in other words , when the thermal shrinkage factor of the upper electrode 18 is lower than 10 %, the upper electrode 18 can be prevented from being broken . this phenomenon seems to occur because the platinum film deposited by the cvd attains a dense film quality and the thermal shrinkage minimally occurs in the platinum film with a dense film quality . in embodiment 1 , it is confirmed that the effect of the invention can be attained no matter whether the lower electrode 16 of platinum or the like is deposited by the sputtering or the cvd . in the case where the lower electrode 16 is made of platinum or the like deposited by the sputtering , it is apprehended that the lower electrode 16 is broken in the same manner as the upper electrode 18 . however , the lower electrode 16 is not broken because it is substantially annealed through the annealing performed for depositing the capacitor dielectric film 17 and is physically pressed by the capacitor dielectric film 17 . embodiment 2 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig3 shows the cross - sectional stricture of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device of embodiment 2 . as shown in fig3 , on a hydrogen barrier film 24 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 21 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 22 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 23 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm deposited in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 29 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 24 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 25 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 25 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 25 for exposing the third barrier layer 23 . the capacitor 29 includes a lower electrode 26 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 27 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm , and an upper electrode 28 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 25 a . as a characteristic of embodiment 2 , the capacitor dielectric film 27 is crystallized through two annealing processes of preliminary annealing and regular annealing . now , a method for fabricating the ferroelectric capacitor having the aforementioned structure will be described with reference to a fabrication flowchart of fig4 . first , a first barrier layer 21 of tialn , a second barrier layer 22 of ir and a third barrier layer 23 of iro 2 are successively deposited by , for example , the cvd in an upper portion of a semiconductor substrate ( not shown ), and these barrier layers are patterned through dry etching using a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ), so as to form a hydrogen barrier film 24 composed of the first barrier layer 21 , the second barrier layer 22 and the third barrier layer 23 . subsequently , an underlying dielectric film 25 is deposited by plasma cvd so as to cover the hydrogen barrier film 24 , and an opening 25 a for exposing the third barrier layer 23 is formed in the underlying dielectric film 25 through lithography and dry etching using an etching gas including fluorocarbon . next , in step st 11 of fig4 , a lower electrode 26 made of multilayered films of iro 2 and pt is deposited by the sputtering , and in step st 12 , a portion of the lower electrode 26 deposited outside the periphery of the opening 25 a is removed by patterning through the lithography and the dry etching . then , in step st 13 , a capacitor dielectric film 27 of sbt is deposited by the cvd . next , in step st 14 , an upper electrode 28 of platinum is deposited on the capacitor dielectric film 27 by the sputtering , and thereafter , in step st 15 , the deposited upper electrode 28 and capacitor dielectric film 27 are patterned through the lithography and the dry etching , resulting in obtaining a capacitor 29 . at this point , the etching gas used for the upper electrode 28 is a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ) and the etching gas used for the capacitor dielectric film 27 is a gas including chlorine and fluorine : then , in step st 16 , the capacitor 29 is subjected to preliminary annealing ( first annealing ) at a temperature of approximately 500 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to preliminarily crystallize the sbt included in the capacitor dielectric film 27 . subsequently , in step st 17 , the capacitor 29 is subjected to regular annealing ( second annealing ) at a temperature of approximately 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to completely crystallize the sbt . now , the reason why the preliminary crystallization annealing of step st 16 , that is , the characteristic of this embodiment , is performed will be described . fig5 shows the relationship between an annealing temperature and a thermal shrinkage factor obtained when platinum is deposited by the sputtering . as is understood from fig5 , platinum generally shrinks by approximately 15 % through annealing at a temperature of 775 ° c ., but when annealing at a temperature of , for example , 500 ° c . is performed for preliminary crystallization , platinum shrinks by merely approximately 7 % through the preliminary crystallization . accordingly , when the regular crystallization annealing at a temperature of 775 ° c . is performed after the preliminary crystallization , it is presumed that the platinum shrinks by the remaining approximately 8 %. as described above , when platinum shrinks by approximately 15 % at a time , the upper electrode 28 is broken ( rent ). however , when the annealing is once performed at a temperature of approximately 650 ° c . or less as the preliminary crystallization annealing and the regular crystallization annealing is performed thereafter at a general temperature of 775 ° c . as in embodiment 2 , the thermal shrinkage caused in the upper electrode 28 at a time can be suppressed to 10 % or less , and therefore , the upper electrode 28 is not broken . as is understood from fig5 , when the preliminary annealing temperature is set to approximately 400 ° c . or less , platinum shrinks merely by less than 5 % through the preliminary annealing , and therefore , it shrinks by more than 10 % in the crystallization annealing subsequently performed at a temperature of 775 ° c . it is presumed that the upper electrode 28 is broken in this case . therefore , the temperature range to be employed in the preliminary crystallization annealing is preferably not less than 400 ° c . and not more than 650 ° c . and more preferably not less than 500 ° c . and not more than 550 ° c . furthermore , the preliminary crystallization annealing may be performed over a plurality of times . also , although the platinum deposited by the sputtering is used as the upper electrode 28 in embodiment 2 , when the upper electrode 28 is deposited by the cvd as in embodiment 1 , the effect that the film quality of the platinum film is made dense can be additionally attained . thus , the effect of embodiment 2 can be further definitely exhibited . embodiment 3 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig6 shows the cross - sectional structure of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device of embodiment 3 . as shown in fig6 , on a hydrogen barrier film 34 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 31 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 32 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 33 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm deposited in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 39 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 34 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 35 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 35 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 35 for exposing the third barrier layer 33 . the capacitor 39 includes a lower electrode 36 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 37 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm , and an upper electrode 38 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 35 a . as a characteristic of embodiment 3 , the capacitor dielectric film 37 is subjected to crystallization annealing after forming a protecting dielectric film 40 of , for example , silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) with a thickness of approximately 100 nm on the upper electrode 38 . now , a method for fabricating the ferroelectric capacitor having the aforementioned structure will be described with reference to a fabrication flowchart of fig7 . first , a first barrier layer 31 of tialn , a second barrier layer 32 of ir and a third barrier layer 33 of iro 2 are successively deposited by , for example , the cvd in an upper portion of a semiconductor substrate ( not shown ), and these barrier layers are patterned through the dry etching using a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ), so as to form a hydrogen barrier film 34 composed of the first barrier layer 31 , the second barrier layer 32 and the third barrier layer 33 . subsequently , an underlying dielectric film 35 is deposited by the plasma cvd so as to cover the hydrogen barrier film 34 , and an opening 35 a for exposing the third barrier layer 33 is formed in the underlying dielectric film 35 through the lithography and the dry etching using an etching gas including fluorocarbon . next , in step st 21 of fig7 , a lower electrode 36 made of multilayered films of iro 2 and pt is deposited by the sputtering , and in step st 22 , a portion of the lower electrode 36 deposited outside the periphery of the opening 35 a is removed by the patterning through the lithography and the dry etching . then , in step st 23 , a capacitor dielectric film 37 of sbt is deposited by the cvd . next , in step st 24 , an upper electrode 38 of platinum is deposited on the capacitor dielectric film 37 by the sputtering , and thereafter , in step st 25 , the deposited upper electrode 38 and capacitor dielectric film 37 are patterned through the lithography and the dry etching , resulting in obtaining a capacitor 39 . at this point , the etching gas used for the upper electrode 38 is a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ) and the etching gas used for the capacitor dielectric film 37 is a gas including chlorine and fluorine . subsequently , in step st 26 , a protecting dielectric film 40 of , for example , silicon oxide with a thickness of approximately 100 nm is deposited by the cvd over the underlying dielectric film 35 including the upper electrode 38 . at this point , the deposition temperature is approximately 550 ° c . then , in step st 27 , the capacitor 39 is subjected to annealing at a temperature of approximately 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to crystallize the sbt included in the capacitor dielectric film 37 . now , the reason why the upper electrode 38 is covered with the protecting dielectric film 40 before the crystallization annealing in embodiment 3 will be described . first , since the protecting dielectric film 40 is deposited at a temperature of approximately 550 ° c ., the upper electrode 38 is substantially subjected to preliminary crystallization annealing . when the preliminary crystallization annealing is performed , the upper electrode 38 can be prevented from being broken ( rent ) as in embodiment 2 . secondly , when the platinum film of the upper electrode 38 is covered with the protecting dielectric film 40 , the thermal shrinkage of the platinum film can be physically suppressed . owing to these two effects , the upper electrode 38 can be more effectively prevented from being broken than in embodiment 2 . although the platinum deposited by the sputtering is used as the upper electrode 38 in embodiment 3 , when the upper electrode 38 is deposited by the cvd as in embodiment 1 , the effect that the film quality of the platinum film is made dense can be additionally attained . thus , the effect of embodiment 3 can be further definitely exhibited . furthermore , although the protecting dielectric film 40 used for protecting the upper electrode 38 is made of silicon oxide in embodiment 3 , the material of the protecting dielectric film 40 is not limited to silicon oxide but the same effect can be attained by using silicon oxinitride or silicon nitride . in each of embodiments 1 through 3 , the cross - sectional structure of the capacitor and the like is what is called a concave type structure in which a capacitor and the like are formed in the concave of an underlying dielectric film or the like . however , similar effects can be attained also when the structure is what is called a column type structure in which a columnar lower electrode is formed on a flat underlying dielectric film and a capacitor dielectric film of a ferroelectric and an upper electrode are formed on the side and upper faces of the lower electrode . although the ferroelectric used in the capacitor dielectric film is sbt , namely , srbi 2 ta 2 o 9 , in each embodiment , the sbt may be replaced with strontium bismuth tantalate niobate ( srbi 2 ( ta x nb 1 - x ) 2 o 9 ), lead zirconate titanate ( pb ( zr x ti 1 - x ) o 3 ), barium strontium titanate (( ba x sr 1 - x ) tio 3 ) or bismuth lanthanum titanate (( bi x la 1 - x ) 4 ti 3 o 12 ) ( in all of which 0 ≦ x ≦ 1 ). furthermore , the material of the capacitor dielectric film may be a metal oxide and hence is not limited to a ferroelectric but may be a high dielectric constant material such as tantalum pentoxide ( ta 2 o 5 ). moreover , although the capacitor dielectric film is deposited by the cvd in each embodiment , the deposition method is not limited to the cvd as far as the capacitor dielectric film can be deposited at high coverage even on a portion with a level difference . additionally , although platinum is used for the lower electrode and the upper electrode in each embodiment , the platinum may be replaced with another platinum group element , such as ruthenium ( ru ), rhodium ( rh ), palladium ( pd ), osmium ( os ) or iridium ( ir ). each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode preferably has a thickness of approximately 50 nm through 100 nm . as described so far , the semiconductor device and the method for fabricating the same of this invention exhibit the effect to prevent break ( rent ) of an upper electrode otherwise caused in deposition of a ferroelectric capacitor in a three - dimensional shape , and hence are useful for fabricating a semiconductor device including a ferroelectric capacitor in a three - dimensional shape .
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referring now to fig1 , an exemplary embodiment of a coder / decoder - enabled television is generally depicted as 10 . the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 includes a display device 12 , a media input 14 , a processor 16 , and a communications port 18 . the display device 12 can include various types of display devices including , but not limited to , a cathode - ray tube ( crt ) display , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ), a plasma display , an electroluminescent ( el ) display , or the like . the display device 12 is in electrical communication with the processor 16 , which processes media signals received from the media input 14 and responsively transmits display signals to the display device 12 . the media input 14 can include various types of inputs including , but not limited to , s - video cable , coaxial cable , component video cable , hdmi video cable , dvi video cable , and the like . the processor 16 is also in electrical communication with the communications port 18 . in exemplary embodiments , the processor 16 is designed to handle a variety of media signals and formats including , but not limited to those specified by the advanced television systems committee ( atsc ) and the national television systems committee ( ntsc ). furthermore , the processor 16 is designed to process various types of media signals including , but not limited to , 480 i , 480 p , 720 p , 1080 i , and 1080 p signal types . in addition to processing the media signals and transmitting the display signals , the processor 16 also generates and transmits a monitoring signal to the communications port 18 . the monitoring signal is a compressed and optionally encoded version of the display signal that is transmitted to the communications port 18 . in exemplary embodiments , the communications port 18 may be connected to a variety of communications networks including , but not limited to , a plain old telephone service ( pots ), a broadband internet connection through a cable modem or dsl line , a local area network ( lan ), or a wireless communications network . continuing now with reference to fig2 , an exemplary embodiment of a remote monitoring system 20 including a coder / decoder - enabled television 10 is depicted . the remote monitoring system 20 also includes a communications network 22 in electrical communication with the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 and a remote device 24 . the remote device 24 can be any remote communications device that has a display and may include , but is not limited to , a cellular phone , a laptop , a pda , a blackberry ™, or the like . in exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 establishes a connection to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 over the communications network 22 and receives the monitoring signals transmitted by the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . in one embodiment , the user of the remote device 24 may dial a telephone number of the phone line that the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 is connected to thereby establishing a communications session between the remote device 24 and the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . in other embodiments , the coder / decoder - television 10 may be connected to a broadband network and may have an associated ip address that the remote device 24 may contact to establish the connection between the remote device 24 and the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . the remote device 24 decodes and / or decompresses the monitoring signals and displays , on the remote device 24 , what is currently being displayed on the display device 12 of the coder / decoder enabled television 10 . the processor 16 may use various codecs depending upon the type of communications network 22 the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 and the remote device 24 are connected to . as used herein a codec is a technology for compressing and decompressing images and sound that defines the video settings such as the frame rate and size . for example , the processor 16 may correlate the compression ratio of the monitoring signal with the available bandwidth of the communications network 22 ( e . g ., a higher bandwidth communications network would require less compression of the media signal ). in exemplary embodiments , the processor 16 may employ various codecs that are well known including , but not limited to , . asf , . avi , . mpeg , . qt , . mov , and . ra . in an exemplary embodiment , the communications port 18 is a modem connected to the communications network 22 , a pots network , and the remote device 24 is a cellular telephone . the cellular telephone is used to establish a secure connection to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 through the modem . in exemplary embodiments , an authentication process may be used by the modem to restrict access to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . various authentication methods may be used including , but not limited to , a user - supplied password , restricting access to specific incoming telephone numbers verified through a caller identification system ( cid ), and the like . in exemplary embodiments , the remote monitoring system 20 allows a user to monitor what is being displayed on the display device 12 of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 regardless of the source of the media that is being displayed . for example , the source of the media can include , but is not limited to , a dvd player , a vhs player , a cable box , a satellite receiver , a digital video recorder , or the like . since the processor 16 generates and transmits both the display signals and the monitoring signals , the source of the media signals received by the processor does not affect the operation of the remote monitoring system 20 . in exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 can be used to control the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . the remote device 24 may be used to selectively disable the display device 12 , change the channel of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , turn on or off the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , lock a specific channel in the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , send text messages to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , or other control functions . in yet further exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 may include a camera and may be capable of transmitting a picture to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , which in turn can display the picture on the display device 12 . using these functions a user can not only monitor the media being displayed on the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 but also control the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . for example , a parent could check to see what their children are watching and if they do not approve they can change the channel or turn off the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 for a specific period of time when , then for the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 to be turned on a security code will be required . in one embodiment , the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 may include a safety interlock that prevents the use of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 unless the communications port 18 is connected to a communications network 22 . the capabilities of the present invention can be implemented in software , firmware , hardware or some combination thereof . as one example , one or more aspects of the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture ( e . g ., one or more computer program products ) having , for instance , computer usable media . the media has embodied therein , for instance , computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the capabilities of the present invention . the article of manufacture can be included as a part of a computer system or sold separately . additionally , at least one program storage device readable by a machine , tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the capabilities of the present invention can be provided . while the preferred embodiment to the invention has been described , it will be understood that those skilled in the art , both now and in the future , may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow . these claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described .
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as depicted in fig1 and fig2 , the vast majority of envelopes or packages used in the us have small gaps or openings on the top corners where edges come together that can be probed without unsealing the subject . opening 101 still exists even when flap 106 on envelope 102 or package 105 is closed and sealed . in fig2 , an adhesive area 103 does not extend all the way out to the corner edge of the envelope . this creates the gap above , which exists to vent air in and out when being handled . without it , the envelope will not flatten as trapped air creates ballooning , which will then cause problems as it travels through the processing plants . the small opening is well concealed and covered by the flap . this cover usually keeps possible hazardous and contraband particles 107 trapped inside the envelope . as shown in fig3 , envelope 102 travels by conveyer belt mechanism 111 or gloved human hands to an airtight container 109 , which is a box in this embodiment . once inside the airtight box , envelope 102 is secured by holding clamps 112 on an outer edge of the envelope sides . in this embodiment , top and bottom clamps are utilized . the envelope is locked in the box by closing airtight door 110 . once envelope 102 has been secured by the operations just described , move side compressor clamps 108 with optical or pressure sensors ( not shown ) close against the side walls of the envelope . such that , when the envelope is inflated , the ballooning envelope sidewalls push back the side clamps . fig3 also illustrates the probe attached to control box 115 at rest prior to exploring the gap . by using optical or mechanical sensors , mechanically slide small probe 114 under the envelope flap by following arrow movements 116 . this operation is described in further detail below . fig4 shows the exposed front right half of the airtight box from fig3 in detail with items inside mechanical control and sensor box 115 with attached the probe . the control box contains mechanical devices with sensors ( not shown ) to guide probe 114 underneath envelope flap 106 . the exact mechanical and sensor devices to guide the probe into the gap are not included as part of the invention . the control box contains two air hoses inside . first hose 118 injects the air or gas to the probe tip and inflates 122 the envelope during the insertion process show in movement 116 . second hose 119 will be then used later for collecting a sample by vacuuming the air and particles inside the envelope after ballooning , as shown in fig8 and 8a . fig4 a shows a detailed perspective view of fig4 with one embodiment of the probe and the to control box movement . the probe is attached to control box 115 , which is attached to guiding rod 123 . the control box apparatus is lowered and rested along guide rod 123 on top of the envelope and insert it under the flap by mechanically traveling along the side of the envelope . as the probe slides up and approaches the flap , the probe expels a constant air stream from its tip , to push the envelope wall and the flap further apart to enlarge the gap . fig5 is a closer look at variants of a probe . the probe shape can be varied like a straight tip 114 a , a narrowed tip 114 b , a bent tip 114 c , or a slanted tip 114 d . however , regardless of the exact shape or material , the probe is thin , dull , pointed , and hollow device that can easily be slipped in the gap . materials of the probe can be metal , ceramic , plastic , or the like . the outer shape of the probe may resemble the end of a letter opener knife , but a hollowed middle channel 114 e extends from the tip to the end , which enables the air or gas movement back and forth from control box 115 . fig6 shows an optional embodiment of the airtight box in fig3 inverted to show possible rotation of the whole box apparatus in fig3 . the whole airtight box may be mechanically rotated 126 over on axis 125 by turning on a motor ( not shown ) attached to the axis . as the box turns , gravity and centrifugal force will help to loosen the particles . additionally , other motions like shaking or vibrating could achieve similar results . perform this step on the probed and ballooned envelope . if the envelope fails to balloon by flowing air from the probe tip , cut a small opening with a pair of scissors 130 or pokes a hole with a syringe 131 to create an opening that can be used to introduce air or gas inside the envelope , as seen in fig7 . as in fig8 a , determine if the gas has successfully penetrated the interior of the envelope and expanded envelope sidewalls 112 by checking the pressure exerted against the side clamp 108 . afterward , force the envelope to deflate to induce the air / gas out of the envelope carrying the possible hazardous material by squeezing envelope - walls together 117 on both sides with the side clamps . turning to fig8 , collect the airborne biochemical hazard particles sample 135 via probe channel 114 e using vacuum hose 119 and hole 141 in the box . send the sample to detection device 134 , which can be a laser analyzer , a photometer , an optical particle counter ( opc ), a condensation particle counter ( cpc ), an optoelectronic sensor , or other particle , optical , biological , or chemical analysis method . afterward , display unit 137 shows analyzed and stored results . the unit can be a combination of computer or electronic devices . the exact technical specification of the unit is not part of the invention . if certain selection and sensitivity criteria is reached in any one or more of criteria , like particle count , particle mass , particle density , particle concentration , chemical reaction , generic response , or the like , then an alarm alerts the operator by sound , flashing screen , e - mail , and / or other communication methods . in an alternative embodiment as shown in fig9 , instead of using the probe , a socket or lips device 138 could gently fit against the envelope corner . blow the air or gas 139 into the envelope via the socket device &# 39 ; s hollow channel 140 . as in the above procedures , check the inflation as in fig9 a and then deflate the envelope by the side clamps as in fig8 a . as the side clamps compress against the envelope , use vacuum tube opening 141 attached to the wall of the airtight box and collect the airborne particles sample . once collected , implement the same hazard detection and alert method , described above in operation 10 and 11 . another way to check for successful the airflow injection is illustrated in fig9 ; airflow meter 142 measures the flow of residual airflow 139 a . the residual flow rate and amount should diminish when some airflow penetrate inside the envelope . also , the injected airflow should cause backward pressure 143 on the top and bottom clamps . fig1 shows a socket or lips device 138 in detail . it &# 39 ; s called a socket or lips device because the device &# 39 ; s two front walls sandwich an envelope corner with opening 101 in the middle like a socket or lips would hold on to an item by grasping two opposite walls on the target item . additionally , the particle sample can be collected into a sealed container by this device for further testing . alternatively , the whole airtight box may be removed and sent into the lab for further testing . problems could arise from probing underneath the envelope . this may be against the law for the us post office ; however , addressee should not have a problem . addressee can even open the envelope fully by incision and fully test the contents . so , a pair of scissors or a cutting device could be used to either partially or fully create an incision to affect the particle test . alternatively , to avoid probing underneath the flap , the air can be simply pumped out utilizing a hole with a vacuum hose attached 141 on the wall of the box by squeezing the existing air pockets already in the envelope with the side clamp without inflating it or the envelope sidewalls could be pulled apart to let the air in through the gap by grasping on the envelope sidewalls using vacuum suction or light adhesive on the side compressor clamp 108 on the envelope side walls . this action creates air inflow to the envelope , just as air is drawn into an accordion by pulling its side apart . additionally , forced gas 133 into the envelope interior can be a toxin to kill any hazardous particles that might be inside the envelope . in summary , from the description above , a number of advantages of my biochemical tester and method become evident . the operation is quick and simple , the operation can be assured of success by checking the package inflation or flow rate of the air , and the operation provides the capability to vent contagions from the package or used to deliver toxins to kill the contaminant particles without unsealing the package . accordingly , the reader will see that the biochemical tester and accompanying method of this invention can detect the presence of possible hazardous materials and illegal contraband in a shipping container simply , easily , safely , and assuredly . furthermore , the testing apparatus and method has the additional advantages by providing quick alert against both real or false hazardous particles , providing effective detection not only against biological , but chemical contrabands , such as poison , bombs , and illegal drugs , allowing preservation of the evidence for prosecution , providing a verification method of successful operation via inflation of the package or measured airflow change , allowing testing of the vast majority of shipment or mail packages , including most envelopes , express mail packages , envelopes with forwarding address hole opening , many box packaging , and the like , providing - an adaptable platform to launch future improved analytic devices and approaches , allowing safe operation in detection only mode by using only air in a preferred embodiment rather than using toxins or irradiation , allowing a much more effective and assured way to kill certain biological hazards via the verification process described above , if a toxin is used rather than just air and ; allowing testing of packages in it original semi - sealed state . although the description above contains much specificity , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . for example , rather than checking for inflation of a package , which may have stiff and rigid walls , the slower flow rate and volume of air or pressure exerted on holding clamps can be used to check for infiltration of gas inside a package . thus , the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents , rather than by the example given .
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embodiments of the invention can provide a secure database for the storage of confidential information related to documents associated with a digital audio signal of speech to be transcribed . confidential information can be removed from the body of a medical records document . authorized users access the confidential information by listening to the audio associated with the document . confidential information is stored separately in textual form in a medical records database , and associated with a medical record document . confidential information is concealed from view in a text document being edited . the private information is accessible to authorized persons via a login or a password . other embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure . referring to fig1 , a system 10 for transcribing audio and editing transcribed audio includes a speaker / person 12 , a communications network 14 , a voice mailbox system 16 , an administrative console 18 , an editing device 20 , a communications network 22 , a database server 24 , a communications network 26 , and an automatic transcription device 30 . here , the network 14 is preferably a public switched telephone network ( pstn ) although other networks , including packet - switched networks could be used , e . g ., if the speaker 12 uses an internet phone for dictation . the network 22 is preferably a packet - switched network such as the global packet - switched network known as the internet . the network 26 is preferably a packet - switched , local area network ( lan ). other types of networks may be used , however , for the networks 14 , 22 , 26 , or any or all of the networks 14 , 22 , 26 may be eliminated , e . g ., if items shown in fig1 are combined or eliminated . preferably , the voice mailbox system 16 , the administrative console 18 , and the editing device 20 are situated “ off site ” from the database server 24 and the automatic transcription device 30 . these systems / devices 16 , 18 , 20 , however , could be located “ on site ,” and communications between them may take place , e . g ., over a local area network . similarly , it is possible to locate the automatic transcription device 30 off - site , and have the device 30 communicate with the database server 24 over the network 22 . the network 14 is configured to convey dictation from the speaker 12 to the voice mailbox system 16 . preferably , the speaker 12 dictates into an audio transducer such as a telephone , and the transduced audio is transmitted over the telephone network 14 into the voice mailbox system 16 , such as the intelliscript ™ product made by escription ™ of needham , mass . the speaker 12 may , however , use means other than a standard telephone for creating a digital audio file for each dictation . for example , the speaker 12 may dictate into a handheld pda device that includes its own digitization mechanism for storing the audio file . or , the speaker 12 may use a standard “ dictation station ,” such as those provided by many vendors . still other devices may be used by the speaker 12 for dictating , and possibly digitizing the dictation , and sending it to the voice mailbox system 16 . the voice mailbox system 16 is configured to digitize audio from the speaker 12 to produce a digital audio file of the dictation . for example , the system 16 may use the intelliscript ™ product made by escription . the voice mailbox system 16 is further configured to prompt the speaker 12 to enter an identification code and a worktype code . the speaker 12 can enter the codes , e . g ., by pressing buttons on a telephone to send dtmf tones , or by speaking the codes into the telephone . the system 16 may provide speech recognition to convert the spoken codes into a digital identification code and a digital worktype code . the mailbox system 16 is further configured to store the identifying code and the worktype code in association with the dictation . the system 16 preferably prompts the speaker 12 to provide the worktype code at least for each dictation related to the medical field . the worktype code designates a category of work to which the dictation pertains , e . g ., for medical applications this could include office note , consultation , operative note , discharge summary , radiology report , etc . the worktype code may be used to refine speed settings , such that settings may be specific not only to speaker - transcriptionist pairings , but further to worktype of dictations provided by the speaker , and / or to other parameters or indicia . the following discussion , however , focuses on using only speaker - transcriptionist pairings . the voice mailbox system 16 is further configured to transmit the digital audio file and speaker identification code over the network 22 to the database server 24 for storage . this transmission is accomplished by the system 16 product using standard network transmission protocols communicating with the database server 24 . the database server 24 is configured to store the incoming data from the voice mailbox system 16 , as well as from other sources . for example , information such as patient medical record number ( mrn ), date of dictation , date of encounter , account number , and other information can originate from the voice mailbox system 16 , from a hospital billing system , or from another source . the database server 24 may include the editscript server ™ database product from escription . software of the database server is configured to produce a database record for the dictation , including a file pointer to the digital audio data , and a field containing the identification code for the speaker 12 . if the audio and identifying data are stored on a pda , the pda may be connected to a computer running the handiscript ™ software product made by escription that will perform the data transfer and communication with the database server 24 to enable a database record to be produced for the dictation . preferably , all communication with the database server 24 is intermediated by a “ servlet ” application 32 that includes an in - memory cached representation of recent database entries . the servlet 32 is configured to service requests from the voice mailbox system 16 , the automatic transcription device 30 , the editing device 20 , and the administrative console 18 , reading from the database when the servlet &# 39 ; s cache does not contain the required information . the servlet 32 includes a separate software module that helps ensure that the servlet &# 39 ; s cache is synchronized with the contents of the database . this helps allow the database to be off - loaded of much of the real - time data - communication and to grow to be much larger than otherwise possible . for simplicity , however , the below discussion does not refer to the servlet , but all database access activities may be realized using the servlet application 32 as an intermediary . the automatic transcription device 30 may access the database 40 in the database server 24 over the data network 26 for transcribing the stored dictation . the automatic transcription device 30 uses an automatic speech recognition ( asr ) device ( e . g ., software ) to produce a draft transcription for the dictation . an example of asr technology is the autoscript ™ product made by escription that also uses the speaker and , optionally , worktype identifying information to access speaker and speaker - worktype dependent asr models with which to perform the transcription . the device 30 transmits the draft transcription over the data network 26 to the database server 24 for storage in the database and to be accessed , along with the digital audio file , by the editing device 20 . the device 30 is further configured to affect the presentation of the draft transcription . the device 30 , as part of speech recognition or as part of post - processing after speech recognition , can add or change items affecting document presentation such as formats , abbreviations , and other text features . the device 28 includes a speech recognizer and may also include a post - processor for performing operations in addition to the speech recognition , although the speech recognizer itself may perform some or all of these additional functions . automatic speech recognition ( asr ) models in the device 30 used to produce draft transcriptions include different types of grammars for recognizing the speaker &# 39 ; s dictation . the grammars can be , for example , generic , specific , or intermediate . generic grammars are designed to recognize speech from a random speaker . specific grammars are designed / adapted for a particular speaker , either being designed from scratch for the speaker 12 or having been adapted from a more general grammar in response to previous dictations and edited transcriptions . an example of an intermediate grammar is a grammar designed not for a particular speaker , but for speakers that are likely to follow a particular pattern . for example , doctors from a particular institution may be instructed to dictate patient records with a particular format , and the grammar can be designed to improve recognition based on knowledge of expected phrases and / or organization of the patient record . the automatic transcription device 30 is further configured to identify confidential portions of dictations , including particular data , header regions , and footer regions . confidential / private patient information includes , e . g ., patient name , medical record number , and / or other information from which a patient &# 39 ; s identity may be discerned , at least to reasonable ( or unacceptable ) degree of certainty . the asr models can be used to identify particular data , such as portions of the dictation that includes the provider name , patient name , patient names spelled out , date of encounter , worktype and / or medical record number ( mrn ). the device 30 also preferably is able to identify header and footer portions of a dictation as these introductory and closing portions often contain confidential information . the device 30 can analyze the text for the manner in which the speaker begins the dictation . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ this is dr . & lt ; provider name & gt ; dictating an office note on & lt ; patient name & gt ;, medical record number & lt ; mrn & gt ;. date of visit is & lt ; date of encounter & gt ;”. the device 30 can additionally analyze the text for the manner in which a speaker 12 begins the body of a dictation , which indicates the completion of the header . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ chief complaint : mr . & lt ; patient_last_name & gt ; comes in today complaining of chest pain .” the device 30 may also include a grammar related to the manner in which a speaker 12 dictates the end of a note , or footer . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ this is & lt ; provider name & gt ;. please send a copy to & lt ; contact1 & gt ; and & lt ; contact2 & gt ;, as well as to my office .” preferably , the device 30 uses the grammars to identify the location of the header and footer in a dictation . these grammars provide trigger words or phrases that indicate the boundary from the header to the body of the dictation or from the body of the dictation to the footer . examples of additional end - of - header ( i . e . beginning - of - body ) trigger phrases include : “ the patient is a ”, followed by an age ; “ the patient comes in today complaining of . . . ”; “ history ”. examples of footer ( i . e . end - of - body ) trigger phrases include : “ that &# 39 ; s all ”; “ please send a copy of this to . . . ”. in many cases , these triggers by themselves will be sufficient to reliably identify the end of the header and beginning of the footer . these phrases may , however , be supplemented by a statistical trigger model to help identify the boundaries . the model is statistical in that it determines the likelihood of one or more locations being a header / body or body / footer transition , and uses the most likely location as the actual location of the transition . a statistical trigger model can be used alone , or can be combined with a duration model , such as a specified number of words , for the header , body , and footer in order to resolve ambiguities in determining whether particular grammar is a part of the header or the footer . for example , a statistical analysis may include that the phrase “ please send a copy to . . . ” has a 90 % probability of being a boundary phrase when it occurs within the final thirty words of a dictation . the statistical trigger model may be constrained by the structure of the document , for example , requiring that the footer follows the body , which follows the header . the header and footer region of the dictation can alternatively be identified by the transcription device 30 in one of the following ways . the header and footer may be identified by using an instance of a listened - to / transcribed header / footer to form the grammar which is used to remove the header / footer from subsequent dictations . a catalog of grammars from a database of providers may be employed to identify headers / footers . the grammars can be scored to determine likely instances of headers / footers in different grammars . a generalized search for words associated with tags in the token - alignment file , discussed below , can be conducted , and may be narrowed using the current date or medical record numbers . in the event that speech recognition errors occur , a ) known or common errors from speech recognition can be explicitly included ; b ) “ wild - cards ” that model words which are known to cause recognition errors can be utilized . for example , instead of “ the patient comes in today complaining of ”, the grammar might be “* patient comes * complaining *”, since the non - wildcarded words are known to be reliably recognized . the identified confidential information , including header and footer information , are stored separately and treated differently than non - confidential information for the editing process discussed below . portions of the dictation that include confidential information can be stored separately from non - confidential information in the database 40 . for example , the database 40 may include multiple databases , and the confidential information may be stored in a database separate from a database in which non - confidential information is stored . confidential information can be stored in the same database , but in a separate portion ( e . g ., a separate file ), as non - confidential information . the confidential information is stored separately in that access to the confidential information is inhibited / restricted such that a user that has access to non - confidential information in the database 40 does not necessarily have access to the confidential information . for example , access to the confidential information may require a password or other security measure . further , the confidential information that appears in the body of the dictation document is tagged , e . g ., to help inhibit access to the confidential information even if it is not contained in the header or footer . additional security can include encrypting the data before sending the data to the user terminal for the editing process , or encrypting the data while the data is en route to the user terminal . the transcription device 30 is further configured to produce a token - alignment file that synchronizes the audio with the corresponding text . this file comprises a set of token records , with each record preferably containing a token , a begin index , and an end index . the token comprises a character or a sequence of characters that are to appear on the screen during a word - processing session , or one or more sounds that may or may not appear as text on a screen . a begin index comprises an array reference into the audio file corresponding to the place in the audio file where the corresponding token begins . the end index comprises an array reference into the digital audio file corresponding to the point in the audio file where the corresponding token ends . as an alternative , the end index may not exist separately , with it being assumed that the starting point of the next token ( the next begin index ) is also the ending point of the previous token . the transcription device 30 can store the token - alignment file in the database 40 . the token - alignment file may contain further information , such as a display indicator and / or a playback indicator . the display indicator &# 39 ; s value indicates whether the corresponding token is to be displayed , e . g ., on a computer monitor , while the transcription is being edited . using non - displayed tokens can help facilitate editing of the transcription while maintaining synchronization between on - screen tokens and the digital audio file . for example , a speaker may use an alias , e . g ., for a heading , and standard heading ( e . g ., physical examination ) may be displayed while the words actually spoken by the speaker ( e . g ., “ on exam today ”) are audibly played but not displayed as text ( hidden ). the playback indicator &# 39 ; s value indicates whether the corresponding token has audio associated with the token . using the playback indicator can also help facilitate editing the transcription while maintaining synchronization between on - screen tokens and the digital audio file . the playback indicator &# 39 ; s value may be adjusted dynamically during audio playback , e . g ., by input from the transcriptionist . the adjustment may , e . g ., cause audio associated with corresponding tokens ( e . g ., hesitation words ) to be skipped partially or entirely , that may help increase the transcriptionist &# 39 ; s productivity . the tokens stored in the token - alignment file may or may not correspond to words . instead , a token may represent one or more characters that appear on a display during editing of the transcription , or sounds that occur in the audio file . thus , the written transcription may have a different form and / or format than the exact words that were spoken by the person 12 . for example , a token may represent conventional words such as “ the ,” “ patient ,” or “ esophagogastroduodenoscopy ,” multiple words , partial words , abbreviations or acronyms , numbers , dates , sounds ( e . g ., a cough , a yawn , a bell ), absence of sound ( silence ), etc . for example , the speaker 12 may say “ usa ” and the automatic transcription device 30 may interpret and expand this into “ united states of america .” in this example , the token is “ united states of america ” and the begin index would point to the beginning of the audio signal for “ usa ” and , if the token - alignment file uses end indexes , the end index would point to the end of the audio signal “ usa .” as another example , the speaker 12 might say “ april 2 of last year ,” and the text might appear on the display as “ 04 / 02 / 2003 .” the tokens , however , can synchronize the text “ 04 / 02 / 2003 ” with the audio of “ april 2 of last year .” as another example , the speaker 12 might say “ miles per hour ” while the text is displayed as “ mph .” using the tokens , the speech recognizer 30 , or a post - processor in or separate from the device 30 , may alter , expand , contract , and / or format the spoken words when converting to text without losing the audio synchronization . tokens preferably have variable lengths , with different tokens having different lengths . the token - alignment file provides an environment with many features . items may appear on a screen but not have any audio signal associated with them ( e . g ., implicit titles and headings ). items may have audio associated with them and may appear on the screen but may not appear as words ( e . g ., numeric tokens such as “ 120 / 88 ”). items may have audio associated with them , appear on the screen , and appear as words contained in the audio ( e . g ., “ the patient showed delayed recovery ”). multiple words may appear on the screen corresponding to audio that is an abbreviated form of what appears on the screen ( e . g ., “ united states of america ” may be displayed corresponding to audio of “ usa ”). items may have audio associated with them but not have corresponding symbols appear on the screen ( e . g ., a cough , an ending salutation such as “ that &# 39 ; s all ,” commands or instructions to the transcriptionist such as “ start a new paragraph ,” etc .). in addition , in the token - alignment file , xml tags , such as & lt ; header & gt ;, & lt ;/ header & gt ; and & lt ; footer & gt ;, & lt ;/ footer & gt ; are included as zero - duration , non - playable , non - displayable records . tags are also added around other data contained in the headers and footers . for example , tags can be added to identify & lt ; mrn & gt ;, & lt ; date of encounter & gt ;, and & lt ; contacts & gt ;. in the body of the dictation , tags are added around recognized information , including but not limited to & lt ; patient name & gt ;, & lt ; provider name & gt ;, and & lt ; contacts & gt ;. the tags allow identification of words in the dictation that contain specific information . the specified words can be manipulated due to the tag assigned to the words . for example , the words having specified tags associated with private / confidential information can be blocked from view in a transcribed document . at the time of editing , tagged words can be obfuscated . for example , & lt ; patient name & gt ; can be changed to “ the patient ” or to “ mr . ?? ?” for instances of its occurrence throughout the transcribed document to protect the identity of the patient . referring further to fig1 , the editing device 20 is configured to be used by a transcriptionist to access and edit the draft transcription stored in the database of the database server 24 . the editing device 20 includes a computer ( e . g ., display , keyboard , mouse , monitor , memory , and a processor , etc . ), an attached foot - pedal , and appropriate software such as the editscript ™ software product made by escription . the transcriptionist can log onto the database server 24 with a password . the transcriptionist can request a dictation job by , e . g ., clicking on an on - screen icon . the request is serviced by the database server 24 , which finds the dictation for the transcriptionist , and transmits the corresponding header , footer , and body audio files and the draft transcription text files . the transcriptionist edits the draft using the editing device 20 and sends the edited transcript back to the database server 24 . for example , to end the editing the transcriptionist can click on an on - screen icon button to instruct the editing device 20 to send the final edited document to the database server 24 via the network 22 , along with a unique identifier for the transcriptionist . with the data sent from the editing device 20 , the database in the server 24 contains , for each dictation : a speaker identifier , a transcriptionist identifier , a file pointer to the digital audio signal , and a file pointer to the edited text document . the edited text document can be transmitted directly to a customer &# 39 ; s medical record system or accessed over the data network 22 from the database by the administrative console 18 . the console 18 may include an administrative console software product such as emon ™ made by escription . referring to fig2 , components of the editing device 20 , e . g ., a computer , include a database interaction module 41 , a user interface 42 , non - confidential information storage 43 , confidential information storage 45 , a word processor module 44 , an audio playback module 46 , an audio file pointer 48 , a cursor module 50 , a monitor 52 , and an audio device 54 . a computer implementing portions of the editing device 20 includes a processor and memory that stores appropriate computer - readable , computer - executable software code instructions that can cause the processor to execute appropriate instructions for performing functions described . the monitor 52 and audio device 54 , e . g ., speakers , are physical components while the other components shown in fig2 are functional components that may be implemented with software , hardware , etc ., or combinations thereof . the audio playback device 46 , such as a soundblaster ® card , is attached to the audio output transducer 54 such as speakers or headphones . the transcriptionist can use the audio device 54 ( e . g ., headphones or a speaker ) to listen to audio and can view the monitor 52 to see the corresponding text . the transcriptionist can use the foot pedal 66 , the keyboard 62 , and / or the mouse 64 to control the audio playback . the database interaction , audio playback , and editing of the draft transcription is accomplished by means of the appropriate software such as the editscript client ™ software product made by escription . the body of dictation files 43 and the header / footer data files are sent to the user interface from the database . the editing software is loaded on the editing device computer 20 and configured appropriately for interaction with other components of the editing device 20 . the editing software can use a standard word processing software library , such as that provided with microsoft word ®, in order to load , edit and save documents corresponding to each dictation . the editing software includes the database interaction module 41 , the user interface module 42 , the word processing module 44 , the audio playback module 46 , the audio file pointer adjustment module 48 and the multi - cursor control module 50 . the interaction module 41 regulates communications between database server 24 and the editing device 20 via the network 22 . the control module 50 regulates the interaction between the interface module 42 and the word processors 44 , the audio playback modules 46 , and the audio file pointer 48 . the control module 50 regulates the flow of actions relating to processing of a transcription , including playing audio and providing cursors in the transcribed text . the user interface module 42 controls the activity of the other modules and includes keyboard detection 56 , mouse detection 58 , and foot pedal detection 60 sub - modules for processing input from a keyboard 62 , a mouse 64 , and a foot - pedal 66 . the foot pedal 66 is a standard transcription foot pedal and is connected to the editing device computer through the computer &# 39 ; s serial port . the foot pedal 66 preferably includes a “ fast forward ” portion and a “ rewind ” portion . the transcriptionist is permitted to access dictations downloaded to the user interface module 42 based on provider ( or groups of providers ) and patient identification . the transcriptionist logs onto the user interface module 42 with a logon name and a password so that dictations assigned to a particular transcriptionist are visible in a work queue . the transcriptionist can request a job from the database by selecting on - screen icon with the mouse 64 . the user interface module 42 interprets this mouse click and invokes the database interaction module 41 to request the next job from the database 40 . the database server 24 ( fig1 ) responds by transmitting the audio data files , the draft transcription files , and the token - alignment files to the user interaction module 42 . the audio for confidential information is preferably transmitted to the device 20 separately from the audio for the non - confidential information . likewise , the text for confidential information is preferably transmitted to the device 20 separately from the text for the non - confidential information . the confidential information is stored in the confidential information storage 43 separate from the non - confidential information storage 45 . the confidential information storage 43 can be access - restricted , e . g ., by a password and / or other security feature ( s ). also , portions of the confidential information can be restricted from access by a particular user , rather than all of the confidential information . with this downloaded information , the editing software can initialize a word - processing session by loading the draft text into the word processing module 44 . audio information is accessed through function calls of the editing program while the dictation is being edited . the audio playback module 46 is configured to play the audio file associated with the body of the dictation 43 and the audio associated with the header / footer 45 . the transcriptionist accesses the audio files 43 and 45 when prepared for editing . for initial playback , the module 46 plays the audio file sequentially . the playback module 46 can , however , jump to audio corresponding to an indicated portion of the transcription and begin playback from the indicated location . for example , the playback module 46 can request the header audio and begin playback of the header . the location may be indicated by a transcriptionist using appropriate portions of the editing device 20 such as the keyboard 62 , or the mouse 64 . for playback that starts at an indicated location , the playback module 46 uses the token - alignment file to determine the location in the audio file corresponding to the indicated transcription text . since many audio playback programs play audio in fixed - sized sections ( called “ frames ”), the audio playback module 46 may convert the indicated begin index to the nearest preceding frame for playback . for example , an audio device 54 may play only frames of 128 bytes in length . in this example , the audio playback module uses the token - alignment file to find the nearest prior starting frame that is a multiple of 128 bytes from the beginning of the audio file . thus , the starting point for audio playback may not correspond precisely to the selected text in the transcription . the transcriptionist can review and edit a document by appropriately controlling portions of the editing device 20 . the transcriptionist can regulate the playback using the foot pedal 66 , and listen to the audio corresponding to the text as played by the playback module 46 and converted to sound by the audio device 54 . further , the transcriptionist can move a cursor to a desired portion of the display of the monitor 52 using the keyboard 62 and / or mouse 64 , and can make edits at the location of the cursor using the keyboard 62 and / or mouse 64 . the user interface 42 downloads the text of the document to the word processor 44 according to the editing program , which provides restricted access and display of header / footer data and other confidential information . if the transcriptionist positions the cursor for playback of confidential information , then the transcriptionist can be prompted to enter a password , or otherwise fulfill a security measure ( e . g ., provide bioinformatic information such as a fingerprint ) in order to be provided with the text and / or audio corresponding to the confidential information . referring to fig3 - 5 , confidential information can be obscured / hidden from view absent authorization . as shown in fig3 , a header 70 and a footer data 72 appear as gray boxes on the monitor 52 . thus , the confidential data in the header 70 and the footer 72 is not apparent to the user , but is hidden from view . the gray box is preferably of a standard size . as shown in fig4 , confidential information contained in a body 74 of a document 76 is hidden with gray boxes 78 , 79 . the boxes 78 , 79 indicate data that have been tagged as confidential , and have been removed from appearing in the body of the text while the document is edited . the boxes 78 , 79 are preferably of a standard size to help prevent providing insight into confidential information ( e . g ., a length of a physician &# 39 ; s name ). in fig4 , the blocked access box 78 indicating a physician &# 39 ; s name has been blocked from view , although the name may be presented to the transcriptionist through the audio playback of the dictation . the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 allow presentation of the body of a document while concealing confidential information from a viewer . the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 may be interactive , allowing an authorized transcriptionist to edit data in or check data that appears in the blocked access block 78 during editing functions . data entered or reviewed in the boxes 78 , 79 may include patient name , provider name , mrn , contacts , etc . further , as shown in fig4 and fig5 , techniques other than gray boxes may be used for concealing confidential information , such as using a generic name 80 (“ patient x ”) in lieu of actual confidential information . other generic names include “ the patient ,” “ mr . ? ?,” etc . a second hot key sequence is used by the transcriptionist to reveal recognized words in the body of the document which have been obfuscated by internal tags . the transcriptionist may use the hot key sequence to call forth and edit the protected language . while the transcriptionist is editing the document , the user interface module 42 can service hardware interrupts from all three of its sub - modules 56 , 58 , 60 . the transcriptionist can use the foot pedal 66 to indicate that the audio should be “ rewound ,” or “ fast - forwarded ” to a different time point in the dictation . these foot - pedal presses are serviced as hardware interrupts by the user interaction module 42 . most standard key presses and on - document mouse - clicks are sent to the word processing module 44 to perform the document editing functions indicated and to update the monitor display . some user interaction , however , may be directed to the audio - playback oriented modules 46 , 48 , 50 , e . g ., cursor control , audio position control , and / or volume control . the transcriptionist may indicate that editing is complete by clicking another icon . in response to such an indication , the final text file is sent through the database interaction module 42 to the database server 24 . in operation , referring to fig6 , with further reference to fig1 - 2 , a process 100 for extracting information from a transcription of speech using the system 10 includes the stages shown . the process 100 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 100 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 102 , the automatic transcription device 30 seeks to transcribe the audio file , and to extract the header and footer from a dictation audio file stored in the database 40 . the automatic transcription device 30 accesses and retrieves the audio file from the database through the lan 26 . the dictation is accompanied by the speaker name ( and variants ), the patient name ( and variants ), date information , mrn , as well as other available information . at stage 104 , a speech recognizer of the device 30 analyzes the audio file in accordance with asr models to produce a draft text document from the audio file . the asr model includes information on the manner in which physicians dictate to decode word sequence . at stage 106 , the device 30 identifies the header of the dictation using model grammars associated with header language . the identified header is removed from the dictation for separate storage in the database 40 . confidential terms in the header are separately tagged . at stage 108 , the device 30 identifies the footer of the dictation using model grammars associated with footer language . the identified footer is removed from the dictation for separate storage in the database 40 . confidential terms in the header are separately tagged . at stage 110 , the device 30 also produces a corresponding token - alignment file that includes the draft documents and associated portions of the audio file with the transcribed text of the documents . the token - alignment files include xml tags , such as & lt ; header & gt ;& lt ;/ header & gt ; and & lt ; footer & gt ;& lt ;/ footer & gt ; as meta information for the editing software , described below . the device 30 stores the token - alignment file in the database 40 via the lan 26 . at stage 112 , the header and the footer are stored in the database separate from other portions of the dictation . the header and footer are stored in a secure portion of memory in the server 24 . the remainder of the dictation is stored separately from the confidential information , e . g ., in a separate file . in operation , referring to fig7 , with further reference to fig1 - 6 , a process 200 for producing and editing a transcription of speech using the system 10 includes the stages shown . the process 200 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 200 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 202 , the speaker 12 dictates desired speech to be converted to text . the speaker can use , e . g ., a hand - held device such as a personal digital assistant , to dictate audio that is transmitted over the network 14 to the voice mailbox 16 . the audio is stored in the voice mailbox 16 as at least one audio file . the audio file is transmitted over the network 22 to the database server 24 and is stored in the database 40 . at stage 204 , the automatic transcription device 30 seeks to transcribe the audio file according to the process 100 in fig6 . the automatic transcription device 30 accesses and retrieves the audio file from the database through the lan 26 . the dictation is accompanied by the speaker name ( and variants ), the patient name ( and variants ), date information , mrn , as well as other available information . at stage 206 , the transcriptionist reviews and edits the transcribed draft document as appropriate . the transcriptionist uses the editing device 20 to access the database 40 and retrieve the audio file and the token - alignment file that includes the draft text document . the editing of header and footer data is further described below with respect to fig8 . the transcriptionist plays the audio file and reviews the corresponding text as highlighted or otherwise indicated by an audio cursor and makes desired edits using , e . g ., a text cursor 72 . the word processor 44 produces and stores track - changes information in response to edits made by the transcriptionist . at stage 208 , the track - changes information is provided to the automatic transcription device 30 for use in improving the speech models used by the speech recognizer of the device 30 by analyzing the transcribed draft text and what revisions were made by the transcriptionist . the models can be adjusted so that the next time the speech recognizer analyzes speech that was edited by the transcriptionist , the recognizer will transcribe the same or similar audio to the edited text instead of the draft text previously provided . at stage 210 , the word processor provides a final , revised text document as edited by the transcriptionist . this final document can be stored in the database 40 and provided via the network 22 to interested parties , e . g ., the speaker that dictated the audio file . referring to fig8 , with further reference to fig1 - 7 , a process 300 for editing the header / footer data of the draft transcribed document , continued from stage 206 of fig7 , using the editing device 20 includes the stages shown . the process 300 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 300 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 302 , the transcriptionist logs in with a user name and password , and dictations assigned to them are shown in the queue . when a dictation is chosen , the audio and document are downloaded , preferably separately , to the transcriptionist &# 39 ; s computer . the audio is preferably stored in a secure location . the audio may be separated into more than one file , such as a file for the header , a file for the footer , and a file for the body . information from the token alignment file is used to find the correct location in the audio file in order to accomplish the audio separation . in exemplary embodiments , audio separation is employed to additionally alter the audio file to remove patient identification information . for example , the audio might sound a tone in lieu of a spoken patient name is spoken . the audio exchanged for the confidential information may alternatively be an alias for the confidential term , such as a generic name , or other desired sound masking / concealing the actual spoken audio . when the document is being edited , particular audio files can be accessed . the file - read permissions on the audio files and the document can restrict access to anyone but the transcriptionist who has logged on . at stage 306 , the transcriptionist chooses an audio file associated with either the header , the footer , or the body . if the header or the footer are desired to be edited , the transcriptionist activates a hot key , at stage 312 , to call forth the grey boxes 78 , 79 so that the boxes appear on the monitor 52 . at stage 314 , the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 are displayed , and at stage 316 , the transcriptionist listens to audio associated with the header . a similar procedure would be used for editing other portions of a document containing confidential information . the transcriptionist may be required to enter a password or provide other security information before the grey boxes 78 , 79 appear on the monitor . at stage 318 , the header fields are reviewed and / or edited . data appearing in the grey boxes includes patient name and other confidential data that is reviewed for accuracy . upon completion of editing , at stage 320 , the grey boxes 78 , 79 are hidden from view once again . data entered into the boxes is no longer visible on the monitor 52 . other embodiments are within the scope and spirit of the appended claims . for example , due to the nature of software , functions described above can be implemented using software , hardware , firmware , hardwiring , or combinations of any of these . features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions , including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations . in exemplary embodiments of the invention , the header and footer data are identified and separately stored in a database . it is possible that only one of the header and the footer may be identified and separately stored , or both the header and the footer data can be stored , e . g ., in a common file separate from the remainder of the document . storage of the header and the footer may not be separate from the remainder of the document , but transmittal of the header and the footer may be separated from transmittal of the remainder of the document . in an alternative embodiment , the editing program can include a timeout portion which observes whether there has been a break in editing or audio playback for a given amount of time .
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forming a safety enclosure around an information handling system component with at least a portion of the housing of the information handling system limits the need for redundant enclosures of the component . for purposes of this disclosure , an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute , classify , process , transmit , receive , retrieve , originate , switch , store , display , manifest , detect , record , reproduce , handle , or utilize any form of information , intelligence , or data for business , scientific , control , or other purposes . for example , an information handling system may be a personal computer , a network storage device , or any other suitable device and may vary in size , shape , performance , functionality , and price . the information handling system may include random access memory ( ram ), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit ( cpu ) or hardware or software control logic , rom , and / or other types of nonvolatile memory . additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives , one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output ( i / o ) devices , such as a keyboard , a mouse , and a video display . the information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components . referring now to fig1 , a block diagram depicts an information handling system 10 having an internal component 12 with a safety enclosure formed at least in part by portions of the information handling system housing 14 . in the example embodiment depicted by fig1 , internal component 12 is an optical disc drive . information handling system 10 is built from a plurality of electronic components disposed in information handling system housing 14 , such as a cpu 16 that processes information , ram 18 that stores information for access by cpu 16 , a hard disk drive 18 that provides permanent storage of information and a chipset 20 that coordinates interaction of the electronic components to process information . information handling system 10 includes an integrated display 24 that presents information as visible images . a keyboard 26 fits over the top of the electronic components and accepts end user inputs . a palm rest 28 near keyboard 26 provides a resting surface for an end user during typing at keyboard 26 . optical disc drive 12 has a microcontroller 30 that controls a laser 32 for illumination of an optical disc 34 during information reads and writes . laser 32 is , for example , an infrared laser that reads and writes to cd optical media , a red laser that reads and writes to dvd optical media or a blue laser that reads and writes to bd optical media . optical disc drive 12 is an ansi class 1 enclosure that must restrict illumination of laser 32 if an end user is at risk of exposure to the illumination . in order to limit end user exposure to illumination by laser 32 , keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 rest across the upper surface of optical disc drive 12 so that information handling system housing 14 includes keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 and forms at least a portion of the safety enclosure around optical disc drive 12 to protect end users from exposure to illumination by laser 32 during operation of optical disc drive 12 . a lock out device 36 detects the presence of keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 to restrict operation of laser 32 in the event of removal of keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 . if keyboard 26 or palm rest 28 are removed , thus breaching the safety enclosure around optical disc drive 12 , disabling of laser 32 maintains optical disc drive 12 within the requirements for ansi class 1 enclosures . in alternative embodiments , information handling system housing 14 forms all or other portions of optical disc drive 12 &# 39 ; s safety enclosure . in other alternative embodiments , other types of components having a variety of functions have a safety enclosure defined by information handling system housing 14 , such as hard disk drives . lock out device 36 disables one or more of the functions as desired to maintain a desired safety standard . forming a safety enclosure of an internal component with the information handling system housing 14 reduces weight and footprint by limiting or eliminating the need for a separate housing around the component to form the safety enclosure . referring now to fig2 , a block diagram depicts an optical disc drive 12 having a safety enclosure formed at least in part by information handling system housing portions 14 , 26 and 28 . in the example embodiment depicted by fig2 , lock out device 36 is built from a hall effect sensor 38 disposed in optical disc drive 12 and a magnet 40 disposed in portions of information handling system housing 14 that form a safety enclosure about optical disc drive 12 . hall effect sensor 38 detects the presence of a magnet 40 and provides an enable signal to microcontroller 30 when in proximity to a magnet 40 . when microcontroller 30 has an enable signal , microcontroller 30 allows application of power to laser 32 ; when microcontroller 30 loses the enable signal , microcontroller 30 disables one or more functions of optical disc drive 12 . for example , in the absence of an enable signal , microcontroller 30 disables laser 32 but allows operation of other functions , such as spin at spindle 44 . disabling laser 32 in the absence of an enable signal from hall effect sensor 38 ensures that laser 32 will not operate if a safety enclosure formed by information handling system housing 14 is breached . requiring an enable signal by hall effect sensor 38 fails optical disc drive 12 to a safe condition in the event of a failure of hall effect sensor 38 . as depicted in the example embodiment of fig2 , multiple magnets 40 and hall effect sensors 38 may be used to monitor the enclosure about optical disc drive 12 . optical disc drive chassis 42 contains the operational components of optical disc drive 12 within a bottom surface 46 and two side surfaces 48 . a portion of information handling system housing 14 forms another side surface of optical disc drive 12 with a magnet 40 aligned with a hall effect sensor 38 . removal of the side portion of information handling system housing 14 to remove magnet 40 from proximity to hall effect sensor 38 will result in disablement of laser 32 . the upper surface of optical disc drive 12 is formed by keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 , each of which have a magnet 40 proximate a hall effect sensor 3 8 . if keyboard 26 or palm rest 28 are removed from their assigned positions over optical disc drive 12 , the loss of the enablement signal from hall effect sensor 38 causes microcontroller 30 to disable laser 32 . in alternative embodiments , the loss of the enablement signal can cause microcontroller 30 to remove power from other functions of optical disc drive 12 . in one alternative embodiment , magnet 40 is placed in optical disc drive chassis 42 and hall effect sensors are placed in housing portions 14 , 26 or 28 to command removal of power to optical disc drive 12 by components within information handling system 10 . optical disc drive chassis 42 can form a portion of the safety enclosure about optical disc drive 12 or , alternatively , the entire safety enclosure can be formed my information handling system housing 14 . in another alternative embodiment , specific portions of information handling system components form the safety enclosure , such as a keyboard deflection plate that rests underneath the keyboard to provide physical support during use of the keyboard . alternatively , the safety enclosure is formed by components , such as a pcimcia card , an express card , a hard disk drive , a battery or other components that are proximate the laser drive . in other alternative embodiments , other types of lock out devices 36 may be used , such as a physical switch that is engaged by proximity of housing 14 to optical disc drive 12 or other types of proximity sensors . referring now to fig3 , a block diagram depicts a blown - up view of an information handling system housing 14 having a component coupled to a housing portion that covers a component hazardous surface . housing 14 has housing assembly connectors 50 , such as screws or other fasteners , in an interior 52 that are inaccessible from an exterior 54 except through an open top portion that a keyboard support 56 covers . keyboard support 56 forms an upper casing to housing 14 so that when keyboard support 56 assembles to housing 14 , housing assembly connectors 50 are inaccessible from the exterior 54 of housing 14 . in alternative embodiments , keyboard support 56 may cover all or only a portion of the upper opening of housing 14 and may be separate from or integrated with a keyboard 26 . keyboard support 56 provides sufficient stiffness across the upper exterior surface of housing 14 so that end user inputs at keyboard 26 do not impact the operation of components within housing 14 . a component having an associated hazard couples to keyboard support 56 so that keyboard support 56 covers or otherwise protects against the component hazard . in the example embodiment depicted by fig3 , the component is an optical drive 12 having a laser that might emit energy through a hazardous surface 58 . optical drive 12 couples hazardous surface 58 to keyboard support 56 with attachment devices 60 so that keyboard support 56 acts as a cover that protects against laser emissions from optical drive 12 . attachment device 60 couples optical drive 12 to keyboard support 56 so that , upon assembly to housing 14 , attachment device 60 is inaccessible from the exterior of housing 14 . in order to access optical drive 14 , keyboard support 56 must be removed from housing 14 since other ways of disassembly of housing 14 require removal of keyboard support 56 . in this way , hazardous surface 58 of optical drive 12 remains inaccessible until keyboard support 56 is removed from information handling system housing 14 . attachment device 60 is , for example , screws that assemble optical drive 12 to housing support 56 so that , upon assembly of housing 14 , both optical drive 12 and attachment device 60 are inaccessible from exterior 54 of housing 14 . in alternative embodiments , different types of attachment devices may be used that will discourage removal of keyboard support 56 from hazardous surface 58 , such as screws with heads that have less common shapes or permanent attachment devices , such as glue or rivets that are not designed to allow removal . in the event that a replacement of the component is required , the component is replaced with another component that already has keyboard support 56 attached so that hazardous surface 58 is not exposed during the replacement process . referring now to fig4 , a block diagram depicts assembly of a housing portion 62 to an information handling system housing 14 so that the assembled housing 14 provides a protective enclosure for a hazard of the component coupled to housing portion 62 . housing portion 62 includes a keyboard 26 coupled to a keyboard support 56 and a component , which in the example embodiment of fig4 is an optical drive 12 . optical drive 12 has a power connector 64 that aligns with a power source connector 66 in housing 66 . housing portion 62 is placed over housing 14 and coupled into place so that power connector 64 obtains power from power source connector 66 when housing portion 62 is in place . removal of housing portion 62 from housing 14 automatically disconnects power from optical drive 12 to reduce the risk of inadvertent illumination of a laser from optical drive 12 . in one alternative embodiment , power is removed from the laser of optical drive 12 if optical drive is separated from keyboard support 56 , such as by tripping a switch at separation of keyboard support 56 from optical drive 12 or detection of separation using a hall effect sensor 38 as is set forth in fig2 . referring now to fig5 , an information handling system 10 is depicted having a component hazard enclosed in a housing 14 that keeps the hazard inaccessible from the housing exterior 54 . the component , such as an optical drive , is enclosed in information handling system housing 14 so that housing 14 acts as the safety enclosure of the component . the component is inaccessible from exterior 54 of housing 14 unless housing 14 is disassembled , such as by removing keyboard support attachment devices 68 at the exterior 54 of housing 14 . the portion of housing 14 that couples to and covers a hazardous surface of the component is the first portion of the housing to disassemble so that the component is removed with the housing portion before the interior of the housing is accessible . by using the housing 14 of information handling system 10 as a safety enclosure of the component , the size of the component and the information handling system are each reduced . although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .
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the following disclosure provides many different embodiments , or examples , for implementing different features of the provided subject matter . specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure . these are , of course , merely examples and are not intended to be limiting . for example , the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact , and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features , such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact . in addition , the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and / or letters in the various examples . this repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed . further , spatially relative terms , such as “ beneath ,” “ below ,” “ lower ,” “ above ,” “ upper ” and the like , may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature &# 39 ; s relationship to another element ( s ) or feature ( s ) as illustrated in the figures . the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures . the apparatus may be otherwise oriented ( rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations ) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly . fig1 shows a semiconductor device 100 with an sram macro 102 . the semiconductor device can be , e . g ., a microprocessor , an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a field programmable gate array ( fpga ), or a digital signal processor ( dsp ). the exact functionality of the semiconductor device 100 is not a limitation to the provided subject matter . fig2 shows a more detailed view of a portion of the sram macro 102 , according to various aspects of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the sram macro 102 includes a plurality of sram cells 202 and a plurality of peripheral logic circuits 210 . each sram cell 202 is used to store one memory bit , while the peripheral logic circuits 210 are used to implement various logic functions , such as write and / or read address decoder , word / bit selector , data drivers , memory self - testing , etc . the logic circuits 210 include a plurality of finfets having gate features 218 and fin active lines 212 . although not shown , each of the sram cells 202 also includes a plurality of finfets having gate features and fin active lines . in addition , even though fig2 shows only 16 sram cells 202 , the sram macro 102 may include a large number of sram cells 202 for a given semiconductor device 100 . for example , the sram macro 102 may include thousands or millions of the sram cells 202 . as shown in fig2 , the sram cells 202 are formed over a plurality of p - wells or p - diffusions ( e . g ., for n - type finfets or n - finfets ) and n - wells or n - diffusions ( e . g ., for p - type finfets or p - finfets ) wherein the p - wells and the n - wells are rectangular semiconductor regions arranged in alternating order in an x direction . as will be shown in later , each of the sram cells 202 includes a plurality of n - finfets and a plurality of p - finfets . furthermore , the sram cells 202 are arranged in an array with one sram cell abutting another . each of the sram cells 202 occupies a rectangular region of the sram macro 102 wherein the rectangular region has a first dimension 204 in the x direction and a second dimension 206 in a y direction that is orthogonal to the x direction . in the following discussion , the first dimension 204 is also referred to as the sram cell 202 &# 39 ; s x - pitch , and the second dimension 206 the sram cell 202 &# 39 ; s y - pitch . furthermore , each of the sram cells 202 is configured in one of four orientations . as shown in fig2 , a group 203 includes four sram cells 202 in a two - by - two array , denoted as cell - r 0 , cell - mx , cell - my , and cell - r 180 for the convenience of discussion . in an embodiment , the gate features and fin active lines of the cell - r 0 are mirror images ( or reflection ) of those respective features of the cell - mx with respect to an imaginary lines a - a through a geometric center of the group 203 in the x direction . similarly , the gate features and fin active lines of the cell - r 0 are mirror images of those respective features of the cell - my with respect to an imaginary lines b - b through the geometric center of the group 203 in the y direction . similarly , the cell - r 180 is a mirror image of the cell - mx with respect to the imaginary lines b - b , and a mirror image of the cell - my with respect to the imaginary lines a - a . as semiconductor technology has progressed into small feature sizes , such as 32 nanometer ( nm ), 20 nm , and beyond , restricted design rules are often followed so as to improve design manufacturability . the configuration of the sram macro 102 , as shown in fig2 , allows alignment of the features of the peripheral logic circuits 210 ( e . g ., the gate features 218 and fin active lines 212 ) with those respective features of the sram cells 202 . this can be accomplished by careful consideration of ratios between the x - pitch 204 and fin pitch 214 , and between the y - pitch 206 and gate pitch 216 . such alignment enables dense fin active line definition and formation thereby providing many benefits , such as higher sram cell density , higher manufacturing reliability in view of optical proximity effect , etc . furthermore , having a fixed ratio between the y - pitch 206 and gate pitch 216 allows certain peripheral logic circuits ( e . g ., word - line drivers , decoders , etc .) to be automatically generated as a circuit block which is then repetitively placed along the sram cells . similarly , having a fixed ratio between the x - pitch 204 and fin pitch 214 allows certain peripheral logic circuits ( e . g ., column selector , bit - line pre - charge circuit , decoders , etc .) to be automatically generated and placed . fig3 illustrates a top view of a portion of the peripheral logic circuit 210 . each of the fin active lines 212 has a rectangular shape with its long edge extending in the y direction and its short edge extending in the x direction . in the present embodiment , the fin pitch 214 is defined as the edge - to - edge spacing between two adjacent fin active lines 212 . alternatively , the fin pitch 214 may be defined as the center - line - to - center - line spacing between two adjacent fin active lines 212 . the gate features 218 are oriented orthogonally with respect to the fin active lines 212 . each of the gate features 218 has a rectangular shape with its long edge extending in the x direction and its short edge extending in the y direction . in the present embodiment , the gate pitch 216 is defined as the edge - to - edge spacing between two adjacent gate features 218 . alternatively , the gate pitch 216 may be defined as the center - line - to - center - line spacing between two adjacent gate features 218 . the peripheral logic circuit 210 further includes a plurality of active contacts 220 that couple multiple fin active lines 212 to form common drains / sources for respective finfets . fig4 a shows a schematic view of a six - transistor ( 6t ) single port ( sp ) sram cell that may be implemented as the sram cell 202 of fig2 . referring to fig4 a , the 6t sp sram cell 202 , includes two p - finfets as pull - up transistors , pu - 1 and pu - 2 ; two n - finfets as pull - down transistors , pd - 1 and pd - 2 ; and two n - finfets as pass - gate transistors , pg - 1 and pg - 2 . the pu - 1 and pd - 1 are coupled to form an inverter ( inverter - 1 in fig4 b ). the pu - 2 and pd - 2 are coupled to form another inverter ( inverter - 2 in fig4 b ). the inverters , inverter - 1 and inverter - 2 , are cross - coupled to form a storage unit of the sram cell 202 . fig4 a further shows word line ( wl ), bit line ( bl ), and bit line bar ( bl ) for accessing the storage unit of the sram cell 202 . in practice , the sram cell 202 of fig4 a can be implemented physically ( e . g ., layout ) in many ways . the following discussion will describe some layout designs of three embodiments of the sram cell 202 , namely , sram cells 202 a , 202 b , and 202 c , according to various aspects of the present disclosure . a person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that these three embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the inventive scope of the provided subject matter . fig5 shows a top view of a portion of the sram macro 102 &# 39 ; s layout including the sram cell 202 a . referring to fig5 , the sram cell 202 a is indicated with a rectangular boundary ( a dotted line ) with a first dimension ( x - pitch ) 204 a and a second dimension ( y - pitch ) 206 a . the layout includes one n - well active region and two p - well active regions , one on each side of the n - well active region in the x direction . the layout further includes two fin active lines , 222 a and 224 a , with one in each of the p - well active regions , extending lengthwise in the y direction and overlapping the sram cell 202 a . the layout further includes two fin active lines , 226 a and 228 a , in the n - well active region , extending lengthwise in the y direction and partially overlapping the sram cell 202 a . the fin active lines 226 a and 228 a are shortened for reducing cell area . the four fin active lines , 222 a , 226 a , 228 a , and 224 a , are spaced edge - to - edge by about twice of the fin pitch 214 . in some embodiments , the spacing between these fin active lines are set to between about 2 and about 2 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 to allow enough design margin and process margin when forming the sram cell fin lines . in such cases , the x - pitch 204 a can still be maintained as an integer multiple of the fin pitch 214 . furthermore , the layout includes two gate features , 232 a and 234 a , extending lengthwise in the x direction and partially overlapping the sram cell 202 a and being shared between the sram cell 202 a and adjacent sram cells ( not shown ), and two gate features , 236 a and 238 a , extending lengthwise in the x direction within the sram cell 222 a . the above gate features and the fin active lines collectively define the six transistors , pu - 1 / 2 , pd - 1 / 2 , and pg - 1 / 2 of fig4 a . the y - pitch 206 a is substantially equal to the sum of the pass - gate transistor ( pg - 1 or pg - 2 ) pitch and the pull - down transistor ( pd - 1 or pd - 2 ) pitch , wherein a transistor &# 39 ; s pitch refers to a distance between the transistor &# 39 ; s source and drain . in an embodiment , the y - pitch 206 a is set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 ( fig3 ), while the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 , 8 . 5 , or 9 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). such settings take into account the fact that proper alignment of respective features between the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral logic circuits 210 improves overall manufacturability of the semiconductor device 100 having the sram macro 102 ( fig1 and 2 ). for example , having a single fin pitch rule among the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral circuits 210 helps improve fin active lines &# 39 ; critical dimension uniformity during lithography process . due to its compact layout , the sram cell 202 a is well - suited for high density embedded sram applications . in an embodiment where high memory cell density is desired , the sram macro 102 ( fig2 ) includes only this type of sram cell and the x - pitch 204 a is set to about 8 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). in another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to about 9 times of the fin pitch 214 . in some embodiments , the x - pitch 204 a is set to a non - integer multiple of the fin pitch 214 , such as 8 . 5 times . that is made possible by the configuration of the sram cells 202 a in the sram macro 102 ( fig2 ) wherein four adjacent sram cells 202 a will collectively have an x - dimension that is an integer multiple ( e . g ., 34 ×) of the fin pitch 214 . such flexibility in placing the sram cells 202 a yet still maintaining proper alignment of fin active lines between the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral logic circuits 210 is one of the many benefits provided by the present disclosure . fig6 shows a portion of the sram cell 202 b &# 39 ; s layout , while fig7 shows a portion of the sram cell 202 c &# 39 ; s layout . many aspects of the sram cells 202 b and 202 c are similar to those of the sram cell 202 a , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . referring to fig6 , the sram cell 202 b is indicated with a rectangular boundary ( a dotted line ) with a first dimension ( x - pitch ) 204 b and a second dimension ( y - pitch ) 206 b . one difference between the sram cells 202 b and 202 a is that the sram cell 202 b includes two fin active lines in each of the two p - well active regions , 222 b - 1 / 2 and 224 b - 1 / 2 . in effect , the transistors pg - 1 / 2 and pd - 1 / 2 of the sram cell 202 b have dual - fin active lines for increased current sourcing capability . the two fins 222 b - 1 and 222 b - 2 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 , so are the two fins 224 b - 1 and 224 b - 2 . in the present embodiment , the x - pitch 204 b is greater than the x - pitch 204 a ( fig5 ) by about twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). for similar reasons stated above with respect to fig5 , the y - pitch 206 b is about twice of the gate pitch 216 . in an embodiment , a ratio between the x - pitch 204 b and the y - pitch 206 b is in a range of about 2 . 7 to about 2 . 9 . similar observations are made with respect to the sram cell 202 c in fig7 : the transistors pg - 1 / 2 and pd - 1 / 2 of the sram cell 202 c have triple - fin active lines 222 c - 1 / 2 / 3 and 224 c - 1 / 2 / 3 respectively for increased current sourcing capability ; the x - pitch 204 c is greater than the x - pitch 204 a ( fig5 ) by about four times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ); and the y - pitch 206 c is about twice of the gate pitch 216 ( fig3 ). the three fins 222 c - 1 , 222 c - 2 , and 222 c - 3 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 , so are the three fins 224 c - 1 , 2224 - 2 , and 2224 - 3 . fig8 shows a schematic view of a two - port ( tp ) sram cell 202 d that may be implemented as the sram cell 202 of fig2 . the sram cell 202 d , as shown in fig8 , includes a write - port portion 802 and a read - port portion 804 . the write - port portion 802 is effectively a 6t sp sram cell as shown in fig4 a . the read - port portion 804 includes a read pull - down transistor r_pd and read pass - gate transistor r_pg . in practice , the sram cell 202 d of fig8 can be implemented physically ( e . g ., layout ) in many ways . fig9 shows a top view of a portion of the sram cell 202 d &# 39 ; s layout , in accordance with an embodiment . referring to fig9 , the layout of the write - port portion 802 is substantially the same as that of the sram cell 202 b ( fig6 ), while the layout of the read - port portion 804 includes the transistors r_pd and r_pg , each as a dual - fin finfet . two fin active lines 902 - 1 and 902 - 2 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 . many aspects of the sram cells 202 d are similar to those discussed above with respect to fig5 - 7 , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . in an embodiment , to improve manufacturability and circuit density of the sram macro 102 having the sram cells 202 d , the y - pitch 206 d is set to about twice of the gate pitch 216 , while the x - pitch 204 d is an integer multiple , e . g ., 15 times , of the fin pitch 214 . fig1 a and 10b show metal routing of the sram cells thus far discussed , in accordance with some embodiments . fig1 a shows that the power supply lines ( cvdd ), bit lines ( bl ), and bit bar lines ( bl ) are routed in a first metal layer , while the word lines ( wl ) and the ground lines ( vss ) are routed in a second metal layer . fig1 b shows that the word lines ( wl ) are routed in the first metal layer ; and the power supply lines ( cvdd ), bit lines ( bl ), bit bar lines ( bl ), and the ground lines ( vss ) are routed in the second metal layer . in an embodiment , the first metal layer is located in between the second metal layer and the active regions of the respective sram cells . in an embodiment , the first and second metal layers are coupled through inter - layer vias . in some applications , a semiconductor device may include more than one sram macros . careful considerations must be taken to ensure manufacturability and circuit density of each of the sram macros as well as that at the device level . the present disclosure is well adapted to solving such a problem . fig1 shows that the semiconductor device 100 includes another sram macro 104 in addition to the sram macro 102 . although they are shown side by side in fig1 , in practice , the two sram macros may be placed anywhere in the semiconductor device 100 . furthermore , the two sram macros 102 and 104 may include the same or different types of sram cells . for example , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a , while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a , 202 b , 202 c , or 202 d . following are some embodiments of the semiconductor 100 wherein various dimensions of the sram macros and the peripheral logic circuits are designed so as to improve full - chip layout automation , fin active line critical dimension uniformity , and overall device manufacturability . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a ( fig5 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ). the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about equal to the x - pitch 204 a plus twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). in an embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 times of the fin pitch 214 . in another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 . in yet another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 9 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 11 times of the fin pitch 214 . both the y - pitch 206 a and the y - pitch 206 b are set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 . furthermore , the ratio of the x - pitch 204 b to the y - pitch 206 b is in a range of about 2 . 7 to about 2 . 9 , such as 2 . 8 ; and the ratio of the x - pitch 204 a to the y - pitch 206 a is in a range of about 2 . 25 to about 2 . 28 , such as 2 . 2667 . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 d ( fig8 ). the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ) and the x - pitch 204 d is set to be about 15 times of the fin pitch 214 . both the y - pitch 206 b and the y - pitch 206 d are set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 c ( fig7 ). the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about the x - pitch 204 b plus twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). for example , the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about 12 times of the fin pitch 214 . for another example , the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about 12 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 . fig1 a shows fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig2 ) that includes four adjacent sram cells 202 a ( fig5 ), cell - r 0 , cell - my , cell - mx , and cell - r 180 . the four cells are arranged in two rows and two columns . the imaginary line a - a denotes their boundary along the x direction , and the imaginary line b - b denotes their boundary along the y direction . with respect to fin active line configuration ( shape , size , and position of the active lines within a cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . in the present disclosure , these fin active lines are formed using spacer lithography with three masks ( or reticles ), 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , as shown in fig1 b . referring to fig1 b , the three masks , 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , are three layers of the design layout of the sram macro 102 ( and of the semiconductor device 100 ). the mask 1202 defines mandrel patterns for spacer formation , the mask 1204 defines dummy - fin cut patterns for removing dummy spacers ( or dummy fin lines ), and the mask 1206 defines fin - end cut patterns , e . g ., for shortening fin lines for the pull - up transistors ( e . g . pu - 1 and pu - 2 in fig5 ). each mandrel pattern has a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . in an embodiment , although not shown , each mandrel pattern extends over at least four sram cells 202 a ( see fig2 ). in an embodiment , there are four mandrel patterns extending over each sram cell 202 a . with respect to mandrel pattern configuration ( shape , size , and position of the mandrel patterns within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are translations of cell - my and cell - r 180 , i . e ., shifted by one x - pitch 204 a in the x direction . each dummy - fin cut pattern 1204 is also a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . the fin - end cut patterns 1206 are located at the boundaries of the sram cells in the y direction for cutting fin lines , e . g ., for reducing active areas for the pu - 1 and pu - 2 transistors . partitioning the layout of fig1 a into three masks of fig1 b allows dense and / or regular patterns to be created with each of the masks 1202 , 1204 and 1206 , which greatly improves pattern critical dimension uniformity during photolithography . fig1 c shows the gate features of the group 203 superimposed onto the fin active lines of the same group . each gate feature is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the x direction . the gate features are spaced in the y direction having a pitch about half of the y - pitch 206 a . the gate features extend over the fin active lines for forming various p - finfets and n - finfets . with respect to gate feature configuration ( shape , size , and position of gate features within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . fig1 shows a method 1300 of forming the fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig1 a ) using the masks 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 ( fig1 b ), in accordance with an embodiment . additional operations can be provided before , during , and after the method 1300 , and some operations described can be replaced , eliminated , or moved around for additional embodiments of the method . the method 1300 will be described in conjunction with fig1 - 24c . at operation 1302 , the method 1300 ( fig1 ) deposits dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 over a silicon substrate 1402 ( e . g ., semiconductor wafer ). referring to fig1 , shown therein is the silicon substrate 1402 with the first dielectric layer 1404 ( such as silicon oxide ) and the second dielectric layer 1406 ( such as silicon nitride ) formed thereon . materials suitable for the dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 include , but not limited to , silicon oxide , silicon nitride , poly - silicon , si 3 n 4 , sion , teos , nitrogen - containing oxide , nitride oxide , high k material ( k & gt ; 5 ), or combinations thereof . the dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 are formed by a procedure that includes deposition . for example , the first dielectric layer 1404 of silicon oxide is formed by thermal oxidation . the second dielectric layer 1406 of silicon nitride ( sin ) is formed by chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). for example , the sin layer is formed by cvd using chemicals including hexachlorodisilane ( hcd or si 2 c 16 ), dichlorosilane ( dcs or sih 2 c 12 ), bis ( tertiarybutylamino ) silane ( btbas or c 8 h 22 n 2 si ) and disilane ( ds or si 2 h 6 ). in an embodiment , the dielectric layer 1406 is about 20 nm to about 200 nm thick . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1304 to form mandrel patterns 1502 in the dielectric layer 1406 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), the mandrel patterns 1502 are evenly distributed in the x direction . the mandrel patterns 1502 are formed by patterning the dielectric layer 1406 with a procedure including a lithography process and an etching process . in the present embodiment , a photoresist layer is formed on the dielectric layer 1406 using a spin - coating process and soft baking process . then , the photoresist layer is exposed to a radiation using the mask 1202 ( fig1 b ). the exposed photoresist layer is developed using post - exposure baking ( peb ), developing , and hard baking thereby forming a patterned photoresist layer over the dielectric layer 1406 . subsequently , the dielectric layer 1406 is etched through the openings of the patterned photoresist layer , forming a patterned dielectric layer 1406 . the patterned photoresist layer is removed thereafter using a suitable process , such as wet stripping or plasma ashing . in one example , the etching process includes applying a dry ( or plasma ) etch to remove the dielectric layer 1406 within the openings of the patterned photoresist layer . in another example , the etching process includes applying a wet etch with a hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) solution to remove the sio layer 1406 within the openings . during the above photolithography process , the pattern regularity of the mandrel patterns 1502 helps improve pattern critical dimension uniformity in view of optical proximity effect . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1306 to form spacers 1602 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), shown therein are the spacers 1602 formed on the sidewalls of the mandrel patterns 1502 . the spacers 1602 include one or more material different from the mandrel patterns 1502 . in an embodiment , the spacers 1602 may include a dielectric material , such as titanium nitride , silicon nitride , or titanium oxide . other materials suitable for the spacers 1602 include , but not limited to , poly - silicon , sio 2 , si 3 n 4 , sion , teos , nitrogen - containing oxide , nitride oxide , high k material ( k & gt ; 5 ), or combinations thereof . the spacers 1602 can be formed by various processes , including a deposition process and an etching process . for example , the deposition process includes a chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) process or a physical vapor deposition ( pvd ) process . for example , the etching process includes an anisotropic etch such as plasma etch . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1308 to remove the mandrel patterns 1502 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), the spacers 1602 remain over the dielectric layer 1404 after the mandrel patterns 1502 have been removed , e . g ., by an etching process selectively tuned to remove the dielectric material 1406 but not the spacer material . the etching process can be a wet etching , a dry etching , or a combination thereof . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1310 to form fin lines 1802 in the silicon substrate 1402 . referring to fig1 b which is cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a , the silicon substrate 1402 are etched with the spacers 1602 as an etch mask . the spacers 1602 and the dielectric layer 1404 are subsequently removed thereby forming the fin lines 1802 in the silicon substrate 1402 ( fig1 c ). the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1312 to perform a first fin cut process with the mask 1204 ( fig1 b ) thereby removing dummy fin lines . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), dummy fin lines 1802 d are removed thereby leaving the fin lines 1802 a on the silicon substrate 1402 . in the present embodiment , the dummy fin lines 1802 d are removed by a procedure including a lithography process and an etching process . for example , a photoresist layer is formed on the silicon substrate using a spin - coating process and soft baking process . then , the photoresist layer is exposed to a radiation using the mask 1204 where the dotted lines of fig1 a indicate openings to be formed . the exposed photoresist layer is subsequently developed and stripped thereby forming a patterned photoresist layer . the fin lines 1802 a are protected by the patterned photoresist layer while the dummy fin lines 1802 d are not protected as such . subsequently , the dummy fin lines 1802 d are etched through the openings of the patterned photoresist layer . the patterned photoresist layer is removed thereafter using a suitable process , such as wet stripping or plasma ashing . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1314 to perform a second fin cut process with the mask 1206 ( fig1 b ) thereby cutting fin lines for pull - up transistors such as pu - 1 and pu - 2 of fig5 . referring to fig2 a ( top view ) and fig2 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig2 a ), portions of the fin lines 1802 a are removed across the boundaries of the sram cells 202 a thereby forming shortened fin lines for the pull - up transistors pu - 1 and pu - 2 . in the present embodiment , the second fin cut process is similar to the first fin cut process discussed with respect to fig1 a and 19b except that the second fin cut process uses the mask 1206 . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1316 to form a final device with the fin lines 1802 a . for example , the operation 1316 may include implanting dopant for well and channel doping , forming gate dielectric , forming lightly doped source / drain , forming gate stacks , and so on . fig2 shows a method 2100 of forming the fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig1 a ) with the three masks , 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , of fig1 b , in accordance with an embodiment . additional operations can be provided before , during , and after the method 2100 , and some operations described can be replaced , eliminated , or moved around for additional embodiments of the method . some operations of the method 2100 are the same or similar to those respective operations of the method 1300 , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . after operation 1308 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) has formed spacers 1602 a and 1602 d ( fig2 a and 22b ) where the spacers 1602 a will be used for forming fin active lines while the spacers 1602 d ( dummy spacers ) will not . at operation 2110 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) removes the dummy spacers 1602 d with the aid of the mask 1204 , e . g ., by a photolithography process and an etching process as discussed above with reference to fig1 a and 19b , wherein the etching process is selectively tuned to remove the spacer material ( fig2 c ). at operation 2112 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) cuts the spacers 1602 a across the boundaries of the sram cells 202 a with the aid of the mask 1206 ( fig2 a and 23b ). this can be done with a process similar to the photolithography process and the etching process as discussed above with reference to fig2 a and 20b , wherein the etching process is selectively tuned to remove the spacer material ( fig2 b ). at operation 2114 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) etches the silicon substrate 1402 with the remaining spacers 1602 a as an etch mask ( fig2 a and 24b ). the spacers 1602 a and the dielectric layer 1404 are subsequently removed thereby forming fin lines 1802 a in the silicon substrate 1402 for the transistors pu - 1 / 2 , pd - 1 / 2 , and pg - 1 / 2 ( fig2 c ). the method 2100 ( fig2 ) proceeds to operation 1316 to form a final device with the fin lines 1802 a as discussed above . fig2 a shows fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig2 ) that includes four adjacent sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ), cell - r 0 , cell - my , cell - mx , and cell - r 180 . the four cells are arranged in two rows and two columns . the imaginary line a - a denotes their boundary along the x direction , and the imaginary line b - b denotes their boundary along the y direction . with respect to fin active line configuration ( shape , size , and position of the active lines within a cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . in the present disclosure , these fin active lines are formed using spacer lithography with three masks , 2502 , 2504 , and 2506 , as shown in fig2 b . referring to fig2 b , similar to the three masks 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 in fig1 b , the three masks 2502 , 2504 , and 2506 are three layers of the design layout of the sram macro 102 ( and of the semiconductor device 100 ). the mask 2502 defines mandrel patterns for spacer formation , the mask 2504 defines dummy - fin cut patterns for removing dummy fin lines ( or dummy spacers ), and the mask 2506 defines fin - end cut patterns for shortening fin lines for the pull - up transistors ( e . g . pu - 1 and pu - 2 in fig5 ). as shown in fig2 b , the mandrel patterns are evenly distributed in the x direction . each mandrel pattern has a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . in an embodiment , although not shown , each mandrel pattern extends over at least four sram cells 202 b ( see fig2 ). in the present embodiment , the layout includes five mandrel patterns extending over each sram cell 202 b . with respect to mandrel pattern configuration ( shape , size , and position of the mandrel patterns within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are translations of cell - my and cell - r 180 , i . e ., shifted by one x - pitch 204 b in the x direction . each dummy - fin cut pattern is also a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . the fin - end cut patterns are located at the boundaries of the sram cells 202 b in the y direction and are used for cutting fin lines , e . g ., for reducing active areas for the pu - 1 and pu - 2 transistors . partitioning the layout of fig2 a into three masks of fig2 b allows dense and / or regular patterns to be created with the masks , which improves pattern critical dimension uniformity during photolithography . the fin active lines of fig2 a can be formed with the masks of fig2 b using an embodiment of the method 1300 ( fig1 ) or the method 2100 ( fig2 ) as discussed above . fig2 c shows the gate features of the group 203 superimposed onto the fin active lines of the same group ( fig2 a ). each gate feature is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the x direction . the gate features are spaced in the y direction having a pitch about half of the y - pitch 206 b . the gate features extend over the fin active lines for forming various p - finfets and n - finfets . with respect to gate feature configuration ( shape , size , and position of gate features within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . although not intended to be limiting , the present disclosure provides many benefits . for example , the present disclosure defines an embedded finfet sram macro structure which enables alignment of respective features ( e . g ., fin active lines , gate features , etc .) between sram cells and peripheral logic circuits . such alignment enables dense fin active lines formation and single fin pitch design , as an example . the embedded finfet sram macro structure is flexible in that it may include high density sram cells , high current sram cells , single port sram cells , two - port sram cells , or a combination thereof . therefore , it can be deployed in a wide range of applications , such as computing , communication , mobile phones , and automotive electronics . the present disclosure further teaches layout designs of the fin active regions for some embodiments of the sram cells , as well as methods for making the same . in some embodiments , the fin active region layout is partitioned into a mandrel pattern layer ( mask ) and two cut pattern layers ( masks ). the mandrel patterns are dense , parallel , and rectangular shapes , enhancing critical dimension uniformity during photolithography process . in one exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to an integrated circuit ( ic ) layout . the ic layout includes a first rectangular region , wherein the first rectangular region has its longer sides in a first direction and its shorter sides in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction ; and a first imaginary line through a geometric center of the first rectangular region in the first direction and a second imaginary line through the geometric center in the second direction divide the first rectangular region into a first , second , third , and fourth sub - regions in counter - clockwise order with the first sub - region located at an upper - right portion of the first rectangular region . the ic layout further includes at least eight first patterns located at a first layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the first patterns is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the second direction over the first rectangular region ; the first patterns are spaced from each other in the first direction ; a first , second , third , and fourth portions of the first patterns overlap with the first , second , third , and fourth sub - regions respectively ; the first and second portions of the first patterns are mirror images of the respective fourth and third portions of the first patterns with respect to the first imaginary line ; and the first and fourth portions of the first patterns are translations of the respective second and third portions of the first patterns . the ic layout further includes at least eight second patterns located at a second layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the second patterns is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the second direction , the second patterns are spaced from each other in the first direction , each of the second patterns partially overlaps with one of the first patterns and fully covers a longer side of the respective first pattern when the first and second layers are superimposed . the ic layout further includes a plurality of third patterns located at a third layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the third patterns is a rectangular shape , the third patterns are spaced from each other , each of the third patterns partially overlaps with one of the first patterns and covers a portion of a longer side of the respective first pattern that is not covered by the second patterns when the first , second , and third layers are superimposed . in the above ic layout , the first , second , and third patterns are used for collectively defining a plurality of active regions for forming transistors ; and the plurality of active regions are defined along longer sides of the first patterns that are not covered by the second and third patterns when the first , second , and third layers are superimposed . in another exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to a semiconductor device . the semiconductor device includes a first sram macro , wherein the first sram macro includes a first plurality of single - port sram cells and a second plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the first plurality are arranged to have a first pitch in a first direction and a second pitch in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction , the first plurality include finfet transistors formed by first gate features and first fin active lines , the second plurality include finfet transistors formed by second gate features and second fin active lines , the second gate features are arranged to have a third pitch in the second direction , and the second fin active lines are arranged to have a fourth pitch in the first direction . the semiconductor device further includes a second sram macro , wherein the second sram macro includes a third plurality of single - port sram cells and a fourth plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the third plurality are arranged to have a fifth pitch in the first direction and a sixth pitch in the second direction , the third plurality include finfet transistors formed by third gate features and third fin active lines , the fourth plurality include finfet transistors formed by fourth gate features and fourth fin active lines , the fourth gate features are arranged to have the third pitch in the second direction , and the fourth fin active lines are arranged to have the fourth pitch in the first direction . in the semiconductor device above , the second pitch is about twice of the third pitch ; the sixth pitch is about the same as the second pitch ; and the fifth pitch is greater than the first pitch by about twice of the fourth pitch . in another exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to a semiconductor device . the semiconductor device includes a first sram macro , wherein the first sram macro includes a first plurality of single - port sram cells and a second plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the first plurality are arranged to have a first pitch in a first direction and a second pitch in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction , the first plurality include first finfet transistors formed by first gate features and first fin active lines , the second plurality include second finfet transistors formed by second gate features and second fin active lines , the second gate features are arranged to have a third pitch in the second direction , and the second fin active lines are arranged to have a fourth pitch in the first direction . the semiconductor device further includes a second sram macro , wherein the second sram macro includes a third plurality of two - port sram cells and a fourth plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the third plurality are arranged to have a fifth pitch in the first direction and a sixth pitch in the second direction , the third plurality include third finfet transistors formed by third gate features and third fin active lines , the fourth plurality include fourth finfet transistors formed by fourth gate features and fourth fin active lines , the fourth gate features are arranged to have the third pitch in the second direction , and the fourth fin active lines are arranged to have the fourth pitch in the first direction . in the semiconductor device above , the second pitch is about twice of the third pitch ; the sixth pitch is about the same as the second pitch ; a first ratio between the first pitch and the fourth pitch is not an integer ; and a second ratio between the fifth pitch and the fourth pitch is an integer . the foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those having ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure . those having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and / or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein . those having ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure , and that they may make various changes , substitutions , and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure .
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firstly , the method for manufacturing the dried foods will be described . the basic process of the method of the present invention is firstly to pretreat the raw food materials , then to immerse the raw food materials in the oil and to radiate the raw materials with microwaves under reduced pressure , and finally to carry out aftertreatment . any solid food material can be used for the raw food material . examples of these raw food materials are the following : seeds and nutlets , beans , fish and shellfish , meat of animals , birds and whales , vegetables , fruits , mushrooms , seaweed , processed foods made of flour such as noodles , pasta and the like , processed foods made of soybean , processed foods of made egg such as fried eggs and the like , processed foods made of milk such as cheese and the like , processed foods made of the meat of domestic animals such as sausage , ham and the like , processed foods of made fish such as boiled fish paste ( e . g . the japanese foods &# 34 ; kamaboko &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; chikuwa &# 34 ;), gelled foods such as jelly , devil &# 39 ; s - tongue ( the japanese food &# 34 ; konnyaku &# 34 ;) and the like , and processed foods made of rice such as rice cake ( the japanese food &# 34 ; mochi &# 34 ;) and the like . the pretreatment process is optional and can be carried out by properly selecting one or more from the following operations ( 1 )-( 6 ) based upon the kind of raw materials and the nature of the dried foods : ( 2 ) preparatory dry hot blow dry , freezing dry , sunlight dry , reduced pressure dry , and microwave dry , ( 3 ) immersion into solutions the object of the immersion is to add seasoning to the raw material and also to prevent the raw material from deterioration in quality . examples of dissolved substances monosaccharide , disaccharide , oligosaccharide , polysaccharide , thick malt syrup , dextrin , corn syrup , saccharogenic starch , sugar alcohol , antioxidant , phosphoric acid , and common salt , in the process of radiating the raw materials with microwaves while immersed in oil under reduced pressure , the temperature of the oil ( at the commencement of the drying process and during the drying process ) is about 70 °- 130 ° c ., the range of the reduced pressure is about 500 - 15 , 000 pa , and the output power of the microwaves is about 1 . 35 - 50 kw , which is properly selected based upon the amount of raw materials , etc . the drying period , i . e . the degree of dry , is properly selected based upon the kind of raw materials , the amount of raw materials , the temperature of the oil , the output power of the microwaves , the degree of pressure reduction , etc . in general , it is preferable , in order to have the dried foods rich in porosity , to continue the drying process until 80 or more weight -% of the moisture contained in the raw food materials is removed . the aftertreatment process is also optional and can be carried out by properly selecting one or more from the following operations ( 1 )-( 4 ): ( 2 ) finish dry hot blow dry , freezing dry , reduced pressure dry , sunlight dry , microwave dry , and reduced pressure fry dry , an apparatus for manufacturing the dried foods of the present invention will next be described with reference to the attached drawing . a cover 2 of a pressure reducing chamber 1 having a monitoring window 3 is mounted on the upper portion of the pressure reducing chamber 1 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is provided with an oil tank 4 in which is arranged a table 6 on which a retainer 5 for containing the raw food materials is placed . the table 6 is mounted so that it can rotate and vertically move within the oil tank 4 , and it may also be provided with agitation blades 7 for agitating the oil in the tank 4 . there is no special limitation on the configuration of the retainer 5 , and it may be a box - shaped configuration as shown in the drawings or a bag - shaped configuration . the retainer 5 can be made of metal or other suitable materials through which microwaves are easily permeable . if the retainer 5 is made of a metal such as stainless steel , sufficiently large openings should be formed therein so the microwaves can permeate therethrough . materials through which microwaves are easily permeable are , for example , polycarbonate , fluoroplastic , polypropylene , polyester , etc . the oil tank 4 is provided with a steam jacket 8 and a steam delivering pipe 8a . both the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a are used for raising the temperature of the oil in the oil tank 4 at the commencement of drying operation to a predetermined temperature , and are also used as auxiliary heat sources during the drying operation . a separate heat source may be arranged outside the oil tank 4 instead of , or together with , the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a so as to circulate the oil between the oil tank 4 and the heat source . in another simple way , it may be possible to introduce the oil heated to a predetermined temperature to the oil tank 4 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is further provided with a microwave radiating means 9 ( the preferred embodiment shown in the drawing has two microwave radiating means 9 ). each microwave radiating means 9 comprises a microwave oscillator 11 , a waveguide 10 and a microwave radiating port 19 . the microwave radiating port 19 can be arranged at a desired position . however , it is preferable to arrange the port 19 at a position higher than the oil level ( 0 . l .) to avoid the difficulty of sealing it . in such case , it is desirable to mount the microwave radiating means 9 such that the incident angle of the microwaves relative to the oil surface ( 0 . l .) is set within a range of 10 °- 90 ° c . ( preferably a range of 45 °- 80 ° c .). in addition , it is preferable to symmetrically arrange a plurality of the microwave radiating ports 19 so as to uniformly heat the oil . in such case , it may be possible to construct the apparatus so that the microwaves can be delivered to all ports 19 from a single microwave oscillator 11 via a plurality of waveguides 10 each extending between the ports 19 and the oscillator 11 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is further provided with a pressure reducing means 12 for creating a reduced pressure condition in the chamber 1 . the pressure reducing means 12 comprises a suction pump 13 , a refrigerator 14 and a pressure reducing control valve 15 . the pressure in the chamber 1 is also controlled by a pressure controlling leak valve 20 . the oil tank 4 is provided with an oil purifying means 16 formed by a strainer 17 and a circulating pump 18 for removing suspended matter in the oil . a thermometer for measuring oil temperature may be arranged at a desired position in the oil tank 4 . it is preferable to use an optical fiber thermometer to prevent the thermometer from being affected by the microwaves . of course , other types of thermometers than the optical fiber thermometer can be used if the sensor portion and the lead wire portion of the thermometer are protected from the microwaves by metallic covers . when measuring the average temperature of the entire oil by using an optical fiber thermometer , it is preferable to mount the optical fiber thermometer on the turntable 6 via a slip ring to prevent twisting of the optical fiber . the detected temperature may be used for controlling the output power of the microwaves . the operation of the dried food manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be hereinafter described . firstly , opening the cover 2 , the table 6 is elevated above the oil level ( 0 . l .) and the retainer 5 in which the raw food materials are contained is placed on the table 6 . then the cover 2 is closed and the pressure reducing chamber 1 is evacuated to a predetermined pressure by the pressure reducing means 12 . the table 6 is lowered until the retainer 5 is completely immersed in the oil and then rotated . by this time , the temperature of the oil should have been raised to the predetermined temperature by the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a . simultaneously with the immersion of the retainer 5 in the oil , the microwave radiating means 9 are energized to radiate the raw materials in the retainer 5 with microwaves . thus , the raw food materials can be dried . during the drying operation , the degree of reduced pressure in the chamber 1 is kept within a predetermined range by the pressure reducing control valve 15 and the pressure controlling leak valve 20 . after completion of the drying process , the radiation of microwaves is stopped . then the table 6 is elevated above the oil level ( 0 . l .) and is rotated and / or vertically reciprocated to drain the oil from the finished dried food contained in the retainer 5 . then the cover 2 is opened and the retainer 5 containing the finished dried food therein is taken from the pressure reducing chamber 1 . finally , the used oil is purified by circulating the oil to the strainer 17 by the circulating pump 18 . following is a comparison between finished dried foods made by the method according to the present invention ( experimental example 1 ) and other methods not according to the present invention ( comparative examples 1 - 3 ). prior to carrying out the drying process of the raw food material , a pretreatment was carried out as follows . apples were selected as the raw food material . each of the apples was cut in four pieces after having been washed by water . then , after having removed the core from the pieces , they were sliced into apple chips each having a thickness of 5 - 6 mm . the sliced apple chips were then immersed into syrup ( aqueous solution including 15 % sucrose and 0 . 5 % sodium l - ascorbinate ). then a vacuum replacement treatment ( i . e . reducing the pressure from normal pressure to 2 , 660 pa during two minutes with the apple chips immersed in the syrup and after keeping this pressure for five minutes , gradually recovering to the normal pressure over five minutes ) was carried out . finally , taking the apple chips out from the syrup , the syrup was drained from the apple chips by a centrifugal separator . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the metal retainer 5 formed with a great many of apertures and then the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and the temperature of the oil was initially set at 90 ° c . then , the table 6 was lowered into the oil and radiated with microwaves of an output power of 3 . 0 kw simultaneously with the immersion of the retainer 5 into the oil . after a lapse of three minutes , the radiation of microwaves was stopped . then , as a finish dry , the apple chips were kept under reduced pressure at the set temperature of 90 ° c . for three minutes ( i . e . &# 34 ; reduced pressure fry drying &# 34 ;), the retainer 5 was elevated and taken out from the oil and was kept stationary there for three minutes to drain the oil from the dried foods in the retainer 5 . finally , by recovering to normal pressure , the dried apple chips were completed . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the metal retainer 5 formed with a great many apertures and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and the temperature of the oil was initially set at 90 ° c . then the table 6 was lowered into the oil and immersed in the retainer 5 containing the apple chips for fifteen minutes . then the retainer 5 was elevated and taken out from the oil and was kept stationary there for three minutes to drain the oil from the dried foods in the retainer 5 . finally , by recovering to normal pressure , the dried apple chips were completed . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the retainer 5 made of polycarbonate and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 from which the oil had been taken out was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and then the apple chips were radiated by microwaves of an output power of 1 . 5 kw . the operation of microwave radiation was intermittently carried out as follows to prevent the apple chips from being unevenly dried . that is , after repeating five times a pattern of five minutes microwave radiation and ten minutes stoppage , the microwaves were continuously radiated for ten minutes . the dried apple chips were thus completed by recovering to normal pressure after having kept the apple chips stationary for thirty minutes . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the retainer 5 made of polycarbonate and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 from which the oil had been taken out was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and then the apple chips were radiated by microwaves of an output power of 3 . 0 kw . the operation of microwave radiation was separately carried out as follows to prevent the apple chips from unevenly drying . that is , after three minutes of microwave radiation , the microwave radiation was stopped for ten minutes . then after repeating four times a pattern of two minutes microwave radiation and four minutes stoppage , the microwaves were continuously radiated for one minute . the dried apple chips were thus completed by recovering to normal pressure after having kept the apple chips stationary for thirty minutes . the conclusion derived from comparing the quality of the dried apple chips manufactured according to the methods of experimental example 1 and comparative examples 1 - 3 is as follows : in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of experimental example 1 , all the apple chips were moderately dried and no volume reduction of any apple chips due to drying were found therein . the color of the dried apples was maintained in their good original color and no scorching was found therein . the flesh of the apple chip was porous over the entire volume thereof , and therefore the feeling it gave to the palate was soft - dry and spongy . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 1 , all the apple chips were moderately dried . however , a slight volume reduction was found therein and the color was slightly darkened . several large apertures like blisters were formed in the flesh of the apple chips , and therefore the distribution of pores was not even . in addition , oily brown scorchings were found thereon . the feeling to the palate was soft , but was inferior in lightness and meltability in the mouth . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 2 , 30 % of the apple chips were moderately dried . however , the other 40 % were not dried yet , and the remaining 30 % were remarkably scorched and had undergone remarkable volume reduction . also in the remaining 30 %, the color of the apple chips was darkened and the distribution of pores was not even . in addition , although the feeling to the palate was soft , it lacked both lightness and meltability in the mouth . also , there was a hard dried part and a moist part in the finished dry food . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 3 , 30 % of the apple chips were moderately dried . however , 10 % were not dried yet and the remaining 60 % were remarkably scorched and had undergone to remarkable volume reduction . also in the remaining 60 %, the color of the apple chips was darkened and even distribution of pores was not found therein . in addition , although the feeling to the palate was soft , it lacked both lightness and meltability in the mouth , and there was a hard dried part and a moist part in the finished dry food . furthermore , glow discharge frequently occurred after the third microwave radiation and thus the retainer of polycarbonate was deformed and the bolts in the oil tank were also partially discolored and melted . evaluation with respect to volume reduction , color , porosity and feeling to the palate were made only on the moderately dried apple chips . it is apparent from the comparison between the experimental example according to the present method and the comparative examples not according to the present method that the present method is excellent in manufacturing dried foods . this is because the greater part of the moisture in the raw materials to be removed can be evaporated in a short time after the commencement of the drying process according to the present invention . according to the present invention , it is possible to manufacture dried foods rich in porosity by radiating the raw food materials with microwaves while immersed in oil under reduced pressure conditions . the dried foods manufactured by the present invention can be eaten as is or after swelling them with water or boiled water . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail , it will be understood that various modifications and alternations of the two rotors may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims .
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fig3 depicts a variable - width memory 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . memory 300 is similar to sdram 200 of fig2 , like - numbered elements being the same . memory 300 differs from sdram 200 , however , in that the memory core organization changes with device width , resulting in reduced power usage for relatively narrow memory configurations . also advantageous , reorganizing the core for relatively narrow memory widths increases the number of logical memory banks , and consequently reduces the likelihood of bank conflicts . fewer conflicts means improved speed performance . these and other benefits of the invention are detailed below . much of the operation of memory 300 is similar to sdram 200 of fig2 . a discussion of those portions of memory 300 in common with sdram 200 is omitted here for brevity . the elements of fig3 described above in connection with fig2 are numbered in the two - hundreds ( e . g ., 2xx ) for convenience . in general , the first digit of numerical designations indicates the figure in which the identified element is introduced . memory 300 includes a configurable memory core 305 . in the example , memory core 305 includes eight physical memory banks pb0 - pb7 , though the number of physical banks may vary according to need . physical banks pb0 - pb7 are interconnected such that they can be combined to form different numbers of logical banks . in the example , pairs of physical banks ( e . g ., pb0 and pb1 ) can be combined to form four logical banks lb0 - lb3 , collections of four physical banks ( e . g ., pb0 - pb3 ) can be combined to form two logical banks lb4 and lb5 , and all eight physical banks can be combined to form a single logical bank lb0 - 7 . assuming , for simplicity , that each physical bank pb0 - pb7 includes a single data i / o terminal , memory core 305 can be configured as a one - bit - wide memory with eight logical banks , a two - bit - wide memory with four logical banks , a four - bit - wide memory with two logical banks , or an eight - bit - wide memory with one logical bank . some configuration logic 310 controls the configuration of memory core 305 via a data control circuit 315 . configuration logic 310 also controls the data width through a collection of latches 320 and a collection of i / o buffers 325 . as detailed below , data control circuit 315 includes some data routing logic , such as a crossbar switch , to provide flexible routing between the memory banks and data terminals dqs . the purpose and operation of these blocks is described below in more detail . as noted in fig3 , the data terminals ( dqs ) can be configured to have widths of x1 , x2 , x4 , and x8 . fig4 a shows a specific implementation of a configurable core 400 and associated circuitry . in one embodiment , core 400 is a portion of memory 300 of fig3 . the number of physical banks is reduced to four physical banks pb0 - pb3 in fig4 for brevity . memory 300 might include two memory “ slices ,” each of which comprises a memory core 400 . the manner of extending the memory core of fig4 a to eight or more banks will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art . the components of core 400 are similar to like - numbered elements in fig3 . for this embodiment , the serialization ratio is 1 : 1 . serialization ratios greater than 1 : 1 are possible with the addition of serial - to - parallel ( write ) and parallel - to - serial ( read ) conversion circuits . in this example , there are four physical banks pb0 - 3 supporting four read data bits and four write data bits . generally , data control circuit 315 contains multiplexing logic for read operations and demultiplexing logic for write operations . the multiplexing logic and demultiplexing logic are designed to allow one , two , or four device data lines dq0 - dq3 to be routed to the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 . in the one - bit wide configuration , device data line d0 can be routed to / from any of the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 . in the 2 - bit wide configuration (“ x2 ”), device data lines dq0 and dq1 can be routed to / from physical banks pb0 and pb1 ( collectively , logical bank lb0 , 1 ) or physical banks pb2 and pb3 ( collectively logical banks lb2 , 3 ). finally , in the 4 - bit wide configuration , device data lines dq0 , dq1 , dq2 , and dq3 can be routed to / from respective physical banks pb0 , pb1 , pb2 , and pb3 ( collectively , logical bank lb0 - 3 ). core 400 can thus be configured as a one -, two -, or four - bank memory with respective widths of four ( x4 ), two ( x2 ), and one ( x1 ) data bits . core 400 is a synchronous memory ; consequently , each physical bank pb0 - pb3 includes an input latch 405 and an output latch 410 . physical banks pb0 - pb3 additionally include respective memory arrays ma0 - ma3 , sense amplifiers sa0 - sa3 , and bank - select terminals bs1 - bs3 . asserting a bank select signal on one of terminals bs1 - bs3 loads the data in the addressed location within the selected memory array into the respective one of sense amplifiers sa1 - 1a3 . latch 320 includes a pair of latches 415 and 420 for each physical bank pb0 - pb3 . data control circuit 315 includes five multiplexers 425 , 430 , 435 , 440 , and 445 that communicate data between latch 320 and physical banks pb0 - pb3 . multiplexers 425 and 430 are controlled by a write control signal wb ; multiplexer 435 is controlled by a read control signal ra ; multiplexer 440 is controlled by a write control signal wa ; and multiplexer 445 is controlled by two read control signals ra and rb . write control signals wa and wb and read control signals ra and rb are based on the selected data path width and bits of the requested memory address or transfer phase . configuration logic 310 ( fig3 ) produces these signals in response to the programmed data width , whether the operation is a read or write operation , and appropriate addressing information . table 1 shows the control values used for data path slice widths of one , two , and four . table 1 also indicates which of data terminals d0 - d3 are used for each data width . when a width of one is selected during a read operation , the configuration logic 310 allows data from any one of the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 to be presented at data terminal dq0 . control signals ra and rb determine which data - bit signals will be presented at any given time . control signals ra and rb are set ( at this data width ) to equal the two least - significant bits ( a1 , a0 ) of the memory address corresponding to the current read operation . when a width of one is selected during a write operation , the circuit accepts the data bit signal from data terminal dq0 and routes it to all four physical banks pb0 - pb3 simultaneously . control signals wa and wb are both set to a logical value of one to produce this routing . other logic circuits ( not shown ) within configuration logic 310 control which of input latches 405 and 410 are active during any single write operation , so that each data bit signal is latched into the appropriate physical bank . for a given physical bank , only one of latches 405 and 410 is active during any given memory cycle . when a width of two is selected during a read operation , configuration logic 310 allows two of the four data bit signals associated with physical banks pb0 - pb3 to be present at data terminals dq0 and dq1 . to obtain this result , control signal ra is set to 0 , and control signal rb is equal to the lower bit ( a0 ) of the memory address corresponding to the current read operation . control signal rb determines which of two pairs of data bit signals ( 0 and 1 or 2 and 3 ) are presented at data terminals dq0 and dq1 during a given read operation . when a width of two is selected during a write operation , configuration logic 310 accepts the data bit signals from physical banks pb0 and pb 1 and routes them either to data terminals dq0 and dq1 or dq2 and dq3 . in this configuration , physical banks pb0 and pb1 collectively form one logical bank lb0 , 1 and physical banks pb2 and pb3 collectively form a second logical bank lb2 , 3 . control signals wa and wb are set to 0 and 1 , respectively , to obtain this result . a width of four is selected by setting all of the control signals ( ra , rb , wa , and w ,) to 0 . read and write data signals are then passed directly between physical banks pb0 - pb3 and corresponding data terminals dq0 - dq3 . for each row access , data moves from memory arrays ma0 - ma3 to their respective sense amplifiers sa0 - sa3 . core 400 minimizes the power required to perform a row access by limiting each row access to the selected physical bank ( s ). to this end , bank - select signals on lines bs0 - bs3 are only asserted to selected banks . configuration logic 310 determines which of physical banks pb0 - pb3 are selected , and consequently which bank - select signals are asserted , based upon the selected device width and memory address . the following table 2 summarizes the logic within configuration logic 310 that generates the appropriate bank - select signals . when core 400 is configured to have a width of one , the two least - significant address bits a0 and a1 are decoded to select one of physical banks pb0 - pb3 ; when core 400 is configured to have a width of two , address bit a0 enables the physical banks within either of logical banks lb0 , 1 or lb2 , 3 ; and when core 400 is configured to have a width of four , address bits a0 and a1 are ignored and all physical banks pb0 - pb3 are selected ( i . e ., enabled ). the circuit of fig4 a is just one example of many possible designs . other embodiments will benefit from other configurations . for example , it is possible to use more or less elaborate data routing schemes to account for the different connection needs for memory systems with more or fewer modules . moreover , multiple memory cores 400 may be used to construct devices with greater than four device data connections . for example , a device having sixteen device data connections could use four memory cores while supporting three programmable widths ; namely , 16 , 8 , or 4 - bits widths . there are many possible alternatives for the number and width of physical and logical banks , the number of device data connections per device , serialization ratios , and data - path widths . all data to and from memory core 400 passes through data terminal dq0 in the x1 mode , terminals dq0 and dq1 in the x2 mode , and terminals dq0 - dq3 in the x4 mode . fig4 b depicts an embodiment 450 that benefits from a more flexible routing scheme in which the data terminals dq0 - dq3 can be routed to different input / output pins of the memory module upon which core 305 is mounted . embodiment 450 substitutes data control circuit 315 of fig4 a with a more flexible crossbar switch 460 . in the depicted embodiment , the data terminals to and from physical bank pb0 can be routed to any of data connections dq0 - dq3 in the x1 mode ; the data terminals to and from physical banks pb0 and pb1 can be routed to either data connections dq0 and dq1 or data connections dq2 and dq3 , respectively , in the x2 mode ; and the data terminals to and from physical banks pb0 - pb3 can be routed to data connections dq0 - dq3 , respectively , in the x4 mode . u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 530 , 814 and 5 , 717 , 871 describe various types of crossbar switches , and are incorporated herein by reference . fig5 a depicts a memory module 500 that includes four variable - width memories 502 of the type described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , and 4 b . module 500 , typically a printed circuit board , also includes a number of conductive traces 505 that convey data between the data pins ( 3 , 2 , 1 , 0 ) of memories 502 and corresponding module pins 510 . in fig5 a , each memory 502 is configured to be one - bit wide , and the resulting four data bits are connected to four consecutive ones of pins 510 . the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected module pins are crosshatched . fig5 b depicts the same memory module 500 of fig5 a ; unlike in fig5 a , however , each memory 502 is configured to be two - bits wide , and the resulting eight data bits are connected to eight consecutive ones of pins 510 . the memory module 500 of fig5 b is thus configured to be twice as wide ( and half as deep ) as the same module 500 of fig5 a . as in fig5 a , the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected pins are crosshatched . fig5 c depicts the same memory module 500 of fig5 a and 5b ; unlike in fig5 a and 5b , however , each memory 502 is configured to be four - bits wide , and the resulting sixteen data bits are connected to sixteen consecutive ones of pins 510 . the memory module 500 of fig5 c is thus configured to be twice as wide ( and half as deep ) as the same module 500 of fig5 b and four times as wide ( and one forth as deep ) as the same memory module 500 of fig5 a . once again , the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected pins are crosshatched . fig6 a and 6b depict a computer motherboard ( or system backplane ) 600 adapted to use a variable - width memory in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . motherboard 600 includes a memory controller 605 and a plurality of electrical receptacles or connectors 610 and 615 . the connectors are memory module sockets , and are configured to receive installable / removable memory modules 620 and 625 . each of memory modules 620 and 625 comprises a module backplane 630 and a plurality of integrated memory circuits 635 . each memory module also includes first and second opposed rows of electrical contacts ( module pins ) 640 along opposite surfaces of its backplane . only one row of contacts 640 is visible in fig6 a . there are corresponding rows of connector contacts ( not visible in fig6 a ) in each of connectors 610 and 615 . a plurality of signal lines , or “ traces ,” extends between memory controller 605 and electrical connectors 610 and 615 for electrical communication with memory modules 620 and 625 . more specifically , there are a plurality of sets of signal lines , each set extending to a corresponding , different one of connectors 610 and 615 . a first set of signal lines 645 extends to first electrical connector 610 , and a second set of signal lines 650 extends to second electrical connector 615 . motherboard 600 also has a third set of signal lines 655 that extends between the two connectors . in the embodiment shown , the signal lines comprise system data lines — they carry data that has been read from or that is to be written to memory modules 620 and 625 . it is also possible that other signal lines , such as address and control lines , would couple to the memory modules through the connectors . these additional signal lines could have a different interconnection topology than what is shown for signal lines 645 , 650 , and 655 . the routing of the signal lines is more clearly visible in fig6 b , in which memory modules 620 and 625 have been omitted for clarity . the illustrated physical routing is shown only as a conceptual aid — actual routing is likely to be more direct , through multiple layers of a printed - circuit board . fig7 a depicts a portion 700 of motherboard 600 detailing the signal - line configuration . this view shows cross - sections of connectors 610 and 615 . electrical conductors , traces , and / or contacts are indicated symbolically in fig7 a by relatively thick solid or dashed lines . each of the three previously described sets of signal lines is represented by a single one of its conductors , which has been labeled with the reference numeral of the signal line set to which it belongs . the respective lines of a particular set of signal lines are routed individually in the manner shown . as discussed above , each connector 610 and 615 has first and second opposed rows of contacts . fig7 a shows individual contacts 705 and 710 corresponding respectively to the two contact rows of each connector . it is to be understood that these , again , are representative of the remaining contacts of the respective contact rows . as is apparent in fig7 a , the first set of signal lines 645 extends to first contact row 705 of first connector 610 . the second set of signal lines 650 extends to the first contact row 705 of second connector 615 . in addition , a third set of signal lines 655 extends between the second contact row 710 of first connector 610 and second contact row 710 of second connector 615 . the third set of signal lines 655 is represented by a dashed line , indicating that these lines are used only in certain configurations ; specifically , signal lines 655 are used only when a shorting module is inserted into connector 610 or 615 . such a shorting module , the use of which will be explained in more detail below , results in both sets of signal lines 645 and 650 being configured for communications with a single memory module . the system of fig7 a can be configured to include either one or two memory modules . fig8 illustrates the first configuration , which includes a memory module 800 in the first connector 610 and a shorting module 810 in the second connector 615 . the shorting module has shorting conductors 815 , corresponding to opposing pairs of connector contacts , between the first and second rows of the second connector . inserting shorting module 810 into connector 615 connects or couples the second set 650 of signal lines to the second contact row 705 of first connector 610 through the third set of signal lines 655 . in this configuration , the two sets of signal lines 645 and 650 are used collectively to communicate between memory controller 605 and memory module 800 . in a two - module configuration , shorting bar 810 is replaced with a second memory module 800 . if modules 800 are adapted in accordance with the invention to support two width configurations and to include one half of the module pins 640 on either side , then there is no need for a switch matrix like data control circuit 315 of fig4 a or crossbar switch 460 of fig4 b . instead , merely including shorting module 810 provides the memory controller access to the module pins 640 on both sides of the one module 800 . alternatively , including two memory modules 800 will provide the memory controller access to the same half of the module pins 640 ( those on the left - hand side of connector 610 ) on both memory modules ; the other half of the module pins 640 are not used . more complex routing schemes can likewise be employed to support additional modules and width configurations . the two - module configuration thus provides the same data width as the single - module configuration , with each module providing half the width . for a more detailed discussion of motherboard 600 , see u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 797 , 099 filed feb . 28 , 2001 , entitled “ upgradeable memory system with reconfigurable interconnect ,” by richard e . perego et al ., which issued oct . 27 , 2009 , as u . s . pat . no . 7 , 610 , 447 and is incorporated herein by reference . in some embodiments , the access configurations of the memory modules are controllable and programmable by memory controller 605 in the manner described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , 4 b , 5 a , and 5 b . in such embodiments , the memory controller may be adapted to detect which connectors have installed memory modules , and to set the configuration of each module accordingly . this allows either one or two memory module to be used in a system without requiring manual configuration steps . if one module is used , it may be configured to use two signal - line sets for the best possible performance . if two memory modules are present , they may each be configured to use one signal - line set . this idea can be extended to support memory systems that can accommodate more than two memory modules , though the routing scheme becomes more complex with support for additional modules . the integrated memory circuit can be configured for the appropriate access mode using control pins . these control pins might be part of the signal line sets 645 , 650 , and 655 , or they might be part of a different set of signal lines . these control pins might be dedicated to this configuration function , or they might be shared with other functions . also , the integrated memory circuit might utilize programmable fuses to specify the configuration mode . integrated memory circuit configurability might also be implemented , for example , by the use of jumpers on the memory modules . note that the memory capacity of a module remains the same regardless of how it is configured . however , when it is accessed through one signal line set it requires a greater memory addressing range than when it is accessed through two signal line sets . also note that the two configurations shown in fig6 - 8 could also be implemented with a shorting connector instead of a shorting module . a shorting connector shorts its opposing contacts when no module is inserted ( the same result as when the connector 615 of fig7 b has a shorting module inserted ). a shorting connector with a memory module inserted is functionally identical to the connector 610 in fig7 . as noted above , the general signal line scheme can be generalized for use with n connectors and memory modules . generally stated , a system such as this uses a plurality of signal - line sets , each extending to a respective module connector . at least one of these sets is configurable or bypassable to extend to a connector other than its own respective connector . stated alternatively , there are 1 through n sets of signal lines that extend respectively to corresponding connectors 1 through n . sets 1 through n − 1 of the signal lines are configurable to extend respectively to additional ones of the connectors other than their corresponding connectors . fig9 a - 9d illustrate this generalization , in a memory system 900 in which n = 4 . referring first to fig9 a , this configuration includes a memory controller 905 ; four memory slots or connectors 910 , 915 , 920 , and 925 ; and four signal line sets 930 , 935 , 940 , and 945 . each signal line set is shown as a single line , and is shown as a dashed line when it extends beneath one of the connectors without connection . physical connections of the signal line sets to the connectors are shown as solid dots . inserted memory modules are shown as diagonally hatched rectangles , with solid dots indicating signal connections . note that each inserted memory module can connect to up to four signal line sets . the number of signal line sets to which it actually connects depends upon the connector into which it is inserted . the connectors are identical components , but appear different to the memory modules because of the routing pattern of the four signal line sets on the motherboard . each signal line set extends to a corresponding connector . furthermore , signal lines sets 935 , 940 , and 945 are extendable to connectors other than their corresponding connectors : signal line set 935 is extendable to connector 925 ; signal line set 940 is extendable to both connectors 920 and 925 ; signal line set 945 is extendable to connector 925 . more specifically , a first signal line set 930 extends directly to a first memory connector 925 without connection to any of the other connectors . it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 925 . a second signal line set 935 extends directly to a second memory connector 920 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of first connector 925 , allowing the second signal line set to bypass second connector 920 when a shorting module is placed in connector 920 . a third signal line set 940 extends directly to a third memory connector 915 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 920 . the corresponding second contact row contacts of connector 920 are connected to the corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 925 . a fourth signal line set 945 extends directly to a fourth memory connector 910 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 910 . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of first connector 925 . this configuration , with appropriate use of shorting or bypass modules , accommodates one , two , three , or four physically identical memory modules . each memory module permits simultaneous access through one , two , or four of its four available signal line sets . in the configuration of fig9 a , a single memory module is inserted in first connector 925 . this memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on all of its four signal line sets , which correspond to all four signal line sets . connectors 910 , 915 , and 920 are shorted by inserted shorting modules as shown so that signal line sets 935 , 940 , and 945 extend to connector 925 . fig9 b illustrates a second configuration in which connectors 910 and 915 are shorted by inserting shorting modules . thus , signal line sets 930 and 945 extend to connector 925 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . signal line sets 935 and 940 extend to connector 920 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . fig9 c illustrates a third configuration in which connector 910 is shorted by inserting a shorting module , and memory modules are positioned in connectors 915 , 920 , and 925 . signal line sets 930 and 945 extend to connector 925 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . signal line set 935 extends to connector 920 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit accesses on this signal line set . signal line set 940 extends to connector 915 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit accesses on this signal line set . fig9 d illustrates a fourth configuration , with a memory module in each of the four available memory connectors . each module is connected to use a respective one of the four signal line sets , with no shorting modules in use . an interesting aspect of a memory device with programmable data access width relates to the characteristic of the device that its bandwidth may generally be reduced as its data width is narrowed . as device bandwidth is reduced , opportunities increase for altering the device &# 39 ; s memory array configuration to provide greater independence between array partitions . fig1 shows an example of a conventional 1 gb density dram 1000 with a 16 - bit wide data path d0 - d15 . fig1 shows a high - level floor plan of the dram die , including left (“ l ”) and right (“ r ”) bank subdivisions , row decoders , column decoders , i / o sense amps ( i / o ), and data pin locations d0 - d7 and d8 - d15 . a pair of regions 1005 and 1012 within memory banks b0 - l and b0 - r ( i . e ., the left and right halves of bank 0 ) indicates a sample page location for an 8 kb page within bank zero . 4 kb worth of sense amp circuitry for the left and right halves of dram 1000 are accessed in parallel via a pair of multiplexers 1010 and 1015 to form an 8 kb page . in this design , data from left and right halves of the die are accessed in parallel to meet the device peak bandwidth requirement . this also allows the data paths for the left and right halves of the die to be largely independent . ( this aspect of some embodiments is discussed in more detail below in connection with fig1 .) fig1 a and 11b depict a high - level floor plan of a dram 1100 featuring a configurable core in accordance with one embodiment . dram 1100 can operate as dram 1000 of fig1 , but can also be configured to reduce peak device bandwidth by a factor of two . such a bandwidth reduction allows the full amount of device bandwidth to be serviced by either the left half ( fig1 a ) or right half ( fig1 b ) of the device . in this embodiment , the eight active device data connections d0 - d7 — shown in bold — are located on the left side of the die , requiring that a data path 1105 be provided from the right side memory array to the left side data connections d0 - d7 . with the memory array divided into left and right halves , it becomes feasible to manage banks on each side independently . in this case , the 16 - bit wide device that supported eight independent banks accessed via data terminals d0 - d15 ( like dram 1000 of fig1 ) can be reconfigured as an 8 - bit wide device supporting 16 independent banks , with data access provided via either data terminals d0 - d7 or d8 - d15 . there is typically some incremental circuit overhead associated with increasing the bank count of the device , setting a practical limit to the number of independent banks that could potentially be supported . however , a performance improvement related to the increased number of banks may justify some increase in device cost . in the embodiment of fig1 a and 11b , device page size is reduced for the 8 - bit wide configuration ( 4 kb ) relative to the 16 - bit wide configuration ( 8 kb ). reducing the page size is attractive from a power consumption perspective because fewer sense amps are activated during a ras operation . in addition to activating fewer sense amps , it is also possible to subdivide word lines using a technique known as “ sub - page activation .” in this scheme , word lines are divided into multiple sections , one or more of which are activated for a particular ras operation . this technique typically adds some incremental die area overhead in exchange for reduced power consumption and potentially improved array access or cycle times . the examples highlighted in fig1 a and 11b are intended to illustrate the concept of how a configurable array organization can be used to reduce power consumption and increase the number of logical memory banks write transactions are not described for this embodiment , although the same principles of power reduction and memory bank count apply to writes as well . the basic principles of configurable array organization can be exploited regardless of the type or capacity of memory device . fig1 depicts a specific implementation of a configurable core 1200 and associated circuitry , the combination of which may be integrated to form a memory component . core 1200 is similar to core 450 of fig4 b , like - named elements being the same . core 1200 provides the same functionality as core 450 , but the configuration and switching logic is modified to afford users the ability to partition the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 into two separately addressable memories , each of which can be either one or two bits wide . some elements are omitted from the depiction of fig1 for brevity . for example , core 1200 may also include registers 405 and 410 . physical bank pb0 includes a row decoder rd0 , a memory array ma0 , a sense amp sa0 ( actually a collection of sense amplifiers ), and a column decoder cd0 . each of the remaining physical banks pb1 - pb3 includes identical structures . the row decoders , memory banks , sense amps , and column decoders are omitted from fig4 b for brevity , but are included in fig1 to illustrate an addressing scheme that enables core 1200 to independently access logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 . address buffers 225 and 230 , introduced in fig3 , connect directly to the row and column decoders of physical banks pb2 and pb3 . configuration logic 310 , also introduced in fig3 , connects to the bank - select terminals bs3 - 0 and to a crossbar switch 1207 . address buffers 225 and 230 are also selectively connected to the row and column decoders in physical banks pb0 and pb1 via a multiplexer 1205 . the configuration and switching logic of core 1200 is extended to include a second set of address buffers ( row and column ) 1209 and a second set of configuration logic 1210 . address buffers 1209 connect to the row and column decoders in physical banks pb0 and pb1 via multiplexer 1205 . configuration logic 1210 connects to crossbar switch 1207 — the data control circuit in this embodiment — and to bank - select terminals bs0 and bs1 via multiplexer 1205 . a configuration - select bus conf from configuration logic 310 includes three control lines c0 - c2 that connect to crossbar switch 1207 . line c2 additionally connects to the select terminal of multiplexer 1205 . in this embodiment , mode register 220 ( fig3 ) is adapted to store configuration data establishing the levels provided on lines c0 - c2 . core 1200 supports four operational modes , or “ configurations ,” in addition to those described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , and 4 b . these modes are summarized below in table 3 . core 1200 is operationally identical to core 450 of fig4 b if each of lines c0 - c2 is set to logic one . in that case , the logic one on line c2 causes multiplexer 1205 to pass the address from address buffers 225 and 230 to physical banks pb0 and pb1 . the logic levels on lines c0 and c1 are irrelevant in this configuration . driving line c2 to a voltage level representative of a logic zero causes multiplexer 1205 to convey the contents of the second set of address buffers 1209 to physical banks pb0 and pb1 , and additionally causes crossbar switch 1207 to respond to the control signals on lines c0 and c1 . logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 are thereby separated to provide independent memory access . logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 are separately addressable in each of configurations two through five of table 3 . though not shown , logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 can be adapted to receive either the same clock signal or separate clock signals . in configuration number two , crossbar switch 1207 accesses logical bank lb0 , 1 on lines dq0 and dq1 and logical bank lb2 , 3 on lines dq2 and dq3 . core 1200 is therefore divided into a pair of two - bit memories accessed via separate two - bit data busses . in configuration number three , crossbar switch 1207 alternatively accesses either logical bank lb0 , 1 or logical bank lb2 , 3 via lines dq0 and dq1 . core 1200 is therefore divided into two separately addressable two - bit memories that share a two - bit data bus . configuration number four is similar , but access is provided via lines dq2 and dq3 . configuration number five divides core 1200 into two separately addressable , one - bit - wide memories . in effect , each pair of physical blocks within logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 is combined to form a single - bit memory with twice the address locations of a parallel configuration . each of the resulting one - bit - wide memories is then separately accessible via one bus line . the modes of table 3 are not exhaustive . more control signals and / or additional control logic can be included to increase the available memory configurations . for example , configuration number five might be extended to include the ability to select the bus line upon which data is made available , or the two - bit modes could be extended to provide data on additional pairs of bus lines . the mode - select aspect allows core 1200 to efficiently support data of different word lengths . processors , which receive instructions and data from memory like core 1200 , are sometimes asked to alternatively perform complex sets of instructions on relatively small data structures or perform simple instructions on relatively large data structures . in graphics programs , for example , the computationally simple task of refreshing an image employs large data structures , while more complex image processing tasks ( e . g ., texture mapping and removing hidden features ) often employ relatively small data structures . core 1200 can dynamically switch between configurations to best support the task at hand by altering the contents of mode register 220 ( fig3 ). in the graphics - program example , instructions that contend with relatively large data structures might simultaneously access both logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 in parallel , and instructions that contend with relatively small data structures might access logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 separately using separate addresses . core 1200 may therefore provide more efficient memory usage . as with cores 400 and 450 , core 1200 minimizes the power required to perform a row access by limiting each row access to the selected physical bank ( s ). fig1 a is a simplified block diagram 1300 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating memory access timing in one memory - access mode . in this example , core 1200 is configured to deliver full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . the pairs of memory blocks within each logical block lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are combined for simplicity of illustration . at time t1 , the data stored in row address location add0 in each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are each loaded simultaneously into respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 . the row address add0 used for each logical block is the same . then , at time t2 , the contents at the same column address of the two sense amplifiers are accessed simultaneously with data lines dq3 / 2 and dq1 / 0 via switch 1207 . time t1 precedes time t2 . fig1 b is a block diagram 1310 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a second memory - access mode . in this example , core 1200 is configured to alternatively deliver half - width data by separately accessing logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 loads into sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 . at another time t2 ( where t2 may be earlier or later than t1 ), the contents of row address add0 in local block lb0 / 1 loads into sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 . of interest , at each of times t1 and t2 only the accessed physical blocks are enabled using the appropriate bank - select signals bs3 - 0 ( see fig1 ). the content at a column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t3 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at the same column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed at another time t4 via the data lines dq0 / 1 ( where t4 may be earlier or later than t3 ). time t1 precedes time t3 , and time t2 precedes t4 . fig1 c is a simplified block diagram 1315 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a third memory - access configuration . as in the example of fig1 a , core 1200 is configured to deliver full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 ; unlike the example of fig1 a , however , diagram 1315 illustrates the case in which logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are addressed separately . at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 and row address add1 in logical block lb0 , 1 are loaded substantially simultaneously into respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 . the term “ substantially simultaneous ” is used here to indicate the possibility that these two operations are not precisely simultaneous ( coincident ), but nevertheless overlap . the content at a first column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t2 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at a second column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed substantially simultaneously at time t2 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . time t1 precedes time t2 . fig1 d is a block diagram 1320 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a fourth memory - access mode . with respect to timing , diagram 1320 is similar to diagram 1310 of fig1 b . diagram 1320 differs from diagram 1310 , however , in that each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 is independently addressed . core 1200 can therefore interleave data from different addresses in logical banks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 and provide the resulting data on data lines dq1 and dq0 . specifically , at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 loads into sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 . at another time t2 ( where t2 may be earlier or later or the same as t1 ), the contents of another row address add1 in logical block lb0 / 1 loads into sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 ( add0 and add1 may be the same or different ). the content at a first column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t3 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at a second column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed at another time t4 via the data lines dq0 / 1 ( where t4 may be earlier or later than t3 ). time t1 precedes time t3 , and time t2 precedes t4 . fig1 e is a simplified block diagram 1325 of core 1200 illustrating access timing in a mode that delivers full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . with respect to timing , diagram 1325 is similar to diagram 1300 of fig1 a . diagram 1325 differs from diagram 1300 , however , in that each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 is independently addressed . fig1 f is a simplified block diagram 1330 of core 1200 illustrating access timing in a mode that delivers half - width data from independently addressed logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . the flow of data in diagram 1330 is similar to that of diagram 1320 of fig1 d . however , diagram 1330 differs from diagram 1320 with respect to timing because the contents of address locations add0 of logical block lb2 , 3 and add1 of logical block lb0 , 1 are delivered to respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 substantially simultaneously . although details of specific implementations and embodiments are described above , such details are intended to satisfy statutory disclosure obligations rather than to limit the scope of the following claims . thus , the invention as defined by the claims is not limited to the specific features described above . rather , the invention is claimed in any of its forms or modifications that fall within the proper scope of the appended claims , appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents .
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referring to fig1 , a preferred embodiment of the invention is presented . this embodiment is designed to produce heating only and preferably comprises two main sections : heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b which lock together via bayonet type joint 12 . heating element section 1 a is generally cylindrical , with air intake 5 on one ( rear ) end and forward - projecting handle 2 attached at the top rear . the front of elongated air delivery section 1 b is flattened into a flare that terminates in primary air exit 4 . patterns of holes on the top and bottom of the front flare serve as secondary air exits 3 , providing auxiliary air exits for the device or alternative exits in the event that primary exit 4 becomes obstructed . both heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b are preferably constructed of a plastic , more preferably an injection - molded thermoplastic . mounted inside heating element section 1 a are the following : high efficiency fan or other device for moving air 10 , heating coil 8 and temperature sensor 11 . temperature sensor 11 is used to monitor the temperature of heating coil 8 and / or the air heated by heating coil 8 and produces signals that are processed by a control circuit ( not shown ) that is operative to maintain the temperature of heating coil 8 and / or the air heated by heating coil 8 at or below a selected temperature ( e . g ., 100 f ). a manual set timer 9 is preferably mounted on the right side of the casing of fan 10 . lining the entire inside of the plastic casing of both heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b is heat - resistant insulating liner 6 . power cord 19 terminated in standard 120 - volt wall plug 20 preferably connects to the device circuitry ( not shown ) through the left side of handle 2 . referring to fig2 , another preferred embodiment of the invention is presented . this embodiment is designed to produce both heating and cooling and comprises two main sections : heating / cooling element section 1 a and thermal mass air delivery section 1 d that lock together via bayonet type joint 12 . heating / cooling element section 1 a is generally cylindrical with air intake 5 on one end and forward projecting handle 2 attached at the top rear . air delivery section 1 d generally defines a flattened oval composed of a semi - rigid thermal gel through which run a plurality of tortuous air passages 24 terminating at primary air exit 4 . mounted inside heating / cooling element section 1 a are the following : high efficiency fan or device for moving air 10 , thermoelectric module 15 , upper heat transfer element 17 , lower heat transfer element 14 and temperature sensor 11 . manual timer dial 9 and polarity switch 14 are preferably mounted on the right side of the casing of fan 10 . heating / cooling element section 1 a is divided into two separate chambers , one located above and one located below thermoelectric element 15 . top chamber 16 forms an airtight reverse air plenum that terminates at reverse air exit 18 in the back end of handle 2 . lining the inside of the preferably plastic casing of heating / cooling element section 1 a is heat - resistant , insulating liner 6 . power cord 19 terminated in a standard 120 volt wall plug 20 is connected to the device circuitry ( not shown ), preferably through the left side of handle 2 . referring to fig3 is an external right - side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows basic air delivery section 1 b with primary air exit 4 and secondary air exits 3 attached via bayonet type joint 12 to heating element section 1 a . dial 9 a for setting the timer is preferably located on the outside of the right rear of heating / cooling element section 1 a . referring to fig4 , an external right - side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows child &# 39 ; s stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c attached to heating element section 1 a . stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c consists of a flexible , heat - resistant tube 26 inside thermal mass covering 23 . this assembly is then mounted inside a stuffed animal , toy or other object and terminates in primary air exit 4 at the toy &# 39 ; s mouth or object &# 39 ; s front opening and secondary air exits 3 at the toy &# 39 ; s head or front of the object which preferably direct air rearward or to the sides . bayonet type joint 12 locks the two sections 1 a , 1 c together . dial 9 a for setting the timer is preferably located on the outside of the right rear of heating element section 1 a . examples of preferred objects include varieties of toys or stylized figurines other than animals such as cars , airplanes , boats , robots or unique cartoon characters . preferably , these embodiments are constructed in a similar manner to the animal objects disclosed herein , e . g ., with a layer of thermal mass material to retain heat . these embodiments are , in effect , functional stuffed toys , in that that they can be left on top of the bed with other conventional stuffed animals or toys . at bedtime , the object is simply attached for a short period of time to heating element section 1 a to warm the bed and charge the object with heat . then , the object is left in the bed for the child to sleep with . varieties of these embodiments may be designed to meet the needs of slightly older children . these embodiments preferably include objects in the form of another type of soft toy , such a rocket ship , car , airplane , cartoon character , etc . or objects that are not considered toys , e . g ., novelty items like a stuffed flower bouquet or a small stylized pillow . other examples of preferred objects include small firm pillows such as cylindrical or oval bolster pillows that may be covered with decorative prints and / or soft textured fabric like flannel cotton or acrylic pile . these embodiments are also preferably in a similar manner to the animal objects disclosed herein , e . g ., with a layer of thermal mass material ( e . g ., gel pac ) to retain heat . these embodiments preferably have semi flexible air channels running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the object , perhaps with a series of auxiliary tortuous air channels to facilitate thermal mass charging . the bayonet mount air entry opening and opposing air exit opening are preferably flush with the pillow ends such that they are not readily differentiated from the main body of the pillow . these embodiments can be left on top of the made bed as or with other decorative pillows . the object functions in a similar fashion to the stuffed toys and gel pac , i . e ., at bedtime , it is attached to heating element section 1 a which simultaneously warms the bed and charges the object with heat . the object is then be detached and used in the bed to be placed under the neck , lower back , etc . to provide comfort and relaxation to specific body areas . referring to fig5 , a right side perspective view of the device of fig2 is presented . this view shows an exterior view of heating element section 1 aa detached from thermal gel air delivery section 1 d and basic air delivery section 1 b . the different air delivery sections are thus easily interchangeable via bayonet type joint 12 , which utilizes lugs 13 to engage receptacles in air delivery sections 1 b , 1 d that lock heating element section 1 aa to air delivery section 1 b or air delivery section 1 d . referring to fig6 , a right side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented , showing an exterior view of heating element section 1 a detached from child &# 39 ; s toy air delivery section 1 c and basic air delivery section 1 b . the different air delivery sections are thus easily interchangeable via bayonet type joint 12 , which utilizes lugs 13 to engage receptacles in the air delivery sections that lock the heating element and air delivery sections together . referring to fig7 , a 3d rendering of a preferred embodiment of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows a camera / perspective view in fig7 a , a top view in fig7 b , a side view in fig7 c , a front view in fig7 d and a back view in fig7 e . in fig7 c , air conditioning section 1 a is shown to be u - shaped and to be adapted to receive the edge of a cover between its lower body portion 1 a and its upper handle portion 2 . in this configuration , the blanket is prevented from covering air intake 5 during operation of the device . referring to fig8 , a 3d view of the device in use is presented . in use , the device is plugged into an electrical receptacle and placed under the undisturbed covers or blankets on a bed , either from the front of the bed facing the foot , from the side , or from the foot facing forward . in this instance , the device is placed in a bed on top of bottom sheet 30 so that the edge of cover 32 fits in slot 34 . the device is positioned such that the entire main body 1 a and 1 b of the device is under the covers or blankets 32 , resting on top of the bottom sheet or bed linen 30 , with the handle 2 on top of the covers or blankets 32 . in this way , the handle acts not only as a means of easily manipulating and positioning the device , but also as a catch that helps to hold the unit in place and that prevents the covers from falling over rear air intake 5 and blocking the flow of air . the device is then activated and left to complete an automatic run cycle of 1 to 5 minutes by setting the timer dial 9 a . if further heating or cooling is desired , timer dial 9 a may be re - set such that the device re - activates and operates for additional cycles . preferably , air delivery section 1 b is sufficiently elongated that air discharged by the device inflates the bedding before escaping . a preferred embodiment of heating element section 1 a utilizes a heating coil to heat the air passing through it . this version is used during the cold months of the year for warming a bed . another preferred embodiment of heating / cooling section 1 aa contains thermoelectric module 15 that utilizes the peltier effect to either heat or cool air passing through the device . it is used at any time during the seasonal cycles to either warm or cool a bed as desired . to this end , the heating / cooling embodiment of the invention can be easily switched from heating to cooling via polarity switch 21 . peltier effect elements are well known in the art as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 777 , 802 , the disclosure of which patent is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . either embodiment of the invention may be used interchangeably with different air delivery sections . fig3 shows basic air delivery section 1 b that is designed for general use that is suitable for a variety of beds . fig2 shows thermal gel air delivery section 1 d , which is designed as a thermal mass to absorb and retain the temperature of the air passing through the tortuous channels within it . after deactivation of the device , thermal gel air delivery section 1 d may be detached and placed anywhere in the bed or against the resting body to provide additional passive radiant and direct contact heating or cooling . fig4 shows a child &# 39 ; s version of an air delivery section created in the form of a stuffed toy dragon 1 c . a variety of toy sections may be created using elongated creatures like snakes or alligators that will work in the same manner as the dragon toy depicted . the materials comprising the exterior of the toy air delivery section 1 c are soft and flexible and able to be easily deformed . the interior is comprised of a length of semi - rigid heat resistant tubing that may slightly deform but not collapse . this tubing therefore maintains an unrestricted air channel that conducts the flow of air from the connection point to the primary air exit 4 and secondary air exits 3 . the tubing is covered in a layer of thermal mass gel , allowing toy air delivery section 1 c to retain heat or cold from the conditioned air that passes through it . after the bed has been initially warmed or cooled , child &# 39 ; s stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c can be detached from heating / cooling element section 1 a and left with the child to cuddle with , providing an additional level of comfort as a further aid to sound sleep . referring to fig9 , a right side perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the device is presented . this figure shows an exterior view of heating element section 1 a detached from herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e . herbal infuser enclosure door 36 is located on the top of the air delivery section and is shown in the closed position with the size and position of internal enclosure 35 indicated by dotted lines . heating element section 1 a is also shown with the size and position of digital timer unit 40 indicated by dotted lines . exterior pushbuttons 39 are used for setting the activation time for the device and the number of minutes the device remains in operation . lcd panel 41 displays the activation time and associated numeric timer information . referring to fig1 , a right side perspective view of herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e is presented , showing a cutaway view of its interior structure wherein the perforated herbal infuser enclosure 35 is illustrated . infuser enclosure cover 36 is shown in the open position , allowing shaped herbal packet 38 to be placed in the enclosure basket . enclosure door 36 is then snapped closed and the device operated in the manner heretofore described . heated air passing through herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e passes over and warms herbal packet 38 by virtue of numerous enclosure perforations 37 , thereby infusing the aromatic herbal scent and influence into the bed . different varieties of aromatic herbal packets may thus be used and fresh packets easily installed as often as desired . alternatively , aromatic packets that are not derived from herbs may be used . a person skilled in the art would understand that any aromatic substance may be held in the stream of warm air moving through the device and incorporated into that stream of warm air . many variations of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art . some variations include heat / cold storage . other variations call for a toy - shaped air delivery section . still other variations call for an aromatic infuser air delivery section . all such variations are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the invention .
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embodiments of the invention may provide for a stand - alone load regulation tuner , which is capable of accurately canceling the load regulation effect and inter - connection voltage loss due to an inter - connection resistance for any type of linear regulator without affecting the regulator &# 39 ; s stability and power supply rejection ratio ( psrr ) performance . further , the load regulation tuner may reduce or cancel the load regulation effect by tuning a dc feedback factor to reduce or cancel the load regulation effect as well as the inter - connection resistance loss for different load current and output voltage levels . embodiments of the invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which some , but not all embodiments of the invention are shown . indeed , these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . a simple conceptual block diagram of a low drop - out voltage regulator with a load regulation tuner is shown in fig4 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig4 , the voltage regulator may include a voltage reference 12 , an amplifier such as an error - amplifier 16 , a pass device 18 , and an output load 14 . the voltage regulator may also include a load regulation tuner comprising a feedback block 22 and a load current sensing block 20 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . still referring to fig4 , during operation of the voltage regulator , the error amplifier 16 may receive the reference voltage 12 as well as a feedback voltage from the feedback block 22 . using the voltage reference 12 and the feedback voltage , the error amplifier 16 may determine an error signal as the difference between the reference voltage 12 and the feedback voltage , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the error amplifier 16 may control a gate voltage of the pass device 18 ( e . g ., power transistor ) that outputs the constant output voltage . the constant output voltage is provided to both the output load 14 and the feedback block 22 . the feedback block 22 outputs a feedback voltage to the error amplifier 16 for use in canceling the load regulation effect . according to an example embodiment of the invention , the load current sensing block 20 may change a feedback factor of the feedback block 22 to cancel the load regulation effect to obtain a desired constant output voltage . fig5 illustrates a more detailed schematic diagram of a load regulation tuner 402 utilized in a voltage regulator , in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig5 , it will be appreciated that the load regulation effect may be based upon a dc voltage difference between the actual output voltage level and the desired output voltage level ( i . e ., reference voltage v ref 404 ), according to an example embodiment of the invention . referring to the input nodes , the feedback voltage difference δv fb may be equal to δv ldr * β , where δv ldr is the voltage difference across the regulator and β is the feedback factor of the regulator . to fully cancel the load regulation effect , the load regulation ( ldr ) tuner 402 may need to compensate for the voltage difference δv fb such that the output voltage v out 410 may be equal to the reference voltage v ref 404 . according to an example embodiment of the invention , the ldr tuner 402 may include a resistor 408 and a current controlled current source 406 to compensate for the voltage difference δv fb . in particular , the resistor 408 and current controlled current source 406 may be operative to provide a feedback voltage difference δv fb of δv ldr * β . in other words , a load current controlled current source 406 with a resistor r ldr 408 ( according to thevenin &# 39 ; s theorem , δv fb = i f * r ldr = δv fb = δv ldr * β ) may be inserted into the feedback loop to cancel the load regulation effect , so the output voltage v out 410 may be exactly equal to the reference voltage v ref 404 , as shown in fig5 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . still referring to fig5 , to further reduce the inter - connection voltage loss due to inter - connection resistance , the ldr tuner 402 may also compensate for the inter - connection resistance . more specifically , the current controlled current source 406 ( i f ) and / or the resistance r ldr 408 may be tuned so that δv fb / β = δv ldr +( r x * δi l ), where r x represents the inter - connection resistance and δi l is the change in load current . the ldr tuner 402 may also help minimize the variations of load regulation performance over process corners for products . example embodiments of the load regulation tuner operating in conjunction with linear regulators are shown in fig6 . as shown in fig6 , capacitor c d 618 and resistor r d 614 may be inserted between the gates of the current mirror ( transistors m n2 612 and m n3 608 ) for a time delay to make sure the response time of the load regulation tuner is slower than that of the regulator itself and further guarantee the stability of the regulator is not affected by the load regulation tuner . the load regulation tuner of fig6 may include a pmos transistor m p1 602 , a pmos transistor m p2 610 , a pmos transistor m p3 606 , a nmos transistor m n2 612 , a nmos transistor m n3 608 , a nmos transistor m n1 612 , a resistor r d 614 and a capacitor c d 618 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the gate of the pmos transistor m p1 602 may be connected the gate of the pmos power transistor m p0 604 . the pmos transistor m p1 608 may have its source connected to the supply voltage and a drain connected to the source of the pmos transistor m p3 606 . the pmos transistor m p3 606 may have a gate connected the gate of the pmos transistor m p2 610 and a drain connected to a drain of the nmos transistor m n3 608 . the nmos transistor m p2 610 may have a source connected to a drain of the pmos power transistor m p0 604 , and a gate connected to its drain and a drain of the nmos transistor m n2 612 . the nmos transistor m n2 612 may have a gate connected to a gate of the m n3 608 and a source connected to a ground . the nmos transistor m n3 608 may have a gate connected to the gate of the nmos transistor m n2 612 and a source connected to a ground . the resistor r d 614 may be connected between the gate of the transistor m n3 608 and a capacitor c d 618 . the top plate of the capacitor c d 618 may be connected to the resistor r d 614 and a gate of the transistor m n1 620 . the bottom plate of the capacitor c d 618 may be connected to a ground . the nmos transistor m n1 620 may have a drain connected to a node v x 626 , which is a junction of the resistor r 2a 622 and r 2b 624 , and a source connected to a ground . as shown in fig6 , transistors mp 1 602 , m p2 610 , m p3 606 , m n2 612 , m n3 608 , capacitor c d 618 and resistor r d 614 may construct a load current sensing block such as the load current sensing block 20 of fig4 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the transistor m p1 602 may sense the load current of the power transistor m p0 604 . the size of the transistor m p1 602 may be much smaller than that of the power transistor m p0 604 so that only small fraction of the load current flows in the transistor m p1 602 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the feedback composed with m p2 610 , m p3 606 , m n2 612 , m n3 608 may ensure that the current in both branches are equal or substantially equal , according to an example embodiment of the invention . it also improves the accuracy of the ratio between the load current of the transistor m p0 604 and the sensed current of the transistor m p1 602 because the feedback ensures the drain - source voltage of the transistors m p0 604 and m p1 602 are equal or substantially equal . the overall current consumption of the load regulation tuner may be very minimal . when load current changes , the current flow in the transistor m p1 may change as well as the gate - source voltage of the transistor m n3 608 causing the output resistance of the transistor m n1 620 to change . this leads the feedback factor to vary to cancel the load regulation effect so that the desired output voltage of the regulator is achieved . as shown in fig6 , the operation of this load regulation tuner can be controlled by adjusting the size of transistor m n1 620 and resistance r 2b 624 to suit different loading environments and applications . the load regulation tuner may tune the dc feedback factor of the voltage regulator to cancel the load regulation effect and the inter - connection voltage loss due to the inter - connection resistance without affecting the frequency response and psrr performance of the regulator . in the example embodiment of the invention shown in fig6 , the feedback circuit may include a resistor ladder composed of r 2a 622 and r 2b 624 . in alternative embodiments of the invention , the feedback circuit should be verified by checking whether the load regulation is fully cancelled in the regulator output . it will be appreciated that the load regulator of fig6 is operative to generate δv fb o cancel the voltage difference ( δv ldr ) between the desired output voltage and the actual output voltage with increased output current δi l . according to an example embodiment of the invention , δv fb may be generated by r 1 , r 2a , r 2b and mn 1 with sensed load current , as illustrated in fig6 . many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation .
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referring now to the drawings , wherein like numerals designate like elements , there is shown in fig1 the relevant portions of a power supply designated generally as 10 . the power supply 10 has been arranged into two separate sections for convenience in discussion . those sections are an automatic frequency control section 12 and a power output section 14 . power output section 14 represents the section of the power supply 10 wherein is generated the electrical power signal that is used to drive the mechanical bonding tool of the ultrasonic bonding device ( not depicted in the drawings ). in power output section 14 is power amplifier 16 . power amplifier 16 receives a signal from voltage control oscillator 18 , which sets the wave shape and frequency for the power signal . this signal from voltage control oscillator 18 is amplified by power amplifier 16 to provide the power signal . oscillator 18 and amplifier 16 are elements that would be expected to be found in virtually any variable frequency power supply , even one controlled manually . however , in this embodiment of the present invention , the output of the power amplifier is first directed through a directional coupler 20 . the function of directional coupler 20 will soon become apparent . the electrical output passes through directional coupler 20 and is conditioned by impedence matching network 22 , where upon it is made available to a transducer 24 for the purpose of transforming the periodic electrical power signal into mechanical vibratory energy of the same frequency . transducer 24 may be one of a variety of transducers , such as a magnetostrictive transducer or a piezoelectric crystal transducer . the mechanical vibratory energy produced by the mechanical portion of the bonding device is delivered to the work piece to effect a bond in the well known manner . when vibratory energy is delivered from the bonding device to the work piece , not all of the energy is absorbed by the work piece . a small amount of the vibratory energy is reflected back from the workpiece through the bonding device . the resultant of the vibratory energy waves incident on the work piece from the bonding device and the waves reflected back from the work piece produces a standing wave with planes of maximum and minimum motion , commonly referred to anti - nodes and nodes , respectively . the ratio of the maximum to minimum amplitudes of motion is referred to herein as the standing wave ratio ( hereinafter swr ). it has been found that the swr is minimum when the frequency of operation is at the resonant frequency for the mechanical device and hence at the time when the efficiency of power transformation is optimum . since the transducer 24 will convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice - versa , an analagous electrical standing wave system occurs upstream of the transducer 24 between power amplifier 16 and transducer 24 . this electrical standing wave is the resultant of the forward voltage signal ( vf .) from power amplifier 16 and a reflected voltage ( vr .) coming back from transducer 24 . the relationship between these voltages defines the standing wave ratio ( swr ) in the following equation : thus , the swr can be determined and an acceptable swr maintained by comparison of the relative values of the signals v f and v r . directional coupler 20 , mentioned previously , is therefore provided to segregate the respective voltage signals v f and v r . while there may be a variety of means to perform the directional segregation required of directional coupler 20 , it is presently envisioned that a simple center - tap transformer with diode rectification be used . this will be discussed in detail with reference to the detailed schematics to follow . the v r signal is sent from directional coupler 20 to an input of comparator 28 . the v f signal is sent from directional coupler 20 to a reference generator 26 , which produces an output voltage ( v ref ) which is proportional to v f . reference generator 26 may simply be a voltage divider as shown in fig1 or may be any of a variety of well known amplifier circuits for producing linear proportional voltages . the v ref signal is sent to the other input of comparator 28 . a sweep generator 30 provides a periodic voltage output signal having a frequency which is substantially less than the ultrasonic frequencies associated with voltage control oscillator 18 . sweep generator 30 may be any of a variety of well known integrated circuits which put out a periodic signal . moreover , the output signal from sweep generator 30 may be a sinusoidal wave , a triangular wave , or any other function having a periodically repeating increase and decrease form . the sweep generator 30 may simply be another voltage controlled oscillator similar to oscillator 18 . the output of sweep generator 30 is input to an operational amplifier functioning as a d . c . level shifter 32 . level shifter 32 is a well known operational amplifier configuration and is used to increase the direct current component of the output signal from sweep generator 30 . the sweep signal from level shifter 32 is gated through a sample and hold network 34 . sample and hold network 34 has two functions . in its sample mode , it allows the sweep voltage to pass and be coupled to the voltage control oscillator 18 . in the hold mode , it holds the voltage level of the sweep signal that existed at the instant when the mode switched from sample mode to hold mode . the sample and hold modes of network 34 are controlled by the output of comparator 28 . specifically , when the output of comparator 28 indicates that the reflected voltage vr is greater than the reference voltage v ref , the sample and hold network 34 is driven to the sample mode . conversely , when vr is less than or equal to v ref , network 34 is driven to the hold mode . the voltage signal from sample and hold network 34 is coupled through a buffer amplifier 36 to voltage controlled oscillator 18 . there is also provided a manual frequency adjustment 38 , which may be used to set the initial frequency of voltage control oscillator 18 , and may also be used for manual frequency control if the automatic frequency control is inoperative . however , it is envisioned that automatic frequency control will be the normal mode of operation . it can be seen that the output frequency of the signal from voltage control oscillator 18 will be caused to increase and decrease by the amplitude of the sweep signal from sweep generator 30 . sample and hold network 34 acts as a switch which allows sweep generator 30 to control oscillator 18 . sweep generator 30 thus controls voltage control oscillator 18 whenever the signal from comparator 28 indicates that the swr has exceeded a certain value , which may be pre - set by adjusting reference generator 26 . as the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is varied by sweep generator 30 , it will eventually pass through a frequency which will cause the swr to fall below the pre - set value , in which case the signal from comparator 28 will cause sample and hold network 34 to cease gating the variable signal from sweep generator 30 to oscillator 18 , and to hold the last voltage input to oscillator 18 so that the output frequency of oscillator 18 remains constant . a more detailed schematic of the relevant elements of this embodiment of a power supply is shown in the composite drawing which comprises fig3 a , 3b and 3c . fig3 a and 3b comprise the section labeled automatic frequency control section in fig1 . referring now to fig3 a , there is shown sweep generator 30 . sweep generator 30 is a standard integrated circuit ( herein an xr - 205 ) for generating a periodic triangular wave shape . the amplitude of the triangular output may be adjusted by sweep deviation potentiometer 40 . the frequency of the output may be adjusted by sweep rate adjust potentiometer 42 . power for generator 30 is supplied from a 15 volt dc common bus which is used as a power supply for the other elements in the circuit . the output of generator 30 is amplified and imposed on a dc carrier signal by level shifter 32 . the output of level shifter 32 is connected to an n - channel fet 44 . the output of level shifter 32 is also connected to the gate region of fet 44 , so that fet 44 is normally switched off and will block the output of level shifter 32 . however , when a negative voltage is produced at the gate of fet 44 by comparator 28 ( shown on fig3 b ), fet 44 will gate through the signal from level shifter 32 to operational amplifier 36 . amplifier 36 is a voltage follower serving as a buffer between fet 44 and the voltage control oscillator 18 . capacitor 46 is connected in parallel between fet 44 and buffer 36 . capacitor 46 provides the &# 34 ; hold &# 34 ; function of the sample and hold network . when fet 44 is in the sample mode , the charge on capacitor 46 follows the sweep signal . when fet 44 switches off the sweep signal , the voltage on capacitor 46 remains at the last value of the sweep signal before it was gated off , due to the very high input impedence of amplifier 36 . thus , fet 44 and capacitor 46 in combination comprise the sample and hold network 34 of fig1 . turning now to fig3 b , the output of buffer 36 is sent to the inverting side of amplifier 48 . the noninverting side of amplifier 48 receives a signal from manual frequency adjust potentiometer 50 . adjustment of pot 50 provides manual frequency control and also enables the operator to set a center frequency around which frequency control will be initiated . the output of amplifier 48 is sent to the control voltage input pin of voltage control oscillator 18 . voltage control oscillator 18 as shown herein is also an xr - 205 triangular wave generator . the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is directed to the power output section ( fig3 c ). at the bottom of fig3 b there may be seen two lines connected to comparator 28 . on the upper line is carried the reflected voltage v r . on the lower line is carried the forward voltage v f . v f passes through a voltage divider comprised of resistor 52 and v ref adjustment potentiometer 54 . the v ref signal is input to comparator 28 to be compared to the reflected v r . referring now to fig3 c , there is shown the section which was previously labeled power output section 14 in fig1 . the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is amplified by power amplifier 16 to produce a power signal having the same frequency and wave shape as input from oscillator 18 . in the output of power amplifier 16 there will be present an electrical standing wave resulting from the output signal of amplifier 16 combining with the reflected voltage produced by transducer 24 . the resultant standing wave signal may be broken down into two component voltages , v f and v r . the output of amplifier 16 is sent through the primary side of transformer 56 . the secondary side of transformer 56 is connected to a center tap between the secondary windings of two identical transformers 58 and 60 . the output of amplifier 16 also passes through the primary coil of transformers 58 and 60 . diodes 62 and 64 provide rectification required to produce v f and v r . transformers 56 , 58 and 60 and diodes 62 , 64 cooperate to form the directional coupler 20 of fig1 . the output of power amplifier 16 is connected to a variable tap transformer 66 . the primary and secondary taps for transformer 66 may be varied to provide impedence matching . the secondary of transformer 66 is connected to transducer 24 . referring now to fig2 there is shown a second embodiment of a power supply having automatic frequency control . the second embodiment shown in fig2 has many elements in common with the embodiment in fig1 . thus , this embodiment has a sweep generator 70 , a dc level shifter 72 , a sample and hold network 74 , a buffer 76 , manual frequency adjustment 78 , voltage controlled oscillator 80 , and power amplifier 82 which perform the same functions as the corresponding elements in fig1 . however , in the embodiment shown in fig2 there is no directional coupler following the power amplifier 82 . instead , power amplifier 82 is a switching inverter and the output goes directly to impedence matching network 84 and to the mechanical transducer , herein depicted as load 86 . no directional coupler is necessary because it has been observed by experimentation that the current ( i pa ) through switching inverter 82 increases as the swr decreases . therefore , the swr can be maintained below a pre - selected value by maintaining the power amplifier current above a preselected value . a reference voltage is tapped across resistor 88 through which the amplifier current i pa is shunted to ground . this reference voltage is input to voltage amplifier 90 . the voltage across resistor 88 is a rectified periodic signal which is converted by amplifier 90 into a level dc signal . this signal is applied to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 . the signal is also sent through dc level shifter 94 . level shifter 94 increases the dc value of the signal . the increased signal is sent through a second sample and hold network 96 which is controlled by the one - shot device 98 . when sample and hold network 96 is in the sample position , the signal passes through sample and hold network 96 to buffer 100 . buffer 100 is a voltage follower , the output of which is sent to ground through a voltage divider comprising resistor 102 and potentiometer 104 . the voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 is sent to the (-) terminal of comparator 92 , where it is compared to the original signal coming from voltage amplifier 90 . this network serves as a level - detector for the voltage signal across resistor 88 . the voltage signal is integrated by the action of capacitor 89 and sent to comparator 92 . it is also shifted up in dc level and divided down a pre - set amount by potentiometer 104 before it is compared to its original value by comparator 92 . thus , by setting potentiometer 104 , one can set the value of the voltage signal across resistor 88 which will cause comparator 92 to output a positive voltage . as indicated by the legend 93 below comparator 92 , a positive 12 volt output ( logic 1 signal ) of comparator 92 provides the hold signal for the automatic frequency adjustment circuit . conversely , a zero volt output ( logic 0 signal ) of comparator 92 provides the sweep signal . also provided is a switch 106 which connects a 15 volt source to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 when the weld head is not engaging the work piece . this prevents the automatic frequency control from searching for a resonant frequency while the head is not engaged . when the weld head engages the work piece , switch 106 disconnects from the 15 volt power supply and enables the automatic frequency control to the sweep mode . also included in the circuit is a one - shot timing device , 98 . one - shot 98 is triggered by the output of comparator 92 and controls sample and hold network 96 . the function of one - shot 98 is to allow comparator 92 to control sample and hold network 96 in steps . when comparator 92 puts out a sweep signal to sample and hold network 74 , it also triggers one - shot 98 . the output of one - shot 98 opens the sample and hold switch 96 , which causes the last voltage level from dc level shifter 94 to be held on capacitor 106 . comparator 92 will continue putting out a sweep signal until the new system frequency has caused the voltage signal across shunt resistor 88 to become equal to the reference voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 . at that time , comparator 92 puts out a hold signal to sample and hold network 74 . when one - shot 98 times out , the new output for voltage amplifier 90 is allowed to pass through dc level shifter 94 , sample and hold switch 96 , and buffer 100 through potentiometer 104 , where it becomes the new input to the (-) side of comparator 92 . this new value on the (-) terminal of comparator 92 is compared to the signal from voltage amplifier 90 , and if it is larger , comparator 92 again puts out a sweep signal . the effect is that comparator 92 ratchets the system frequency up or down in steps . the above embodiment is shown in detail in the composite schematic diagram comprising fig4 a , 4b and 4a . there is seen on fig4 a a sweep generator integrated circuit chip 70 . sweep generator 70 is herein an xr - 205 function generator putting out a triangular wave form . the frequency of the wave form may be controlled by potentiometer 71 , and the amplitude of the triangular wave form may be controlled by potentiometer 73 . the output of sweep generator 70 is sent through dc level shifter 72 to n - channel fet 75 . the drain of fet 75 is input to buffer 76 ( on fig4 b ). the output of fet 75 is also connected to ground through capacitor 77 . fet 75 and capacitor 77 comprise the sample and hold network 96 of fig2 . referring now to fig4 b and 4c , the output of buffer 76 is sent through auto / manual switch 108 . if auto / manual switch is in the manual position , the output of buffer 76 is isolated from the rest of the circuitry . instead , a reference voltage signal tapped across potentiometer 112 is sent to voltage control oscillator 80 through amplifier 78 . this allows for manual control of the output of voltage control oscillator 80 , and thus of the system frequency . when auto / manual switch 108 is in the auto mode , the output of buffer 76 is coupled through amplifier 78 to voltage control oscillator 80 , and provides voltage control of the output of oscillator 80 . oscillator 80 is also an xr - 205 function generator . the output of voltage control oscillator 80 is applied to capacitor 81 , which removes the dc component . the filtered signal is sent through amplifier 83 to the base of transistor 85 ( on fig4 c ). transistor 85 amplifies the signal and converts it to a square wave having the same frequency as the output of voltage control oscillator 80 . this square wave signal is sent to the power amplifier shown as 82 in fig2 . referring back to fig4 c , the voltage signal tapped from the shunt resistor 88 in fig2 is returned to the (+) terminal of voltage amplifier 90 . this signal is integrated by capacitor 89 and appears on the output of voltage amplifier 90 as a dc voltage . this signal from the output of amplifier 90 is sent to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 and also sent to dc level shifter 94 ( fig4 b ). the output of level shifter 94 is sent to the source terminal of n - channel fet 95 . the gate of fet 95 is held low by the output terminal of one - shot 98 , as shown in the legend designated 97 to the right of one - shot 98 . this low at the gate of fet 95 holds fet 95 in a conducting mode . the drain terminal of fet 95 is connected to ground through resistor 116 . the voltage across resistor 116 is tapped as an input to buffer 100 , which is a voltage - follower operational amplifier . a capacitor 114 is also connected in parallel to resistor 116 . a transistor 122 is connected across capacitor 114 in such a manner that capacitor 114 will be shorted out when transistor 122 is conducting . thus , when transistor 122 is conducting there will be no voltage across resistor 116 and therefore no input to buffer 100 . when transistor 122 is not conducting , there will be an input voltage to buffer 100 which will be held by capacitor 114 . transistor 122 is switched on and off by the output of one - shot 98 . when one - shot 98 puts out a + 15 volt signal , the initial effect is to switch on transistor 122 , which allows capacitor 114 to discharge slightly . however , the + 15 volts from one - shot 98 will rapidly cause capacitor 118 to charge , switching off transistor 122 . this causes the output of buffer 100 to drop slightly , but then hold steady . the output of buffer 100 is sent to ground through potentiometer 102 . a voltage tapped from potentiometer 102 is sent to the (-) input of comparator 92 ( fig4 a ). this signal is compared to the original signal at the output of voltage amplifier 90 . as long as the output of amplifier 90 is greater than the voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 , comparator 92 will put out a + 12 volt &# 34 ; hold &# 34 ; signal . if the voltage from amplifier 90 drops below the voltage tapped across potentiometer 104 , comparator 92 will put out a &# 34 ; sweep &# 34 ; signal or low voltage . this is indicated in the legend designated 93 which appears below comparator 92 . the output of comparator 92 is sent to the base of transistor 124 . transistor 124 is normally switched off . this allows the 12 volt power supply to be felt at the base of fet 75 . fet 75 is therefore held in a non - conducting mode . when transistor 124 is switched into a conducting mode by the output of comparator 92 , the 12 volts is conducted to ground across transistor 124 and a low voltage is felt on the gate of fet 75 . this allows the sweep signal from sweep generator 70 to be gated through fet 75 and varies the frequency of voltage control oscillator 80 . voltage control oscillator 80 will then vary the system frequency , and produce a variation in the feedback signal from shunt resistor 88 . one - shot 98 will time out and a new comparison will take place . two additional circuits are provided for initial startup and during the time when the weld head is not engaged . when the device is first turned on , a signal comes in from a startup timer ( not shown ). this signal is sent to the base of transistor 126 and turns it on , shortening out the input to the base of transistor 124 , and thus disabling the sweep generator 70 from trying to vary the frequency of voltage controlled oscillator 80 . the system will not begin to operate in the automatic mode until the timer signal has ceased . a signal is also received from the weld head timer ( not shown ). this signal is sent to the base of transistor 128 . when transistor 128 conducts , it grounds out the 15 volts that would normally hold the (+) terminal of comparator 92 much higher than the feedback signal thus effectively holding the comparison circuit off . therefore the signal from the weld head timer keeps the circuit from sweeping when the weld head is not engaged . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and , accordingly , reference should be made to the appended claims , rather than to the foregoing specification , as indicating the scope of the invention .
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the terms a or an , as used herein , are defined as one or more than one , the term plurality , as used herein , is defined as two or more than two . the term another , as used herein , is defined as at least a second or more . referring to fig1 , the phc memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate of the present invention includes phc structure , the phc structure includes two input port , an output port and idle port . the first input port and second input port of a phc structure are respectively connected with a signal a and a signal b , i . e ., the signal a is connected with the first input port 1 of a 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , and the signal b is connected with the second input port 2 of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity . the phc structure unit 01 is a 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 is made of a silicon ( si ) material , and has a refractive index of 3 . 4 , twelve rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillars and one square nonlinear - dielectric pillar are arranged in the center of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity in the form of a quasi - 1d phc along longitudinal and transverse waveguide directions , the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has a refractive index of 3 . 4 , the second rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has a dimension equal to that of the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 7 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar clings to the four adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillars and the distance there between is 0 , and the central square nonlinear - dielectric pillar 28 is made of a kerr type nonlinear material , and has a dielectric constant of 7 . 9 under low - light - power conditions . the high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar has a dielectric constant being the same as that of a nonlinear - dielectric pillar under low -- light - power conditions , the high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillars are constituted by a 2d phc cross - waveguide four - port network , two mutually - orthogonal quasi - 1d phc structures are placed in two waveguide directions crossed at the center of across waveguide , a dielectric pillar is arranged in the middle of the cross waveguide , the dielectric pillar is made of a nonlinear material , and the quasi - 1d phc structures and the dielectric pillar constitute a waveguide defect cavity ; and the lattice constant of the 2d phc array is d , and the array number is 11 × 11 . the present invention based on the photonic bandgap characteristic , quasi - 1d phc defect state , tunneling effect and optical kerr nonlinear effect of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the function of the phc memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate can be realized . introduced first is the basic principle of the phc nonlinear cavity in the present invention : a 2d phc provides a photonic bandgap with certain bandwidth , a light wave with its wavelength falling into this bandgap can be propagated in an optical circuit designed inside the phc , and the operating wavelength of the device is thus set to certain wavelength in the photonic bandgap ; the quasi - 1d phc structure arranged in the center of the cross waveguide and the nonlinear effect of the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar together provide a defect state mode , which , as the input light wave reaches a certain light intensity , shifts to the operating frequency of the system , so that the structure produces the tunneling effect and signals are output from the output port 4 . in the two input ports of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity as shown in fig1 , as a light wave is input to one of the input ports , after the light wave arrives at the center of a phc cross waveguide , because the light intensity of the single light wave is not enough to meet defect mode offset of the central nonlinear cavity , the light wave cannot arouse resonance in the cavity and thus cannot produce a tunneling effect , and the light wave is output along the routing input port ; as alight wave is simultaneously input to the two input ports , after the light wave arrives at the center of the phc cross waveguide , the light intensity of the two channels of light wave meets the defect mode offset in the cavity , the light wave arouses resonance in the cavity and thus produces the tunneling effect , and the input light wave in the vertical direction is output from a system output port ; at the moment , if the input light wave in the horizontal direction as shown in fig1 is closed , because the central nonlinear cavity at the moment has been in the resonant state and the input light wave in the vertical direction is enough to maintain the resonance in the cavity , the light wave in the vertical direction still can be output from the output port , i . e ., the present invention has a memory function . according to the characteristic of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the devices of the present invention can realize a memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate . the phc structure of the device of the present invention is a ( 2 k + 1 )×( 2 k + 1 ) array structure , where k is an integer more than or equal to 3 , design and simulation results will be provided below in an embodiment given in combination with the accompanying drawings , wherein the embodiment is exemplified by an 11 × 11 array structure , and design and simulation results are given , taking the lattice constant d of the 2d phc array being 1 μm and 0 . 5208 μm respectively as an example . for the lattice constant d of 1 μm and the operating wavelength of 2 . 976 μm , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 has the radius of 0 . 18 μm ; the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has the long sides of 0 . 613 μm and short sides of 0 . 162 μm ; the second rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 7 is as large as the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar 8 has the side length of 1 . 5 μm , and the third - order nonlinear coefficient of 1 . 33 × 10 − 2 μm 2 / v 2 ; and the distance between every two adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillar s is 0 . 2668 μm . referring to the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity shown in fig1 , a signal a is input to the first input port 1 , and a signal b is input to the second input port 2 . for the 2d phc nonlinear cavity shown in fig1 in the present invention and for the signal wave forms a and b , which are input respectively from the first signal - input port 1 and the second signal - input port 2 in fig1 , shown by the upper two diagrams in fig2 , the logic output waveforms are obtained and indicated at the lower part in fig2 . a logic operation truth table of the structure shown in fig1 can be obtained according to the logic operation characteristic shown in fig2 , as illustrated in fig4 . in fig4 , c is current state q n , and y is signal output of the output port ( of the nonlinear cavity unit ), i . e ., the next state a logic expression of the nonlinear cavity unit can be obtained according to the truth table . it can be known from the above formula that as the signal a and the signal b are respectively input to the first input port 1 and the second input port 2 , the output of the system is equal to the “ or ” operation of the signal a and the current state q n and the “ and ” operation with the signal b . hence , the output of the system is not only related to the logic input quantities of the signal a and the signal b , but also related to the output q n of the system at the last moment . it can be obtained from formula ( 2 ) that for a = 1 , the output 4 of the system is that is , the next state of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b . at the moment , the next state of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b and the output of the system at the last moment , i . e ., an “ and ” logic operation is made to the output quantity of the current state q n . that is , the system has a memory function . for the output quantity of the current state q n of the system at the last moment being 0 , no matter the input quantity of the signal b is a 1 or 0 of setting signal , the output of the system is 0 ; and for the output quantity of the current state q n of the system at the last moment being 1 , the output of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b . to sum up , the present invention can realize a memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic function . when the lattice constant d is 0 . 5208 μm and the operating wavelength is 1 . 55 μm , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 has the radius of 0 . 093744 μm ; the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has the long sides of 0 . 3192504 μm and short sides of 0 . 0843696 μm ; the second rectangular high - refractive - index ear - dielectric pillar 7 is as large as the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar 8 has the side length of 0 . 7812 μm and the third - order nonlinear coefficient of 1 . 33 × 10 − 2 μm 2 / v 2 ; and the distance between every two adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillars is 0 . 13894944 μm . based on the above dimension parameters , for a signal a and a signal b with the waveforms shown in fig3 are respectively input to the first input port 1 and the second input port 2 , output waveform diagrams at the lower part of fig3 can be obtained . it can be known from the logic relation between the input and the output shown in fig3 that the present invention can also realize the memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic function shown in formula ( 2 ) of embodiment 1 by scaling . based on the above two embodiments , the device of the present invention can realize the same logic function by scaling under different lattice constants and corresponding working wavelengths in conclusion , the devices of the present invention can realize the memory type all - optical “ or and ” logic function . while the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims .
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this invention relates to relief valves and , more particularly , to a gas pressure relief valve which may be field retrofit onto an existing domestic gas pressure regulator . at the present time , there are many pressure regulators installed for house service applications which function solely as gas pressure regulators . in other words , they merely regulate the pressure of gas in the outlet . however , as these regulators age , they tend not to shut off completely tight so that they let a small flow of natural gas get past the soft seat of the regulator . under normal circumstances , a small amount of extra gas going past the regulator is no problem because most homes have pilot lights in their appliances that are constantly burning and any leakage of gas merely causes the pilot lights to burn a little bit brighter . however , under present day conditions where energy conservation is at a premium , many of the new appliances such as , for example , hot water heaters , stoves , ovens , heating furnaces , etc ., do not have pilot lights . instead , they utilize an electric ignition . under such circumstances , if there is a flow of gas past the regulator , a dangerous gas pressure buildup can occur inside the home . normally , when regulators are new and shut off tightly , there is a penalty of slightly higher pressure on the downstream side . when this higher pressure is coupled with a little bit of sealing seat wear , there is a little extra flow at a slightly higher pressure and if this gas is not being burned by a pilot light , this can create a dangerous situation . it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a pressure relief valve for a regulator used in house service applications . regulators exist that have built in pressure relief valves . however , it is economically undesirable to shut off the gas , take the old regulator out and put a new regulator in . this is both expensive and time consuming . it is therefore an additional object of this invention to provide a pressure relief valve which may be retrofit onto an existing regulator without removing the regulator from the gas line . the foregoing and additional objects are attained in accordance with the principles of this invention by providing a gas pressure relief valve comprising a resilient diaphragm having a first side , a second side , and a central opening , the diaphragm being formed with an annular sealing lip about the central opening on the first side thereof ; a body member including a central seat , an inlet to a source of gas to be pressure relieved , and a continuous shoulder adapted to contact the periphery of the first side of the diaphragm ; means for biasing the diaphragm in a direction such that the sealing lip is forced in sealing engagement with the seat , the biasing means exerting sufficient biasing force against the diaphragm so that the sealing lip remains sealingly engaged with the seat when the gas pressure at the inlet is below a predetermined value ; a top member including an outlet for relieved gas and a continuous shoulder adapted to contact the periphery of the second side of the diaphragm opposite the shoulder of the body member ; and means for connecting the body member to the top member so that the periphery of the diaphragm is maintained sealingly engaged between the shoulders of the body and top members . the foregoing will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawing wherein : fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a relief valve constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention ; fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the assembled valve of fig1 wherein the top half shows the valve in the fully open position and the bottom half shows the valve in the fully closed position ; and fig3 illustrates how the valve of fig1 and 2 may be installed on a pressure regulator . referring to the drawings , wherein like elements in different figures thereof have the same reference character applied thereto , fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a pressure relief valve , designated generally by the reference numeral 10 , constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention . the operating element in the valve 10 is a resilient diaphragm 12 which has a first side 14 and a second side 16 . the diaphragm 12 is formed with a central opening 18 and an annular sealing lip 20 about the central opening 18 on the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 . the valve 10 further includes a body member 22 and a top member 24 . the body member 22 includes an inlet region 26 which is adapted for connection to a source of gas which is to be pressure relieved . toward that end , the body member 22 is provided with an externally threaded extension 28 which is adapted to be screwed into an internally threaded opening to the gas source and sealed thereto by means of a sealing gasket 30 . the body member 22 also includes a central seat 32 which is connected to the remainder of the body member 22 by means of a plurality of ribs 34 . body member 22 also includes a continuous shoulder 36 which is adapted to contact the periphery of the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 . the top member 24 includes an open outlet 38 for allowing over - pressure gas to be relieved therethrough . the top member 24 also includes a continuous shoulder 40 adapted to contact the periphery of the second side 16 of the diaphragm 12 opposite the shoulder 36 of the body member 22 . the top member 24 is also formed with a hollow cylindrical projection 42 which is internally threaded for at least a portion of its length , as shown in fig2 . the valve 10 also includes a plate 44 . the plate 44 has a central opening 46 and an island region 48 disposed within the central opening 46 and connected to the plate 44 by a plurality of relatively slender spokes 50 which do not substantially block the central opening 46 . the spokes 50 illustratively extend radially outwardly from the island region 48 . the island 48 has , on the side opposite the side of the plate disposed adjacent the diaphragm 12 , an upstanding wall 52 , radially inward of which there is an opening 54 . preferably , the plate 44 has an upstanding wall 56 at its outer periphery , which upstanding wall 56 lies within the convoluted portion 58 of the diaphragm 12 . to provide a biasing force , a helically wound compression spring 60 is provided . the spring 60 has one end thereof fitted around the wall 52 and the other end fitted inside the projection 42 . this spring 60 provides a biasing force through the plate 44 against the diaphragm 12 to maintain the sealing lip 20 in sealing engagement with the seat 32 . to connect together the parts shown in fig1 to provide an operative valve assembly , there is provided a connecting member 62 , illustratively a screw . the connecting member 62 is externally threaded at one end 64 and has a slotted head 66 at the other end . to accommodate the threaded end 64 , the seat 32 is provided with an internally threaded opening 68 therein . accordingly , the connecting member 62 extends through the projection 42 , inside the spring 60 , through the opening 54 of the island region 48 of the plate 44 , through the opening 18 of the diaphragm 12 , and is threadably secured into the opening 68 of the seat 32 . when the connecting member 62 is tightened , the periphery of the diaphragm 12 is maintained sealingly engaged between the shoulder 36 of the body member 22 and the shoulder 40 of the body member 24 . in order to vary the biasing force exerted by the spring 20 , there is provided a plug 70 . the plug 70 is formed with external threads and is threaded into the internally threaded projection 42 . the spring 60 bears against inward surface 72 of the plug 70 . by varying the position of the plug 70 , this provides a positionally adjustable stop for the spring 60 to vary the compression thereof , and hence the compressive biasing force exerted by the spring 60 to the diaphragm 12 . the plug 70 is formed with a longitudinal bore 74 therethrough . the bore 74 is of sufficient size to allow the connecting member 62 to pass therethrough but not to allow the head 66 from passing therethrough . to prevent the top member 24 from rotating relative to the body member 22 when the valve 10 is assembled or installed on a regulator in the field , the construction of these parts is such that the shoulder 36 of the body member is notched at 75 and the outer surface of the top member 24 has longitudinal extensions 76 which complementarily extend into the notched shoulder 36 . additionally , the notches 75 and extensions 76 allow for repositioning of the direction of the outlet 38 without a complete disassembly of the entire unit by merely loosening the connecting member 62 sufficiently to allow the extensions 76 to clear the notches 75 . further , the extensions 76 provide for a positive transmission of installation torque from the top member 24 to the body member 22 . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the assembled valve 10 wherein the upper half illustrates the valve 10 in its fully opened position and the lower half illustrates the valve 10 when it is fully closed . when the pressure at the inlet 26 provides a force against the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 which is less than the biasing force exerted by the spring 60 , the annular sealing lip 20 is maintained in sealing engagement with the seat 32 , as shown in the lower half of fig2 . however , when the inlet pressure provides a force greater than the force exerted by the spring 60 , the force is transmitted through the diaphragm 12 and the plate 44 to compress the spring 60 , as shown in the upper half of fig2 . this brings the lip 20 out of sealing engagement with the seat 32 and allows the over - pressure gas to be relieved from the inlet 26 , around the seat 32 , through the opening 18 of the diaphragm 12 , through the opening 46 of the plate 44 , and to the outlet 38 , as illustrated by the arrows 78 . fig3 illustrates the mounting of the valve 10 on an otherwise unrelieved regulator 80 , illustratively a type k pressure regulator manufactured by the meter division of the singer company . the valve 10 is designed so that its externally threaded portion 28 may be secured in an otherwise plugged inspection port on the downstream side of the regulator 80 . this may be done in the field without removing the regulator 80 from the line . in order to prevent excessive loss of gas while the valve 10 is being installed , the line is preferably &# 34 ; bagged &# 34 ; wherein a transparent plastic bag is placed over the regulator 80 and the line to which it is connected . the relief valve 10 and an appropriate wrench are within the bag and the bag is only open to the inspection port which is to be unplugged . the wrench is then utilized by gripping it from outside the bag to remove the inspection port plug and the valve 10 is then inserted and threadably secured to the inspection port . accordingly , the only gas that is lost is that gas which fills the bag . the above described valve constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention provides a number of distinct features and advantages . the diaphragm 12 acts as both a pressure sensing element and a throttling element . additionally , it functions as a sealing element at two places , i . e ., at its periphery and at the sealing lip 20 . the above construction provides a constant effective diaphragm area . further , the diaphragm 12 has a rolling action when it is moved by excessive pressure so that it acts as a frictionless piston . accordingly , there has been disclosed a relief valve assembly . it is understood that the above - described embodiment is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention , and it is only intended that this invention be limited by the scope of the appended claims .
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describing now the drawings , the apparatus construction shown by way of example in fig1 and 2 will be seen to consist of a hollow mold embodying two mold halves 1 and 2 for the outside surfaces of the side walls of a tire and a ring - shaped mold portion 3 for profiling the tread of the tire . within these mold portions 1 , 2 and 3 there is arranged a mold core 4 . the mold halves 1 and 2 will be seen to be equipped at the shoulder region of the tire with ring - shaped compartments 5 and 6 concentrically disposed with respect to the tire axis . within the compartments 5 and 6 there are arranged ring - shaped pistons 8 and 9 which can be moved in the axial direction of the tire towards the hollow tire mold 7 . the work surfaces 10 and 11 of these pistons 8 and 9 form a portion of such hollow tire mold . at the beginning of the tire fabrication operation there are inserted into the compartment of the hollow tire mold 7 , a tread 12 and the bead cores 13 and 14 , and for the purpose of fixing such in position there can be provided any suitable and therefore nonillustrated support devices , as is quite well known in this particular art . as best seen by referring to fig1 there is then inserted a material ( preform ) web 15 having fibers , filaments or the like , oriented in the peripheral direction of the article . thereafter , the pistons 8 and 9 are displaced towards the interior of the hollow tire mold 7 , so that the material located in the compartments 5 and 6 flows into the regions of the side walls 16 and 17 of such hollow mold , as best seen by referring to fig2 . during this so - called flow operation the fibers or the like at the side wall region or section are reoriented and following completion of such flow operation such fibers are located so as to be oriented essentially in the radial direction . stated in another way , if the section of the flowable material at the tread region and the side wall sections are projected into a common plane then it will be apparent the orientation of the fibers at the tread region and side wall sections will be respectively different from one another . the grooves 18 provided at the mold core 4 serve for stabilizing the flow direction . at the tire shoulder region the fibers , following completion of the flow operation , are essentially in a random orientation so that a good transition zone is achieved . the tread surface section of the material web 15 is not subjected to any flow movement so that the above - mentioned peripheral fiber orientation is not altered . now in fig3 there is shown a construction of appratus which is quite similar to that of the arrangement of fig1 and 2 . however , with this arrangement the apparatus is here additionally provided at the tire bead region with two ring - shaped mold sections 19 and 20 rotatable in the peripheral direction . during or after completion of the flow operation both of these mold sections 19 and 20 are placed into rotational movement , so that the material located at the tire bead section is likewise moved in the peripheral direction and the fibers located at such bead section are oriented in the same direction . with sufficient fiber orientation it is possible to dispense with the use of the bead cores previously discussed . now with the embodiment of apparatus as depicted in fig4 and 5 compartments 23 and 24 are provided at the mold halves 21 and 22 at the bead region of the tire . these compartments 23 and 24 correspond to the compartments 5 and 6 of the apparatus structure depicted in fig1 and 2 . here also there are provided pistons 25 and 26 which are guided in such compartments 23 and 24 respectively . as best seen by referring to fig4 after insertion of the tread 12 , the material is deposited into the mold in the form of two rings at the bead region , the fibers being oriented in the peripheral direction and the bead core 14 , if desired , can already be embedded in the material . by displacing the pistons 25 and 26 towards one another there is initiated the flow of the material . through the provision of the ribs 18 and 28 at the mold core 27 the material at the side wall regions , as best seen by referring to fig5 is initially guided essentially in radial direction and at the region of the tread 12 essentially in the peripheral direction . now in order to achieve an improved orientation in the peripheral direction at the region of the tread , with the embodiment of apparatus as depicted in fig6 there is advantageously provided at the mold core 29 a substantially ring - shaped section 30 which is located directly beneath the tread region . this ring - shaped section 30 is movable in the peripheral direction with respect to the stationary mold core 29 . as particularly well seen by referring to fig7 this movable section 30 is provided with ribs 31 serving to improve the fiber orientation at the tread region . now in order to maintain the radial flow direction at the region of the side walls grooves 32 are advantageously provided at the mold core 29 . for all the embodiments disclosed herein the shape and number of ribs or grooves is dependent upon the desired orientation sat the individual article sections . for instance , the ribs or grooves can be arranged in a crossover or intersecting fashion at two oppositely situated surfaces of the hollow tire mold . in so doing the fibers or the like are oriented in two superimposed layers in different directions so that there is obtained an approximately crosswise oriented assembly . in the case of elastomers which can be vulcanized the hollow tire mold can simultaneously serve as the vulcanization mold . fig8 illustrates in sectional view an embodiment of inventive tire produced in accordance with the teachings of this development wherein the fibers , filaments 33 or the like at the tread region 34 and at the bead region 35 are oriented in the peripheral direction . the fibers or filaments 36 at the side wall region 37 are oriented essentially perpendicular to the peripheral direction . in much the same manner it is possible to fabricate also wound - up or heating bellows for the production of tires . a different orientation of the fibers at different tire sections or portions can also be obtained , as already explained , by winding - up layers with appropriate differently oriented embedded fibers . now the tire as shown in fig9 consists of two carcass layers 41 and 42 , each of which has a thickness of about 1 . 2 millimeters and in which there are embedded threads or fibers which are oriented in the radial direction . now a belt layer 43 is applied , at the tread region , to the outer carcass layer 42 , this belt layer 43 having embedded therein fibers which are oriented in the peripheral direction . the side wall sections of the tire are reinforced by side strips 44 possessing fibers which are embedded therein so as to be oriented in the radial direction . the belt layer 43 and partially also the side strips 44 are covered by the tread 45 . the tire construction shown in fig1 will be seen to embody four carcass layers 46 , 47 , 48 and 49 . by virtue of this arrangement it is possible to construct the individual layers so as to be thinner , namely each such layer possessing a thickness of about 0 . 6 millimeters , so that during fabrication it is possible to obtain a better orientation of the embedded fibers . the layers themselves are produced in a well known fashion by injection molding or calendering so that the degree of the fiber orientation is dependent upon the processing speed ( flow velocity ) and upon the cross - section . in the embodiment under consideration the side wall 50 consists of a rubber mixture which is free of fibers , so that there can be obtained at this region a better surface quality and so as to prevent surface fissure formation by the fibers . the bead wedge 51 consists of a rubber mixture having fibers embedded so as to be oriented in the peripheral direction . consequently , at this region of the tire there is obtained an optimum rigidity or stiffness . the belt layer 52 will be seen to be equipped with lateral bevelled portions 53 so that at the shoulder region 54 of the tire there is formed a much better transition zone . now with the embodiment of tire as depicted in fig1 the bevelled or chamfered arrangement discussed above is here obtained by providing partial belt layers 55 , 56 and 57 which possess a different width with respect to one another and are arranged in superimposed fashion so as to form a substantially step - shaped transistion zone . the orientation direction of the fibers in this layer arrangement is , for each of the three layers , different and specifically amounts to 30 ° for the layer 55 , + 78 ° for the layer 56 and - 78 ° for the layer 57 , measured with respect to the radial direction , so that there is formed in the usual well known manner a triangular assembly . with the embodiment of tire construction shown in fig1 the previously mentioned error source is prevented in that a layer 60 is arranged between the carcass 58 and the belt 59 , layer 60 being wider than the belt layer 59 and preventing , at this region , a pressing - in of the belt layer and the tread into the carcass . this layer 60 can be formed of a harder material or a material which is similar to the material of the tread , however pre - vulcanized . furthermore , by specially designing the hollow tire mold , for instance by providing different desgins for the dimensions and / or the grooves or ribs , it is also possible in accordance with the teachings of this invention to produce asymmetrical tires . turning now to the article shown in fig1 such is a conveyor or transport band , illustrated in sectional view , which has been produced in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and consists of a base or bottom section 61 and two side walls 62 . at this base or bottom section 61 the fibers 63 are oriented in the lengthwise direction and at the side walls 62 in the transverse direction . due to these measures as taught by this invention there is provided a conveyor band capable of taking - up tensional forces at the base section whereas the side walls are sufficiently elastic in order to be able to take - up the different elongations which occur at the region of the deflecting rolls . now in fig1 and 15 there is illustrated a form of apparatus which can be successfully utilized for fabricating the conveyor band depicted in fig1 . more particularly , it will be seen that fig1 illustrates the first phase of operation during which a semi - finished product or preform 65 for forming the conveyor band is inserted into the mold 64 . the ends 65a of this semi - finished product 65 are located at the auxiliary compartments 66 of the mold 64 in which there are displaceably arranged pistons or slide - shaped elements or sections 67 . during the second manufacturing step of phase , as best seen by referring to fig1 , these movable elements 67 are displaced towards the hollow compartment of the mold so that the working surfaces 68 of these movable elements 67 form at their terminal position portions of the hollow mold . the ends 65a of the semifinished product 65 are displaced into the remaining hollow portion 69 of the mold 64 , resulting in a reorientation of the fibers . finally there will now be presented certain exemplary illustrations of specific examples for the purpose of even more fully explaining the teachings of the present invention : a natural rubber mixture is mixed in a kneader with 20 % by weight polyester fibers having a length of 80 millimeters and possessing a titer of 3 . 3 den . from this mixture there are drawn plates at the calender and such are vulcanized in a conventional way . a comparison of the obtained properties of such a fiber layer in contrast to a cord reinforced rubber layer or a cord fabric layer with pressed - on rubber has been set forth in the following table , and specifically in each instance separate values have been given for the lengthwise direction ( l ) and transverse direction ( q ) of the fiber orientation . __________________________________________________________________________ cord reinforced fiber reinforced 1 q 1 q__________________________________________________________________________strength in kg / m . sup . 2 1000 80 520 74rupture or breakingelongation in % 14 400 21 200m 100 in kg / cm . sup . 2 ( modulus ) -- 22 -- 43elongation in % at100 kg / cm . sup . 2 load 1 . 5 -- 4 . 5 -- __________________________________________________________________________ in the above table , in the case of a tire , the values of 520 and 21 would be approximately 500 and 20 respectively . such plates are , for instance , utilized for the inventive winding - up of raw tire products , for instance of the type disclosed in fig1 . it has been found that even the strength in the lengthwise direction , which has been reduced to one - half in comparison to a cord reinforced layer , is sufficient owing to the improved uniformity since there is attained a uniform force distribution . therefore , a tire equipped with such inserts can exhibit the same longevity since there is available a larger surface for the adhesion between the rubber and the fibers . the rupture or breaking elongation of 200 % attained with the inventive fiber layers in the transverse direction is considerably more advantageous for the behavior of the tire than the considerable higher rupture elongation which previals in the case of conventionally manufactured tires , since with the last mentioned tires there oftentimes is present too great an elasticity which is disadvantageous . in analogous manner as in example 1 a rubber mixture formed on the basis of 70 % natural rubber and 30 % oil extended styrene butadiene rubber is mixed with 25 % by weight ( based upon the entire mixture ) glass fibers of 8 millimeters length . these fibers possessing a diameter in the range of 0 . 01 - 0 . 05 millimeters . the shorter the fiber pieces at the polymeric material containing the fibers that much greater must and can be filled the polymeric material with the fibers in order to achieve a desired modulus and that much better must there be designed the adhesion system . the greater the fiber filling of the polymeric material , that much higher will become also the modulus of elasticity . however , the mixture also becomes stiffer and is more difficult to work , and in the completely vulcanized condition generally produces an increased heat development . on the other hand , the modulus also increases with the length of the fiber pieces at the polymeric material . in the same manner as described in conjunction with examples 1 and 2 above there is mixed into a rubber mixture formed on the basis of 50 % natural rubber , 20 % polybutadiene and 30 % styrene butadiene , a respective 15 % by weight ( based upon the entire mixture ) of 40 millimeter long polyamide fibers of a thickness 0 . 01 - 0 . 03 millimeters and 60 millimeter long polyester fibers having a titer of 3 . 3 den . with such a mixture it can be especially advantageous to maintain as large as possible the ratio of the modulus in the lengthwise direction and transverse direction whereby when using such fiber reinforced plates in two different directions ( namely approximately radially for the carcass and approximately in the direction of travel of the tire with respect to the belt ) it is possible to produce exceptional properties for radial tires . the average length of the fibers used in practising the invention as disclosed herein is generally approximately in a range of 8 to 80 millimeters . in the case of high viscosity rubber mixtures it is approximately in the range of 15 to 40 millimeters and in the case of liquid rubber preferably should amount to approximately 40 to 75 millimeters . finally , it is mentioned that either before and / or during and / or after the flow operation the section or portion of the molded article not subjected to such flow operation can be pre - vulcanized . the term &# 34 ; fibers &# 34 ; as used herein is employed in its broader sense and generally is intended to encompass not only fibers as such , but also yarns , threads , filaments , and the like . while there is shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims .
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the invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments , which are presented as illustrated examples of the invention defined in the claims . it is expressly understood that the invention as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below . many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims . for example , notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination , it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer , more or different elements , which are disclosed herein even when not initially claimed in such combinations . the words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself . the definitions of the words or elements of the following claims therefore include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination . as used herein , the term “ duct ” is synonymus with “ side channel ”, both are used herein to describe fluid delivery paths branching off of the main lumen of the catheter . referring now to fig1 , which illustrate a catheter system 10 , having control unit body 12 , tubing sets 14 and 16 , and an elongated catheter body 18 with distal region 20 . tubing sets 14 and 16 can be connected to any suitable known devices in the art such as monitor / display , rf generator , signal processor , fluid pump , etc . the preferred system 10 can also use temperature sensor and mapping tool such as those described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 217 , 573 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in fig2 , catheter distal region 20 has bands of electrodes 22 positioned spaced apart in different longitudinal sections . each band of electrodes 22 has elution holes 25 located in the same longitudinal sections . at the terminal end is catheter tip 21 , also having electrodes . catheter tip 21 can be manufactured separately and attached to the rest of the elongated catheter body . the contemplated catheter tip 21 can be made of suitable biocompatible materials to conduct rf energy and to withstand temperature extreme , such materials include natural and synthetic polymers , various metals and metal alloys , naturally occurring materials , textile fibers , glass and ceramic materials , sol - gel materials , and all reasonable combinations thereof . more preferably , the catheter tip 21 is made of 90 % platinum with 10 % iridium . fig3 shows one preferred embodiment of the catheter tip 21 , having a through hole 26 and groove 28 . hole 26 and groove 28 are used to help attaching the catheter tip 21 to the catheter body 18 . catheter body 18 has corresponding structures to matingly couple to the groove 28 and hole 26 . fig4 is a side view of the catheter tip 21 . preferred embodiments of the catheter tip 21 have two rows of elution holes 25 . in this figure , line a - a represents the first row of elution holes , and line b - b represents the second row of elution holes . the terminal end of the tip can be in any configuration , and is preferably spherical . the distance k 1 between the most distal tip of the spherical end to the center of the first row of elation holes is preferably 0 . 039 inches . the distance iq between edge 29 to the center of the second row of elution holes is preferably 0 . 020 inches . the diameter of both rows of elution holes are preferably 0 . 016 inches . as for arrangement of electrodes , mapping devices and sensors , these can be referenced from known ablation catheters such as u . s . pat . no . 6 , 611 , 699 issued to messing , all of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the number and configuration of elution holes 25 depends on the intended use of the catheter . for example , fig4 shows a configuration where six elution holes 25 in each of the two rows . each elution hole 25 is fluidly connected with main lumen 23 via ducts 24 . referring to fig4 a and 4b , this configuration provides six ducts 24 radially spread out and spaced evenly from each other in substantially the same degree of angle . this configuration allows all around irrigation and cooling . in comparing fig4 a and 4b , the two rows of elation holes are offset by about 15 degrees . by doing so , the offset rows of elution holes provide more evenly distributed irrigation . it is also contemplated that these two rows may be offset by between 15 - 45 degrees , or more preferably , by about 30 degrees . fig5 provides preferred dimensions of the various elements in the catheter tip 21 . in a preferred embodiment , the diameter d 1 of the distal portion of the main lumen is about 0 . 019 inches , and the proximal portion of the lumen , after the tapered flow constrictor 27 , has a diameter d 2 of about 0 . 028 inches . the diameter d 3 of the main lumen at the neck portion of the catheter tip 21 is about 0 . 034 inches . in other preferred embodiments , the diameter of main lumen ranges from about 0 . 005 inch to about 0 . 045 inch , and wherein the tapered section decreases the diameter by about 5 % to about 40 % comparing the two diameters immediately adjacent the tapered section . the terminal end of the main lumen ends in a flat cone shape , and the distance l 1 from the edge of the flat cone to the proximal end of the neck portion is about 0 . 194 inches . and distance l 2 from the tip of the spherical end to the edge 29 is about 0 . 158 inches . the distance l 3 of the neck from the end of the neck to the edge 29 is about 0 . 065 inches . the distance l 4 from the edge of the flat cone to the terminal tip of the sphere is about 0 . 030 inches . distance l 5 is measured from the larger edge of the tapered flow constrictor 27 to the end of neck , and it is about 0 . 135 inches . fig6 and 7 illustrate different possible configurations of the flow constrictor 27 . the idea of a flow constrictor 27 is to limit or constrict the volume of fluid as the fluid passes toward the distal end of the catheter tip . by decreasing the main lumen 23 diameter using a flow constrictor 27 located substantially equidistance from the first row and from the second row , as shown in fig6 , the volume of fluid reaching the first row of elution holes 25 is effectively decreased . a preferred goal is to cause fluid output in the first row of elution holes 25 to be substantially the same volume as the fluid output in the second row . or more preferably , that all rows of the elution holes 25 that are disposed along the length of electrode region have substantially the same outflow rate . without a flow constrictor 27 , the irrigation system will have an imbalanced outflow pattern where more fluid outflow occurs at the first row . a number of factors are involved in designing an irrigation system with even distribution rate along all of the elution holes . some of these factors include : size of lumen diameter , percentage differences in diameter decrease , distance between adjacent rows , of ducts , diameter of ducts , tilt angle ( if any ) of the ducts relative to the main lumen . as those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize , the irrigation path described may readily be modified as dictated by the functional needs of particular applications . for example , in some medical applications more irrigation may be desired in the proximal end . one skilled in the art would adjust any one or more of the above factors to create an irrigation system to provide more output flow in the proximal region . in some preferred embodiments , the ducts 25 have walls with spiral grooves , influencing flow pattern of the fluid flowing through the ducts 25 . with such spiral grooves , the fluid comes out of elution holes 25 with an outwardly spraying swirl . this spraying pattern tends to minimize direct impact of the fluid on vessel walls . the spiral grooves can be formed by using appropriate drill bit . the duet wall can have other irregular patterns to create other outflow patterns . in fig7 , the flow constrictor 27 is a gradual taper that gradually decreases the main lumen diameter , as opposed to a relatively more abrupt taper seen in fig6 . either abrupt taper or gradual taper , both are preferred over straight angle drop in diameter , because a straight angle drop in diameter can create undesirable eddy currents in the main lumen . fig8 , 9 , 10 show yet other preferred embodiments of the present invention . these embodiments have two separate lumens 123 a , 123 b , with each lumen supplying fluid to corresponding rows of ducts 124 . these embodiments are less preferred because multiple lumens take up precious cross sectional space in catheter body 118 . however , one skilled in the art will recognize that even distribution of fluid can be achieved by having separate fluid delivery lumens for separate rows of conduct , each lumen precisely pressure and volume flow controlled . as will be illustrated in connection with fig1 - 13 , the irrigation system can be advantageously enhanced by arranging the angle of the ducts 24 relative to the main lumen 23 . flow constrictor is omitted from these figures but one skilled in the art would immediately appreciate that flow constrict is required depending on the type of flow output desired . preferably , a longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of duct 24 and the longitudinal axis of the main lumen are frowned at between 35 to 90 degree angles , even more preferably , they are angled at between 45 to 90 degree angles , most preferably , at between 80 to 90 degree angles . in fig1 , the ducts 24 are substantially perpendicular to the main lumen 23 . in fig1 , all of the ducts 24 are tilted towards the distal end , creating a general flow towards the front . in fig1 , all of the ducts 24 are tilted towards the proximal end , creating a general flow towards the back . in fig1 , a mixture of all three types is provided , creating a general flow away from the ablation area . in fig1 - 17 , three inflatable balloons 230 a , 230 b , 230 c can be optionally provided to the electrode catheter as discussed above . alternatively , this can be a balloon catheter with optional electrodes for ablation . the balloons 230 help navigate and position the electrode 222 to the targeted ablation site . as discussed earlier in other preferred embodiments , elution holes 225 are provided for irrigation purposes , and the catheter has a catheter tip 221 . the catheter is first inserted into the patient while the balloon 230 is deflated . once the user finds the targeted ablation location , the balloon 230 inflates , pushing the electrode side 222 of the catheter region against or closer to the ablation area . as opposed to electrodes described above , these embodiments have electrodes 222 on only the top side of the catheter distal portion . the underside has inflatable balloons 230 . contemplated device can have just a single balloon 230 , or a plurality of balloons 230 . where a plurality of balloons 230 are provided , the balloon can be of the same size and shape , or alternatively , each balloon 230 can have a distinct shape and size . the preferred embodiment has three balloons 230 a , 230 b , 230 c , with the smallest one at the distal end , and the largest one on the proximal end . this configuration facilitates manipulation of the catheter in a funnel - shaped vessel . when in a funnel - shaped vessel closely corresponds to the shape of the balloon catheter distal region when inflated , the balloon catheter in fig1 - 17 can more fittingly secure itself and position electrode to the ablation region . preferred balloons are half - dome shaped , and have a cross - sectional shape resembling a half circle . also contemplated configuration is having at least one inflatable balloon , where at least one balloon has an inhaled shaped that resembles a longitudinally - dissected cone , or half - cone . the idea is to have one balloon , or a plurality of balloons , where the single balloon or the group of balloons has together an overall general shape that corresponds to the funnel - shaped . vessel . this overall general shape can be a longitudinally dissected cone shape , a longitudinally dissected oval ( egg - like ) shape where a distal end is smaller than the proximal end , or any other shapes where the cross - sectional area is smaller at the distal portion of the overall shape than at its proximal portion . the preferred device uses typical controlling parts and other related configuration for using and positioning the balloon 230 , such as those disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 7 , 137 , 395 and 6 , 780 , 183 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . balloon catheter devices are well known , therefore , general features ( e . g . size , shape , materials ) of the balloon 230 may be in accordance with conventional balloons . in a preferred embodiment , the balloon 230 is made of flexible medical - grade silicone rubber . alternatively , the balloon 230 may be made of other biocompatible and distendable materials , such as polyethylene terepthalate ( pet ). while the various embodiments of the irrigation system is herein disclosed as suitable for ablation catheters that perform tissue ablation , and the fluid being suitable cooling fluid such as saline , the same uniform distribution concept can be applied to drug delivery catheters desiring to delivery therapeutic fluid at a uniform rate among the many delivery bores on the catheter distal region . thus , specific embodiments and applications of multi - electrode irrigated catheter with balloons have been disclosed . it should be apparent , however , to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the inventive subject matter , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims . moreover , in interpreting both the specification and the claims , all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context . in particular , the terms “ comprises ” and “ comprising ” should be interpreted as referring to elements , components , or steps in a non - exclusive manner , indicting that the referenced elements , components , or steps may be present , or utilized , or combined with other elements , components , or steps that are not expressly referenced . insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalent within the scope of the claims . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . the claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptually equivalent , what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention . in addition , where the specification and claims refer to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of a , b , c . . . , and n , the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group , note a plus n , or b plus n , etc .
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reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . the drawings are in simplified form , not to scale , and omit apparatus elements and method steps that can be added to the described systems and methods , while including certain optional elements and steps . for purposes of convenience and clarity only , directional terms , such as top , bottom , left , right , up , down , over , above , below , beneath , rear , and front may be used with respect to the accompanying drawings . these and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner . referring more particularly to the drawings , fig1 is a high - level flow chart of selected steps of a process 100 for detecting a period of silence and terminating voice recording ( or performing another function ) when silence is detected . among other uses , implementation of the process 100 in a telephone answering system can improve a caller &# 39 ; s ability to use a voice - activated voice mail system from a noisy environment in a hands - free mode . the telephone answering system identifies when the caller has stopped speaking , and hangs up automatically . the process begins at step 110 with receiving coded audio blocks from the system &# 39 ; s module responsible for digitizing and coding incoming sound . in one exemplary embodiment of the system , the blocks are generated by a computer telephony subsystem card , such as the bri / pci series cards , available from intel corporation , 2200 mission college blvd ., santa clara , calif . 95052 , ( 800 ) 628 - 8686 . in this embodiment , the blocks are 1 , 536 one - byte samples in length , generated at a rate of 8 , 000 samples per second . thus , each block is 192 milliseconds in duration . at step 115 , each block is segmented into windows . in the illustrated embodiment , each window is also 1 , 536 bytes in length . in one variant , the windows overlap by 160 bytes . thus , there is about a 10 percent overlap between consecutive windows . the overlap is not strictly necessary , but it provides better handling of audio events occurring close to borderline of a particular window , and of events that would span two consecutive non - overlapping windows . in variants of the illustrated embodiment , the overlap ranges from about 2 percent to about 20 percent ; in more specific variants , the overlap ranges between about 4 percent and about 12 percent . the windows are sent to a classifier engine , at step 120 . the classifier engine examines the audio data of the windows to determine whether the sound within a particular window is likely to be speech , silence , or noise . in effect , the classifier engine 120 acts as a speech versus non - speech ( non - voice ) discriminator . note that if the windows do not overlap and are the same length as the blocks , the segmentation step is essentially obviated or merged with the following step 120 . at step 125 , output of the classifier engine is received . at step 130 , the output of the classifier engine is evaluated . in some embodiments , the evaluation process is relatively uninvolved , particularly if the classifier engine output is a simple yes / no classification of the window ; in other embodiments , the classifier output is subject to interpretation , which is carried out in this step 130 . for example , the classifier engine can return a value corresponding to the energy level of the signal within the window , a number or rate of zero - crossings in the window , and a classification tag . in this case , the numerical output of the classifier engine can be evaluated or interpreted within a context dependent on the classification tag received . according to one alternative , the two numbers and the classification tag returned by the classifier engine can be evaluated together , for example , by attaching a third number to the classification tag received , weighting the three numbers in an appropriate manner , combining ( e . g ., adding ) the three numbers , and comparing the result to one or more thresholds . in one variant of the illustrated process , the energy level output of the classifier engine is compared to a predefined threshold , while the zero - crossing output is practically ignored . in another variant , the zero - crossing number or rate is compared to a threshold , with little or no significance attached to the energy level . in yet another variant , classification also includes comparison of the energy level and zero - crossing rate ( or number ) to bounded ranges . for example , the zero - crossing output of the classifier engine is compared to a range bounded by a set of two real numbers ( hfzclow , hfzchigh ), while the energy level output is compared to another set of two real numbers ( hfelow , hfehigh ). the window is then classified as noise if the zero - crossing and energy level outputs fall within their respective bounded ranges . the bounded ranges test can also be applied in context of the classification of the window by the classifier engine . using the “ endpointer ” classifier engine discussed below , the bounded ranges test may be applied when the classifier engine tags the window with a signal tag ( which is discussed below in relation to the “ endpointer ” algorithm . if voiced speech is detected in the window being processed , a speech count accumulator is incremented , at step 140 . the value held by the speech count accumulator is then compared a predetermined limit l 1 , at step 145 . if the value in the speech count accumulator is equal to or exceeds l 1 , then both accumulators are cleared and process flow turns to processing the next window . if the speech count accumulator does not exceed the l 1 limit , process flow turns to the next window without clearing the speech count and non - voice count accumulators . in one variant of the illustrated embodiment , l 1 is set to seven . this corresponds to a time period about 1 . 3 seconds ( 1536 samples / block 8000 samples / sec * 7 blocks = 1 . 344 sec ) . note that the seven windows of speech need not occur consecutively for the accumulators to be cleared ; it suffices if the seven windows accumulate before end - of - speech is detected . in some variants of this process , l 1 is set to correspond to a time period between about 0 . 7 and about 2 . 5 seconds . in more specific variants , l 1 corresponds to time periods between about 1 and about 1 . 8 seconds . in yet more specific variants , l 1 corresponds to time periods between about 1 and about 1 . 5 seconds . if speech is not detected within the currently - processed window , a non - voice count accumulator is incremented , at step 155 . the non - voice count accumulator is then compared to a second limit l 2 , at step 160 . if the value in the non - voice count accumulator is less than l 2 , process flow once again turns to processing the next window of coded speech , at step 120 . otherwise , a command to terminate recording is issued at step 165 . in alternative embodiments , step 165 corresponds to other functions . for example , and end - of - speech can be marked within the audio stream to delimit an audio section , which can then be sent to a speech recognizer , i . e ., a speech recognition device or process . in one variant of the illustrated embodiment , l 2 is set to 15 windows , corresponding to about 3 seconds . in some variants of the illustrated embodiment , l 2 corresponds to a time period between about 1 second and about 4 seconds . in more specific variants , l 2 corresponds to time periods between about 2 . 5 and about 3 . 5 seconds . the classifier engine used in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 is an “ endpointer ” ( or “ endpoint ”) algorithm published by bruce t . lowerre . the algorithm , available at ftp :// svr - ftp . eng . cam . ac . uk / pub / comp . speech / tools / ep . 1 . 0 . tar . gz , is filed together with this document and is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . the endpointer algorithm examines both energy content of the signal in the window , and zero - crossings of the signal . the inventive process 100 works by attaching a state machine to the basic methods of the endpointer algorithm for detection of speech , silence , and noise . the endpointer algorithm analyzes segments of audio in 192 millisecond windows , using zero - crossing and energy detection calculations to produce an intermediate classification tag of each window , given the classification of the preceding window . the set of window classification tags generated by the endpointer algorithm includes the following : ( 1 ) silence , ( 2 ) signal , ( 3 ) in_utterance , ( 4 ) continue_utterance , and ( 5 ) end_utterance_final . the state machine uses higher - level energy and zero - crossing thresholds for making a speech - versus - silence - versus - noise determination , using the output generated by the endpointer algorithm . by taking the classification of each audio window , a non - voice accumulator or a speech count accumulator is either incremented , cleared , or left in its previous state . when the non - voice accumulator reaches the required threshold ( l 2 ) indicating that the maximum number of silence or noise windows has been detected , message recording is automatically stopped . note that the classifier engine provides sufficient information to make distinctions within the various windows that fall within the non - voice classification . for example , these windows can be subdivided into silence windows and noise windows , and the state machine algorithm can be modified to assign different weights to the silence and noise windows , or to associate different thresholds with these windows . fig2 illustrates selected steps of a process 200 that employs the former approach . in the process 200 , steps 210 , 215 , and 220 are similar or identical to the like - numbered steps of the process 100 : audio blocks are received , segmented into windows , and the windows are sent to the classifier engine . at step 225 , the output corresponding to each window is received from the classifier engine . window classifications are determined at step 227 , based on the output of the classifier engine . here , each window is classified in one of three categories : speech , silence , or noise . if the window is classified as speech , the speech count accumulator is incremented at step 240 , and the value of the speech count accumulator is tested against the limit l 1 , at step 245 . as in the process 100 , all accumulators are cleared once the value in the speech count accumulator exceeds l 1 , and process flow turns to processing the next window . if the value in the speech count accumulator does not exceed l 1 , process flow turns to the next window without clearing the accumulators . if the currently - processed window is not classified as speech , it is tested to determine whether the window has been classified as silence , at step 252 . in case of silence , a silence count accumulator is incremented , at step 255 . if the window has not been classified as silence , it is a noise window . in this case , a noise count accumulator is incremented , at step 257 . the silence and noise count accumulators are then appropriately weighted and summed to obtain the total non - voice count , at step 258 . in one variant of the process 200 , the weighting factor assigned to the noise windows is half the weighting factor assigned to silence windows . thus , the total non - voice count is equal to ( n 1 + n 2 / 2 ), where n 1 denotes the silence count accumulator value , and n 2 denotes the noise count accumulator value . in other variants , the weighting factor assigned to the noise windows varies between about 30 and about 80 percent of the weighting factor assigned to the silence windows . the total non - voice count is next compared to the limit l 2 , at step 160 . if the total non - voice count is less than l 2 , process flow proceeds to the next window . otherwise , a command to terminate recording is issued at step 265 . note that if the weighting factors for the silence and noise windows are both the same and equal to one , the process 200 becomes essentially the same as the process 100 . turning now to the code in the computer program listing appendix and code of the endpointer algorithm used in certain embodiments of the processes 100 and 200 , several observations may help the reader &# 39 ; s understanding of the operation and functionality of these processes . a person skilled in the art would of course be well advised to turn to the actual code for better and more precise understanding of its operation . the state machine implemented in the code has different boolean modes , such as a mode determined by an end_mode tag . the tag together with its corresponding mode can be either true or false . three counters are maintained by the code : ( 1 ) a speech counter , ( 2 ) a silence counter , and ( 3 ) a noise - counter ; these counters implement the speech , silence , and noise count accumulators described above . three threshold sets of { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combinations are used by the code , to wit : noise - threshold , silence - threshold , and speech - threshold . the noise - threshold is used to determine when the currently - processed window is noise . the silence - threshold is used to determine silence in end_mode , and when silence is otherwise observed . the speech - threshold is used to determine when the window contains speech . when the currently - processed window is classified as signal by the classifier engine , and values computed for the { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combination are greater than the speech - threshold , a speech - counter is incremented . when a predetermined number of speech windows is encountered ( as determined by observing the speech - counter ), both the silence - counter and the noise - counter are reset . when the state machine is in end_mode , the currently - processed window has been classified as signal , and the values computed for the { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combination are less than a silence - threshold , the silence - counter is incremented . when the state machine observes silence returned by the classifier engine and the energy parameter is less than the silence energy - threshold , the silence - counter is incremented . when the state machine observes a continue_utterance return from the classifier engine , the silence - counter and noise - counter are cleared , unless the current { zero - crossing , energy } parameters are less than the silence - threshold set . after each window of audio is classified , the current values in the noise and silence counters are observed , and if the values exceed the pre - configured time - based threshold for maximum combined silence and noise periods , the recording is terminated . to facilitate understanding of the code further , fig3 illustrates a simplified visual “ chain ” model of the operation of the state machine when audio windows are classified . as each audio window is classified , the window is added to one of three classification chains : speech chain , silence chain , or noise chain . all chains are cleared when the number of speech windows received exceeds a first predetermined number ( l 1 ), i . e ., when the speech chain exceeds l 1 windows . the window classification process then continues , allowing the chains to grow once again . if the combination of the silence and noise chains reaches a second predetermined number ( l 2 ), then the end - of - speech command is issued and recording is terminated . in alternative embodiments in accordance with the invention , different classifier engines are used , including classifier engines that examine various attributes of the signal instead of or in addition to the energy and zero - crossing attributes . for example , classifier engines in accordance with the present invention can discriminate between silence and speech using high - order statistics of the signal ; or an algorithm promulgated in itu g . 729 annex b standard , entitled a silence compression scheme for g . 729 optimized for terminals conforming to r ecommendation v . 70 , incorporated herein by reference . although digital , software - driven classifier engines have been described above , digital hardware - based and analogue techniques can be employed to classify the windows . generally , there is no requirement that the classifier engine be limited to using any particular attribute or a particular combination of attributes of the signal , or a specific technique . processes in accordance with the present invention can be practiced on both dedicated hardware and general purpose computing systems controlled by custom program code . fig4 illustrates selected blocks of a general - purpose computer system 400 capable of being configured by such code to perform the process steps in accordance with the invention . in various embodiments , the general purpose computer 400 can be a wintel machine , an apple machine , a unix / linux machine , or a custom - built computer . note that some processes in accordance with the invention can run in real time , on a generic processor ( e . g ., an intel &# 39 ; 386 ), and within a multitasking environment where the processor performs additional tasks . at the heart of the computer 400 lies a processor subsystem 405 , which may include a processor , a cache , a bus controller , and other devices commonly present in processor subsystems . the computer 400 further includes a human interface device 420 that allows a person to control operations of the computer . typically , the human interface device 420 includes a display , a keyboard , and a pointing device , such as a mouse . a memory subsystem 415 is used by the processor subsystem to store the program code during execution , and to store intermediate results that are too bulky for the cache . the memory subsystem 415 can also be used to store digitized voice mail messages prior to transfer of the messages to a mass storage device 410 . a computer telephony ( ct ) subsystem card 425 and a connection 435 tie the computer 400 to a private branch exchange ( pbx ) 402 . the ct card 425 can be an intel ( dialogic ) card such as has already been described above . the pbx 402 is in turn connected to a telephone network 401 , for example , a public switched telephone network ( pstn ), from which the voice mail messages stored by the computer 400 originate . the program code is initially transferred to the memory subsystem 415 or to the mass storage device 410 from a portable storage unit 440 , which can be a cd drive , a dvd drive , a floppy disk drive , a flash memory reader , or another device used for loading program code into a computer . prior to transfer of the program code to the computer 400 , the code can be embodied on a suitable medium capable of being read by the portable storage unit 440 . for example , the program code can be embodied on a hard drive , a floppy diskette , a cd , a dvd , or any other machine - readable storage medium . alternatively , the program code can be downloaded to the computer 400 , for example , from the internet , an extranet , an intranet , or another network using a communication device , such as a modem or a network card . ( the communication device is not illustrated in fig4 .) finally , a bus 430 provides a communication channel that connects the various components of the computer 400 . in operation , the pbx 402 receives telephone calls from the telephone network 401 and channels them to appropriate telephone extensions 403 . when a particular telephone call is unanswered for a preprogrammed number of rings , the pbx 402 plays a message to the caller , optionally providing the caller with various choices for proceeding . if the caller chooses to leave a message , the call is connected to the ct card 425 , which digitizes the audio signal received from the caller and hands the digitized audio to the processor subsystem 405 in blocks , for example , blocks of 1 , 536 samples ( bytes ). the processor subsystem 405 , which is executing the program code , segments the blocks into windows and writes the windows to the mass storage device 415 . at the same time , the processor subsystem 405 monitors the windows as has been described above with reference to the processes 100 and 200 . when the combination of silence and noise count accumulators reaches a critical value ( l 2 ), the processor subsystem 405 issues terminate recording commands to the ct card 425 and to the pbx 402 , and stops recording the windows to the mass storage device 410 . upon receipt of the terminate recording command , the pbx 402 and the ct card 425 drop the telephone call , disconnecting the caller . the invention can also be practiced in a networked , client / server environment , with the computer 400 being integrated within a networked computer configured to receive , route , answer , and record calls , e . g ., within an integrated pbx , telephone server , or audio processor device . it should be understood that fig4 illustrates many components that are not necessary for performing the processes in accordance with the invention . for example , the inventive processes can be practiced on an appliance - type of computer that boots up and runs the code , without direct user control , interfacing only with a computer telephony subsystem . the above is of course a greatly simplified description of the operation of the hardware that can be used to practice the invention , but a person skilled in the art will no doubt be able to fill - in the details of the configuration and operation of both the hardware and software . this document describes the inventive apparatus , methods , and articles of manufacture for detecting silence in considerable detail for illustration purposes only . neither the specific embodiments and methods of the invention as a whole , nor those of its features limit the general principles underlying the invention . the specific features described herein may be used in some embodiments , but not in others , without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth . various physical arrangements of components and various step sequences also fall within the intended scope of the invention . the invention is not limited to the use of specific components , such as the computer telephony cards mentioned above . furthermore , in the description and the appended claims the words “ couple ,” “ connect ,” and similar expressions with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily import an immediate or direct connection , but include connections through mediate elements within their meaning . it should also be noted that , as used in this document , the words “ counter ” and “ accumulator ” have similar meanings . many additional modifications are intended in the foregoing disclosure , and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed in the absence of a corresponding use of other features . the illustrative examples therefore do not define the metes and bounds of the invention and the legal protection afforded the invention , which function is carried out by the claims and their equivalents .
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the term &# 34 ; analyte &# 34 ; means any chemical or elemental compound of clinical and / or medical , environmental , or industrial significance and for which quantitative or qualitative measurements may be desired . examples of specific analytes are well known and include analytes of clinical significance such as glucose , hemoglobin , lipids , cholesterol , proteins , etc . other analytes will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . a preferred biological compound is glucose . the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for enhancing the transdermal transport of analytes . as illustrated in fig1 an apparatus of the invention generally consists of a sampling device 10 comprising a ultrasonic source 12 , a pressure reducing source 14 , a pressure boundary 16 which , together with a surface 20 of a body part , contains a sampling region 18 , and an analysis device 22 . any ultrasonic source 12 is suitable for use in the present invention . preferably , the source is an ultrasonic transducer capable of generating ultrasonic energy at a frequency range suitable for optimum extraction of glucose , e . g ., 20 khz to 1 mhz . the pressure reducing source 14 is capable of reducing pressure in the sampling , region 18 to an absolute pressure of about 400 mmhg , a vacuum pump is preferred . in one embodiment , the pump is powered by normal movements , such as the self - actuated pump described in u . s . patent application ser . no . ( not yet available ; atty docket number 5845 . us . 01 , filed dec . 18 , 1995 ). the pressure boundary 16 maintains a pneumatic seal against the surface 20 of the body , and may be any of a variety of well known materials suitable for this purpose , e . g ,., adhesive tape or an elastomeric ring . in those embodiments where analysis of analyte in sampling region 18 is provided , analysis of collected sample is provided by analysis element 22 located adjacent or , as shown in fig1 in contact with sampling region 18 . analysis element 22 is used to determine the presence or amount of at least one analyte of interest and the particular features of analysis element 22 are not critical to the invention . thus , any analyte detection method , sensor , or system suitable for use with the analyte of interest , for example optical or electrochemical sensors known in the art , may be used in analysis element 22 . an example of a suitable analysis device is an interference - free biosensor such as that described in u . s . patent application ser . no . not yet available ; atty docket number 5843 . us . 01 , filed dec . 18 , 1995 ). the operation of a particular embodiment of the invention may be understood with reference to fig2 . the ultrasound source 12 generates ultrasonic energy directed at the body surface 20 . the transmission of this ultrasonic energy may be facilitated by the use of a coupling medium ( such as a gel ) within the sampling region 18 . the interaction of the ultrasonic energy with the body surface 20 increases the permeability of the skin at the body surface as described in current scientific literature ( mitragotri et al , j . pharm . sci . 84 : 697 - 706 , 1995 ). the pressure reducing , source 14 reduces the pressure in the sampling region 18 by removing air within the region 18 . note that the presence of a coupling medium within the region 18 should not affect the ability of the pressure reducing source 14 to reduce the pressure within the region 18 , and may in fact facilitate the pressure reduction by assisting in maintaining a seal between the pressure boundary 16 and the body surface 20 . any coupling medium should as well not interfere with the operation of the analysis device 22 . the combination of the enhanced permeability of the skin due to the ultrasonic energy and the pressure difference between the tissue and the sampling region will cause the enhanced flow of body fluid through the body surface 20 into the sampling region , where the concentration of the analyte is measured by the analysis device 22 . a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 . in this embodiment pressure reducing source 14 is in vacuum connection with the pressure boundary 16 and the ultrasound source 12 and the analysis device 22 are contained within the sampling region 18 . such an arrangement facilitates ultrasound transmission , as the ultrasound source 12 may be directly coupled to the body surface 20 , if necessary with the local application of a coupling medium such as a gel . this arrangement also facilitates the measurement of the analyte , as the analysis device 22 is not affected by the coupling medium and may directly sense body fluid emerging from the body surface 20 . a third embodiment is illustrated in fig4 . two or more ultrasound sources 12 are placed on opposite sides of the pressure boundary 16 , so that they create a standing wave such as that described in u . s . patent application ser . no . not yet available ; atty docket number 5867 . us . 01 , filed feb . 23 , 1996 ) in the body surface 20 adjacent to the sampling region 18 . the reduced pressure source 14 reduces the pressure in the sampling region 18 . the combination of the ultrasound enhanced permeability of the skin and the difference in pressure between the tissue and the sampling region 18 causes fluid to exude from the body surface 18 . the concentration of the analyte of interest may then be measured by the analysis device 22 . all of the references cited in this application are incorporated by reference . the present invention has been described with reference to preferred and / or alternate embodiments . one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that changes , alterations or modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention .
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the present invention is directed to the regeneration by tissue culture of cotton plants particularly plants of the genus gossypium hirsutum from somatic cells for propagation in the field . optionally , the cells may be transformed to include foreign genetic information . the various growth medium useful in accordance with this invention are as follows : with any of the above solutions , the following procedure is used to prepare one liter of the medium . there is provided as a base , 200 ml of deionized water and the various stock solutions are added in the amounts stated for 1 liter . for example , if there is to be employed 10 ml of a stock in the final medium , then 10 ml of the stock are added to the 200 ml of the distilled water . to ensure the salts stay in solution , stock solutions are normally added in the order shown in the formulations above . after thoroughly mixing additional deionized water is added to the mixture to bring it to , as required 500 ml , and the mixture adjusted in ph to a value of from about 5 . 8 to 6 . 0 . the final volume is brought to 1 , 000 ml and there is normally added tissue culture agar , or its equivalent to a level of about 0 . 8 % by weight . this is to provide some solidity to solution to reduce flow . the mixture is then autoclaved for about 5 to 20 minutes at a pressure 15 - 21 lbs / in 2 to kill any contaminating organism , and suitably labeled and stored as a sterile medium . briefly , cotton seeds are sterilized and germinated on a suitable seed germination medium such as a basal agar medium in the dark for a time sufficient to produce seedlings . the normal period of growth is up to about 4 weeks , typically 7 to 14 days . segments of explants are excised from the seedling . it is preferred that the explant come from the hypocotyl or cotyledon . in the alternative , one can equally use immature embryos obtained from the developing fruits of greenhouse or field grown cotton plants as the explant . the explant segments are cultured on a suitable first callus growth medium , preferably a or full murashige and skoog ( ms ) nutrient medium containing glucose . growth occurs by culturing at a temperature of from about 25 to about 35 ° c . in a light / dark cycle of about 16 hours of light and above 8 hours of dark . culturing is the procedure whereby the medium is replaced at periodic intervals as the nutrients are consumed and continued for approximately about 3 to about 4 weeks , or until undifferentiated callus are formed . the callus are transferred to a second callus growth medium , preferably an ms medium supplemented with naphthaleneacetic acid ( naa ) and sucrose as the carbon source and cultured for three to four months to produce embryos . the embryos may then be maintained in the second callus growth medium to maintain an embryo supply or transferred to a plant germination medium such as beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium preferably containing casein hydrolysate and source of ammonium cultured for 2 to 3 weeks to produce plantlets . the plantlets are transferred to soil under high humidity conditions , then transplanted to larger pots in a greenhouse and finally transferred to the field for growth to maturity . the methods briefly described herein have been successfully employed to induce somatic embryo formation in cotton of the species gossypium hirsutum by tissue and suspension cultures and , ultimately , to obtain mature plants from hypocotyl and cotyledon derived callus cultures of acala varieties of gossypium hirsutum including acala sj2 , acala sj4 , acala sj5 , acala sj - c1 , acala b1644 , acala b1654 - 26 , acala b1654 - 43 , acala b3991 , acala gc356 ( plants not obtained ), acala gc510 , acala gam1 , acala royale , acala maxxa ( callus only formed ), acala prema , acala b638 ( plants not formed ), acala b1810 , acala b2724 , acala b4894 , acala b5002 ( plants not formed ), non acala “ picker ” siokra , “ stripper ” variety fc2017 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , stoneville 825 ( plants not formed ), dp50 ( callus only formed ), dp61 ( callus only formed ), dp90 ( callus only formed ), dp77 ( callus only formed ), des119 ( callus only formed ), mcn235 ( callus only formed ), hbx87 ( plants not formed ), hbx191 ( callus only formed ), hbx107 ( callus only formed ), fc 3027 , chembred a1 ( callus only formed ), chembred a2 ( callus only formed ), chembred a3 ( callus only formed ), chembred a4 ( callus only formed ), chembred b1 ( callus only formed ), chembred b2 , chembred b3 ( callus only formed ), chembred c1 ( callus only formed ), chembred c2 ( callus only formed ), chembred c3 ( callus only formed ), chembred c4 , paymaster 145 ( callus only formed ), hs26 ( callus only formed ), hs46 ( callus only formed ), sicala ( plants not formed ), pima s6 ( plants not formed ) and oro blanco pima ( plants not formed ). cultures have been transformed to normal plants with novel traits or properties . the acala sj2 was obtained from a the cross axte1 × nm 2302 . the acala sj4 , sj5 , sj - c1 , b1644 , b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b3991 , gc356 , gc510 , gam1 were obtained from the cross c6te × nm b3080 . acala royale was obtained from the cross [ c6te × nm b3080 ]×[ axte 1 - 57 × tex e364 ]. acala maxxa was obtained from the cross [ s196 × 1900 - 1 ]×[ 12302 - 4 ×( c6te × b7378 )]. acala prema was obtained from the cross [ ate - 11 × nm49 - 2 ]×[ c6te × nm b3080 ]. more particularly , the procedure involves first the sterilizing of the cotton seeds . suitable sterilization may be achieved by immersing the seeds in 95 % ethanol for 2 to 3 minutes , rinsing in sterile water one or more times , then soaking the seeds in a 15 % solution of sodium hypochlorite for 15 to 20 minutes , and rinsing several times with sterile water . the sterilized seeds are then transferred to a first medium , termed a seed germination medium . a seed germination medium is one of normal salt content . a suitable germination medium is a basal agar medium , including white &# 39 ; s medium or half - strength ms medium . ( one - half ingredient strength ). germination normally occurs in the dark over an about 12 to about 14 day period . hypocotyl and / or cotyledons are preferably excised from the germinated seed , subdivided or cut into segments and cultured on a first callus growth medium such as an ms medium supplemented with growth substances . the presently preferred medium is the ms . medium supplemented with about 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine hydrochloride , about 30 g / l glucose , about . 2 mg / l naa , about 1 mg / l kinetin , a common growth regulator , and about 100 mg / l inositol and agar . thiamine hydrochloride can generally range in concentration from 0 . 1 to about 0 . 5 mg / l , glucose about 20 to about 30 g / l , about 1 to about 10 mg / l naa , about 1 to about 2 mg / l kinetin and about 50 to about 100 mg / l inositol . the cultures are maintained at a temperature of about 25 to about 35 ° c ., preferably about 30 ° c . and with a light / dark cycle of about 16 hours of light and about 8 hours of dark . it is preferred to have a light intensity of about 2000 to 4000 lux , more preferably about 3000 to 4000 lux . the calli formed are periodically subcultured at 3 to 4 week intervals and transferred to a fresh first callus growth medium . in the culturing of the explants , secretions of phenolic compounds from the explants can occur as evidenced by darkening of the cultured medium . in this instance , the medium is changed more regularly . darkening has been avoided by changing the culture medium every 10 days . normally , after three to five medium changes , phenolic secretions will disappear . when this occurs , the first callus growth medium can be replaced by fresh callus growth medium containing sucrose or supplemented with sucrose as a carbon source . after 3 to 4 weeks of culture , active calli develop on the cut surfaces of the explants . the calli are then transferred to a fresh second callus growth maintenance medium which is preferably an ms medium combined with about 1 to about 10 mg / l , preferably about 1 to about 5 mg / l naa . cytokinin is employed at a concentration of from 0 to about 1 g / l . a callus growth medium is characterized as a high salt content medium containing as much as 10 times more salt than the seed germination medium . the essential difference between first and second callus growth medium is the carbon source . glucose is used during period of phenolic secretions . sucrose is used when secretion have stopped . the balance of the callus growth medium can remain the same or changed . the calli are transferred in regular intervals to a fresh callus growth medium and , after generally about 5 to 7 passages or until an anthocyanin pigmentation becomes evident in a portion of the calli , which is followed by development of a yellowish - white embryogenic callus . the embryogenic callus are then selectively subcultured and maintained by regular subculturing . the embryogenic callus contain somatic embryos at various stages of development . some may have reached the point of development that enables growth into small plantlets . most , however , require further development . some may be advanced to germination . other may be maintained as a source of embryos for future use . with reference to fig2 there is illustrated this stage of development showing calli of acala cotton 10 with somatic embryos 12 of differing size with some having emerging leaves 14 and roots 16 . fig3 illustrates a somatic embryo isolated at a late globular stage . with reference to fig4 further development may be achieved by transferring the somatic embryos to a third growth medium termed herein an embryo germination medium , a medium rich in nitrogen usually in the form of ammonia or its equivalent . suitable media include beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium , preferably supplemented with up to about 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate . germination occurs from somatic embryos and , within 2 to 3 weeks , a well developed plantlet 18 of up to 6 leaves and good root system is generally formed . at this stage , the plantlets are transferred to soil in small clumps and grown in a standard incubator under conditions of high humidity . temperature is normally maintained at about 25 to 30 ° c . ( see fig7 ). after a period of growth , the small plants are transferred to larger pots in a greenhouse and thereafter transferred to field and grown to maturity . all the . regenerated plants are preferably self - pollinated either while growing in the green house or in field conditions and the seeds collected . seeds are then germinated and 4 to 5 week old seedlings transferred to the field for progeny row trials and other standard plant breeding procedures . practicing the above procedure produces viable cotton plants from about 35 % of the explants in the period of time from about 6 to about 8 months . as an alternative to allowing the growing embryogenic calli to be developed into a plant , the callus may be cut into smaller pieces and further developed using suspension culture techniques . in this procedure , suspension concentration is normally from about 750 to 1000 mg of callus parts to 8 ml callus growth medium such as the second callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with naa ), and allowed to grow in suspension . in a preferred embodiment , the suspension of the callus is inserted in t - tubes and placed on a roller drum rotating at about 1 . 5 rpm under a light regime of about 16 hours of light and about 8 hours of dark . growth is for about 3 to 4 weeks . after about every 3 to 4 weeks , the suspension is filtered to remove large cell clumps of embryogenic callus depicted in groups in fig5 and as isolated at late globular stages as shown in fig6 . the filtrate is returned to a nutrient medium for a 3 to 4 week period of growth . this procedure is repeated over and over with harvesting of large clumps at about 3 to 4 week intervals , at which time the medium is supplanted in whole or in part with fresh callus growth medium . preferably , about 4 volumes or more of the fresh medium are added to about one volume of residual suspension . it is presently preferred that the filter employed have a mesh size greater than about 600 microns , preferably greater than 800 microns , as it has been observed the cell masses of a particle size less than 600 microns will not develop into plants , whereas cell masses greater than 600 microns and preferably greater than 800 microns have undergone sufficient differentiation so as to become embryogenic and capable of developing into viable plants . suspension cultures can also be initiated by transferring of embryogenic calli to a flask , such as a delong or erlenmeyer flask , containing the liquid embryo growth medium in an amount of about 20 ml of ms and naa at a concentration of 2 . 0 mg / l . the flask is placed on a gyrotory shaker and is shaken at about 100 - 110 strokes per minute . after 3 to 4 weeks the suspension is suitable for filtration as described above to remove the large cell clumps for plant development . more typically , after the third or fourth subculture , the cell suspension from the “ t ” tube or de long or erlenmeyer flask is plated onto agar - solidified ms medium containing naa ( 2 . 0 mg / l ) or beasley & amp ; ting &# 39 ; s medium containing casein hydrolysate ( 500 mg / l ) media and a source of nitrogen . within 3 - 4 weeks embryogenic calli with developing embryos become visible . likewise , the larger cell clumps when plated on the above media give rise to embryogenic clumps with developing embryos . in both suspension growth methods , the ms media is used to promote and / or sustain embryos whereas the germination medium is employed for rapid plant development . the seedling explants , if desired , can be transformed . in this procedure , cotyledon and / or hypocotyl segments of the sterilized seed can be used . cotyledons are preferred . the segments are placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing a code ( genetic marker ) such as resistance to an antibiotic , such as for instance kanamycin for a time sufficient for the vector to transfer the gene to the cells of the explant . generally , contact times ranging from 1 minute to 24 hours may be used and may be accompanied with intermittent or gentle agitation . the explants are then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium such as a ms medium supplemented with naa ( 2 mg / l ) and incubated about 15 to 200 hours at 25 to 35 ° c ., preferably 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the explants are transferred to the same medium supplemented with the antibiotic cefotaxime preferably in a concentration of 200 mg / l . cefotaxime is included to prevent any remaining agrobacterium from proliferating and overgrowing the plant tissues . alternatively , the explants can be rinsed with ms medium supplemented with naa ( 2 mg / l ) and incubated an additional 4 to 28 days before rinsing , then incubating the same medium containing cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus , i . e ., primary callus , is separated from the remainder of the primary explant tissue and transferred to ms medium containing naa ( 2 mg / l ), cefotaxime ( 200 mg / l ) and an antibiotic such as kanamycin sulfate ( 50 mg / l ). transformed primary callus , identified by virtue of its ability to grow in the presence of the antibiotic ( kanamycin ), is selected and embryos developed , germinated and plants obtained following the procedure set forth above . it is also feasible to achieve transformation of a cell suspension . following a normal subculture growth cycle of 7 to 14 days , usually 7 to 10 days , cells are allowed to settle leaving a supernatant which is removed . the remaining concentrated suspended cells may be centrifuged at 4000 × g for 5 minutes and the excess medium is discarded . the concentrated suspension cultures are resuspended in the 8 ml of the same medium which contains the agrobacterium . the suspension is transferred to “ t ” tubes and suitably agitated for incubation . following about 2 to 24 hours , preferably 3 to 5 hours , of incubation to allow for bacterial attachment and dna transfer , the suspension is removed and allowed to settle . the supernatant containing the bacteria is discarded and the cells are washed with fresh medium . the suspension may , if desired , be centrifuged for about 5 minutes and the supernatant removed . in either event , the cells are resuspended in the same medium and transferred to a “ t ” tube or flask and suspension subculture resumed . the object is to minimize the amount of unattached agrobacterium vector left in the cell - suspension . after about 15 to about 200 hours , typically 15 to about 72 hours , preferably 18 to 20 hours , the suspension is filtered to remove large clumps and washed with fresh liquid medium and allowed to settle . the suspension is resuspended in the fresh liquid medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 mg / l ) plated on a solidified medium in petri dishes . alternatively , the suspension may be resuspended in fresh medium containing cefotaxime and allowed to grow an additional 4 to 28 days prior plating on solidified medium in petri dishes . cell concentration is 1 vol . of suspension cells plus 3 vol . of medium with cefotaxime . kanamycin at 10 to 300 mg / l preferably about 20 to 200 mg / l more preferably about 40 to 80 mg / l is included in the medium for selection of transformed cells expressing the neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) gene . cells and embryos proliferating in the selective concentration of kanamycin are further grown as set forth above to mature somatic embryos capable of germinating and regenerating into whole plants according to the procedures described herein . using the above procedure and with reference to fig9 there is shown variable cell colonies which is consequence of transformation . there exists cotton cells 20 exhibiting resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin . with reference to fig1 , transformed calli are shown developing into somatic embryos on an antibiotic ms medium . fig1 exemplifies transformed somatic embryos established to have kanamycin resistance and transformed to have resistance to the herbicide glyphosate . fig1 exemplifies cotton plants obtained by inoculating tissues with agrobacterium containing a mutant aroa gene and thereafter growing the tissues on non - selective media . fig1 shows germinating somatic embryos of variety b1644 obtained from suspension cultures treated with the vector pcib10 / bta - 5 , and selected on kanamycin ( 50 mg / l ) or g418 ( 25 mg / l ) supplemented media . fig1 shows plantlets developed from the embryos of fig1 . fig1 shows a plantlet of the variety siokra developed from transformed embryos exhibiting a resistance to kanamycin . seeds of acala cotton variety sj2 of gossypium hirsutum were sterilized by contact with 95 % alcohol for three minutes , then twice rinsed with sterile water and immersed with a 15 % solution of sodium hypochlorite for 15 minutes , then rinsed in sterile water . sterilized seeds were germinated on a basal agar medium in the dark for approximately 14 days to produce a seedling . the cotyledons of the seedlings were cut into segments of 2 - 4 mm 2 which were transferred aseptically to a callus inducing medium consisting of murashige and skoog ( ms ) major and minor salts supplemented with 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine - hcl , 30 g / l glucose , 2 . 0 mg / l naa , 1 mg / l kinetin , 100 mg / l of m - inositol , and agar ( 0 . 8 % w / v ). the cultures were incubated at about 30 ° c . under conditions of 16 hours light and 8 hours darkness in a percival incubator with fluorescent lights ( cool daylight ) providing a light intensity of about 2000 - 4000 lux . calli were formed on the cultured tissue segments within 3 to 4 weeks and were white to gray - greenish in color . the calli formed were subcultured every three to four weeks onto a callus growth medium comprising ms medium containing 100 mg / l m - inositol , 20 g / l sucrose , 2 mg / l naa and agar . somatic embryos formed four to six months after first placing tissue explants on a callus inducing medium . the callus and embryos were maintained on a callus growth medium by subculturing onto fresh callus growth medium every three to four weeks . somatic embryos which formed on tissue pieces were explanted either to fresh callus growth medium , or to beasley & amp ; ting &# 39 ; s medium ( embryo germination medium ). the somatic plantlets which were formed from somatic embryos were transferred onto beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium which contained 1200 mg / l ammonium nitrate and 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate as an organic nitrogen source . the medium was solidified by a solidifying agent ( gelrite ) and plantlets were placed in magenta boxes . the somatic embryos developed into plantlets within about three months . the plantlets were rooted with six to eight leaves and about three to four inches tall and were transferred to soil and maintained in an incubator under high humidity for three to four weeks and then transferred to a greenhouse . after hardening , plants were also transferred to open tilled soil . the procedure of example 1 was repeated using instead half - strength ms medium in which all medium components have been reduced to one - half the specified concentration . essentially the same results were obtained . the procedures of examples 1 and 2 were repeated except that the explant was the hypocotyl segments . the same results were obtained . the procedure of examples 1 and 2 were repeated except that the explant was the immature zygotic embryo . essentially the same results were obtained . the procedure of examples 1 and 2 was repeated with acala cotton varieties sj4 , sj5 , sj2c - 1 , gc510 , b1644 , b2724 , b1810 , the picker variety siokra and the stripper variety fc2017 . all were successfully regenerated . the procedure of example 1 was repeated to the extent of obtaining callus capable of forming somatic embryos . pieces of about 750 - 1000 mg of actively growing embryogenic callus was suspended in 8 ml units of liquid suspension culture medium comprised of ms major and minor salts , supplemented with 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine hcl , 20 g / l sucrose , 100 mg / l of inositol and naphthaleneacetic acid ( 2 mg / l ) in t - tubes and placed on a roller drum rotating at 1 . 5 rpm under 16 : 8 light : dark regime . light intensity of about 2000 - 4500 lux was again provided by fluorescent lights ( cool daylight ). after four weeks , the suspension was filtered through an 840 micron size nylon mesh to remove larger cell clumps . the fraction smaller than 840 microns were allowed to settle , washed once with about 20 - 25 ml of fresh suspension culture medium . this suspension was transferred to t - tubes ( 2 ml per tube ) and each tube diluted with 6 ml of fresh suspension culture medium . the cultures were maintained by repeating the above procedure at 10 - 12 day intervals . namely , the suspension was filtered and only the fraction containing cell aggregates smaller than 840 microns was transferred to fresh suspension culture medium . in all instances , the fraction containing cell clumps larger than 840 microns was placed onto the callus growth medium to obtain mature somatic embryos . the somatic embryos that were formed on callus growth medium were removed and transferred to embryo germination medium and using the protocol of example 1 were germinated , developed into plantlets and then field grown plants . the procedure of example 6 was repeated except that suspension cultures were formed by transferring 750 - 1000 mg of embryogenic calli to a delong flask containing 15 - 20 ml of the ms liquid medium containing 2 mg / l naa . the culture containing flask was placed on a gyrotory shaker and shaken at 100 - 110 strokes / minute . after three weeks the suspension was filtered through an 840 micron nylon mesh to remove the large cell clumps for plant growth , as in example 4 . the less than 840 micron suspension was allowed to settle , washed once in the ms liquid medium and resuspended in 2 to 5 ml of the ms liquid medium . the suspension was subcultured by transfer to fresh medium in a delong flask containing 1 - 2 ml of suspension and 15 ml of fresh ms liquid medium . the cultures are maintained by repeating this procedure at seven to ten day intervals . at each subculture only the less than 840 micron suspension was subcultured and the large clumps ( 840 microns or greater ) were used for plant growth . after three or four subcultures using the suspension growth procedure of examples 6 and 7 , 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 ml of cell suspension from the t - tube and delong flask were in each instance plated onto agar - solidified ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa and beasley & amp ; ting medium containing 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate . within three to four weeks embryogenic calli with developing embryos became visible . again , the 840 micron or greater cell clumps were plated on the callus growth medium giving rise to embryogenic clumps with developing embryos - which ultimately grew into plants . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b3991 , acala royale , b4894 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , fc 3027 , chembred b2 and chembred c4 . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties gc356 , gam1 , b638 , b5002 , stoneville 825 , hbx87 , sicala , pima s6 , oro blanco pima except plants were not obtained from the somatic embryos . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties acala maxxa , acala prema , b2086 , fc 3027 , dp50 , dp61 , dp90 , dp77 , des119 , mcn235 , hbx191 , hbx107 , chembred a1 , chembred a2 , chembred a3 , chembred a4 , chembred b1 , chembred b3 , chembred c1 , chembred c2 , chembred c3 , paymaster 145 , hs26 and hs46 except embryos and plants were not developed from the callus . below is a summary of the varieties which have been regenerated and the stage to which they have been grown : an acala cotton suspension culture was subcultured for three to four months in t - tubes with the medium ( ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa ) being changed every seven to ten days . after any medium change thereafter the cells can be allowed to settle and harvested for transformation . the supernatant was removed by pipeting and cells transformed with the agrobacterium strain lba 4434 . the agrobacterium strain lea 4434 [ described in hoekema et al ., nature 303 179 - 180 ( 1983 ), incorporated herein by reference ] contains a ti plasmid - derived binary plant transformation system . in such binary systems , one plasmid contains the t - dna of a ti - plasmid , the second plasmid contains the vir - region of a ti - plasmid . the two plasmids cooperate to effect plant transformation . in the strain lba 4434 , the t - dna plasmid , pal1050 , contains t l of ptiach5 , an octopine ti - plasmid and the vir - plasmid in strain lba4434 , pal4404 , contains the intact virulence regions of ptiach5 [ ooms et al ., plasmid 7 15 - 29 ( 1982 ), incorporated herein by reference ]. strain lba 4434 is available from dr . robert schilperoort of the department of biochemistry , university of leiden , the netherlands . the transforming agrobacterium strain was taken from a glycerol stock , inoculated in a small overnight culture , from which a 50 - ml culture was inoculated the following day . agrobacteria was grown on yeb medium containing per liter in water adjusted to ph 7 . 2 with naoh , 5 g beef extract , 1 g yeast extract , 5 g peptone , 5 g sucrose . after autoclaving , 1 ml of 2 m mgcl 2 is added after which antibiotics , as required to kill other strains . the absorbance at 600 nm of the 50 ml overnight culture is read , the culture centrifuged and the formed pellet resuspended in the plant cell growth medium ( ms medium plus naa at 2 mg / l ) to a final absorbance at 600 nm of 0 . 5 . eight ml of this bacterial suspension of agrobacterium lba 4434 was added to each t - tube containing the suspension plant cells after removal of the supernatant liquid . the t - tube containing the plant and bacteria cells was agitated to resuspend the cells and returned to a roller drum for three hours to allow the agrobacteria to attach to the plant cells . the cells were then allowed to settle and the residual supernatant removed . a fresh aliquot of growth medium was added to the t - tube and the suspension allowed to incubate on a roller drum for a period of 18 to 20 hours in the presence of any residual agrobacteria which remained . after this time , the cells were again allowed to settle , the supernatant removed and the cells washed twice with a solution of growth medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 μg / ml ). after washing , the cells from each t - tube were resuspended in 10 ml growth medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 μg / ml in all cases ) and 1 ml aliquots of the suspension plated on petri dishes . infected cells grew on the growth medium to which no phytohormones were added establishing the tissue had received the wild - type phytohormone genes in t - dna . the cells developed tumors , further indicating transformation of the cultures . the suspension culture as obtained in example 12 is transformed using an agrobacteria containing the t - dna which contains binary vector pcib10 [ rothstein et al ., gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 ), incorporated herein by reference ] as well as the pal4404 vir - plasmid . the t - dna of pcib10 contains a chimeric gene composed of the promoter from nopaline synthase , the coding region from tn5 encoding the enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase , and the terminator from nopaline synthase . the agrobacteria containing pcib10 are grown on yeb medium containing kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) transformation is accomplished in the same manner as in example 12 except that the 1 ml aliquots resulting in cells and agrobacteria are immediately plated on selective media containing either kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) or g418 ( 25 μg / ml ). expression of the nos / neo / nos chimeric gene in transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue in the presence of both antibiotics . the existence of transformed tissue is apparent on the selection plates in two to four weeks . uninfected tissue as well as added control tissue wilt show no signs of growth , turn brown and die . transformed tissue grows very well in the presence of both kanamycin and g418 . at this time , tissue pieces which are growing well are sub cultured to fresh selection medium . somatic embryos form on these tissue pieces and are explanted to fresh non - selective growth media . when the embryos begin to differentiate and germinate , i . e ., at the point where they begin to form roots and leave two or three leaves , they are transferred to magenta boxes containing growth medium described in example 1 . growth is allowed to proceed until the plantlet has six to eight leaves , at which time it is removed from the agar medium . the plantlets are now placed in potting soil , covered with a beaker to maintain humidity and placed in a percival incubator for four to eight weeks . at this time , the plant is removed from the beaker and transferred to a greenhouse . the plants grow in the greenhouse , flower and set seed . the procedure of example 13 was followed , except that the transforming agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector dei pep10 as well as the pal4404 vir plasmid . dei pep10 , shown in fig3 , utilizes two t - dna psti cleaved right border sequences from a . tumefaciens ( strain c - 58 ) which had been further subdivided with bamhi for integration in the plant genome , a passenger maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene ( pepcase gene ), and a chimeric gene ( nos / npt / tk ) capable of expression in plants and conferring resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin and g418 . this chimeric gene utilizes a nopaline synthetase promoter , the neomycin phosphotransferase ii coding region from tn5 , and the terminator from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene . following transformation , embryogenic callus and embryos were obtained by selection on kanamycin ( 50 mg / l ). no resistant callus was obtained from the control ( non - transformed callus ) plated on kanamycin at this level ( 50 mg / l ). the procedure of example 13 was followed , except that the transforming agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector ppmg85 / 587 [ fillatti et al ., mol . gen . genet . 206 192 - 199 ( 1987 ) incorporated herein by reference ] as well as the pal4404 vir plasmid . the plasmid ppmg85 / 587 carries three chimeric genes capable of expression in plants . two genes code for neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) which confers resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin and g418 . the third chimeric gene , containing the coding sequence from a mutant aroa gene of s . typhimuriurn , confers tolerance - to the herbicide glyphosate [ comai et al ., science 221 370 - 371 ( 1983 ), incorporated herein by reference ]. the agrobacteria containing ppmg85 / 587 were grown on medium containing kanamycin ( 100 μg / ml ). transformation is accomplished as detailed in example 13 except that the suspension is allowed to grow for 28 days at which time 1 ml aliquots were plated on medium containing selective antibiotics . expression of the npt chimeric gene in transformed plant tissue allowed selection of this tissue on both antibiotics . in this instance the selective antibiotic was kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ). in two to four weeks , transformed tissue became apparent on the selection plates . plant tissue , individual embryos and callus were then placed on growth medium containing the herbicide glyphosate 1 mm and transformed tissue continued to grow well . extraction and analysis of the proteins of both callus and embryos confirmed the presence of the product of the glyphosate tolerance gene . transformation of cotton suspension culture cells to a hygromycin - resistant non - tumorous phenotype the transformation procedure of example 13 was followed except there was used as the transforming agrobacteria one containing the t - dna binary vector pcib715 [ rothstein et al . gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 )] as well as the vir plasmid . the t - dna of pcib715 contains a chimeric gene composed of the promoter and terminator from the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) 35s transcript [ odell et al ., nature 313 810 - 812 ( 1985 ), incorporated herein by reference ] and the coding sequence for hygromycin b phosphotransferase [ gritz et al ., gene 25 179 - 188 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. agrobacteria containing pcib715 was grown on yeb containing kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ). transformation was accomplished as detailed in example 14 again with the change that the 1 ml aliquots were plated immediately on medium containing as the selective antibiotic 50 μg / ml hygromycin . expression of the chimeric hygromycin gene in transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue on the medium containing hygromycin . transformed tissue was grown in the manner described in example 8 on the selection growth medium establishing transformation had occurred . transformation of cotton suspension culture cells to confer resistance to lepidopteran insects the procedure of example 14 was followed except where changes are noted below . different transforming agrobacteria were used . also , after plant tissue was selected on an antibiotic for the selection of transformed material , it was further selected for expression of the bt gene as defined herein . the agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector pcib10 [ rothstein et al ., gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 ) incorporated herein by reference ] into which had been inserted the following chimeric bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin genes (“ bt genes ”): to prepare the agrobacterium vector there was fused the camv gene vi promotor and protoxin coding sequences . a derivative of phage vector mp19 [ yanish - perron et al ., 1985 ] was first constructed . the steps are shown in fig1 and 17 . first , a dna fragment containing approximately 155 nucleotides 5 ′ to the protoxin coding region and the adjacent approximately 1346 nucleotides of coding sequence are inserted into mp19 . phage mp19 ds rf ( double - stranded replicative form ) dna was digested with restriction endonucleases saci and smai and the approximately 7 . 2 - kb ( kilobase pairs ) vector fragment was purified after electrophoresis through low - gelling temperature agarose by standard procedures . plasmid pku25 / 4 , containing approximately 10 kb of bacillus thuringiensis dna , including the protoxin gene , was obtained from dr . j . nueesch , ciba - geigy ltd ., basle , switzerland . the nucleotide sequence of the protoxin gene present in plasmid pku25 / 4 is shown in seq id no : 1 below . plasmid pku25 / 4 dna was digested with endonucleases hpai and saci , and a 1503 bp fragment containing nucleotides 2 to 1505 of seq id no : 1 and purified . this fragment contains approximately 155 bp of bacteria promotor sequences and approximately 1346 bp of the start of the protoxin coding sequence . approximately 100 ng of each fragment is then mixed , t4 dna ligase added , and incubated at 15 ° c . overnight . the resulting mixture was transformed into e . coli strain hb101 , mixed with indicator bacteria e . coli jm101 and plated . one phage ( mp19 / bt ) was used for further construction below . next , a fragment of dna containing the camv gene vi promotor , and some of the coding sequences for gene vi , was inserted into mp19 / bt . phage mp19 / bt ds rf dna is digested with bamhi , treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends and recleaved with endonuclease psti . the larger vector fragment was purified by electrophoresis as described above . plasmid pabd1 [ described in paszkowski et al ., embo j . 3 2717 - 2722 ( 1984 ) incorporated herein by reference ] plasmid pabd1 dna is digested with psti and hindiii . the fragment approximately 465 bp long containing the camv gene vi promotor and approximately 75 bp of gene vi coding sequence was purified . the two fragments were ligated and plated as described above . one of the resulting recombinant phages , mp19 / btca contained the camv gene vi promotor sequences , a portion of the gene vi coding sequence , approximately 155 bp of bacillus thuringiensis dna upstream of the protoxin coding sequence , and approximately 1346 bp of the protoxin coding sequence . to fuse the camv promotor sequences precisely to the protoxin coding sequences , the intervening dna was deleted using oligonucleotide - directed mutagenesis of mp19 / btca dna . a dna oligonucleotide with the sequence 5 ′- ttcggattgttatccatggttggaggtctga - 3 ′ was synthesized by routine procedures using an applied biosystems dna synthesizer . this oligonucleotide is complimentary to those sequences in phage mp19 / btca dna at the 3 ′ end of the camv promotor [ nucleotides 5762 to 5778 see hohn current topics in microbiology and immunology 96 193 - 235 ( 1982 ) incorporate herein by reference ] and the beginning of the protoxin coding sequence ( nucleotides 156 to 172 in formula i above ). the general procedure for the mutagenesis is that described in zoller et al . [ methods in enzymology 100 468 - 500 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. approximately five micrograms of single - stranded phage mp19 / btca dna was mixed with 0 . 3 mg of phosphorylated oligonucleotide in a volume of 40 μl . the mixture was heated to 65 ° c . for 5 min , cooled to 50 ° c ., and slowly cooled to 4 ° c . next , buffer , nucleotide triphosphates , atp , t 4 dna ligase and large fragment of dna polymerase were added and incubated overnight at 15 ° c . as described by zoller et al . [ methods in enzymology 100 468 - 500 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. after agarose gel electrophoresis , circular double - stranded dna was purified and transfected into e . coli strain jm101 . the resulting plaques are screened for sequences that hybridize with 32p - labeled oligonucleotide , and phage are analyzed by dna restriction endonuclease analysis . among the resulting phage clones were ones which have correctly deleted the unwanted sequences between the camv gene vi promotor and the protoxin coding sequence . this phage is called mp19 / btca / del ( see fig1 ). next , a plasmid was constructed in which the 3 ′ coding region of the protoxin gene was fused to camv transcription termination signals . the steps are shown in fig1 . first , plasmid pabdi dna was digested with endonucleases bamhi and bglii and a 0 . 5 kb fragment containing the camv transcription terminator sequences isolated . next plasmid puc19 [ yanisch - perron et al ., gene 33 103 - 119 ( 1985 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was digested with bamhi , mixed with the 0 . 5 kb fragment and incubated - with t 4 dna ligase . after transformation of the dna into e . coli strain hb101 , one of the resulting clones , called plasmid p702 , was obtained which has the structure shown in fig1 . next , plasmid p702 dna was cleaved with endonucleases saci and smai , and the larger , approximately 3 . 2 kb fragment isolated by gel electrophoresis . plasmid pku25 / 4 dna was digested with endonucleases ahaiii and saci , and the 2 . 3 - kb fragment ( nucleotides 1502 to 3773 of seq id no : 1 ) containing the 3 ′ portion of the protoxin coding sequence ( nucleotides 1504 to 3773 of seq id no : 1 ) was isolated after gel electrophoresis . these two dna fragments are mixed , incubated with t 4 dna , ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid was p702 / bt ( fig1 ). finally , portions of phage mp19 / btca / del ds rf dna and plasmid p702 / bt were joined to create a plasmid containing the complete protoxin coding sequence flanked by camv promoter and terminator sequences ( see fig1 ). phage mp19 / btca / del dna was digested with endonucleases saci and sphi , and a fragment of approximately 1 . 75 kb is purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . similarly , plasmid p702 / bt dna is digested with endonucleases saci and sali and a fragment of approximately 2 . 5 kb is isolated . finally , plasmid pbr322 dna [ bolivar et al ., gene 2 95 - 113 ( 1977 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was digested with sali and sphi and the larger 4 . 2 - kb fragment isolated . all three dna fragments were mixed and incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pbr322 / bt14 is a derivative of pbr322 containing the camv gene vi promoter and translation start signals fused to the bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein coding sequence , followed by camv transcription termination signals ( shown in fig1 ). the vector pcib10 is a ti - plasmid - derived vector useful for transfer of the chimeric gene to plants via agrobacterium tumefaciens . the vector is derived from the broad host range plasmid prk252 , which may be obtained from dr . w . barnes , washington university , st . louis , mo . the vector also contains a gene for kanamycin resistance in agrobacterium , from tn903 , and left and right t - dna border sequences from the ti plasmid ptit37 . between the border sequences are the polylinker region from the plasmid puc18 and a chimeric gene that confers kanamycin resistance in plants . first , plasmid prk252 was modified to replace the gene conferring tetracycline - resistance with one conferring resistance to kanamycin from the transposon tn903 [ oka et al ., j . mol . biol . 147 217 - 226 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ], and was also modified by replacing the unique ecori site in prk252 with a bglii site ( see fig2 for a summary of these modifications ). plasmid prk252 was first digested with endonucleases sali and smai , then treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase i to create flush ends , and the large vector fragment purified by agarose gel electrophoresis . next , plasmid p368 was digested with endonuclease bamhi , treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase , and an approximately 1050 - bp fragment isolated after agarose gel electrophoresis ; this fragment containing the gene from transposon tn903 which confers resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin [ oka et al ., j . mol . biol . 147 217 - 226 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. both fragments were then treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends . both fragments are mixed and incubated with t4 dna ligase overnight at 15 ° c . after transformation into e . coli strain hb101 and selection for kanamycin resistant colonies , plasmid prk252 / tn903 is obtained ( see fig1 ). plasmid prk252 / tn903 was digested at its ecori site , followed by treatment with the large fragment of e . coli dna polymerase to create flush ends . this fragment was added to synthetic bglii restriction site linkers , and incubated overnight with t 4 dna ligase . the resulting dna was digested with an excess of bglii restriction endonuclease and the larger vector fragment purified by agarose gel electrophoresis . the resulting fragment was again incubated with t4 dna ligase to recircularize the fragment via its newly - added bglii cohesive ends . following transformation into e . coli strain hb101 , plasmid prk252 / tn903 / bglii is obtained ( see fig2 ). a derivative of plasmid pbr322 was constructed which contains the ti plasmid t - dna borders , the polylinker region of plasmid puc19 , and the selectable gene for kanamycin resistance in plants ( see fig2 ). plasmid pbr325 / eco29 contains the 1 . 5 - kb ecori fragment from the nopaline ti plasmid ptit37 . this fragment contains the t - dna left border sequence [ yadav et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 79 6322 - 6326 ( 1982 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. to replace the ecori ends of this fragment with hindiii ends , plasmid pbr325 / eco29 dna was digested with ecori , then incubated with nuclease sl , followed by incubation with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends , then mixed - with synthetic hindiii linkers and incubated with t4 dna ligase . the resulting dna was digested with endonucleases clai and an excess of hindiii , and the resulting 1 . 1 - kb fragment containing the t - dna left border purified by gel electrophoresis . next , the polylinker region of plasmid puc19 was isolated by digestion of the plasmid dna with endonucleases ecori and hindiii and the smaller fragment ( approximately 53 bp ) isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . next , plasmid pbr322 was digested with endonucleases ecori and clai , mixed with the other two isolated fragments , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib5 , contains the polylinker and t - dna left border in a derivative of plasmid pbr322 ( see fig2 ). a plasmid containing the gene for expression of kanamycin resistance in plants was constructed ( see fig2 and 23 ). plasmid bin6 obtained from dr . m . bevan , plant breeding institute , cambridge , uk . this plasmid is described in the reference by bevan [ nucl . acids res . 12 8711 - 8721 ( 1984 ) incorporate herein by reference ]. plasmid bin6 dna was digested with ecori and hindiii and the fragment approximately 1 . 5 kb in size containing the chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) gene is isolated and purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . this fragment was then mixed with plasmid puc18 dna which had been cleaved with endonucleases ecori and hindiii . following incubation with t4 dna ligase , the resulting dna was transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid is called puc18 / neo . this plasmid dna containing an unwanted bamhi recognition sequence between the neomycin phosphotransferase gene and the terminator sequence for nopaline synthase [ see bevan nucl . acids res . 12 8711 - 8721 ( 1984 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. to remove this recognition sequence , plasmid puc18 / neo was digested with endonuclease bamhi , followed by treatment with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends . the fragment was then incubated with t4 dna ligase to recircularize the fragment , and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , puc18 / neo ( bam ) has lost the bamhi recognition sequence . the t - dna right border sequence was then added next to the chimeric npt gene ( see fig2 ). plasmid pbr325 / hind23 contains the 3 . 4 - kb hindiii fragment of plasmid ptit37 . this fragment contains the right t - dna border sequence [ bevan et al ., nucl . acids res . 11 369 - 385 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. plasmid pbr325 / hind23 dna was cleaved with endonucleases sacii and hindiii , and a 1 . 0 kb fragment containing the right border isolated and purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid puc18 / neo ( bam ) dna was digested with endonucleases sacii and hindiii and the 4 . 0 kb vector fragment isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . the two fragments were mixed , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib4 ( shown in fig2 ), contains the t - dna right border and the plant - selectable marker for kanamycin resistance in a derivative of plasmid puc18 . next , a plasmid was constructed which contains both the t - dna left and right borders , with the plant selectable kanamycin - resistance gene and the polylinker of puc18 between the borders ( see fig2 ). plasmid pcib4 dna was digested with endonuclease hindiii , followed by treatment with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends , followed by digestion with endonuclease ecori . the 2 . 6 - kb fragment containing the chimeric kanamycin - resistance gene and the right border of t - dna was isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid pcib5 dna was digested with endonuclease aatii , treated with t4 dna polymerase to create flush ends , then cleaved with endonuclease ecori . the larger vector fragment was purified by agarose gel electrophoresis , mixed with the pcib4 fragment , incubated with t4 dna ligase , and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib2 ( shown in fig2 ) is a derivative of plasmic pbr322 containing the desired sequences between the two t - dna borders . the following steps complete construction of the vector pcib10 , and are shown in fig2 . plasmid pcib2 dna was digested with endonuclease ecorv , and synthetic linkers containing bglii recognition sites are added as described above . after digestion with an excess of bglii endonuclease , the approximately 2 . 6 - kb fragment was isolated after agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid prk252 / tn903 / bglii , described above ( see fig2 ) was digested with endonuclease bglii and then treated with phosphatase to prevent recircularization . these two dna fragments are mixed , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid is the completed vector , pcib10 . insertion of the chimeric protoxin gene into vector pcib10 is by the steps shown in fig2 . plasmid pbr322 / bt14 dna was digested with endonucleases pvui and sali , and then partially digested with endonuclease bamhi . a bamhi - sali fragment approximately 4 . 2 kb in size , containing the chimeric gene , was isolated following agarose gel electrophoresis , and mixed with plasmid pcib10 dna which had been digested with endonucleases bamhi and sali . after incubation with t4 dna ligase and transformation into e . coli strain hb101 , plasmid shown in fig2 and contained the chimeric protoxin gene in the plasmid vector pcib10 . in order to transfer plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt from e . coli hb101 to agrobacterium , an intermediate e . coli host strain s17 - 1 was used . this strain , obtainable from agrigenetics . research corp ., boulder , colo . contains mobilization functions that transfer plasmid pcib10 directly to agrobacterium via conjugation , thus avoiding the necessity to transform naked plasmid dna directly into agrobacterium [ reference for strain s17 - 1 is simon et al ., “ molecular genetics of the bacteria - plant interaction ”, a puhler , ed ., springer verlag , berlin , pages 98 - 106 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. first , plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt dna is introduced into calcium chloride - treated s17 - 1 cells . next , cultures of transformed s17 - 1 cells and agrobacterium tumefaciens strain lba4404 [ ooms et al ., gene 14 33 - 50 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ] were mixed and mated on an n agar ( difco ) plate overnight at room temperature . a loopful of the resulting bacteria are streaked onto ab minimal media [ chilton et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 77 7347 - 7351 ( 1974 ) incorporated herein by reference ] plated with 50g / ml kanamycin and incubated at 28 ° c . colonies were restreaked onto the same media , then restreaked onto nb agar plates . slow - growing colonies were picked , restreaked onto ab minimal media with kanamycin and single colonies isolated . this procedure selects for agrobacteria containing the pcib10 / 19sbt plasmid . construction of a bacillus thuringiensis protoxin chimeric gene with the camv 35s promoter was achieved by construction of a camv 35s promoter cassette plasmid pcib710 was constructed as shown in fig2 . this plasmid contained camv promoter and transcription termination sequences for the 35s rna transcript [ covey et al ., nucl . acids res . 9 6735 - 6747 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. a 1149 - bp bglii restriction fragment of camv dna [ hohn et al . in : current topics in microbiology and immunology 96 194 - 220 and appendices a to g ( 1982 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was isolated from plasmid plvlll ( obtained from dr . s . howell univ . california - san diego ; alternatively , the fragment can be isolated directly from camv dna ) by preparative agarose gel electrophoresis as described earlier and mixed with bamhi - cleaved plasmid puc19 dna , treated with , t4 dna ligase , and transformed into e . coli . the bamhi restriction site in the resulting plasmid has been destroyed by ligation of the bglii cohesive ends to the bamhi cohesive ends . the resulting plasmid , called puc19 / 35s , was then used in oligonucleotide - directed in vitro mutagenesis to insert the bamhi recognition sequence ggatcc immediately following camv nucleotide 7483 in the hohn reference . the resulting plasmid , pcib710 , contains the camv 35s promotor region and transcription termination region separated by a bamhi restriction site . dna sequences inserted into this bamhi site will be expressed in plants by the camv transcription regulation sequences . pcib710 does not contain any atg translation initiation codons - between the start of transcription and the bamhi site . insertion of the camv 35s promoter / terminator cassette into pcib10 occurred by the steps outlined in fig2 . plasmids pcib10 and pcib710 dnas were digested with ecori and sali , mixed and ligated . the resulting plasmid , pcib10 / 710 has the camv 35s promoter / terminator cassette inserted into the plant transformation vector pcib10 . the camv 35s sequences are between the t - dna borders in pcib10 , and thus will be inserted into the plant genome in plant transformation . insertion of the bacillus thuringiensis protoxin gene into pcib10 / 710 occurred by the steps outlined in fig2 . as a source of the protoxin gene , plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt was digested with bamhi and ncoi , and the 3 . 6 - kb fragment containing the protoxin gene was isolated by preparative gel electrophoresis . the fragment was then mixed with synthetic ncoi - bamhi adapter with the sequence 5 ′ - catggccggatccggc - 3 ′, then digested with bamhi . this step creates bamhi cohesive ends at both ends of the protoxin fragment . this fragment was then inserted into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 . the resulting plasmid , pcib10 / 35sbt , shown in fig2 , contains the protoxin gene between the camv 35s promoter and transcription termination sequences . transfer of the plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt into agrobacterium tumefaciens strain lba4404 was as described above . construction of a deleted bacillus thuringiensis protoxin gene containing approximately 725 amino acids , and construction of a chimeric gene containing this deleted gene with the camv 35s promoter was made by removing the cooh - terminal portion of the gene by cleaving at the kpni restriction endonuclease site at position 2325 in the sequence shown in seq id no : 1 . plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt ( fig2 ) was digested with bamhi and kpni , and the approximately 2 . 2 - kb bamhi / kpni fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene isolated by preparative agarose gel - electrophoresis . to convert the kpni site at the 3 ′ end to a bamhi site , the fragment was mixed with a kpni / bamhi adapter oligonucleotide and ligated . this fragment is then mixed with bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 ( fig2 ). a deleted protoxin gene containing approximately g45 amino acids was made by removing the cooh - terminal portion of the gene by cleaving at the bcli restriction endonuclease site at position 2090 in the sequence shown in seq id no : 1 . plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt ( fig2 ) was digested with bamhi and bcli , and the approximately 1 . 9 - kb bamhi / bcii fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene isolated by preparative agarose gel electrophoresis . since bcli creates a cohesive end compatible with bamhi , no further manipulation is required prior to ligating this fragment into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 ( fig2 ). the resulting plasmid , which has the structure pcib10 / 35sbt ( bcli ) shown in fig3 was selected on kanamycin . the resulting transformants , designated pcib10 / 35sbt ( kpni ) and shown in fig3 , contain the deleted protoxin gene of approximately 725 amino acids . these transformants are selected on kanamycin . a deleted protoxin gene was made by introducing a bamhi cleavage site ( ggatcc ). this is done by cloning the bamhi fragment containing the protoxin sequence from pcib10 / 35sbt into mp18 , and using standard oligonucleotide mutagenesis procedures described above . after mutagenesis , double - stranded replicative form dna is prepared from the m13 clone , which is then digested with bamhi . the approximately 1 . 9 - kb fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene is inserted into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 . the resulting plasmid , which the structure pcib10 / 35sbt ( 607 ) shown in fig3 is selected for on kanamycin . the pcib10 / sbt 607 was used . transformation was accomplished as detailed in example 7 with the change that the 1 ml aliquots were plated immediately on medium containing selective antibiotics . this selection medium contained kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) or g418 ( 25 μg / ml ). expression of the npt chimeric gene in both transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue on either antibiotic . in 2 - 4 weeks , transformed tissue became apparent on the selection plates . plant material was selected on kanamycin or g418 . plant tissue ( either individual embryos or callus ) was then extracted with buffer and assayed for expression of the bt gene product by elisa assay . the conditions of extraction are as follows : per 100 mg of tissue , homogenize in 0 . 1 ml of extraction buffer containing 50 mm naco 3 ( ph 9 . 5 ), 0 . 05 % triton , 0 . 05 % tween , 100 mm nacl , 10 mm edta , 1 mm leupeptine , and 1 mm pmsf . the leupeptine and pmsf are added immediately prior to use from 100 × stock solutions . the tissue was ground with a motor driven pestle . after extraction , 2 m tris ph 7 was added to adjust ph to 8 . 0 - 8 . 5 then centrifuged at 12 , 000 rpm in a beckman microfuge 12 ( 10 minutes at 4 ° c . ), and the supernatant saved for enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (“ elisa ”). elisa techniques are a general tool [ described by clark et al ., methods in enzymology 118 742 - 766 ( 1986 ) incorporated by reference ]. an elisa for the bt toxin was developed using standard procedures and used to analyze transgenic plant material for expression of bt sequences . for this procedure , an elisa plate is pretreated with ethanol and affinity - purified rabbit anti - bt antiserum ( 50 μl ) at a concentration of 3 μg / ml in borate - buffered saline ( see below ) is added to the plate . this was allowed to incubate overnight at 4 ° c . antiserum was produced in response to immunizing rabbits with gradient - purified bt crystals [ ang et al ., appl . environ . microbiol . 36 625 - 626 ( 1978 )), incorporated herein by reference ] solubilized with sodium dodecyl sulfate and washed with elisa wash buffer ( see below ). it was then treated for 1 hour at room temperature with blocking buffer ( see below ) washed with elisa wash buffer . plant extract was added in an amount to give 50 μg of protein ( this is typically about 5 microliters of extract ). leaf extraction buffer as protein is determined by the bradford method [ bradford anal . biochem . 72 248 ( 1976 ) incorporated herein by reference ] using a commercially available kit obtained from bio - rad , richmond , calif . if dilution of the leaf extract is necessary , elisa diluent ( see below )] is used . allow this to incubate overnight at 4 ° c . after a wash with elisa wash buffer , 50 μl affinity - purified goat anti - bt antiserum is added at a concentration of 3 μg / ml protein in elisa diluent . this is allowed to incubate for 1 hour at 37 ° c ., then washed with elisa wash buffer . 50 μl rabbit anti - goat antibody bound to alkaline phosphatase [ commercially available from sigma chemicals , st . louis , mo .] is diluted 1 : 500 in elisa . diluent and allowed to incubate for 1 hour at 37 ° c ., then washed with elisa wash buffer . 50 microliters substrate [ 0 . 6 mg / ml p - nitrophenyl phosphate in elisa substrate buffer ( see below ) are added and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature . reaction is terminated by adding 50 μl of 3 m naoh . absorbance is read at 405 nm in modified elisa reader [ hewlett packard , stanford , calif .]. plant tissue transformed with the pcib10 / 35sbt ( bcli ) when assayed using this elisa procedure showed a positive reaction , indicating expression of the bt gene . for bioassays , cell suspensions from antibiotic - resistant cell cultures obtained from transformations with these agrobactryia were initiated . suspensions were grown in medium supplemented with g418 ( 25 mg / l ), and subcultured into fresh antibiotic - containing medium on 7 - 10 day intervals . samples of these cultures are used in bioassays to test for toxicity to lepidopterous insects . twenty ml aliquots of these cultures were allowed to settle ( cell volume is about34 ml ), and resuspended in medium lacking antibiotics . suspensions were then allowed to grow for an additional two days in this medium to deplete the cells of any residual antibiotic . two circles of wet whatman 2 . 3 cm filter paper were placed in the bottom of a ¾ oz portion cup . a layer of transformed suspension culture cells 0 . 2 cm deep was placed onto the filter paper disk . a newly - hatched manduca sexta or heliothis viresceis larva was placed into each portion cup . controls were made tip of larvae fed on non - transformed suspension culture cells . discs were replenished on 2 - day intervals or as needed . manduca larvae generally require more plant material . the growth rate and mortality of the larvae feeding on transformed cells compared with the growth rate of larvae feeding on untransformed cells is scored after 5 days , and clearly affirms the toxicity of the bt genie product in transformed cotton cells . plant segments were placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing a selectable marker such as resistance to an antibiotic , kanamycin , for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the explant . the explants were then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the explants were transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime to kill any agrobacterium present in the culture . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus was separated from the remainder of the primary explant tissue and transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed primary callus was selected . embryos were placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing resistance to kanamycin for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the embryos . the embryos were then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the embryos - were transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the embryos were transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed embryos were selected . callus was placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing resistance to kanamycin for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the embryos . the callus was then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the callus is transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus was transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed callus was selected . the method of examples 18 , 19 and 20 were used to transform plants , embryos and callus of the following cotton varieties : sj2 , sj5 , sj - c1 , gc510 , b1644 , b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b1810 , b2724 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , chembred b2 , chembred c4 and siokra . the method of examples 19 and 20 were used to transform embryos and callus of the following cotton varieties : acala royale , fc 3027 and sicala . the method of example 20 was used to transform callus of the following cotton varieties : gc356 , acala maxxa , acala prema , b4894 , dp50 , dp61 , dp90 and oro blanco pima . the method of example 18 was repeated except kanamycin was used at a concentration of 5 mg / l . the method of example 18 was repeated except kanamycin was added when the explants were transferred to the ms medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotamine . the method of example 18 was repeated except g418 at a concentration of 25 mg / l was used in place of kanamycin . 5 + indicates that transformation of the tissue was not obtained heliothis virescens eggs laid on sheets of cheesecloth are obtained from the tobacco insect control laboratory at north carolina state university , raleigh , n . c . the cheesecloth sheets are transferred to a large covered glass beaker and incubated at 29 ° c . with wet paper towels to maintain humidity . the eggs hatched within three days . as soon as possible after hatching , the larvae ( one - larva per cup ) are transferred to covered ¾ oz . plastic cups . each cup contains cotton leaf discs . larvae are transferred using a fine bristle paint brush . leaf discs one centimeter in diameter are punched from leaves of cotton plants and placed on a circle of wet filter paper in the cup with the larva . at least 6 - 10 leaf discs , representing both young and old leaves , are tested from each plant . leaf discs are replaced at two - day intervals , or as necessary to feed the larvae . growth rates [ size or combined weight of all replica worms ] and mortality of larvae feeding on leaves of transformed plants are compared with those of larva feeding on untransformed cotton leaves . larvae feeding on discs of cotton transformed with pcib10 / 35sb5 ( bcli ) show a decrease in growth rate and increase in mortality compared with controls . it was observed that a certain number of our regenerated plants ( 5 - 10 %) appeared to have acquired genetically heritable phenotypic variations as a consequence of the process of regeneration . this variation is known as somaclonal variation . the following examples illustrate how somaclonal variation as a consequence of our regeneration procedure has been used to introduce commercially useful new traits into cotton varieties . the procedure of example 1 was followed , and regenerated cotton plants obtained of the variety sj5 and sj4 were hardened and placed in the soil . these plants were self - pollinated and the seed , representing the f1 generation , collected . to obtain regenerants ( somaclonal variants ) more tolerant to verticillium , the f1 generation was planted in a verticillium infested field for progeny row analysis . seed of the varieties sj4 and sj5 were planted in the field as controls . somaclonal variants more tolerant than the parental varieties to the verticillium fungus were identified in a few of the progeny rows ( 5 %) by assessing overall plant vigor , yield , and the absence of foliar symptoms associated with the disease . fig3 shows the progeny rows of regenerants planted in a verticillium infested field . fig3 shows a verticillium tolerant somaclonal variant of variety sj4 . this improvement in tolerance to the fungal pathogen was found to be genetically stable and passed on to subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that , rather than planting in disease - infested soil , the f1 generation was planted in a cotton breeding nursery . the overall growth habit of the f1 regenerated progeny was compared to that of the control varieties . somaclonal variants were identified which were more uniform in growth habit and shorter in stature than the parental variety . one sj5 regenerant , identified in our trials as phy 6 , was 20 % shorter in stature than the parental variety . this kind of growth habit is desirable in cotton grown under narrow row ( 30 ″ row spacing ) cultural conditions . these traits were found to be genetically stable and passed on to subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that the f1 progeny of regenerants were planted in a cotton breeding nursery and allowed to set fruit . when the bolls were mature , the cotton was harvested and subjected to an analysis of several fiber quality traits including length , uniformity , tensile strength , elasticity , and micronaire . somaclonal variants were identified which were improved significantly over the parental variety in one or more of these traits . representative data from f2 progeny ( cell pollination of the f1 ) are included in the following table 1 . values marked with an asterisk represent improvements in sj5 regenerants which are statistically significant and have been found to breed true in subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that the f1 progeny of regenerants of the variety sj4 were planted in replicated yield trials along with nonregenerated controls . one variant , which exhibited a more uniform growth habit and more vigorous growth habit , yielded 4 % more cotton than the parental variety in the same trial . the data are given in table 2 below . a 4 % increase in yield would represent a return of almost $ 20 per acre to the average cotton grower in california , where over one million acres of cotton are grown annually . suspension cultures of the cotton variety b1644 were developed according to the method of example 5 . suspension cultures were then plated onto an agar medium as described in example 6 , but supplemented with the herbicide ( antibiotic ) kanamycin ( 25 mg / l ). most of the cells in the population died , but a few ( 1 to 5 %) were tolerant and survived . these were selectively subcultured onto agarsolidified media supplemented with increasing concentrations of kanamycin , until the final concentration reached 50 mg / l . embryos were then developed from this callus , and those resistant embryos were germinated into kanamycin resistant plants .
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several aspects and various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail . small molecule organic solar cells have drawn a great deal of researcher &# 39 ; s interest due to their superior reproducibility over polymer organic solar cells . for such small molecule organic solar cells , p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 was developed as a typical photovoltaic active material . the use of a mixture of p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 and a c 71 fullerene derivative with high electron affinity for the fabrication of devices having a conventional structure can achieve high efficiencies of ˜ 7 %. however , due to the tendency for the low molecular weight compounds to aggregate , the morphology of the photovoltaic active layers is not optimized , and as a result , a further increase in efficiency is no longer achieved . the present inventors have carried out research to solve the above problems and found that when a low molecular weight compound as a first organic semiconductor material is mixed with an appropriate amount of a second organic semiconductor material to form a photoactive layer of a small molecule organic solar cell , the low molecular weight compound is prevented from aggregating and the morphology of the photoactive layer is optimized , achieving greatly improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . one aspect of the present invention is directed to an organic solar cell including : a lower electrode formed on a substrate ; a photoactive layer formed on the lower electrode and including ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent ; and an upper electrode formed on the photoactive layer wherein the p - type organic semiconductor material includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen ( h ) or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h , a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . the structure of the organic solar cell according to the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view illustrating the organic solar cell 100 of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a lower electrode 120 , a photoactive layer 130 , and an upper electrode 140 are formed in this order on a substrate 110 . the organic solar cell 100 may further include a polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) surface modified layer 120 a between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the photoactive layer 130 includes ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent . the p - type organic semiconductor material ( a ) includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the substrate 110 may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of glass , polycarbonate ( pc ), polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polyethylene naphthalate ( pen ), and polyether sulfonate ( pes ). the substrate 110 is preferably a glass substrate . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the lower electrode 120 may be an anode or a cathode . the lower electrode 120 may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide ( ito ), fluorinated tin oxide ( fto ), indium zinc oxide ( izo ), al - doped zinc oxide ( azo ), indium zinc tin oxide ( izto ), sno 2 , zno , carbon nanotubes , graphene , and silver nanowires . the lower electrode 120 is preferably made of indium tin oxide ( ito ). according to one embodiment of the present invention , the surface modified layer 120 a made of polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) is preferably formed to a thickness of 1 to 20 nm on the lower electrode 120 . the peie surface modified layer 120 a formed on the lower electrode 120 has the effect to lower the work function of the lower electrode 120 due to the surface dipole of the amine ( nh 2 ) groups included in the peie . the amine groups chemically interact with the photoactive layer 130 formed on the peie surface modified layer 120 a to improve the adhesion between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the formation of the peie surface modified layer 120 a on the lower electrode 120 can contribute to improvement of the adhesion between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the peie surface modified layer 120 a lowers the work function of the lower electrode 120 , allowing the use of the lower electrode 120 as a cathode . the photoactive layer 130 has a bulk heterojunction ( bhj ) structure in which an electron donating material and an electron accepting material are mixed together . as described above , the photoactive layer 130 includes ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent . the p - type organic semiconductor material ( a ) includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . in other words , considering that the photoactive layer 130 is formed using a solution of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 , and the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) in the solvent ( c ), it includes the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 , the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ), and the solvent ( c ). the photoactive layer 130 having a bulk - heterojunction structure is formed by a solution process . the solution process may be selected from the group consisting of spin coating , ink - jet printing , doctor blade coating , electrospray , dip coating , and screen printing . the solution process is preferably spin coating . the characteristics ( such as uniformity and morphology ) of the photoactive layer 130 have the greatest influence on the performance of the organic solar cell and are dependent on such factors as the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) and the kind and content of the solvent . accordingly , the numerical limitations and kinds of these components are of great significance in the performance of the organic solar cell . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 is a low molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 1000 to 2000 g / mol and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is a high molecular weight compound having a molecular weight 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol . when an appropriate amount of the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is mixed with the low molecular weight compound as the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the first organic semiconductor material is inhibited from aggregating , resulting in improvements in the morphology of the photoactive layer and the network structure of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 . as a result , the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is improved by at least 1 % while maintaining the hole mobility and absorbance of the organic solar cell at high levels . the organic solar cell may have the most optimized structure of prior art small molecule organic solar cells . also in this case , the introduction of the photoactive layer can improve the efficiency of the organic solar cell by a maximum of at least 1 %, as confirmed in the experimental examples section that follows . that is , the use of the photoactive layer including the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a small molecule organic solar cell having an optimized structure is very effective in achieving further improved photoelectric conversion efficiency . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be selected from the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 to 7 : preferably , the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 . the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) may be a high molecular weight compound represented by formula 8 or 9 : preferably , the second organic semiconductor material has a molecular weight of 50000 to 100000 g / mol . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be mixed with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :& lt ; 0 . 01 , the morphology of the photoactive layer cannot be effectively improved , making it impossible to expect an improvement in the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . meanwhile , if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , the efficiency of the organic solar cell is drastically reduced by at least about 2 . 5 times . it is thus preferred to limit the mixing weight ratio to the range defined above . the solvent ( c ) is preferably a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane . the use of other solvents significantly reduces the photoelectric conversion efficiency to 1 % or less , with a maximum of 2 % or less , as confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the mixing volume ratio of the chlorobenzene to the 1 , 8 - diiodooctane is preferably 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . in conclusion , the most preferred composition of the photoactive layer 130 in the organic solar cell of the present invention is obtained when the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 is mixed with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and the solvent ( c ) is a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a volume ratio of 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . if any one of these relations is not satisfied , the photoelectric conversion efficiency is significantly lowered , which was confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the introduction of the photoactive layer 130 satisfying the above relations can further improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell by a minimum of 0 . 1 % and by a maximum of 1 % or more although the structure of the organic solar cell is already optimized . the further improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of the optimized organic solar cell is regarded as significant in the art . the significantly (≧ 1 %) improved efficiency demonstrates that the present invention has a noticeable effect . if the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in the photoactive layer 130 is outside the range defined above , the desired effect of the present invention cannot be achieved and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is lowered , making it meaningless to use the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 in admixture with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) may be selected from the group consisting of methyl ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyrate ( pc 60 bm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 60 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c77 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 76 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c79 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 78 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c81 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 80 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c83 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 82 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c85 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 84 - pcbm ), bis ( 1 -[ 3 -( methoxycarbonyl ) propyl ]- 1 - phenyl ) ( bis - c 60 - pcbm ), 3 ′- phenyl - 3 ′ h - cyclopropa ( 8 , 25 )( 5 , 6 ) fullerene - c70 - bis - d5h ( 6 )- 3 ′- butyric acid methyl ester ( bis - c 70 - pcbm ), indene - c60 - bisadduct ( icba ), monoindenyl c60 ( icma ), and combinations thereof . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) is most preferably ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ). according to one embodiment of the present invention , the upper electrode may be made of , for example , moo 3 / ag , au or pt . most preferably , the organic solar cell of the present invention has a typical structure in which the ito layer and the peie surface modified layer are sequentially formed on a substrate , the photoactive layer is formed by coating a solution of the low molecular weight compound and the high molecular weight compound in the solvent on the polymer surface modified layer , and the upper electrode made of moo 3 / ag is formed on the photoactive layer . a further aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for fabricating an organic solar cell , including : ii ) mixing ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent to prepare a first solution ; iii ) coating the first solution on the lower electrode to form a photoactive layer ; and below is a more detailed description of the method according to the present invention . first , a lower electrode is formed on a substrate ( step i )). the lower electrode may be formed by a deposition technique . the deposition technique is not particularly limited and may be any of those known in the art . the deposition technique is preferably selected from the group consisting of chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition . particularly preferred is sputtering by which the lower electrode can be rapidly deposited on a large area at relatively low temperature . for example , the substrate may be made of a material selected from glass , polycarbonate ( pc ), polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polyethylene naphthalate ( pen ), and polyether sulfonate ( pes ). more preferably , the substrate is a glass substrate . the lower electrode may be an anode or a cathode . the lower electrode may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide ( ito ), fluorinated tin oxide ( fto ), indium zinc oxide ( izo ), al - doped zinc oxide ( azo ), indium zinc tin oxide ( izto ), sno 2 , zno , carbon nanotubes , graphene , and silver nanowires . the lower electrode is preferably made of indium tin oxide ( ito ). the method may further include i - 1 ) forming a polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) surface modified layer on the lower electrode after step i ) and prior to step ii ). the peie surface modified layer may be formed by spin coating a solution of peie on the lower electrode . the peie surface modified layer has the effect to lower the work function of an underlying electrode . this effect enables the use of the lower electrode even when the lower electrode has a high work function . accordingly , the peie surface modified layer can provide a solution to the problem of short lifetime caused by the use of a low work function electrode . that is , the peie surface modified layer is effective in improving the lifetime of the organic solar cell . the peie surface modified layer may be formed using polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) and is preferably from 1 to 20 nm in thickness . the peie surface modified layer formed on the lower electrode has the effect to lower the work function of the lower electrode due to the surface dipole of the amine ( nh 2 ) groups included in the peie . the amine groups chemically interact with a photoactive layer to be formed on the peie surface modified layer to improve the adhesion between the lower electrode and the photoactive layer . the method may further include i - 2 ) drying the peie surface modified layer at 80 to 130 ° c . for 5 to 15 minutes after step i - 1 ). next , ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent are mixed to prepare a first solution ( step ii )). thereafter , the first solution is coated on the lower electrode to form a photoactive layer ( step iii )). it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . the characteristics ( such as uniformity and morphology ) of the photoactive layer have the greatest influence on the performance of the organic solar cell and are dependent on such factors as the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) and the kind and content of the solvent . accordingly , such factors of the photoactive layer are very important in the performance of the organic solar cell . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is a low molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 1000 to 2000 g / mol and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) is a high molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol . when an appropriate amount of the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is mixed with the low molecular weight compound as the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the first organic semiconductor material is inhibited from aggregating , resulting in improvements in the morphology of the photoactive layer and the network structure of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 . as a result , the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is improved by at least 1 % while maintaining the hole mobility and absorbance of the organic solar cell at high levels . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be selected from the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 to 7 : preferably , the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 . the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) may be a high molecular weight compound represented by formula 8 or 9 : preferably , the second organic semiconductor material has a molecular weight of 50000 to 100000 g / mol . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is preferably mixed the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :& lt ; 0 . 01 , the morphology of the photoactive layer cannot be effectively improved , making it impossible to expect an improvement in the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . meanwhile , if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , the efficiency of the organic solar cell is drastically reduced by at least about 2 . 5 times . it is thus preferred to limit the mixing weight ratio to the range defined above . the solvent ( c ) is preferably a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane . the use of other solvents significantly reduces the photoelectric conversion efficiency to 1 % or less , with a maximum of 2 % or less , as confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the mixing volume ratio of the chlorobenzene to the 1 , 8 - diiodooctane is preferably 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . in conclusion , the most preferred composition of the first solution for the formation of the photoactive layer in the method of the present invention is obtained when the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 to the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a weight ratio is 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and the solvent ( c ) is a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a volume ratio of 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . if any one of these relations is not satisfied , the performance of the organic solar cell is significantly lowered , which was confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the use of the first solution satisfying the above relations can further improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell by a minimum of 0 . 1 % and by a maximum of 1 % or more although the structure of the organic solar cell is already optimized . if the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in the photoactive layer is outside the range defined above , the desired effect of the present invention cannot be achieved and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is lowered , making it meaningless to use the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 in admixture with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) may be selected from the group consisting of methyl ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyrate ( pc 60 bm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 60 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c77 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 76 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c79 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 78 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c81 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 80 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c83 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 82 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c85 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 84 - pcbm ), bis ( 1 -[ 3 -( methoxycarbonyl ) propyl ]- 1 - phenyl ) ( bis - c 60 - pcbm ), 3 ′- phenyl - 3 ′ h - cyclopropa ( 8 , 25 )( 5 , 6 ) fullerene - c70 - bis - d5h ( 6 )- 3 ′- butyric acid methyl ester ( bis - c 70 - pcbm ), indene - c60 - bisadduct ( icba ), monoindenyl c60 ( icma ), and combinations thereof . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) is most preferably ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ). in step iii ), the photoactive layer may be formed by coating the first solution on the lower electrode or the peie surface modified layer . the coating may be selected from the group consisting of spin coating , nozzle coating , spray coating , inkjet coating , and slit coating . spin coating is preferred . finally , an upper electrode is formed on the photoactive layer ( step iv )). the formation of the upper electrode on the photoactive layer may be accomplished by any suitable technique known in the art . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the upper electrode may be made of , for example , moo 3 / ag , au or pt . the formation of the photoactive layer using the first solution allows the organic solar cell to have high photoelectric conversion efficiency and enables the fabrication of the organic solar cell in a simpler manner . the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the following examples . however , these examples are not to be construed as limiting or restricting the scope and disclosure of the invention . it is to be understood that based on the teachings of the present invention including the following examples , those skilled in the art can readily practice other embodiments of the present invention whose experimental results are not presented . it will also be understood that such modifications and variations are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims . the experimental results presented herein are merely representative results of the following examples and comparative examples and the effects of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are specifically described in the respective sections although they are not explicitly presented below . a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 10 ( 0 . 55 g , 1 . 18 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 11 ( 0 . 40 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 5 . 4 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 062 g , 0 . 05 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 504 g ( yield 86 %) of the compound represented by formula 3 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 1 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 19 ( t , 2h ), 8 . 00 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 16 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 09 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 71 ( d , 2h ), 2 . 81 ( t , 4h ), 1 . 68 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 38 - 1 . 09 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 81 ( m , 18h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 12 ( 0 . 87 g , 1 . 51 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 13 ( 0 . 60 g , 1 . 25 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 4 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 071 g , 0 . 06 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 85 g ( yield 82 . 6 %) of the compound represented by formula 14 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 2 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 28 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 27 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 19 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 12 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 08 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 47 - 0 . 97 ( m , 28h ) 0 . 96 - 0 . 76 ( m , 15h ). 2 - 2 ) synthesis of compound represented by formula 14 ( dts - 1f ): 4 -( 4 , 4 - bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl )- 6 -( 7 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazol - 4 - yl )- 4h - silolo [ 3 , 2 - b : 4 , 5 - b ′] dithiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 - fluoro - 7 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole ) a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 10 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 56 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 15 ( 0 . 53 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 7 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 031 g , 0 . 02 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 461 g ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 4 ( dts - 1f ). the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 3 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 33 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 20 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 - 8 . 01 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 70 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 17 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 12 - 7 . 10 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 73 - 6 . 71 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 84 - 2 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 74 - 1 . 67 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 42 - 1 . 05 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 80 ( m , 18h ). the compound represented by formula 14 ( 0 . 81 g , 0 . 99 mmol ) and chloroform ( 76 ml ) were placed in a 250 ml reaction tube . the mixture was stirred in ice water at 0 ° c . in the dark . to the mixture was added portionwise n - bromosuccinimide ( 0 . 18 g , 1 . 04 mmol ). the reaction was continued at room temperature for 16 h . the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and extracted with water and dichloromethane . the solvent was removed from the dichloromethane layer using a rotary evaporator . the crude product was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 85 ( yield 94 %) g of the compound represented by formula 16 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 4 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 26 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 11 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 04 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 68 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 45 - 0 . 98 ( m , 28h ) 0 . 92 - 0 . 77 ( m , 15h ). the compound represented by formula 16 ( 0 . 81 g , 0 . 90 mmol ) and hexamethylditin ( 1 . 48 g , 4 . 53 mmol ) were placed in a 250 ml reaction tube and vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 12 . 9 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 052 g , 0 . 04 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel , extracted with diethyl ether , and washed sufficiently with distilled water . the solvent was removed from the diethyl ether layer using a rotary evaporator . the residue was washed with methanol at 40 ° c . until the hexamethylditin disappeared , and sufficiently dried , affording 0 . 83 g ( yield 94 %) of the compound represented by formula 17 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 5 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 29 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 02 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 13 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 11 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 60 - 1 . 17 ( m , 24h ), 1 . 03 - 0 . 77 ( m , 19h ), 0 . 46 ( s , 9h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 19 ( 0 . 46 g , 1 . 26 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 20 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 64 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 13 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 037 g , 0 . 03 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 194 mg ( yield 61 %) of the compound represented by formula 18 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 6 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 17 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 14 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 74 - 1 . 66 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 41 - 1 . 32 ( m , 6h ), 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 18 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 56 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 17 ( 0 . 53 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 7 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 031 g , 0 . 02 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 461 g ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 6 ( dts - 3f ). the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 7 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , 60 ° c ., c 2 d 2 cl 4 ): δ = 8 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 8 . 23 ( d , 1h ), 8 . 06 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 26 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 22 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 15 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 78 - 6 . 77 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 88 - 2 . 84 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 79 - 1 . 71 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 62 - 1 . 03 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 97 - 0 . 87 ( m , 18h ). synthesis example 4 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 7 ( 7 , 7 ′-( 4 , 4 - bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl )- 4h - silolo [ 3 , 2 - b : 4 , 5 - b ′] dithiophene - 2 , 6 - diyl ) bis ( 5 , 6 - difluoro - 4 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole )) a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 11 ( 0 . 18 g , 0 . 37 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 18 ( 0 . 13 g , 0 . 18 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 9 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 024 g , 0 . 03 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 170 mg ( yield 74 %) of the compound represented by formula 7 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 34 ( t , 2h ), 8 . 13 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 15 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 09 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 69 ( d , 2h ), 2 . 79 ( t , 4h ), 1 . 73 - 1 . 65 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 41 - 1 . 07 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 88 ( m , 18h ). synthesis example 5 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 9 as second organic semiconductor material the compound represented by formula 9 was used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 10 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 14 , 000 g / mol to clearly evaluate the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 9 having a molecular weight of 14 , 000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . 4 , 7 - bis ( 5 - bromo - 4 -( 2 - octyldodecyl ) thiophen - 2 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole ( 102 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), 5 , 5 ′- bis ( trimethylstannyl )- 2 , 2 ′- bithiophene ( 49 . 2 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), and tetrakis ( triphenylphosphine ) palladium ( 0 ) ( pd [ pph 3 ] 4 ( 0 ) ( 2 . 3 mg , 0 . 002 mmol ) were added all at once to a 20 ml microwave polymerization flask equipped with a magnetic bar under an argon atmosphere and 5 ml of toluene was added thereto . the mixture was sufficiently stirred under microwave irradiation at 18 ° c . for 40 min . after cooling to room temperature , the reaction mixture was reprecipitated in methanol ( 100 ml ) and an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution ( 5 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 6 h . the resulting precipitate was collected by filtration , washed by soxhlet extraction using methanol , hexane , and chloroform in this order , and extracted with chlorobenzene . the solvents were removed from the extract using a rotary evaporator . the extract was reprecipitated in methanol ( 150 ml ) and dried under vacuum for 24 h or more , affording 117 mg ( yield 94 %) of the compound represented by formula 9 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , c 2 d 2 cl 4 , 80 ° c . ): δ = 8 . 21 ( br , 2h ), 8 . 05 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 46 - 7 . 29 ( br , 4h ), 2 . 56 ( br , 4h ), 1 . 60 ( br , 2h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 00 ( br , 48h ), 0 . 95 - 0 . 80 ( br , 12h ). synthesis example 6 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 19 as second organic semiconductor material ( without bt unit ) the compound represented by formula 19 was used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 10 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 25 , 000 g / mol to clearly evaluate the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 19 having a molecular weight of 25 , 000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . 2 , 7 - bis ( 4 ′, 4 ′, 5 ′, 5 ′- tetramethyl - 1 ′, 3 ′, 2 ′- dioxaborolan - 2 ′- yl )- n - 9 ″- heptadecanyl - carbazole ( 657 . 6 mg , 1 . 00 mmol ), 5 , 5 ′- dibromo - 2 , 2 ′- bithiophene ( 324 . 1 mg , 1 . 00 mmol ), tris ( dibenzylidineacetone ) dipalladium ( 0 ) ( pd 2 [ dba ] 3 ) ( 4 . 6 mg , 0 . 005 mmol ), and tri ( o - tolyl ) phosphine ( p ( o - tol ) 3 ) ( 6 . 1 mg , 0 . 002 mmol ) were added all at once to a 50 ml flask equipped with a magnetic bar under an argon atmosphere and the mixture was dissolved in a mixture of 10 . 0 ml of oxygen - free toluene and 3 . 4 ml of an aqueous 20 wt % tetraethylammonium hydroxide solution . the solution was stirred at 95 ° c . for 72 h . thereafter , the solution was added with bromobenzene ( 11 μl , 0 . 10 mmol ), followed by stirring for 1 h . after the addition of phenylboronic acid ( 12 mg , 0 . 10 mmol ), the resulting mixture was refluxed for 12 h until end - capping was completed . after the reaction was finished , the reaction mixture was reprecipitated in 150 ml of methanol and water ( 10 : 1 ), filtered through a 0 . 45 μm nylon filter , washed by soxhlet extraction using acetone , hexane , and dichloromethane in this order , and extracted with chloroform . the solvents were removed from the extract using a rotary evaporator . the extract was reprecipitated in 150 ml of a mixture of methanol and water ( 10 : 1 ) and dried under vacuum for 24 h or more , affording 402 mg ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 19 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , c 2 d 2 cl 4 , 80 ° c . ): δ = 8 . 15 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 81 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 59 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 45 - 7 . 30 ( br , 4h ) 4 . 71 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 42 ( br , 4h ), 2 . 12 ( br , 4h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 15 ( br , 20h ), 0 . 90 ( t , 6h ). preparative examples 1 - 4 : blending solutions for the formation of photoactive layers a mixture of appropriate amounts of a first organic semiconductor material , a second organic semiconductor material , and a fullerene compound was blended with a solvent . the blending solution was used to form a photoactive layer . the compounds represented by formulae 3 - 7 synthesized in synthesis examples 1 - 4 were used as first organic semiconductor materials . the first organic semiconductor materials are simply designated by formulae 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 to distinguish from each other in the following experiments . the compound represented by formula 8 was purchased from nanoclean tech . ( lot no . yy7010 ) and used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 93000 g / mol to clarify the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 8 having a molecular weight of 93000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and a fullerene compound were dissolved in 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 at 90 ° c . for at least 1 h to prepare a blending solution . the kinds of the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , the fullerene compound , and the solvent and mixing ratios thereof are shown in table 1 . the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), the compound represented by formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), and pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed in an appropriate ratio and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). the mixing ratios of the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), the compound represented by formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), the fullerene compound ( pc 71 bm ), and the solvent are shown in table 2 . 19 . 4 mg of the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), 0 . 4 mg of the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 synthesized in synthesis example 5 , and 13 . 2 mg pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). preparative example 10 : blending solution for the formation of photoactive layer using the second semiconductor material of formula 19 without bt unit 19 . 4 mg of the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), 0 . 4 mg of the second organic semiconductor material of formula 19 synthesized in synthesis example 6 , and 13 . 2 mg pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). organic solar cells having the following structure were fabricated : ito / peie / photoactive layer / moo 3 / ag first , ito was coated on a substrate . the ito - coated substrate ( hereinafter referred to as “ ito lower electrode ”) was sequentially washed with isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , acetone for 10 min , and isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , and dried before use . peie was diluted with 2 - methoxyethanol to prepare a solution of 0 . 2 wt % peie . the polymer solution was spin coated at 6000 rpm on the ito lower electrode for 60 s and dried at 100 ° c . for 10 min to form a 5 nm thick peie surface modified layer . each of the blending solutions prepared in preparative examples 1 - 5 was spin coated to a thickness of 80 nm on the peie surface modified layer to form a photoactive layer . the spin coating was performed at 3000 rpm for 60 s . subsequently , moo 3 was deposited to a thickness of 4 nm on the photoactive layer and an aluminum electrode was deposited to a thickness of 100 nm on the moo 3 to form an upper electrode . organic solar cells were fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that each of the blending solutions prepared in preparative examples 6 - 8 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . specifically , the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 6 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 6 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 7 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 7 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 8 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 8 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 . the characteristics of the organic solar cell were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) in experimental example 7 . example 10 : fabrication of organic solar cell using the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that the blending solution prepared in preparative example 9 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . organic solar cells were fabricated in the same manner as in examples 1 - 5 , except that a photoactive layer was formed using a blending solution of 19 . 8 mg of each of the low molecular weight compounds ( formulae 3 - 7 ) and 13 . 2 mg of pc 71 bm in 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane ( 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 ) as a solvent without mixing with pcdtbt . specifically , the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 - 7 were used in comparative examples 1 - 5 , respectively . comparative examples 6 - 20 : fabrication of organic solar cells ( with controlled factors such as kind of solvent and mixing ratio ) organic solar cells having the following structure were fabricated : ito / peie / photoactive layer / moo 3 / ag first , ito was coated on a substrate . the ito - coated substrate ( hereinafter referred to as “ ito lower electrode ”) was sequentially washed with isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , acetone for 10 min , and isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , and dried before use . peie was diluted with 2 - methoxyethanol to prepare a solution of 0 . 2 wt % peie . the polymer solution was spin coated at 2500 rpm on the ito lower electrode for 10 s and dried at 100 ° c . for 10 min to form a 5 nm thick peie surface modified layer . blending solutions were prepared to have the compositions shown in table 3 . each of the blending solutions was spin coated to a thickness of 80 nm on the peie surface modified layer to form a photoactive layer . the spin coating was performed at 1000 rpm for 60 s . subsequently , moo 3 was deposited to a thickness of 4 nm on the photoactive layer and an aluminum electrode was deposited to a thickness of 100 nm on the moo 3 to form an upper electrode . an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that the blending solution prepared in preparative example 10 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . experimental example 1 : comparison of performance of the organic solar cells depending on the weights of the first and second organic semiconductor materials ( 1 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative examples 1 - 5 depending on the kinds of the first and second organic semiconductor materials were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . specifically , after the organic solar cells were irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 , their j - v characteristics were measured . fig3 and 5 show the j - v characteristics of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative example 1 - 5 , respectively . fig4 and 6 show the external quantum efficiencies ( eqe , %) of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative examples 1 - 5 , respectively . the measured parameters of the organic solar cells shown in fig3 - 6 are summarized in table 4 . referring to fig3 - 6 and table 4 , the organic solar cells of examples 1 - 5 showed , on average , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 7 - 0 . 86 v , j sc values of 4 . 21 - 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , fill factors of 5 . 01 - 66 . 36 , and photoelectric conversion efficiencies ( pce ) of 1 . 28 - 8 . 13 %. the most optimized organic solar cell of example 3 showed a j sc of 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 80 v , a fill factor of 66 . 36 , and a pce of 8 . 13 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of comparative examples 1 - 5 , whose photoactive layer was formed without pcdtbt ( formula 8 ), showed , on average , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 70 - 0 . 87 v , a j sc of 4 . 0 - 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , a fill factor of 34 . 32 - 68 . 75 , and a pce of 1 . 06 - 6 . 68 %. the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 as a counterpart of the organic solar cell of example 3 was found to have an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a j sc of 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , a fill factor of 59 . 64 , and a pce of 6 . 68 %. that is , when the organic solar cells of examples 1 - 5 were compared with those of comparative examples 1 - 5 , the presence of the high molecular weight compound ( pcdtbt ) of formula 8 was found to increase the pce (%) by a minimum of 0 . 1 % to 1 . 0 %. the most optimized organic solar cell was already designed such that the efficiency reached as high as 7 %. the formation of the photoactive layer using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and the fullerene compound was found to achieve a 1 % increase in efficiency , which is regarded as significant in the art . experimental example 2 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 2 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells of examples 6 - 8 and comparative example 3 depending on the mixing ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . referring to table 5 and fig7 , the organic solar cell of example 7 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first and second organic semiconductor materials in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 02 , showed a j sc of 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 80 v , a fill factor of 66 . 36 , and a pce of 8 . 13 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the high molecular weight compound of formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), showed a j sc of 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a fill factor of 59 . 64 , and a pce of 6 . 68 %. the organic solar cell of example 8 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material of formula 8 ( pcdtbt ) in a weight ratio of 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , in which the high molecular weight compound of formula 8 as the second organic semiconductor material was present in a relatively large amount , showed a j sc of 10 . 08 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 70 v , a fill factor of 46 . 38 , and a pce of 3 . 29 %. taken together , the jsc , ff , and pce values of the inventive organic solar cells increased with gradually increasing mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material to the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layers from 1 : 0 . 01 to 1 : 0 . 02 . however , for the organic solar cell of example 8 , the efficiency was considerably lowered to ˜ 3 % in the higher mixing ratio ( 1 :≧ 0 . 05 ). these results demonstrate that the highest efficiencies can be achieved when the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material are mixed in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 , and particularly , efficiencies of ≧ 7 %, with a maximum of 8 . 13 %, can be achieved when the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) is used as the first organic semiconductor material . in contrast , the efficiency of the organic solar cell of example 8 whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 :≧ 0 . 05 was significantly lowered by at least about 2 . 5 times . these results lead to the conclusion that it is preferred to mix the first organic semiconductor material with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . experimental example 3 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cell ( 3 )— morphology images of the photoactive layers of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 were taken by transmission electron microscopy ( tem ) and energy - filtering transmission electron microscopy ( eftem ) to compare the morphologies of the photoactive layers depending on the presence or absence of the second organic semiconductor material . fig8 shows transmission electron microscopy ( tem ) images of the photoactive layers formed in example 3 ( a ) and comparative example 3 ( b ) and fig9 shows energy - filtering transmission electron microscopy ( ef - tem ) images of the photoactive layers formed in example 3 ( a ) and comparative example 3 ( b ). referring to fig8 , the photoactive layer formed in example 3 was more uniform than that formed in comparative example 3 . in fig8 , si and c atoms are colored green and red , respectively . the si atoms are estimated to be derived from the low molecular weight compound p (- dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) as the first organic semiconductor material . the c atoms are those included in the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and the fullerene compound constituting the photoactive layer and are not considered to represent one of the constituent materials . in light of the above , the presence of the high molecular weight compound as the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 caused the low molecular weight compound to deaggregate , and as a result , the green portions were more uniformly distributed in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 than in the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 . experimental example 4 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 4 )— morphology images of the photoactive layers of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 were taken by atomic force microscopy ( afm ) to compare the morphologies of the photoactive layers depending on the presence or absence of the second organic semiconductor material . fig1 shows afm images showing the surface morphologies of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 ( r q = 0 . 75 nm ) and fig1 shows afm images of the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 ( r q = 1 . 36 nm ). referring to fig1 and 11 , the surface morphology of the photoactive layer of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 was sharper than that that of the photoactive layer of the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 . the improved morphology of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 is thought to be because the presence of the high molecular weight compound ( pcdtbt ) of formula 8 as the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 caused the first organic semiconductor material ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) to deaggregate or suppressed and prevented aggregation of the first organic semiconductor material . experimental example 5 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 5 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells of comparative examples 6 - 20 depending on the kind of the solvent were investigate by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . fig1 , 13 , and 14 show the j - v characteristics of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 , comparative examples 11 - 15 , and comparative examples 16 - 20 when irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 , respectively . referring to fig1 - 14 and table 6 , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 were different from the inventive organic solar cells , typified by the organic solar cell of example 3 , in the mixing weight ratio of the second organic semiconductor material and the first organic semiconductor material constituting the photoactive layers . in the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 , the first organic semiconductor material was mixed with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 3 - 3 . due to this difference , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 showed j sc values of 1 . 62 - 3 . 22 ma / cm 2 , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 67 - 0 . 72 v , fill factors of 30 . 38 - 37 . 01 , and pce values of 1 % or less , which were significantly low compared to those of the organic solar cell of example 3 . specifically , the j sc , ff , and pce values of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 were at least 5 times , 2 times , and 11 times lower than those of the organic solar cell of example 3 , respectively . the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 were different from the organic solar cell fabricated in example 3 in the mixing weight ratio ( 1 : 0 . 3 - 3 ) of the first and second organic semiconductor materials constituting the photoactive layers and the kind of the solvent . due to these differences , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 showed j sc values of 1 . 46 - 7 . 32 ma / cm 2 , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 57 - 0 . 91 v , fill factors of 30 - 44 , and pce values of 0 . 78 - 2 %. the performance of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 was slightly improved compared to that of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 but was still significantly lower than that of the inventive organic solar cell . particularly , the pce values of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 were a minimum of at least 4 times and a maximum of at least 11 times lower than those of the inventive organic solar cell . the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 10 - 20 were different from the organic solar cell fabricated in example 3 in the mixing weight ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials . the organic solar cell of comparative example 16 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the second organic semiconductor material , was measured to have the highest pce (˜ 4 %). from these results , it can be concluded that the inventive organic solar cell achieves a high efficiency of ˜ 8 % when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and a slight increase in the weight proportion of the high molecular weight compound as the second organic semiconductor material leads to a considerable deterioration in performance . furthermore , the performance of the inventive organic solar cells was influenced by the kind of the solvent as well as the mixing weight ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials . specifically , the performance of the organic solar cells of comparative examples 16 - 20 , where the solvent was the same as that used in the organic solar cell of example 3 , was slightly increased to ˜ 4 % but the performance of the organic solar cell of comparative examples 6 - 15 , where the solvent was different from that used in the organic solar cell of example 3 , achieved considerably low efficiencies of only & lt ; 2 %. changes in the performance of the organic solar cell of example 3 at a high temperature of 110 ° c . were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 . specifically , 20 min , 40 min , 60 min , 80 min , 100 min , and 120 min after each of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 was heated in an oven at 110 ° c ., the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell were measured . the measured photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values are shown in fig1 , 16 , and 17 , respectively . fig1 shows changes in the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ) of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . fig1 shows changes in the fill factor ( ff ) of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . fig1 shows changes in the j sc of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . as shown in fig1 , 16 , and 17 , the organic solar cell of example 3 maintained its initial pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values for up to 20 min , and thereafter , began to gradually lose its performance . the maximum pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of example 3 were reduced by 40 %, 10 %, and 20 - 30 % for 40 - 120 min , respectively . unlike the inventive organic solar cell , the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the same solvent as that used in the inventive organic solar cell without the second organic semiconductor material , began to rapidly lose its performance from the beginning of exposure to high temperature . specifically , the pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 were reduced by 10 %, 10 - 20 %, and 10 % for the initial 20 min , respectively . thereafter , the pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fell to half their initial values for 40 - 120 min . the performance of the organic solar cell of example 3 after exposure to 110 ° c . for 120 min was compared with that of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 . as a result , the pce of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 2 , which is 3 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . the fill factor ( ff ) of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 6 , which is 1 . 3 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . the j sc of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 4 , which is at least 2 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . these results concluded that despite the use of the same solvent , the life characteristics of the comparative organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the second organic semiconductor material , were deteriorated considerably when exposed to high temperature . specifically , the pce , ff , and j sc values of the inventive organic solar cell were maintained at 60 - 80 % of their initial values when exposed to a high temperature of 100 - 200 ° c . for 40 - 150 min . in contrast , the pce , ff , and j sc values of the organic solar cell fabricated without using the second organic semiconductor material were reduced to 60 % or less ( a maximum of 20 %) of their initial values when exposed to the same temperature for 1 h . these values are 1 . 3 times ( a maximum of 3 times ) lower than those of the inventive organic solar cell . time - dependent changes in the performance of the organic solar cell fabricated in example 9 were measured in order to investigate whether the performance of the organic solar cell was maintained stable for a long time . specifically , changes in the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), j sc , and v oc of the organic solar cell of example 9 were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) for 0 - 1000 h . fig1 shows the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), j sc , and v oc values of the organic solar cell of example 9 , which were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) at given time points . as shown in fig1 , the organic solar cell of example 9 maintained its initial pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values for up to 700 h , and thereafter , began to gradually lose its performance . however , fig1 shows that the pce and ff values of the organic solar cell of example 9 were reduced by at most 10 % even after 800 h and the initial j sc and v oc values of the organic solar cell were substantially maintained for up to 1000 h . these results demonstrate high stability of the inventive organic solar cell in the ordinary environment at 85 % rh for a maximum of 1000 - 1500 h . experiment example 8 : analysis of performance of the organic solar cells depending on the presence or absence of bt unit in the second organic semiconductor materials significant changes in the performance of the organic solar cells were observed depending on the presence or absence of the bt unit in the second organic semiconductor materials although the second organic semiconductor materials are represented by the same formula . this was verified by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells of example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 . specifically , the organic solar cells fabricated in example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 were measured for j - v characteristics when irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 . the results are shown in fig1 . the organic solar cells fabricated in example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 were measured for external quantum efficiency ( eqe , %). the results are shown in fig2 . the measured parameters of the organic solar cells of example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 shown in fig1 and 20 are summarized in table 7 . as shown in fig1 and 20 and table 7 , the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 showed the same performance as the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fabricated without using any second organic semiconductor material . specifically , the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 showed a j sc of 14 . 57 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 76 v , a fill factor of 59 . 10 , and a pce of 6 . 54 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of example 10 showed a j sc of 15 . 18 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a fill factor of 66 . 04 , and a pce of 7 . 92 %, which are comparable to those of the organic solar cells using the polymer compound of formula 8 as a second organic semiconductor material . these results conclude that the organic solar cell using the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 including the bt unit can achieve a high efficiency of at least 7 % with a maximum of 7 . 92 %, which is significantly higher by ≧ 1 % than the pces of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fabricated without using any second organic semiconductor material and the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 fabricated using the second organic semiconductor material without the bt unit .
| 2 |
the objects , characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the illustration of related drawings as follows . with reference to fig1 and 2 for a partial cross - sectional view and an exploded view of an antenna of a wireless communication device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively , the antenna 1 comprises a first flexible laminate substrate 11 , a second flexible laminate substrate 13 and an antenna metal layer 15 . the antenna 1 is installed on a surface of a case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 . in fig1 and 2 , the antenna 1 of this preferred embodiment is attached onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 by the second flexible laminate substrate 13 , and the antenna metal layer 15 is disposed between the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 , and the antenna metal layer 15 is in contact with the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 . therefore , a side opposite to the contact side of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the antenna metal layer 15 is aligned outwardly and provided for forming a trademark , a text or a symbol onto the first flexible laminate substrate 11 directly to achieve an aesthetic antenna of this preferred embodiment of the present invention . in another preferred embodiment , a slot 23 is formed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 and provided for installing the antenna 1 therein . wherein , the slot 23 serves as a space for installing the antenna 1 as shown in fig2 . in actual implementations , the slot 23 is not absolutely necessary , since the antenna 1 can be attached onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 directly . the antenna 1 can be attached by the following methods . for example , an adhesive 25 is applied to a part of the whole bottom surface of the second flexible laminate substrate 13 for attaching the antenna 1 onto a surface of the case 21 ; or the antenna 1 is snapped into the slot 23 formed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 ; or both methods of applying adhesive 25 and snapping the antenna 1 into the slot 23 can be used at the same time . however , these methods are provided as examples for illustrating the way of attaching the antenna 1 , and the invention is not limited to these methods only , and thus any other equivalent method of attaching the antenna 1 onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 can be used in the present invention . the antenna metal layer 15 is made of metal ; for example , the antenna metal layer 15 is formed by etching a copper foil . in fig1 , the antenna metal layer 15 has a connection portion 151 for electrically connecting the antenna 1 to a control processing circuit substrate in the wireless communication device 2 . in a preferred embodiment , the connection portion 151 is coupled to a metal wire 27 by a solder 153 ( in other preferred embodiment , a port can be used for the electric connection , and the metal wire 27 is passed through the case 21 and electrically coupled to the control processing circuit substrate in the wireless communication device 2 ( wherein the electric connection is not shown in the figure ). since the antenna 1 is installed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 , therefore the control processing circuit substrate has relatively less signal interference to the antenna 1 . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig2 , a pattern 10 is directly formed or printed on a surface opposite to the contact surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the antenna metal layer 15 , so that the antenna 1 of this preferred embodiment can have both displaying and indicating functions . the pattern 10 can be formed by the conventional methods such as front - side printing , back - side printing , bronzing , hair - lining , etching , polishing , sand blasting , transprinting , spray - coating or boli processing . the aforementioned pattern can be any pattern , text , symbol or trademark , so that the invention has the functions of integrating pattern display / indication with the antenna . in another preferred embodiment , the antenna metal layer 15 is etched and formed , and then a pattern is formed on the surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 opposite to the antenna metal layer 15 , and then the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the antenna metal layer 15 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are hot pressed , or the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the antenna metal layer 15 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are hot pressed , and then the pattern 10 is formed on a surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 opposite to the antenna metal layer 15 . in this preferred embodiment , the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are made of polycarbonate ( pc ), polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), polystyrene ( ps ) or mylar . however , the material used for making the first and second laminate substrates 11 , 13 is not limited to those given above , and the persons skilled in the art should be able to adopt an appropriate equivalent material for making the flexible laminate substrates . with reference to fig3 for an exploded view of an antenna of a wireless communication device in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention , the antenna 1 ′ further comprises a flexible circuit board 17 , in addition to the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the second flexible laminate substrate 13 and the antenna metal layer 15 . the flexible circuit board 17 is installed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , and the flexible circuit board 17 is an operation or indication panel of the wireless communication device 2 ′. more specifically , the flexible circuit board 17 includes at least one electronic component embedded therein and a circuit ( not shown in the figure ) electrically coupled to the at least one electronic component . in fig3 , the at least one electronic component is a four - key membrane keypad 171 , and the corresponding through holes 12 formed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are provided for passing the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 ′ and electrically connecting to the control processing circuit substrate ( not shown in the figure ). wherein , the flexible circuit board 17 can be used together with the first flexible laminate substrate 11 having the pattern . for example , the flexible circuit board 17 is a transparent substrate that can show the pattern formed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 below . it is noteworthy to point out that the antenna metal layer 15 of this preferred embodiment is not disposed at the through hole 12 , but it is disposed at the periphery of the through hole 12 to avoid the through hole 12 . for example , the aforementioned antenna metal layer 15 is disposed in the l - shaped area enclosed by a dotted line as shown in fig3 . of course , other designs ( designed according to specific requirements or specific appearance of an electronic component ) can be adopted , and the installation position of the antenna or the shape of the block can be changed flexibly as long as the circuits of the electronic component are not interfered . in view of the description above , the design of the flexible circuit board 17 of this preferred embodiment further provides a control / operation function of the antenna 1 ′. in other implementation modes , a combination of other electronic components or different electronic components can be adopted . for example , the at least one electronic component can be a set of four light emitting diodes ( not shown in the figure ) used as displays ; or can be combined with the led and the aforementioned membrane keypad , so that users can operate the keypad in a dark environment . in the foregoing preferred embodiment , the plate body of the antenna is in a rectangular shape . of course , the shape of the antenna can be changed in other implementation mode according to the actual requirements of the wireless communication device , and the interior design of the antenna metal layer can be adjusted to change the etched pattern . in the foregoing preferred embodiment , the mobile phone is used as an example for illustrating the wireless communication device with the antenna of the present invention . of course , those skilled in the art can easily think of other implementation modes of the antenna of the wireless communication device such as a wireless mouse , a wireless keyboard , a pda , a notebook computer , an automatic signal return device , or any other equivalent electronic device with an antenna . in summation of the description above , the present invention provide an antenna installed on an outer surface of a wireless communication device case , and the antenna is designed at a position outside the wireless communication device to save the space occupied by related circuits of the antenna inside the wireless communication device , so that the wireless communication device can have a smaller volume and a lighter weight and provide a better and smoother wireless communication effect . in addition , the manufacturers and sellers of the wireless communication device can label the contents of the wireless communication device such as a trademark , a product name or a part number on a surface of the antenna . the invention not only provides more functions of the antenna , but also simplifies pattern labeling elements required by the wireless communication device and replaces the conventional way of labeling the wireless communication device by a plastic name plate , so as to lower the production cost of the wireless communication device and improve the competitiveness of the wireless communication device . while the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims .
| 7 |
the preferred embodiment of the process by which calendar entries are automatically created or detected is shown in fig1 . preferably incoming email , or any other alternate unstructured text ( including the web / html ), is first parsed for any dates , an executive summary , and any relevant text near each date [ 101 ]. unstructured text is assumed to be any form of text that is not already formatted in a documented calendar format ( e . g . vcal ) that would make calendar event creation trivial , but it can also be the latter . if no dates or possible dates are found , no calendar event or additional data is created . in the preferred embodiment , partial dates are allowed , with full dates inferred using heuristics . examples include , but are not limited to : if a day is stated ( e . g . wednesday ), the closest upcoming wednesday &# 39 ; s date is used ( no time ). if a month day is detected ( e . g . the 26 th ) but not the month or year , the current month and year is assumed . in both these examples , additional context also helps set the baseline from which to extrapolate the complete date . one example is the receipt date of the source ( e . g . email message ) itself . the executive summary can also be created using heuristics — e . g . the subject of the email , or the title element of a html page , or the text near the date if all obvious summary elements are missing , etc . if one or more dates are found [ 102 ], a scan is then done to see if this email or source , or the calendar event candidates , are linked to prior sources or calendar entries [ 103 ]. here , the definition of linked is a statistical measure of correlation or relation to prior sources or entries , but also includes direct links ( e . g . the relation is stored directly in a database ). examples of links include , but are not limited to : the source was a reply to an earlier email that contained its own dates / calendar entry candidates , the calendar event candidate is an exact or near duplicate of a currently existing candidate , the source itself appears to be an exact or near duplicate of a prior one , or the calendar event candidate appears to be an exact or near duplicate of popular , frequently discovered entries across multiple users / sources . it should be noted that in another variation of this invention , this check and subsequent actions could be done after scoring , or skipped entirely . if links are found , and new dates are found to be replacements of the old dates ( e . g . the new dates have or will have high scores , and the old dates have equal or lower scores ) [ 105 ], the old calendar entries are either automatically removed , or their score , if not already low , is set to the minimum . alternatively , depending on context , the user may be prompted on what to do with the old entries [ 106 ]. if no new dates are found , or they do not appear to be valid replacements for the prior entries , no additional special action is done for this case . for all cases , a score is then created for each event candidate based off of each date found , the original text , and any relevant context associated with the text ( e . g . prior event creations or other links [ 103 ] [ 104 ]. scores of any linked calendar entries still existing are also recalculated , if necessary . examples of score weights include , but are not limited to : the spam level measured for an email message source ( measured by any currently existing spam filter technology , including detection of bulk emailings vs . individual ), an email source was a reply to a previous email and the date is in the reply vs . the date was found in text copied from the original email ( i . e . the score is adjusted as a function of the chronological history and placement within the entire email thread for the date in question ), the email is from someone in the user &# 39 ; s preferred contact list , the strength of the date inference ( e . g . was the date a full date in the original text in lieu of a partial ), and the uniqueness of the date in general ( e . g . did the unstructured text include many dates or just one ), and the sent to / receive from frequency ratio for that sender in general . after these steps , whether or not the text is found to be linked , the final list of calendar entries is pruned to remove redundant entries or entries whose score is below a bottom threshold [ 107 ]. finally , these entries are created with their score , date , executive summary , links to the original text / email , and links to all relevant and connected calendar entries ( e . g . all entries just created from this text , or linked text ) [ 108 ]. in any system where events are automatically created , it is likely that the user &# 39 ; s calendar will contain far more events than the typical calendar today . it is also possible that errant events could be created ( e . g . two separate calendar entry candidates might be created from the same text : one is correct , one is incorrect ). in order to retain the benefit of automatic event creation , it is critical that the user have immediate global control , including visualization , over the events on the calendar . the first key control for the preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in fig2 and fig4 . this diagram shows the event rendering process . for a day view ( one day displayed ), or week view ( one week displayed ), month view ( month view displayed ), or any alternate sized view in time , a dynamic filter is applied to events to be shown based solely on the score of each event and their date . first , the user adjusts a simple single slider or single input box to set a score threshold [ 401 ]. the calendar is then re - rendered , beginning with the retrieval of event candidates [ 201 ]. for each event , if the event &# 39 ; s score ( priority ) is greater than the set threshold , and if the event &# 39 ; s date is within the range of the current view selected on the calendar [ 202 ], it is rendered [ 203 ]. otherwise it is not . if the event e is rendered , it is rendered visually behind ( and slightly offset ) any overlapping events with a score greater than event e &# 39 ; s score , and visually in front of ( and slightly offset ) any events with a score less than e &# 39 ; s score . if there is enough screen real estate , overlapping events can be rendered next to each other , with the position being denoted by the event outline shadow only . the rendering does not have to be completely behind or in front — visually showing prominence is all that is required . unless overridden , each event &# 39 ; s background color , or alternatively , the text color , is also dictated by its score . in this process , if the user sets the threshold to the max , the calendar will immediately display only the most important / relevant calendar entries . in the preferred embodiment , these entries represent entries that the user has carefully created or manually marked as important / correct . if the user sets the threshold to the minimum , all discovered entries will be shown . thresholds set in between render a set of events in between these two . such a system not only allows the user to quickly visualize and adjust large amounts of calendar events — it also allows them to quickly fill / see possibilities for calendar dates that do not contain important / top score events ( e . g . all choice dates / time for a meeting not yet set are rendered , or all event choices for an otherwise empty evening without an important calendar event can be shown ). this is in contrast with alternate calendar interfaces , where the user would have to repeatedly click multiple channels on and off to get the event mix they need , or , the events they would like to visualize are not even present since they were not automatically created . in order to highlight any new calendar entries , the preferred embodiment of this invention also includes the ability to temporarily highlight — via a different color , border , or border animation — new automatically created entries or entry candidates independent of their score , or rather , temporary increase the score of new calendar entries . this rendering can be done in any manner , but it is preferred that it be complimentary and not mutually exclusive or conflicting in how all other calendar entries are rendered . this allows the user to quickly identify new entries , and take action on them . a visual example of a simple calendar system with global threshold control is shown in fig4 . by adjusting the slider [ 401 ] to the minimum setting , only important events [ 402 ] will be rendered . by adjusting the slider to the maximum , all events will be rendered [ 402 , 403 ]. the second key user calendar control for the preferred embodiment of this invention is the ability of the user to quickly adjust or mark a particular event of a set as valid / unique , or perform an alternate action that globally modifies that event and all related events . this is shown in fig3 . since it is possible for the automated system to find multiple candidate dates from a source ( e . g . someone sent an email with three choices of dates , and later confirmed verbally or via email which was the right date ), and not automatically detect that it should remove or adjust a particular entry instead of creating a new one , in this case , the user must adjust their calendar . for a particular group of events that originated all from the same text source , or were linked via the process in fig1 to other calendar entries , by clicking on any one event ( or any other alternate control that references that event ) that the user knows is the right date and time of a valid event , or of interest in some other fashion [ 301 ], the user can mark this event as valid / unique , or perform an alternate action across the entire group of events . in doing so , all the other related events are immediately dropped from the calendar without further user intervention [ 302 , 303 ], or , alternatively , adjusted according to the user &# 39 ; s wish ( e . g . all events should be raised in priority ). the net result is a single user click ( on occasion ), as opposed to the user repeatedly updating / changing an event with the new information . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , the single source of unstructured text that is used as the source for calendar entries is email , as this is a primary source from which users receive calendar - worthy notes from work , friends , or favorite websites that send email updates . in an alternate variation of this invention , other sources could also be linked in and used , which include , but are not limited to : sms , favorite websites ( direct from the site , not via emails ), published databases or calendars , or the entire web in general ( filtered by high level preferences ) in the preferred embodiment of this invention , a calendar and email application are an integrated system — there is no separate calendar event storage , or , at a minimum , each application component has full access to the other &# 39 ; s data . one example would be to store additional calendar event data as headers or as separate emails within a specific folder on an imap server . another would be to add additional link and parsed mail information into a traditional calendar event database . this allows for streamlined performance , and a cleaner , integrated interface ( e . g . “ today &# 39 ; s ” unread emails that have no additional date / event information would show up as moving event items in the current day view ), assisting in presenting email and calendar data as the same tools , with each just being a different view of the same data or integrated data . in an alternate variation , this entire system can be implemented on top of any preexisting calendar system feature set or application that has an api for event manipulation . for example , a current calendar system that uses channels or category to color calendar entries , in lieu of a score , can continue to do so . the additional automatic creation and visualization would apply only to those events automatically created , which could be done per channel or category , or , globally , for example . in another variation , the primary calendar can use background images rendered behind or around the text of each calendar event as the identifying marker for the calendar entry &# 39 ; s category , and keep color as the marker for priority or score . in another variation , the use of background images and color could be reversed . the background images need not be square or of any traditional shape . the background images can also be used simultaneously with color — in one variation , the background images can be skewed in color according to a color chosen for the event &# 39 ; s score if background images are used for category , or for the event &# 39 ; s category if background images are used for score .
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the compounds of the present invention provide a novel class of heterocyclic ureas and thioureas which are acat inhibitors , rendering them useful in treating hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis . illustrative examples of straight or branched alkyl groups having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms are methyl , ethyl , n propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , iso - butyl , tert - butyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , n - hexyl , n - heptyl , n - octyl , n - undecyl , n - dodecyl , n - hexadecyl , 2 , 2 - dimethyldodecyl , and 2 - ethyltetradecyl . as is apparent from formula i above , the compounds of the present invention are arylureas and arylthioureas containing a substituted heterocyclic group selected from triazoles ( 1 and 2 ); 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazoles ( 3 ); 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazoles ( 4 ); 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazoles ( 5 ); and 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazoles ( 6 ). pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula i are also included as a part of the present invention . suitable acids for forming acid salts of the compounds of this invention containing a basic group include , but are not necessarily limited to acetic , benzoic , benzenesulfonic , tartaric , hydrobromic , hydrochloric , citric , fumaric , gluconic , glucuronic , glutamic , lactic , malic , maleic , methanesulfonic , pamoic , salicylic , stearic , succinic , sulfuric , and tartaric acids . the acid addition salts are formed by procedures well known in the art . the base salts may be generated from compounds of formula i by reaction of the latter with one equivalent of a suitable nontoxic , pharmaceutically acceptable base followed by evaporation of the solvent employed for the reaction and recrystallization of the salt , if required . the compounds of formula i may be recovered from the base salt by reaction of the salt with an aqueous solution of a suitable acid such as hydrobromic , hydrochloric , or acetic acid . suitable bases for forming base salts of the compounds of this invention include amines such as triethylamine or dibutylamine , or alkali metal bases and alkaline earth metal bases . preferred alkali metal hydroxides and alkaline earth metal hydroxides as salt formers are the hydroxides of lithium , sodium , potassium , magnesium , or calcium . the class of bases suitable for the formation of nontoxic , pharmaceutically acceptable salts is well known to practitioners of the pharmaceutical formulation arts . see , for example , stephen n . berge , et al , j pharm sci 16 , 1 19 ( 1977 ). certain compounds of the present invention may also exist in different stereoisomeric forms by virtue of the presence of asymmetric centers in the compound . the present invention contemplates all stereoisomeric forms of the compounds as well as mixtures thereof , including racemic mixtures . individual stereoisomers may be obtained , if desired , by methods known in the art as , for example , the separation of stereoisomers on chiral chromatographic columns . further , the compounds of this invention may exist in unsolvated as well as solvated forms with pharmaceutically acceptable solvents such as water , ethanol , and the like . in general , the solvated forms are considered equivalent to the unsolvated forms for the purposes of this invention . as shown by the data presented below in table 1 , the compounds of the present invention are potent inhibitors of the enzyme acyl - coa : cholesterol acyltransferase ( acat ), and are thus effective in inhibiting the esterification and transport of cholesterol across the intestinal cell wall . the compounds of the present invention are thus useful in pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis . the ability of representative compounds of the present invention to inhibit acat was measured using an in vitro test more fully described by field , f . j . and salone , r . g ., in biochemica et biophysica 712 : 557 - 570 ( 1982 ). the test assesses the ability of a test compound to inhibit the acylation of cholesterol by oleic acid by measuring the amount of radiolabeled cholesterol oleate formed from radiolabeled oleic acid in a tissue preparation containing rabbit intestinal microsomes . the data appear in table 1 where they are expressed in ic 50 values ; i . e ., the concentration of test compound required to inhibit 50 % expression of the enzyme . table 1______________________________________compound ic . sub . 50of example ( μm ) ______________________________________ 1 & gt ; 5 2 & gt ; 5 4 4 . 2 6 & gt ; 5 7 0 . 14 8 0 . 11 9 0 . 6710 0 . 2511 1 . 512 1 . 513 0 . 6014 0 . 6815 0 . 3916 1 . 717 4 . 718 0 . 03919 & gt ; 520 0 . 4021 0 . 15022 0 . 03623 0 . 03424 & gt ; 525 0 . 01826 0 . 00727 & gt ; 5______________________________________ in one in vivo screen designated apcc , male sprague - dawley rats ( 200 to 225 g ) were randomly divided into treatment groups and dosed orally at 4 pm with either vehicle ( cmc / tween ) or suspensions of test compounds in vehicle . the control group received vehicle alone . immediately after dosing , all animals received ad libitum a chow diet supplemented with peanut oil ( 5 . 5 %), cholesterol ( 1 . 5 %) and cholic acid ( 0 . 5 %). the next day the animals were sacrificed at 8 am to obtain blood samples for cholesterol analysis using standard procedures . statistical differences between mean cholesterol values for the same vehicle were determined using analysis of variance followed by fisher &# 39 ; s least significant test . the results of this trial for representative compounds of the present invention appear in table 2 . the compounds were administered at 30 milligrams per kilogram of body weight . table 2______________________________________compound % changeof example ( mg / dl ) ______________________________________ 1 - 38 2 - 31 4 + 12 6 - 1 7 - 38 8 - 39 9 - 2110 - 3611 - 3012 - 2813 - 4114 - 2115 + 1216 - 617 - 1118 - 4420 - 2521 - 4522 - 823 - 3225 - 62______________________________________ in therapeutic use as agents for treating hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis , the compounds of formula i or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are administered to the patient at dosage levels of from 250 to 300 mg per 70 kg of body weight , this translates into a dosage of from 5 to 40 mg / kg of body weight per day . the specific dosages employed , however , may be varied depending upon the requirements of the patient , the severity of the condition being treated , and the activity of the compound being employed . the determination of optimum dosages for a particular situation is within the skill of the art . for preparing the pharmaceutical compositions from the compounds of this invention , inert , pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid . solid form preparations include powders , tablets , dispersible granules , capsules , and cachets . a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents , flavoring agents , solubilizers , lubricants , suspending agents , binders , or tablet disintegrating agents ; it can also be an encapsulating material . in powders , the carrier is a finely divided solid which is in a mixture with the finely divided active component . in tablets , the active compound is mixed with the carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired . powders and tablets preferably contain between about 5 % to about 70 % by weight of the active ingredient . suitable carriers are magnesium dicarbonate , magnesium stearate , talc , lactose , sugar , pectin , dextrin , starch , tragacanth , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , a low melting wax , cocoa butter , and the like . the term &# 34 ; preparation &# 34 ; is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as a carrier providing a capsule in which the active component ( with or without other carriers ) is surrounded by a carrier , which is thus in association with it . in a similar manner , cachets are also included . tablets , powders , cachets , and capsules can be used as solid dosage form suitable for oral administration . liquid form preparations include solutions , suspensions , or emulsions suitable for oral administration . aqueous solutions for oral administration can be prepared by dissolving the active compound in water and adding suitable flavorants , coloring agents , stabilizers , and thickening agents as desired . aqueous suspensions for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water together with a viscous material such as natural or synthetic gums , resins , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and other suspending agents known to the pharmaceutical formulation art . preferably , the pharmaceutical preparation is in unit dosage form . in such form , the preparation is divided into unit doses containing appropriate quantities of the active component . the unit dosage form can be a packaged preparation containing discrete quantities of the preparation , for example , packeted tablets , capsules , and powders in vials or ampoules . the unit dosage form can also be a capsule , cachet , or tablet itself , or it can be the appropriate number of these packaged forms . the compounds of formula i are prepared by various routes as depicted in the flow chart hereof . in scheme i of the flow chart there is depicted the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is the group ( 2 ) wherein r 9 is a straight or branched alkylc 1 - c 16 . in scheme i the aminoguanidine ( a ), which is commercially available , is reacted with an appropriate acid , wherein r a is a straight or branched alkylc 1 - c 16 , in the presence of n , n - dimethylaniline to give the substituted triazole amine ( c ). the amine ( c ) is reacted with an appropriate acylhalide ( d ) wherein alkyl is straight or branched and has from 1 to 6 carbon atoms to give the acyl amine derivative ( e ), which is reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate ( f ) to give compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) and further wherein r 8 is ## str5 ## and r 9 is a straight or branched alkyl c 1 - c 16 . compounds ( g ) can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein r 8 is hydrogen . in scheme i r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) wherein r 9 is -- s ( o ) p alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety is straight or branched and has from 1 to 16 carbon atoms are prepared as depicted in scheme ii of the flow chart . the commercially available thiotriazolamine ( i ) is alkylated using an appropriate r b halo reagent wherein halo is , e . g ., chlorine and r b is a straight or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms , to give compounds ( j ) which are acylated to give the intermediate compounds ( k ). the intermediates ( k ) are reacted with an appropriate isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) and wherein r 9 is -- salkylc 1 - 16 wherein the alkyl moiety is straight or branched and wherein r 8 is ## str6 ## these latter compounds are represented by ( 1 ) in scheme ii and can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding compounds ( m ) of formula i wherein r 8 is hydrogen . the compounds of formulas ( 1 ) and ( m ) can be oxidized to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein p is one by treatment with one equivalent of m - chloroperbenzoic acid in dichloromethane at from 0 ° c . to 25 ° c . and to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein p is two by treatment with two equivalents of m - chloroperbenzoic acid in dichloromethane at from 0 ° c . to 25 ° c . the compounds of formula i wherein het represents group ( 1 ), i . e ., wherein het is : ## str7 ## are prepared as shown in scheme iii of the flow chart . the triazole amine ( n ) is alkylated using an appropriate r 7 halo compound ( o ) to give a mixture of compounds ( p ), ( q ), and ( r ) which can be separated chromatographically . the alkylated triazole amine is then reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds ( s ), ( t ), and ( u ) which correspond to compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 1 ). in scheme iii the various symbols r 7 , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the compounds of formula i wherein the het moiety is group ( 3 ) are prepared as set forth in scheme iv of the flow chart . an appropriate acyl halide ( v ) is reacted with thiosemicarbazide ( w ) to give the intermediate ( x ) which is cyclized by treatment with an acid such as methanesulfonic acid to give the substituted thiadiazole amine ( y ). reaction of ( y ) with an isocyanate or a isothiocyanate gives compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 3 ). the acyl halides ( v ) are commercially available or are prepared from the corresponding acid . in scheme iv , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 7 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . in scheme v of the flow chart is depicted the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 4 ), i . e ., the 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazoles . the substituted thiadiazole amines ( cc ) are reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate ( dd ) to give compounds ( ee ) which correspond to formula i wherein het is group ( 4 ). the thiadiazole amine ( cc ) is commercially available or can be prepared from an amidine of formula ( aa ) by treatment with potassium thiocyanate as generally described in adv . heterocyl . chem . 5 : 119 ( 1965 ). the amidines are commercially available or can be prepared by treatment of a nitrile , r 10 cn , with ammonia in ammonium chloride under pressure . the nitriles can be obtained from the corresponding alcohols , r 10 oh , by procedures well known in the art . the preparation of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 5 ) is shown in scheme vi of the flow chart . the substituted oxadiazole amine ( hh ) is obtained by treating a commercially available acid ester ( ff ) with hydrazine in a lower alcohol to give the acylhydrazide ( gg ) which is cyclized with cyanogen bromide by treatment with khco 3 . the oxadiazole amine ( hh ) may also be commercially available . the acid ester ( ff ) can also be prepared readily from the corresponding acid . the oxadiazole amine ( hh ) is reacted with an appropriate isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds ( ii ), which correspond to formula i compounds wherein het is group ( 5 ). in scheme vii of the flow chart is shown the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 6 ). hydroxyguanidine ( jj ) is reacted with an appropriate acid ester , r 7 co 2 me , which is commercially available or can be prepared readily from the acid , to give the oxadiazole amine ( kk ), which is reacted with an isocyanate or thioisocyanate to give compounds ( 11 ), which correspond to compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 6 ). in schemes vi and vii , the symbols r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 7 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the isocyanates and isothiocyanates depicted in the flow charts as ## str8 ## are commercially available or can be prepared by procedures well known in the art , e . g ., see jerry march , advanced organic chemistry , third edition , john wiley & amp ; sons , 1985 , p . 370 . the following specific examples further illustrate the preparation of compounds of the invention . a slurry of aminoguanidine bicarbonate ( 8 . 0 g , 59 mmol ), dodecanoic acid ( 11 . 8 g , 59 mmol ), and n , n - dimethylaniline ( 0 . 1 ml , 0 . 8 mmol ) in toluene ( 100 ml ) was heated under reflux with the azeotropic removal of water ( 72 hours ). the resulting slurry was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ) and saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 300 ml ). the aqueous layer was back extracted with ethyl acetate , and the combined organics were washed with brine ( 1 × 250 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ), and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting solid was dissolved in hot chloroform and chromatographed on silica ( first ethyl acetate , then 90 : 10 chloroform : methanol ). the product containing fractions were combined and concentrated in vacuo to yield 6 . 9 g ( 49 . 1 %) of 3 - amino 5 - undecyl - 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as an off - white powder , m . p . 128 . 5 °- 132 . 0 ° c . acetyl chloride ( 1 . 04 ml , 14 . 7 mmol ) was added in one portion to a slurry of 3 - amino - 5 - undecyl - 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 50 g , 14 . 7 mmol ) in thf ( 100 ml ). the resulting slurry was stirred ( 1 hour , 25 ° c . ), then concentrated in vacuo . the residue was suspended in ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ), washed with ice cold water ( 2 × 100 ml ), washed with ice cold brine ( 1 × 100 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated to yield 3 . 66 g ( 89 . 3 %) of 2 - acetyl - 3 - amino - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as a waxy solid . a slurry of 1 - acetyl - 5 - amino - 3 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 56 g , 12 . 7 mmol ) was warmed until homogeneous . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 2 . 71 ml , 12 . 7 mmol ) was added and the resulting solution was heated under reflux for 15 hours . the resulting solution was cooled ( 20 ° c .) and the precipitate was removed by filtration . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo and the resulting oil was chromatographed on silica ( 85 : 15 hexane : ethyl acetate ) to yield 4 . 07 g ( 66 . 3 %) of the title compound as a light yellow oil . analysis for c 28 h 45 n 5 o 2 : a solution of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl )- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2n - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea ( 2 . 17 g , 4 . 49 mmol ) in methanol ( 50 ml ) was stirred for 24 hours at 25 ° c . the resulting slurry was cooled (- 20 ° c . ), then the precipitate collected by filtration , washed with cold methanol , and dried in a vacuum oven ( 16 hours , 40 ° c .) to yield 1 . 78 g ( 89 . 9 %) of the title compound as a white powder ; m . p . 168 °- 170 ° c . ( resolidified and decomposed at 210 ° c .). employing the general method of example 1 , but using tridecanoic acid instead of dodecanoic acid in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . analysis for c 29 h 47 n 5 o 2 : employing the general method of example 2 but using n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - dodecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea instead of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl - n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea , the title compound was prepared ; m . p . 154 °- 164 ° c . employing the general method of example 1 but using pentadecanoic acid instead of dodecanoic acid in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . analysis for c 31 h 51 n 5 o 2 : employing the general method of example 2 , but using n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - tetradecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea instead of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea , the title compound was prepared ; mp 211 ° c . decomposes . a methanol solution of sodium methoxide was generated by dissolving sodium ( 2 . 06 g , 89 . 6 mmol ) in methanol ( 300 ml ). 3 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 7 . 5 g , 89 . 6 mmol ) was added and the resulting solution was stirred ( 10 minutes , 25 ° c .). undecylbromide ( 20 . 0 ml , 89 . 6 mmol ) was then added and the resulting solution was heated under reflux for 24 hours . the resulting solution was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was taken up in ethyl acetate ( 450 ml ), washed with brine ( 2 × 150 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting solid was dissolved in a minimal amount of chloroform and chromatographed on silica ( 98 : 2 chloroform : methanol ) to yield 3 . 0 g ( 14 . 0 %) of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 49 ; h , 10 . 98 ; n , 23 . 88 ), 4 . 0 g ( 18 . 7 %) of 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 42 ; h , 10 . 93 ; n , 23 . 48 ), and 0 . 9 g ( 4 . 2 %) of 3 - amino - 4 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 20 ; h , 10 . 92 ; n , 23 . 52 ). a solution of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 0 g , 12 . 6 mmol ) and 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 3 . 9 ml , 19 . 2 mmol ) in thf ( 100 ml ) was heated under reflux ( 40 hours ). the resulting solution was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting oil was triturated with hexane and the resulting solid was collected by filtration and recrystallized from hot hexane to yield 2 . 1 g ( 37 . 8 %) of the title compound as a white solid ; mp 146 . 5 °- 147 . 5 ° c . using the procedure of step 2 of example 7 , but using 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole instead of 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole , the title compound was prepared . using the procedure of step 2 of example 7 , but using 3 - amino - 4 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole instead of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole , the title compound was prepared . 1 h nmr ( 250 mhz , dmso ) δ 9 . 57 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 39 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 20 ( m , 3h ), 3 . 92 ( t , 2h ), 3 . 33 ( p , 2h ), 1 . 67 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 20 ( m , 28h ), 0 . 85 ( t , 3h ). employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecylbromide instead of undecylbromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared ; mp 128 °- 140 ° c . employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecyl bromide instead of undecyl bromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecylbromide instead of undecylbromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . 12 - bromododecane ( 11 . 7 g , 0 . 05 mol ) was added to a slurry of 3 amino 5 mercapto - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 5 . 0 g , 0 . 043 mol ) and triethyl amine ( 4 . 7 g , 0 . 05 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 150 ml ). the mixture was allowed to reflux for 4 hours , cooled , and the precipitate filtered and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give 9 . 55 g of 2 dodecylthio - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as a white solid , m . p . 93 °- 99 ° c . acetyl chloride ( 0 . 61 g , 0 . 007 mol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) solution of the product of step 1 ( 2 . 0 g , 0 . 007 mol ) and triethyl amine ( 0 . 80 g , 0 . 008 mol ) in thf ( 50 ml ). the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at 0 ° c ., poured into ethyl acetate , and washed with ice cold water and brine , dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered , and concentrated in vacuo . the solid obtained was washed with acetonitrile and dried in vaco to give 1 - acetyl - 2 - dodecylthio - 5 - aminotriazole as a white solid ( 1 . 5 g ), m . p . 92 °- 97 ° c . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 2 . 1 g , 0 . 01 mol ) was added to a solution of 4 - acetyl - 5 - dodecylthio - 3 - aminotriazole ( 2 . 8 g , 0 . 09 mol ) in thf ( 80 ml ) and the mixture refluxed for 24 hours . the solution was concentrated in vacuo and the residue triturated with acetonitrile . the mixture obtained was filtered and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo and chromatographed on silica gel , eluting with 5 % to 8 % ethyl acetate in hexanes to give 1 . 1 g of the title compound as an oil . when in the procedure of example 13 an appropriate amount of 13 - bromotridecane was substituted for 12 - bromododecane and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 13 were followed , the title compound was obtained as an oil . the urea of example 14 ( 4 . 4 g , 0 . 0081 mol ) was stirred in methanol ( 100 ml ) at room temperature for 2 hours , the solution was then allowed to stand overnight . the solid obtained was filtered and dried in vacuo to give a white solid ( 2 . 57 g ), m . p . 131 °- 135 ° c . m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 0 . 26 g , 1 . 49 mmol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) solution of the compound of example 15 in dichloromethane ( 25 ml ). the solution was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 4 hours . the mixture was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and washed sequentially with nahso 3 , water , nahco 3 , and brine , dried over na 2 so 4 , concentrated , and triturated with hexane to give a white solid which was filtered and dried in vacuo to yield 0 . 42 g ; m . p . 178 °- 181 ° c . m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 0 . 52 g , 3 . 0 mmol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) suspension of the compound of example 16 ( 0 . 5 g , 1 mmol ) in dichloromethane ( 25 ml ). the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 18 hours . the reaction was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and washed sequentially with nahso 3 , water , nahco 3 , dried with na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give 0 . 36 g of a solid , m . p . 136 °- 138 ° c . lauroyl chloride ( 12 . 9 g , 0 . 06 mol ) in thf ( 70 ml ) was added dropwise to a vigorously stirred suspension of thiosemicarbazide ( 10 . 9 g , 0 . 12 mol ) in thf ( 300 ml ) at 0 ° c . after the addition was complete , the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 24 hours . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo to one - quarter of the original volume and filtered through a silica pad , eluting with ethyl acetate ( 500 ml ). the filtrate was concentrated to 250 ml , filtered , and the residue washed with ethyl acetate and dried in vacuo to give 12 . 0 g of a white solid . methanesulfonic acid ( 6 . 26 g , 0 . 065 mol ) was added in one portion to a slurry of the compound prepared in step 1 above ( 11 . 9 g , 0 . 044 mol ) in toluene ( 300 ml ) at 0 ° c . after 5 minutes , the mixture was heated to reflux for 18 hours , allowed to cool to 0 ° c ., filtered , and the residue washed with cold toluene ( 50 ml at 5 ° c ). the solid was dried in vacuo , suspended in water ( 200 ml ), and made basic with ammonium hydroxide ( 0 . 1m ) while stirring vigorously . the resulting solid was filtered , washed with water , dried in vacuo to give 7 . 2 g of a white solid . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 3 . 85 g , 0 . 019 mol ) was added to a solution of the compound from step 2 above ( 4 . 4 g , 0 . 017 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 150 ml ). the mixture was refluxed for 1 hour and then allowed to stand at room temperature overnight , concentrated to 3 / 4 volume , and filtered . the residue obtained was washed with acetonitrile ( 50 ml ) and hexanes ( 200 ml ) to give 5 . 9 g of a white solid , m . p . 111 °- 113 ° c . when in the procedure of example 18 , step 1 , an appropriate amount of the acyl chloride listed below was substituted for lauroyl chloride and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 18 were followed , the respective compounds listed below were obtained : ______________________________________examplenumber acylchloride compound______________________________________19 acetyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 295 - 297 ° c ., dec . 20 octanoyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - heptyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 102 - 110 ° c . 21 decanoyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - nonyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 94 - 98 ° c . 22 tetradecanoyl n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - chloride ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - tridecyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 85 - 91 ° c . 23 tridecanoyl n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - chloride ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - dodecyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 93 - 105 ° c . ______________________________________ 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 1 . 9 g , 9 . 4 mmol ) was added to a refluxing solution of 5 - amino - 3 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole ( 1 . 5 g , 8 . 5 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 60 ml ). the mixture was refluxed for 18 hours , allowed to cool , filtered , and the filtrate concentrated , taken up in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ), and washed with water ( 3 × 50 ml ). the organics were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and the resulting solid washed with hexane and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give a white solid ( 1 . 50 g , 46 %), m . p . 180 °- 183 ° c . hydrazine ( 1 . 9 ml , 0 . 058 mol ) was added to a solution of methyl tetradecanoate ( 13 . 96 g , 0 . 058 mol ) in methanol ( 300 ml ) and the solution refluxed for 3 days . the mixture was allowed to cool and filtered to yield 6 . 17 g of a crystalline solid , m . p . 107 °- 111 ° c . cyanogen bromide ( 2 . 9 g , 0 . 027 mol ) was added to a mixture of the compound prepared in step 1 above ( 6 . 1 g , 0 . 025 ) and khco 3 ( 2 . 8 g , 0 . 028 mol ) in dioxane / water ( 1 : 1 , 50 ml ) at room temperature . the mixture was refluxed for 1 hour , allowed to cool , filtered , washed with dioxane / water ( 1 : 1 , 20 ml ), then water ( 50 ml ), and dried in vacuo . the solid was recrystallized from chloroform to yield 4 . 16 g , m . p . 147 °- 150 ° c . triethylamine ( 1 . 67 g , 0 . 017 mol ) was added to a solution of the compound prepared in step 2 above ( 4 . 0 g , 0 . 015 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 200 ml ) and the mixture refluxed for 30 minutes or until solution becomes homogeneous . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 3 . 71 g , 0 . 018 mol ) was then added and reflux continued for 18 hours . the mixture was allowed to cool , concentrated , diluted with water ( 20 ml ), filtered , and the solid columned on silica gel , eluting with 20 % ethyl acetate in hexanes ( loaded in chloroform ) to give 0 . 54 g of a solid ; m . p 114 °- 116 . 5 ° c . sodium metal ( 1 . 6 g , 0 . 068 mol ) was added to 4 å molecular sieves ( 12 g ) and ethanol ( 200 ml ) under nitrogen . the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes , then hydroxyguanidine sulfate ( 9 . 32 g , 0 . 035 mol ) added and the mixture stirred for 30 minutes . methyltetradecanoate ( 1 . 43 g , 0 . 006 mol ) was then added and the mixture refluxed for 1 . 5 hours , allowed to cool , filtered , and concentrated . the concentrate was partitioned between ch 2 cl 2 and water . the organic layer was washed with water and brine , dried with na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and triturated with hexane . the resulting solid was filtered , washed with hexane , and dried in vacuo to yield 0 . 23 g , m . p . 90 °- 91 ° c . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 0 . 29 g , 0 . 0013 mol ) was added to a refluxing solution of the compound prepared in step 1above ( 0 . 18 g , 0 . 65 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 20 ml ) and the mixture refluxed overnight . the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature , concentrated , triturated with acetonitrile to yield a solid which was recrystallized from acetonitrile to yield 0 . 15 g , m . p . 99 °- 101 °. when in the procedure of example 13 , step 1 , an appropriate amount of methyliodide is substituted for 12 - bromododecane and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 13 are followed , 4 - acetyl - n -[[[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ] amino ] carbonyl ]- 5 -( 1 - methylthio )- 4h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - amine is obtained . when this 4 - acetyl derivative is substituted for the compound of example 14 in the procedure of example 15 , the title compound is obtained , m . p . 192 °- 197 ° c . ( dec .). ## str9 ##
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referring to fig1 a device containing the visual message waiting indicator ( vmwi ) circuit 12 and a telephone handset 20 are coupled through a line 19 to a telephone jack 18 . the telephone jack 18 is coupled to a telephone line coupled to a central telephone office ( not shown ). the line 19 receives a frequency shift keying ( fsk ) class signal 14 or a stutter dial tone signal 16 from the central telephone office to identify waiting voice mail messages . the vmwi circuit 12 detects either the class signal 14 or stutter tone signal 16 according to different triggering situations described in detail below . if the vmwi circuit 12 detects a class signal 14 identifying a waiting voice mail message , a visual indicator 34 is activated . the vmwi circuit 12 selectively enables stutter dial tone detection if the class signal is not detected after certain triggering conditions . if stutter dial tone detection is enabled and a stutter dial tone signal 16 is detected , the visual indicator 34 is activated . after the visual indicator 13 is activated , the vmwi circuit 12 no longer monitors the stutter dial tone signal 16 until another triggering event occurs . after the next triggering event , if neither the class or stutter dial tone signals are present , light 13 is shut off . the vmwi circuit 12 is shown located in a separate device from the telephone handset 20 . however , it is understood that the vmwi circuit 12 can be integrated inside a variety of devices including the same casing with the telephone handset 20 , the same casing with a caller id unit , the same casing with a personal computer , or the same casing with any number of telephone accessories . referring to fig2 the vmwi signal detection circuit 12 includes an fsk receiver 26 coupled between the telephone lines 13 and a micro - controller 28 . a diode bridge circuit 22 couples the tip and ring telephone lines to a transistor 30 and a voltage divider circuit 31 . an operational amplifier circuit 32 is coupled between the telephone lines 13 and the micro - controller 28 . a light - emitting diode ( led ) 34 is activated by the micro - controller 28 during a voice mail waiting condition . a low power monitoring circuit 36 is coupled between a battery supply 39 and the micro - controller 28 . the diodes 22 protect against improperly wired phone jacks . the voltage divider 31 divides the voltage on the telephone line 13 down to particular voltage levels corresponding to an off - hook condition and a phone ringing condition . the micro - controller 28 monitors the off - hook and ringing signals to determine triggering conditions that initiate class and stutter dial tone detection schemes . the transistor circuit 30 is activated by the micro - controller 28 to simulate an off - hook condition and then the vmwi circuit 12 is enabled to detect stutter dial tones . the operational amplifier ( op - amp ) circuit 32 is shown in detail in fig3 . telephone lines 13 are coupled to the inverting terminal of an operational amplifier ( op - amp ) 41 . the op - amp circuit 32 includes a filtering circuit 40 that screens out some low and high frequencies from the telephone lines 13 . an output terminal of op - amp 41 generates a tone signal . a power control signal ( opgnd ) is coupled between the op - amp 41 and the micro - controller 28 . the amplifier circuit 32 translates signals on the telephone line 13 into square waves and outputs the conditioned tone signal to the micro - controller 28 . the opgnd line is driven by the micro - controller 28 and turns the op - amp 41 on and off . referring back to fig2 the low power monitoring circuit 36 checks the condition of the battery supply 39 . the micro - controller 28 pulls the emitter terminal of transistor q2 to ground . if the battery supply 39 is higher than 4 volts , transistor q2 is turned on and the collector terminal of q2 is pulled low . if the battery supply 39 drops below 4 volts , transistor q2 does not turn on and the voltage at the collector terminal is not driven low . after pulling the emitter terminal of transistor q2 to ground , the micro - controller 28 monitors the voltage level at the collector terminal of q2 . after identifying a high logic level at the collector terminal of q2 ( low battery voltage less than 4 volts ), the microprocessor blinks the led 34 twice every second . the double blink of led 34 identifies a low battery condition to the phone user . blinking the led 34 is performed by the micro - controller 28 by driving the line to the led 34 to ground for one 1 / 16 second period every second . during a low battery condition , the micro - controller 28 double blinks the led . a double blink comprises driving the line to led 34 low for a 1 / 32 of a second , driving the line high for a 1 / 32 of a second , driving the line low again for a 1 / 32 of a second and then driving the line high for the remainder of a one second period . the double blink provides an indication to a user of both a voice mail waiting condition and a low battery condition . the fractional activation of led 34 conserves power used by the vmwi circuit 12 . to check for a stutter dial tone , the micro - controller 28 simulates an off - hook condition by activating the seize signal which turns on transistor q1 30 . the micro - controller 28 also turns on the op - amp circuit 32 by grounding the opgnd signal . the co switch responds either with a normal dial tone or , if a message is waiting , a stutter dial tone . the micro - controller 28 identifies a stutter dial tone by monitoring the amplitude of the square waves output from op - amp circuit 32 . since the op - amp circuit 32 is activated only while checking for stutter dial tone , the amount of energy required to detect stutter dial tones is reduced . of particular interest is the operation of the frequency shift keying ( fsk ) receiver 26 . the fsk receiver is manufactured by the exar corporation and is well known to those skilled in the art . the capacitor / resistor network 24 isolates d . c . so there is no d . c . load on the telephone line 13 and acts as a filter . the class signal which identifies a message waiting signal can come into the fsk receiver 26 at any time . the receiver typically would be activated continuously to identify any randomly transmitted class signals from the co . however , continuously activating the receiver 26 requires too much power for a battery - operated vmwi circuit 12 device . to conserve energy , the vmwi circuit 12 conducts a two - phase polling protocol . referring to fig4 class signals comprise a 250 millisecond channel seizure signal which contains a 12 thousand hertz ( 12 khz ) and 22 khz alternating burst of the class signal . the class signal 14 then includes a mark signal followed by a data bit field . the data bit field contains information regarding voice mail waiting conditions . the channel seizure signal and mark signal together will be referred to as the preamble . the micro - controller 20 activates the receiver pwrup signal that turns on the fsk receiver 26 for a 20 millisecond ( msec ) period . if the receiver 26 does not identify the 1200 hz and 2200 hz signals during the 20 msec period 42 , the micro - controller 28 shuts off the receiver 26 . the micro - controller turns the receiver 26 back on after 250 msecs at time period 44 . if the preamble is detected during the second 20 millisecond interval , the micro - controller 28 keeps the receiver on for decoding the data field . the micro - controller 28 turns the led 34 on when the data field of the class signal 14 indicates a voice mail waiting condition or turns the led 34 off if the data field indicates a no voice mail waiting condition . the time period that the micro - controller 28 uses to poll the preamble ensures detection of the preamble 14 . polling activation periods less than 20 msecs can be repeated for periods longer than 250 msecs and still detect the class signal thereby further increasing power conservation . other polling techniques are also possible and come within the scope of the invention . other class vmwi receivers remain in a continuous powered - on state . the receiver in vmwi circuit 12 is turned on for short time periods while polling for a valid class signal . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 uses only a fraction of the energy of current class detection circuits . as a result , the vmwi circuit 12 can be powered by four aa batteries for approximately one year . battery power allows the vmwi circuit 12 to be installed more easily in different phone locations , operate more reliably during a . c . power line outages and prevents damage from a . c . power surges . fig5 is a step diagram describing the steps performed by the vmwi circuit 12 when polling the class signal 14 . the micro - controller 28 of the vmwi circuit 12 is powered up in step 50 . in step 52 , the micro - controller 28 puts the fsk receiver 26 to sleep for a predetermined period of time ( t1 ). the time period t1 is less than the time period of the preamble of the class signal 14 ( fig4 ). for example , the preamble for the class signal 14 is 400 milliseconds . accordingly , the micro - controller 28 is preprogrammed to turn on the fsk receiver 26 at a time period t1 of 300 msecs . in step 54 , the micro - controller 28 is programmed to keep the fsk receiver on during each polling period for a duration t2 . in the embodiment shown in fig4 the time period t2 is 20 msec . decision step 56 determines whether the class frequency exists in the preamble . if no class signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 jumps back to step 52 , shutting off the fsk receiver 26 until the next sampling time t1 . if the class signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 keeps the fsk receiver 26 on in step 58 to read the data field of the class signal 14 . decision step 60 processes the class data to determine if a voice mail message exists or has been deleted . if no voice mail message is identified and the led 34 was previously activated , the micro - controller 28 turns off the led 34 in step 61 . the vmwi circuit 12 then jumps back to step 52 and puts the fsk receiver back to sleep until the next time period t1 . if a voice mail message is indicated by the class signal 14 , the micro - controller 28 activates the led 34 in step 62 . to conserve energy , the led 34 is blinked once every second for a fraction of a second . the vmwi circuit 12 then puts the fsk receiver 26 back to sleep until the next polling period t1 . as described above , the vmwi circuit 12 operates for both stutter dial tone and class signal environments . not only does the vmwi circuit 12 operate in both environments , but maximizes performance of voice mail detection by exploiting the advantageous characteristics of both the class and stutter dial tone signals transmitted from the co . referring to fig6 the vmwi circuit 12 is powered up in step 64 . stutter dial detection and class signal detection are both enabled in step 66 at initial power up ( multisensing ). decision step 68 periodically monitors for a class signal as described above in fig5 . if a class signal is detected , stutter dial tone detection is cancelled in step 70 . if the class signal is not detected by the vmwi circuit 12 , decision step 69 then continues to monitor for a valid fsk / class signal until a scheduled time for a dial tone test . step 72 conducts a stutter dial tone detection test . of significant importance in the current invention is the detection evaluation process that takes place after every voice mail triggering condition . decision step 74 represents two triggering conditions which may prelude leaving a voice mail message . for example , voice mail messages are often left if a caller is attempting to make a call to a telephone number that is currently in use . thus , one triggering condition occurs any time the telephone is put back on hook . voice mail messages may also be left after a phone goes unanswered after ringing . thus , a second trigger condition is prompted by a telephone ring that is not followed by an off - hook condition . decision step 74 continuously monitors for any one of the possible voice mail waiting triggering conditions described above . at the same time , the micro - controller 28 continues to periodically poll for the class signal . if a triggering condition occurs , step 76 sets a predetermined amount of time and then jumps back to decision step 68 . the time period is around 30 seconds after an off - hook condition and around four minutes after a ring no - answer condition . decision step 68 again determines whether a class signal was transmitted from the co during the predetermined time period . if no class signal was detected , stutter dial tone is tested in step 72 . a central telephone office generally generates a stutter dial tone representing a voice mail waiting condition with higher priority than a class signal identifying a similar voice mail waiting condition . for example , a class signal may be transmitted several minutes after a telephone is placed &# 34 ; on - hook &# 34 ;. conversely , a stutter dial tone signal is transmitted within a few seconds after identifying the voice mail condition . if a phone operator is continuously on the phone , a vmwi circuit 12 may indefinitely delay detection of a voice mail message from a class signal . because stutter dial tone detection is automatically reenabled after a predetermined time period , the vmwi circuit 12 can detect voice mail messages more quickly than a vmwi system detecting only class signals . further , the vmwi circuit 12 continues to monitor for class signals and accordingly cancels stutter dial tone detection when a class signal is detected . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 will not burden the central telephone office by unnecessarily taking the phone off - hook to detect stutter dial tone if the class signaling environment is available . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 maximizes performance of voice mail detection by exploiting the different characteristics of both the class and stutter dial tone signals transmitted from the co . for stutter dial tone , the vmwi circuit 12 exploits the quicker stutter tone response time after an on - hook / off - hook condition . for class signaling , the vmwi circuit 12 takes advantage of the more robust controlling environment of class signaling which also allows detection of voice mail waiting conditions without taking the telephone off - hook . the vmwi circuit 12 has the added advantage of reliable operation in subscriber loop carrier ( slc ). slcs intermittently pass class signals to residential phones . the vmwi circuit 12 continues to reevaluate , and possibly reconfigure detection modes , for each voice mail triggering conditions . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 is not lulled into unreliable voice mail detection modes . in another embodiment of the invention , the micro - controller 28 detects the class / fsk signal without using fsk receiver 26 . the micro - controller 28 uses internal voltage comparators and amplifiers to detect the class signal . because a power intensive fsk receiver chip is not used , the vmwi circuit 12 operates on battery power for longer periods of time and is less expensive to manufacture . referring to fig7 the telephone lines 13 are coupled into mircocontroller 28 . an oscillator circuit 78 and a resistor network 80 are each coupled to the micro - controller 28 . the mircocontroller 28 is a model number 16lc621 manufactured by microchip , inc . the micro - controller 28 includes multiple internal comparators and detects the fsk / class signal and stutter dial - tone through telephone lines 13 . on - hook and off - hook voltages and ringing signals are monitored from the voltage divider circuit 31 . resistors in network 80 are selectively coupled to ground or placed at floating voltage levels to generate different d . c . voltage levels for comparing to the different input signals . the micro - controller 28 places itself in a sleep mode when not testing for the class signal as described above in fig2 . if the preamble is detected , the micro - controller 28 remains on and decodes the digital data field of the class signal . if the preamble is not detected , the micro - controller 28 does back to sleep for 300 msec until the next sampling period . the classifsk input signal on telephone lines 13 is shown in fig8 . the class / fsk signal comprises a sinusoidal wave alternating between a positive half cycle and negative half cycle . the micro - controller 28 amplifies the positive half cycle of the class / fsk signal into a square pulse as shown in fig9 . the micro - controller counts the number of clock cycles from the rising edge to the falling edge of the first pulse reflecting the time period t1 of the first positive half cycle . the micro - controller 28 then counts the number of clock cycles from the falling edge of the first pulse to the rising edge of the next pulse reflecting the time period t2 of the negative half of the first cycle . the micro - controller 28 compares the time periods t1 and t2 with prestored values for t1 and t2 for a 1200 hertz signal . for example , if the measured t1 is approximately 0 . 5 milliseconds and the measured t2 is approximately 0 . 5 milliseconds , then the input signal is considered a 1200 hertz fsk / class signal . pulses t3 and t4 represent the amplified square pulses for a 2200 hertz fsk / class signal . if a 1200 hertz signal or a 2200 hertz signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 remains in an active state and decodes the digital data field of the class signal . a logical filtering process is conducted by the micro - controller 28 . if multiple voltage spikes occur within a predetermined number of clock periods , the micro - controller 28 considers the group of spikes to be all part of the same sinusoidal half - cycle . however , if only one spike or a few random spikes are detected , the micro - controller ignores the spikes as noise . during the sleep mode , the micro - controller 28 shuts - off power to the oscillator circuit 78 and runs off a watch dog timer internal to the micro - controller 28 . the watch dog timer is always running even when the oscillator 78 is running . generally , internal timer circuits are not as accurate as externally connected oscillator circuit 78 . if more than one vmwi circuit 12 is connected to the same telephone line , fcc regulations requires each vmwi circuit 12 to test for stutter dial tone at the same time . however , if the timing for the internal clocks of each vmwi circuit 12 are slightly different , the vmwi circuit 12 &# 39 ; s may simulate off - hook conditions at different times . to eliminate timing inconsistencies between multiple vmwi circuit 12 &# 39 ; s , the micro - controller 28 continuously recalibrates the internal watch dog timer . the watch dog timer is always running including while the micro - controller 28 is shut - off during a sleep mode . about every minute , when the micro - controller 28 clock is running , the watch dog timer is reset . the micro - controller 28 measures the time taken by the watch dog timer to time out according to the crystal oscillator circuit 78 . this timing measurement is then used to update timing calculations which determine how long the micro - controller 28 will wait to test for stutter dial tone after a triggering event . normal on - hook voltage for a telephone system is 50 volts and normal off - hook voltage for a telephone system is 6 to 10 volts . a reference voltage of around 20 volts is used to detect a change from an on - hook condition to an off - hook condition . however , many telephone systems have inconsistent on - hook and off - hooks voltages . for example , slcs have on - hook and off - hook voltages that are substantially different than the typical 50 volt on - hook and 6 - 10 volt off - hook condition . the following is a list of corresponding on - hook and off - hook voltage measurements taken from residential telephone line voltages . ______________________________________on - hook voltage off - hook voltage______________________________________12 . 5 v 6 . 5 v12 . 0 v 7 . 0 v12 . 0 v 9 . 0 v24 . 0 v 5 . 0 v20 . 0 v 4 . 0 v62 . 0 v 9 . 5 v14 . 0 v 7 . 5 v13 . 0 v 7 . 0 v56 . 0 v 16 . 0 v______________________________________ as shown in the above voltages , a single reference voltage set at 20 volts would not be accurate in detecting changes between an on - hook and off - hook condition for each of the telephone line voltages shown above . the present invention readjusts the reference voltage for the current telephone line voltage to ensure accurate on - hook and off - hook detection for any telephone system . referring to fig1 , the vmwi circuit 12 is powered on in step 100 and the on - hook voltage is measured in step 102 . step 104 initiates an off - hook condition by turning on transistor 30 ( fig2 and 7 ) through the seize line . after the telephone lines 13 are seized and a dial tone ( or stutter dial tone ) is heard , the off - hook line voltage is measured again . decision step 106 compares the measured on - hook voltage with the measured off - hook voltage . if the off - hook voltage is not at least two volts below the on - hook voltage , the previous reference voltage is retained in step 108 . for example , if the on - hook voltage was measured while someone was using the phone , the measured on - hook voltage and measured off - hook voltage would be about the same . the micro - controller 28 rejects any on - hook and off - hook measurements that do not change by the predefined minimum voltage difference . if the difference between the on - hook and off - hook voltage is greater than two volts , step 110 sets a new reference voltage by taking the average of the on - hook and off - hook voltage . for example , if the measured on - hook voltage is 12 . 0 volts and the measured off - hook voltage is 8 . 0 volts , the micro - controller 28 sets the reference voltage to 10 . 0 volts . whenever the telephone line voltage drops below 10 . 0 volts , the vmwi circuit 12 considers the phone to be in an off - hook condition . decision step 112 waits for another trigger event and then remeasures the on - hook and off - hook voltages before updating the reference voltage . thus , the vmwi device 12 operates in a wider variety of telephone systems having different on - hook and off - hook voltage levels . having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof , it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles . i claim all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims .
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preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a first embodiment of the invention . in fig1 numeral 1 designates a cruise measuring means for measuring an actual cruise speed of a vehicle , and numeral 2 designates a speed setting means for setting a target speed desired by the driver . a cruise speed signal from the cruise speed measuring means 1 and a target speed signal from the speed setting means 2 are outputted to a speed deviation computing means 3 , in which a speed deviation is calculated with respect to the actual speed and the target speed , the result of the calculation being outputted , as a speed deviation signal , to a controlled variable computing means 7 and also to a shift control decision means 12 which will both be described hereinafter . a cruise speed signal is also outputted from the cruise speed measuring means 1 to an acceleration computing means 4 , in which a vehicle acceleration value is calculated on the basis of the cruise speed signal , and the result of the calculation is outputted , as an acceleration signal , to the controlled variable computing means 7 . the controlled variable computing means 7 outputs a pulse signal , which is determined on the basis of both the speed deviation signal and the acceleration signal , to a throttle drive means 6 which drives a throttle valve 5 for controlling the drive force of the vehicle , in order to reconcile the cruise speed with the target speed . a throttle opening detecting means 8 detects the opening of the throttle valve 5 , and the result of the detection is outputted , as a throttle opening signal , from the throttle opening detecting means 8 to a road gradient estimating means 11 which is to be described hereinafter . a cruise performance memory means 10 stores therein cruise performance characteristics of the vehicle as expressed in terms of the relationship between the cruise speed and the throttle opening in cruising on a sloped road , and the content of the memory means 10 is outputted to the road gradient estimating means 11 as required . the road gradient estimating means 11 receives a cruise speed signal from the cruise speed measuring means 1 and estimates an actual gradient of the road while a vehicle is cruising on the basis of the cruise speed signal , the throttle opening signals and the cruise performance characteristics , after that the estimation is outputted as road gradient information to the shift control decision means 12 . numeral 9 designates an automatic speed change means capable of automatic shift - up or shift - down of vehicle transmissions . when the shift control decision means 12 decides that the road is uphill on the basis of the speed deviation signal and the road gradient information , and moreover , the speed deviation is greater than a predetermined value , it outputs a shift - down command to the automatic speed change means 9 . subsequently , if the speed deviation is greater than the predetermined value and the road is determined to be downhill , a shift - up command is outputted to the automatic speed change means 9 . next , the manner of operation of the first embodiment will be explained with reference to a flow chart shown in fig2 . when power is inputted , a microcomputer starts arithmetic operation at step 101 and initial setting is effected with individual ports and memories . at step 102 , cruise speed v n is calculated by using a cycle of vehicle speed pulses stored through an interrupt handling routine ( not shown ). it is noted that step 102 and subsequent steps constitute a loop completing each in a predetermined time t o which is controlled by standby step 117 . at step 103 , vehicle acceleration α n is calculated according to the following equation : ## equ1 ## in which v n - 1 is a cruise speed at the time of previous sampling . at step 104 , speed deviation ε n of cruise speed v n relative to target speed v m ( not shown ) is determined . at step 105 , a throttle opening signal θ n is inputted . at step 106 , road gradient tan δ n is estimated in such a manner as will be hereinafter described . at step 107 , decision is made as to whether the vehicle is cruising at constant speed . if the decision is no , the program proceeds to step 117 . if the vehicle is cruising at constant speed , at step 108 , decision is made as to whether the state of shift down is on or not . if the decision is no , at step 109 , checking is made to ascertain | ε . sub . η |≧ a , that is , whether or not cruise speed v n is lower than target speed v m by more than specified value a . if the cruise speed is lower by the value a , at step 110 checking is made to determine whether or not gradient tan δ n is more than specified value b , that is , whether or not the road involves an uphill having a gradient greater than specified value b . if it is determined that the road is uphill , a shift - down signal is issued at step 111 . if decision at step 108 is that the state of shift - down is on , at step 112 , checking is made to ascertain whether | ε . sub . η | is lower than specified value c . if | ε . sub . η |≦ c , at step 113 checking is made to see whether or not gradient tan δ n is lower than specified value d . if tan δ . sub . η ≦ d , a shift - up signal is issued at step 114 . a step 115 , a controlled variable is calculated on the basis of acceleration α n and speed deviation ε . sub . η according to the following equation for example , so that the cruise speed v n can be equal to the target speed v m . at step 116 , pulse signals are outputted so that the throttle can be opened or closed according to each relevant t n expression ( symbol and value ). in other words , if t n & gt ; 0 , pulse signals are outputted in a throttle closing direction ; if t n & lt ; 0 , pulse signals are outputted in a throttle opening direction ; and if t n ≈ 0 , pulse signals are outputted only for the value of t n so that the throttle opening can be kept as it is . a step 117 , the program returns to step 102 after waiting until the specified time t o has lapsed , and individual steps are executed in the same way as described above . next , how to determine a road gradient will be explained with reference to the flow chart showing in fig3 and the graph in fig4 . it is noted that in fig4 the axis of ordinates represents throttle opening θ and the axis of abscissas represents cruise speed v . the microcomputer stores the curves shown in the graph , namely , θ 1 = x 1 v + y 1 ( cruise performance characteristics in case of gradient tan δ 1 ) and θ 2 = x 2 v + y 2 ( cruise performance characteristics in case of gradient tan δ 2 ). first , at step 201 , throttle openings θ 1 , θ 2 on the tan δ 1 and tan δ 2 roads at cruise speed v n are calculated . at step 202 , gradient tan δ . sub . η on which the vehicle is cruising is calculated according to the following equation : ## equ2 ## following which it is possible to determine the gradient of the road . control of the timing for shift - up / shift - down changeover from one to the other can thereby be effected according to the actual road condition . fig5 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of the second embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , a shift line , which designates a specific value at determining the timing for issuing a shift - up command , is stored after being predetermined on the basis of the gradient of a road at the time when a shift - down command is issued . if the road gradient becomes lower than this shift line , and moreover , the absolute value of the speed deviation is smaller than the specific value , a shift - up command is issued . in fig5 the shift control decision means 12 outputs to a shift - line memory means 13 the road gradient taken at the time when the shift - down command is issued to the automatic speed change means 9 . the shift - line memory means 13 determines a shift line on the basis of this gradient and stores it therein . at determining a timing for shifting up , the shift line stored in memory is , as required , outputted from the shift line memory means 13 to the shift control decision means 12 . in fig5 since those components , which are designated by numerals identical with those in fig1 represent parts identical with those in fig1 description of those parts is omitted herein . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence of operation in the second embodiment . in fig6 since the steps 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 perform the same functions as those designated by the same numerals in the fig2 flow chart , description thereof is omitted herein . in this second embodiment , if a descision is made that the road is uphill ( yes at step 110 ), at step 210 , shift line value tan δ 1 for next shift - up is calculated using the road gradient tan δ at the time , as shown in the following equation : wherein it is understood that β ( t ) decreases with time t as 0 ≦ β ( t ). if it is determined that the road is uphill , at step 111 a shift - down signal is outputted as in the above - described first embodiment . if , at step 108 , it is determined that a shift - down is on , at step 112 , checking is made to see whether or not the absolute value | ε . sub . η | of the speed deviation is lower than the specified value c . if | ε . sub . η |≦ c , at step 113 , the magnitude of the present road gradient tan δ is checked in relation to the relevant specified value ( specified value d in the first embodiment ). in the present embodiment , for the specified value , shift line value tan δ 1 calculated at step 210 is used . if tan δ . sub . η ≦ tan δ 1 , at step 114 , a shift - up signal is outputted . in fig6 since steps 115 , 116 , 117 perform the same functions as those designated by the same numerals in the fig2 chart , description thereof is omitted herein . the manner of estimating road gradients in this second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment . with the second embodiment , needless to say , it is possible to control the timing for shift - up / shift - down changeover according to the actual road condition in the same manner as in the first embodiment . further , the second embodiment makes it possible to positively cope with variations in cruise performance characteristics of the vehicle . in both the first and the second embodiments , the apparatus incorporates throttle opening detecting means 8 , cruise performance characteristic memory means 10 , road gradient estimating means 11 , and shift control decision means 12 . alternatively , it is practicable to arrange so that an electronic speed change control apparatus incorporates all these means and the apparatus of the invention transmits speed deviation signals to the relevant components of the electronic apparatus , thereby constituting a system . in the above embodiments , the case , where shifting down takes place first on an uphill road , and shifting up takes place next , is described . needless to say , it can also be said in the case where shifting up first on a downhill road and shifting down next . as this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof , the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive , since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them , and all changes that fall within meets and bounds of the claims , or equivalence of such meets and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims .
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referring now to the accompanying drawings , there is shown preferred embodiment of the invention . fig1 shows a block diagram of the apparatus for initial synchronization and adjacent cell search based on the multipath energy window of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention . the apparatus comprises s tap delay lines , s parallel correlators , a local cell pn code generation unit , an adjacent cell pn code generation unit , amplitude judgment units , a buffer unit , a parallel - series converter unit , a sliding multipath energy window calculation unit , a maximal energy window calculation unit , and a initial synchronization confirmation unit . the functions of each of the units will be described as follows . the baseband signals r ( t ) sampled in t c / m rate is sent to the s tap delay lines . the number s of the tap delay lines is determined by the time taken for initial synchronization and cell search . s tap outputs are provided to the s parallel correlators respectively . each of the s parallel correlators ( multiplying accumulation units ) performs channel evaluation integration operation as shown in equation 3 . if it is used for initial synchronization process , the integration operation is performed with the pn code output from the pn code generation unit for current cell . if it is used for cell search process , the integration operation is performed with the pn code output from the pn code generation unit for adjacent cell . each of the correlators performs the channel evaluation for one path in one integration period nt c . the integrated results are supplied to the corresponding followed amplitude judgement units , and then the multiplying accumulation units are cleared . the amplitude judgement units judge the amplitude square values of the channel evaluation obtained from the correlators , send the evaluated results of which pure interference channels are removed to the buffer unit . then , the evaluated results output from the buffer unit is sent to the sliding multipath energy window calculation unit through the parallel - series converter unit . the sliding multipath energy window calculation unit performs the calculation as shown in equation 6 . s output values of the sliding multipath energy windows could be obtained for the s channel evaluation in each of integration periods . the maximal energy window calculation unit compares the calculated energy output from the sliding multipath energy window calculation units , selects the energy having maximal value and the phase of the local pilot pn code which corresponds to the energy . this result is sent to the initial synchronization confirmation unit ( acquisition confirmation ). the initial synchronization confirmation unit may judges initial synchronization using threshold judgement method for one time ( the threshold is determined as desired , in general , the threshold is larger 1 / 10 than the total energy of the input signals ). if the maximal energy is larger than the threshold , the initial synchronization process or cell search process is valid . thus , the phase of local pilot pn code , which corresponds to the energy window having maximal value , is the best pn code phase k opt . otherwise , this initial synchronization process or cell search process is fail . naturally , the threshold judgement method can be performed more times for confirming the initial synchronization . next , the phase of the local pn code generation unit in a receiver is shifted to the best pn code phase k opt . after that , the process of initial synchronization or cell search is completed . since evaluations of s multipath energy windows can be obtained in each of integration periods , the local cell pn code generation unit or the adjacent cell pn code generation unit as shown in fig1 jumps s phases backward or forward after completing integration once . next , the time taken for initial synchronization is calculation . since the local pn sequence has m × p possible pn code phase , the present embodiment uses s parallels calculation units , therefore , s phases can be searched within t d = nt c integration , period . thus , the time taken for initial synchronization is : the principle of adjacent cell search is similar with that of initial synchronization , therefore , the process of adjacent cell search can be implement in a maser of time division multiplexing . after initial synchronization , the phase difference between the pilot sequence of the adjacent cells and the pilot sequence of the local cell and , the search range can be obtained by receiving the information broadcast from the local base station . the adjacent cell search can be performed by replacing the local pilot sequence and whole search range used in initial synchronization process with the local pilot sequence and search range of adjacent cells . fig1 shows this time division multiplexing manner . similarly , the time taken for adjacent cell search is calculated as follows : t srch = m × p srch s nt c ( 8 ) wherein p srch is the area to be searched ( t c as time unit ). after searching , the obtained maximal multipath energy window is reported to the base station to determined whether or not hand - off or macro - diversity shall be performed . the implement of the present invention is described with a mobile terminal in cdma 2000 - 1x system as an example . the downstream channel in cdma 2000 - 1x system includes continuously transmitting pilot channels used for extracting timing , initial synchronization , cell search and coherent demodulation etc . in this system , the spreading chip rate is 1 . 2288 mcps , chip interval is t c = 1 / 1 . 2288 ms , the pilot channel pn code is a pseudo random sequence with length n = 2 15 . if the receiver employs 4 times the chip sampling rate , that is , m = 4 , each integration period is 256 t c and the maximal initial synchronization time required for the system is t acq — max , the number of the parallel correlators is then : s & gt ; ⌈ 4 × 2 15 × 256 t c t acq_max ⌉ + 1 in fact , it may take t acq — max & lt ; 0 . 5 s , then , the number of the parallel correlators is s = 64 since cdma 2000 - 1x system has a low spreading chip rate , the complexity associated with hardware can be reduced with a manner of time division multiplexing . in this example , each of physical correlators multiplexes 32 times . therefore , it needs 4 correlators in plural form . the threshold used for judging interference paths is set to 1 / 32 the energy of received signals . the threshold used for initial synchronization of maximal multipath energy window is set to 1 / 16 the energy of received signals . this example can apply to a vehicle mobile station in cdma2000 - 1x cellular mobile communication system fitting standard 3gpp2 release a . the spread spectrum receiving part in the mobile station can be implemented by , for example , a xc4085x1a fpga chip , a product of xilinx company . the spread spectrum receiver to which the apparatus according to the invention is applied can provide excellent stability in the circumstances of vehicle mobile terminals . the initial synchronization method based on multipath energy window according to the invention can maximize the multipath time - delay distribution energy , can overcome the non - determinacy of the system due to the processing of single path signals in conventional initial synchronization method . therefore , the apparatus according to the invention is applicable to mobile cellular communication system in the circumstances of multipath fading channel . the apparatus of the invention employs a sliding multipath energy window calculation method and is facilitated to implement . the apparatus of the invention integrates the initial synchronization and adjacent cell search of a cdma receiver in the manner of time division multiplexing ( tdm ), the complexity of the hardware used in a system is therefore greatly reduced . it takes a shorter time for initial synchronization and adjacent cell search since the calculation is operated in parallel .
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deschampsia antarctica desv . ( poacea ) is one of the two vascular plant species that have naturally colonized maritime antarctic peninsula . during the recent years , d . antarctica has experienced an increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation , due fundamentally to the hole in the ozone layer present in the antarctic region . consequently , this plant species has modified its metabolism to increase the production of secondary metabolites that intervene in the photoprotection process . the fact that d . antarctica is naturally acclimated to conditions that expose it to oxidative stress ( high light and low temperature ) let us to consider this plant as a source of antioxidative compounds . it was possible to obtain antioxidative compounds from the plants that grew in wild in antarctica but the feature was practically lost when the plants were cultivated in vitro . this disclosure provides methods to induce antioxidative compounds in in vitro grown plants and further more the invention according to this disclosure provides an antineoplastic extract obtained from the plants . this invention authentically establishes the antitumorigenic effect of the extracts obtained from d . antarctica and their capacity to prevent the disease through the study of their in vitro effects . this invention also describes a method to induce antineoplastic compounds in in vitro grown plants and isolation of the compounds , as well as their potential applications . the products according to this invention are based on the metabolites with antineoplastic activity present in d . antarctica . the invention is described below by means of examples . the examples are not meant to limit the scope of the invention . comparison of the absorption peaks of extract from naturally grown plants to the extract of in vitro grown plants without stress induction deschampsia antarctica material was collected from robert island , a copper mine peninsula ( 62 ° 22 ′ s ; 59 ° 43 ′ w ), and it was carried in plastic bags . the material was disinfected with fungicide ( benomyl and captan ) and sodium hypochlorite . plant material was micropropagated in vitro . the culture medium was prepared based on the murashige and skoog ( ms ) medium . 1 mg / l of bap hormone ( n6 benzylaminopurine ) was added as well as 35 mg / l saccharose and 9 g / l of agar at a final ph of 5 . 7 . the in vitro growing plants were kept in growth chambers at 22 ° c . with a photoperiod of 16 / 8 h ( light / darkness ) and a photon flow of 2000 μmol m − 2 s − 1 . the aerial parts of the in vivo or in vitro growing plants were collected and macerated in 5 ml of distilled water . the maceration is later sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1 , 000 rpm for 15 minutes a thin layer chromatography was performed . the extracts were seeded on a 60 f 254 silica gel slide ( merck ) to visualize the compounds present . a uv - vis shimadzu uv - 160 spectrophotometric analysis was used to analyze the extracts . an absorbency screening was consequently conducted between 200 and 400 nm to determine the presence of absorption maximums characteristic of the families of compounds present in the extracts ( fig1 ). when the flavonoids are dissolved in methanol , flavones and flavonols exhibit two major peaks of absorption in the 240 - 400 nm region when they are examined by uv spectroscopy and visible light . these peaks commonly refer to band i ( 300 - 400 nm ) and band ii ( 240 - 280 nm ). according to the uv - visible 200 - 400 nm spectrum analysis ( fig1 ), flavonoids are seen in the metabolic extracts of plants collected in vivo in the antarctic . they are virtually absent in the extracts of plants cultivated in vitro in the laboratory . the flavonoids exhibit characteristic peaks . as the previous example shows , flavonoids were virtually absent from the in vitro grown plants . this example shows that the flavonoid production in deschampisa antarctica plants is inducible by various stress conditions . after 50 days , the in vitro propagated deschampsia antarctica plants were fully removed from the agar , and the roots were cleaned from all the agar . after being removed from the agar , the plants were submerged in aqueous solutions of different concentrations of nacl ( 2 , 3 and 4 m ) for a period of 30 minutes , after which the aerial part of the plant is macerated in 5 ml of distilled water . the maceration is later sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1 , 000 rpm for 15 minutes . the plantlets grown in agar were irradiated by uv light , in the same jar in which they grew , at intensities of 45 μw / cm 2 and 70 μw / cm 2 for 2 hours . plantlets were then removed from the agar and the aerial part of the samples was cut off , macerated with 5 ml of methanol , sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 15 minutes . the extracted samples were concentrated , lyophilized and stored at − 20 ° c . polyphenol concentration in the extract of in vivo and in vitro grown plants unlike deschampsia antarctica plants cultivated in vitro , the plants cultivated in natural conditions showed continuous induction of polyphenols throughout their entire stage of development . the plants are exposed to constant risks of saline solutions with a concentration of 0 . 5 m ( concentration in sea water ) and to the conditions of the natural radiation in antarctica . the extracts obtained from the plants of deschampsia antarctica cultivated in vitro and in in vivo were submitted to analysis through a uv - vis 200 - 400 nm spectrum to determine the peak absorbencies of the compounds present in the extracts against methanol in a shimadzu uv - 160 spectrophotometer . 100 μl of the extract ( macerated ) was used , specifically from the supernatant , and dissolved in 10 ml of methanol . deschampsia antarctica plants cultivated in vitro without any treatment were used as controls in order to evaluate the effects of the treatment it can be clearly seen in the spectra that all stress treatments to which the plants were submitted caused an increase in the concentration of polyphenols as compared to the control ( fig1 - 3 ). the treatment with nacl solutions ( fig2 ) that caused the greatest increase in the concentration of polyphenols was observed when the plant was submerged in 3m nacl , although nacl at concentrations of 2 and 4 m exhibited a similar effect . the present data also revealed that 3m nacl is the concentration at which deschampsia antarctica exhibited the highest polyphenol concentration . the response of deschampsia antarctica in terms of polyphenol production in the presence of different concentrations of nacl is : 3m & gt ; 4m & gt ; 2 m . the plants that were exposed to 45 μw / cm 2 of uv radiation for 2 hours showed the greatest increase in polyphenols ( fig3 ). the plant exposed to greater radiation intensity ( 70 μw / cm 2 ) during the same period of time did not reveal an increase as high as for 45 μw / cm 2 . this may occur because the plants suffered some type of damage that caused the green matter to die or the plants spent resources on recovering from the damage , thereby diminishing the concentration of secondary metabolites . a comparison of the results obtained with deschampsia antarctica submitted to different treatments clearly reveals that the best result or the greatest increase in polyphenols was observed when the plants were submitted to uv radiation at an intensity of 45 μw / cm 2 for 2 hours ( fig1 , 2 and 3 ). the aqueous extract of deschampia antarctica was analyzed with hpcl analysis . fig7 shows a chromatogram of the hplc analysis . the chromatogram shows the main components of deschampsia antarctica aqueous extract . two major peaks ( peak 1 with retention time of 10 . 6667 min and peak 2 with retention time of 12 . 0167 min ) account to 80 % ( w / w ) of the total amount of injected sample . both of the peaks were collected separately by using a semipreparative column . for purity assessment an hplc - dad equipped with an analytical column was used . the chromatograms corresponding to the isolated peaks are presented in fig8 . each chromatogram shows only one peak with purity higher than 95 % indicating that the peaks were essentially pure . by using a diode array analytical hplc it was possible to obtain a uv - visible 200 - 400 nm spectrum for both of the compounds . the spectra are shown in fig9 . both spectrums showed major absorption bands in 240 - 400 nm region . both exhibited first absorption band at 260 nm and second one at 350 nm . those peaks are in close agreement with the absorption spectra exhibited by flavonoids when analyzed using uv - visible spectroscopy . when flavonoids are dissolved in methanol , flavones and flavonols show tow major peaks known as band i ( 300 - 400 nm ) and band ii ( 240 - 280 nm ), respectively . in order to elucidate the chemical structures of the compounds , we coupled hplc to mass spectrometer to obtain the mass chromatogram of peaks 1 and 2 ( fig1 ). the mass spectra chromatogram showed the main peaks at m / z 580 for peak 1 and m / z 593 for peak 2 . this information was compared with other mass spectra by using a mass spectra library for natural compounds and the resulting structures are presented in fig1 . peak 1 corresponds to isoswertiajaponin (( 7 - o - methylorientin ) 2 ″- o - beta - arabinopyranoside ) and peak 2 corresponds to orientin 2 ″- beta - arabinopyranoside . these compounds have been previously identified in deschampisa antarctica leaves ( webby r . and markham k , 1994 , isoswertijaponin 2 ″- o ′ beta - arabinopyranoisee and other flavone - c - glycosides from the antarctic grass deschampisa antarctica . phytochemistry 36 ( 5 ): 1323 - 1326 ). however , no biological activity of the identified compounds has been proposed . thus , the present disclosure is the first report concerning the biological activity of these natural products . the mass spectra of both of the compounds showed a common fragment which appears at m / z 448 that belongs to orientin ( fig1 ). several biological activities , such as radioprotection , vessel relaxation , antioxidant properties , free radical inhibitor properties and antiviral activity have been published for orientin . the total plant extracts were fractionated into compounds by paper chromatography . the sample was seeded on whatman no . 3 paper using 15 % glacial acetic acid as the mobile phase . the different compounds were visualized under uv light . the different fractions , called b1 , b2 and b3 , were recovered from the paper by immersion in methanol and then concentrated in a rotoevaporator . the slide chromatography was conducted to visualize the isolated compounds in each fraction according to the results provided by the hplc - mass spectrometry ( example 3 above ) it can be assumed that luteolin with different degrees of glycosylation and substitution of glycosides through c — c bonds ( orientin compounds ) is the molecule that is largely present and causing biological activity . this type of structure increases the stability of the active compound . moreover , these compounds were present in extracts of in vivo grown antarctic deschampsia plants or plants subjected to 4 ° c . for 72 hours , but they are not present in plants produced in vitro at 13 ° c . ( data not shown ). this indicates that these compounds are inducible at low temperatures or other types of stress the plants experience in wild . it is known that flavones play an important role in the human body as an antioxidant , chelators of free radicals , anti - inflammatory agents , promoters of the metabolism of carbohydrates and stimulators of the immune system ( rahman , i ., biswas , s . k ., kirkham , p . a . 2006 . regulation of inflammation and redox signaling by dietary polyphenols . biochem pharmocol . 702 ( 11 ): 1439 - 1452 ; kandaswami , c . lee , l . t . lee , p . p , hwang j . j . ; ke . f . c ., huang , y . t . lee , m . t . 2005 in vivo 19 ( 5 ) 895 - 909 ). however , there is no research or indications of deschampsia antactica extracts of being antineoplastic . in order to determine whether the methanol extracts obtained from d . antarctica could have some antineoplastic effect , the soluble fractions b1 , b2 and b3 were tested . these fractions were obtained from the total fraction and have different degrees of glucoside substitution . fig4 shows the effect of the b1 , b2 and b3 fractions on in vitro growth of colon cancer cells and hepatic cancer cells . it can be seen that these fractions effectively inhibit the proliferation of human ht 29 and lovo colorectal cancer cells and hep3b hepatoma cancer cells while the b3 fraction , with the highest degree of glucoside substitution , presents the greatest level of inhibition on malignant cellular proliferation ( fig4 ht29 , lovo and hep 3b ). its effect on wi38 ( normal lung fibroblasts ) was tested at the maximum concentration to determine specificity and toxicity . no inhibitory effect on wi38 cells proliferation was observed ( fig4 ). it can be concluded that these compounds can inhibit malignant cells growth in vitro , but showed no inhibitory effect on the proliferation of normal fibroblasts . this data indicate the antineoplastic effect of these fractions . as shown in examples above , the antineoplastic compounds extracted from deschampsia antarctica could be induced in vitro . therefore , the amount of antioxidants to be produced in plants by exposure to uv light , salt treatment or low temperature can be modulated . moreover , the production of the antineoplastic extract becomes actually practicable as the plant material can be cultivated in large amounts in vitro . besides working with the soluble fractions mentioned before , deschampsia antarctica plant material was extracted with solvents of increasing polarity ( ethyl acetate and methanol ). the aim of this approach was to divide plant constituents into fractions of different polarity on extraction . organic solvent extracts were made in a soxhlet apparatus . fig5 a shows the effect of an ethyl acetate extract on in vitro growth of human colon cancer cells ( lovo ). an inhibition of 50 % was observed in the cellular proliferation of these tumoral cells . the same extract was tested in wi 38 cells ( normal lung fibroblasts ). no inhibitory effect on wi 38 cells proliferation was observed ( 5 b ). on the other hand , fig5 c shows the effect of a methanol extract , which produced more than 50 % of inhibition on the proliferation of colon tumoral cells ( lovo ). this extract was tested in non - tumoral cells ( wi38 ), showing an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation ( fig5 d ). the methanol and ethyl acetic extracts were active against lovo colorectal cancer cells at the lowest concentration of 75 ug / ml . the most active fractions were used for further fractionation steps . this procedure led to the isolation of pure compounds ( see example 3 above ). we also tested these pure compounds ( peak 1 and peak 2 of example 3 above ) and a combination of them on tumoral and non - tumoral cells . fig6 a and 6 b show the inhibitory effect of pure compounds , alone and in combination ( peak 2 and the combination of peak 1 and peak 2 ) on colon cancer cells ( lovo ). these compounds were isolated from deschampsia antarctica extracts as described in example 3 above . the inhibitory effect on cellular proliferation was observed with peak 2 and with a combination of peak 1 and 2 at concentrations of 1 . 7 mm , which correspond to 1000 μg / ml , this concentration being 10 times higher than the inhibitory concentration of the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts . this result proves that methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of deschampsia antarctica are efficient in 10 times lower concentration than the purified compounds . preparation of fast - dissolving tablets for oral administration comprising 500 mg of despchampsia antarcica extract we provide here a composition for oral administration of the deschampsia antarcica extract for prophylactic , preventive and curing purposes for patients suffering or prone to cancerous and tumoral diseases . tablets each exhibiting the following qualitative and quantitative composition : deschampsia antarctica extract 500 mg , d - glucosa monohydrate 597 . 6 mg , sodium croscarmellose 35 . 2 mg , microcrystaline cellulose 160 . 0 mg , anhydrous citric acid 35 . 2 mg , granulated sorbitol 160 . 0 mg , aspartame 28 . 8 mg , saccharin sodium 14 . 4 mg , glycerol dibehenate 16 . 0 mg , magnesium stearate 6 . 4 mg , orange flavoring 46 . 4 mg , are preparared in the following way : all the components , with the exception of lubricating agents ( magnesium stearate and glycerol dibehenate ), are mixed by means of a tumbler until a homogeneous whole is obtained , the magnesium stearate and glycerol dibehenate are added and mixing is again carried out until homogeneous , then the resulting mixture is subjected to tableting in order to obtain tablets exhibiting a unit weight 1 . 6 g which measure 20 mm in diameter and 4 . 5 in height . the tablets thus prepared disintegrate in the mouth in 30 seconds . preparation of fast - dissolving tablets comprising 7 . 5 g of deschampsia antarctica extract tablets exhibiting the following qualitative and quantitative composition for 100 g : ingredients quantity : deschampsia antarctica extract 7 . 5 g , spray - dried mannitol 71 . 0 g , microcrystalline cellulose 15 . 0 g , sodium croscarmellose 3 . 0 g , ammonium glycyrrhizinate 0 . 3 g , aspartame 1 . 0 g , l - menthol 0 . 2 g , mint flavouring 1 . 0 g , magnesium stearate 1 . 0 g are prepared in the following way : all the components , with the exception of magnesium stearate , are mixed by a tumbler until a homogeneous whole is obtained , the magnesium stearate is added and mixing again carried out until homogenous , then the mixture is subjected to tableting . the tablets thus prepared disintegrate in the mouth in 20 seconds . 900 g of deschampsia antarctica extract , 800 g of microcrystalline cellulose , 12 g of colloidal silicon dioxide , 684 g of sodium chloride and 36 g of potassium chloride were mixed . the mixture was transferred to a fluidization rotogranulator , and a mixture of 40 g of 35 % dimethyl polysiloxane emulsion and 2000 ml of ion - exchanged water was sprayed onto it . spraying speed of the pelletizing liquid was set at 50 ml / min , pressure of the spraying air was 2 . 5 bar . the speed of the rotor was set at 450 rev / min in the first 15 minutes of the pelletization and later kept at 600 rev / min . speed by volume of the fluidization air was kept at 60 m3 / hour in the first 15 minutes of the pelletization and later at 90 m 3 / hour . the temperature of the fluidization air was set at 25 ° c . in the first part of the pelletization and 40 ° c . for the drying procedure . the dried pellets were passed through sieves 1 . 6 mm .
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the manipulator shown in fig1 has a base plate 3 arranged in a fixed frame 1 . a vertical bilaterally clamped wire spring 5 ( the third coupling member ) having a circular cross - section is provided near its two ends with thin flexible parts 7 and 9 . between the flexible ends , wire spring 5 has a thicker , comparatively rigid central part 6 . the flexible ends 7 and 9 are secured in bearing bushings 11 and 12 . the bearing bushing 11 is itself resiliently clamped in a recess 13 in a dish 15 . the bearing bushing 12 is resiliently clamped in a recess 14 of a lever 16 ( the lever of the first kind ) to be described below . the dish 15 is connected by a bolt 17 to a disk 19 . an object holder in the form of a table 21 is secured to disk 19 . the table 21 extends partially around the disk 19 and is fixed to the disk 19 by a screw 23 . by means of the flexible end 9 , the bilaterally clamped wire spring 5 can be bent in all directions with respect the lever 16 . the thickness ( rigidity ) of the wire spring 5 and the weights of the dish 15 , the disk 19 and the table 21 are such that the wire spring 5 will not buckle . an intermediate block 25 is secured to base plate 3 and a second base plate 27 which is parallel to the first base plate 3 . the base plates 3 and 27 and the intermediate block 25 together form the frame 1 . a first coupling member for the first direction of translation , x ( see fig1 and 5 ), comprises a bilaterally clamped circular wire spring 29 . by way of spring 29 , a tensile force can be exerted on the dish 15 . the wire spring 29 is provided at its end near the dish 15 with a bearing bushing 31 . bushing 31 is resiliently clamped in a recess 33 of the dish 15 . the wire spring 29 is clamped at its other end in a lever 35 of the first kind . lever 35 is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in fig1 . the wire spring 29 is clamped in the lever 35 in a bearing bushing 37 . bushing 37 is clamped resiliently in lever 35 by a bolt 39 in a bore in the lever 35 . the first base plate 3 has secured to it a block 41 . two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 43 and 45 are clamped to block 41 . the leaf springs 43 and 45 are also clamped to the lever 35 so that they are clamped bilaterally . the crossing axes of the two pairs of leaf springs 43 and 45 form an axis of rotation 47 for the lever 35 . the axis of rotation 47 remains substantially fixed during the rotation of the lever 35 . a tensile spring 49 is connected at one end to the lever 35 and at its other end to the first base plate 3 . rotation of the lever 35 about the axis of rotation 47 is obtained by a known so - called differential microdrive 51 ( see the book feinmechanische bauelemente , 1972 , by s . hildebrand , page 239 ). the microdrive 51 has a ram 53 which engages the lever 35 . the microdrive 51 is operated manually , but may alternatively be coupled to an electric motor which may be servo - controlled . the lever 35 and the microdrive 51 together form the first driving member . a second coupling member for the second direction of translation , y ( see fig5 ), is identical to the first coupling member for the first direction of translation , x , and is therefore not described further . a wire spring 53 identical to the wire spring 29 is partly visible in fig5 . also , the relevant lever is rotated by a known microdrive , which is identical to the microdrive 51 . the lever and the microdrive together form the second driving member . the third coupling member , comprising the wire spring 5 , for the third direction of translation , z ( see fig4 ), is identical to the first and the second coupling members . the third coupling member also is not described for the sake of brevity . by means of the bearing bushing 12 , the wire spring 5 is resiliently clamped in the lever 16 . it should be noted that the wire springs 29 and 53 also have , like the wire spring 5 , a comparatively rigid thicker central part and thin flexible ends ( not designated by reference numerals ). in the neutral position of the manipulator and of the table 21 , the wire springs 29 and 53 are perpendicular to each other and are located in the same plane . the wire spring 5 then extends vertically in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of the wires springs 29 and 53 . a fourth coupling member for the first direction of rotation , q x ( see fig1 and 2 ), comprises a rigid connection member ( pipe ) 57 and two pairs of parallel and identical wire springs 59 and 61 . springs 59 and 61 are resiliently clamped to the dish 15 and to a lever 63 of the second kind , respectively . the two wire springs 59 are both clamped near one end to the connection member 57 and near the other end to a flange 65 of the dish 15 . the two wire springs 61 are both clamped near one end to the connection member 15 and near the other end to the lever 63 . thus , the wire springs 59 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 57 and the flange 65 , while the wire springs 61 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 57 and the lever 63 . the connection member 57 is a pipe 67 with flanges 69 and 71 . the wire springs 59 and 61 are resiliently clamped in flanges 69 and 71 ( see fig1 ). the wire spring 29 , for the first direction of translation , x , extends inside the pipe 67 . the lever 63 of the second kind is rotatable about an axis 73 if the first direction of rotation , q x . the axis 73 is formed by two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 75 and 77 . the leaf springs 75 and 77 are clamped at one end to the lever 63 and at the other end to the first base plate 3 . the rotation in the first direction of rotation , q x , about the axis 73 is obtained by a known so - called microdrive 79 . microdrive 79 has a ram 81 which engages the lever 63 ( see fig2 ). the microdrive 79 is operated manually , but may alternatively be driven by an electric motor . a compression spring 83 is clamped between the lever 63 and a support 85 secured to the first base plate 3 . the axis 73 remains substantially in place during rotation of the lever 63 . due to the rigid connection member 57 , wire springs 59 and 61 , and flange 65 on dish 15 , rotation of the lever 63 about the axis 73 causes the dish 15 to rotate the same amount . a fifth coupling member for the second direction of rotation , q y ( see fig5 ), is identical to the fourth coupling member for the first direction of rotation , q x , and is therefore not described further . a connection member ( pipe ) 87 identical to the connection member ( pipe ) 57 is partly visible in fig5 . the rotation q y is also obtained by a microdrive identical to the microdrive 79 . the connection members 57 and 87 ( for q x and q y ) can be positioned by wire springs 89 and 91 . springs 89 and 91 are secured at one end to the relevant connection member and at the other end to a fixed block 93 . a sixth coupling member for the third direction of rotation , q z , has the same construction as the fourth and the fifth coupling members for the directions of rotation q x and q y . the rotation in the direction q z has , however , an effect on the dish 15 and the wire spring 5 which different from that of the rotations in the directions q x and q y , as will be explained more fully . the sixth coupling member comprises a rigid connection member ( pipe ) 95 and a lever 97 of the second kind . the connection member 95 is connected by two pairs of parallel and identical wire springs 99 and 101 ( see fig4 ) to the dish 15 and to the lever 97 , respectively . the four wire springs 99 and 101 are all clamped near one end to the connection member 95 . the other ends of the springs 99 and 101 are clamped to a block 103 secured to the flange 65 of the dish 15 and to the lever 97 , respectively . the two wire springs 99 thus form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 95 and the block 103 . the two wire springs 101 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 95 and the lever 97 . the connection member 95 comprises a pipe 105 with flanges 107 and 109 . the wire springs 99 and 101 are clamped in flanges 107 and 109 . the wire spring 5 extends inside the pipe 105 for the third direction of translation , z . the lever 97 is rotatable about an axis 111 in the third direction of rotation , q z . the axis 111 is formed by two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 113 and 115 . leaf springs 113 and 115 are clamped at one end to the lever 97 and at the other end to the intermediate block 25 . block 25 is secured both to the first base plate 3 and to the second base plate 27 . the rotation in the third direction of rotation , q z , about the axis 11 is obtained by a known microdrive 119 . microdrive 119 has a ram 121 which engages the lever 97 ( see fig3 ). the microdrive 119 is operated manually , but may alternatively be driven by an electric motor . the axis 111 remains substantially in place during rotation of the lever 97 . the connection member ( pipe ) 95 is also positioned by a wire spring 118 , which is secured to a fixed block 120 . the wire spring 5 is subjected to a bending load during rotations in both directions of rotation q x and q y . on rotation in the direction of rotation q z , the wire spring 5 is subjected to a torsional load ( see fig3 ). since all translations and rotations are made by flexible wire springs , all movements ( i . e . three translations and three rotations ) can be made simultaneously . a translation in one of the directions of translation also results in a translation in the two remaining directions of translation . this is not the case with the rotations . the rotations do not influence each other . it should be noted that all wire springs are glued in the bearing bushings . all bearing bushings are clamped resiliently . as is apparent from fig5 such a clamping can be obtained by incisions , which are resiliently loaded by a bolt . the manipulator is further provided with a hood 121 and a shield 123 . the coupling members may consist of wires which have a constant cross - sections throughout their length . however , thinned circular end portions are used , the central part may have a different cross - section , for example a square cross - section . the wire springs 5 , 29 and 53 may be replaced by comparatively rigid rods which have ball engagements at both ends . such rods can tilt in all necessary directions . the rotatable levers of the first and second kinds may be replaced by translation mechanisms of many different constructions . the microdrives may also be of a kind different from that indicated . for example , it is possible to use piezoelectrically or magnetostrictively acting microdrives . the manipulator can be used especially successfully for performing small displacements of an object in the submicron range . in this case , the object holder may be , for example , a gripper for a robot . for example , the alignment of solid state lasers to optical fibers , the positioning of video recorder heads , the positioning of an object to be illuminated with respect to the illumination source in integrated circuit manufacture , and the positioning of a sample to be examined in an x - ray diffraction apparatus may all be performed by using the manipulator according to the invention .
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referring now to the single figure , it may be seen that a broadband driver stage 10 according to this invention includes a conventional coaxial impatt diode oscillator ( not numbered ) that is coupled to a rectangular waveguide cavity 11 . the coaxial impatt diode oscillator ( not numbered ) comprises an impatt diode 13 mounted in a section of coaxial line ( not numbered ) here fabricated by forming a substantially cylindrical opening in complementary metallic members ( not numbered ) making up a block 15 with a section of double - ridged waveguide 17 formed therein . the impatt diode 13 is mounted between a heat sink 19 and an impedance transformer section 21 to match the relatively low diode impedance to the 50 ohm characteristic impedance of the coaxial line . a dielectric sleeve 23 is provided to prevent the transformer section 21 from being shorted to the outer conductor of the coaxial line section . a tapered termination load 25 is provided on the opposite end of the coaxial line . the material of the termination load 25 here is the material known as &# 34 ; eccosorb &# 34 ; ( a trademark of emerson & amp ; cuming , incorporated , microwave products division , canton , mass .). it will now be appreciated that the impatt diode 13 and associated elements constitute an assembly similar to the low power stage shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 097 , 823 . it will also be appreciated that , as compared to the just - mentioned stage , the loading provided here by the ridges of the double - ridged waveguide 17 is effective to lower the impedance of the waveguide section 17 and to lower the cutoff frequency of the dominant mode , so that the useful bandwidth of the here - contemplated driver stage 10 is wider than that of the mentioned low power stage , or of any known driver stage . the impedance of the waveguide section 17 is matched to that of a conventional waveguide circulator 27 by means of an asymmetrical compound coupling iris 29 . it is well known that discontinuities in waveguides provide reactance which approximates a lumped capacitance , a lumped inductance , or a combination of the two . thus , discontinuities which constrict the guide in the direction of the electric field as , for example , an e - plane iris , act as a capacitance and discontinuities which constrict the guide in the direction of the magnetic field act as an inductance . when thin metal irises are used as matching elements , the thicker the iris the greater the amount of susceptance provided . the coupling iris 29 has a pair of dissimilar apertures 31 , 33 provided therein that are separated by a section of wr90 waveguide which is less than one - eighth of a guide wavelength in length at the center frequency of the amplifier 10 . the dimensions of each of the apertures 31 , 33 here was empirically determined , respectively , to be 0 . 475 &# 34 ;× 0 . 175 &# 34 ; ( with a wall thickness of 0 . 032 &# 34 ;) and 0 . 700 &# 34 ;× 0 . 060 &# 34 ; ( with a wall thickness of 0 . 100 &# 34 ;). the spacing between apertures 31 , 33 was 0 . 100 &# 34 ;. the coupling iris 29 is asymmetric because of the need to match the relatively low impedance of the double - ridged waveguide section 17 to the higher impedance of the conventional waveguide circulator 27 . to complete the illustrated apparatus , a locking signal source 35 and at least one power - combining stage 37 are connected as shown to the circulator 27 . the locking signal source 35 may , for example , be a pulsed or continuous wave oscillator operating at a desired microwave frequency with an output power level of , say , 200 milliwatts . such a level is too low to injection - lock any power - combining stage 37 so the contemplated broadband driver stage 10 is effective to provide ( out of the circulator 27 ) an amplified locking signal at a power level of 1 . 6 watts . further , it will be noted that the power level of the amplified locking signal here remains substantially constant as the frequency of the locking signal source 35 is changed over a bandwidth of about 3 . 5 % and that the duty cycle of the locking signal source 35 ( if pulsed ) may be changed within wide limits . the bias for the impatt diode 13 is derived from a conventional bias source 39 . having described a preferred embodiment of the invention , it will now be apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating its concept may be used . it is felt , therefore , that this invention should not be restricted to the disclosed embodiment , but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
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referring to the figures , there is shown a partial area of a roller conveyor 10 of the type used , for example , in dryers employed in the manufacture of drywall , particle , flake or chipboard , ceiling tile , and like products that are formed by drying a slurry or wet intermediate product . the conveyor 10 has cylindrical rollers 11 carried on respective concentric round shafts 12 mounted in bearings 13 as is conventional . normally , a large number of rollers 11 are used in a conveyor but for simplicity only three are shown in the figures . it will be understood that a bearing 13 is provided at each end of each roller 11 . the rollers 11 are arranged parallel to one another in a common horizontal plane , typically , with a uniform center - to - center spacing . the rollers 11 can be mounted close to one another to adequately support the material being conveyed which is often in a weak state incapable of supporting itself across a significant span . ordinarily , in a typical dryer , there are several vertically spaced layers or decks of rollers 11 . the rollers 11 of each level or deck are all driven in the same direction of rotation by a common chain 14 , which may be of the conventional roller type . customarily , the chain 14 contacts only one or a limited number of teeth 16 of a sprocket 17 associated with a respective roller 11 at any given time . usually , the rollers 11 of a level or deck are driven by a single chain at one side of the conveyor 10 . the sprockets 17 , in accordance with the invention , are assemblies of a sprocket plate 18 on which are formed the teeth 16 , and a hub 19 that is mounted on a roller shaft 12 . as will be described , the sprocket plate 18 and hub 19 are specially configured to interfit or mate with one another for a positive rotational drive between these elements and , alternatively , for passage of the sprocket plate axially completely over the hub . more particularly , the sprocket plate 18 has a spider - like internal bore 21 while the hub has a complementary external spider profile , characterized by radially extending legs or spokes 22 that can fit through the bore . each hub 19 is preferably a metal body with a plurality of three internally radially extending legs or spokes 22 . the hubs 19 can be formed of any suitable material such as a ferrous metal like cast iron , cast steel , or hot roll steel . a bore 26 of the hub 19 is sized to fit the shaft 12 of a respective roller 11 which shaft typically is 1¼ inch in diameter . the sprocket bore 26 includes an internal keyway 27 for receiving a key 28 . the key 28 is also received in an external keyway in the shaft 12 as is conventional . a set screw 29 threaded into a radial hole 31 in the hub 19 locks against the key 28 and releasably fixes the hub 19 onto the shaft 12 . the sprocket assemblies 17 along the conveying direction alternate between two constructions or styles , one 36 lying outside , with reference to a zone occupied by the rollers 11 , of an imaginary vertical plane passing through the middle width of the chain 14 , and the other 37 lying to the inside of this imaginary plane . in other words , the inside and outside designations of these sprocket assembly styles 36 , 37 is made with the understanding that parts on the side of the imaginary vertical mid - plane of the chain adjacent the rollers 11 are “ inside ” and parts on the other side of this imaginary plane are “ outside ”. to the extent that the features of the sprocket plates and hubs are the same or similar in shape or function , the same reference numerals will apply . the sprocket plates of both styles 36 , 37 have essentially the same axial profile , including number of teeth and outside diameter . the sprocket assemblies 17 , as mentioned , are all driven in the same rotational direction so that their respective rollers 11 also revolve in this same direction . adjacent leading edges of the hub legs or spokes 22 , with reference to their direction of rotation , are radially extending lugs or stops 41 . the lugs 41 are formed with abutment surfaces 42 that facing rearwardly with reference to their rotational direction , preferably lie in radial planes that are parallel to and pass through the center of rotation or axis of the hub 19 . the abutment surfaces 42 extend radially outward from an imaginary cylinder concentric with the hub axis and coincident with cylindrical surface segments 43 at the base or radially inward ends of the legs 22 . the abutment surfaces 42 terminate radially outwardly at cylindrical outer surface segments 45 of the legs 22 on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the bore 26 and forming the major outside hub diameter . the sprocket plates 18 have asymmetric unidirectional teeth 16 that are shaped to provide a positive drive from limited tangential engagement of the chain 14 . tips 56 of the teeth 16 represent the outside maximum diameter of the sprockets 17 . the sprocket plates 18 have central bores 57 . arcuate surface areas 58 of the bore 57 , represent a major diameter area and three intervening arcuate surface areas 59 represent the minor diameter of the bore 57 . the internal sprocket legs 23 are equally angularly spaced and form the minor diameter areas 59 at their inner ends . as seen , the legs 23 span the arcuate space between the major diameter arcuate surfaces 58 . leading abutment faces 61 , with reference to the direction of rotation of the sprocket assemblies 17 , extend between the inside diameter and outside diameter bore surfaces 58 , 59 and preferably lie in flat planes that are radial to , pass through , and are parallel to a central axis of the sprocket plate 18 . in the illustrated embodiment , the hub legs 22 of either sprocket style 36 or 37 , are three in number and the sprocket plate legs 23 are of the same number . the arcuate extent of each hub leg 22 is slightly less than an arcuate gap 44 between the internal legs or spokes 23 of the internal sprocket plate bore 21 . this arcuate geometry of the hub and sprocket plate legs as well as the limited radial extent of these legs results in an outer hub profile that is complimentary to and slightly smaller than the interior bore 57 of the sprocket plate thereby enabling a sprocket plate to pass completely over a hub . a face 47 of the hub 19 lies in a flat radial plane transverse to the hub axis and serves as a seat or abutment surface against which the sprocket plate 18 is secured by machine screws 62 , 63 . the sprocket plates 18 are removably assembled on corresponding hubs with the axes of these elements coincident and held in place by a set of the machine screws 62 or 63 . in the case of the outside style of sprocket assembly 36 , the sprocket plate 18 is held to the hub 19 with socket head machine screws 62 threaded into the sprocket plate and in the case of the inside style of sprocket 37 the sprocket plate 18 is held to the hub 19 by flat head machine screws 63 threaded into the hub . the screws 62 , 63 , hold the respective sprocket plates 18 in abutting contact with the radial hub face 47 . it is this surface 47 from which the hub lugs 41 axially project . when mounted on a hub 19 , radial sprocket surfaces 61 abut the radial lug or abutment surfaces 42 enabling the torque developing forces imposed by the chain 14 to be transmitted to the hub with low compressive stresses imposed on these surfaces as a result of being relatively large and being disposed radially outwardly significantly from their rotational axis . non - threaded clearance holes 66 , 67 , that receive the machine screws 62 , 63 in the hubs of the respective outside sprocket styles 36 or in the sprocket plates of the inside sprocket style 37 , ensure that the torque transmitted from the sprocket plate 18 to the hub 19 is isolated from the screws , it being understood that this torque is developed by the abutment surfaces 61 , 42 . as seen in fig2 , and as discussed , the inside and outside styles 37 , 36 of the sprocket assembly 17 can alternate along the feed direction of the conveyor 10 to permit a relatively large sprocket diameter to be used in proportion to the center - to - center distance of the shafts 12 . by offsetting the sprocket assemblies 17 to either side of a center plane of the chain 14 , the sprocket plate 18 of one assembly does not interfere with the sprocket 18 or hub 19 of an adjacent sprocket assembly even where , as shown , the center - to - center distance of adjacent shafts 12 is less than the combined radius of a sprocket and a radius of essentially any part of the sprocket hub on the adjacent shaft . this geometry thereby allows relatively large sprockets to be used and , in turn , reduces the forces required of the chain on the sprocket teeth to develop a given level of torque . at least the sprocket plates 18 on the outer sprocket assemblies 36 , and preferably the sprocket plates on the inner sprocket assemblies 37 , are able to be passed completely over their associated hubs 19 for purposes of removal and replacement . the sprocket plates 18 can experience relatively high wear rates due to their operating environment and from time - to - time may need to be replaced . both the inside and outside sprocket plates can be changed without removal of their associated hubs . moreover , removal and replacement of these plates can be readily accomplished because the machine screws 62 , 63 securing these plates on their respective hubs can be conveniently reached from the outside , i . e . the space outward of the chain 14 , with the convention that the conveyor rollers 11 are to the inside . with the invention , replacing each of the sprocket plates 18 is a simple matter of removing three screws 62 or 63 , and separating the plate from its hub . the need for breaking the hub loose from its fit on a shaft 12 is eliminated . prior to assembly , the screws 62 , 63 , can be coated with a suitable protective sealant so that the risk of corrosion in the threaded holes in the sprocket plate 18 , or hub 19 is reduced . the torque between the sprocket plate and hub developed by the chain force is transmitted between the radial abutment faces 42 and 61 and is preferably isolated from the screws by appropriately dimensioning the parts and especially as mentioned , the clearance holes . typically , where desired , the shaft 12 can be lifted slightly for access to any of the machine screws 63 on the inside sprocket plates . fig4 shows that a sprocket plate 18 can be removed by sliding it axially over the respective roller 11 . this optional method of removal is permitted where , as shown , the minor inside diameter of the sprocket plate is slightly larger than the diameter of the roller . this geometry can be used on the inside sprocket assembly 37 enabling the inside sprocket to be removed , for example , while the adjacent outside sprockets remain in place or can be used on both inside and outside sprocket assemblies for greater flexibility in maintenance or replace operations . in many instances , the rollers 11 can be spaced apart far enough to allow the sprockets of each roller to be in - line , i . e . in a common plane without interference . in this case , the width or thickness of a sprocket plate can be double that shown in the figures , while still using the illustrated chain and the axial sprocket plate profile can be the same as that of the described and shown sprocket plates . such a wide or full width sprocket plate is conveniently used with the inside sprocket style hub illustrated in fig2 . fig4 - 11 illustrate a second embodiment of a sprocket assembly 70 that has structure and function analogous to that of the assembly 17 described in connection with fig1 - 3 . the sprocket assembly 70 comprises a sprocket plate 71 and a hub 72 each of which is made from a suitable material such as steel or other ferrous metal . the sprocket plate 71 and hub 72 can be cast , stamped , forged , machined or otherwise made into their respective shapes as desired . the sprocket plate 71 has peripheral unidirectional teeth 73 , distributed about its geometric center , to cooperate with the roller chain 14 like that shown in fig1 and 3 . the hub 72 has a keyed cylindrical bore 74 with an associated set screw 76 for locking a key 77 onto a shaft such as the shaft 12 shown in fig1 and 3 . when assembled on the hub 72 , the ring - like sprocket plate 71 has its teeth 73 concentrically disposed about the axis of the bore 74 . the hub 72 has a central core 78 with a generally circular exterior surface 79 concentric with the bore 74 and with a plurality of three equally angularly spaced legs 81 extending radially outwardly from this core surface 79 . the legs 81 have radially outer surfaces 82 lying on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the bore 74 . between the legs 81 are arcuate spaces 83 . as shown in fig8 , 10 and 11 , the legs 81 each have a slot 84 at mid - length in the axial direction of the bore 74 . each hub leg slot 84 is open at one arcuate side of the leg 81 and adjacent the cylindrical surface 82 . each slot 84 has a bottom 86 concentric with the bore 74 on a radius equal or larger than the radius of the core 78 . in an angular direction with respect to the axis of the bore 74 the slot 84 ends to form a generally radially oriented abutment surface 87 that can be semi - cylindrical or otherwise somewhat rounded , when viewed in a plane transverse to the radial direction , for ease of manufacture . the sprocket plate 71 is ring - like in form and has a plurality of three radially inwardly extending equally angularly spaced legs 89 . the legs have inner surfaces 91 on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the geometric center of the body of the sprocket plate 71 . arcuate spaces or gaps 92 between each sprocket plate leg are larger in profile than the profile of a hub leg 81 . the sprocket plate legs 89 have leading edges 93 in a rotational sense that are generally radial with respect to the center of the sprocket plate 71 . as indicated in fig5 , showing a sprocket of “ half ” thickness , the legs 89 lie in a plane that is offset from the plane of the peripheral teeth 73 a distance that preferably is at least equal to the thickness of the sprocket in the base area of the teeth . the spaces 92 are radially bounded by surfaces 94 lying on a common imaginary cylindrical surface concentric with the center of the sprocket plate 71 . the surfaces 94 form the major inside diameter or bore of the sprocket plate while the surfaces 91 form the minor inside diameter of the sprocket . as the case with the sprocket and hub shown in fig1 - 3 , the major and minor inside diameters of the sprocket plate 71 are at least as large as the major and minor outside diameters of the hub 72 . this relationship , in addition to the gaps between the sprocket legs 89 being larger than the arcuate widths of the hub legs 81 enables the sprocket plate 71 to pass completely over the hub 72 . the sprocket plate 71 is assembled on the hub 72 by angularly aligning its legs 89 with the hub spaces 83 and slipping it onto the hub until the plane of the legs 89 is coincident with the plane of the hub grooves or slots 84 . the sprocket plate 71 is then rotated relative to the hub 72 in a manner similar to a bayonet connection such that the sprocket plate becomes rotationally coupled to the hub with the radial edge abutment faces 93 on the sprocket legs 89 abutting respective end walls or abutment surfaces 87 at the arcuate ends of the hub slots 84 . the sprocket plate 71 can be releasably locked in position on the hub 72 with a roll pin 95 received in holes drilled through the hub and sprocket plate parallel to their axis . fig5 and 10 illustrate a “ half ” width sprocket that can be used as described earlier where the roller shaft centers are close and inside and outside half width sprockets are alternately mounted from shaft - to - shaft . the sprocket of fig5 can be an outside sprocket and a complementary inside sprocket can be configured as a mirror image of it . a “ full ” sprocket useful when the conveyor roller spacing is large is illustrated in fig6 and 11 . it is desirable to proportion the hub 72 widthwise in the manner shown such that its axial length is three times the nominal thickness of a half sprocket at the base of the teeth or 1½ times the width of a full sprocket at the base of its teeth and it is symmetrical about a mid - plane perpendicular to the axis of the bore 74 . this length permits the hub 72 to be used with both inside and outside style sprockets without interference with an adjacent sprocket as well as with full width sprockets . it will be understood that sprocket plates of the style illustrated in fig4 can be readily removed from a hub for replacement while the hub remains locked on a shaft . removal of a sprocket plate 71 only requires the roll pin 95 to be knocked out and the sprocket plate to be rotated in a reverse direction relative to the hub until its legs 89 are aligned with the spaces 83 between the hub legs 81 and then moved axially off of the hub . it should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding , modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure . for example , in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , the sprocket plate can be retained against the hub by elements other than machine bolts such as a wedge or a horseshoe clip . the invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited .
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this invention shows how simple and cheap equipment can be used for different analyses as efficiently as with previously described complicated instrumentation , when the immunoassay or dna hybridization are performed on a single - use ee chip or using also a porous layer on top of the ee chip . by this means both the measurement device and the measuring cell are cheap enough for the needs of decentralized analysis . this invention describes different ways of producing ee cells on top of different cheap materials . these materials include , among others , different sorts of plastic , polymers , paper , paper with different types of coatings , and cardboard . materials like these are easy to couple to a micro analysis system or a cassette , which takes care of all other functions needed for the analysis . in mass production when one strives to manufacture high quality goods at low prices , printing methods are a very good option as a production method . electrodes described in this invention are extremely well suited to be manufactured by methods of printing technology , which gives a significant competitive advantage on the market . it is previously known that carbon electrodes can be used as single - use anodes in context of electrochemiluminescence of ruthenium ( fi981568 ( a ), kulmala , s ., et al . ), but single carbon anodes cannot be used to excite terbium chelates . an expert in the area could not imagine that by replacing the platinum electrode in a carbon - platinum electrode pair with a carbon electrode one could achieve a special electrode system with special behavior at least when the electrodes are level and near each other ( so far we do not have experience of different geometries ). we are not entirely certain yet whether the light is produced when the electrodes function anodically or cathodically or if the reaction is a result of the combined effect of intermediates produced at different polarities . from the experimental results it appears that the main part of the light at least is produced at the cathode . this invention presents a significant enhancement on the instrumentation and methods meant for the decentralized analysis market and makes cheap , quantitative and fast testing possible . the above is achieved by using ee cells either in their simplest form , fitted with a hydrophobic ring defining the cell area , or as an integrated element in a more complex analysis cassette . the objective of this invention is a method and a device to excite labels in bioaffinity assays either directly from the surface of the ee chips or with the help of porous layers ( porous membranes ) in the ee chip device . the method can be used in immunochemical and dna probe quick assays . it may also be possible that in time some other labels than terbium chelates can be excited with ee chips and methods described in this invention . the invention consists of a device , where the main part is an ee chip . the surface of the electrodes of the ee chip can be coated by known means with antibodies or dna and label molecules attached to the coating can be excited by electric pulses . according to the invention the electrode part ( or the surface of the optional porous layer that comes in contact with the electrode part ) can be coated with langmuir - blodgett films or other easily made films that create special advantages . sometimes great advantages are reached when using porous membranes in bioaffinity assays . with help of the porous layer the sample is uniformly spread on the antibody - coated electrode complex . the porous layers also appear to function as homogenic compensators of liquid flow and to prevent in microfluidistc systems bubble formation , temperature diffusion and surface forces as well as to eliminate problems caused by these e . g ., in microfluidistic micro - flow cells or microlayered cells . films ( porous layers , aka porous membranes ) sometimes used in the invention on electrode surfaces , are characterized by their microporosity and their less than 100 μm thickness . these kinds of materials are commercially available from many sources , such as millipore , msi , sartorius , pall , sigma and dupont . the membranes can be either isotropic or anisotropic . the manufacturing techniques of the films are varied and may contain pressing or stretching , the pores may be formed either chemically or physically , and in anisotropic films , by phase transfer . suitable materials include ptfe , polyvinylidene fluoride , polycarbonate , polysulphone , nylon and cellulose esthers . these are available from commercial sources with different pore sizes and thicknesses and with different physicochemical properties . fibrous materials that can be used include fiber filters , filtration paper , filtration cloth , etc . for manufacturing reasons the ee chips are best kept dry . the devices are then set to working order by adding liquid sample or buffer solution on the ee chips or on the porous layer in the chips . thus conditions suitable for bioaffinity reactions are achieved either directly on the electrodes or between the membrane and the electrode . there are plenty of different , alternative options for the ee chips this invention describes . the basic choice is to directly use a sufficiently conductive carbon paste to manufacture the electrodes on the chip , which is typically either plastic , paper or glass chip or strip , and most typically the manufacturing is done by printing technologies . should the conductance of the carbon paste be insufficient , one can make a highly conductive layer below the carbon paste from e . g . silver ink or thin metal layer , which is then extensively covered with the carbon paste . thus already relatively low voltages are enough to produce ecl as the potential drop does not happen in a long distance inside the resistive carbon paste film . ee chips are usually attached to be part of a diagnostic cassette by various different techniques and by utilizing the best properties of different materials . the aim is to prepare the parts of the cassette , usually made of polymers , e . g ., channels and cells , so that after the addition of the reagents by dry chemistry they allow all the necessary functions of the diagnostic measurement , typically so that the single - use cassette is never opened during use or afterwards . in the following the invention is further illustrated by diagrams and non - limiting examples and figures related to the examples . manufacturing ee chip electrodes so that in the cell area the electrode material consists only of carbon paste an electrode pair , shown in fig1 , was painted from carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip using a template . a 0 . 2 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder had been left in the middle of the chip when it was manufactured by milling , and this shoulder was used as a resistor between the electrodes ( fig2 ( b )). after the carbon paste had dried an extra layer was painted with silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ) and this silver layer nearly reached the cell area ( fig2 ). the cell area was formed by attaching a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated tape piece ( a square one , unlike the round piece shown in fig1 , with a 7 mm or 8 mm i . d . hole in the middle of the piece ) to the left end of the electrode as shown in fig1 . both tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate and tb ( iii )- n 1 - 4 - isothiocyanatobenzyl ) diethylenetriamine - n 1 , n 2 , n 3 , n 3 tetraacetate chelate could be excited and measured with time resolution in this cell . a significantly higher intensity is , however , reached with ee chips of example 2 , with which however the corresponding chelates of other lanthanide ions gave significantly lower intensities than terbium . an electrode pair , shown in fig1 , was painted from silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ) on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip using a template . an 0 . 2 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder had been left in the middle of the chip when it was manufactured by milling , and this shoulder was used as a resistor between the electrodes . after the silver ink had dried ( 5 h ) a covering layer of carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) was added on top of it and left to dry at room temperature overnight . the cell area was formed by attaching a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated tape piece to the left end of the electrode as shown in fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( a ), open circles . the measuring instrument consisted of a stanford research sr400 photon counter , a coulostatic pulse generator and a black plastic electrode chamber with a perkin elmer channel photomultiplier tube module attached . the parameters in the measurements were : pulsed voltage − 67v , pulse charge 30 μc / pulse , pulse frequency 20 hz . ecl intensity was integrated over 1000 excitation cycles , delay time 0 . 05 ms , measuring window 6 . 0 ms . 0 . 05 m sodium tetraborate buffer , ph 9 . 2 , was used . at first baking paper ( greaseproof paper ) was coated with silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ), after which a layer of carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) was coated on top of the silver . templates were used in the coating to imitate silk - screen printing . after the carbon paste had dried at room temperature for 2 h , strips fit to be used on the bases in fig2 were cut from the paper . the edge of the paper by the shoulder of the base was painted with carbon paste so that silver would not be in direct contact with the electrolyte solutions . finally the paper was attached to the plastic base by double - sided tape ( 3m ) and the tape rings forming the cell area were attached to the chip . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( b ), closed circles . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . manufacturing ee chip from metal foil strips coated with carbon paste at first the electrode pair was made by gluing aluminium foil strips on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip . an 0 . 2 mm high ( or optionally 0 . 3 mm or 0 . 4 mm high ) and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder was left in milling in the middle of the chip to function as resistor between the electrodes ( fig1 ). the aluminium foil strips were coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that at the right edge the contact areas of spring loaded studs / pins ( which attach the chip to the pulse generator of the device ) were left uncovered . the cell area was formed by attaching either a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated piece of tape at the left end of the electrode according to fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( c ), closed squares . similar electrodes can also be made by starting from aluminium plates produced by vapor deposition , as in example 8 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . manufacturing ee chip from commercially available metal stickers covered with carbon paste at first the electrode couple was manufactured by gluing copper folio stickers ( screen house , turku , finland ) with their own adhesive on top of the 10 × 19 mm plastic chip . an 0 . 3 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder was left during milling in the middle of the strip to function as a resistor between the electrodes ( fig1 ). the copper folio strips were coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that the contact areas of spring loaded pins to the pulse generator at the right edge of the strip were left unpainted . the cell area was formed by attaching either a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated piece of tape at the left end of the electrode according to fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( d ), closed circles . similar electrodes can also be made by starting from aluminium plates produced by vapor deposition , as in example 8 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . at first enough ee chips were manufactured with the procedure of example 2 . when studying the effect of various additives on the electrochemiluminescence , it was noticed that addition of persulfate increased the electroluminescence . this in all probability means that the persulfate was reduced in the process to produce sulfate radical . sulfate radicals are known to produce chemiluminescence from tb ( iii ) ions and chelates in aqueous solution ( s . kulmala et al ., anal . chim . acta 294 ( 1994 ) 13 - 25 .). when the effect of potassium persulfate concentration on signal intensity was further studied it was noticed that increasing the persulfate concentration appeared to strongly enhance the ecl intensity of the tb ( iii ) chelate ( 1 × 10 − 6 m tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol ) throughout the studied concentration range ( fig4 ). it is probable that the increase of the intensity continues up to the highest dissolving amount of potassium persulfate ( about 50 mm ), and even higher concentrations can be reached with sodium persulfate . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . when the stability of the electrodes was studied under acidic conditions and under basic conditions , it was found that the performance was better if the electrodes were used a second time . because of this finding a comparison was made , in which ee chips manufactured by the process described in example 2 were incubated for 15 minutes in 1m naoh solution , 1m h 2 so 4 solution , or in 1m hcl solution . after the incubation the electrodes were washed with distilled water and measurements were made using 1 μm tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . the results are given in the table below , and both the acid treatment and the basic treatment clearly increased the efficiency of the electrodes . immunoassay with ee chips formed into a whole cell with pdms chip pdms chip was manufactured by moulding from sylgard 184 silicon elastomer ( curing agent 1 : 10 ) using a form on a petri dish . the wet pdms was degassed under vacuum and cured at 50 ° c . for 2 hours . the solidified pdms was separated from the form and cut to pieces . the pdms chips had a sample and reagents feeding chamber at the left edge ( part 6 in fig5 ) where the reagents needed for bioaffinity assay were dried before the analysis . this sample input chamber had been attached via microchannels ( part 7 in fig5 ) to a combined incubation and measurement chamber ( part 5 in fig5 ). capillary forces and hydrostatic pressure moved the liquid to the incubation / measurement chamber while the air exited from the chamber via microchannels ( part 8 in fig5 ). the incubation / measurement chamber had miniature pillars to keep the pdms chip chamber at a constant size and to prevent it from compressing . the height of the incubation / measurement chamber was 0 . 35 mm , the volume was ca . 15 μl and the total thickness of the pdms chip was 5 mm . at first the top surface of glass chips ( 19 . 0 mm × 10 . 0 mm ) were plasma treated briefly . then , a ca . 0 . 3 mm thick aluminium layer was vacuum deposited through a mask on the glass chips attached below the mask ; both of the chip &# 39 ; s electrodes ( 2 and 3 in fig1 ) were formed . after this the aluminium electrodes were comprehensively coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that the contact areas of spring - loaded pins ( to the pulse generator ) at the right edge of the strip were left unpainted . human tsh was used as the model analyte . α - subunit attaching anti - tsh ( moab , lot : m - 21310 , catalogue number mit0406 , conc . 6 . 87 mg / ml ; medix inc , usa ) was used as the primary ( capturing ) antibody , and the secondary ( labeled ) antibody was β - subunit specific anti - tsh ( clone 5404 , lot spc099 , conc . 5 . 5 mg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab , finland ). calibration standards of htsh were made by dilution from wallac &# 39 ; s concentrated stock solution ( delfia htsh kit , 324 miu / ml tsh ). the labeled secondary antibody ( anti - htsh , clone 5404 , 5 . 5 mg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab ) was made by letting the isothiocyanate derivative of tb chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - bentsoylphenol chelate ) react in 80 times molar excess with the antibody . the reaction was left to proceed overnight at ph 9 . 5 . the labeled antibody was separated in a column which was 1 cm in diameter and had 5 . 5 cm sephadex g - 50 on top of 52 cm sepharose 6b . once the carbon paste had dried , the electrodes were coated with the antibody in the well formed by the tape at the measuring cell area on the ee chip according to the following procedure : 150 μl of the solution containing 30 μg / ml of the capturing antibody ( 0 . 1m mes , 0 . 2 m borate , 0 . 025 % bovine gammaglobuline ph 6 . 5 ) was added to the incubation well and incubated for 3 hours in closed plastic boxes with azide - containing water at the bottom beneath stands . after the coating the cell area was washed with a washing solution ( 0 . 05m tris - h 2 so 4 buffer , ph 7 . 75 , 0 . 1 % bovine albumin , 0 . 1 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ). next a pdms chip ( 25 mm × 14 mm , 5 mm thick ; part 4 in fig5 ) was attached to the ee chip with clamps so that the chips pressed suitably tightly against each other . after this , 20 μl of the solution was added to the sample inlet chamber ( part 6 in fig5 ) located at the left edge of the pdms - ee cassette . the solution contained 100 ng of the labeled secondary antibody in 0 . 05 m tris - h 2 so 4 buffer ( ph 7 . 75 , 0 . 1 % bovine albumin , 0 . 1 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ). 0 . 2 m sodium tetraborate buffer ( ph set to 7 . 8 with h 2 so 4 ; 0 . 5 % bovine albumin , 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobulin , 0 . 01 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ) was used as the immunoassay and measurement buffer . at first 25 μl of htsh standard was added to 175 μl of immunoassay / measurement buffer . the mixture was pipetted to the sample inlet chamber ( part 6 , fig5 ), where the label was already in dried form . the sample dissolved the label and the mixture moved by capillary forces and hydrostatic pressure to the incubation / measurement chamber ( part 5 , fig5 ) via microchannels ( part 7 , fig5 ) while air exited from the cell via other microchannels ( part 8 , fig5 ). after 15 minutes of incubation the ecl intensity was measured from each pdms - ee cassette using a measurement apparatus consisting of a laboratory - made coulostatic pulse generator , a stanford research instruments sr400 photon counter , a nucleus mcs - ii multichannel card and a closed cell measurement space made of black plastic and with a perkin elmer channel photomultiplier tube module ( pulse amplitude − 45v , pulse charge 15 μc / pulse , pulse frequency 20 hz ; ecl intensity was integrated over 200 excitation cycles with delay time 0 . 05 ms and measuring window 6 . 0 ms ). the results of the measurement are shown in fig6 . ee chips were manufactured of vaporised aluminium and carbon paste in the same way as in example 6 . the cell area of the chips was formed with tape in the same way as in example 1 . the sequence to be determined was a 120 nucleotide fragment that is common to human entero - and rhinoviruses . the fragment had been copied with rt - pcr ( lönnrot et al ., j . med . vir . 56 ( 1999 ) 378 - 84 .). this sequence is in routine use in centralized diagnostic laboratories to determine entero - and rhinoviruses . the probe 1 ( tta - gcc - gca - ttc - agg - ggg - cga - aaa - aa - c 6 — nh 2 , medprobe ab , sweden ), which was complementary to the 5 ′ end of the sequence to be determined , was coated on carbon paste electrodes . for the coating , ( aptes ) amino groups were added through silanization with ( 3 - aminopropyl ) triethoxysilane on electrodes covered with an oxide layer . a poly - a tail , a six - carbon aliphatic carbon chain and an ending amino group were added to the 3 ′ end of probe 1 . the final covalent bonding was done with dss double reagent ( disuccinimidyl suberate ) according to the instructions of the producer . the second probe “ probe 2 ” (( nh 2 ) 4 - ga - aac - acg - gac - acc - caa - agt - a ) was labeled with the isothiocyanate derivative of tb chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - bentsoylphenol chelate ) by incubating the probe with 80 times excess chelate in 0 . 5 m sodium carbonate buffer ( ph 9 . 5 ) overnight . after the incubation the labeled probe was cleaned with a sephadex g50 column ( nap - 5 column , ge healthcare ). the hybridization was performed by the following means . the rt - pcr multiplied dna sample ( 20 μl , dilutions 1 : 50 , 1 : 100 and 1 : 1000 ) was denatured by addition of 180 μl naoh ( 50 mmol / l ) and incubated at 37 ° c . for 5 min . the samples were then neutralized by addition of 200 μl neutralization buffer ( 6 × ssc , 0 . 3 % tween 20 , 20 mmol / l citric acid ). 10 μl of both the neutralized sample and the labeled probe 2 ( 0 . 6 ng / 4 , 50 mmol / l tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 , 600 mmol / l nacl , 1 % triton x 100 and 1 % blocking reagent ( roche )) were transferred to a new test tube . after mixing , 3 . 5 μl of the mixture was pipetted on the membrane part of the test strip . after hybridization ( 5 min ) the membrane was removed from the silicon electrode , the ee chip was washed 3 times and ecl was measured . the graph of the sample dilutions is shown in fig7 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 8 . c - reactive protein ( crp ) and thyroid stimulating hormone ( tsh ) were determined simultaneously so that one of the electrodes was coated with a crp capturing antibody and the other with a tsh capturing one . the electrodes of the ee chip were coated with the capturing antibody in rectangle - shaped wells made of tape . the rectangular holes were made in the tape with a scalpel using a template . each of the wells covered a slightly larger area of the corresponding electrode than the final , round cell area , which was at the end of the pretreatment manufactured by adding another tape with a round hole , as in fig1 . both of the antibodies were simultaneously coated on the electrode , each in its own tape wells . anti - tsh ( anti - htsh , mit0406 , medix biotech inc ., usa ) was coated on the electrode by incubating the antibody ( 25 μg / ml , 150 μl ) for 2 hours at room temperature in a solution containing 0 . 1 m mes , 0 . 03m h 3 bo 3 , 0 . 5 mm potassium citrate , 0 . 025 % glutaraldehyde , and 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobuline . after the incubation the tape well was washed 3 times with a washing solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 09 % nan 3 and 0 . 05 % tween 20 ). after the washing the coated electrode was saturated by incubating a saturation solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 1 % bsa and 6 % d - sorbitol ) in the tape well for 30 min . after the saturation the tape well was removed ( simultaneously with the one from the anti - crp coating ) from the electrode area and the ee chip was dried at 30 ° c . for 2 . 5 h . in an analogous manner , anti - crp was coated by incubating ( in the tape well on the other electrode ) the antibody ( 20 μg / ml , 150 μl ) for 2 hours at room temperature with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 and 0 . 9 % nacl ). after the incubation the tape well was washed 3 times with washing solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 09 % nan 3 and 0 . 05 % tween 20 ). after washing the coated electrode was saturated by incubating a saturation solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 1 % bsa and 6 % d - sorbitol and 1 mm cacl 2 ) in the tape well for 30 min . after the saturation the tape well was removed ( simultaneously with the one from the anti - tsh coating step ) from the electrode area and the ee chip was dried at 30 ° c . for 2 . 5 h . labeled antibodies were dried in the membrane in the following manner . anti - hcrp antibody ( 74 μg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab anti - hcrp clone 6404 ) labeled with tb ( iii ) chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol ) and anti - htsh antibody ( 80 μg / ml , clone 5404 , medix biochemica oy ab ) labeled with the same tb ( iii ) chelate were dissolved in 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 5 % bsa , 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobulin , 0 . 01 % tween 20 , 1 mm cacl 2 * h 2 o ). 0 . 5 μl of the antibody - buffer solution was pipetted in the middle of a membrane ( 10 × 10 mm , nuclepore membrane 112110 , whatman ) and dried overnight at room temperature and room air . the hcrp standard samples needed in immunoassays ( crp content 1 , 10 and 100 ng / ml ) were made in test tubes by diluting the crp standard solution ( scripps , cat . no . 00124 ) with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 5 % bsa , 1 mm cacl 2 * h 2 o ). analogously the tsh standard samples ( 1 , 10 and 100 miu / ml ) were made by diluting the tsh standard ( 324 miu / ml , wallac , delfia htsh kit ) with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl ). the immunoassay was performed so that both the ee chip and the porous membrane were dry in the beginning . the membrane was applied exactly on top of the tape - well defined cell area of the ee chip and locked in place with tape from the other end . the immunoassay was begun by adding both analyte standards 3 . 5 μl in the middle of the porous membrane ( crp 0 ng / ml and tsh 0 miu / ml ; crp 1 ng / ml and tsh 1 miu / ml ; crp 10 ng / ml and tsh 10 miu / ml ; crp 100 ng / ml and tsh 100 miu / ml ). after incubating 10 min at room temperature the membrane was removed , the cell area of the ee chip was washed with the measurement buffer and 80 μl of the measurement buffer ( 0 . 05 m na 2 b 4 o 7 and 2 × 10 − 4 m k 2 s 2 o 8 ) was added . both analytes were measured so that first 10 excitation cycles were measured with the anti - tsh electrode as the cathode , then the polarity was changed for another 10 cycles with anti - crp electrode as the cathode . the measurement was repeated 5 times and signals from both electrodes were summed together . from the results it would appear that light is primarily produced at the cathode , because the tsh response was received from the left electrode , and such a double assay would seem to work , although it may not necessarily be sensible to measure these particular compounds , tsh and crp , in the same sample . the measurement results have been presented in fig8 and the parameters were the same as in example 8 .
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by the term “ coordinating metal ” and “ coordinating metals ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein is meant a metal or a metal containing excipient , suitably a diluent , or metal containing tablet coating material , which forms a complex , such as a chelate complex , in the presence of eltrombopag olamine . examples of such metals include : by the term “ reducing sugar ” as used herein is meant a sugar or sugar containing excipient , suitably a diluent , which reacts with eltrombopag olamine to form a maillard product when admixed together . examples of such reducing sugars include : the term maillard reaction is well known in the art and is utilized herein as to its standard meaning . generally , the term maillard reaction is used herein to mean the reaction of a reducing sugar , as defined herein , in a formulation , suitably granules or solid dosage forms , with eltrombopag olamine that produces a pigment or pigments , suitably a brown pigment . the pigments are referred to herein as maillard products . the production of such maillard products is an indication of chemical instability . as used herein , the term “ improved properties ” and derivatives thereof , contemplates several advantages to the pharmacokinetic profile of the in vivo release of compound b from a formulation , suitably granules or a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form , that utilizes an aspect of the present invention when compared to a formulation that does not utilize that aspect of the present invention , suitably the formulation is produced on a commercial scale , and will vary depending on the particular aspect of the invention being utilized . examples of improved properties include : increased oral bioavailability , reduced formation of insoluble metal complexes , improved chemical stability , a consistent pharmacokinetic profile and a consistent dissolution rate . as used herein , the term “ drug ” or “ active ingredient ” and derivatives thereof , means compound b or eltrombopag olamine . by the term “ commercial scale ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein is meant , preparation of a batch scale greater than about 20 kg of granulation mix , suitably greater than 50 kg , suitably greater than 75 kg or a batch size suitable to prepare at least about 50 , 000 tablets , suitably at least 75 , 000 tablets , suitably at least 100 , 000 tablets . when indicating that the diluents for use herein and in the claims are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , it is contemplated that minor amounts , for example : about 5 % or less , of the diluent component could contain a coordinating metal or metals and / or a reducing sugar or reducing sugars . in this aspect of the invention , it is believed that very minor amounts of coordinating metals and / or reducing sugars can be incorporated into the diluent component without adversely effecting tablet performance . the term “ effective amount ” and derivatives thereof , means that amount of a drug or active ingredient that will elicit the biological or medical response of a tissue , system , animal or human that is being sought , for instance , by a researcher or clinician . furthermore , the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” means any amount which , as compared to a corresponding subject who has not received such amount , results in improved treatment , healing , prevention , or amelioration of a disease , disorder , or side effect , or a decrease in the rate of advancement of a disease or disorder . the term also includes within its scope amounts effective to enhance normal physiological function . as used herein , the term “ formulation ” and derivatives thereof , unless otherwise defined refers to granules and / or solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the invention that contain eltrombopag olamine . by the term “ co - administering ” and derivatives thereof as used herein is meant either simultaneous administration or any manner of separate sequential administration of granules and / or a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention and a further active ingredient or ingredients , known to treat thrombocytopenia , including chemotherapy - induced thrombocytopenia and bone marrow transplantation and other conditions with depressed platelet production . the term further active ingredient or ingredients , as used herein , includes any compound or therapeutic agent known to or that demonstrates advantageous properties when administered with tpo or a tpo mimetic . preferably , if the administration is not simultaneous , the compounds are administered in a close time proximity to each other . furthermore , it does not matter if the compounds are administered in the same dosage form , e . g . one compound may be administered topically and another compound may be administered orally . examples of a further active ingredient or ingredients for use in combination with the presently invented formulations include but are not limited to : chemoprotective or myeloprotective agents such as g - csf , bb110010 ( clemons et al ., breast cancer res . treatment , 1999 , 57 , 127 ), amifostine ( ethyol ) ( fetscher et al ., current opinion in hemat ., 2000 , 7 , 255 - 60 ), scf , il - 11 , mcp - 4 , il - 1 - beta , acsdkp ( gaudron et al ., stem cells , 1999 , 17 , 100 - 6 ), tnf - a , tgf - b , mip - 1a ( egger et al ., bone marrow transpl ., 1998 , 22 ( suppl . 2 ), 34 - 35 ), and other molecules identified as having anti - apoptotic , survival or proliferative properties . by the term “ granules ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein refers to formulated particles that comprise eltrombopag olamine , diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and suitably also binders and / or lubricants and / or disintegrants such that the particles are suitable for utilization in preparing solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms . it is also possible to administer the granules directly to a subject in need thereof as a medicament . however , it is anticipated that the granules are most appropriately utilized in the preparation of solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms as indicated above . by the term “ solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form ” and “ solid dosage form ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein refers to a final pharmaceutical preparation that comprises eltrombopag olamine , such tablets , capsules , pellets , lozenges and powders ( including coated versions of any of such preparations ) that are suitable for in vivo administration . suitably , the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention comprise eltrombopag olamine , a diluent ( also known as filler or bulking agent ), and suitably also a binder and / or a lubricant and / or a disintegrant . those skilled in the art will recognize that a given material may provide one or more functions in the tablet formulation , although the material is usually included for a primary function . the percentages of diluent , binder , lubricant and disintegrant provided herein and in the claims are by weight of the tablet . diluents provide bulk , for example , in order to make the tablet a practical size for processing . diluents may also aid processing , for example , by providing improved physical properties such as flow , compressibility , and tablet hardness . because of the relatively high percentage of diluent and the amount of direct contact between the diluent and the active compound in the typical pharmaceutical formulation , the interaction of the diluent with the active compound is of particular concern to the formulator . examples of diluents suitable for general use include : water - soluble fillers and water - insoluble fillers , such as calcium phosphate ( e . g ., di and tri basic , hydrated or anhydrous ), calcium sulfate , calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , kaolin , spray dried or anhydrous lactose , cellulose ( e . g ., microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose ), pregelatinized starch , starch , lactitol , mannitol , sorbitol , maltodextrin , powdered sugar , compressible sugar , sucrose , dextrose , and inositol . the diluents that do not contain coordinating metals and diluents that are non - reducing sugars are suitable for tablets of the current invention . suitable diluents for use in this invention include microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose , pregelatinized starch , starch , lactitol , mannitol , sorbitol , and maltodextrin . unsuitable diluents include calcium phosphate ( e . g ., di and tri basic , hydrated or anhydrous ), calcium sulfate , calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , kaolin , and spray dried or anhydrous lactose . in one embodiment of the present invention , the diluent is composed of one or both of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise from about 25 % to about 89 %, of one or more diluents . one aspect of the present invention comprises granules wherein the granules are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms wherein the solid dosage forms are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises pharmaceutical tablets , wherein the tablets are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises pharmaceutical capsules , wherein the capsules are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . binders impart cohesive properties to the powdered material . examples of binders suitable for use in the present invention include : starch ( e . g ., paste , pregelatinized , mucilage ), gelatin , sugars ( e . g ., sucrose , glucose , dextrose , molasses , lactose , dextrin , xylitol , sorbitol ), polymethacrylates , natural and synthetic gums ( e . g ., acacia , alginic acids and salts thereof such as sodium alginate , gum tragacanth , irish moss extract , panwar gum , ghatti gum , guar gum , zein ), cellulose derivatives [ such as carboxymethyl cellulose and salts thereof , methyl cellulose ( mc ), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ( hpmc ), hydroxypropyl cellulose ( hpc ), hydroxyethyl cellulose ( hec ) and ethyl cellulose ( ec )], polyvinylpyrrolidone , veegum , larch arabogalactan , polyethylene glycol , waxes , water , alcohol , magnesium aluminum silicate , and bentonites . in one embodiment of the present invention , the binder comprises polyvinylpyrrolidone ( pvp ). the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise up to about 8 % binder . the formulations suitably comprise up to about 5 %, suitably up to about 2 % binder . lubricants are generally used to enhance processing , for example , to prevent adhesion of the formulation material to manufacturing equipment , reduce interparticle friction , improve rate of flow of the formulation , and / or assist ejection of the formulations from the manufacturing equipment . examples of lubricants suitable for use in the present invention include : talc , stearates ( e . g ., magnesium stearate , calcium stearate , zinc stearate , palmitostearate ), stearic acid , hydrogenated vegetable oils , glyceryl behanate , polyethylene glycol , ethylene oxide polymers ( e . g ., carbowaxes ), liquid paraffin , sodium lauryl sulfate , magnesium lauryl sulfate , sodium oleate , sodium stearyl fumarate , dl - leucine , and silica derivatives ( e . g ., colloidal silicon dioxide , colloidal silica , pyrogenic silica , and hydrated sodium silicoaluminate ). in one embodiment of the present invention , the lubricant comprises magnesium stearate . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise up to about 2 % lubricant . the formulations suitably comprise up to about 1 . 5 %, suitably up to about 1 % lubricant . disintegrants are employed to facilitate breakup or disintegration of the formulation after administration . examples of disintegrants suitable for use in the present invention include : starches , celluloses , gums , crosslinked polymers , and effervescent agents , such as corn starch , potato starch , pregelatinized starch , modified corn starch , croscarmellose sodium , crospovidone , sodium starch glycolate , veegum hv , methyl cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , cellulose , modified cellulose gum ( e . g ., ac - di - sol r ), agar , bentonite , montmorillonite clay , natural sponge , cation exchange resins , ion exchange resins ( e . g ., polyacrin potassium ), alginic acid and alginates , guar gum , citrus pulp , carboxymethylcellulose and salts thereof such as sodium lauryl sulfate , magnesium aluminum silicate , hydrous aluminum silicate , sodium bicarbonate in admixture with an acidulant such as tartaric acid or citric acid . in one embodiment of the present invention , the disintegrant is sodium starch glycolate . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise an amount from 4 % to about 12 % disintegrant . the formulations suitably comprise from about 6 % to about 10 %, suitably from about 7 % to 9 % disintegrant . the solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms , suitably tablets , suitably capsules , of the present invention will typically be sized up to 1 gram , e . g ., from about 0 . 01 gram to about 0 . 8 gram . these solid dosage forms typically comprise from about 5 mg to about 900 mg of eltrombopag olamine per dosage form . in suitable embodiments , the solid dosage forms comprise from about 5 to about 200 mg eltrombopag olamine ( e . g ., in an about 100 - 800 mg dosage form ). tablet formulations of the invention may have a variety of shapes , including diamond , modified capsule , modified oval , and hexagonal , and may optionally have a tilt . the choice of particular types and amounts of excipients , and tabletting technique employed depends on the further properties of eltrombopag olamine and the excipients , e . g ., compressibility , flowability , particle size , compatibility , and density . the tablets may be prepared according to methods known in the art , including direct compression , dry granulation , fluid bed granulation , and wet granulation , and the type of excipients used will vary accordingly . it has been found that wet granulation is particularly suitable for providing high strength , low breakage tablets comprising relatively high concentrations of eltrombopag olamine ( e . g ., about 40 % or more ), on a scale suitable for commercial production . suitable wet granulated tablets of the invention comprise granules comprising eltrombopag olamine and one or more of fillers , binders and disintegrants , wherein the granules are mixed with additional filler , binder , disintegrant and / or lubricant to form a compression mixture that is compressed to form tablets . included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions in tablet form , suitably prepared on a commercial scale , that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . also included in the present invention are such pharmaceutical compositions that contain a film coat , wherein the film coat contains no coordinating metals , or only an amount of coordinating metal approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron , suitably greater than 20 micron but less than 50 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 50 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 5 micron but less than 50 micron , suitably greater than 5 micron but less than 20 micron . ( i ) from about 2 % to about 65 % eltrombopag olamine ; ( ii ) from about 25 % to about 89 % of diluent ; ( iii ) up to about 8 % binder , suitably up to about 5 %, suitably up to about 4 %; ( iv ) up to about 2 % lubricant , suitably up to about 1 . 5 %, suitably up to about 1 %; and ( v ) from 4 % to about 12 % disintegrant , suitably 6 % to 10 %, suitably from 7 % to 9 %. suitable wet granulated tablets comprise , by weight of the tablet , from about 10 % to about 95 % of eltrombopag olamine active intragranules and from about 5 % to about 90 % of external excipients ; wherein the eltrombopag olamine active intragranules comprise , by weight of the intragranules : ( i ) from about 2 % to about 88 % eltrombopag olamine ; ( ii ) from about 10 % to about 96 % diluent ; ( iii ) from about 2 % to about 5 % binder ; and ( iv ) optionally from 0 % to about 4 % disintegrant ; ( i ) from 0 % to about 70 % diluent ; ( ii ) from about 0 . 25 % to about 2 %, suitably from about 0 . 25 % to about 1 . 25 % lubricant ; and ( iii ) from 4 % to about 10 % disintegrant . in the foregoing embodiments , the diluent is suitably a combination of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose , the non - reducing sugar is suitably mannitol , the binder is suitably polyvinylpyrolidone , the lubricant is suitably magnesium stearate , and the disintegrant is suitably sodium starch glycolate . suitably , the intragranule filler is a mixture of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose and the external filler is microcrystalline cellulose . in one embodiment of the current invention , tablets are coated with a film coat formed from an aqueous film coat composition . aqueous film coat compositions suitable for use in the present invention comprise a film - forming polymer , water as a vehicle , and optionally one or more adjuvants such as are known in the film - coating art . when the film coat contains a coordinating metal , as used herein , the amount of coordinating metal is approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . the film - forming polymer is selected to form coatings with mechanical properties ( e . g ., mechanical strength , flexibility ) suitable to meet performance requirements , such as those required by the intended use environment ( e . g ., dissolution profile in gastrointestinal fluids ), and / or use ( e . g . solution viscosity ). examples of suitable film - forming polymers include cellulosic polymers ( e . g ., cellulose ethers such as hpmc , hpc , mc , ec , hec , cap , sodium ethyl cellulose sulfate , carboxymethyl cellulose and the like ); polyvinylpyrolidone ; zein ; and acrylic polymers ( e . g ., methacrylic acid / methacrylic acid ester copolymers such as methacrylic acid / methylmethacrylate copolymers and the like ). cellulosic polymers are preferred in the present invention , especially cellulosic ethers and more especially hpmc and hpc . the polymers are typically provided in either aqueous or organic solvent based solutions or aqueous dispersions . however , the polymers may be provided in dry form , alone or in a powdery mixture with other components ( e . g ., a plasticizer and / or colorant ), which is made into a solution or dispersion by the user by admixing with the aqueous vehicle . the aqueous film coat composition further comprises water as a vehicle for the other components , to facilitate their delivery to the tablet surface . the vehicle may optionally further comprise one or more water soluble solvents , e . g ., alcohols ( e . g ., methanol , isopropanol , propanol ) and ketones ( e . g ., acetone ). the skilled artisan can select appropriate vehicle components to provide good interaction between the film - forming polymer and the vehicle to ensure good film properties . in general , polymer — vehicle interaction is designed to yield maximum polymer chain extension to produce films having the greatest cohesive strength and thus mechanical properties . the components are also selected to provide good deposition of the film - forming polymer onto the tablet surface , such that a coherent and adherent film is achieved . the aqueous film coating composition may optionally comprise one or more adjuvants known in the art , such as plasticizers , colorants , detackifiers , secondary film - forming polymers , flow aids , surfactants ( e . g ., to assist spreading ), maltodextrin , and polydextrose . plasticizers provide flexibility to the film , which may reduce film cracking and improve adhesion to the tablet . suitable plasticizers will generally have a high degree of compatibility with the film - forming polymer and sufficient permanence such that the coating properties are generally stable . examples of suitable plasticizers include glycerin , propylene glycol , polyethylene glycols ( e . g ., molecular weight from 200 to 20 , 000 , including union carbide &# 39 ; s peg 400 , 4000 , 6000 , 8000 , and 20 , 000 ), glycerin triacetate ( aka triacetin ), acetylated monoglyceride , citrate esters ( e . g ., triethyl citrate , acetyl triethyl citrate , tributyl citrate , acetyl tributyl citrate ), phthalate esters ( e . g ., diethyl phthalate ), mineral oil and hydrogenated glucose syrup . in one embodiment of the present invention , the plasticizer is chosen from polyethylene glycols , triacetin , propylene glycol , glycerin , and mixtures thereof . the aqueous film coat composition suitably comprises one or more colorants . in addition to enhancing esthetic appeal , the colorant provides product identification . suitable colorants include those approved and certified by the fda , including fd & amp ; c and d & amp ; c approved dyes , lakes , and pigments , and titanium dioxide , provided that the film coat contains no coordinating metals , or only an amount of coordinating metal approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . suitably , the colorant comprises one or more coloring agents selected from the group consisting of red iron oxides , red dyes and lakes , yellow iron oxides , yellow dyes and lakes , titanium dioxide , and indigo carmine . for example , the colorant may be selected to provide a light beige shade , for example consisting essentially of a ) red iron oxide , red dye , and / or red lake , b ) yellow iron oxide , yellow dye , and / or yellow lake , and c ) titanium dioxide . alternatively , the colorant may be selected to provide a pink shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of titanium dioxide and red iron oxide , red dye and / or red lake ); a light green shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of yellow iron oxide , yellow dye and / or yellow lake , indigo carmine , and titanium dioxide ); a light blue shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of titanium dioxide and indigo carmine ); or an orange shade ( e . g ., consisting of essentially of titanium dioxide and sunset yellow ). the above mentioned colorants that contain a coordinating metal are acceptable at a level approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . in suitable alternative embodiments , the aqueous film coating composition for use in the current invention comprises : suitably , such compositions further comprise a colorant . such compositions may optionally further comprise one or more additional adjuvants such as a detackifier , flow aid , surfactant , and secondary film - forming polymer . examples of optional detackifiers include lecithin , stearic acid , mineral oil , modified derivatized starch , tapioca dextrin , and polyethylene glycol . examples of optional secondary film - forming polymers include sodium alginate , propylene glycol alginate , and polyvinylpyrrolidone . examples of optional surfactants include dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate and polysorbate 80 . examples of optional flow aids include talc , fumed silica , bentonite , hydrogenated vegetable oils , stearines , and waxes . the aqueous film coat composition will typically comprise from about 5 % to about 25 %, suitably about 5 % to about 20 %, coating solids in the vehicle . in suitable embodiments , the solids typically comprise from about 25 % to about 70 %, suitably about 60 % to about 70 % film - forming polymer , about 5 % to about 10 %, suitably about 6 % to about 8 %, plasticizer , and about 20 % to about 35 % colorant , by weight . a number of suitable aqueous film coating compositions are commercially available . the aqueous film coat composition may be provided in the form of a solution or dispersion . alternatively , the composition may be provided in a dry form that can be combined with the vehicle components according to supplier instructions prior to coating the tablet . suitably , aqueous film coating compositions are those commercially available from colorcon , inc . of west point , pa ., under the trade name opadry and opadry ti ( nonlimiting examples include opadry ys - 1 - 7706 - g white , opadry yellow 03b92357 , opadry blue 03b90842 ). these compositions are available as dry film coating compositions that can be diluted in water shortly before use . opadry and opadry ii formulations comprise a cellulosic film forming polymer ( e . g ., hpmc and / or hpc ), and may contain polydextrose , maltodextrin , a plasticizer ( e . g ., triacetin , polyethylene glycol ), polysorbate 80 , a colorant ( e . g ., titanium dioxide , one or more dyes or lakes ), and / or other suitable film - forming polymers ( e . g ., acrylate - methacrylate copolymers ). suitable opadry or opadry ii formulations may comprise a plasticizer and one or more of maltodextrin , and polydextrose ( including but not limited to a ) triacetin and polydextrose or maltodextrin or lactose , or b ) polyethylene glycol and polydextrose or maltodextrin ). the tablets are also suitably coated to provide a uniform coating without speckling . the tablets are typically coated to provide a dry tablet weight gain of from about 2 to about 5 %, suitably about 3 to 4 %. the uncoated tablet cores are coated with the aqueous film coating composition by methods well known in the art using commercially available equipment ( e . g ., thomas accela - cota , vector hi - coater , compu - lab 36 ). in general , the process usually involves rolling or tumbling the tablets in a pan , or suspending the tablets on a cushion of air ( fluidized bed ), and intermittently or continuously ( preferably continuously ) spraying a fine mist of atomized droplets of the coating composition onto the tablets , the droplets wetting , spreading and coalescing on the surface of the tablets to form an adherent and coherent film coating . the tablets are typically heated to about 40 to 50 ° c ., suitably about 45 to 50 ° c ., e . g ., by air having a temperature of up to about 75 ° c ., suitably about 65 to 70 ° c . pharmaceutical tablets of the invention that are wet - granulated can be prepared by a process comprising the steps of : a ) mixing together the dry materials comprising eltrombopag olamine , a diluent , a binder , and optionally a disintegrant for a time sufficient to homogenize the materials ; b ) adding a granulating fluid to the mixture of dry materials , preferably while mixing ; c ) mixing the granulating fluid with the mixture of dry materials for a granulating time sufficient to generally uniformly wet the dry materials , so as to form wet granules ; d ) wet - milling the wet granules ; e ) drying the wet - milled granules to form dry granules ; and f ) dry milling the dry granules to form granules of desired size ; a ) mixing the granules prepared in step i ) f ) with external excipients comprising a filler , a lubricant and a disintegrant for a time sufficient to homogenize the granules and external excipients ; and b ) compressing the mixture comprising the granules and external excipients to form a tablet . in preparing wet - granulated granules , the dry materials may be mixed with suitable equipment such as known in the art ( e . g ., niro - fielder blender / granulator , bear varimixer , key high shear mixer / granulator ) for a time sufficient to homogenize the materials , e . g ., for about 3 minutes . the granulating fluid is then added to the dry mixture , preferably while mixing . the granulating fluid is suitably water , although may alternatively be comprised of water in admixture with one or more of binders such as pvp and hpmc , from about 10 v / w % to about 30 v / w % of the granulating fluid , based on the total wet granulation mixture , is suitably used . the granulating fluid and dry materials may be mixed using suitable equipment such as known in the art ( e . g ., niro - fielder blender / granulator , bear varimixer , key high shear mixer / granulator ) for a total time sufficient to generally uniformly wet the dry material so as to form wet granules , suitably for about 3 to about 15 minutes . typically the fluid is added to the dry material with mixing over a period of about 1 to about 15 minutes , then the total batch is mixed for an additional time ( post - granulating fluid - addition time ), of about 0 . 5 minutes to about 6 minutes . in a suitable embodiment , about 10 v / w % to about 30 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of about 6 minutes or less is used . suitably , about 24 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of less than 3 minutes is used , e . g ., about 2 . 5 minutes . suitably , about 16 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of more than 2 . 5 minutes is used , e . g ., about 4 minutes . the wet granules are then wet - milled by methods such as are known in the art for providing a generally uniformly sized wet mass ( such that the granules dry relatively evenly ). suitable wet - milling techniques may involve screening ( e . g ., manual screens ), comminuting mills ( such as a co - mil , including but not limited to a 0 . 375 ″ screen ), or extruders . the wet - milled granules are dried by methods such as are known in the art for providing generally uniform drying , to a low residual amount of granulating fluid ( preferably about 0 . 5 % to about 1 . 0 %). fluid bed dryers are suitable drying equipment . the dried granules are then dry - milled using known methods to provide generally uniformly sized granules ( unimodal distribution ), suitably having a mean particle diameter of less than 240 microns ( found to provide improved content uniformity ). suitable dry - milling equipment includes co - mils , including but not limited to having a 0 . 094 ″ screen . suitably the granules and the dry materials of the compression mix are generally unimodal in size distribution , in order to facilitate formation of a homogeneous mix and to mitigate possible segregation of the mix after blending . if necessary , the dry materials may be pre - screened to provide the desired particle size distribution . screening of the lubricant may be particularly useful to deagglomerate the lubricant . in preparing the compression mixture , the granules , filler , and disintegrant are mixed over a suitable period of time , about 5 to 15 minutes . lubricant is then added and mixed for a suitable period of time , about 1 to 4 minutes . the mixture is then compressed into tablets using presses such as are known in the art ( e . g ., rotary tablet press ). it has been found that the above granulating fluid levels , granulating times , and excipients provide improved processing . the choice of particular types and amounts of excipients , and capsulation technique employed depends on the further properties of eltrombopag olamine and the excipients , e . g ., compressibility , flowability , particle size , compatibility , and density . the capsules may be prepared according to methods known in the art , suitably filling a standard two piece hard gelatin capsule with eltrombopag olamine admixed with excipients , suitably filling a standard two piece hard gelatin capsule with granules prepared according to this invention , suitably on a scale suitable for commercial production . suitable capsules of the invention comprise granules comprising eltrombopag olamine and one or more of fillers , binders and disintegrants , wherein the granules are mixed with additional filler , binder , disintegrant and / or lubricant to form a granular mixture that is filled into capsules . included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions in capsule form , suitably prepared on a commercial scale , that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron , suitably greater than 20 micron but less than 50 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 50 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 5 micron but less than 50 micron , suitably greater than 5 micron but less than 20 micron . the invented granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms may be administered in therapeutically effective amounts to treat or prevent a disease state , e . g ., as described in the above referenced international applications nos . pct / us01 / 16863 , pct / us03 / 16255 and pct / us04 / 013468 , the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference . it will be recognized by one of skill in the art that the optimal quantity and spacing of individual dosages of eltrombopag olamine formulations of the invention will be determined by the nature and extent of the condition being treated and the particular patient being treated , and that such optimums can be determined by conventional techniques . it will also be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the optimal course of treatment , i . e ., the number of doses of eltrombopag olamine given per day for a defined number of days , can be ascertained by those skilled in the art using conventional course of treatment determination tests . a method of this invention of inducing tpo agonist activity in humans comprises administering to a subject in need of such activity a therapeutically effective amount of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention for use in enhancing platelet production . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention for use in treating thrombocytopenia . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use as a tpo mimetic which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use in the treatment of thrombocytopenia which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use in enhancing platelet production which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides a process for preparing solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms containing a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars and a therapeutically effective amount of eltrombopag olamine , which process comprises bringing eltrombopag olamine into association with the diluent or diluents . no unacceptable toxicological effects are expected when the compound of the invention is administered in accordance with the present invention . without further elaboration , it is believed that one skilled in the art can , using the preceding description , utilize the present invention to its fullest extent . the following examples , therefore , are to be construed as merely illustrative and not a limitation of the scope of the present invention . all the excipients utilized herein are standard pharmaceutical grade excipients available from numerous manufacturers well known to those in the art . wet granulated , tablets comprising eltrombopag olamine and the ingredients in table 1 were prepared . as a general procedure , the ingredients were blended with the active ingredient and then wet - granulated ( in a high - shear wet - granulator ) with purified water . the wet - granule mass was wet - milled , then dried in a fluid - bed dryer and the dried granules were milled . then extragranular ingredients ( microcrystalline cellulose , if needed , and sodium starch glycolate ) were separately weighed , screened and blended with the granules . magnesium stearate was added and blended with the mixture . the blend was compressed and the tablet cores were then film coated . the tablets were film coated with an aqueous suspension of opadry film coating preparation . eltrombopag olamine tablets containing diluents with the coordinating metal calcium phosphate dibasic anhydrous were manufactured in a similar manner as described above . tablet composition for the tablet coordinating metal diluent is provided in table 2 . in fig1 , the tablet prepared with no coordinating metal diluent ( indicated as “ with non - coordinating metal diluent ”) is a eltrombopag 50 mg tablet generally prepared as described in table 1 above and the tablet prepared with the coordinating metal diluent — calcium phopshate dibasic anhydrous —( indicated as “ with co - ordinating metal diluent ”) is a eltrombopag 50 mg tablet generally prepared as described in table 2 above . dissolution comparison was performed using usp apparatus ii , 50 rpm , in phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 containing 0 . 5 % tween 80 . fig2 depicts the effect of api particle size distribution on eltrombopag olamine dissolution . eltrombopag olamine 75 mg tablets were generally prepared in the manner described in example 5 , using different particle sizes . the particle size refers to the particle size of the drug granules used in the formulation . dissolution comparison was performed using usp apparatus ii , 50 rpm , in phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 containing 0 . 5 % tween 80 .
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with reference to fig1 , the electricity meter 1 comprises a box 2 that houses various electrical elements used for measuring a quantity of energy that has been consumed , a cover 3 hiding a connection terminal block , a display 4 for displaying information relating to energy consumption , and various buttons enabling the various functions of the electricity meter to be controlled . the cover 3 is held in the closed position on the box 2 with the help of a quarter - turn type screw 6 . the screw 6 passes through the cover 3 and is held captive therein axially while being free to turn . fig3 shows the screw 6 , which screw comprises a head 12 , a shank 13 , and two projections 14 extending perpendicularly to the axis of the shank of the screw 6 from the free end of the shank 13 . the box 2 defines an orifice 11 arranged in the box 2 so that when the screw 6 is engaged in the orifice 11 and is turned through one - quarter of a turn in the orifice , the cover 3 is held to the box in a closed position where it covers the terminal block . the box 2 also defines a housing 7 directly molded therewith that is suitable for receiving and holding the head of the screw 6 , as shown in fig2 , which shows the same electricity meter 1 as fig1 but in an open position of the cover , which is thus held on the box 2 in such a manner as to uncover the box 2 while showing an inside face of the cover . for this purpose , the head of the screw 6 is forced into the housing 7 and then holds the cover 3 in the open position . such a configuration thus gives a user access to information 8 specific to the wiring and the installation , which information may be printed , etched , or stuck onto the inside face of the cover 3 . the cover 3 as fastened in this way uncovers the terminal block and gives access to the various cable connections 10 of the meter . it should be observed that the screw 6 is mounted on the cover 3 with axial clearance between the screw 6 and the cover 3 . the screw 6 is thus axially movable between a first position in which the head is sunk in the cover so as to allow the cover to be fastened on the box over the terminal block ( fig1 ), and a second position in which the head projects from the cover in order to enable the head to be inserted in the housing in the box that is used for fastening the cover 3 in the open position ( fig2 ). the cover 3 is thus fastened in the closed position and in the open position by using opposite ends of the screw 6 depending on the desired configuration . fig4 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which the cover 3 hiding the electrical connections of the meter also constitutes trim for the meter 17 by defining a front plate thereof . the cover 3 has a rectangular opening 19 provided so that the cover surrounds the display when the cover 3 is in the closed position as shown in fig4 . for this purpose , the meter includes a shoulder zone 22 surrounding the display and of thickness equal to the thickness of the cover 3 . the cover 3 is then fastened to a support zone 23 extending immediately beyond the shoulder 22 over the entire periphery of the meter 17 with the help of a single screw 16 passing through the cover 3 . the cover 3 is shown here in the closed position . in a variant , the cover 3 may also be fastened to the meter 17 by snap - fastening . fig5 shows the cover 3 in the open position of the second embodiment . the top portion of the support zone 23 of the meter 17 includes a lug 18 , or more particularly an abutment , against which one of the edges of the opening 19 in the cover 3 comes to rest so that the information 8 specific to the wiring and the installation and arranged on the inside face of the cover is made visible to a user and the electrical connections 10 of the meter are made accessible . for the connections 10 of the meter 17 to be accessible , the cover 3 of rectangular shape is arranged with its long direction vertical in the closed position as shown in fig4 , and with its long direction horizontal in the open position . the arrangement of the support zone 23 of the meter 17 and of the cover 3 in the open position therefore does not allow the opening 19 to surround the support zone 23 of the meter 17 complementary . consequently , the cover 3 is fastened onto the abutment 18 by elastically deforming the cover 3 in the edge of the opening 19 that comes into abutment against the lug 18 . naturally , the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and may be subjected to variants that will appear to the person skilled in the art without going beyond the ambit of the invention as defined by the claims . the cover may be held mechanically on the box by any means , and for example by elastic deformation , by clip - fastening , by snap - fastening , by locking , . . . .
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apparatus , systems and methods that implement the embodiments of the various features of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings . the drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and not to limit the scope of the present invention . throughout the drawings , reference numbers are re - used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements . fig1 illustrates a battery 100 , for example , as used in a motor vehicle to power the electronic systems related to the motor vehicle . while certain aspects of the battery 100 have been omitted for clarity , the battery 100 is shown to have an outer casing 105 , a terminal post 110 corresponding to the cathode , a terminal post corresponding 115 to the anode , and a plug 120 ( e . g ., universal plug ) having two connection points , 125 and 130 . the connection points 125 and 130 may be a prong ( male ) or a receptacle ( female ) for connecting a cable or wiring functioning as an electrical conduit between the battery 100 and a coupled vehicle apparatus , such as the electronic system or the engine starter ( not shown ). fig2 illustrates a perspective view of the battery 100 of fig1 with cut - out portions 200 and 220 , respectively , to show certain features inside the battery 100 . this figure is to be used as an example for highlighting certain features of the invention . certain portions of the battery 100 have been omitted for clarity . furthermore , some characteristics have been altered for clarity as well ( e . g ., while only shown to be partially filled in fig2 , electrolyte fluid 205 in practice may fill the entire cavity of the battery 100 ). as shown in fig2 , the cut - out portion 200 allows viewing of a cathode 210 extending from the terminal post 110 and an anode 215 extending from the terminal post 115 . both the cathode 210 and the anode 215 are immersed in the electrolyte fluid 205 . the electrolyte fluid 205 may incorporate several elements further described herein . the cut - out portion 220 allows viewing of a conductor 230 coupled on one end to the cathode 210 and coupled on the other end to connection point 130 of the plug 120 . the cut - out 220 portion further allows viewing of a conductor 225 coupled to the anode 215 on one end and coupled on the other end to the connection point 125 of the plug 120 . in one embodiment , the cathode 210 is constructed out of a transition metal oxide and the anode 215 is constructed out of a carbon - based material . however , other materials may be used to construct the cathode 210 and the anode 215 . performance of the battery 100 , in part , may be impacted by how long the carbon - based anode 215 is able to function properly . a direct factor in anode functionality is whether the additives are able to form a sei layer on the outside surface of the anode 215 based on the chemical reactions that take place during the operation of the battery 100 . elements ( e . g ., additives ) added into the electrolyte fluid 205 or used in the manufacturing of the electrolyte fluid 205 may significantly impact the performance of the sei . indeed , as with the solvent , the additive ( s ) used determines the properties of the sei , and hence the anode 215 . different additives will reduce at different voltages , so the selection of the additive must be carefully considered so that the additive is reduced prior to the occurrence of other deleterious reactions . sei performance may be measured by the discharge capacity of the battery 100 as it undergoes many cycles , with one cycle defined as one discharge and one recharge of the battery 100 . in essence , sei performance may be inferred from data related to measuring discharge capacities over a period of cycles . stellar sei performance may be concluded based on data suggesting that a discharge capacity is constant or near constant over a period of cycles . conversely , less - than - optimal sei performance may be inferred based on data illustrating that a discharge capacity is decreasing over a period of cycles . fig3 , reproduced from gorkovenko et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 598 , 002 , is a prior art representation of a discharge capacity for a lithium - ion cell with 1 m lidn ec : emc 1 : 3 electrolyte . as shown in fig3 , the discharge capacity for the gorkovenko lidn battery dropped from 10 - 11 mah to 8 - 9 mah after less than 10 cycles , and continued to drop through the next 40 cycles to about 6 mah . by the end of the 50th cycle , the gorkovenko lidn battery discharged approximately 40 % less power than it did at the outset . the severity of the drop , as well as its continued downward trend , is indicative of poor sei performance . fig4 illustrates results obtained in a preliminary discharge capacity test performed on a full cell battery with a first electrolyte solution 405 having a 1 m lipf6 salt ( industry standard ) and on a full cell battery with a second electrolyte solution 410 having a 1 m lidn salt . as shown in graph 400 , the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 410 not only has a lower discharge capacity compared to the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 405 , but also appears to decrease in effectiveness between the third cycle and the sixth cycle . the results were not surprising and confirmed that the use of lidn as the sole salt , while providing some advantages , could not replicate certain aspects of success achieved by the lipf6 based salt , namely , higher discharge capacity . the inventors began to study the cause of the decreased discharge capacities by isolating and testing the cathode ( e . g ., cathode 210 ) and the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 ) separately in the electrolyte solution ( e . g ., electrolyte fluid 205 ). further investigation led to the data illustrated in graph 500 of fig5 , which depicts the result obtained for a negative ( anode ) half cell with a first electrolyte solution 505 having a 1 m lipf6 salt , and for a negative ( anode ) half cell with a second electrolyte solution 510 having a 1 m lidn salt . as shown , the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 510 has a lower discharge capacity than the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 505 . the results of data illustrated in fig5 thus appear to indicate that improving the performance of the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 ) of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ) would lead to the overall increase of the performance of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ). one hypothesis tested by the experimentation was the addition of additives to the electrolyte solution ( e . g ., electrolyte fluid 205 ). fig6 includes a graph 600 illustrating discharge capacities for a 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 , a 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution with a 0 . 5 % libob additive 610 and a 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution without any additives 615 . as the graph 600 shows , the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 performed the best with respect to discharge capacity . noteworthy was the discovery that the addition of the 0 . 5 % libob to the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution ( shown by the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution with a 0 . 5 % libob additive 610 ) yielded discharge capacities higher than that yielded by the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 615 over the first 6 cycles . although the discharge capacities achieved by the 1 m lidn + 0 . 5 % libob salt electrolyte solution 610 did not match the levels yielded by the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 , the results suggest that further improved performance of lidn - based electrolyte may be possible if the additive is selected properly with respect to , for example , concentration , among other factors . in one embodiment , the additive was raised to 2 % and added to the 1 m lidn . for example , the additive may include vc , among other additives . the magnitude of the resulting increase was unexpected : as illustrated by graph 700 of fig7 , the discharge capacities of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 not only exceeded the 1 m lidn solution 715 , but surpassed even that of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . arrow 720 shows the extent of improvement over the 1 m lidn solution 715 . these remarkable results indicate that the use of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 may be superior to the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 with respect to discharge capacity while simultaneously improving on the drawbacks of the lipf6 - based solution , and does not suffer from the above described drawbacks presented by any lipf6 - based electrolyte solutions . while some further improvement on discharge capacity was expected with the further introduction of additives , the improvement in discharge capacity beyond industry standard was not expected . instead , the inventors anticipated that improvement in discharge capacity would level off with further introduction of additives beyond the 0 . 5 % concentration level and offer diminishing returns . more particularly , the results of the discharge capacity test of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 as shown in graph 700 of fig7 , indicates that the discharge capacity of the corresponding battery maintains a level between 350 and 325 mah / g over the first seven cycles . however , unexpectedly , the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 offers a higher discharge capacity for each and every cycle over the first seven cycles . as shown , after the first cycle , the discharge capacity of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 was slightly below 350 mah / g while the discharge capacity of the 1 m lidn solution 705 was well above 350 mah / g ( near 375 mah / g ), or over 7 % higher than the discharge capacity of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . even after the sixth cycle , the discharge capacity of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 was about 340 mah / g or over 3 % higher than the discharge capacity ( about 330 mah / g ) of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . such improved performance is likely attributable to the concentration of additives being substantial enough to form the sei on the outside surface of the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 of fig2 ) without impacting performance of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ) in other ways . in addition , the differential in discharge capacity ( e . g ., as evidenced by the slope of fig7 ) for the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 is shown to be relatively flat , thereby providing another desirable benefit of forming the sei so that it has low resistance , while maintaining durability . indeed , results providing for this “ near flat or near zero slope ” of the discharge capacity over multiple cycles renders the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 a very commercially viable solution as it appears to provide advantages over both the lipf6 - based electrolyte and the lidn ( without additives ) electrolyte with minimal drawbacks . while example 2 illustrates results when the additive concentration is 2 % ( as added to the 1 m lidn solution ), the improved performance may also be achievable , in one embodiment , with additive concentrations within a small range ( e . g ., between 0 . 5 % and 10 %). however , even within this range , performance may vary . based on the obtained results ( e . g ., by comparing the results of 2 % additive to the results of the 0 . 5 % additive ), the inventors naturally expected that increasing the additive concentration would further improve performance . however , further testing of additives up to 10 % additives did not support this hypothesis . unexpectedly , 2 %- 5 % additives yielded better results than both 0 . 5 % additive concentration and & gt ; 5 % additives concentration . indeed , additive concentrations between 2 %- 5 % may be preferred over additive concentrations between 5 %- 10 %. in one embodiment , additive concentration within the range of 1 . 75 %- 2 . 25 % is preferred . in addition to concentration , the particular additive compounds may impact battery performance . in one embodiment , libob may be used as the additive ( e . g ., as a sole 2 % additive ). however , in addition and / or as an alternative , other additives may also provide a significantly improved electrolyte solution for a lithium or lithium - ion battery . in one embodiment , the main salt may be lidn and the additives include other film - forming , non - organic compounds such as litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , among other compounds . these film - forming salts may be used alone or in combination with libob and each other , and may be added to the lidn electrolyte solution in a 0 . 5 %- 5 % concentration to form the additives . in addition to non - organic compounds , organic compounds may also be used to form the additive . for example , vc and / or vec may be used either alone or in combination as the additive ( e . g ., in addition to other organic compounds ). however , using vc as the additive may provide for improved performance . indeed , the inclusion of vc provided further unexpected results when compared to other organic compounds such as vec . due to similar characteristics , vc was not anticipated to provide significantly different results when compared to vec . however , by utilizing vc as an additive , an unexpected result of improved performance over vec was realized . more particularly , it was discovered that vc has a characteristic of high reduction protection qualities , which renders it the driver when used in a lidn electrolyte solution ( as opposed to the result when using vec as the additive , which due to its respectively lower reduction protection , allowed lidn to remain the driver ). while either vc or vec may be used as an additive in a lidn electrolyte solution , using vc may be more effective as the sei is sufficiently protected . in one embodiment , the main salt is lidn and the additives may include a combination of different compounds adding up to 0 . 5 %- 10 % wt % such as litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , vc and vec . these film - forming compounds may be used alone or in combination . in one embodiment , the salts ( e . g ., litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , among other compounds ) may be mixed with the non - salts ( e . g ., vc and / or vec , among other compounds ) to form the additive . for example , a 1 . 5 % vc may be mixed with 0 . 5 % libob to form a 2 % additive concentration . in one embodiment , one or more solvents may be used in the production of the battery . for example , ethylene carbonate ( ec ) and ethylmethocarbonate ( emc ) may be used to produce the electrolyte . different volume ratios between the ec and the emc may be incorporated . for example a 1 : 3 ec / emc ratio may be employed in one embodiment . in another embodiment , at 4 : 6 ec / emc ratio may be employed . unless otherwise indicated , all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients , properties such as molecular weight , reaction conditions , and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “ about .” accordingly , unless indicated to the contrary , the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained . at the very least , and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims , each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques . the terms “ a ,” “ an ,” “ the ” and similar referents used in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range . unless otherwise indicated herein , each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element essential to the practice of the invention . groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations . each group member may be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein . it is anticipated that one or more members of a group may be included in , or deleted from , a group for reasons of convenience and / or patentability . when any such inclusion or deletion occurs , the specification is deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all markush groups used in the appended claims . the previous examples are provided to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosed methods and apparatus . various modifications to these examples will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed method and apparatus . the elements and uses of the above - described embodiments may be rearranged and combined in manners other than specifically described above , with any and all permutations within the scope of invention . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive and the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description . all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . in addition , the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments , and all embodiments of the invention need not necessarily achieve all the advantages or purposes or possess all characteristics identified herein .
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accompanying fig2 shows an automatic gain control circuit 10 , a coupler 12 , a local oscillator 14 , a cell 16 , two mixers 20 and 30 , two filters 22 and 32 , two amplifiers 24 and 34 , two analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 , and a digital processing unit 40 which are the same as described above with reference to fig1 . in addition , fig2 shows fault estimation means 100 and correction means 200 inserted between the outputs from the analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 and the inputs to the synchronizing and decision - making circuit 40 . as mentioned above , the fault estimation means 100 estimate the value of faults in the form of five parameters , on the basis of a sequence of samples y p , k and y q , k . thereafter , the correction means 200 reconstitute corrected samples z p , n and z q , n on the basis of the current samples y p , n and y q , n . the parameter a corresponding to any offset in the voltage on the in - phase channel is estimated by taking the average of the samples y p , k : ## equ1 ## the parameter b corresponding to any voltage offset on the quadrature channel is similarly estimated by taking the average of the samples y q , k : ## equ2 ## the number n of samples to be taken into account in this calculation is selected as a function of the noise level on the link and as a function of the desired accuracy . if there is no desire to provide additional level regulation on the corrected samples z p , n and z q , n , then there is no need to evaluate the parameters α and β which correspond respectively to the corrective gain to be inserted on the in - phase channel and the corrective gain to be inserted on the quadrature channel , and it suffices to evaluate only the ratio α / β . under such circumstances , the value of α ( or β ) can be fixed arbitrarily , and there is one less parameter to be estimated . the ratio α / β is obtained by averaging the squares of the differences ( y p , k - a ) and ( y q , k - b ): ## equ3 ## in order to estimate α and β individually and also the parameter which represents phase error compared with true quadrature , it is also necessary to calculate the average of the products of the differences ( y p , k - a ) and ( y a , k - b ). the parameters α and β are obtained on the basis of the following equations : ## equ4 ## in the above equations , σ represents the reference value for the mean of the squares of the corrected samples . the parameter δθ may be obtained in the form : ## equ5 ## given the slowness of variations in the parameters to be estimated , the estimation means 100 may operate at a speed which is slow compared with the rate at which the samples y p , k and y q , k are output . it suffices merely to repeat estimation periodically on a block of n samples which need not even necessarily be immediately consecutive . the correction means 200 then determine the corrected samples using the following equations : although the estimation means 100 may operate at a speed which is relatively slow compared with the sample rate , as mentioned above , the correction means 200 must necessarily operate at the rate at which the samples y p , n and y q , n are delivered from the analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 . since estimating faults in the form of the five parameters a , b , α , β , and δθ by the means 100 can be done relatively slowly and requires several calculation steps , it appears advantageous , at present , to constitute the estimation means 100 by means of a microprocessor . in contrast , since the correction means 200 are required to operate at high speed ( up to 6m samples per second ) the correction means 200 are preferably constituted by hard wired logic . accompanying fig3 shows the flow chart of the processing for estimating the faults a , b , α , β , and δθ as performed by the means 100 . the flow chart shown in accompanying fig3 can be split into two distinct stages : a running calculation corresponding essentially to steps 101 to 105 , and a final calculation corresponding to steps 110 to 123 and to steps 130 to 135 . in the stage corresponding to running calculation , the means 100 take n successive samples y p , k and y q , k of the input signals as coded on 8 bits , for example , and calculate the sums : ## equ6 ## once a block of n samples y p , k and y q , k has been taken into account for calculating the above sums , the means 100 calculate the following terms : ## equ7 ## in order to simplify subsequent correction operations in the means 200 , the means 100 do not provide α , β , sin δθ , and cos δθ directly , but their logarithms to base 2 : log α , log β , log | sin δθ |, log | cos δθ | and the signs of sin δθ and cos δθ . step 130 for obtaining the parameter a , e . g . on 8 bits , after step 110 ; step 131 for obtaining the parameter log α , e . g . on 12 bits , after step 119 ; step 132 , for obtaining the parameter b , e . g . on 8 bits , after step 112 ; step 133 , for obtaining the parameter log β , e . g . on 12 bits , after step 121 ; step 134 , for obtaining the parameter log | sin δθ |, e . g . on 12 bits , together with the sign of sin δθ , after step 122 ; and step 135 , for obtaining the parameter log | cos δθ |, e . g . on 12 bits , together with the sign of cos δθ , after step 123 . in an advantageous implementation , the logarithms are provided on 12 bits , comprising 8 bits for the mantissa and 4 bits for the integer portion and the sign . the parameters σ and n are programmable , typical values may be : σ = 64 and n = 4096 . fig4 is a block diagram of the correction means 200 . these means calculate corrected samples z p and 2 q as a function of the samples y p and y q and of the estimated correction parameters : a , b , log | α |, log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ |, using equations ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) mentioned above . in order to simplify the structure of the means 200 , the products are calculated by means of logarithms , thereby avoiding any need to multiply and replacing multiplication by addition . when signs are involved , they are represented by separate bits and treated separately . converting numbers into their logarithms and vice versa are operations performed by reading programmable read only memories ( proms ). as shown in fig4 in order to synchronize the signals and avoid random effects , the parameters a , b , log | α |, log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ | are buffered via sets of bistables 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , and 207 , respectively . more precisely , as shown in detail in fig5 for the parameters a , b , and log | α |, each set of bistables comprises a set of input bistables and two sets of readback bistables . fig5 thus shows a set of input bistables 202a for the parameter a , a set of input bistables 203a for the parameters b , and two sets of input bistables 204a and 204c for the parameter log | α |, with these sets of input bistables having their own inputs connected to a data bus 201 . the set of input bistables 202a is loaded when an a - enable signal appears . similarly , the set of input bistables 203a is loaded when a b - enable signal appears . finally , the two sets of inputs bistables 204a and 204c are loaded when an α - enable signal appears . sets of readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f are connected respectively to the outputs of the sets of input bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c . the readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f are loaded with the values contained in the corresponding sets of input bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c when a general load signal appears . sets of readback bistables 202b , 203b , 204b , and 204d are connected respectively to the outputs of the sets of readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f . the readback bistables 202b , 203b , 204b , and 204d are loaded with the values contained in the sets of readback bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c when a sample enable signal appears indicating that the samples y p and y q are valid . the parameter a is available from the output of readback bistables 202b . the parameter b is available from the output of the set of readback bistables 203b . the parameter log | α | is available from the outputs of the sets of readback bistables 204b and 204d . the parameters log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ |, and the signs of sin δθ and cos δθ are read in similar manner using sets of bistables 205 , 206 , and 207 . an adder 210 has one input receiving the samples y p and another input receiving the parameter a from the bistables 202 . at its output it generates the difference | y p - a |, together with a signal representative of the sign of the difference . similarly , an adder 220 has one input receiving the samples y q and another input receiving the parameter b from the bistable 203 . at its output it provides the difference | y q - b | together with a signal representative of the sign of the difference . the signal representing the difference | y p - a | from the adder 210 is applied to the input of a prom 211 . this generates a signal at its output representative of the logarithm log | y p - a |. the signal log | y p - a | is applied to a set of synchronizing bistables 212 . this set of bistables also receives the sign signal from the adder 210 . similarly , the difference signal | y q - b | from the adder 210 is applied to the input of a prom whose output provides the logarithm log | y q - b |. the logarithm log | y q - b | is applied to the input of a set of synchronization bistables 222 . this set of bistables also receives the sign signal from the adder 220 . an adder 230 has an input receiving the signal log | y p - a | from the bistable 212 , and an input receiving the signal log | α | from the bistable 204 . at its output it provides the signal log | y p - a |+ log | α |. similarly , an adder 231 has one input receiving the signal log | y q - b | from the bistables 222 and another input receiving the signal log | β | from the bistables 205 . its output provides the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β |. accompanying fig6 shows the detail of an embodiment of the adder 210 , the prom 211 , the bistables 212 and the adder 230 . the same structure is used in adder 220 , prom 221 , bistables 222 , and adder 231 for calculating ( in the form of a sign and a logarithm ) the product log | y q - b |+ log | β |. as shown in accompanying fig6 adder 210 comprises two cascade - mounted 4 - bit adder chips 210a and 210b , e . g . of the type 74f181 . chip 210a has inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits of samples the y p . chip 210a has inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the parameter a from the bistables 202 . chip 210b has inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the parameter a and inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of samples y p . the prom 211 comprises two 8 - bit prom chips 211a and 211b , e . g . of the type 82s135 ( 256 × 8 prom ). prom chip 211a receives the four bits from adder chip 210a on its inputs a0 to a3 and the four bits from adder chip 210b on its input a4 to a7 . similarly , prom 211b receives the four bits from adder 210a on its inputs a0 to a3 and the four bits from adder chip 210b on its inputs a4 to a7 . the set of bistables 212 comprises two 8 - bistable chips 212a and 212b , e . g . of the type 74f374 . the inputs of bistable chips 212a and 212b are connected to the outputs from prom chips 211a and 211b respectively . adder 230 comprises three 4 - bit adder chips 230a , 230b , 230c , e . g . of type 74f181 . inputs a0 to a3 of adder chip 230a receive the four least significant bits of the mantissa of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204b , and inputs b0 to b3 receive the four mantissa bits from bistables 212a . adder chip 230b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204d , and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa from the set of bistables 212b . adder chip 230c has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving four bits comprising the integer portion and the sign of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204d , and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign from the set of bistables 212b . the sign of y p - a is identical to the sign of the product α ( y p - a ) and is output separately . it is taken from the output of adder chip 210b and preferably transits through a stage of the set of readback bistables 204b . an adder 240 has one set of inputs connected to receive the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β | from adder 231 and another set receiving the signal log | sin δθ | from the set of bistables 206 . it generates an output signal log | y q - b |+ log | β |+ log | sin δθ |. this signal together with the sign bit delivered by an exclusive - or gate 243 is applied to a set of bistables 241 whose output is applied to a prom 242 which delivers the antilogarithm . the signal β ( y q - b ) sin ( δθ ) is consequently available at the output from the prom 242 . accompanying fig7 shows an implementation of adder 240 , the set of bistables 241 , and the prom 242 . as shown in fig7 adder 240 comprises three 4 - bit adder chips 240a , 240b , and 240c . chip 240a has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits of the mantissa of the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β | from adder 231 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the mantissa of the signal log | sin δθ | from the set of bistables 206 . adder chip 240b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of the signal from adder 231 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of the signal from the bistables 206 . adder chip 240c has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign of the signal from adder 231 , and its input b0 and b3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign of the signal from the bistables 206 . the adder chips 240a , 240b , and 240c may be of the 74f181 type , for example . the set of bistables 241 comprises two 8 - bistable chips 241a and 241b , e . g . of the type 74f374 . bistable chip 241a has its inputs d0 to d3 receiving the 4 bits from adder chip 240a , and its inputs d4 to d7 receiving the four bits from adder chip 240b . bistable chip 241b has its inputs d2 to d5 receiving the four bits from adder chip 240c , its input d6 receiving the carry bit from adder chip 240c , and its input d7 receiving the signal output by exclusive - or gate 243 , e . g . of the type 74f86 . this exclusive - or gate has one input connected to receive a signal representative of the sign of ( y q - b ), and its other input connected to receive the signal representative of the sign of sin δθ . the prom 242 shown in fig7 comprises a chip having 14 address inputs and 8 outputs , e . g . of the type 82hs1281 . the eight least significant inputs of the prom 242 are connected to the outputs from bistable chip 241a . the six most significant inputs of memory chip 242 are connected to the most significant outputs of bistable chip 241b . the product β ( y q - b ) cos δθ is obtained by means of an adder 250 , a set of bistables 251 , a prom 252 , and an exclusive - or gate 253 entirely similar to the adder 240 , the bistables 241 , the prom 242 , and the exclusive - or gate 243 . the adder 250 has one input receiving the signal from adder 231 and another input receiving the signal from bistables 207 . the outputs from the adder 250 are connected to the inputs of bistables 251 . the outputs from these bistables are connected to the inputs of prom 252 . the exclusive - or gate 253 has one input connecting a signal representative of the sign of ( y q - b ), and another input receiving a signal representative of the sign of cos δθ from the bistables 207 . corrected samples z q are available at the output from prom 252 . the inputs of a set of bistables 260 receive the outputs from adder 230 and the signal representative of the sign of ( y p - a ) from bistables 212 . the outputs from the bistables 260 are connected to the address inputs of a prom 261 . this prom serves to take the antilogarithm of the signal log | y p - a |+ log | α |. this causes the signal α ( y p - a ) to be made available at the output from prom 261 . final calculation of z p is performed in an adder 262 having one input receiving the output from prom 261 and having another input receiving the output from prom 242 . accompanying fig8 shows an embodiment of the prom 261 and the adder 262 . as shown fig8 prom 261 comprises a chip having 14 address inputs and 8 output bits , e . g . of the type 82hs1281 . the outputs from the prom 261 are preferably connected to a set of intermediate bistables 263 . the adder 262 shown in fig8 comprises two 4 - bit adder chips 262a , 262b , e . g . of the type 74f181 . the chip 262a has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits from bistable chip 263 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the signal from prom 242 . adder chip 262b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits from prom 242 , and its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits from the set of bistables 263 . it enables faults in the analog portion of the demodulator to be estimated and corrected dynamically . it also makes it possible to regulate the level of the processed signal . the digital implementation facilitates insertion in demodulators which process the signal digitally . the fault corrector of the present invention may be used on an existing digital link without requiring that link to be modified . naturally , the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described above , but extends to any variant coming within the scope of the claims .
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the best modes contemplated for carrying out the process of this invention are illustrated by the following examples : ten ml of a 0 . 25 molar ( m ) solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in absolute ethyl alcohol and 15 ml of 1 . 67 molar ( m ) aqueous ammonium hydroxide ( approximately 6 m with respect to water ) are placed in a 25 ml volumetric flask and absolute ethyl alcohol is then added to make 25 ml of solution which is 0 . 1 m with respect to the ethyl n - acetyl glucosaminide , 1 . 0 m with respect to ammonia and 4 m with respect to water ( or in other terms the solution contains 3 . 4 % water ). the observed optical rotation , θ , immediately after mixing the ingredients is 5 . 2 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 100 °. this value indicates an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 81 / 19 . the basic solution is placed in a water bath maintained at a temperature of 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . at the end of this period θ is found to be 4 . 0 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 76 °, which in turn indicates an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 67 / 33 . no further change in θ occurs during storage at 53 ° c . for another 24 hours . another 25 ml solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide ( 0 . 1 m ) in ammoniacal ethyl alcohol is made up in the same manner as described in example i except that the ammonia concentration is 0 . 1 m and the water concentration is 0 . 4 m ( or 0 . 34 %). the optical rotation , θ , of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 . after 24 hours at 53 ° c .± 3 ° the solution has a value of θ = 4 . 2 . this corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 80 °, which indicates the α -/ β - anomer to be 70 / 30 . the original ratio was 83 / 17 . ten ml of a 0 . 25 m solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in absolute ethyl alcohol and 1 . 0 g of sodium hydroxide are placed in a 25 ml volumetric flask and absolute ethyl alcohol is added to make 25 ml of solution which is 0 . 1 m with respect to the ethyl glycoside , 1 . 0 m with respect to sodium hydroxide , and approximately 0 . 1 m with respect to water ( which was absorbed on the solid sodium hydroxide ). the observed optical activity , θ , of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 100 ° and to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 81 / 19 . the test solution is maintained at a temperature of 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . at the end of this period the solution has a θ value of 3 . 8 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 72 ° and an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 65 / 35 . the reaction solution darkens to some extent during this treatment . in this example a 0 . 1 m solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in ethyl alcohol is made up in the manner described in example iii with the exception that the solution is 0 . 1 m with respect to sodium hydroxide and 0 . 1 m with respect to water . as in example iii the optical activity of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 , corresponding to [ α ] d =+ 100 °, and to α -/ β - anomer ratio of 83 / 17 . the solution is maintained at 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . the solution is then found to have θ = 4 . 1 , which corresponds to [ α ] d = 78 °, and the α -/ β - anomer ratio is 68 / 32 . as in example iii the reaction solution darkens , but to a lesser degree than in that example . five grams of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide having [ α ] d =+ 53 ° ( indicating an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 54 / 46 ) is dissolved in a mixture of 20 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 80 ml of ethyl acetate at its boiling point . the hot solution is filtered to remove insoluble material and the filtrate is cooled slowly to room temperature and then held at 0 °- 5 ° c . for 72 hours . the very fine white crystals that form are filtered out and , after air drying , amount to 2 . 4 g . these crystals have [ α ] d =+ 47 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 50 / 50 . two grams of these crystals are then dissolved in a mixture of 12 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 18 ml of ethyl acetate at the boiling point and the mixture filtered while hot . the filtrate is slowly cooled to 0 °- 5 ° c . ( during a period of 5 hours ) and held at that temperature for another 20 hours . the crystals obtained on this second recrystallization amount to 0 . 99 g and have [ α ] d =+ 25 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 38 / 62 . ten grams of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide having an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 54 / 46 is dissolved in a mixture of 60 ml of 95 % ethyl alcohol and 140 ml of ethyl acetate at its boiling point . the hot solution is filtered , and the filtrate is cooled slowly in a water bath to 0 °- 5 ° c . the crystals that form are filtered out , washed with 75 ml of cold ethyl alcoholethyl acetate ( 70 - 30 ) solvent and air dried on filter paper for two days . these crystals amount to 2 . 3 g and have [ α ] d =+ 30 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 41 / 59 . the filtrate from this crystallization , 140 ml , is again heated and the solvent evaporated until the volume reaches 100 ml whereupon it is again cooled slowly to 0 °- 5 ° c . this crop of crystals after drying , amounts to 3 . 9 g with [ α ] d =+ 65 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 61 / 39 . twenty grams of ethyl n - acetyl glucosaminide , having an α / β ratio of 55 / 45 , is dissolved in a mixture of 105 ml isopropyl alcohol and 245 ml ethyl acetate at the boiling point of the mixture . the hot solution is filtered and allowed to cool in an insulated beaker to room temperature , the process taking about four hours . the crystals that form are filtered out , washed with 100 ml ethyl acetate and air - dried for 24 hours . these crystals weigh 10 . 9 grams , having [ α ] d =+ 45 ° and an α / β ratio of 50 / 50 . the filtrate from this crystallization is evaporated to dryness leaving a residue of 8 . 1 g with an [ α ] d =+ 66 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 61 / 39 . the initial fraction described above is again recrystallized by the same procedure , giving 5 . 4 g of crystals with [ α ] d =+ 31 ° and an α / β ratio of 42 / 58 . the twice recrystallized products from three trials carried out in identical manner are combined ( total weight of 23 . 5 g ) and are recrystallized from 105 ml isopropyl alcohol and 245 ml ethyl acetate , giving 17 . 2 g crystals with [ α ] d =+ 25 ° and an α / β ratio of 38 / 62 . repeated recrystallization of this material results in crystals with [ α ] d =+ 5 ° and an α / β ratio of 27 / 73 . the combined residues obtained from the filtrates of three crystallizations carried out as described in the first paragraph of this example amounting to 25 g and having an [ α ] d of + 66 ° are twice recrystallized in the same manner and yield crystals having an [ α ] d of + 58 ° and + 69 °, respectively . the residue from the second recrystallization has an [ α ] d of 88 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 74 / 26 . a 2 . 49 g portion of this last residue is dissolved in absolute ethanol and placed in a 100 ml volumetric flask with 50 ml of 6 n nh 3 ( alcoholic ) and 3 ml h 2 o and the entire mixture diluted to 100 ml with ethanol . the resulting solution is 3 m with respect to nh 3 , 0 . 1 m with respect to the glycoside and contains 3 % h 2 o by volume . this solution is then placed in a constant temperature bath held at 50 ° c . for 48 hours . during this time , the [ α ] d falls to + 70 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 64 / 36 . the solution is evaporated under a stream of air to remove the nh 3 and the solvent . the resulting solid is washed with 25 ml methyl ethyl ketone to remove any yellowish discoloration . the resulting solid ( 2 . 0 g ) has an [ α ] d of + 80 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 69 / 31 . the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars obtained by the process of this invention are especially useful as growth promoters for l . bifidus , since it is known that the β - anomers of the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are more active promoters than the α - anomers , and since this process produces higher proportions of the more desirable β - anomers . mixtures of different alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are also useful as growth promoters for l . bifidus . for example , addition of the α - anomer of methyl - d - glucosaminide to the β - anomer of methyl - d - glycosamide or to the β - anomer of higher alkyl - d - glucosaminides enhances the activity of these alkyl glycosides for this purpose . in addition to their usefulness as growth promoters for l . bifidus , the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are also useful in promoting the healing of wounds . for example , they can be used in treatment of burns , skin inflammation , and psoriasis . they also can be used as promoters of l . bifidus growth for use in the treatment of liver disorder . another use for the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars is for application to hair to control its growth . it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . the aim of the appended claims , therefore , is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .
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referring to fig1 , a flow chart illustrating a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds of the invention comprises the following steps in order as discussed in detail below . in step 11 , a pre - carbonization step is involved . in detail , spent coffee grounds after brewing are washed with fresh water . next , it is dehydrated . next , it is conveyed to a pre - carbonation oven for drying and pre - carbonization . the pre - carbonization oven is cylindrical and formed of steel . temperature of the pre - carbonization oven for drying is kept in the range of 170 to 185 ° c . for 85 to 120 minutes with a steam pressure of 3 to 6 kg / cm 2 . the above conditions are only experimental values and may be changed depending on the sources of spent coffee grounds . this pre - carbonization step is necessary since grease contained in the spent coffee grounds may form tar which may obtain low quality powdered coffee carbons if the pre - carbonization step is eliminated . in step 12 , a step of removing grease from the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds is involved . in detail , remove the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds from the pre - carbonization oven and soak same in a solution mixed with 0 . 5 g / l of sodium carbonate ( na 2 co 3 ) for about 120 minutes in order to remove grease from the spent coffee grounds . the grease - free spent coffee grounds are then washed with fresh water . as a result , the spent coffee grounds are substantially black and have a flavor of tar . the soak time can be reduced if the solution is heated to 60 to 70 ° c . in step 13 , a step of forming coarse coffee carbons is involved . in detail , the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are poured into a post - carbonization oven which is heated by a fir ( far infrared ) heater . the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are heated to a temperature in a range of 600 to 650 ° c . for drying . . . . after drying , the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are carbonized ( i . e ., pyrolysis ) due to high heat and lack of oxygen . as a result , the coffee carbons having a porous structure are obtained . the coffee carbons are not powdered and thus further processing is required . in step 14 , an activation step for the coffee carbons is involved . in detail , saturated steam having a temperature between 850 and 950 ° c . is supplied to the post - carbonization oven to activate the coffee carbons . as a result , activated coffee carbons having fine granules are obtained . the activated coffee carbons have improved dirt removal performance . in step 15 , a grinding step of the activated coffee carbons is involved . as shown in fig3 , it is a microscopic photograph of the powdered coffee carbons . both powdered coffee carbons and activated carbons have excellent adhesion and thus can be employed as filters , micro - organisms killing materials , etc . note that the powdered coffee carbons may have the fine structure similar to that of nanoscale components . the grinding of the activated coffee carbons is done by means of a wet global grinder and involves the following three stages : stage i is for grinding the activated coffee carbons to have structure of the size of several micrometers . in detail , the activated coffee carbons are poured into a grinder having coarse grinding balls having a diameter between 1 . 75 and 2 . 5 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the activated coffee carbons until the activated coffee carbons have a viscosity of about 100 , 000 centipoises ( cps ) and a solid percentage of 80 to 85 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 20 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of filters , and masks for medical purposes , etc . stage ii is for further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons to have structure of the size of about two micrometers . in detail , the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0 . 7 and 0 . 9 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 2 , 000 cps and a solid percentage of 70 to 75 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 2 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns , etc . stage iii is for still further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons obtained from stage ii to have structure of the size of about 0 . 1 micrometers ( i . e ., similar to nanoscale components ). in detail , the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into still another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0 . 4 and 0 . 6 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 100 cps and a solid percentage of 30 to 35 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 0 . 1 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons ( i . e ., similar to nanoscale components ) can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns , coating materials , etc . the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are added to polymer and a threading making process is performed . referring to fig4 , it shows a microscopic photograph of powdered coffee carbons adhered onto yarns . the yarns are thus produced into a fibrous textile material ( i . e ., polyester fibrous textile ). the test organisms and test conditions regarding the above addition and thread making process are tabulated in fig5 a . moreover , as tabulated with respect to test organisms in fig5 b , the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components added to polymer with a threading making process being performed can manufacture a fibrous textile material capable of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro - organisms . further , one piece of sample said to be 94 % nylon and 6 % spandex woven fabric is dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components . the test organisms and test conditions regarding the above woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are tabulated in fig5 c . furthermore , as tabulated with respect to test organisms in fig5 d , the woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components is tested . it is shown that the fabric has excellent capability of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro - organisms . the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and add to pu films in a manufacturing process . the sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test of the pu films containing powdered coffee carbons are tabulated in fig5 e . further , a gas bag formed of pu film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of pu film without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test and test results are tabulated in fig5 f . it is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance . furthermore , powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and be applied onto fabric with micro - porous coating to form fabric containing powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components which is in turn subjected to the deodorization test . the sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test are shown in fig5 g . a gas bag formed of fabric containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of fabric without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test and the test results are tabulated in fig5 h . it is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance . referring to fig2 , a pu film containing powdered coffee carbons is illuminated by a halogen lamp of 500 w for about 60 minutes . it is found that the pu film containing powdered coffee carbons has a temperature of about 48 ° c . as a comparison , the typical pu film without the addition of powdered coffee carbons only has a temperature of about 36 ° c . when subjected to the same illumination conditions . in brief , the pu film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention has improved temperature keeping performance . powdered coffee carbons of the invention have a wide range of applications . for example , it can be employed as filters as a replacement of typical activated carbons filters . further , the powdered coffee carbons do not contain any toxic materials such as fertilizer , toxic chemicals , etc . the powdered coffee carbons can be employed as material in manufacturing masks for medical purposes . further , the powdered coffee carbons can be used in textile industry . for example , a predetermined amount of powdered coffee carbons can be added to polymer for thread making . the manufactured yarns have the features of micro - organisms inhabitation , deodorization , temperature keeping , uv ( ultraviolet ) protection , sweat absorption , etc . most importantly , the manufacturing processes of the invention involve no chemical reactions . this is a green technology . while the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims .
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