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with reference to fig1 , a flow diagram of a plant - system for the manufacture of melamine from urea in a high - pressure process is shown . in this melamine plant , which is indicated in its entirely with reference number 1 , block 2 indicates a high - pressure reactor for melamine synthesis , block 3 indicates a quenching section for a melamine melt obtained in the reactor 2 , block 4 indicates a melamine crystallisation section , block 5 indicates a liquid / solid separator for recovering melamine crystals of high purity and block 6 indicates a mother liquor treatment section for ammeline conversion . generally , in the present description and in the enclosed claims , and where it is not differently indicated , by the terms : “ feeding or connecting means or flow line ”, it is intended to mean pipelines , connecting lines or ducts , pumps , compressor , ejectors or other devices of known type , which are used for transporting a liquid or gaseous flow from a location to another one in the plant . flow line 7 indicates a flow of liquid urea fed to the reactor 2 in which it is converted into melamine by pyrolysis . the reactor 2 usually operates at a pressure in the range of 70 bar to 200 bar and at a temperature in the range of 360 - 420 ° c . the reacted mass is discharged by the reactor as two separate outputs , namely a gas flow 8 comprising ammonia and carbon dioxide and melamine vapours , and a flow 9 of raw melamine in liquid phase or melt which also contains some impurities such as oat and polycondensates . the gaseous flow 8 is normally recycled to the urea synthesis plant after separation of the melamine vapours ( which are in turn returned to the reactor 2 ) in a conventional gas scrubbing unit ( not shown ). on the contrary , the flow 9 of raw melamine is fed to the quenching section 3 where it is brought into intimate contact with a flow 10 of mother liquor , the latter coming from the treatment section 6 for ammeline conversion , in the manner that will be better disclosed in the following description , obtaining a melamine solution in concentrated ammonia - water where the polycondensates present are substantially fully converted into melamine . the quenching section 3 is kept at a temperature of 150 - 190 ° c ., under autogenously pressure , and is crossed by a small flow of gaseous ammonia , injected through line 11 , while the excess is relieved through line 12 . the melamine solution discharged from the quenching section 3 is fed , through the flow line 13 , to the crystallisation section 4 where the temperature is lowered to 30 ° c .- 60 ° c ., under autogenously pressure , causing the precipitation of crystals of very high - purity melamine , while the residual impurities and residual melamine remain into the solution . the liquid stream containing the residual impurities and residual melamine ( so - called mother liquor ), and the crystallized melamine are discharged from the crystallisation section 4 and fed , through the flow line 14 , to the liquid / solid separation section 5 where crystallized melamine is separated from the mother liquor . melamine crystals , as discharged by the flow line 15 , are wet of mother liquor , which is removed by the usual technique of washing the crystals cake with water , obtaining a filtrate ( containing dissolved melamine ), which is returned to the mother liquor loop . crystals are dried and delivered to the final packing . from the separation section 5 the mother liquor is transferred , through the flow line 16 , to the treatment section 6 , where the liquid flow is heated up to 150 - 190 ° c ., under autogenously pressure , and is kept in that condition for a time of 1 to 4 hours , depending on the operating temperature ( the higher the temperature , the shorter the residence time ). in this way , the ammeline in solution converts mainly into melamine , and to a lesser extent into ammelide . finally , the treated mother liquor is closing the loop by recycling , through the flow line 10 , to the quenching section 3 . a very minor part of the mother liquor from section 6 is purged off through the flow line 17 , to avoid an excessive build up of ammelide inside the mother liquor loop , and therefore risking the precipitation of ammelide during melamine crystallization . this stream is de - ammoniated and possibly neutralised in a ammelide removal section 18 obtaining the precipitation of ammelide , which is separated by filtration and discharged through the flow line 19 , while the filtrate , containing melamine , is returned to the mother liquor loop through the flow line 20 . fig2 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for melamine quenching suitable to be used in the quenching section 3 of the melamine plant of fig1 . this quenching apparatus is indicated , in its entirety , with reference number 20 . the apparatus 20 comprises a vessel 21 , of cylindrical , vertical type , which is designed and constructed so as to be effectively operated at a pressure substantially equal or below the operating pressure of the reactor 2 , for example a pressure of 20 - 100 bar , preferably 30 - 70 bar and at an operating temperature of the melamine quenching preferably in the range of 150 - 190 ° c . the vessel 21 is internally provided with a mechanical agitator indicated in its entirety with 26 and baffles 23 extending vertically from the shell of the vessel 21 for transferring to the liquid under agitation a significant deal of power . the agitator 26 includes a vertical shaft 27 extended along the vertical axis of the vessel 1 from its top to the lower portion of the vessel 21 , and an impeller 22 at the lower end of the shaft 27 . the agitator impeller 22 may be of turbine , or of propeller type and preferably it is a flat - blades turbine . the agitator 26 is controlled by a suitable motor 28 situated external to the vessel 21 . the vessel 21 is also internally provided with heat transfer coils 24 which may be realised as pipes internally crossed by a heat transfer fluid , as for instance by a stream of diathermic oil or pressurised boiling water . in particular , the heat transfer fluid enters the vessel 21 and the coils through a inlet pipe 29 and is discharged from them through a outlet pipe 30 . the vessel 21 also comprises suitable openings ( not shown ) for the inlet of the mother liquor coming from the treatment section 6 , for the inlet of melamine melt coming from the reactor 2 , for the inlet and the outlet of gaseous ammonia and for the outlet of melamine solution . in particular , according to the present invention , the mother liquor is introduced in the vessel 21 through the pipe 10 . melamine melt is admitted through pipe 9 , which preferably extends inside the vessel 21 from its top to the proximity of a upper part of the agitator impeller 22 . in this way , advantageously , as soon as the melt arrives to the upper part of the agitator impeller 22 , it is immediately dispersed inside the liquid phase present in the vessel 21 . gaseous ammonia is fed to the vessel by pipe 11 , which is advantageously extended inside the vessel 21 from its bottom to a lower part of the agitator impeller 22 . in this way , as soon as ammonia arrives to the lower part of the agitator impeller 22 , it is immediately subdivided into very fine droplets , and dispersed inside the liquid phase present in the vessel 21 . surplus ammonia is relieved through pipe 12 according to the invention , in the vessel 21 , melamine melt is contacted with mother liquor and quenched at a temperature from 150 ° c . to 190 ° c ., preferably 160 ° c .- 180 ° c ., while the resulting solution is kept into intimate contact with gaseous ammonia , for a time in the range from 15 minutes to 90 minutes . in this way , melamine passes into solution at a concentration preferably from 8 % to 16 % by weight while , at the same time , some of the impurities such as polycondensates , as formed in the reactor 2 , are converted to melamine by reaction with ammonia , obtaining the practical disappearing of polycondensate content in the resulting melamine solution . in this regard , according to the invention , ammonia present in the mother liquor and gaseous ammonia are preferably introduced into the vessel 21 so as to keep a concentration in said solution in the range from 20 % to 35 % by weight , in the stated range of temperatures , at the equilibrium pressure reached by the quench vessel . in addition , gaseous ammonia is advantageously highly dispersed and distributed in the liquid mass thanks to the agitator impeller 22 which realizes a high efficient gas - liquid contacting system . in the vessel 21 , the temperature conditions are controlled by the heat exchanging fluid flowing in the coils 24 which removes heat from the vessel 21 to keep the total liquid mass at the desired temperature . the liquid phase discharged out from the vessel 21 is transferred to the successive crystallisation section 4 of the plant 1 , where it is immediately cooled down to the final crystallisation temperature , in the range of 30 to 60 ° c . under autogenously pressure . the transfer may be simply done under the pressure differential through pipe 13 by means of a level control device or by a pump . fig3 shows an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention for melamine quenching suitable to be used in the quenching section 3 of the melamine plant of fig1 . this quenching apparatus is indicated in its entirety with reference number 40 . to the elements of the apparatus 40 of fig3 which are structurally or functionally equivalent to corresponding elements of the apparatus 20 of fig2 the same reference numbers of the latter elements are assigned . the apparatus 40 includes a vessel 41 and closed loop , indicated in its entirety with reference number 42 , external to the vessel 41 . the closed loop 42 includes a suction pump 44 , a heat exchanger 45 , a pipe 43 connecting the bottom of the vessel 41 to the pump 44 , a pipe 46 connecting the pump 44 to the heat exchanger 45 and a pipe 47 connecting the heat exchanger 45 to the vessel 41 . in this embodiment , all fluids to be intimately mixed together , namely mother liquor coming from the flow line ( pipe ) 10 , melamine melt coming from the flow line ( pipe ) 9 and gaseous ammonia coming from the flow line ( pipe ) 11 are mixed in the pipe 43 and the resulting liquid / gaseous phase is allowed to circulate continuously in the closed loop 42 and in the vessel 41 through the pump 44 . this allows ammonia to be finely distributed in the liquid mass . the control of the liquid temperature is performed by the heat exchanger 45 crossed at the process side by the liquid / gaseous phase from which heat is removed as necessary by a heat exchanging fluid . a flow of melamine solution is continuously discharged out from the vessel 41 through pipe 13 and sent to the crystallisation step in the section 4 as indicated above . fig4 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for treating crystallization melamine mother liquor in order to convert ammeline into ammelide and melammine . this apparatus is indicated , in its entirety , with reference number 60 and is suitable to be used in the treatment section 6 of the melamine plant of fig1 . the apparatus 60 comprises single pressure vessel 61 of total volume sufficient to allow the mother liquid flow the desired residence time at the selected temperature . the pressure vessel 61 is internally provided with a mechanical agitator 66 and baffles 63 extending vertically , helping the liquid under agitation to have heat transferred from the coil 64 , internally crossed by a heating fluid , as for instance condensing steam . in particular , the heat transfer fluid enters the vessel 61 and the coils 64 through a inlet pipe 69 and is discharged from them through a outlet pipe 65 . the agitator 66 includes a vertical shaft 67 extended along the vertical axis of the vessel 61 from its top to the lower portion of the vessel 61 , and an impeller 62 at the lower end of the shaft 67 . the agitator impeller 62 may be of turbine , or of propeller type and preferably it is a flat - blades turbine . the agitator 66 is controlled by a suitable motor 68 situated external to the vessel 61 . the vessel 61 is also internally provided with heat transfer coils 24 which may be realised as pipes internally crossed by a heat transfer fluid , as for instance by a stream of diathermic oil or steam . in particular , the heat transfer fluid enters the vessel 21 and the coils 24 through a inlet pipe 29 and is discharged from them through a outlet pipe 30 . the mother liquor is introduced in the vessel 61 through the pipe 16 , while the treated liquid exits through the pipe 10 . fig5 shows an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention for treating crystallization melamine mother liquor in order to convert ammeline into ammelide and melammine . this apparatus is indicated , in its entirety , with reference number 70 and is suitable to be used in the treatment section 6 of the melamine plant of fig1 . the apparatus 70 comprises two pressure vessels 71 a and 71 b , of the same configuration as for vessel 61 described above , set in series on the liquid flow . this configuration has the advantage of using much smaller vessels , i . e having a volume lower than in case of single vessel 61 . according to another embodiment of the invention ( not shown ), the mother liquor coming from the solid / liquid separation section 5 may be pre - heated at the desired temperature in an appropriate exchanger upstream the vessel 61 of apparatus 60 or the vessel 71 a of apparatus 70 . in this case , the heat transfer coils 64 in vessel 61 or vessels 71 a and 71 b are not required anymore . in the vessel 61 of apparatus 60 and in the vessels 71 a and 71 b of apparatus 70 , due to the temperature increase , the ammonia solution constituting the mother liquor rises in pressure up to 15 - 80 bar pressure , depending on the ammonia concentration used . the treated mother liquor , depleted in ammeline , and enriched in melamine ( and some ammelide ) is transferred to the quenching section 3 , which operates at approximately the same temperature and pressure of the ammeline conversion section 6 . the following examples are intended to better show as the invention may be practiced , and the advantages thereof , but they are not to be interpreted as limiting its scope . a sample of 100 g of melamine melt , as delivered by a high - pressure technology after separation of the off gas , and kept in liquid phase at 390 ° c ., 80 bar pressure , had the following composition ( percentages by weight ): the sample has been quickly transferred into a stirred tank reactor , kept at 170 ° c ., where 800 g of aqueous solution of ammonia at 31 % strength had been previously placed . the vessel reached an internal pressure of 41 bar . after 10 minutes under stirring , the reactor content was quickly transferred in a further , agitated vessel , equipped for cooling down rapidly to about 40 ° c . the obtained melamine solution . after reaching the desired temperature , the vessel internal pressure was about 1 bar . a sample of liquid phase , submitted to analysis , showed a melamine concentration of 0 . 67 %, ammeline 0 . 08 %, which is less than its solubility limit in ammonia 31 % strength , ammelide 0 . 02 %, very far from its solubility limit ( 2 %). poly - condensates were not detectable . urea resulted to be partially hydrolysed . separated melamine crystals were of very high purity . similar to the one recovered in example 1 from the melamine crystallization step , has been fed in continuous , at the rate of 800 g / h , into a 1 - liter stirred tank reactor heated to maintain the temperature constant to 180 ° c . gaseous ammonia has been injected in the same reactor to raise the pressure up to 66 bar . by keeping constant the internal liquid level , the product was discharged , cooled and analysed . ammeline was substantially disappeared , and converted by approx 80 % into melamine , the balance into ammelide . the same experiment has been repeated in milder conditions , by halving the ammonia concentration and operating at 170 ° c ., bar pressure . in order to observe a substantial conversion of ammeline the flow rate had to be reduced down to 250 g / h . meanwhile the main product of the reaction was ammelide . the process according to the invention for obtaining melamine at high purity was carried out in a pilot plant according to fig1 . a melamine melt having the same composition described in example 1 was delivered by the high - pressure urea reactor 2 . this melamine melt was fed , at a rate of 100 kg / h , to the quenching section 3 in a stirred tank - type reactor ( vessel 21 ) equipped as described above with reference to fig2 , the reactor 21 accommodating 150 liters of liquid volume and the quenching and dilution process taking place in the reactor 21 at 170 ° c . the same reactor 21 received in continuous 810 kg / h of recycled , aqueous ammonia solution containing 250 kg / h of ammonia , and about 550 kg / h of water , the balance being mainly dissolved melamine and ammelide ( recycled mother liquor ). said aqueous ammonia solution came from the ammeline conversion section 6 , operating also at 170 ° c . and the quenching reactor 21 and the ammeline conversion section 6 operated at approximately the same , autogenously internal pressure of 44 bar . the temperature of the quenching reactor 21 , receiving the melamine melt at 380 - 390 ° c . and the ammonia solution at 170 ° c ., was temperature - controlled at 170 ° c . by adequate cooling . the liquid overflowing in continuous from the quenching reactor was a 10 . 7 - 10 . 9 % strength solution of melamine , practically free of melamine poly - condensates . it was de - pressurized and fed in continuous to the crystallization section 4 in a cooler - crystallizer of about 1 m 3 volume , wherein the temperature of the process matter was kept at 45 ° c . the pressure of the crystallizer stabilized at 1 . 2 bar . melamine crystals precipitated , forming with the mother liquor a slurry , which was gradually extracted from the crystallizer , and fed to a centrifuge , which provided the crystals separation , and washed with demineralised water , while the filtrate mother liquor was collected in a tank , at atmospheric pressure . the mother liquor , which was saturated by 0 . 84 % melamine , and contained 0 . 12 % ammeline and 0 . 17 % ammelide , was fed in continuous , at a rate of about 940 liters / h , to the ammeline conversion section 6 in a stirred tank reactor ( vessel 60 ), provided by an internal steam coil , heating the liquid and keeping it at 170 ° c . as described above with reference to fig4 . a small flow of gaseous ammonia was also introduced , to compensate for the losses at the crystals separation in the reactor 60 , up to reach an internal pressure of 44 bar . the reactor volume was 2 m 3 , providing then a liquid phase residence time of about 2 hours . thanks to this operation , the poorly soluble ammeline was converted into melamine and ammelide , allowing to re - circulating the aqueous ammonia solution ( mother liquor ) without the risk of ammeline precipitation during the melamine crystallization step . in addition , some urea ( 0 . 45 %) left in solution as residual from the melamine melt , was effectively hydrolysed in this reactor 60 . the 80 % of the treated mother liquor stream was re - sent directly to the quench section 3 while the remaining 20 % of the treated mother liquid stream was purged off to remove ammelide , in the average about 0 . 4 kg / h , to avoid its excessive build - up in the process loop . the removal was done in ammelide removal section 18 by stripping away the dissolved ammonia , which makes ammelide insoluble in the residual water and separating ammelide by filtration . then , the mother liquid stream substantially deprived of ammelide and still containing some melamine , was recovered from the treatment section 18 and returned to the process loop in the mother liquid stream to be recycled to the quench section 3 . in this way , the concentration of oat in the process loop never reached the solubility limit , above which it could precipitate and contaminate the produced melamine . in addition , the process yield was very high , namely more than 98 % of melamine having high purity ( more than 99 . 8 %) was recovered from the original melt containing melamine as such , or under form of poly - condensates and oat . a study was been carried out with the aim of reducing as much as possible the fraction of mother liquor to be purged off for the elimination of ammelide , after its generation from ammeline , as shown in the preceding examples , avoiding at the same time the risk of ammeline or ammelide precitation in the aqueous ammonia solution at the melamine crystallization step in the crystallization section 4 . according to this study , it was found that operating the plant of the preceding example 3 in the same conditions , but by reducing the purging from 20 % to 10 % of the re - circulating aqueous ammonia solution ( recycled mother liquid ), the risk of oat precipitation at melamine crystallization is avoided by 5 % increase of the ratio between aqueous ammonia solution and melamine melt at the quenching section 3 . furthermore , purge reduction to 5 % of the recycled mother mother was possible by increasing of 20 % the aqueous ammonia solution / melamine melt ratio at the quenching section 3 .
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referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 a thereof , there is shown a memory element se with magnetoresistive effect that is arranged between a first line l 1 , for example made of alcu , and a second line l 2 , for example made from alcu . the memory element se is electrically connected both to the first line l 1 and to the second line l 2 . the first line l 1 and the second line l 2 run perpendicularly to one another . the memory element se is arranged at the point of intersection between the first line l 1 and the second line l 2 . the second line l 2 is partially surrounded by a yoke j ( see fig1 a ). the yoke j includes an upper part j 1 , two lateral parts j 2 and two lower parts j 3 . the upper part j 1 adjoins that surface of the second line l 2 which faces away from the memory element se . the lateral parts j 2 adjoin the upper part j 1 and the side walls of the second line l 2 . the lower parts j 3 adjoin the lateral parts j 2 and the part of the surface of the second line l 2 which is adjacent to the memory element se . the yoke j is formed from iron . furthermore , all the soft ferromagnetic elements such as fe , feni , ni , co or similar are suitable . the thickness d of the upper part j 1 perpendicular to the plane extending through the first line l 1 and the second line l 2 , and the comparable thickness of the lateral parts j 2 parallel to the plane extending from l 1 and l 2 are approximately 20 percent of the width of the line l 2 . the thickness d of the lower parts j 3 perpendicular to the plane extending from the first line l 1 and the second line l 2 is at least equal to the thickness of the memory element se , at maximum approximately 20 percent of the width of the conductor track l 2 ( see fig1 b ). if a current flows through the second line l 2 , a magnetic field h is generated outside the line l 2 . this magnetic field generates in the yoke j a magnetic flux φ = μ o μ r which is approximately constant in the magnetic circuit . in the upper part j 1 of the yoke , the magnetic flux φ = μ o μ r f h , f = d b being the cross sectional face of the yoke parts j 1 and j 2 , and b the extent of the yoke j perpendicular to the plane of the drawing . in the lower parts j 3 of the yoke j the magnetic flux ( φ = μ o μ r f h , f = d b being the cross sectional face of the parts j 3 . the lower parts j 3 of the yoke j have magnetic poles on the end faces which face one another . a magnetic field ha for which the following approximately applies owing to the constancy of the magnetic flux : h a = μ r f / f h is generated between the magnetic poles p . because , on the other hand , the maximum achievable magnetic field strength in soft - magnetic material is determined , in the case of saturation , by the saturation magnetization m s of the pole shoe material , the following applies : h a = f / f ( h + m s )≈( f / f ) m s . in comparison with the saturation magnetization m s , the magnetic field h , which is of the order of the magnitude of 10 to 100 a / cm , is usually negligible . iron has a saturation induction of μ o m s ( m s : saturation magnetization )= 2 . 1 t . the maximum achievable magnetic field strength h a is thus 1 . 67 × 10 6 a / m ( 21 koe ) if f / f equals 1 . in this statement it has been assumed that the leakage field losses between the lower parts j 3 of the yoke j and the memory element se are negligible . a memory element se ′ with magnetoresistive effect is switched between a first line l 1 ′ and a second line l 2 ′ ( see fig2 a ). the first line l 1 ′ is partially surrounded by a yoke j ′. the yoke j ′ has a lower part j 1 ′ and two lateral parts j 2 ′. perpendicular to the plane extending through the first line l 1 ′ and the second line l 2 ′, the lower part j 1 ′ of the yoke j ′ has a thickness d of approximately 20 percent of the width of the line l 1 ′ ( see fig2 b ). the thickness of the memory element se ′ perpendicular to the plane passing through the first line l 1 ′ and the second line l 2 ′ is d = 20 nm to approximately 100 nm . if a current flows through the first line l 1 ′, a magnetic field h is produced which brings about a magnetic flux φ in the yoke j ′ and the memory element se ′. as a result the memory element can be switched as a function of the sign of the current . in the same way as in the exemplary embodiment explained with reference to fig1 a and 1 b , in this exemplary embodiment which is to be preferred in terms of production , a comparable reinforcement and concentration of the magnetic field generated by the conductor current is produced at the location of the memory element se ′. this concentrated variant results in inhomogeneous magnetization distributions in the memory element in the edge areas which adjoin the yoke j 2 ′. these do not adversely affect the switching effect , but must be taken into account during reading out . the manufacture of a memory cell array for a 0 . 18 μm technology will be described below with reference to fig3 to 8 . a first insulating layer 2 made of sio 2 is applied to a carrier wafer 1 made of monocrystalline silicon . the first insulating layer 2 has a thickness of 300 to 400 nm . a first trench 3 is produced in the first insulating layer 2 using photolithographic process steps . the first trench 3 has a depth of 200 to 300 nm , a width of 250 to 300 nm and a length , dependent on the cell field , of 50 μm to 400 μm . subsequently , a first soft - magnetic layer 4 made of fe or permalloy ( ni 80 fe 20 ) is deposited to a layer thickness of 20 to 60 nm . the thickness of the first soft - magnetic layer 4 is approximately 10 to 20 percent of the width of the first trench 3 . the deposition can be carried out by sputtering , vapor deposition , cvd , electroplating or the like ( see fig3 ). the first soft - magnetic layer 4 is structured transversely to the direction of the first trench 3 using photolithographic process steps and anisotropic etching , so that it has a strip intersecting the first trench 3 . by depositing a metalization layer which contains alcu and fills up the region of the first trench 3 completely , and by subsequent chemical - mechanical polishing a first line 5 is formed , and a first yoke 4 ′ is formed by structuring the first soft - magnetic layer 4 . the extent of the first yoke 4 ′ perpendicular to the plane of the drawing is determined by the proceeding structuring and is 200 to 300 nm . the chemical - mechanical polishing stops as soon as the surface of the first insulating layer 2 is exposed ( see fig4 ). a thin insulation layer 6 made of sio 2 is deposited over the entire surface to a layer thickness of 20 to 60 nm and is structured using photolithographic process steps in such a way that the surface of the first line 5 is partially exposed . a first ferromagnetic layer 7 is subsequently generated by deposition and chemical - mechanical polishing . the first ferromagnetic layer 7 fills up the opening in the insulation layer 6 . the first ferromagnetic layer 7 is electrically connected to the first line 5 ( see fig5 ). the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer 7 is 20 to 40 nm , the width is 180 to 200 nm and the depth perpendicular to the plane of the drawing is 180 to 200 nm ( see fig5 ). the first ferromagnetic layer 7 is insulated from the first yoke 4 ′. a tunnel barrier layer 8 made of al 2 o 3 is formed on the surface of the first ferromagnetic layer 7 by reactive sputtering a 2 to 4 nm thick aluminum oxide layer ( al 2 o 3 ) ( not shown on drawing ). the first ferromagnetic layer 7 is formed from co ( or another ferromagnetic material ). a second ferromagnetic layer 9 is formed on the surface of the tunnel layer by deposition and photolithographic structuring . the second ferromagnetic layer 9 is formed from co . it has a thickness of 20 to 60 nm , a width of 180 to 200 nm and a depth transversely to the path of the first line 5 of 200 to 300 nm ( see fig6 a and fig6 b ). a second insulating layer 10 made of sio 2 is deposited to a layer thickness of 200 to 300 nm . a second trench 11 is produced in the second insulating layer 10 using photolithographic process steps . the surface of the second ferromagnetic layer 9 is at least partially exposed on the bottom of the second trench 11 . the second trench 11 has a width of 200 to 300 nm , a depth of 200 to 300 nm and a length perpendicular to the routing of the first line 5 of 50 to 400 μm . spacers 12 are formed on the edges of the second trench 11 by depositing a second soft - magnetic layer made of fe or ni 80 fe 20 and anisotropic etching back . the width of the spacers 12 is 20 to 60 nm . it is determined by the thickness of the deposited second low - reactivity layer . a second line 13 is formed in the second trench 11 by depositing a metalization layer which has alcu and a thickness of 200 to 400 nm , and subsequent chemical - mechanical polishing which stops at the surface of the second insulating layer 10 made of sio 2 . the second line 13 fills the second trench 11 completely ( see fig7 ). a yoke part 14 whose cross section corresponds essentially to the cross section of the second ferromagnetic layer 9 is formed on the surface of the second line 13 by depositing a third soft - magnetic layer of 20 to 60 nm and structuring using photolithographic process steps . the yoke part 14 and the spacers 12 together form a second yoke which partially surrounds the second line 13 . the second yoke reinforces the magnetic field generated by the second line 13 through which current flows , at the location of the second ferromagnetic layer 9 . the first yoke 4 ′ reinforces the magnetic field which is generated by the first line 5 through which current flows . the first line 5 and the second line 13 are connected by means of a memory element which is formed from the first ferromagnetic layer 7 , the tunnel layer 8 and the second ferromagnetic layer 9 and which exhibits a magnetoresistive effect . the resistance of the memory element can be measured by appropriately driving the first line 5 and the second line 13 . in this way , the information stored in the various magnetization states is read out . to write information , the first line 5 and the second line 13 are driven in such a way that the magnetic field at the location of the second ferromagnetic layer 9 , resulting from the current flow , is sufficient to change the magnetization state of the second ferromagnetic layer 9 . because of the different material properties , the magnitude and / or the ferromagnetic layer 7 , 9 , the magnetization state of the first ferromagnetic layer 7 remains unchanged here . to form a memory cell array which has magnetoresistive elements and memory cells s , the memory elements s are arranged in a grid ( see fig9 ). each memory element s is switched here between a first line le 1 and a second line le 2 . the first lines le 1 run parallel to one another and intersect the second lines le 2 which also run parallel to one another .
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with reference now to the drawings , and particularly to fig1 and 10 , there is shown a cut - away perspective view of a metal building 100 . with reference to fig1 , 11 , the metal building 100 preferably includes a heat collection air gap layer 10 , 12 , air vent spacers 36 , 38 , an insulation retaining sheet material 14 , 30 , a material insulation layer 16 , 32 , 34 and a plurality of ducts 40 , 42 , 44 , 48 , 50 . the metal building 100 is shown , but other types of buildings may also be used . the metal building 100 includes a plurality of rafter columns 102 , a plurality of end columns 104 , a plurality of wall girts 106 , a plurality of rafters 108 , a plurality of purlins 110 , 128 , 134 , a plurality roof exterior sheeting panels 112 , a plurality of wall exterior sheeting panels 114 and a peripheral base channel 116 . the plurality of rafter columns 102 and the plurality of end columns 104 are attached to the peripheral base foundation 118 . the peripheral base channel 116 is attached to a foundation 118 to form a perimeter of the metal building 100 . the plurality of girts 106 are retained between horizontally extended girt clips 111 , off the exterior surfaces of the plurality of rafter columns 102 and end columns 104 . the plurality of rafters 108 are attached to a top of the plurality of rafter columns 102 . the plurality of purlins 110 , 128 , 134 are retained between vertically extended purlin clips 113 above the exterior faces the plurality of rafters 108 . with reference to fig1 and 16 , the heat collecting air gap layers include a roof heat collecting ceiling air gap layer 10 and a wall heat collecting air gap layer 12 , which communicate with each other on demand through duct damper holes 56 to increase the total heat collector surface area available to absorb solar heat . the solar heat from the east , west , south or north walls can be individually directed through ducts 40 , 42 , 48 through damper holes 56 to the solar exposed roof 120 , to melt snow and ice , thereby maximizing the total heat absorption surface area to achieve greatest volume and heat energy concentration . with reference to fig2 - 8 , the composite roof assembly preferably includes at least one ceiling sheet material 14 , a ceiling material insulation layer 16 , at least two intermediate ceiling support struts 18 , at least two ridge ceiling support struts 20 and at least two eave inside corner ceiling support struts 22 . each intermediate ceiling support strut 18 and eave inside corner ceiling support strut 22 are attached between two adjacent rafters 108 . each ridge ceiling support strut 20 is attached to two adjacent rafters 108 adjacent a ridge 122 of the roof 120 and vertically aligned below the roof 120 ridge purlins 128 . each eave inside corner ceiling sheet material support strut 22 is attached to define an inside corner between a roof 120 and a side wall 124 sheet materials 14 , 30 of the metal building 100 . one end of the ceiling sheet material 14 is inserted behind the eave inside corner ceiling sheet material support strut 22 , above the intermediate ceiling sheet material support struts 18 , above the ridge ceiling sheet material support strut 20 adjacent a ridge 122 of the roof 120 and securely attached to the nearest ridge ceiling support strut 20 with fasteners or the like . the other end of the ceiling sheet material 14 is attached to either a foundation 118 or a floor 126 of the metal building 100 with adhesive , a tensioning device 24 or any other suitable means . with reference to fig1 a - 10 h , a variety of tensioning devices include a turnbuckle tensioning device 202 , a right angle take - up tensioning device 204 , a hook and threaded rod tensioning device 206 , a ratchet strap tensioning device 208 , a turning shaft tensioning device 210 , a single adjustable strut tensioning device 212 , a bi - directional adjustable strut tensioning device 214 and a strap winch tensioning device 216 . alternatively , one end of the sheet material 14 is secured to the foundation 118 or the floor 126 on one side of the metal building 100 and the other end of the sheet material 14 is inserted around the exterior side of one eave inside corner ceiling support strut 22 , inserted over the intermediate ceiling sheet material support strut ( s ) 18 , inserted over the two ridge ceiling sheet material support struts 20 , inserted over the opposite side intermediate ceiling sheet material support strut ( s ) 18 , inserted over the opposite side eave inside corner , ceiling sheet material support strut 22 and finally secured with a tensioning device 24 or any other suitable means to the foundation 118 or floor 126 on an opposing side of the metal building 100 . significant tension is typically required to limit deflection when supporting the load of the material insulation layer without the intermediate fasteners and the resultant thermal bridging common to all known prior art . the ceiling insulation layer 16 is laid on the at least one ceiling sheet material 14 and includes an insulation thickness that extends upward to near the bottom of the plurality of purlins 110 . although not required , an air flow path is desired between the material insulation layer 16 and the bottom of the plurality of purlins 110 to allow cooler , more dense air to flow toward the eave purlin 134 to more efficiently complete the movement of the heat energy up over the purlins 110 to the ridge 122 and allow the cooler , more dense air is allowed to flow back down toward the eave purlin 134 . open web purlins and joists are not shown , but allow the heat energy , humidity and air to flow in all directions without this efficiency concern . fig1 - 13 show a plurality of inner vent spacers 38 that include air vent holes 39 which would be installed on the under side of the bottom flange 132 of the plurality of solid web purlins 110 , 128 to ensure an air circulation path from ridge to eave . the ceiling heat collecting air gap layer 10 is created between a top of the ceiling material insulation layer 16 and a bottom of the roof panel 112 . preferably the roof sheeting panels 112 are connected to the tops of the purlins 110 with a plurality of thermal conductive fasteners 26 to maximize thermal conduction from the plurality of thermally conductive roof sheeting panels 112 into the plurality of conductive , radiative roof purlins 110 , 128 , 134 . with reference to fig1 , maximizing conduction will enhance the heat transfer , enhance the heat collection in the air gap layer 10 , enhance the heat concentration at the highest point of the air gap layer 10 closest the ridge 122 and enhance overall efficiency of heat energy collection at the heat collection fins 94 of the heat transfer pipe 92 of the metal building building 100 . heat transfer fluid 93 circulates inside the heat transfer pipe 92 powered by either a pump or compressor ( not shown ). fig1 - 20 illustrate a preferred alternative multi - vent 74 to a typical metal roof ridge cap 77 , 79 of fig2 - 22 . the ridge mounted multi - vent 74 extends through the ridge 122 of the roof 120 and preferably extends a length of the roof ridge 122 . the ridge mounted multi - vent 74 is located between two ridge purlins 128 and between the two ridge ceiling support struts 20 . fig2 illustrates a plurality of multi - vent box side panel extensions 154 and a plurality of multi - vent box end panel extensions 152 which attach to the bottoms of the plurality of multi - vents modules 74 to fill the open space to the bottoms of the two ridge ceiling support struts 20 shown in fig4 . if the preferred multi - vent is not used and a typical ridge cap 77 , 79 is used . a single ridge ceiling support strut centered below the ridge line is sufficient to support the ceiling sheet material and the overlying material insulation layer . with reference to fig1 - 13 , each metal building 100 composite wall structure includes an exterior metal wall sheeting panel 114 , an optional exterior girt mounted vent spacer 36 , a girt 106 in the air gap 12 , the interior mounted girt vent spacer 38 , an exterior side wall sheet material which may typically be an extension of the ceiling sheet material 14 , or may be an independent exterior wall sheet material 30 , a material insulation layer 32 , 34 , and an interior wall material 28 , 31 . a plurality of optional girt exterior flange mounted vent spacers 36 include a plurality of through air flow openings 37 , if desired to increase the heat flow area upward around the girts . the interior girt flange mounted vent spacers 38 are attached to an interior flange 132 of the girt 106 . the interior girt spacers 38 include a plurality of through air flow openings 39 , if desired to increase the heat flow area around the interior girt flanges . an exterior surface of the wall sheet material 14 , 30 abuts the plurality of interior flange mounted girt spacers 38 . with reference to fig2 - 26 , a wall material insulation layer 32 , 34 is secured to a vertical portion of the wall sheet material 14 , 30 with bi - directional impaling hangers 156 by first impaling the sheet material impaling arrows 160 through the sheet material 14 , 30 for support and then impaling the insulation layer 32 , 34 on the opposite side hanger insulation impaling arrows 162 with any suitable method or device . a top edge of each side wall interior insulation covering sheet material 28 is preferably attached to the ceiling sheet material 14 with adhesive , fasteners or other suitable attachment means , such that the exterior surface of insulation covering wall sheet material 28 contacts an interior surface of the wall insulation layer 32 which is typically fiber glass blanket or batt insulation . a bottom edge of each interior insulation covering wall sheet material 28 is attached at its base with a tensioning device 24 , adhesive , fasteners or any other suitable attachment method . a plurality of wall heat collecting air gap layers 12 are created between an interior facing surfaces of the exterior wall sheeting panels 114 and the exterior facing surfaces of the side wall sheet material layer 14 which are typically extensions of the ceiling sheet layer 14 . the outer end wall sheet material 30 abuts to the plurality of inner girt flange vent spacers 38 . a top end of first installed exterior end wall sheet material 30 is preferably attached to the ceiling sheet material 14 with adhesive , fasteners or other suitable attachment means , but may alternatively be attached to the end wall rafter 108 or to end wall girts 106 as limited by accessibility of an individual application . a bottom end of each first installed , exterior end wall sheet material 30 is attached to the foundation 118 or floor 126 with the tensioning device 24 , adhesive or any other suitable attachment device and methods . fig1 a - 10 h illustrate various styles of tensioning devices which may be used to apply tension to the ceiling or wall sheet material 28 , 31 . wall material insulation layers 32 , 34 preferably are suspended from the interior surfaces of the first installed , exterior wall sheet material 14 , 30 . the plurality of bi - directional impaling suspension hangers 156 are used to suspend the wall material insulation layers 32 , 34 without any conductive thermal bridges to the wall girts 106 . the exterior facing impaling arrows 160 impale the exterior wall sheet material for support . the insulation layer 32 , 34 is impaled on the opposing impaling arrows 162 to support the insulation in suspension without any thermal bridging to the exterior wall girts and panels . a top end of each second installed , interior wall sheet material 28 , 31 is preferably attached to the ceiling sheet material 14 with adhesive , fasteners or other suitable attachment means , such that its exterior surface contacts an interior surface of the wall insulation layer 32 , 34 . a bottom end of each second installed , interior wall sheet material 28 , 31 is attached at its base with a tensioning device 24 or any other suitable attachment device and method . the end wall heat collecting air gap layer 12 is created between an interior facing surface of the exterior end wall sheeting panels 114 and the exterior facing surface of the first installed , exterior end wall sheet material 30 . the side wall heat collecting air gap layer 12 is created between an interior facing surface of the exterior wall sheeting panels 114 and the exterior facing surface of the first installed , exterior side wall sheet material 14 , 30 . with reference to fig1 a , 10 - 11 , 16 - 17 and 23 - 24 the plurality of wall ducts include side wall ducts and end wall ducts . the ducts are joined in series with a plurality of connection couplings 57 . the plurality of side wall ducts 40 , 42 , 44 generally have a horizontal orientation . the plurality of side wall ducts preferably include two side wall eave roof ducts 40 , two sidewall upper wall ducts 42 , two sidewall base ducts 44 . the side wall eave roof ducts 40 provide an independent air flow path from the exterior air to the roof air gap layer . the upper side wall air flow duct provides and independent air flow path which communicates with the exterior air and the air gap layer 12 . the plurality of end wall ducts include upper wall ducts 48 with an orientation generally matching the roof slope along the top of the end wall air gap layer 12 . the plurality of the end wall base ducts 50 have a horizontal orientation along the base of the air gap layer 12 . the plurality of end wall ducts preferably include two upper wall ducts 48 and two end wall base ducts 50 . two subterranean air ducts 46 and subterranean tube ducts 72 connected between the two opposite wall subterranean air ducts 46 also may be installed to pre - condition air used for ventilation , heating , cooling and dehumidification . each duct 40 - 50 is preferably fabricated from an extruded rectangular ( preferably square ) tube 54 illustrated in fig1 . the tube 54 preferably includes a plurality of air flow holes 56 formed through one or more sides thereof . with reference to fig1 , a damper strip slot 58 is formed in at least one sides side of the tube 54 to receive a damper strip 60 . the damper strip 60 includes a plurality of holes 62 , which may be aligned with the plurality of air flow holes 56 to allow air flow into the tube 54 or to prevent air flow into the tube 54 . any suitable duct actuation device 64 may be used to slide the damper strip 60 in the damper strip slot 58 . fig1 illustrates a cut - away perspective view of the general spacial locations of the wall duct and eave line roof duct communicating with the air gap layers 10 , 12 of the metal building 100 . the ducts need not be installed continuously , nor the full lengths of the building walls but only as desired to provide a useful function . each sidewall eave roof duct 40 is located below a lengthwise eave purlin 134 . the side wall eave roof duct 40 may be constructed of any suitable material and used to replace the eave purlin 134 and provide the intended combined functions of both the eave line roof duct 40 and the eave purlin 134 . each end wall upper wall duct 48 is located below an end wall eave channel 136 or below the ends of the roof purlins 110 , 128 , 134 if there is no end wall eave channel 136 . the side wall , end wall , and subterranean ducts 40 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 are capable of receiving outside air or interior space air through either air flow holes 56 or through branch ducts 63 . typically there would be an operable damper strip 60 or an operable louver 67 to open or close the air flow holes 56 or branch ducts 63 to air flows . the side wall upper wall duct 42 is located below the sidewall eave roof ducts 40 . the upper wall ducts 42 , 48 and base wall ducts 44 , 50 communicate with the air gap layers 12 of the walls . the upper side wall ducts 42 allow heat and air in the wall air gap layers 12 to communicate with the roof air gap layers 10 directly or through eave line roof duct 40 . with reference to fig1 , a heat collection coil / dehumidifier 66 is preferably retained inside the sidewall upper wall air gap layer 12 or inside the upper wall ducts 42 at this same general location . an coil bracket 68 is secured to one edge of the side wall heat collection / dehumidifier coil 66 and a lower mounting bracket 70 is secured to the other edge of the heat collection / dehumidifier coil 66 . with reference to fig1 , a blower 65 may be used to transfer heat and air from the wall heat collection air gap layer 12 to an interior space of the metal building 100 . the side wall base ducts 44 and the end wall base duct 50 are located adjacent the wall panel 114 and above the floor 126 . ends of the side wall ducts 40 , 42 , 44 and ends of the end ducts 48 , 50 are preferably closed with a duct end cap 59 illustrated in fig1 . the base ducts 44 , 50 may be made of a suitable material and used to replace a base support channel ( not shown ) and provide the intended functions of both the base ducting 44 , 50 and of the base structural support channel 116 . with reference to fig9 , the two opposing side wall subterranean air ducts 46 are located at a base perimeter of the metal building 100 , preferably at or below floor level and which extends the side wall length of the metal building 100 . one side wall subterranean air duct 46 communicates with the interior air space of the metal building 100 through at least one branch duct 63 or the plurality of duct modules tubes 54 air flow holes 56 . the opposing side wall subterranean duct communicates with the exterior air through at least one opposing branch duct 63 to the exterior air . a plurality of subterranean tubing 72 is located below the floor 126 of the building at a depth of about 6 to 9 feet , which run parallel to each other in the earth with the opposing subterranean tubing 72 ends connected to the two opposing subterranean ducts 46 . air flowed through the subterranean ducts 46 flows through the subterranean tubing 72 under the building floor 126 will be cooled by a reduced temperature of the earth in contact with the subterranean tubing 72 . one end of the plurality of subterranean tubing 72 is connected to one of the two lengthwise subterranean air tubing ducts 46 and the other end of the plurality of foundation tubing 72 is connected to a second of the two lengthwise subterranean air tubing ducts 46 . it is preferable that the plurality of foundation tubing 72 be oriented either parallel to the end walls of the building or parallel to the side walls of the building . it is preferred that the plurality of subterranean tubing 72 be connected to either the opposing sidewall subterranean ducts 46 or to opposing end wall subterranean tubing ducts ( not shown ). it is possible to use more than one subterranean duct and tubing system under the floor 126 of the metal building 100 at different depths to condition additional volumes of ventilation air flowing through them . the subterranean tubes 72 should be sloped to a low point and connected to a liquid water drain pipe 71 which connects to a liquid water reservoir 73 from which the condensation water can be stored and recycled for other uses . with reference to fig9 , 18 - 20 , the ridge mounted multi - vent 69 includes a plurality of vent modules 74 attached to each other end to end in series . the plurality of vent modules 74 are secured in series to each other with bolts or any suitable attachment device or method . each vent module 74 includes a box unit 76 and a cover 78 . the box unit 76 includes a vent base 80 , two end walls 82 , two side walls 84 and two box side flanges 86 . the two end walls 82 extend upward from opposing ends of the vent base 80 and two side walls 84 extend upward from opposing sides of the vent base 80 . a single flange 86 extends outward from a top of each box side wall 84 . at least one air opening 88 may be formed through each end wall 82 to allow the flow of air between the vent modules 74 . with reference to fig1 , a heat transfer pipe hole 90 may also be formed through each end wall 82 to receive a heat transfer pipe 92 . a plurality of heat fins 94 are attached along a length of the heat transfer pipe 92 . a trough 96 is placed under the heat transfer pipe 92 to catch and channel condensation to a drain ( not shown ) along its length . the cover 78 includes a cover portion 98 and a pair of cover side flanges 99 disposed on opposing side edges thereof . the cover portion 98 preferably includes a curved cross section . the cover side flange 99 extends from each side of the cover portion 98 . a first sealing material ( not shown ) may be placed between the cover side flanges 99 and the box side flanges 86 . a second sealing material ( not shown ) may be placed between the cover portion ends 98 and the box end wall 82 top edges . the cover 78 is preferably fabricated from a material , which is light translucent , light collecting , light diffusing or opaque . a damper slot 150 may be formed into each side wall 84 to slidably retain the damper strip 60 . a plurality of air flow holes are formed through the side walls 84 in the damper slot 150 . the damper strip 60 of fig1 may be shifted in the damper slot 150 with an actuation device to allow air to flow through air flow holes 62 and 95 . with reference to fig2 - 22 , the covers 78 of the plurality of vent modules 74 are secured through their flanges 99 to ridge roof sheeting panel closures 75 or to the roof ridge purlins 128 structures with fasteners 26 or any suitable attachment device or method . with reference to fig1 - 20 , the box unit 76 may have two end wall extension panels 152 which attach to base of the end walls 82 , and two side wall extension panels 154 which attach to the base of the side wall panels 84 . these extension panels fill any gap between the ridge support struts 20 and the base 80 of the multi - vent box unit side walls 84 and end walls 82 . a cover 78 with two opposing side flanges 99 may be attached to the side wall extensions from the interior side . the cover 78 is preferably fabricated from a material , which is light translucent , light collecting , light diffusing or opaque . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects , and therefore , the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .
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most of the commercially available sulfonic acid contains a residual amount of sulfuric acid and sulfur trioxide from its sulfonation reaction of sulfur trioxide with the representative organic compound . pilot chemical produces dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid for use in detergent industry . in section 2 of the material safety data sheet ( msds ), it listed the amounts of sulfuric acid and sulfur trioxide presence in the product . when the sulfonic acid is formulated with other solvents for the use in photoresist stripping and cleaning processes during the manufacturing of semiconductor devices , the presence of the minute amount of the sulfuric acid and sulfur trioxide will cause damage to the metal substrate surface . for example , the dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid product specification from pilot chemical shows the product to contain 1 . 0 % sulfuric and 1 % sulfur trioxide . mixing dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid with solvent system illustrated by the prior art , without allowing sufficient time to reduce the sulfuric acid in the stripper solution , will cause higher attack of the aluminum . alkanolamine in the present invention serves the purpose of neutralizing the acids to reduce the acid in the stripper solution and simultaneously work as an anionic surface active agent . the heat generated from the neutralization of alkanolamine with the organic sulfonic acid during the mixing of the stripper solution also aids the dissolution of corrosion inhibitor , such as catechol , gallic acid etc . to the stripper solution forming a homogenous blend . the following examples of stripping compositions and preparation are provided to further illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention for removing a resist from a substrate are set forth in table i below . in another embodiment of the present invention discloses the method of preparation of the photoresist stripper . a mixture of organic sulfonic acid and organic solvent is mixed with mechanical agitation in a mixing tank to a homogenous solution . alkanolamine is gradually added to the mixture with continuous agitation . the temperature of the solution rises slowly to about 70 ° c . the temperature rise is moderated with the rate of addition of the alkanolamine . the corrosion inhibitor , 1 , 2 dihydroxybenzene ( catechool ) is dispersed in a mixture of exxon aromatic a - 150 solvent and dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid . triethanolamine is gradually added to the mixtures with continuous agitation . the temperature of the solution rises slowly to about 70 ° c . the dispersion becomes a homogenous solution . solutions a to j are non - limiting examples represent preferred forms and best modes contemplated by the inventor for practice of his invention , as well as illustrating the results obtained through its use . examples illustrating the removal of a resist from a substrate under varying conditions using the stripping compositions of the present invention are described further below . thereafter , examples illustrating the removal of etching residue from a substrate are set forth . the following examples are provided to further illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention . these results show that the photoresist stripper composition produced by the invention is suitable for use under production conditions encountered in the manufacture of integrated circuits without damage the substrate metal surface . substitution of other solvents and organic sulfonic acids as described above in the above examples gives similar advantageous results . it should now be apparent to those skilled in the art that a novel method of manufacturing photoresist stripping composition and method capable of achieving the stated objects of this invention has been provided . at least equivalent results are obtained with the composition and method of this invention as compared with results achieved utilizing the sulfonic acid , phenol and chlorinated organic solvent photoresist stripping composition in general use in the manufacture of integrated circuits . no attack on aluminum metallurgy or silicon dioxide insulators on silicon wafers is observed with the present invention . it should further be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details of the invention as described may be made . it is intended that such changes be included within the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto . all references , patents , patent applications referred to in this application are herein being incorporated by reference in their entirety .
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referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding elements over the several views , fig1 shows an overview of the satellite communications system consisting of subsystems 12 , 10 , 16 . original signal 22 feeds subchannel divider 24 which separates the signal into a plurality of numbered subsignals . the exemplary system of fig1 shows the number of subsignals to be four , but the present invention is not so limited . subchannel divider 24 creates the subsignals by dividing original signal 22 employing one of two methods . a first method divides the signal on the basis of power . in this first method all the subchannel signals emerging from subchannel divider 24 are identical . a second method divides the signal on the basis of content . in this second method , each subchannel signal carries at least some information that is not carried by the other subchannels . the information content may be mutually exclusive or may overlap between subchannels , but in any case the subchannel signals under the second divider method are not identical as in the first method . each subchannel signal feeds an uplink transmitter 26 a - 26 d , each of which uplink transmitters feeds a separate antenna 28 a - 28 d , directing radio frequency energy toward a plurality of orbiting satellites 14 a - 14 d via propagation paths 18 a - 18 d . uplink transmitters 26 a - 26 d add timing signal 23 to the signal to be transmitted either on a separate frequency allocation or in the bandwidth of the information - bearing carrier . the exemplary system of fig1 shows the number of satellites used by the system to be four , but the instant invention is not so limited . each satellite 14 a - 14 d receives a band of frequencies , amplifies the signals received in that band , and retransmits the band at a different location in the spectrum . each of said satellites has a transmitting antenna pattern that includes receiving terminal system 16 . propagation paths 20 a - 20 d from each satellite 14 a - 14 d to representative receiving terminal 16 carry radio frequency energy from satellites 14 a - 14 d to the receiving terminal system 16 . it should be understood that although fig1 depicts each uplink signal being carried by a different satellite , the present invention is not so limited . for example , transponders of satellites 14 a , 14 b could be collocated on the same satellite . in this case , uplink transmitters 26 a , 26 b and uplink antenna systems 28 a , 28 b could be combined , in addition to satellites 14 a , 14 b representing the same satellite . propagation paths 18 a , 20 a , 18 b , 20 b in this case would be combined into single uplink and downlink propagation paths . receiving terminal system 16 incorporates one of two antenna methods . a first method includes a plurality of antenna components to receive the plurality of satellite signals 20 a - 20 d . a second method incorporates a multiple beam antenna . the exemplary system of fig1 uses multiple beam antenna 30 , but the present invention is not so limited . in either of the aforementioned receiving terminal antenna methods , the antenna subsystem produces a plurality of output signals corresponding to the subchannel signals emerging from subchannel divider 24 in uplink system 12 . in the exemplary system of fig1 each of the numbered signals emerging from multiple beam antenna 30 correspond to similarly numbered signals emitted by subchannel divider 24 . this signal identity remains true whether satellites 14 a , 14 b of fig1 are distinct or represent the same satellite as indicated in the foregoing description . the subchannel signals emitted by multiple beam antenna 30 feed a plurality of tuners 32 which then drive a plurality of demodulators 34 . a signal emerging from one of the demodulators 34 then represents a version of the corresponding output of subchannel divider 24 , but delayed in time in proportion to the sum of the lengths of the corresponding uplink and downlink propagation paths 18 and 20 . in receiving terminal 16 , delay component 36 further delays first - arriving signals such that all the subchannel components arrive at subchannel combiner 38 at nearly the same time . said combiner 38 produces a reconstruction 40 of original signal 22 . the method used in subchannel combiner 38 is consistent with and corresponds to the method used to divide original signal 22 in subchannel divider 24 . the instant invention uses one of four methods to perform the dividing and combining operations of subchannel divider 24 and subchannel combiner 40 . in each of said methods , subchannel divider 24 of fig1 feeds a plurality of uplink transmitters 26 a - 26 d , but the signals emerging from subchannel divider 24 are different in nature depending of the dividing and combining method used . in a first dividing and combining method , original signal 22 is digital . in said first method , subchannel divider 24 divides said digital signal into lower data rate subchannel signals with binary content that contains at least some mutually exclusive information . the division could be on a sequential bit - by - bit basis , could be on a sequential frame - by - frame basis , and may or may not relate to possible framing in the original digital signal ( e . g . dvb transport ). the exemplary receiving terminal 16 of fig2 depicts a two - subchannel digital receiving system where the radio frequency carriers feeding the demodulators 36 a and 36 b are quaternary phase shift keying ( qpsk ) modulated signals , but the present invention is not so limited . said figure further indicates the use of a multiple beam antenna 30 , but the present invention is not so limited . referring again to fig2 multiple beam antenna 30 emits first and second signals into first and second tuners 32 a and 32 b . each tuner shifts a band of higher frequencies to a band of lower frequencies of equal bandwidth such that receiver controller 42 sets the center frequency of the higher band , but the lower band is fixed . tuners 32 a , 32 b emit qpsk modulated signals at a frequency that the qpsk demodulators 36 a , 36 b expect to receive . as there are two subchannels in the example of fig2 the data rate of the binary information contained in these qpsk signals is approximately half the data rate of original signal 22 . the respective outputs of qpsk demodulators 36 a , 36 b emit signals to bit detectors 38 a , 38 b which in turn produce streams of binary data corresponding to the subchannel division in uplink system 12 . delay operators synchronize the data streams by introducing delay in the first - arriving binary stream such that there is a minimum of relative delay between the respective delay operator outputs . digital content combiner 48 reverses the content division process of subchannel divider 24 so as to produce at its output a faithful delayed replica 50 of original digital signal 22 . receiver controller 42 of fig2 responds to user input ( not depicted ) to select the transponders 14 to combine , subsequently emitting control signals to multiple beam antenna 30 to direct its antenna patterns toward the satellites containing selected transponders 14 . receiver controller 42 also selects each tuner frequency consistent with the signals emitted from the selected transponder . receiver controller 42 further processes information from timing signal correlator 44 to determine the correct setting of delays 40 a , 40 b . timing signal correlator 44 receives and time correlates tuner outputs 34 . for a system with more than two subchannels , correlator 44 processes tuner outputs in pairs to determine relative delay between subchannels . nonvolatile memory 46 contains parameters regarding the user - selected transponders to enable the correct setting of multiple beam antenna 30 and tuners 32 . the instant invention can use a second method for transporting a digital signal across a virtual satellite channel . referring to fig3 which depicts an example of said second method which combines delayed demodulator outputs from identical subchannels as described previously as power combining . under the direction of receiver controller 42 , multiple beam antenna 30 emits signals to tuners 32 a , 32 b which translate variable transponder bands into a fixed band of frequencies expected by the qpsk demodulators 54 . fig3 depicts a receiving terminal using a multiple beam antenna , but the present invention is not so limited . fig3 further depicts a receiving terminal with two subchannels , but the instant invention is not limited to two subchannels . the figure in addition shows the use of a qpsk modulation scheme , but the instant invention is not so limited . subchannel signals 52 emitted by tuners 32 contain identical digital information transmitted at the full rate of original signal 22 . qpsk demodulators 54 produce soft decision outputs i a and q a for each subchannel . since the total propagation delay for each subchannel is in general different , first arriving soft decisions must be delayed in time by an amount such that soft decisions emitted by delays 56 emerge with nearly zero relative delay between subchannels . delays 56 digitize the analog soft decisions produced by demodulators 54 , placing digitized results in a first - in first - out ( fifo ) buffer . receiver controller 42 controls the amount of time delay in delays 56 with input from timing signal processor 44 and digital correlator 58 . timing signal processor 44 analyzes input from tuner outputs 52 to determine the relative time delay between subchannels . for systems using more than two subchannels , the timing signal processor would process subchannel tuner outputs in pairs . since the subchannels of fig3 result from use of an uplink system 12 using power division , delay outputs ib and qb from delays 56 a , 56 b are correlated . this enables digital correlator 58 to compare digitized soft decisions between subchannels and provide additional information to receiver controller 42 about relative subchannel delay at the bit level . digital power combiner 66 processes synchronized i and q soft decisions from all subchannels to produce a single i and q decision 68 for every set of soft decisions presented . for the case of qpsk modulation , each final decision from combiner 66 produces two bits in digital output 68 . a third method for dividing and combining the original signal address the case that original signal 22 is analog in nature . referring to fig4 receiver controller 42 directs multiple beam antenna 30 to point to selected transponder signals and directs tuners 32 a , 32 b to translate said transponder frequencies to a fixed band of frequencies expected by demodulators 70 a , 70 b . the exemplary system of fig4 divides the signal into two subchannels , but the instant invention is not so limited . demodulators 70 a , 70 b produce analog outputs signals which are faithful replicas of the subchannel signals produced by subchannel divider 24 in the uplink system 12 . said analog signal outputs in general experience relative delay due to differing lengths of total propagation paths when using transponders on different satellites . under direction of receiver controller 42 , analog delays 72 add delay to first - arriving subchannel signals so as to create outputs of analog delays 72 which arrive at analog combiner 80 with near zero relative delay . analog delays 72 consist of a high quality analog - to - digital converter ( a / d ), a fifo buffer , and a digital - to - analog ( d / a ) converter . each of delays 72 creates a time delay in proportion the instant size of the fifo buffer contained therein . delays 72 present output signals to analog combiner 80 which represent faithful replicas of the subchannel signals produced by subchannel divider 24 in the uplink system 12 . these signals differ from outputs of demodulators 70 in that they are now time synchronized . fig4 represents both signal division strategies , power division and content - division . in the first case of power - divided subchannel signals , inputs to analog combiner 80 represent identical signals , differing only in distortion and noise added by satellite transport . in a second case , time - synchronized content - divided subchannel signals arrive at analog combiner 80 . analog combiner 80 creates output 82 most likely by a simple addition process , but is not so limited . in addition to producing combined output signal 82 , analog combiner 80 optionally provides a measure of time synchronization to receiver controller 42 to improve the accuracy of time alignment by controller 42 . as in first and second digital divider - combiner methods , timing signal correlator 44 provides relative subchannel delay information to receiver controller 42 , which together with further optional delay information from analog combiner 80 provides receiver controller 80 with a basis to create estimates of relative delay between subchannels ; which in turn affects the setting of delays 72 . a fourth method for dividing the original signal applies specifically to digital signals wherein the signal to be divided consists of a combination of a plurality of individual program streams as in a dvb multiplex ( mux ). as in the three previously described methods , subchannel divider 24 of fig1 represents the signal dividing process . in this method , subchannel divider 24 splits the multiple signal into subsignals , placing information bits associated with any particular program stream entirely in the same subchannel . this requires a remultiplexing operation at the uplink facility but eliminates the need to recombine multiple substreams at the receiving terminal . the required receiver is shown in fig5 which depicts a single tuner and demodulator but requires multiple beam antenna 30 , or multiple antennas , as the totality of signals in the service provided may necessarily pass through a plurality of satellites since the division process substantially increases the total satellite bandwidth requirement . the receiver block diagram is simplified since there is no requirement to recombine subchannels in this method . [ 0026 ] fig6 provides more details of an exemplary multiple beam antenna 30 a for receiving internet data . the multiple beam antenna 30 a is preferably a single ellipsoidal dish antenna with a major axis of approximately 24 to 30 inches . this allows simultaneous reception from up to five different satellites that are within a 30 - degree arc . exemplary signals that may be communicated include a 43 watt pas 3r signal , a 45 watt pas 1 signal , a 74 watt sbs 6 signal , an 81 watt satcom k2 signal , an 87 watt ge 3 signal , and a 123 watt sbs 5 signal . these signals are processed by a synchronization , timing , compression and decoding circuit block 90 . a personal computer 92 may then be the source and / or destination of the internet data . the embodiment of fig6 enables a reduced size and cost of the multiple beam antenna 30 a and the related processing circuitry 90 by reducing the size of the amplifier by approximately one - third , at the expense of increasing the bandwidth required by approximately three times . assume the multiple beam antenna 30 a transmits to up to three satellites , and assume the three uplink signals are processed in such a manner as to make them identical after they have been transponded through the satellite transponders and received at a downlink antenna . at the downlink antenna , which may be located at an internet gateway , the signals are reconstituted into a signal whose signal - to - noise ratio ( snr ) is approximately 4 . 77 db greater than any one of the received signals . consequently , the eirp of each of the channels transmitted from the multiple beam antenna 30 a ( also referred to as a virtual antenna ) can be 4 . 77 db less than would be required should a single channel be employed to receive the same signal power at the gateway antenna . specifically , assume n signals , which are exactly identical and perfectly synchronized , are to be perfectly combined . the n identical signals of amplitude x add to form a signal with amplitude n * x . the n uncorrelated , random signals with identical statistical properties and equal root - mean - squared ( rms ) amplitude y add to form a random signal with rms amplitude equal to y * sqrt ( n ). this process increases the snr from x / y to [ n * x ]/[ y * sqrt ( n )], yielding an improvement of sqrt ( n ) in the amplitude domain . in the db domain , the improvement is 20 * log 10 ( sqrt ( n )) or 10 * log 10 ( n ). for n = 3 , the improvement is 4 . 77 db . in first , second , and third divider - combiner methods , tuners 32 provide information to timing signal correlator 44 using one of two timing methods . in a first timing method , receiver controller 42 adjusts tuners 32 to receive timing signal 23 placed on all satellites with transponders used by the virtual satellite system . in this first method , tuner adjustment is necessary as the timing signals are placed at a frequency assignment separate form the information - bearing transponder signal . this out - of - band timing signal may be narrow - band in nature so as to conserve limited bandwidth on the satellite and reduce system cost . in general , timing signal 23 is unrelated to the information - bearing transponder signal in either information content , modulation strategy , or data rate or frame rate in the case of digital transmission , but the present invention is not so limited . the timing signal utilizes allocated bandwidth to enhance the resolution of relative subchannel delay estimation . possibilities for the timing signals include pseudorandom noise , tone ranging , and time - dispersed pulse , but the instant invention is not so limited . a good timing signal must have a strong sharp cross - correlation with a time - shifted version of itself and have minimum spurious correlations . the instant invention includes two timing signal processor methods . in a first timing processor method , timing signal correlator 44 correlates output signals from tuners 32 at various relative delays until an acceptable correlation occurs indicating that the relative delay between the subchannels has been reproduced in timing correlator 44 . receiver controller 42 then sets analog delays 72 in accord with this measured relative delay to synchronize inputs to analog combiner 80 . in the case that there are more than two subchannels in the virtual satellite channel , timing signal processor 44 compares subchannel signals pair - wise . in a second timing processor method , timing signal correlator 44 correlates the output from each tuner 32 with a stored version of the known timing signal , or by processing the recovered timing signal through a process that will produce a periodic output in response to the timing signal . one example of such a process is a matched filter , but the present invention is not so limited . once the delays 40 , 56 , 72 are adjusted to remove relative subchannel delay , tuners 32 are set to conduct the selected information - bearing transponder signals to the respective demodulators in fig1 fig2 fig3 . in a second timing method , the timing signal is as wide in bandwidth as the information - bearing transponder and resides in exactly the same bandwidth . in order to prevent distortion of the information signal , the timing signal is greatly attenuated . in order to recover the attenuated timing signal , timing signal correlator 44 first processes the tuner outputs through a linear system that creates a large processing gain to amplify the expected timing signal above the output created by the presence of the uncorrelated information - bearing carrier . the instant invention may use one of three exemplary processes to recover a low - level in - band timing signal , but the present invention is not so limited . in a first exemplary process the timing signal is a time - dispersed pulse with precise time dispersion introduced by a surface acoustic wave ( saw ) filter in timing signal generator 23 . a matching saw filter in receiving terminal 16 performs the inverse of the dispersion process , thus recovering the primary timing signal which is a periodic narrow - time pulse . in a second exemplary process , the timing signal is pseudorandom noise . timing signal processor 44 then applies spread spectrum techniques to recover the timing of the low - level in - band timing signal . upon timing signal acquisition , the correlated timing signal will experience a large process gain , but the uncorrelated information carrier will remain at the same relative level . this enables timing signal processor 44 to establish relative delay between subchannels , reporting results to receiver controller 42 . a third exemplary timing process uses a multiple tone signal to establish timing . the sine waves selected are harmonically related in such a way as to create a signal with a relatively long period , but giving good time resolution with the presence of some high frequencies . a linear filter at the selected frequencies recovers the timing signal in favor of the information carrier . timing signal processor 44 then analyzes filtered timing signals to establish relative time delay between subchannels . in the case of the digital content - division receiver of fig2 there is typically no correlation between the subchannels to provide feedback as to the accuracy of the delay settings of delays 40 . this is a feed forward control system . feedback is possible however in the exemplary systems of fig3 and 4 . outputs from delays 56 in the digital power - division receiver of fig3 are highly correlated . if the delay setting is slightly in error , a local digital correlation reveals the necessary small correction . outputs from delays 72 in the analog receiver of fig4 are correlated to some extent depending on the nature of the analog division and the instant properties of the analog content . this provides optional feedback to receiver controller 42 to affect local timing corrections . while several particular forms and variations thereof have been illustrated and described , it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly it is not intended that the invention be limited , except by the appended claims .
| 7 |
the optically active fluoroalkane derivative represented by the above formula ( i ) may be synthesized from optically active intermediates such as 2 - fluoro - 1 - alkanols , 2 - fluoroalkyl , p - hydroxybenzoates , 2 - fluoroalkyl p - hydroxybiphenylcarboxylates , hydroquinone 2 - fluoroalkyl ethers , and 4 -[ 4 &# 39 ;-( 2 - fluoroalkyl ) oxyphenyl ] phenol . for example , the mesomorphic compound represented by the formula ( i ) may be synthesized from these optically active intermediates through reaction paths as shown below . ## str11 ## ( in the above , the symbols r , r 1 ## str12 ## p , q , r , l , m and n have the meanings as defined above .) in the following table 1 are shown some examples of the fluoralkane derivatives produced in the manner as shown above together with their optical rotations and phase transition characteristics . the details of production will be explained in the examples appearing hereinafter . in the table and the description appearing hereinafter , the symbols used for describing phase - transition respectively denote the following phases . the liquid crystal composition according to the present invention contains at least one species of the fluoroalkane derivative represented by the formula ( i ). for example , the fluoroalkane derivative represented by the formula ( i ) may be mixed with a ferroelectric liquid crystal selected from those of the formulas ( 1 )-( 13 ) shown below to increase the spontaneous polarization and increase the response speed . in this case , it is preferred to use the fluoroalkane derivative represent by the formula ( i ) in an amount constituting 0 . 1 - 99 wt . %, particularly 1 - 90 wt . % of the resulting liquid crystal composition . ## str87 ## the fluoroalkane derivative represented by the formula ( i ) may also be mixed with a smectic liquid crystal such as those of the formula ( 1 )-( 5 ) below which per se are not chiral to provide a composition which may be used as a ferroelectric liquid crystal . in this case , the fluoroalkane derivative represented by the formula ( i ) may preferably be used in an amount of 0 . 1 - 99 wt . %, particularly 1 - 90 wt . %. the resultant composition may be provided with an increased spontaneous polarization corresponding to the content of a fluoroalkane derivative according to the present invention . ## str88 ## the present invention will be explained more specifically with reference tosome examples . 2 - fluorooctyl p - octyloxybiphenylcarboxylate represented by the above formula was produced through the following reaction scheme : ## str90 ## more specifically , 0 . 74 g ( 2 . 3 mmol ) of p - octyloxybiphenylcarboxylic acid and 5 ml of thionyl chloride were subjected to heat - refluxing for 2 . 5 hours , followed by removal of unreacted thionyl chloride by distillation to obtain a corresponding acid chloride . separately , 0 . 50 g ( 4 . 5 mmol ) of triethylenediamine was dissolved in 5 ml of dry benzene , and potassium chloride was added thereto for drying for about 30 min . the solution was charged in a vessel containing 0 . 40 g ( 2 . 7 mmol ) of (-)- 2 - fluorooctanol , followed by stirring under vibration . the solution was added dropwise into the above acid chloride under stirring , and the mixture was then further stirred at 50 ° c . for 2 hours . after the completion of the reaction , 1n - hydrochloric acid and water were added thereto , followed by extraction with benzene . into the benzene layer , a 1n - sodium carbonate aqueous solution was added , and further benzene - extraction was conducted . the resultant benzene solution was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate for drying overnight . after distilling - off of the benzene , the residue was separated by silica gel column chromatography with the use of a benzene / hexane ( 1 / 1 ) mixture as an eluent to obtain 0 . 53 g ( yield : 50 %) of 2 - fluorooctyl p - octyloxybiphenylcarboxylate . the following optical rotation and ir ( infrared absorption ) data were obtained . optical rotation : [ α ] d 26 . 4 + 13 . 1 ° ( c = 2 , benzene ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 2900 1715 , 1605 , 1300 , 1200 , 1120 , 830 , 770 . example 1 was repeated except that p &# 39 ;- octyloxybiphenylcarboxylic acid and 2 - fluoro - 1 - octanol were replaced by a carboxylic acid providing groups r 1 , ## str91 ## l , m and n and a 2 - fluoro - 1 - alkanol providing a group r , respectively indicated in the above mentioned table 1 , whereby fluoroalkane derivativesshown in the table 1 according to the present invention were respectively obtained . the optical rotations and phase - transition temperature data of the obtainedproducts were also shown in table 1 together with those obtained in example 5 - octyloxy - 2 -[ 4 -( 2 - fluoroheptyloxy ) phenyl ]- pyrimidine shown above was produced according to the following scheme : ## str93 ## into a sufficiently nitrogen - substituted vessel , 0 . 40 g ( 3 . 0 mmol ) of (-)- 2 - fluoroheptanol and 1 . 00 g ( 13 mmol ) of dry pyridine were charged andstirred under cooling with ice for 30 min . the solution was charged with 0 . 69 g ( 3 . 6 mmol ) of p - toluenesulfonic acid chloride and further stirred for 5 hours . after the reaction , 10 ml of 1n - hcl was added , followed by two times of extraction with 10 ml of methylene chloride . then , the extract liquid was once washed with 10 ml of distilled water . the resultant methylene chloride solution was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate added in an appropriate amount , and the solvent was distilled off to obtain 0 . 59 g ( 2 . 0 mmol ) of (+)- 2 - fluoroheptyl p - toluenesulfonate at a yield of 66 %. the optical rotation and ir data of the product were as follows : optical rotation [ α ] d 26 . 4 + 2 . 59 ° ( c = 1 , chcl 3 ). optical rotation [ α ] 435 23 . 6 + 0 . 58 ° ( c = 1 , chcl 3 ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 2900 , 2850 , 1600 , 1450 , 1350 , 1170 , 1090 , 980 , 810 , 660 , 550 . to 0 . 43 g ( 1 . 5 mmol ) of the (+)- 2 - fluoroheptyl p - toluenesulfonate obtained above and 0 . 28 g ( 1 . 0 mmol ) of 5 - octyl - 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) pyrimidine , 0 . 2 ml of 1 - butanol was added , and they were sufficiently stirred . to the resultant solution was quickly added an alkalline solution which was prepared in advance by dissolving 0 . 048 g ( 1 . 2 mmol ) of sodium hydroxide in 1 . 0 ml of 1 - butanol , and the mixture was heat - refluxed for 5 . 5 hours . after the reaction , 10 ml of distilled water was added , followed by one time each of extraction with 10 ml and 5 ml of benzene . the extract liquidwas dried with an appropriate amount of anhydrous sodium sulfate . after thedrying , the solvent was distilled off , and the residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography with chloroform , thereby to obtain 0 . 17 g ( 0 . 43 mmol ) of (+)- 5 - octyl - 2 [ 4 -( 2 - fluoroheptyloxy ) phenyl ] pyrimidine at a yield of 43 %. optical rotation [ α ] d 25 . 6 + 0 . 44 ° ( c = 1 , chcl 3 ). optical rotation [ α ] 435 22 . 4 + 4 . 19 ° ( c = 1 , chcl 3 ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 2900 , 2850 , 1600 , 1580 , 1420 , 1250 , 1160 , 800 , 720 , 650 , 550 . example 3 was repeated except that 2 - fluoroheptanol and 5 - octyl - 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) pyrimidine were replaced by a 2 - fluoro - 1 - alkanol providing a r and a 4 - substituted phenol derivative providing groups r 1 , ## str94 ## l , m and n , respectively indicated in the above mentioned table 1 , whereby fluoroalkane derivatives shown in the table 1 according to the present invention were respectively obtained . p &# 34 ;-( 2 - fluorooctyloxycarbonyl ) phenyl p &# 39 ;- octyloxybiphenylcarboxylate shown above was produced through the following reaction steps ( 1 ), ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). 0 . 68 g ( 3 . 7 mmol ) of p - acetoxybenzoic acid ( the above 1 ) was heat - refluxed together with 7 ml of thionyl chloride for 2 . 5 hours , followed by removal of unreacted thionyl chloride to obtain a corresponding acid chloride . separately , 0 . 83 g ( 7 . 4 mmol ) of triethylenediamine was dissolved in 5 ml of dry benzene , and potassium chloride was added thereto to effect drying for about 30 min . the solution was charged in a vessel containing 0 . 66 g ( 4 . 5 mmol ) of (-)- 2 - fluoro - 1 - octanol , followed by stirring under vibration . the solution was added dropwise into the above acid chloride under stirring , and the mixture was further stirred at 50 ° c . for 2hours . after the reaction , 8 ml of 1n - hcl and 30 ml of water were added , followed by extraction with benzene . the aqueous layer was further subjected to twotimes of extraction with 8 ml of benzene . to the benzene layer , 15 ml of 1n - sodium carbonate was added , and further subjected to extraction with water similarly as above , followed by two times of extraction of the waterlayer with 8 ml of benzene . the benzene layer was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate for drying overnight . by distilling off the benzene , a crude product was obtained , which was thensubjected to separation by silica gel column chromatography with a benzene : hexane ( 1 : 1 ) mixture , thereby to obtain 0 . 80 g ( yield : 69 %) of 2 - fluorooctyl p - acetyloxybenzoate . 0 . 750 g ( 2 . 5 mmol ) of the purified product ( 3 ) obtained in the above step ( 1 ) was dissolved in 1 . 5 ml of ether . into the solution , a solution of 0 . 27 g ( 2 . 5 mmol ) of benzyl amine in 1 . 5 ml of ether was added , followed by standing overnight at room temperature . thereafter , the ether was distilled off to obtain a mixture of 2 - fluorooctyl p - hydroxybenzoate ( 4 ) and n - acetylbenzylamine ( 5 ). the mixture was separated by silica gel column chromatography with a mixture liquid of ethyl acetate : methylene chloride (= 1 : 9 ), thereby to obtain 0 . 53 g of 4 in purified form ( yield : 78 %). the optical rotation and ir data ofthe product were as follows : 0 . 65 g ( 2 mmol ) of p &# 39 ;- octyloxybiphenylcarboxylic acid was heat - refluxed together with 4 ml of thionyl chloride for 2 . 5 hours , followed by removal of unreacted thionyl chloride to obtain a corresponding acid chloride . separately , 0 . 44 g ( 4 mmol ) of triethylenediamine was dissolved in 5 ml of dry benzene , and potassium hydroxide was added thereto to effect drying for about 30 min . the resultant solution was charged in a vessel containing 0 . 53 g ( 2 mmol ) of the 2 - fluorooctyl p - hydroxybenzoate , followed by stirring under vibration . the solution was added dropwise intothe above acid chloride under stirring , and the mixture was further stirredat 50 ° c . for 2 hours . after the reaction , 1n - hcl and water were added , followed by extraction with benzene , addition of 1n - sodium carbonate aqueous solution and extraction with benzene . the benzene solution was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate for drying overnight . after distilling off the benzene , the residual product was separated by silica gel chromatography with benzene as an eluent , thereby to obtain 0 . 58 g of p &# 34 ;-( 2 - fluorooctyloxycarbonyl ) phenyl p &# 39 ;- octyloxybiphenylcarboxylate . the optical rotation and ir data of the product were as follows : ir ( cm - 1 ): 2950 - 2850 , 1740 , 1730 , 1610 , 1295 , 1285 , 1120 , 1080 , 830 , 760 . example 7 was repeated except that p - acetoxybenzoic acid , 2 - fluoro - 1 - octanol and p &# 39 ;- octyloxybiphenylcarboxylic acid were replaced bya carboxylic acid providing groups p , q and r , a 2 - fluoro - 1 - alkanol providing a group r , and a carboxylic acid providing groups r 1 , ## str99 ## l , m and n , respectively indicated in the above mentioned table 1 , whereby fluoroalkane derivatives shown in the table 1 according to the present invention were respectively obtained . the optical rotations and phase - transition temperature data of the obtained products were also shownin table 1 together with those obtained in example 7 . p &# 39 ;- 2 - fluorodecyloxyphenyl p - octyloxybenzoate was produced through the following reaction steps ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). 3 . 15 g ( 18 mmol ) of 2 - fluorodecanol ( 6 ) and 4 . 25 g ( 54 mmol ) of dry pyridine together charged in a vessel with a nitrogen atmosphere and stirred . the vessel was then cooled with ice , and 3 . 75 ( 20 mmol ) of p - toluenesulfonyl chloride was added thereto half by half in two times , followed by stirring for 3 hours . after the reaction , the reaction productwas neutralized with hydrochloric acid and subjected to extraction with 10 ml of methylene chloride . the water layer was further extracted two times with 5 ml of methylene chloride . water was added to the methylene chloride , followed further by extraction with methylene chloride . the resultant methylene chloride solution was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate and dried overnight . by distilling off the methylene chloride , 5 . 60 g ( yield : 94 %) of 2 - fluorodecyl p - toluenesulfonate ( 7 ) was obtained . the optical rotation and ir data were as follows : optical rotation [ α ] d 22 . 0 + 4 . 2 ° ( c = 2 , chcl 2 ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 2850 - 2900 , 1600 , 1350 , 1170 , 1100 , 660 , 550 . 5 . 60 g ( 17 mmol ) of the above product 7 , 3 . 74 g ( 34 mmol ) of hydroquinone and 5 ml of 1 - butanol were mixed under stirring . into the mixture , a solution of 1 . 02 g ( 25 mmol ) of sodium hydroxide in 13 ml of 1 - butanol wasgradually added , followed by reaction at 130 ° c . for 7 hours . after the reaction , 40 ml of water was added , followed by extraction with ether . the resultant ether solution was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate and dried overnight . after distilling off the solvent , the residue was subjected to separation by silica gel column chromatography with methylenechloride , thereby to obtain 2 . 57 g ( yield : 56 %) of purified p - hydroquinone mono ( 2 - fluorodecyl ) ether ( 8 ). the optical rotation and ir data of the product were as follows . optical rotation [ α ] d 24 . 0 + 1 . 8 ° ( c = 2 , chcl 2 ). ir ( cm - 1 ): 3600 - 3200 , 2900 , 1680 , 1590 , 1280 , 1160 , 700 . 0 . 93 g ( 3 . 7 mmol ) of p - octyloxybenzoic acid was heat - refluxed together with8 ml of thionyl chloride for 2 hours , followed by distilling - off of unreacted thionyl chloride to obtain a corresponding acid chloride . separately , 0 . 81 g ( 7 , 4 mmol ) of triethylenediamine was dissolved in dry benzene , and potassium hydroxide was added thereto to effect drying for about 30 min . the resultant solution was charged in a vessel containing 1 . 0 g ( 3 . 7 mmol ) of p - hydroquinone mono ( 2 - fluorodecyl ) ether obtained in the above step ( 1 ), followed by stirring under vibration . the solution wasadded dropwise into the above acid chloride under stirring , and the mixturewas further heated at 50 ° c . for 2 hours . after the reaction , 1n - hcl and water were added , followed by extraction with benzene , addition of 1n - sodium carbonate aqueous solution and extraction with benzene . the benzene solution was charged with anhydrous sodium sulfate for drying overnight . after distilling off the benzene , the residual product was separated by silica gel chromatography with benzene as an eluent , thereby to obtain 1 . 49 g ( yield : 81 %) of p &# 39 ;-( 2 - fluorodecyloxy ) phenyl p - octyloxybenzoate . theoptical rotation and ir data of the product were as follows : ir ( cm - 1 ): 2900 , 1 , 40 , 1610 , 1520 , 1280 , 1250 , 1210 , 1170 , 1130 , 760 , 690 . examples 8 , 9 , 10 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 28 , 29 , 30 and 31 example 11 was repeated except that 2 - fluorodecanol , p - hydroquinone and p - octyloxybenzoic acid were replaced by a 2 - fluoro - 1 - alkanol providing r , p - hydroquinone or p , p &# 39 ;- dihydroxybiphenyl , and a carboxylic acid providing groups r 1 , ## str103 ## l , m and n , respectively indicated in the above mentioned table 1 , whereby fluoroalkane derivatives shown in the table 1 according to the present invention were respectively obtained . the optical rotations and phase - transition temperature data of the obtainedproducts were also shown in table 1 together with those obtained in example a liquid crystal composition containing a mesomorphic compound ( 2 - fluorooctyl p - octyloxybiphenylcarboxylate ) was prepared as shown below together with the phase transition temperatures . ## str104 ## the composition showed a spontaneous polarization of 8 . 8 nc / cm 2 which is about 8 times 0 . 45 nc / cm 2 , the spontaneous polarization of mora 8 alone . a liquid crystal device was prepared by using a mesomorphic compound prepared in example 11 . a 1000 å - thick ito film was applied to form electrodes onto a highly polished glass substrate of 10 × 20 mm in size , and an about 1000 å - thick sio 2 layer was deposited thereon by the ion beam process . on one of the thus tread pair of glass substrates , the mesomorphic compound ( p &# 39 ;-( 2 - fluorodecyloxy ) phenyl p - octyloxybenzoate ) prepared in example 11 wasdropped , and the other substrate was superposed thereon . the substrates were held at 80 ° c . and mutually slided in a parallel movement while maintaining a spacing therebetween at 1 . 2 μm and observed througha polarizing microscope , whereby a homogeneously aligned monodomain having lost spiral structure was observed to be formed . in this state , pulses of ± 10 volts with a duration of 200μsec were applied at 65 ° c ., whereby satisfactory switching was effected with a contrast of 18 .
| 2 |
fig1 is a cross - sectional diagram showing materials used in a completed borehole to achieve hydraulic isolation . a borehole 111 is cased with a first material 115 , typically steel pipe . outside and adjacent to first material 115 lies a second material . second material is usually a fill material , commonly referred to as cement , which is pumped into the annulus 119 between casing 115 and earth formation 117 . the cement hydrates to retain casing 115 rigidly in position . more importantly , it fills the annulus 119 between casing 115 and earth formation 117 sealing off the hydrocarbon strata from the other layers so that when casing 115 and the cement are subsequently perforated , the hydrocarbons enter directly into casing 115 and migration of fluids between adjacent formation layers is prevented . fluid 121 , usually in the form of mud , fills casing 115 and annulus 119 before cement placement . in accordance with the above description of borehole 111 , a number of interfaces are formed between the various materials . a first interface 123 exists along the juncture between fluid 121 ( usually mud ) and casing 115 . ideally , second material in the form of cement completely fills the annulus 119 between casing 115 and earth formation 117 . such a situation is shown along radial line r g . a second interface 125 is formed between casing 115 and cement . a third interface 127 emphasized by the bold line , exists at the juncture of cement and earth formation 117 . unfortunately , fill material or cement does not always completely fill the space between casing 115 and earth formation 117 . when cement does not completely fill the space , three possible conditions arise . the first condition is shown along radial line r 1 . a near channel 129 exists between casing 115 and cement . instead of second interface 125 existing between casing 115 and cement , it is formed between casing 115 and the fluid of near channel 129 . in such a situation , the fluid of near channel 129 is the second material . additionally , instead of third interface 127 existing between cement and earth formation 117 , it is formed at the juncture of a fluid and cement . a full channel 133 is shown along radial line r 2 . full channel 133 extends completely across the annulus to earth formation 117 . as in the case of near channel 129 , full channel 133 also has a second interface between first material 115 and a fluid . however , the third interface for full channel 133 is between a fluid and earth formation 117 . the third condition occurs when a channel is formed in the space 119 between second material and earth formation 117 . in this case , the channel does not contact first material 115 . this condition is shown along radial line r 3 and is referred to as a buried channel 131 . for such a channel , second interface 125 is formed between casing 115 and second material ( cement ), and third interface 127 is formed at the juncture of second material and the fluid of buried channel 131 . fig2 is a schematic diagram of a logging operation . tool or sonde 210 for acquiring acoustic data is located in borehole 111 penetrating earth formation 117 . sonde 210 is preferably lowered in the borehole by armored multiconductor cable 214 and slowly raised by surface equipment 215 over sheave wheel 216 while data measurements are recorded in azimuthal intervals by rotating transducer 212 . the depth of the tool is measured by depth gauge 217 which measures cable displacement . sonde 210 acquires acoustic data by emitting an acoustic pulse and detecting its return waveform . the sonde comprises at least one transducer . the transducer produces a pulse upon excitation . the pulse is directed into casing 115 and a transducer receives a resulting signal . the pulse interacts with all of the interfaces it encounters . this includes both inner and outer surfaces of the casing , both rear and far edges of the cement annulus , any fluid channel contained within the cement , and the formation surface . due to the typical acoustic impedances and dimensions of these materials , the return signal will largely represent interaction with the casing interfaces . representation of more distant structures such as formation or channeling , is typically of significantly lesser amplitude . in a preferred embodiment of the tool of the present invention , the transducers 212 are mounted to rotate azimuthally and transmit and receive acoustic energy at locations around the circumference of casing 115 as they rotate and at various depths as the tool is raised or lowered in the well . the depth can be analyzed by the sonde in situ , analyzed by data processor 218 at the surface , or stored , either in the sonde or at the site for analysis at a remote location . fig3 a is a waveform v , obtained from an ultrasonic cement - evaluation measurement taken , for example with the apparatus shown in fig2 . v is divided into two main portions . one portion , cv shown in fig3 b , represents the reflected energy which has interacted with a first interface 123 formed between casing 115 and fluid 121 and a second interface 125 formed between casing 115 and second material . the other portion , tiv shown in fig3 c , represents echoes which have interacted once with third interface 127 located between second material and third material 117 . multiple interactions with third interface 127 and interactions with more distant interfaces are neglected . all of the waveforms are functions of time ( t ) and the location at which they are collected . the location is specified in terms of azimuth ( θ ) and depth ( z ). mathematically : previous approaches to cement evaluation have concentrated on cv , because it is generally more energetic than tiv . however , this limits the techniques to measuring essentially the bonding condition at second interface 125 . it is desirable to extract the &# 34 ; buried &# 34 ; tiv under certain conditions , so that more information about the annulus itself can be gained . the first step of this method is to express tiv in mathematical form as : if a casing waveform is not negligible , subtracting it from the total waveform to obtain the third - interface waveform , provides information about the annulus beyond the casing . if the casing is perfect , i . e ., its inner and outer surfaces are perfect coaxial cylinders , and the exterior bonding condition is uniform ( either well bonded or free - pipe ), then cvs will be the same at all locations in the well . in other words , cvs are spatially invariant . also , if the third interface is not a cylinder coaxial with the casing , then the reflection from the third interface will vary spatially . in this case the spatial average of all the waveforms over θ and z , av ( t ), will be an approximation to cv ( t ): where the sums are over θ and z , and n is the number of points in the sum . there will be n identical cvs added together , and then divided by n , so one component of the average is cv itself . if tiv is different at every location , then the value of each location will appear with a factor of 1 / n in the final average . if n is large , and the different tivs do not add coherently , then the contribution of the tivs to the average will be small enough to neglect . an approximation to the desired third interface echo is obtained by subtracting the average from the original : however , casings are not perfect , so the casing waveform does vary spatially ( cv is cv ( t , θ , z )). in this case , a locally averaged waveform ( over θ and z ) must be calculated : ## equ1 ## where the sums are over θ and z , w is a spatial averaging window of finite extent whose sum is aw = σ [ w ( θ , z )], and cv ( t , θ , z ) is the waveform due to casing reverberations at the point ( θ , z ). w is not equal to zero only for some range in the θ and z directions . w does not need to be uniform , in which case it will have an effective range which is less than its full range . for the approximation to be good , the effective range must be chosen large enough such that tiv ( t , θ , z ) varies considerably in that range and nearly cancels itself out in the average . further , it must be small enough that cv ( t , θ , z ) is nearly constant over the effective range , so that the averaging does not effect it . if the casing signal were of interest , av could be regarded as the final product of spatial filtering . if the reflection from the third interface is of primary interest , subtracting the locally averaged signal from the original signal yields an appropriately spatially filtered signal : ## equ2 ## where δ ( θ , z ) is a kronecker delta function . this operation , which can be viewed as subtraction of a local average from the data , or as convolution (*) with the kernel sf , is one example of a spatial filter to select for tiv which has strong spatial variations over a cv which does not . this convolutional filter is a linear filter ; its output consists of weighted sums of its inputs , where the weights are predetermined and do not depend on the input . it is also possible to use nonlinear filters . for example , the weights may depend on the input , or the inputs may be raised to a power , or may appear as arguments of some transcendental function , etc ., as one skilled in the art will recognize . while the window - design criteria contain potentially conflicting requirements , they can be fulfilled . the geometry of the casing can be controlled much better than the geometry of the borehole or the position of the casing within the borehole . this is especially true in new casings , before corrosion has had time to occur , and in deviated holes where centralization and cementing is problematic . therefore , the casing waveform varies spatially less than the third - interface waveform under many practical conditions . practical problems exist for the application of spatial filtering . for example : some casing waveforms having fast spatial variations ; and some third - interface reflections have slow spatial variations . the invention seeks to overcome these problems by applying the choice of the domain for the spatial - averaging window , w . in other words , determining whether the average includes waveforms from far away from the position of interest , or only nearby . choosing a small window of interest , a large window of interest , or some window in between , requires the consideration of counter balancing interests . these counter balancing interests are summarized below in table i . table i______________________________________counter - balancing interests of small andlarge spatial averaging windows . large window small window______________________________________advantage &# 34 ; sees &# 34 ; slow variation removes fast variations in in the third - interface casing reflections reflectiondisadvantage does not remove fast does not &# 34 ; see &# 34 ; slowly variations in the varying casing reflections casing reflections______________________________________ there are other factors which also bear on the effectiveness of a particular window . these include the shape , as well as the width of the window . the shape determines whether all waveforms in the window receive the same weight , or whether more distant waveforms have more or less effect than nearer waveforms on the average . fig4 is a top view of a cased borehole 111 . casing 115 varies in thickness about its circumference . a spherically focused transducer 212 is mounted in sonde 210 ( fig2 ) and is situated in fluid 121 in borehole 111 . transducer 212 rotates azimuthally around the circumference of casing 115 generating and receiving signals , such as that of fig3 a as it rotates . fig5 illustrates a signal set . each signal is measured in terms of voltage as a function of time , from an individual azimuthal position obtained upon generating and receiving acoustic energy in accordance with the configuration of fig4 . each individual signal is similar to the one shown in fig3 a . fig5 permits identification of echoes from the various interfaces present in borehole 111 . the region between line 511 , whose endpoints are 511a and 511b , and line 513 , whose endpoints are 513a and 513b , is dominated by echoes from first interface 123 ( fig1 ). each signal has been aligned in time by shifting so that the echoes from first interface 123 occur at the same time . specifically , the zero crossing between the peak positive voltage and peak negative voltage has been shifted to approximately 7 μs . this removes any time shifts existing due to either minor errors in tool eccentering in the casing or non - roundness of the inside surface of the casing . the region to the left of line 513 contains energy which has reverberated in casing 115 . the frequency of reverberation is indicative of the thickness of casing 115 . the region between line 513 and sinusoidally - shaped line 515 , whose endpoints are 515a and 515b , is dominated by this energy which has reverberated in casing 115 without propagating beyond casing 115 . the region to the right of ( later than ) line 515 , is a mixture of energy which has reverberated in casing 115 , but not propagated beyond the casing , and energy which has reflected from third interface 125 ( fig1 ), and representing tiv . the energy to the left of line 515 is all from cv , while the energy to the right of line 515 is a mixture of cv and tiv . echoes between lines 511 and 513 ( from first interface 123 ) are substantially lined up vertically because the signals have been aligned . echoes between lines 513 and 515 ( second interface 125 ) line up with a slight curvature as a function of azimuth indicating that thickness of casing 115 changes as a function of azimuth . casing 115 is thinnest at about 67 °, and is thickest at about 247 ° ( 180 ° away ). finally , line 515 oscillates between about 15 μsec and 38 μsec indicating a great range of distances between transducer 212 and third interface 127 formed between second material and third material 117 . although the casing thickness is relatively constant around the circumference at a particular depth , casing 115 is eccentered within the cement . this causes a sinusoidal shaped onset ( beginning ) of energy received from third interface 127 between the cement and earth formation 117 . fig6 represents the same signals shown in fig5 after spatial filtering has been performed . the spatial filtering operation greatly increases the clarity of the reflections from third interface 127 ( tiv ). in fig6 this is represented by the region to the right of line 615 , formed between points 615a and 615b , which substantially retains the third interface echoes while substantially removing casing reflections ( cv ). the sinusoidally shaped onset of echoes from the third interface between annulus 119 and earth formation 117 accurately indicates the distance between the casing and formation . the spatial filter applied to signals in fig5 to obtain the result in fig6 consists of subtracting the locally averaged signal av ( t , θ , z ) from eq . ( 4 ): ## equ3 ## where m is the azimuthal incremental index and n the depth incremental index . δ ( n ) is a kronecker delta function . there is no averaging in the depth direction for this example so n does not appear in the equation . the total width of the window , m , is 20 azimuthal scan positions . fig7 a and 7b show a borehole configuration ( 7a ) and a corresponding aligned and spatially filtered signal set representing casing 115 centered and cemented in borehole 111 , with two buried channels 721a and 721b . two types of third interface conditions exist in fig7 a . the first type is the cement / formation bond , at azimuths where there is no channel . the onsets of the echoes from this interface condition occur along straight line 715 between points 715a and 715b ( fig7 b ). these echoes appear only weakly because they are nearly constant in azimuth , and the filter removes azimuthally invariant echoes . the second type of third interface condition is a cement / channel interface . echo 717 from a first channel is centered at approximately 90 ° and is about 35 ° wide . echo 719 from a second channel is centered at approximately 180 ° and is about 50 ° wide . at their edges , these channels are nearly the same distance from the casing as the cement / formation interface . however , as points closer to their centers are considered , third interface 127 moves closer to the casing as is seen in fig7 a . the echoes from the cement / channel interfaces appear strong in fig7 b because they are strong functions of azimuth , and thus not removed by the spatial filter . the onsets of echoes from the cement / channel interfaces accurately indicate their geometry , being simultaneous with the onsets from the cement / formation echoes at their edges , and earlier toward the centers . thus the onsets of the cement / channel interfaces 717 and 719 form an &# 34 ; image &# 34 ; of the channels , and are important in evaluating the quality of the cement job . a very simple deconvolution filter is shown in fig8 . when this filter is convolved with the signals in fig3 a and 3c , it yields the desirable results in fig9 and 10 , respectively . the filter has the form : c c is its compressional acoustic velocity of the casing ; and t 0 , can be found in a number of ways , either from previously known information about casing thickness and the acoustic impedances of materials in the borehole , or from the data itself . r is approximately the decay ratio of a signal reverberating in the casing after one reverberation . there are many approaches to the latter method , one of which is to use casing thickness and second - material impedance as calculated for example , by the processing algorithm of the usi ™ tool . many different forms of a deconvolution filter are possible , and there are many ways of determining their parameters ( see peacock , k . l . and treitel , s ., productive convolution theory and practice , geophysics , 1969 , vol . 34 , no . 2 .). in practice , the dirac impulse , δ , which is a function of continuous time , must be approximated by some function of discrete time . the quality of the results depends on the quality of the approximation . the total signal v ( t , θ , z ) of fig3 a is composed of three contributions which overlap in time but are affected differently by deconvolution : civ ( t , θ , z ) is the echo from the inner surface of the casing , which is essentially the high amplitude portion of cv ( t , θ , z ) in fig3 b . crv ( t , θ , z ) is the casing resonance , which is essentially the later , low - amplitude portion of cv ( t , θ , z ) in fig3 b . the sum of civ ( t , θ , z ) and crv ( t , θ , z ) is cv ( t , θ , z ), the casing echo discussed above . tiv ( t , θ , z ) is the third - interface echo . deconvolution with the filter in eq . ( 6 ) subtracts a scaled and shifted copy of the original signal from itself . the most important effect of deconvolution is to reduce the amplitude of crv ( t , θ , z ) as seen by comparing fig3 a and 9 . reducing the amplitude of the casing resonance generally improves the ability to examine the filtered version of tiv ( t , θ , z ). another important effect of deconvolution is to cause the peak of the filtered version of tiv ( t , θ , z ) to occur near its onset , around 42 μs in fig1 , rather than growing in amplitude as it does in fig3 c . detection of the onset is the easiest means of measuring the thickness of the second material , and peak detection or related algorithms tend to be more robust than threshold detection algorithms . fig1 a shows a spatially filtered set of signals from an unfocused transducer in a borehole configured like that of fig4 . fig1 b shows the same signal set after deconvolution . in fig1 a , there is remnant of the casing resonance between line 1111 and sinusoidally - shaped line 1113 than between line 1115 and sinusoidally - shaped line 1117 in fig1 b . while the echoes immediately after ( to the right of ) lines 1113 and 1117 are patterned similarly , the echoes in fig1 a grow in amplitude at later times . in contrast , echoes in fig1 b generally decrease in amplitude . the remnant of the reflection from the inner surface of the casing , to the left of line 1115 lasts longer due to deconvolution , than it does to the left of line 1111 . another aspect of the invention is its applicability to borehole measurements before hydration of fill material in the annulus between the casing and the earth formation . such information may be useful for a number of applications including quality control of casing centralization before cement placement and / or after cement is placed but before hydration occurs . it should be understood that although the figures show aligned signal sets , it is not a requirement of the invention that the signals be aligned . in addition , the results of spatial filtering may be dependent on the spatial sampling rates and on the dynamic range of the digitized signals in the signal set . therefore , the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims .
| 6 |
example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings . although the apparatus for producing centrifugal force can take many forms , in one presently preferred embodiment , a turntable 10 serves as a vehicle for supporting and rotating one or a plurality of sand molds about a rotation axis 12 , as illustrated in fig1 and 2 . in the exemplary embodiment illustrated , the turntable 10 supports 4 sand mold structures 14 a - 14 d at the 12 o &# 39 ; clock , 3 o &# 39 ; clock , 6 o &# 39 ; clock and 9 o &# 39 ; clock positions . of course , a greater or smaller number of molds can be implemented based on the needs of the particular application . at the center of turntable 10 is the ingate structure having a pouring basin 16 that defines an inlet 18 through which the molten metal is poured . molten metal poured into inlet 18 flows downwardly under force of gravity and then laterally through passageways 19 to each of the respective mold structures . as will be more fully explained , the molten metal is introduced into inlet 18 while the turntable is gradually ramped up in speed , causing the molten metal to flow in a controlled fashion into the mold cavity 20 by combined gravity feed and centrifugal force feed . referring to fig3 , further details of the mold structure and ingate system may be seen . a steel base 20 , steel side wall 24 and steel lid 26 define the casting flask that house the sand mold 28 . a riser 30 and sprue 32 couple the passageways 19 of pouring basin 16 with the mold cavity 20 so that molten metal introduced into orifice 18 will flow initially by gravity feed through the sprue 32 , into the riser 30 and then finally into the cavity 20 . if desired , a filter 34 may be introduced in the flow path to filter out impurities . note that the sprue and riser system are preferably located generally about the center line l of the mold . thus , the in pour of molten metal will initially flow by gravity feed into the mold cavity . as best seen in fig2 , the turntable 10 is attached via a clutch mechanism or coupling 40 and gearbox 42 to an electric motor 44 . the motor is controlled by a suitable electronic controller 46 that allows the ramp - up acceleration and / or speed of the motor to be adjusted as will be next described . the clutch mechanism or coupling 40 can be disengaged to allow the turntable to coast to a stop under its own inertia . if desired , a brake 48 may be included to assist in slowing or stopping rotation of the turntable at the appropriate point in the operating cycle . referring now to fig4 a - 4 e , a further explanation of the manner of filling the mold cavity under combined gravity feed and centrifugal force feed will now be provided . fig4 a - 4 e show successive stages of filling mold cavity 20 as the turntable progressively ramps up and then coasts down in angular speed . as illustrated at fig4 a , during the initial phase of the pour , the turntable may be stationary or it may be rotating slowly , such that gravity is the dominant force causing the poured metal to flow into the cavity as illustrated . fig4 b , 4 c and 4 d illustrate that the turntable is accelerated while additional molten metal is introduced into the cavity . note that the effects of centrifugal force are apparent at these stages of pour . this is evident because the surface of the molten metal “ s ” becomes increasingly tilted as the acceleration continues , until the surface lies in a substantially vertical plane , as illustrated in fig4 d . once the entire quantity of liquid metal has been introduced into the mold cavity , the driving force applied to the turntable is removed , allowing the turntable to gradually coast to a stop . during this coasting time , the metal will begin to solidify . once solidified , the turntable can be permitted to coast to a stop , or the mechanical brake may be used to assist in stopping rotation . with reference to fig4 b , note that the relative angle “ α ” between the surface “ s ” of the liquid metal and the vertical - most face of the interior cavity of the mold is greater than 0 degrees in fig4 b . thus , if the centrifugal force acting on the poured liquid metal were to remain constant throughout the pour , the incline of the surface “ s ” would remain the same and an air bubble might become trapped in the outer extremity of the part . the ingate filling technique overcomes this by further accelerated the turntable , as illustrated in fig4 c and 4 d , so that the centrifugal force causes the angle of the poured metal surface to equal or exceed the angle of the vertical - most interior surface encountered as the liquid level rises . thus , by the time the liquid metal pour has reached that shown in fig4 d , the angle “ α ” is essentially 0 , and any trapped gas will be purged . the amount of centrifugal force required to purge trapped gas will , of course , depend on the geometry of the part being manufactured , that is it will depend on the interior geometry and construction of the mold cavity . where the mold cavity is made of gas permeable material , trapped gas can be relieved through the permeable sidewalls of the cavity . in other embodiments where the mold cavity is impermeable , more care may need to be taken to ensure any trapped gas is purged . in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig4 a - 4 e , a centrifugal force on the order of 5 g ( 5 times the force of gravity ) achieves the desired result . a greater centrifugal force could be used , of course , but at some point degradation of the sand mold can occur . thus , the preferred technique is to maintain a substantially constant centrifugal force during all but the initial stages of the pour , where the constant centrifugal force is ( a ) sufficient to tilt the surface of the molten metal sufficiently to fill any voids in the cavity , and ( b ) safely below the point at which mold degradation may occur . fig5 is a graph depicting an exemplary ramp - up in the turntable speed during the pouring phase , followed by a coasting phase after the liquid metal has solidified . as illustrated in the graph and also as reflected in the equation below , the velocity of the turntable changes during the pour , in order to maintain a substantially constant centrifugal force ( g c ). the velocity varies with time based on several factors . as eq . 1 above illustrates , the rotational velocity of the turntable is proportional to the square root of the radius of rotation / metal mass ratio . in the equation , a constant centrifugal force g c is selected to lie within a range ( a ) sufficient to tilt the surface level of the molten metal so that air pockets are eliminated and ( b ) a high force that would damage or degrade the sand mold . although the rotational velocity v t is influenced by the centrifugal force g c , that velocity is not constant because both the radius of rotation r ( t ) and mass of the poured metal m ( t ) change as the pour progresses . to see this , refer to fig4 a - 4 e . it will be seen that the radius of rotation ( r ), measured from the axis of rotation of the turntable to the center of gravity of the liquid metal , changes as the level of molten metal rises . in general , the radius of rotation becomes shorter as the cavity becomes filled . similarly , the mass of the molten metal contained within the cavity increases as the cavity becomes filled . thus , the rotational radius / mass ratio is time - dependent . hence , the rotational velocity of the turntable must be controlled to reflect this time dependency . in one preferred embodiment , the controller 46 drives the motor 44 based on this relationship to achieve the desired ramp - up and coast behavior . the controlled velocity of the turntable is a function of time , and in this case time is a function of still further variables , namely the flow rate at which molten metal is introduced and the rate at which the molten metal solidifies . as illustrated in fig3 , molten metal is introduced through a sprue 32 with embedded filter 34 . this inlet structure acts as a restricted orifice that controls the rate at which liquid metal flows into the riser , and the riser also may include a restricted region through which metal flows into the cavity . depending on the geometries of the cavity being filled and upon the respective diameters of these restricted orifices , the liquid metal will flow into the cavity at a controlled rate . thus , given the final volume of the cavity , and this flow rate , the amount of time needed to fill the cavity and the requisite centrifugal force can be determined . as depicted in the graph in fig5 , the velocity of the turntable is ramped up over this filling interval where the acceleration or ramp - up rate is controlled to achieve a substantially constant centrifugal force in spite of the fact that the rotational radius and mass of the liquid metal are changing . after the cavity becomes filled , a centrifugal force greater than that of gravity is continued to be applied until the metal solidifies . this may be accomplished by maintaining the rotational rate of the turntable at the rate achieved when the cavity became completely filled . by maintaining the centrifugal force at this level , the liquid metal is forced to remain in the cavity until it cools . in this way , it is possible to precisely fill the cavity without relying on a large quantity of excess metal in the riser to present defects in the finished part . once the cavity has been entirely filled , and once the metal begins to solidify , it is possible to remove the driving force from the turntable , allowing it to coast to a stop on its own inertia . the driving force may be removed at a point where the liquid metal will have finally cooled before the turntable coasts to a speed below which molten metal could bleed out of the cavity . by judiciously choosing the point at which the driving force to the turntable is removed , the combined gravity and centrifugal force feed technique saves a significant amount of energy and maximizes the speed at which cast parts can be manufactured . the driving force shut - off point is largely controlled by the rate at which the liquid metal solidifies . as illustrated in fig6 , the first material received in the cavity ( at the end furthest from the sprue ) becomes to cool sooner and is thus at a cooler temperature than the last material received ( at the sprue end ). thus , at some point , material at the cooler end of the cavity will have solidified whereas material at the hotter end will still be in a molten state . thus , the mass of molten metal within the cavity is gradually reduced to 0 as the part solidifies further . because the centrifugal force is used to hold the molten metal in the cavity , the mass value in equation 1 gradually falls to 0 as the part solidifies . thus , the velocity requirements of the turntable may need to account for this effect to achieve ultimate control over the formation of the finished part with minimal waste . in this regard , while it is the goal to eliminate all waste material , in practice , there is usually a final small shrinkage defect at the point where the metal is last to cool . thus , it may be necessary to pour slightly more material than is required so that the final shrinkage defect occurs in the riser region which can be cut away and re - melted . because the size of the waste material is small , it is often possible to break away the waste portion by hand ( without the need to use grinding equipment and other energy - consuming power tools ). the gravity and speed - controlled centrifugal feed system can be implemented in a variety of different configurations . the turntable , for example could be replaced by a hub and spoke spider wheel in which the mold flasks are disposed on the spokes of the wheel . alternatively , the turntable might be replaced with a rotating drum , where the mold flasks are placed about the inner side wall of the drum . the feed system technique described herein lends itself well to economical , space - saving and energy - efficient plant floor layouts . exemplary of such is the layout shown in fig7 . as illustrated there , a conveyor system 50 delivers the mold flasks to various operating stations . thus at location { circumflex over ( 1 )}, a robot loader 52 lifts the flasks containing the sand mold assembly onto the conveyor where it is then transported at { circumflex over ( 2 )} to the metal pouring area 54 . the mold flasks are placed on turntable structures 53 that each has a drive coupling assembly on the underside . this coupling assembly mates with the electrically driven motor that applies the rotational velocity to that turntable when it is in the metal pouring area 54 . the ramp - up acceleration of the turntable is controlled as discussed above as metal is poured in a controlled amount into the in gate . once the cavities have been filled and the metal has sufficiently cooled , the conveyor transports the turntable to the inertia centrifugal area { circumflex over ( 3 )} where the turntable coasts under its own inertia to a final stop . the conveyor 50 is designed so that the final stop occurs near the mold dumping station { circumflex over ( 4 )}. at this station , the finished part is removed from the mold and treated conventionally to shot blast the surface and remove the riser . the flask then conveys onto the flask cleaning station { circumflex over ( 5 )} where it is ready for reuse at step { circumflex over ( 1 )}. the foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention . individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment , but , where applicable , are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment , even if not specifically shown or described . the same may also be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention , and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention .
| 1 |
the invention will be described in greater detail hereinbelow by means of examples . unless indicated otherwise , the percentages given are to be understood as being by weight , based on the total composition . 42 . 82 g of polymethacrylic acid ( mw = 4000 ) are introduced into a suitable container equipped with a heating means and mechanical stirring , and the heating is set to 60 ° c . 0 . 40 g of sodium hydroxide ( 50 % naoh ) is then introduced , and it is ensured that the reaction mixture is homogeneous . 56 . 78 g of methoxypolyethylene glycol ( polyglycol m 2000 ) are then introduced , with continued stirring . a vacuum (− 0 . 8 bar ) is applied , and the heating is set to 100 ° c . when the water starts to distil , and as the temperature rises , the heating is gradually increased to 175 ° c . when the temperature has reached 175 ° c ., heating is continued for a further 4 hours . the reaction is stopped by removing the vacuum and stopping heating , when the methoxypolyethylene glycol content , measured by size exclusion chromatography , is less than 2 %. the polymer so obtained has an ester number of 20 . it is anhydrous and handleable at a temperature of 50 ° c . it is preferably used without further purification . table 1 below summarizes the proportions of raw materials employed in the preparation of product a . polymer a obtained as indicated above is formulated to 30 % dry extract and by incorporating 0 . 23 % of an antifoaming agent 1 and 0 . 02 % of an antifoaming agent 2 . the ph is adjusted to ph 7 by means of a neutralizing base ( sodium hydroxide ). in a rw 20 n rayneri mixer ( distributed by ika ) equipped with a deflocculating blade of the type having a diameter of 4 cm , 400 g of iron oxide suspension were prepared as follows . 195 . 2 g of water , 4 . 0 g of formulation b obtained as indicated above and 200 g of yellow pigment ( bayferrox 420 from lanxess ) were introduced in that order , and stirring is carried out for 10 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . 0 . 8 g of xanthan is then introduced as stabilizing agent , and stirring is continued for a further 5 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . example 1 is repeated , except that formulation b is replaced by 4 . 0 g of sokalan cp10 from basf ( polyacrylic acid solution ). in a rw 20 n rayneri mixer ( distributed by ika ) equipped with a deflocculating blade having a diameter of 4 cm , 400 g of iron oxide suspension were prepared as follows . 197 . 4 g of water , 2 . 0 g of formulation b obtained as indicated above and 200 g of black pigment ( bayferrox 330 from lanxess ) were introduced in that order , and stirring is carried out for 10 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . 0 . 6 g of xanthan is then introduced as stabilizing agent , and stirring is continued for a further 5 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . example 2 is repeated , except that formulation b is replaced by 2 . 0 g of sokalan cp10 from basf ( polyacrylic acid solution ). in a rw 20 n rayneri mixer ( distributed by ika ) equipped with a deflocculating blade having a diameter of 4 cm , 400 g of iron oxide suspension were prepared as follows . 157 . 8 g of water , 1 . 6 g of formulation b obtained as indicated above and 240 g of red pigment ( bayferrox 110 from lanxess ) were introduced in that order , and stirring is carried out for 10 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . 0 . 6 g of xanthan is then introduced as stabilizing agent , and stirring is continued for a further 5 minutes at a rate of 2000 rpm . example 3 is repeated , except that formulation b is replaced by 1 . 6 g of sokalan cp10 from basf ( polyacrylic acid solution ). the relative proportions of the components of the pigment suspensions prepared according to the above examples are summarized in the table below . in order to evaluate the color strength of the prepared pigment suspensions , mortars were prepared by incorporating the pigment suspensions at the step of producing the dry mortar which will be used to produce dry mortar blocks using a hydraulic press . a dry mortar according to the formula indicated in table 4 below was therefore first produced as follows . 1250 g of afnor sand and 350 g of cement ( hts superblanc du teil cp2 52 . 5 n ) are introduced into a 3 - litre stainless steel bowl of a mixer ( of the power mix type distributed by krups ) equipped with a whip - type stirrer blade , and stirring is carried out for 30 seconds at power 3 . an amount equivalent to 3 g of dry matter of the suspension of reference j , rj , n , rn , r or rr and 102 g of water are then introduced in a period of 30 seconds , and stirring is continued for a further 4 minutes . the mortar has a ratio e effective / l equivalent of 0 . 29 . a mortar block is then produced from that mortar , as follows . 500 g of colored mortar are introduced into a mould of dimensions 7 × 12 × 3 cm , and then pressing is carried out in a hydraulic press at 130 bar for 10 seconds . the block is removed from the mould and left under an ambient atmosphere for one week . the coloring of the mortar block so obtained is evaluated as follows . 7 days after production of the mortar , calorimetric measurements are carried out by means of a minolta cr 310 calorimeter at the surface of the mortar block in three different locations without efflorescence . the average of those three measurements is recorded in table 5 below . a comparison of the colorimetry values recorded for the blocks of the examples referenced n and rn shows that the coefficients a and b are almost identical , while the clarity ( parameter l ) is lower for the block colored with formula n as compared with that colored with formula rn . these results show that the nature of the dispersing agent used in the formulation of a pigment suspension is significant . more precisely , those results demonstrate the improvement in the color strength of a pigment suspension intended for coloring a dry mortar when the latter is formulated with an alkylene polyoxide polycarboxylate rather than with a polyacrylic acid . the gain in color strength is estimated at 4 . 0 % ( l rn − l n / l rn ). a comparison of the colorimetry values recorded for the blocks colored with suspension j and rj shows that the block colored with formula j has values for b and saturation which are higher than those of the block colored with formula rj . it is deduced that the color observed on the block colored with formula j is deeper than that observed on the block colored with formula rj . this result shows the value of formulating a pigment suspension with alkylene polyoxide polycarboxylate rather than with a polyacrylic acid , the estimated gain in color strength is accordingly 2 . 0 % ( s rj − s j / s rj ). a comparison of the colorimetry values recorded for the blocks colored with suspension r and rr shows a difference in the coefficient a and in the saturation value l . those values are accordingly higher for the mortar block colored with formula r than those of the block colored with formula rr characteristic of a deeper color . this result shows the gain in color strength effected by the use of alkylene polyoxide polycarboxylate rather than a polyacrylic acid . for this test , the gain in color strength was estimated at 4 . 81 % ( s rn − s r / s rn ).
| 2 |
it is an aspect of the present invention that solder - reflow after flip - chip solder - bump bonding can be used to improve the alignment accuracy between two substrates . since most solders have a melting point that is higher than the thermal budget of a typical pfa , however , it is a further aspect of the present invention to use indium - based solder bumps ( including pure indium ), which have a low melting point . it is well known , however , that indium - base solders quickly develop a surface oxide that inhibits their use in bump bonding applications . it is a further aspect of the present invention , therefore , that reduction of the surface oxide on indium - based solder bumps is done while the solder bumps are contained within a chamber having a controllable environment . a pick - and - place tool having access into the chamber is then used to roughly align and bond the two substrates once the surface oxide is sufficiently reduced . after bonding , the two substrates are heated to melt the indium solder enabling them to reflow in a manner that reduces their surface energy by substantially minimizing their surface area . the solder bumps are provided in an arrangement that affords sufficient force during solder reflow that the solder bumps can induce relative motion between the two substrates , thus resulting in more precise alignment . fig1 depicts a schematic drawing of a cross - sectional view of an integrated focal plane array and read - integrated circuit in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . device 100 comprises substrate 102 , substrate 104 , and solder joints 106 . substrate 102 is a portion of a read - out integrated circuit chip that includes a plurality of circuits 108 , interconnects 110 , and bond pads 112 . the plurality of circuits 108 collectively defines a read - out integrated circuit . circuit 108 is a conventional read - out circuit for interfacing to a photoreceptor element of a focal plane array . circuit 108 is one of a plurality of such circuits that collectively define a read - out integrated circuit . interconnects 110 are conventional electrically conductive traces that electrically couple circuit 108 with bond pads 112 . bond pads 112 are conventional bond pads suitable for enabling solder - bump bonding of the roic with a focal - plane array . substrate 104 is a portion of a focal - plane array chip that comprises a plurality of avalanche photodiodes 114 , each electrically coupled with a pair of bond pads 116 . the plurality of avalanche photodiodes 114 collectively defines a focal - plane array . bond pads 112 are arranged in a first arrangement on substrate 102 . in similar fashion , bond pads 116 are arranged in a second arrangement on substrate 104 . the first and second arrangements of bond pads are complimentary such that when substrates 102 and 104 are positioned face - to - face , the layouts of the two arrangements of bond pads substantially match . each of bond pads 112 and 116 includes a surface that wets the material of solder joints 106 . each of bond pads 112 and 116 has a center region having surface area , a 1 , that is exposed , while layer 118 covers the remaining area of the bond pad as well as regions of substrate 102 and 104 that surround these center regions . layer 118 comprises a material , such as silicon nitride , that does not wet the material of solder joints 106 . solder joints 106 are solder bumps of substantially pure indium . indium is preferably used for solder joints 106 due to its low melting point . in the prior art , however , indium is not typically used due to the fact that it readily forms a surface oxide that can impair its utility as a bonding material . this is particularly true in a production environment , where reliability and repeatability of solder joint characteristics are paramount . in some embodiments , solder joints 106 comprise a solder other than pure indium . fig2 depicts a schematic drawing of a cross - sectional view of a system for enabling hybrid integration of a focal - plane array and a read - out integrated circuit in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention . system 200 comprises chamber 202 , tool 204 , gas system 206 , and chuck 208 . chamber 202 is a substantially enclosed chamber suitable for controlling the environment that surrounds substrates 102 and 104 . substrate 102 comprises solder bumps 210 and substrate 104 comprises solder bumps 212 . solder bumps 210 are arranged in a first arrangement on the surface of substrate 102 . solder bumps 212 are arranged in a second arrangement on the surface of substrate 104 , wherein the first and second arrangements are complimentary such that they substantially match when the substrates are positioned in a face - to - face orientation . in some embodiments , only one of substrates 102 and 104 comprises solder bumps . by controlling the environment within chamber 202 , desorption of surface oxide on the solder bumps can be effected , as described below and with respect to fig4 and 4 a - d . in some embodiments , chamber 202 includes ports for enabling gas to escape the chamber , for example , during an oxygen purge when oxygen is displaced by hydrogen pumped into the chamber . tool 204 is a conventional pick - and - place tool suitable for controlling the relative position between substrates 102 and 104 . tool 204 controllable holds and releases substrate 104 and typically has up to six - axis control capability . gas system 206 is a system for controllably introducing one or more gasses into chamber 202 . in the illustrative embodiment , gas system 206 is configured to introduce argon and hydrogen into chamber 202 ; however , it will be clear to one skilled in the art , after reading this specification , how to specify , make , and use alternative embodiments of the present invention wherein gas system 206 introduces one or more suitable gasses other than argon and hydrogen into chamber 202 . gasses suitable for use in embodiments in accordance with the present invention include , without limitation , hydrogen , argon , nitrogen , forming gas , sulfur hexafluoride , chlorine - containing gasses , and the like . in some embodiments , gas system 206 includes gas - heating apparatus for controlling the temperature of a gas that is being introduced into chamber 202 . chuck 208 is a conventional vacuum chuck for securing a substrate . in some embodiments , chuck 208 can also control the temperature of a substrate mounted in the chuck and / or an electrical bias on the substrate . fig3 depicts operations of a method for integrating two substrates in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention . fig3 is described with continuing reference to fig1 and 2 and fig4 a - d . method 300 begins with operation 301 , wherein substrates 102 and 104 are put into rough alignment . fig4 a - d depict schematic drawings of cross - sectional views of substrates 102 and 104 at different points in a hybrid integration process in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention . fig4 a depicts substrates 102 and 104 while positioned in rough alignment with one another but while their respective solder bumps are not in contact . substrates 102 and 104 are depicted while enclosed by chamber 202 . rough alignment can be attained with conventional pick - and - place tools , such as tool 204 . examples of suitable pick - and - place tools include the palomar 3800 die bonder , etc . in the illustrative embodiment , each of solder bumps 210 and 212 is disposed on their respective bond pad such that its extent exceeds the perimeter of the bond pad . in other words , the cross - sectional area , a 2 , of each of solder bumps 210 and 212 where it meets its respective bond pad is greater than the surface area of the bond pad , a 1 . it should be noted that solder bumps 210 and 212 are depicted as hemispheres . in some embodiments , at least one of solder bumps 210 and 212 has a shape other than at operation 302 , surface oxide 402 is reduced on surface 404 of solder bumps 210 and 212 . surface oxide 402 is reduced by first purging chamber 202 of oxygen and filling chamber 202 with heated hydrogen gas . elevating the temperature of solder bumps 210 and 212 in the presence of hydrogen enables the reduction of surface oxide 402 . once surface 404 is substantially oxide - free , the temperature of the hydrogen environment is reduced but the environment in chamber 202 remains substantially oxygen - free . after reduction of surface oxide 402 , each of solder bumps 210 and 212 projects above the height of its respective bond pad by height h 1 . fig4 b depicts substrates 102 and 104 while positioned in rough alignment with one another and after the reduction of surface oxide 402 , but while solder bumps 210 and 212 are not in contact . at operation 303 , solder bumps 210 and 212 are brought into close proximity , but not into contact , by tool 204 . this results in a separation distance between bond pads 116 and 118 of distance d 1 . in some embodiments , alignment features are included on each of substrates 102 and 104 to facilitate the rough alignment of solder bumps 210 and 212 as well as establish a separation distance between substrates 102 and 104 after operation 303 . fig5 a and 5b depict alignment features for facilitating alignment of solder bumps in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention . alignment feature 500 comprises probe 502 and receiver 504 . fig5 a depicts probe 502 and receiver 504 prior to engagement . fig5 b depicts probe 502 and receiver 504 after engagement . probe 502 is a substantially hemispherically shaped projection that is located on substrate 102 at a point outside the arrangement of solder bumps 210 . receiver 504 is a substantially circular annulus that is located outside the field of solder bumps 212 on substrate 104 . typically , at least three probes and matching receivers are included on substrates 102 and 104 to ensure good lateral and rotational alignment . in some embodiments , probes 502 are located on substrate 104 and receivers 504 are located on substrate 102 . in some embodiments , at least one of probe 502 and receiver 504 is located within the arrangement of solder bumps on its respective substrate . at least one of probe 502 and receiver 504 typically comprises a material that can be shaped in three - dimensions and does not exhibit excessive friction . suitable materials for use in probe 502 and receiver 504 include , without limitation : cyclotene advanced electronic resins , such as benzocyclobutene ( bcb ); su - 8 ; polyimides ; photoresists ; dielectrics , such as nitrides , oxide , oxynitrides , etc . ; ceramics ; metals , solders ; and the like . in some embodiments , at least one of probe 502 and receiver 504 is formed as a recess in the surface of its respective substrate via an etch process . in operation , the thicknesses , t 1 and t 2 , of probe 502 and receiver 504 , respectively , as well as the width , w , of opening 506 in receiver 504 , are selected to provide good lateral and rotational alignment and to establish a desired separation between substrates 102 and 104 at the end of operation 303 . returning now to fig3 and 4 a - d , during operation 303 , tool 204 roughly aligns substrate 104 to substrate 102 such that d 1 is greater than the combined height of solder bumps 210 and 212 ( i . e ., d1 & gt ; 2h1 ). currently available production - scale aligner - bonders can typically attain lateral alignment accuracy of approximately 10 microns . probe 502 and receiver 504 are sized such that this level of accuracy enables their engagement , which then improves the lateral precision of the alignment between the substrates to within a few microns . accurate alignment of solder bumps 210 and 212 within a few microns is sufficient to enable reflow of the solder bumps to bring bond pads 112 and 116 into fine alignment , as described below . at operation 304 , solder bumps 210 and 212 are heated above their melting point . because the material of solder bumps 210 and 212 does not wet to layer 118 , it exhibits a very high contact angle where the solder bump material meets their respective bond pads . in some cases , for example , the solder bumps form substantially spherical shapes that project outward from their respective bond pads . as a result , the projection of bond pads 210 and 212 above their respective bond pads increases to height h 2 , which is greater than half the distance d 1 . due to this increase in their height , each of solder bumps 210 comes into physical contact with its corresponding solder bump 212 . during operation 304 , heated hydrogen gas typically flows into chamber 202 . fig4 c depicts substrates 102 and 104 after solder bumps 210 and 212 are in physical contact within chamber 202 . at operation 305 , substrate 104 is released by tool 204 . this enables substantially unconstrained relative motion between substrates 102 and 104 . in some embodiments , in order to improve the oxygen purge from chamber 202 , a vented cover is installed to block the access port through which tool 204 had access to substrate 104 . during operation 305 , each contacting pair of solder bumps 210 and 212 is kept at an elevated temperature for a dwell time sufficient to enable them merge into a single liquid solder joint 406 . fig4 d depicts substrates 102 and 104 after the formation of solder joints 406 . the temperature of solder joints 406 is maintained at an elevated temperature to enable them reduce their surface energy by substantially minimizing their surface area . the reduction of surface energy of solder joints 406 generates enough force to move substrate 104 relative to substrate 102 thereby improving the alignment of bond pads 116 and 112 . at operation 306 , once bond pads 116 and 112 are suitably aligned , the temperature of chuck 208 is reduced , which reduces the temperature of solder joints 406 enabling them to solidify into solder joints 106 , as depicted in fig1 . it is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims .
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referring now to the figures in detail illustrating a preferred embodiment of a laser object seeker system , and first referring to fig1 and 3 , there are shown schematic representations of a seeker head 2 , e . g ., a cylindrical , tapered or conical head , moving forward in direction 4 , also constituting the seeker &# 39 ; s head axis . on the seeker head 2 there are located a plurality of laser proximity sensors ( ps &# 39 ; s ) 6 to 6 ″″ and 8 to 8 ″″ ( see fig1 and 3 ) pointing sideways into the sea water 10 . one or more of the ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ″ emit a laser beam 12 in the direction of the sea water 10 . the laser wavelength of the beams is selected so as not to penetrate the sea water 10 and to be reflected from the sea surface 14 , back in direction 16 into at least one of the dedicated detectors of the ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ″. further seen are a plurality of laser ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ″″ pointing sideways and emitting laser beams 18 in the direction of the sea water 10 . the laser wavelength of the beams of these ps &# 39 ; s is selected to penetrate the sea water 10 , to be partially reflected from the sea water surface 14 and partially reflected by the sea bed 20 , back in directions 22 and 24 respectively , into dedicated detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ″″. as the reflected amplitude and time of the beams are known , they are used to determine the various reflection distances , as per - se known . in this embodiment , the ps 6 ′ serves as a reference measuring distance to the surface 14 and ps 8 ′ measures the depth of the sea bed 20 . while in the shown embodiment , the ps &# 39 ; s point sideways , in other embodiments the ps &# 39 ; s may be arranged on the seeker &# 39 ; s head 2 to point at a downwardly angle forwards in the direction of flight . also , the seeker &# 39 ; s head 2 may be rotatable about its axis . computing means for differentiating between the reflections received from the sea water surface , possibly from the sea bed and from a seaborne object may be included in the seeker &# 39 ; s head or in any other part of the airborne vehicle . fig2 illustrates a schematic representation of the seeker head 2 , moving forward in direction 4 and having a plurality of ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ′ and 8 to 8 ″″ pointing sideways . at least one of the ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ′ emits a laser beam 12 in the direction of the sea surface 14 where seaborne object 26 , e . g ., a boat is present . the laser wavelength is selected not to penetrate the seawater 10 and to be reflected in direction 16 from the sea water surface 14 or from the seaborne object 26 into the dedicated detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ′. a plurality of laser ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ″″ point sideways and emit laser beams 14 towards the sea water 10 . the laser wavelength of the beams is selected to penetrate the sea water 10 and to be partially reflected in direction 22 from sea water surface 14 , and sea bed 20 , into dedicated detectors of the ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ″″. as can be seen , in this case , however , the reflection surface of the beam is the reflection from the seaborne object 26 in direction 22 . the reflected amplitude and time of the beam determine the various distances , as per - se known , with the ps 6 serving as a reference measuring distance to the water and the ps 8 measuring the sea depth . in fig4 a there is illustrated a signal produced by detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ″″, while fig4 b shows the signals produced by the detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ″ for sea water . in fig4 c there is illustrated signal produced by the detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 6 to 6 ″″ while fig4 d shows a signal produced by the detectors of ps &# 39 ; s 8 to 8 ′, which in this case , have equal timing and distance received from a seaborne object . the methods of operating the systems described with reference to fig1 to 4 will now be briefly described . according to an embodiment of a method of operation of the present invention , a single laser beam is used , where the laser beam is selected to enhance or reduce seaborne object laser reflection in comparison with the sea waves . according to a further embodiment of a method of operation of the present invention , there is provided a laser beam that penetrates the sea water , e . g ., green laser light , wherein the impingement on the seaborne object results in a single reflection as compared with a double reflection , one from the sea water surface and one from the sea bed , when the laser radiation impinges on the sea waves . a further method of operation of the present invention provides for two laser beams which are selected such that one penetrates the sea water , e . g ., green laser light , where the impingement of the laser radiation on the seaborne object forms a single reflection as compared with a double reflection , one from the sea surface and one from the sea bed , when laser radiation impinges on the sea waves , and a second beam of a non - penetrating wavelength , e . g ., a red laser , serving as a reference , where the impingement on the seaborne object or the sea waves results in a single reflection . according to still a further method of operation of the present invention , two laser beams are selected , one that penetrates the water , e . g ., green laser light , and a second , non - penetrating wavelength , e . g ., a red laser , where the two laser beams operate simultaneously and share an equivalent optical path using the same single detector , wherein each of the laser beams is modulated by a different rf carrier . the detector &# 39 ; s output rf signals are used to differentiate between the seaborne object and the sea , and the impingement on the object will result in a similar reflection pattern for both wavelengths ( displayed by similar , highly correlated temporal envelopes of received rf signals ), whereas the impingement from the sea will show variations in the reflection pattern between the two wavelengths , displayed by a lower correlation between the correspondingly received rf signals . a further method of operation of the present invention provides for multiple laser proximity detectors placed on the circumference of the seeker &# 39 ; s head , as shown in fig3 , enabling detection by a rotating seeker and either being redundant , or alternatively , enabling higher computation speed . according to a further method of operation of the present invention , laser proximity detectors based on time - of - flight are placed on the seeker , and are continuously utilized . similarly , laser proximity detectors based on phase detection may be placed on the seeker &# 39 ; s head , or laser proximity detectors based on triangulation computations , may be utilized . a further method of operation according to the present invention calls for laser proximity detectors data to be analyzed and processed by an on - board computing system and dedicated algorithms , and finally , according to yet a further method , multiple laser proximity detectors are oriented such as to impinge on the sea water surface at a distance higher than the target size , where the similarity or dissimilarity between the signals is used to distinguish between sea water and a target . it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .
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fig2 and 28 show the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae l4 and l5 , respectively , in a lateral view ( while in anatomic association ) and in a superior view ( separately ). the lumbar vertebrae ( of which there are a total of five ) are in the lower back , also called the “ small of the back .” as is typical with vertebrae , the vertebrae l4 and l5 are separated by an intervertebral disk 25 . the configuration of the vertebrae l4 and l5 differ somewhat , but each ( like vertebrae in general ) includes a vertebral body 10 , which is the anterior , massive part of bone that gives strength to the vertebral column and supports body weight . the vertebral arch 12 is posterior to the vertebral body 10 and is formed by the right and left pedicles 14 and lamina 16 . the pedicles 14 are short , stout processes that join the vertebral arch 12 to the vertebral body 10 . the pedicles 14 project posteriorly to meet two broad flat plates of bone , called the lamina 16 . seven other processes arise from the vertebral arch . three processes — the spinous process 18 and two transverse 20 processes — project from the vertebral arch 12 and afford attachments for back muscles , forming levers that help the muscles move the vertebrae . the remaining four processes , called articular processes , project superiorly from the vertebral arch ( and are thus called the superior articular processes 22 ) and inferiorly from the vertebral arch ( and are thus called the inferior articular processes 24 ). the superior and inferior articular processes 22 and 24 are in opposition with corresponding opposite processes of vertebrae superior and inferior adjacent to them , forming joints , called zygapophysial joints or , in short hand , the facet joints or facets . the facet joints permit gliding movement between the vertebrae l4 and l5 . facet joints are found between adjacent superior and inferior articular processes along the spinal column . the facet joints can deteriorate or otherwise become injured or diseased , causing lack of support for the spinal column , pain , and / or difficulty in movement . as described in this specification , a facet joint has a superior half and an inferior half . the superior half of the joint is formed by the vertebral level below the joint , and the inferior half of the joint is formed by the vertebral level above the joint . for example , in the l4 - l5 facet joint , the superior half of the joint is formed by structure on the l - 5 vertebra , and the inferior half of the joint is formed by structure on the l - 4 vertebra . a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 is shown in fig1 that embodies features of the invention . the prosthesis 330 is designated “ superior ” because it creates an artificial facet surface for the superior half of the facet joint . the artificial surface articulates with the inferior half of the facet joint . the prosthesis 330 allows for the replacement of injured , diseased and / or deteriorating components along the superior half of facet joints , to provide improved support for the spinal column . the universal facet prosthesis 330 may be constructed and configured in various ways . the universal facet prosthesis 330 may , e . g ., comprise a cup member 315 . the cup member 315 itself may be made of various materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , titanium alloys , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , or any other total joint replacement metal and / or ceramic , bony in - growth surface , sintered glass , artificial bone , any uncemented metal or ceramic surface , or a combination thereof . the cup member 315 may also be any appropriate shape including , but not limited to , rectangular , disc shaped , trough shaped , or cup shaped . the cup member may be fixed or anchored directly to a vertebra with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away anchors and / or wires to facilitate any future removal of the prosthesis , or a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . as shown in fig2 , the cup member 315 is made of any joint materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts , including , but not limited to , metals , ceramics , titanium , titanium alloys , tantalum , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , artificial bone , uncemented surface metals or ceramics , or any combination thereof , preferably covered with a bony in - growth surface . in the illustrated embodiment , the cup member 315 is fixed to a stem 310 , e . g ., pre - welded , or glued with a biocompatible adhesive , or removably secured using a frictional morse taper . if desired , the stem 310 can incorporate one or more fins or ribs ( not shown ), extending outward from the stem 310 , which desirably reduce and / or eliminate rotation of the stem 310 once positioned within the targeted bone . in addition , the stern 310 can be cannulated , if desired , to allow the use of guide pins during insertion of the stem , as is well known in the art . the stem 310 may itself be made of any joint materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts , including , but not limited to , metals , ceramics , titanium , titanium alloys , tantalum , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , artificial bone , uncemented surface metals or ceramics , or a combination thereof . in a preferred embodiment , the stein 310 is covered with a bony in - growth surface . in the illustrated embodiment , the cup member 315 carries a surface member , which is made of a material , e . g . polyethylene , ceramic , or metal , which provides glide and cushioning ability for any potential contacting components , such as the articular head members described below . in one embodiment ( see fig2 b ), the surface member 325 can be formed in a gently upwardly curving shape , similar in shape to a catcher &# 39 ; s mitt . in another embodiment ( see fig2 c ), the surface member 325 is rectangular in shape with rounded corners . the cup member 315 is sized to be larger than the articulating superior half of the facet joint , to allow for motion of the joint . the surface member 325 may be a separate component that is fixed to the cup member 315 , e . g ., with a biocompatible adhesive , screws , nails , or comprise a formed part of the cup member 315 . the surface member 325 may also be held into the cup member 315 with compressive forces or friction ( e . g ., using a morse taper ). as shown in fig2 a and 2 b , the stem 310 a could alternately comprise a threaded portion , such as in a pedicle screw , with the head or pedestal 315 a incorporating a depression 316 a sized to accommodate a hexagonal driver or other surgical driving tool well know in the art . in addition , the prosthesis 320 a could incorporate a lower insert 321 a sized to fit into the depression 316 a in the head 315 a . if desired , the insert 321 a could comprise a morse taper . in this embodiment , the stem 310 a can be screwed into the bone , with the insert 321 a positioned or otherwise secure within the depression 316 a . the stem 310 a could be placed by tapping without screwing . if revision surgery is required , or some other condition required removal of the prosthesis , the insert 321 a can be removed from the stein 310 a , and the stem 310 a can subsequently be removed from the bone . as fig2 a shows , the stem 310 a can also include an enlarged projection or collar 311 a abutting the cup member 315 a . the collar 311 a serves to prevent unintended ingress of the stem 310 a further into the pedicle , beyond a desired distance . fig1 depicts a spondylolisthetic spine with slippage at the l4 - l5 joint between the l4 and l5 vertebrae . fig3 and fig4 depict a universal facet prosthesis 330 which has been installed into an l5 vertebra 105 to replace the inferior half 305 of a facet joint . in one embodiment , the stem 310 of universal facet prosthesis 330 is fixed into the l5 vertebra 105 with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , a ground bone composition , or a combination thereof . in another embodiment , both the stem 310 and the cup member 315 are fixed to a vertebra with stainless steel wire to provide additional stability . the new support provided by a universal facet prosthesis 330 helps correct degenerative spine diseases such as spondylolisthesis , spinal stenosis , or any spine disease . as demonstrated by comparing fig1 showing a spondylolisthetic spine with slippage between the l4 vertebra 100 and the l5 vertebra 105 with fig3 where the diseased superior half 305 of the facet joint has been replaced with a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 of the present invention , correcting spondylolisthesis at the l4 - l5 joint and preventing further spondylolisthesis . similarly , where correction of scoliosis and / or kypho - scoliosis is desired , the size and / or shape of the prosthesis may be chosen to re - orient the affected level ( s ) of the spine . the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 described above may be used as a replacement for the superior half of one or more of facet joints at any facet joint at any level of the spine . in the preferred embodiment , the universal facet prosthesis 330 is used to replace the superior half of one or more facet joints in one or more facet joints . the superior facet prosthesis 330 is designed such that it has the appropriate cephalad and caudad directions as well as the appropriate medial / lateral angulation for the given level of the spine where the implant occurs . in further embodiments , one or more surfaces of a universal facet prosthesis 330 may be covered with various coatings such as antimicrobial , antithrombotic , and osteoinductive agents , or a combination thereof . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 866 , 113 , which is incorporated herein by reference . these agents may further be carried in a biodegradable carrier material with which the pores of the stem and / or cup member of certain embodiments may be impregnated . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 947 , 893 , which is also incorporated herein by reference . in still further embodiments of the present invention , a universal facet prosthesis may be attached to strengthened or fortified bone . vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prostheses using the methods , e . g ., described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement . b . surgical method for facet replacement using the superior universal facet prosthesis a surgical procedure that embodies features of the invention replaces the superior half of a facet joint with the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 described above . the surgical procedure comprises exposing the spinous process , lamina , and facet joints at a desired level of the spine using any method common to those of skill in the medical arts . the prominent bone 306 b ( see fig5 ) may then be rongeured using any means common in the field . the superior facet 305 may also be trimmed , as depicted in fig6 , to decompress the nerve root 203 . a reamer 400 , or any other instrument that is useful for grinding or scraping bone , may be used to ream the facet 305 b into the pedicle 304 b as depicted in fig7 and fig8 . in a preferred embodiment ( see fig9 ), an opening 407 is made into the vertebral body 107 with a broach 405 . the universal facet prosthesis 330 b is installed into the opening 407 made by the broach 405 , as shown in fig1 . the opening 407 may be partly filled with bone cement , hydroxyapatite , or any bone adhesive before installation of the universal facet prosthesis 330 b . in an alternative embodiment , the stem 310 of the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 may be constructed in such a way that the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 can be directly screwed or tapped into the vertebral body 107 . in another arrangement , the cup member 315 of the universal facet member 330 may additionally be fixed to the vertebral body 107 with bone cement , hydroxyapatite , or any other biocompatible adhesive . in yet another arrangement , a universal facet prosthesis without a stem 310 may be attached to the vertebral body with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away anchors to facilitate later removal of the prosthesis , or a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . in a further embodiment of the present invention , the universal facet prosthesis 330 may be fixed into strengthened or fortified bone . vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prosthesis using the methods described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening procedure is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement surgery . an inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 that embodies features of the invention is shown in fig1 . the prosthesis 500 is designated “ inferior ” because it creates an artificial facet surface for the inferior half of a facet joint . the artificial surface articulates with the superior half of the facet joint . the prosthesis 330 allows for the replacement of injured , diseased and / or deteriorating components along the inferior halves of facet joints to provide improved support for the spinal column . the prosthesis 330 may span the distance from a region on one side of a vertebra to a region of the other side of the vertebra . it can thus replace both inferior halves of a facet joint . fig1 depicts a superior view of a vertebral body depicting sagitally oriented arthritic facets with lateral stenosis , showing how the spinal process 631 presses forward onto the nerve roots 205 and 200 . the prosthesis 500 allows for replacement of diseased and deteriorating inferior regions of the vertebra and partial replacement of lamina ( see fig1 ), which may be pressing on the spinal nerves , to relieve pain . the prosthesis 500 creates artificial facet surfaces for the inferior half of facet joints in the spine , which provide improved support for the spinal column . as fig1 shows , a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 , as described above , may also be installed to replace the superior halves of the facet joints and , with the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 replacing the inferior halves of the facet joints , forming a total facet replacement system that can result in entire artificial facet joints along a length of the spinal column . alternatively , just the inferior half one or more facet joints , or just the superior half of one or more facet joints , may be replaced . the inferior and / or superior halves of facet joints may be replaced on one side of a given vertebra ( unilateral ), on the both sides of a given vertebra ( bilateral ), or a combination of each along a length of the spinal column . the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may be constructed in various ways . as shown in fig1 , the prosthesis 500 can comprise a base member 505 . the base member 505 may be made of any joint materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts , including , but not limited to , metals , ceramics , titanium , titanium alloys , tantalum , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , artificial bone , uncemented surface metals or ceramics , or a combination thereof . the base member 505 may also be any appropriate shape to give appropriate support to the spine and to appropriately and sturdily attach to the inferior portions of a vertebral body . the base member 505 may be fixed or anchored directly to the inferior portion of a vertebral body with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away screws to facilitate any future removal of the prosthesis , or a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . in a preferred arrangement , as depicted in fig1 , fig1 , and fig1 , the base member 505 of the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 is attached to each pedicle 102 a and 102 b with bilateral pedicle screws 520 a and 520 b . the base member 505 of the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may further be attached to the spinous process 630 with a trans - spinous - process screw 515 to provide additional stability . in another embodiment , the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may have a head member 510 for articulation with the cup member 315 of a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 or with a superior articular process of the adjoining vertebral body . the head member 510 may be made of various materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , tantalum , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , ceramics , artificial bone , or a combination thereof . the head member 510 may further be any shape which facilitates attachment to the rest of the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 and to smooth connection to , and movement in orientation to , a universal facet prosthesis 330 or a superior articular process of an adjoining vertebral body . in one embodiment , a head member 510 is attached to the base member 505 of the inferior facet / lamina prosthesis 500 with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , or any other means known in the art . the head member 510 may also be removably attached by frictional engagement ( e . g ., using a morse taper ). in a preferred embodiment ( see fig1 and 12 ), the inferior facet / lamina prosthesis 500 comprises two head members 510 a and 510 b formed in the shape of an articular head . the head members 510 a and 510 b preferably each have a morse taper 512 at their upper surface to allow them to lock into the base member 505 of the inferior facet / lamina prosthesis 500 . of course , either or both head members 510 a and 510 b could be formed integrally with the prosthesis 500 . in the preferred arrangement , a complete prosthetic facet joint 560 is provided ( see fig1 ), in which the head members 510 a and 510 b articulate with the cup member 315 of the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 . in further embodiments , one or more surfaces of the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may be covered with various coatings such as antimicrobial , antithrombotic , and osteoinductive agents , or a combination thereof . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 866 , 113 , which is incorporated herein by reference . these agents may further be carried in a biodegradable carrier material with which the pores of the base member and / or any screws , bolts , or nails of certain embodiments may be impregnated . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 947 , 893 , which is incorporated herein by reference . in other arrangements , an inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may be attached to strengthened or fortified bone . vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prosthesis using the methods described , e . g ., in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement . b . surgical method for partial inferior lamina / facet replacement using the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis a surgical procedure that embodies features of the invention replaces inferior lamina and articulated processes with the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 as described above . the surgical procedure exposes the spinous process , lamina , and facet joints at a desired level of the spine using any method common to those of skill in the medical arts . as fig1 shows , an inferior one eighth to one half of the spinous process 302 may be cut along the spinous process resection line 610 and removed , if the spinous process appears diseased or damaged . the cutting and removal of the spinous process may be performed using any means common in the field . as shown in fig1 and 17 , the inferior half of the facet joint may also be cut at or near the inferior facet resection line 600 . in a preferred embodiment ( see fig1 and 17 ), most of the lamina 615 is preserved , as is the facet joint capsule 625 , which may be opened and folded back . in a preferred embodiment , the facet joint capsule 625 may be cut perpendicular to its direction . the inferior half 621 of the facet joint 620 may then be retracted from the superior half 622 . once the facet joint 620 is separated , the cut inferior bone 615 of the upper joint ( i . e . the cut inferior portion of the l4 vertebra in the l4 - l5 joint ) may be removed . alternatively , it may be possible to remove the cut inferior bone 615 while simultaneously separating the facet joint 620 . in a preferred embodiment ( see fig1 and 19 ), a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 is then installed as previously described . alternatively , the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 may be installed before the inferior bone is removed or even cut . an inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 as described above may be placed onto the facet joints and over the spinous process . the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may be fixed or anchored to the vertebral body with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away screws , or a combination thereof to facilitate any future removal of the prosthesis , or any other means known in the art . in the preferred embodiment ( see fig1 , fig1 , and fig1 ), the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 is attached to each pedicle 102 a and 102 b of the inferior facets with bilateral pedicle screws 520 a and 520 b and is further attached to the spinous process 630 with a trans - spinous - process screw 515 to provide additional stability . a head member 510 of an inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 may be articulated into the cup member 315 of the superior universal facet prosthesis 330 , or into an inferior half of a facet joint if the inferior half has not been replaced , to create a complete prosthetic facet joint . in an alternative embodiment , as depicted by fig1 , the inferior facet resection line 610 may be a v - type cut . if a v - type cut is used , an appropriately shaped inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 550 should be used , such as depicted in fig2 . the inferior facet resection line may alternatively be cut in other ways , which are apparent to one of skill in the art of orthopedic surgery and will require inferior lamina / facet prostheses of varying shapes to appropriately fit the cut vertebra . in a further embodiment of the present invention , a universal facet prosthesis and / or an inferior lamina / facet prosthesis may be fixed into strengthened or fortified bone . vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prosthesis using the methods described , e . g ., in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening procedure is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement surgery . a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 that embodies features of the invention ( see fig2 ) may be used to replace parts of a lamina and inferior processes , some or all which may have been removed in a primary procedural bone resection , ( i . e . with or without wide decompressive laminectomy ). the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be designed similarly , or even identically , to the inferior lamina / facet prosthesis 500 described above , depending on how much of the bone is removed . the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be constructed in various ways . in one embodiment , hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may , e . g ., comprise a base member 705 . the base member 705 may be made of any joint materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts , including , but not limited to , metals , ceramics , titanium , titanium alloys , tantalum , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , artificial bone , uncemented surface metals or ceramics , or a combination thereof . the base member 705 may be any shape which gives appropriate support to the spine and can be appropriately attached to the bone of the remaining lamina . the base member 705 may be fixed or anchored directly to the inferior portion of a vertebral body with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away screws to facilitate any future removal of the prosthesis , a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . in a preferred embodiment ( see fig2 ) of a prosthesis for hemiarthroplasty ( depicted as cut line 800 and further described below ) without decompressive laminectomy , the base member 705 of the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 is attached to superior pedicle 102 b with a pedicle screw 720 . in another preferred embodiment , the base member 705 of the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may further be attached to the spinous process 630 with a trans - spinous - process screw 715 to provide additional stability . in a preferred embodiment ( see fig2 and 25 ) of a prosthesis for hemiarthroplasty with wide decompressive laminectomy , the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 comprises at least one base member 705 . the base member 705 may further comprise a pedicle attachment hole 725 through which a pedicle screw 720 , or a nail , anchor , break - away anchor , bolt , or any other fastening means , may be installed to help secure the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 to the inferior pedicle . in the preferred embodiment , the base member 705 may also have at least one lamina attachment hole , with two lamina attachment holes 741 and 742 pictured in fig2 , to further secure the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 to the remaining laminal bone with screws , nails , anchors , break - away anchors , bolts , or any other fastening means . parts of the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 which overlap bone may be additionally fixed with bone cement , or any biocompatible adhesive . a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may further comprise a connection plate , similar to the connection plate 750 depicted in fig2 , to connect two base members , i . e . 705 a and 705 b , together . the connection plate 750 may be fixed to each base member 705 a and 705 b with a biocompatible adhesive , screws , nails , bolts , compressive force , a combination thereof , or any other means common to those of skill in the art . alternatively , a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may further comprise at least one stabilization bar , similar to the stabilization bars 761 and 762 depicted in fig2 . a stabilization bar or bars may be fixed to each base member 705 a and 705 b with a biocompatible adhesive , screws , nails , bolts , compressive force , a combination thereof , or any other means common to those of skill in the art . a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may have any type of bridging or stabilizing members , or no bridging members at all , and may be comprised of any number of base members to provide appropriate stability to the spine . the bridging members may be made of any joint materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts , including , but not limited to , metals , ceramics , titanium , titanium alloys , tantalum , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth surfaces , artificial bone , uncemented surface metals or ceramics , or a combination thereof . in another embodiment , a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may have a head member 710 for articulation with the cup member 315 of a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 or with the superior articular process of an adjoining superior pedicle . the head member 710 may be made of various materials commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth sintering , sintered glass , artificial bone , or a combination thereof . the head member 710 may further be any shape which allows it to attach to the rest of the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 and to smoothly connect to , and move in orientation to , the universal facet prosthesis 330 or superior articular facet of the adjoining superior pedicle . in one embodiment , the head member 710 is attached to the rest of the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . the head member 710 may be removably attached , using , e . g ., a morse taper . in a preferred embodiment , hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 comprises a head member 710 made in the shape of an articular head . the head member 710 preferably has a morse taper at its upper surface to allow it to lock into hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 . in further embodiments , one or more surfaces of a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be covered with various coatings such as antimicrobial , antithrombotic , and osteoinductive agents , or a combination thereof . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 866 , 113 , which is incorporated herein by reference . these agents may further be carried in a biodegradable carrier material with which the pores of the base member and / or any screws , bolts , or nails of certain embodiments may be impregnated . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 947 , 893 , which is incorporated herein by reference . in still further embodiments of the present invention , a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be attached to strengthened or fortified bone . vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prosthesis using the methods described , e . g ., in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement . b . hemiarthroplasty with or without wide decompressive laminectomy using the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis a surgical procedure that embodies features of the invention removes at least part of a lamina and at least one superior portion of a facet joint and replacing it with a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 as described above . the general surgical procedure is generally similar to the inferior lamina / facet replacement previously described , with the main difference being the types of cuts made into the laminal bone , and that two separate prostheses are used to replace the superior portions of two facet joints ( left and right ) of a given vertebra . one embodiment of the surgical procedure comprises exposing the spinous process , lamina , and facet joints at a desired level of the spine using any method common to those of skill in the medical arts . the inferior facet joint and part of the lamina may be cut with a hemiarthroplasty resection line 800 as depicted in fig2 for a hemiarthroplasty . the lamina may additionally be cut for a wide decompressive laminectomy along the decompression resection line 810 as depicted in fig2 . the inferior facet joint may be cut on one side or both sides of the lamina . likewise , the lamina may be cut along a decompression resection line on one side or both sides . in a preferred embodiment of a hemiarthroplasty without a wide decompressive laminectomy , leaving the cut inferior facet bone 300 in place , the facet joint capsule 625 may be opened and folded back . in the preferred embodiment , the facet joint capsule 625 may be cut perpendicular to its direction . the inferior half 621 of the facet joint 620 may then be retracted from the superior half 622 . once the facet joint 620 is separated , the cut inferior facet bone 825 may be removed . alternatively , it may be possible to remove the cut inferior facet bone 825 while simultaneously separating the facet joint 620 . in a preferred embodiment of a hemiarthroplasty with a wide decompressive laminectomy , a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 is then installed as previously described , and depicted in fig1 . a base member 705 of hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 as described in any of the embodiments above may be placed onto at least one facet joint and at least one pedicle as depicted in fig2 , and over the spinous process if it has not been removed for hemiarthroplasty without decompressive laminectomy as depicted in fig2 . the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be fixed or anchored to the vertebral body with poly ( methylmethacrylate ) bone cement , hydroxyapatite , screws , nails , bolts , anchors , break - away screws to facilitate any possible future removal of the prosthesis , a combination thereof , or any other means known in the art . in the preferred embodiment , as depicted in fig2 , fig2 , and fig2 , the hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 500 is attached to each pedicle with bilateral pedicle screws 720 . a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 that may be used in hemiathroplasty without wide decompressive laminectomy , depicted in fig2 , may further be attached to the spinous process 630 with a trans - spinous - process screw 715 to provide additional stability . a hemi - lamina prosthesis 700 that may be used in hemiathroplasty with wide decompressive laminectomy , as depicted in fig2 , 24 , and 25 , may further be attached to remaining laminal bone with screws , bolts , nails , anchors , or breakaway anchors through at least one lamina attachment hole 741 to provide additional stability . in embodiments where a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 with more than one base member 705 is installed , a connection plate , depicted as connection plate 750 in fig2 , at least one stabilization bar , depicted as stabilization bars 761 and 762 in fig2 , or any other connecting or stabilizing means known in the art , may be installed with the base members to provide additional stability to the spine . at least one head member , depicted as head member 710 in fig2 , 23 , 24 , and 25 , of a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be articulated into a cup member of a superior universal facet prosthesis 330 to create a prosthetic facet joint capsule . the embodiments may be used to replace one or more facet joints for the entire length of the spine from s1 to t11 , on one side of a given vertebra , or both sides of a given vertebra , or a combination thereof along a length of the spine . if only one facet joint at a given level is to be replaced , the unilateral arthroplasty prosthesis for the inferior half of the joint may be fixed to the superior ipso - lateral pedicle and include a box fitted over the spinous process , combined with screw fixation . the spinous process box is similar to the spinous process box in the bilateral total facet arthroplasty embodiment previously discussed . in a further embodiment of the present invention , a universal facet prosthesis 330 and / or a hemi - lamina / facet prosthesis 700 may be fixed into strengthened or fortified bone . the vertebrae may be strengthened prior to or during fixation of the prosthesis using the methods described , e . g ., in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 289 , which is incorporated herein by reference . this type of bone strengthening procedure is particularly suggested for osteoporotic patients who wish to have facet replacement surgery . fig2 and 30 show an inferior prosthesis 26 that embodies features of the invention . the prosthesis 26 is designated “ inferior ” because it creates an artificial facet surface in the inferior half of a facet joint . the artificial surface articulates with the superior half of the facet joint . the prosthesis 26 is particularly well suited to single - sided procedures and / or for procedures involving vertebral bodies which are not symmetrical . when the processes on one side of a vertebral body are differently spaced from those on the other side of the same body , the prostheses on each side would desirably be of differing sizes as well . moreover , it is often difficult and / or impossible for a surgeon to determine the precise size and / or shape necessary for a prosthesis until the surgical site has actually been prepared for receiving the prosthesis . in such a case , the surgeon typically needs a family of prostheses possessing differing sizes and / or shapes immediately available during the surgery . the surgeon cannot wait for a custom - fitted device to be created during the surgery , so a number of prostheses of varying sizes and / or shapes must be available for each procedure . the prosthesis 26 can be conveniently formed in different sizes and shapes , to offer an array of prostheses 26 from which the surgeon can pick and choose as surgery proceeds . this allows a surgeon to create a “ custom ” implant during the surgical procedure . in the illustrated embodiment ( see fig2 and 30 ), the prosthesis 26 comprises a body 28 sized and shaped to span the distance between a pedicle 14 and an inferior articular process 24 on the same side of a vertebral body ( see fig3 ). the body 28 may be formed of a material commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth sintering , sintered glass , artificial bone , or a combination thereof the upper section of the body 28 desirably includes an opening 32 . the opening 32 accommodates a pedicle screw 34 ( see fig4 ), which secures the upper end of the body 28 into the pedicle 14 of the vertebral body . the opening 32 could be elongated , to allow for varying orientations and / or sizes of the pedicle screw 34 . the remainder of the link body 28 can be secured to the exterior of the vertebra using , e . g ., biocompatible adhesive . the lower section of the body 28 is oriented to serve as the superior half of a facet joint . the lower section of the body 28 desirably incorporates a head 30 . the head 30 can be permanently affixed to the body 28 , using , e . g ., adhesive . alternatively , the head can be frictionally secured , e . g ., using a morse taper , for removal and replacement ( as fig4 shows ). like the body 28 , the head 30 can be formed of a material commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth sintering , sintered glass , artificial bone , or a combination thereof . the head 30 possesses a curvilinear shape that desirably curves along a gradual arc ( as fig4 shows ), or can present a “ button ” shape . if desired , the lower section of the joint link body 28 could be angled , to more naturally mimic the orientation of a non - diseased facet joint . in one alternative embodiment , the lower section of the joint link body 28 could rotate relative to the upper section , and could be rotationally secured in a desired position by a surgeon using a locking screw or other locking means known in the art . such an embodiment would allow the surgeon to alter the orientation of the lower section to fit the particular needs of a patient during the actual surgical procedure . in use ( see fig3 ), the head 30 articulates with the superior half of the facet joint . the superior facet 22 can comprise the natural superior articular process itself ( as fig3 shows ), or it can comprise a superior prosthetic facet created , e . g ., by the previously described universal facet prosthesis 330 ( as fig4 shows ). the surface member 320 of the universal facet prosthesis 330 can comprise a metal material made of , e . g ., titanium , cobalt , chrome , etc ., or a plastic material such as , e . g ., polyethylene , or a ceramic material . thus the surgeon can select the same or different materials to form the joint interface between the head 30 and facet prosthesis 330 . fig3 and 35 show another embodiment of an inferior universal prosthesis 36 that embodies features of the invention . the prosthesis 36 , like the prosthesis 26 , is designated “ inferior ” because it creates an artificial facet surface in the inferior half of the facet joint . the artificial surface articulates with the superior half of the facet joint . like the prosthesis 26 , the prosthesis 36 is particularly well suited to single - sided procedures and / or for procedures involving vertebral bodies which are not symmetrical . the prosthesis 36 comprises a body 38 sized and shaped to span the distance between a pedicle 14 and an inferior articular process 24 ( see fig3 ). the body 38 may be formed of the same types of material as the link body 28 . like the link body 28 , the upper section of the joint link body 38 desirably includes an opening 42 , to accommodate a pedicle screw 34 ( see fig3 ), which secures the upper end of the body 38 into the pedicle 14 of the vertebral body , in similar fashion as generally shown in fig4 . as before described with reference to the link 26 , the opening 42 in the link body 38 could be elongated , to allow for varying orientations and / or sizes of the pedicle screw 34 . the remainder of the link body 28 can be secured to the exterior of the vertebra using , e . g ., biocompatible adhesive . unlike the link body 28 , the link body 38 includes an intermediate opening 44 ′ in use ( see fig3 ), the spinous process 18 ( if present ) can extend through the opening 44 , to stabilize the link body 38 on the vertebral body . desirably , a trans - spinous - process screw 45 can be used to provide additional stability . the lower section of the joint link body 38 is oriented to serve as the inferior half of a facet joint . the lower section of the joint link body 38 desirably incorporates a head 40 which can be constructed in the same fashion as the head 30 of the link 26 . like the head 30 , the facet head 40 can be permanently affixed to the body 38 or can be secured in with a frictional fit ( e . g ., using a morse taper ) for removal and replacement . like the head 30 , the head 40 can be formed of a material commonly used in the prosthetic arts . in use ( see fig3 ), the head 40 articulates with the superior half of the facet joint with the next adjacent vertebra level . as before explained for the link 26 , the superior facet 22 can comprise the natural superior articular facet 22 itself , or it can comprise a prosthetic facet created , e . g ., by the previously described universal facet prosthesis 330 . fig3 shows a superior prosthetic link 26 ′ that also embodies features of the invention . the prosthetic link 26 ′ is designated “ superior ” because it creates an artificial facet surface in the superior half of a facet joint . the artificial surface articulates with the inferior half of the facet joint . the superior prosthesis link 26 ′, like the prosthesis 26 , is particularly well suited to single - sided procedures and / or for procedures involving vertebral bodies which are not symmetrical . a stem 37 extends out from the upper end of the link 26 ′. the stem 37 is inserted ( by screwing or tapping ) into the pedicle , to thereby secure the link 26 ′ to the vertebral body . as fig3 shows , the upper end of the link 26 ′ is shaped to form a cup 36 , which articulates with the inferior half of the facet joint . the inferior half of the facet joint can comprise the natural inferior articular process 24 itself ( as fig3 shows ), or it can comprise the head 30 of an inferior prosthesis 26 or link 26 ′ attached to the next adjacent upper vertebra level ( as fig3 shows ). the lower end of the link 26 ′ can also carry a head 30 for articulation with the superior half of a facet joint with the next adjacent lower vertebra . the superior half of the facet joint can comprise the natural superior articular process 22 itself , or it can comprise the cup of a link 26 ′ attached to the next adjacent lower vertebra level . it can thus be appreciated that the link 26 ′ is well suited for use in procedures requiring replacement of multiple levels of facet joints , and can be interlinked in superior and inferior pairs , like a structure formed out of interlinking tinker - toy pieces . the link 26 ′ also allow subsequent surgeries to build upon already replaced levels , rather than requiring the removal and replacement of an existing implant to accommodate replacement of failing facet joints in an adjacent level . it should be appreciated that the upper end of the prosthesis 36 can also be shaped to form a cup to articulate with the superior half of the facet joint with the next adjacent upper vertebra level . the prosthesis 26 , 36 , or link 26 ′ are well suited for use in a single side of the vertebral body , such as where the facet joints need only be replaced on a single side of the vertebral body . the prosthesis 26 , 36 , or link 26 ′ are also well suited for use in a dual - sided procedure where the vertebral body is either symmetrical or non - symmetrical . in this arrangement , other prostheses 26 , 36 , or links 26 ′ can be secured on the opposite side of the vertebral body , allowing both sides of the vertebral body to be treated . because the surgeon can pick prostheses 26 , 36 , and links 26 ′ of varying sizes , depending upon the size of the vertebral site , and can individually position each prosthesis 26 or link 26 relative to the vertebral body , the surgeon can tailor the linked implant system to the individual &# 39 ; s needs . fig3 shows a universal prosthetic joint link assembly 56 that embodies features of the invention . the joint link assembly 56 is particularly well suited to double - sided procedures and for sequential , multiple level procedures . in the illustrated embodiment ( see fig3 ), the joint link assembly 56 comprises two criss - crossing link bodies 58 and 60 . each body 58 and 60 ( shown mutually separated in fig3 and 38 , respectively ) may be formed of a material commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth sintering , sintered glass , artificial bone , or a combination thereof . as fig3 shows , the link bodies 58 and 60 are desirably locked together for use at an intermediate key - way 62 , to form the x - shaped , crisscrossing assembly 56 . the key - way 62 is formed by a shaped opening 68 in one body 60 ( see fig3 ) and a mating shaped key 70 in the other body 58 ( see fig3 ). the key 70 nests within the opening 60 ( as fig3 shows ), to frictionally hold the bodies 58 and 60 together and resist relative rotation between the bodies 58 and 60 . of course , the shape of the opening 68 and key 70 can vary . in fig3 , 37 , and 38 , the opening 68 and key 70 are generally square or rectilinear in shape . in fig3 , an alternative link body 58 is shown , which possesses a key 70 ′ that is generally octagonal in shape , sized to nest within a corresponding octagonal opening in the other link ( not shown ). in this arrangement , the two link bodies 58 and 60 can be mutually assembled in different arcuately spaced orientations , allowing for variations in facet joint size and positioning . if desired , the key - way 62 could alternately be formed in a tooth and gear arrangement , which would desirably allow a multiplicity of potential arcuately spaced orientations for the two link bodies 58 and 60 forming the assembly 56 . the key 70 desirable peripherally defines an opening 72 ( see fig3 ), through which the spinous process 18 can ( if present ) project during use . this is generally shown in phantom lines by fig4 . alternatively the link bodies 58 and 60 could be formed in a criss - crossing shape as a single , unitary body . the upper section of each link body 58 and 60 desirably includes a cup 64 . the cups 64 form the left and right superior halves of a facet joint and , in use , articulate with the left and right inferior halves of the facet joint . a stem 65 extends out from the upper end of each link body 58 and 60 . the stem 67 is inserted ( by screwing or tapping ) into the pedicle , to thereby secure the link bodies 58 and 60 to the vertebral body . in use , the sterns 67 secure the upper end of the bodies 58 and 60 into an opposite pedicle 14 of a vertebral body . as fig4 best shows , the bodies 58 and 60 are each sized , shaped and mutually oriented to span the distance between a pedicle 14 on one side of the vertebral body and the region of the inferior articular process on the opposite side of the vertebral body . the remainder of the link bodies 58 and 60 can be secured to the exterior of the vertebra using , e . g ., biocompatible adhesive . a trans - spinous - process screw 63 can also be used to provide additional stability . the lower section of each link body 58 and 60 is oriented to serve as the inferior half of a facet joint . as fig4 shows , the link body 58 , secured to the right pedicle , is positioned to serve as the inferior half of the facet joint on the left side of the vertebra . the link body 60 , secured to the left pedicle , is positioned to serve as the inferior half of the facet joint on the right side of the vertebra . for this purpose , the lower section of each link body 58 and 60 desirably incorporates a head 66 . as before explained , the head 66 can be permanently affixed to each body 58 and 60 or it can be secured in a frictional way using , e . g ., a morse taper for removal and replacement . like the bodies 58 and 60 , the head 66 can be formed of a material commonly used in the prosthetic arts including , but not limited to , polyethylene , rubber , titanium , chrome cobalt , surgical steel , bony in - growth sintering , sintered glass , artificial bone , or a combination thereof . in use , the heads 66 articulate with the superior halves of the left and right facet joints with the next adjacent vertebra level . as earlier described with reference to the single link structures , the superior halves of the facet joints can comprise the natural superior articular process 22 itself , or it can comprise a prosthetic facet created , e . g ., by the cups 64 of another link assembly 56 secured to the next adjacent lower vertebra . the interlocking of the criss - crossing link bodies 58 and 56 increases the strength of the overall link assembly 56 . the link assembly 56 distributes forces to both of the pedicles ( and the spinous process , if desired ), rather than relying upon fixation to a single pedicle . like the link 26 ′, the link assembly 56 is well suited for implantation in procedures requiring replacement of multiple levels of facet joints , and can be interlinked in superior and inferior pairs , like a structure formed out of interlinking tinker - toy pieces . like the link 26 ′, the link assembly 56 also allows subsequent surgeries to build upon already replaced levels , rather than requiring the removal and replacement of an existing implant to accommodate replacement of failing facet joints in an adjacent level . the size and shape of any prosthesis disclosed herein are desirably selected by the physician , taking into account the morphology and geometry of the site to be treated . the shape of the joint , the bones and soft tissues involved , and the local structures that could be harmed if moved inappropriately , are generally understood by medical professionals using textbooks of human anatomy along with their knowledge of the site and its disease and / or injury . the physician is also desirably able to select the desired shape and size of the prosthesis and its placement in and / or around the joint based upon prior analysis of the morphology of the targeted joint using , for example , plain film x - ray , fluoroscopic x - ray , or mri or ct scanning . the shape , size and placement are desirably selected to optimize the strength and ultimate bonding of the prosthesis to the surrounding bone and / or tissue of the joint . other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . all documents referenced herein are specifically and entirely incorporated by reference . the specification and examples should be considered exemplary only with the true scope and spirit of the invention indicated by the following claims . as will be easily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art , variations and modifications of each of the disclosed embodiments can be easily made within the scope of this invention as defined by the following claims .
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referring to fig1 , a module isolation device in accordance with one embodiment of this invention is illustrated at 10 . the module isolation device is employed to receive oxygen permeate from an ion transmission membrane ( itm ) oxygen module 12 . exemplary itm oxygen modules are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 681 , 373 , the subject matter of which is hereby fully incorporated by reference . also , as discussed earlier , itm oxygen modules are described in taylor et al . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 681 , 373 . this latter patent previously has been incorporated by reference herein . the oxygen permeate from the itm oxygen module 12 is the purified oxygen removed from an oxygen - containing gas ( e . g ., air ) that initially is directed into passageways 14 provided between the membrane units 16 of the module . the membrane units 16 include a dense , mixed conducting oxide layer through which oxygen permeates . the oxygen permeate , i . e ., the purified oxygen , is directed out of the module 12 through ceramic stack manifold 18 and a ceramic to metal seal 20 into inlet 22 of the module isolation device 10 . still referring to fig1 , the module isolation device 10 includes an outlet passage 26 downstream of the inlet passage 22 for receiving the flow of permeate oxygen . optionally , the outlet passage 26 can include a flow restricting orifice 28 through which the oxygen passes prior to entering an oxygen collecting header or plenum 30 . the flow restricting orifice 28 , if needed , is designed to provide sufficient back pressure in the event of increased flow from the module 12 , such as from a leak , to increase the pressure acting on a rupture disk ( described in detail hereinafter ) to a value higher than the pressure encountered during normal operation of the module 12 . the higher pressure resulting from a malfunction of the itm oxygen module 12 will rupture the rupture disk to isolate the module , as will be discussed in detail later in this application . it should be understood that the oxygen collecting plenum 30 generally is associated with one or more additional itm oxygen modules that are arranged in series or parallel , such that the oxygen permeate from all of the modules flow into and through the common oxygen collecting plenum 30 . a unique feature of this invention resides in the construction and operation of a module isolation valve 40 forming part of the module isolation device 10 . the valve 40 is designed to permit the flow of oxygen permeate from the inlet passage 22 through the outlet passage 26 when in an opened condition and to prevent the flow of the oxygen permeate to the outlet passage when in a closed condition . the module isolation valve 40 includes a valve seat 42 , a valve stem 44 including a valve member 46 at one end thereof , and a rupture disk 48 having a first face 50 engaging an opposed end 52 of the valve stem 44 . the rupture disk 48 includes a second face 54 in flow communication with a low - pressure header 56 through a conduit 58 . if desired , heat insulation material 60 optionally can be provided around the valve stem 44 adjacent the rupture disk 48 . it should be noted that when insulation material 60 is employed it is a porous material , e . g . alumina fiber , to permit flow communication of the oxygen permeate flowing into the module isolation device 10 through the inlet 22 with the first face 50 of the rupture disk 48 when the module isolation valve 40 is in an opened condition . the flow of oxygen permeate is schematically indicated by the arrows depicted in fig1 . it should be noted that the specific construction of the ceramic to metal seal 20 does not constitute a limitation on the broadest aspects of this invention . exemplary ceramic to metal seals usable in this invention are described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 302 , 402 , the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference . in the illustrated embodiment , the valve member 46 is in the form of a globe valve , however , other types of linear - action valves , e . g ., gate valves , angled valves , etc ., would work equally well in the invention . exemplary types of valves usable in this invention are disclosed in standard references , such as perry &# 39 ; s handbook of chemical engineering , chapter 10 . it should be understood that the materials employed to construct the module isolation valve 40 need to be chosen to be compatible for service in the hot oxygen product stream . an exemplary material is a nickel superalloy , such as haynes 214 or haynes 230 , sold by haynes international of kokomo , ind . alternatively , parts of the valve could be constructed of structural ceramics such as alumina , silicon carbide or silicon nitride . the rupture disk 48 needs to be designed for proper operation at the temperature of use in the system . this disk 48 either can be exposed to the operating temperature of the oxygen process stream , or it can be insulated from the process stream , such as by employing insulation material 60 , and thereby operate at a lower temperature . having described the structural arrangement of elements in the module isolation device 10 , the manner in which the device functions to isolate the module 12 from other modules joined to the module isolation device 10 through one or more common headers ( e . g ., oxygen collecting plenum 30 ) will now be described . during an upset condition , such as when a large leak develops in the itm module 12 , the flow exiting the module into the inlet passage 22 of the module isolation device 10 will increase . due to the flow resistance of the module isolation device 10 and the oxygen collecting plenum or manifold 30 , the pressure inside the module 12 also will increase . if a flow restrictor is employed between the module 12 and the oxygen collecting plenum or header 30 , ( e . g ., flow restricting orifice 28 ) the pressure inside the module 12 will increase even further . this increase in pressure is transmitted through the isolation device 10 against the first face 50 of the rupture disk 48 . this pressure increase resulting in an overpressure condition for the rupture disk 48 will cause the disk to rupture , or burst . when the rupture disk ruptures it no longer supports the lower end 52 of valve stem 44 , and the stem will drop under the force of gravity , the pressure drop across the valve member , and the viscous drag of the gas around the valve member 46 in the case of certain types of valves , such as globe valves . in this latter position the valve member 46 seats against valve seat 42 to close valve 40 and stop the flow of gas exiting from the itm oxygen module 12 to the oxygen collecting plenum 30 . this causes the pressure on the upstream side of the valve member 46 to further increase to the pressure of the high - pressure gas , which further assists in maintaining a good seal between the valve member 46 and the valve seat 42 . once the valve member 46 seats against the valve seat 42 , the oxygen collecting plenum or header 30 is isolated from the leak , thereby preventing contamination of the purified oxygen from the failed module 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , wherein the low pressure header 56 is a separate header from the oxygen collecting plenum or header 30 , a check valve in the conduit 58 , schematically indicated at 62 , is desired to prevent a backflow of gas from the low pressure header 56 into the permeate oxygen plenum 30 after the rupture disk 48 fails . that is , the check valve 62 precludes low pressure gas from the header 56 from passing through the opening in the ruptured disk 48 and into the oxygen collecting plenum 30 through outlet passage 26 of the isolation device 10 . referring to fig2 , a module isolation device 100 is depicted , which includes a number of elements that are the same as the elements employed in the module isolation device 10 . the elements in the module isolation device 100 that are the same as elements in the module isolation device 10 are identified by the same numerals , but with a suffix “ a .” suffice it to state that the module isolation device 100 disclosed is fig2 functions to receive permeate oxygen from ion transport membrane module 12 a in the same manner as described above in connection with the module isolation device 10 disclosed in fig1 . the only difference between the module isolation device 100 and the module isolation device 10 is in the manner in which the low pressure header 56 a of the module isolation device 100 is provided to communicate with the second face 54 a of the rupture disk 48 a . specifically , in the module isolation device 100 the oxygen collecting plenum or header 30 a is placed in direct communication with the second face 54 a of the ruptured disk 48 a through a conduit 102 of any desired configuration , whereby the low pressure flow of oxygen into the plenum 30 a through flow restricting orifice 28 a also constitutes the low pressure gas communicating with the second face 54 a of the ruptured disk 48 a . thus , the oxygen collecting plenum 30 a actually functions as the low pressure header in the module isolation device 100 . by employing this latter arrangement the purity of the oxygen in the oxygen collecting plenum 30 a is ensured , and there is no need to provide a check valve , similar to the check valve 62 employed in the module isolation device 10 , in order to prevent the backflow of low pressure gas through the ruptured disk 48 a into the oxygen collecting plenum 30 a . such a check valve is not required because the gas that is capable of flowing through the ruptured disk 48 a in a reverse direction actually is the same purified oxygen that is collected in the oxygen collecting plenum 30 a . referring now to fig3 , a pair of module isolation devices 200 and 300 are connected with an itm syngas module 12 b on the airfeed line into the module and the spent air effluent from the module , respectively . components of module isolation devices 200 , 300 that operate in the same manner as components in the module isolation device 10 will be referred to by the same numerals , but with the suffixes “ b ” and “ c ,” respectively . the operation of itm syngas modules are well known in the art and the specific construction thereof does not constitute a limitation on the broadest aspects of this invention . during operation of an itm syngas module 12 b a high - pressure synthetic gas , e . g ., methane or other light hydrocarbon gas , is directed through passageways 14 b of the module 12 and into engagement with permeate oxygen extracted from air fed into the module to thereby form the syngas . in the discussion that follows the module isolation device 200 will sometimes be referred to as the “ fresh gas isolation device ,” “ fresh air isolation device ” or by words of similar import , and the module isolation device 300 will sometimes be referred to as the “ spent gas isolation device ,” “ spent air isolation device ,” “ effluent isolation device ” or by words of similar import . although the description that follows describes a preferred embodiment in which the fresh oxygen - containing gas is air , in accordance with the broadest aspects of this invention other oxygen - containing gases can be employed . in the illustrated embodiment , a fresh air feed header 202 receives fresh air to be directed into the itm syngas module 12 b . this fresh air feed is directed into the fresh air isolation device 200 through an optional flow - restricting orifice 204 , and then through outlet conduit 206 of the device . the outlet conduit 206 communicates with air feed inlet 208 of the module 12 b . the air feed inlet 208 is provided by a ceramic conduit or tube that is concentric with an outer ceramic conduit or tube 210 that is connected to a ceramic to metal seal 212 . it is through this outer conduit 210 that the spent gas ( e . g ., the gas from which oxygen ions have been removed in the itm syngas module 12 b ) is directed into the spent air isolation device 300 . it should be understood that the construction and operation of the spent air module isolation device 300 is identical to the construction and operation of the oxygen permeate isolation device 10 illustrated in fig1 , with the exception that the gas being isolated by the isolation device 300 is the spent air that gave up its oxygen to the synthetic gas , as opposed to pure oxygen removed from the air by the itm oxygen module 12 . however , the structural features and operation of the module isolation device 300 is otherwise identical to that described above in connection with the module isolation device 10 . as noted above , the air feed into module 12 b and the spent air effluent from that module are connected to the module through the concentric ceramic tubes 208 , 210 , respectively . each of these tubes is connected to metal piping through a ceramic to metal seal 212 . still referring to fig3 , the module isolation device 200 employs a module isolation valve 40 b upstream of the ceramic to metal seal 212 for the air feed leg . the module isolation device 300 employs a module isolation valve 40 c for the spent air effluent from the module 12 b , downstream of the ceramic to metal seal 212 for the spent air effluent leg . the flow of the fresh airfeed into the inner concentric tube 208 of the module 12 b is illustrated by arrows 214 , and the flow of spent effluent from the module 12 b is illustrated by arrows 216 . during normal operation , both of the module isolation valves 40 b , 40 c are opened . air feed passes from the airfeed header 202 through optional flow restricting orifice 204 , through the airfeed module isolation valve 40 b and through outlet conduit 206 communicating with the air feed inlet 208 into the itm syngas module 12 b . spent air exiting the module 12 b ( as depicted by arrows 216 ) passes through the spent air module isolation valve 40 c of the spent air isolation device 300 , through an optional flow - restricting orifice 28 c and into spent air header or plenum 30 c . the flow - restricting orifices 28 c , 204 , if needed , are designed to provide sufficient back pressure in the respective isolation devices 300 , 200 in the event of an increased flow from the module 12 b , such as from a leak , to thereby increase the pressure acting on the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c in both module isolation devices 200 , 300 to values sufficiently above the pressures normally encountered under steady state operating conditions . as in the embodiments illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the valve stems 44 b , 44 c of the module isolation valves 40 b , 40 c in the module isolation devices 200 , 300 are mechanically linked to the first face 50 b , 50 c of the rupture disks 48 b , and 48 c , respectively . in the illustrated embodiment , the mechanical linkage is created by the first face 50 b , 50 c of the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c actually supporting ends 52 b , 52 c of the valve stems 44 b , and 44 c , respectively . in the event of a malfunction of the module 12 b , resulting in the backflow of syngas through both the inner and outer concentric tubes 208 , 210 , respectively , the high pressure backflow causes the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c to rupture , resulting in a closure of the respective module isolation valves 40 b , 40 c in the module isolation devices 200 , 300 . this will prevent contamination of the spent air effluent and the fresh air infeed by the syngas . as in the earlier described embodiments , the second face 54 b , 54 c of the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c in the fresh air isolation device 200 and in the spent air isolation device 300 , respectively , are in full communication with respective low pressure headers 56 b , 56 c . in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , the low pressure headers 56 b , 56 c are separate from the fresh air feed header 202 into the module isolation device 200 and the spent air or effluent collection plenum 30 c of the module isolation device 300 . in this arrangement , it is desirable to employ check valves 62 b , 62 c in conduits 58 b , 58 c that communicate the low pressure headers 56 b , 56 c with the second faces 54 b , 54 c of the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c , in the same manner as described above in connection with the module isolation device 10 illustrated in fig1 . specifically , these check valves 62 b , 62 c will prevent the flow of gas from the low pressure headers 56 b , 56 c into the airfeed header 202 of the fresh air isolation device 200 and into the spent air header 30 c of the spent air isolation device 300 , respectively . still referring to fig3 , in an alternative , and more preferred arrangement , the air feed header 202 is employed as the low pressure header in communication with the second face 54 b of the rupture disk 48 b in the fresh air module isolation device 200 , and the effluent plenum or header 30 c is employed as the low pressure header in communication with the second face 54 c of the rupture disk 48 c in the spent air isolation device 300 . this is achieved by providing conduits communicating the respective airfeed header 202 and the effluent air header 30 c with the region underlying the second faces 54 b , 54 c of the respective ruptured disks 48 b , 48 c , in the same manner that conduit 102 is employed in the module isolation device 100 illustrated in fig2 . in this latter arrangement there is no need for any check valves to prevent the flow of gas from the low pressure region underlying the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c into the air feed header 202 and spent air header 30 c of the module isolation devices 200 and 300 , respectively , since the low pressure region 56 b in the module isolation device 200 would contain the same air supply as in the air feed header 202 , and the low pressure region 56 c in the module isolation device 300 would contain the same effluent as in the spent air header 30 c of that module isolation device . by way of brief description , and still referring to fig3 , the backflow of syngas resulting from a malfunction of the module 12 b will cause a significant pressure increase in the module isolation devices 200 and 300 , to thereby cause the rupture disks 48 b , 48 c therein to rupture and the corresponding module isolation valves 40 b , 40 c to close , in a manner similar to that described in connection with the module isolation device 10 depicted in fig1 and the module isolation device 100 depicted in fig2 . the closing of valves 40 b , 40 c isolates the undesirable backflow of syngas from a damaged module 12 b into either the fresh air feed into isolation device 200 or the effluent out of the isolation device 300 . referring to fig4 - 6 , module isolation devices similar to module isolation devices 10 , 100 , 200 and 300 , respectively , are depicted . the embodiments depicted in fig4 - 6 represent the most preferred embodiments and overcome a problem that potentially exists with the embodiments illustrated in fig1 - 3 . specifically , in the embodiments depicted in fig1 - 3 , the ruptured disks constitute part of the described module isolation valves 40 , 40 a , 40 b and 40 c , and in the disclosed embodiments , actually engage the lower ends of their respective valve stems 44 , 44 a , 44 b and 44 c to normally bias the isolation valves into their opened condition . it was determined that during operation of the module isolation devices 10 , 100 and 300 , the flow of gas against the valve members ; particularly valve members 46 , 46 a and 46 c , during normal operation of the modules 12 , 12 a or 12 c caused the valve stems 44 , 44 a and 44 c to vibrate against the rupture disks 48 , 48 a , 48 c thereby creating the possibility of premature failure of those rupture disks . in other words , the vibration of the valve stems 44 , 44 a and 44 c against the rupture disks 48 , 48 a and 46 c , respectively , can cause those rupture disks to fail , and thereby cause the valve members 46 , 46 a and 46 c to seat against their respective valve seats 42 , 42 a and 42 c , even if no malfunction of the module 12 , 12 a or 12 c occurs . this clearly is undesirable . fig4 - 6 disclose module isolation devices that are identical to the module isolation devices 10 , 100 , 200 and 300 , respectively , except for the construction of the module isolation valves . specifically , wherein the module isolation valves 40 , 40 a , 40 b and 40 c employed in the embodiments illustrated in fig1 - 3 include respective ruptured disks 48 , 48 a , 48 b and 48 c as a component thereof , the module isolation valves employed in the embodiments illustrated in fig4 - 6 do not include the rupture disk as a component thereof . in fact , as will be explained hereinafter , the valve stem of the valve assemblies illustrated in the embodiments of fig4 - 6 do not engage the respective rupture disks at all , and actually are spaced from the rupture disks during movement between opened and closed conditions of the valves . referring specifically to fig4 , a module isolation device 400 is depicted for use in connection with an ion transport membrane oxygen module 12 d , in the same manner as the module isolation device 10 . components of the embodiment illustrated in fig4 that are identical to components of the embodiment illustrated in fig1 are identified by the same numerals , but with the suffix “ d ” and in many cases will not be discussed in detail herein , for purposes of brevity . the sole difference between the module isolation device 10 illustrated in fig1 and the module isolation device 400 illustrated in fig4 is that the preferred embodiment of the module isolation device 400 includes three additional elements ; namely , a stationary , perforated plate 402 connected to the module isolation device for supporting a crushable member 404 thereon , the crushable member 404 , preferably being a spring supported on the perforated plate 402 , and a stopper , or actuating member 406 affixed to the valve stem 44 d and movable with said valve stem . optionally a porous insulation member 60 d can be provided to insulate a downstream region of the isolation device 400 , if desired . as noted above , most preferably the crushable member 404 is a spring , which will not need to be replaced when the module isolation device 400 is repaired with a new rupture disk 48 d , after a rupture disk has ruptured because of a malfunction of module 12 d . specifically , when the module isolation device 400 is shut down for repair , the compressed spring 404 will return to its normal , uncompressed state , and therefore does not need to be replaced . a preferred type of spring is a wave spring . it should be noted that in this embodiment the lower surface 52 d of the valve stem 44 d is maintained out of engagement with the upper face 50 d of the rupture disk 48 d while the crushable member 404 acts against the actuating member 406 that is attached to the valve stem to normally maintain module isolation valve 40 d in an opened condition . in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig4 , the module isolation valve 40 d includes valve seat 42 d , valve stem 44 d including a valve member 46 d at one thereof , and a crushable member 404 , e . g ., a spring , retained on the stationary , perforate plate 402 and being compressible by an actuating member 406 attached to the valve stem . still referring to fig4 , in the event of a malfunction of the module 12 d the pressure within the isolation device 400 will increase to an undesirable level , and the rupture disk 48 d is engineered to rupture at that level . subsequent to the rupturing of the disk 48 d the increased flow acting upon the valve member 46 d produces a pressure differential that forces the actuating member 406 against the spring 404 ( or other crushable member ), to thereby cause the valve member 46 d to seat against the valve seat 42 d while compressing the spring or other crushable member . in the preferred embodiment , the lower end 52 d of the valve stem 44 d is maintained in a position where it does not move through the plane occupied by the rupture disk 48 d . as should be apparent , in the module isolation device 400 illustrated in fig4 any vibration imposed upon the valve member 46 d by the flow of oxygen during normal operation of the itm oxygen module 12 d will not cause the valve stem 44 d to vibrate against the rupture disk 48 d to thereby possibly cause a premature failure , or rupture , of that disk . turning to fig5 , a module isolation device 500 substantially similar to the module isolation device 100 depicted in fig2 is shown . components of the module isolation device 500 depicted in fig5 that are identical to components of the module isolation device depicted in fig2 are identified by the same numerals , but with the suffix “ e .” these latter components will not be described in detail herein , for purposes of brevity . in fact , it should be apparent that the difference between the module isolation device 500 shown in fig5 and the module isolation device 100 shown in fig2 is that the module isolation valve assembly 40 e in the fig5 embodiment is modified to the preferred form 40 d employed in the module isolation device 400 shown in fig4 . accordingly , components of the module isolation valve 40 e in the module isolation device 500 depicted in fig5 that are identical to components of the module isolation valve , 40 d in the module isolation device 400 depicted in fig4 are identified by the same numerals , but with the suffix “ e .” by way of brief explanation , in the event of a malfunction of the ion transport membrane oxygen module 12 e , resulting in an increased pressure within the module isolation device 500 , the increased pressure acts directly on the first face 50 e of the rupture disk 48 e to cause the rupture disk to rupture . thereafter , the increased flow of gas will act upon the valve member 46 e to move said valve member in a downward direction to seat the valve member against valve seat 42 e while compressing wave spring 404 e . as is described in connection with the module isolation device 400 disclosed in fig4 , in accordance with the broadest aspect of this embodiment of the invention the wave spring 404 e can be replaced with other types of crushable members , but most preferably the crushable member is in the form of a spring so that it will not need to be replaced when a module is repaired with a new rupture disk , after the original rupture disk fails due to a malfunction of the ion transport membrane module 12 e . turning to fig6 , module isolation devices 600 and 700 are depicted , which are similar to the module isolation devices 200 and 300 illustrated in fig3 , and provide exactly the same functions as these latter module isolation devices . moreover , the only difference between the module isolation devices depicted in fig3 and 6 is in connection with the construction of the module isolation valves employed in the isolation devices . components of module isolation devices 600 and 700 that are identical to components of module isolation devices 200 and 300 are designated by the same numerals , with the suffixes “ f ” and “ g ” respectively . components of the module isolation valves in the module isolation devices 600 and 700 that are identical to the components of the module isolation valve in the module isolation device 400 illustrated in fig4 are designated by the same numerals , also with the suffixes “ f ” and “ g ” respectively . suffice it to state , that the module isolation devices 600 , 700 employed in connection with an itm syngas module , as shown in fig6 , functions in the same manner as the module isolation devices 200 and 300 employed in the fig3 embodiment , with the exception of the structure and operation of the isolation valves . in particular , in the module isolation devices 600 and 700 the module isolation valves 40 f and 40 g are each constructed in the same manner as the module isolation valve 40 d employed in the module isolation device 400 , and move between opened and closed positions in the same manner as in the module isolation device 400 . thus , the module isolation valves 40 f and 40 g actually prevent their respective valve stems 44 f , 44 g from engaging the rupture disks 48 f , 48 g in the respective module isolation devices 600 and 700 , to thereby prevent premature failure of those rupture disks resulting from vibration of the valve stems against the respective rupture disks caused by the normal flow of gas in the respective module isolation devices 600 and 700 . the potential problem of premature rupturing of rupture disks , which is solved by the structure of the module isolation valves 40 f , 40 g in the module isolation devices 600 , 700 , respectively , is prevalent in a module isolation device intended to function in the manner of module isolation device 700 , wherein the flow of gas during normal operation of the itm module is in a direction against the rupture disk 48 g , which also is the direction tending to force or vibrate the valve stem against the rupture disk . it should be understood that the flow of fresh air and spent air through module isolation devices 600 and 700 is the same as the flow of fresh air and spent air through the module isolation devices 300 and 400 in the fig3 embodiment , with the module isolation valves 40 g and 40 h moving to a closed position after rupturing of rupture disks 48 f and 48 g , by the same mechanism that module isolation valve 40 d is moved into a closed position in the module isolation device 400 disclosed in fig4 . moreover , the low pressure headers 56 f and 56 g can be of the same construction and employed in the same manner as low pressure headers 56 c and 56 d in the module isolation devices 300 and 400 , respectively . alternatively , the low pressure region communicating with the lower faces 54 f , 54 g of rupture disk 48 f and 48 g can be provided by communicating the fresh air feed plenum 202 f with the lower surface of rupture disk 48 f through a connecting conduit , and by communicating the spent air plenum 30 g with the lower surface of rupture disk 48 g through a connecting conduit , essentially in the same manner as described in connection with the module isolation device 100 illustrated in fig2 and the modulation device 500 depicted in fig5 . when the fresh air feed is employed to provide the low pressure area behind rupture disk 48 f , and the spent air is employed to provide the low pressure area behind rupture disk 48 g , there is no need to provide check valves in the low pressure sections to prevent contamination of the fresh air feed in the air feed header 202 or contamination of the spent gas in the spent gas collecting plenum 30 g when rupture disks 48 f and 48 g , respectively , are ruptured . the reason why such check valves are not be required was explained earlier in connection with the isolation devices 200 , 300 ; modified to provide air feed plenum 202 as the low pressure area behind rupture disk 48 b and spent gas plenum 30 c as the low pressure area behind rupture disk 48 c . that explanation will not be repeated herein for purposes of brevity . although illustrated and described herein with reference to certain specific embodiments , the present invention is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalence of the claims and without departing from the spirit of the invention .
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the apparatus 10 shown in fig1 for in - situ microscopy of cells in a culture medium encompasses a sample volume 12 between two windows 14 , 16 that are aligned perpendicular to the optical axis of a microscope lens 18 used to image cells 20 in the sample volume 12 . in the most simple embodiment , the windows 14 , 16 are glass plates . the embodiment shown here serves primarily for examining organic cells 20 . but in principle the present invention is not limited to such cells but is also suited for examining non - organic particles suspended in a liquid medium . the sample volume 12 is illuminated by an illumination arrangement 22 having a light source 24 and a condenser 26 operating in a so - called transmitted - light mode . in the case shown here , a bright - field illumination is employed , but any other type of illumination arrangement is also possible . if the illumination source and the lens 18 are located on the same side of the object , as is the case in an incident - light arrangement , the opposite window does not necessarily have to be transparent but in principle can also be an opaque rear wall of the sample chamber . the microscope lens 18 images the cells 20 on an electronic image sensor 28 connected to the image processing system 30 used for the electronic recording and processing of the image . furthermore , the image processing system 30 is also connected to a control unit 32 for controlling an actuator 34 which effects a linear shift of the window 16 of the sample volume 12 facing away from the microscope lens 18 . the depth d of the sample volume 12 in the direction of the optical axis can thus be altered by the actuator 34 . in addition , an adjustable diaphragm 36 , which can also be addressed by the control unit 32 , is arranged between the microscope lens 18 and the image sensor 28 . the depth of field of the lens 18 is determined by its numeric aperture . a high numeric aperture value results in a low depth of field , i . e . only a narrow range of the sample volume 12 is imaged in focus . the numeric aperture can be changed by either opening or closing the diaphragm 36 . in order to image a large number of cells 20 in the sample volume in sharp focus , prior to analysis , the thickness d is gradually decreased until all cells 20 lie in a single layer between the windows 14 , 16 . this process is shown in fig2 to 4 . fig2 corresponds roughly to the situation in fig1 , in which the culture medium can freely circulate throughout the sample volume 12 and the cells 20 can also move about freely . the thickness d is decreased by means of the actuator 34 , shown in fig3 , until a situation shown in fig4 is reached , where the cells are markedly flattened by the pressure exerted by the windows 14 , 16 . since the imaging of the cells 20 is continually controlled by the image processing system 30 , the latter , upon detecting flattening , sends a signal to the control unit 32 , which drives the actuator 34 in the opposite direction in order to regain separation value d of fig3 , in which the windows 14 , 16 have just made contact with the cells 20 without flattening them . this separation d is an optimum value for analyzing the cells 20 and thus the image obtained in fig3 can be employed in the analysis of various cell parameters , such as concentration , size , morphology and vitality . fig5 illustrates by means of a diagram the process of successively decreasing the thickness d of the sample volume 12 . here the diameter g in the image of a single cell 20 is plotted according to the separation d of the windows 14 , 16 . if an initially large separation d is gradually decreased , the apparent cell diameter g remains constant at first until the cells 20 are finally clamped between the windows 14 , 16 as shown in fig3 . at this point , which corresponds to the separation value d , the diameter g starts to increase dramatically as the separation d decreases . since the parameter g is permanently monitored by the image processing system 30 as the window 16 is moved , this point can be exactly determined so that the thickness d can be precisely set to the separation value d where the flattening process just starts to commence . if this point is overshot , making flattening already measurable , and the separation value d is undershot , the control unit 32 can increase the distance variable d until a situation is reached where d = d . the point where flattening commences can be stored by the image processing system 30 and must therefore not be determined at the start of each new measuring cycle but can be retrieved from storage for the immediate setting of the separation value d , thus shortening the measuring cycle . fig6 to 8 show images of cells 20 recorded by the image sensor 28 and processed by the image processing system 30 in such a manner that the individual fig5 to 7 can be assigned to fig2 to 4 . fig5 shows merely an unfocussed image of the cells 20 , as they are located outside the level of sharp focus of the lens 18 . once the separation distance d is attained , at which point a layer of cells 20 lie exactly between the windows 14 , 16 , then all cells 20 are located in the level of sharp focus and are imaged clearly . in this situation an optimum analysis of individual cell parameters can be conducted . furthermore , if the windows 14 , 16 are brought closer together , the cells are flattened , as clearly shown in fig7 . the diameter g increases and this increase can be detected by a image processing system 30 that has been appropriately programmed , so that the depth d of the sample volume 12 can be set in the manner described above . fig9 to 11 correspond to fig2 to 4 except that now cells 20 , 38 of different sizes are present in the sample volume 12 . in this case , cells 38 of a predetermined size can be used to set the separation value d of the windows 14 , 16 such that the windows 14 , 16 are brought together until the separation distance d is reached where a flattening of the cells 38 of the selected size occurs . the remaining cells 20 are disregarded here . if smaller cells 38 are used in the above example for setting the distance d , the larger cells 20 are naturally flattened to a very significant degree until they reach a state shown in fig1 . a severe deformation or even destruction of the larger cells 20 can be accepted in this case , since the image processing system can easily distinguish these cells from the cells 38 to be analyzed . for example , the destroyed cells 20 are simply subtracted from the examined region of imaging . it is also possible to include the larger cells 20 when setting the distance so that the windows 14 , 16 are only brought together to the point where a flattening of the larger cells 20 commences . this is the approximate situation shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a sample volume 12 having a free - floating carrier 40 and a number of cells 38 adhering to it . the carrier 40 involves polystyrene platelets having a diameter of 0 . 1 to 0 . 2 mm and a thickness of 20 μm . thickness d is reduced in order to observe the adherent cells 38 so that the carrier 40 pursuant to fig1 is flat in its orientation between the windows 14 , 16 and the cells 38 on the opposing surface sides are flattened by the surface pressure . but in this case , due to the adhesion of cells 38 on both sides of the surface of the carrier 40 , two layers of cells 38 are located in the sample volume 12 . in order to examine the cells 38 it is therefore necessary to select a low focus depth of the lens and to displace the object level , i . e . the region of sharp focus by the lens 18 , to one of the cell layers . in this case , therefore , the cell layer facing the lens or the cell layer located at the back side of the carrier 40 is selected and imaged . this is achieved by a corresponding adjustment of the microscope lens 18 or of the image sensor 28 . proper depth of field can be achieved by enlarging the numeric aperture and opening the diaphragm 36 so that the cell layer lying in front of or behind the image cell layer does not interfere with imaging . the process of setting the thickness of the sample volume 12 essentially corresponds to the case described above , but differs in that the cells 38 do not lie directly between the windows 14 , 16 but rather between one of the windows 14 , 16 and the carrier 40 . at the point of initial flattening of the cells 38 the distance d of the windows 14 , 16 is approximately that of the thickness of the carrier 40 plus the double value of the cell diameter . by virtue of this procedure it is possible , for example to determine quite easily the fouling density and the degree of intergrowth of the cells 38 on the carriers . fig1 shows a sample volume 12 with a wiper 42 that removes cells clinging to the windows 14 , 16 after the measuring process . this is advantageous because the adherent cells 38 are recorded again in every new measuring cycle and thus distort the obtained results . the wiper 42 is essentially an arm 44 with two opposing rubber lips 46 , 48 , made of silicone rubber , that abut the windows 14 , 16 . as shown in fig1 , this arm 44 is attached at one end to a pivotal axis 50 which moves it back and forth between the windows 14 , 16 , thus drawing the rubber lips 46 , 48 across the surfaces to clean the windows 14 , 16 . the image processing system 30 can be programmed to check the efficiency of the wiping action and to repeat it if necessary . in case the culture medium contains free - floating cells as well as carriers 40 , the image processing system 30 can make an assessment based on the image as to whether a carrier 40 or merely free - floating cells are suspended in the sample volume and can then set the separation value d according to the pre - stored values for each of these two cases .
| 2 |
as seen in fig1 , an apparatus for wrapping a stack 1 of objects with a film 2 has a film - feed head 3 for feeding the film 2 and a pull - down device 4 for subsequently covering the stack 1 with the film 2 , typically by pulling it down over the stack 1 . the device 4 can be moved up and down on vertical posts or columns 25 by an unillustrated actuator , and the head 3 is mounted at the tops of the posts 25 . the apparatus also has a film supply in the form of a film coil 5 from which the film 2 is fed to the film - feed head 3 . the stacks 1 are moved horizontally past a wrapping station 27 formed by the apparatus according to the invention in a transport direction d by a conveyor shown schematically at 26 . according to the invention as also shown in fig2 , the film - feed head 3 has a base 6 and a support 7 rotatable about a vertical axis relative to the base 6 . here the rotatable support 7 is underneath the base 6 . the base 6 includes a film feeder 8 for pulling the film 2 off the spool 5 and advancing it to the rotatable support 7 . the base 6 also has guide rollers or deflection rollers 9 for the film 2 . preferably the film 2 is a tube , in particular with side gussets . the rotatable support 7 has a guide ring 10 connected to the base 6 and a film storer 11 carried on the rotatable support 7 underneath the guide ring 10 and whose function according to the invention is described in more detail below . the rotatable support 7 is also equipped with a film cutter in the form of a blade 12 that can cut a section 13 that may be tubular from the film 2 . the rotatable support 7 also has a film welder in the form of two welding bars 14 . using this film welder or these welding bars 14 , an upper end of the film section 13 may be welded together , to form a hood - shaped film section 13 , or for a simple flat film 2 a simple sheet . this hood - shaped film section 13 or this film sheet is then pulled down over the stack 1 by the device 4 . to this end , the rotatable support 7 also has an opener 15 for spreading the film section 13 or the tubular film section . preferably and here the opener 15 includes suction side plates 16 known per se for opening the tubular film . the apparatus according to the invention is used for wrapping stacks of objects 1 that in cross section or top view are not square , that is that are of different horizontal width w and length l dimensions where w ≠ l , and that are usually carried on pallets 17 that likewise in cross section or top view are not square . the instant invention is particularly applicable to a situation where as illustrated a nonsquare stack 1 or a nonsquare pallet 17 having for instance its width dimension w extending parallel to the conveying direction 26 is followed by a stack 1 having its length direction l parallel to the transport direction 26 , that is they are rotated relative to one another about respective vertical axes by 90 °. in principle , the two consecutively supplied stacks 1 and the respective pallets 17 described above may thus have the same dimensions or sizes . here they are rotated with respect to one another only by 90 °. to allow the film 2 or the tubular film to then be fed without constraint , according to the invention the rotatable support 7 is rotatable relative to the base 6 of the film - feed head 3 , here by 90 ° so that it can align with the workpiece stack 1 . the film storer 11 has two endless belts 19 carried on respective horizontally confronting end walls 18 of the support 7 and supporting two looping rollers 20 for the film 2 that extend between the continuous belts 19 and between the end walls 18 of the rotatable support 7 . in addition , guide rollers 21 for the film 2 are fixed to the continuous belts 19 , and likewise extend parallel to the rollers 20 between the end walls 18 of the rotatable support 7 . the continuous belts 19 are themselves spanned over two deflection rollers 22 , at least one of which is is driven by an unillustrated motor carried on the support 7 , and both of which are journaled permanently in the two end walls 18 . here the continuous belts 19 are chains , and the drive deflection roller 22 carries sprockets that mesh with the chains . only one end wall 18 and only one continuous belt 19 are visible in fig3 through 6 . the film 2 here is of the side - gusset type comprising a tube with two folded - in side gussets so that the tube as shown in fig1 has a width equal to somewhat more than the long dimension or length l of the stacks or packages being wrapped , and the gussets , open up to a dimension equal to the short dimension or width l of the stacks or packages being wrapped . thus for wrapping a package 1 whose length l is parallel to the conveyor direction 2 , the film 2 is fed from the feeder 8 to the base 6 of the rotatable support 7 , and specifically , past the film blade 12 and the welding bars 14 , and through the film storer 11 until reaching the opener 15 . the end of the film 2 is advantageously conveyed to the lower edges of the suction side plates 16 . the suction side plates 16 , which in fig3 are separated , are then brought together so that the film 2 is gripped and cannot advance between them . then the device 4 , which has gripped the leading end of the cut - off film section 13 , is pulled down on the columns 25 so that the spread tube section 13 is fitted over the package 1 . when a section of the film tube 2 sufficient to cover the entire package 1 has passed through the cutter 12 , the bars 14 are closed and the cutter 12 is operated to weld closed the upper end of the section and cut the section off the tube 2 . typically after being pulled over the stack or package 1 , the tube section 2 is heat shrunk either in the wrapping station 27 or downstream , or the tube section may be elastically stretched as it is pulled down and released to engage tightly around the package 1 . this is all generally standard . when , however , a package arrives at the wrapping station 27 offset by 90 ° the film 2 is fed through the storer 11 to the suction side plates 16 that are then closed . the film storer 11 is then started by moving the belts 19 such the looping roller 20 on the upper stretches of the continuous belts 19 carries the film 2 along to the right , and the looping roller 20 on the lower stretches of the continuous belts 19 carries the film 2 along to the left ( fig4 ). in the lower region of the film storer 11 , the film 2 passes over a film - guide roller 23 movable transverse to a covering direction u of the film 2 . in the position of fig4 , two opposite film sections 24 are engaged around the looping rollers 20 and are stored in the film storer 11 . the looping rollers 20 continue to move around the deflection rollers 22 of the continuous belts 19 so that the looping roller 20 previously on the upper stretches moves to the lower stretches , and the looping roller 20 previously on the lower stretches moves to the upper stretches ( fig5 ). the looping rollers 20 are moved further along the upper stretches and the lower stretches toward the center of the film storer by corresponding movement of the continuous belts 19 , resulting in the position illustrated in fig6 . the partial film sections 24 situated or stored in this manner in the film storer 11 have a total length that is considerable , and easily enough to reach from the top to the bottom of a relatively tall object or stack 1 . after the desired length of film has been stored ( fig6 ), the film feeder 8 and the continuous belts 19 are stopped . the bars 14 for welding the film section 13 are then closed , and the film section 13 is separated from the remaining film 2 by the film blade 12 . this is followed by rotation of the rotatable support 7 or the rotation of the guide ring 10 of the rotatable support 7 . the rotatable support 7 is advantageously rotated by 90 ° during the welding process and during cooling of the produced weld seam . rotation of the support 7 with the storer 11 therefore aligns the stored tube 2 with the crosswise workpiece 1 as shown in fig1 and 2 . for the covering operation , the film section 13 is opened by the opener 15 or by the suction side plates 16 , and , as the result of reverse movement of the continuous belts 19 , the film storer 11 releases the film section 13 , and , the pull - down device 4 draws the film section 13 down over the stack 1 . this is not illustrated in greater detail in the figures .
| 1 |
in order to achieve these aims , the invention more specifically relates to a process for the chemical transformation of at least one complex chemical structure into at least one end product , characterized in that the chemical transformation involves at least one reduction reaction in a solvent in the supercritical state . in other words , the object of the invention is to aid , through controlled chemical reactions , the decomposition of effluents , molecules or complex chemical structures , at least one of the chemical reaction stages being a reduction . the term chemical transformation is understood to mean both the decomposition of the molecular or atomic system of the complex chemical structure or structures into one or more chemical structures with a simpler molecular system , and the chemical interaction of the varyingly complex molecular systems with one another or with the solvent in the supercritical state . the chemical interaction of molecular systems involves various reactions or solubilizations , whereof one or more are reductions . the reduction phenomenon means any reaction leading for one of the elements of the chemical structure to be decomposed to an electron gain . a definition will firstly be given of the supercritical state in which the reduction or reductions take place with respect to the solvent . for example , the solvent can be water , an alcohol such as ethanol , a water - alcohol mixture , or any other appropriate solvent . its choice is essentially dependent on the chemical structures which it is wished to transform . moreover , on the basis of on the one hand the specific physicochemical properties of supercritical fluids and on the other the reducing conditions making it possible to preserve certain functions for the end products resulting from the transformation , as a function of the structures to be treated , it is possible to terminate with the decomposition , or the formation of valorizable compounds , as will be shown hereinafter . according to the invention and in general terms , supercritical media have been used in order to increase the in situ reactivity and according to a specific aspect of the present invention to better control the chemical reactions able to take place in the medium . according to the particular nature of the chemical structures which it is wished to transform , the performance of the process can be adapted . in a first variant of the process , the latter can involve the following stages : a ) formation of a reaction fluid incorporating the complex chemical structure or structures in solution or suspension in the solvent , and at least one additive having a reducing character , e . g . if the reaction mechanism provided do not lead to an adequate reducing character under the use conditions , b ) bringing into the supercritical condition to bring about the chemical transformation and in the case where either the solvent , or one of the complex chemical structures which it is wished to transform , have a reducing character under supercritical conditions , a specific reducing additive is not indispensable during the formation of the reaction fluid . stage a ) is then merely the formation of a reaction fluid incorporating at least the complex chemical structure or structures in solution or suspension in the solvent , the solvent and / or at least one of the chemical structures of the reaction fluid having a reducing character under the supercritical temperature and pressure conditions of the solvent . this is the case with an example referred to hereinafter , wherein treatment takes place of deinking sludge of newspapers containing inks having a reducing character under supercritical conditions . the addition of an additive ( e . g . sodium hydridoborate ) can aid the transformation , but is not indispensable . it is also possible that none of the chemical structures or the solvent initially present in the reaction medium have a reducing character , but that at least one of them decomposes into a new chemical structure , which is reducing under supercritical conditions . stage a ) of the process then involves the formation of a reaction fluid incorporating the complex chemical structure or structures to be treated in solution or suspension in the solvent , with at least one of the complex chemical structures or the solvent transforming under supercritical conditions into a compound having a reducing nature . this is e . g . the case for the treatment of casein , which is transformed into light hydrocarbons and carbon . the supercritical conditioning essentially consists of increasing the pressure and temperature of the reaction medium to values exceeding the critical pressure and critical temperature of the solvent . moreover , the reaction fluid generally has 1 to 20 wt . % of complex chemical structures to be transformed . according to a special aspect of the invention , the reducing transformation can be described in terms of hydrogen equivalents necessary for obtaining the targeted end products during the same . in this case , it is possible to determine as a function of the sought end products a hydrogen equivalent chemical supply ( h . e . c . s .) necessary for the transformation and the composition of the reaction medium is modified in order to have in said medium a hydrogen equivalent chemical supply equal to or greater than the h . e . c . s . resulting from the composition of the reagents ( complex chemical structures , solvent ), optionally by means of an additive . through adjusting the h . e . c . s . it is not possible to orient the transformation towards particular end products such as e . g . ch 4 or c 2 h 6 , but also inhibits the possible corrosion of treatment equipment and devices under supercritical conditions by adjusting the h . e . c . s . to a value just above the h . e . c . s . required for obtaining the sought products . on returning to ambient pressure and temperature conditions , the products obtained from the transformation are separated using known processes such as sedimentation , distillation or a membrane method . according to a preferred and particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention , the inventors have shown that the supercritical range of the reaction fluid or medium could be divided into at least three large ranges or zones , which will be subsequently called range a , range b and range c . in the supercritical range of the reaction fluid or medium , range a is a range in which there are low temperatures and high pressures , i . e . the pressure is in excess of the critical pressure of the reaction fluid or medium and is the most suitable for the solubilization of complex chemical structures and / or products in the system or complex mixture or reaction fluid or medium , whilst the temperature is the lowest possible temperature ensuring that one is in the supercritical range of the complex mixture or system or reaction fluid or medium . in this range , the fluid has a density close to that of the liquid phase . thus , the solubility of the complex chemical structures is greatly facilitated in this range . in the supercritical range of the reaction fluid or medium , range b is a high temperature range , i . e . the temperature exceeds the critical temperature of the reaction medium and is the most suitable for the decomposition of products and / or complex chemical structures in the reaction fluid or medium , whilst the pressure is the lowest pressure ensuring that one is in the supercritical range of the complex mixture or system or the reaction fluid or medium . in this range , the fluid has a much lower density . the solubility of the complex chemical structures is reduced , but conversely the decomposition and / or dilution reactions are much greater . in the supercritical range of the reaction fluid or medium , range c is an intermediate range , where the temperatures and pressures are intermediate or complimentary of those defined for ranges a and b . thus , in this range there is both a solubilization of complex structures and a decomposition of said structures and an optimization can take place there between thermal decomposition and solubility . according to the invention , in this preferred embodiment it is possible to control the complex chemical transformation through one or more of these different ranges in order to obtain perfectly targeted , sought end products . thus , it is possible to carry out the treatment of the reaction medium containing at least one complex chemical structure in a single range or successively in two , three or more of these ranges , the order in which each of the ranges a , b and c . is traversed possibly being different . however , according to the invention , it is essential that throughout the process one remains within the supercritical range of the complex mixture or system or reaction fluid or medium . in other words , according to the invention , one is constantly in a monophase range , which is exclusively a supercritical range , unlike in the prior art as is e . g . defined by u . s . pat . no . 5 , 118 , 447 , where one is certainly in a monophase range , but not excluding the liquid state . thus , unlike in the present invention , particularly in this preferred embodiment , ep - a - 157 339 involves a hydrogenation by molecular hydrogen and is specifically limited to purification plant sludge , which is restrictive with respect to the aforementioned aims . the use of molecular hydrogen and the absence of an appropriate choice of pressure and temperature conditions in the supercritical range for favouring the reaction necessitate in said document the use of catalysts for the hydrogenation stage . the uncontrolled introduction of molecular hydrogen can displace the monophase equilibrium of the supercritical medium into two phases , i . e . liquid and gas . however , the present process controls the pressure and temperature conditions in a range , or in accordance with a cycle , in the exclusively supercritical range of the reaction medium or fluid , which favours the targeted chemical reactions . everything takes place in order to use all the hydrogen in atomic form available in the reaction fluid . if necessary , a supply takes place by means of hydrogen additives for which the binding energy between the hydrogen and the atom to which it is bonded is lower than the binding energy between the hydrogen atoms in molecular hydrogen . this addition can be controlled by h . c . e . s . under these conditions , there is no need to use catalysts . in the same way , the aforementioned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 118 , 147 describes a process where the aim is to be in a very restricted pressure and temperature range close to the limits of the supercritical range and it is even possible to leave the effluent to be treated in the liquid state , i . e . in a subcritical range . however , the process according to the invention imposes remaining in the supercritical range of the reaction fluid and permits a wide movement within this range . the nature of the chemical reactions which can take place within the fluid , i . e . the complex mixture or system in the supercritical state will consequently depend : on the one hand on the parameters p and t , which condition the aptitude for the initial complex chemical structure or its components to solubilize and the energy necessary for inducing the reaction or reactions , on the other hand characteristic parameters of the chemical conditions of the medium , namely essentially the h . e . s . c . value able to control the reduction stage , the ph - value , etc . the control of these various parameters , on the one hand parameters p and t and on the other the chemical parameters , makes it possible to orient at random the chemical reactions occurring as a function of the valorizable products which it is wished to obtain . this flexibility and control of the process make it possible to master the formation of the products obtained is not disclosed or suggested by the prior art documents and constitutes one of the surprising advantages and effects obtained by the process of the invention in this preferred embodiment . for example , if the process takes place solely in the above - defined range a , provided that the starting effluent or medium and the chemical complex structures therein allow it , compounds such as longchain hydrocarbons are preferably obtained . when only placed in range b or a reaction cycle starting in range a takes place , then continuing in range b , products such as short - chain hydrocarbons will be obtained . it is also possible to perform a cycle of reactions starting by the maximum solubilizing of the reagents in range a ( thus creating long chains ), followed by a displacement towards range b in order to progressively favour , on passing through range c , chain breaks induced by the temperature . according to this preferred embodiment of the invention and through control via the various ranges , there is a residence time in the supercritical range of the reaction medium much shorter than in the prior art and generally equal to or below 10 minutes ( e . g . between 1 and 5 minutes ) and can even be one or a few seconds or less ( 1 / 10 or 1 / 100 second ). therefore , in the process according to the invention there are fewer or virtually no more or less uncontrollable intermediate reactions leading to end products which are not desired . according to the invention , the chemistry of the process is perfectly controlled by the parameters indicated hereinbefore and more particularly by the temperature and pressure making it possible to adjust and optimize the reaction rate . thus , according to the invention there is an increase in the kinetics of the reaction by acting solely on the temperature and pressure without it being necessary to add a catalyst , which is obligatory in the prior art . on also acting on the h . e . c . s ., e . g . by increasing it by adding a hydride such as nabh 4 , it is possible to effect a supplementary orientation of the chemical reactions and direct them towards the production of specific products . thus , in the cases referred to hereinbefore , it is possible to obtain saturated as opposed to unsaturated long or short - chain products . other features and advantages of the invention can be gathered from the following non - limitative embodiments . fig1 is a diagram illustrating in diagrammatic manner a performance of a chemical transformation process according to the invention . fig2 is a graph representing on the ordinate the gas quantity ( exprssed in arbitrary units ) produced during a chemical transformation according to the invention , as a function of the time starting from the placing under supercritical conditions of the reaction medium . fig1 shows both the main stages of the process and their chronological order . a double arrow 1 designates the constitution of a reaction medium appropriate for the optimization of the reduction or transformation of at least one complex chemical structure . as designated by 2 , this is followed by the mixing and conditioning of the reaction medium corresponding to the supercritical state of the solvent used . the double arrow 3 designates the chemical transformation in supercritical conditions with at least one reduction reaction and the double arrow 4 designates the recovery , analysis and separation of the products of the transformation . a reactor 10 is respectively supplied by lines 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 with one or more complex chemical structures 20 , a solvent 22 and optionally one or more additives 24 . the chemical structure or structures to be transformed can be dissolved or suspended in the solvent in reactor 10 , which corresponds to lines 12 and 14 . it is also possible for the chemical structures to already be suspended or dissolved in a liquid phase constituting the solvent , which corresponds to line 12 and optionally 16 when the term solvent is broadened to complex chemical structure . for example , when it is wished to treat deinking sludge , the latter incorporates cellulose and inks in suspension in water . thus , the cellulose and inks are the complex chemical structures to be transformed and water is the solvent , whose quantity can be controlled . the chemical structure - solvent mixture is in this case formed prior to its introduction into the reactor ( line 14 ). on leaving the reactor 10 , references 28 and 30 designate the recovery and analysis of the transformation products . the recovered products are then separated into valorizable products 32 ( solid , liquid or gaseous ), i . e . which can be recycled and stored , and also non - valorizable products 34 . finally , the double arrow 5 indicates the control range of the process . in order to orient the transformation towards the targeted end products and for optimizing the desired reactions , it is possible to adjust the composition of the initial mixture . the control of the composition 36 is performed as a function of the analysis 38 of the products from the transformation . arrows 40 , 42 , 43 designate an initial adjustment of the composition of the reaction fluid , i . e . the chemical structure - solvent - reducing additive ( optionally ) mixture . in the case of a hydrogenation , the adjustment of the reaction fluid composition takes place with a view to having an adequate h . e . c . s . a control consists of checking the ph and / or h . e . c . s . of the reaction fluid . this control carries the references 46 and 48 . it should be noted that the adjustment of the ph and / or the h . e . c . s . in 46 and 48 can essentially take place by acting on the additive supply of the reactor 10 , but can also relate to the supply of chemical structures or solvent . in particular , one or more additives respectively controlling the reducing character , ph or h . e . c . s . can be dosed or metered . for example , during the transformation of a complex structure of formula c x h y o z m i and if the sought main end product from the reduction is ch 4 the h . e . c . s . can be defined as the hydrogen equivalent chemical supply for transforming all the carbon into ch 4 under the conditions of the experiment and taking account of the hydrogen equivalents already present in the initial complex structure . this h . e . c . s . can e . g . be defined in milligrams of reducing additive per gram of starting material . if it is imagined that the complex structure c x h y o z m i of mass 12x + y + 16z + z i ( z = mass of element m ) is diluted in 10 liters of solvent ( dissolving or suspending ), the h . e . c . s . can also be defined relative to the volume , i . e . per liter of solvent . thus , in order to transform 12x grams of carbon , it is necessary to have 4x grams of hydrogen , but y hydrogen equivalents already exist within the complex structure , so that the necessary h . e . c . s . is ( 4x - y ) grams or ( 4x - y ). 10 3 mg , i . e . ( 4x - y ) 10 2 mg / liter . the reducing additive quantity to be supplied will depend on its aptitude , e . g . to release hydrogens ( or hydrogen equivalents ) per gram . it is then introduced through the control . in the case where the reducing agent contains no hydrogen , it is necessary to take into account its aptitutde to trap oxygen in such a way as to maintain the ratio . ## equ1 ## moreover , one of the complex structures , or one of the products resulting from the decomposition of one of them can serve as a catalyst for obtaining targeted end products . the influence of different parameters governing the transformation can be gathered from the following examples . the following table i refers to a first experimental performance example of the invention , in which approximately 30 to 125 ml of reaction fluid with a ph of 7 containing in suspension 3 to 5 wt . % of sludge obtained from a deinking cell used for treating magazines ( coloured inks ) are treated under various conditions of pressure ( 30 & lt ; p & lt ; 90 mpa ) and temperature ( 500 & lt ; t & lt ; 600 ° c .) within a tight 150 cm 3 reaction enclosure . the reaction fluid quantity introduced into the enclosure then makes it possible to control , for a given temperature , the final pressure in accordance with its thermal expansion value . table i gives the evolution of the solubilization conditions of sludge as a function of the treatment parameters ( pressure p and temperature t ). the duration of the treatment ( duration of the period where p and t have constant values ) is 5 minutes . it should be noted that the solubility increases when the pressure decreases . the gas quantity produced is too low to be collected and analyzed no matter what the ph value ( acid , neutral or basic ). in a second experimental example , use is made of 30 ml of a reaction fluid with a ph of 7 containing in suspension approximately 3 to 5 wt . % of deinking sludge identical to that treated in example 1 . addition takes place of 5 ml of ethanol which , in the supercritical range , can induce a reducing character . after treatment under the optimum conditions resulting from example 1 ( 600 ° c ., 40 mpa , ph 7 , 5 min ), no longer is any solid residue observed . however , a certain number of gases are revealed , which essentially comprise methane ( ch 4 ). in a third experimental example , 55 ml of a reaction fluid containing in suspension very black sludge obtained from deinking cells for old newspapers , i . e . with a traditional ink highly charged in carbon materials ) are placed in an approximately 150 ml reaction enclosure . the pressure and temperature parameters are adjusted as a function of the relationship between the liquid phase volume introduced and that of the reaction enclosure . more particularly when the temperature is close to 600 ° c ., the pressure is approximately 60 mpa . the duration of the treatment is modified from 3 to 30 and then 60 minutes . from the initial ph value of 7 , the ph of the solution passes to 8 after transformation . a largely similar gas volume is collected after reaction in the three cases ( 3 , 30 and 60 min , at 600 ° c ., 600 bar , i . e . 60 mpa ). gas chromatographic analysis shows that the gas formed in mainly methane ( ch 4 ). thus , as a function of the nature of the ink used for printing , without adding a reducing additive , it is possible to obtain a gas energy source . the treatment can be optimized by adjusting the pressure and temperature conditions , but the duration of the treatment does not have a determinative effect . in a very similar manner , a fourth experimental example shows the influence on the results of the ph of the reaction medium prior to treatment . in this connection , the following table iii summarizes the results of a test where , as in the third example , 55 ml of a reaction fluid containing in suspended form very black sludge obtained from deinking cells for old newspapers are placed in a reaction enclosure with a volume close to 150 ml . the corresponding dry matter quantity with respect to the liquid phase is approximately 3 to 5 %. the temperature is kept constant ( 600 ° c . ), as is the duration of the treatment , which is 3 minutes . several experiments are performed at variable pressure ( from 60 to 100 mpa ) and for various ph values ( 4 , 7 , 13 ) without adding a reducing additive . a study of the following tables iii and iv shows that low ph values do not facilitate the reduction of the effluent into ch 4 . however , a pressure increase for the same ph value increases ch 4 formation . consequently it can be advantageous to adjust the ph of the reaction medium to a substantially neutral value ( ph ≈ 7 ) prior to the treatment , e . g . by adding thereto either a basic additive such as soda , or an acid , such as e . g . hydrochloric acid . a fifth performance example for the invention relates to the treatment of an effluent such as a hydrocarbon . in this example , 30 to 125 ml of a liquid phase containing approximately 3 wt . % of drained car change oil suspended in water are introduced into an approximately 150 ml reaction enclosure . the temperature is maintained at approximately 600 ° c ., the pressure being modified as a function of the reaction fluid quantity introduced into the enclosure . table v defines the experimental conditions used , as well as the main results obtained . study of table v shows that the increase in the pressure tends to favour the decomposition of the oil , as well as gas formation . this is made particularly apparent by a comparison of experiments b 2 and b 6 . the addition of an additive ( lithium hydridoborate ) giving the reaction fluid a reducing character also makes it possible to reduce the pressure at which the treatment is performed , as shown by experiment b 7 . in experiment b 7 , a reducing additive such as libh 4 has been added in proportions of approximately 0 . 5 g for 50 ml of reaction fluid . the additive addition also leads to a virtually complete decomposition of the oil and to a greater gas production . fig2 is a graph obtained by chromatographic analysis and illustrates the influence of the reducing additive on the evolution of gas . curves b 6 and b 7 respectively correspond to the evolution of gases during experiments b 6 and b 7 . it would appear that the nature of the gases is substantially the same , mainly for the first peak due to ch 4 , but the quantity is greatly increased by adding a reducing agent . the optimization of the latter also makes it possible to control the nature and purity of the gas phase obtained as a function of the degree of reduction . it is thus possible to e . g . control the production of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons during the treatment . this example relates to metal hydroxide sludge and demonstrates that it is possible in this case to evaluate the function of various parameters ( pressure , temperature , duration ) on their transformation . the experimental results of this example appear in table vi , which shows that the range 600 ° c ., 600 bar ( 60 mpa ) lead to a significant sludge decomposition . the residual solid weight is low . the treatment time does not have a determinative function . it should also be noted that the aqueous phase resulting from the treatment is colourless . an analysis of the main constituents contained in this aqueous phase shows that it completely satisfies the standards controlling discharge into the environment . this example relates to grape pressing residues after fermentation and shows that it is possible to apply the process to such combined complex chemical structures . use is made of 19 g of this mixture in the presence of 50 cm 3 of water , followed by raising to a temperature of 600 ° c . and a pressure of 800 bar . after 5 minutes under these experimental conditions , the mixture is restored to normal conditions ( ambient pressure and temperature ). there is a formation of a gas phase containing various hydrocarbons , a liquid phase containing various chemical compounds , particularly terpene derivatives , and a solid phase constituted by pulverulent carbon and weighing approximately 1 g . to the mixture of complex chemical structures identical to that treated in example 7 is added 0 . 1 g of sodium hydridoborate for 19 g of starting matter and 50 cm 3 of water , which is treated for 5 minutes at 600 ° c . and 900 bar . after returning to normal conditions , there is an increase in the volume of the gas phase constituted by light hydrocarbons demonstrating the function of the hydrogen equivalent chemical supply . a liquid phase containing carbon in suspension is also extracted from the reactor . the carbon weight is approximately 1 g . 50 cm 3 of ethanol are introduced into a nickel - cobalt based alloy 150 cm 3 reactor . the reactor is raised to a temperature of 600 ° c ., with a pressure of approximately 800 bar . the duration of the treatment under these conditions is maintained at 1 minute , the reactor then being brought to normal conditions . after opening the reactor , the formation of light hydrocarbons resulting from the decomposition of the alcohol in part of the supercritical range is observed . 125 cm 3 of ethanol are introduced into the same reactor as in example 9 . the reactor is heated to 275 ° c ., the pressure being close to 550 bar . this treatment is maintained for approximately 2 minutes . after returning to normal conditions and opening the reactor , there is no gas phase and the liquid phase present is constituted by ethanol . this example relates to a combination of complex chemical structures of the casein type . use is made of 5 g of casein in the presence of 50 cm 3 of water . the mixture is then raised to 600 ° c . and the pressure reached is approximately 850 bar . after 10 minutes under these conditions , there is a return to normal conditions . on opening the reactor , there is a formation of a gas phase constituted by light hydrocarbons , a liquid phase containing various short - chain chemical compounds and very finely divided carbon in suspension . the final carbon weight is approximately 0 . 15 g . this example relates to a combination of complex chemical structures derived from milk and known as lactoserum . use is made of 50 cm 3 of lactoserum and 0 . 1 g of nahb 4 ( sodium hydridoborate ). it is raised to a temperature of 600 ° c ., the pressure reached being approximately 750 bar . after such a treatment lasting 15 minutes , there is a return to normal conditions . after opening the reactor , an inflammable gas phase constituted by light hydrocarbons is formed , as well as a liquid phase with a few carbon particles in suspension . the following examples 13 to 15 aim at testing with and without h . e . c . s ., the decomposition of starting products identical to those of ep - a - 157 339 in the aforementioned ranges a , b and c . in examples 13 to 15 , the reaction fluid is constituted by water at a ph of 7 with 1 wt . % biological sludge in suspension . this example is solely in range a . 13a -- one volume of 32 ml of reaction fluid is treated at a temperature of 400 ° c . and a pressure of 2000 bars ( 200 mpa ) for 10 minutes . after return to normal p and t conditions , it is found that the sludge has largely been decomposed , only leaving a few solid particles in suspension . no gas phase is produced . after separation and analysis , it is found that the liquid phase mainly contains hydrocarbons between c5 and c8 . 13b -- for a same volume of 32 ml , a treatment identical to that described in 13a is performed , but to the reaction fluid is added 0 . 6 g of sodium hydridoborate in order to increase the h . e . c . s . of the medium . for a temperature of 400 ° c . and a pressure of 1850 bars ( 185 mpa ), the treatment time is 10 min . on return to normal conditions , there is a better decomposition of the sludge than for example 13a . in particular , the quantity of solid particles has decreased compared with 13a . thus , the increase of h . e . c . s ., linked with the addition of nabh 4 , has made it possible to continue the chemical reactions in the supercritical phase . no gas phase was collected . after separation and analysis of the liquid phase , it is found to mainly contain hydrocarbons between c5 and c8 . 14a -- the treatment of 54 ml of the predetermined reaction fluid is performed under the following conditions : passage into range a ( p = 200 bars ( 200 mpa ) t = 400 ° c . for 10 min ), then the pressure is lowered and the temperature increased in order to obtain 500 bars ( 50 mpa ) and 600 ° c . ( range b ), the latter conditions being maintained for 10 min . on returning to normal conditions , there is a decomposition of the sludge , which is more complete than in examples 13a and 13b , which is particularly indicated by a clarification of the liquid phase and the presence of far fewer solid particles . a gas phase is also formed . the separation and analysis of these phases revealed the presence of hydrocarbons from c5 to c8 in solution and methane , ethylene , acetylene , ethane , propane and isobutane in the gas phase . the methane is in the majority ( approximately 56 %), the other constituents being ethane ( approximately 17 %), propane ( approximately 12 . 5 %) and unsaturated hydrocarbons of the ethylene or acetylene type in trace form ( approximately 0 . 8 %). 14b -- the addition of 0 . 6 g of nabh 4 to the reaction fluid leads , after treatment under the same conditions as in 14a to an even more complete decomposition of the sludge , which corresponds to a maximum decomposition obtained for the series of tests 13a , 13b , 14a , 14b ( clarification of the liquid phase and disappearance of the solid particles ). a larger gas volume is recovered than in example 14a . in example 14 , as in example 13 , the h . e . c . s . increase ( linked with the addition of nabh 4 ) made it possible to continue the chemical reactions . analyses of the various phases demonstrated the presence of c5 to c8 hydrocarbons in the liquid and methane , ethylene , acetylene , ethane , propane , butane and isobutane in the gas phase . methane is in the majority and its presence increases substantially ( 71 %) compared with 14a ( 56 %). there is also an increase in the ethane percentage ( approximately 20 %). it is pointed out that the larger gas quantity collected can be attributed to a desorption and a decomposition of hydrocarbons of the liquid phase ( c5 to c8 ) into lighter saturated molecules , said phenomenon being induced by the h . e . c . s . increase . after passing into range a , a volume of 32 ml of reaction medium with the addition of 0 . 6 g of nabh 4 is treated at a pressure of 1100 bars ( 110 mpa ) and a temperature of 600 ° c . for 10 minutes . after returning to normal conditions , there is a decomposition of the biological sludge relatively less complete than that observed in the preceding examples ( 13a , 13b , 14a , 14b ). no gas phase was collected . analysis of the liquid phase shows that it contains in solution c5 to c8 hydrocarbons . table i__________________________________________________________________________ treatment conditions residue time weight liquid ph afterref . ph t (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) ( g / l ) colour treatment gas__________________________________________________________________________a control7 -- -- -- -- light grey -- -- a filtered7 -- -- -- 4 . 121 chestnut -- -- a1 7 500 95 5 1 . 752 light yellow 7 - 8 tracesa2 7 500 40 5 0 . 613 grey - chestnut 7 - 8 tracesa4 7 500 72 5 1 . 593 yellow - chestnut 7 - 8 tracesa5 7 500 30 5 0 . 281 yellow - chestnut 7 - 8 tracesa8 7 600 60 5 traces very light 7 - 8 tracesa9 7 600 40 5 traces very light 7 - 8 tracesa12 7 600 90 5 traces very light - 8 tracesa14 5 600 40 5 zero very light 9 - 10 tracesa15 10 600 35 5 traces yellow 9 - 10 traces__________________________________________________________________________ table ii__________________________________________________________________________treatmentconditions residue time weight liquidref . t (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) ( g / l ) colour ph gas__________________________________________________________________________b -- -- -- 16 . 2 colourless 7 -- b - 4 - 3 - 3400 30 3 10 . 6 chestnut , 7 traces precipitationb - 4 - 3 - 30400 30 30 10 . 5 chestnut , 7 traces precipitationb - 6 - 6 - 3600 60 3 7 . 7 colourless 8 ch . sub . 4 pre - dominant and other alkanesb - 6 - 6 - 30600 60 30 7 . 4 colourless 8 ch . sub . 4 pre - dominant and other alkanesb - 6 - 6 - 60600 60 60 7 . 2 colourless 8 ch . sub . 4 pre - dominant and other alkanes__________________________________________________________________________ table iii__________________________________________________________________________experimentalconditions initial time final gas gasref . ph t (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) liquid appearance ph quantity analysis__________________________________________________________________________br 7 600 60 3 light + grey deposit 7 - 8 ++ ch . sub . 4br . sub . 1 4 600 60 3 dark + black deposit 6 - 7 0 - br . sub . 2 4 600 100 3 dark + black deposit 6 - 7 + ch . sub . 4br . sub . 10 13 600 50 3 light grey + grey deposit 8 + ch . sub . 4__________________________________________________________________________ the symbols -, +, ++, +++ respectiveiy designate an inadequate presence for analysis of a given product , a limited presence , an average presence and a strong presence of the product . table iv______________________________________ph timeinitialt (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) solution gas______________________________________3 - 4 600 60 3 everything solubilized none darker coloured solution3 - 4 600 100 3 than with 600 ° c ., 600 large bar , ph = 7 quantity ( ch . sub . 4 , . . . ) 47 600 100 3 dark solution with the very large presence of a whitish gas quantity deposit ( ch . sub . 4 , . . . ______________________________________ ) table v__________________________________________________________________________ treatment conditions pre - time sence ph afterref . ph t (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) of oil treatment gas__________________________________________________________________________b1 7 600 60 5 - 7 - 8 little (+) b2 7 600 45 5 +++ 7 - 8 too little (-) b6 7 600 110 - 70 5 + 7 - 8 (++) b7 7 600 50 5 + 9 - 10 (+++)(+ libh . sub . 4 ) __________________________________________________________________________ the symbols -, +, ++, +++ respectively designate an inadequate presence for analysis of a given product , a limited presence , an average presence and a strong presence of the product . table vi__________________________________________________________________________treatmentconditions residue time weight liquidref . t (° c .) p ( mpa ) ( min ) ( g / l ) colour ph gas__________________________________________________________________________a untreated -- -- -- 2 . 27 pale yellow 8 -- a - 4 - 4 - 3 400 40 3 2 . 03 colourless 8 tracesa - 4 - 3 - 30 400 30 30 2 . 01 colourless + 8 tracesa - 6 - 6 - 3 600 60 3 1 . 66 colourless ++ 9 predominance of nitrogen and oxygena - 6 - 6 - 30 600 60 30 1 . 62 colourless +++ 9 predominance of nitrogen and oxygen__________________________________________________________________________
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fig1 shows a bottom , plan view of an electrode according to the present invention . the electrode is provided with an insulative electrode pad 10 , corresponding to the electrode pad illustrated in the above - cited u . s . pat . no . 4 , 817 , 634 , issued to holleman et al . incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the pad 10 is a generally planar structure fabricated of silicone rubber , polyurethane or other flexible insulative biocompatible plastic . it is provided with a plurality of concentric , oval shaped grooves into which the braided carbon fiber electrodes are mounted . the periphery of the electrode pad 10 is provided with a dacron reinforcement mesh 12 , to assist in suturing the pad to the myocardium or to subcutaneous tissue , and to assist in preventing tearing of the pad . the dacron mesh , as illustrated , is limited to the external periphery of the electrode pad and does not extend into the area between the carbon fiber electrodes . the lead of fig1 is provided with four separate carbon fiber electrodes 14 , 16 , 18 and 20 . each of these electrodes takes the form of tubular braid of metallized carbon fibers , each laid in one of the oval shaped , concentric grooves in electrode pad 10 . each of the carbon fiber electrodes 14 , 16 , 18 and 20 is provided with an inner tubular core of silicone rubber , around which the tubular braid of carbon fibers is mounted . the carbon fibers are retained within the grooves in base pad 10 by means of medical adhesive , which bonds the tubular core within the carbon fiber braids to the pad 10 . each of the carbon fiber electrodes 14 , 16 , 18 and 20 exits the upper surface of the electrode pad at which point they are provided with tubular , insulative sheaths 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 , which cover the carbon fiber braids until they reach the proximal end of the lead . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 each of the electrodes 14 , 16 , 18 and 20 may be provided with its own electrical connector . alternatively , the carbon fiber electrodes may all be interconnected at the proximal end of the lead to a single connector or , may be interconnected by means of a manifold , weaving , conductive adhesive or other structure at the electrode pad . in particular , it is anticipated that by employing the weaving methods employed to fabricate bifurcated woven vascular grafts , a single large bore braid may be reduced to multiple , smaller bore carbon braids for producing a carbon fiber electrode . such an alternative structure is illustrated in fig5 below . fig2 is a diagram of an alternate embodiment of a lead employing the present invention . it too is provided with an electrode pad 110 which corresponds to pad 10 in fig1 . pad 110 is similarly provided with a dacron enforcement mesh 112 around its external periphery . in the electrode fig2 only one carbon fiber electrode 114 is provided , mounted to the grooves within pad 110 to provide a spiral shaped electrode . on exiting the electrode pad , electrode 114 is provided with a insulative sheath 112 which extends to the proximal end of the lead . fig3 illustrates yet another alternative embodiment of a lead employing the present invention . in this embodiment , the carbon fiber electrode 214 is mounted to an insulative core which has performed or molded to follow a sigmoidal path . the configuration illustrated corresponds to that illustrated in the allowed u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 604 , 686 , of smits et al ., filed oct . 26 , 1990 , and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . it is believed that this embodiment of the invention retains all of the advantages discussed in the smits application , associated with the sigmoidal configuration . in this case , only a single braided carbon fiber electrode 214 is provided , and it extends proximally within insulative sheath 222 , until the proximal end of the lead . assembly of the lead is accomplished by sliding the tubular carbon braid over the previously molded sigmoidal silicone rubber core , and subsequently molding the bridging member number 224 , suture pad 226 and the transition member 228 over the carbon electrode . the suture pad 226 , the bridging member 224 and the transition member 228 are all preferably fabricated of silicone rubber or other biocompatible , flexible insulative plastic and bond to the sinusoidal core through the interstices in the carbon braid . fig4 shows the basic structure of the carbon fiber electrode . a tubular braid 314 of metallized carbon fibers is shown extending from the distal end of an insulative sheath 324 . that portion of the tubular carbon braid which extends within the insulative sheath 324 forms the lead conductor . also illustrated is core 326 , located within the carbon fiber 314 .. this core may be tubular or solid and , in the case of electrodes as in fig3 may be provided with an internal wire or other reinforcement . the core may simply follow the path of the carbon fibers , as mounted to a base pad , as illustrated in fig1 and 2 or may itself impart a curved configuration to the carbon fiber electrode as illustrated in fig3 . the core may extend the length of the braid 314 or may be limited to that portion of the braid exposed to the exterior of sheath 322 . fig5 is an illustration of yet another embodiment of an electrode according to the present invention , in which the weaving techniques employed to produce bifurcated tubular structures in the context vascular grafts have been applied to the context of implantable defibrillation leads . as illustrated , a single , large diameter tubular carbon fiber braid 430 is split into two smaller segments and then split again to form four parallel tubular segments 414 , 416 , 418 and 420 . mounted within segments 414 , 416 , 418 and 420 are silicone rubber or other plastic core members . the tubular carbon fiber braid may be backfilled with silicone rubber in other areas , in order to prevent tissue ingrowth into the braid in the areas of the bifurcations . the large diameter braid 430 is covered with an insulative sheath 422 , extending to the proximal end of the lead , at which point an electrical connector is mounted to braid 430 . as illustrated , the carbon fiber electrode structure is mounted to a flexible , insulative backing member 410 , which may be provided with grooves corresponding to the desired configuration of the carbon fiber electrode . as in the embodiments illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the carbon fiber electrode may be retained within the grooves by means of silicone rubber medical adhesive . alternatively , the backing member 410 may be dispensed with , and the electrode used without a backing member , either subcutaneously or epicardially in a manner analogous to the electrode illustrated in fig3 . the carbon fibers employed to make the tubular braided structures illustrated in the present application are carbon fibers provided with a nickel coating of approximately 0 . 05 - 1 . 5 microns in thickness . this material is commercially available from chemetronics research , located in white plains , n . y ., which can weave the fibers into various textile configurations on request . the individual fibers are aggregated into bundles and the bundles thereafter are woven into a hollow , tubular braid having a inner diameter of approximately 1 - 5 mm . preferably , the fibers are provided with a coating of platinum , iridium , gold or other biocompatible low resistivity metal . the coating may be applied to individual fibers or to the fiber braid using sputtering techniques . alternatively , the nickel plated fibers may be provided with a gold overcoating using standard electrodeless deposition processes . the above embodiments illustrate a variety of leads which may be fabricated in accordance with the present invention . however , they are intended to be exemplary , rather than limiting with regards to the claims which follow
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embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a system , method , and / or apparatus for managing battery charge cycles in order to maximize the useful life of one or more batteries . the useful life of many types of batteries may be extended by minimizing the total charge on the battery over the life of the battery . the total charge may be minimized by delaying the initiation of the charge cycle so that it is completed immediately before the battery is used . the total charge in the battery over its life may also be reduced by charging the battery to less than its maximum capacity during a charge cycle . embodiments of the present invention may use both of these mechanisms and others to minimize the charge on the battery over the battery &# 39 ; s life . in one embodiment , the battery &# 39 ; s charge cycles are managed by a smart battery charger . the smart battery charger identifies a particular battery and associates the particular battery with a usage history . the usage history may be stored on the battery charger or in memory that is part of the battery . in another embodiment , the charge cycles are managed by a device utilizing the battery , such as a laptop computer , a cell phone , a pda , a power tool , a hand - held scanner , or other device . embodiments of the present invention may utilize one or more computer - storage media with computer - executable instructions or computer - readable data embodied thereon . computer - storage media include both volatile and nonvolatile media , removable and nonremovable media , and contemplate media readable by a database , a switch , and various other network devices . the computer - storage media is nontransitory . by way of example , and not limitation , computer - storage media comprise media implemented in any method or technology for storing information . examples of stored information include computer - useable instructions , data structures , program modules , and other data presentations . media examples include , but are not limited to , information - delivery media , ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile discs (“ dvd ”), holographic media or other optical disc storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage , and other magnetic storage devices . these technologies can store data momentarily , temporarily , or permanently . turning now to fig1 , a smart battery charger 100 suitable for managing charge cycles on a plurality of batteries in order to prolong the operation life of the batteries is shown , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the smart battery charger 100 includes a body 105 that houses the components of the battery charger 100 . the housing may be plastic , metal , aluminum , or other suitable material . the battery charger 100 includes charging port 110 and charging port 130 . the charging port 110 is shown with battery 112 , battery 114 , battery 116 , battery 118 , battery 120 , and battery 122 . the charging port 130 is shown with battery 132 , battery 134 , battery 136 , battery 138 , battery 140 , and battery 141 . as can be seen , each charging port holds six batteries . embodiments of the present invention are not limited to charging ports that hold six batteries . for example , an exemplary battery charger may include just a single charging port . the charging port 110 and the charging port 130 are sized and shaped to receive one or more batteries . though not shown in fig1 , each battery port includes a charging plug that couples with a charging port on the battery . the charging plug and the charging port couple to enable an electrical current to pass between the battery charger 100 and an individual battery placed in the charger . in one embodiment , charging port 110 and charging port 130 are sized to fit the battery plus the box in which a battery is packaged . each of the batteries in fig1 is shown outside of a box or casing in which a battery may typically be shipped . in the embodiment where the battery is charged while in a shipping package , the shipping package may have openings that allow access to the charging ports on the battery . the shipping package may also have an opening allowing a communications plug on the battery charger to couple with a communications port on the battery . the communications port allows a computer - storage media in the battery to be accessed by the battery charger when the battery and charger are coupled together . charging a battery in a packaging box may be useful to charge the battery immediately prior to shipment to a use point . thus , in this embodiment , the smart battery charger 100 would be used to charge batteries prior to their first use . the batteries could be left on a shelf within the shipping package uncharged until they are ready to be shipped , at which time they could be placed in the battery charger 100 and charged . the first charge cycle could then be recorded on memory within the battery and then the battery could be shipped to the customer . a battery charger at the point of use could utilize the initial usage and charging information to estimate the future life of the battery more accurately . the battery charger at the point of use may be a different battery charger than the one used prior to shipment . charging the battery for the first time as the battery is shipped and on an as - needed basis may benefit warranty programs offered to battery customers . for example , leaving a charged , or partially charged , battery on a shelf prior to shipment to a customer decreases the useful life of the battery . a vendor with inconsistent shelf time may be forced to offer a shorter warranty to avoid warranty claims . however , by starting the “ life ” of the battery at the time of shipment the predictability of the useful life the battery is increased and a longer warranty may be offered . a warranty could also be based on the total energy delivered by the battery , which is roughly the sum of the amount of energy put into the battery at each charge cycle . offering a warranty based on total energy delivery may not be possible unless the charge - cycle details are recorded . the total energy used may be recorded in the battery as each charge and use cycle is recorded . in addition to charging the battery while in a shipping box or outside of the device in which the battery is used , the battery charger may also couple with the device in which the battery is used . thus , the battery charger could include a cradle for receiving a device and coupling with the battery in the device for the purpose of charging the battery and exchanging information with the battery . in this case , the ports in the battery couple with plugs in the battery charger via the device in which the battery is located . thus , the plugs in the battery and the ports in the battery charger may not be in direct contact with each other . as used throughout the present application , communicatively coupling occurs when a communication is passed from the charger to the battery or from the battery to the charger . multiple conduits and devices may carry the communication between the battery and the charger . the charger and battery do not need to be in direct contact even when a plug on the battery is described as coupling with a port on the battery charger or vice versa . similarly , a conductive couple occurs when an electrical current is able to pass between the battery and the charger . multiple conduits and devices may carry the current . the charger and battery do not need to be in direct contact for a conductive coupling to occur even when a plug on the battery is described as coupling with a socket on the battery charger or vice versa . in another embodiment , the battery charger connects to the device and the battery in the device through one or more cables . continuing now with fig1 , the body 105 of the battery charger 100 defines an opening 190 into which battery packaging may be stored . as can be seen , battery packaging 194 may be collapsed and placed into the opening . a door 192 may cover the opening 190 and secure the battery packaging within the body 105 . storing a battery packaging 194 within the battery charger facilitates recycling the battery at the end of the battery &# 39 ; s useful life by making a return package readily accessible to the user of the battery . the battery charger 100 includes a display 180 . the display 180 may display information related to one or more batteries within the battery charger 100 . for example , the display 180 may display the percent charged 182 for a particular battery , an identifier 184 for the particular battery , the current charge cycle 186 for the particular battery , and the remaining estimated life 188 of the particular battery . the remaining life may be determined by calculating how long it will take for the remaining usage cycles to be used if the present usage pattern for the battery continues into the future . the remaining usage cycles may be calculated by subtracting the total cycles on the battery to date from the expected lifetime charge cycles . the information for an individual battery may be accessed by pushing a button adjacent to a battery . for example , the information related to battery 112 may be accessed by pushing the button 142 . similarly , buttons 144 , 146 , 148 , 150 , 152 , 162 , 164 , 166 , 168 , 170 , and 172 may be pushed to access information related to the batteries adjacent to the respective buttons . the display 180 may be an lcd display , touch - screen display , or other suitable display type . other buttons ( not shown ) may allow the user to navigate menu options presented on the display 180 . turning now to fig2 , a line graph illustrating a usage history for a battery over the course of a five - day workweek is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention . the y axis 210 shows the charge percent on the battery . the x axis 220 shows the time and day . the solid line indicates smart charging on an as - needed basis in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the dash line indicates traditional charging which begins soon after the battery is placed in the battery charger . under the smart charging regime , on friday , from approximately 2 : 00 a . m . to 5 : 00 am , the battery is charged 230 from 40 to 100 % of capacity . at approximately 6 : 00 am to about 2 : 00 pm on friday , the battery is discharged 232 during use . as can be seen , the discharge cycle will be similar for both the traditional and smart charge cycles . as the battery ages , the discharge cycle may differ significantly for batteries charged under the traditional and smart charge cycles . under the traditional regime , charging 234 begins immediately upon the battery being placed in the battery charger at roughly 2 : 00 pm on friday . in contrast , under the smart charging , the charging 238 does not begin until about 2 : 00 am on monday . this allows the battery to remain at about 40 % charge capacity for an additional two days . the initiation of charging 238 begins with enough time to complete the charge cycle prior to the anticipated next usage at about 6 : 00 am on monday . the anticipated next usage may be determined based on previous usage cycles recorded for the battery . viewing the entire line graph 200 , it can be seen , for example , that the usage cycle typically begins at about 6 : 00 am on weekdays and concludes at 2 : 00 pm after an eight hour shift . embodiments of the present invention are not limited for use with batteries having a particular use / charge cycle . thus , the initiation of charging under a smart regime may begin with enough time to be completed before 6 : 00 am . in fig2 , the smart charge cycles are completed at 5 : 00 am , which is one hour before the battery &# 39 ; s anticipated usage . continuing with fig2 , once again at about 6 : 00 am , the battery begins to discharge 240 until it reaches 40 % capacity around noon on monday . again , under the traditional regime , the battery would initially begin charging 242 to full capacity at about 2 : 00 pm on monday . in contrast , by waiting until just before the battery would actually be used , charging 246 may begin at about 2 : 00 am on tuesday . this cycle essentially repeats each day on the remaining graph . from roughly 6 : 00 am until 2 : 00 pm on tuesday , the battery discharges 248 as it is used . under the traditional regime , the battery is charged 250 at roughly 2 : 00 pm . in contrast , under the smart regime the battery is charged 254 at roughly 2 : 00 am on wednesday . on wednesday , the battery discharges 256 during use . under the traditional regime , the battery is charged 258 at 2 : 00 pm on wednesday . under the smart regime the battery is charged 262 at 2 : 00 am the following day on thursday . the final use cycle occurs on thursday when the battery is discharged 264 . one final charge 266 under the traditional regime is shown . for the one - week period of time shown in fig2 , the battery charged under the traditional regime averages 91 % charged . in contrast , the battery charged under the smart regime averages 53 % charged . this difference may significantly extend the useful life of the battery . turning now to fig3 , an exemplary battery 300 for use in embodiments of the present invention is shown . the battery 300 includes a first charging port 302 and a second charging port 304 . the first and second charging ports 302 and 304 are sized and shaped to receive a charging plug from a battery charger . in one embodiment , the first and second charging ports 302 and 304 are simply exposed conductive contacts for contacting charging plugs on the battery charger . the first charging port 302 and the second charging port 304 are coupled to a wire or conduit that carries an electrical charge from the battery charger to the portion of the battery that holds the charge . in one embodiment , the battery 300 is a lithium ion battery . however , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to use with a particular type of battery . the battery 300 includes an identification 306 . in one embodiment , the identification 306 is a bar code . the bar code may be read by a scanner on the battery charger or other device to identify an individual battery and distinguish batteries from each other . in another embodiment , the identification 306 is an rfid tag that could similarly communicate a unique identification number to an appropriately equipped device or battery charger . identifying a particular battery is important for embodiments of the present invention to associate the batteries with a specific usage history , especially if the usage history is not stored on the battery . in one embodiment , the usage history for the battery 300 is stored on a computer - readable media 310 within the battery . the media 310 may be accessed by communications port 308 . communications port 308 is conductively coupled to the media 310 by a conduit 312 . the communications port 308 may interface with a plug on a battery charger or other device . in one embodiment , the media 310 also includes a unique identifier that is used by a battery charger or other device to identify a specific battery . turning now to fig4 , a method 400 of charging a battery is shown , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as described previously , the method may be used on any battery that benefits from having a lower charge on the battery over the life of the battery . the primary benefit is extending the useful life of the battery . extension of the useful life of the battery may be evidenced by enabling the battery to be charged for additional cycles . a charge cycle consists of discharging the charge on the battery and recharging the battery to either full or less than full capacity . extension of the useful life of the battery may also be evidenced by the battery holding a full charge for additional charge cycles or any other measure by which the battery remains valuable to the user for a longer period of time . at step 410 , a battery is received . in one embodiment , the battery is received by placing the battery into a charging port on a battery charger . in another embodiment , the battery may be received by a device that uses the battery . at step 420 , a usage history for the battery is retrieved . in one embodiment , the usage history is retrieved from computer - readable memory or storage located in the battery . in another embodiment , the usage history for the battery is stored on the battery charger or device utilizing the battery . when the usage history is stored in a location other than in the battery , the individual battery may be identified by a unique identifier , such as a bar code or rfid tag or other mechanism . the usage history includes the charge on the battery over time . thus , the characteristics of a discharge cycle or a charge cycle may be determined from the usage history on the battery . the characteristics of interest include the beginning and end time for the discharge cycle and the energy used during a charge cycle . in one embodiment , the usage history may indicate that the battery has never been charged before . at step 430 , an optimal time to initiate a charge cycle on the battery is determined from the usage history . the optimal time is a time when the battery is likely to be next used minus a period of time required to complete the charge cycle . as illustrated previously in fig2 , if the next use cycle is to begin at about 5 o &# 39 ; clock and the charge cycle takes an hour to complete , then the optimal time to initiate a charge cycle on the battery would be roughly 4 o &# 39 ; clock . in one embodiment , a time buffer may be used to ensure that the charge cycle is completed in time for the next use cycle to begin . the buffer is illustrated by about a two - hour time period in fig2 . embodiments of the present invention are not limited to including a buffer . in one embodiment , the usage history is evaluated by a machine - learning algorithm that determines the optimal time . at step 440 , the optimal charge on the battery is determined from the usage history for the battery . the optimal charge is a minimum charge plus an amount of energy historically used during a single use cycle . for example , if 50 % of the battery &# 39 ; s capacity is typically used during a single - use cycle and the minimum charge is 20 %, then the optimal charge on the battery would be 70 %. charging the battery to the optimal charge reduces the total charge on the battery over the life of the battery . in one embodiment , an additional buffer is added to the minimum charge and the amount of energy historically used during a single cycle to calculate the optimal charge . at step 450 , a charge cycle is initiated at the optimal time , and the battery is charged during the charge cycle to the optimal charge . at step 460 , an updated usage history is generated based on the recent charging of the battery . at step 470 , the updated usage history is uploaded to a computer - readable media on the battery . in this case , the previously retrieved usage history would have been retrieved from the same computer - readable media on the battery . as stated previously , embodiments of the present invention are not limited to storing the battery usage data on the battery . the updated usage history may be stored on the battery charger or use device with the other usage history . at step 480 , a request to display information related to the battery is received . in one embodiment , the request is received by pushing a button adjacent to the battery in a battery charger . in another embodiment , the request is received when a user makes the request through a user interface on the device in which the battery is used . at step 490 , the information associated with the battery is displayed . the information includes the usage history , charge cycles on the battery to date , anticipated charge cycles left over the life of the battery , and anticipated energy delivery remaining in the battery . the anticipated energy delivery remaining in the battery is the rated - energy - delivery capacity of the battery minus the total energy delivered by the battery . the total energy delivered by the battery may be calculated by totaling the energy delivered in each charge cycle . the energy delivered during each charge cycle may be recorded on the battery memory or in memory in the battery charger . the rated - energy - delivery capacity may also be stored on the battery memory by a manufacture , vendor , or the battery charger . in one embodiment , if the usage history indicates that the battery has never been charged , a first charge amount is retrieved from memory in the device using the battery or a battery charger charging a battery for the first time . a usage history is then created and stored where appropriate based on the setup . turning now to fig5 , a method 500 of scheduling charge cycles for a battery in order to minimize an average charge on the battery over the life of the battery is shown , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . method 500 may be used to manage one or a plurality of batteries . at step 510 , an indication that a battery is coupled to the battery charger is received . this indication may be generated when a sensor in the battery charger detects the insertion of a battery . in one embodiment , the coupling of a charging port or a communications port in the battery with a charging plug or communications plug in the battery charger may serve as the indication that a battery has been coupled to the battery charger . though described as a plug in a port , the plugs and ports may simply be contacts suitable for communicating a current between the battery and the battery charger . the port does not need to have a socket into which the plug fits . in another embodiment , a plug is on the battery and a port is in the battery charger . further , the communications between the battery memory and the battery charger may be wireless . in addition , the charge to the battery could be delivered inductively without use of either a plug or socket in either the battery or the battery charger . at step 520 , a usage history for the battery is retrieved . as described previously , the usage history may be retrieved from memory in the battery charger or from memory located in the battery . at step 530 , the usage history is used to determine an optimal time to initiate a charge cycle in the battery . the optimal time is a time when the battery is likely to be next used minus a period of time required to complete the charge cycle for the battery . at step 540 , the charge cycle for the battery is initiated at the optimal time . as described previously , the charge cycle may include charging the battery to an optimal charge , which is determined based on the typical battery discharge during a use cycle . in one embodiment , the battery is just one of a plurality of batteries managed by the battery charger . the plurality of batteries managed by the battery charger may be interchangeable batteries . interchangeable batteries may be used interchangeably between similar devices compatible with the batteries . in one embodiment , when multiple batteries are managed by the battery charger , one of the plurality of interchangeable batteries is kept as a hot battery . the hot battery is fully charged and available for use outside of the typical or expected usage . in other words the hot battery is not charged based on an optimal time or charge but is fully charged as soon as it is placed in the battery charger . in another embodiment , at least one battery is kept fully charged , but an individual battery is not designated as a hot battery . in one embodiment , when a plurality of batteries are managed , the charge cycles between the batteries are managed to equalize the life of each battery within the plurality of batteries . the service life of a population of batteries is maximized by equalizing the wear on each battery over time . this may be done by indicating to users of the batteries which batteries should be used first or next . batteries with less overall usage should be recommended for next use . many different arrangements of the various components depicted , as well as components not shown , are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention . embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive . certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated to be within the scope of the claims .
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the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings . as shown in fig2 the continuous positive airway pressure ( cpap ) device 10 is connected to the proximal end of one lumen 2 of a double - lumen endotracheal tube 1 . normally , there is inserted in the end of the lumen a 15 millimeter connector over which a 22 millimeter connector fits . thus , a 22 millimeter diameter opening in the end of the cpap device to be connected to the single lumen of the double - lumen endotracheal tube would be appropriate . however , it is noted that the cpap device need not fit specifically over the 15 millimeter connector and could fit into a suction port of a double - lumen tube or into the bronchial port of the tube ( neither of which is shown ). a tapered cylindrical fitting 14 extends from the side of the cpap device and is attached to an oxygen tube 21 which , in turn , is connected to a source of oxygen 23 for delivering oxygen under pressure to the cpap device at a constant flow rate . a flow meter 22 for indicating the rate of oxygen flow is included in the oxygen tube 21 . as described with respect to fig1 one leg of the y - connector 6 is clamped by a clamp 7 for disconnecting the anesthesia circuit 4 from the lumen 2 which communicates with the non - ventilated upper lung 9 . the cpap device of my invention also includes a ventilating means v for continuously venting at least a portion of the oxygen supplied by the source 23 to the device 10 . according to the invention , the ventilating means can take different forms , as will be discussed in more detail below . an important feature of all the venting means of my invention is that there always exists an opening through which oxygen can escape , thereby avoiding a dangerous buildup of oxygen to a pressure which could cause overdistention of the non - ventilated lung 9 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , as shown in fig3 the cpap device includes a long hollow inner cylinder 11 which may be formed of a clear plastic , such as polyvinylchloride . further , a shorter outer cylinder 12 is rotatably disposed snugly over the proximate end 13 of the long inner cylinder 11 . likewise , the shorter outer cylinder 12 may also be formed of a clear plastic . the end 13 of the cpap device 10 is designed to fit onto the proximal end of one lumen of a double - lumen endotracheal tube as discussed above . the distal end of the long inner cylinder 11 is closed by a removable cap 15 . normally , the cap 15 seals the distal end of the cpap device 10 . the cap 15 may be removed in order to slide the end of an anesthesia bag 24 ( fig2 ) over the end of the device . the bag would then fill with oxygen under pressure and , if squeezed , would be used to inflate the lung to which the cpap device is attached . as noted above , the cpap device includes a tapered cylindrical fitting 14 which extends from the side of the long inner cylinder 11 . the oxygen tube 21 is then attached to the fitting 14 to couple the device to the source 23 of oxygen . both the inner and outer cylinders of the cpap device have elongated slots 16 and 17 , respectively , which are aligned longitudinally such that , when the inner and outer cylinders are rotated with respect to one another , the slots line up to allow the venting of varying degrees of oxygen under pressure . hence , by rotating the inner and outer cylinders with respect to each other , the vent opening becomes larger or smaller , depending upon the overlap of the slots 16 and 17 . with the vent opening v maximally closed off , the greatest amount of pressure is generated within the system . on the other hand , with the slots 16 and 17 lined up so as to form the largest opening , the least amount of pressure is generated within the system . as shown in fig4 a , the shorter outer cylinder 12 is rotatably disposed on the long inner cylinder 11 so as to be retained by friction in a position to which it is manually rotated . however , as shown in fig4 b and 4c , the long inner cylinder may be formed with a projection 19 formed on its outer circumference . the projection 19 is engageable with one of a plurality of corresponding notches 20 formed on the inner circumference of the short outer cylinder . in this manner , as the shorter outer cylinder 12 is rotated with respect to the long inner cylinder , and the vent opening becomes larger , one of the notches 20 will catch on the projection 19 at a predetermined cpap level ( e . g ., 5 , 7 . 5 , 10 cm h 2 o cpap ) as denoted by the element numeral 18 . the projection is not required since the short outer cylinder is rotatably disposed in a snug manner on the long inner cylinder . also , an annular rib 25 may be included to engage with a corresponding groove 26 to aid in retaining the short outer cylinder in place . fig5 - 7 illustrate additional embodiments in which alternative forms of the venting means v are employed . in a second embodiment , as shown in fig5 the cpap device 110 comprises a single hollow cylindrical member 111 . again , the cylinder is preferably formed of a plastic , such as polyvinylchloride . as with the previous embodiment , the proximal end 113 of the cylindrical member 111 is connected to a single lumen of a double - lumen endotracheal tube . a tapered cylindrical fitting 114 , for connection with an oxygen tube , and a removable cap 115 are likewise included . in this embodiment , the venting means v takes the form of an elongated slot 116 passing through the wall of the cylindrical member 111 and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof . a slidable plastic tab 112 is disposed in the slot 116 . the tab 112 has a gripping means 117 which may be grasped by the user of the device and pushed or pulled in the longitudinal direction so as to form a smaller or larger vent opening 116 . thus , oxygen under constant , non - varying low levels of positive airway pressure may be transmitted to the non - ventilated lung of a patient during thoracic surgery . predetermined cpap levels are indicated by index marks 118 formed on the outer surface of the cylindrical member 111 adjacent to the slot 116 . fig6 illustrates another embodiment of the cpap device . structural elements similar to those illustrated for the previous embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals but preceded by the numeral 2 . the cpap device 210 is identical to the embodiment shown in fig5 with the exception of the venting means v . in this instance , the venting means takes the form of a plurality of holes 216 of specific calibers ( e . g ., 5 , 7 . 5 , 10 cm h 2 o cpap ) and passing through a hollow cylindrical member 211 . the holes 216 are spaced apart and arranged in a straight line so as to extend longitudinally of the hollow cylindrical member 211 . further , a tab or strip of plastic 212 has a plurality of plastic buttons or pins 217 formed thereon to serve as closure means for the corresponding holes 216 . again , there is always at least one hole open to allow continuous venting of oxygen . in operation , as the tab 212 is pulled and additional holes 216 are opened up , less cpap is produced . in a still further embodiment , as shown in fig7 again the cpap device is identical to the embodiments of fig5 and 6 with the exception of the venting means v . again , identical structural elements as described in previous embodiments are designated with the same reference numerals but preceded by the numeral 3 . in this embodiment , the hollow cylindrical member 311 is again formed with a series of holes 316 of specific calibers . the holes 316 are spaced apart and extend in a straight line longitudinally of the hollow cylindrical member 311 . further , several pins or buttons 312 serve as closure members to individually close the holes 316 . again , there is always at least one hole 316 open to provide venting of oxygen . therefore , with the closing of each additional hole 316 with an individual button 312 , the cpap level in turn increases and vice versa . from the above , it is clear that the embodiments disclosed in fig3 and 5 produce infinitely varying levels of cpap , going from the highest to the lowest level , while the embodiments of fig6 and 7 produce a limited number of discrete levels of cpap . the cpap device according to my invention includes the following advantages : ( 1 ) it is a self - contained device which consists of a single piece of equipment . ( 2 ) it is small , lightweight , and easier to use than alternative , bulky , cumbersome systems . ( 4 ) it eliminates the need for a pressure gauge which is common in the previous &# 34 ; homemade &# 34 ; systems . ( 5 ) it will be easily available to practitioners since it will come packaged with each double - lumen endotracheal tube . ( 7 ) it is safer to use than the &# 34 ; homemade &# 34 ; systems . the alternative prior art systems employ a &# 34 ; pop - off &# 34 ; valve which can be fully closed , allowing a dangerous buildup of pressure within the cpap system and the lung to which it is attached . in my invention , there is always some degree of venting present and thus dangerous pressure levels cannot occur . ( 8 ) it is easier to use than the previously described systems since it has graduated settings to give a precise amount of cpap without the need to precisely adjust a pop - off valve knob while inspecting a pressure gauge . ( 9 ) an attachment for an anesethesia bag allows the option of transiently delivering a higher pressure than the system would ordinarily deliver . this results in opening up previously collapsed alveoli . the cpap then keeps the alveoli from collapsing . ( 11 ) its size and shape make it uniquely compatible for attachment to a single lumen of a double - lumen endotracheal tube . it is contemplated that numerous modifications may be made to the cpap device of my invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .
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fig1 depicts a heterostructure laser 100 . the active region 102 has blocking regions 104 adjacent thereto and extending laterally from opposite sides of active region 102 . blocking regions 104 may consist of a plurality of layers . the refractive index of the active region material differs from that of the blocking region material providing lateral optical confinement . the difference in refractive indices also provides the current blocking capability useful in limiting the laser drive current from leaking through the non - active region . in conventional heterostructure lasers the effective refractive index difference between the blocking region and the fundamental transverse mode of the active region is about 0 . 03 . this provides a single transverse mode for a 1480 nm pump laser with an active region stripe width of 2 . 4 μm . when the stripe width is increased an unwanted second transverse mode may arise . for example , when the stripe width is increased to 10 μm , the transverse electrical ( te ) mode with lowest loss is the te 06 . it is desirable to provide a laser structure having the fundamental mode , te 00 , with lowest loss for a stripe width of approximatelyl 10 μm . a 10 μm stripe width may be easily coupled to optical fibers having that width which are readily available . to achieve a single transverse mode with a stripe width of 10 μm , the blocking regions and active region may be comprised of like - materials . for example , ingaasp may be used both as blocking and active region materials . as used herein “ like - materials ” means materials comprised of the same elements but differing in the ratio of elements . reference to a particular material includes that material in a pure form or having impurities or dopants . the use of like - materials reduces the refractive index difference between the active and blocking regions such that the te 00 mode may spread over a larger width as compared , for example , to a heterojunction comprising conventional inp blocking regions and an ingaasp active region . advantageously , use of like - materials for the blocking regions also avoids significant lattice mismatch at the heterojunction of the active and blocking regions . lattice mismatch between materials making up the heterojunction may result in lattice defects . these defects may reduce radiative recombination efficiency thereby reducing the device life expectancy . thus , use of like - materials for the active and blocking regions may improve device quality and performance . to confirm the ability of the te 00 mode to spread over the larger width when the refractive index difference is decreased , simulations were performed for different block region compositions . fig2 a - c provide te modes with lowest loss for different blocking material refractive indices . the te modes depicted in fig2 a - 2c are produced by blocking materials having refractive indices of 3 . 160 , 3 . 180 , and 3 . 190 , respectively . as shown in fig2 b , the blocking material having a refractive index of 3 . 180 provides a fundamental transverse mode . this represents a refractive index difference between the active and blocking regions of 0 . 023 . in 0 . 95 ga 0 . 05 as 0 . 12 p 0 . 88 is an example of a material having this refractive index . the bandgap energy for the material is 1 . 267 ev with a corresponding wavelength of 0 . 979 μm . the bandgap energy is only 0 . 083 ev smaller than that of inp , and thus , should not degrade the blocking characteristics of the p - n junctions . single - mode rate equations were used to simulate light - current ( li ) characteristics of the larger stripe width obtained with the ingaasp material having a 3 . 180 refractive index . the li curve of a conventional high performance 1480 nm pump laser was modeled . for a waveguide width of 2 . 4 μm the simulated internal power loss is 12 . 5 cm − 1 and the confinement factor is 5 . 87 %. for a series resistance of 2 ohms , a spreading thermal impedance of 20 ° c ./ w , and a temperature dependent loss of 0 . 5 cm − 1 /° c ., the threshold current is 26 ma , the front facet power at 600 ma is 241 mw , and the roll - over current is 1200 ma , for a chip length of 1 mm . for a laser with the larger , 10 μm waveguide width a simulation was performed using an internal loss of 11 . 7 cm − 1 and a confinement factor of 6 . 18 %. because the series resistance and the spreading thermal impedance are inversely proportional to the waveguide width , it was determined that the larger waveguide series resistance was 0 . 48 ohms and the larger waveguide width spreading thermal impedance was 4 . 8 ° c ./ w . the calculated threshold current was 103 ma and the front facet power at 600 ma was 266 mw , and at 1600 ma the front facet power was 729 mw . fig3 shows the li curves 302 and 304 for the 2 . 4 μm waveguide width and the 10 μm waveguide width , respectively . a simulation was also produced for both horizontal ( x ) and vertical ( y ) far - field patterns of the 10 μm width waveguide laser . these patterns are depicted in fig4 a - b , respectively . the horizontal full - width - half - maximum ( fwhm ) far - field angle was 7 . 6 degrees and the vertical angle was 31 . 5 degrees . advantageously , this beam pattern is ideal for coupling to a cylindrical fiber lens and may provide a coupling efficiency of greater than 80 %. accordingly , a fiber coupled power of greater than 500 mw may be realized at 1500 ma . furthermore , the thermal power dissipation may be 1 . 74w at a laser driving current of 1500 ma , making it possible to package the device with a standard 14 pin butterfly enclosure . the simulations provided a basis for a design of the semiconductor pump laser having an active region material and a blocking region material wherein the refractive index difference between the two materials at the fundamental frequency is less than about 0 . 029 and wherein the laser has a single transverse mode . an exemplary refractive index difference range for the semiconductor laser is about 0 . 020 to 0 . 025 . it is desirable that the index of refraction of the active region material is greater than the refractive index of the blocking region material . in one embodiment of the invention the blocking region material is in 0 . 95 ga 0 . 05 as 0 . 12 p 0 . 88 . more generally the blocking material may , for example , comprise in 1 − x ga x as y p 1 − y wherein x is less than about 0 . 96 and y is less than about 0 . 90 . in another embodiment of the invention the active region material is gaas and the blocking region material is ingaasp . the composition of ingaasp may be chosen to obtain the desired refractive index difference between the active and blocking regions . the active region width of the laser may be greater than about 2 . 4 μm with exemplary ranges of about 3 . 0 μm to 15 μm , and about 8 . 5 μm to 10 . 5 μm . in a particular embodiment the laser has a refractive index difference between the active and blocking regions of about 0 . 020 to 0 . 025 and an active region width in the range of about 8 . 5 μm to 10 . 5 μm . embodiments of the invention provide a front facet power greater than or equal to about 500 mw with an illustrative range of 500 mw to 900 mw . a particular embodiment of the invention provides a laser with an active region having a width in the range of about 8 μm to 11 μm and having a front facet power in the fange of about 700 mw to 800 mw . the single mode transmission power of the laser is greater than about 300 mw , with an exemplary range of about 300 mw to about 550 mw . in one embodiment of the laser , blocking regions comprise a stack of at least one n - ingaasp , p - ingaasp pair , wherein an n - ingaasp layer is adjacent to a p - electrode and a p - ingaasp layer is adjacent to an n - electrode . the blocking regions may also be constructed with a semi - insulating layer . an illustrative example includes a semi - insulating layer between a p - inp layer and an n - inp layer . the refractive index differences described above may achieve confinement factors of greater than about 6 . 0 %, with an illustrative range of about 6 % to 7 %. embodiments of the invention may be applied to lasers of any wavelength but present technology will likely encourage use with lasers having wavelengths of 1480 nm and 980 nm for example . blocking capability generally increases as the blocking material bandgap energy increases . according to embodiments of the invention the blocking material may have , for example , a bandgap energy greater than 1 . 20 ev , with an illustrative range of about 1 . 20 ev to 1 . 40 ev . semiconductor laser 100 is fabricated by first providing substrate 106 which has an illustrative thickness in the range of about 50 μm to 150 μm with an exemplary thickness of 100 μm . active region 102 and blocking regions 104 are disposed on substrate 106 and have a refractive index difference of less than about 0 . 029 . in one embodiment of the invention the desired refractive index difference is achieved by forming the active and blocking regions of like - materials . active region 102 may have , for example , a thickness in the range of about 0 . 04 μm to 0 . 06 μm , and is disposed between blocking regions 104 . top layer 108 is disposed on blocking regions 104 and active region 102 , and may have , for example , a thickness in the range of about 2 μm to 4 μm with an illustrative thickness of about 3 μm . blocking regions 104 comprise a plurality of layers which may have thicknesses in a range of about 0 . 5 μm to 1 . 5 μm , with a demonstrative thickness of 1 . 0 μm . electrodes ( not shown ) are provided above top layer 108 and below substrate 106 and may have thicknesses in the range of about 3 . 5 μm to 4 . 5 μm . embodiments of the invention provide an active area having a high coupling efficiency to an optical fiber as compared to conventional lasers . for example , the coupling efficiency to a single mode fiber may be greater than about 75 %. embodiments of the invention are particularly applicable to fiber amplifiers , for example , erbium doped fiber amplifiers and raman fiber amplifiers . the laser of the present invention may be fabricated by any conventional method by which active and blocking regions may be formed wherein their refractive index difference at the fundamental frequency is less than about 0 . 029 . provided below as an example is a fabrication method for a mesa buried heterostructure distributed feedback laser which may be used to construct a laser according to embodiments of the present invention . a double heterostructure is grown over conventional first - order distributed feedback gratings that are etched into a substrate . the substrate may be , for example , inp . the double heterostructure may be grown by a variety of epitaxial techniques such as for example , liquid phase epitaxy , hybrid vapor phase epitaxy , and metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy . the double heterostructure may consist of a plurality of layers . an oxide layer , such as silicon dioxide for example , is deposited over the surface of the double heterostructure . stripes are photolithographically patterned in a direction perpendicular to the gratings . the silicon dioxide , or analogous layer , serves as both an etch mask during mesa etching and a growth mask during blocking layer growth which is performed using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy . mesas are chemically etched to the desired width , for example , 1 . 0 - 3 . 0 μm . the mesas that are formed are vertical walled for several microns below the surface , thus providing good correspondence between the mesa width and the active width . after etching , semi - insulating blocking layers are regrown around the mesas by selective metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy . after metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy blocking layer regrowth , the sio 2 is etched away in hf , and hybrid vapor phase epitaxy is used to provide additional thickness to the double heterostructure . the wafers are processed using conventional n - and p - contacts . the wafers are thinned and the laser chips cleaved and bonded to copper or ceramic sinks . asymmetric high reflectivity anti - reflection mirror coatings are applied to the facets by electron beam evaporation to stabilize the single - longitudinal mode . the anti - reflection coating consists of amorphous zirconia with 10 % yttria and the asymmetric high reflectivity coating is yttria which is overcoated with silicon . the exemplary embodiments having been described in detail , many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , structural variations or material modifications that provide or allow for refractive index differences of less than about 0 . 029 , and a single transverse mode with a power of greater than about 300 mw are within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the specific illustrative embodiments but be interpreted within the full spirit and scope of the appended claims .
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the inventive plastic closure device is denoted in its entirety by 1 and comprises a bottom part 2 onto which a screw cap 3 can be releasably fastened to form a seal . optionally , the screw cap 3 can be fastened to the bottom part 2 by a guarantee band 4 as protection against prior opening , so that an intact guarantee band 4 is a sign of a plastic closure device 1 which has never previously been opened . the bottom part 2 comprises a normally cylindrically shaped discharge outlet 22 , on the outer face of which is arranged an external thread 21 and which is delimited by a flange 20 . the screw cap 3 has an internal thread ( not represented ), which can be brought into operative connection with the external thread 21 , whereby the plastic closure device 1 can be closed in a liquid - tight manner . the bottom part 2 can also be provided with a hinged cap , or a piercing element disposed in the bottom part 2 . it is only important that the plastic closure device 1 should have a bottom part 2 with discharge outlet 22 and a peripheral flange 20 . with the flange 20 , the bottom part 2 can be fastened directly or indirectly to a plastic film 5 , as shown in detailed representation in fig3 , wherein the plastic film 5 constitutes a part of a tubular bag ( not represented ). depending on use , the tubular bag can be filled with different liquids , wherein the liquid can be extracted from the discharge outlet 22 from the tubular bag following the removal of the cap . the opening in the tubular bag which is necessary beneath the discharge outlet 22 can be produced either by a corresponding device to the abovementioned piercing element , for instance , or can be made directly in the plastic film 5 of the tubular bag . the bottom side 200 of the flange 20 , which is facing away from the cap 3 , for instance a screw cap 3 , has an energy - introducing arrangement in the form of a plurality of energy - introducing ribs 23 , which skirt the round flange 20 and project away from the bottom side 200 of the flange 20 . the energy - introducing ribs 23 are here preferably at least approximately parallel to one another and are arranged at such a distance from the inner diameter of the flange 20 or of the discharge outlet 22 that they lie outside the region of the cap 3 . a non - releasable connection of the bottom part 2 to the plastic film 5 of the tubular bag is effected by means of ultrasonic welding . after the bottom part 2 has been placed with the bottom side 200 of the flange 20 on the plastic film 5 , a sonotrode 6 , which is usually of rotationally symmetric configuration , is positioned on the flange top side 201 , which is facing away from the energy - introducing ribs 23 . the sonotrode 6 is advantageously configured as a rotary sonotrode 6 , which has a receiving space 60 into which the bottom part 2 , where necessary with mounted cap 3 , can be received , while the bearing edge 61 of the sonotrode 6 has direct contact with the flange top side 201 . the ultrasonic energy is introduced into the region of the joining zone z at least approximately perpendicularly to the flange top side 201 , wherein the vibrational direction s of the sonotrode 6 is realized , say , longitudinally roughly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bottom part 2 of the plastic closure device 1 . with an amplitude a , high - frequency mechanical vibrations , generated by a connected generator , are realized , which vibrations correspond to the working frequency of the sonotrode 6 . during the introduction of the mechanical ultrasonic vibrations , a static joining force f is applied at least approximately perpendicularly to the flange top side 201 during a welding time . the static joining force f points roughly in the vibrational direction s . the sonotrode 6 presses the bottom part 2 under the static joining force f against an anvil ( not represented ). as a result of the high - frequency ultrasonic vibration , the contact points between the plastic film 5 and the flange 20 is or are heated , whereby the integral connection between the bottom part 2 and the tubular bag or plastic film 5 ensues . the welded joint can be realized either directly between the flange bottom side 200 and the plastic film 5 of the tubular bag , or between the flange bottom side 200 and a plastic patch inside the tubular bag beneath the plastic film 5 of the tubular bag , wherein the ultrasonic vibration correspondingly introduces energy into the energy - introducing ribs 23 . after the actual welding operation also , the joining force f persists for a dwell time , wherein the flange 20 and the plastic film 5 cools under pressure . tests have shown that the plurality of energy - introducing ribs 23 should be arranged over a width b on the bottom side 200 , wherein the flange top side 201 , spanning the width b , should be fully covered during the welding operation by the bearing surface , here the edge 61 of the sonotrode 6 , in order to ensure an optimal energy input . the energy - introducing ribs 23 should be arranged approximately parallel at a distance apart b ′, wherein the energy - introducing ribs 23 and the flange bottom side 200 are distanced by a height h from the plastic film 5 . tests have shown that two or more , preferably three , energy - introducing ribs 23 over the width b lead to optimal liquid - tight welded joints . in comparison to methods according to the prior art , the static joining force f which is to be expended , and the overall expended power , was able to be reduced , wherein welded joints of equivalent quality are achievable . the height h is determined by the distance between the flange bottom side 200 and the elevation maximum of the energy - introducing ribs 23 , and thus by the plastic film 5 which is to be welded on . heights h of 0 . 2 to 0 . 4 mm were chosen . the energy - introducing ribs 23 , which in cross section are configured rounded into their end , have a radius r of 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 mm . the elevation maxima of the energy - introducing ribs 23 in the form of domes give rise , viewed in cross section , to roughly punctiform bearing surfaces against the plastic film 5 . the flanks of the energy - introducing ribs 23 enclose an angle α between 50 ° and 70 °, preferably of 60 °. the domes of the energy - introducing ribs 23 lie beneath the flange bottom side 200 on circular bearing lines or narrow bearing surfaces . the distance apart b ′ of adjacent energy - introducing ribs 23 of the energy - introducing arrangement is chosen between 1 mm and 1 . 5 mm , depending on the flange width b and width of the bearing edge 61 of the sonotrode 6 , so that , in the case of three parallel , and thus non - intersecting energy - introducing ribs 23 , the width b of the energy - introducing arrangement is about 2 . 5 to 2 . 7 mm . since thread flanks of the external thread 21 project partially over the flange top side 201 , the bearing edge 61 of the sonotrode 6 can usually be mounted onto the flange top side 201 such that it does not bear against the discharge outlet . it is important , however , that the edge 61 rests as flatly as possible on the flange top side 201 , lying opposite the energy - introducing arrangement on the flange bottom side 200 , wherein the ultrasonic energy can be optimally introduced by the sonotrode 6 into the flange 20 and the energy - introducing ribs 23 . in order to achieve a largest possible region of energy transfer to the flange 20 , the sonotrode 6 must be led as closely as possible past the thread flanks of the external thread 21 , so that a maximal contact surface on the flange top side 201 is covered . in series of tests which have compared the welding method according to the prior art , where only one energy - introducing rib is used , with the use of a plastic closure device 1 having a plurality of energy - introducing ribs , a significant reduction in the necessary static joining force f , and , above all , in the maximally necessary power , was able to be measured . here good results were manifested with the use of energy - introducing arrangements comprising two and three energy - introducing ribs 23 , wherein the best results were able to be achieved with three energy - introducing ribs 23 . the weld fastening of a bottom part of a plastic closure device according to the prior art is compared with a bottom part 2 with special energy - introducing arrangement comprising three energy - introducing ribs 23 on identical plastic films 5 each having a thickness of 5 mil , which corresponds to a thickness of ( 1 mil = 25 . 4 μm ) about 125 μm . the surface areas of the flange bottom sides 200 and flange top sides 201 of the known bottom part , as well as of the novel bottom part 2 , were identical , so that the results are comparable . in the case of more than three energy - introducing ribs , these must be reduced in thickness so as not to add further to the energy and power requirement . as a consequence , the volume of the material necessary for the welding would be too low , however , and the strength of the welded joint would be reduced . table 1 shows the direct comparison of the method parameters for fastening the known bottom part and the novel bottom part 2 respectively . in addition to a near halving of the necessary static joining force f and a reduction in the necessary inputted ultrasonic energy in combination with approximately equal amplitude a , the power to be expended for the entire ultrasonic welding operation was able to be significantly reduced . table 2 shows a comparison of the tensile force for the removal of a welded - on plastic closure devices according to the prior art and an inventive plastic closure device 1 or the bottom part 2 , with the use of three energy - introducing ribs 23 . the above - described bottom parts with identical surface areas of the flange bottom sides , after having been fastened on an identical plastic film 5 , were loaded after a while with the below - specified tensile forces under identical conditions . it can clearly be seen that the necessary tensile force or tensile force per unit of area for the detachment of the bottom parts , in the case of the bottom part 2 provided with the new energy - introducing arrangement , lies significantly above the comparison value of the traditional bottom part . as has been explained above , the present configuration of the bottom part 2 was able to bring about an improvement in the previously known welding methods , so that an energy - efficient , integral connection of bottom parts 2 of plastic closure devices 1 with plastic films 5 of tubular bags can be achieved , which connection additionally ensures a still stronger and more resistant connection between the bottom part 2 and the tubular bag . in order to enhance the welded joint , a situation in which the bottom side 200 , in the outer marginal region y of the flange 20 , comes into contact with the plastic film 5 during welding should be avoided . in order to prevent a part of the energy from being introduced into the plastic film 5 outside the desired joining zone z during the welding operation , the bearing of the bottom side in the marginal region y of the flange 20 is avoided by virtue of the fact that bottom side 200 is guided after the outer energy - introducing rib 23 in the direction of the flange top side 201 . this is illustrated in fig5 a . the strongly rounded marginal region y of the flange 20 is distinguished by the fact that the bottom side 200 merges into the flange top side 201 , wherein the distance of the bottom side 200 to the plastic film 5 corresponds to the height h of the energy - introducing rib 23 only directly at the outer energy - introducing rib 23 . as a result of the bottom side 200 in the marginal region y , said bottom side being curved away from the plastic film 5 , the welding energy remains limited to the joining zone z and thus no adhesion of the plastic film 5 occurs beneath the marginal region y of the flange 20 . as a result of this concentration of welding energy , the necessary energy can be additionally reduced . in fig5 b , a section through the flange 20 along the sectional line w - w according to fig2 is represented . here too , the bottom side 200 is curved after the outer , in this case second energy - introducing rib 23 strongly away from the plastic film 5 in the direction of the flange top side 201 , whereby the resulting marginal region y after the outer energy - introducing rib 23 is strongly curved and is distanced from the plastic film 5 . that surface area of the flange bottom side 200 which lies opposite the plastic film 5 is thus minimized , whereby almost no welding is performed in this marginal region y . the introduced energy is thus concentrated on the energy - introducing ribs 23 .
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fig1 is a schematic diagram of a lithium battery . the lithium battery has an anode 103 and a cathode 101 , and contains a stock of electrolyte . the anode material is made of a tin - based porous material of a general composition of sn — p — o having tiny pores , the inner surfaces or walls of the pores are laid with carbon or a carbonaceous material capable of electro - conductivity . for facilitating description herein , the tin - based porous material without the layer of carbon is termed tin based material , while the same material having a layer of carbon or carbonaceous material on the pore walls is termed an electrode composite material . the cathode is generally a material comprising lithium , such as lithuim cobalt oxide , lithium iron phosphate or some other electrochemically reversible lithium salts . the electrolyte is typically a mixture of organic carbonates such as ethylene carbonate as solvent and lithium hexfluorophosphate as solute . during battery discharge , positive lithium ion is extracted from the anode 103 and inserted into the cathode 101 with the simultaneous release of electron . if the cathode 101 is lithium cobalt oxide , the cathode 101 releases electrons as shown in the half - reaction : licoo 2 ⇄ li 1 - n coo 2 + n li + + ne − ( 1 ) therefore , cobalt ( co ) is oxidised from co 3 + to co 4 + during charging . the reverse occurs during discharging to reduce co 4 + to co 3 + . during battery charging , supply of electric current to the anode 103 converts lithium ion into lithium , which then ‘ alloys ’ into the tin - based anode 103 . conversely , the lithium ‘ dealloys ’ from the tin - based anode 103 during the discharging process . fig2 is an electron microscope picture of the tin - based material having a porous structure comprising tiny pores of different sizes . the tin in the tin - based material provides the electroactive element for attracting lithium insertion into the porous material , while phosphorus and oxygen forming part of the tin - based material has a function of spacing out and dispersing the tin . this also spaces out the attracted lithium ions . the dispersed tin provides spatial allowance for accommodating volume expansion of the anode during battery charging . therefore , the tiny pores provide a large surface area in the tin - based material for interacting with lithium ions . fig3 shows the surfaces or walls inside the pores 303 in the tin - based material 301 deposited with or coated with a carbonaceous material 305 such as a carbon layer to form an electrode composite material useable as battery anode . the carbonaceous layer 305 has better conductivity than tin - based material 301 and is able to attract lithium ions into the pore more strongly . treating the walls inside the pores 303 in this way provides the anode with both the structural benefits of tin - based material 301 for storing lithium and the electro - conductivity of the carbonaceous material 305 for attracting lithium ions . therefore , during lithium ion battery charging , lithium ions are attracted to migrate into the pores , and diffused through the layer of carbonaceous material 305 to contact the tin - based material , where the lithium ions are reduced and alloyed with tin in the tin - based material as a form of reversible lithium - tin alloy . accordingly , the anode is made of a porous material providing structural support for a more electro - conductive material laid on the surfaces or walls of the pores 303 . fig4 illustrates steps in a process to produce the anode material . accompanying fig5 a to 9 each illustrate a specific step in the process of fig4 . a solution of tin precursor 401 such as tin sulphate and a solution of phosphorous precursor 403 such as phosphorus acid are mixed to produce an intermediate tin - based material 301 a by precipitation . the reaction is generally not stoichiometric , as the intermediate tin - based material 301 a produced is not crystalline but has varying combinations of tin and phosphorous , oxide , hydroxide in an amorphous compound or mixture . various forms of tin may also form part of the intermediate tin - based material 301 a , including tin ( ii ) and tin ( iv ). fig5 a to 5 c show that the precipitation takes place in the presence of a surfactant 405 , the molecules of which immediately surrounding fine particles of the intermediate tin - based material 301 a as soon as the particles precipitate to form micelles 409 . in this way , the surfactant 405 provides a suspension of fine particles ; the micelles prevent particles of the tin - based material 301 from agglomerating into large , coarse particle clusters . a coagulant 410 is then introduced into the suspension with stirring . typically , the coagulant 410 is a long chain molecule having a relatively high molecular weight and which is attracted to the surfactant 405 . fig6 a and 6 b show how the coagulant 410 molecule wraps around the micelles 409 . fig4 and fig7 show how the high molecular weight of coagulant causes the mixture of coagulant , surfactant and particles of tin - based material to settle together in a mixture , as a solid deposit 413 . the solid deposit 413 is then recovered by filtration , washed with distilled water , and dried . washing remove unreacted phosphorous acid and any soluble salts . the dried solid deposit 413 is then subjected to heat treatment . the surfactant 405 is sufficiently volatile such that , when heated in a first heating stage , the surfactant 405 migrates through the dried solid deposit 413 , from within the solid deposit 413 towards the surface of the solid deposit 413 . the surfactant either has sufficient volatility inherently or the surfactant 405 comes attached with a methanal group such as formaldehyde which imparts volatility to the surfactant 405 . in this first heating stage , the temperature is typically & gt ;= 300 ° c . applied for & gt ;= 30 minutes in an atmosphere of air . in large scale production , time required for the surfactant 405 to be completely removed depends on specific conditions as the skilled man will know . during the heating , carbon substance on surface may be removed by oxidised as gases when exposed to oxygen in the air atmosphere . fig1 illustrates how the surfactant leaves 1101 the solid deposit 413 . as the surfactant 405 moves to the surface of the solid deposit 413 , the attraction between the anionic surfactant 405 and the cationic coagulant 410 moves the coagulant 410 along , towards the surface of the solid deposit 413 . fine particles of tin - based material 301 in the solid deposit 413 now left behind by the surfactant 405 are no longer enclosed in a micelle structure , and are then able to contact mutually and agglomerate into a somewhat unitary mass . nearer the surface of the solid deposit 413 , some of the fissures meet and merge to form larger fissures . eventually , the agglomerated solid deposit 413 has fissures resulting from the migration paths of the surfactant 405 and the coagulant 410 , which provide the pores in the tin - based material 801 . fig8 illustrates the so - produced porous tin - based material 801 . on reaching the surface of the solid deposit 413 , the surfactant 405 is either capable of evaporating into the surrounding atmosphere directly or is capable of breaking down into more volatile compounds or form gases in order to escape . if surfactant 405 should be oxidised into gases in order to be released , the atmosphere would be typically air . the coagulant 410 which moved together with the surfactant 405 towards the surface of the solid deposit 413 is not released into the atmosphere along with the relatively volatile surfactant 405 . this is due to the stronger binding force within the coagulant 410 . the pores 303 formed by the release of the surfactant 405 are therefore filled with the coagulant 410 . the porous tin - based material 801 is then placed in an atmosphere of inert gas , such as argon or nitrogen , and subjected to a second heating stage 1009 at a higher temperature . in practice , the heat may cause the coagulant 410 to move a little and be physically redistributed somewhat near the surface inside pores 303 without being vapourised away . the heat decomposes or carbonizes the coagulant 410 in situ to form a carbonaceous material 305 on the walls of the pores 303 , as illustrated in fig9 which corresponds to fig3 . carbonising the coagulant in situ , i . e . within the pores , allows for the walls of even tiny pores , fissure or cavities to be laid with a carbonaceous material 305 . the coagulant 410 can be any long chain molecule which is able to bind to the surfactant 405 surrounding the tin - based material 301 , and can decompose to form an electro - conductive layer on the walls of the pores . in this embodiment , the long chain molecule is preferably a carbon based molecule , such as a hydrocarbon polymer . the temperature for carbonization of the coagulant 410 is not a specific or constant temperature because the coagulant 410 comprises molecules of varying chain lengths , leading to a range of temperatures over which heating , melting and carbonation may occur . generally , the average temperature and duration , however , is preferably ≧ 500 ° c . for ≧ 2 hours . depending on the choice of surfactant 405 and coagulant 410 , the temperature causing the surfactant 405 to migrate and vaporise away in the first heating stage should preferably be insufficient to carbonise or decompose the coagulant 410 , in order for the different processes to be capable of being controlled separately . fig1 illustrates what happens to the mass of the dried solid deposit 413 in the two heating stages . the left - most bar 1003 shows the mass of the dried solid deposit 413 as 100 % before heat treatment . in the first heating stage 1005 shows thermal reaction 1005 resulting in a loss of mass 1005 , as show in the middle bar . the loss of mass implies that the surfactant 405 escapes from the solid deposit 801 . furthermore thermal reaction 1009 is observed at the subsequent treatment at a higher temperature of & gt ; 500 ° c . in an inert atmosphere . there is less loss of mass , as shown in the right - most bar 1011 , which implies that a large part of the mass of the coagulant 410 remains inside the porous tin - based material as a carbonaceous material on the pores 303 . fig2 shows the pores 303 in tin - based material 301 produced using the process may even achieve a desirable minimum pore size of & lt ; 1 μm . the coagulant is preferably cationic and the surfactant anionic in order to ensure sufficient attraction between the coagulant and surfactant , although it is possible that the surfactant may be cationic while the coagulant is anionic in reverse . the preferred surfactant 405 in this embodiment is an anion surfactant such as polymeric sulfonates with methanal group or polycarboxylare . an example of a corresponding coagulant is a cationic polymer such as polyamine , polyamide , polyether , polyethylamide , polyethylenimine or polyaziridine or any hydrocarbon or polymer which contains a group such as ethylene . the amount of coagulant 410 added to the mixture should , after carbonization , provide carbon content in the pores of the electrode composite material to between 5 to 20 wt % of the whole composite material . preferably , a thicker or denser layer of carbonaceous material 305 is formed in the deep end 307 of the pores 303 than at or about the mouths 308 of the pores 303 . more preferably , the amount or the thickness of the carbonaceous material 305 on the walls of the pores 303 gradually decreases from inside the pores 303 towards the mouth of the pores 303 . this is achieved by allowing a trace presence of oxygen in the generally inert atmosphere when carbonizing the coagulant 410 , which provides opportunistic oxidation of carbon only at the mouth of the pores 303 . the oxygen should be in trace but sufficient amount only to oxidise the easily - reached carbonaceous material 305 at , around or about the mouth of the pores 303 , but not carbonaceous material 305 inside the pores 303 . this localised oxidation of carbonaceous material generates a larger mouth at the carbon laid pores and may also generate more pores on the composite material by unclogging any pore mouth which are clogged with the carbonaceous material . having less carbonaceous material 305 at the mouth of the pore and more carbonaceous material 305 deep inside the pores creates a greater affinity for lithium inside the pores 303 . this provides and a sort of electrical gradient attracting lithium to move into and pack the deep end of the pores 303 , maximizing use of the porosity of the tin - based material 301 to interact with lithium ions . more preferably , only after it is deemed that the coagulant has completely carbonised in a completely inert atmosphere is the trace amount of oxygen introduced into the inert atmosphere . this prevents oxidation of the carbonaceous material 305 at the same time as the carbonaceous material 305 is forming in the pores 303 , and allows better control of the amount of oxidation of the carbon at the mouth of the pores 303 . fig1 illustrates a possible variation of the embodiment to that of fig3 , wherein a higher amount of surfactant used causes formation of a pulverised , or a more fractured or fragmented tin - based matrix . furthermore , a longer heating duration , higher trace oxygen content , and higher temperature range promote a pulverised form . fig1 illustrates a further possible variation of the embodiment of fig3 , wherein a prolonged second heating stage causes the atoms in tin - based matrix to realign and close up to contain smaller , narrower or fewer pores . as the skilled man would know , the product of the described embodiment is typically fine powder or granules , each particle being a tin - based material having pores laid with carbonaceous layer as described , which may be used for manufacture of electrodes in batteries . it should be noted that too much phosphorus in tin - based material 301 may present opportunity for lithium to bind to the phosphorus permanently , which reduces available electrolyte . preferably , the optimum range of phosphorus is & lt ; 30 wt %, and may be as low as 5 wt % in some embodiments , and the percentage of tin & gt ; 20 wt %, and is about 20 - 75 wt % in some embodiments . therefore , in a variation of the embodiment , it is possible to include a step in the process to reduce the tin in the tin - based material 301 so that any tin ( iv ) to tin ( ii ) or tin ( 0 ), such as , snp 2 o 7 to sn 2 p 2 o 7 or snp ; and or sno to sn2o to sn . for example , the carbonization of the coagulant 410 takes place in an atmosphere of reducing gas such as hydrogen or a hydrogen containing gas . having less oxide in the tin - based material 301 reduces the chance of lithium attaching to oxide permanently . care should be taken in this case to avoid introducing oxygen into a hydrogen atmosphere . thus , if a hydrogen atmosphere is used to reduce tin , the step of oxidation of the carbonaceous material around the mouth of the pores should be conducted as a separate step , either before or after . optionally , the tin based material is precipitated in a reducing medium to encourage formation of tin ( ii ) for higher tin to phosphorous ratio . exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described . although the description referred to particular embodiments , it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with variation of these specific details . hence this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . for example , the skilled man knows that the term ‘ pores ’ refers to any fissure , fault line or cavity formed deep in the body or at the surface of the electrode composite material suitable for the purpose of providing a structure for the alloying of lithium to the tin - based material in a lithium battery charging process , and for the formation of any amount and form of carbonaceous material 305 on the walls inside the pores . in some practices , the pores are be termed ‘ mesopores ’ and the composite structure is a meso - porous structure . furthermore , the skilled man understands that ‘ removing ’ the surfactant from the coagulated precipitate to form pores in the tin - based material may include vaporising the surfactant away , or any other method . although it is mentioned that the tin - based material comprises a generally sn — p — o matrix , the skilled man understands that various other elements may be part of the matrix in practice , such as an amount of carbon inside the matrix leading to a general formula of sn — p — o — c . furthermore , although the phosphorus precursor 403 is described as phosphorous acid , other forms of phosphorus may be used , such as soluble potassium phosphate salts and sodium phosphate salts , capable of ion exchange reaction with the selected tin salt . furthermore , the types of tin precursors 401 may include any solution of tin salts that has an anion replaceable with a phosphorus based ion or the phosphate in phosphorus acid , such as tin fluoride , tin chloride , tin sulphate , tin fluoride or tin nitrate . some tin salts have limited solubility under specific conditions and it is within the knowledge of the skilled man to attend to these in practice . the surfactant 405 may be any molecule that can form micelles with the tin - based material 301 to prevent agglomeration of the tin - based material 301 , has the ability to bind to the coagulant 410 , and to disperse the formation of pores 303 inside the tin - based material 301 as evenly and as isotropically as possible , and may be referred to in other embodiments as plasticizers , superplasticiziers , surfactants , poloxamers and so on . although it is mentioned that carbonaceous material 305 is formed on the wall inside the pores , the carbonaceous material 305 may be simply carbon or any short chain carbon material , as long as the material may be laid well on the pore wall and has better conductivity than the surface of the pore wall . in a variation of the embodiment , the first and second heating stages 1005 , 1009 may be combined as one heating stage to eliminate the surfactant 405 to form pores 303 and carbonised the coagulant 410 to form the carbonaceous later on the wall of the pore 305 at the same time . this will depend on the choice of the surfactant 405 and coagulant 410 . although it has been described that the surfactant 405 is removed by heating in an atmosphere of air , it is possible that some choices of the surfactant 405 may allow the surfactant 405 to be vapourised by heating in an atmosphere of nitrogen , such as by evaporation or breaking of the surfactant without need of any oxidation in air . although the surfactant and coagulant in the coagulated precipitate have been described as preferably decomposable over a different temperature ranges , there could be overlapping temperature regions in practice . therefore , some decomposition of coagulant may take place in the first heating stage and oxidised as gases when exposed to oxygen in air , thus released together with the evaporating surfactant , creating larger pores .
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the embodiment ( s ) described , and references in the specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ an example embodiment ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment ( s ) described may include a particular feature , structure , or characteristic , but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature , structure , or characteristic . moreover , such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . further , when a particular feature , structure , or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment , it is understood that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature , structure , or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described . fig1 depicts a lithographic apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention . the apparatus includes an illumination system ( illuminator ) il configured to condition a radiation beam b ( e . g . uv radiation or euv radiation ), a support structure ( e . g . a mask table ) mt constructed to support a patterning device ( e . g . a mask ) ma and connected to a first positioner pm configured to accurately position the patterning device in accordance with certain parameters , a substrate table ( e . g . a wafer table ) wt constructed to hold a substrate ( e . g . a resist coated wafer ) w and connected to a second positioner pw configured to accurately position the substrate in accordance with certain parameters , and a projection system ( e . g . a refractive projection lens system ) ps configured to project a pattern imparted to the radiation beam b by patterning device ma onto a target portion c ( e . g . including one or more dies ) of the substrate w . the illumination system may include various types of optical components , such as refractive , reflective , magnetic , electromagnetic , electrostatic , or other types of optical components , or any combination thereof , for directing , shaping , or controlling radiation . the support structure supports , i . e ., bears the weight of , the patterning device . it holds the patterning device in a manner that depends on the orientation of the patterning device , the design of the lithographic apparatus , and other conditions , such as for example whether or not the patterning device is held in a vacuum environment . the support structure can use mechanical , vacuum , electrostatic , or other clamping techniques to hold the patterning device . the support structure may be a frame or a table , for example , which may be fixed or movable as required . the support structure may ensure that the patterning device is at a desired position , for example with respect to the projection system . any use of the terms “ reticle ” or “ mask ” herein may be considered synonymous with the more general term “ patterning device .” the term “ patterning device ” used herein should be broadly interpreted as referring to any device that can be used to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross - section such as to create a pattern in a target portion of the substrate . it should be noted that the pattern imparted to the radiation beam may not exactly correspond to the desired pattern in the target portion of the substrate , for example if the pattern includes phase - shifting features or so called assist features . generally , the pattern imparted to the radiation beam will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion , such as an integrated circuit . the patterning device may be transmissive or reflective . examples of patterning devices include masks , programmable mirror arrays , and programmable lcd panels . masks are well known in lithography , and include mask types such as binary , alternating phase - shift , and attenuated phase - shift , as well as various hybrid mask types . an example of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of small mirrors , each of which can be individually tilted so as to reflect an incoming radiation beam in different directions . the tilted mirrors impart a pattern in a radiation beam which is reflected by the mirror matrix . the term “ projection system ” used herein should be broadly interpreted as encompassing any type of projection system , including refractive , reflective , catadioptric , magnetic , electromagnetic , and electrostatic optical systems , or any combination thereof , as appropriate for the exposure radiation being used , or for other factors such as the use of an immersion liquid or the use of a vacuum . any use of the term “ projection lens ” herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general term “ projection system .” as here depicted , the apparatus is of a transmissive type ( e . g . employing a transmissive mask ). alternatively , the apparatus may be of a reflective type ( e . g . employing a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above , or employing a reflective mask ). the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two ( dual stage ) or more substrate tables ( and / or two or more mask tables ). in such “ multiple stage ” machines the additional tables may be used in parallel , or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposure . the lithographic apparatus may also be of a type wherein at least a portion of the substrate may be covered by a liquid having a relatively high refractive index , e . g ., water , so as to fill a space between the projection system and the substrate . an immersion liquid may also be applied to other spaces in the lithographic apparatus , for example , between the mask and the projection system . immersion techniques are well known in the art for increasing the numerical aperture of projection systems . the term “ immersion ” as used herein does not mean that a structure , such as a substrate , must be submerged in liquid , but rather only means that liquid is located between the projection system and the substrate during exposure . referring to fig1 , the illuminator il receives a radiation beam from a radiation source so . the source and the lithographic apparatus may be separate entities , for example when the source is an excimer laser . in such cases , the source is not considered to form part of the lithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the source so to the illuminator il with the aid of a beam delivery system bd including , for example , suitable directing mirrors and / or a beam expander . in other cases the source may be an integral part of the lithographic apparatus , for example when the source is a mercury lamp . the source so and the illuminator il , together with the beam delivery system bd if required , may be referred to as a radiation system . the illuminator il may include an adjuster ad for adjusting the angular intensity distribution of the radiation beam . generally , at least the outer and / or inner radial extent ( commonly referred to as σ - outer and σ - inner , respectively ) of the intensity distribution in a pupil plane of the illuminator can be adjusted . in addition , the illuminator il may include various other components , such as an integrator in and a condenser co . the illuminator may be used to condition the radiation beam , to have a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross section . the radiation beam b is incident on the patterning device ( e . g ., mask ma ), which is held on the support structure ( e . g ., mask table mt ), and is patterned by the patterning device . having traversed the mask ma , the radiation beam b passes through the projection system ps , which focuses the beam onto a target portion c of the substrate w . with the aid of the second positioner pw and position sensor if ( e . g . an interferometric device , linear encoder , or capacitive sensor ), the substrate table wt can be moved accurately , e . g ., so as to position different target portions c in the path of the radiation beam b . similarly , the first positioner pm and another position sensor ( which is not explicitly depicted in fig1 ) can be used to accurately position the mask ma with respect to the path of the radiation beam b , e . g ., after mechanical retrieval from a mask library , or during a scan . in general , movement of the mask table mt may be realized with the aid of a long - stroke module ( coarse positioning ) and a short - stroke module ( fine positioning ), which form part of the first positioner pm . similarly , movement of the substrate table wt may be realized using a long - stroke module and a short - stroke module , which form part of the second positioner pw . in the case of a stepper ( as opposed to a scanner ) the mask table mt may be connected to a short - stroke actuator only , or may be fixed . mask ma and substrate w may be aligned using mask alignment marks rm 1 and rm 2 and substrate alignment marks p 1 and p 2 . although the substrate alignment marks as illustrated occupy dedicated target portions , they may be located in spaces between target portions ( these are known as scribe - lane alignment marks ). similarly , in situations in which more than one die is provided on the mask ma , the mask alignment marks may be located between the dies . the depicted apparatus could be used in at least one of the following modes : 1 . in step mode , the mask table mt and the substrate table wt are kept essentially stationary , while an entire pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion c at one time ( i . e ., a single static exposure ). the substrate table wt is then shifted in the x and / or y direction so that a different target portion c can be exposed . in step mode , the maximum size of the exposure field limits the size of the target portion c imaged in a single static exposure . 2 . in scan mode , the mask table mt and the substrate table wt are scanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion c ( i . e . a single dynamic exposure ). the velocity and direction of the substrate table wt relative to the mask table mt may be determined by the ( de -) magnification and image reversal characteristics of the projection system ps . in scan mode , the maximum size of the exposure field limits the width ( in the non - scanning direction ) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure , whereas the length of the scanning motion determines the height ( in the scanning direction ) of the target portion . 3 . in another mode , the mask table mt is kept essentially stationary holding a programmable patterning device , and the substrate table wt is moved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion c . in this mode , generally a pulsed radiation source is employed and the programmable patterning device is updated as required after each movement of the substrate table wt or in between successive radiation pulses during a scan . this mode of operation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizes programmable patterning device , such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above . combinations and / or variations on the above described modes of use or entirely different modes of use may also be employed . to control reticle alignment , the lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes a control system that is capable of controlling adjustments for each reticle alignment process . further , the lithographic apparatus includes an alignment sensor system which is arranged to measure information on the alignment of the reticle ( s ) as will be explained in more detail below . typically , the control system relates to a computer system ca including a processor pr for performing arithmetical operations , and a memory me . the processor pr is arranged to communicate with memory me . memory me may be any type of memory arranged to store instructions and data , such as a tape unit , a hard disk , read only memory ( rom ), non volatile random access memory ( nvram ), and random access memory ( ram ). the processor pr may be arranged to read and execute programming lines stored in memory me providing the processor pr with the functionality to perform reticle alignment and reticle alignment adjustments as will be described in more detail below . the processor pr may be specially provided to perform the described embodiment of the method , but may also be a central processor arranged to control the lithographic apparatus as a whole and now is provided with additional functionality to perform the described embodiment of the method . it should be understood that there may be provided additional computer system units , such as memory units , input devices , and read devices known to persons skilled in the art . moreover , one or more of them may be physically located remote from the processor pr , if required . the processor pr is shown as one box , however , it may include several processing units functioning in parallel or controlled by one main processor pr that may be located remote from one another , as is known to persons skilled in the art . although all connections in fig1 are shown as physical connections , one or more of these connections can be wireless . they are only intended to show that “ connected ” units are arranged to communicate with one another in some way . the computer system can be any signal processing system with any combination of analog , digital , or software technology arranged to perform the functions discussed here . before an exposure is done by the lithographic apparatus , several alignment procedures must be carried out , including a reticle alignment which has the purpose of aligning the reticle ma with the wafer stage wt . the basic reticle alignment procedure is described below . the reticle includes an image area im wherein the pattern that is to be transferred to the photoresist layer on the substrate would be projected . next to this image area , reticle marks ( or mask alignment marks ) rm 1 , rm 2 , rm 3 , and rm 4 are located . in this exemplary reticle layout the reticle marks are located adjacent to the corner regions of the image area , at a projected distance dy along the direction y from the center of the image area im . the image area im has a size ly along the direction y and a second size lx along the direction x . by means of an illumination beam , an aerial image of one or more of the reticle marks rm 1 , rm 2 , rm 3 , and rm 4 is projected on a respective image sensor arranged on the wafer stage wt as an alignment sensor . based on the image data collected from the one or more aerial images by the image sensor ( s ), positional parameters , i . e ., information on at least one of the position , rotation , and magnification of the reticle , are obtained . next , the information on magnification is used to adjust the projection system ps and the distance between the mask table mt that holds the reticle and the wafer stage wt to correct any deviation from the required position of the aerial image . it will be appreciated that the reticle alignment procedure may include more complex scenarios , but a detailed discussion of these scenarios is not relevant in view of the invention and is therefore omitted here . fig3 a - 3 e illustrate the effect of non - uniform reticle heating on overlay performance . fig3 a depicts an example of a measured field fingerprint at wafer level . the overlay accuracy is depicted by a grid of measurement points . an overlay error in each measurement point is indicated by an arrow . the size and direction of each arrow is a guide of the size and direction of the overlay error at the corresponding measurement point . fig3 b - 3 e depict examples of the overlay error distribution for various image size fields . for each image field the overlay error distribution oe is determined by plotting for each measurement point the overlay error as function of the radial distance . the radial distance is determined in relation to a center position of the respective image field . fig3 b depicts the overlay error distribution for an image field of 3 × 3 mm 2 for an exposure with dose of 204 mw / cm 2 and an exposure time of 313 s . fig3 c depicts the overlay error distribution for an image field of 5 × 5 mm 2 for an exposure with dose of 174 mw / cm 2 and an exposure time of 368 s . fig3 d depicts the overlay error distribution for an image field of 10 × 10 mm 2 for an exposure with dose of 126 mw / cm 2 and an exposure time of 506 s . fig3 e depicts the overlay error distribution for an image field of 20 × 20 mm 2 for an exposure with dose of 77 mw / cm 2 and an exposure time of 836 s . the dose of exposure as described here relates to a time averaged intensity at the reticle level . the exposure time as described here relates to the total time required for completion of the exposure of the image field . it is noted that in the above measurements the exposure time was taken longer than a heating time constant of the reticle to avoid non - saturation effects in the temperature distribution of the reticle . from fig3 b - 3 e , under the circumstances as given above , a non - linear relation between overlay error and radial distance exists indicative of a non - uniform heating of the reticle during exposure . the overlay error due to non - uniform heating of the reticle can be reduced by a correction method during reticle alignment which is explained here in more detail . first , in case of uniform reticle heating , the reticle has expanded in a substantially uniform manner . the expansion is , to a large extent , proportional to the temperature of the reticle . as a result , for a uniform expansion of the reticle , the correction method compensates the expansion by a change of the magnification settings of the projection system ps . since the expansion is uniform , the relative increase in the distance between the reticle marks rm 1 , rm 2 , rm 3 , and rm 4 ( say , xr ) will be proportional to the expansion of the image area of the reticle . a correction of the magnification cm , at a given time t , will thus be proportional to a measured expansion in xr . the expansion of the reticle can be derived from the reticle mark aerial image positions as measured by the image sensor ( s ) of the wafer stage wt . in case of non - uniform heating , the above mentioned correction by means of the measured expansion of the reticle mark ( s ) according to equation 1 , will typically underestimate the actual expansion of the reticle , since the region of the reticle where the reticle marks are located may have a lower temperature than the region of the image area , which is heated by the illumination beam during exposure . also , non - uniform heating is a dynamic effect , due to the fact that a stationary state ( or a saturation ) of the temperature distribution will be reached only after a finite time . in the correction method , the measured reticle expansion xr will be compensated for the predicted effect of heating induced expansion et ( t ) of the reticle as a function of time t , and applying the result as an estimated magnification correction cm ′ as a function of time t , i . e . as a function of exposure time t . this method is illustrated by equation 2 . the value of the weighting factor k may depend on the position of the reticle marks and the size of the illuminated image area ( which will be explained in more detail with reference to equation 6 ). cm ′( t )= k · xr ( t )+( 1 − k )· et ( t ) [ eq . 2 ] elaborating the above , the model predicted expansion in saturation of illuminated reticle regions es is directly related to the time averaged intensity at reticle level ir by a fixed proportionality constant c : where the time averaged intensity at reticle level ir , is given by : where n is a number of exposed fields per wafer , d is an exposure dose , m is a demagnification factor of the projection system , lt is a transmission of the projection system for the illumination beam , and te is the total time used to expose n fields . now , the predicted reticle expansion et of the illuminated reticle regions , at any given time t , can be calculated from equation 3 , by including the temporal effect of saturation by a time correction factor : finally , the estimated magnification correction cm ′( t ) follows from an optimal combination of the measured reticle expansion xr ( t ) and the model predicted value et ( t ), as illustrated by equation 2 . a suitable choice for the value of the weighting factor k therein , is affected by the position of the reticle marks and the size of the illuminated image area ( with reference to fig2 ): where ly is the length of the reticle in direction y and dy is the projected distance in direction y between the center of the reticle and the position of each respective reticle mark rm 1 , rm 2 , rm 3 , and rm 4 . thus , the weighting factor k is a factor determined by the layout of the reticle , i . e ., the size of the reticle and the location of the reticle mark with respect to the location of illuminated image area . based on equation 5 , an estimate for the reticle expansion e ( t ) at a given time t during exposure can be calculated for each of the measurements as shown in fig3 b - 3 e . the results are shown in table 1 . also , in table 1 , the results of the reticle expansion e0 as measured substantially at the center of the image area and the expansion xr of the reticle mark are included . the expansion xr measured at the reticle mark is smaller than the measured expansion e0 at the center of the reticle . at the same time , the calculated estimate e ( t ) for uniform heating is clearly much larger than the measured expansion e0 at the center of the reticle . both observations indicate that the expansion of the reticle is non - uniform and localized substantially in the ( exposed ) image area of the reticle . it is recognized that the measured expansion e0 at the center of the reticle can be estimated by the estimated magnification correction cm ′ as defined by equation 2 . from table 1 , it can be observed that cm ′ provides a better approximation ( with relatively smaller error ) than either xr or e ( t ). thus , during a sequence of exposures , an estimate for the actual expansion of the image area of the reticle can be obtained by measuring the expansion of the reticle mark in between exposures using the relation between cm ′ and xr according to equation 2 . it is noted that correction of the reticle expansion by a correction estimate cm ′ is not limited to a linear relation between expansion xr measured at the reticle mark and predicted reticle expansion et as defined by equation 2 . it will be appreciated that alternatively cm ′ may be determined from either a weighted non - linear relation or a weighted polynomial relation with xr and et . fig4 depicts a correction method 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the correction method 400 seeks to compensate the effect of non - uniform reticle heating by means of a software feed - forward model . the model output is the temporal and spatial displacement of the reticle marks , which are computed using a temporal and spatial correction by a weighted average of the expansion xr measured at the reticle mark and a predicted temporal reticle expansion et . the input parameters which may be readily available from the control software of the lithographic apparatus , are the exposure energy ir , reticle transmission lt , exposure field size lx in direction x and ly in direction y , and the time constant for heating τ . further input to the model is the actual time that exposure is taking place . the interaction of the model output of the temporal and spatial displacement of the reticle marks with the reticle alignment measurement is illustrated in fig4 . in block 402 , the reticle alignment is measured in a manner known in the art . the processor pr determines information on positional parameters of one or more of the alignment marks rm 1 , rm 2 , rm 3 , and rm 4 by means of the image sensor as illustrated in fig2 . the positional parameters relate to at least one of position , orientation , and magnification of the aerial image of the measured reticle mark . in block 404 , the processor pr determines information on temporal and spatial displacement of the reticle marks according to the model described above using input parameters as described above . next , in block 406 the processor pr uses the information on temporal and spatial displacement of the reticle marks from block 404 , for correcting the measured reticle information from block 402 . the corrected reticle information is then used for determining an alignment of the reticle with the substrate table . as an output 408 the processor provides corrected reticle alignment data based on the estimated magnification correction cm ′ for use in an alignment procedure of the substrate and the reticle . such alignment procedure is carried out by the processor pr in a manner known in the art by controlling a position of the mask table mt and / or a position of the substrate table wt relative to each other . it is noted that the correction model 400 may operate in conjunction with a lens ( projection system ) heating model which provides a correction for a thermally induced lens magnification effect . during exposure the projection system is heated , in which the heating of the lens results in a change of the lens magnification ( relative to a magnification value at a reference temperature ). in case lens heating is corrected , the correction model includes a block 405 , in which the processor derives information on the change of magnification due to heating of the lens . the temperature - and / or time - based change of magnification is entered into block 406 , in which the processor applies the information on the lens magnification as a further parameter for correcting the obtained information on the positional parameters of the projected aerial image . although specific reference may be made in this text to the use of lithographic apparatus in the manufacture of ics , it should be understood that the lithographic apparatus described herein may have other applications , such as the manufacture of integrated optical systems , guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories , flat - panel displays , liquid - crystal displays ( lcds ), thin film magnetic heads , etc . the skilled artisan will appreciate that , in the context of such alternative applications , any use of the terms “ wafer ” or “ die ” herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general terms “ substrate ” or “ target portion ”, respectively . the substrate referred to herein may be processed , before or after exposure , in for example a track ( a tool that typically applies a layer of resist to a substrate and develops the exposed resist ), a metrology tool and / or an inspection tool . where applicable , the disclosure herein may be applied to such and other substrate processing tools . further , the substrate may be processed more than once , for example in order to create a multi - layer ic , so that the term substrate used herein may also refer to a substrate that already contains multiple processed layers . although specific reference may have been made above to the use of embodiments of the invention in the context of optical lithography , it will be appreciated that the invention may be used in other applications , for example imprint lithography , and where the context allows , is not limited to optical lithography . in imprint lithography , a topography in a patterning device defines the pattern created on a substrate . the topography of the patterning device may be pressed into a layer of resist supplied to the substrate whereupon the resist is cured by applying electromagnetic radiation , heat , pressure , or a combination thereof . the patterning device is moved out of the resist leaving a pattern in it after the resist is cured . the terms “ radiation ” and “ beam ” used herein encompass all types of electromagnetic radiation , including ultraviolet ( uv ) radiation ( e . g . having a wavelength of or about 365 , 355 , 248 , 193 , 157 , or 126 nm ) and extreme ultra - violet ( euv ) radiation ( e . g . having a wavelength in the range of 5 - 20 nm ), as well as particle beams , such as ion beams or electron beams . the term “ lens ”, where the context allows , may refer to any one or combination of various types of optical components , including refractive , reflective , magnetic , electromagnetic , and electrostatic optical components . while specific embodiments of the invention have been described above , it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described . for example , the invention may take the form of a computer program containing one or more sequences of machine - readable instructions describing a method as disclosed above , or a data storage medium ( e . g . semiconductor memory , magnetic or optical disk ) having such a computer program stored therein . the descriptions above are intended to be illustrative , not limiting . thus , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below . it is to be appreciated that the detailed description section , and not the summary and abstract sections , is intended to be used to interpret the claims . the summary and abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary embodiments of the present invention as contemplated by the inventor ( s ), and thus , are not intended to limit the present invention and the appended claims in any way . embodiments of the present invention have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof . the boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description . alternate boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying knowledge within the skill of the art , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments , without undue experimentation , without departing from the general concept of the present invention . therefore , such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments , based on the teaching and guidance presented herein . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation , such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance . 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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the concept is based on use of a regular 2 - 4 ″ pipe in carbon steel as carrier pipe and conduit for hydrate inhibitor 31 . this pipe also provides mechanical protection , stress relief and corrosion protection for all the internal components . all small bore tubing such as conduits for supply of chemicals 32 , conduits for hydraulic power fluid ( control system ) and electrical conductors 33 are accommodated inside the outer carrier 31 . the concept is illustrated in fig3 where the carrier pipe 31 ( hydrate inhibitor conduit ) contains a conduit for low capacity supply of chemicals , e . g . scale inhibitor or wax inhibitor , and an electrical cable 33 , e . g . a quad , metal clad . additionally there is provided a wire or a fibre rope 34 as well as a clamp / strap or other form of bundling mechanism 35 . the reason for this design is that the carrier pipe may be constructed from low cost carbon steel and protected against sea water based corrosion by means of coating and anodes , typically from zinc or aluminium as per standard sub sea design . the carrier and small bore tubes require no protection against common hydrate preventing chemicals , which are typically methanol or glycol . neither of the chemicals are good electrical insulators nor function as electrolytes thus facilitating corrosion . in such a medium a mixture of different metals may be pursued without risk of corrosion thus facilitating selection of material for each small bore tube according to service condition . control lines , for instance , are subject to extreme cleanliness requirements , this has often resulted in selection of 22 % cr or 25 % cr alloys for such service . it may happen occasionally that there is a requirement for bleeding back live hydrocarbons from the flow line through the hydrate inhibitor line , such that the inner surface of the carrier 31 is exposed to corrosive well fluids . such occurrences are rare and mostly of short duration and does not involve corrosion of any significance . many operators do not include this facility at all . a key feature in this methodology is the choice of electric conductors 33 and shielding against hydrate inhibitors , especially methanol . it is known that methanol acts aggressively on some isolators . it is therefore a requirement on control cables that all materials are compatible with methanol . the production of electric cable terminator penetrations in order to keep methanol away from other electrical parts is also problematic . according to the present invention , the electric conductors 33 , preferably arranged as quads , are laid down in welded diffusion resistant pipes with welded connections at both ends . this entails that the methanol only encounters extruded , rolled or welded metal surfaces along the entire length of the service pipeline , including the termination . such metal clad cables 33 are common in oil wells . they are in particular used for down - hole instrumentation and are designed for durable use in wells encountering high temperatures up to 150 ° c ., and are commonly available . typical voltages are 2 - 3 kv , i . e . voltages above the normal choice for control systems in sub - sea wells . in the design practice followed in the north sea , where the multiphase transport usually is protected against hydrates in the steady state by means of isolation and the maintenance of high temperatures through the entire transport distance , the diameter of the service pipeline only varies marginally for large or small fields , since only one well is injected with hydrate inhibitors at the time ( other oil fields may have may have other requirements and needs for methanol ). however , the dimensions of all the other pipes and electric conductors are dependent of the number of wells , e . g . the flow capacity requirement for a small number of wells is smaller than for a field with many wells being served by the same control cable . small fields only require pipes with small cross - sections as compared to the length of the control cable . since these pipes and electric conductors occupy space in the external pipeline for hydrate inhibitors and contribute to the reduction of the flow capacity , the arrangement according to the present invention will be especially suited for smaller fields . a larger number of larger pipes placed in the external pipeline will lead to a disproportionately large diameter of the external pipeline , driving up the price of this pipe even if the applied material is comparatively cheap . a pipe - based design with the same pipe specifications as for all other small pipes is usually applied for a control cable , in order to maintain symmetry in design and of mechanic forces . this often results in the guiding of low - dose chemicals , such as deposit and wax inhibitors , through over - sized and thereby unnecessarily expensive pipes ( the dimension usually is decided by the largest user , most often the low pressure supply to the control system ). for high - pressure fields , the requirements for a relatively large wall thickness of the external pipe increases , in addition to the increased requirements for the small , internal pipes for withstanding larger collapsing pressures . however , the requirement for the internal pressure capacity will increase correspondingly for all internal pipes ( this also applies for the control system described in this specification . note that for a traditional supply system with a separate pipes for control of the xmt - actuators , also known as the 207 bar system , the requirements for internal pressure will not increase . the system described here does not utilize a separate 207 bar pipe ). therefore , it may be concluded , as also may be shown by simple calculations , that the positioning of small pipes in the hydrate inhibitor does not increase the requirements for their wall thickness . the internal pressure is the deciding factor . small pipes usually have a higher capacity for external pressures than for internal pressures . it is only the number and the cross - sections of the internal pipelines that drive up the dimension of the external pipeline in regard to a conventional concept as shown in fig1 and 2 . the most important consideration in regard to a practical implementation of a control cable of this kind is the fabrication of the pipeline . two methods may be used : 1 . pulling the center element trough an already welded external pipeline , or 1 . pulling the center element trough an already welded external pipeline several kinds of pipes suited as an external pipeline according to the present invention are offered on the marked . industrial pipes , suited for a large number of umbilical operations and high degrees of deformation without becoming oval , are offered for umbilical applications . such pipes are suitable for external pipeline applications . 12 meter long pipes , typically seamless pipes , are also delivered for butt welding from most of the larger steelworks . for pulling the center element 36 through the external pipe one can envisage a pipe section of limited length being rolled out on a flat surface , i . e . on shallow waters from a barge or from a vehicle on land , e . g . a shut down railway or airport , such that the pipe 31 rests perfectly straight and level . it will then be possible to pull a center element trough an external pipeline length 31 . typically , the external pipeline 31 is filled with inhibited water , while the internal pipelines 32 , 33 are filled with air in order to reduce frictional forces . the pulling wire 34 may be shot hydraulically through the external pipeline 31 with the aid of a plug , while the external pipeline 31 is filled with for example inhibited water . when the central element 36 is pulled though the external pipeline 31 , a production length is completed . the assembly of the external pipeline 31 and the central element 36 can be stored in a straight configuration or coiled on a carousel or reel . the internal friction in the coiled state will prevent large displacements of the central element 36 with respect to the external pipeline 31 . finally , the cable sections are joined together and the entire cable is coiled up on a carousel or reel for later unrolling to an installation carousel or reel on a laying vessel , alternatively the entire cable is coiled up directly on an installation reel , whereupon the latter is transferred to a laying vessel . it is also possible to guide the bundle of internal pipes 32 , 33 through a vertically positioned external pipeline 31 , e . g . on a barge . in this case , the pulling wire 34 probably may be omitted entirely . the joining of small pipes and metal clad , electric conductors is a standard practice in the industry . in an alternate embodiment , it would be advantageous to fabricate an external pipeline 31 around the central element 36 . this will cut down the number of operation steps , but will also require substantial capital investment for suitable equipment for the production of suitable pipes and their welding . the welding of pipes is known per se and will not be further elaborated . the described concept implies a risk for tensioning the central element 36 when the external pipeline is reeled , as it is impossible to control that the that all the smaller pipes are centered in the middle , even if the purpose of the shown radial spacers is to center the smaller pipelines . this may be solved by giving the central element 36 , i . e . the small pipes 32 and electric conductors 33 , an undulating — or spiral configuration in the lengthwise direction as compared to the middle point of the external pipeline 31 . thereby the pipelines 32 , 33 may be both compressed and tensioned without imposing unnecessary stress and strain . a horizontally oriented pulling operation will automatically result in some slack of the internal pipes 32 as a result of the catinary suspension between the spacers 35 (?). the central element 36 may be arranged with a number of parallel pipelines or as a spiral - configured bundle . the described configuration is cost saving in regard materials as compared to the established alternatives , shown in fig1 and 2 , in the following respects . hydrate inhibiting pipes of carbon steel without the need for expensive alloys are used . this is shown in fig2 . only one cable has to be laid . no strapping operations requiring stops are necessary . this is shown in fig1 . only a few small pipes and electric cables are necessary . this is described above in regard with the rationalization of the control system . robust outer surfaces on the cable are provided , typically 3 . 5 - 4 mm steel , that are well suited for the pulling in j - pipes . this feature , together with electric conductors that are designed for high temperatures , e . g . 150 ° c ., makes it possible to lay down the cable in the same trench as the flow line , thereby saving costs in regard to trenching , surveying and inspection , which are the same activities as for the flow line ( the laying time does however increase somewhat as a result of the strapping operation ). it is noted that it for conventional operations has not been possible to install flow lines and control cables in the same trench because the control cable has been prone to be damaged by the flow line as a result of temperature effects , e . g . buckling , and the fact that the outer surface of a conventional control cable has a far weaker structure than the presently proposed embodiment . also , the most usual material used for electric isolation ( polyethylene ) does not withstand high temperatures . however , several projects have installed umbilicals that are strapped to the flow line with good results . as described above , a main feature of the present invention is to keep the number of internal pipelines and their cross - sections down . this is achieved by means of a minor modification in the control module of each well , and is described in the following . in a conventional control system it is usual to have two supply lines ( see fig4 which shows one of them ), one for high pressure to the down - hole safety valve 47 and one for the 207 bar pressure supply to the actuators 55 on the wellhead christmas tree . the high - pressure system 40 is characterized by a near zero fluid flow . in principle , a high pressure may be generated by the low - pressure system by means of a booster , and a low pressure may be generated by the high - pressure system by means of a reduction valve 50 . boosters are known to have been installed in new fields , but are not very common . pressure reduction valves are usually avoided in the design of sub - sea control systems for hydrocarbon installations , because they are considered to be unreliable . however , a special valve 51 of the on / off - kind only used to control a flow between two accumulators 42 , 52 has been build and tested . the valve 51 is developed by others and does not constitute a part of the present invention . it comprises of a shear seal , which is common in this kind of system and has proven to be reliable , and two pilot steps for turning on and off the hydraulic flow in the main unit . this kind of valve 51 has not been implemented yet , probably because it requires a unusually large accumulator 42 on the high pressure side 40 if it is to provide a satisfactory control of the pressures in a larger installation , in addition to that a series of error modes makes it unsuited for larger installations . however , for marginal fields with small or no interaction between the pressure supplies of the various wells , this will not present large problems . a marginal field will probably be allowed to spill smaller amounts of water - based hydraulic fluids . this entails that the entire well may be controlled by only one hydraulic pipeline . it will therefore be possible to provide a supply system for a marginal field that comprises one pipeline 32 for chemicals ( there may be need for more than one ), one pipeline as a backup for the two first , and a quad 33 . a quad 33 provides a redundant control for one well , and depending on the configuration it may also provide some redundancy for more that one well . in addition , metal clad optical fibers withstanding high temperatures may be installed in the quad - unit 33 if real - time broadband instruments are required . optical fibers installed between the electric conductors 33 will not increase the cross - section . [ 0055 ] fig4 shows the principle of a conventional hydraulic control unit for a down - hole safety valve 47 . the supply line 41 ( innermost pipeline ) with a connected accumulator 42 , leads to a control valve 45 , which in turn is connected to the valve 49 . the circuit ( somewhat simplified ) is used by most suppliers . [ 0056 ] fig5 shows a schematic of the suggested hydraulic control system of the control system . a fixed restriction 50 reduces the flow between the high - pressure accumulator 42 and the low - pressure accumulator 52 to practical values . the valve 51 is the one referred to as two pilot steps controlled by the pressure in the accumulator 42 and the accumulator 52 in the off or on mode . a control valve 53 controls the valve 56 via the actuator 55 , the low - pressure accumulator 57 providing a stable pressure in the spring chamber of the actuator . a non - return valve 54 allows dumping of the used fluid to the sea . a pressure relief system 58 is similarly provided with a non - return valve 59 that dumps used fluid to the sea . the circuit functions in the following manner : the high - pressure accumulator loads the low - pressure accumulator 52 when it has the capacity to do so , i . e . almost always . the pilots in the valve 52 are loaded when the pressure falls bellow a certain value . the loading stops when the pressure reaches its highest allowed value , typically 207 bar . a circuit like this will not be accepted for larger installations , one of the reasons being that the high pressure may propagate into the low - pressure system and harm its components in case of accidents . this may be avoided by means of security measures , e . g . the pressure relief system 58 , but in larger installations this measure is probably not sufficient in total ( i . e . production regularity ). for 1 - 3 wells the risks may be accepted by the operators under certain production conditions if the capital cost is sufficiently reduced . conventional control cables often has a copper content that is significantly higher than required in regard to the electric losses in the system . this is due to the concerns like mechanic strength and line control , the latter often being connected to complex supply systems of both effect and control signals to wells that are geographically spread out . the electric conductors 33 according to the present invention are metal clad and exhibit extreme mechanic properties ( even if these features primarily are meant for protection against aggressive chemicals ). if the actual copper requirement ( for an electric system ) is to be the deciding factor for the dimensioning of the supply system for 1 - 3 satellites , a considerable reduction of the copper content in , and thereby also the cross - section of , the conductors will be achieved .
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the method and product described herein are intended to apply to acoustical panels used as building materials . more specifically , the panels can be used as acoustical ceiling or wall panels or tiles . the detailed description of the invention is one embodiment of the invention , and it should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any way . in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , base mats or substrates are made from a liquid slurry that contains a mixture of fibers , fillers , and binders employing methods known in the art . the fibers comprise mineral wool and cellulosic fibers ; the fillers comprise expanded perlite , calcium carbonate , or clay ; the binders comprise starch granules . as known in the art , a homogeneous slurry containing the above - mentioned ingredients transported using a hydraulic pump from a vat to a headbox , which is placed in an elevated position so that a steady and constant flow of slurry is supplied to a mat - forming machine . the slurry is then deposited onto a moving foraminous wire to form a wet base mat . water is drained from the wire by gravity . then additional water is removed by applying a low force vacuum ( vacuuming at a rate of about 1 to about 5 inches hg ) under the wire that carries the wet base mat . the base mat may be further dewatered by pressing the mat between two rolls . yet more water can optionally be removed by applying a relatively high vacuum ( vacuuming at a rate of about 8 to about 20 inches hg ) under the wire that carries the mat . the rest of the water in the wet base mat is evaporated in an oven or kiln . afterwards , the formed base mats are slit into various sizes . the surfaces of the base mats are ground relatively smooth before a primer coating is optionally applied to the surface . the purpose of the primer coating is to provide a good base on which glue can more easily adhere and to increase the light - reflectance of the mats . subsequently , the base mats are punched and fissured to achieve desired acoustic absorbency . the punching operation provides multiple perforations on the surface of the mat at a controlled depth , size , and density ( number of perforations per unit area ). as known in the art , punching operations are carried out by pressing a plate equipped with a predetermined number of needles onto a base mat . fissuring imparts indentations of unique shapes onto the surfaces of the base mats . fissuring operations are carried out with a roll device that has a circumference upon which the complementary features or patterns are placed . both punching and fissuring open the plane surface and the internal structure of the base mats , thereby allowing air and sound waves to move in and out of the base mat structure . the next step in the process is to deposit adhesives onto the base mats . the adhesive can be sprayed or coated with a gravure roll onto the base mats . the adhesives on the base mat must be in a discrete or perforate form , for example , in the form of droplets so that the mats do not have a continuous , imperforate sheet of adhesive film on them . a continuous film of adhesives on the base mat is undesirable as discussed above . the amount of adhesives must be optimized to reduce its impact on acoustic absorbency while providing sufficient bonding to base mats . even with an optimum amount of adhesives deposited in a discrete manner , a loss of 0 . 02 to 0 . 07 in enrc or nrc is expected . in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , the total amount of adhesives ( containing water or solvent ) applied to a base mat is in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 8 grams / ft 2 , and is preferably in the range of about 1 to about 4 grams / ft 2 . alternatively , adhesives can be applied to a non - woven scrim , such as fiberglass scrim , instead of on the base mats before lamination . the amount of the adhesives used and the manner that it is deposited on the scrim are similar to the methods described for base mats . after application of adhesive , the non - woven , porous , fiberglass scrim is laminated onto the base mats . the objectives of lamination are to improve the sag performance in humid environment and to reduce the loss in nrc and enrc caused by dense scrims . as mentioned previously , the specific air flow resistance of a scrim has a significant impact on the properties of a laminated acoustical panel . in general , the air flow resistance is dependent upon basis weight , fiber coarseness , and the amount of binder and filler applied in a scrim . scrims become dense and have a high specific air flow resistance when a scrim is composed of fine glass fibers and contains a relatively high amount of binder ; scrims become porous and have a low specific air flow resistance when a scrim is composed of coarse glass fibers and contains a relatively low amount of binder . in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , scrims of high porosity are required to render a laminated acoustical panel of high peel strength , high sag resistance and low loss in acoustical absorbency . although it appears counterintuitive , a scrim in and of itself does not significantly affect acoustical absorption . in fact , affixing any plain scrim to a base mat would increase enrc slightly . however , the application of glue and coating would reduce acoustical absorption considerably , although the extent of reduction varies with different scrims . with relatively porous scrims ( specific air flow resistance of between about 10 to about 25 rayls [ pa · s / m ]), the average loss in enrc or nrc due to glue and coating is about 0 . 03 to 0 . 06 . on the other hand , with relatively dense scrims ( specific air flow resistance of between about 25 to about 100 rayls ), the average loss in enrc or nrc due to glue and coating is about 0 . 05 to 0 . 10 . in order to minimize the loss in acoustical absorbency , a scrim with less than about 25 rayls of specific air flow resistance is desired . the application of coating or paint onto a porous scrim can significantly improve scrim peel strength . the increase in peel strength ranges from about 40 to about 400 %. however , this increase is dependent upon the scrim porosity . there is little or no improvement in peel strength when the specific air flow resistance of scrims is higher than 35 rayls . by examining photographs of peeled scrims through transmitted light , it is revealed that dense scrims have a great amount of coating retained on the scrim surfaces . porous scrims made with coarse fibers , on the other hand , retain much less amount of coatings on their surfaces . a substantial amount of coating deposits onto or wicks into the base mats . once the coating is transmitted into the base mat , the coating acts as a sealant to bond the scrim to the base mats , improving scrim peel strength . for dense scrims made with fine fibers , the coatings cannot penetrate the scrim surface as greatly so they cannot contribute to the improvement in peel strength . in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , a scrim with a specific air flow resistance less than 30 rayls is laminated onto base mats to develop a significant improvement in peel strength by coatings . the basic principle to improve sag resistance by laminating a rigid scrim made from a material such as fiberglass onto a base mat is that the face of the panel is under tension during sagging , and a rigid scrim would be able to sustain the tension and restrict sagging . however , as is unexpectedly revealed through experimentation with certain embodiments of this invention , how well a scrim is actually bonded to a base mat has a direct impact on the humidity sag performance of a laminated acoustical panel . surprisingly , there is actually an inversely linear relationship between the peel strength and humidity sag of a laminated panel until the coating no longer contributes to the peel strength as a result of impermeability of the scrim . if there is no coating or if the coating is mostly on the surface of a scrim due to low porosity , the bonding between a scrim and a base mat has to rely solely on adhesives . but the amount of adhesives that can be applied is limited in order to prevent plugging of perforations in base mats . in addition , most adhesives are visco - elastic , making the bonding stretchable . therefore , glue alone will not be able to restrict the relative movement between the scrim and base mat during sagging . even a slight relative movement between a scrim and base mat would result in a significant vertical movement from the panel plane , that is , sag . when coatings penetrate through a porous scrim , additional bonding between the scrim and base mat is formed . coatings or paint contain a high amount of pigment compared to glues . the bonding provided by coatings / paint is rigid . thus , the bonding can restrict the relative movement between scrim and base mat , making the scrim an integral part of a laminated ceiling panel . a firmly bonded scrim can improve the humidity sag performance of laminated panels . since a low amount of humidity sag is highly desirable , the use of a porous scrim would add a significant advantage to laminated acoustical panels . in order to have a total sag movement less than 0 . 3 inches ( for panels with 2 ft . width and 4 ft . length ) after three cycles in a humidity chamber alternated between 75 ° f ./ 50 % rh and 104 °/ 95 % rh , the scrim must possess a specific air flow resistance less than 30 rayls , and a tensile strength of at least 10 lbf per two - inch width in either direction . the novel use of scrims with low specific air flow resistance and high porosity claimed herein would reduce the loss in acoustical absorbency caused by adhesives and coatings . the laminated acoustical panel would have an enrc of at least about 0 . 45 and nrc of at least about 0 . 5 . a base mat comprising mineral wool , newsprint fibers , expanded perlite , starch , and clay was ground to have a relatively smooth surface and coated with a primer . the base mat was then perforated as described above , the perforations having a depth of about 0 . 4 inches . the perforated base mat had and enrc of 0 . 58 . a commercially available glue xr - 3025 manufactured by hb fuller of st . paul , minn . was sprayed onto said base mats at 4 . 5 grams / ft 2 . a fiberglass scrim was then laminated onto the base mats . the scrim was purchased from owens corning , toledo , ohio . the scrim had a specific air flow resistance of 41 . 4 rayls , a basis weight of 127 . 7 g / m 2 , a thickness of 0 . 020 inches ( 0 . 5 mm ), a tensile strength of 45 . 7 lbf / 2 - inch ( 200 n / 50 - mm ) in machine direction , and a tensile strength of 42 . 1 lbf / 2 - inch ( 184 n / 50 - mm ) in cross machine direction . after lamination , the surface was sprayed with a coating . the coating contained about 80 % pigments and 20 % latex based on total solids content . it had a solids content of about 50 %. the coating was applied at about 24 grams / ft 2 . after the coating was applied , the peel strength was measured to be 325 grams per 4 - inch width . the resultant laminated panel had an enrc of 0 . 49 and a humidity sag of 0 . 729 inches . the panel without scrim had a humidity sag of 0 . 719 inch . the loss in enrc was about 0 . 09 . the example shows that with a relatively dense scrim , there is no improvement in humidity sag and scrim peel strength is low . the enrc decreased significantly . a base mat comprising mineral wool , newsprint fibers , expanded perlite , starch , and clay was ground to have a relatively smooth surface and coated with a primer . the base mat was then perforated as described above , the perforations having a depth of about 0 . 4 inches . the perforated base mat had an enrc of 0 . 46 . the commercially available glue xr - 3025 mentioned above was sprayed onto said base mats at 4 . 8 grams / ft 2 . a fiberglass scrim was then laminated onto the base mats . the scrim ( sold under the product name ultra matt ®) was obtained from gaf - elk corp . of ennis , tex . the scrim had a specific air flow resistance of 15 . 3 rayls , basis weight of 76 . 7 g / m 2 , a thickness of 0 . 023 inch ( 0 . 58 mm ), a tensile strength of 29 . 8 lbf / 2 - inch ( 130 n / 50 - mm ) in machine direction , and a tensile strength of 26 . 7 lbf / 2 - inch ( 117 n / 50 - mm ) in cross machine direction . after lamination , the surface was sprayed with a coating . the coating contained about 80 % pigments and 20 % latex based on total solids content . it had a solids content of about 50 %. the coating was applied at about 24 grams / ft 2 . before coating , the peel strength was measured at 444 grams / 4 - inch width . after coating , the peel strength was 1598 grams per 4 - inch width . the resultant laminated panel had a humidity sag of 0 . 076 inch , an enrc of 0 . 40 , and a nrc of 0 . 48 . the panel without scrim had a humidity sag of 0 . 372 inch . this example shows that with a relatively porous scrim , the peel strength was increased by 3 . 6 times after coating is applied , the humidity sag was reduced drastically , and loss in enrc was reduced to 0 . 06 . a base mat comprising mineral wool , newsprint fibers , expanded perlite , starch , and clay was ground to have a relatively smooth surface and coated with a primer . the base mat was then perforated as described above , the perforations having a depth of about 0 . 4 inches . the perforated base mat had an enrc of 0 . 46 . the glue xr - 3025 was sprayed onto the said base mats at 4 . 8 grams / ft 2 . a fiberglass scrim was then laminated onto the base mats . the scrim ( sold under the product name dura - glass ® 7615 ) was obtained from johns manville corp ., denver , co . the scrim had a specific air flow resistance of 12 . 2 rayls , a basis weight of 60 . 9 g / m 2 , a thickness of 0 . 018 inch ( 0 . 46 mm ), a tensile strength of 41 . 4 lbf / 2 - inch ( 181 n / 50 - mm ) in machine direction , and a tensile strength of 35 . 2 lbf / 2 - inch ( 154 n / 50 - mm ) in cross machine direction . after lamination , the surface was sprayed with a coating containing about 80 % pigments and 20 % latex based on total solids content . it had a solids content of about 50 %. the coating was applied at about 24 grams / ft 2 . before coating , the peel strength was 412 grams / 4 - inch width . after coating , the peel strength was 1597 grams per 4 - inch width . the resultant laminated panel had a humidity sag of 0 . 053 inch , an enrc of 0 . 39 , and nrc of 0 . 47 . the panel without scrim had a humidity sag of 0 . 372 inches . this example shows that with a relatively porous scrim , the peel strength was increased by 3 . 9 times after coating is applied , the humidity sag was reduced drastically , and loss in enrc was reduced to 0 . 07 . a base mat comprising mineral wool , newsprint fibers , expanded perlite , starch , and clay was ground to have a relatively smooth surface and coated with a primer . the base mat was then perforated as described above , the perforations having a depth of about 0 . 4 inches . the perforated base mat had an enrc of 0 . 46 . the commercially available glue xr - 3025 was sprayed onto said base mats at 4 . 8 grams / ft 2 . a fiberglass scrim was then laminated onto the base mats . the scrim ( sold under the product name gft - 25 ) was obtained from ahlstrom corp . of kotka , finland . the scrim had a specific air flow resistance of 23 . 0 rayls , a basis weight of 50 . 8 g / m 2 , a thickness of 0 . 013 inch ( 0 . 33 mm ), a tensile strength of 22 . 6 lbf / 2 - inch ( 99 n / 50 - mm ) in machine direction , and a tensile strength of 15 . 3 lbf / 2 - inch ( 67 n / 50 - mm ) in cross machine direction . after lamination , the surface was sprayed with a coating containing about 80 % pigments and 20 % latex based on total solids content . it had a solids content of about 50 %. the coating was applied at about 24 grams / ft 2 . before coating , the peel strength was 329 grams / 4 - inch width . after coating , the peel strength was 1596 grams per 4 - inch width . the resultant laminated panel had a humidity sag of 0 . 102 inches , an enrc of 0 . 37 , and an nrc of 0 . 43 . the panel without scrim had a humidity sag of 0 . 372 inches . this example shows that with a medium porosity scrim , the peel strength was increased by 4 . 9 times after coating is applied , the humidity sag was reduced significantly , and loss in enrc was 0 . 09 , similar to the results from the dense scrim . the following table 1 illustrates comparative test results showing the relationship between peel strength , specific air flow resistance and humidity sag for the above examples .
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in the following descriptions , parts of the power module of the present invention which are similar to corresponding parts of the power module shown in fig5 have been given corresponding reference numerals and need not be further redescribed . in a first example of the present invention , aluminum of 99 . 99 % in purity was set in a crucible formed at an upper portion of a furnace 9 , and a plurality of ceramic substrate boards 2 of aluminum nitride were set on an inside bottom portion of the furnace 9 below the crucible . the crucible was closed by a piston 10 and the furnace 9 was filled with nitrogen gas . then , the furnace 9 was heated at 750 ° c . by a heater 11 to melt the aluminum in the crucible . the molten aluminum 13 was pushed out by the piston 10 through a narrow conduit 12 connecting between a center bottom portion of the crucible and the inside bottom portion of the furnace 9 , so that the molten aluminum 13 was poured on the ceramic substrate boards 2 until the hight of the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate boards 2 reached a predetermined value . then , the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate boards 2 was cooled and solidified gradually , to form an aluminum base plate 7 bonded directly on the ceramic substrate boards 2 . thus obtained aluminum base plate 7 had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 40 mpa . the value of the proof stress was measured along jis z2241 a test piece of jis z2201 . then , the base plate 7 with the ceramic substrate boards 2 was taken out from the furnace 9 in order to form a circuit portion on the ceramic substrate board 2 . a desired pattern of a brazing material consisting of al in an amount of 87 . 5 % by weight and si in an amount of 12 . 5 % by weight ( not shown ) was printed by using a screen printer , and dried at 80 ° c . an aluminum rolled plate of a desired pattern was placed as a metal layer 3 on the dried brazing material , and heated at 575 ° c . in a vacuum furnace . then , an electroless nickel plating layer 8 was formed on the metal layer 3 and a semiconductor tip 1 was fixed on the metal layer 3 through the plating layer 8 and a brazing material layer 4 to form a power module as shown in fig2 . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the thickness of the aluminum base plate 7 was change from 5 mm to 1 mm . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 1 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the thickness of the aluminum base plate was change from 5 mm to 10 mm . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the thickness of the aluminum base plate was change from 5 mm to 30 mm . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 3 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the material of the base plate 7 was changed from aluminum of 99 . 99 % in purity to aluminum alloy consisting of al in an amount of 95 . 5 % by weight and cu in an amount of 4 . 5 % by weight . the base plate 7 had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 95 mpa . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 3 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the material of the base plate 7 is changed from aluminum of 99 . 99 % in purity to aluminum alloy consisting of al in an amount of 87 . 5 % by weight and si in an amount of 12 . 5 % by weight . the base plate 7 had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 320 mpa . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 3 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the material of the ceramic substrate board 2 is changed from aluminum nitride to silicone nitride . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 1 . a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 was formed under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that fins were provided on the base plate 7 in order to improve the heat radiation . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 1 . in order to form a circuit portion on an upper surface of the ceramic substrate board 2 of aluminum nitride , an actuated metal brazing material consisting of ag in an amount of 90 % by weight , ti in an amount of 5 % by weight and cu in an amount of 5 % by weight was printed by using a screen printer , and dried at 80 ° c . a cupper rolled plate was placed as a metal layer 3 on the dried brazing material , and heated at 800 ° c . in a vacuum furnace , so that the metal layer 3 was bonded on the ceramic substrate board 2 . then , an etching resist was printed on the cupper portion by using the screen printer , uv dried and subjected to etching using a ferric chloride solution to form a desired pattern 14 . the ceramic substrate boards 2 with the metal layers 3 were placed on an inside bottom portion of a furnace 9 with a bottom surface of the ceramic substrate board 2 facing upward as shown in fig3 . aluminum of 99 . 99 % in purity was set in a crucible formed at an upper portion of the furnace 9 , and the crucible was closed by a piston 10 and the furnace 9 was filled with nitrogen gas . then , the furnace 9 was heated at 750 ° c . by a heater 11 to melt the aluminum in the crucible . the molten aluminum 13 was pushed out by the piston 10 through a narrow conduit 12 connecting between a center bottom portion of the crucible and the inside bottom portion of the furnace 9 , so that the molten aluminum 13 was poured on the ceramic substrate boards 2 until the bight of the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate boards 2 reached a predetermined value . then , the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate boards 2 was cooled and solidified gradually to form an aluminum base plate 7 bonded directly on the bottom surface of the ceramic substrate boards 2 . thus obtained aluminum base plate 7 had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 40 mpa . then , the base plate 7 with the ceramic substrate boards 2 and the metal layers 3 was taken out from the furnace 9 and a semiconductor tip 1 was fixed on the metal layer 3 through a brazing material layer 4 to form a power module as shown in fig2 . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 . a plurality of ceramic substrate boards 2 of aluminum nitride were bonded on a base plate 7 of aluminum under the same conditions as in the example 1 . as shown in fig4 , a furnace 15 is used and aluminum of 99 . 99 % in purity was set in a crucible formed at an upper portion of the furnace 15 . a plurality of ceramic substrate boards 2 of aluminum nitride bonded on the base plate 7 were set on an inside bottom portion of the furnace 15 below the crucible with the ceramic substrate board 2 facing upward . a mold 18 having a mortise of a desired circuit pattern was placed on each ceramic substrate board 2 . the crucible was closed by a piston 10 and the furnace 15 was filled with nitrogen gas . then , the furnace 15 was heated at 750 ° c . by a heater 11 to melt the aluminum in the crucible . the molten aluminum 13 was pushed out by the piston 10 through a narrow conduit 16 and narrow conduits 17 a , 17 b and 17 c connecting between a center bottom portion of the crucible and the molds 18 . a heat sink 19 was arranged at under side of the base plate 7 in order to cool and protect the base plate 7 . the pushed out molten aluminum 13 was poured on the ceramic substrate board 2 in the mold 18 until the hight of the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate board 2 reached a predetermined value . then , the molten aluminum 13 on the ceramic substrate board 2 was cooled and solidified gradually to form a metal layer 3 on the ceramic substrate board 2 . thus obtained aluminum base plate 7 had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 40 mpa . the base plate 7 with the ceramic substrate boards 2 and the metal layers 3 was taken out from the furnace 15 . a semiconductor tip 1 was fixed on the metal layer 3 through a brazing material layer 4 to form a power module as shown in fig2 . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module . after the thermal cycle of 4000 times , no change was recognized on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 similar to the example 1 . a following sample was prepared for comparison . in order to form a circuit portion on an upper surface of a ceramic substrate board of aluminum nitride , a brazing material consisting of al in an amount of 87 . 5 % by weight and si in an amount of 12 . 5 % by weight was printed on the upper surface of the ceramic substrate board 2 by using a screen printer to form a desired pattern , and dried at 80 ° c . an aluminum rolled plate of a desired pattern was placed on the brazing material . the same brazing material was printed entirely on a lower surface of the ceramic substrate board , an aluminum rolled plate of a desired pattern was placed thereon , and heated at 575 ° c . in a vacuum furnace . then , the ceramic substrate board was subjected to an electroless nickel plating . three sheets of the ceramic substrate board thus obtained were fixed by brazing on an aluminum base plate having a thickness of 5 mm and a purity of 99 . 99 % which was subjected to an electroless nickel plating . a semiconductor tip was fixed on the aluminum layer formed on the ceramic substrate board to form a power module as shown in fig5 . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module , as like as the examples . after the thermal cycle of 1000 times , cracks were recognized in the brazing material layer on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate . a following sample was prepared for comparison . a power module as shown in fig5 was formed under the similar manner as in the comparative example 1 except that the material of the base plate was changed from aluminum to a cupper molybdenum alloy of 5 mm in thickness . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module , as like as the examples . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , cracks were recognized in the brazing material layer on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate layer 2 and the base plate 7 . a following sample was prepared for comparison . a molten aluminum as shown in the example 1 was contacted directly to both surfaces of a ceramic substrate board of aluminum nitride , cooled and solidified to form aluminum layers . then , in order to form a circuit portion on one of the both surfaces of the ceramic substrate board , an etching resist was printed on the one surface by using a screen printer , uv dried and subjected to etching using a ferric chloride solution to form a desired circuit pattern . the ceramic substrate board with the circuit pattern was subjected to an electroless nickel plating . three sheets of the ceramic substrate board thus obtained were fixed by brazing on an aluminum base plate subjected to an electroless nickel plating and having a thickness of 5 mm and a purity of 99 . 99 %. further , a semiconductor tip was provided on each of the substrate boards to form a power module as shown in fig5 . a thermal cycle test was performed to evaluate the power module , as like as the examples . after the thermal cycle of 3000 times , cracks were recognized in the brazing material layer on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate . a following sample was prepared for comparison . in order to bond three sheets of ceramic substrate board of aluminum nitride on one surface of a base plate of 99 . 99 % in purity having a thickness of 5 mm , a brazing material consisting of al in an amount of 87 . 5 % by weight and si in an amount of 12 . 5 % by weight was printed on the base plate by using a screen printer and dried at 80 ° c . a ceramic substrate board was placed on the brazing material and heated at 575 ° c . in a vacuum furnace . it was examined to form a circuit on the other side of the base plate by a brazing method similar to the above , however all of the ceramic substrate boards were cracked when the ceramic substrate boards were bonded on the base plate . a following sample was prepared for comparison . it was examined to form a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the thickness of the aluminum base plate was change from 5 mm to 0 . 5 mm . however , the base plate deformed easily because of the lack of proof stress . a following sample was prepared for comparison . it was examined to form a power module having a metal - ceramic circuit substrate board as shown in fig2 under the same conditions as in the example 1 except that the material of the base plate was changed from aluminum of 99 , 99 % in purity to aluminum alloy consisting of al in an amount of 88 % by weight , cu in an amount of 2 % by weight , mg in an amount of 3 % by weight and zn in an amount of 7 % by weight . the base plate had a thickness of 5 mm and a proof stress of 540 mpa . however , all of the ceramic substrate boards are cracked when the ceramic substrate boards were bonded on the base plate . ( 1 ) the reliability of the metal - ceramic circuit board when the cooling and heating are repeated , can be elevated remarkably , because the structure between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate is simple . specifically , aluminum or aluminum alloy is used as the material of the base plate and bonded directly on the ceramic substrate board , so that any irregularity in thermal expansion and contraction of the base plate when it is heated and cooled is eliminated , and the crack is prevented from being occurred in the contact portion of the ceramic substrate board by the softness of aluminum . ( 2 ) a high heat conductivity can be obtained because the structure between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate is simple , and the brazing material layer of low in heat conductivity can be omitted . ( 3 ) the cost can be reduced because the structure between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate is simple , so that any brazing for bonding the both can be omitted , and that any surface treatment such as plating or the brazing can be omitted . ( 4 ) cupper used conventionary as a base plate is cheap . however , the thermal expansion coefficient is larger than that of the ceramics , so that the reliability is low because a crack is formed easily on the bonding surface between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate when the heating and cooling are repeated . copper molybdenum alloy or aluminum silicon carbide composite material is low in heat conductivity and high in cost . on the contrary , aluminum is cheap and very small in proof stress , though the thermal expansion cofficient is high , so that the crack is hardly formed on the boundary surface between the ceramic substrate board and the base plate even if the heating and cooling are repeated and that high reliability can be obtained . ( 5 ) it is considered such a manufacturing method that a circuit substrate board is manufactured by bonding a base plate of aluminum , aluminum alloy , cupper , cupper molybdenum alloy , or aluminum silicon carbide composite material on a ceramic substrate board by using brazing material . however , the ceramic substrate board is deformed to a large extent and cracks are formed easily in the ceramic substrate board due to the difference in thermal expansion and reduction between the bonded base plate and the ceramic substrate board , because the thickness of the base plate is larger than the thickness of the ceramic substrate board , the bonding layer of brazing material low in flexibility is formed between the base plate and the ceramic substrate board . on the contrary , in the present invention , the above defects can be obviated , because the base plate of aluminum or aluminum alloy of less than 320 ( mpa ) in proof stress and more than 1 mm in thickness is bonded directly to the ceramic substrate board so as to have a bonding portion very high in flexibility . ( 6 ) the substrate board for the power module according to the present invention is suitable especially to control a large electric current of electric automobiles , electric cars , tooling machines or the like , because the reliability , and the yield are high and the cost is low . ( 7 ) the heat treatment is carried out in the inert gas , so that the oxidization of the material is prevented and the good bonding can be achived . further , the temperature in the furnace may be set to 550 ° c .˜ 850 ° c . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .
| 7 |
in accordance with the preferred process of the invention , a first titanium layer is sputter deposited from a ti target in argon onto a substrate , generally a silicon wafer having openings for the deposition of aluminum contacts , in a sputtering chamber fitted with a source of rf power connected to the substrate support . after sputter deposition of a second titanium nitride layer using an argon - nitrogen gas mixture , a small amount of oxygen is added to the argon used for sputter deposition , and the rf power is turned on , thereby forming a plasma of the oxygen adjacent to the substrate . the titanium target is simultaneously sputtered by continuing to apply a low level of dc power , about 500 watts , to the target . since only a small amount of oxygen is required to enhance the barrier properties of the titanium nitride layer , the flow of argon is continued in order to sustain the plasma . this plasma treatment forms a thin layer of tion at the surface of the titanium nitride layer , which is thick enough to provide an additional barrier against aluminum spiking , but not so thick as to reduce the resistivity of the contact . a tion layer about 20 - 100 å thick is preferred , and is formed in about 30 seconds . a final thin titanium top layer optionally can be deposited over the treated titanium nitride , also in the same sputtering chamber . this final sputter deposition provides a final metal layer over the barrier layer about 80 - 200 å thick . this step has the added advantage that the titanium target is cleaned , e . g ., any titanium nitride or titanium oxide deposited on the target during the prior tin deposition or the oxygen plasma treatment step is sputtered off , leaving a clean titanium target for deposition of the first titanium layer on the next substrate brought into the chamber . this final sputtering step eliminates the need to periodically clean the target . thus the throughput of the present process for continuous substrate processing is also improved . the substrate having the titanium - containing trilayer deposited thereon can then be transferred to an aluminum deposition chamber , also generally deposited by sputtering in argon in known manner , for forming the final aluminum contact . the initial titanium layer can be deposited over silicon , as when a contact opening is formed in the surface of a silicon wafer , or can be deposited over a dielectric silicon oxide layer . fig1 illustrates a sputtering chamber 10 suitable for carrying out the present process . the chamber 10 includes a titanium target 12 , connected to a dc power source 13 . a substrate 22 , such as a silicon wafer , having a plurality of exposed openings in which aluminum contacts are to be formed , is mounted on a substrate support 14 . the chamber 10 is also provided with a gas inlet 16 . a collimator 17 is optionally placed between the target 12 and the substrate support 14 . a source of rf power 18 is connected to the substrate support 14 . a flow of argon is started in the chamber and the electrodes powered from the dc power supply 13 , when a thin first layer of titanium is sputtered onto the substrate 22 . nitrogen is then added to the argon , sputter depositing a layer of titanium nitride onto the substrate 22 . the nitrogen flow is stopped and a mixture of oxygen and argon is added to the chamber 10 . the rf power 18 is turned on , forming an oxygen plasma in the chamber in a plasma region 20 that reacts with the titanium nitride surface to stuff the titanium nitride . the titanium target 12 is sputtered simultaneously by continuing to apply dc power to the target 12 , thus depositing a thin layer of tio 2 . after turning off the oxygen , a final layer of pure titanium is sputter deposited , e . g ., for about 3 seconds , which also cleans the titanium target 12 . the substrate 22 is then transferred to an aluminum deposition chamber . although the amount of rf power used to initiate the plasma in the chamber can vary from about 25 - 200 watts without changing the characteristics of the barrier layer obtained , high power levels increase the amount of bias seen by the substrate . thus preferably the rf power is maintained at a comparatively low level , for example about 25 - 200 watts at 400 khz . higher levels of dc power lead to formation of a thick layer of tio 2 . this is undesirable because tio 2 is an insulator that will adversely affect the resistance of the contact being made . the temperature during sputtering is also maintained on the low side , about 100 ° c ., but can be increased up to about 550 ° c . if necessary . thus the tri - part titanium - containing barrier layer and treatment thereof with oxygen plasma can all occur in the same chamber , increasing the throughput of the system . the properties of the resultant barrier layers are just as good as those made in accordance with prior art processes that require processing in more than one chamber , such as the system of liao et al which requires transfer to an rta chamber between sputtering steps . the invention will be further described in the following examples , but the invention is not meant to be limited to the details disclosed therein . a layer of titanium about 200 å thick and a layer of titanium nitride about 800 å was sputter deposited onto a silicon wafer in conventional manner using an argon gas flow of 140 sccm and applying 500 watts of dc power to the target in the chamber as in fig1 . the silicon wafer was provided with exposed contact openings less than 1 micron in diameter and having an aspect ratio greater than 2 : 1 . after deposition of the titanium and titanium nitride layers , the gas flow was changed to supply a mixture of 155 sccm of argon and 80 sccm of oxygen , and rf power of 400 khz at 25 - 50 watts was turned on . oxygen flow and rf power was continued for 30 seconds while applying 500 watts of dc power to the titanium target . a thin layer of tion was deposited . after shutting off the oxygen and rf power , a final titanium layer was sputter deposited for 3 seconds . the wafer was transferred to an aluminum sputtering chamber and a layer of aluminum 5000å thick was sputter deposited at 300 ° c . the resultant aluminum contact was heated at 550 ° c . in nitrogen for three hours . no aluminum spiking was observed , as shown in the attached fig2 . as a control , a conventional titanium / titanium nitride stack was sputter deposited onto a silicon wafer , with no post treatment of the layer . a 5000 å thick layer of aluminum was deposited on the ti / tin stack without exposure to air . after heating at 550 ° c . for one hour , severe spiking was observed , as can be seen in fig3 the resistance properties of both low pressure and high pressure titanium nitride layers were compared before treatment with oxygen and after treatment with oxygen . the sheet resistance , resistance uniformity and stress were measured . the results are summarized below : ______________________________________ r . sub . s r . sub . s unif . stress ohms / sq % 1 - σ dynes / cm . sup . 2 c______________________________________low pressure tin before o . sub . 2 treatment 21 . 02 1 . 7 - 9 . 0 e9 after o . sub . 2 treatment 20 . 99 1 . 3 - 6 . 6 e9 high pressure tin before o . sub . 2 treatment 100 . 6 2 . 7 - 1 . 8 e9 after o . sub . 2 treatment 139 . 5 2 . 7 - 7 . 0 e8______________________________________ thus the change in film properties is minimal and the present process permits easy integration with standard integrated circuit processing . a tin barrier layer 1000 å thick was sputter deposited and plasma treated in an argon - oxygen atmosphere for 30 seconds in a single wafer chamber as in example 1 onto over 700 silicon wafers sequentially . after 425 wafers had been processed , a 1 micron thick layer of titanium was deposited to completely remove contaminants from the titanium target . deposition onto the remaining wafers was then continued . a particle count was performed on the wafers no . 0 , 75 , 425 and 720 . the results are given below as particles added per wafer . the tests were done on the deposited films after processing . ______________________________________number of wafer particles added______________________________________0 0 50 3 . 5 425 0 720 0 . 33______________________________________ this shows that very few particles are generated during the process of the invention . thus the present process is eminently suitable for mass production . although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments , one skilled in the art would know how to vary deposition conditions and times and equipment without departing from the spirit of the invention , and these variations are meant to be included herein . the invention is only to be limited by the scope of the appended claims .
| 2 |
the complicated lithography required to connect the electrodes of the philips mim capacitor restricts that capacitor to just a few layers ( e . g ., three metal layers ). the present inventors have devised a method to form a mim capacitor (“ mimcap ”) having up to fifteen plates , or any number of plates , constrained only by the thicknesses of the deposited layers and the dimension of the cavity within which the mimcap is formed . referring now to fig2 , an opening such as cavity 210 is formed in a substrate 201 , according to a patterned mask . the mask may be , for example , oxide hardmask 203 on top of pad nitride 202 . the substrate may be a semiconductor wafer , which may be , for example , a silicon or gallium nitride substrate , and can be a semiconductor - on - insulator ( soi ) substrate . the substrate can be heavily doped to serve as a capacitor plate , for example , silicon with arsenic ( as ) dopant at 1e19 to 5e21 , or the capacitor plates can be formed with the metal layers only and the substrate can be undoped . the invention is not limited to particular dimensions of cavity 210 , but it can be about 1 . 5 micron across and 30 micron depth . the opening of cavity 210 can be the critical dimension ( the minimum dimension patternable by the lithography used to form devices ( not shown ) in or on substrate 201 ). cavity 210 can be a trench ( formed according to a generally rectilinear pattern with a length and width ), a pore ( formed according to a circular pattern ), an annulus , or an opening formed according to a pattern of any other shape . dielectric layer 221 can be formed over the sidewalls and bottom of cavity 210 . as shown in fig3 a , dielectric layer 221 can be a conformal layer having substantially uniform thickness on all surfaces . layer 221 can be thermally grown , or formed by conventional deposition such as plasma - enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ) or atomic layer deposition ( ald ). in embodiments , layer 221 is high - k dielectric having dielectric constant greater than 2 . 5 , and can have dielectric constant in the range of 15 to 20 , or even greater than 20 . layer 221 can be any interlayer dielectric material ( ild ), which can be an high k material such as hafnium oxide ( hfo2 ), hafnium silicate , zirconium oxide , aluminum oxide or zirconium silicate . layer 221 can also be any other dielectric compound , and can be a combination of dielectric materials . dielectric layer 221 can range in thickness from about 20 angstroms to about 50 angstroms , and is preferably at least 15 angstrom thick . conformality of +/− 20 % is desirable , but can be more relaxed as long as no substantially weak spots exist in the dielectric film which could cause premature breakdown in operation . fig3 b illustrates a cross section at cut ‘ 3 b ’, if cavity 210 is a pore . fig4 a shows first conductive layer 231 formed over dielectric layer 221 . first conductive layer 231 is preferably a conformal layer , which can be a metal layer and can be formed by known processing such as ald . second dielectric layer 222 is formed over first metal layer 231 . a second conductive layer 241 can be formed over second dielectric layer 222 . like the first conductive layer , the second conductive layer 241 can be formed of metal . reference throughout the following description to ‘ metal ’ refers to any conductive material . the sequence of dielectric , first metal , dielectric , and second metal can be repeated numerous times . for example , repeating n = four times would produce a structure with n + 1 = 5 first metal layers interleaved with 5 second metal layers , with dielectric separating adjacent metal layers . the stack can be completed , after repeating the first four layers as desired ( or not repeating even once ), by depositing a final dielectric layer that fills any remaining space within cavity 210 . such a final stack would have an equal number of first and second metal layers . alternatively , after forming just the first four layers , or after repeating the four - layer sequence ‘ n ’ times , the stack can be completed by depositing another dielectric layer ( 223 in fig4 a if n = 0 ), then a final first metal layer ( 232 if n = 0 ), and finally a final dielectric layer ( 224 if n = 0 ) that fills any remaining space within cavity 210 . the stack in such an embodiment would have 1 + n second metal layers and would have 2 + n first metal layers . fig4 b is a cross section at cut 4 b for a pore - type embodiment at an intermediate stage after depositing dielectric 223 onto second metal layer 241 . the thickness of the metal is determined by structural integrity of the metal and the conductivity requirement as well as the number of layers desired and the dimension of the cavity . typical thickness ranges between 50 angstroms and 500 angstroms with 100 a to 200 a being the preferred thickness . the metal layers can be deposited with typical conformal thin film deposition techniques . for cavities with high aspect ratios , ald can be the preferred technique . conformality of +/− 50 % is desirable but the metal layers do not necessarily need to be free of thin spots . fig5 a illustrates just three metal layers ( i . e ., n = 0 ), but the mim capacitor according to the present invention can have many more metal layers . the simple mim capacitor of fig5 a has two first - type metal layers 231 and 232 , one second metal layer 241 , and four dielectric layers 221 , 222 , 223 , and 224 . all dielectric layers of the present mimcap can be the same dielectric material , or some or each dielectric layer could comprise different dielectric materials . similarly , all dielectric layers can be formed according to the same process , but the invention is not so limited . all first - type metal layers can be , but are not necessarily , the same material , so long as all of the first - type metal layers can be selectively etched relative to all the second - type metal layers . similarly , all second - type metal layers can be , but are not necessarily , the same material , so long as all of the second - type metal layers can be selectively etched relative to all the first - type metal layers . fig5 b illustrates a cross section at cut ‘ 5 b ’ of a pore embodiment having four metal layers , two being first - type metal layers 231 and 232 and two being second - type metal layers 241 and 242 . five dielectric layers 221 , 222 , 223 , 224 , and 225 isolate each metal layer from the next adjacent metal layer or from the substrate 201 . the last dielectric layer 225 fills the cavity inner core . as noted , the materials of the first - type and second - type metal layers are selected such that a first selective etch recesses just one set ( ie , all the first - type or all the second - type metal layers ) and a second selective etch recesses just the other set . some selective etch rates are listed in hussein , et al ., metal wet etch process development for dual metal gate cmos , electrochemical and solid - state letters , 8 ( 12 ) g333 - g336 ( 2005 ). as one example , the first - type metal layers could be formed of pvd tin and the second - type metal layers could be formed of pvd tasin ( si - 30 %), and the first and second etches could be sc2 and hf . sc2 chemistry ( di : h2o2 : hcl at a ratio of 10 : 1 . 1 : 1 ) at 60 c can etch tin at 10 a / min while only etching tasin at 0 . 01 a / min , whereas hf chemistry ( h2o : hf ) at a ratio of 50 : 1 at 60 c only etches tin at 1 . 32 a / min while etching tasin at 33 . 6 a / min . an alternative hf etch could be h2o : hf at a ratio of 10 : 1 at 25 c , which only etches tin at 2 . 47 a / min while etching tasin at 50 . 3 a / min . the metal materials and etch chemistries can be selected according to design requirements . in preferred embodiments , all first - type metal layers ( whether or not formed of the same metal composition ) be selectively etched by a single etch step ( a “ first etch ”) that substantially does not etch the second - type metal layers , and all second - type metal layers ( whether or not formed of the same metal composition ) be selectively etched by a single etch step ( a “ second etch ”) that substantially does not etch the first - type metal layers . after depositing the complete sequence of layers , the structure can be planarized and polished as per fig6 . this step can be achieved using chemical mechanical polish ( cmp ). each layer of the mim stack can have a portion extending generally parallel to the sidewalls of cavity 210 . thus removing all overburden down to the substrate surface can expose a cross section of the stack , exposing an edge of every layer of the mimcap stack . a mask layer 250 can be deposited and patterned to expose a first electrode region 251 of the planarized surface , which region can extend from the cavity sidewall to the last ( innermost ) dielectric layer . so long as the first electrode region extends in a first direction to expose an edge segment of each metal layer of the first type ( or each metal layer of the second type ), then a selective etch can recess all the first - type ( 23 x ) metal layers ( or all the second - type metal layers ), without significantly effecting the other set . fig7 a illustrates a first selective etch to recess the edge of first - type metal layers 23 x exposed within region 251 . a cross section of the structure of a pore embodiment of fig7 a at cut ‘ 7 b ’ is shown in fig7 b . after removing first mask 250 , which can be by a conventional resist strip process , a second mask 260 can be deposited and patterned to expose a second electrode region 262 of the planarized surface . like the first electrode region , the second electrode rejoin can encompass the full set of second - type metal layers and can be patterned by a single mask . so long as it extends to expose an edge segment of each layer of the heretofore not - etched metal layer set , e . g ., the second electrode region can extend from the cavity sidewall to the last ( innermost ) dielectric layer , then a second selective etch can recess those metal layers 24 x not etched by the first selective etch . as shown in fig8 b , the second electrode region can be opposite the first electrode region , but this relative position is not required . the second electrode region can be located per convenience of the process integration . it can , e . g ., be adjacent the first electrode region . in preferred embodiments there is no overlap of the first and second electrode regions . fig8 a shows second metal layer 241 recessed by the second selective etch , and a cross section of the structure of a pore embodiment of fig8 a at cut ‘ 8 b ’ is shown in fig8 b . note that if the mim stack had more layers , for example , with three second metal layers , then all three could be exposed by a single ‘ second electrode mask ’, and all three could be recessed simultaneously by a single ‘ second selective etch ’ step . in some embodiments , the substrate can constitute a plate of the mimcap . if the substrate constituted part of the ‘ second - type ’ plate of the ultimate capacitor structure , one option would be to recess the substrate within the second electrode region , but another option would be to pattern the second electrode ( as described in conjunction with fig1 a and 10b ) such that it did not extend over the substrate . as illustrated in fig9 a , a dielectric material 270 can backfill the recesses formed by the two selective etch steps . appropriate dielectric materials include oxide , nitride , or amorphous carbon . after removing excess dielectric 270 , such as by cmp , the mimcap electrodes can be formed . according to one embodiment , a conductive film 280 can be formed over the wafer , such film in conductive contact with the exposed metal layers of the mimcap and extending over the substrate surface . fig9 b illustrates that conductive film 280 can extend over dielectric regions 270 to avoid conductive contact with corresponding metal layers . a patterning step can form a first electrode 281 that is in contact with all second - type metal layers 24 x ( and no first - type metal layers ) and a second electrode 282 that is in contact with all first - type metal layers 23 x ( and no second - type metal layers ) as illustrated in fig1 a and fig1 b . for example , continuing with the embodiment illustrated by fig7 and 8 , the first electrode 281 can contact the mimcap stack only within the first exposed region 251 so that electrode 281 connects all second metal layers but is insulated from all first metal layers by the dielectric that backfilled the recesses formed by the first selective etch . and the second electrode 282 can contact the mimcap stack only within the second exposed region , whereby electrode 282 connects all first - type metal layers but is insulated from all second - type metal layers by the dielectric backfill in the recesses formed by the second selective etch . if the substrate constituted a plate of this mimcap , then electrode 281 could be formed to connect all second - type metal layers with the substrate plate , and electrode 282 could be trimmed such that it contacts all first - type metal layers and does not contact the substrate plate . although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments , certain equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings . in particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components ( assemblies , devices , circuits , etc .) the terms ( including a reference to a “ means ”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond , unless otherwise indicated , to any component which performs the specified function of the described component ( i . e ., that is functionally equivalent ), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention . in addition , while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments , such feature may be combined with one or more features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application .
| 7 |
the present invention is particularly suited for the rapid production and isolation of cdna libraries from small amounts of poly a + rna or mrna in a high - throughout manner . in a preferred aspect of the invention , a population of single - stranded poly a + rna or mrna is hybridized in solution with a ligand - coupled primer adapter ( non - specific or gene - specific ). as used herein , the term “ primer - adapter ” refers to a nucleic acid molecule which is capable of specifically binding ( e . g ., hybridizing ) to a template nucleic acid molecule ( e . g ., a mrna or polya + rna molecule ). in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention , the primer - adapter allows priming of the transcription , reverse transcription , polymerization or elongation of a nucleic acid molecule complementary to all or a portion of the template nucleic acid molecule . according to the invention , the first and second strand cdna reactions are preferably performed in one tube , introducing the ligand at or near the 3 ′ end of the double - stranded cdna produced . the ligand - coupled cdna may then be isolated by binding to a solid support coupled with a hapten to which the cdna will bind through ligand - hapten interactions , thereby allowing the concentration of the cdna and exchange of the buffer without organic extraction and precipitation . subsequently , the bound cdna is released from the solid phase support by restriction enzyme digestion . this asymmetric cdna is then cloned directionally into a vector that contains the appropriate termini ( one terminus matches the restriction site used to release the cdna and the other terminus is blunt ended ). subsequent or prior to cloning into a vector , specific cdna sequences ( e . g ., genes or gene fragments ) may be selectively isolated using target - specific primer - adapters of the invention . in addition to the elimination of multiple time - consuming extractions and precipitations , the methods of the invention eliminate the need for dna adapters and cdna fractionation ( normally a necessary step to remove excess unligated adapters ). the invention thus facilitates rapid production and isolation of larger amounts of cdna and the construction of cdna libraries from nanogram amounts of poly a + rna or mrna without the need for pcr amplification . the invention also provides a simple selection technique which allows isolation of desired genes or gene fragments from the constructed cdna library . using the methods of the invention , nucleic acid molecules and in particular cdna molecules may be prepared from a variety of nucleic acid template molecules . preferred nucleic acid molecules for use in the present invention include single - stranded or double - stranded rna . more preferred nucleic acid molecules include polyadenylated rna ( polya + rna ), messenger rna ( mrna ), transfer rna ( trna ) and ribosomal rna ( rrna ) molecules , and most preferred are mrna and polya + rna molecules . the nucleic acid template molecules that are used to prepare nucleic acid or cdna molecules according to the methods of the present invention may be prepared synthetically according to standard organic chemical synthesis methods that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill . more preferably , the nucleic acid template molecules may be obtained from natural sources , such as a variety of cells , tissues , organs or organisms . cells that may be used as sources of nucleic acid molecules may be prokaryotic ( bacterial cells , including those of species of the genera escherichia , bacillus , serratia , salmonella , staphylococcus , streptococcus , clostridium , chlamydia , neisseria , treponema , mycoplasma , borrelia , legionella , pseudomonas , mycobacterium , helicobacter , erwinia , agrobacterium , rhizobium , and streptomyces ) or eukaryotic ( including fungi ( especially yeasts ), plants , protozoans and other parasites , and animals including insects ( particularly drosophila spp . cells ), nematodes ( particularly caenorhabditis elegans cells ), and mammals ( particularly human cells )): mammalian somatic cells that may be used as sources of nucleic acids include blood cells ( reticulocytes and leukocytes ), endothelial cells , epithelial cells , neuronal cells ( from the central or peripheral nervous systems ), muscle cells ( including myocytes and myoblasts from skeletal , smooth or cardiac muscle ), connective tissue cells ( including fibroblasts , adipocytes , chondrocytes , chondroblasts , osteocytes and osteoblasts ) and other stromal cells ( e . g ., macrophages , dendritic cells , schwann cells ). mammalian germ cells ( spermatocytes and oocytes ) may also be used as sources of nucleic acids for use in the invention , as may the progenitors , precursors and stem cells that give rise to the above somatic and germ cells . also suitable for use as nucleic acid sources are mammalian tissues or organs such as those derived from brain , kidney , liver , pancreas , blood , bone marrow , muscle , nervous , skin , genitourinary , circulatory , lymphoid , gastrointestinal and connective tissue sources , as well as those derived from a mammalian ( including human ) embryo or fetus . any of the above prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells , tissues and organs may be normal , diseased , transformed , established , progenitors , precursors , fetal or embryonic . diseased cells may , for example , include those involved in infectious diseases ( caused by bacteria , fungi or yeast , viruses ( including aids ) or parasites ), in genetic or biochemical pathologies ( e . g ., cystic fibrosis , hemophilia , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis ) or in cancerous processes . transformed or established animal cell lines may include , for example , cos cells , cho cells , vero cells , bhk cells , hela cells , hepg2 cells , k562 cells , f9 cells and the like . other cells , cell lines , tissues , organs and organisms suitable as sources of nucleic acids for use in the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . once the starting cells , tissues , organs or other samples are obtained , nucleic acid molecules ( such as mrna ) may be isolated therefrom by methods that are well - known in the art ( see , e . g ., maniatis , t ., et al ., cell 15 : 687 - 701 ( 1978 ); okayama , h ., and berg , p ., mol . cell . biol . 2 : 161 - 170 ( 1982 ); gubler , u ., and hoffman , b . j ., gene 25 : 263 - 269 ( 1983 )). as discussed , the invention provides an improvement in isolating mrna and / or polya + rna from samples . the use of the primer - adapters of the invention , which specifically recognize and bind polya + rna or mrna , allows for such selection . preferably , the primer - adapter recognizes and hybridizes to the polya tail of the mrna or polya + rna . such primer - adapters may include an primer - adapters comprising oligo ( dt ). once bound , use of the ligand portion of the primer - adapter allows isolation of the desired rna molecule . the polya + rna or mrna molecules thus isolated may then be used to prepare cdna molecules and cdna libraries using the methods of the present invention . in the practice of the invention , nucleic acid molecules and in particular cdna molecules or cdna libraries comprising one or more ligand molecules are produced by mixing a nucleic acid template obtained as described above , which is preferably a mrna molecule or a polya + rna molecule , with one or more polypeptides having polymerase activity and / or reverse transcriptase activity and with a one or more primer - adapters of the invention . under conditions favoring the reverse transcription and / or polymerization of the input nucleic acid molecule , synthesis of a nucleic acid molecule complementary to all or a portion of the template is accomplished . preferred polypeptides ( e . g ., enzymes ) having reverse transcriptase and / or polymerase activity to be used in the present invention include , but are not limited to , moloney murine leukemia virus ( m - mlv ) reverse transcriptase , rous sarcoma virus ( rsv ) reverse transcriptase , avian myeloblastosis virus ( amv ) reverse transcriptase , rous associated virus ( rav ) reverse transcriptase , myeloblastosis associated virus ( mav ) reverse transcriptase , human immunodeficiency virus ( hiv ) reverse transcriptase , retroviral reverse transcriptase , retrotransposon reverse transcriptase , hepatitis b reverse transcriptase , cauliflower mosaic virus reverse transcriptase , bacterial reverse transcriptase , thermus thermophilus ( tth ) dna polymerase , thermus aquaticus ( taq ) dna polymerase , thermotoga neopolitana ( tne ) dna polymerase , thermotoga maritima ( tma ) dna polymerase , thermococcus litoralis ( tli or vent ™) dna polymerase , pyrococcus furiosus ( pfu or deepvent ™) dna polymerase , pyrococcus woosii ( pwo ) dna polymerase , bacillus sterothermophilus ( bst ) dna polymerase , sulfolobus acidocaldarius ( sac ) dna polymerase , thermoplasma acidophilum ( tac ) dna polymerase , thermus flavus ( tfl / tub ) dna polymerase , thermus ruber ( tru ) dna polymerase , thermus brockianus ( dynazyme ™) dna polymerase , methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ( mth ) dna polymerase , and mutants , variants and derivatives thereof . particularly preferred for use in the invention are the variants of these enzymes that are substantially reduced in rnase h activity . by an enzyme “ substantially reduced in rnase h activity ” is meant that the enzyme has less than about 20 %, more preferably less than about 15 %, 10 % or 5 %, and most preferably less than about 2 %, of the rnase h activity of a wildtype or “ rnase h + ” enzyme such as wildtype m - mlv or amv reverse transcriptases . the rnase h activity of any enzyme may be determined by a variety of assays , such as those described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 244 , 797 , in kotewicz , m . l ., et al ., nucl . acids res . 16 : 265 ( 1988 ) and in gerard , g . f ., et al ., focus 14 ( 5 ): 91 ( 1992 ), the disclosures of all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference . any ligand to which a hapten molecule will bind may be used to form the ligand - coupled primer - adapter molecule used in the present methods . suitable ligands for this purpose include , but are not limited to : ( i ) biotin ; ( ii ) an antibody ; ( iii ) an enzyme ; ( iv ) lipopolysaccharide ; ( v ) apotransferrin ; ( vi ) ferrotransferrin ; ( vii ) insulin ; ( viii ) cytokines ( growth factors , interleukins or colony - stimulating factors ); ( ix ) gp120 ; ( x ) β - actin ; ( xi ) lfa - 1 ; ( xii ) mac - 1 ; ( xiii ) glycophorin ; ( xiv ) laminin ; ( xv ) collagen ; ( xvi ) fibronectin ; ( xvii ) vitronectin ; ( xviii ) integrins α v β 1 and α v β 3 ; ( xix ) integrins α 3 β 1 , α 4 β 1 , α 4 β 7 , α 5 β 1 , α v β 1 , α iib β 3 , α v β 3 and α v β 6 ; ( xx ) integrins α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 3 β 1 and α v β 3 ; ( xxi ) integrins α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 3 β 1 , α 6 β 1 , α 7 β 1 and α 6 β 5 ; ( xxii ) ankyrin ; ( xxiii ) c3bi , fibrinogen or factor x ; ( xxiv ) icam - 1 or icam - 2 ; ( xxv ) spectrin or fodrin ; ( xxvi ) cd4 ; ( xxvii ) a cytokine ( e . g ., growth factor , interleukin or colony - stimulating factor ) receptor ; ( xxviii ) an insulin receptor ; ( xxix ) a transferrin receptor ; ( xxx ) fe +++ ; ( xxxi ) polymyxin b or endotoxin - neutralizing protein ( enp ); ( xxxii ) an enzyme - specific substrate ; ( xxxiii ) protein a , protein g , a cell - surface fc receptor or an antibody - specific antigen ; and ( xxxiv ) avidin and streptavidin . most preferred for use in the methods of the invention is biotin . the ligand - coupled primer - adapter nucleic acid molecules , in which one or more ligand molecules are attached ( preferably covalently ) to one or more nucleotides of the primer - adapter molecule ( see , for example , fig1 ), may be produced using conventional organic synthesis methods that are familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , the oligonucleotide may be biotinylated at the 5 ′ terminus by first producing 5 ′ amino ( nh 2 ) groups followed by cab - nhs ester addition ( langer , p . r ., et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 78 : 6633 ( 1981 )). in a particularly preferred aspect of the invention , a primer - adapter molecule comprising one or more , two or more ; three or more or four or more ligand molecules , most preferably biotin molecules , is prepared . in addition to the ligand molecules , the primer - adapter molecule also preferably comprises one or more endonuclease cleavage sites , preferably restriction endonuclease cleavage sites . these sites facilitate the release of the newly synthesized nucleic acid molecule comprising the primer - adapter from the hapten - coupled solid support . examples of endonucleases which can be used in accordance with the invention include , but are not limited to , geneii . examples of restriction endonucleases which can be used in accordance with the invention include , but are not limited to , alui , eco47 iii , ecorv , fspi , hpai , msci , nrui , pvuii , rsai , scai , smai , sspi , stui , thai , avai , bamhi , bannii , bglii , clai , ecori , hindiii , hpaii , kpni , msei , ncoi , ndei , noti , psti , pvui , saci / ssti , sali , xbai , xhoi and i - ceui . the restriction endonuclease sites engineered into the primer - adapter molecule are preferably chosen to result in either blunt ends or sticky ends . examples of blunt - end restriction enzymes , the recognition sites for which may be engineered into the primer - adapter molecules of the invention , include without limitation alui , eco47 iii , ecorv , fspi , hpai , msci , nrui , pvuii , rsai , scai , smai , sspi , stui and thai . examples of sticky - end restriction enzymes , the recognition sites for which may be engineered into the primer - adapter molecules of the invention , include without limitation avai , bamhi , banii , bglii , clai , ecori , hindiii , hpaii , kpni , msei , ncoi , ndei , noti , psti , pvui , sacii / ssti , sali , xba , xhoi and i - ceui . in a particularly preferred aspect of the invention , the primer - adapter molecule is engineered to contain a site recognized by rare cutting restriction endonucleases , for example , those recognizing 8 or more bases ( e . g ., a 8 - basepair cutter , etc .). such restriction sites may include a noti restriction site , i - ceui restriction site , a pi - pspi restriction site , an i - ppoi restriction site , a pi - tlii restriction site and a pi - fcei restriction site . the above - mentioned restriction enzymes , and others that may be equivalently used in the methods of the present invention , are available commercially , for example from life technologies , inc . ( rockville , md .). see also roberts , r . j ., nucl . acids res . 17 ( suppl . ): r347 - r387 ( 1989 ), for other examples of restriction enzymes and their cleavage sites . once the ligand - coupled primer - adapter molecule has been obtained , it is used to produce nucleic acid molecules from the input nucleic acid using any of a number of well - known techniques . such synthetic techniques involve hybridization of the primer - adapter to the nucleic acid template and extending the primer - adapter to make a nucleic acid molecule complementary to all or a portion of the template . such synthesis is accomplished in the presence of nucleotides ( e . g ., deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates ( dntps ), dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphates ( ddntps ) or derivatives thereof ) and one or more polypeptides having polymerase and / or reverse transcriptase activity . the primer - adapters of the invention may be used in any nucleic acid synthesis reaction including cdna synthesis , nucleic acid amplification and nucleic acid sequencing , using well - known techniques . for synthesis of cdna , the primer - adapter molecules of the invention may be used in conjunction with methods of cdna synthesis such as those described in example 1 below , or others that are well - known in the art ( see , e . g ., gubler , u ., and hoffman , b . j ., gene 25 : 263 - 269 ( 1983 ); krug , m . s ., and berger , s . l ., meth . enzymol . 152 : 316 - 325 ( 1987 ); sambrook , j ., et al ., molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , 2nd ed ., cold spring harbor , n . y . : cold spring harbor laboratory press , pp . 8 . 60 - 8 . 63 ( 1987 )), to produce cdna molecules or libraries . alternatively , the primer adapter molecules of the invention may be used in single - tube synthesis of cdna molecules according to the invention . in this approach , the input nucleic acid molecule ( preferably a mrna or polya + rna molecule ) is hybridized in solution with the primer - adapter molecule of the invention , and the hybridized complex is contacted with a polypeptide ( e . g ., an enzyme ) having reverse transcriptase activity ( which is preferably any of those described above ) in the presence of dntps and cofactors needed for cdna synthesis . following first strand synthesis , the second cdna strand may then be synthesized in the same reaction vessel by a modified gubler - hoffman reaction ( d &# 39 ; alessio , j . m ., et al ., focus 9 : 1 ( 1987 )). other techniques of cdna synthesis in which the methods of the invention may be advantageously used will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . according to the present methods , single - stranded or double - stranded nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna molecules or cdna libraries ) comprising one or more primer - adapters will be produced . such nucleic acid molecules or libraries may then be rapidly isolated from solution by binding the nucleic acid molecules to a solid support comprising one or more hapten molecules that will bind the ligands . in the practice of the invention , any solid support to which a ligand - specific hapten molecule can be bound may be used . preferred such solid phase supports include , but are not limited to , nitrocellulose , diazocellulose , glass , polystyrene , polyvinylchloride , polypropylene , polyethylene , dextran , sepharose , agar , starch , nylon , beads and microtitre plates . preferred are beads made of glass , latex or a magnetic material , and particularly preferred are magnetic , paramagnetic or superparamagnetic beads . linkage of the hapten molecule to the solid support can be accomplished by any method of hapten coupling such as covalent , hydrophobic or ionic coupling ( including coating ) that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art . according to the invention , any hapten molecule having the capability of binding the ligand molecule that is coupled to the primer - adapter molecule ( and that therefore is contained in the nucleic acid molecules produced by the present methods ) may be used . particularly preferred hapten molecules for use in the invention ( which correspond in order to the ligand molecules listed above ) include without limitation : ( i ) avidin and streptavidin ; ( ii ) protein a , protein g , a cell - surface fc receptor or an antibody - specific antigen ; ( iii ) an enzyme - specific substrate ; ( iv ) polymyxin b or endotoxin - neutralizing protein ( enp ); ( v ) f +++ ; ( vi ) a transferrin receptor ; ( vii ) an insulin receptor ; ( viii ) a cytokine ( e . g ., growth factor , interleukin or colony - stimulating factor ) receptor ; ( ix ) cd4 ; ( x ) spectrin or fodrin ; ( xi ) icam - 1 or icam - 2 ; ( xii ) c3bi , fibrinogen or factor x ; ( xiii ) ankyrin ; ( xiv ) integrins α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 3 β 1 , α 6 β 1 , α 7 β 1 and α 6 β 5 ; ( xv ) integrins α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 3 β 1 and α v β 3 ; ( xvi ) integrins α 3 β 1 , α 4 β 1 , α 4 β 7 , α 5 β 1 , α v β 1 , α iib β 3 α v β 3 and α v β 6 ; ( xvii ) integrins α v β 1 and α v β 3 ; ( xviii ) vitronectin ; ( xix ) fibronectin ; ( xx ) collagen ; ( xxi ) laminin ; ( xxii ) glycophorin ; mac - 1 ; ( xxiv ) lfa - 1 ; ( xxv ) β - actin ; ( xxvi ) gp120 ; ( xxvii ) cytokines ( growth factors , interleukins or colony - stimulating factors ); ( xxviii ) insulin ; ( xxix ) ferrotransferrin ; ( xxx ) apotransferrin ; ( xxxi ) lipopolysaccharide ; ( xxii ) an enzyme ; ( xxviii ) an antibody ; and ( xxxiv ) biotin . for example , in a preferred aspect of the invention where the primer - adapter molecule and the newly synthesized nucleic acid molecules comprise biotin , a biotin - binding hapten such as avidin or streptavidin may be linked to the solid support . in a particularly preferred such aspect , the solid support used is avidin - or streptavidin - coupled magnetic , paramagnetic or superparamagnetic beads which are commercially available , for example , from dynal a . s . ( oslo , norway ) or from sigma ( st . louis , mo .). of course , the choice of hapten will depend upon the choice of ligand used in the production of the primer - adapter molecule ; appropriate haptens for use in the methods of the invention will thus be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art . to isolate the nucleic acid molecules produced by the methods of the invention , the solution comprising the nucleic acid molecules which comprise the primer - adapters of the invention is contacted with the hapten - coupled solid support under conditions favoring binding of the ligand by the hapten . typically , these conditions include incubation in a buffered salt solution , preferably a tris -, phosphate -, hepes - or carbonate - buffered sodium chloride solution , more - preferably a tris - buffered sodium chloride solution , still more preferably a solution comprising about 10 - 100 mm tris - hcl and about 300 - 2000 mm nacl , and most preferably a solution comprising about 10 mm tris - hcl and about 1 m nacl , at a ph of about 6 - 9 , more preferably a ph of about 7 - 8 , still more preferably a ph of about 7 . 2 - 7 . 6 , and most preferably a ph of about 7 . 5 . incubation is preferably conducted at 0 ° c . to about 25 ° c ., and most preferably at about 25 ° c ., for about 30 - 120 minutes , preferably about 45 - 90 minutes , and most preferably about 60 minutes , to allow the binding of the ligand - coupled nucleic acid molecules to the hapten - coupled solid support . once the nucleic acid molecules have been bound to the solid phase support , unwanted or contaminant materials ( such as buffers and enzymes from first and second strand synthesis reactions , untranscribed input rna molecules , etc .) may be eliminated by simply removing them in the supernatants . for example , in a preferred aspect in which biotinylated cdna molecules are bound to a avidin - or streptavidin - coupled solid phase , the contaminants may be removed by gently aspirating and discarding the supernatants . in a particularly preferred such aspect in which avidin - or streptavidin - coupled magnetic , paramagnetic or superparamagnetic beads are used as the solid support , the nucleic acid ( e . g ., cdna )- containing beads are segregated from the supernatants using a magnet ( such as a magna - sep magnetic particle separator ; life technologies , inc .) and the supernatants are withdrawn using a pipette . prior to their release from the solid support , the immobilized nucleic acid molecules are preferably washed one or more times , for example with one of the buffered salt solutions described above , to more fully remove unwanted materials . once the contaminants have been fully removed , the nucleic acid ( e . g ., cdna ) molecules may be released from the solid support by contacting the support with an endonuclease , which may be a restriction endonuclease , that specifically recognizes the sequence engineered into the primer - adapter molecule as described above , under conditions favoring the cleavage of the recognition sequence . in a particularly preferred such aspect of the invention in which a noti and / or i - ceui recognition sequence is engineered into the primer - adapter molecule ( and is thus contained in the newly synthesized nucleic acid ( e . g ., cdna ) molecules ), the solid support is contacted with a solution comprising noti and / or i - ceui . of course , the choice of restriction enzyme used to release the nucleic acid molecules from the solid support will depend upon the specific recognition site engineered into the primer - adapter molecule and the possibility of that recognition site being present in the nucleic acid molecules . preferred conditions for release of the nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna or cdna libraries ) from the solid support include incubation at about 20 ° c . to about 40 ° c ., preferably at about 25 ° c . to about 39 ° c ., more preferably about 30 ° c . to about 37 ° c ., and most preferably about 37 ° c ., for about 30 - 180 minutes , preferably about 60 - 150 minutes , and most preferably about 120 minutes . following their release from the solid support , the nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna molecules or cdna libraries ) may be processed and further purified in accordance with the invention , or by techniques that are well - known in the literature ( see , e . g ., gubler , u ., and hoffman , b . j ., gene 25 : 263 - 269 ( 1983 ); krug , m . s ., and berger , s . l ., meth . enzymol . 152 : 316 - 325 ( 1987 ); sambrook , j ., et al ., molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , 2nd ed ., cold spring harbor , n . y . : cold spring harbor laboratory press , pp . 8 . 60 - 8 . 63 ( 1987 )), and others that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the art . the present invention also provides kits for use in production and isolation of nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna molecules or libraries ). kits according to this aspect of the invention comprise a carrier means , such as a box , carton , tube or the like , having in close confinement therein one or more containers , such as vials , tubes , ampules , bottles and the like , wherein a first container contains one or more primer - adapter nucleic acid molecules , which are preferably biotinylated primer - adapter nucleic acid molecules . in other aspects , the kits of the invention may further comprise one or more additional containers containing a hapten - coupled solid support , which may be any of the above - described solid supports and which is most preferably avidin - or streptavidin - coupled magnetic , paramagnetic or superparamagnetic beads . in additional aspects , the kits of the invention may further comprise one or more additional containers containing , for example , one or more nucleotides ( e . g ., dntps , ddntps or derivatives thereof ) or one or more polypeptides ( e . g ., enzymes ) having reverse transcriptase activity and / or polymerase activity , preferably any of those enzymes described above . such nucleotides or derivatives thereof may include , but are not limited to , dutp , datp , dttp , dctp , dgtp , ditp , 7 - deaza - dgtp , α - thio - datp , α - thio - dttp , α - thio - dgtp , α - thio - dctp , ddutp , ddatp , ddttp , ddctp , ddgtp , dditp , 7 - deaza - ddgtp , α - thio - ddatp , α - thio - ddttp , α - thio - ddgtp , α - thio - ddctp or derivatives thereof , all of which are available commercially from sources including life technologies , inc . ( rockville , md . ), new england biolabs ( beverly , mass .) and sigma chemical company ( saint louis , mo .). additional kits according to the invention may comprise one or more additional containers containing one or more endonucleases or restriction enzymes used for release of the nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna molecules or cdna libraries ) from the solid support . the kits encompassed by this aspect of the present invention may further comprise additional reagents ( e . g ., suitable buffers ) and compounds necessary for carrying out nucleic acid reverse transcription and / or polymerization protocols . the present invention can be used in a variety of applications requiring rapid production and isolation of nucleic acid molecules . the invention is particularly suited for isolation of mrna or polya + rna molecules , for isolation of desired nucleic acid molecules from a population of nucleic acid molecules , and for production of nucleic acid molecules ( particularly full - length cdna molecules from small amounts of mrna ). the invention is also directed to methods for the amplification of a nucleic acid molecule , and to nucleic acid molecules amplified by to these methods . according to this aspect of the invention , a nucleic acid molecule may be amplified ( i . e ., additional copies of the nucleic acid molecule prepared ) by amplifying the nucleic acid molecule ( e . g ., a cdna molecules ) of the invention according to any amplification method that is known in the art . particularly preferred amplification methods according to this aspect of the invention include pcr ( u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 683 , 195 and 4 , 683 , 202 ), strand displacement amplification ( sda ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 455 , 166 ; ep 0 684 315 ), and nucleic acid sequence - based amplification ( nasba ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 409 , 818 ; ep 0 329 822 ). most preferred are those methods comprising one or more pcr amplifications . the invention is also directed to methods that may be used to prepare recombinant vectors which comprise the nucleic acid molecules or amplified nucleic acid molecules of the present invention , to host cells which comprise these recombinant vectors , to methods for the production of a recombinant polypeptide using these vectors and host cells , and to recombinant polypeptides produced using these methods . recombinant vectors may be produced according to this aspect of the invention by inserting , using methods that are well - known in the art , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules or amplified nucleic acid molecules prepared according to the present methods into a vector ( see fig1 ). the vector used in this aspect of the invention may be , for example , a phage or a plasmid , and is preferably a plasmid . preferred are vectors comprising cis - acting control regions to the nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of interest . appropriate trans - acting factors may be supplied by the host , supplied by a complementing vector or supplied by the vector itself upon introduction into the host . in certain preferred embodiments in this regard , the vectors are expression vectors that provide for specific expression of the cdna molecule or nucleic acid molecule of the invention , which vectors may be inducible and / or cell type - specific . particularly preferred among such vectors are those inducible by environmental factors that are easy to manipulate , such as temperature and nutrient additives . expression vectors useful in the present invention include chromosomal -, episomal - and virus - derived vectors , e . g ., vectors derived from bacterial plasmids or bacteriophages , and vectors derived from combinations thereof , such as cosmids and phagemids , and will preferably include at least one selectable marker such as a tetracycline or ampicillin resistance gene for culturing in a bacterial host cell . prior to insertion into such an expression vector , the nucleic acid molecules ( e . g ., cdna molecules ) or amplified nucleic acid molecules of the invention should be operatively linked to an appropriate promoter , such as the phage lambda pl promoter , the e . coli lac , trp and tac promoters . other suitable promoters will be known to the skilled artisan . among vectors preferred for use in the present invention include pqe70 , pqe60 and pqe - 9 , available from qiagen ; pbs vectors , phagescript vectors , bluescript vectors , pnh8a , pnh16a , pnh18a , pnh46a , available from stratagene ; pcdna3 available from invitrogen ; pgex , ptrxfus , ptrc99a , pet - 5 , pet - 9 , pkk223 - 3 , pkk233 - 3 , pdr540 , prit5 available from pharmacia ; and psport1 , psport2 and psv • sport1 , available from life technologies , inc . other suitable vectors will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan . representative host cells that may be used according to the invention include , but are not limited to , bacterial cells , yeast cells , plant cells and animal cells . preferred bacterial host cells include escherichia spp . cells ( particularly e . coli cells and most particularly e . coli strains dh10b and stb12 ), bacillus spp . cells ( particularly b . subtilis and b . megaterium cells ), streptomyces spp . cells , erwinia spp . cells , klebsiella spp . cells and salmonella spp . cells ( particularly s . typhimurium cells ). preferred animal host cells include insect cells ( most particularly spodoptera frugiperda sf and sf21 cells and trichoplusa high - five cells ) and mammalian cells ( most particularly cho , cos , vero , bhk and human cells ). these and other suitable host cells are available commercially , for example from life technologies , inc ., american type culture collection and invitrogen . in addition , the invention provides methods for producing a recombinant polypeptide , and polypeptides produced by these methods . according to this aspect of the invention , a recombinant polypeptide may be produced by culturing any of the above recombinant host cells under conditions favoring production of a polypeptide therefrom , and isolation of the polypeptide . methods for culturing recombinant host cells , and for production and isolation of polypeptides therefrom , are well - known to one of ordinary skill in the art . in other applications , the methods of the invention may be used to generate a gene - specific cdna library from a complex population of poly a + rna . the methods of the invention , in combination with polymorphism analysis methods such as aflp , also facilitate rapid and direct identification of transcriptional differences between two different dna populations . additionally , the primer - adapter used in the invention can be designed to contain a regulatory sequence , such as a promoter , enhancer or other regulatory region . in one such aspect , a promoter for t7 or sp6 rna polymerase may be engineered into the primer - adapter , thereby enabling the production of additional copies of the original mrna for use in amplification or subtraction . furthermore , the methods of the invention can be used to isolate poly a + rna from total rna , such as from cells , tissues , organs or organisms , or to generate a cdna library directly from total rna . in the latter application , the invention is particularly useful when the mrna of interest represents only a minute fraction of the total rna ; by the invention , this low - level mrna may be rapidly and efficiently isolated from the background of total rna and may then be rapidly and efficiently reverse transcribed into single - stranded or double - stranded cdna molecules for a variety of purposes such as cloning and / or amplification . it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant arts that other suitable modifications and adaptations to the methods and applications described herein are obvious and may be made without departing from the scope of the invention or any embodiment thereof . having now described the present invention in detail , the same will be more clearly understood by reference to the following examples , which are included herewith for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting of the invention . first and second strand cdna synthesis reactions were conducted as described in the instruction manual for the superscript plasmid system ( life technologies , inc ., rockville , md . ), except that 50 - 5000 ng of mrna was used as starting material to produce a library of & gt ; 10 6 clones . the primer - adapter used in cdna synthesis contained four biotin ( b ) residues : briefly , 1 μg of the biotinylated primer - adapter was used to prime first strand synthesis for 60 minutes , in a solution containing 50 mm tris - hcl ( ph 8 . 3 ), 75 mm kcl , 3 mm mgcl 2 , 10 mm dtt , 500 μm each of datp , dctp , dgtp and dttp , 50 μm / ml bio - p - a and 10 , 000 to 50 , 000 units / ml superscript ii reverse transcriptase ( life technologies , inc .). second strand synthesis was performed for two hours at 16 ° c . using methods described previously ( okayama , h ., and berg , p ., mol . cell . biol . 2 : 161 ( 1982 ); gubler , u ., and hoffman , b . j ., gene 25 : 263 ( 1983 ); d &# 39 ; alessio , j . m ., et al ., focus 9 : 1 ( 1987 )), in a solution containing 25 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 5 ), 100 mm kcl , 5 mm mgcl 2 , 10 mm ( nh 4 ) 2 so 4 , 0 . 15 mm b - nad +, 250 μm each of datp , dctp , dgtp and dttp , 1 . 2 mm dtt , 65 units / ml dna ligase , 250 units / ml dna polymerase i and 13 units / ml rnase h . during the final 30 min of the two - hour second strand cdna synthesis reaction , streptavidin paramagnetic beads were prepared . briefly , paramagnetic beads ( life technologies , inc .) were resuspended and 150 μl of bead suspension was placed into a microcentrifuge tube for each reaction . the tubes were the placed into a magna - sep magnetic particle separator ( magnet ) for two minutes , and supernatant removed by aspiration . the beads were then washed by adding 100 μl of te buffer ( 10 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 5 ), 1 mm edta ) to each tube , resuspending beads , and removing supernatant after two minutes as described above . following washing , the beads were resuspended in 160 μl of binding buffer ( 10 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 5 ), 1 mm edta , 1 m nacl ) and held at 25 ° c . until use in isolating cdna . after incubating the second strand cdna synthesis reaction mixtures with t4 dna polymerase , the tubes were placed on ice and the reaction terminated by the addition to each tube of 10 μl of 0 . 5 m edta . the biotinylated cdna molecules were then isolated by contacting the solution with the streptavidin - coupled paramagnetic beads . briefly , 160 μl of the beads prepared as described above were added to the cdna reaction mixture tubes , and the tubes gently mixed and incubated for 60 minutes at room temperature . tubes were then inserted into the magnet for two minutes , after which supernatants were removed and discarded . the beads were then washed by gentle resuspension with 100 μl of wash buffer ( 10 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 5 ), 1 mm edta , 500 mm nacl ), followed by re - insertion into the magnet . after two minutes , supernatants were removed and discarded and the washing step repeated . following the second wash , beads were resuspended in 100 μl of wash buffer , transferred into fresh tubes , and washed twice as above ( with five minute exposures to the magnet ). following the second five - minute wash , supernatant was removed and discarded and cdna molecules were removed from the beads by incubation with noti . briefly , 50 μl of noti solution ( 41 μl of autoclaved distilled water , 5 μl of react 3 buffer ( 500 mm tris - hcl ( ph 8 . 0 ), 100 mm mgcl 2 , 1 m nacl ) and 4 μl of not i ) were added to each reaction tube and tubes mixed by gentle pipetting . tubes were incubated for two hours at 37 ° c ., then inserted into the magnet for two minutes . supernatants containing the cdna molecules were withdrawn into a fresh tube , and the beads gently resuspended in 20 μl of te buffer , re - inserted into the magnet for two minutes , and supernatants from this wash combined with those containing the cdna molecules from above . to each tube containing pooled supernatants , 70 μl of phenol : chloroform : isoamyl alcohol ( 25 : 24 : 1 ) was added and the tubes vortexed thoroughly and centrifuged at room temperature for five minutes at 14 , 000 × g . following centrifugation , 65 μl of the upper , aqueous layer were removed from each tube and transferred into fresh microcentrifiige tubes , and 32 μl of 7 . 5 m ammonium acetate , 1 μl ( 20 μg ) of glycogen and 250 μl of cold (− 20 ° c .) absolute ethanol were added to each tube . tubes were then mixed and stored on dry ice or at − 70 ° c . for 15 minutes , then centrifuged for 30 minutes at 14 , 000 × g at 4 ° c . supernatants were removed and discarded , 100 μl of 70 % ethanol were added to the pellets and the tubes were centrifuged for two minutes at 14 , 000 × g at room temperature . supernatants were removed and discarded , and the pellets were dried in a speed - vac and then dissolved in te buffer ( 10 μl for 50 - 200 ng of input mrna , or 100 μl for 200 - 5000 ng of input mrna ). final cdna yields were determined by cerenkov counting . from 10 to 50 ng of the cdna was ligated into a vector ( e . g ., pcmvsport ) and this ligation introduced into e . coli by transformation as described in the superscript plasmid system manual ( life technologies , inc . ), except the cloning vector was pre - digested with noti and smai . in one such ligation , 50 ng of vector was ligated to the cdna in a 1 . 5 ml microcentrifuge tube with 4 μl of 5 × t4 dna ligase buffer ( 250 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 6 ), 50 mm mgcl 2 , 5 mm atp , 5 mm dtt , 25 % ( w / v ) peg - 8000 ) and 1 μl of t4 ligase ( 1 unit ) at 4 ° c . for 16 hours . to examine the efficiency and yield of cdna synthesis by the methods of the invention , cdna was produced as described above and the amounts produced were compared to those obtained using an alternative commercially available system ( superscript plasmid system ; life technologies , inc ., rockville , md .). briefly , after introducing the pcmv • sport - cdna ligations into max e fficiency dh5α ™ and e lectro max ® dh10b cells , the cells were plated onto ampicillin - containing plates to determine transformation efficiencies . the cdna inserts were sized by using the sp6 and t7 promoter primers and 40 cycles of pcr on 48 randomly chosen colonies for each experiment . table 1 shows a comparison of the cdna yields obtained by the methods of the present invention to those obtained using the superscript plasmid system . these results demonstrate that the present invention produces about three - to four - fold greater yields of cdna than the superscript plasmid system . furthermore , the present invention demonstrates approximately equivalent transformation efficiencies and average insert sizes to those obtained with the superscript plasmid system . thus , the present invention provides methods for the rapid and efficient production of full - length cdna molecules without the use of time - consuming and yield - reducing cdna size fractionation steps . having demonstrated that the methods of the invention produce cdna rapidly and efficiently , the efficacy of the invention in producing cdna from varying amounts of input mrna was examined . in these studies , the amount of input mrna was varied from 5 ng to 1 μg and the cdna yield , transformation efficiency and average insert size determined as above . results are shown in table 2 . these results demonstrate that the present invention is capable of producing large cdna libraries ( i . e ., & gt ; 10 5 clones ) from as little as 5 ng of input mrna . previously , pcr ( a process that biases the cdna library ) was the only method that would have enabled the production of cdna libraries from this small amount of rna . together with those above , these results indicate that the invention is capable of rapidly and efficiently producing high - quality , full - length cdna molecules from varying quantities of input mrna , including those that show a low level of expression and thus represent only a small fraction of the polya + or total rna pools . having now fully described the present invention in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding , it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the same can be performed by modifying or changing the invention within a wide and equivalent range of conditions , formulations and other parameters without affecting the scope of the invention or any specific embodiment thereof , and that such modifications or changes are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the appended claims . all publications , patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains , and are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication , patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference .
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a method 200 for upgrading an os in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig2 . the method 200 begins by installing a temporary os file ( i . e ., the upgrade ) to a system disk ( step 202 ). the system &# 39 ; s boot pointers are updated to point to a memory location that points to the temporary os ( step 204 ) and the system is booted into the temporary os ( step 206 ). as an optional step , the user can be informed that the temporary os is running , rather than the permanent os ( step 208 ). with the temporary os operating , it is ready to accept system commands ( step 210 ). if the system command is not to make the temporary os permanent ( step 212 ), then the system processes the command as it would with any other system command ( step 214 ) and continues to accept commands ( step 210 ). if the system command is to make the temporary os permanent ( step 212 ), then the temporary os file is verified to ensure that it is not corrupted ( step 216 ). it is noted that the verification step ( step 216 ) is performed as a “ sanity check ” of the os file , and can be skipped . the boot pointers stored in the bsa on disk for the permanent os are updated to point to the current / temporary os , since the temporary os is now the permanent os ( step 218 ), and the method terminates ( step 220 ). the bsa maintains a pointer to the os file to load , and the bsa is stored in a particular area on the disk . when the temporary os is installed , a soft boot pointer is set to point to the temporary os file such that when the soft boot is initiated , the temporary os is loaded . while the temporary os is running , any type of system reboot will look to the bsa stored on disk to locate the permanent os file . essentially , making the temporary os the permanent os requires updating the boot pointer on disk to point to the temporary os . in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , the temporary os can be automatically hardened by the system , without further intervention by the user . the criteria to be applied for the automatic hardening can be supplied by the user when the os upgrade is installed , or can be supplied at a later time . for example , the user could specify that if the system runs for a predetermined period of time ( e . g ., three days ) without any errors , then the os upgrade should be made permanent . the criteria to be evaluated can be open - ended , including , but not limited to , the length of runtime without errors , a certain number errors over a given period of time , or the types of errors that can be permitted to occur . in addition , the criteria selected can be combined or performance thresholds can be established , such that the user can customize the determination whether to automatically harden the os upgrade . if the selected criteria are not met , or if a certain trigger condition is met ( e . g ., a fatal error occurs ), then the automatic hardening process is deactivated , and the user can manually harden the os upgrade , as described above . regardless of the criteria selected for the automatic hardening , the user is also able to deactivate the automatic hardening , such that a manually initiated hardening process would be required . the reason for this escape process is that the system may be running close to the threshold criteria specified by the user , but not sufficiently above the threshold to satisfy the user . for system integrity , it is better to provide the user with a way out of the automatic hardening process , than to force the user to accept a hardening he or she may be uncomfortable with . an example of the present invention as applied to the mcp os is shown as a method 300 in fig3 a and 3 b . however , the inventive principles disclosed herein can be applied to any os upgrades . the method 300 begins with a halt / load ( step 302 ). a determination is made whether the mcp currently running is a temporary mcp or a permanent mcp ( step 304 ). if the current mcp is permanent , then there is nothing further to do and the method terminates ( step 306 ). if the current mcp is temporary , then a task is created to display a message to the user indicating that the current mcp is temporary ( step 310 ) and the system then waits for system commands ( step 312 ). each system command is evaluated ( step 314 ) and if the system command is not “ cm : perm ” ( to make the current mcp permanent ), then the system command is processed as normal ( step 316 ) and the system continues to accept other commands ( step 312 ). if the “ cm : perm ” command is entered ( step 314 ), then the mcp code file is verified ( step 318 ). it is noted that the verification step is performed as a “ sanity check ” of the code file , and can be skipped . the mcpinfo array and the bsa are updated with the permanent mcp information ( step 320 ) and are saved to disk ( step 322 ). the current mcp becomes the permanent mcp and the method terminates ( step 324 ). when the display task is created ( step 310 ), it is forked off as a separate process . a message is displayed to the user indicating that the current mcp is a temporary mcp ( step 330 ). the system then waits for a response from the user or for a time limit to expire ( step 332 ). in a preferred embodiment , the time limit is 20 seconds . a determination is then made whether the user entered a response or whether the time limit expired ( step 334 ). if there was no response from the user ( meaning that the time limit expired ), then a determination is made whether the current mcp is still the temporary mcp ( step 336 ). if the mcp is still temporary , then the method waits for another response from the user or for another time limit ( step 332 ), as described above . if the user did enter a response , a determination is made whether the user entered an “ ax perm ” ( harden the soft mcp ) command ( step 338 ). if so , then the method continues by verifying the mcp code file ( step 318 ), as described above . if the user does not enter an “ ax perm ” command ( step 338 ), a check is made whether the user has entered a “ ds ” ( discontinue ) command to terminate the message display ( step 340 ). if the user has not entered a “ ds ” command , then a determination is made whether the current mcp is still the temporary mcp ( step 336 ), as described above . if the user has entered a “ ds ” command ( step 340 ) or if the temporary mcp has been hardened ( step 336 ), then the displayed message is removed because the problem has been addressed and the process ( i . e ., the waiting stack ) terminates ( step 342 ). although steps 310 - 324 and 330 - 342 are separate processes within the system , they do interact with each other . in mcp , steps 310 - 324 are referred to as a control stack and steps 330 - 342 are referred to as a waiting stack . under mcp , a screen display is divided into a number of different areas , with each area being capable of displaying information relating to different processes running under the os . when a waiting message is displayed , it is done so in a separate area of the screen from the main control area . as described above , there are two different ways for a user to harden the temporary mcp : ( 1 ) via the control stack and entering the “ cm : perm ” command ( step 314 ); and ( 2 ) via the waiting stack and entering the “ ax perm ” command ( step 338 ). if either of these methods are used to harden the mcp , the other is not needed ; this is the reason for the check made in step 336 . one mechanism of tracking when a temporary os change is performed is to set a bit in a reserved section of memory that indicates the presence of the temporary os . when this bit is encountered , a message is displayed to the user that informs them that the current os is a temporary os ( steps 310 , 330 ). when the message is acknowledged with the “ perm ” parameter ( step 338 ), the process of updating the permanent os information ( steps 318 - 324 ) is started . once completed , the reserved bit is reset and the system is considered to be running on the permanent os . a system 400 constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig4 a and 4 b . the system 400 includes a disk 402 , a memory 404 , and a boot process 406 . the disk 402 includes a boot pointer 408 , a permanent os 410 , and a temporary os 412 . as shown in fig4 a , the boot pointer 408 points to the permanent os 410 and the memory 404 is loaded with the location of the temporary os 412 . when the temporary os 412 is loaded , the boot process 406 is invoked and looks to the memory 404 to determine the location of the temporary os 412 on the disk 402 . on a subsequent reboot , the memory 404 is erased , and the boot process 406 looks to the boot pointer 408 stored on the disk 402 to load the permanent os 410 . when the temporary os 412 is made the permanent os 410 , the pointer stored in the memory 404 is copied to the boot pointer 408 , such that the boot pointer 408 now points to the temporary os 412 , as shown in fig4 b . this changing of the boot pointer 408 makes the temporary os 412 permanent . it is noted that the present invention may be implemented in a variety of systems and that the various techniques described herein may be implemented in hardware or software , or a combination of both . although the features and elements of the present invention are described in the preferred embodiments in particular combinations , each feature or element can be used alone ( without the other features and elements of the preferred embodiments ) or in various combinations with or without other features and elements of the present invention . while specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , many modifications and variations could be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . the above description serves to illustrate and not limit the particular invention in any way .
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on fig1 is shown a working storage mv and also an associated device called &# 34 ; fault vector &# 34 ; fv for eventually locating the faults of said storage . the working storage is mounted on a wiring carrier co , such as a printed circuit board or a thin or thick film module . the storage has a plurality of identical components cll ... cmn , each of which is made up of a large scale integrated circuit chip either mounted bare and uncovered on the wiring carrier co or enclosed in a protective and terminal case joined to the carrier . both mountings permit the individual replacement of components . as shown by fig1 components cll ... cmn are laid out on the wiring carrier co in a matrix array formed by rows and columns , the two indices attached to each component identifying respectively the column ( 1 .... m ) and the row ( 1 .... n ) to which it belongs . each of the components cll ... cmn is a large scale integrated circuit , preferably mos ( metal oxide silicon ) for well known reasons . each of these components has several addresses al ... ap , each corresponding to at least one store cell capable of storing one data bit ; for ease of description , it will be assumed here that each component has p = 2 addresses ( 1024 for example ) each corresponding to a store cell . consequently , each component has x addressing inputs , one data input and one data output , as well as the usual connections for supply , validation , inhibiting and read / write selection . in these conditions , access to a given store location of any one of components cll .... cmn can be achieved by means of an addressing bunch a comprising x conductors , each one of which is connected to the addressing inputs of the same rank of every component . this access , however , is effective only for the specified address of the components of a same column whose validation inputs are connected to one of the m conductors of a validation bunch b . this is , the components of a same column constitute a block , of which each one of the p addresses has n positions and can have written in or read out a word of n bits , respectively loaded or read in parallel by means of data input and output bunches d having n conductors . the selection write / read is carried out by means of a writing validation conductor e connected to the corresponding input of each of components cll ... cmn . the operation of the working storage mv which has just been described is as follows : access to a given address aj of a given block bk is obtained on the one hand by putting the x conductors of addressing bunch a into respective logic states whose combination corresponds to the said address and on the other hand by energizing the validation conductor of bunch b corresponding to the block . hence if a word must be written into the selected address of the working storage mv , the writing validation circuit e is energized and the n bits of the word to be written are loaded in parallel to the corresponding locations of the specified address by the n conductors of the input data bunch d ; inversely , to read out a word that had first been loaded in the selected address , the validation circuit is left in the quiescent state and the n bits of the word to be read are extracted in parallel by the n conductors of the data output bunch d . of course these operations are carried out under the control of a control unit ( not shown ) connected to the addressing bunch a and validation bunch b , as well as the writing selecting circuit e . the data input and output bunches d are connected to external registers ( not shown ). before describing the fault locating device or fault vector fv , it is advisable to analyze the defects or faults that could arise in working store mv and to establish the procedure enabling them to be located . a defective store cell or circuit can either remain permanently in one or the other of the logic states 0 , 1 , or it could be &# 34 ; tied &# 34 ; to another variable , for example , because of a spurious coupling . during the operation of the store , any internal fault of a component or any fault which affects that component alone ( for example a circuit interrupted on one of its terminals ) results in anomalies in the data circuits di corresponding to the row to which the faulty component belongs when block b k corresponds to the column to which that same component belongs is brought into play . depending on the nature of the fault , these anomalies can occur when data is read out of one , several or all of the addresses aj . similarly , if each component had at each of its addresses not one but several ( y ) store cells , the anomalies could appear on one of several of the y rows of corresponding bits . however , these considerations are unimportant as far as the implementation of the invention is concerned , for which it is sufficient to determine the row and column of the matrix to which the defective components to be changed belong . if the number of store cells or of faulty circuits in a component is thus immaterial , it is important on the other hand to check that each of these cells can correctly store and give back a data bit for both binary logic states ; the necessity for this double check has consequences that will be described hereafter . apart from individual component faults , the working store mv can display wiring faults either internal or external to the component matrix , but which all give rise during operation to anomalies affecting several components : thus when anomalies affect one specific bit on all the blocks , the fault concerns the corresponding data row dl .... dn ; inversely , if the anomalies affect all the bits of a single block , the fault concerns the validation row bl ... bm of that block ; finally , anomalies affecting all the bits of all the blocks give rise to a fault concerning either the addressing bunch or else the validation circuit for writing . as already mentioned , satisfactory location of faults of the working storage mv implies that each store cell must be checked for both logic states 0 and 1 . for so doing , in accordance with the invention , one writes successively in each address of the store several test words each one of which has as many bits as a store word and between which the two logic states 0 and 1 are distributed in such a way that each bit has assumed at least once each state when all the test words have been written . after anyone test word is written in a specific address , the contents of that address is read and compared bit for bit to the original test word . any discrepancy between the bit written in and the bit read out is detected to indicate a fault of the corresponding store cell ; when this procedure has been repeated for each of the test words , it is certain that all the store cells of the address in question have been checked for both logic states and therefore that all the defective cells of that address have been brought to light . the implementation of this process raises two problems , namely on the one hand the definition of the set of test words satisfying the criteria mentioned above and on the other hand the definition of a procedure to detect and locate addressing faults by means given in the detailed description that follows . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention , these two problems will be jointly resolved on the one hand through the use of a sequence of test words put in a specific order satisfying the criteria mentioned above and on the other hand through the use of a test procedure which essentially consists of : writing the sequence , repeated as many times as necessary , into the successive addresses of a same block ; starting again that operation for the same block with a cyclic permutation of the test words in the sequence until they return to their initial order ; and reproducing the whole of this process for each of the storage blocks . each writing in of test words at all the addresses is followed by the reading out of the content of each of these addresses for its comparison with the corresponding test word . the test words format corresponds to the format of the store words . in the case shown in fig2 in which the data words md processed by the working storage mv have two bytes each , with a parity bit , that is a total of 18 bits , the test words mt also have 18 bits . for each of these bits to assume at least once each logic state , it would appear that the use of whatever test word and of its complement would suffice ; however , since the inversion of a word having an even number of bits does not alter its parity bit , three test words mtl - 3 are , in fact , necessary . except for having to satisfy the above condition , these test words could have several structures and could be arranged in arbitrary order ; however , their structure and their sequence are chosen so that after they are written in consecutive addresses , the sequence s of the three test words mtl - 3 on the table of fig2 meets these various conditions . the number of test words , at least equal to three for reasons mentioned above , must satisfy an extra condition in order to be able to detact addressing faults . in case of a fault affecting addressing circuit , those addresses being effectively reached differ from the prescribed addresses by a value equal to a power of 2 , i . e . to the &# 34 ; weight &# 34 ; of the corresponding address position ; it is therefore necessary to write different test words in addresses distant from each other by whatever power of 2 , but , of course , smaller than the total number of addresses . because of the cyclic writing of the test words ( repetition of the sequence ) in the successive addresses of the block tested and taking into account the subsequent circular permutation of these test words , the last mentioned condition is satisfied if the number of test words of the sequence is different from all powers of 2 smaller than the total number of addresses . it means that for these reasons also , the sequence must have at least three test words . finally , to avoid any interference on the circuits of the store data locations belonging to all the blocks other than the one tested , it is preferable to load all the addresses of all these blocks with a neutral word mto corresponding to the combination of the logic state of the data output circuits when quiescent , namely , 18 bits in the 0 state , in the example shown in fig2 . after having briefly described the proposed test procedure , an example will now be described of the means used to implement it , that is the fault locating device or fault vector shown in fig1 . this device comprises essentially one auxiliary storage , advantageously made up of a permanent storage mp holding the test words sequence mtl ... mts . associated circuitary including gate , pl as well as shift and buffer registers ( not shown ) enable the cyclic reading of these words from any predetermined rank and their dispatch on the one hand to the data input circuits d of the working storage mv for writing in said storage and on the other hand to one of the sets of inputs of a comparison operator φ . an other set of inputs to operator φ is connected to the data output circuits d of the working storage mv . operator φ ensures the bit for bit comparison of each test word previously written in a specific address of the working storage mv with the word thereafter read at that same store address . operator φ generates an output signal having as many bits as the test words , normally all held in a normal logic state . however , if a bit of a word read in the permanent storage mp differs from the corresponding bit of the same word as previously written and then read in the working storage mv , the bit of like rank in the output signal of comparison operator 0 is switched to the state opposite the normal state . this output signal is applied to the inputs of a register n whose state identifies the rank of the differing or clashing bits and therefore the rank of the corresponding row of components . the output signal also is applied to a multiple or gate which operates gate circuits p2 that respectively control the connection of each of and thereby the column conductors bl ... bm to a corresponding position of a register m . consequently , the state of register m identifies the block and thereby the column containing a component recognized as defective by operator . registers m and n are linked with locating circuits l ( including for instance a sequential printer ) which establish the list of components found defective in the course of the test procedure . the said auxiliary storage and related devices and circuitry for carrying out the test procedure are operated either by the control unit of the data processing system adequately programmed for this purpose or else by a special , e . g . microprogrammed instruction generator g put into operation by a special triggering or enable signal f . under the control of clock signals h , said control unit or generator g supplies all the instructions required for the sequential access to successive addresses of each of the blocks of the working storage mv , the cyclic reading of the test words in the permanent auxilliary storage mp , the selection of write or read operations of the working storage and the operation of the gate circuits p1 and other devices associated with the permanent storage , as well as the comparison operator 0 , the registers m , n , the gate circuits p2 and the locating circuits l . the set of instructions required therefor will appear clearly from the following description of the flow - chart of fig3 : the combined operation of the working storage mv and of the fault locating device fv is shown in the flow - chart of fig3 . in that flow chart , a test word is designated by mti , i varying from l to s , the total number of words in the sequence ; similarly aj designates any of the addresses al ... p of a block bk corresponding to any one of the m columns of components , whereas di designates a data bit or group of data bits corresponding to any one of the n rows of components . as shown at the start of the test procedure , it will be assumed that indices i , j , k have initial values i o = 1 , j o = 1 , k o = 1 . under these conditions the reading of the flow - chart shows that during a first , preliminary step , the test word mt1 read in the permanent storage mp is simultaneously written in the first address a1 of first block b1 of the working storage mv . then indices i and j are increased simultaneously by one ( loop i ) which triggers the reading of the second test word mt2 in the permanent storage mp and its writing in the second address a2 of the first block b1 of the working storage . this procedure is repeated by simultaneously increasing indices i and j ( in loop i ) until the sequence of test words mt1 - mts is exhausted ; each of these test words is then written in the address with rank a1 - as corresponding to the first block b1 of the working storage . when the sequence of test words is thus exhausted , ( i = s ), this index is brought back to its initial value i o = 1 whereas index j is increased by one ( loop ii ). so , the test words sequence mt1 - mts is read again in the permanent storage mp and written in the consecutive addresses as + 1 - a2s of the first block b1 of the working storage mv by loop i . the preliminary stage is pursued by repetition of these procedures through the interplay of loops i and ii , which ensures the writing of sequences of test words mt1 - mts in the consecutive addresses of the first block b1 of the working storage mv repeated as many times as necessary to exhaust all the addresses of said block ( j = p ). the preliminary stage is ended by writing in the other blocks of the neutral word mto . at the end of this preliminary stage starts a procedural stage , with indices i and j being brought back to their initial values , i o and j o = 1 respectively . during this procedural stage , by the interplay of loops iii and iv , which operate respectively which operate like the loops i and ii , the content of each of consecutive addresses a1 - ap of block b1 of the working storage mv is read and compared by operator to φ corresonding test word mti written at this same address during the preliminary stage and which is read again in the permanent storage mp . when there are two clashing or differing bits of the same rank in a word read in working storage and in the corresponding test word as pointed out by the operator φ , the rank i of these bits is marked off by register n and the rank k of the block concerned is marked off simultaneously by register m , that is to say the first block rank , at this stage in the test procedure . when all the addresses of the first block have been tested ( j = p ), the preliminary stage is restarted , by the loop v . the beginning initial conditions are restored , except that the initial value i o is incremented by 1 . during a second preliminary stage , the sequence of test words read from the second word , i . e ., mt2 ... mts - mt1 , is cyclically written at the consecutive addresses a1 - ap of the same block b1 as before . then , during a second procedural stage , the content of each address is compared to the corresponding test word by the operator φ , any variance being indicated by registers m and n as before . at the end of this second procedural stage , loop v restarts a new preliminary stage - procedural stage cycle after a new incrementation by one of the initial value io of indice i , causing a new cyclic permutation of the test words . the sequence now become mt3 .... mts - mt1 - mt2 . the whole of the procedure described is repeated through the intervention of loop v until all the test words have taken the first position in the sequence ( io = s ) successively . in this way , each of the addresses a1 - ap of the first block b1 have been tested successively by each of the test words , and it is possible to detect all the eventual faults of the block components . then , the following block can be tested , with the indices i and j brought back to their initial values and indice k increased by one through the intervention of loop vi . when all the blocks have been tested in this way ( k = m ), the test procedure has ended , and it is possible to set up the diagnostic of the eventual faults of the working storage mv from the listing set up by the locating circuits l linked to registers m and n . this diagnostic can be carried out very simply as shown symbolically by the diagrams of fig4 to 7 . as shown in fig4 if only one component ck1 of the working storage is faulty , registers m and n , respectively , display the rank k of the column and the rank l of the row to which the defective component ck1 belongs . in order to take into account the possibility of internal faults individually concerning several components , the listing must be carried out block by block . in the case shown in fig5 in which all the components of a single block of rank k behave abnormally , the cause of the fail lies in the corresponding block validation circuit bk . inversely , as shown in fig6 if all components of a single row l behave abnormally , the cause of the fault lies in the data input or output circuits corresponding to row d l . finally , if all the components of the matrix show an abnormal behavior , as shown in fig7 the fault is due either to the addressing circuits a or to the write / read selecting circuit e . apparatus made in accordance with the invention facilitates the location of eventual faults in a working storage using equipment of little complexity which is easy to operate . the equipment will work either independently or under the control of the operating units of the processing system which incorporates the store being tested . the invention is in no way limited to the methods of implementation and apparatus described and shown which were only given as an example ; on the contrary , the invention includes all the means forming technical equivalents to those described and illustrated taken separately or in combination and implemented within the framework of the claims that follow .
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referring now to fig1 and 3 , there is shown various sections fragmentarily of the pipe system and expansion joint configuration comprising the present invention . for purposes of this discussion , reference will be made only to two adjacent pipe sections . it should be clearly understood , however , that the expansion joint configuration comprising the present invention may be applied between any two consecutive pipe sections of a pipe line whether in line or parallel to each other . there is shown two adjacent pipe sections 10 and 12 that are coupled to each other by an expansion joint generally designated by the reference character 14 . the configuration includes a first pipe section 16 joined to the pipe 10 by means of joint 18 . a right angle exists between the sections 10 and 16 . a second pipe section 20 is joined at a right angle to section 16 by means of joint 22 . a third pipe section 24 is joined at a right angle to section 12 by means of joint 26 . a fourth pipe section 28 is joined to pipe section 24 at right angles thereto by means of joint 26 . pipe section 30 interconnects pipe sections 20 at a right angle thereto by means of joint 32 and to pipe section 28 at right angles thereto by means of joint 34 . pipe sections 16 , 20 and 30 lay in a single plane . similarly , pipe sections 24 , 28 and 30 lay in a second plane intersecting the first plane . the joints are so arranged that the two planes formed by the two halves of the configuration and intersecting with pipe section 30 can be moved relative to each other . this is shown by the arrows in fig2 . when the two adjacent lengths of pipe 10 , 12 are extended in an outward direction away from each other , the angle between the two plane sections will increase as the sections 20 and 28 move away from each other with section 30 moving in a downward direction . conversely , when sections 10 and 12 expand thereby moving towards each other , the angle α between the two plane sections decreases as sections 28 and 20 move towards each other with pipe section 30 moving upward until at its extreme position the angle between the two plane sections approaches zero . if the line sections 10 and 12 are not in line the angle α can become negative . it is , therefore , seen that in one extreme position , where most planes lay adjacent to each other and sections 20 and 28 lay in a same plane , the distance between the pipes 10 and 12 will be equal to the total lengths of pipe sections 20 and 28 plus the additional length provided by the pipe joints therebetween . on the other hand , in its opposite extreme position , the ends of pipe sections 10 and 12 will be almost touching each other with the pipe sections 20 and 28 lined up parallel to each other . thus , the total amount of expansion permitted with the expansion joint configuration of this invention is equal to the combined lengths of sections 20 and 28 plus the additional lengths provided by the joints therebetween . if the incoming line and the outgoing line are not aligned , the angle α can become negative thereby increasing the total amount of expansion . in order to provide the rotation within the expansion joint configuration shown in the drawing , swivel type joints and / or ball type joints must be used at various locations . thus , it is necessary to have pipe sections 20 rotate around the longitudinal axis of pipe section 16 . this can be provided by using a fixed joint 18 and a swivel type joint 22 which is fixedly connected to section 16 and permits section 20 to rotate thereabout . similarly , joint 26 could be fixed and joint 27 could be of the swivel type permitting section 28 to rotate about the longitudinal axis of section 24 . alternatively , joints 22 and 27 could be fixed joints and joints 18 and 26 could be ball type joints . in this manner the entire pipe section 16 and 24 would rotate axially within respective ball joints 18 and 26 . however , since pipe sections 20 and 28 are fixedly connected to their respective joints 22 , 26 , as pipe sections 16 and 24 axially rotate , pipe sections 20 and 28 will rotate about the longitudinal axis of sections 16 and 24 , respectively . sections 20 and 28 must also have relative rotation with respect to pipe section 30 . this can be provided by having one of the joints 32 , 34 a swivel type joint with the other joint being fixed . in this way , either section 20 or 28 , depending upon which joint is the swivel joint , can swivel about the longitudinal axis of section 30 with the other section fixed to section 30 . alternatively , both sections 32 and 34 could be swivel type joints . still further , one or both of the joints 32 and 34 could be ball type joints permitting the section 30 to axially rotate within the joint 32 or 34 or both . it is , therefore , seen that numerous type of joints could be used to obtain the required relative rotation of the various sections with respect to each other . the objective to be reached , however , is that the plane formed by section 16 , 20 and 30 can be moved relative to the plane formed by sections 24 , 28 and 30 with the longitudinal axis of section 30 being the intersection between the two planes . the configuration as shown in the figures indicates that the two adjacent lengths of pipe 10 , 12 lay in a same plane and , in fact , are in a common or adjacent axis . this can be achieved by making the length of section 16 equal to the length of section 24 and making the length of section 30 equal to the combination of the length of sections 16 and 24 . however , it is understood that sections 10 and 12 need not lay along the same axis , nor , in fact , need they lay in the same plane . thus , the lengths of the various sections can be adjusted and varied to interconnect two adjacent lengths of pipe regardless of the axial relationship between them and regardless of the different planes that they may be in . furthermore , while the configuration as shown have the section 16 in opposite direction to section 24 , it is understood that this need not be the case . section 30 could , in fact , be located in opposite direction to that shown in the drawing wherein it would be 180 ° opposed to that shown in the figures . similarly , sections 16 and 24 could also be 180 ° out of that position shown in the figures . in addition , the lengths of pipe in the expansion joint configuration shown could be varied such that section 24 be longer or shorter than section 16 ; section 28 could be longer or shorter than section 20 , etc . in this manner , the expansion joint configuration can be modified to particular requirements of the input and output pipes . although in the configuration shown the expansion joint comprised three pipe sections 16 , 20 and 30 , as well as 24 , 28 and 30 for each of the planes , it is understood that there need not be three such pipes forming each plane section but more or less could be used . the only requirement in accordance with this invention is that two planes be formed which intersect along a single line of intersection and the planes are mutually rotatable about this line of intersection . in addition , the planes should be relatively rotatable with respect to the input and output pipe to which the expansion joints are connected . as heretofore described , the joints that can be used to connect adjacent pipe sections could be fixed joints , swivel joints , or ball type joints , depending upon the particular configuration and method of rotation used . although numerous types of swivel joints and ball type joints are available in the art , by way of example , fig4 and 5 show one swivel joint with locking means for adjacent pipe sections , the locking means being as described by u . s . pat . no . 3 , 606 , 402 , granted on sept . 20 , 1971 , to jonas medney . referring now to fig4 and 5 , wherein like reference numerals identify like parts , there is shown adjacent pipes 40 and 42 which are interconnected by means of the swivel joints shown generally at 44 . the swivel joint as shown is fixedly connected to the pipe 40 by means of joint section 46 while joint section 48 , which is fixedly secured to pipe section 42 , can rotate relative to pipe section 40 in a clockwise direction as shown by line 40 - 50 and in a counterclockwise direction as shown by line 52 . a sleeve 54 is tightly positioned onto the end of the pipe section 40 forming the male ends of the junction , the end of the joint 56 forming the female part of the junction . the male and female sections are respectively provided with confronting circumferential grooves 58 and 60 in order to receive a key member 62 . slots 64 , spaced circumferentially around the perimeter of the joint , are at the same axial position as the confronting grooves 56 and 58 as to permit tangential insertion of the key member 62 . it will be seen in fig5 that a typical key member 62 defines a hexagonal polygon in cross section . in addition to the key section 62 , the male section includes angular groove 66 , arranged to receive an o - ring 70 in order to provide a position fluid tight seal . in operating the device shown in fig4 and 5 , the female joint is placed over the male joint with the o - ring in place , thereby providing a fluid tight seal . the hexagonal key is then inserted through the groove 64 into the confronting grooves 58 and 60 to retain the joint in a tight fixed connection onto the end of the pipe . however , as is well known in the art , the elbow section of the swivel joint permits relative motion of the two halves of the joint such that the two pipe sections 40 and 42 can swivel relative to each other . there has been disclosed heretofore the best embodiment of the invention presently contemplated . however , it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention .
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a first embodiment of the door drive 1 in accordance with the invention is shown in fig1 . the door drive 1 shown includes a door movement element 2 which is designed as a door shaft in the embodiments of fig1 to 4 . the door shaft 2 is rotatable about is longitudinal axis , whereby a door , not shown here , in particular a sectional door , door grille / roller door , arranged at the door shaft 2 , can be rolled up and down . in accordance with the invention , the door drive 1 has two electric motors 3 , 4 whose rectified drive torques complement one another to form a greater total torque overall . the use of an individual , powerful motor unit can thereby be dispensed with and costs can be saved by the use of two smaller motor units . both electric motors transfer their output forces via a connection means in the form of a drive pinion 5 , 6 to a connection means arranged at the door shaft , but not shown in any more detail in fig1 to 4 , and thereby to the door shaft . the connection means , which is not shown in any more detail , can in this connection be a further gear which is seated on the door shaft and whose toothed arrangement engages into the teeth of the drive pinion of the two electric motors . a chain or other means for the force transfer to the door shaft is , however , likewise also conceivable . the two electric motors 3 , 4 used are two identical dc geared motors which are fed in each case via a transfer 7 with a predefined supply voltage . the transformers 7 are likewise models of the same type with identical performance properties . it can be seen from fig1 that separate supply systems are defined for the two electric motors 3 , 4 . a door control signal can be detected by a suitable measurement apparatus and it can be evaluated by a control . the control outputs a control variable 8 which serves for the regulation of the supply voltage of the two electric motors 3 , 4 from fig1 . the speed at which the two electric motors 3 , 4 rotate can be varied with reference to the supply voltage . in simplified terms , the control variable output by the control is defined from a function which calculates a required output voltage for the feeding of the electric motors 3 , 4 in dependence on the path , i . e . in dependence on the set position of the door s : in the embodiment of the door drive 1 in accordance with the invention in fig1 , both the supply voltages feeding the electric motors 3 , 4 are regulated by means of the control variable 8 . since minimal differences in the performance properties also result in the use of identical electric motors 3 , 4 and transformers 7 and since this results in a slightly asynchronous operation of the two electric motors , an electric motor 4 is arranged via springs 9 at the door drive . the springs in this connection help compensate growing strains and friction points of the gears by pressure relief of the electric motor 4 in the direction of the door shaft 2 by means of the springs 9 . in a further embodiment ( fig2 ) of the door drive 1 in accordance with the invention , in addition to the compensation of the transformer and motor differences by means of springs 9 , a respective incremental encoder 10 is arranged in direct proximity to the electric motors 3 , 4 such that the movement path covered by the drive pinions 5 , 6 can be detected in a technical measurement . the outputs are in this respect connected to a suitable evaluation apparatus 11 which either compares the two signal inputs with one another or adds them to one another . the use of a comparator for the comparison or of an operational amplifier for the addition of the two output signals of the incremental encoders 10 is conceivable . the output of the evaluation apparatus 11 is in this respect connected to the feedback loop of the electric motor 4 . a regulation value 12 is generated in dependence on the applied signal at the output of the evaluation apparatus 11 which triggers a regulation of the rotational speed of the electric motor 4 to counter an advancing or a lagging of the electric motor 4 in comparison with the electric motor 3 . it becomes clear in this respect that two separately regulatable regulation control circuits are present in the embodiment of the door drive 1 in accordance with the invention in fig2 . it must additionally be noted that all further components or properties of the embodiment of fig2 coincide with those of fig1 . a third embodiment possibility of the door drive 1 in accordance with the invention is shown in fig3 . the door drive 1 in turn comprises a door shaft 2 which is driven via two drive pinions 5 , 6 flanged to the motor output of the electric motors 3 , 4 . both electric motors 3 , 4 of the same construction are fed with a predefined supply voltage via transformers 7 of identical constructional types . a regulation value 8 is determined by a suitable door setting measurement unit for the regulation of the rotational speed of the first electric motor 3 . for the regulation of the separately regulatable second regulation circuit by the second electric motor 4 , the angular position of the electric motor 4 is detected in a technical measurement and a regulation value 12 can be generated by means of the value detected . minimal malpositions in the mutual engagement of the teeth of the drive pinion 5 into the teeth of the gear arranged on the door shaft and thus increasing friction points can be compensated by the resilient arrangement of the electric motor 4 by means of the springs 9 . a changed angular position of the motor 4 can thereby occur which is recognized by the measurement apparatus 13 in a technical measurement and which is compensated by the regulation value 12 . in this respect , the regulation value 12 regulates the supply voltage of the electric motor 4 such that its rotational speed is matched to that of the electric motor 3 and a precise mutual engaging of the named gears is again made possible . fig4 shows a further embodiment of the door drive 12 in accordance with the invention . the design of the door drive is identical to the design of fig3 with the exception of the measuring apparatus 13 and the regulation value 12 . instead of the named measurement apparatus 13 , a rheostat 14 is used which is arranged at the electric motor 4 such that the electrical ohmic resistance of the rheostat changes on minimal positional changes or delay angle changes of the electric motor 4 due to the running apart of the teeth of the drive pinion 5 and of the gear arranged on the door shaft 2 . the supply voltage is changed directly at the input of the electric motor 4 by the rheostat 14 by the connection of the rheostat 14 in the regulation circuit of the electric motor 4 and the generated change in the electrical ohmic resistance . the tracking electric motor 4 can be influenced by a suitable dimensioning of the rheostat to the extent that a synchronous operation of the two electric motors 3 , 4 is ensured .
| 4 |
with reference to fig1 , the clamping cord 2 of the present invention includes a core portion 4 and a clamping portion 6 . optionally , the clamping cord 2 may have a section of core portion 4 extending from both ends of the clamping portion 6 , thereby permitting introduction of the clamping cord 2 between multiple sets of teeth . fig2 depicts the clamping cord 2 in cross - section , showing the core portion 4 in the depicted embodiment having longitudinally arranged fibers 12 , which extend the length of the clamping cord 2 . the longitudinally arranged fibers 12 may be round or flat , natural or synthetic , and may be coated with a wax , polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), or other suitable lubricant commonly known in the art , unless the treatment process for the clamping portion 6 , as described below , would be adversely affected by such a coating . the fibers 12 may include nylon , polyester , polypropylene , natural fibers like cotton , or other materials capable to impart tensile strength . the core portion 4 of the clamping cord 2 is shown as being circular , or round , in shape but also may include other configurations , such as polygonal , and preferably includes a diameter , or width , of about 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 mm . the clamping portion 6 transitions from the core portion 4 at point a and increases in diameter to a generally maximum diameter at point b thereon . the clamping portion 6 similarly is shown as being circular , or round , in shape but also may include other configurations , such as polygonal , and preferably includes a diameter , or width , of about 0 . 5 mm up to a maximum of about 5 mm . alternatively , the clamping portion 6 may present some variability in maximum diameter along its length . the clamping portion 6 includes longitudinally arranged fibers 12 disposed outwardly of the core portion 4 . in an exemplary embodiment , the longitudinally arranged fibers 12 are originally part of the core portion 4 prior to treatment involving an air jet or brush . this treatment opens the original tightly arranged fibers to create a fibrous portion outward of an untreated core portion 4 with fibers 12 having expanded volume interstices therebetween longitudinally arranged outward of the core portion 4 but still physically connected to the core portion 4 . alternatively , longitudinally arranged fibers 12 can be arranged over a section of the core portion 4 in a separate procedure , for example , as a sleeve ( not shown ). in this alternative embodiment , it is preferred that some type of anchoring be effected between this outwardly applied sleeve of longitudinally arranged fibers 12 and the core portion 4 to minimize axially resiliency . the remainder of the clamping portion 6 is comprised of a polymeric elastic material 16 such as silicones , thermoplastic elastomers , or polyurethanes ( pur ) that is applied onto the longitudinally arranged fibers 12 disposed outwardly of the core portion 4 to substantially impregnate the interstices thereof , following by a curing or other setting step . the polymeric elastic material 16 exhibits relatively low axially resiliency due to the existence of a plurality of axial anchoring points 20 which serve to substantially prevent movement of the polymeric elastic material 16 relative to the longitudinally arranged fibers 12 . the clamping portion 6 of the clamping cord 2 preferably includes a hardness of about 10 to 90 shore a . the polymeric elastic material 16 in one embodiment is medical grade silicone . alternatively , other polymeric materials can be used , such as but not limited to thermoplastic elastomers like santoprene ® available from exxonmobil chemical , dynaflex ® available from gls corporation , pebax ® available from arkema , or polyurethane pellethane ® available from dow chemcial , etc . in addition , the polymeric material may be colored and / or contain one or more additives to reduce friction . in an alternative embodiment , the clamping cord 2 incorporates a palatinal shaper 22 , as depicted in fig5 a and 5b . the clamping cord 2 , at an end of the clamping portion 6 , has affixed thereto a palatinal stopper 22 , comprised in turn of a net component 25 and a polymeric - shaped component 26 . the net component 25 is fibrous and preferably of the same or compatible composition to the fibers 12 of the core portion 4 . as an alternative , ductile metallic or plastic fibers can be utilized to produce the net component 25 such as by being inserted between the polymeric - shaped component 26 and the end of the clamping portion 6 . to minimize radial resiliency , the fibers of the net component 25 preferably are anchored to fibers 12 either in the core portion 4 , the clamping portion 6 , or both , prior to the incorporation of the polymeric elastic material 16 . the polymeric - shaped component 26 is preferably of the same or compatible composition to the polymeric elastic material 16 . as indicated above , the clamping portion 6 , as shown in fig5 a and 5b , may present some variability in diameter along its length , i . e . is at a lesser diameter proximal the core portion 4 than proximal the palatinal stopper 22 , for use with class iii cavity application , as further explained below . referring to fig3 a - 3e , dental dam 30 is depicted being fitted over teeth 32 by use of the core portion 4 of the clamping cord 2 , and thereafter secured about the teeth 32 by use of the clamping portion 6 of the clamping cord 2 . in practice , as best shown in fig3 a , a rubber dam frame holder 34 is arranged outward of the opened mouth , and receives the outer dimension of the dental dam 30 over retaining points 36 . the core portion 4 of the clamping cord 2 can be inserted between any adjacent teeth in the mouth , and against the dental dam 30 , which has openings 33 adapted to fit around the teeth 32 . the core portion 6 can then be forced upwards against the dental dam 30 so that the teeth 32 may be received through the openings 33 . as best shown in fig3 b and 3c , to prevent movement of the dental dam 30 downward over the teeth 32 after the dental dam 30 is in place , the core portion 4 of clamping cord 2 is brought into position , such as between two teeth 32 a and 32 b . the teeth 32 a , 32 b through which the core portion 4 of the clamping cord 2 is passed are upper molars 32 a , 32 b , i . e . the second premolar and first molar . after the core portion 4 has been inserted between the adjacent teeth 32 a , 32 b , the core portion 4 is pulled through the space between the two teeth 32 a , 32 b to eventually provide a wedging effect facilitated by the clamping portion 6 as shown in fig3 d . the selection of which teeth to pass the clamping cord 2 therebetween is at the discretion of the dentist or oral surgeon , and is a function of the particular tooth or teeth subject to treatment , as well as the ease in maintaining the stability of the dental dam relative to the treatment area . because of the low axial resiliency of clamping cord 2 , the clamping portion 6 can be drawn as far as desired by the dentist or oral surgeon through the space between teeth 32 a , 32 b as is necessary to effectively stabilize the dental dam 30 . with further reference to fig3 e , that portion of the clamping cord 2 located more than a few millimeters outward of the space between teeth 32 a , 32 b is cut . the resultant wedge created by the clamping portion 6 is minimally obtrusive to the dentist or oral surgeon performing a treatment procedure , and the relatively high radial resiliency of the polymeric elastic material 16 allows for a secure wedging operation , thereby preventing movement of the remaining portion of the clamping cord 2 during the treatment procedure . fig4 depicts a tooth 40 a fitted with a class iii matrix 42 , i . e . a mylar foil , for use with a class iii cavity application , and the clamping portion 6 of the clamping cord 2 having been inserted and pulled between the class iii matrix 42 and adjacent tooth 40 b with the larger diameter clamping portion 6 wedging the class iii matrix 42 into position . as indicated above , it should be understood that the clamping portion 6 may present some variability in diameter along its length ( see fig5 a and 5b ), which may permit easier initial wedging of the clamping portion 6 between teeth 40 a and 40 b as well as minimize patient discomfort in the instance an anesthetic is not permitted or utilized , such as for class iii cavity application , as represented by fig4 . in an alternative embodiment , fig6 a - 6c depict the tooth 40 a fitted with the class iii matrix 42 , i . e . the mylar foil , and the clamping cord 2 having incorporated therein the palatinal shaper 22 , as depicted in fig5 a and 5b . in this series , clamping portion 6 of the clamping cord 2 is pulled between the class iii matrix 42 and adjacent tooth 40 b until the palatinal stopper 22 abuts against the class iii matrix 42 , wherein the stopper 22 is pressed and adapted anatomically against the palatinal teeth surfaces with the larger diameter clamping portion 6 wedging the class iii matrix 42 into position . in addition , the clamping portion 6 of the clamping cord 2 further is wedged , in a manner as above described , between another set of adjacent teeth 43 a and 43 b so that the pressure of the palatinal stopper 22 is prevented from slackening against the class iii matrix 42 , thereby providing an ideal condition for filling the tooth 40 a . as above mentioned , the optional variability in diameter of the clamping portion 6 , as shown in fig6 a - 6c , may permit easier initial wedging between teeth 40 a and 40 b may minimize patient discomfort in the instance an anesthetic is not permitted or utilized for class iii cavity application . accordingly , there is provided the improved dental or clamping cord 2 that may be inserted through or between at least two adjacent teeth 32 a , 32 b , 40 a , 40 b , 43 a , 43 b and thereby , after wedging between the teeth 32 , serves to effectively stabilize a dental dam 30 or class iii matrix 42 position . while the invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail , it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art . thus , the invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details , representative apparatus and method , and illustrative examples shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant &# 39 ; s general inventive concept .
| 0 |
the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to examples . 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 9 . 88 g , 35 . 0 mmol ), lithium chloride ( 0 . 07 g , 1 . 8 mmol ), toluene ( 20 . 00 g ), and methanol ( 10 . 00 g ) were placed in a 100 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . subsequently , the temperature of the solution was raised to 50 ° c ., and epichlorohydrin ( 6 . 70 g , 72 . 0 mmol ) was added thereto . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 50 ° c . for 2 hours . after the reaction was completed , the temperature of the solution was cooled to 30 ° c ., and water ( 9 . 8 g ), 50 % by weight of tetrabutylammonium bromide ( 1 . 0 g ), and 30 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 9 . 70 g , 72 . 8 mmol ) were added thereto . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 35 ° c . for 1 hour . after the reaction was completed , the oil layer was separated by liquid - liquid separation and the solvent was distilled off , thereby obtaining bis ( 4 - oxiranylmethyl sulfanylphenyl ) sulfone ( 11 . 05 g ). the yield relative to bis [( 4 - glycidylthio ) phenyl ] sulfone was 80 %. 1 h nmr d 2 . 65 ( dd , j = 2 . 4 hz , 4 . 8 hz , 2h ), 2 . 83 ( dd , j = 3 . 6 hz , 4 . 4 hz , 2h ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 21 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 4h ), 7 . 80 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 4h ); elemental analysis ( as c 18 h 18 o 4 s 3 ); bis [( 4 - glycidylthio ) phenyl ] sulfone ( 6 . 00 g , 15 . 0 mmol ), methylene chloride ( 23 . 40 g ), and methanol ( 31 . 00 g ) were placed in a 100 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . subsequently , the temperature of the solution was raised to 45 ° c ., and thiourea ( 9 . 10 g , 120 . 0 mmol ) was added thereto . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 45 ° c . for 4 hours . after the reaction was completed , water ( 37 . 00 g ) was added to separate the oil layer by liquid - liquid separation , and the solvent was distilled off , thereby obtaining bis [( 4 - thioglycidylthio ) phenyl ] sulfone ( 5 . 79 g ). the yield relative to bis [( 4 - glycidylthio ) phenyl ] sulfone was 89 %. 1 h nmr d 2 . 23 ( dd , j = 1 . 2 hz , 5 . 2 hz , 2h ), 2 . 83 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 94 - 3 . 21 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 4h ), 7 . 82 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 4h ); elemental analysis ( as c 18 h 18 o 2 s 5 ); 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 1 . 95 g , 6 . 9 mmol ) and 10 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 6 . 00 g , 15 . 0 mmol ) were placed in a 10 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . subsequently , the temperature of the solution was cooled to 10 ° c . ( reaction solution a ). meanwhile , acryloyl chloride ( 1 . 31 g , 14 . 5 mmol ), cyclohexane ( 5 . 00 g ), and toluene ( 2 . 00 g ) were placed in a 25 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . the temperature of the solution was subsequently cooled to 10 ° c ., and the reaction solution a was added dropwise thereto over a period of 30 seconds . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 20 ° c . for 1 hour . after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was filtered , thereby obtaining bis ( 4 - acryloylthiophenyl ) sulfone ( 1 . 08 g ) as a white powder . the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone was 40 %. 1 h nmr d 5 . 70 ( d , j = 9 . 2 hz , 2h ), 6 . 34 - 6 . 49 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 55 ( d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 4h ), 7 . 88 ( d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 4h ); elemental analysis ( as c 18 h 14 o 4 s 3 ); 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 1 . 95 g , 6 . 9 mmol ) and 10 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 6 . 00 g , 15 . 0 mmol ) were placed in a 10 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube , and the temperature of the solution was cooled to 10 ° c . subsequently , acryloyl chloride ( 1 . 31 g , 14 . 5 mmol ) was added dropwise thereto over a period of 30 seconds . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 20 ° c . for 1 hour . after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was filtered , thereby obtaining bis ( 4 - acryloylthiophenyl ) sulfone ( 0 . 95 g ) as a white powder . the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone was 35 %. 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 1 . 95 g , 6 . 9 mmol ) and 10 % by weight aqueous solution sodium hydroxide ( 6 . 00 g , 15 . 0 mmol ) were placed in a 10 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . subsequently , the temperature of the solution was cooled to 10 ° c . ( reaction solution a ). meanwhile , methacryloyl chloride ( 1 . 52 g , 14 . 5 mmol ), cyclohexane ( 5 . 00 g ), and toluene ( 3 . 00 g ) were placed in a 25 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube . the temperature of the solution was subsequently cooled to 10 ° c ., and the reaction solution a was added dropwise thereto over a period of 30 seconds . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 20 ° c . for 1 hour . after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was filtered , thereby obtaining bis ( 4 - methacryloylthiophenyl ) sulfone ( 2 . 58 g ) as a white powder . the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone was 90 %. 1 h nmr d 2 . 00 ( s , 6h ), 5 . 77 ( s , 2h ), 6 . 21 ( s , 2h ), 7 . 60 ( d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 4h ), 7 . 98 ( d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 4h ); elemental analysis ( as c 20 h 18 o 4 s 3 ); 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 1 . 95 g , 6 . 9 mmol ), sodium hydride ( 0 . 36 g , 15 . 2 mmol ), and n - methylpyrrolidone ( 6 . 00 g ) were placed in a 10 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube , and the temperature of the solution was then cooled to 10 ° c . subsequently , methacryloyl chloride ( 1 . 52 g , 14 . 5 mmol ) was added dropwise thereto over a period of 30 seconds . the reaction was carried out under stirring at 20 ° c . for 1 hour . after the reaction was completed , water ( 5 . 0 g ) was added to the reaction solution , and filtration was then performed , thereby obtaining bis ( 4 - methacryloylthiophenyl ) sulfone ( 2 . 44 g ) as a white powder . the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone was 85 %. 4 , 4 ′- dimethylthiodiphenyl sulfone ( 8 . 4 g , 27 mmol ) and toluene ( 50 . 0 g ) were placed in a 100 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube , and the temperature was raised . while the temperature of the solution was maintained at 75 ° c ., chlorine gas ( 4 . 8 g , 68 mmol ) was bubbled into the solution , and the reaction was carried out for 1 hour under stirring . as a result , bis ( 4 - chloromethylsulfanylphenyl ) sulfone was produced in the system . subsequently , water ( 20 . 0 g ) was added thereto , the temperature of the solution was raised to 110 ° c . under stirring , and a hydrolysis reaction was carried out for 12 hours . after the reaction was completed , the temperature of the solution was cooled , and precipitated crystals were filtered , thereby obtaining 4 , 4 ′- dimercaptodiphenyl sulfone ( 6 . 9 g ). the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dimethylthiodiphenyl sulfone was 90 %. 4 , 4 ′- dichlorodiphenyl sulfone ( 61 . 0 g , 212 mmol ), toluene ( 75 . 0 g ) and 50 % by weight aqueous solution of tetra - n - butylammonium bromide ( 1 . 0 g ) were placed in a 300 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube ; and the temperature was raised . while the temperature of the solution was maintained at 60 ° c ., 32 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium methanethiolate ( 97 . 5 g , 445 mmol ) was added dropwise to carry out the reaction for 5 hours under stirring . after the reaction was completed , the temperature of the solution was cooled to 25 ° c ., and filtration was performed , thereby obtaining 4 , 4 ′- di ( methylthio ) diphenyl sulfone . next , the obtained crude 4 , 4 ′- di ( methylthio ) diphenyl sulfone and acetonitrile ( 150 . 0 g ) were placed in a 300 ml - flask equipped with a stirrer , a thermometer , a condenser , and a gas inlet tube , and dissolved by increasing the temperature of the solution to 80 ° c . after dissolution , the temperature of the solution was cooled to 10 ° c ., and filtration was performed , thereby obtaining 4 , 4 ′- di ( methylthio ) diphenyl sulfone ( 62 . 5 g ). the yield relative to 4 , 4 ′- dichlorodiphenyl sulfone was 95 %. 1 h nmr d 2 . 48 ( s , 6h ), 7 . 27 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 4h ), 7 . 79 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 4h ); elemental analysis ( as c 14 h 14 o 2 s 3 );
| 2 |
killing orthotopic melanoma in vivo , maintaining body leukocyte number , and improving living states of tumor - bearing mice , by rlz - 8 male kunming mice of 6 - 8 weeks , weighed 18 - 22 g , were purchased from laboratory animal center of norman bethune university of medical science , and reared at a specific pathogen - free ( spf ) condition in northeast normal university , at a temperature controlled at ( 20 ± 2 )° c . and a humidity of 48 %, and in 12 hours alternating lighting . the mice were transplanted with a melanoma cells line b16 - f10 . dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle medium ( dmem ), fetal bovine serum , phosphate buffer saline ( pbs ), trypsin - edta , dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), 0 . 9 % nacl solution , tris - hcl buffer with ph 7 . 6 for rinsing , 0 . 05 % trypsin , rlz - 8 , and dtic ( positive contrast drug ). co 2 thermostat incubator , inverted microscope , pipette , tweezers , clean bench , hematology analyzer , low - speed centrifuge , ultra - low temperature freezing storage cabinet , electronic balance , fresh - keeping cabinet , refrigerator , sterilized pot , water bath pot ; mouse raising boxes , water containers ; disposable medical sterilized gloves , medical sterilized cotton , 50 ml centrifugal tube , pipette tip , cryogenic vial , 10 cm cell culture plate , culture flask , 1 . 5 ml ep tube , and cell counting camber ; disposable 1 ml syringe , mouse bedding , and mouse food . the mice melanoma cells b16 - f10 were cultured in the dmem containing 10 % fetal bovine serum , at 37 ° c . in the co 2 thermostat incubator . 200 μl of b16 - f10 cell suspension ( containing 1 × 10 7 cells ) was slowly subcutaneously injected into a dorsal - ventral side of the mouse through 1 ml syringe , so as to establish a model of mice transplanted with tumors . after 24 hours , the mice were tail - intravenously injected with the rlz - 8 ( 123 μg / kg , 246 μg / kg and 492 μg / kg ), the dtic ( 2 . 5 mg / kg ) and the physiological saline respectively . the rlz - 8 was injected once per day ; the dtic was continuously tail - intravenously injected for 5 days and injected for a second time after 3 weeks . during the experiment , living states of the mice were observed ; the mice were weighed once every 7 days ; blood samples were taken from tail veins of the mice every 2 weeks ; volumes of the tumors , subcutaneously injected into the mice , were measured every 2 days ; for each group , the tumors were dissected at an end of the experiment and weighed on the balance , with weights recorded . according to a formula that a tumor growth inhibition rate =( an average weight of the tumors of the physiological saline group − an average weight of the tumors of the drug administrated groups )/ the average weight of the tumors of the physiological saline group , the inhibition rate of the rlz - 8 upon the growth of the orthotopic tumor was calculated . after the 28 days of continuously administrating the rlz - 8 to the tumor - bearing mice , no significant difference was observed in aspects of hair glossiness , basic feeding and excrement among the rlz - 8 groups ( three dosages ), the dtic group , the physiological saline group and a normal group ; the physiological group had poorer movement and agility than the rlz - 8 groups and the dtic group , and especially the rlz - 8 high dosage group had significantly higher agility than the physiological saline group . after the 56 days of continuously administrating the rlz - 8 , it was observed that the rlz - 8 administrated groups had better hair glossiness than the negative contrast group and the dtic group . ( 2 ) analysis result about impact of treatment drug on mice weights after the 28 days of continuously administrating the rlz - 8 to the tumor - bearing mice , no significant difference existed among the weight of each group before the experiment ; after the experiment , the rlz - 8 high dosage group had the slightly smaller weight than the other groups , as showed in fig1 . after the 56 days of continuously administrating the rlz - 8 , the rlz - 8 groups and the dtic group had larger weights than the negative contrast group , while the five experiment groups all had the smaller weights than the normal group , as showed in fig2 . after the 28 days of continuously administrating and then 28 days of raising without drug administration , for the weights of the finally survived mice , the dtic group and the rlz - 8 low dosage group had smaller weights than the negative contrast group , and the five experiment groups had the smaller weight than the normal group , which indicated that the rlz - 8 is able to adjust body states of the mice . the tumors were dissected and weighed , and then an average weight of the tumors of each group was calculated . as showed in table 1 and table 2 , after the 28 days of administrating the rlz - 8 , the rlz - 8 high dosage group had the smaller tumor weight than the dtic group ; for the three rlz - 8 groups , with a concentration of the rlz - 8 gradually increased , the weight of the tumor gradually decreased . the rlz - 8 groups had significant difference over the negative contrast group , while the rlz - 8 low dosage group , the rlz - 8 medium dosage group and the rlz - 8 high dosage group had significant difference ( n = 10 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). when the drug administration days reach 56 days , by weighing the tumors of the survival mice , the rlz - 8 groups had better tumor inhibition effect than the dtic group , and especially the rlz - 8 high dosage group had significant difference over the dtic group ( n = 10 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). therefore , after the 28 days of administrating the rlz - 8 , the rlz - 8 high dosage group had smaller tumor weight than the dtic group ; among the three rlz - 8 groups , with the concentration of the rlz - 8 gradually increased , the weight of the subcutaneous tumor gradually decreased ; when the days of administration elongated to 56 days , the tumor weights of the survival mice indicated that the rlz - 8 groups had significant tumor inhibition effect over the dtic group . for the 28 days of drug administration , with the rlz - 8 concentration gradually increased , the volume of the subcutaneous tumor gradually decreased ; the rlz - 8 groups had significantly smaller tumor volumes than the dtic group , and especially the rlz - 8 groups had significant inhibition on the growth of the tumor compared with the contrast group ( n = 10 ). analyzed from the volumes of the tumors , as showed in table 1 , for the 28 days of the drug administration , the rlz - 8 high dosage group had higher tumor inhibition rate than the dtic group ; among the rlz - 8 groups , with the drug dosage gradually increased , the inhibition rate gradually enhanced . when the days of the drug administration elongated to 56 days , the rlz - 8 groups had particularly significant tumor inhibition rates compared with the dtic group . ( 4 ) test result of drug tolerance reaction of body against dtic and rlz - 8 while inhibiting the weight of the body tumor , the dtic and the rlz - 8 had a certain impact on the drug tolerance of the body . as showed in table 1 and table 2 , after administrating the dtic for 28 days and for 56 days , the inhibition rate greatly decreased , and the tumor growth rate greatly increased , which indicated that the body gradually generated tolerance against the dtic along with an elongation of a dtic administration time , so that the tumor inhibition weakened ; however , after administrating the rlz - 8 for 28 days and for 56 days , the inhibition rate greatly increased , which indicated that the body tolerance did not increase with an elongation of a rlz - 8 administration time and further proved that the rlz - 8 had healing effect far better than the dtic . by administrating for 28 days , with the gradually increased rlz - 8 concentration , the body leukocyte number of the mice slightly increased , while the body leukocyte number of the positive drug group ( dtic ) evidently decreased ; especially each rlz - 8 group had particularly significant impact on the body leukocyte number compared with the contrast group ( n = 10 ). by elongating the administration time to 56 days , the leukocyte number of each rlz - 8 group showed significance over the dtic group ( n = 10 ), as showed in fig3 ; the body leukocyte number of the dtic group reached a minimal value . by administrating the drug for 28 days and continuing raising without drug administration , the body leukocyte number of the rlz - 8 group slightly decreased ; the body leukocyte number of the dtic group continuously decreased and then showed a stable state for a while . analyzed from the body leukocyte number , it was showed that the rlz - 8 group exhibited small impact on the body leukocyte number in the anti - tumor treatment experiment , while the positive drug group ( dtic ) greatly decreased the body leukocyte number in the anti - tumor treatment experiment , and damaged and weakened the body immune function , causing a hidden danger of immune deficiency in the anti - tumor treatment process . furthermore , in the anti - tumor experiment , the rlz - 8 not only was able to effectively inhibit the growth of the tumor , but also had functions of maintaining and protecting body immunity . the rlz - 8 had better safety than the positive drug group ( dtic ). after continuously administrating the drug for 28 days , no mice died in the experiment period . after continuously administrating the drug for 56 days , death emerged in the negative contrast group and the positive drug group ( dtic ), wherein massive death emerged in the positive drug group ( dtic ). however , no mice died in each rlz - 8 dosage group , as showed in table 3 . therefore , the rlz - 8 showed significant difference in maintaining the life elongation rate of the tumor - bearing mice over the dtic , with significant advantage . male kunming mice of 6 - 8 weeks , weighed 18 - 22 g , were purchased from laboratory animal center of norman bethune university of medical science , and reared at an spf condition in northeast normal university , at a temperature controlled at ( 20 ± 2 )° c . and a humidity of 48 %, and in 12 hours alternating lighting . the mice were transplanted with a melanoma cells line b16 - f10 . dmem , fetal bovine serum , pbs , trypsin - edta , dmso , tris - hcl buffer with ph 7 . 6 for rinsing , 0 . 05 % trypsin , rlz - 8 , and dtic . the mice melanoma cells b16 - f10 were cultured in the dmem containing 10 % fetal bovine serum , at 37 ° c . in the co 2 thermostat incubator . 200 μl of b16 - f10 melanoma cell suspension ( containing 1 × 10 7 cells ) was slowly intravenously injected into a tail vein of the mouse through 1 ml syringe , so as to establish a model of mice transplanted with tumors . after 24 hours , the mice were tail - intravenously injected with the rlz - 8 ( 123 μg / kg , 246 μg / kg and 492 μg / kg ), the dtic ( 2 . 5 mg / kg ) and the physiological saline respectively . the rlz - 8 was injected once per day ; the dtic was continuously tail - intravenously injected for 5 days and injected for a second time after 3 weeks . after the mice were put to death , lungs of the dead mice were dissected out and the number of black spots on surfaces of the lungs , formed by an aggregation of metastasis cell , was counted , so as to calculate the inhibition rate of the drug against the growth of the lung metastasis as : inhibition rate =( an average metastasis number of the negative contrast group − an average metastasis number of the drug administrated group )/ the average metastasis number of the negative contrast group × 100 %. a time and the number of the dead mouse in each experiment group were recorded in detail , especially during administrating the drug continuously , until the negative contrast group was completely dead ; and then , the survival states of the mice in the experiment groups and the contrast groups were analyzed . a survival rate was calculated according to the number of the dead mice in the other groups when all the mice of the negative contrast group were dead , based on a formula that survival rate =( a total number of the mice − the number of the dead mice )/ the total number of the mice . based on an analysis about the statistics of the melanoma lung metastases , each rlz - 8 dosage group had the smaller number of the tumor metastases than the negative contrast group and the positive contrast group ; the positive contrast group had evidently fewer metastases than the negative contrast group . according to the formula of the inhibition rate , the tumor metastasis inhibition rate of the drug in each group was calculated . as showed in fig4 , for the 28 days of administrating the drug , the rlz - 8 low dosage group had the inhibition rate of 62 . 13 ± 1 . 88 % compared with the contrast group ; the rlz - 8 medium dosage group had the inhibition rate of 67 . 65 ± 2 . 1 % compared with the contrast group ; and , the rlz - 8 high dosage group had the inhibition rate of 71 . 17 ± 2 . 43 % compared with the contrast group . therefore , the rlz - 8 evidently inhibited the formation and the growth of the b16 - f10 lung metastases which were intravenously injected into the tail vein of the mice . the positive contrast group had the inhibition rate of 32 . 04 ± 1 . 27 %, lower than the three experiment drug groups , which indicated that the rlz - 8 had better inhibition effect on the b16 - f10 lung metastases which were intravenously injected into the tail vein of the mice , than the positive drug dtic , as showed in table 4 . as showed in table 4 , by recording the time and the number of the dead mouse in each group in detail , the survival states of the mice in the experiment groups and the contrast groups were analyzed . when all the mice of the negative contrast group were dead ( respectively on the 87 th day and on the 95 th day after injecting the tumors , in two repeated tests ), the survival rate of the mice remained in the positive drug dtic group was 10 %, namely that 10 % of the initial total number of the mice were still alive ; the survival rates of the three experiment groups with different concentrations of the experiment drug were respectively 25 %, 30 % and 10 %. concluded from the results , the positive drug and the experiment drug were effective for an elongation of the survival time of the mice to some extent . generally speaking , the experiment drug elongated the survival time of the mice and improved the life elongation rate better than the positive drug dtic . generation of antibody and neutralizing antibody after continuous multiple administration in vivo of rlz - 8 to macaca fascicularis as a fungal recombinant genetic engineering drug , it is crucial to track generation of antibody of the rlz - 8 for a preclinical evaluation . blood serum of normal monkeys , macaca fascicularis , after being continuously administrated , was selected for testing antibody of the rlz - 8 by elisa and for testing a neutralization activity of anti - rlz - 8 antibody by a biological activity method . on the 9 th - 11 th days of administrating the drug , three monkeys were tested to have low titer ( 1 : 5 ) of the anti - rlz - 8 antibody ; after the 28 th day of administrating , the titer of the antibody maintained low , within a range of 1 : 25 to 1 : 125 . no anti - rlz - 8 antibody was tested from the monkeys of the contrast group . based on a study about impacts of culture media , with the anti - rlz - 8 antibody positive ( 1 : 125 ) monkey blood serum ( diluted 10 times ) and without the monkey blood serum , on ifn - γ secreting expression stimulated by different concentrations of the rlz - 8 , in a cell proliferation curve of the culture medium with the monkey blood serum , a maximum expression value ( emax ) of value a decreased to 0 . 78 ± 0 . 09 ; a half maximal inhibitory concentration ic 50 increased ; and a slope of the curve decreased to 0 . 77 ± 0 . 20 . therefore , the inhibition effect of the monkey blood serum was not the property of the competitive neutralizing antibody . conclusion : the rlz - 8 does not generate the neutralizing antibody in the monkeys and is not neutralized by the antibody during the whole melanoma treatment process . 98 sd rats ( 49 male and 49 female ), weighed 100 - 120 g , were purchased from laboratory animal center of norman bethune university of medical science , and reared at an spf condition in northeast normal university , at a temperature controlled at ( 20 ± 2 )° c . and a humidity of 48 %, and in 12 hours alternating lighting . the administration dosages for the rats were calculated based on the administration dosage for the mice ; the rats were divided into a contrast group ( physiological saline ), a low dosage group ( 15 μl / kg weight ), a medium dosage group ( 30 μl / kg weight ) and a high dosage group ( 60 μl / kg weight ). the administration manner was an intraperitoneal injection . feeding amount , weight ; serology : liver function and kidney function ; immunity : thymus index and spleen index ; serum complements igm , igg , c3 and c4 ; pathology examination : heart , liver , spleen , lung , kidney , pancreas , thymus , gonad etc . as showed in table 5 , the rlz - 8 protein medium dosage group and the rlz - 8 protein high dosage group evidently increased the weights of the male rats ; the rlz - 8 protein low dosage group evidently increased the weights o the female rats . the rlz - 8 protein had no adverse impact on a general growth state of the sd rats , such as the feeding . moreover , the rlz - 8 protein medium dosage group and the rlz - 8 protein high dosage group significantly increased the weights of the male rats ; the rlz - 8 protein low dosage group significantly increased the weights of the female rats . as showed in table 6 , the rlz - 8 protein had no obvious adverse impact on the liver function and the kidney function of the rats . the rlz - 8 low dosage group significantly increased a content of alb ; the rlz - 8 high dosage group had lower content of ast than the rlz - 8 medium dosage group ; the rlz - 8 protein groups had lower content of bun than the contrast group , wherein the rlz - 8 medium dosage group and the rlz - 8 high dosage group had the significantly low content of bun . the cbe levels of the rlz - 8 low dosage group and the rlz - 8 medium dosage group significantly increased ; the cre level of each rlz - 8 protein group significantly increased . in the rlz - 8 medium dosage group , the tba level and the ua level significantly increased ; in the rlz - 8 low dosage group , the tp level significantly increased . for the female rats , the alb content and the ast content of the rlz - 8 high dosage group significantly decreased ; the tp content of the rlz - 8 high dosage group decreased ; and the ua content of each rlz - 8 group significantly increased . referring to table 7 , immunity examination results showed that the spleen index ( except the low dosage group ) and the thymus index of each rlz - 8 group increased compared with the contrast group , but not significantly . with regard to igg and igm , each dosage group slightly increased compared to the contrast group , without significance . with regard to c3 and c4 , no significant difference existed between each dosage group and the contrast group , and thus , the rlz - 8 had no impact on c3 and c4 of the rats . pathology examination : by comparing tested organs with the organs of the to contrast group , no obvious morphological change was observed . the rlz - 8 protein facilitates the growth of the rats ; the rlz - 8 protein has no adverse impact on the liver function and the kidney function of the rats . the ua is beneficial and harmful to the body , wherein the former one refers to an anti - oxidation property and the latter one refers to stimulation to blood vessel smooth muscle cell proliferation and an injury to functions of endothelial cells . in the example 4 , the significant increase of ua may play an important role in anti - oxidant capacity ; the rlz - 8 protein significantly enhances the immunity of the rats , especially humoral immunity ; and , the rlz - 8 protein has no significant adverse impact on major organs of the rats . 1 . the above pharmacology tests indicate that the anti - tumor effect of the rlz - 8 is significant in maintaining the leukocyte level of the body without toxicity . therefore , the rlz - 8 is suitable and safe as a drug . 2 . as an anti - tumor drug , the rlz - 8 can be administrated orally and parenterally . the administration dosage depends on the symptom , the age , the weight etc . for adults , the oral administration is executed as 10 - 1000 mg per dosage / per person , several times per day ; the parenteral administration is executed as 10 - 100 mg , several times per day . 3 . a drug for the oral administration of the present invention can be tablets , pills and capsules ( hard capsules and soft capsules ). the drug for the oral administration comprises the rlz - 8 and at least one inert diluent , such as lactose , mannitol , glucose , starch and polyvinyl pyrrolidone ; and further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable additive , except the inert diluent , such as lubricant , disintegrant and stabilizer . if necessary , the tablets or the pills can be coated with at least one layer of film made of gastric - soluble material or enteric - soluble material . an injection for the parenteral administration of the present invention comprises the rlz - 8 and at least one inert liquid diluent , such as distilled water for injection and physiological saline . the rlz - 8 can be made into lyophilized powder and dissolve into the inert liquid diluent to be injected . 1000 mg of rlz - 8 were dissolved into 100 ml of sterilized physiological saline , uniformly mixed , separated into each injection with a concentration of rlz - 8 10 mg / ml / per injection to be stored into each bottle , sealed , and sterilized into products . other items accorded to requirements of the injection under pharmacopoeia of the people &# 39 ; s republic of china , 2010 edition . 100 g of rlz - 8 and 0 . 5 kg of pharmaceutical starch were prepared into capsules according to known capsule preparation techniques and devices , rlz - 8 10 mg / per capsule . other items accorded to requirements of the capsule under pharmacopoeia of the people &# 39 ; s republic of china , 2010 edition . 100 g of rlz - 8 , 560 g of microcrystalline cellulose , 380 g of anhydrous lactose , and 200 g of magnesium stearate were prepared into tablets according to known tablet preparation techniques and devices , rlz - 8 10 mg / per tablet . other items accorded to requirements of the capsule under pharmacopoeia of the people &# 39 ; s republic of china , 2010 edition . a certain amount of the rlz - 8 , according to requirements of oral fluid under pharmacopoeia of the people &# 39 ; s republic of china , 2010 edition , was prepared into the oral fluid through known oral fluid preparation techniques and devices . one skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting . it will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished . its embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles . therefore , this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims .
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the role played by floating surface states in the function of emitters of the invention can be understood with reference to the special case of an electron in vacuum near a flat surface having a negative electron affinity . with reference to fig1 an electron 100 in vacuum 120 is attracted to an electrically neutral material 130 by its image charge 140 in the material 130 . the potential energy of the electron 100 falls from its value at infinity as it approaches the surface 150 of the material 130 , varying as the reciprocal of its distance from the surface 150 , as shown by curve 160 . since the surface 150 has a negative electron affinity , the conduction band edge 170 of the material 130 near the surface 150 is , by definition , at a higher energy than the vacuum level ; an energetic barrier prevents the electron &# 39 ; s entering the bulk of the material 130 . however , no barrier guards the electron from entering floating surface states over the surface 150 . such floating surface states have been observed over some vacuum - metal and vacuum - nea interfaces . the electron wave functions of these states approach zero at the surface 150 . the average displacement d of the electron from the interface in the lowest of the floating surface states is d = 2α 0 , ## equ1 ## in which α 0 is the bohr radius , and ε is the dielectric constant of the material 130 . in the case of diamond , which has a dielectric constant of about 5 . 7 , an electron in a free surface state resides about 0 . 3 nm above the surface 150 . the magnitude of the corresponding one - dimensional hydrogenic quantum binding energy e is approximated by , ## equ2 ## in which r is the rydberg constant . in the case of diamond , this energy is 0 . 42 electron volts , indicated by dashed line 180 . thus the injection of an elcctron from a metal contact to a floating surface state is more favorable than its emission to vacuum by about half an electron volt . the enhancement of device operation due to convolution of the interface between the contact and the free surface can be understood with reference to fig2 . the respective floating surface states of two flat , parallel nea surfaces 150 &# 39 ;, separated by a sufficiently small distance d , interact to gives rise to composite floating surface states . the interaction of the respective states effectively reduces the vacuum level at &# 34 ; infinity &# 34 ; between the surfaces 150 &# 39 ;, which tends to reduce the magnitude of the composite - state energy compared to the rydberg term calculated above for a floating state associated with a single surface . however , a particle - in - a - box term due to the confinement between the surfaces 150 &# 39 ; of an electron 100 &# 39 ; in such a composite state increases the energy level of the state . the e min of the lowest energy composite state , represented by the curve 190 , is then approximated by ## equ3 ## in which e is the electronic charge , ε 0 is the permittivity of vacuum , and m is the mass of the electron . the energy profile of the electron 100 &# 39 ; in a composite floating surface state , plotted in fig3 shows that the electron energy is lower than the work function , i . e ., the energy increment separating a metal fermi level from the vacuum level at infinity , in the case of many metals . even for separations up to 10 å , the energy of the composite surface state is significantly lower than the level of a floating single - surface state , signified by d =∞. ( according to the model , the composite state energy increases for very small values , around 0 . 2 nm , of the wall separation d . since this value is smaller than the crystallographic unit cell of most materials -- for example , the diamond unit cell is 0 . 36 nm on a side -- the model is probably overly simplistic in this regime .) thus , the interaction of the two surfaces 150 &# 39 ; in the vicinity of the junction of a metallic contact significantly improves the energetics of electron injection from a metallic contact into floating states over a free surface without altering the work function of the metallic contact material . the increased energy gap between the floating surface states and the vacuum level at infinity that must be traversed in order to enable emission to vacuum is easily overcome by the high kinetic energies that the electrons attain during acceleration over the free surface . the interacting surfaces 150 &# 39 ; need not belong to distinct bodies in order to produce the energetic benefit . for example , they may be noncoplaniar portions of a single surface that has a sufficiently small radius of curvature to allow the portions to interact . entire free surface of the invention may have a convoluted profile , for example may be circular - or rectangular - cylindrical ; or the free surface may include a convoluted section comprising locally curved portions of a macroscopically flat region . the operation and fabrication of surface - emission cathodes of the invention are demonstrated by the following examples . with reference to fig4 a , a region 210 of a type - ib diamond 230 , about 3 mm on a side , was ion - implanted with carbon cations to serve as a first conductive contact to the diamond 230 . the implanted region 210 was joined to a metal support 240 . the diamond was exposed to an oxygen discharge , treated with cesium , and the reexposed to oxygen in order to enhance the nea of the surfaces 245a and 245b of the diamond 230 . a voltage source 250 imposed a potential between the metal support 240 and an anode 260 , biased to a dc potential of 0 to 10 kv and separated from the diamond 230 by an expanse 270 of vacuum of 0 to 0 . 8 mm . electrons left the top surface 245a and traveled to the anode 260 , apparently following the path from the implanted region 210 indicated by the arrow a , along which the surfaces 245a and 245b of the diamond 230 glowed green yellow . then a phosphorescent screen 260 &# 39 ; having a 1 - kev - luminescence threshold was used as the anode , placed directly on the top surface 245a of the diamond 230 , as indicated in fig4 b . when 1 to 7 kilovolts was applied between the metal support 240 and the screen 260 &# 39 ;, the screen fluoresced in regions 265 near its intersection with the perimeter 270 of the diamond 230 , as shown in fig4 c . the electrons evidently leave the surface 245a or 245b with kinetic energies equal to or greater than 1 kev . with reference to fig5 a , a 100 - μm - thick diamond plate 310 was coated on one side with a nickel layer 320 , which was joined to a metallic substrate 325 . the opposite side of the diamond plate 310 was graphitizcd to form a conductive layer 330 . the diamond was then cleaved and a portion removed to expose a clean , undamaged surface 340 . when a voltage source 345 applied a few kilovolts between the nickel layer 320 and the graphitized layer 330 , electrons were emitted into vacuum and collected by a collector 350 ; some current to the top electrode 330 was also detected through circuit 360 . in fig5 b , curves 370 and 380 respectively show the i - v characteristics of the emitted current and of the electrode current . by using a movable phosphor screen ( not shown ), it was determined that these electrons originated from the cleaved free surface 340 and that they were nearly monoenergetic , with kinetic energies nearly equivalent to the applied potential , sometimes within 50 ev of the applied potential . with reference to fig6 a , an emitter was formed in a slab 410 of type - ib diamond . the emitter features a raised portion 415 in the slab 410 . the top surface of the raised portion and the lower surfaces of the slab 410 are covered by a 50 - nm film of nickel metal . the lower nickel film 440 serves as the first conductive contact ; the upper nickel film 450 serves as the second conductive contact . the uncoated free surfaces 460 are about 1 . 5 μm long . this device was fabricated by forming array of raised squares in a flat slab by depositing an aluminum layer , patterning the aluminum layer , and etching away diamond around the patterned squares by etching in a flux of no 2 while impinging the surface with 1200 - ev xenon cations . after removal of the aluminum mask , the structure was cleaned in molten sodium nitrate at about 400 ° c . to remove insoluble nondiamond carbon compounds from the diamond surfaces . then the nickel films 440 and 450 were deposited by electron - beam evaporation . it was found that 5 - to - 50 - nm - thick nickel layers formed good contacts . depositing thicker films usually caused some undesired deposition on the cleaned free surfaces 460 . a slab of cvd diamond suitable for making this structure could be made by growing cvd diamond on a sacrificial substrate and then removing the substrate to expose the smooth cvd surface . fig6 b shows the emission current from the free surfaces 460 of this device as a function of the gate voltage applied across the first and second conductive contacts . the current to the film 450 was on the order of 10 2 to 10 4 times the emitted current . measurable emission occurs at applied potentials substantially less than 4 v . adequate currents for use in flat - panel displays are obtained at voltages less than 10 v . a 1 - μm layer 510 of nitrogen - doped diamond is deposited by chemical vapor deposition over a conductive substrate 520 of metal or heavily doped silicon to form the structure shown in fig7 a . the top diamond surface 525 is then subjected to a current of uranium ions having ion energies greater than 10 7 ev , sufficient to damage the diamond layer 510 . the resulting graphite traces 530 , shown in fig7 b , each correspond to the pathway of a heavy ion through the thickness of the layer 510 . the traces 530 are removed using an oxygen plasma , thereby forming an array of tunnels 540 . with reference to fig7 c , the interior surfaces 550 of the array of tunnels 540 , each having diameter from 0 . 5 to 10 nm , provide a convoluted free surface joined at the bottom 560 of each tunnel 540 to the conductive substrate 520 . treating the diamond surface 525 with a higher flux of argon ions having energies from 10 3 to 10 5 ev provides a damaged layer 570 serving as the second conductive contact , as shown in fig7 d . with reference to fig8 a flat - panel light - emitting device of the invention , generally designated at 610 , includes a cathode body 620 of cesiated diamond having a front surface 624 and a back surface 628 . the free surface 630 of the body 620 is in contact with a first conductive contact 638 at the back surface 628 and with a second conductive contact 634 at the front surface 624 . the second contact 634 is a thin conductive layer , no thicker than several nanometers , preferably of metal or graphite . the device 610 is optionally housed in an evacuated chamber . a voltage source imposes a potential difference between the first and second conductive contacts 638 and 634 . a layer 650 of phosphor material , such as , for example , zinc oxide , is disposed over the second contact 634 . in operation , electrons are injected from the first contact 638 onto the free surface 630 , are accelerated over the free surface 630 toward the second contact 634 , and leave the free surface 630 and enter the layer 650 , without emission to vacuum , thereby exciting the phosphor material to luminescence . it will therefore be seen that the foregoing represents a highly advantageous approach to the construction of field - emission devices , especially those incorporating diamond and other wide - bandgap materials . the terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention , in the use of such terms and expressions , of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed . for example , the free surface of the emitter may be coplanar with one or both of the conductive contacts , the extent of each of the features being lithographically defined .
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fig3 a and 3b illustrate the use of an opaque film adjacent another layer or an air gap to absorb shunting light . fig3 a shows the opaque film 34 , before assembly being placed over layers 36 , 36 ′ separated by an air gap 38 . layers 36 , 36 ′ may be mounted on a common substrate ( not shown ). holes 40 and 42 are shown for the emitter and detector . alternately , these can be windows or simply a solid portion of a transparent layer . fig3 b shows the assembled lower layer and opaque film layer 34 . as light attempts to shunt from emitter area 40 to detector area 42 , either passing through the air gap 38 or through layers 36 and 36 ′, it will bounce back and forth between the boundaries of the layer and through the air gap . some of the light that would normally hit the top end of layer 36 or 36 ′ and bounce back into the middle of the layer , will instead pass into and be absorbed by opaque layer 34 , which is tightly coupled to the layers 36 and 36 ′. fig4 illustrates the use of a woven or fiber material 44 on layers 36 and 36 ′, and filling the air gap 38 of fig3 a . fibers in the material will absorb light , thus attenuating light attempting to shunt from emitter area 40 to detector area 42 . an additional cover layer 46 may be placed over the assembly , and which will need to be at least partially transparent for light to escape and be detected . layer 46 can function as another shunting layer . by abutting up against the woven or fiber material 44 , light will be absorbed out of that layer in the same manner as the opaque film 34 of fig3 a and b . alternately , the fiber and woven material can be inserted into layer 46 between the emitter and detector . fig5 shows an alternate embodiment in which a layer 50 is used with an emitter 52 placed on top of it . alternately , layer 50 could have holes 54 and 56 over the emitter and detector , with the emitter 52 being placed through hole 54 onto an underlying layer . a partially opaque layer 58 is placed above emitter 52 in the embodiment shown . layer 58 may extend a portion of the way or all of the way over to where the detector is . the opacity of layer 58 is chosen in conjunction with its thickness to allow transmission of substantially all of the light from emitter 52 through the layer , while substantially reducing the amount of light shunted in a path transverse through the layer from the emitter to the detector . layer 58 preferably attenuates the shunted light so that it is less than 10 %, and more preferably less than 1 % of the total light received by the detector . additionally , of the light detected by the detector and converted into electrical signal , the portion of the electrical signal due to shunted light is preferably less than 10 % and more preferably less than 1 % of the signal value . the layer may be made substantially opaque through coloring . one such color would be a gray created by suspension of carbon black particles in the base material of the layer . this would be substantially opaque to both red and infrared . fig6 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a layer 60 over an emitter 62 and detector 64 has a series of perforations 66 . these perforations block the light path and scatter the light attempting to shunt between the emitter 62 and detector 64 through layer 60 . although light tends to jump air gaps , by providing multiple air gaps in different orientations , the light can be somewhat effectively scattered . alternately , the perforations could be filled with a colored filling material or putty to block the light that might otherwise jump the air gaps , or could have the inside walls of the perforations colored . alternately , embossing ( or other variations in thickness ) could be used rather than perforations . fig7 illustrates a layer 70 having an emitter 72 and detector 74 , covered by another layer 76 . layer 76 may be partially transparent for light to exit from emitter 72 and re - enter to detector 74 . layer 76 has a thinned portion 78 , and layer 70 has a corresponding thinned portion 79 . these portions make the layers thin in that area , thus limiting the amount of light that may be shunted . the layer could be made thin by a number of techniques , such as embossing , welding or heat sealing . the width of the thinned area could be varied , and the shape could be varied as desired . for instance , the thinned area could extend around the sides of the emitter and detector , to prevent shunting of light from the edges of the layers when they are wrapped around a finger . the thinness of the layer contributes to absorption of the light because light which is traveling in a thin layer will more often bounce off the layer boundaries than it would in a thick layer . this provides more chances to escape the layer and be lost or absorbed in an adjoining layer with absorption characteristics . the thickness is preferably less than 0 . 25 mm and more preferably no more than 0 . 025 mm . the length of the thin section is preferably greater than 1 mm and more preferably greater than 3 mm . the thin layer approach could be applied to a re - manufacture or other modification of a sensor which involves adding a layer over the emitter and detector . the entire layer could be made thin , preferably less than 0 . 25 mm , more preferably no more than 0 . 025 mm , in order to limit its shunting effect . fig8 shows a sensor having a layer 80 for an emitter 81 and a detector 82 , having transparent windows 83 and 84 , respectively . a substrate layer 85 supports the emitter and detector , with light being transmitted through transparent window 83 and received through window 84 . in one embodiment , the entire layer 80 is opaque , leaving transparent portions 83 and 84 . alternately , the entire layer 80 may be transparent , or of one color with the windows of another or transparent . in addition , a portion 86 of layer 80 between the emitter and detector may be colored a substantially opaque color to prevent the shunting of light of the wavelengths of interest . in alternate embodiments , portion 86 may be of different shapes , and may partially or totally enclose the windows for the emitter and detector . fig9 shows another embodiment of a sensor according to the present invention mounted on a finger 90 . two portions of a first layer , 91 , 91 ′ have the emitter 92 and detector 93 , respectively , attached to them . a break between layers 91 and 91 ′ is provided in between the emitter and detector , which will be at the tip of finger 90 . normally , this gap would provide an air gap through which light can be shunted between the emitter and detector across the top of the finger . however , by using a backing layer 94 , with an adhesive in the portion between layers 91 and 91 ′, this layer can stick to the tip of finger 90 , removing the air gap and thus substantially preventing shunting between the layers . an alternate embodiment is shown in fig1 , with the finger 100 having a sensor with layers 91 and 91 ′ and emitter 92 and detector 93 as in fig9 . here , however , a separate layer 94 is provided with a foam or other resilient or compressible pad 96 mounted on layer 94 between layers 91 and 91 ′. this material will compress against the tip of the finger , thus also blocking the air gap and preventing the shunting of light if the material is made of a substantially opaque material , such as a color that is substantially opaque to the wavelengths of interest ( e . g ., red and infrared ), or is made of woven material or other material opaque to the light . fig1 is another embodiment of the present invention showing a layer 110 having an emitter 112 and a detector 114 mounted thereon . a covering , transparent layer 116 provides a covering and a window for the transmission and detection of light . shunting of light is prevented by crimping the layers with a metal or other crimp 118 , 120 . the metal or other material is substantially opaque to the shunted light of the wavelengths of interest , and completely penetrates the layer , or substantially penetrates the layer . fig1 shows an alternate embodiment in which a layer 121 has an emitter 122 and a detector 124 ( both shown in phantom ) mounted thereon . over the emitter area is a first transparent layer 126 , with a second transparent layer 128 over the detector 124 . as can be seen , the two layers are overlapping , with the end 129 of layer 128 being on top of layer 126 . thus , instead of an air gap , any shunted light from layer 128 is deflected to be above layer 126 , and vice versa . alternately , since the light will originate from the emitter , it may be more preferable to have the layer overlaying the emitter be on top of the layer overlaying the detector . in the overlapping portion , a radiation blocking layer may be included , such as a colored adhesive . fig1 shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention in which a flexible circuit is printed onto a layer 130 . as shown , emitter 132 and detector 134 are mounted on the flexible layer 130 . a covering layer 133 is provided . layers 130 and 133 may be partially or substantially opaque to prevent the shunting of light . in between the layers , metal traces 136 and 138 can be used to block the shunting of light . instead of making these traces run lengthwise , leaving a clear path between the emitter and detector , they instead follow a tortuous path . this tortuous path not only goes lengthwise , but also goes across the width of the layer 130 , thus providing a barrier to block shunting the light between the emitter and detector . fig1 shows another embodiment of the present invention for modifying a sheath such as sheath 32 of fig2 . fig1 shows a sheath 140 having a first , adhesive layer 142 , and a second layer 144 being transparent and forming a pocket for the insertion of a sensor . layer 144 has opaque colored rings 146 and 148 surrounding windows 147 and 149 , respectively . these windows allow the transmission of light to and from the emitter and detector , while the opaque rings prevent the shunting of light through transparent layer 144 . alternately , more or less of the transparent layer 144 could be colored with an opaque color to prevent the shunting of light . alternately , in the embodiment of fig1 , windows 147 and 149 could be one color , while areas 146 and 148 , which may extend over the rest of the layer 144 , could be of a second color . the second color would be chosen to prevent shunting , while the first color would be chosen to allow the transmission of light while also being of a color which is compatible with the calibration data for an oximeter sensor . if the color over the emitter and detector is not chosen properly , it may interfere with the choice of a proper calibration curve in the oximeter sensor for the particular wavelength of the emitter being used . typically , leds of slightly varying wavelengths are used , with a coding resistor indicating the exact wavelength . the coding resistor is used to choose a particular calibration curve of coefficients in the oximeter sensor . thus , by using a differentially - colored sheath or reinforcing laminate or other layer , with the layer near the emitter and detector chosen to be white , clear or other color which does not interfere with the calibration , shunting can be prevented while allowing the sensor to be used without affecting its standard calibration . preferably , the regions over the emitter and detector have a radius extending at least 2 mm . beyond the borders of the emitter and detector , and preferably at least 5 mm beyond the borders of the emitter and detector . any of the shunt barriers described above could be incorporated into layer 144 of sheath 140 of fig1 . alternately , or in addition , the shunt barriers could be incorporated into a lamination or other layer placed over a sensor in a modifying process . such a modifying process may , for instance , place a non - adhesive layer over an adhesive layer to convert a disposable sensor into a reusable sensor . the shunt barriers described above may also be in an original layer in a sensor , or in a replacement layer added in a remanufacturing process for recycling disposable sensors . as will be understood by those of skill in the art , the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . accordingly , the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative , but not limiting , of the scope of the invention which is set forth in the following claims .
| 0 |
the aliphatic group represented by r includes a linear , branched or cyclic alkyl group , alkenyl group or alkynyl group , which preferably has from 1 to 30 carbon atoms . the branched alkyl group may be cyclized to form a saturated hetero ring containing one or more hetero atoms therein . for example , the group r may be a methyl group , a t - butyl group , an n - octyl group , a t - octyl group , a cyclohexyl group , a hexenyl group , a pyrrolidyl group , a tetrahydrofuryl group , or an n - dodecyl group . the aromatic group represented by r may be a monocyclic or a bicyclic aryl group , for example , a phenyl group , or a naphthyl group . the heterocyclic group represented by r can be a 3 - membered to 10 - membered unsaturated or saturated heterocyclic group having at least one hetero atom of nitrogen , oxygen , or sulfur , it may be monocyclic or may form a condensed ring with other aromatic ring ( s ) and / or hetero ring ( s ). the hetero ring is preferably a 5 - or 6 - membered aromatic hetero ring , for example , a pyridine ring , an imidazolyl ring , a quinolinyl group , a benzimidazolyl group , a pyrimidinyl group , a pyrazolyl group , an isoquinolinyl group , a benzothiazolyl group , or a thiazolyl gorup . the group represented by r may optionally be substituted by one or more substituents . in addition , these substituent groups may be further substituted . for example , the substituents may be an alkyl group , an aralkyl group , an alkenyl group , an alkynyl group , an alkoxy group , an aryl group , a substituted amino group , a ureido group , a urethane group , an aryloxy group , a sulfamoyl group , a carbamoyl gorup , an alkylthio group , an arylthio group , an alkyl - or arylsulfonyl group , an alkyl - or arylsulfinyl group , a hydroxyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano gorup , a sulfo group , an alkyloxycarbonyl group , an aryloxycarbonyl group , an acyl group , an acyloxy group , a carbonamido group , a sulfonamido group , or a carboxyl group . if possible , these groups may also be bound to each other to form a ring . the divalent organic group represented by l may be an aliphatic gorup , an aromatic group , or a group of the following structural formula : ## str7 ## wherein l &# 39 ; represents an aromatic group or a heterocyclic group ; r 0 1 to r 0 4 each independently represents a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , or an alkyl group ; and r and s each represents 0 or 1 . the aliphatic group which may be represented by l is a linear , branched , or cyclic alkylene group , alkenylene group , or alkynylene group . the aromatic group which may be represented by l is a monocyclic or bicyclic arylene group , for example , a phenylene group , or a naphthylene group . especially preferred is a phenylene group . the group represented by l may optionally have one or more substituents . these substituents include a group of r -- y -- nh -- and those as referred to , above , as substituents on r . time represents a divalent organic group which may have a timing adjustment function . t means 0 or 1 ; and when t is 0 , pug is directly bound to the carbonyl group in the formula . a divalent organic group for time is a group capable of releasing pug from the moiety time - pug which is released from the oxidation product of the redox nucleus . this release can be via a one step reaction or a reaction having plural steps . examples of the divalent organic group for time include those which release pug by an intramolecular ring closure reaction of p - nitrophenoxy derivatives as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 248 , 962 ( jp - a - 54 - 145135 ); groups that release pug by a ring cleavage reaction followed by an intramolecular ring closure reaction as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 310 , 612 ( jp - a - 55 - 53330 ) and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 358 , 525 ; groups that release pug by an intramolecular ring closure reaction of the carboxyl group of succinic acid monoesters or their analogs with formation of an acid anhydride as described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 330 , 617 , 4 , 446 , 216 and 4 , 483 , 919 and jp - a - 59 - 121328 ; groups that release pug by an electron transfer of the aryloxy or heterocyclic oxy group via the conjugated double bond to form a quinomonomethane or its analog as described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 409 , 323 , 4 , 421 , 845 , research disclosure , item no . 21228 ( december , 1981 ), u . s . pat . no . 4 , 416 , 977 ( jp - a - 57 - 135944 ) and jp - a - 58 - 209736 and jp - a - 58 - 209738 ; groups that release pug by electron transfer of the enamine structure moiety of the nitrogen - containing ring from the gamma position of the enamine as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 420 , 554 ( jp - a - 57 - 136640 ), jp - a - 57 - 135945 , jp - a - 57 - 188035 , jp - a - 58 - 98728 and jp - a - 58 - 209737 ; groups that release pug by an intramolecular ring closure reaction of the hydroxyl group formed by electron transfer of the carbonyl group conjugated with the nitrogen atom of the nitrogen - containing hetero ring as described in jp - a - 57 - 56837 ; groups that release pug with formation of aldehydes as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 146 , 396 ( jp - a - 52 - 90932 ), jp - a - 59 - 93442 , jp - a - 59 - 75475 , jp - a - 60 - 249148 and jp - a - 60 - 249149 ; groups that release pug with the decarbonylation of the carboxyl group as described in jp - a - 51 - 146828 , jp - a - 57 - 179842 and jp - a - 59 - 104641 ; groups having -- o -- coocr 2 r 6 -- pug that release pug by decarbonylation followed by formation of aldehydes ; groups that release pug by formation of isocyanates as described in jp - a - 60 - 7429 ; and groups that release pug by a coupling reaction with the oxidation product of a color developing agent as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 438 , 193 . preferably , the divalent group represented by time in formula ( 1 ) may be selected from those of the following formulae ( t - 1 ) to ( t - 6 ), where (*) indicates the position where time is bonded to ## str8 ## and (**) indicates the position where time is bonded to pug . ## str9 ## wherein w represents an oxygen atom , a sulfur atom or ## str10 ## r 11 and r 12 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent ; r 13 represents a substituent ; t represents 1 or 2 , and when t is 2 , two ## str11 ## may be the same or different . where r 11 and r 12 are substituents , specific examples of the substituents are r 14 , r 14 co --, r 14 so 2 --, ## str12 ## r 14 represents an aliphatic group , an aromatic group or a heterocyclic group ; and r 15 represents an aliphatic group , an aromatic group , a heterocyclic group , or a hydrogen atom . examples of the substituents as r 13 include the same substituents as r 11 and r 12 as described above . r 11 , r 12 and r 13 each may be a divalent group to form a cyclic structure . specific examples of the groups represented by formula ( t - 1 ) are mentioned below . ## str13 ## wherein nu represents a nucleophilic group , and an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom are examples of nucleophilic nuclides ; e represents an electrophilic group and it is nucleophilically attacked by nu to be able to cleave the bond to the position of (**); link represents a linking group which participates in the steric configuration of nu and e so that nu and e may be subjected to intramolecular nucleophilic substitution reaction therebetween . specific examples of the groups represented by formula ( t - 2 ) are mentioned below . ## str14 ## wherein w , r 11 , r 12 and t have the same meaning as those in formula ( t - 1 ). specific examples of the groups of formula ( t - 3 ) are mentioned below . ## str15 ## in these formulae , w and r 11 have the same meanings as those in formula ( t - 1 ). specific examples of the groups of formula ( t - 6 ) are mentioned below . ## str16 ## specific examples of the divalent organic groups for time are also described in detail in jp - a - 61 - 236549 and jp - a - 64 - 88451 and japanese patent application no . 63 - 98803 . preferred examples of these groups are mentioned below . ## str17 ## the group pug represents a photographically useful compound that can be present as either ( time ) t - pug or pug . examples of photographically useful groups are development inhibitors , development accelerators , nucleating agents , foggants , couplers , diffusible or nondiffusible dyes , desilvering accelerators , desilvering inhibitors , silver halide solvents , competing compounds , developing agents , auxiliary developing agents , fixation accelerators , fixation inhibitors , image stabilizers , color toning agents , processing dependence improving agents , dot improving agents , color image stabilizers , photographic dyes , surfactants , hardening agents , desensitizing agents , contrast enhancing agents , chelating agents , brightening agents , acids , bases , and precursors of acids or bases . examples of these photographically useful compounds are described in , for example , t . h . james , the theory of the photographic process , 4th ed . ( published by macmillan , 1977 ). more precisely , development inhibitors , dyes , couplers and developing agents are described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 248 , 962 ; foggants in jp - a - 59 - 170840 ; and desilvering accelerators ( bleach accelerators ) in jp - a - 62 - 168159 . photographically useful groups often overlap with each other with respect to their usefulness . as a typical exampl of the group , a development inhibitor is discussed in detail below . the development inhibitor represented by pug or ( time ) t - pug may be a known development inhibitor containing hetero atoms . such an inhibitor is bound to ## str18 ## in formula ( 1 ) via the hetero atom . examples of such development inhibitors are described , for example , in c . e . k . mees and t . h . james , the theory of photographic processes , 3rd ed . ( published by macmillan 1966 ), pages 344 to 346 . they include , for example , mercaptotetrazoles , mercaptotriazoles , mercaptoimidazoles , mercaptopyrimidines , mercaptobenzimidazoles , mercaptobenzothiazoles , mercaptobenzoxazoles , mercaptothiadiazoles , benzotriazoles , benzimidazoles , indazoles , adenines , guanines , tetrazoles , tetraazaindenes , triazaindenes and mercaptoaryls . the development inhibitors represented by pug may optionally be substituted . in addition , these substituents may be further substituted . an example of a group that may be a substituent is an alkyl group , an aralkyl group , an alkenyl group , an alkynyl group , an alkoxy group , an aryl group , a substituted amino group , a ureido group , a urethane group , an aryloxy group , a carbamoyl group , an alkylthio group , an arylthio gorup , an alkyl - or arylsulfonyl group , an alkyl - or arylsulfinyl group , a hydroxyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano group , an aryloxycarbonyl group , an acyl group , an alkoxycarbonyl group , an acyloxy group , a carbonamido group , a sulfoxy group , or a phosphoric acid amido group . when the development inhibitors represented by pug have a nitro group , it is preferred that t in ( time ) t is 1 . in formula ( 1 ), the group r or -( time ) t - pug may contain a ballast group which is generally contained in a nondiffusible photographic additive such as a coupler or a gorup that accelerates adsorption of the compound of formula ( 1 ) to silver halide grains . the ballast group usable for this purpose is an organic group which may give sufficient molecular weight to the compound of formula ( 1 ) so that the compound would not substantially diffuse into other layers or into the processing solution . the ballast group is composed of one or more of the following groups : an alkyl gorup , an aryl group , a heterocyclic group , an ether group , a thioether group , an amido group , a ureido group , a urethane group , or a sulfonamido group . preferably , the ballast group contains a substituted benzene ring ; especially preferred is ballast gorup having a benzene ring substituted with a branched alkyl group . examples of groups that accelerate the adsorption of the compound of formula ( 1 ) to silver halides are the following : cyclic thioamido groups ( such as 4 - thiazoline - 2 - thione , 4 - imidazoline - 2 - thione , 2 - thiohydantoin , rhodanine , thiobarbituric acid , tetrazoline - 5 - thione , 1 , 2 , 4 - triazoline - 3 - thione , 1 , 2 , 4 - oxazoline - 2 - thione , benzimidazoline - 2 - thione , benzoxazoline - 2 - thione , benzothiazoline - 2 - thione , thiotriazine and 1 , 3 - imidazoline - 2 - thione ); chain thioamido groups ; aliphatic mercapto groups ; aromatic mercapto groups ; heterocyclic mercapto groups ( when a nitrogen atom is adjacent to the carbon atom bonded to -- sh , the groups have the same meaning as the cyclic thioamido groups which are tautomers of the groups , and specific examples of the groups are the same as those mentioned above ); groups containing disulfido bond ; 5 - membered or 6 - membered nitrogen - containing heterocyclic groups composed of a combination of nitrogen , oxygen , sulfur and carbon atoms ( such as benzotriazoles , triazoles , tetrazoles , indazoles , benzimidazoles , imidazoles , benzothiazoles , thiazoles , thiazolines , benzoxazoles , oxazoles , oxazolines , thiadiazoles , oxathiazoles , triazines , azaindenes ); and heterocyclic quaternary salts such as benzimidazoliniums . these groups may further be substituted , if desired . examples of these substituents are those discussed as representative of r , above . specific examples of compounds of formula ( 1 ) employable in the present invention are given below . these are not , however , intended to limit the present invention . ## str19 ## the compounds of formula ( 1 ) used in the present invention are produced in accordance with the methods described in jp - a - 61 - 213847 and jp - a - 62 - 260153 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 684 , 604 , and japanese patent application no . 63 - 98803 . the compounds of formula ( 1 ) can be incorporated into the photographic emulsion layer or hydrophilic colloid layer of the silver halide photographic materials of the present invention . the compound of formula ( 1 ) may be first dissolved in water or in a water - miscible organic solvent ( if desired , in the presence of an alkali hydroxide or a tertiary amine for salt formation ), the resulting solution may then be added to the hydrophilic colloid liquid ( such as silver halide emulsion or aqueous gelatin solution ), and the ph of the resulting colloid liquid may be adjusted by addition of an acid or alkali , if desired . the compounds of formula ( 1 ) can be employed singly or in combinations of two or more when incorporated into the photographic material . the amount of the compound of formula ( 1 ) to be added to the photographic material is preferably from 1 × 10 - 6 to 5 × 10 - 2 mol , more preferably from 1 × 10 - 5 to 1 × 10 - 2 mol , per mol of the silver halide in the material . a pertinent amount may be added , as known in the art , in accordance with the properties of the silver halide emulsion combined with the compound . the compound of formula ( 1 ) is preferably employed in combination with a hydrazine derivative of general formula ( 2 ). ## str20 ## wherein r 31 represents an aliphatic group or an aromatic group ; r 32 represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an aryl group , an alkoxy group , an aryloxy group , an amino group , a carbamoyl group , or an oxycarbonyl group ; g 1 represents a ## str21 ## a thiocarbonyl group , or an iminomethylene group ; and both a 1 and a 2 are hydrogen atoms , or one of them is a hydrogen atom and the other represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkylsulfonyl group , a substituted or unsubstituted arylsulfonyl group , or a substituted or unsubstituted acyl group . in formula ( 2 ), the aliphatic group represented by r 31 is preferably a linear , branched or cyclic alkyl group having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms . the branched alkyl groups may be cyclized to form a saturated hetero ring containing one or more hetero atoms . the alkyl groups may optionally be substituted by the following substituent ( s ): an aryl group , an alkoxy group , a sulfoxy group , a sulfonamido group , or a carbonamido group . in formula ( 2 ), the aromatic group represented by r 31 is a monocyclic or bicyclic aryl group or unsaturated heterocyclic group . the unsaturated heterocyclic group may be condensed with a monocyclic or bicyclic aryl group to form a hetero aryl group . examples of these groups are a benzene ring , a naphthalene ring , a pyridine ring , a pyrimidine ring , an imidazole ring , a pyrazole ring , a quinoline ring , an isoquinoline ring , a benzimidazole ring , a thiazole ring , and a benzothiazole ring . especially preferred is a benzene ring . the aryl group or unsaturated heterocyclic group represented by r 31 may optionally be substituted . typical substituents are an alkyl group , an aralkyl group , an alkenyl group , an alkynyl group , an alkoxy group , an aryl group , a substituted amino group , a ureido group , a urethane group , an aryloxy group , a sulfamoyl group , a carbamoyl group , an alkylthio group , an arylthio group , an alkyl - or arylsulfonyl group , an alkyl or arylsulfinyl group , a hydroxyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano group , a sulfo group , an aryloxycarbonyl group , an acyl group , an alkoxycarbonyl group , an acyloxy group , a carbonamido group , a sulfonamido group , a carboxyl group , a phosphoric acid amido group , a diacylamino group , an imido group , and an ## str22 ## preferably , the substituents are a linear , branched , or cyclic alkyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms ), an aralkyl group ( preferably a monocyclic or bicyclic group where the alkyl moiety has from 1 to 3 carbon atoms ), an alkoxy group ( preferably having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms ), a substituted amino group ( preferably an amino group substituted by one or more alkyl groups each having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms ), an acylamino group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms ), a sulfonamido group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms ), a ureido group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms ), or a phosphoric acid amido group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms ). in formula ( 2 ), the alkyl group represented by r 32 is preferably an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , which may be optionally substituted by the following substituent ( s ): a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , a cyano group , a carboxyl group , a sulfo group , an alkoxy group , a phenyl group , an alkyl - or arylsulfonyl group , an acyl group , an alkoxycarbonyl group , an aryloxycarbonyl group , a carbamoyl group , a sulfamoyl group , a nitro group , a heterocyclic aromatic group , or an ## str23 ## these groups may further be substituted . the aryl group represented b r 32 is preferably a monocyclic or bicyclic aryl group , for example , containing a benzene ring . the aryl group may be optionally substituted by substituent ( s ), such as , for example , a halogen atom , an alkyl group , a cyano group , a carboxyl group , a sulfo group , or a sulfonyl group . the alkoxy group represented by r 32 is preferably an alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms , which may be optionally substituted by one or more substituents that are either a halogen atom or an aryl group . the aryloxy group represented by r 32 is preferably monocyclic , and may be optionally substituted by a halogen atom or the like . the amino group represented by r 32 is preferably an unsubstituted amino group , an alkylamino group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms , or an arylamino group . it may be optionally substituted by one or more of the following substituents : an alkyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano group , a nitro group , and / or a carboxyl group . the carbamoyl group represented b r 32 is preferably an unsubstituted carbamoyl group , or an alkylcarbamoyl group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an arylcarbamoyl group . it may be optionally substituted by one or more of the following substituents : an alkyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano group , and / or a carboxyl group . the oxycarbonyl group represented by r 32 is preferably an alkoxycarbonyl group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an aryloxycarbonyl group , and it may be optionally substituted by one or more of the following substituents : an alkyl group , a halogen atom , a cyano group , and / or a nitro group . where g 1 is ## str24 ## r 32 is preferably a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group ( e . g ., methyl , trifluoromethyl , 3 - hydroxypropyl , 3 - methanesulfonamidopropyl , phenylsulfonylmethyl ), an aralkyl group ( e . g ., o - hydroxybenzyl ), or an aryl group ( e . g ., phenyl , 3 , 5 - dichlorophenyl , o - methanesulfonamidophenyl , 4 - methanesulfonylphenyl , 2 - hydroxymethylphenyl ); and it is most preferably a hydrogen atom . where g 1 is -- so 2 --, r 32 is preferably an alkyl group ( e . g ., methyl ), an aralkyl group ( e . g ., o - hydroxybenzyl ), an aryl group ( e . g ., phenyl ), or a substituted amino group ( e . g ., dimethylamino ). where g 1 is -- so --, r 32 is preferably a cyanobenzyl group or a methylthiobenzyl group . where g 1 is ## str25 ## group , r 32 is preferably a methoxy group , an ethoxy group , a butoxy group , a phenoxy group , or a phenyl group ; most preferably a phenoxy group . where g 1 is an n - substituted or unsubstituted iminomethylene group , r 32 is preferably a methyl group , an ethyl group , or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group . substituents on r 32 , if any , are the same as those mentioned for r 31 , above . in formula ( 2 ), g 1 is most preferably a ## str26 ## group . r 32 may also be such a group that causes release of the -- g 1 -- r 32 moiety from the remaining molecule followed by a cyclization reaction to form a cyclic structure containing the atoms of the thus released -- g 1 -- r 32 moiety . such an r 32 group is represented by the following formula ( a ): wherein z 31 represents a group which nucleophilically attacks the group g 1 to cleave the -- g 1 -- r 33 -- z 31 moiety from the remaining molecule ; where r 33 represents a group derived from r 32 by the removal of one hydrogen atom . in the group represented by formula ( a ), z 31 nucleophilically attacks g 1 and , as a result , g 1 , r 33 and z 31 form a cyclic structure . more precisely , z 31 is a group that easily reacts nucleophilically with g 1 , when the hydrazine compound of formula ( 2 ) forms a reaction intermediate of : by oxidation , thereby cleaving the r 31 -- n ═ n -- moiety from group g 1 . specifically , z 31 may be a functional goup which directly reacts with group g 1 , such as oh , sh or nhr 34 ( where r 34 represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an aryl group , -- cor 35 , or -- so 2 r 35 ; and r 35 represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an aryl group or a heterocyclic group ), or cooh , these groups oh , sh , nhr 34 , and cooh , may be temporarily protected so that the free group is formed by hydrolysis with an alkali or the like . alternatively , z 31 may also be a functional group which may react with the g 1 group after reacting with a nucleophilic agent such as a hydroxyl ion or a sulfite ion . examples of such functional groups are ## str27 ## ( where r 36 and r 37 each represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an alkenyl group , an aryl group , or a heterocyclic group ). the ring formed by g 1 , r 33 and z 31 is preferably a 5 - membered or 6 - membered one . of the formula ( a ) groups , those represented by the following formulae ( b ) and ( c ) are preferred . ## str28 ## wherein r b 1 to r b 4 each represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ), an alkenyl group ( preferably having from 2 to 12 carbon atoms ), or an aryl group ( preferably having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms ), and these may be the same or different ; b represents an atomic group necessary for completing an optionally substituted 5 - membered or 6 - membered ring ; and m and n each represents 0 or 1 where ( n + m ) is 1 or 2 . examples of 5 - membered or 6 - membered rings formed by b are a cyclohexene ring , a cyclopentene ring , a benzene ring , a naphthalene ring , a pyridine ring , and a quinoline ring . z 31 in formula ( b ) represents the same groups as it does in formula ( a ), above . ## str29 ## wherein r c 1 and r c 2 each represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an alkenyl group , an aryl group , or a halogen atom , and these may be the same or different ; r c 3 represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , an alkenyl group , or an aryl group ; and p represents 0 or 1 , and q represents 1 , 2 , 3 , or 4 . r c 1 , r c 2 and r c 3 may be bonded to each other to form a ring , provided that z 31 has a structure capable of attacking group g 1 by an intramolecular nucleophilic reaction . r c 1 and r c 2 each are preferably a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , or an alkyl group ; and r c 3 is preferably an alkyl group or an aryl group . q is preferably 1 , 2 , or 3 . when q is 1 , p is 1 ; when q is 2 , p is 0 or 1 ; when q is 3 , p is 0 or 1 ; and when q is 2 or 3 , the plural (-- cr c 1 r c 2 )&# 39 ; s may be the same or different . z 31 in formula ( c ) represents the same groups as it does in formula ( a ), above . a 1 and a 2 each represents a hydrogen atom ; an alkylsulfonyl or arylsulfonyl group having 20 or less carbon atoms ( preferably an unsubstituted phenylsulfonyl group or a phenylsulfonyl group so substituted that the total of the hammett &# 39 ; s substituent constants is - 0 . 5 or more ); an acyl group having 20 or less carbon atoms ( preferably an unsubstituted benzoyl group or a benzoyl group so substituted that the total of the hammett &# 39 ; s substituent constants is - 0 . 5 or more ); or a linear , branched or cyclic substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic acyl group ( where the substituents of the group are , for example , a halogen atom , an ether group , a sulfonamido group , a carbonamido group , a hydroxyl group , a carboxyl group , or a sulfonic acid group ). r 31 or r 32 in formula ( 2 ) may have a ballast group which is generally present in a nondiffusible photographic additive such as a coupler . the ballast group is a group which is relatively inactive in terms of photographic properties and has 8 or more carbon atoms . examples of ballast groups are an alkyl group , an alkoxy group , a phenyl group , an alkylphenyl group , a phenoxy group , or an alkylphenoxy group . r 31 or r 32 in formula ( 2 ) may have a group which functions to enhance the adsorption of the compound of formula ( 2 ) to the surface of silver halide grains . examples of such adsorbing groups are thiourea groups , heterocyclic thioamido groups , mercaptoheterocyclic groups , triazole groups as well as the groups mentioned in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 385 , 108 and 4 , 459 , 347 , jp - a - 59 - 195233 , jp - a - 59 - 200231 , jp - a - 59 - 201045 , jp - a - 59 - 201046 , jp - a - 59 - 201047 , jp - a - 59 - 201048 , jp - a - 59 - 201049 , jp - a - 61 - 170733 , jp - a - 61 - 270744 , jp - a - 62 - 948 , jp - a - 63 - 234244 , jp - a - 63 - 234246 , and japanese patent application no . 62 - 67501 . specific nonlimiting examples of compounds of formula ( 2 ) are given below . ## str30 ## hydrazine derivatives usable in the present invention , in addition to the above - mentioned compounds , are described in research disclosure , item no . 23516 ( november , 1983 , page 346 ) and the literature as referred to therein ; as well as in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 080 , 207 , 4 , 269 , 929 , 4 , 276 , 364 , 4 , 278 , 748 , 4 , 385 , 108 , 4 , 459 , 347 , 4 , 560 , 638 , 4 , 478 , 928 , british patent 2 , 011 , 391b , european patent 217 , 310 or u . s . pat . no . 4 , 686 , 167 , jp - a - 60 - 179734 , jp - a - 62 - 270948 , jp - a - 63 - 29751 , jp - a - 61 - 170733 , jp - a - 61 - 270744 , jp - a - 62 - 948 , jp - a - 62 - 178246 , jp - a - 63 - 32538 , jp - a - 63 - 104047 , jp - a - 63 - 121838 , jp - a - 63 - 129337 , jp - a - 63 - 223744 , jp - a - 63 - 234244 , jp - a - 63 - 234245 , jp - a - 63 - 234246 , jp - a - 63 - 294552 , jp - a - 63 - 306438 , jp - a - 1 - 100530 , jp - a - 1 - 105941 , jp - a - 1 - 105943 , jp - a - 64 - 10233 , jp - a - 1 - 90439 , and japanese patent application nos . 63 - 105682 , 63 - 114118 , 63 - 110051 , 63 - 114119 , 63 - 116239 , 63 - 147339 , 63 - 179760 , 63 - 229163 , hei - 1 - 18377 , 1 - 18378 , 1 - 18379 , 1 - 15755 , 1 - 16814 , 1 - 40792 , 1 - 42615 , 1 - 42616 , 1 - 123693 , 1 - 126284 . in accordance with the present invention , the amount of the hydrazine derivative to be added to the photographic material is preferably from 1 × 10 - 6 mol to 5 × 10 - 2 mol , most preferably from 1 × 10 - 5 mol to 2 × 10 - 2 mol , per mol of the silver halide in the material . the hydrazine derivatives can be incorporated into the photographic emulsion layer or hydrophilic colloid layer of the photographic material of the present invention . by combining a compound of formula ( 1 ) and a hydrazine derivative of formula ( 2 ) with a negative emulsion , a negative image having high contrast can be formed . in addition , a compound of formula ( 1 ) and a derivative of formula ( 2 ) may also be combined with an internal latent image - type silver halide emulsion . it is preferred that a compound of formula ( 1 ) be combined with a hydrazine derivative of formula ( 2 ) and a negative emulsion for forming a negative image having high contrast . where a compound of formula ( 1 ) is utilized to form a negative image having high contrast , the silver halide grains employed are preferably fine grains having a mean grain size of 0 . 7 μm or less , more preferably 0 . 5 μm or less . although the molecular size distribution of the silver halide grains is not specifically limited , the emulsion is preferably a monodispersed emulsion . the &# 34 ; monodispersed emulsion &# 34 ; as used herein means that at least 95 % by number or by weight of the silver halide grains in the emulsion have a grain size falling within the range of the mean grain size , or plus or minus 40 %. the silver halide grains in the photographic emulsion may be regular crystals such as cubic , octahedral , rhombic dodecahedral or tetradecahedral crystals ; they may be irregular crystals such as spherical or tabular crystals ; or they may be composite crystals composed of a variety of regular and irregular crystal forms . the silver halide grains may be composed of a uniform phase throughout the whole grain or a different phase inside the grain and at the surface layer of the grain . the silver halide grains of the emulsion of the present invention may be formed or physically ripened in the presence of a cadmium salt , a sulfite , a lead salt , a thallium salt , a rhodium salt , a complex rhodium salt , an iridium salt , or a complex iridium salt . specifically , the silver halide grains for use in the present invention are prepared in the presence of an iridium salt or a complex iridium salt present in an amount of from 10 - 8 to 10 - 5 mol per mol of silver . these silver halide grains are silver haloiodides where the silver iodide content of the surface of the grain is larger than the mean silver iodide content of the whole grain . by using an emulsion containing such silver haloiodide grains , a photographic material having a much higher sensitivity and a much higher gamma value can be obtained . the silver halide emulsion employed in the present invention may or may not be chemically sensitized . chemical sensitization of silver halide grains is known using a sulfur sensitization , a reduction sensitization , or a noble metal sensitization . any of these sensitizations can be employed singly or in a combination of two or more for chemical sensitization of the emulsion of the invention . gold sensitization is a typical noble metal sensitization method , which uses gold compounds that are essentially gold complexes . needless to say , other noble metals , such as platinum , palladium , or rhodium , may also be used for a noble metal sensitization . examples of the compounds usable in such sensitization methods are described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 448 , 060 and british patent 618 , 016 . examples of sulfur sensitizing agents are sulfur compounds that are contained in gelatin as well as other sulfur compounds , such as thiosulfates , thioureas , thiazoles and rhodanines . any of these can be employed in the present invention . in the above - mentioned chemical sensitization , it is preferred to use an iridium salt or a rhodium salt before the physical ripening of the silver halide emulsion is completed . more preferred is to use the sensitizer during formation of the silver halide grains . in the present invention , it is preferred that the silver halide emulsion layer contains two mono - dispersed emulsions each having a different mean grain size as illustrated in jp - a - 61 - 223734 and jp - a - 62 - 90646 , whereby the maximum density ( dmax ) is elevated . of the two emulsions , the small sized monodispersed grains are preferably chemically sensitized , most preferably by sulfur sensitization . the other large sized mono - dispersed grains may or may not be chemically sensitized . since sensitized large sized monodispersed grains often cause generation of black peppers , they are not generally chemically sensitized . however , if they are chemically sensitized , it is especially desired that the chemical sensitization is lightly effected so that it does not cause generation of black peppers . the phrase &# 34 ; chemical sensitization is lightly effected &# 34 ; means that the time of chemical sensitization of the large sized grains is shorter than that of the small sized grains , or the temperature is lowered , or the amount of the chemical sensitizing agent to be added is reduced . although not specifically limited , the difference in the sensitivity between the large sized monodispersed emulsion and the small sized monodispersed emulsion is preferably from 0 . 1 to 1 . 0 , more preferably from 0 . 2 to 0 . 7 , as δlog e . that is , it is preferred that the sensitivity of the large sized monodispersed emulsion is higher . the sensitivity of the emulsion is one as measured by coating an emulsion containing a hydrazine derivative on a support and processing the coated layer with a developer containing a sulfite ion in an amount of 0 . 15 mol / liter or more having a ph value of from 10 . 5 to 12 . 3 . the mean grain size of the small sized monodispersed grains is 90 % or less of that of the large sized monodispersed grains and is preferably 80 % or less thereof . the mean grain size of the silver halide grains for use in the present invention is preferably within the range of from 0 . 02 μm to 1 . 0 μm , more preferably from 0 . 1 μm to 0 . 5 μm . it is more preferred that the mean grain sizes of both the large sized grains and the small sized grains are within the given ranges . where two or more emulsions each having a different mean grain size are employed in the present invention , the amount of the silver ion the small sized monodispersed emulsion coated is preferably from 40 to 90 % by weight , more preferably from 50 to 80 % by weight , of the total amount of silver coated . where two or more emulsions each having a different mean grain size are employed in the present invention , they may be incorporated into the same emulsion layer or may be separately incorporated into different emulsion layers . in the latter case of introducing the emulsions into different emulsion layers , it is preferred that the large sized emulsion layer is an upper layer and the small sized emulsion layer is a lower layer . the total amount of silver coated is preferably from 1 g / m 2 to 8 g / m 2 . the photographic materials of the present invention can contain various sensitizing dyes , for example , those described in jp - a - 55 - 52050 , pages 45 to 53 ( such as cyanine dyes or merocyanine dyes ), for the purpose of elevating the sensitivity of the material . these sensitizing dyes may be added to the photographic material singly or in combinations of two or more . the combination of sensitizing dyes is often employed for the purpose of super color sensitization . additionally , dyes which do not have a color sensitizing effect by themselves or substances which do not substantially absorb visible rays but have a super color sensitizing capacity may also be incorporated into the emulsion of the photographic material of the invention , along with the sensitizing dyes . usable sensitizing dyes , combinations of dyes for super color sensitization and super color sensitizing substances are described in detail in research disclosure , vol . 176 , item no . 17643 ( december , 1978 ), page 23 , jv - j . the photographic materials of the present invention can contain various compounds for the purpose of preventing the materials from fogging during manufacture , storage , or photographic processing , or for the purpose of stabilizing the photographic properties of the materials . for instance , various compounds which are known as an antifoggant or stabilizer can be employed . these include azoles such as benzothiazolium salts , nitroindazoles , chlorobenzimidazoles , bromobenzimidazoles , mercaptothiazoles , mercaptobenzothiazoles , mercaptothiadiazoles , aminotriazoles , benzothiazoles , nitrobenzotriazoles ; mercaptopyrimidines ; mercaptotriazines ; thioketo compounds such as oxazolinethione ; azaindenes such as triazaindenes , tetraazaindenes ( especially 4 - hydroxy - substituted ( 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 ) tetraazaindenes ), pentaazaindenes ; as well as benzenethiosulfonic acids , benzenesulfinic acids ; and benzenesulfonic acid amides . above all , benzotriazoles ( for example , 5 - methylbenzotriazole ) and nitroindazoles ( for example , 5 - nitroindazole ) are preferred . these compounds may be added to the processing solutions . examples of development accelerators or an accelerator for nucleating infectious development suitably employed in the present invention are the compounds illustrated in jp - a - 53 - 77616 , jp - a - 54 - 37732 , jp - a - 53 - 137133 , jp - a - 60 - 140340 and jp - a - 60 - 14959 , as well as other compounds containing nitrogen and / or sulfur atom ( s ). the optimum amount of accelerator applied to the photographic materials of the present invention , although varying in accordance with the kind of the compound of the agent , is desirably from 1 . 0 × 10 - 3 to 0 . 5 g / m 2 and preferably from 5 . 0 × 10 - 3 to 0 . 1 g / m 2 . the photographic materials of the present invention can contain a desensitizing agent in the photographic emulsion layer or in any other hydrophilic colloid layers . a desensitizing agent for use in the present invention may be an organic desensitizing agent , as defined by the polarographic half - wave potential or by the oxidation reduction potential as determined by polarography . that is , the agent is defined so that the sum of the polarographic anode potential and the polarographic cathode potential is positive . the method of measuring the polarographic oxidation reduction potential is described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 501 , 307 . an organic desensitizing agent for use in the present invention is preferably one having at least one water - soluble group . for instance , the water - soluble group may be a sulfonic acid group , a carboxylic acid group , or a phosphonic acid group , and it may be in the form of a salt with an organic base ( for example , ammonia , pyridine , triethylamine , piperidine or morpholine ) or an alkali metal ( for example , sodium or potassium ). as preferred organic desensitizing agents for use in the present invention , the compounds of formulae ( iii ) to ( v ) described in jp - a - 63 - 133145 , pages 55 to 72 are mentioned . in accordance with the present invention , the organic desensitizing agent is preferably incorporated into the silver halide emulsion layer in an amount of from 1 . 0 × 10 - 8 to 1 . 0 × 10 - 4 mol / m 2 , preferably from 1 . 0 × 10 - 7 to 1 . 0 × 10 - 5 mol / m 2 . the photographic materials of the present invention can contain water - soluble dyes in the emulsion layer or in any other hydrophilic colloid layers , as a filter dye , for the purpose of antiirradiation , or for any other purpose known in the art . the filter dyes are those having a function of further lowering the photographic sensitivity of the photographic materials . they are preferably ultraviolet absorbents having a spectral absorption maximum in the intrinsic sensitivity range of the silver halides of the materials or dyes , and they exhibit substantial light absorption from about 380 nm to 600 nm for the purpose of elevating safety to a safelight when the materials are handled under daylight conditions . these dyes are added to the emulsion layer , the upper layer of the silver halide emulsion layer , or the non - light - sensitive hydrophilic colloid layer depending on which is more remote from the support than the silver halide emulsion layer . the chosen dye ( s ) are preferably fixed to the layer along with a mordant agent . ultraviolet absorbents are added to the photographic materials in an amount of from 10 - 2 g / m 2 to 1 g / m 2 , preferably from 50 mg / m 2 to 500 mg / m 2 , in accordance with the molar extinction coefficient thereof . the ultraviolet absorbents may be dissolved in a pertinent solvent ( for example , water ; alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol or propanol ; acetone ; methyl cellosolve ; or mixed solvents ) and the resulting solution added to the coating composition . the ultraviolet absorbents usable in the present invention , for example , are aryl group - substituted benzotriazole compounds , 4 - thiazolidone compounds , benzophenone compounds , cinnamic acid ester compounds , butadiene compounds , benzoxazole compounds , and ultraviolet absorbing polymers . specific examples of the usable ultraviolet absorbents are described , for example , in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 533 , 794 , 3 , 314 , 794 , 3 , 352 , 681 , 3 , 705 , 805 , 3 , 707 , 375 , 4 , 045 , 229 , 3 , 700 , 455 and 3 , 499 , 762 , west german patent ( ols ) no . 1 , 547 , 863 , and jp - a - 46 - 2784 . the filter dyes usable in the present invention include oxonol dyes , hemioxonol dyes , styryl dyes , merocyanine dyes , cyanine dyes , and azo dyes . for the purpose of decreasing the residual color in the photographic materials as developed , water - soluble dyes or dyes which may be decolored by alkali substances or sulfite ion are preferred as the filter dyes . specific examples of such filter dyes are the pyrazoloneoxonol dyes described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 274 , 782 ; the diarylazo dyes described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 956 , 879 ; the styryl dyes or butadienyl dyes described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 423 , 207 and 3 , 384 , 487 ; the merocyanine dyes described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 527 , 583 ; the merocyanine dyes or oxonol dyes described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 486 , 897 , 3 , 652 , 284 and 3 , 718 , 472 ; the enaminohemioxonol dyes described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 976 , 661 . in addition , the dyes described in british patents 584 , 609 and 1 , 177 , 429 , jp - a - 48 - 85130 , jp - a - 49 - 99620 , jp - a - 49 - 114420 , and u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 533 , 472 , 3 , 148 , 187 , 3 , 177 , 078 , 3 , 247 , 127 , 3 , 540 , 887 , 3 , 575 , 704 and 3 , 653 , 905 may also be used . the dyes are dissolved in an appropriate solvent ( for example , water ; alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , or propanol ; acetone ; methyl cellosolve ; or mixed solvents thereof ). the resulting solution may be added to the coating composition to form the non - light - sensitive hydrophilic colloid layer in photographic materials of the present invention . the preferred amount of the dyes to be incorporated into the layer may be from 10 - 3 g / m 2 to 1 g / m 2 , more preferred is from 10 - 3 g / m 2 to 0 . 5 g / m 2 . the photographic materials of the present invention may contain an inorganic or organic hardening agent in the photographic emulsion layer or in any other hydrophilic colloid layers . for instance , chromium salts , aldehydes ( e . g ., formaldehyde , glutaraldehyde ), n - methylol compounds ( e . g ., dimethylolurea ), active vinyl compounds ( e . g ., 1 , 3 , 5 - triacryloylhexahydro - s - triazine , 1 , 3 - vinylsulfonyl - 2 - propanol ), active halogen compounds ( e . g ., 2 , 4 - dichloro - 6 - hydroxy - s - triazine ) and mucohalogenic acids can be employed singly or in combination of two or more of them as the hardening agent . the photographic materials of the present invention can further contain various surfactants in the photographic emulsion layer or in any other hydrophilic colloid layers for various purposes such as coating assistance , prevention of static charge , improvement of slide properties , emulsification and dispersion , prevention of surface blocking , and improvement of photographic characteristics ( for example , acceleration of developability , elevation of cotnrast and enhancement of sensitivity ). surfactants especially preferably employed in the present invention are polyalkylene oxides having a molecular weight of 600 or more , such as those described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 221 , 857 and jp - b - 58 - 9412 ( the term &# 34 ; jp - b &# 34 ; as used herein refers to an &# 34 ; examined japanese patent publication &# 34 ;). where the surfactants employed act as an antistatic agent , fluorine - containing surfactants ( described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 201 , 586 and jp - a - 60 - 80849 and jp - a - 59 - 74554 ) are particularly preferred . the photographic materials of the present invention may contain a matting agent such as silica , magnesium oxide , or polymethyl methacrylate in the photographic emulsion layer or in any other hydrophilic colloid layer to prevent surface blocking . additionally , the photographic materials of the present invention may also contain a dispersion of a water - insoluble or hardly water - soluble synthetic polymer in the photographic emulsion for the purpose of improving dimensional stability . for instance , polymers or copolymers composed of monomers of alkyl ( meth ) acrylates , alkoxyalkyl ( meth ) acrylates and / or glycidyl ( meth ) acrylates singly or in combinations . optionally , these monomers may be employed along with other comonomers of acrylic acids and / or methacrylic acids . the photographic materials of the present invention preferably contain an acid group - containing compound in the silver halide emulsion layer or in any other layers . as the acid group - containing compound can be , for example , organic acids ( such as salicylic acid , acetic acid , or ascorbic acid ) as well as polymers or copolymers composed of acid monomers ( such as acrylic acid , maleic acid , or phthalic acid as the repeating unit ). the description of these compounds is further detailed in jp - a - 61 - 223834 , jp - a - 61 - 228437 , jp - a - 62 - 25745 and jp - a - 62 - 55642 . among the compounds , ascorbic acid is especially preferred as an example of a low molecular compound , and a water - dispersed latex of a copolymer composed of an acid monomer such as acrylic acid and a crosslinking monomer having two or more unsaturated groups such as divinylbenzene is preferred as the example of a high molecular compound . photographic images having ultrahigh contrast and high sensitivity can be obtained by processing silver halide photographic materials of the present invention in infectious developers or high - alkali developers having a ph value of nearly 13 as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 419 , 975 , as well as in any stable developer . specifically , silver halide photographic materials of the present invention are processed with a developer containing sulfite ion as a preservative in an amount of 0 . 15 mol / liter or more and having a ph of from 10 . 5 to 12 . 3 , preferably from 11 . 0 to 12 . 0 , to obtain ultrahard negative images . the developing agent of the developer used for processing the photographic materials of the present invention is not specifically limited . but it is preferred that the developer contain dihydroxybenzenes in order to yield good dot image quality . a combination of dihydroxybenzenes and 1 - phenyl - 3 - pyrazolidones or a combination of dihydroxybenzenes and p - aminophenols may also be employed . in general , the developer preferably contains developing agent in an amount of from about 0 . 05 mol / liter to 0 . 8 mol / liter . where the combination of dihydroxybenzenes and 1 - phenyl - 3 - pyrazolidones or p - aminophenols is employed , the content of the former is preferably from about 0 . 05 mol / liter to 0 . 5 mol / liter and that of the latter is from 0 . 06 mol / liter or less . sulfite preservatives for use in the present invention are , for example , sodium sulfite , potassium sulfite , lithium sulfite , ammonium sulfite , sodium bisulfite , potassium metabisulfite , and formaldehyde - sodium metabisulfite . the concentration of the sulfite is preferably 0 . 4 mol / liter or more , preferably 0 . 5 mol / liter or more . the developer to be employed in the present invention can contain the compounds described in jp - a - 56 - 24347 as a silver stain inhibitor . the developer may further contain a solubilizer aid , which may be selected from the compounds described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 740 , 452 ( corresponding to jp - a - 61 - 267759 ). the developer may also contain a ph buffer , which may be selected from the compounds described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 569 , 904 ( corresponding to jp - a - 60 - 93433 ) or the compounds described in jp - a - 62 - 186259 . the compound of formula ( 1 ) can be combined with a negative emulsion and incorporated into a high contrast photographic material as mentioned above . additionally , it may be combined with an internal latent image type silver halide emulsion as described below . if combined with an internal latent image type silver halide emulsion , the compound of formula ( 1 ) is preferably incorporated into the internal latent image type silver halide emulsion layer . it may also be incorporated into the hydrophilic colloid layer adjacent to the internal latent image type silver halide emulsion layer . such an adjacent layer may be a colorant - containing layer , an interlayer , a filter layer , a protective layer , or an antihalation layer , provided that it does not interfere with the diffusion of the nucleating agent into the silver halide grains of the adjacent emulsion layer . the quantity of the compound of formula ( 1 ) in the emulsion layer may vary broadly depending on the characteristics of the silver halide emulsion used , the chemical structure of the nucleating agent , as well as the development conditions , but the practically useful range is from about 0 . 005 mg to about 500 mg per mol of silver in the internal latent image type silver halide emulsion . more preferably , the range of the quantity of the compound of formula ( 1 ) in the emulsion layer is from about 0 . 01 mg to about 100 mg per mol of silver . where it is incorporated into the hydrophilic colloid layer adjacent to the emulsion layer , the amount of the compound may fall within the above - mentioned range based on the amount of silver contained in the same area of the adjacent internal latent image type emulsion layer . the details of the definition of the internal latent image type silver halide emulsion as referred to herein are described in jp - a - 61 - 170733 , page 10 , upper column and british patent 2 , 089 , 057 , pages 18 to 20 . specific examples of internal latent image type emulsions which are preferably employed in the present invention are described in jp - a - 63 - 108336 , from page 28 , line 14 to page 31 , line 2 ; and those of the silver halides which are preferably employed in the present invention are described in the same patent specification , from page 31 , line 3 to page 32 , line 11 . in the photographic materials of the present invention , the internal latent image type emulsions may optionally be color sensitized to blue light , green light , red light , or infrared light having a relatively long wavelength by the use of sensitizing dyes . sensitizing dyes usable for the purpose are cyanine dyes , merocyanine dyes , complex cyanine dyes , complex merocyanine dyes , holopolar cyanine dyes , styryl dyes , hemicyanine dyes , oxonol dyes , and hemioxonol dyes . such sensitizing dyes include the cyanine dyes and merocyanine dyes described in jp - a - 59 - 40638 , jp - a - 59 - 40636 , and jp - a - 59 - 38739 . the photographic materials of the present invention can contain developing agents such as hydroxybenzenes ( for example , hydroquinones ), aminophenols , or 3 - pyrazolidones . these can be included , for example , in the emulsion layer of the material . the photographic emulsion of the present invention can be combined with a color diffusion transfer dye - forming compound ( colorant ) capable of releasing a diffusion dye with the development of the silver halide , in order to obtain a transfer image on an image - receiving layer after proper development . various color diffusion transfer colorants of this type are known . colorants that are originally nondiffusible , but are cleaved to release a diffusion dye by an oxidation reduction with the oxidation product of a developing agent ( or an electron transfer agent ) ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; drr compounds &# 34 ;) are preferably employed in the present invention . in particular , the drr compounds containing an o - hydroxyarylsulfamoyl group described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 005 , 428 , 4 , 053 , 312 and 4 , 336 , 322 and the drr compounds containing a redox nucleus described in jp - a - 53 - 149328 are especially preferred when they are combined with the nucleating agent of the present invention . by combining such drr compounds and a nucleating agent of the present invention , the temperature dependence of the resulting photographic materials is noticeably lowered . examples of drr compounds , in addition to those described above , are 1 - hydroxy - 2 - tetramethylenesulfamoyl - 4 -[ 3 &# 39 ;- methyl - 4 &# 39 ;-( 2 &# 34 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 34 ;- methyl - 5 &# 34 ;- hexadecyloxyphenylsulfamoyl ) phenylazo ] naphthalene as a magenta dye image - forming substance and 1 - phenyl - 3 - cyano - 4 -[( 2 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;, 4 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;- di - tert - pentylphenoxyacetamino ) phenylsulfamoyl ] phenylazo )- 5 - pyrazolone as a yellow dye image - forming substance . it is preferred that the photographic materials of the present invention are imagewise exposed and then color developed with a surface developer containing an aromatic primary amine color developing agent and a ph value of 11 . 5 or less , during or after fogging treatment of the exposed material under light or with a nucleating agent . the thus developed material is bleached and fixed to form a direct positive color image . the developer to be used in the process preferably has a ph value of from 11 . 0 to 10 . 0 . the fogging treatment applied to the photographic material of the present invention in the above - mentioned process may be either a &# 34 ; light fogging method &# 34 ; where the complete surface of the light - sensitive layer is subjected to the second light exposure or a &# 34 ; chemical fogging method &# 34 ; where the material is developed in the presence of a nucleating agent . in addition to these methods , the material may also be developed in the presence of a nucleating light and under exposure to light . alternatively , a nucleating agent may have been previously be incorporated into a photographic material , which is then subjected to fogging exposure . the light fogging method is described in detail in jp - a - 63 - 108336 ( corresponding to european patent 267 , 482a ), from page 47 , line 4 to page 49 , line 5 ; and nucleating agents employable in the present invention are described in detail in the same patent application , from page 49 , line 6 to page 67 , line 2 . in particular , the compounds of formulae ( n - 1 ) and ( n - 2 ) as mentioned therein are prefrred . specific examples of the compounds are mentioned in the same patent application , and the compounds ( n - i - 1 ) to ( n - i - 10 ) described in pages 56 to 58 and the compounds ( n - ii - 1 ) to ( n - ii - 12 ) described in pages 63 to 66 are particularly preferred . a nucleation accelerating agent can be employed in the present invention , and examples of the agent are described in the above - mentioned jp - a - 63 - 108336 , from page 68 , line 11 to page 71 , line 3 . in particular , the compoiunds ( a - 1 ) to ( a - 13 ) mentioned in pages 69 to 70 of jp - a - 63 - 108336 are especially preferably employed in the present invention . the details of the color developer employable for development of the present invention are described in jp - a - 63 - 108336 , from page 71 , line 4 to page 72 , line 9 . in particular , p - phenylenediamine compounds are especially preferred as the aromatic primary amine color developing agent to be used for developing the materials of the present invention . specific examples of these compounds are 3 - methyl - 4 - amino -- n - ethyl -- n -( β - methanesulfonamidoethyl ) aniline ; 3 - methyl - 4 - amino -- n - ethyl - n -( β - hydroxyethyl ) aniline ; 3 - methyl - 4 - amino -- n - ethyl -- n - methoxyethylaniline ; and salts of these compounds ( such as sulfates or hydrochlorides ). where a direct positve color image is formed from the photographic material of the present invention by a clor diffusion transfer process , black - and - white developing agents such as phenidone derivatives can be used in addition to the above - mentioned color developing agent . the color developed photographic emulsion layer is generally bleached . bleaching may be effected simultaneously with fixation by a monobath bleach - fixation system or separately . in order to accelerate the processing procedure , bleach - fixation may be effected before or after bleaching . the bleaching solution or bleach - fixing solution to be employed in the present invention generally contains an aminopolycarboxylate - iron complex as a bleaching agent . as additives to the bleaching solution or bleach - fixing solution various compounds can be employed . these are described in detail in jp - a - 62 - 215272 , at pages 22 to 30 . after the desilvering step ( bleach - fixation or fixation ), the photographic materials are rinsed in water and / or stabilized . it is prefrred that softened water be used as the rinsing water or in the stabilizing solution . as the means for softening water the methods of using an ion exchange resin or a reverse osmosis apparatus , as described in detail in jp - a - 62 - 288838 , can be employed . additives usable in the rinsing or stabilization step are described in detail in jp - a - 62 - 215272 , pages 30 to 36 . the amount of the replenisher necessary in the respective processing steps is preferably small . the amount is preferably from 0 . 1 to 50 times , more preferably from 3 to 30 times , of the carry over of the previous bath per unit area of photographic material being processed . the compounds of the present invention can be applied to heat developing photographic materials . heat developing photographic materials are illustrated in , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 463 , 079 , 4 , 474 , 867 , 4 , 478 , 927 , 4 , 507 , 380 , 4 , 500 , 626 , 4 , 483 , 914 , jp - a - 58 - 149046 , jp - a - 58 - 149047 , jp - a - 59 - 152440 , jp - a - 59 - 154445 , jp - a - 59 - 165054 , jp - a - 59 - 180548 , jp - a - 59 - 168439 , jp - a - 59 - 174832 , jp - a - 59 - 174833 , jp - a - 59 - 174834 , jp - a - 59 - 174835 , jp - a - 61 - 232451 , jp - a - 62 - 65038 , jp - a - 62 - 253159 , jp - a - 63 - 316848 , jp - a - 64 - 13546 , and european patent laid - open nos . 210 , 660a2 , 220 , 746a2 . the above - mentioned heat developing photographic materials essentially have light - sensitive silver halides , binders , dye - forming compounds and reducing agents ( as the case may be , dye - forming compounds may also act as a reducing agent ), on a support . if desired , the materials may further contain organic silver salts and other additives . the above - mentioned heat developing materials may be either those capable of forming negative images by exposure or those capable of forming positive images by exposure . the system of forming positive images may be either a system of using a direct positive emulsion as a silver halide emulsion or a system of using a dye - forming compound capable of positively releasing a diffusion dye image . the former system includes two types , one is to use a nucleating agent and the other is to be fogged with light . there are a variety of diffusion dye transfer systems , which are , for example , a system of transferring a diffusion dye to a dye - fixing layer by the action of an image - forming solvent such as water , a system of transferring a diffusion dye to a dye - fixing layer by the action of a high boiling point organic solvent , a system of transferring a diffusion dye to a dye - fixing layer by the action of a hydrophilic heat solvent , and a system of transferring a diffusion dye to a dye - receiving polymer - having dye - fixing layer by means of the heat diffusibility or sublimability of the diffusion dye . any one of the said systems can be employed in the present invention . as an example of the above - mentioned image - forming solvent , there is known water , and the water is not limited to only a pure water but it may be a so - called ordinary water with a broad meaning . the following examples are intended to illustrate the present invention in more detail but not to limit it in any way . unless otherwise indicated , all parts and percents are by weight . an aqueous solution of silver nitrate , and an aqueous solution of potassium iodide and potassium bromide were simultaneously added to an aqueous gelatin solution kept at 50 ° c . in the presence of 4 × 10 - 7 mol per mol of silver of potassium iridium ( iii ) hexachloride and ammonia , over a period of 60 minutes . the pag of the reaction system was maintained at 7 . 8 . this resulted in a cubic monodispersed emulsion having a mean grain size of 0 . 28 μm and a mean silver iodide content of 0 . 3 mol %. the emulsion was desalted by flocculation , and inert gelatin was added in an amount of 40 g per mol of silver . this was added to a 10 - 3 mol per mol of silver of ki solution of 50 ° c . containing a sensitizing dye of 5 , 5 &# 39 ;- dichloro - 9 - ethyl - 3 , 3 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 - sulfopropyl ) oxacarbocyanine . the mixture was allowed to stand for 15 minutes and the temperature of the reaction system was lowered to 8 ° c . the emulsion prepared above was redissolved and the following hydrazine derivatives were added thereto at 40 ° c . ## str31 ## next , a compound of formula ( 1 ) of the invention or a comparative compound , as indicated in table 1 , below , were added . additionally , 5 - methylbenzotriazole , 4 - hydroxy - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetraazaindene , compounds ( a ) and ( b ), polyethyl acrylate 30 wt % to gelatin , and compound ( c ) ( a gelatin hardening agent ) were added . the resulting composition was coated on a polyethylene terephthalate film ( thickness : 150 μm ) having a vinylidene copolymer subbing layer ( thickness : 0 . 5 μm ), in an amount of 3 . 8 g / m 2 of silver . ## str32 ## a protective layer comprising 1 . 5 g / m 2 of gelatin and 0 . 3 g / m 2 of polymethyl methacrylate grains ( mean grain size : 2 . 5 μm ) were coated over the emulsion layer using the following surfactants . ## str33 ## the samples thus prepared were exposed to a tungsten light of 3 , 200 ° k . through an optical wedge and a contact screen ( 150 chain dot type , manufactured by fuji photo film co ., ltd .) and developed with the following developer at 34 ° c . for 30 seconds , fixed , rinsed in water , and dried . ______________________________________composition of developer : ______________________________________hydroquinone 50 . 0 gn - methyl - p - aminophenol 0 . 3 gsodium hydroxide 18 . 0 g5 - sulfosalicylic acid 55 . 0 gpotassium sulfite 110 . 0 gdisodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate 1 . 0 gpotassium bromide 10 . 0 g5 - methylbenzotriazole 0 . 4 g2 - mercaptobenzimidazole - 5 - sulfonic acid 0 . 3 gsodium 3 -( 5 - mercaptotetrazole )- 0 . 2 gbenzenesulfonic acidn - n - butyldiethanolamine 15 . 0 gsodium toluenesulfonate 8 . 0 gwater to make 1 literpotassium hydroxide to make ph of 11 . 0______________________________________ the dot image quality and the dot gradation of these processed samples were measured . the results obtained are shown in table 1 , below . the dot gradation was represented by the following formula : the dot quality was visually evaluated by five ranks . in this five rank evaluation , &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; is the best and &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is the worst . the ranks &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ; are practical for use as a dot image plate in photomechanical printing ; the rank &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; is the critical level for the practical use ; and the ranks &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; indicate emulsions that are practically useless . as shown in table 1 , the compounds of the present invention were extremely effective for improving or broadening the dot gradation of the processed samples . thus , samples containing compounds of the invention exhibited an unexpected improvement in dot image quality , compared to the samples containing the comparative compounds according to the prior art . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ kind of amount added dot gradationsample compound added ( mol / m . sup . 2 ) ( δloge ) dot image quality__________________________________________________________________________comparative example comparative compound1 -- -- 1 . 19 32 a 2 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 1 . 32 43 b &# 34 ; 1 . 23 34 c &# 34 ; 1 . 20 35 d &# 34 ; 1 . 19 3 compound ( according toexample the invention ) 1 2 2 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 1 . 45 42 3 &# 34 ; 1 . 43 43 8 3 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 42 44 19 2 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 1 . 46 55 21 &# 34 ; 1 . 47 56 24 &# 34 ; 1 . 35 47 26 &# 34 ; 1 . 40 48 30 &# 34 ; 1 . 35 49 23 &# 34 ; 1 . 38 4__________________________________________________________________________comparative compound - a ( according to jp - a - 61 - 213847 ) ## str34 ## comparative compound - b ( according to jp - a - 61 - 213847 ) ## str35 ## comparative compound - c ( according to u . s . pat . no . 4 , 684 , 604 ) ## str36 ## comparative compound - d ( according to u . s . pat no . 4 , 684 , 604 ) ## str37 ## the same samples as those of example 1 were exposed in the same manner as described in example 1 . these sampels were processed using a photomechanical process automatic developing machine ( type fg660f , manufactured by fuji photo film co ., ltd . ), using the same developer as described in example 1 in the machine . the samples were developed for 30 seconds at 34 ° c . under the following conditions , fixed , rinsed in water , and dried . ( a ) ( development with fresh solution ) immediately after the temperature of the developer in the developing machine reached 34 ° c ., development was started . ( b ) ( development with air fatigued solution ) the developer in the developing machine was allowed to stand for 4 days before the development was started . ( c ) ( development with forcedly fatigued solution by developing a lot of sheets ) the developing machine was filled with developer , and 200 sheets / day of a partially exposed film so that 50 % of the area of the film was developed after processing ( fuji film grandex ga - 100 ) having a size of 50 . 8 cm × 61 . 0 cm were developed with the machine for 5 days , whereupon 100 cc / sheet of a fresh developer was replenished . the photographic properties of the thus processed samples are shown in table 2 , below . in view of the running processing stability , it is desired that the difference between the photographic properties obtained by process ( b ) or ( c ) and those obtained by process ( a ) be negligible . as shown in table 2 , the running processing stability of the samples containing the compounds of the present invention was unexpectedly improved over those containing the comparative compounds of the prior art . table 2______________________________________ running processing stability air fatigued forcedly fatiguedsample no . ( δs . sub . b - a )* ( δs . sub . c - a )* ______________________________________1 comparative + 0 . 07 - 0 . 14 example 12 comparative + 0 . 04 - 0 . 08 example 23 comparative + 0 . 07 - 0 . 14 example 34 comparative + 0 . 08 - 0 . 15 example 45 comparative + 0 . 07 - 0 . 15 example 56 example 1 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 06 the invention7 example 2 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 06 the invention8 example 3 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 07 the invention9 example 4 of + 0 . 02 - 0 . 07 the invention10 example 5 of + 0 . 02 - 0 . 06 the invention11 example 6 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 07 the invention12 example 7 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 07 the invention13 example 8 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 07 the invention14 example 9 of + 0 . 03 - 0 . 06 the invention______________________________________ *( δs . sub . b - a ): difference between the sensitivity ( s . sub . b ) as developed with air fatigued solution and the sensitivity ( s . sub . a ) as developed with fresh solution . *( δs . sub . c - a ): difference between the sensitivity ( s . sub . c ) as developed with forcedly fatigued solution and the sensitivity ( s . sub . a ) a developed with fresh solution . an aqueous silver nitrate solution and an aqueous sodium chloride solution were simultaneously added to and blended with an aqueous gelatin solution of 50 ° c . in the presence of 5 . 0 × 10 - 6 mol of ( nh 4 ) 3 rh cl 6 per mol of silver , and the soluble salts removed . gelatin was added . the mixture was not chemically ripened , rather a stabilizer of 2 - methyl - 4 - hydroxy - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetraazaindene ( 1 . 3 mg / m 2 ) was added to it . the result was a monodispersed emulsion containing cubic grains having a mean grain size of 0 . 15 μm . the following hydrazine compound ( 49 mg / m 2 ) was added to the emulsion . ## str38 ## next , a compound of the invention or a comparative compound , as indicated in table 3 below , was then added . additionally , a polyethyl acrylate latex ( 30 wt % to gelatin ) and a hardening agent of 1 , 3 - vinylsulfonyl - 2 - propanol were added . the resulting composition was coated on a polyester support in an amount of 3 . 8 g / m 2 of ag . the gelatin content in the coated layer was 1 . 8 g / m 2 . next , a protective layer comprising gelatin ( 1 . 5 g / m 2 ); a mat agent of polymethyl methacrylate grains ( mean grain size : 2 . 5 μm ) at 0 . 3 g / m 2 ; the following surfactants as coating aids ; the following stabilizers ; and the following ultraviolet absorbing dye were coated over the formed emulsion layer and dried . ______________________________________ surfactants : ## str39 ## 37 mg / m . sup . 2 ## str40 ## 37 mg / m . sup . 2 ## str41 ## 2 . 5 mg / m . sup . 2stabilizerthioctic acid 2 . 1 mg / m . sup . 2ultraviolet absorbing dye : ## str42 ## 100 mg / m . sup . 2______________________________________ these samples were imagewise exposed through an embodiment of the invention as illustrated in fig1 using a daylight printer ( p - 607 , manufactured by dai - nippon screen co .) and developed at 38 ° c . for 20 seconds , fixed , rinsed in water , and dried . the thus processed samples were evaluated with respect to the quality of the superimposed letter image formed by way of a 5 - rank evaluation . for the 5 - rank superimposed letter image evaluation , the photographic material sample was perperly exposed through an embodiment of the invention as illustrated in fig1 so that 50 % of the dot area of the original would be 50 % of the dot area of the reproduced image on the sample by contact dot - to - dot work . the rank &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; in the evaluation indicates that 30 μm width letters were well reproduced and the superimposed letter image quality was excellent . the rank &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; indicates that only letters of 150 μm width or more were reproduced and the superimposed letter image quality was bad . the other rankings of from &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; were conducted by functional evaluation . ranks of &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; or more indicate the practical working level . the results are shown in table 3 below . these results illustrate that the samples of the present invention have excellent superimposed letter image quality . table 3______________________________________ kind of superimposed compound amount added letter imagesample no . added ( mol / m . sup . 2 ) quality______________________________________1 -- -- 3 . 0 ( comparison ) 2 comparative 5 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 3 . 5 ( comparison ) compound - a3 comparative &# 34 ; 3 . 0 ( comparison ) compound - b4 comparative &# 34 ; 3 . 0 ( comparison ) compound - c5 comparative &# 34 ; 3 . 0 ( comparison ) compound - d6 compound 3 5 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 4 . 0 ( invention ) 7 compound 19 &# 34 ; 4 . 0 ( invention ) 8 compound 21 &# 34 ; 4 . 5 ( invention ) 9 compound 14 &# 34 ; 4 . 5 ( invention ) 10 compound 16 &# 34 ; 5 . 0 ( invention ) 11 compound 4 7 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6 4 . 5 ( invention ) 12 compound 22 &# 34 ; 4 . 5 ( invention ) 13 compound 26 5 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 5 4 . 0 ( invention ) 14 compound 23 &# 34 ; 4 . 0 ( invention ) ______________________________________ emulsions for photographic layers , a dispersion of zinc hydroxide , a dispersion of active charcoal , a dispersion of an electron transmitting agent , dispersions of yellow , magenta , and cyan couplers and a dispersion for an interlayer were prepared as mentioned below . using them , a photographic material ( sample no . 801 ) was prepared , as mentioned below . additionally , an image - receiving material was prepared , also as mentioned below . the following solution ( 1 ) and solution ( 2 ) were simultaneously added to a well stirred aqueous gelatin solution ( which was prepared by adding 20 g of gelatin , 3 g of potassium bromide , 0 . 03 g of the following compound ( 1 ) and 0 . 25 g of ho ( ch 2 ) 2 s ( ch 2 ) 2 s ( ch 2 ) 2 oh to 800 cc of water and heated at 50 ° c . ), over a period of 30 minutes . afterwards , the following solution ( 3 ) and solution ( 4 ) were further added thereto at the same time over a period of 20 minutes . 5 minutes after the initiation of adding solution ( 3 ), a dye solution mentioned below was added over a period of 18 minutes . after washed with water and desalted , 20 g of lime - processed ossein gelatin was added , the ph was adjusted to 6 . 2 , and the pag to 8 . 5 . next , sodium thiosulfate , 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetraazaindene and chloroauric acid were added for optimum chemical sensitization . thus , 600 g of a monodispersed cubic silver chlorobromide emulsion having a mean grain size of 0 . 40 μm was obtained . ______________________________________ solution solution solution solution ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ______________________________________agno . sub . 3 30 g -- 70 g -- kbr -- 17 . 8 g -- 49 gnacl -- 1 . 6 g -- -- water to make 180 cc 180 cc 350 cc 350 cc______________________________________ the following solutions ( i ) and ( ii ) were added to an aqueous gelatin solution ( see below ) well stirred and heated at 50 ° c ., over a period of 30 minutes . next , solutions ( iii ) and ( iv ) were added over a period of 30 minutes , whereupon a dye solution mentioned below was added 1 minute after the completion of the addition of solutions ( iii ) and ( iv ). ______________________________________gelatin 20 gnacl 6 gkbr 0 . 3 g ## str46 ## 0 . 015 gh . sub . 2 o 730 ml______________________________________ solution solution solution solution ( i ) ( ii ) ( iii ) ( iv ) ______________________________________agno . sub . 3 50 g -- 50 g -- kbr -- 21 g -- 28 gnacl -- 6 . 9 g -- 3 . 5 gwater to make 200 cc 200 cc 200 cc 200 cc______________________________________ thus , a monodispersed cubic emulsion having a grain size of 0 . 40 μm was obtained . the yield was 63 g . __________________________________________________________________________ composition of dye solution : __________________________________________________________________________ ## str47 ## 0 . 23 gmethanol 154 cc__________________________________________________________________________ after being washed with water and desalted , 20 g of gelatin was added , the ph and pag were adjusted , and triethylthiourea , chloroauric acid and 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetraazaindene were added for optimum chemical sensitization . the following solutions ( v ) and ( vi ) were added to a well stirred aqueous gelatin solution ( which was prepared by adding 20 g of gelatin , 0 . 3 g of potassium bromide , 6 g of sodium chloride and 30 mg of the following compound ( 1 ) to 800 ml of water and heated at 50 ° c .) at the same time and at the same flow rate over a period of 30 minutes . afterwards , the following solutions ( vii ) and ( viii ) were also added at the same time over a period of 30 minutes . 3 minutes after the initiation of adding solutions ( vii ) and ( viii ), a dye solution mentioned below was added over a period of 20 minutes . after being washed with water and desalted , 22 g of lime - processed ossein gelatin was added , the ph was adjusted to 6 . 2 , and the pag to 7 . 7 . next , sodium thiosulfate , 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetraazaindene and chloroauric acid were added for optimum chemical sensitization at 60 ° c . thus , a monodispersed cubic silver chlorobromide emulsion having a mean grain size of 0 . 38 μm was obtained . the yield was 635 g . ______________________________________ solution ( v ) solution ( vi ) ______________________________________agno . sub . 3 50 . 0 g -- kbr -- 28 . 4 gnacl -- 3 . 4 gwater to make 200 ml 200 ml______________________________________ solution ( vii ) solution ( viii ) ______________________________________agno . sub . 3 50 . 0 g -- kbr -- 35 . 0 gwater to make 200 ml 200 ml______________________________________ ## str48 ## 67 mg of the following dye ( a ) and 133 mg of the following dye ( b ) were dissolved in 100 ml of methanol . ## str49 ## next , a dispersion of zinc hydroxide was prepared as mentioned below . 12 . 5 g of zinc hydroxide having a mean grain size of 0 . 2 μm , 1 g of carboxymethyl cellulose as a dispersing agent , and 0 . 1 g of sodium polyacrylate were added to 100 cc of a 4 % aqueous gelatin solution and milled for 30 minutes with glass beads having a mean grain size of 0 . 75 mm . the glass beads were removed , and a dispersio of zinc hydroxide was obtained . 2 . 5 g of active charcoal powder ( special grade chemical , product by wako pure chemical ), 1 g of demole n ( product by kao soap co .) as a dispersing agent , and 0 . 25 g of polyethylene glycol nonylphenylether were added to 100 cc of a 5 % aqueous gelatin solution , and milled for 120 minutes with glass beads having a mean grain size of 0 . 75 mm . after the glass beads were removed , a dispersion of active charcoal having a mean grain size of 0 . 5 μm was obtained . a dispersion of an electron transmitting agent was prepared as follows : 10 g of an electron transmitting agent mentioned below , 0 . 5 g of polyethylene glycol as a dispersing agent , and 0 . 5 g of an anionic surfactant mentioned below were added to a 5 % aqueous gelatin solution , and milled for 60 minutes with glass beads having a mean grain size of 0 . 75 mm . after the glass beads were removed , a dispersio of an electron transmitting agent having a mean grain size of 0 . 3 μm was obtained . ## str50 ## gelatin dispersions each containing a dye - forming compound were prepared as mentioned below . a yellow , magenta or cyan dye - forming composition as indicated below was added to 50 cc of ethyl acetate and dissolved under heat at about 60 ° c . to form a uniform solution . this was blended with 100 g of 10 % lime - processed gelatin - containing aqueous solution , 0 . 6 g of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate and 50 cc of water by stirring and then dispersed for 10 minutes with a homogenizer at 10 , 000 rpm . the dispersion thus prepared is called a gelatin dispersion of a dye - forming compound . __________________________________________________________________________ yellow magenta cyan__________________________________________________________________________dye forming compound ( 1 ) 13 g ( 2 ) 15 . 5 g ( 3 ) 16 . 6 gmentioned belowelectron donating compound ( 1 ) 10 . 2 g 8 . 6 g 8 . 1 gmentioned belowhigh boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 6 . 5 g 7 . 8 g 8 . 3 gmentioned belowelectron transmitting agent 0 . 4 g 0 . 7 g 0 . 7 gprecursor ( 3 ) mentioned belowcompound ( a ) 3 . 9 g -- -- mentioned below__________________________________________________________________________dye forming compound ( 1 ): ## str51 ## dye forming compound ( 2 ): ## str52 ## dye forming compound ( 3 ): ## str53 ## electron donating compound ( 1 ): ## str54 ## high boiling point solvent ( 2 ): ## str55 ## electron transmitting agent precursor ( 3 ): ## str56 ## compound ( a ): ## str57 ## a gelatin dispersion of electron donating compound ( 4 ) for an 23 . 6 g of the following electron donating compound ( 4 ) and 8 . 5 g of the above - mentioned high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) were added to 30 cc of ethyl acetate to form a uniform solution . the solution was blended with 100 g of a 10 % aqueous solution of lime - processed gelatin , 0 . 25 g of sodium hydrogensulfite , 0 . 3 g of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate , and 30 cc of water with stirring , and then dispersed for 10 minutes with a homogenizer at 10 , 000 rpm . the resulting dispersion is called a gelatin dispersion of electron donating compound ( 4 ). ## str58 ## ______________________________________sixth layer : protective layergelatin 900 mg / m . sup . 2silica ( size : 4 μm ) 40 mg / m . sup . 2zinc hydroxide 900 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 5 ) (* 1 ) 130 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 6 ) (* 2 ) 26 mg / m . sup . 2polyvinyl alcohol 63 mg / m . sup . 2lactose 155 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 8 mg / m . sup . 2fifth layer : blue - sensitive emulsion layerlight - sensitive silver halide 380 mg / m . sup . 2 as agemulsionantifoggant ( 7 ) (* 4 ) 0 . 9 mg / m . sup . 2gelatin 560 mg / m . sup . 2yellow dye forming compound ( 1 ) 400 mg / m . sup . 2electron donating compound ( 1 ) 320 mg / m . sup . 2electron transmitting agent 25 mg / m . sup . 2precursor ( 3 ) compound ( a ) 120 mg / m . sup . 2high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 200 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 8 ) (* 5 ) 45 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 13 mg / m . sup . 2fourth layer : interlayergelatin 555 mg / m . sup . 2electron donating compound ( 4 ) 130 mg / m . sup . 2high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 48 mg / m . sup . 2electron transmitting agent ( 10 ) (* 7 ) 85 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 6 ) (* 2 ) 15 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 8 ) (* 5 ) 4 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 9 ) (* 6 ) 30 mg / m . sup . 2polyvinyl alcohol 30 mg / m . sup . 2lactose 155 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 19 mg / m . sup . 2hardening agent ( 11 ) (* 8 ) 37 mg / m . sup . 2third layer : green - sensitiveemulsion layerlight - sensitive silver halide 220 mg / m . sup . 2 as agemulsionantifoggant ( 12 ) (* 9 ) 0 . 7 mg / m . sup . 2gelatin 370 mg / m . sup . 2magenta dye forming compound ( 2 ) 350 mg / m . sup . 2electron donating compound ( 1 ) 195 mg / m . sup . 2electron transmitting agent 33 mg / m . sup . 2precursor ( 3 ) high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 175 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 8 ) (* 5 ) 47 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 11 mg / m . sup . 2second layer : interlayergelatin 650 mg / m . sup . 2zinc hydroxide 300 mg / m . sup . 2electron donating compound ( 4 ) 130 mg / m . sup . 2high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 50 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 6 ) (* 2 ) 11 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 8 ) (* 5 ) 4 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 9 ) (* 6 ) 50 mg / m . sup . 2polyvinyl alcohol 50 mg / m . sup . 2lactose 155 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 12 mg / m . sup . 2active charcoal 25 mg / m . sup . 2first layer : red - sensitive emulsion layerlight - sensitive silver halide 230 mg / m . sup . 2 as agemulsionantifoggant ( 12 ) (* 9 ) 0 . 7 mg / m . sup . 2gelatin 330 mg / m . sup . 2cyan dye forming compound ( 3 ) 340 mg / m . sup . 2electron donating compound ( 1 ) 133 mg / m . sup . 2electron transmitting agent 30 mg / m . sup . 2precursor ( 3 ) high boiling point solvent ( 2 ) 170 mg / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 8 ) (* 5 ) 40 mg / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer (* 3 ) 5 mg / m . sup . 2support : polyethylene terephthalate ( 96 μm thick )( carbon black was added to the backinglayer ) ______________________________________ compounds used above are as follows : (* 1 ) surfactant ( 5 ): ## str59 ## (* 2 ) surfactant ( 6 ): ## str60 ## - (* 3 ) watersoluble polymer : ## str61 ## - (* 4 ) antifoggant ( 7 ): ## str62 ## - (* 5 ) surfactant ( 8 ): ## str63 ## - (* 6 ) surfactant ( 9 ): ## str64 ## - (* 7 ) electron transmitting agent ( 10 ): ## str65 ## - (* 8 ) hardening agent ( 11 ): 1 , 2 - bis ( vinylsulfonylacetamide ) ethane (* 9 ) antifoggant ( 12 ): ## str66 ## ______________________________________third layer : gelatin 0 . 05 g / m . sup . 2silicone oil ( 1 ) 0 . 04 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 1 ) 0 . 001 g / m . sup . 2 . sup . surfactant ( 2 ) 0 . 02 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 3 ) 0 . 10 g / m . sup . 2matting agent ( 1 ) 0 . 02 g / m . sup . 2guanidine picolinate 0 . 45 g / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer ( 1 ) 0 . 24 g / m . sup . 2second layer : mordant agent ( 1 ) 2 . 35 g / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer ( 1 ) 0 . 20 g / m . sup . 2gelatin 1 . 40 g / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer ( 2 ) 0 . 60 g / m . sup . 2high boiling point solvent ( 1 ) 1 . 40 g / m . sup . 2guanidine picolinate 2 . 25 g / m . sup . 2brightening agent ( 1 ) 0 . 05 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 5 ) 0 . 15 g / m . sup . 2first layer : gelatin 0 . 45 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 3 ) 0 . 01 g / m . sup . 2water - soluble polymer ( 1 ) 0 . 04 g / m . sup . 2hardening agent ( 1 ) 0 . 30 g / m . sup . 2support ( 1 ): see below . first backing layer : gelatin 3 . 25 g / m . sup . 2hardening agent ( 1 ) 0 . 25 g / m . sup . 2second backing layer : gelatin 0 . 44 g / m . sup . 2silicone oil ( 1 ) 0 . 08 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 4 ) 0 . 04 g / m . sup . 2surfactant ( 5 ) 0 . 01 g / m . sup . 2matting agent ( 2 ) 0 . 03 g / m . sup . 2______________________________________ ______________________________________surface subbing layer : 0 . 1 μm ( thickness ) gelatinsurface pe layer ( glossy ): 45 . 0 μm ( thickness ) low density polyethylene 89 . 2 parts ( density : 0 . 923 ) surface - treated titanium oxide 10 . 0 partsultramarine 0 . 8 partspulp layer : 92 . 6 μm ( thickness ) high quality paper ( lbkp / nbkp = 1 / 1 , density : 1 . 080 ) back surface pe layer ( matting ): 36 . 0 μm ( thickness ) high density polyethylene ( density : 0 . 960 ) back surface subbing layer : gelatin 0 . 05 μm ( thickness ) colloidal silica 0 . 05 μm ( thickness ) total 173 . 8 μm ( thickness ) ______________________________________ in the same manner as the preparation of sample no . 801 , other sample nos . 802 to 805 were prepared , as indicated in table 4 below . sample nos . 802 to 805 each contained a compound of the present invention , which had been dispersed in gelatin by an oil dispersion method , in the second and fourth layers each in an amount of 3 × 10 - 5 mol / m 2 . sample nos . 801 to 805 thus prepared were exposed with a spectrophotometric camera through an optical wedge where the optical density continuously varied in the direction vertical to the wavelength . the exposed samples were then wetted with water by applying a hot water ( 35 ° c .) to the emulsion surface of each sample in an amount of 15 ml / m 2 for 3 seconds . the thus wetted sample was attached to the previously prepared image receiving material so that the coated surfaces of the two faced to each other . the combined sample was then heated with a heat roller for 15 seconds whereupon the temperature of the wetted layer was adjusted to 78 ° c . next , the image receiving material was peeled off from the photographic material and , as a result , a blue - green - red spectrogram was formed on the image receiving layer in accordance with the wavelength of the light as exposed . the density of each of the yellow , magenta and cyan colors was measured with 310 type densitometer ( manufactured by x - rite co .). the results obtained are shown in table 4 below . table 4______________________________________ comparison invention 801 802 803 804 805______________________________________compound added to -- ( 1 ) ( 8 ) ( 29 ) ( 34 ) second and fourthlayersblue - exposed regionyellow 0 . 75 0 . 60 0 . 65 0 . 65 0 . 60magenta 2 . 00 2 . 15 2 . 05 2 . 10 2 . 10cyan 2 . 05 2 . 15 2 . 10 2 . 10 2 . 15green - exposed regionyellow 1 . 90 2 . 05 2 . 00 2 . 05 2 . 05magenta 0 . 70 0 . 55 0 . 60 0 . 60 0 . 55cyan 2 . 00 2 . 15 2 . 10 2 . 10 2 . 15red - exposed regionyellow 1 . 90 2 . 00 1 . 95 2 . 00 2 . 00magenta 1 . 90 2 . 05 2 . 00 1 . 95 2 . 10cyan 0 . 40 0 . 30 0 . 35 0 . 35 0 . 30______________________________________ from the results above , it is noted that the density of all the blue , green and red colors increased by addition of the compound of the present invention . additionally , the color purity also increased by such addition , since the complementary color component decreased . accordingly , it was proved that the compounds of the present invention had an excellent capacity of improving the color reproducibility . next , the above - mentioned photographic material samples were stored for 1 month under the condition of 30 ° c . and 70 % rh and then subjected to the same treatment as described above . after the treatment , the same results as those in the above - mentioned table 4 were obtained . accordingly , it was confirmed that the compounds of the present invention have no harmful influence on the stabilities with the laps of time of the photographic materials containing the same . each of 0 . 825 mmol / m 2 of compound ( 1 ), ( 6 ), ( 30 ), and ( 27 ) of the present invention was added to the timing layer of the cover sheet of example 1 of jp - a - 63 - 289551 to prepare cover sheets ( 9 - 1 ), ( 9 - 2 ), ( 9 - 3 ), and ( 9 - 4 ). each of these cover sheets was attached to light - sensitive sheet ( 102 ) of the same example and then processed in the same manner as in the same example . the liquid spreading temperature was 10 ° c ., 25 ° c . and 35 ° c . as a result , it was found that all the samples had little processing temperature dependence and had excellent photographic properties with a high dmax value and a low dmin value . a light - sensitive sheet was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 , except that the same molar amount of compound ( 36 ) of the present invention was used in place of the yellow dye releasing redox compound in the tenth layer . the light - sensitive sheet was combined with the cover sheet and the processing solution of example 1 of jp - a - 63 - 289551 and processed at 25 ° c . in the same manner as in the same example . it was found that the light - sensitive sheet of the present invention had a rapid speed of increasing b density and a short period of time of completing the color image . accordingly , the sheet of the present invention could form a color image in a short period of time . 3 mg / m 2 of compound ( 1 ), ( 29 ) or ( 34 ) of the present invention was added to each of the third , fourth , sixth , seventh , ninth and tenth layers of sample no . 102 of example 1 of jp - a - 1 - 112241 , respectively , to prepare samples ( 11 - 1 ), ( 11 - 2 ) and ( 11 - 3 ). these samples were processed in the manner as described in the same example , and it was confirmed that all these samples had an excellent color reproducibility . 15 mg of compound ( 1 ) of the present invention was added to the third , fourth , fifth , seventh , eighth , ninth , eleventh , twelfth , and thirteenth layers of sample no . 101 of example 1 of jp - a - 1 - 267638 to prepare sample no . ( 8 - 1 ). this was processed and evaluated in accordance with the manner described in the same example . as a result , the sample was proved to have excellent sharpness and color reproducibility . 20 mg of compound ( 28 ) of the present invention was added to the fourth , fifth , sixth , ninth , tenth , eleventh , fourteenth , fifteenth and sixteenth layers of sample ( 208 ) of example 2 of jp - a - 1 - 291250 to prepare sample no . ( 9 - 1 ). this was processed in accordance with the manner described in the same example . as a result , the sample was found to have excellent sharpness , graininess and color reproducibility . 3 mg / m 2 of compound ( 1 ) of the present invention was added to each of the third , fourth , sixth , seventh , eleventh and twelfth layers of sample ( 502 ) of example 4 of european patent 327066a to prepare sample no . ( 10 - 1 ). this was processed in accordance with the manner described in the same example . as a result , the sample was found to have an excellent color reproducibility . compound ( 1 ) of the present invention was added to the emulsion layer of sample ( 1 ) of example 1 of jp - a - 1 - 234840 in an amount of 560 mg per mol of the silver halide in the layer to prepare sample no . ( 11 - 1 ). this was processed in accordance with the manner described in the same example . as a result , the sample formed a high quality image having a high black density . while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof .
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the present invention concerns an improvement in the method of removing sulfur dioxide from an exhaust gas containing sulfur dioxide in which method , after an exhaust gas containing sulfur dioxide is brought into contact with an aqueous solution containing alkali sulfite to absorb sulfur dioxide in the aqueous soultion as an acidic alkali sulfite , calcium carbonate is added to the aqueous solution containing the acidic alkali sulfite to form calcium sulfite by double decomposition , which is in turn separated by filtration and discharged to outside of the system , the filtrate being circulated for absorbing sulfur dioxide , characterized in that the accumulation of alkali sulfate formed in the step of absorbing sulfur dioxide and in the step of separation of calcium sulfite by the oxidation of a part of alkali sulfite is effectively prevented . the above - mentioned prevention of accumulation of alkali sulfate in the system is carried out by the following steps . the above - mentioned double decomposition of acidic alkali sulfite by calcium carbonate is performed in two stages such that in the first stage , relatively coarse particles of calcium carbonate with a diameter of 60 to 300 micron are added in an amount corresponding to 20 to 60 % by weight of acidic alkali sulfite in the effluent from the absorbing tower to react at a ph of lower than 6 . 8 , preferably lower than 6 . 7 to form and separate out calcium sulfite along with calcium sulfate ( gypsum ), and in the second stage , finer particles of calcium carbonate are added to the above - mentioned reaction mixture in an amount to correspond to the remaining amount of acidic alkali sulfite in the reaction mixture to complete the double decomposition to form and separate out calcium sulfite along with calcium sulfate and then the separated calcium sulfite and calcium sulfate are removed by filtration , the filtrate being circulated to the step of absorption of sulfur dioxide . in the method of the present invention , the solid material formed by the above - mentioned double decomposition is filtered , preferably , in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide generated in the step of double decomposition for the purpose of excluding oxygen which oxidizes a part of alkali sulfite to form alkali sulfate . that is , in the case where the oxygen content of the exhaust gas is small , the above - mentioned method of two stage reaction of the double decomposition alone is satisfactorily able to prevent the accumulation of alkali sulfate in the absorbing solution . however , in the case where the oxygen content of the exhaust gas is more than 4 % by volume , especially in the case of an exhaust gas from a coal boiler containing more than 5 % by volume of oxygen , the amount of formation of alkali sulfate is so great than even the above - mentioned method of double decomposition is not able to remove the alkali sulfate satisfactly . for that purpose , by carrying out the filtration , in which step the amount of formation of alkali sulfate is next to that in the step of absorption , in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide the formation of alkali sulfate in this step is effectively prevented resulting in the suppression of the amount of alkali sulfate formation in the total system . the present invention had made it possible to prevent the accumulation of alkali sulfate in the absorbing solution even when the exhaust gas contains much oxygen by combining the thus devised double decomposition and the thus devised process of filtration without providing any special step for removing the alkali sulfate as in the conventional process . generally , it has been considered that in cases where gypsum co - exists in a system containing a water - soluble alkali sulfite , according to the following reaction ( 3 ), calcium sulfite which is less soluble than gypsum separates out and gypsum cannot exist stably and so the alkali sulfate in the above - mentioned system of double decomposition cannot be removed from the system as gypsum : however , the solid formd by the double decomposition according to the present invention contains a considerable amount of gypsum together with calcium sulfite , unreacted calcium carbonate and impurities within calcium carbonate , etc . the gypsum is considered to be in a specific state in which gypsum is covered not to be brought into the reaction ( 3 ) with alkali sulfite , for instance , in the state of covered with crystals of being calcium sulfite . also , it is considered that a reason why such a large amount of gypsum separates out is the formation of an unstable and soluble calcium salt , presumably an acidic calcium carbonate , on the surface of calcium carbonate , and the reaction of this unstable and soluble salt not only with alkali sulfite but also with alkali sulfate . in order to have a larger amount of gypsum which separates together with calcium sulfite in the above - mentioned reaction of double decomposition , it is necessary to use coarser particles of calcium carbonate having an average diameter of 60 to 300 micron , preferably 70 to 150 micron , at a ph of lower than 6 . 8 , preferably lower than 6 . 7 . although the ph of the system of the above - mentioned double decomposition becomes higher as the reaction proceeds , the amount of separation of gypsum is larger when the ph is lower and smaller when the ph is higher . accordingly , in the present invention , at first calcium carbonate is added in an amount to make 20 to 60 % by weight of the acidic alkali sulfite react at a ph lower than 6 . 8 and then calcium carbonate is further added in an amount which is sufficient to doubly decompose the remaining amount of acidic alkali sulfite , the size of calcium carbonate particles used in the second step being preferably smaller than that of calcium carbonate used in the first step . in the above - mentioned first step of double decomposition , the amount of separated gypsum is made larger by the use of relatively coarse particles of calcium carbonate with an average diameter of 60 to 300 micron . this fact is presumably attributed to the phenomenon that because of the high concentration of acidic alkali sulfite in the aqueous solution which has absorbed sulfur dioxide in the first step , the reaction between the coarse particles of calcium carbonate and the acidic alkali sulfite becomes slower and the concentration of the above - mentioned unstable and soluble acidic calcium carbonate is raised , and as the result , the amount of separation of gypsum is raised . however , when coarser particles of calcium carbonate of an average diameter of larger than 300 micron are used , its reactivity with the acidic alkali sulfite becomes too low , and on the other hand , when finer particles of calcium carbonate of an average diameter of smaller than 60 micron are used the amount of formation of gypsum is greatly reduced , that is , the particles larger or smaller than those mentioned above are not preferable . hitherto , in the double decomposition of the acidic alkali sulfite , according to the consideration of the reactivity to the acidic alkali sulfite and the utilizability of calcium carbonate , finer particles of calcium carbonate having an average diameter smaller than 40 micron have been utilized , and in these cases the amount of gypsum separating together with calcium sulfite has been only slight , and so the method was not effective in preventing the accumulation of alkali sulfate which is formed as a by - product . in addition , from the consideration of its reactivity and utilizability , particles of finer size of calcium carbonate less than 30 micron in diameter are used in the second stage of the double decomposition to complete the reaction . by carrying out the double decomposition in two stages , that is relatively coarse particles of calcium carbonate being used in the first stage at a lower ph to react such particles of calcium carbonate with acidic alkali sulfite and then in the second stage , finer particles of calcium carbonate being used to cause the reaction of double decomposition to be completed , we have succeeded in making the amount of unreacted calcium carbonate smaller while making the separated amount of calcium sulfate ( gypsum ) larger . by doing so , it is possible to remove at least all the amount of alkali sulfate in the step of absorbing sulfur dioxide from the exhaust gas containing the same . on the contrary , in the case where the double decomposition is carried out in one stage , the use of coarser particles of calcium carbonate , as is seen in the comparative example described later , results in a greater amount of unreacted calcium carbonate left in the separated solid with poor utilizability , and the use of finer particles of calcium carbonate results in a smaller amount of calcium sulfate ( gypsum ) which separates out , and further , the use of a mixture of coarser and finer particles of calcium carbonate makes the finer particles to react faster to raise the ph of the reactant , rapidly resulting in insufficient separation of gypsum . the filtration of the solid matter which separated in the double decomposition and is composed mainly of calcium sulfite may be carried out in a usual manner , however , in order to suppress the formation of alkali sulfate and to prevent its accumulation throughout the system , the filtration is preferably carried out in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide . for the better understanding of the step of filtration of calcium sulfite , mentioned above , according to the present invention , an explanation of the total system of removing sulfur dioxide from an exhaust gas is now given while referrring to the figure as follows : the exhaust gas containing sulfur dioxide is introduced into an absorbing tower 1 via a pipe 2 , and after having been brought into contact with an aqueous solution containing alkali sulfite charged into the tower 1 via a pipe 3 , the gas is discharged from the top part of the tower 1 via a pipe 4 . on the other hand , the effluent containing acidic alkali sulfite from the bottom part of the tower 1 is sent to the first double decomposition vessel 5 and therein the acidic alkali sulfite in the effluent is brought into reaction with coarse particles of calcium carbonate to give rise to calcium sulfite and at the same time calcium sulfate and carbon dioxide . the slurry containing the thus formed calcium sulfite and calcium sulfate is further sent to the second double decomposition vessel 6 to be further reacted with thereby added finer particles of calcium carbonate to finish the reaction . the slurry containing the reaction mixture is sent to the vacuum filter 7 and filtered , preferably in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide which is generated in the vessels 5 and 6 and delivered by a pipe 8 into the covering 9 covering the vacuum filter 7 gas - tight from outside when the vacuum pump 10 is in operation . as the carbon dioxide which generates in the vessels 5 and 6 only contains water vapour without containing oxygen , oxidation of alkali sulfite in the reaction mixture , that is , the formation of alkali sulfate in the steps of delivery and filtration is effectively preventable even if there is a vigorous contact between the carbon dioxide and the liquid of the slurry in the step of filtration . there is a circulation of carbon dioxide from the gas - liquid separator 11 to the covering 9 via the vacuum pump 10 via a pipe 12 , the excess carbon dioxide being discharged from a pipe 13 . solid matter comprising calcium sulfite and calcium sulfate from the filter 7 is discharged from a port 14 and taken out by a shoot 15 , and the filtrate is circulated to the absorbing tower 1 via the gas - liquid separator 11 and a receiver 16 . as has been described , in the case where sulfur dioxide in an exhaust gas is absorbed in an aqueous alkali sulfite solution and calcium carbonate is brought into reaction with the acidic alkali sulfite formed in the aqueous solution which has absorbed sulfur dioxide , according to the present invention , the accumulation of alkali sulfate in the system for removal of sulfur dioxide from the exhaust gas is extremely effectively preventable by carrying out the above - mentioned reaction in two steps using particles of calcium carbonate of specified sizes and by carrying out the filtration of calcium sulfite formed by the above - mentioned reaction in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide which generates by the above - mentioned reaction . the following is a concrete explanation of the present invention referring to the annexed drawings by showing examples , wherein % means % by weight unless specified : in a system illustrated in figure , an exhaust gas of combustion containing 3 , 000 ppm of sulfur dioxide ( so 2 ) and 3 . 6 % by volume of oxygen ( o 2 ) was introduced into an absorbing tower 1 ( 5 m in height ) via a pipe 2 at a rate of 5 , 000 nm 3 / hour . an aqueous solution containing 0 . 3 % of sodium hydrogen sulfite ( nahso 3 ), 9 . 3 % of sodium sulfite ( na 2 so 3 ) and 9 . 3 % of sodium sulfate ( na 2 so 4 ) was supplied to the absorbing tower 1 via a pipe 3 at a rate of 2 , 300 kg / hour to absorb the so 2 in the exhaust gas . as a result of absorption of so 2 , the content of so 2 in the treated exhaust gas discharged from the absorbing tower 1 through a pipe 4 was 150 ppm . also , an aqueous solution containing 6 % of nahso 3 , 6 % of na 2 so 3 and 10 % of na 2 so 4 at a ph of about 6 . 0 was removed from the absorbing tower to a first double decomposition vessel 5 at a rate of 2 , 180 kg / hour . in the absorbing tower 1 , a part of the sulfites was oxidized and about 4 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 were formed . pulverized lime stone with an average diameter of 150 micron was thrown into the first double decomposition vessel 5 warmed to a temperature of 80 ° to 90 ° c . at a rate of 29 kg / hour corresponding to about 46 % of nahso 3 to be brought into reaction at a ph lower than 6 . 55 . the reaction mixture in a state of slurry was removed to a second double decomposition vessel 6 . in this case , the composition of solid matter collected in a pipe connecting the two vessels was 74 . 7 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2 h 2 o , 21 . 9 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 1 . 5 % of caco 3 , showing the information of 8 . 6 kg / hour of gypsum . into the second double decomposition vessel 6 also warmed to a temperature of 80 ° to 90 ° c ., pulverized lime stone with an average diameter of 40 micron was introduced at a rate of about 35 kg / hour corresponding to remaining 54 % of nasho 3 . the resultant slurry was filtered by a vacuum filter 7 to remove the solid matter which was discharged by a shoot 15 after water - washing . the composition of the thus separated solid matter was 83 . 7 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2 h 2 o , 11 . 6 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 3 . 1 % of caco 3 . the amount of the solid matter was about 84 kg / hour . that is to say , the total formation of gypsum in the first and the second double decomposition vessels was about 9 . 7 kg / hour corresponding to about 8 kg / hour of the decrease of naso 4 . into a similar absorbing tower as in example 1 , an exhaust gas of combustion containing 900 ppm of sulfur dioxide ( so 2 ) and 3 . 6 % of oxygen was introduced at a rate of 5 , 000 nm 3 / hour . an aqueous solution containing 0 . 1 % of nahso 3 , 9 . 3 % of na 2 so 3 and 8 . 9 % of na 2 so 4 was supplied into the absorbing tower from a pipe 3 at a rate of 680 kg / hour to absorb so 2 in the gas . the concentration of so 2 in the treated exhaust gas at the outlet 4 was about 20 ppm . from the bottom part of the absorbing tower , an aqueous solution containing each 6 % of nahso 3 and na 2 so 3 and 10 % of na 2 so 4 at a ph of about 6 was discharged at a rate of 632 kg / hour and it was removed to the first double decomposition vessel 5 . a part of the sulfites was oxidized to form about 2 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 . pulverized lime stone having an average diameter of 70 micron was thrown into the first double decomposition vessel 5 at a rate of 11 kg / hour corresponding to 60 % of the nahso 3 in the aqueous solution supplied to the vessel 5 to bring into reaction at a ph lower than 6 . 66 . the reaction mixture in a state of slurry was removed from the vessel 5 to the second double decomposition vessel 6 . the composition of the solid matter in the slurry was 71 . 0 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2h 2 o , 21 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 6 . 8 % of caco 3 corresponding to the formation of about 3 . 1 kg / hour of gypsum . into the second double decomposition vessel 6 , pulverized lime stone having an average diameter of 40 micron was supplied at a rate of about 8 . 3 kg / hour corresponding to the remaining amount ( 40 %) of nahso 3 in the slurry . the slurry discharged from the vessel 6 was separated into 25 . 6 kg / hour of a solid matter containing 80 . 9 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2h 2 o , 13 . 3 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 4 . 7 % of caco 3 and about 680 kg / hour of a filtrate by the separator 7 and the filtrate was circulated into the absorbing tower . in total , 3 . 4 kg / hour of gypsum were separated in the system , corresponding to about 2 . 8 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 . an exhaust gas containing 3 , 000 ppm of sulfur dioxide and 5 % by volume of oxygen was introduced into the absorbing tower in example 1 at a rate of 5 , 000 nm 3 / hour . an aqueous solution containing 0 . 3 % by weight of nahso 3 , 9 . 3 % by weight of na 2 so 3 and 9 . 3 % by weight of na 2 so 4 was supplied into the absorbing tower at a rate of 2 , 300 kg / hour to absorb sulfur dioxide in the exhaust gas . the content of sulfur dioxide in the thus treated exhaust gas at the outlet 4 of the absorbing tower was about 150 ppm . from the absorbing tower , an aqueous soulution containing 6 . 4 % by weight of nahso 3 , 5 . 9 % by weight of na 2 so 3 and 10 . 1 % by weight of na 2 so 4 at a ph of about 5 . 9 was drawn out at a rate of 2 , 180 kg / hour and transferred to the first double decomposition vessel 5 . meanwhile , a part of sulfite in the solution was oxidized in the absorbing tower to form na 2 so 4 at a rate of about 6 kg / hour . at the first double decomposition vessel 5 which was warmed in advance to a temperature of 50 ° to 70 ° c ., particles of calcium carbonate with a diameter of 150 micron were thrown into the above mentioned solution at a rate of 27 kg / hour corresponding to about 40 % by weight of acidic sodium sulfite at a ph of lower than 6 . 5 . the composition of the solid matter of the thus formed slurry was 69 . 2 % by weight of caso 3 . 1 / 2h 2 o , 24 . 2 % by weight of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 5 . 2 % by weight of caco 3 which corresponded to the formation of about 8 . 8 kg / hour of calcium sulfate ( gypsum ). at the second double decomposition vessel 6 , which received the slurry from the first double decomposition vessel 5 and warmed to a temperature of 80 ° to 90 ° c ., particles of calcium carbonate with a diameter of 30 micron were thrown into the slurry at a rate of 41 kg / hour corresponding to a slight excess of remaining acidic sodium sulfite ( 60 % by weight of the total amount ). after the reaction was over , the slurry was filtered by the vacuum filter 7 to separate solid matter which was washed with water to be discharged from the port 14 and the filtrate which was returned to the absorbing tower via a pipe 3 . the composition of the solid matter was 83 . 9 % by weight of caso 3 . 1 / 2 h 2 o , 11 . 1 % by weight of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 3 . 5 % by weight of caco 3 , and the amount of the solid matter was about 89 kg / hour . the result shows that formation of calcium sulfate ( gypsum ) in the first and the second reaction vessels was about 9 . 9 kg / hour corresponding to the reduction of about 8 . 2 kg / hour of sodium sulfate , na 2 so 4 , from the absorbing solution . there was another formation of sodium sulfate , na 2 so 4 , in the system except the absorbing tower , and especially a formation of about 2 . 6 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 was observed in the vacuum filter 10 . when this amount is added to the amount of formation of 6 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 in the absorption tower , the sum attains 8 . 6 kg / hour which is larger than the amount removed by the above - mentioned double decomposition of 8 . 2 kg / hour . then , in the second run of removal of sulfur dioxide from the same exhaust gas carried out under the conditions as identical as possible to those of the first run except the step of filtration , about 11 kg / hour of carbon dioxide which generated in the first reaction vessel and about 17 kg / hour of the same which generated in the second reaction vessel were assembled and introduced into the vacuum filter to intercept the contact of air to sulfite . as a result , the formation of sodium sulfate in the step of filtration was substantially prevented . accordingly , the concentration of sodium sulfate in the absorbing solution could be maintained at a constant value without providing any step of conversion of sodium sulfate or without drawing a part of sodium salt out of the system . a similar run was carried out as in example 1 except that the supply of lime stone was carried out in one step and carbon dioxide was not supplied to the step of filtration of the slurry containing calcium sulfite . on supplying about 64 kg / hour of pulverized lime stone having an average particle size of 150 micron only into the first double decomposition vessel 5 ( at a time ), the composition of the solid matter separated by the vacuum filter 7 was 64 . 4 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2h 2 o , 13 . 1 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 20 . 1 % of caco 3 rich in remaining caco 3 , and the filtrate contained 1 . 4 % of nahso 3 , 8 . 6 % of na 2 so 3 and 9 . 1 % of na 2 so 4 and so it was inproper to be used for the absorption of so 2 . in another run similarly carried out as above , on supplying pulverized lime stone having an average diameter of 40 micron in an amount of about 64 kg / hour corresponding to the formation of nahso 3 at a time only into the first double decomposition vessel 5 , the composition of the solid matter separated by the vacuum filter 7 was 92 . 3 % of caso 3 . 1 / 2h 2 o , 2 . 5 % of caso 4 . 2h 2 o and 2 . 8 % of caco 3 and the filtrate contained 0 . 1 % of nahso 3 , 9 . 1 % of na 2 so 3 and 9 . 4 % of na 2 so 4 . these figures were all desirable , however , the separated amount of gypsum was 2 . 1 kg / hour corresponding to only about 1 . 7 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 . this actual capacity was far short for treating the total amount of 6 to 7 kg / hour of na 2 so 4 formed in the total system and it was impossible to maintain the concentration of na 2 so 4 in the solution unless providing a step of conversion of na 2 so 4 .
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fig1 shows a heat exchanger 1 of a gas hot air heating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention which uses a combustion exhaust gas as an internal fluid and indoor air as an external fluid . the heat exchanger 1 is constituted by connecting six cylindrical members 2 between an inflow pipe 11 and an outflow pipe 12 of the internal fluid . each of the cylindrical members 2 includes an intermediate portion 21 having an increased diameter and both end portions 22 , 23 having a hollow cylindrical shape having a reduced diameter . a baffle plate 3 for regulating the internal fluid is fitted inside the intermediate portion 21 of each cylindrical member 2 . the number of cylindrical members 2 constituting one heat exchanger 1 is determined appropriately in accordance with the heat exchange capacity , the limitation of a physical size , etc , but is preferably from four to eight from the aspect of heat exchange efficiency . the intermediate cylindrical members 2 among a line 20 of the six cylindrical members described above other than the cylindrical member 2a on the inflow side connected to the inflow pipe 11 having an increased diameter and the cylindrical member 2b on the outflow side connected to the outflow pipe 12 having a reduced diameter all have the following same construction . a first shell member 4 having a small connection port 41 having a reduced diameter atone of the ends thereof and a large connection port 42 having an increased diameter at the other end and a second shell member 5 having a small connection port 51 having a reduced diameter and a large connection port 52 having an increased diameter at the other end are butted against each other at their large connection ports 42 and 52 . the baffle plate 3 described above is clamped between the butt surfaces and the outer peripheries of these butt surfaces are clamped and is hermetically connected . in this embodiment , the first shell member 4 is shaped by pressing a heat - resistant metal plate as shown in fig2 and an inner cylindrical portion 43 as a caulking margin is so formed as to protrude in a downstream direction ( the fight - hand direction in the drawing ) at the small connection port 41 which is set on the upstream side ( the left - hand direction in the drawing ). a ring - like butt flat surface 44 is disposed around the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion 43 , and an inner conical surface 45 is so formed around the outer periphery of this butt flat surface 44 as to extend therefrom . a ring - like flat surface 46 is so formed around the outer periphery of the inner conical surface 45 as to extend therefrom . an outer conical surface 47 is further formed around the outer periphery of the ring - like flat surface 46 , and a cylindrical portion 48 is so formed as to extend from the outer periphery of the outer conical surface 47 toward the downstream side . a flange portion 49 as a butt surface is annularly formed from the rear end portion of this cylindrical portion 48 . an outer cylindrical portion 40 as a caulking margin is formed around the outer periphery of the flange portion 49 in such a manner as to extend in the downstream direction . the first shell member 4 and the second shell member 5 have the same shape with the exception of the difference between the inner cylindrical portion 43 and the inner cylindrical portion 53 as the caulking margin and the difference between the outer cylindrical portion 40 and the flange portion 59 . the second shell member 5 is formed by press molding , and an inner cylindrical portion 53 which fits to the inner cylindrical portion 43 is formed at the connection port 51 having a reduced diameter , which is set on the downstream side , in such a manner as to protrude in the downstream direction . a ring - like butt surface 54 is formed around the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion 53 , and an inner conical surface 55 is formed in such a manner as to extend from the outer periphery of the butt surface 54 . further , a ring - like flat surface 56 is formed around the outer periphery of the inner conical surface 55 . an outer conical surface 57 is formed around the outer periphery of the ring - like flat surface 56 , and a cylindrical portion 58 is extended from the outer periphery of the outer conical surface 57 toward the downstream side . a flange portion 59 as a butt surface is annularly formed in such a manner as to extend from the rear end of the cylindrical portion 58 . three recesses 50 comprising a flat surface swelling inside the shell member and inclined in a radial direction are equidistantly formed in the ring - like flat surface 46 and the outer conical surface 47 , and in the ring - like flat surface 56 and the outer conical surface 57 , and improve the mechanical strength of each shell member as a rib . the first shell member 4 and the second shell member 5 are hermetically connected to each other by butting the flange portion 49 of the large connection port 42 and the flange portion 59 of the large connection port 52 while clamping the baffle plate 3 between them , caulking the outer cylindrical portion 40 inward and wrap - clamping it around the outer peripheral portion of the flange portion 59 . the second cylindrical member 2 connected to the cylindrical member 2 described above is hermetically connected by butting the small connection port 41 of the third shell member 4 , which is the same as the first shell member 4 , against the small connection port 51 of the second shell member 5 in the first cylindrical member 2 and caulking the inner cylindrical portion 43 and the inner cylindrical portion 53 in an expanding direction . next , the large connection portion 42 of the third shell member 4 and the large connection port 52 of the fourth shell member 5 , which is the same as the second shell member 5 , are butted against each other , the baffle plate 3 is then clamped between both butt surfaces , and the outer peripheries of the butt surfaces is caulked and is hermetically connected . the heat exchanger 1 is produced by connecting a predetermined number of cylindrical members 2 by sequentially repeating the steps described above . as shown in fig2 the cylindrical member 2a on the inflow side is equipped on the inner periphery of the ring - like flat surface 46 with an inner cylindrical portion 4b as a caulking margin which protrudes toward the downstream side for the purpose of connection with the inflow pipe 11 of the shell member 4a on the upstream side . the distal end portion of the inflow pipe 11 is inserted into this inner cylindrical portion 4b , and is wound and fastened ( co - winding ) in the expanding direction as shown in fig3 . the other construction is the same as that of the intermediate cylindrical member 2 . the cylindrical member 2b on the outflow side is equipped on the shell member 5a on the downstream side with the inner cylindrical portion 5b as the caulking margin on the inner periphery of the ring - like flat surface 56 which protrudes on the upstream side . the distal end portion of the outflow pipe 12 is inserted into this inner cylindrical portion and is wound and fastened ( co - winding ) in the expanding direction in the same way as described above . the other construction is the same as that of the intermediate cylindrical member 2 . the outer diameter of the baffle plate 3 is set to be the same size as the outer diameter of the flange portions 49 , 59 , and its central portion has a shape of a circular truncated cone which swells toward the upstream side . the baffle plate 3 undergoes swelling due to the heat of the combustion exhaust gas as the internal fluid during use , and this circular truncated cone unifies the expanding direction between the baffle plates . in this way , it becomes possible to prevent variations of the expanding directions of the baffle plates 3 when they undergo swelling due to variance in the production and assembly . as a result , the disadvantages such as variance of heat exchange performance , the generation of noise when the baffle plate 3 returns from the swollen state to the flat plate , etc , can be avoided . a slit hole group comprising eight outer peripheral flow holes 31 which have a fan shape and are disposed equidistantly is formed at the outer peripheral portion of each baffle plate 3 . the formation positions of these outer peripheral flow holes 31 in the radial direction correspond to the outer conical surfaces 47 , 57 . a round hole group comprising four central flow holes 32 formed equidistantly on the same circumference is disposed at the conical surface portion at the center . by the way , the outer flow hole 31 may be a notch and the central flow hole 32 may be a slit , and the shape of the holes and their number can be selected appropriately . though this embodiment uses the shape of the circular truncated cone , the same effect can be obtained when the shape is spherical , too . in order to reduce the flow resistance and to accomplish uniform heat exchange efficiency throughout the entire length , the ratio of the flow rate of the slit hole group of the outer peripheral flow holes 31 to that of the round hole group of the central flow holes 32 is preferably at least 1 : 2 and at most 2 : 1 . when directionality in fitting is provided to the baffle plate 3 and the open area of the outer peripheral flow hole 31 on the upstream side of the flow of the external fluid , that is , on the upstream side of the heat exchanger , is made greater than that on the downstream side , the heat exchange proportion to the external fluid having a lower temperature on the upstream side can be made greater and heat exchange efficiency can be improved . when the open area of the outer peripheral flow hole 31 of the baffle plate 3 positioned on the upstream side of the heat exchanger is made greater then that on the downstream side , the heat exchange proportion to the external fluid having a lower temperature can be made uniform . the internal fluid flowing through the heat exchanger 1 is deflected by the baffle plate 3 as indicated by arrows in fig1 and at least 1 / 3 but less than 2 / 3 of the fluid passes through the outer peripheral flow holes 31 while less than 2 / 3 but at least 1 / 3 of the fluid passes through the central flow holes 32 . the internal fluid m passing through the outer peripheral flow holes 31 flows along the inner walls of the ring - like flat surfaces 46 , 56 , the outer conical surfaces 47 , 57 and the cylindrical portions 48 , 58 , changes to a turbulent flow , and efficiently exchanges heat with the external fluid , though the flow resistance is great . the internal fluid n passing through the central flow holes 32 is hardly subjected to heat exchange but flows downstream of the baffle plates 3 with a small flow resistance . the internal fluid m and the internal fluid n mix with each other downstream of the baffle plate 3 and the mixture is supplied to the cylindrical member 2 on the downstream side . accordingly , because heat exchange is gradually effected in the heat exchanger 1 throughout its full length , heat exchange efficiency becomes uniform from the cylindrical member 2a on the inflow side to the cylindrical member 2b on the outflow side . as a result , the temperature distribution of the external fluid subjected to the heat exchange can be made uniform . further , because the flow resistance of the central flow holes 32 is small , the overall pressure loss can be reduced . fig4 shows a gas hot air heater 100 equipped with the heat exchanger 1 according to the present invention . in this hot air heater 100 , an centrifugal type combustion blower b is mounted to the right side portion of a flat casing 200 formed by thin plate working and elongated in the transverse direction , and a transverse cylindrical combustion cylinder 13 is disposed at a lower portion of the casing 200 . a gas burner 14 is fitted to the right end portion of the combustion cylinder 13 and combustion air is supplied to it from the blower b , is mixed with a gas supplied from a control mechanism 15 of a fuel gas and is burnt . the heat exchanger 1 is transversely disposed above the combustion cylinder 13 inside the casing 200 . the left - hand end of the combustion cylinder 13 and the left - hand end of the inflow pipe 11 are connected by a connecting cylinder 16 having a square section . an exhaust cylinder 17 is interposed between the heat exchanger 1 and the combustion cylinder 13 in parallel with them . the right - hand end of the outflow pipe 12 connected to the right - hand end of the heat exchanger 1 is connected to the right - hand end of the exhaust cylinder 17 by a connecting cylinder 18 having a square section . the distal end ( left - hand end ) of the exhaust cylinder 17 penetrates through the back plate of the casing 200 and protrudes rearward . it is further connected to an exhaust outer pipe d disposed in a feed / exhaust hole h which is so defined on the chamber wall as to communicate the inside of the chamber with the outside . a fan f for blowing heating air having a thinly elongated cylindrical fan is disposed transversely at the upper part of the casing 200 . this fan f for blowing heating air blows forward indoor air , sucked from an indoor air suction port 19a defined at the upper part of the back plate of the casing 200 , via a hot air blow port 19b defined at the lower part of the front plate of the casino 200 . air for heating flows around the heat exchanger 1 , the exhaust pipe 17 and the combustion cylinder 13 as represented by a blank arrow , is so subjected to heat exchange , reaches a high temperature and is blown forward via the hot air blow port 19b . a water pan 1a for humidification is placed on the bottom plate of the casing below the combustion cylinder 13 inside the casing 200 in such a manner that it can be pulled out forward . since heating air is uniformly heated and blown out into the room in this gas hot air heater , the heater has a high heating effect .
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to test the receptor binding properties of mouse vegf - d , a plasmid was constructed for expression of the vegf homology domain ( vhd ) of mouse vegf - d . a dna fragment encoding amino acid residues 92 to 201 ( seq id no : 6 ) of full - length mouse vegf - d2 ( seq id no : 4 ) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ) with pfu dna polymerase , using as template a plasmid comprising full - length mouse vegf - d cdna ( seq id nos : 1 or 3 ). the amplified dna fragment , the correctness of which was confirmed by nucleotide sequencing , was then inserted into the expression vector pefbossflag ( a gift from dr . clare mcfarlane at the walter and eliza hall institute for medical research ( wehi ), melbourne , australia ). the pefbossflag vector contains dna encoding the signal sequence for protein secretion from the murine interleukin - 3 ( il - 3 ) gene and the flag ® octapeptide ( ibi / kodak ). the flag ® octapeptide can be recognized by commercially available antibodies such as the m2 monoclonal antibody ( ibi / kodak ). the vegf - d pcr fragment was inserted into the vector such that the il - 3 signal sequence was immediately upstream from the flag ® octapeptide , which was in turn immediately upstream from the truncated vegf - d sequence . all three sequences were in the same reading frame , so that translation of mrna resulting from transfection of pefbossflag - mousevegf - dδnδc into mammalian cells would give rise to a protein which would have the il - 3 signal sequence at its n - terminus , followed by the flag ® octapeptide and the truncated vegf - d sequence . cleavage of the signal sequence and subsequent secretion of the protein from the cell would give rise to a vegf - d polypeptide which is tagged with the flag ® octapeptide adjacent to the n - terminus . this protein was designated mouse vegf - dδnδc . the expression cassette encoding the flag - tagged truncated vegf - d construct was subcloned into the papex - 3 expression vector and then transiently expressed in 293ebna - 1 cells using fugene ( boehringer mannheim ) mediated transfection . after seven days of incubation , the conditioned medium was collected ( approximately 150 ml ) and subjected to affinity chromatography using the m2 ( anti - flag ) beads ( ibi / kodak ) according to the manufacturer . mouse vegf - dδnδc arising from affinity chromatography and purified human vegf - dδnδc ( for comparison purposes ) were analyzed by western blotting . about 50 ng of each protein was separately combined with sds - page sample buffer under reducing ( 2 % β - mercaptoethanol ) conditions , boiled and resolved by sds - page . the proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose and blotted with m2 antibody . as seen in fig2 both human and mouse vegf - dδnδc subunits have the expected molecular weight of 22 kda . the capacity of mouse vegf - dδnδc to bind and cross - link vegfr - 2 and vegfr - 3 was tested in bioassays . fig3 and 4 shows the results of analysis of mouse vegf - dδnδc protein using a vegfr - 2 /- 3 bioassay , respectively . the bioassay was performed using ba / f3 cells which express a chimeric receptor consisting of the extracellular domain of mouse vegfr - 2 or human vegfr - 3 and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the mouse erythropoietin receptor ( epor ). these cell lines die in the absence of il - 3 , unless they are supplied with ligands that cross - link the chimeric receptors . cross - linking of the vegfr / epor chimeric receptors induces signaling from the epor cytoplasmic domains that stimulates cell survival and proliferation . the cells were maintained in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle medium ( dmem ) containing 10 % fetal bovine serum ( fbs ), 50 mm l - glutamine , 50 μg / ml gentamicin and 10 % of the walter and eliza hall institute of medical research ( wehi )- 3d - conditioned medium as a source of interleukin - 3 ( il - 3 ) cells expressing the vegfr - 2 - epor or vegfr - 3 - epor chimeric receptor were washed three times in phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), and once in complete medium lacking il - 3 . cells ( 10 4 ) were aliquoted into 96 - well microtiter plates containing dilutions of the test reagent or medium alone . cells were incubated for 48 hours at 37 ° c . in a humidified atmosphere of 5 % co 2 . cell proliferation was quantified by the addition of 1 μci of 3 h - thymidine for four hours prior to harvesting . incorporation of 3 h - thymidine was determined using a cell harvester and β - counting . as mentioned above , activation of the chimeric receptor rescues the cells from their dependence on il - 3 and causes the cells to proliferate in the absence of il - 3 . human vegf - dδnδc which is a ligand for both vegfr - 2 and vegfr - 3 , stimulates growth of these cell lines in a specific and dose - dependent fashion ( see fig3 and 4 , respectively ). mouse vegf - dδnδc was able to simulate growth of vegfr - 3 / epor cell line in a specific and dose - dependent fashion , but had no significant effect on the vegfr - 2 / epor cell line even at a concentration as high as 4 μg / ml ( see fig4 and 3 , respectively ). assays were carried out in duplicate and error bars denote a standard deviation of +/− 1 . 0 . this unexpected finding demonstrates that mouse vegf - dδnδc is not an activating ligand for vegfr - 2 . note that the vegfr - 2 extracellular domain in the chimeric vegfr - 2 / epor receptor expressed in the ba / f3 - vegfr - 2 - epor cell line was derived from mouse vegfr - 2 . therefore the inability of mouse vegf - dδnδc to induce survival and proliferation of these cells was not due to a species difference between this ligand and the extracellular domain of the chimeric receptor . the foregoing description and examples have been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and are not intended to be limiting . since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art , the invention should be construed broadly to include all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof .
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the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings , in which like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout . fig1 illustrates a typical small area liquid crystal display that is well known in the art . the display includes a liquid crystal display panel 1 and a backlight unit 2 . the backlight unit 2 includes a number of components that are relevant to discuss here . a white light source 3 , that can be a fluorescent tube , a led with phosphor , rgb led group , a laser or other light source , is positioned to inject light into the edge of a thin lightguide 4 . the lightguide 4 is designed to transfer by total internal reflection ( tir ) 14 the light across the area of the display . at least one large or major face , which can be the top , bottom ( illustrated ) or both major faces , has features 6 that disrupt tir 15 in the lightguide 4 so that the light 13 leaves the lightguide 4 . the light 13 that leaves the lightguide 4 generally has the wrong angular brightness characteristics for the display , so four additional layers , a strong diffuser 7 , two crossed prism sheets 8 and 9 in orthogonal directions , and a weak diffuser 10 are used to produce the correct angular distribution . in many cases the weak diffuser 10 is incorporated into the top prism layer 9 . a further layer 11 can be a polarization conversion film , which is typically an interference film that reflects one polarization and transmits the other . the reflected light is recycled through the diffusers to become unpolarized and is then reflected by a back reflector 5 to the film again . the result is that the light is polarized so that it is better transmitted by the rear polarizer 12 of the liquid crystal slm 1 . the efficiency of this interference film is limited , however . an overview of a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig2 . the first embodiment of the present invention includes a backlight 20 that will be described in reference to the conventional backlight 2 of fig1 and the relevant changes only will be described here . as is shown in fig2 , the device in accordance with the invention includes a liquid crystal spatial light modulator ( slm ) 1 and a backlight 20 . the backlight includes a light source 3 , a lightguide 4 , and a reflector 5 . two sheets , a weak diffuser 21 and a polarization conversion film 11 , are individually possible but not required in this arrangement . the lightguide 4 has sub - wavelength extraction features 23 that can be positioned on one or both major faces of the lightguide 4 . in this example , the extraction features 23 are on the top surface . light 22 in the lightguide 4 is transmitted to the extraction features by tir 14 and extracted at the surface 24 by the extraction features 23 . the form of these extraction features 23 is shown in fig3 a . specifically , the extraction features 23 are formed by two or more interleaved gratings . in the present embodiment , two respective gratings are lenticular and the cross section is shown in fig3 a . the gratings are arranged on the surface of the lightguide 4 so that the intensity of light emitted from the lightguide 4 is substantially the same over the display . this can be achieved by arranging the diffractive features into areas whose density or sizes alter with position on the lightguide . the extraction feature cross section includes the symmetrical interleaving of two parallel square gratings 30 and 31 , one grating having a spatial frequency preferably exactly twice that of the other . the height 34 , 35 and the peak width 32 , 33 for the gratings 30 and 31 , respectively , are different . the peak width 33 of the high spatial frequency grating 31 is less than the peak width 32 of the low spatial frequency grating 30 . this composite grating represented in fig3 a , when incident with light from a range of angles and polarizations that are typical in a light illuminated lightguide , emits light in the main diffractive order that is strongly polarized . the strength of polarization ( te / tm ratio ) and width of the peaks depends on the conditions of the light illumination , but typically this will be light within the tir cone of the lightguide 4 . with a single lightguide 4 and a single wavelength light source 3 such as an led , te / tm ratios greater than 10 are readily possible . the grating 23 has no opaque areas on the surface , and is simply a refractive grating . the inventive concept of this invention primarily concerns the structure of the extraction features as shown in fig3 a . more specifically the design takes advantage of the intrinsic phase difference that occurs between te and tm polarizations as they reflect on the upper and bottom interfaces in a lightguide , 4 . the lenticular grating structure 23 is made from two different gratings , the second of which alters the height of the first grating . the effect of this is that the emitted field from one grating layer is in anti - phase from the field emitted from the second grating layer for one polarization . therefore , light of the first polarization emanating from the two grating layers interferes destructively and since it cannot transmit through the grating it all reflects back to the lightguide , 25 . however , due to the intrinsic phase difference between the two polarizations , interference cannot be destructive for the second polarization which is allowed to transmit through the grating leading to a well polarized beam out - coupled from the lightguide . fig3 b shows the variation of te , 36 , and tm , 37 , extracted from the lightguide as a function of the second grating height 35 , for a particular value of pitch 31 , and first grating height 34 , and for a particular incident angle light in the lightguide . fig3 c shows the te / tm ratio as a function of the height 35 . at certain values of height , maxima are seen , 38 a and 38 b corresponding to the destructive interference . the peaks are dependent on the refractive index of the lightguide material , the wavelength of the light in the lightguide and the range of angles in the lightguide . which peak is used will depend on a balance on these values . an example of this arrangement with a high te / tm ratio with a 405 nm led is as follows . the value of the spatial pitch of the grating 31 is 155 . 14 nm , the pitch of the grating 30 is 310 . 28 nm . the peak width 33 is 77 . 1 nm , the peak width 32 is 155 . 14 nm . the height 35 is 130 . 6 nm and the height 34 is 163 . 3 nm . it should be noted that these are only examples in a particular case , and that the invention describes the general shape of multiple gratings interacting that can be applied to a range of wavelengths , lightguide shapes and layers . this invention should not be limited to simply two gratings . multiple gratings that have a pitch that is an integer multiple of the smallest pitch can be combined to improve the performance of this system . in the extreme , multiple gratings can be combined to approximate a continuous curve cross section similar to a discrete fourier cosine distribution . a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig4 . for sake of brevity , only the relevant differences between this embodiment and the embodiment of fig2 are described herein . in this aspect the lightguide 4 of the backlight 40 has a second layer 41 , in which the refractive index of this layer 41 is less than that of the lightguide 4 . the diffractive features 23 are placed on the second layer 41 . in this arrangement the range of angles in the second layer 41 is much reduced . this means the quality of the out - coupled light is significantly improved over the single - lightguide approach . extraction of light at 42 from the main lightguide 4 into the secondary lightguide formed by the second layer 41 can be controlled by appropriate non - diffractive features on the opposite face of the lightguide 4 , for example shallow wedge shaped features 48 that redirect at 47 a small proportion of the lightguide light 45 into the second layer 41 . the number of such additional layers is not fixed , and they can be on the lower or both surfaces of the lightguide 4 and any of the faces or interfaces can have one or more extraction arrangements . in a further embodiment shown in fig5 , a modified lightguide arrangement is suggested . only relevant differences over the embodiment of fig2 are described herein for sake of brevity . in the embodiment of fig2 , if the extraction is a significant amount of the light in the lightguide , extraction of one polarization will reduce the amount of that polarization relative to the other in the lightguide 4 . thus the assumption of non - polarized light becomes less true as te light is extracted , the te / tm light ratio in the lightguide 4 reduces , thus extraction te / tm further away from the light source 3 will reduce . to prevent this , a second layer 50 is added to the face of the lightguide 4 opposite the extraction features 23 . the layer 50 is such that its does not deflect the light ( so does not disrupt tir ), but affects the phase of the incident light at angles to the normal that are typical to tir light , such that the plane of polarization after reflection has rotated by 90 degrees ( a quarter wave plate layer ). unpolarized light 52 is incident on the layer of polarized extraction features 23 that emits te light 51 from the surface . the reflected light 53 has a relatively enhanced tm component . the light is then incident on the quarter wave plate layer 50 and totally internally reflected 54 . the reflected light is rotated to the te direction 55 so that extraction for the polarization layer will then be more efficient and maintain the polarization out - coupled . the next pass will rotate the plane of polarization back so that the light in the lightguide 4 is on average unpolarized , and the light incident on the extraction features 23 is slightly biased towards the preferential te mode , enhancing further the extraction efficiency and te / tm ratio . in a further embodiment as shown in fig6 based on the embodiment of fig5 , the nature of the diffractive features is such that there may be a component of light 61 , in the preferential te mode directed back into the lightguide 4 . typically this light will be in a direction that will not be totally internally reflected by the lightguide 4 and will be extracted by reflection from the reflector 5 . in the case where the quarter wave plate layer 50 is at the bottom of the lightguide 4 , the light 61 would pass through as 62 in a circular polarization state , reflected as 64 in a circular polarization state and will pass through the quarter wave plate layer 50 to produce light 65 in a tm mode . this will then be extracted . this light will reduce the final te / tm ratio of the backlight . this can be removed , as is shown in fig6 , by another quarter wave plate layer 60 positioned on the reflector 5 . this layer 60 is not in optical contact with the other layer 50 . the light passing through the first quarter wave plate layer 50 will be circularly polarized as 62 but corrected at 63 by the second quarter wave plate layer 60 to give a circularly rotated beam 64 that will become a te beam 65 upon passing through the first quarter wave plate 50 again . this will then contribute to an improved te / tm ratio for the system . a further embodiment is shown in fig7 . a detail on this embodiment is shown in fig8 . this is described with reference to the embodiment of fig2 , but improvements of the subsequent embodiments can be applied to this embodiment . referring only to the relevant differences , the backlight 70 in this embodiment makes use of a birefringent diffractive layer 71 on the lightguide 4 in place of the layer of extraction features 23 . the birefringent diffractive layer 71 creates diffraction peaks at two angles for two different polarizations 86 and 87 from unpolarized light 84 incident on the area 85 . the beams are then passed through a lens layer 72 and then a patterned retarder layer 73 which converts one of the beams into the opposite polarization state to make a polarized emission , both beams 74 a and 74 b are in the same polarization state . this embodiment does not have an issue with the changing polarization state in the lightguide 4 . the birefringent layer 71 may include , for example , a lenticular square grating , patterned as described above , made up of a square array of birefringent , reactive mesogen or liquid crystal material 83 . in this case “ lenticular ” refers to line strips perpendicular to the plane of the page and have the same cross section along the length . the lens array 72 may include lenticular lenses 80 , and the retarder film 73 may include lenticular strips 81 of birefringent half wave layers that rotate the plane of polarization by 90 degrees . the retarder area can be made of the same material as that of the birefringent diffractive area . unpolarized light 84 in the lightguide 4 meets the diffractive structure 83 . the diffractive structure may be the same structure shape as in fig3 a or may be a square grating where the height 35 is zero . in the case of this embodiment , the features may or may not be made of the same material as the lightguide , but would be created of a birefringent material . this means that the light 84 reaching the grating is diffracted at different angles 86 and 87 according to polarization , because the diffractive nature of the grating is dependent on the refractive index . the diffraction split will be in one plane as shown in the diagram , but in a lenticular form . a lenticular lens 72 collimates the two beams , where the separation of the lens 72 and the rating plane 71 is approximately equal to the focal length in the material separating the layers ( e . g . glue or air ). the collimation will be spatially split in terms of polarization , so a second layer 73 above the lens consisting of lenticular stripes of birefringent material 81 , in a half - wave thickness , is aligned with the lens layer . the pitch of the stripes is the same as the lens and the width of the stripes is approximately half the pitch . one polarization is then rotated producing light emerging from the stripes , 74 a and 74 b with the same polarization state . all aspects of this invention will work with a white light source , but a broad wavelength spectrum of the source would not be optimum for a single design of the extraction films . one aspect whereby the polarization state can be improved by having a coloured source is by mixing different designs that are optimized for high te / tm at different wavelengths with the source spectrum . for example , extraction features optimized for red , green and blue emission ( for example , different values of 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , and 35 ) can be mixed together rather than using a single mean design . another aspect is shown in fig9 and is whereby three lightguides with three red , green , blue light sources 91 , 92 and 93 , and three designs of extraction features 94 , 95 and 96 will produce a higher te / tm ratio than the preferred embodiment with a single lightguide and source . another variation that can be applied to the embodiments described above is shown in fig1 . the display 100 has multiple colour phosphor layers 101 under internal polarizer structures 102 with the liquid crystal region in the slm . in this case only one wavelength , that will excite the phosphors , is necessary for the backlight to illuminate the panel . the colour emission is made from the amount of the emitted light 22 passing through the slm pixels to the particular phosphor . the extraction features can then be designed for this wavelength . another variation is shown in fig1 . a modified display 111 and backlight component 110 is described with reference to the embodiment of fig2 . this involves a choice of design of extraction features 112 in place of the extraction features 23 so that the extracted polarized light 113 is extracted normal to the lightguide surface . in this case a lens array 114 can be used to focus light through pixels 115 onto phosphor areas 116 printed on the outside of the liquid crystal cell 111 . the extraction features 112 would be of the same general design as that described in the preferred embodiment and subsequent embodiments , but may have a different set of dimensions for the same materials . the phosphors then produced the colour required 103 . the liquid crystal cell need not then have any colour filters and thus would improve the brightness of the system . in addition the polarizers 12 and 117 are standard polarizers , so that this design would be easier to manufacture . the extraction features described here can be manufactured using nano - imprint techniques that are well known in the prior art . although the invention has been shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments , it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification . the present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications , and is limited only by the scope of the following claims .
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fig1 illustrates a block diagram of an example embodiment of secure software and hardware association ( ssha ) circuitry 100 . as will be discussed below , ssha includes two modes : ( 1 ) original equipment manufacturer ( oem ) hardware will only run oem software ; and ( 2 ) oem software will only run on oem hardware . as illustrated , the ssha circuitry 100 includes a code authentication unit ( cau ) 110 , code decryption logic ( cdl ) 120 and first - time boot logic ( ftbl ) 130 . the ssha circuitry 100 is configured to be coupled between a processor ( e . g ., semiconductor 610 of fig6 a and 6b ) and program code memory ( e . g ., program code flash memory 630 of fig6 a and 6b ) to control the loading of the program code by the processor . the program code may be boot code or application software the cal 110 , cdl 120 and ftbl 130 may be programmable logic or in a processor . further , in certain embodiments , a configurable ( e . g ., time based ) bypass may exist for debugging , development or evaluation purposes . the ssha circuitry 100 further includes memory 140 configured to store a public asymmetric encryption key 145 associated with the oem . the cau 110 authenticates initial program code . the cal 110 is configured to retrieve the public key 145 associated with the oem from the memory 140 . the cau 110 further is configured to load initial program code for the processor from the program code memory . the cal 110 then authenticates the initial program code for the processor retrieved from the program code memory by using the public key 145 retrieved from the memory 140 . in particular embodiments in which the initial program code identifies a secure location associated with the oem ( e . g ., secure location 650 of fig6 a and 6b ) storing encrypted program code ( e . g ., encrypted program code 655 of fig6 a and 6b ), the ftbl 130 establishes a secure connection to the secure location storing the encrypted program code . the ftbl then receives a command from the secure location signed by a private asymmetric encryption key associated with the oem requesting a chip identifier token ( chipid token ) and , in response , generates the chipid token by encrypting a chip identifier ( chipid ) stored in memory by using the public key 145 . the ftbl 130 then transmits the chipid token to the secure location to be verified by the oem by matching the chipid against chipids stored in a database ( not shown ). the database may be maintained by the oem . if the chipid is a match , the ftbl 130 receives encrypted program code encrypted by a symmetric code encryption key ( cek ) from the database and signed using the oem private key . the cau 110 then authenticates the signed encrypted program code by using the public key 145 . the cdl then decrypts the authenticated encrypted program code by using a corresponding symmetric cek 155 stored in memory 150 . in a preferred embodiment , the cek is not transmitted during the secure connection , but rather is known as previously provided via an out - of - band communication fig2 is a flow diagram 200 illustrating an example embodiment method of ssha installation . during the production of semiconductor products , chips , processors or other embodiments of ssha circuitry , such as a system - on - a - chip ( soc ), a semiconductor provider marks each embodiment of the ssha circuitry as installed or disabled ( 210 ) in a process referred to herein as ssha installation . semiconductor products with ssha installed are referred to herein as ssha - enabled products . in a preferred embodiment , the semiconductor provider will not ship any semiconductor products without some form of ssha circuitry installed , either installed or disabled . ssha may be installed by burning a fuse or setting a flag inside one - time programmable ( otp ) memory . during ssha installation , a public asymmetric encryption key associated with an oem ( 220 ) is retrieved from a certificate authority . in some embodiments , the oem itself can be the certificate authority . the oem public key may use any asymmetric cryptographic standard such as elliptic curve cryptography ( ecc ) and rivest shamir / adleman ( rsa ). further , a cdl ( e . g ., cdl 120 of fig1 ) generates a number referred to herein as a chipid ( e . g ., chipid 160 of fig1 ) ( 230 ) and an associated symmetric chipid encryption key ( cek ) ( e . g ., cek 155 of fig1 ) ( 240 ). the chipid is a value used as a unique identifier for the semiconductor product and may be any number , a random number , or associated with the asymmetric public and private key pair . similarly , the cek may be any symmetric encryption key or may be associated with the asymmetric public and private key pair . the oem public key , chipid and cek are stored in otp memory or secure non - volatile memory ( 250 ). the chipid and cek preferably are not exposed or read - able in plain format . further , the cek may be changed over a secure connection by receiving a request signed by an associated asymmetric oem private key that provides a new symmetric cek as described further herein . the chipid is encrypted by the associated oem public key to generate a chipid token ( 260 ). similarly , the cek is encrypted by the associated oem public key to generate a cek token ( 270 ). during the ssha installation process , the chipid token and cek token are provided one time to the semiconductor provider to be stored in a vendor token database ( vtd ) 280 . providing tokens generated by encrypting the chipid and cek using the oem public key is to enforce viewing of the actual chipid and cek values by only the oem who has access to an asymmetric oem private key . the oem private key preferably is not revealed to other parties , including the semiconductor manufacturer . although ssha installation is managed by the semiconductor provider , in a preferred embodiment , the semiconductor provider does not know the value of the chipid and cek and only temporarily knows the values of the chipid token and cek token so they may be stored in the vtd . the semiconductor provider then signs the vtd using its private key ( 285 ) and transfers the entire vtd to the oem over a secure connection ( 290 ), such as ssl . in a further preferred embodiment , the semiconductor provider then destroys its copy of the vtd ( 295 ). thus , any record of production of the ssha - enabled products is only available to the oem as stored in the vtd . fig3 a is a flow diagram 300 a illustrating a process flow of a first ssha mode in which oem - approved hardware only runs oem - approved software . following ssha installation by the semiconductor provider ( e . g ., as illustrated in fig2 ), ssha - enabled products allow enforcement of an authenticated program code process mode called “ oem - approved hardware only runs oem - approved software ” using the associated oem public key stored in memory during ssha installation . as will be discussed below , a further mode may be enabled called “ oem - approved software only runs on oem - approved hardware .” after ssha installation by the semiconductor provider , at first power - on of the semiconductor following receipt by a contract manufacturer ( cm ) or original design manufacturer ( odm ) ( 305 ), embodiments the ssha circuitry are configured to determine whether ssha was installed or disabled during ssha installation ( 310 ) by detecting the state of the internal otp memory or fuse . if ssha has been disabled permanently , the ssha circuitry effectively functions as a wire to allow the processor of the semiconductor product to load program code normally . however , if ssha has been installed , the ssha process continues to authenticate initial program code . the initial program code is sent from the oem ( 312 ) and may be in two forms : ( 1 ) signed by the oem private key and unencrypted ; or ( 2 ) signed by the oem private key and encrypted using a symmetric cek . the cau reads the oem public key ( 315 ) and loads the initial program code from program code memory ( 320 ). in this example embodiment , the cau uses public key infrastructure ( pki ) techniques to authenticate the initial program code to ensure it was issued by the oem ( 325 ). in other words , the initial program code must have been signed using the oem private key to be retrieved successfully by the oem public key stored in memory during ssha installation . the pki scheme may use any asymmetric cryptographic standard such as ecc and rsa . if the initial program code was signed by the oem private key but not encrypted , the initial program code is accessible to the processor in a transparent manner and the processor begins the normal program code loading process ( 330 ) in the mode “ oem - approved hardware only runs oem - approved software .” however , the initial program code may be a restricted or initialization program code to enforce the mode “ oem - approved software will only run on oem - approved hardware .” fig3 b is a flow diagram 300 b illustrating a process flow of a second ssha mode in which oem - approved software only runs on oem - approved hardware . in this mode , the authenticated initial program code , such as the initialization program code authenticated as described above with reference to fig3 a , is a restricted program code that is used to establish a secure connection with a secure location to get encrypted program code . such a secure connection is typically a network connection . to access the encrypted program code , the cdl establishes a secure connection ( 335 ), such as a secure sockets layer ( ssl ) session , with a secure location operated by the oem that will authenticate the request for encrypted program code and then send the encrypted program code . after the secure connection is established , the secure location requests a chipid token by sending a command signed using the oem private key ( 340 ). in response , the cdl authenticates the request and encrypts the chipid using the oem public key stored in memory to generate a chipid token ( 345 ) and transmits the chipid token to the secure location ( 350 ). the chipid token is then decrypted using the oem private key to retrieve the chipid at the secure location ( 355 ). the retrieved chipid is then matched against chipids stored in the vtd ( 360 ). if the chipid is a match , the symmetric cek associated with the chipid is retrieved from the vtd ( 365 ). the cek is used to encrypt the program code which is the signed by the oem private key ( 370 ). the signed and encrypted program code is then sent to the cdl ( 375 ). if the chipid is not a match , encrypted program code is not provided . upon receipt of signed and encrypted program code , the cau authenticates the signed and encrypted program code using the oem public key stored in memory . then the cdl decrypts the authenticated encrypted program code using the symmetric cek stored in memory ( 385 ). in a preferred embodiment , the cek is not exchanged during the secure connection . the cdl can use any symmetric cryptographic algorithms , such as advanced encryption standard ( aes ) and data encryption standard ( des ). after successful cdl decryption , the program code is accessible to the semiconductor in a transparent manner and the semiconductor begins the normal program code loading process ( 390 ). fig4 is a flow diagram 400 illustrating a method by which program code may be updated or replaced . to update or replace program code , the updated program code is encrypted using the symmetric cek ( 410 ) and signed using the oem private key ( 420 ). the signed and encrypted program code is then released to the oem &# 39 ; s customer base ( 430 ). this may be by distribution of a physical disk , a link to a secure location or via a command sent to the semiconductor . an update command sent by the oem may be encrypted using the symmetric cek unique to the semiconductor to ensure that boot code or associated application software upgrade is not possible if the oem &# 39 ; s asymmetric private key is compromised . after receipt of the updated program code , the cau authenticates it as from the oem using the oem public key ( 440 ). the authenticated encrypted updated program code is then decrypted using the symmetric cek stored in memory ( 450 ). the updated program code then may be loaded ( 460 ). similar to the scenario described above during the first boot , for the mode “ oem - approved software will only run on oem - approved hardware ,” the updated program code may not contain actual program code but rather may establish a secure connection from the semiconductor to a secure location operated by the oem that will deliver new program code encrypted using the associated cek . fig5 is a flow diagram 500 illustrating a method by which an oem public asymmetric encryption key and a symmetric cek may be changed if an oem private asymmetric key has been compromised . if the oem private key is compromised , systems deployed in the field cannot be upgraded remotely because the source of the code cannot be trusted , rather , the system may be upgraded by a secure physical connection , such as a universal serial bus ( usb ) memory key . to protect the cek from physical attacks , such as chip - cover - popping or bit - reads from silicon , the cek may be masked via a hardware algorithm that uses a random number as a seed , covered in epoxy , or protected with key zeroization hardware . the algorithm to mask the secret key can be any masking or encryption scheme . key zeroization mechanisms built into the hardware may be used in conjunction with attack prevention techniques described by the federal information processing standard ( fips ) publication 140 - 2 . however , although the oem private key has been compromised , if the cek has not been compromised and if the oem public key and cek are stored in non - volatile memory , the oem public key and the cek may be changed by providing commands encrypted by the symmetric cek ( 510 ) via a secure physical connection . in one embodiment this secure physical connection may connect directly into the ssha circuitry . even though the oem private key is compromised , the encrypted program code will not be compromised because , in a preferred embodiment , the semiconductor product does not provide the symmetric cek , but rather only accepts new keys and program code after a secure connection . the commands then may be decrypted using the symmetric cek stored in memory ( 520 ), the new oem public asymmetric key and the new symmetric cek may be loaded into memory ( 530 ) fig6 a illustrates a first embodiment of a system 600 a having external ssha circuitry 620 . the system includes a semiconductor 610 , ssha circuitry 620 ( e . g ., ssha circuitry 100 of fig1 ), and program code flash memory 630 . in this embodiment , the ssha circuitry 620 is external to the semiconductor 610 and is coupled between the semiconductor 610 and the program code flash memory 630 . in the mode “ oem - approved hardware only runs oem - approved software ,” the external ssha circuitry 620 operates to keep the semiconductor 610 in a reset state along a reset signal path 640 until oem - approved program code from the program code flash 630 is authenticated . in the mode ‘ oem - approved software only runs on oem - approved hardware ,” the external ssha circuitry 620 operates to keep the semiconductor 610 in a reset state along the reset signal path 640 until encrypted oem program code 655 received from a secure location 650 , typically over a network 660 , is decrypted successfully . fig6 b illustrates a second embodiment of a system 600 b having internal ssha circuitry 620 . the system includes a semiconductor 610 , ssha circuitry 620 ( e . g ., ssha circuitry 100 of fig1 ), and program code flash memory 630 . in this embodiment , the ssha circuitry 620 is internal to the semiconductor 610 . in the mode “ oem - approved hardware only runs oem - approved software ,” the internal ssha circuitry 620 operates to halt operation of the semiconductor 610 until oem - approved program code from the program code flash 630 is authenticated . in the mode “ oem - approved software only runs on oem - approved hardware ,” the internal ssha circuitry 620 operates to halt operation of the semiconductor 610 along input / output ( i / o ) 660 until encrypted oem - approved program code 655 received from a secure location 650 , typically over a network 660 , is decrypted successfully . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to example embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . implementations of flow diagrams illustrating example embodiments may be implemented in a form of hardware , firmware , software , and combinations thereof . if implemented in software , the software may be any suitable language , stored on a computer - readable medium , and be loaded and executed by a processor . the processor can be any general or application - specific processor that can execute the software in a manner consistent with the principles of the present invention , as claimed and illustrated by the example embodiments presented herein .
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reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like structures are provided with like reference designations . it will be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings . referring now to fig1 there is shown a cross - sectional diagram of a structure used for forming a container capacitor having an electrode which is roughened on both its inner and outer surfaces , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the structure shown in fig1 is formed of a substrate 10 having a doped ( n +) region 12 disposed therein . a contact 14 , preferably formed of doped silicon , is disposed immediately above region 12 . a bpsg layer 16 having a trench 16a is positioned on top of substrate 10 . an etch stop layer 18 formed of silicon nitride or teos oxide is positioned within bpsg layer 16 . the structure shown in fig1 may be formed by methods well known in the art . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the thickness of bpsg layer 16 is about 12 , 000 angstroms , and the thickness of etch stop layer 18 is about 1000 angstroms . in order to form the container capacitor of the present invention , a layer 20 of gebpsg ( shown in fig2 ) is deposited on top of bpsg layer 16 . the germanium doped bpsg layer 20 has a dopant concentration above 1 %, and , in the preferred embodiment , the dopant concentration in gebpsg layer 20 is about 10 %. germanium is preferably incorporated in layer 20 in the form of geo or geo 2 clusters or precipitates . gebpsg layer 20 is preferably formed on top of bpsg layer 16 using a chemical vapor deposition process (&# 34 ; cvd &# 34 ;), although other procedures may alternatively be used . in the preferred embodiment , gebpsg layer 20 has a thickness ranging between 200 to 1000 angstroms . following deposition of gebpsg layer 20 over top of bpsg layer 16 , a space 22 is etched in gebpsg layer 20 , thereby exposing an upper surface of contact 14 . referring now to fig3 following the formation of space 22 , a wet etching step is used to roughen surface 20a of gebpsg layer 20 . the wet etching material used in this step may consist of deionized water . alternatively , a dilute hf solution having a concentration of about 1000 : 1 may be used for the wet etching step . in a still further alternative embodiment , a dry etching process may be used to form roughened surface 20a on gebpsg layer 20 . referring now to fig4 following the formation of roughened surface 20a , a layer of polysilicon 24 is deposited on top of gebpsg layer 20 . in one embodiment , polysilicon layer 24 is formed of amorphous silicon and is deposited on top of gebpsg layer using a cvd step , although other procedures may also be used . polysilicon layer 24 is preferably 250 - 1000 angstroms in thickness and , still more preferably , 400 - 600 angstroms in thickness . in a still further preferred embodiment , polysilicon layer 24 will be about 500 angstroms in thickness . when polysilicon layer 24 is formed of amorphous silicon or smooth polysilicon , the inner surface 24a of polysilicon layer 24 will naturally follow the roughened contour of surface 20a , thereby giving inner surface 24a a roughened texture . outer surface 24b of polysilicon layer 24 will also conform to layer 20a , thereby giving outer surface 24b a roughened texture . in an alternative embodiment , polysilicon having intrinsic surface roughness ( shown in fig4 ) may be used to form layer 24 . in this alternative embodiment , after deposition of polysilicon surface 24 , polysilicon layer 24 is preferably seeded with a disilane and then annealed in order to form roughened inner surface 24a . referring now to fig5 after polysilicon layer 24 ( having roughened surfaces 24a , 24b ) is disposed on top of gebpsg layer 20 , the structure shown in fig4 is subjected to a chemical - mechanical planarization (&# 34 ; cmp &# 34 ;) process wherein the portion of polysilicon layer 24 lying outside trench 16 is removed from the structure . following this cmp step , a wet etch is applied to the bpsg layer 16 , thereby etching away the portion of bpsg layer 16 disposed above etch stop 18 and yielding the capacitor electrode structure shown in fig6 having roughened inner surface 24a and roughened outer surface 24b . a dilute hf solution having a concentration of about 100 : 1 may be used for this wet etching step . in a still further alternative embodiment , a dry etching step may be used to remove the portion of bpsg layer 16 disposed above etch stop 18 . referring now to fig7 there is shown a cross - sectional diagram of a structure used for forming a container capacitor having an electrode which is roughened on both its inner and outer surfaces , in accordance with an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention . like the structure shown in fig1 the structure shown in fig7 is formed of a substrate 10 having a doped ( n +) region 12 disposed therein . a contact 14 , preferably formed of doped silicon , is disposed immediately above region 12 . a template layer 17 formed from , for example , an insulator such as bpsg or gebpsg , is positioned on top of substrate 10 . since the preferred materials used for forming template layer 17 are bpsg and gebpsg , template layer 17 will be referred to hereafter as bpsg layer 17 , although it will be understood be those skilled in the art that other materials may alternatively be used to form layer 17 . an etch stop layer 18 formed of silicon nitride or teos oxide is positioned within bpsg layer 17 . the structure shown in fig7 may be formed by methods well known in the art . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention where layer 17 is formed of bpsg or gebpsg , the thickness of bpsg layer 17 is about 12 , 000 angstroms , and the thickness of etch stop layer 18 is about 1000 angstroms . in a still further embodiment , bpsg layer 17 may be formed of germanium doped bpsg having a dopant concentration above 1 %, and , still more preferably , the dopant concentration will be about 10 %. germanium may be incorporated in bpsg layer 17 in the form of geo or geo 2 clusters or precipitates . bpsg layer 17 is preferably formed on top of substrate 10 using a cvd process , although other procedures may alternatively be used . although in the preferred embodiment shown in fig7 the portions of layer 17 positioned above and below etch stop layer 18 are formed of the same material , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the portion of layer 17 disposed above etch stop layer 18 may alternatively be formed of a different material than the portion of layer 17 disposed below etch stop layer 18 . referring now to fig8 a rapid thermal annealing process is used to roughen surface 17a of bpsg layer 17 . in a further alternative embodiment , a sacrificial metal layer or a thin doped polysilicon layer ( both not shown ) having a higher melting temperature than bpsg layer 17 may be deposited on top of bpsg layer 17 prior to the annealing step to create wrinkled or roughened surface 17a . alternatively , a wet etching step may be used to roughen surface 17a of bpsg layer 17 . the wet etching material used in this step may consist of deionized water . alternatively , a dilute hf solution having a concentration of about 1000 : 1 may be used for the wet etching step . in a still further alternative embodiment , a dry etching process may be used to form roughened surface 17a on bpsg layer 17 . referring now to fig9 following the formation of roughened surface 17a , a layer of polysilicon 24 is deposited on top of bpsg layer 17 . in one embodiment , polysilicon layer 24 is formed of amorphous silicon or smooth polysilicon and is deposited on top of bpsg 17 layer using a cvd step , although other procedures may also be used . polysilicon layer 24 is preferably 250 - 1000 angstroms in thickness and , still more preferably , 400 - 600 angstroms in thickness . in a still further preferred embodiment , polysilicon layer 24 will be about 500 angstroms in thickness . when polysilicon layer 24 is formed of amorphous silicon or smooth polysilicon , the inner surface 24a of polysilicon layer 24 will naturally follow the roughened contour of surface 17a , thereby giving inner surface 24a a roughened texture . outer surface 24b of polysilicon layer 24 will also conform to layer 17a , thereby giving outer surface 24b a roughened texture . in an alternative embodiment , polysilicon having intrinsic surface roughness may be used to form surface 24 . in this alternative embodiment , after deposition of polysilicon layer 24 , polysilicon layer 24 is preferably seeded with a disilane and then annealed in order to form roughened inner surface 24a . referring now to fig1 , after polysilicon layer 24 ( having roughened surfaces 24a , 24b ) is disposed on top of bpsg layer 17 , the structure shown in fig9 is subjected to a cmp process wherein portions of polysilicon layer 24 and bpsg layer 17 are removed from the structure . following this cmp step , a wet etch is applied to the bpsg layer 17 , thereby etching away the portion of bpsg layer 17 disposed above etch stop 18 and yielding the capacitor electrode structure shown in fig1 having roughened inner surface 24a and roughened outer surface 24b . a dilute hf solution having a concentration of about 100 : 1 may be used for this wet etching step . in a still further alternative embodiment , a dry etching step may be used to remove the portion of bpsg layer 17 disposed above etch stop 18 . furthermore , it is to be understood that although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , various modifications , known to those skilled in the art , may be made to the structures and process steps presented herein without departing from the invention as recited in the several claims appended hereto .
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in the following description , various aspects of the present invention will be described . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention . for purposes of explanation , specific numbers , materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details . in other instances , well known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention . parts of the description will be presented in terms of operations performed by a processor based device , using terms such as receiving , analyzing , determining , instructing , and the like , consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . as well understood by those skilled in the art , the quantities take the form of electrical , magnetic , or optical signals capable of being stored , transferred , combined , and otherwise manipulated through mechanical and electrical components of the processor based device ; and the term processor include microprocessors , micro - controllers , digital signal processors , and the like , that are standalone , adjunct or embedded . parts of the description will be described using various acronyms , including but are not limited to : atm asynchronous transfer mode dns domain name service ip internet protocol sonet synchronous optical network tcp transmission control protocol the terms “ routing devices ” and “ route ” are used throughout this application , in the claims as well as in the specification . the terms as used herein are intended to be genus terms that include the conventional routers and conventional routing , as well as all other variations of network trafficking , such as , switches or switching , gateways , hubs and the like . thus , unless particularized , the terms are to be given this broader meaning . various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn , in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention , however , the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent . in particular , these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation . further , the description repeatedly uses the phrase “ in one embodiment ”, which ordinarily does not refer to the same embodiment , although it may . referring now to fig1 wherein a block diagram illustrating a network view of the present invention , in accordance with one embodiment , is shown . as illustrated , client devices 108 a - 108 n are coupled to servers 110 a - 110 n through networking fabric 112 , which includes a number of routing devices 106 a - 106 n coupled to each other forming a plurality of network links . client devices 108 a - 108 n , via routing devices 106 a - 106 n , or more specifically , over the network links formed by routing devices 106 a - 106 n , selectively access servers 110 a - 110 n for services . unfortunately , as those skilled in the art would appreciate , the same network links that make servers 110 a - 110 n readily accessible to client devices 108 a - 108 n also render them vulnerable to abuse or misuse by one or more of client devices 108 a - 108 n . for example , one or more client devices 108 a - 108 n may individually or in combination launch an attack , such as a denial of service attack , or otherwise victimize one or more servers 110 a - 110 n , routing devices 106 a - 106 b and / or the links interconnected the elements . in accordance with the present invention , director 102 , complemented by a number of sensors 104 a - 104 n , are employed to detect and prevent such abuse or misuse of the network links , to be described more fully below . for the illustrated embodiment , sensors 104 a - 104 n are disposed in distributed locations . in alternate embodiments , some or all of sensors 104 a - 104 n may be integrally disposed with routing devices 106 a - 106 b . example network 112 represents a broad range of private as well as public networks or interconnected networks , such as an enterprise network of a multi - national corporation , or the internet . networking nodes , such as clients 108 a - 108 n and server 110 a - 110 n represent a broad range of these elements known in the art , including individual user machines , e - commerce sites , and the like . as alluded to earlier , routing devices 106 a - 106 n represent a broad range of network trafficking equipment , including but are not limited to conventional routers , switches , gateways , hubs and the like . while for ease of understanding , only one director 102 , and a handful each of network nodes , clients 108 a - 108 n and servers 110 a - 110 n , routing devices 106 a - 106 n and sensors 104 a - 104 n are included in the illustration , from the description to follow , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced with more than one director 102 as well as more or less network nodes , routing devices 106 a - 106 n and sensors 104 a - 104 n . in particular , the present invention may also be practiced with one or more directors 102 . when more than one director 102 is employed , each director 102 may be assigned responsibility for a subset of sensors 104 a - 104 n , and the directors 102 may relate to each other in a master / slave relationship , with one of the directors 102 serving as the “ master ” ( and the others as “ slave ”), or as peers to one another or organized into an hierarchy , to collective discharge the responsibilities described below . referring now also to fig2 wherein a method view of the present invention , in accordance with one embodiment is shown . as illustrated , for a network link of interest , e . g . a network link on a critical path to a server subscriber of the services offered by director 102 , director 102 activates an initial subset of sensors 104 a - 104 n to monitor and collect descriptive data for network traffic routed over the network link of interest and / or related links , block 202 . the selected ones of sensors 104 a - 104 n may monitor the routing devices 106 * that are directly responsible for routing traffic onto the network link of interest , that is the routing devices 106 * to which the network link of interest is directly attached , and / or monitoring the routing devices 106 * that are indirectly responsible for routing traffic onto the network link of interest , that is the routing devices 106 * are remotely disposed , however by virtue of the destination of the traffic being routed , the traffic will eventually be routed over the network link of interest . the selected ones of sensors 104 a - 104 n may also monitor related network links , which traffic patterns may be indicative of the nature of the network traffic being routed over the network link of interest . [ the asterisk employed in the afore description and the description to follow represents a “ wildcard ” portion for the reference , i . e . 106 * may be any one or more of 106 a through 106 n .] periodically , or on demand , director 102 receives from the activated sensors 106 * descriptive data associated with the traffic of interest , i . e . network traffic routed over the network link of interest and / or related network links , block 204 . in response , for the illustrated embodiment , director 102 determines whether the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being abused or misused , block 206 . in various implementations , director 102 performs one or more analyses , using the received descriptive data , to determine whether the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being abused or misused . the descriptive data provided and the analyses performed are interdependent on each other . the precise nature of the descriptive data provided and the interdependent analyses performed are application dependent , i . e . dependent on the type and / or protocol of the network , and / or interest of the service subscriber . examples of descriptive data include source addresses , destination addresses , packet types , packet sizes , volume of packets , and so forth . volume of packets as well as other description data may also be stratified by packet types , addresses , and other stratification criteria . if it is determined that the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being abused or misused , director 102 further determines whether additional monitoring or data collection are needed before definitively concluding that the network link of interest is being misused , and imposes selective regulations to impact on network traffic accordingly , block 208 . if additional monitoring or data collection is “ preferred ”, director 102 launches additional selected ones of sensors 104 a - 104 n to perform the additional monitoring to collect additional data to confirm that indeed the network link of interest is being misused , i . e . returning to block 202 . if additional collection of data is not desired or eventually upon collection of additional data , director 102 becomes sufficiently confident that the network link of interest is being misused , at such time , director 102 determines the location or locations , and amount of regulations to impact on network traffic , to thwart the network link of interest from being misused , block 210 - 212 . back at block 206 , if director 102 is not at least suspicious of the network link of interest is being abused , director 102 further determines if any regulation is in effect , and if so , whether any of the regulation may be relaxed , block 214 . if not , the process continues back at block 204 , where director 102 receives additional report of descriptive data associated with the network traffic routed over the network link of interest and / or related links . from there , director conditionally repeats the earlier described analyses and related operations , blocks 206 - 214 . eventually , director 102 determines at block 214 that at least a portion of the regulation in effect may be relaxed . at such time , director 102 determines the location or locations of de - regulation , and the amount of de - regulation at the respective selected locations , block 216 - 218 . the above described method is repeated by director 102 periodically for each of the network links of interest . before proceeding to describe the present invention further , it should be noted that the phrase network link as used in the present application includes a virtual link as well as a physical link . a virtual link is a collection of physical links . when the network link is a virtual link , director 102 performs the analyses to be described based on the aggregated descriptive data of the corresponding physical links . further , distributed sensing and regulation of network traffic are the subject matters of co - pending u . s . patent applications , ser . no . 09 / 631 , 898 , entitled “ a distributed solution for regulating network traffic ”, filed on aug . 4 , 2000 , and ser . no . 09 / 685 , 518 , entitled “ progressive and distributed regulation of selected network traffic destined for a network node ”, filed on oct . 9 , 2000 , respectively . these applications are hereby fully incorporated by reference . continuing to refer to fig2 as described earlier , in response to the receipt of a new “ round ” or set of descriptive data associated with network traffic relevant to the network link of interest ( provided periodically or on demand ), director 102 performs one or more analyses in determining whether the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused by comparing the traffic pattern depicted by the provided descriptive data against a set of “ user - defined ” thresholds for a plurality of traffic pattern metrics . more specifically , director 102 concludes that the network link is at least suspicious of being misused if the traffic pattern metrics as measured by the received descriptive data exceed the “ user - defined ” thresholds . in this embodiment , the service subscriber quantitatively defines for director 102 the “ good ” traffic it expects on the network link of interest . the definition may be effectuated using any operational specification techniques known in the art . traffics exceeding the defined level are deemed to be “ suspicious ”. for example , a subscriber may define that a network link of interest is to have no more than 50 mb / s of dns traffic and 1 mb / s of tcp zone transfers . thus , if director 102 receives reporting from sensors 104 * that infer a high volume of traffic for either one of these metrics , director 102 will at least deem the traffic being routed over the network link of interest as suspicious , and increase monitoring . if the excessive pattern persists for a predetermined period , director 102 will deem the network link as being misused , and regulate it accordingly . in one embodiment focusing specifically on ip traffics , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with whether unallocated ip addresses are present as source addresses of the traffic routed over the network link of interest . such presence is likely , as an attacker often uses randomly generated addresses as source addresses of the attack traffic . such randomly generated source addresses are likely to include source addresses that are unallocated . the allocated addresses may be pre - provided to director 102 ( e . g . in the form of a database ) or may be pre - determined by director 102 by systematically pinging trial addresses for responses ( and saving the responded ip addresses in a database ). in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with the distribution profile of the source addresses of the network traffic routed over the network link of interest . more specifically , director 102 considers the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused if the source addresses of the network traffic routed over the network link of interest are evenly layered on top of the normal traffic pattern , which typically involves only a relatively small subset of source addresses . such characteristic is likely , as an attacker tends to use randomly generated addresses as source addresses of the attack traffic . such randomly generated source addresses tend to evenly distributed . any one of a number of statistical techniques known in the art may be employed to perform the above described distribution profile analysis . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with the number and type of packets being sent to a network node or set of nodes from the same source address . more specifically , director 102 considers the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused if the number of packets being sent to a network node or set of nodes from the same source address for certain type of packets exceeds a predetermined small threshold . such characteristic is likely in situations where certain servers , such as domain name servers , are being used to launch attack packets against a victim server . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with the burstiness characteristics of the network traffic routed over the network link of interest , more specifically , the lack thereof . such lack of burstiness characteristic is likely in traffic intensity , intensity per subnet , packet sizes , and / or number of packets per flow , if the traffics routed are attack traffic as opposed to normal traffic . similarly , any one of a number of statistical techniques known in the art may be employed to perform the above described burstiness analysis . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with a ratio of the packets flowing in one direction to packets flowing in the opposite direction . more specifically , director 102 considers the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused if the ratio is imbalanced , i . e . more than a predetermined threshold deviated from the numeric constant “ 1 ”. again such uneven characteristic between the two directions is likely when the network traffics routed are attack traffic as opposed to normal network traffic . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with a ratio of a first packet type to a second packet type . more specifically , director 102 considers the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused if the ratio is imbalanced , i . e . more than a predetermined threshold deviated from a target ratio . such uneven characteristic between the selected pairs of packet types may be indicative of attack traffic . for example , in the case of tcp / ip , during normal operation , tcp ack packets should be about half of data packets . if the ratio is substantially different from the target ratio of 0 . 5 , it is likely the abnormal traffics are attack traffic . in one embodiment , director 102 determines whether a network link of interest is being misused in accordance with response traffics . more specifically , director 102 considers the network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused if an excess amount of the traffic being routed is recognizable error packets . for example , in the case of tcp / ip traffic , if an excessive amount of rst packets are being routed , which may be indicative of an excess amount of ack packets being sent without the corresponding syn packets . when multiple analyses are employed for the decision making process , a weighted approach may be employed to give different weights to the results of the different analyses in their contributions towards the ultimate conclusion as to whether a network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused . in alternate embodiment , a more sophisticated modeling approach may be employed instead . that is , the results of the analyses are provided as inputs to the model that models the expected normal behavior of the network links of interest , and predicts whether abnormal behavior are about to occur or occurring . referring back to fig1 as described earlier , sensors 104 a - 104 n are employed to monitor and collect descriptive data associated with network traffic routed over the network links of interest . as described in the incorporated by reference application , sensors 104 a - 104 n may be externally disposed and correspondingly coupled to and monitor routing devices 106 a - 106 n . alternatively , sensors 104 a - 104 n may individually or collectively monitor and report on the network traffic routed through more than one routing device , as opposed to the corresponding configuration . in yet other embodiments , some or all of sensors 104 a - 104 n may be integrally disposed within routing devices 106 a - 106 h instead . sensors 104 a - 104 n , whether externally disposed or integrally disposed , may be coupled to director 102 using any one of a number of communication links known in the art , such as modem links over conventional phone lines , digital subscriber lines ( dsl ), integrated service digital network ( isdn ) connections , asynchronous transfer mode ( asm ) links , frame relay connections , and the like . in one embodiment , sensors 104 a - 104 n use an access control list ( acl ), and commands associated therewith , such as “ access - list ” and “ show access - list ” to gather up the relevant data . similarly , in one embodiment , sensors 104 a - 104 n use interface related commands such as “ show interface rate - limit ” and “ rate - limit ” to regulate and de - regulate an interface . these commands , including their operations and constitutions , are known in the art . see product literatures from routing device manufacturers , such as cisco systems , inc of san jose , calif . in alternate embodiments , for certain routing devices , if supported , the relevant data gathered may also include “ netflow ” data . in other embodiments , the relevant data may also be obtained through known network management services , such as simple network management protocol ( snmp ), remote monitoring ( rmon ), port mirroring , or packet sampling ( if one or more of these service are supported by the routing devices ). for further details , refer to the specification of incorporated by reference application ser . no . 09 / 631 , 898 . referring now to fig3 wherein a functional view of the director , in accordance with one embodiment is shown . as illustrated , director 102 includes send / receive function 302 , analyzer 304 , and regulator 306 , operatively coupled to each other as shown . send / receive function 302 is employed to receive network traffic data ( e . g . reported by the distributively disposed sensors ), and to send monitor instructions to the sensing devices as well as regulation / de - regulation instructions to the routing devices to be regulated ( e . g . through the distributively disposed sensors ). analyzer 304 analyzes the network traffic data reported to determine if a network link of interest is at least suspicious of being misused , and alerts regulator 306 accordingly . regulator 306 is used to determine where and the specific regulation / de - regulation actions to be taken . fig4 - 6 illustrate the operational flow of the relevant aspects of the send / receive , analyzer and regulation functions 302 - 306 , in accordance with one embodiment each . as illustrated in fig4 for the send / receive function , upon start up , it determines if there are network traffic data to be received ( e . g . from the distributively disposed sensors ), block 402 . if there are , send / receive function 302 receives the network traffic data being reported accordingly . if there are not , send / receive function 302 determines if there are monitor or regulation / de - regulation instructions to be sent ( e . g . to the distributively disposed sensors ). if there are , send / receive function 302 sends the monitor or regulation / regulation instructions accordingly . if there are not , send / receive function 302 returns to block 402 to determine if there are data to be received again . as illustrated in fig5 upon start up , analyzer 304 selects a network link of interest to be analyzed , block 502 . analyzer 304 analyzes the received descriptive data , performing one or more of the earlier described analyses , block 504 . based on the results of the analysis , analyzer 304 determines if more data or to be collected , in particular , whether additional sensors 104 * are to be activated for the additional collection of network traffic data , block 506 . if additional sensors 104 * are to be activated for the additional collection of network traffic data , analyzer 304 selects and activates selected ones of the sensors accordingly , block 508 . if sufficient number of sensors 104 * have been activated for the additional collection of network traffic data , analyzer 304 further determines if network traffic are to be regulated , further regulated or de - regulated , block 510 . if not , analyzer 304 returns to block 504 , and continues operation from there . if network traffic is to be regulated , further regulated or de - regulated , analyzer 304 notifies regulator 306 accordingly , block 512 . analyzer 304 repeats this process for each network link of interest to be “ protected ” from misuse . as illustrated in fig6 upon receipt of an alert , regulator 306 determines if the alert is for ( further ) regulation or de - regulation , block 602 . if the alert is for ( further ) regulation , regulator 306 determines the routing devices to be regulated , block 606 . further , regulator 306 determines the regulation to be applied , block 608 . examples of regulations include but are not limited to bandwidth allocation , rate limiting , packet filtering , giving priority to “ good ” traffics , and so forth . note that the regulations may negatively impact the “ good ” traffics , because as long as the “ bad ” traffics are more negatively impacted , the regulations would still be useful to “ good ” traffics . upon making these determinations , regulator 306 provides the regulation instructions to the routing devices to be regulated accordingly ( e . g . through the sensors ), block 614 . on the other hand , if the alert is for de - regulation , regulator 306 determines the location or locations for de - regulation , 610 . further , regulator 306 determines the level of de - regulation ( bandwidth restoration , rate limit relaxation etc . ), block 612 . upon making these determinations , regulator 306 provides the de - regulation instructions to the routing devices to be de - regulated accordingly ( e . g . through the sensors ), block 614 . in one embodiment , regulator 306 regulates and de - regulates in a progressive manner as described in incorporated by reference application ser . no . 09 / 685 , 518 . [ 0052 ] fig7 illustrates an example computer system suitable for use as either a host to a software implementation of a sensor , or the director in accordance with one embodiment . as shown , computer system 700 includes one or more processors 702 ( typically depending on whether it is used as host to sensor or the director ), and system memory 704 . additionally , computer system 700 includes mass storage devices 706 ( such as diskette , hard drive , cdrom and so forth ), input / output devices 708 ( such as keyboard , cursor control and so forth ) and communication interfaces 710 ( such as network interface cards , modems and so forth ). the elements are coupled to each other via system bus 712 , which represents one or more buses . in the case of multiple buses , they are bridged by one or more bus bridges ( not shown ). each of these elements performs its conventional functions known in the art . in particular , system memory 704 and mass storage 706 are employed to store a working copy and a permanent copy of the programming instructions implementing the sensor and / or director teachings of the present invention . the permanent copy of the programming instructions may be loaded into mass storage 706 in the factory , or in the field , as described earlier , through a distribution medium ( not shown ) or through communication interface 710 ( from a distribution server ( not shown ). the constitution of these elements 702 - 712 are known , and accordingly will not be further described . thus , it can be seen from the above descriptions , a novel method and apparatus for detecting misuse of a network has been described . the novel scheme decrease the likelihood of the network links being misused to launch attacks or otherwise victimize a server node or a set of server nodes . while the present invention has been described referencing the illustrated and above enumerated embodiments , the present invention is not limited to these described embodiments . numerous modification and alterations may be made , consistent with the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims to follow . thus , the above described embodiments are merely illustrative , and not restrictive on the present invention .
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fig1 shows a cross sectional view of an embodiment of the invention for scanned fluorescence microscopy . u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 777 , 342 , 5 , 866 , 911 , 5 , 952 , 668 and 6 , 259 , 104 contain useful background to the following discussion , and are incorporated herein by reference . light from a femtosecond pulsed titanium - sapphire laser is directed on rotatable half - wave plate 1 , and the emerging beam is directed onto a polarizing beamsplitter 2 . beam 3 , which is one of the beams emerging from the beam splitter 2 will be used for multiphoton excitation . beam 3 is directed onto a chromatic dispersion compensating assembly , as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 178 , 041 , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference , consisting of four diffraction gratings 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 . the beam emerging from grating 7 is focused by lens 8 onto one end of an optical fiber 9 , which conducts the light to the scan head 10 . negative chromatic dispersion produced by the gratings 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 compensate for positive dispersion in the fiber 9 , so as to maintain a short pulse width in the pulse directed on the specimen , as discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 178 , 041 . within the scan head 10 , light leaving the exit end of fiber 9 is collimated by lens 11 and reflected by mirror 12 ( which may be a dichroic beam splitter ) onto scanning means 13 and then , onto objective 14 , which focuses the excitation pulse into a spot in specimen 15 . beam 3 ′ emerging from beamsplitter 2 will be used to produce the quenching beam . beam 3 ′ is directed successively to mirrors 16 and 17 , the position of which can be moved in the direction of the axis of the beam 3 ′ to induce a variable path length , and thereby change the time delay between the offset of the excitation pulse and the onset of the quenching pulse . the beam emerging from mirror 17 is reflected by mirror 18 to an assembly consisting of four diffraction gratings 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 that apply negative chromatic dispersion , and the beam emerging from grating 22 is focused by lens 23 onto the end of optical fiber 24 . the negative dispersion produced by the assembly of gratings 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 is greater or smaller than the positive dispersion introduced by fiber 24 , so that the pulse experiences a net stretching . as an alternative , the gratings 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 could be put in a configuration that produces positive dispersion . the stretched pulse conducted by fiber 24 is split by a fiber optical 1 : 4 splitter 25 equally into four fibers . the light emerging from these fibers 26 , 27 , 28 and 29 is collimated by four identical lenses , of which only lenses 30 and 30 ′ are in the plane of this drawing and are shown . the beam emerging from lens 30 is reflected by mirror 31 onto lens 32 , and the converging beam leaving lens 32 enters equilateral prism 33 where it experiences total internal reflection to be directed parallel to the axis of the cone of excitation light emerging from the end of fiber 9 , and it is focused to a spot in the same plane as the end of fiber 9 . the ends of fibers 27 , 28 and 29 also are focused to spots of light in this same plane , so that the spots are at the corners of a square with the tip of fiber 9 at the center . fig2 shows a detail of the passage of rays of quenching light in prism 33 . the rays would form an image of the end of fiber 26 at plane 40 , but total internal reflection from prism face 41 causes the image instead to be formed at position 42 , adjacent to a chisel edge 43 of the prism . fig3 shows a three - dimensional perspective view of different positions of prisms such as prism 33 , showing the chisel edge 43 . each of these prisms could be made by placing them so one face is horizontal , and making two cuts at 45 ° to the edges of the horizontal face , so the cuts almost touch , producing the chisel edge 43 . when four of such prisms are positioned on a horizontal surface so that these four chisel edges , such as edge 43 , make the sides of a square , then they will be in the relative positions required in the device shown in fig1 . the magnified detail of fig1 shown in fig4 , shows how the end of fiber 9 can be tapered , by gradually removing the cladding , so at the tip only the core plus the minimum cladding needed to maintain propagation remains , and this tip just fits into this square , the edges of which are the chisel edges , such as edge 43 . fig5 , shows a plan view , such that the plane of the figure is parallel to the real image plane containing the tip 44 of fiber 9 , and the spot images 45 , 46 , 47 and 48 of the ends of fibers 26 , 27 , 28 and 29 . fig5 shows the relationship between these spot images and the tip of excitation fiber 9 . lenses 11 and 13 and mirror 12 reimage these spot images 45 , 46 , 47 and 48 to the real image plane of the specimen 15 , such that these reimaged spot images in the specimen are at the corners of a square . the reimaged spots diagonally opposite each other have a 180 ° phase difference , so that the light exactly cancels at the central point of the square , which is also the central point that the tip of fiber 9 that is imaged to in the specimen . this phase adjustment can be made , for example , by axially moving fiber 26 with respect to fiber 29 , until the desired cancellation is produced . as discussed in the cited references , it is important that light from one pair of diagonally opposite reimaged spot images does not interfere with light from the remaining pair . one way that this can be accomplished , as discussed for example in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 259 , 104 , is to make the phase relationship between adjacent pairs of reimaged spot images have a 90 ° phase difference , and again the required phase relationships can be produced by axially moving the tips of the fibers 26 , 27 , 28 and 29 relative to each other . the resulting phase can be described as adding 90 ° of phase shift as one moves clockwise in the plane of focus of the specimen from each of the four reimaged spot images to the next one . the cited references describe other ways of providing that light from opposite reimaged spot images cancels but light from one of these opposite pairs cannot interfere with light from the remaining pair . the dimensions are chosen so that the distance between the centers of the reimaged spot images and the center of the image in the specimen of the tip of fiber 9 is about 2 . 3 dimensionless optical units ( a separation of one optical unit equals the inverse of the product of numerical aperture of the objective lens and the wavevector k = 2π / λ ). this geometry will produce a doughnut shaped intensity distribution in the real image plane of the specimen , with a theoretically zero intensity central spot , and where the intensity rises rapidly with distance from that central point . the styryl dye rh414 appears suitable for multiphoton excitation and for quenching at the same wavelength , in this case 760 nm . the paper by dyba and hell ( appl . optics . 42 : 5123 ( 03 )) shows that light of this wavelength will lead to multiphoton fluorescent excitation . an earlier paper by the same authors ( phys . rev . lett . 88 : 163902 ( 02 )) showed that the same dye was susceptible to sted quenching by light around the same wavelength . there are other possible candidate dyes including did , and it appears possible that the ability to be multiphoton excited and quenched by light of the same wavelength will turn out to be a relatively common property of dyes , not presently known only because it has not been looked for . the above discussion has not dealt with the issues of measurement of light emitting from the excited spot , and creation of an image based on scanning of the excited spot . that is because the process is the same as in well known confocal ( e . g . baer , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 705 , 755 ), multiphoton ( e . g . denk et al , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 034 , 613 , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference ) and the already cited sted patents . as in multiphoton and sted imaging , the light emanating from the excited spot can either be descanned and imaged on a confocal pinhole , or imaged on a detector without descanning or passage through a confocal pinhole , for greater collection efficiency . many alternative methods have been described for producing a sculpting beam with the required zero intensity central point ( or line , in the case of line scanning microscopes ) and any of these could be applied to the present invention , provided the wavelength of the sculpting beam was the same as the excitation wavelength . although the preceding description described a fiber to couple the excitation laser to the microscope scan head , the present invention would also be applicable in instruments where the path between the laser and the scan head did not involve passage through an optical fiber . the same principle of multiphoton excitation and quenching by a lengthened pulse of the same wavelength could be used for scanned beam microlithography and microfabrication . for microlithography , the goal is to quench the peripheral parts of an excited spot in the photosensitive film or emulsion layer , before they have lead to the lasting change . the two - photon - activatable photoacid generator molecule , bsb — s 2 , has been used for two - photon microfabrication ( zhou et al science 296 : 1106 ( 02 )) using light of 705 to 800 nm . this substance also has a relatively long lived singlet state that might be susceptible to single - photon - induced quenching in this general wavelength range , and also has a sufficiently long lived excited singlet state , that quenching should be possible before the acid triggering the lasting change is released . the device of fig1 allows a common wavelength to be used both for excitation and for reducing the excitation in the peripheral parts of the excited spot or line . however because the axial positions of the fibers 26 , 27 , 28 and 29 must be adjusted to create phase differences of 90 °, 180 °, and 270 ° and because the particular distance to create these phases is proportional to the wavelength , the fibers must be repositioned whenever that common wavelength is changed . the device shown in fig6 creates phase differences that do not require mechanical readjustment when the wavelength is changed , and for that reason is a more preferred embodiment of the present invention . those elements in fig6 that are identical to elements in fig1 have been given the same reference numerals . there are some differences . for example , in fig1 , the transmitted component 3 from beam splitter was passed through a chromatic dispersion means and then conducted by an optical fiber in its passage to the scan head 10 . in the device of fig6 , in contrast , there is no intervening optical fiber , and consequently there is no need for the chromatic dispersion means which is required in the fig1 device to compensate for the opposite chromatic dispersion of the fiber , to maintain the short excitation pulse width . the excitation beam instead is conducted by mirrors 51 and 52 , passed through a small transparent hole in segmented mirror 54 , which will be explained more fully in the next paragraph , and focused by lenses 53 and 55 onto the real image plane 33 . the system of conduction by a fiber and compensation by a chromatic dispersion means , as shown in fig1 , has reportedly been found to be difficult to adjust , and so a light conduction method such as shown in fig6 , avoiding such a fiber would probably be preferable in a system where the common wavelength is adjustable . the excitation - reducing beam in the fig6 device , which as in the fig1 device is formed from the reflected output 3 ′ from beam splitter 2 , is passed through the same chromatic dispersion means and optical fiber as in the fig1 device . after collimation by lens 56 , the beam is directed onto a hollow pyramid 57 , which separates the beam into four quarter - pie - shaped segments 58 , 59 , 60 and 61 , separated by a non - illuminated x - shaped region , as shown in fig7 . pyramid 57 is made of four triangles of a transparent material such as glass , with parallel faces , and edges beveled to fill the space at edges where the triangles touch . the cross - sectional plane of fig6 bisects two opposite triangles of pyramid 57 each of the pie - shaped segments of the beam is directed to a separate segment of segmented mirror 54 , shown schematically in fig8 , with an exaggerated spacing between the segments . the central hole 64 of the segmented mirror is formed by making a small bevel at the right angle vertices of each of the four mirror segments . beam segment 58 for example would be directed on mirror segment 62 and beam segment 60 would be directed on mirror segment 63 . the segmented mirror 54 reflects the beam segments onto lens 55 , which forms a real image of the segmented mirror and its central hole on real image plane 33 . therefore an image of the central spot of the excitation beam is formed at plane 33 , surrounded by images of the four beam segments . fig6 is meant to show the relationship between the elements but not their relative sizes . the elements should be arranged so that the images in the plane of focus of the specimen of the “ intensity - weighted central point ” of the beam segments at plane 33 are about 2 . 3 optical units from the center of the excitation spot . the “ intensity - weighted central point ,” roughly speaking , would be the center of mass of a flat piece of pie that had a mass per unit area at each point proportional to the light intensity of the pie shaped segment . as shown in fig9 , which is a magnified detail of fig6 to better show pyramid 57 , the pyramid can rotate about a point 70 , which is the interior vertex point . pyramid 57 can rotate through small angles on two perpendicular axes of rotation , both of them perpendicular to the optical axis , and one of them perpendicular to the plane of fig6 and 9 . it will be appreciated from fig9 that if the pyramid rotates a small angle on the axis perpendicular to the figure , that the angle of incidence of the collimated beam from lens 56 will increase on one pyramid face and decrease on other . because of snell &# 39 ; s law , the angle of refraction will also change , so that after the rotation , the distance the beam travels through the glass of face 71 will be different from the distance the opposite beam travels through face 72 , which will create a phase difference between the beams , that increases with the tilt of the pyramid . for any chosen phase difference , for example the 180 ° phase difference required for the spots of excitation - reducing light on opposite sides of the central spot of excitation , and for any chosen wavelength , whatever relative delay between the opposite faces that is produced by tilting of the pyramid to an arbitrary angle , there is a compensatory translation of the segments of segmented mirror , that when combined with the delay caused by mirror rotation ( which at a very small angle approximates translation ), will restore the net delay to create a 180 ° phase difference . it is possible to imagine a graph where the relative delay caused by the pyramid tilt is plotted on one axis and the compensatory movement of the mirror segments to make the net phase difference 180 ° is plotted on the other axis . the resulting graph will be a sloping line . a change of wavelength of the beam will change the speed of light through the glass , and consequently change the slope such a plotted line . because they have different slopes , the lines corresponding to two chosen wavelengths will intersect at some point . the coordinates of this intersection point indicates a pair of relative delays caused by pyramid tilt and by mirror segment adjustment , such that the net delay is 180 ° for both of these wavelengths . if the pyramid is tilted at the angle needed to produce such a delay and the mirror segments are set at the corresponding positions , not only will the phase delay be exactly 180 ° for both of the chosen wavelengths ( which are chosen to bracket the wavelength band desired for the quenching light ), but additionally it will be nearly 180 ° for all the wavelengths in between . this is the well - known principle of achromatic correction , and it is particularly simple to implement in this case . the result is that not only is the arrangement of fig6 simpler than the arrangement of fig1 , but it also is substantially achromatic for phase delay . it should be understood that to calibrate this system , three separate degrees of freedom are required to produce the required phase delays , but rotation of the pyramid only provides two such degrees of freedom . one possible solution is to cement three of the four triangular faces together , and allow the fourth face to pivot about the common vertex point 70 . it is possible to perform such a calibration of the delays during fabrication of the pyramid , and then in use , the two available degrees of freedom could be used for fine adjustment . in addition to allowing the common wavelength to be changed without need to recalibrate the phase adjustments , an achromatic scheme also insures that when the pulses are spectrally broadened as a side effect of pulse compression and stretching , that each spectral component in the broadened pulse has the same phase delay , and consequence they each form a zero intensity point at the central point . even in a fixed wavelength instrument , this may contribute to a slight improvement in resolution . although this disclosure has described single wavelength sted microscopy with just one illustrative sted microscope design , it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that provided a suitable fluorophore or photosensitizer is used , that the present invention could be applied to nearly any of the many other designs for sted and sted - like microscopes or microlithography exposure tools described in the cited references , including but not limited to devices with multiple simultaneously imaged spots , and a line - shaped rather than spot - shaped area subject to resolution enhancement , and to devices still to be proposed . the breadth of the present invention should not be limited by the particular illustrative examples but rather by the following claims .
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turning now to the drawings , fig1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a language skills teaching system 10 embodying the present invention . a student learning a target language and a native speaker of the language communicate in the language with respective communication devices 12 , 14 . preferably , communication devices 12 , 14 are personal computers or communication terminals , but they may be any type of communication devices , such as a smart telephone or al pda . preferably , communication is verbal , so communication devices 12 , 14 will include some form of microphone and means for playing an audible signal . the student &# 39 ; s terminal 12 communicates with the native speaker &# 39 ; s terminal 14 by sending thereto a verbal communication in the target language from the student . the native speaker responds , in the target language , and his response is stored in a buffer 16 . the native speaker &# 39 ; s response is also provided to a monitor 18 , which isolates language elements like vocabulary words and grammatical structures from his response and provides them to a query generator 20 . query generator 20 then formulates an appropriate query for a database manager 22 which contains the student &# 39 ; s database , representing his skill in the target language . query generation and database management are well known technologies . similarly , the use of speech recognition used to convert speech to text for use by the database is a well known technology . the student &# 39 ; s database contains a current description of the student &# 39 ; s ability in the target language . it may include the complete vocabulary known by the student and a complete description of his ability in the target language . such a database could be derived from a computerized teaching machine being used by the student to learn the target language . such a system is described in copending application ser . no . 12 / 052 , 435 , owned by the assignee of the present invention , and the contents of which are hereby fully incorporated by reference . alternately , the description may simply include a vocabulary level indicator for the target language , and the query could then be directed to a central database containing the entire vocabulary for that level . in either event , the query containing the words in the native speaker &# 39 ; s response is addressed to the database , and a determination is made whether the student should understand all of the words in the query . those skilled in the art will appreciate that further levels of sophistication may be incorporated within the query . for example , the query could include a description of the sentence structure of the native speaker &# 39 ; s response , and the database could include a description of the sentence structures understood by the student . it would then be possible to determine whether or not , apart from the vocabulary , the student would understand the sentence structure . tense and grammatical form can also be processed in a similar manner . similarly , the database could include information regarding words that the student will be learning soon , so a determination could be made whether it might be beneficial for the student to be exposed to such words . in such a case , an image or other hind can be given to the student , which image or hint would not be given if the words used were already known to the student . in response to the query , database manager 22 provides a response to a controller 24 related to the last query . the response might be a simple indication that the words of the query are all within the vocabulary understood by the student in the target language . in that case , controller 24 enables buffer 16 to transmit the native speaker &# 39 ; s response to the student &# 39 ; s terminal 12 . on the other hand , the response provided to the controller 24 might indicate that one or more words in the query or sentence structure are too sophisticated for the student . the response might also include words understood by the student which could be substituted for words in the query . controller 24 would then cause a message generator 26 to generate an appropriate message on the native speaker &# 39 ; s communication device 14 . the message would inform the native speaker that his response is too complex and suggest an alternate response . the native speaker could then provide the alternate response , which is stored in buffer 16 in place of the original response . he then provides an indication to his terminal that an alternate response has been provided , and his terminal enables the new message in buffer 16 to be sent to the student &# 39 ; s communication device 12 . alternatively , the alternate response could be generated and sent to the student &# 39 ; s communication device 12 automatically . it would be preferable , however , to provide some delay before the alternate response is sent , in order to give the native speaker the opportunity to cancel its transmission . further levels of sophistication could be built into controller 24 . for example , should the response from the database manager 22 indicate that the student does not know one of the words in the query but will be learning it soon , controller 24 could enable the message in buffer 16 to be sent to the students communicational terminal and could simultaneously cause a message generator 28 to send an appropriate message to the student &# 39 ; s communication device 12 . that message could include a definition of the unknown word or , more preferably , a descriptive graphic for the word . it is also contemplated that the message could include an excerpt from a future lesson in which the unknown word or words are taught . a further level of sophistication that could be added in a system involving spoken communication would be to provide voice transformation technology in the student &# 39 ; s computing device . software and devices which perform voice transformation are well known . such technology can speed up or slow down speech without changing the sound of the voice . thus , by entering a code or clicking on an area of a display screen of his computing device the student may slow down the native speaker &# 39 ; s voice until he understands what is being said . preferably , a message would be sent to the native speaker when the student performs this action , in order to notify him that he needs to slow down his speech . as a further level of sophistication , the voice transformer could retain the slower version of the native speaker &# 39 ; s speech after the student has slowed it down a predetermined number of times within a predetermined interval of time . message generators 26 and 28 could have a fixed set of messages , with controller 24 indicating the message to be sent and the content to be inserted . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of controller 24 . in block 100 , controller 24 awaits a response from database manager 22 and , upon receiving the response , transfers control to block 102 . at block 102 , a test is performed to determine if the response from database manager 22 indicates that all words in the query are known by the student . if so , transmission of the message in buffer 16 is enabled at block 104 , and control returns to block 100 , where receipt of further responses awaited . should the test at block 102 indicate that all of the words in the query were not known by the student , a further test is performed at block 106 to determine if any of the unknown words will be learned soon by the student . if not , control transfers to block 108 , where message generator 26 is caused to generate a message to the native speaker suggesting an alternate response . should the test at block 106 indicate that one or more of the unknown words will be learned by the students soon , control transfers to block 110 where message generator 28 is caused to generate a message to the student defining those words . a test is then performed at block 112 to determine whether all of the unknown words are among those soon to be learned . if so , control transfers to block 104 , where transmission of the message stored in buffer 16 is enabled . if not , control transfers to block 108 for generation of a message to the native speaker and , ultimately , return to block 100 to await receipt of a further response from the database manager . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , it is contemplated that the native speaker be provided with training and support . fig3 is a block diagram of a preferred training and support module 40 that will achieve this . preferably , this module is provided on the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device 14 or made accessible to it , such as through a network connection . module 40 includes a speech recognition engine ( sre ) 42 which is preferably part of monitor 18 . sre 42 senses the native speaker &# 39 ; s speech and converts it to text or some other processable form , for communication of information to query generator 20 . a whisper assistant 44 and a presentation module 46 are enhancements to message generator 26 . whisper assistant 44 provides spoken communications , preferably synthesized , to the native speaker in his own language . that is , the communications provided by message generator 26 are presented to the native speaker as spoken messages . similarly , presentation module 46 can present messages in the form of various types of presentations on the screen of the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device . a training enabler 48 provided in the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device will place it into a training mode . that is , without receiving any communications from the student &# 39 ; s computing device 12 , the native speaker is enabled to carry on his side of the communication . training enabler 48 could , for example , present prerecorded “ communications ” as if they came from a student , and the native speaker could provide his own responses . system 10 would operate as explained above , monitoring the native speaker &# 39 ; s communications and sending appropriate messages . in the present instance , the messages may also be verbal , via whisperer assistant 44 or a presentation provided via module 46 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that , although fig3 shows sre 42 communicating functionally with whisperer assistant 44 and presentation module 46 , those communications are actually provided through system 10 as described previously . that is , the native speaker &# 39 ; s communications are actually compared against the student &# 39 ; s database and controller 24 causes communications with the native speaker as if he were actually communicating with the student . thus , in preparation for a session with the student , the native speaker is able to get training just as if he were communicating with the student . it is , however , contemplated that a collection of “ standard ” databases would be available to the native speaker . he would merely need to select the level of skill of the student ( for example “ 8 th grade ”) and the system would provide training at that level . this would be particularly useful in a non - teaching environment , such as in business communications . the native speaker need merely estimate the level of skill of the other person , and he would then receive appropriate training . those skilled in the art will appreciate that this type of training could be free - standing , in that it all components could be incorporated into the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device . whisperer assistant 44 could provide a spoken version of messages that would normally be presented by message generator 26 . for example , it could tell the native speaker when he needed to slow down his rate of speech , or it cold suggest words or phrases for substitution in his communication . presentation module 46 is capable of presenting a collection of available presentation modules on the display in the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device . for example , it could display any kind of window , including one with an image or audio . it could also display parallel columns 52 , for example , one column showing the native speaker &# 39 ; s communication and the other showing a recommended , modified form . it could also show topic clouds 54 with such topics as “ food ”, “ family ”, or “ hobbies .” the native speaker could click on this and be presented with appropriate vocabulary to be used with the student . among the topic clouds , there could also be a “ browse ” cloud permitting the native speaker to browse for appropriate topics . the presentation module might also present a series of tiles 56 on the screen of the native speaker &# 39 ; s computing device . it will be appreciated that with the flexibility provided to train the native speaker , he could become a “ specialist ” in a very short time . for example , he could specialize in students at a certain level , or he could quickly learn the language associated with a particular line of business . those skilled in the art will appreciate that it would also be beneficial to provide the whisperer assistant 44 and presentation module 46 during actual communications with a student and not limit them to use during training . above , there has been a description of the present invention as embodied in a teaching system . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the utility of the present invention is not so limited . it would be useful in any instance in which a higher skilled person in a target language needs to communicate with a lesser skilled person in the language . for example , suppose an english speaker needs must carry out a business communication with a foreign individual whose ability in english is limited . use of the present invention would facilitate communication between these two individuals . it would only be necessary to select the english level of skill for the foreign individual . this could be built in as an adjustment in the english speaker &# 39 ; s communication device . for example , he could be offered a selection of a fifth - grade , eighth - grade or high school level of english proficiency , and he could then commence a verbal communication with the foreign individual at that level . if he suspects a communication is not going well . he could always adjust the level while carrying on the communication . it will also be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to use with verbal communications . it could prove very valuable for written communications , as well . although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes , those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions , modifications , and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims .
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a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be presented with reference to fig1 – 9 . an inductively coupled argon plasma atomic emission spectrometer ( icp - aes ) was equipped and set up as follows : leeman 1000 , power 1 . 9 kw , coolant 13 lpm , nebulizer 46 psi , aux . flow 0 . 20 , pump rate 0 . 9 ml / min , scan integration time 0 . 25 sec , integrations 2 , uptake time 29 sec , mn1 peaking wavelength , acid flexible tubing 0 . 030 id mm , wavelengths and background corrections given in anderson ( 1996 ). the temperature controller / digester used was a digestion system 40 , 1016 digester , and autostep 1012 controller ( tecator , sweden ), fitted with an aluminum adapter plate 3 mm thick with 40 17 - mm holes on top overlaid on the heater block . in another embodiment , inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry ( icp - oes ) may be used for the determination of multiple metal concentrations in the part - per - million to the upper part - per - billion range . this method can quantify 14 – 18 elements that are useful predictors of geographic origin . in what is currently believed to be a best mode of the present invention , inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry ( icp - ms ) is used to determine metal concentrations in the low part - per - billion to upper part - per - trillion range . icp - ms utilizes a much more sensitive detector than the icp - oes and acquires a relatively clean mass spectrum , rather than the more complex and noisy emission spectrum of icp - oes . further , a lower signal - to - noise ratio leads to enhanced sensitivity , which allows quantification of several trace metals that are present at levels below the detection limits of icp - oes . this is an important consideration in geographic origin detection , since trace elements , rather than macro - elements , are more likely to uniquely identify a growing region . in a study comparing icp - oes to icp - ms analysis of approximately 400 potatoes , icp - ms was shown to provide reliable concentrations for an additional eight elements , cd , co , mo , ni , pb , v , ga , and se , that were not detectable by icp - oes . the source of chemicals and reference materials was as follows : concentrated , nitric acid trace metal analysis grade ( j . t . baker , st . louis , mo . ); elemental stock standards solutions ( j . t . baker , st . louis , mo . ); reference materials , nist 1575 pine needles , nist oyster tissue 1566a , nist rice flour 1568a , nist 1577b bovine liver , nist 8433 corn bran ( national institute of standards and technology , gaithersburg , md . ), nrc , tort - 2 lobster hepatopancreas ( national research council canada , institute national measurements standards ). sampling , preparation , and analysis : in order to ensure that only authentic samples with precisely known origin were used , samples were gathered by the idaho potato commission ( ipc ) or one of their delegates directly from farms or producer &# 39 ; s storage units . samples were shipped within days of collection with the chain - of - custody documentation to the university of idaho analytical sciences laboratory . samples were stored under controlled access at 4 ° c . until analysis , typically within two weeks . potatoes were collected from all major fresh market geographic locations in north america ( u . s . and canada ), based primarily on the number of acres in fresh potato production . idaho potatoes are grown primarily in the snake river plain , representing about 400 , 000 acres in current potato production . within this region , sub - regions were identified and 342 samples were collected from the following idaho locations : upper valley , magic valley , and treasure valley . non - idaho potatoes include samples taken from the following geographic locations : colorado , washington , maine , michigan , and canada ( prince edward island and new brunswick ). two hundred sixty - six non - idaho samples were collected . each tuber was hand rinsed under a stream of tap water for 20 – 30 seconds . dirt was removed by gently rubbing by hand under the water stream . after rinsing , the tubers were shaken to remove any excess water , gently blotted with a paper towel and placed in a lab mat covered tub to air dry prior to processing ( 1 – 2 hours ). a ca . 1 . 0 - g cross - sectional slice of whole tuber was taken ( see fig3 ) and the same was digested with 3 . 0 ml nitric acid ( trace metal grade ) in a 10 - ml graduated kimax culture tube on a programmed heating block . similarly a ca . 1 - g sample of pulp only was taken from each potato as a cross - sectional slice and a 1 – 3 - mm - thick slice of peel was taken . these three samples represented the whole tuber , pulp only , and peel only sub - samples , respectively . the samples were allowed to react for ca . 4 – 8 hours in a hood at ambient temperature . then the samples were digested using a heating block ( or programmable digester may be used ). the samples were heated to 180 ° c . for 3 – 4 hours . digestion is confirmed complete when no nitrous oxide gases are evolved ( i . e ., orange gas production ). samples are diluted with type 1 water ( 18 mohm cm ) and mixed thoroughly using a vortexer . analysis is by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer ( icp - aes ) or one of the other methods as described above ( icp - oes , icp - ms ) percent moisture for each individual sample was determined in duplicate . the percent moisture method used was a modification of aoac method 984 . 25 ( association of official analytical chemists , 1990 ). mineral and trace element concentrations were standardized to a dry weight , based on the moisture content . quality control : each analytical batch contained a minimum of 25 % quality control samples , including check standards , duplicates , spikes , and standard reference materials ( srm ). percent recovery and percent standard deviation for srm are given in table 1 . during the course of the study over 360 srm samples were analyzed ; srm were dominantly plant matrices where available . in all cases the srm represented analyte concentration ranges typically found in plant tissues . the percent recovery ranged from 86 to 136 %. the percent standard deviation ranged from 2 to 39 %. typical percent standard deviation (% sd ) was & lt ; 10 %, although analytes close to method detection limits ( mdl ) had higher % sd . spike recoveries and check standards were typically within ± 10 % of their true value . there are several unique aspects to optimizing a set of chemical measurements that can be used to determine geographic origin of fresh commodities . this includes the determination of the most appropriate portion of the commodity to test ; determination of factors that might mask or dominate over subtle trends ; as well as determination of the most applicable set of chemical measurements to be made on the sample of choice . fresh commodities may be stored for long periods ( 1 – 9 months ); during storage fresh produce may lose moisture . for example , in a study on walnuts and storage influence , the authors proposed that even at 4 ° c . ( 3 months ) desiccation of the walnuts occurred ( lavedrine et al ., 1997 ). in the case of potato tubers , the percentage water may vary 10 – 20 % from the time of harvest to the time of use ( 1 – 9 months later ). percent moisture content will affect the relative concentration of trace elements ( e . g ., weight / weight ). therefore , the percentage moisture must be equalized such that it does not dominate or mask the variations of the elemental concentrations , which are due to geographic growing conditions of fresh commodities versus effects of dehydration during storage . the potato tuber was not dried prior to sub - sampling due to the difficulty in sub - sampling a portion that had a consistent pulp / skin ratio ( see below ). desiccation by freeze - drying is an alternative method . here the percent moisture was determined ( in duplicate ) for each individual tuber . the percent moisture was then used to determine the elemental concentrations on a dry weight basis for each individual tuber . in this way , the loss or variation of water would not mask the variations that are due to geographic growing conditions . the procedure developed was tested with samples over 4 months , and it was found that when the percent moisture was compensated for , the elemental concentrations were consistent regardless of storage time . this method therefore is robust in its applicability independent of storage time . it has been reported that elemental distribution in a fresh commodity is different for different parts of the commodity ( esechie , 1992 ). for example , the concentration of various elements within a potato will be different in the skin versus the pulp . one of the inventors has found that some elements may be concentrated in the potato skin relative to the potato pulp . in addition , some elements in the skin may be an enhanced ( or distorted ) reflection of geographic conditions . however , the pulp , which represents the largest portion by weight of the commodity , may have unique elemental distribution tendencies relative to other portions of the commodity . therefore , the challenge is to analyze sample components that maximize the effects of geographical conditions and yet are reasonable to prepare for analytical determination . three sample component parts for the potato commodity were analyzed : skin only , pulp only , and whole tuber . a preliminary data analysis using 70 samples ( computational modeling ) was used to screen the viability of each sample component part . in addition , practical aspects such as the reliability and consistency that could be achieved at the bench - level during sample preparation forthe chemical analysis were evaluated . the most optimal sample component type was determined to be whole tuber . however , an important caveat of this sample type was the importance of the ratio of skin to pulp . it was determined that the skin to pulp ratio ( by weight ) should be consistent between all samples . a protocol was developed that provided a method to sub - sample from the tuber that could consistently represent the same pulp / skin ratio ( see fig3 ). elemental distribution within a single commodity component ( e . g ., pulp only ) may vary within the commodity itself . for example , there is evidence that some chemicals within a potato tuber are not evenly distributed in a given potato component ( i . e ., the pulp ) from the stem end to the distal end ( al - saikhan et al ., 1995 ). here we developed a protocol that isolated a consistent potato tuber section . the center section was determined to be the least affected by any variations that might exist between the stem end and the distal end . see fig3 for a graphical representation of the sampling technique developed . the drying of a plant tissue is a balancing act between too low a temperature over a prolonged period , which will encourage and promote biological activity , and too high a temperature over a short period , which may result in the loss of volatile analytes . we performed a 10 - day study ( n = 3 ) of drying times versus temperatures . after 5 days the percentage moisture at 105 ° c . changed by less than 0 . 2 % on average . lower temperatures (& lt ; 85 ° c .) required longer drying times (& gt ; 7 – 8 days ), which risked biological growth , and temperatures & gt ; 105 ° c . were determined to increase the risk of other volatile analytes losses . the above - described procedure therefore was determined to be optimal for fresh commodities by minimizing any volatilization and producing a consistent dried weight while avoiding biological growth . an important attribute of this approach is that all the chemical data can be determined with the use of only a single analytical instrument , one of the icp - aes , icp - oes , and icp - ms . whereas other geographic authenticity approaches require the use of several instruments and sophisticated approaches to data analysis , this technique requires only a single , commonly available instrument . in this approach the data are used directly from the icp - aes into the computational models , requiring no prior mathematical or interpretive analyses as is often the case with other geographic authenticity approaches . the idaho snake river plain is a unique area composed of rich volcanic soil in an arid to semi - arid ( irrigated ) environment . the soils in this region are xerolls , which are unique as compared to other potato producing geographic regions . the soil and environmental growing conditions provide unique mineral and trace element tuber uptake and the necessary chemical profile difference to differentiate between potatoes grown in idaho versus outside idaho . the data were analyzed in an effort to classify potato samples as having originated from idaho orfrom outside idaho based on the trace element profile of each sample . basic statistical analyses and several pattem recognition methods were applied to the data . neural network methods were applied utilizing software from the ward systems group ( neuroshell , release 4 . 6 ). basic statistical analyses and pattern recognition techniques ( not including neural network ) were performed utilizing the sas system for windows analysis package ( release 6 . 11 , sas institute , inc .). neural network analysis included iterative feed - forward back - propagation architectures and included combining classifiers in a “ bagging ” strategy . basic statistical analyses and pattern recognition techniques included the following : descriptive statistics , students t test , assessment of normality of data distribution , principal component analysis , canonical discriminant analysis , discriminate function analysis , and nonparametric k nearest - neighbor analysis . the data set was standardized to account for differing variable scales by subtracting from each entry its associated variable mean and then dividing by the variable standard deviation . the standardized data corresponding to each variable thus have a mean equal to zero and a standard deviation equal to one . descriptive statistics ( the mean , standard deviation , minimum and maximum values ) for each element in each group were determined . the t - test procedure was used to compute a t statistic for testing the hypothesis that the means of the elemental concentration of the two groups of potatoes are equal . the univariate procedure was used to test for normality using the shapiro - wilk statistic and data distribution plots . small values of w lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis . the means , standard deviation , minimum and maximum values for elemental content of potatoes from idaho and non - idaho locations are shown in table 2 . idaho potatoes had higher concentrations of ca , cd , mg , ni , pb , s , and sr compared to non - idaho potatoes , whereas the concentrations of ba , cr , cu , fe , mn , and zn were lower in idaho compared to non - idaho potatoes . the concentrations of co , k , mo , p , and v in the two groups were not significantly different . despite these differences , examination of the minimum and maximum values illustrate that there was not a single element that could correctly classify the potato samples as to location , as the ranges of concentration for each group overlapped for every element . therefore , multivariate classification techniques were examined . the concentrations of several elements in the potato samples were very close to the detection limit of the chemical analysis method . for the purposes of statistical analyses , any value that was below the detection limit was set to a value of zero . this resulted in highly non - normal distributions ( w less than 0 . 8 ) for co , mo , and pb . these variables were subsequently eliminated from parametric analyses ( pca and discriminate function ). cr , ni , and v were also somewhat non - normal , with w less than 0 . 9 . each of these variables was systematically tested for contribution to the parametric discriminate function analysis , as described below . principal component analysis ( pca ) generates principal components that are linear combinations of the original variables . the first principal component ( pc ) describes the maximum possible variation that can be projected onto one dimension , the second pc captures the second most , and so on . the principal components are orthogonal in the original space of variables and the number of principal components can equal the number of original variables . analyzing the data with respect to principal components can thus sometimes effectively reduce the number of variables , especially if a large percentage of the total variation is described by a few principal components . one - or two - dimensional plots of data with respect to selected principal components can sometimes provide visual insight into the data , offering a visual description of group differences or clustering , and outliners . pca has been applied to geographical classification applications of various foods , including processed orange juice ( nikdel et al ., 1988 ), wine ( day et al ., 1995 ; latorre , et al ., 1994 ), honey ( sanz et al ., 1995 ), and cocoa ( hernandez and rutledge , 1994a , b ). pca was applied to our data using the princcomp procedure . pca demonstrated that a small number of variables did not dominate total variability , as the first three principal components accounted for only 49 % of total variability ( table 3 ). some visual clustering by location was observed , though better results were obtained using cds ( see below ), since the cda method optimizes between - class views . a two - dimensional plot of the data using the second and third principal components appear in fig4 . canonical discriminate analysis ( cda ) generates canonical variables , which are linear combinations of the original variables , that describe the variation between prespecified classes in a manner analogous to the way in which pca summarizes the total variation of the data . like pca , cda can be used to effectively reduce the number of variables and is particularly useful for producing one - or two - dimensional visualizations of the data since the “ views ” optimize the between - class differences . the default number of canonical variables generated is the minimum of the number of classes minus one , and the number of original variables . different views of our data were obtained by defining the number of classes to be two ( idaho vs . non - idaho ) as well as multiple classes defined by different states . cda has been applied to data for the purpose of geographical classification of wine ( latorre et al ., 1994 ). the sas procedure used for our analysis was the candisc procedure . cda was first applied to the data using two defined classes , idaho and non - idaho . fig5 shows a frequency chart of the data using the first canonical variable . classes were also defined by state [ and one class for canadian ( can ) samples ]. the data are plotted using the first two canonical variables in fig6 . in this two - dimensional projection co and id tend to overlap significantly and wi and me display significant overlap . fig7 is a “ cleaner ” view without the co and me samples . in fig8 half the data ( without co or me ) were used to generate the canonical variables and then plotted , and , in fig9 , the remaining data ( lower - case letters ) are plotted with respect to the canonical variables generated by the data in fig8 . fig9 thus conveys a visual sense of the consistency and the predictive properties of the data . we emphasize that any overlap depicted in one - or two - dimensional plots is not indicative of any intractable classification task . the predictive pattern recognition methods discussed below utilize all 14 available dimensions , and excellent predictive results are demonstrated . the discrim procedure was used for both parametric and nonparametric discriminate function analyses . the parametric procedure determines a discriminate function of classification criterion by a measure of generalized squared distance ( rao , 1973 ). this procedure assumes a multivariate normal distribution . selection of variables to be included is discussed below . in this case , the classification criterion was based on an individual within - group covariance matrix , yielding a quadratic function . there was no difference in the classification of samples when either equal or prior probabilities of the groups were used ( data not shown ). two error rates are computed . the first is an estimate of the probability of misclassification of future samples using the discriminate function created by the entire training set ( n = 608 ). the second is the error rate incurred during a cross - validation step , in which each sample is removed from the training set and tested against the resultant discriminate function created by the remaining samples ( n = 607 ). in all cases , the error rates given are those from the cross - validation test . validation of the discriminate function was also conducted by withholding one - half of the samples from the training set and using them as a test set against the discriminate function created by the remaining 304 samples . this was then repeated in reverse . the non - parametric procedure used was the k - nearest - neighbor method , where k = 10 . as no assumption is made in this procedure regarding the nature of the data set , all variables were included . the addition of v values to the parametric discriminate function , generated with the 15 remaining elements , increased the number of misclassified samples and was therefore removed from the analyses . elimination of either cr or ni values reduced the number of misclassified samples and therefore these variables were included in the model . the final model included 14 elements ( ba , ca , cd , cr , cu , fe , k , mg , mn , ni , p , s , sr , and zn ). the error rates of the quadratic discriminate function calculated using 14 element concentrations of 342 known idaho potato samples and 266 known non - idaho potato samples were 3 . 5 % and 5 . 6 %, respectively , resulting in 330 idaho ( 97 %) and 251 non - idaho ( 95 %) correctly classified samples in cross - validation testing ( table 4 ). the data set was randomly divided into two halves of 304 samples . cross - validation testing using only 304 samples as the calibration or training set had error rates of 4 . 1 and 4 . 7 % for known idaho potatoes and 4 . 5 and 9 . 3 % for non - idaho potatoes ( table 4 ). when the remaining database of known samples were used as a testing set against the 304 potato training set , error rates were 4 . 7 % for the idaho potatoes and 3 . 8 to 6 . 0 % for non - idaho potatoes ( table 4 ). the nonparametric k nearest - neighbor analyses using all 18 variables and all 608 samples gave low error rates for idaho potatoes ( 1 . 2 %) but had higher error rates for non - idaho potatoes ( 8 . 4 %). feed - forward back - propagation neural network methods were also applied to the data in an effort to classify the samples by geographic origin as idaho or non - ldaho samples . to prevent over - fitting or over - training , an early stopping strategy was employed to enhance the ability of the networks to generalize well ( perform well on new data ). the data were divided into two disjoint subsets : a training set and a test set . networks were trained using half of the data ( training set ). during the training process the remaining half of the data ( test set ) was periodically presented to the networks for classification . the final values of the network parameters were those corresponding to optimum test set performance . further generalization enhancements are possible by employing a bootstrap aggregating (“ bagging ”) strategy ( frieman ). here multiple networks are trained using randomly selected ( sampling with replacement ) training sets corresponding to halfthe data . final classification is then determined by voting . this has the effect of reducing the high variance inherent to neural networks , resulting in improved generalization . originally all 18 candidate trace metals were considered . it was found that superior classification results were obtained by considering only the 14 trace metals used in the parametric discriminate function analysis . this is most likely attributable to the fact that for a large number of samples , the measured quantities of the 4 unused trace metals were below detection limits , resulting in artificially truncated frequency distributions for these metals . an early stopping strategy was first examined . fifty neural network models were generated . each model used 50 % ( 304 samples ) of the data for the training set and 50 % for the test set . the model architecture was the same for each model ; the difference in the models was due to the difference in training and test sets , which were selected randomly ( as disjoint complements ) for each model . individual model classification performance on the known data ( training and validation sets together ) ranged from 92 to 98 %. to investigate a bagging strategy , a universal test set of 46 samples was selected from the original data and set aside . this universal test set was selected so as to represent a typical cross - section of the original data . sixty neural network models were then generated using the remaining data ( 562 samples ), which was now considered as the “ known ” data set . as before , each individual model was generated using 50 % ( 281 randomly selected samples ) of the “ known ” data for training , and the remaining complementary set was used as a test set . individual model performance ranged from 92 – 98 % correctly classified on the “ known ” data ( training and test sets together ) and 89 – 98 % on the universal test set . generally , the relative performance of individual models on the “ known ” data and the universal test set were not strongly correlated . when the 60 independent classifiers were combined (“ bagged ”), the resulting aggregate model correctly classified 98 % of the universal test set samples , missing only one out of the 50 samples . also when the aggregate model was applied to the “ known ” data set , over 99 % of the samples were correctly classified . in order to compare the best neural network strategy ( bagging ) and the optimized parametric discriminate function analysis , the universal test set ( 46 samples ) was removed and parametric discriminate functions were generated using the remaining data . the discriminate function analysis correctly classified 89 % of the universal test set ( 41 out of 46 samples ) and 95 – 96 % of the known data set ( 562 samples ) in cross - validation testing . therefore , neural network bagging does appear to be worthwhile strategy , producing superior results over single model discriminate analysis . it may be appreciated by one skilled in the art that additional embodiments may be contemplated , including similar systems and methods for localizing the geographic origin of virtually any plant or portion thereof that has the ability to take up substances from the soil in which it is grown . extrapolations are also visualized wherein animal products could also be so localized dependent upon their feed source . in the foregoing description , certain terms have been used for brevity , clarity , and understanding , but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art , because such words are used for description purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed . moreover , the embodiments of the apparatus illustrated and described herein are by way of example , and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction . having now described the invention , the construction , the operation and use of preferred embodiment thereof , and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby , the new and useful constructions , and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art , are set forth in the appended claims .
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as is shown in fig1 , an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a platen 10 which serves for transporting a recording paper 12 in a subscanning direction ( arrow a ) past a printhead unit 14 . the printhead unit 14 is mounted on a carriage 16 that is guided on guide rails 18 and is movable back and forth in a main scanning direction ( arrow b ) relative to the recording paper 12 . in the example shown , the printhead unit 14 comprises four printheads 20 , one for each of the basic colours cyan , magenta , yellow and black . each printhead has a linear array of nozzles 22 extending in the subscanning direction . the nozzles 22 of the printheads 20 can be energized individually to eject ink droplets onto the recording paper 12 , thereby to print a pixel on the paper . when the carriage 16 is moved in the direction b across the width of the paper 12 , a swath of an image can be printed . the number of pixel lines of the swath corresponds to the number of nozzles 22 of each printhead . when the carriage 16 has completed one pass , the paper 12 is advanced by the width of the swath , so that the next swath can be printed . all the components of the printer are operatively coupled . the printheads 20 are controlled by a processing unit 24 which processes the print data in a manner that will be described in detail hereinbelow . the discussion will be focused on printing in black colour , but is equivalently valid and applicable for printing in other colours . fig2 a shows an array of 6 × 6 pixels 26 , which represents a portion of an image to be printed as an example . the pixels 26 are arranged in lines i − 3 , i − 2 , i − 1 , i , i + 1 , i + 2 and columns j − 3 , j − 2 , j − 1 , j . j + 1 and j + 2 . black pixels are indicated by dots 28 as printed with the ink jet printer shown in fig1 . since the ink droplet forming a dot 28 tends to spread on the recording medium ( e . g ., paper ), the optical density of the dot decreases gradually from the center toward the periphery , and the lighter peripheral portions of the dot extend beyond the area of the pixel , so that neighbouring dots overlap . the image that has been shown in largely magnified scale in fig2 a would give the impression of a uniform grey area . fig2 b shows the same image shown in fig2 a , except that the nozzle needed for printing the line i is defective , so that the dots at the pixel positions ( i , j − 2 ) and ( i , j ) are missing . this would give rise to a perceptible brighter gap in the printed image at the position of the line i . in order to eliminate or at least mitigate this image defect , the processing unit 24 shown in fig1 performs a camouflage step which , in the given example , leads to the insertion of an additional dot 30 ( fig2 c ) at the pixel position ( i − 1 , j − 1 ), i . e . in the pixel line i − 1 directly adjacent to the defective line i . as a result , on the macroscopic scale the image shown in fig2 c resembles the ideal image shown in fig2 a . this camouflage process of the invention will now be explained in detail . at first , it shall be assumed that the print data are supplied to the printer in a multi - level format , in which the grey value of each pixel is indicated by an 8 - bit word , i . e . by an integral number between 0 and 255 . the number 0 represents a white pixel and the number 255 a black pixel with maximum optical density . the print data are thus represented by a multi - level pixel matrix 32 as is schematically shown in fig3 . in the single - pass mode , each pixel line of this pixel matrix will be printed by only one of the nozzles 22 of the printhead . the printer may be equipped with a detection system which automatically detects and locates defective nozzles . as an alternative , the location of a defective nozzle may also be input by the user . when , for example , the nozzle responsible for printing the third line of the pixel matrix is defective , the pixels in that line are non - printable pixels 34 , whereas the other pixels 36 , 38 and 40 are printable . pixels 38 and 40 in the lines directly adjacent to the non - printable pixels 34 are shown in dark hatching in fig3 . the non - printable pixels 34 and pixels 38 and 40 adjacent thereto form a camouflage area that is involved in camouflaging the effect of the defective nozzle . an error propagation halftoning step is used for transforming the multi - level pixel matrix 32 into a bitmap . fig4 illustrates a conventional error propagation scheme 42 ( a floyd steinberg scheme ) that is frequently used for this purpose . as is shown in fig4 , a number of arrows originate from a source pixel 44 and point to four target pixels 46 adjacent to the source pixel . the fractions ( 7 / 16 , etc .) given in the target pixels 46 indicate the weight factors with which the error remaining from the source pixel is distributed over the target pixels . the theshold value ‘ th ’ with which the grey level of the source pixel 44 is compared is 255 , for example . this standard arrow propagation scheme will be used for the printable pixels 36 outside of the camouflage area . it is assumed here that the processing of the source pixels proceeds from left to right and from top to bottom . as is indicated by the arrows , the error is propagated only in “ forward ” direction , i . e . each source pixel is processed earlier than its target pixels . fig5 illustrates a modified error propagation scheme 48 that will be used for the pixels 38 in the line that is processed immediately before the line including the non - printable pixels 34 according to an embodiment of the invention . here , the error from the source pixel 44 is propagated with a weight factor of 1 ( 16 / 16 ) only to the next pixel in the same line . thus , the image information is kept in the line in which it can actually be printed , and the non - printable pixels 34 in the line below are not used as target pixels . the theshold value ‘ th ’ for the source pixel 44 is again 255 . the large weight factor with which the error is propagated horizontally in fig5 increases the likelihood that additional black pixels are added in this line , in order to achieve a camouflage effect similar to the one shown in fig2 c . fig6 shows another modified error propagation scheme 50 that will be used for the non - printable pixels 34 in fig3 . here , the error from the ( non - printable ) target pixel 44 is propagated only into the line below , i . e . the line formed by the pixels 40 in fig3 . the sum of the weight factors is again equal to 1 , so that the error is fully transferred onto the neighbouring line . moreover , in this scheme , the threshold value for the non - printable pixels 34 is increased to a level above 255 . in other words , even when the grey level of such a pixel is equal to 255 , the pixel will nevertheless be made white and the error of 255 will be propagated to the line below . thus , the image information of the line that cannot be printed because of the nozzle defect will be fully transferred to the line immediately therebelow . again , this increases the likelihood that one of the pixels 40 in fig3 will be made black in order to camouflage the nozzle defect . the pixels 40 form part of the camouflage area because they are affected by the error propagation scheme 50 shown in fig6 . however , when the pixels 40 are themselves processed in the error diffusion process , the standard error propagation scheme 42 of fig4 may be used . in the example given above , it has been assumed that the threshold value utilized in the error diffusion process is either 255 ( for the error propagation schemes 42 and 48 ) or infinity ( for the scheme 50 ). in a modified embodiment of the invention , however , it would be possible to use a somewhat lower threshold value for the pixels 38 and / or 40 , in order to further increase the likelihood of black pixels being created . optionally , in order to avoid an over - compensation , it is possible that the weight factors indicated in fig6 are reduced correspondingly . this modified embodiment would have the effect that the likelihood of becoming black is increased for the pixels 38 ( above the line of the nozzle defect ) and decreased for the pixels 40 ( the line below the nozzle defect ). with the error propagation schemes of fig4 to 6 , the target pixels 46 are not more than one line or column away from the source pixel 44 . in a modified scheme , the maximum distance between source and target pixel may be larger , e . g . 2 . then , the camouflage area would also include the first and the fifth line in fig3 . fig7 illustrates the case of a specific two - pass print mode . when one of the two nozzles responsible for printing the third line in the pixel matrix 32 in fig7 is defective , only every second pixel in that line will be a non - printable pixel 34 , and the intervening pixels 52 will belong to the camouflage area . in the error diffusion process according to the invention , the pixel 52 will be treated with an error propagation scheme in which the error is only propagated downward but not horizontally . for the non - printable pixels 34 the error may be propagated horizontally ( as in fig5 ) and / or downwardly . in case of the pixels 38 , two different error propagations schemes have to be used , depending upon whether or not the pixel is located directly above a non - printable pixel 34 . the camouflage process described above is particularly efficient for images which mainly contain small or medium grey levels . in case of very dark images and , in the extreme , in the case of solid black areas , it is increasingly difficult or even impossible to add more black pixels in the camouflage area . nevertheless , the camouflage process may be useful even for dark or black images , depending upon the design of the printer . some known printers are capable of printing a plainly black area even when the percentage of black pixels in the bitmap is somewhat smaller than 100 %. in this case , the modified error propagation schemes for the camouflage area may lead to an over - saturated bitmap which would still mask the nozzle defect to some extent . a specific embodiment of the method according to the invention will now be described by reference to the flow diagram shown in fig8 . in step s 100 , the multi - level pixel matrix 32 is established by reading - in the grey values of the pixels . the pixel lines that are affected by nozzle failures of the printhead are identified in step s 101 . then , in step s 102 , the camouflage area is determined . an optional step s 103 may involve a decrease of the threshold value ‘ th ’, e . g . from 255 to 191 , for the lines ( pixel 38 in fig3 ) preceding the lines affected by the defect . step s 104 identifies the pixels ( such as the pixels 34 and 38 in fig3 ) for which a modified error propagation scheme ( 50 or 48 ) has to be employed and selects the appropriate scheme . in step s 105 , the error diffusion process is performed for all the pixels of the pixel matrix with either the non - modified or the selected one of the modified error propagation schemes . the resulting bitmap is then printed in step s 106 . alternatively , the step s 100 may be performed after the step s 101 or even after the step s 104 . fig9 illustrates another embodiment which is adapted to the case that the print data are presented already in the format of a bitmap , i . e . a matrix of only black and white pixels . the bitmap is read in step s 200 . the steps s 201 and s 202 correspond respectively to the steps s 101 and s 102 discussed above . in step s 203 , the part of the bitmap which corresponds to the camouflage area is reconverted into a multi - level pixel matrix . to this end , a value of 255 is assigned to each of the black pixels of the pixel matrix , i . e . the pixels having the binary value 1 , and the white 0 - pixels are left as they are . all non - printable pixels 34 may be set to 0 . the steps s 204 , s 205 and s 206 correspond again respectively to the steps s 104 , s 105 and s 106 , with the difference that steps s 204 and s 205 are performed only for the camouflage area and for the lines that contain the corresponding target pixels . fig1 a shows an example of the bitmap read in step s 200 of fig9 . again , it is assumed that the nozzle that is responsible for printing the pixels in line i in the single - pass mode is defective . fig1 b illustrates the corresponding multi - level pixel matrix obtained in step s 203 of fig9 . the embodiment of fig9 has been exemplified for the single - pass mode , but it goes without saying that this method is also applicable to a multi - pass mode , as has been described in conjunction with fig7 . the processing steps of the methods of the present invention are implementable using existing computer programming language in , e . g ., the processing unit 24 of fig1 . such computer program ( s ) may be stored in memories such as ram , rom , prom , etc . associated with computers and / or printers . alternatively , such computer program ( s ) may be stored in a different storage medium such as a magnetic disc , optical disc , magneto - optical disc , etc . the computer programs are readable using a known computer or computer - based device . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .
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embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram of an image pickup apparatus using a gamma correction circuit of the present invention . in the diagram , reference numeral 1 denotes a charge coupled device ( ccd ) as an image pickup device in which color separation filters of a complementary color mosaic of y e , c y , m g , and g are arranged on the front surface . reference numeral 2 denotes a sample and hold ( s / h ) circuit to convert an output signal of the ccd 1 into a continuous signal ; numeral 3 is an a / d converter to convert an output signal of the s / h circuit 2 into a digital signal ; numeral 4 is a low pass filter ( lpf ) for allowing only a luminance signal in an image pickup signal from the a / d converter 3 to pass ; numeral 5 is a gamma correction circuit ; numeral 6 is a delay circuit to match delay times of color signals , which will be explained shortly , and the luminance signal ; numeral 7 is a sync adding circuit ; numeral 8 is a d / a converter ; numeral 9 is a luminance signal ( y ) output terminal ; and numeral 10 is a color separation circuit used to separate the color signals from the image pickup signal from the a / d converter 3 . in this embodiment , color signals r , g , and b of pure colors are produced from the signals of the complementary color systems by a color separation matrix operation . reference numeral 11 denotes a multiplier used to match a white balance ; signal with the color signal numeral 12 is a coefficient circuit for providing the white balance signal ; numeral 13 is a gamma correction circuit a time - shared gamma correction of the r , g , and b signals ; numeral 14 is a color difference matrix circuit to synthesize color difference signals ; numeral 15 is a modulator to modulate the color difference signals by a color sub - carrier ; numeral 16 is a burst adder ; numeral 17 is a d / a converter ; and numeral 18 is a color signal ( c ) output terminal . an object image ( not shown ) which has been formed on the ccd 1 by an optical system ( not shown ) is color separated by the ccd 1 . next , it is photoelectrically converted into an electric signal . the electric signal is converted to a continuous signal by the s / h circuit 2 and is analog - to - digital converted by the a / d converter 3 . first , the luminance signal is filtered by the lpf 4 and is gamma corrected by the gamma correction circuit 5 and is delayed a predetermined time by the delay circuit 6 . next , a sync signal is added to the delayed signal by the sync adding circuit 7 . an output signal of the sync adding circuit 7 is then converted to an analog signal by the d / a converter 8 and the analog output signal is provided to an external apparatus ( not shown ) such as a television , vtr , or the like through y output terminal 9 . in addition , the output signal of the a / d converter 3 is separated into primary color signals r , g , and b by the color separation circuit 10 . coefficients set by the coefficient circuit 12 are multiplied to the primary color signals of r , g , and b by the multiplier 11 and a white balance is performed to match the levels of r , g , and b . the resultant signals are gamma corrected by the gamma correction circuit 13 and the color difference signals from the gamma correction circuit 13 are synthesized by the color difference matrix circuit 14 . the synthesized signal is orthogonally orthogonal modulated by the color sub - carrier by the modulator 15 . a color burst is added to the modulated signal from the modulator 15 by the burst adder 16 . an output signal of the burst adder 16 is converted into an analog signal by the d / a converter 17 . the analog signal is provided from the c output terminal 18 in a manner similar to the provision of the y signal . fig2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the gamma correction circuits 5 and 13 shown in fig1 . in the diagram , reference numerals 101 , 103 , 107 , and 109 denote coefficient devices used to multiply an input signal values of a , b , c and e , respectively . reference numeral 102 denotes a multiplier ; numerals 104 , 105 , and 110 denote adders ; numeral 106 is a means for supplying a coefficient d ; numeral 108 is a selector used as a selecting means ; numeral 111 is a means for supplying a coefficient f ; and numeral 112 is a comparator used as a comparing means . the input signal is first multiplied by a coefficient of value a by the coefficient device 101 and is supplied to a first input terminal of the selector 108 . the coefficient device 101 comprises a first function forming means . the input signal is also multiplied by itself by the multiplier 102 and is then multiplied by a coefficient of value b by the coefficient device 103 . a value of c is multiplied the input signal is also multiplied by a coefficient of value c by the coefficient device 107 . an output signal of the coefficient device 103 is added to an output signal of the coefficient device 107 by the adder 104 . the coefficient d from device 106 is added to an output signal of the adder 104 by the adder 105 . an output signal of the adder 105 is supplied to a second input terminal of the selector 108 . the multiplier 102 , coefficient devices 103 and 107 , adder 104 , coefficient device d , and adder 105 comprise a second function forming means . the input signal is also multiplied by a coefficient of value e by the coefficient device 109 . a coefficient f from the coefficient supplying means 111 is added to an output signal of the coefficient device 109 by the adder 110 . an output signal of the adder 110 is supplied to a third input terminal of the selector 108 . the coefficient device 109 , coefficient device 111 , and adder 110 comprise a third function forming means . the input signal is compared with predetermined signal values ( x 1 and x 2 which will be described shortly ) by the comparator 112 . on the basis of the result of the comparison , either one of the first , second , and third inputs of the selector 108 is selected and generated as a gamma correction output . fig3 is a graph showing gamma characteristics of the gamma correction circuit shown in fig2 . when the above gamma characteristic is approximated as shown in fig3 by using a first straight line y 1 ( x ) ( first function ) of 0 to x 1 , a quadratic curve y 2 ( x ) ( second function ) of x 1 to x 2 , and a second straight line y 3 ( x ) ( third function ) of x 2 to 1 , the following equations ( 1 ) to ( 3 ) are obtained , respectively . first , a = 4 , e = 0 . 5 , and f = 0 . 5 are obtained by the inclinations near x = 0 and x = 1 of the gamma characteristic . subsequently , in order to continuously and smoothly connect the boundaries of the above respective functions , it is desirable to obtain the following equations ( 4 ) to ( 7 ), in which a mark (&# 39 ;) denotes a differentiation . by substituting the above equations ( 4 ) to ( 7 ) in equations ( 1 ) to ( 3 ), the following equations ( 8 ) to ( 11 ) are obtained . in the equations ( 8 ) to ( 11 ), by using x 1 as a parameter , x 2 , b , c , and d can be obtained . by substituting the resultant values of a , b , c , d , e , and f as coefficients in the coefficient devices 101 , 103 , 107 , 106 , 109 and 111 , respectively , in fig2 and by substituting the values in x 1 and x 2 as set values of the comparator 112 in fig2 the gamma characteristics of fig3 can be realized . fig4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the gamma correction circuits 5 and 13 shown in fig1 . in fig4 the same component elements as those shown in fig2 are designated by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted . in the diagram , reference numeral 113 denotes a coefficient device c . in the embodiment , the coefficient device 103 , adder 104 , coefficient device 113 , multiplier 102 , coefficient device 106 , and adder 105 comprises the second function forming means . the input signal is first multiplied by a coefficient of value a by the coefficient device 101 , and a resultant output signal is supplied to the first input terminal of the selector 108 . the input signal is also multiplied by a coefficient of value b by the coefficient device 103 . the coefficient c from device 113 is added to a resultant output signal of the coefficient device 103 by the adder 104 . an output signal of the adder 104 is multiplied by the input signal by the multiplier 102 and its output signal is added with the coefficient d from device 106 by the adder 105 . a resultant output signal of the adder 105 is supplied to the second input terminal of the selector 108 . the input signal is also multiplied by a coefficient of value e by the coefficient device 109 . the coefficient f from device 111 is added to an output signal of the coefficient device 109 by the adder 110 . an output signal of the adder 110 is supplied to the third input terminal of the selector 108 . the input signal is compared with the predetermined values ( x 1 and x 2 mentioned above ) by the comparator 112 . on the basis of the result of the comparison , either one of the first to third inputs of the selector 108 is selected and generated as a gamma correction output . in fig4 when it is assumed that the first , second , and third inputs of the selector 108 are set to y 4 ( first function ), y 5 ( second function ), and y 6 ( third function ), respectively , the following equations ( 12 ) , ( 13 ), and ( 14 ) are obtained . the developed equation ( 13 ) is developed the same as equation ( 2 ) and the characteristics of fig3 can be obtained in a manner similar to obtaining the characteristics of the circuit of fig2 . when comparing the circuit of fig4 with the circuit of fig2 since the number of coefficient devices can be reduced , a circuit scale can be further reduced . as described above , according to the embodiment , since the gamma correction circuit can be constructed without using a rom , the circuit scale can be reduced resulting in a large advantage such that costs and an electric power consumption can be reduced and the apparatus can be miniaturized . there is also an advantage such that by making the function values coincide at a switching point of the function and also by making the inclinations of the functions coincide , a deterioration of the picture quality due to the switching doesn &# 39 ; t occur .
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the following disclosure describes an auto correction interface that combines a user &# 39 ; s speech and the user &# 39 ; s touch in a multimodal fashion . the invention may be viewed from two different angles : ( a ) a speech recognition system whose accuracy is significantly increased by providing additional knowledge of the word to recognize in the form of the word &# 39 ; s initial letters and ( b ) an auto correction system whose accuracy is significantly improved by providing additional knowledge of the word to correct in the form of the acoustics of the word spoken by the user . specifically in this invention , a user speaks and types a word substantially at the same time . there is no restriction to the ordering of the spoken word and the letters typed ; a user may first speak and then type the word or may speak while typing the word or may speak after typing the word ; although it is most efficient and fast when a user speaks and types at the same time . on receiving the letters from the user , the system determines a set of letters based upon an ambiguity map . using the set of letters as a filter and further aided by additional constraints including a multimodal language model , the system dynamically narrows the speech recognition search . when the user hits the space - bar key indicating end of word , the process uses the most recently reduced search to perform speech recognition and computes a best hypothesized word along with its nbest choice alternatives . the multimodal language model is used to post process the list of words to yield the best word , which is presented to the application ; a confidence model &# 39 ; s score may also accompany the word in the application to indicate its confidence to the user . an embodiment of the “ speak and touch auto correction interface ” referred to as staci is described . next , three sub - components of staci , namely the method to dynamically reduce the search , the multimodal language model , and the multimodal confidence model are described . fig1 is a conceptual overview of a process 100 of the staci system . for ease of understanding the overview is presented in the form of software designed using object oriented methodologies such as threads . however , one will appreciate that the threads may be thought of as modules too . in fig1 , three threads are illustrated in the system : 1 ) a key - input thread 102 for a keyboard interface for inputting letters ; 2 ) an audio input thread 104 for a microphone interface for collecting audio buffers ; and 3 ) a multimodal recognition thread 106 for implementing a multimodal speech recognition logic of staci . the way the overall interface works in one embodiment is as follows . when a user presses keys on a keyboard , the corresponding letters or symbols or control signals are collected by the key - input thread 102 into a key queue 108 . in parallel , the user could also speak a word ; the microphone is open all the time and the audio - input thread 104 is collecting audio buffers into an audio queue 110 . the multimodal recognition thread 106 is continuously running in a synchronized fashion as shown in fig1 ( as shown with reference to an arrow that connects block 112 back to block 106 ) to check for the letters in the key queue 108 and the audio buffers in the audio queue 110 . the multimodal recognition thread 106 first checks if there is any letter that has not yet been processed from the key queue 108 . if there is no letter , i . e block 160 is reached , then it takes the audio buffer present in the audio queue 110 and passes it to the process and detect audio module 112 . if in the recognition thread 106 , the take and analyze key presses module 120 finds a new letter which corresponds to an alphabet set , i . e ., block 150 , it dynamically reduces the speech recognition active vocabulary using a method described in fig2 . on the other hand if the letter corresponds to a symbol ( i . e ., block 122 ), the system activates a symbol vocabulary in the recognition module 132 . finally , if the process 100 determines that the letter is an end of word indicator 124 ( e . g ., a space - bar ), then the thread 106 carries out the following steps : ( a ) continues to collect any remaining audio buffers ; ( b ) gets an utterance detected segment from an utterance detector module 130 which in turn gets this by processing the output of process and detect module 112 ; ( c ) performs speech recognition on the utterance detected in block 132 ( d ) finds the best word along with the nbest choices and the acoustic scores which is also part of the speech recognition process of block 132 , ( e ) applies the multimodal language model 134 to find the final word and scores , ( f ) computes a recognition confidence score at block 136 , ( g ) presents the final word along with the scores and confidence to the user interface at block 138 , and ( h ) finally resets , at block 140 , the audio queue , the key queue , the recognition searches and other necessary modules . in the above staci process , if the user has typed no letters at all indicated end of word ( e . g . user presses space , says awesome , then presses space again without typing any letters ) then the process backs off to using the base vocabulary of fig2 module 204 ; which may be reduced using the multimodal language model ( module 250 of fig2 ) and zero or more applicable constraints ( module 240 of fig2 ); the speech recognition is then performed just like described before . further on , if the user does not indicate an end of word , then the utterance detector module 112 may be used to signal the end of word automatically ; rest of the process remaining the same . those skilled in art will appreciate that several different architectures , both software and hardware , may be employed to alternatively implement the concept underlying staci . the staci process 100 can be easily extended to handle gesture based typing . this is described next . there are two ways of implementing this extension . one straightforward way is the following . as the user swipes or traces the letters of a word , the corresponding letters and their ambiguous parts are put by the key - input thread 102 into the key queue 108 . as before , in parallel , the user may also speak a word and have the speech collected into the audio queue 110 . as before , the multimodal recognition thread 106 is continuously running in a synchronized fashion , checking for the letters in the key queue 108 and audio buffers in the audio queue 110 . the remaining process remains the same as described above . another approach to extend the staci process 100 for gesture based typing is the following . the key queue 108 waits till the user lifts their finger indicating the end of swiping . for example , to enter the word “ demonstration ” the user swipes over the letters d e m s ( introducing ambiguity due to swiping and also due to sloppy swiping ) while speaking “ demonstration ” and lifting finger . upon lifting their finger , the key - input thread 102 puts the letters with the ambiguous counterparts into the key queue 108 . the staci process 100 then processes these letters in 150 to dynamically reduce the speech recognition vocabulary in 152 and directly calls the “ get utt detect ” 130 followed by the recognition module 132 . thus , the entire procedure is very similar except for ( a ) multiple letters are collected when user lifts finger and ( b ) end of word indicator is not the space - bar but the action by user of “ lifting finger ”. an example that compares staci to other input methods is now presented for further ease of understanding . consider the user is attempting to type the word “ awesome ”. the following are ways to enter the word using the different input methods : ( a ) staci : while typing a q e the use says “ awesome ” and hits space ( b ) staci with gesture typing : while swiping a → q → e the user says “ awesome ” and stops swiping ( c ) qwerty keyboard with auto correction : user types a q e some and hits space ( d ) text prediction : user types a q e then lifts head to select awesome ( if present ) from choices displayed and then finalizes it by touching same or hitting space . fig2 describes a method 200 to dynamically reduce the recognition vocabulary . the method 200 includes a base dictionary object 204 , which may be accomplished by loading a base vocabulary when the application starts for the first time , such as by reading from a file ( or any other memory location ). the base vocabulary and / or the base dictionary object 204 includes a list of words along with their pronunciations , statistical language model counts , and user adapted language model counts . further , the base vocabulary and / or the base dictionary object 204 is sorted based on the words language model counts ; in the event that words have the same count then metrics including length of pronunciation , length of word , the number of times the word appears as an n - gram etc are used to continue sorting . during processing , when a letter is received from the key queue that corresponds to an alphabet , then the base dictionary object 204 is used to create the 1 - letter dictionary object 206 . specifically , this is achieved by applying the letter and its ambiguity filter of block 202 to the words . as an example , if the letter typed is “ a ” then the letter filter is “ a ” and the ambiguity filter may be “ qwaszx ” which are the letter keys surrounding the letter key a on a qwerty keyboard ; filter implies selecting only those words that begin with the letter filter or the ambiguity filter . when the second letter of the word is received , then the 1 - letter dictionary object 206 is used to create the 2 - letter dictionary object 208 . this process is repeated until the end of word signal or the space - bar is received in which case everything is reset to simply retain the base dictionary object state 204 . in each stage , the objects are further used to create the actual active grammars ( e . g ., 210 , 220 , 230 ) and the language model hashmaps ( e . g ., 212 , 222 , 232 ), using a series of constraints 240 such as length of word , length of pronunciation of the word , length of the audio corresponding to the detected utterance , and max # words . the grammars i . e . 210 , 220 , 230 are used by the speech recognition module of fig1 block 132 to carry out recognition and the language model hashmaps i . e . 212 , 222 , 232 are used by the multimodal language module to apply n - gram statistics before finding the best word choice . the entire process beginning from creation of the 1 - letter object 206 is repeated as the user types letters corresponding to the next word . it will be appreciated by those skilled in art that grammars may be replaced by statistical networks , pre - compiled grammars , modifications to the search algorithm in a speech recognition decoder . similarly language model hashmaps may be replaced by other mechanisms to look up language statistics . fig3 describes a multimodal language model 300 . observe that instead of the standard n - gram language model used in speech recognition wherein the probability of words are computed given the previous spoken words , the proposed invention computes the probability of words given the previously finalized word by the user . the advantage of doing so is that the system knows with certainty the previous words . as an example , lets us say a user is intending to type the phrase , “ this is demonstration of multimodal language model ”. using conventional speech to text , the user can speak the whole phrase at once . let &# 39 ; s assume the conventional speech to text system recognizes “ this is demonstration of ” correctly but fails to recognize “ multimodal ” and recognizes “ multiple mode ” instead . this error will now propagate to the recognition of the word “ language model ” because its using “ multiple mode ” as the previous words when in reality “ multimodal ” is the previous word . the proposed invention does not exhibit this problem because its interface is based on a word - by - word interaction where each word is indicated as the final word using an end of word signal such as a space - bar . it can be seen from fig3 that the previously finalized words 302 along with the letters entered 304 are used to compute statistical n - grams in 306 . for example , if the user has typed “ this de ” then “ this ” is part of 302 and the letters “ de ” are part of 304 and they are used to compute bigram scores or load pre - computed bigram scores of all words starting with “ de ” that have “ this ” as the precursor word in their bigram pair . the ngram score is then added to the word &# 39 ; s unigram and other counts like the user counts or topic counts to compute a total lm score in 308 . finally , this is combined with the acoustic scores in 320 ( which are outputted by the recognition module of fig1 block 132 ) to yield a total score 310 . fig4 describes a multimodal confidence model process 400 used in the proposed invention . observe that the overall confidence score is computed by combining traditional confidence metrics known in speech recognition ( difference between nbest scores , number of active hmm nodes , acoustic features like formant location , average frequency , signal to noise ratio etc ) with multimodal features including ( a ) a metric that determines the closeness between acoustic only recognition and text only prediction for e . g . whether the same words were recognized by speech recognition and text prediction ( b ) the user language model score ( c ) the time between key presses and so on . as shown in fig4 , the best hypothesis along with its score from 402 , the nbest choices along with their scores and their difference scores and the total number from 404 , and acoustic features like utterance length and formant frequency locations and formant amplitudes etc from 406 are coupled by block 420 with multimodal features in 408 including whether text prediction and acoustic hypothesis are the same and user count for words and time elapsed between keys during typing the word and whether breath or other sounds detected during audio utterance detection of fig1 block 114 . block 420 computes a final confidence score by sorting the scores for all hypothesis and presents it along with its corresponding best hypothesis to the user interface or application . certain of the components described above may be implemented using general computing devices or mobile computing devices . to avoid confusion , the following discussion provides an overview of one implementation of such a general computing device that may be used to embody one or more components of the system described above . fig5 is a functional block diagram of a sample mobile device 501 that may be configured for use in certain implementations of the disclosed embodiments or other embodiments . the mobile device 501 may be any handheld computing device and not just a cellular phone . for instance , the mobile device 501 could also be a mobile messaging device , a personal digital assistant , a portable music player , a global positioning satellite ( gps ) device , or the like . although described here in the context of a handheld mobile phone , it should be appreciated that implementations of the invention could have equal applicability in other areas , such as conventional wired telephone systems and the like . in this example , the mobile device 501 includes a processor unit 504 , a memory 506 , a storage medium 513 , an audio unit 531 , an input mechanism 532 , and a display 530 . the processor unit 504 advantageously includes a microprocessor or a special - purpose processor such as a digital signal processor ( dsp ), but may in the alternative be any conventional form of processor , controller , microcontroller , state machine , or the like . the processor unit 504 is coupled to the memory 506 , which is advantageously implemented as ram memory holding software instructions that are executed by the processor unit 504 . in this embodiment , the software instructions ( e . g ., computer - readable instructions ) stored in the memory 506 include a display manager 911 , a runtime environment or operating system 510 , and one or more other applications or modules 512 . for example , modules 512 may include a key - input module , a multimodal recognition module , an audio input module , and the like . the memory 506 may be on - board ram , or the processor unit 504 and the memory 506 could collectively reside in an asic . in an alternate embodiment , the memory 906 could be composed of firmware or flash memory . the storage medium 513 may be implemented as any nonvolatile memory , such as rom memory , flash memory , or a magnetic disk drive , just to name a few . the storage medium 513 could also be implemented as a combination of those or other technologies , such as a magnetic disk drive with cache ( ram ) memory , or the like . in this particular embodiment , the storage medium 513 is used to store data during periods when the mobile device 501 is powered off or without power . the storage medium 513 could be used to store contact information , images , call announcements such as ringtones , and the like . the mobile device 501 also includes a communications module 521 that enables bi - directional communication between the mobile device 501 and one or more other computing devices . the communications module 521 may include components to enable rf or other wireless communications , such as a cellular telephone network , bluetooth connection , wireless local area network , or perhaps a wireless wide area network . alternatively , the communications module 521 may include components to enable land line or hard wired network communications , such as an ethernet connection , rj - 11 connection , universal serial bus connection , ieee 1394 ( firewire ) connection , or the like . these are intended as non - exhaustive lists and many other alternatives are possible . the audio unit 531 is a component of the mobile device 501 that is configured to convert signals between analog and digital format . the audio unit 531 is used by the mobile device 501 to output sound using a speaker 532 and to receive input signals from a microphone 533 . the speaker 532 could also be used to announce incoming calls . a display 530 is used to output data or information in a graphical form . the display could be any form of display technology , such as lcd , led , oled , or the like . the input mechanism 532 may be any keypad - style input mechanism . alternatively , the input mechanism 532 could be incorporated with the display 530 , such as the case with a touch - sensitive display device . other alternatives too numerous to mention are also possible . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the proposed invention may be applied to any application requiring text - input , including ( but not limited to ) mobile text - messaging ( sms , mms , email , instant messaging ), mobile search , mobile music download , mobile calendar / task entry , mobile navigation , and similar applications on other machines like the personal digital assistants , pcs , laptops , automobile - telematics systems , accessible technology systems etc . additionally , several implementations of the system including a client - only , a server - only , and client - server architecture may be employed for realizing the system .
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in practicing the present invention , an auxetic mesh can be molded into a desired three - dimensional configuration . the inventor discovered that the a molded auxetic mesh can be formed into a desired 3 - d shape while preserving the size of the various open spaces in the mesh . as the auxetic mesh attains its three - dimensional shape during molding , the mesh deforms in a fractal manner , substantially retaining the initial mesh appearance , unlike the distortions observed after conventional meshes are formed over bi - curved surfaces . before being molded , the auxetic mesh may be provided in an initial flat two - dimensional form , which is simple to handle and store . converting the initial flat auxetic mesh into a three - dimensional shape may provide a more efficient manufacturing pathway when compared to batch processes that would normally required to fabricate a similar netting substantially free of defects . that is , if a non - auxetic mesh is used to produce a three - dimensional product , without the distortions mentioned above , a batch - type casting or injection molding process typically would be used for that purpose . fig1 shows an example of a molded product , a filtering face - piece respirator 10 , that uses a molded auxetic mesh to provide a three - dimensional shape to the product . the filtering face - piece respirator 10 includes a mask body 12 and a harness 14 . the mask body 12 has a support structure 16 that provides structural integrity to the mask body and that provides support for a filtering structure 18 that resides behind the support structure 16 . the filtering structure 18 removes contaminants from the ambient air when a wearer of the respirator 10 inhales . the support structure 16 includes an auxetic mesh 20 that is molded into a three - dimensional configuration , which defines the shape of the mask body 12 . the molded auxetic mesh 20 can provide the structural integrity sufficient for the mask body 12 to retain its intended configuration . the filtering structure 18 may be secured to the support structure 16 at the mask body perimeter 22 . the filtering structure 18 also may be secured to the support structure 16 at the apex 23 of the mask body when an exhalation valve ( not shown ) is secured thereto . the harness 14 may include one or more straps 24 that enable the mask body 12 to be supported over the nose and mouth of a person . adjustable buckles may be provided on the harness to allow the straps 24 to be adjusted in length . fastening or clasping mechanisms also may be attached to the straps to allow the harness 14 to be disassembled when removing the respirator 10 from a person &# 39 ; s face and reassembled when donning the respirator 10 from a person &# 39 ; s face . further , description of the filter face - piece respirator may be found in u . s . patent application 61 / 291 , 052 entitled filtering face - piece respirator having an auxetic mesh in the mask body . fig2 shows an enlarged view of the open - work auxetic mesh 20 , which may be used in connection with the present invention . as illustrated , the molded auxetic mesh 20 includes a multitude of open spaces 26 that may be defined by polymeric strands 28 . the strands 28 that define each open space 26 may include first and second sides 30 and 32 and third and fourth sides 34 and 36 . the first and second sides 30 and 32 may be linear , whereas the third and fourth sides 34 and 36 may be non - linear and include segments that are offset non - perpendicularly to the first and second sides 30 and 32 . the offset segments do not form right angles to the first and second sides 30 and 32 . rather , they form a chevron end that has angles α that may be about 20 to 80 degrees , more typically about 40 to 70 degrees . each opening typically has a size of about 5 to 50 square millimeters ( mm 2 ), more typically about 10 to 35 mm 2 . other auxetic mesh geometries ( now known or later developed ) also may be suitably used in connection with the present invention . the poisson ratio of the mesh typically is less than − 0 . 2 , more typically less than − 0 . 4 , and still more typically less than − 0 . 7 , but usually is not further less than − 2 . 2 . examples of meshes that exhibit negative poisson ratios and that may be suitable for use in connection with the present invention are described in u . s . patent application publication 2006 / 0129227a2 to hengelmolen and 2006 / 0180505a1 to alderson et al . at the upper end , the poisson ratio is not greater than zero . the multitude of openings in the mesh , after being molded , tend to maintain similar sizes . when tested according to the cell size determination method described below , the standard deviation of cell sizes is less than 0 . 04 , 0 . 03 , and even less than 0 . 025 . fig3 shows a cross - section of the mask body 12 , which includes the support structure 16 and the filtering structure 18 . the support structure 16 typically has a thickness of about 0 . 60 to 0 . 85 millimeters ( mm ), and each strand 28 typically has an average cross - sectional area of about 0 . 1 to 3 . 5 mm 2 , more typically of about 1 . 5 to 2 . 6 mm 2 . the auxetic mesh 20 may be made from a variety of polymeric materials . polymers suitable for auxetic mesh formation are generally either a thermoplastic or a thermoset material . thermoplastic materials are materials which melt and / or flow upon the application of heat , resolidify upon cooling and again melt and / or flow upon the application of heat . the thermoplastic material undergoes only a physical change upon heating and cooling , no appreciable chemical change occurs . thermoset materials , however , are curable materials that irreversibly cure , such as becoming crosslinked , when heated or cured . once cured , the thermoset material will not appreciably melt or flow upon application of heat . examples of thermoplastic polymers that can be used to form auxetic meshes include : polyolefins , such as polyethylenes , polypropylenes , polybutylenes , blends of two or more of such polyolefins , and copolymers of ethylene and / or propylene with one another and / or with small amounts of copolymerizable , higher , alpha olefins , such as pentene , methylpentene , hexene , or octene ; halogenated polyolefins , such as chlorinated polyethylene , poly ( vinylidene fluoride ), poly ( vinylidene chloride ), and plasticized poly ( vinyl chloride ); copolyester - ether elastomers of cyclohexane dimethanol , tetramethylene glycol , and terephthalic acid ; copolyester elastomers such as block copolymers of polybutylene terephthalate and long chain polyester glycols ; polyethers , such as polyphenyleneoxide ; polyamides , such as poly ( hexamethylene adipamide ), e . g ., nylon 6 and nylon 6 , 6 ; nylon elastomers ; such as nylon 11 , nylon 12 , nylon 6 , 10 and polyether block polyamides ; polyurethanes ; copolymers of ethylene , or ethylene and propylene , with ( meth ) acrylic acid or with esters of lower alkanols and ethylenically - unsaturated carboxylic acids , such as copolymers of ethylene with ( meth ) acrylic acid , vinyl acetate , methyl acrylate , or ethyl acrylate ; ionomers , such as ethylene - methacrylic acid copolymer stabilized with zinc , lithium , or sodium counterions ; acrylonitrile polymers , such as acrylonitrile - butadiene - styrene copolymers ; acrylic copolymers ; chemically - modified polyolefins , such as maleic anhydride - or acrylic acid - grafted homo - or co - polymers of olefins and blends of two or more of such polymers , such as blends of polyethylene and poly ( methyl acrylate ), blends of ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer and ethylene - methyl acrylate ; blends of polyethylene and / or polypropylene with poly ( vinyl acetate ); and thermoplastic elastomer block copolymers of styrene of the a - b or a - b - a type , where a represents a thermoplastic polystyrene block and b represents a rubbery block of polyisoprene , polybutadiene , or poly ( ethylene / butylene ), examples include linear , radial , star and tapered styrene - isoprene block copolymers , linear styrene -( ethylene - butylene ) block copolymers , and linear , radial , and star styrene - butadiene block copolymers . the foregoing polymers are normally solid , generally high molecular weight , and melt - extrudable such that they can be heated to form molten viscous liquids which can be pumped as streams to the extrusion die assembly and readily extruded therefrom under pressure . examples of suitable commercially - available polymers include : those sold as “ elvax ” ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymers , such as elvax 40w , 4320 , 250 , and 350 ; those sold as “ emac ” ethylene - methyl acrylate copolymers , such as emac ds - 1274 , ds - 1176 , ds - 1278 - 70 , sp 2220 and sp - 2260 ; those sold as “ vista flex ” thermoplastic elastomers , such as vista flex 641 and 671 ; those sold as “ primacor ” ethylene - acrylic acid copolymers , such as primacor 3330 , 3440 , 3460 , and 5980 ; those sold as “ fusabond ” maleic anhydride - polyolefin copolymers , such as fusabond mb - 110d and mz - 203d ; those sold as “ himont ” ethylene - propylene copolymers , such as himont ks - 057 , ks - 075 , and ks - 051p ; those sold as “ fina ” polypropylenes , such as fina 3860x ; those sold as “ escorene ” polypropylenes , such as escorene 3445 ; the polymer sold as “ vestoplast 750 ” ethylene - propylene - butene copolymer ; those sold as “ surlyn ” ionomers , such as surlyn 9970 and 1702 ; those sold as “ ultramid ” polyamides , such as ultramid b3 nylon 6 and ultramid a3 nylon 6 , 6 ; those sold as “ zytel ” polyamides , such as zytel fe3677 nylon 6 , 6 ; those sold as “ rilsan ” polyamide elastomers , such as bmno p40 , besno p40 and besno p20 nylon 11 ; those sold as “ pebax ” polyether block polyamide elastomers , such as pebax 2533 , 3533 , 4033 , 5562 and 7033 ; those sold as “ hytrel ” polyester elastomers , such as hytrel 3078 , 4056 and 5526 ; those sold as “ kraton ” and “ europrene sol te ” styrene block copolymers , such as kraton d1107p , g1657 , g1750x , and d1118x and europrene sol te 9110 , and 6205 . as mentioned above , blends of two or more materials also may be used in the manufacture of auxetic meshes . examples of such blends include : a blend of 85 to 15 wt % poly ( ethylene - vinyl acetate ), such as “ elvax ” copolymer , with 15 to 85 wt % poly ( ethylene - acrylic acid ), such as “ primacor ” polymer , the poly ( ethylene - vinyl acetate ) component of the blend generally will have a weight average molecular weight , m w , of 50 , 000 to 220 , 000 and will have 5 to 45 mol % of its interpolymerized units derived from the vinyl acetate comonomer and the balance of units from ethylene , the poly ( ethylene - acrylic acid ) component of the blend generally will have a m w of 50 , 000 to 400 , 000 and have 1 to 10 mol % of its interpolymerized units derived from acrylic acid and the balance from ethylene ; a blend of 20 to 70 wt % poly ( ethylene - propylene - butene ) terpolymer having m w of 40 , 000 to 150 , 000 and derived from equally large amounts of butene and propylene and a small amount of ethylene , such as “ vestoplast 750 ” polymer , with 80 to 30 wt % isotactic polypropylene ; a blend that contains from 15 to 85 wt % poly ( ethylene - vinyl acetate ) and 85 to 15 wt % poly ( ethylene - methyl acrylate ), such as “ emac ” polymer , the poly ( ethylene - vinyl acetate ) component of this blend can have a molecular weight and composition like that described above , the poly ( methyl acrylate ) component can have a m w of 50 , 000 to 200 , 000 and 4 to 40 mole % of its interpolymerized units derived from the methyl acrylate comonomer . polypropylene may be preferred for use in a molded auxetic mesh that is used on a respirator to enable proper welding of the support structure to the filtering structure ( filtering layers often comprise polypropylene as well ). the polymeric materials used to make an auxetic mesh typically have a young &# 39 ; s modulus of about 0 . 3 to 1900 mega pascals ( mpa ), more typically 2 to 250 mpa . as shown in fig3 , the filtering structure 18 may include one or more cover webs 40 a and 40 b and a filtration layer 42 . the cover webs 40 a and 40 b may be located on opposing sides of the filtration layer 42 to capture any fibers that could come loose therefrom . typically , the cover webs 40 a and 40 b are made from a selection of fibers that provide a comfortable feel , particularly on the side of the filtering structure 18 that makes contact with the wearer &# 39 ; s face . the cover webs too often comprise polypropylene . when molding an auxetic mesh in accordance with the present invention , the auxetic mesh may be molded by itself or it may be molded in conjunction with other layers . for example , when making a filtering face - piece respirator , the auxetic mesh may be first molded , and the other layers , such as the filtering structure , may be subsequently joined to the molded mesh . alternatively , the various layers may be stacked together and molded into the desired configuration . further , the auxetic mesh may be cold - molded or hot - molded . when the auxetic mesh is cold - molded , the mesh is first heated before being placed between unheated molding members ( see , for example , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 131 , 422b1 to kronzer et al .). the unheated molding members then conform the heated auxetic mesh to its desired configuration . alternatively , the molding members may be heated , and that heat may be transferred to the auxetic mesh during the molding operation . thus , in a cold - molding operation , the heat and pressure are not necessarily applied to the auxetic mesh contemporaneously , whereas in a hot - molding operation the heat and pressure tend to be applied at the same time . in hot molding , the various layers may become bonded to each other at one or more desired locations when the heat and pressure is applied . alternatively , the various layers may be joined together at one or more desired locations through other operations such as welding ( for example , ultrasonic welding ) or adhesive bonding . the additional layers may be on one or both sides of the auxetic mesh . when making a filtering face - piece respirator , the mask body may be molded into a variety of different shapes and configurations . many of these various shapes and configurations are described in the patent literature and accordingly will not be discussed further here . auxetic mesh cell size was determined using defined diameter rods that were mounted in a fixture to facilitate measurement of the open spaces or cells . the probe rods ranged in diameter from 0 . 0254 cm ( centimeter ) to 0 . 5334 cm , in 0 . 0254 cm increments . the cell size was measured by selecting the maximum size probe that fit into the cell without causing distortion of the cell shape prior to placement of the probe . this size was recorded , and the next cell size was measured and recorded until all cells contained within the molded mesh were measured and the cells tallied at each probe size . an auxetic web was produced using a system 50 that resembles the apparatus shown in fig4 . a 40 mm diameter twin - screw extruder was fitted with a gear pump and was used to deliver a molten polymer blend at melt temperature of approximately 246 ° c . to a slot die 54 , at an extrusion rate of 1 . 43 kg / hr / cm ( kilogram per hour per length of die in centimeters ). the polymer blend contained a three - part polymer composition that included pigment and anti - block agents . the polymer blend formulation is given below in table 1 . at the end of the slot die 54 , the polymer blend is transferred to a casting roll 58 where the auxetic mesh is formed . the resulting mesh 20 is removed from the casting roll 58 where it is transferred to take - off roll 74 . a back - up roll 76 contacts the take - off roll 74 to keep the auxetic mesh on the take - off role until the point of departure from the roll . fig5 shows the orientation of the slot die 54 , doctor blade 56 , and casting roll 58 in greater detail . the slot die 54 was maintained at a temperature of about 246 ° c . and was positioned relative to the casting roll 58 such that a bank 60 of molten polymer was formed along a horizontal plane . the molten polymer 60 was forced into the casting roll cavity 62 by rotating the casting roll 58 against the doctor blade 56 . the doctor blade 56 both forced molten polymer 60 into the casting roll cavity 62 and wiped the outer surface 64 of the casting roll 58 so that the molten polymer 60 was left in the cavity alone . polymer that was removed from the polymer bank 60 via the casting roll 58 was replenished through the resin channel 66 of the slot die 54 . by this process , the auxetic mesh was continually casted . during processing , the doctor blade 56 was forced against the rotating casting roll 58 at a pressure of 0 . 656 kn / cm ( kilo - newtons per lineal cm )— a pressure that forced molten polymer 60 to fill the channels or cavities 62 of the casting roll 58 . the doctor blade 56 was maintained at a temperature of 246 ° c . the polymer bank 60 assured that sufficient polymer was present across the transverse length of the casting roll 58 to fill the channels 62 of the casting roll . as shown in fig4 , the apparatus 50 used a two - roll transfer system , which was composed of a chrome take - off roll 74 and a rubber - surfaced backup role 76 , to extract the cast auxetic mesh 20 from the casting roll 58 and convey it to a collection apparatus . the takeoff role 74 contacted the casting roll 58 at a point 225 ° degrees counter clockwise ( the direction of rotation ) from the point of contact between the slot die 54 and casting roll 58 . the backup roll 76 contacted the take - off roll 74 it a point 135 ° degrees clockwise ( direction of rotation ) from the point of contact between the casting roll 58 and take - off roll 74 . both rolls were maintained at a temperature of approximately 4 . 4 ° c . and had surface speeds of 5 . 0 m / min ( meters per minute ). the nip pressure between the casting roll 58 and take - off roll 74 was maintained at 4 . 37 n / cm ; the nip pressure between the take - off roll 74 and the backup role 76 was 4 . 37 n / cm . after leaving the casting roll , the auxetic mesh 20 was transferred to the take - off roll 74 and was further cooled and conveyed through web handling rolls to a windup roll ( not shown ). the resulting mesh had a thickness of about 1 . 63 mm and a basis weight of 47 g / cm 2 ( grams per square centimeter ). the final wound roll of auxetic mesh contained an intermittent thin film of polymeric material between each of the auxetic pattern elements . all residual inter - element film was removed by hand using a tweezers . other methods of residual film removal could include burning , heating , brushing , punching , etc . as shown in fig6 and 6 a , the casting roll 58 had an auxetic - shaped cavity pattern 62 machined into its face . the cavity pattern 62 was cut into the face 77 of a 23 . 5 cm diameter , chrome - surfaced , steel roll 58 . the auxetic - shaped pattern 62 of interconnecting channels 82 was machined into the face 77 of the casting roll 58 using a harvey tool # 11815 - 30 carbide miniature tapered end mill , harvey tool company llc , rowley , mass . having a 6 ° included angle . the channels 82 of the auxetic pattern 62 were machined to a depth of 1 . 143 mm , with the rectangular channel formed by 3 ° tapered edge . the channels 82 are defined by uncut “ island ” areas 86 in the roll face 77 , whereby the machined area constituted the channels 82 . the unmachined islands 86 on the roll face 84 , onto which the doctor blade 56 rides during mesh formation , were the shape of elongated hexagons that had isosceles concave ‘ chevron ’ ends 87 . as shown in fig7 , islands 86 were oriented on the roll 76 such that their long axis 80 aligned with the circumstantial line of the roll 76 . the islands 86 had an overall height h and width w of 11 . 1 mm and 3 . 1 mm , respectively . two equally length lines , 92 extending 1 . 67 mm from the ends of each major side 94 of the hexagon , and meeting at its long axis centerline 80 , formed the end chevron 87 of an island 86 . islands were spaced apart , relative to their centerlines , either along their long axis 80 or narrow ( short ) axis 89 . the long axes of all islands were parallel to the circumstantial line of the casting roll 76 . the narrow axes 89 , of the islands were oriented along the axis of the casting roll 58 . alternating transverse rows of islands were offset from the row above or below by one half the width of each island . transverse spacing of the islands 81 was 4 . 27 mm from long axis 80 to an adjacent long axis 80 . circumstantial spacing 83 of the islands was 11 . 88 mm from short axis 89 to short axis 89 . angle α was 69 degrees . with the islands 86 formed in this manner , a network of channels 82 was created ; these channels 82 were filled with polymer during the casting process and acted as molds for the auxetic mesh 20 . fig8 shows an image of the molded auxetic mesh 20 produced as described above . auxetic mesh produced as described in the auxetic mesh formation apparatus and process were evaluated for their auxetic properties through a tensile testing procedure . in this procedure , a 10 . 2 cm by 1 . 0 cm section of mesh was cut such that the long axes of the mesh cells were oriented in line with the transverse axis of the tensile testing apparatus . the crosshead speed of the tensile testing apparatus was maintained at 50 . 8 centimeters per minute until the sample was elongated to 50 and 100 percent of its original length . as is indicative of an auxetic structure , when placed under tension , the sample section increased in width in response to axial loading . the sample increased to a width of 105 percent of its original width at both elongations . auxetic mesh produced as described in the auxetic mesh formation apparatus and process section was molded into a three - dimensional cup shape . the auxetic mesh was molded into the cup shape of a respirator by draping a 21 . 5 cm by 25 . 5 cm section of mesh over an aluminum male mold . the mold had a generally hemispherical shape with an elliptical base with a major axis of 13 . 3 cm , and a minor axis of 10 . 5 cm , and a dome height of 4 . 4 cm . the hemispherical - shape mold was fixed to a rectangular aluminum plate that extended approximately 3 . 4 cm beyond the base of the mold . the section of auxetic mesh was draped over the mold so that it &# 39 ; s edges extended beyond the outer perimeter of the base plate . a perimeter aluminum frame , with an interior cutout that mirrored the perimeter of the mold , was placed over the auxetic mesh and mold so that the mesh could be drawn over the mold without significant mesh distortion . the perimeter frame was then fixed to the base plate to hold the mesh in position against the mold . the mold , mesh , and securing plate assembly was placed in a preheated , air circulating oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 105 c . after heating in the oven for the specified duration , the assembly was removed from the oven and was allowed to cool to room temperature . when the assembly reached room temperature , the perimeter frame was uncoupled from the base plate , and the resultant molded auxetic mesh removed from the mold . it was observed that the molded auxetic mesh retained its general auxetic structure , and it was shape - retaining even after compression in the mold . it was also noted that the auxetic mesh was able to easily adapt to the male mold shape without significant distortions to the mesh , such as folds or creases . a respirator shell mesh was produced as described above in the three - dimensional molding of auxetic mesh section was evaluated for cell size uniformity by surveying the size of the cells over the entirety of the mold structure . the cell size uniformity of the auxetic mesh was compared to the uniformity of shell meshes that were removed from commercially available filtering face - piece respiratory masks . detailed measurements of the cell opening size and size distribution for each of several shell meshes were determined respirator shell mesh was evaluated from a jsp 822 mask , manufactured by jsp ltd , oxfordshire , uk ; a venus 190 mask , produced by nani mumbai - mn , india ; a 2200 mask inner shell , a 2200 mask outer shell , and a 2600 outer shell , all manufactured by moldex - metric , culver city , calif . the meshes were removed from the filter media to enable cell size measurement , the exception being the 3m auxetic mesh which was free standing . each cell opening size was measured and recorded for the entire mesh using gauging probes as described above in cell size determination . the resulting measurements were compiled to provide the number of cells contained within the mesh of a given size , see table 2 . from this data the cell size distribution and standard deviation determined were determined and are given in table 2 . the data shown in table 2 reveals that the molded auxetic mesh has the narrowest distribution of cell size compared to known non - auxetic molded meshes . analysis of the data for standard deviation shows that the inventive auxetic mesh has the smallest standard deviation of all six meshes measured . the reduction of cell size distribution in the auxetic mesh is a result of the deformation characteristics of an auxetic structure , which allows it to more readily conform to highly contoured shapes without gross deformation of the mesh , such as folding or drawing .
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in fig1 - 4 , reference numeral 10 generally designates the bed clothing assembly in accordance with the principals of the present invention . the bed clothing assembly 10 of the present invention is intended to provide a means for the physically disabled to more easily remove and replace bed clothing . in fig1 , there is illustrated a perspective exploded view of the individual components of the bed clothing assembly 10 and a conventional mattress 12 . the mattress 12 is rectangular , and has top and bottom surfaces 14 and 16 , each with a peripheral edge 18 and 20 , respectively , and a sidewall 22 extending between the peripheral edges . the bottom surface 16 of the mattress 12 is best seen in fig3 . sidewall 22 of the mattress 12 includes end panels 24 and 26 , and side panels 28 and 30 . the bed clothing assembly 10 includes a mattress band 32 , a unitary sheet assembly 34 and a padded sheet or mattress pad 60 . the mattress band 32 is constructed to be securely attached to the mattress 12 and the unitary sheet assembly 34 and the padded sheet 60 are each constructed to be removably attachable to the mattress band 32 in a manner in which they remain secured during usage . the mattress band 32 comprises a sidewall 36 with continuous upper and lower edges 38 and 40 . sidewall 32 can include sides panels 42 and 44 , and end panels 46 and 48 . the adjacent vertical edges of the side panels 42 and 44 and of the end panels 46 and 48 are joined to form vertical corners 50 a , 50 b , 50 c , and 50 d . an upper edge portion 52 extends inwardly from the upper edge 38 , and a lower edge portion 54 extends inwardly from the lower edge 40 . bands 56 of elastic material can be attached around the ends 58 and 60 of the upper and lower edge portions 52 and 54 respectively . bands 56 causes the upper and lower edge portions 52 and 54 to gather and aid in securing the mattress band 32 to the mattress 12 . the sidewall 36 of the mattress band 32 encircles the sidewall 22 of the mattress 12 , and the upper and lower edge portions 52 and 54 extend inwardly and continuously around the peripheral edges 18 and 20 of the top and bottom surfaces 14 and 18 of the mattress , respectively , when the mattress band is installed on the mattress . the length and width of side panels 42 and 44 , and of end panels 46 and 48 are sized to correspond to the length and width of side panels 28 and 30 , and of end panels 24 and 26 , respectively , of the mattress 12 . the mattress band 32 can be partially or entirely constructed of an elastic material , and sized to be slightly smaller than the dimensions of the mattress , and capable of being stretched to conform to the size , shape and dimension of the mattress to which it is attached . the mattress band 32 can be made of an elastic fabric material having a pile that can be removably engaged by a hook fastener portion of a hook - and - loop type fastener . the unitary sheet assembly 34 includes a bottom sheet 58 and a top sheet 62 connected together forming a single unit . the bottom sheet 58 includes a main panel 64 with top and bottom surfaces 66 and 68 , and a peripheral edge 70 . a sidewall 72 extends from the main panel 64 continuously around the peripheral edge 70 , and includes a peripheral bottom edge 84 . sidewall 72 may be integral with main panel 64 . sidewall 72 can include side panels 74 and 76 , and end panels 78 and 80 . adjacent vertical edges of the side panels 74 and 76 , and of the end panels 78 and 80 are joined to form vertical corners 82 a , 82 b , 82 c , and 82 d . main panel 64 is sized to equal the top surface 14 of the mattress 12 . side panels 74 and 76 and end panels 78 and 80 are sized to correspond to the length and width of side panels 42 and 44 , and of end panels 46 and 48 , respectively , of the mattress band 32 . side panels 74 and 76 and end panels 78 and 80 cover side panels 42 and 44 , and of end panels 46 and 48 , respectively , of the mattress band 32 when attached thereto . the top sheet 62 includes a main panel 88 with top and bottom surfaces 90 and 92 , and a peripheral edge 94 . a sidewall 96 extends from the main panel 88 partially around the peripheral edge 94 , and includes a peripheral bottom edge 98 . sidewall 96 may be integral with main panel 88 . sidewall 96 can include a foot panel 100 corresponding to end panel 78 of the bottom sheet 58 , and side panels 102 and 104 corresponding to side panels 74 and 76 , respectively , of the bottom sheet . foot panel 100 is sized to correspond to the length and width of end panel 78 . side panels 102 and 104 can be sized to correspond the length and width of side panels 74 and 76 , respectively , can be sized to have a greater width to drape downward beyond the peripheral bottom edge 84 of the bottom sheet 58 , and can be sized to have a greater length to extend beyond the peripheral edge 64 to permit the top sheet opposite of the foot panel 100 to be folded back upon itself . main panel 88 of the top sheet 62 can be sized to be equal to main panel 64 of the bottom sheet 58 . the peripheral bottom edge 98 along the foot panel 100 of the top sheet 62 and the peripheral bottom edge 84 along end panel 78 of the bottom sheet 58 are continuously stitched together along the lengths thereof with the remaining portion of the peripheral bottom edge 98 along the side panels 102 and 104 of the top sheet free from attachment with the bottom sheet 58 . the adjacent vertical edges of foot panel 100 and side panel 102 are separate from each other forming a vertical gap therebetween , and the adjacent vertical edges of foot panel 100 and side panel 104 are separate from each other forming a vertical gap therebetween to permit the side panels 102 and 104 of top sheet 62 to be movable independently from the foot panel 100 . a plurality of hook fasteners 106 , such as the hook fastener of a hook - and - loop type fastener , are spaced along the sidewall 72 of the bottom sheet 58 . fasteners 106 are releasably attachable to the fabric material of the sidewall 36 of the mattress band 32 enabling the unitary sheet assembly 34 to be securely attached to the mattress band and remain taut throughout usage . the sidewall 72 of the bottom sheet 58 is continuously coextensive with the sidewall 36 of the mattress band 32 and the bottom surface 66 of the bottom sheet 58 is coextensive with the top surface 14 of the mattress 12 when the unitary sheet assembly 34 is secured to the mattress band . to make detachment easier and to prevent in advent reattachment of the unitary sheet assembly 34 with the mattress band 32 , each fastener 106 can be spaced along the peripheral bottom edge 70 of the bottom sheet 58 . even further , the fasteners 106 can be sized such that they do not extend completely up sidewall 72 , and are spaced from the upper edge 38 and peripheral edge 70 . in this manner , as side panels 74 and 76 and end panels 78 and 80 are sequentially detached from side panels 28 and 30 and end panels 24 and 26 , and lifted up it is less likely for prior detached panels to become inadvertently reattached . the padded sheet 60 has a panel area 86 sized equal to the upper surface 12 of the mattress 12 . the padded sheet 60 may have a waterproof barrier layer . a plurality of separate securment straps 110 are spaced along and extend from the peripheral edge 112 of the padded sheet 60 . each strap 110 can be looped to have an opening 114 of a sufficient size to permit the insertion of a hand through the loop to more easily grip the strap . each strap 110 includes a fastener portion 116 for releasable attachment to the sidewall 36 of the mattress band 32 . in operation , the mattress band 32 is first attached to the mattress 12 by stretching the mattress band 32 over the corners and sides of the mattress such that sidewall 32 encircles the sidewall 22 of the mattress , and the lower edge portion 54 and the upper edge portion 52 extend inwardly and continuously around the peripheral edges 18 and 20 of the top and bottom surfaces 14 and 18 of the mattress , respectively . once the mattress band 32 is attached to the mattress 12 , the mattress no longer needs to be lifted or otherwise maneuvered in the attachment or detachment of the unitary sheet assembly 34 , thereby making changing of the bedding easier and with less strain . with the mattress band 32 attached to the mattress 12 , the unitary sheet assembly 34 can be placed on top of the mattress with the foot panel 100 at the foot of the mattress . sidewall 72 can then be attached to the sidewall 36 of the mattress band 32 by simply pulling the sidewall 72 down and about sidewall 36 and engaging the cooperating fasteners 106 . in this manner , the bottom sheet 58 , the padded sheet 60 and the top sheet 62 are each simultaneously positioned correctly on the mattress in a single step without requiring lifting of the mattress . the top sheet 62 may need to be adjusted and pulled upward along the top of the mattress 12 as desired . a number of embodiments of the present invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .
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the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows the arrangement of a frequency stabilization circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 reference numeral 101 denotes a mixer for receiving a radio frequency signal s101 and a local oscillation signal s113 to output an intermediate frequency signal s102 ; 102 , a limiter for amplifying the intermediate frequency signal s102 from the mixer 101 while limiting its amplitude ; 103 , a demodulator for demodulating an amplified intermediate frequency signal s103 output from the limiter 102 ; 104 , a level measuring device for measuring the level of the intermediate frequency signal s102 from the mixer 101 , and outputting a dc voltage s105 in accordance with the level ; and 105 , a comparator for comparing the dc voltage s105 from the level measuring device 104 with a reference voltage s104 , and outputting a gate control signal s106 . reference numeral 106 denotes a 2 - input gate for receiving the amplified intermediate frequency signal s103 output from the limiter 102 and the gate control signal s106 from the comparator 105 ; 107 , a reference oscillator for oscillating a reference signal s107 having a frequency obtained by multiplying the frequency of the intermediate frequency signal s102 with an integer ( n ); 108 , a 2 - input gate for receiving the reference signal s107 from the reference oscillator 107 and the gate control signal s106 from the comparator 105 ; 109 , a frequency divider for dividing the reference signal s107 output from the gate 108 into n ; 110 , a frequency comparator for comparing the frequency of a measurement signal s109 output from the gate 106 with the frequency of a reference signal s108 from the 1 / n - frequency divider 109 ; 111 , a controller for outputting voltage data s111 on the basis of frequency difference information s110 as the comparison result of the frequency comparator 110 ; 112 , a d / a converter for converting the voltage data s111 from the controller 111 into a dc voltage s112 ; 113 , a voltage - controlled oscillator for generating the local oscillation signal s113 on the basis of the voltage data s112 output from the d / a converter 112 , and outputting it to the mixer 101 ; and 114 , a reference power supply for generating the reference voltage s104 and outputting it to the comparator 105 . the operation of the frequency stabilization circuit having this arrangement will be explained . the frequency of the radio frequency signal s101 input to the mixer 101 is converted using the local oscillation signal s113 output from the voltage - controlled oscillator 113 , thereby outputting the intermediate frequency signal s102 to the limiter 102 and the level measuring device 104 . the level measuring device 104 always measures the reception electric field level of the intermediate frequency signal s102 , and outputs the measurement value as the dc voltage s105 to the comparator 105 . the comparator 105 compares the dc voltage s105 from the level measuring device 104 with the reference voltage s104 from the reference power supply 114 . when the dc voltage s105 representing the reception electric field strength of the intermediate frequency signal s102 becomes lower than the reference voltage s104 , the comparator 105 outputs the gate control signal s106 of &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level . the intermediate frequency signal s102 is amplified by the limiter 102 while its amplitude is limited to a predetermined level . as a result , the amplified intermediate frequency signal s103 is output to the demodulator 103 and the gate 106 . the reference oscillator 107 oscillates the reference signal s107 having a frequency n times the frequency of the intermediate frequency signal s102 . the reference signal s107 via the gate 108 is divided into n by the frequency divider 109 , and input as the reference signal s108 to the frequency comparator 110 . the frequency of the target measurement signal s109 output from the gate 106 is compared with the frequency of the reference signal s108 by the frequency comparator 110 to output the frequency difference information s110 to the controller 111 . the frequency difference information s110 is converted into corresponding voltage data s111 by the controller 111 . the voltage data s111 is output to the d / a converter 112 to be converted into the analog control voltage s112 . the control voltage s112 is output to the voltage - controlled oscillator 113 to feedback - control the oscillation frequency of the voltage - controlled oscillator 113 in accordance with the frequency difference obtained in the frequency comparator 110 . when the reception electric field level of the intermediate frequency signal s102 falls , the gate control signal s106 output from the comparator 105 changes to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level , as described above . the gates 106 and 108 respectively disable the amplified intermediate frequency signal s103 and the reference signal s107 ( s108 ). accordingly , no frequency difference information s110 is output from the frequency comparator 110 , whereas the oscillation frequency of the output - voltage - controlled oscillator 113 is locked and does not vary . as a result , the frequency is prevented from converging on an erroneous frequency when the reception electric field strength temporarily decreases . fig2 shows an example of the frequency comparator 110 shown in fig1 . in fig2 reference numeral 121 denotes a timing generator for receiving the reference signal s108 from the frequency divider 109 to output a timing signal s121 ; 122 , a counter for counting the number of reference signals s108 in accordance with the timing signal s121 ; 123 , a counter for counting the number of target measurement signals s109 from the gate 106 in accordance with the timing signal s121 ; 124 , a subtracter constituting a data comparator for comparing a count value s122 of the counter 122 with a count value s123 of the counter 123 to output a count difference signal s124 ; and 125 , a data latch for latching the count difference signal s124 in accordance with the timing signal s121 . the operation of the frequency comparator 110 shown in fig2 will be described . upon reception of the reference signal s108 , the timing generator 121 generates the timing signal s121 for outputting the trigger every predetermined time . during the period determined by the timing signal s121 , the counters 122 and 123 count the pulses of the reference signal s108 and the target measurement signal s109 , and output the count values s122 and s123 to the subtracter 124 , respectively . the subtracter 124 subtracts one of the count values s122 and s123 from the other , and outputs the subtraction result , i . e ., the count difference signal s124 to the data latch 125 . the data latch 125 latches the count difference signal s124 on the basis of the timing of the timing signal s121 , and outputs the count difference signal s124 as the frequency difference information s110 within a predetermined time to the controller 111 . when the reception electric field level of the intermediate frequency signal s102 falls , the timing generator 121 does not operate because the reference signal s108 is disabled , as described above . for this reason , the frequency difference information s110 is maintained while the previous value is kept latched by the data latch 125 , so that the oscillation frequency of the voltage - controlled oscillator 113 shown in fig1 is maintained at the previous value . fig3 shows a frequency oscillation circuit added in constituting a frequency stabilization circuit capable of selecting a desired channel ( ch ) frequency that is applied to a portable telephone or the like . the frequency stabilization circuit in this case is constituted by inserting a frequency oscillation circuit 213 shown in fig3 instead of the voltage - controlled oscillator 113 shown in fig1 . in fig3 reference numeral 201 denotes a voltage - controlled oscillator for outputting a local oscillation signal s201 on the basis of the control voltage s112 from the d / a converter 112 ; 202 , a frequency divider for dividing the frequency of the local oscillation signal s201 from the voltage - controlled oscillator 201 to output a reference signal s202 ; 203 , a voltage - controlled oscillator for outputting the local oscillation signal s113 to the mixer 101 on the basis of a control voltage s205 ; 204 , a variable frequency divider for variably dividing the frequency of the local oscillation signal s113 in accordance with frequency division data s206 to output a frequency - divided signal s203 ; 205 , a phase comparator for comparing the phase of the frequency - divided signal s203 from the variable frequency divider 204 with the phase of the reference signal s202 from the frequency divider 202 to output a charge / discharge pulse signal s204 ; 206 , a ch designation controller for outputting the frequency division data s206 corresponding to a channel to the variable frequency divider 204 ; and 207 , a charge pump for repeatedly executing charge and discharge in accordance with the charge / discharge pulse signal s204 from the phase comparator 205 to output the control voltage s205 to the voltage - controlled oscillator 203 . the operation of the frequency oscillation circuit 213 shown in fig3 will be described . when the control voltage s112 from the d / a converter 112 is input to the voltage - controlled oscillator 201 , the voltage - controlled oscillator 201 outputs the local oscillation signal s201 corresponding to the control voltage s112 . the local oscillation signal s201 from the voltage - controlled oscillator 201 is divided by the frequency divider 202 until the frequency of the ch band is obtained , and input as the reference signal s202 to the phase comparator 205 . the local oscillation signal s113 from the voltage - controlled oscillator 203 is output to the mixer 101 . at the same time , the local oscillation signal s113 is divided by the variable frequency divider 204 with a frequency division number designated by the ch designation controller 206 , and input as the frequency - divided signal s203 to the phase comparator 205 . the phase comparator 205 compares the phase of the reference signal s202 with the phase of the frequency - divided signal s203 , and outputs the charge / discharge pulse signal s204 corresponding to a phase lead or delay to the charge pump 207 . the charge pump 207 constituting an integrator integrates the charge / discharge pulse signal s204 to output the control voltage s205 , thereby feedback - controlling the voltage - controlled oscillator 203 . consequently , the local oscillation signal s113 from the voltage - controlled oscillator 203 converges on a desired ch frequency to minimize changes in charge / discharge pulse signal s204 , making the control voltage s205 constant . when the control voltage s205 becomes constant , and a desired ch frequency is selected , the control voltage s112 input to the voltage - controlled oscillator 201 is stabilized by the circuit shown in fig1 . when the reception electric field level of the intermediate frequency signal s102 shown in fig1 falls , the frequency difference information s110 output from the frequency comparator 110 is kept latched at the previous value , as shown in fig2 . therefore , the oscillation frequency of the voltage - controlled oscillator 203 is prevented from being varied by an erroneous frequency . as has been described above , according to the present invention , since the previous frequency difference information is held even when the reception electric field level falls , the voltage - controlled oscillator is not controlled by an erroneous frequency , and the frequency is prevented from converging on an erroneous frequency to cause a reception error . since a circuit for stabilizing an intermediate frequency signal with respect to a desired channel frequency can be easily constituted , a frequency stabilization circuit suitable for the receiver section of a portable telephone or the like can be obtained .
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a toy vehicle track is shown generally as ( 10 ) in fig1 . the track ( 10 ) is preferably formed of colored , extruded polyvinylchloride . as shown in fig1 , the track ( 10 ) includes a left track surface ( 12 ) and a right track surface ( 14 ), separated by a center rail ( 16 ). the left track surface ( 12 ) and right track surface ( 14 ) are bordered by a left rail ( 18 ) and a right rail ( 20 ), respectively . extending laterally from , and integral with , the left track surface ( 12 ) is a left rib ( 22 ), and extending laterally from , and integral with , the right track surface ( 14 ) is a right rib ( 24 ). although the track ( 10 ) may be constructed of any suitable dimensions or configurations , in the preferred embodiment , the left track surface ( 12 ) and right track surface ( 14 ) are each preferably between 0 . 5 and 20 centimeters wide , and between 0 . 5 and 100 millimeters thick , more preferably , between 2 and 6 centimeters wide and between 1 and 2 millimeters thick , and most preferably , about 4 . 3 centimeters wide and 1 . 5 millimeters thick , to accommodate a 1 / 64 scale car ( 21 ). ( fig2 ). the ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) are preferably the same thickness as the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), and preferably extend between 1 and 10 millimeters , more preferably between 2 . 5 and 7 . 5 millimeters wide , and most preferably about 4 . 7 millimeters laterally from the center line of the associated rail ( 18 ) or ( 20 ). the rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ) are preferably between 1 and 100 millimeters high , more preferably between 25 and 75 millimeters high , and most preferably about 46 millimeters high . although the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), and ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) may be constructed in any desired configuration relative to one another , in the preferred embodiment , the rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ) are provided perpendicular relative to the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ). if desired , the outside rails ( 18 ) and ( 20 ) may be angled outward from the edges of the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ). the ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) are preferably parallel to the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), and more preferably planer and integral with the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ). if desired , however , the ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) may be located higher on the rails ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), may undulate along the outside rails ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), or may be provided with supplemental ribs to add further strength to the toy vehicle track ( 10 ). although the toy vehicle track ( 10 ) may be constructed with rails and ribs of any suitable configuration , the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), and ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) are preferably constructed in a manner which prevents the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), and rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), from “ creasing ” when the toy vehicle track ( 10 ) is coiled . preferably the rails ( 16 ),( 18 ) and ( 20 ) are constructed to ripple before the force of the rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ) causes the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ) to crease . this accomplished by using a combination of thick track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ), and short flexible rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ), all constructed of a flexible material , such as polyvinylchloride , which resists creasing . if desired , rails ( 16 ), ( 18 ) and ( 20 ) may be provided to divide the track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ) into one , two , three or any plurality of track surfaces ( 12 ) and ( 14 ). the toy vehicle track is preferably between 0 . 5 and 5 meters long , more preferably between 1 and 3 meters long , and most preferably about 2 meters long . as shown in fig2 and 3 , when it is desired to attach the toy vehicle track ( 10 ) to the window ( 26 ) of a door ( 28 ), a thin , plastic connector pad ( 30 ) is provided . as shown in fig3 , the connector pad ( 30 ) is preferably provided on one surface ( 32 ) with a strong adhesive ( 34 ), such as those well known in the art . the surface ( 32 ) is preferably covered with a film ( 36 ), cut generally into a top section ( 38 ) and a bottom section ( 40 ). when it is desired to attach the connector pad ( 30 ) to the bottom ( 42 ) of the toy track ( 10 ), the bottom section ( 40 ) of the connector pad ( 30 ) is removed , revealing the adhesive ( 34 ). ( fig3 - 4 ). the adhesive ( 34 ) is thereafter pressed against the bottom ( 42 ) of the toy vehicle ( 10 ) and allowed to cure . the top section ( 38 ) remains on the connector pad ( 30 ) to prevent the adhesive ( 34 ) from securing to any undesired parts . as shown in fig3 , the connector pad ( 30 ) is preferably provided with a die cut ( 44 ) defining a lower , larger circle ( 46 ) and an upper , smaller circle ( 48 ). as shown in fig2 , when it is desired to attach the toy vehicle track ( 10 ) to the window ( 26 ) of the door ( 28 ), a standard suction cup ( 50 ) provided with a boss ( 52 ) is releasably secured to the window ( 26 ). the die cut ( 44 ) is then provided over the boss ( 52 ) and lowered until the upper circle ( 48 ) engages the boss ( 52 ). the boss ( 52 ) may be provided with a narrow center portion to retain the upper circle ( 48 ) and prevent the upper circle ( 48 ) from inadvertently becoming dislodged from the boss ( 52 ). although the start ( 54 ) of the track ( 10 ) may be releasably secured to the window ( 26 ) at any desirable height , in the preferred embodiment , the start ( 54 ) of the track ( 10 ) is preferably releasably secured between 1 and 2 meters from the floor ( 56 ). as shown in fig2 , the track ( 10 ) may be configured with a plurality of loops ( 58 ) and undulations ( 60 ). the undulations ( 60 ) may be provided using simply books ( 61 ) or other materials placed under the track ( 10 ). similarly , the loops ( 58 ) may be provided by simply looping the track ( 10 ) at the desired point . as shown in fig5 , a steel stiffener bar ( 62 ) is provided to secure the track ( 10 ) in place . attaching the stiffener bar ( 62 ) to the track ( 10 ) and adjusting the location of the stiffener bar ( 62 ) allows the angle of descent of the track ( 10 ) to be adjusted , while preventing the weight of the suspended portion of the track ( 10 ) from pulling the remaining portion of the track ( 10 ) rearward , resulting in an undesirable increase in the angle of descent . additionally , while loops ( 58 ) may be formed in the track ( 10 ) without additional support , the stiffener bar ( 62 ) may also be used to form loops ( 58 ) in the track ( 10 ) and prevent any undesired shift of the loops ( 58 ) during play . ( fig2 and 5 ). as shown in fig5 , the stiffener bar ( 62 ) is preferably provided with a pair of stiffening ribs ( 64 ) and ( 66 ) running the length of the bar ( 62 ). the stiffener bar ( 62 ) is also provided with a pair of tabs ( 68 ) and ( 70 ). the tabs ( 68 ) and ( 70 ) are preferably sized and spaced to engage the ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) of the track ( 10 ). the stiffener bar ( 62 ) is preferably one and one - half times the width of the track ( 10 ) and , more preferably , at least twice as long as the width of the track ( 10 ). once the stiffener bar ( 62 ) has been placed beneath the track ( 10 ) and the tabs ( 68 ) and ( 70 ) engaged with the ribs ( 22 ) and ( 24 ), the portion of the loop ( 58 ) passing over the stiffener bar ( 62 ), but not connected to the tabs ( 68 ) and ( 70 ), rests upon the stiffening bar ( 62 ). this added downward pressure on the stiffener bar ( 62 ) further limits movement of the stiffener bar ( 62 ) and , in turn , undesired movement of the loop ( 58 ). as shown in fig2 , a plurality of stiffener bars ( 62 ) may be provided to provide a plurality of loops . although the stiffener bars ( 62 ) are preferably constructed of steel , any desired material and any desired configuration may be utilized . an alternative arrangement of the track ( 10 ) is shown in fig6 , in which a stiffener bar ( 62 ) is used to create a curving right - angled loop ( 72 ). in another alternative configuration of the track ( 10 ) is shown in fig7 , in which two stiffener bars ( 74 ) and ( 76 ) are used to create a pair of offset loops ( 78 ) and ( 80 ). if desired , a box ( 82 ) or similar support , may be positioned between the loops ( 78 ) and ( 80 ) to further add support to the track ( 10 ). as shown in fig7 , if it is desired to couple a second track ( 84 ) to the track ( 10 ), a second connector pad ( 30 ) may be used with the entirety of the film removed . the connector pad ( 86 ) is coupled to the bottom ( 42 ) of the track ( 10 ) and the bottom ( 88 ) of the second track ( 84 ). alternatively , as shown in fig8 , for a releasable connection , a stiffener bar ( 62 ) may be used to straddle the ribs ( 22 ), ( 24 ), ( 90 ) and ( 92 ) of both tracks ( 10 ) and ( 84 ) and secure the tracks ( 10 ) and ( 84 ) together . in these manners , or in any other manner known in the art , any plurality of tracks ( 10 ) may be coupled to one another . when it is desired to store the track ( 10 ), the track ( 10 ) may be coiled as shown in fig9 . preferably , the two - meter track ( 10 ) may be coiled into a coil ( 94 ) less than 50 centimeters in diameter , and more preferably less than 20 centimeters in diameter without the track ( 10 ) permanently creasing . the track ( 10 ) may be maintained in the coiled position within a box ( 92 ), with a releasable tie ( not show ) or with any other suitable means known in the art . fig1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the track ( 96 ) shown with a single lane ( 98 ). the track ( 96 ) may be configured as described above and may be coupled to additional lengths of track ( 96 ) as desired . although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof , it also to be understood that it is not to be so limited , since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full , intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims . as an example , a clamp or any other suitable means may be used to secure the track ( 10 ) to a table or the like , or the track ( 10 ) may be wedged between the top of a door and the doorframe to secure the track .
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now , embodiments for carrying out the present invention ( hereafter referred to as “ embodiments ”) will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings . it should be noted that in the description of the present invention , expressions which indicate directions , such as upper , lower , right and left directions , should not be understood in an absolute sense but in a relative sense . these expressions are appropriate as long as they describe the positions of individual members , portions , parts or the like of centrifugal blowing fans according to embodiments as shown in the drawings . however , in case the positions of those members , portions , parts or the like are changed , the above expressions are to be interpreted accordingly . fig1 is a perspective view showing a centrifugal blowing fan of a first embodiment as a whole . according to this figure , the centrifugal blowing fan 11 comprises a scroll - shaped casing 12 comprising a body 12 a and a lid 12 b , wherein an air inlet 13 and an air outlet 14 is formed on the casing 12 . the air inlet 13 is formed on the central portion of the lid 12 b of the casing 12 , and the air outlet 14 is formed on the side surface of the body 12 a , which surface is virtually orthogonal to the lid 12 b . further , a motor 15 and an impeller 16 and so on are accommodated inside the casing 12 . fig2 to 6 show the structure of the motor 15 and the impeller 16 in the centrifugal blowing fan 11 in detail . as shown in fig2 , a cylindrical bearing housing 17 is provided in the body 12 a of the casing 12 . outer rings of two bearings 18 , 18 are respectively supported at the inner side of the bearing housing 17 , and a rotating shaft 19 of the motor 15 is supported in the inner rings of bearings 18 , 18 . a ring 20 is mounted on the lower end of the rotating shaft 19 , which prevents the rotating shaft 19 from dropping out and positions the same in axial direction . the impeller 16 is made from synthetic resin and comprises integrally a plurality of blades 21 , 21 . . . arranged in circumferential direction , an annular collar 22 consisting by joining one of the ends of the plurality of blades 21 , 21 . . . and a doughnut - shaped disk portion 23 formed flat from the inner circumference towards the outer circumference consisting by joining the other ends of the plurality of blades 21 , 21 . . . , wherein the impeller is formed cylindrically by injection molding . further , during the injection molding , a plurality of protrusions 24 ( six protrusions in this embodiment ) with a circular cross section are formed on the lower surface of the disk portion 23 ( hereafter meaning the surface opposing to the flange portion 25 b ) integrally with the disk portion 23 , in circumferential direction and at virtually equal distances . the back yoke 25 is made from metal , being formed by press work virtually cylindrical with a bottom , whereat a flange portion 25 b extending in outer direction virtually perpendicular to the outer surface is provided integrally at the edge of the circumference of an opening . the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 25 a of the back yoke 25 is formed smaller than the inner diameter of the impeller 16 , a wide fitted space is provided between the inner surface of the impeller 16 and the outer surface of the back yoke 25 , whereat the outer diameter of the flange portion 25 b is formed with the same size as the outer diameter of the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 or a little larger . further , a rotating shaft 19 is directly inserted in the central portion of the cylindrical portion 25 a of the back yoke 25 , as shown in fig2 and fig4 , so that the back yoke 25 and the rotating shaft 19 are integrated . further , a plurality of holes 26 ( six holes in this embodiment ) from top through bottom are formed on the flange portion 25 b on the circumferential diameter , which is virtually as same as that of the protrusions 24 of the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 , at same distances . when back yoke 25 and impeller 16 are assembled , the protrusions 24 at the side of the impeller 16 are engaged with the holes 26 of the flange portion 25 b , as shown in fig5 ( a ), and the tip portions of the protrusions 24 , which slightly protrude from the back surface of the flange portion 25 b are heat melted and than fixed by caulking , whereby the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 are concentrically arranged with the rotating shaft 19 to be integrated . fig2 , fig5 ( b ) and fig6 show a status at which the fixing by thermal caulking is completed , and thus the rotating shaft 19 , the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 are concentrically fixed and connected and thereby integrated . it should be mentioned that the fixing by caulking of the protrusions 24 is not limited to a fixing by thermal caulking , but a cold caulking is also possible . turning back to fig2 , a ring - shaped magnet 27 is fixed to the inner circumference of the above - mentioned back yoke 25 by adhesion , whereat the rotating shaft 19 , the back yoke 25 and the magnet 27 together form the rotor portion of the motor 15 . a stator core 29 provided with stator windings 28 is fixed on the outer circumference of the bearing housing 17 , defining the fixed portion of the motor 15 . that is , the motor 15 shown here is an outer rotor type motor , whereat the rotor portion is rotatably arranged at the outer side of the fixed portion together with the impeller 16 , with the rotating shaft 19 in the center . further , a pc board 30 , on which by means of electronic components an electronic circuit as brushless motor is built , is mounted below the stator core 29 ( i . e . below the stator 29 shown in fig2 ). the electronic circuit comprising the pc board 30 controls the current to rotate the rotating portion of the motor 15 against the fixed portion of the motor 15 . the stator windings 28 and the electronic circuit integrated into the pc board 30 are connected by lead wires not shown . further , also not shown lead wires are connected to the pc board 30 , through which current is supplied to the pc board 30 . in the thus structured centrifugal blowing fan 11 , the fact is , that when an external current is supplied to the electronic circuit of the pc board 30 , a driving current is supplied to the stator windings 28 of the fixed portion , through control of the electronic circuit , whereby the rotating portion consisting of the rotation shaft 19 , the back yoke 25 , the magnet 27 and so on rotates together with the impeller 16 . then , when the impeller 16 rotates , air is taken in from the air inlet 13 , towards the axial direction of the rotating shaft 19 , into the impeller 16 . further , the air taken into the impeller 16 is forwarded to the radial direction of the impeller 16 by centrifugal force caused by rotation of the blades 21 of the impeller 16 , passes through the air outlet 14 and is then exhausted to the outside of the casing 12 . thus , by turning the air outlet 14 to the designated direction , the centrifugal blowing fan 11 can blow the air towards that direction . therefore , in case of the centrifugal blowing fan 11 according to this embodiment , the fact is , that protrusions 24 serving as fittings provided on the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 are inserted in holes 26 serving as fitted spaces provided on the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 , then , the tip portions of the protrusions 24 which protrude from the back surface of the flange portion 25 b are fixed by caulking , so that under conformity of the central axis of the impeller 16 with the central axis of the back yoke 25 , the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 can be easily integrated together with the rotating shaft 19 , without applying the conventional structure at which the back yoke was covered with an accommodation made from resin to be thereby integrated with the impeller . further , it is the fact , that the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 made from metal and the holes 26 , which are the fitted spaces , are formed by press work , and the protrusions 24 , which are the fittings of the impeller 16 made from resin , are formed by injection molding , integrally with the back yoke and the impeller , respectively , wherefore the back yoke 25 and the impeller 16 can be easily aligned against the rotating shaft 19 of the motor 15 . further , in the structure of this centrifugal blowing fan 11 , it is the fact , that by providing a flange portion 25 b on the back yoke 25 made from metal , and abutting and mounting a disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 on this flange portion 25 b , the inner surface of the impeller 16 is separated from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 25 a of the back yoke 25 , and since a wide fitted space is provided between the inner surface of the impeller 16 and the outer surface of the back yoke 25 , air can be absorbed through the air inlet 13 to the fitted space between the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 smoothly , whereby the blowing rate can be increased . further , by separating the impeller 16 from the back yoke 25 , the impeller 16 is separated from the stator windings 28 which are the source of heat . therefore , thermal damage of the impeller 16 is prevented , which makes usage under severe environment possible . further , since the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 is directly mounted on the flange portion 25 b , it is possible to do away the excessive resin to be arranged around the outer surface of the back yoke 25 , which used to be a problem with a conventional blowing fan . further , in the structure of this centrifugal blowing fan 11 , it is the fact , that as long as there is consistency with the diameter of the flange portion 25 b , it is possible to comply with various products ( e . g . products of different types such as sirocco types or turbo types , products with different flow rate , products with different blade height ), by only replacing the impeller 16 , without changing the structure of the motor 15 . in this embodiment , the fact is , that the holes in the flange portion of the back yoke made from metal can be formed by press work , and the protrusions of the impeller made from resin can be formed by injection molding , integrally with the back yoke or the impeller , respectively . further , when the protrusions of the impeller are fitted to the holes in the flange portion of the back yoke , and the protrusions protruding from the back surface are fixed by caulking , the impeller is tightly fixed and connected under consistency of its central axis with the central axis of the back yoke . thus , back yoke and impeller can be aligned against the rotating shaft of the motor and be integrated easily , wherefore manufacturing can be simplified . as a result , costs can be reduced and product quality can be increased . next , a second embodiment of a structure for fixing and connecting the back yoke with the impeller in a centrifugal blowing fan of the present invention will be described with reference to fig7 and fig8 . portions identical or equivalent to those shown in fig1 to 6 will be assigned with the same number and not be explained again . in the following , mainly the differences between the above described embodiments in view of fig5 ( a ) and fig5 ( b ) and fig6 will be explained . fig7 is a bottom view showing a status wherein the back yoke 25 and the impeller 16 are fixed and connected , and fig8 is a cross - sectional view of a - a line of fig7 . in this embodiment , there are provided key - shaped claws 31 as fittings on the disk portion 23 at the side of the impeller 16 , and the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 is provided with notches 32 as fitted spaces into which the key - shaped claws 31 are inserted . with the key - shaped claws 31 at the side of the disk portion 23 , it is the fact , that while the impeller 16 is injection molded , a plurality of such claws ( six claws in this embodiment ) are at the same time formed on the outer circumference of the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 starting from the lower surface of the disk portion 23 toward the lower side ( in abutting direction with the flange portion 25 b ), as shown in fig8 , as claws having an l - shaped cross section facing inward , as shown in fig7 , the claws being formed in circumferential direction at virtually equal distances , integrally with the disk portion 23 . on the other hand , with the notches 32 at the back yoke 25 , it is the fact , that while the back yoke 25 is press work , a plurality of such notches ( six notches in this embodiment ) are at the same time formed on the circumferential edge of the flange portion 25 b of that back yoke 25 , on the circumferential diameter which is virtually as same as that of the key - shaped claws 31 on the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 , that means in a size at which the key - shaped claws 31 can be fitted , as shown in fig7 , the notches being formed at virtually equal distances . in this structure , it is the fact , that when the key - shaped claws 31 of the impeller 16 are pushed into the notches 32 of the flange portion 25 b , the tip portions of the claws 31 abut with the flange portion 25 b and are elastically deformed toward the outside , thereby evading . when they are further pushed in and the tips of the claws reach the back surface of the flange portion 25 b , the elastic force of the claws 31 is reset and the tips of the claws are engaged with the back surface . hereby , the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 are concentrically , tightly and easily fixed and connected together with the rotating shaft 19 under consistency with the central axis . this status is shown in fig7 and fig8 . though this embodiment discloses a structure whereat notches 32 are provided at the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 , it is also possible to provide holes , instead of notches 32 , into which the claws 31 are to be inserted . in this embodiment , the fact is , that the notches or the holes in the flange portion of the back yoke made from metal can be formed by press work , and the key - shaped claws of the impeller made from resin can be formed by injection molding , integrally with the back yoke or the impeller , respectively . further , when the claws of the impeller are pushed and snapped into the notches or holes of the flange portion , the claws are engaged with the flange portion , and the impeller is tightly fixed and connected under consistency of its central axis with the central axis of the back yoke . thus , back yoke and impeller can be aligned against the rotating shaft of the motor and be integrated easily , wherefore manufacturing can be simplified . as a result , costs can be reduced and production quality can be increased . next , a third embodiment of a structure for fixedly connecting a back yoke with an impeller in a centrifugal blowing fan of the present invention will be described with reference to fig9 and fig1 ( a ) fig1 ( b ) fig1 ( c ) fig1 ( d ). in subsequent description , members , portions or parts identical or corresponding to those shown in fig1 to 6 will be not repeated by assigning the same reference signs thereto . the differences from the first embodiment described above as shown in fig5 ( a ) and fig5 ( b ) and fig6 will be mainly explained . fig9 is a bottom view showing a state just before fixedly connecting the back yoke 25 and the impeller 16 . fig1 ( a ) fig1 ( b ) fig1 ( c ) fig1 ( d ) is an enlarged view of circled b of fig9 . in this embodiment , locks 33 as fittings are provided on the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 , while notches 34 as fitted spaces are provided in the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 to receive the locks 33 . the locks 33 of the disk portion 23 , while the impeller 16 is injection - molded , are formed simultaneously and integrally with the impeller 16 in plurality ( six locks in this embodiment ) on the outer circumference of the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 at substantially equal distances in circumferential direction , in such a way that the locks protrude from the lower surface of the disk portion 23 toward the lower side ( in abutting direction with the flange portion 25 b ) in a key shape respectively having an l - shaped cross section facing inward ( toward the side of the rotating shaft 19 ). the distance between the upper surfaces of the locks 33 ( hereafter , this term refers to the inner flat surfaces of the key - shaped pieces which abut with back surface of the flange portion 25 b ) and the lower surface of the disk portion 23 is virtually as same as the thickness ( wall thickness ) of the flange portion 25 b . with the notches 34 at the side of the back yoke 25 , it is the fact , that while the back yoke 25 is press work , a plurality of such notches ( six notches in this embodiment ), provided with first notches 34 a having a slightly smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of the locks 33 on the disk portion 23 of the impeller 16 and a slightly larger circumferential diameter than the locks 33 , and second notches 34 b which are formed at an outer circumferential diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the blocks 33 in continuance with the first notches 34 a , are formed on the edge of the outer circumference of the flange portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 at distances virtually as same as the distances between the blocks 33 of the disk portion 23 . in this structure , it is the fact , that when the locks 33 of the impeller 16 are corresponded the first notches 34 a and the disk portion 23 is abutted to the flange portion 25 b , the stopping portions 33 will smoothly be fitted in the notches 34 . fig9 , fig1 ( a ) and fig1 ( b ) show this status , whereat in this status , the upper surfaces of the locks 33 are located at a location virtually as same as the location of the lower surface of the flange portion 25 b ( lower part in fig1 ( b )), or at the slightly lower side . then , when the back yoke 25 is rotated around the center of axis in direction of the arrow shown in fig9 , the second notches 34 b are moved to a location corresponding to the locks 33 , as shown in fig1 ( c ) and fig1 ( d ), the locks 33 will be arranged at the lower surface of the flange portion 25 b , and the flange portion 25 b will be sandwiched between the upper surfaces of the locks 33 and the lower surface of the disk portion 23 . by this sandwiching , the impeller 16 and the back yoke 25 are concentrically , tightly and easily fixed and connected together with the rotating shaft 19 under consistency with the central axis . therefore , also in this embodiment , manufacturing can be simplified , costs can be reduced and quality can be increased . the same applies when the impeller 16 is rotated against the back yoke 25 instead of making the back yoke 25 rotate against the impeller 16 . also in the embodiment shown in fig9 and fig1 ( a ) fig1 ( b ) fig1 ( c ) fig1 ( d ), the notches 34 to be provided in the sleeve portion 25 b of the back yoke 25 may instead be formed as holes provided with portions of first notches 34 a and portions of second notches 34 b . to provide a smooth rotation of the back yoke 25 , so that the flange portion 25 b and the locks 33 do not collide , it is preferable to provide the end surfaces of the locks 33 , which correspond with the place where the first notches 34 a and the second notches 34 b are linked ( hereafter referred to as “ linkage 35 ”) with a radially curved surface or inclined surfaces inclining toward the linkage 35 . further , it is possible to make a configuration such that the distance between the upper surfaces of the locks 33 and the lower surface of the disk portion 23 is , at the side of the end surfaces corresponding with the linkage 35 , larger than the thickness ( wall thickness ) of the flange portion 25 b , to make this distance gradually getting narrow toward the rotating direction of the back yoke 25 , so that as a result of the rotation of the back yoke 25 , the flange portion 25 is sandwiched between the upper surfaces of the locks 33 and the lower surface of the disk portion 23 in a pressed manner . this allows the impeller and the back yoke 25 being connected even stronger . in this embodiment , the fact is , that the notches or the holes in the flange portion of the back yoke made from metal can be formed by press work , and the locks on the fittings of the impeller made from resin can be formed by injection molding , integrally with the back yoke or the impeller , respectively . further , when the claws of the impeller are fitted to the notches or the holes of the flange portion , and the back yoke is rotated , the locks of the impeller are engaged with the notches or the holes of the back yoke , the impeller is tightly fixed and connected under consistency of its central axis with the central axis of the back yoke . thus , back yoke and impeller can be aligned against the rotating shaft of the motor and be integrated easily , wherefore manufacturing can be simplified . as a result , costs can be reduced and production quality can be increased . in integrally speaking through the above embodiments , the fact is , that by joining fittings which are provided on the disk portion of the impeller to the flange portion of the back yoke , it becomes possible to integrate impeller and back yoke by tightly fixing and connecting the two , without adopting the conventional structure wherein the back yoke was covered by an accommodation made from resin create a connection with the impeller . further , since the back yoke is not covered with an accommodation made from resin , it is possible to prevent thermal damage of impeller and back yoke , wherefore the quantity of resin for the impeller is reduced and weight can be saved . further , since the disk portion of the impeller is directly mounted on the flange portion of the back yoke made from metal , arranging excessive resin around the outer surface of the back yoke is no more necessary . furthermore , it becomes possible to form a wide fitted space between the inner circumference of the impeller and the outer circumference of the back yoke . repeatedly enumerating , the above embodiments according to the present invention provide the following effects : ( 1 ) by not covering the back yoke with the accommodation made from resin , the impeller and the back yoke can be prevented from thermal damage , and thus they can be in use under severe environment . ( 2 ) the amount of resin for the impeller can be reduced whereby weight can be saved and costs can be reduced as well . ( 3 ) since it is no more necessary to arrange excessive resin around the outer circumference of the back yoke , it is possible to provide a wide fitted space between the inner circumference of the impeller and the outer circumference of the back yoke , wherefore the blowing capability can be enhanced by increasing the air blowing rate . ( 4 ) since the flange portion of the back yoke made from metal can be formed by press work , and the fittings of the impeller made from resin can be formed by injection molding , forming integrally with the back yoke or the impeller integrally , respectively , is possible . thus , back yoke and impeller can be aligned against the rotating shaft of the motor easily , wherefore manufacturing can be simplified . as a result , costs can be reduced and product quality can be increased . ( 5 ) back yoke and flange portion are integral , and since the impeller is fixed and connected to this flange portion , the driving force can easily be transferred to the impeller . ( 6 ) by providing the back yoke with a flange portion and mounting the impeller on the flange portion , impeller and back yoke can be joined at a position which is away from the stator windings of the motor , which is the source of heat . therefore , there is no danger of deformation and / or damage on the impeller , thus increasing the reliability . ( 7 ) the invention can be realized without changing the conventional number of parts and assembly work . ( 8 ) as long as there is consistency with the flange portion diameter , it is possible to comply with various products ( e . g . products of different types such as sirocco types or turbo types , products with different flow rate , products with different blade height ), by only replacing the impeller , without changing the structure of the motor . the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments described above , and other embodiments and / or modifications are also included as long as the scope of the invention claimed can be achieved . 11 . . . centrifugal blowing fan , 13 . . . air inlet , 14 . . . air outlet , 15 . . . motor , 16 . . . impeller , 19 . . . rotating shaft , 21 . . . blade , 22 . . . annular collar , 23 . . . disk portion , 24 . . . protrusion ( fitting ), 25 . . . back yoke , 25 a . . . cylindrical portion , 25 b . . . flange portion , 26 . . . hole ( fitted space ), 27 . . . magnet , 28 . . . stator winding , 31 . . . claw ( fitting ), 32 . . . notch ( fitted space ), 33 . . . lock ( fitting ), 34 . . . notch ( fitted space ), 34 a . . . first notch , 34 b . . . second notch , 35 . . . linkage
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as referenced above , fig1 shows an optec 360 retinoscope 10 having thumb slide 12 , condensing lens 14 , and lamp 16 . lamp 16 includes a linear filament designed to create the &# 34 ; streak &# 34 ; reflex or reflection seen by the practitioner from the retina of the eye of the patient being examined . slide 12 moves approximately 1 . 6 cm along handle 18 so that , in its upper position , the filament of lamp 16 is approximately 5 . 0 cm from lens 14 , which has power of + 20 . 00 d . in its lower position , therefore , the filament of lamp 16 is approximately 6 . 6 cm from lens 14 . in use , light rays emanating from lamp 16 are reflected by mirror 19 approximately 45 ° into the patient &# 39 ; s eye . the practitioner can view the rays backscattered from the patient &# 39 ; s retina through a small opening 20 in mirror 19 , effectively focusing the backscattered rays into his pupil . in essence , the phoropter or trial frame lenses subsequently placed before the patient are designed to place the patient &# 39 ; s eye in focus with the practitioner &# 39 ; s eye peering through opening 20 . fig3 - 4 illustrate a modified streak retinoscope 22 of the present invention . retinoscope 22 may be a modified optec 360 retinoscope 10 ( fig1 ) or any other suitable device having a displaceable slide 24 or some other means for moving a lamp relative to a lens . as shown in fig3 - 4 , retinoscope 22 includes a potentiometer 28 coupled to slide 24 , providing means for converting displacement of the slide 24 along handle 30 into an electrical resistance . this resistance can in turn be measured by ohmmeter 32 connected to potentiometer 28 and used by a computer 36 or other appropriate mechanism to calculate the optical power necessary to correct a patient &# 39 ; s error . merely by appropriately combining the resistance measured by ohmmeter 32 with the patient &# 39 ; s current prescription using known equations , computer 36 can rapidly and easily determine the optical correction needed for an overrefracted patient . fig4 details the coupling between potentiometer 28 and slide 24 . wire 40 directly attaches slide 24 to the recording wire or contact arm 44 of potentiometer 28 so that , as slide 24 is displaced ( upward or downward ) along handle 30 , contact arm 44 moves in a corresponding manner . accordingly , potentiometer 28 tracks movement of slide 24 , indicating its deviation from a nominal position . those skilled in the art will recognize that other means may be used to sense the position of slide 24 along handle 30 , including mechanisms electrically or optically coupled to slide 24 or uncoupled but otherwise capable of providing the necessary information . a momentary switch 48 or other suitable device may be included as part of computer 36 ( fig3 ), retinoscope 22 , or elsewhere in the circuitry to provide means for indicating the point at which the practitioner determines that a displacement measurement needs to be recorded . to refract a patient &# 39 ; s eye using retinoscope 22 , the practitioner need merely assume a ( fixed ) position a known distance ( e . g . 50 cm ) from the patient . for a patient having a solely spherical error between approximately - 1 . 75 d and + 2 . 75 d , for example , activating retinoscope 22 with slide 24 in its upper position initially provides to the practitioner the streak reflexive image shown in fig5 a . because no astigmatic error is present in this example , neither the width nor intensity of the streak varies as collar or sleeve 50 is rotated ± 90 ° . lowering slide 24 widens the reflected streak ( fig5 b - c ) until it fills the patient &# 39 ; s pupil as illustrated in fig5 d . again , because the patient has no astigmatic error in this example , rotating sleeve 50 diminishes neither the width nor intensity of the streak ( fig5 e ). at this point momentary switch may be depressed , providing computer 36 information concerning the distance slide 24 has been displaced from its upper position . for a patient having a ( solely ) spherical refractive error of - 2 . 00 d , a retinoscope 22 located 50 cm from the patient &# 39 ; s eye , and slide 24 in its upper position , the practitioner will initially view the images of fig5 d - e . accordingly , no further refractive effort is needed and the initial position of slide 24 is immediately converted into an electrical resistance and transmitted to computer 36 . for a patient having a myopic ( solely ) spherical refractive error greater than - 2 . 00 d , the images of fig5 d - e are likely not attainable for working distances of 50 cm or greater . to accommodate these larger spherical errors , the practitioner can place a phoropter or trial frame lens of , for example , between - 3 . 00 d and - 12 . 00 d before the patient ( or use the patient &# 39 ; s existing prescription lens ) and continue lowering slide 24 until the images of fig5 d - e are obtained . again , at that point the practitioner can simply activate computer 36 to record the displacement information obtained through potentiometer 28 . in this case , however , the power of the phoropter , trial frame , or existing prescription lens must be included in the final corrective calculation ( either as a separate input to computer 36 or manually after the displacement information is converted into the refractive error ). alternatively , the practitioner can move toward the patient , decreasing the distance between the retinoscope and eye under examination , until he views the images of fig5 d - e . this decreased working distance must be determined and appropriately factored into the value obtained from computer 36 , however . for a patient having a ( solely ) spherical error greater than ± 12 . 59 d , the images of fig5 d - e are similarly not likely to be obtained at a working distance of 50 cm . the practitioner in such a case can place a phoropter or trial frame lens of , for example , between + 3 . 00 and + 12 . 00 before the patient ( or again use the patient &# 39 ; s existing prescriptive lens ). with this lens in place , the practitioner can continue lowering slide 24 until the images of fig5 d - e are obtained , at which point he can activate computer 36 to record the displacement information obtained through potentiometer 28 . as in connection with the prior example , the power of the phoropter , trial frame , or existing prescription lens must be included in the final corrective calculation . fig5 f - i and 6a - d illustrate reflections viewed for a patient having a cylindrical error in addition to the spherical errors mentioned in examples a - d . in fig5 f - i , the axis of the patient &# 39 ; s spherical error is 180 ° , while in fig6 a - d the axis is 45 °. for the patient having a cylindrical error principally in the 180 ° meridian , the practitioner determines the spherical error in the same way as discussed above . upon rotating sleeve 50 by ± 90 °, however the image of fig5 f is obtained and the angular orientation of the streak ( i . e . 180 °) is noted or estimated by the practitioner . the practitioner again lowers slide 24 ( fig5 g - h ) until the streak fills the pupil ( fig5 i ), at which point computer 36 is utilized to record the displacement of the slide 24 . the noted cylinder axis can then be included with the measurements to produce a final corrective prescription . embodiments of retinoscope 22 can also incorporate lens discs or carriers to permit lenses of other powers to be substituted for or combined with lens 14 . for example , including a disc of spherical lenses in + 0 . 50 d increments capable of being optically aligned with opening 20 would enhance the practitioner &# 39 ; s ability to use retinoscope 22 accurately at any working distance from 0 - 100 cm . incorporating a distance finder into retinoscope 22 would additionally permit electronic measurement of the working distance for input into computer 36 , while electrically or otherwise coupling the lens disc to the computer would allow direct input of the added spherical power into the computer 36 for use in later calculations . other embodiments of retinoscope 22 function opposite the manner described earlier , recording , for example , the distance slide 24 is displaced from its lower position . these embodiments are designed to accommodate the operating principles utilized in some commercial retinoscopes , in which the light rays from lamp 16 are focused at infinity when slide 12 is completed lowered . yet other embodiments of retinoscope 22 contemplate permitting slide 24 to move more than 1 . 6 cm , providing a greater range of dioptric powers available for refraction . the foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating , explaining , and describing embodiments of the present invention . modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention .
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referring now to fig1 , a simplified schematic of the system 10 of the present invention is shown . the system 10 allows users the ability of adding content , contests and promotions to web properties . the system 10 generally has a server 12 . the server 12 is used for hosting a plurality of on - line gaming applications as well as templates for allowing registered users the ability to customize different on - line gaming applications . the server 12 may be connected to a host computer system 14 . the computer system 14 may have a processor unit 16 and a display 18 . input devices maybe coupled to the processor unit 16 . the input devices may be a keyboard 19 , a mouse 20 and the like . the processor unit 16 may further have an i / o port 22 for downloading data to the processor unit 16 . the i / o port 22 may be a usb port , a firewire port or the like . the listing of the above is given as an example and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention . through the execution of program instructions forming a computer program product within the computer system 14 , the computer system 14 may provide a means that allows registered users the ability of adding content , contests and promotions to web properties and more specifically to allow registered users the ability to customize different on - line gaming applications . the program instructions maybe located within a memory 28 of the processor unit 16 and executed by a central processing unit 30 ( cpu ). any data generated and or gathered from the running of the program instructions may be stored within a storage media , memory 28 , or the like . alternatively , the computer system 14 may have a connection 34 to the server 12 wherein the server 12 is used to store the means that allows registered users the ability of adding content , contests and promotions to web properties and more specifically to allow registered users the ability to customize different on - line gaming applications and to store the data generated . the server 12 and or the computer system 14 may be connected to a communication network 36 . the communication network 36 may be any type of communication system . in accordance with one embodiment , the communication network 36 is the internet . the server 12 and or the computer system 14 maybe connected to a communication network 36 via a wired and or wireless connection 32 . a plurality of computer systems 38 may be coupled to the server 12 via the communication network 36 . each computer system 38 may be coupled to the communication network via a wired or wireless connection 35 . the computer systems 38 allow customers 60 to access the server 12 in order to play the on - line gaming applications provided by the operator 37 of the server 12 . the customers 60 may have to register prior to accessing the on - line gaming applications of the server 12 . in accordance with one embodiment , the gaming applications are mmogs . the computer systems 38 will be similar to the computer systems 14 . the computer system 38 may have a processor unit 40 and a display 42 . input devices may be coupled to the processor unit 40 . the input devices may be a keyboard 43 , a mouse 44 and the like . the processor unit 40 may have a memory 48 and a central processing unit 50 ( cpu ). the processor unit 40 may further have an i / o port 46 for downloading data to the processor unit 40 . the i / o port 46 may be a usb port , a firewire port or the like . the listing of the above is given as an example and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention . one or more customer servers 52 may be coupled to the server 12 via the communication network 36 . the customer servers 52 may be connected to the communication network 36 via wired and or wireless connections 53 . the customer servers 52 are used for hosting customer websites . the customer servers 52 may be coupled to a customer main computer system 54 . the customer main computer system 54 is used for adding content to the customer server 52 . referring now to fig1 - 9 , operation of the system 10 will be disclosed . in operation , a customer 60 will used the system 10 to partner with the operator 37 of the system 10 to offer an online promotion . in accordance with one embodiment , the customer 60 will offer visitors of the customer &# 39 ; s website 62 a chance to win predetermined prizes ( i . e ., cash , gifts , etc .) by playing an online game . in accordance with one embodiment , the online game is an online mmog . the mmog may be a casino game . as shown in fig7 , in the present embodiment , the mmog is a casino table game . to get started , the customer 60 will access the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . when a customer 60 accesses the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 , the customer may be sent to a registration section 66 of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . alternatively , the customer 60 may be sent to a home page of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 where the customer 60 may have to navigate by use of navigation tabs 68 to the registration section 66 of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . the registration section 66 allows the customer 60 to register as a new customer . if the customer 60 needs to register , the customer 60 may need to enter a plurality of identifying information . the registration section of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 will have a plurality of fields 70 where the identifying information is entered . the customer 60 will enter identifying information in the different fields . for example , the customer 60 may need to provide information such as , but not limited to : user name , password , company name , company address , and the like . once the registration information has been submitted and reviewed by the operator 37 , the customer 60 will be notified of acceptance or if the customer &# 39 ; s request has been declined . the notification may be an email , regular mail , a telephonic message , or the like . in accordance with one embodiment , the notification is an email . if the customer 60 has been approved , the email may contain a confirmation of acceptance and a link to login section 72 of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . in a similar manner , if the customer 60 is already a registered user , the customer will access the login section 72 of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 in order to log into and access the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . the login section 72 will have one or more fields 74 . the customer 60 may be able to access the operator website 64 by entering at least one of a user name and or a password in the appropriate field 74 . once the user name and or password has been validated , the customer 60 will be sent to the section of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 where the customer 60 may customize a particular gaming application . the section of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 where the customer 60 may customize a particular gaming application allows the customer to select a particular gaming application to use as a promotion . the gaming application may be any type of online gaming application . in accordance with one embodiment , the online gaming application is an online mmog . the mmog may be a casino game . as shown in fig8 in the present embodiment , the mmog is a casino table game and more specifically , a casino poker game . once a particular gaming application has been selected , the customer 60 may customize the gaming application . the customer 60 may customize the gaming application by selecting where and how different advertisements 76 may be shown . in accordance with one embodiment , the customer 60 may upload their logos 78 to be seen on the game table , background graphics to be seen behind the table and can insert advertising call tags so that their visitors see their ads while playing the game . alternatively , the customer 60 may provide links which allows their logos 78 and advertising call tags to be downloaded from the client server 52 . the customer 60 may further have the option of running an invitational tournament for all , or a specific subset ( high speed internet users ) of their players . the customer 60 may offer their registered users a private tournament that is only accessible through the entry of a code , password , or by loading an invitation list of specific emails . the customer 60 may further be provided with banners 78 to be placed on the customer &# 39 ; s website 62 . the banners 78 will provide advertisement inviting visitors to the customer &# 39 ; s website 62 the opportunity to visit the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 where the visitor may play different gaming applications . the visitors to the customer &# 39 ; s website 62 further may have the exclusive opportunity to play in a customer 60 sponsored only invitational tournament held at the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . the different gaming applications may award the winner different prizes . local league prizes are an option and can be added at any time . when a visitor to the customer &# 39 ; s website 62 clicks on the banner 78 or a link sent via email , the visitor is directed to a customized landing page 68 . the landing page 68 may explains about the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 , reviews the customer &# 39 ; s invitational tournament ( if applicable ), and or provides instructions on how to register . the landing page 68 is customized for each different customer . the landing page 68 may explains the above mentioned via text , audio , and or video means . in accordance with one embodiment , the landing page 68 introduces a site spokesman 80 , and reviews the customer &# 39 ; s invitational tournament ( if applicable ), and provides instructions on how to register . the landing page 68 is customized for each different customer 60 . if a visitor decided to participate and become a player of the mmog , the visitor is taken to a co - branded registration page 82 . the registration page 82 has a plurality of fields 84 . the fields 84 may be used for each player to enter identifying information . as part of the official rules , each player may have to agree to have the registration data shared . the identifying information to be entered in the fields 84 by each player may include , but is not limited to : player name , player address , date of birth , sex , screen name , password , email address , and the like . when a player that has registered from an affiliate site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) logs - in to the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 to play one of the gaming applications the player is sent to a home page 86 of the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 . the player is ‘ tagged ’ as coming from a specific ‘ affiliate ’ site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) on which the player registered . this means that players that have registered from these sites see a customized or ‘ skinned ’ presentation layer - extending the affiliates &# 39 ; content seamlessly . thus , each player sees an entirely different presentation layer based upon the affiliate site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) that particular player registered from . each player will see different advertisements 76 , banners 78 , and the like related to the specific ‘ affiliate ’ site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) on which the player registered from . when a player selects a particular gaming application , the player is sent to the gaming page 88 selected . again , the player is ‘ tagged ’ as coming from a specific ‘ affiliate ’ site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) on which the player registered . that player sees the customized or ‘ skinned ’ presentation layer - extending the affiliates &# 39 ; content seamlessly . each player sees a different presentation layer based upon which affiliate site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) that particular player registered from . thus , each player will see different advertisements 76 , banners 78 , and the like related to the specific ‘ affiliate ’ site ( i . e ., customer website 62 ) on which the player registered from . this allows the system 10 to have the different players playing at a single table all seeing different presentation in the embodiment shown in fig8 , each player sees a branded table top showing the logo 78 , backdrop , and a % of ads 76 that rotate around the table . in accordance with one embodiment , the logo 78 , backdrop , and a % of ads 76 that rotate around the table are called from the affiliate server 52 . this increases site visitation metrics and banner ad revenues , promotes cross conversion to other media and allows for targeted marketing to this online constituency . this also enables web properties to recognize players that have registered from their site at a site - specific basis while also having them compete at a national level . the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 may further have a leaderboard page 90 . the leaderboard page 90 presents standings at both a national and affiliate basis . the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 may further have a video page 92 . prior to and during pre - programmed game - breaks , a streaming media player may open as shown in fig1 . the video page 92 allows customers 60 to showcase ad content or rich - media ads . even if you one is not a customer 60 , the system 10 may allow any sponsor to deploy a promotional tournament , or series of tournaments , using the operator website 64 . for example : company xyz wants to offer their in - store visitors a new promotion . people come into the store and get a card with an invitation code on it . people go to the operator &# 39 ; s website 64 ( or through a landing page ) and register to play in the company xyz poker invitational . in order to register one must have a code — and of course no purchase is necessary . this could be done with a b2b application also where a national sales force runs a promotion and only the 3 , 000 sales people around the country can play and they can enter by just putting their joe @ mycompany . com email address in to the tournament registration area . the system 10 provides the thrill of high - stakes tournament gaming without any of the risk - all wrapped around a branded adver - gaming experience . customers 60 get to touch their visitors on multiple levels in a casual gaming atmosphere . while embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims .
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the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art , that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details . in other instances , well known process steps and / or structures have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . one or more embodiments of the invention relate to spectral purity filters for use in lithography systems . in an embodiment , a spectral purity filter having one edge attached to a supporting member is proposed . during use , gas flow , and preferably laminar gas flow , is furnished to provide gas flow support for the spectral purity filter and to counteract gravity . by way of example , hydrogen is often present in euv lithography systems and may be employed to provide gas flow support for the thin film material of the spectral purity filter . as the term is employed herein , gas flow support refers to the support for the film that otherwise would not exist in the absence of such gas flow . within this broad definition , the support itself may be accomplished by any number of gas ports ( such as a single gas port or multiple gas ports ) directed at or along or across one or both surfaces of the film . furthermore , the direction and / or volume and / or velocity of the gas exiting each port may be the same or may differ as desired . by using a gas flow to support the spectral purity filter , support is provided more evenly for the thin film . this is in contrast to the mesh approach , whereby the thin film is supported mostly in the vicinity of the mesh , necessitating small mesh openings ( and concomitantly a greater ratio of mesh vs . transmittance area ) to support the fragile thin film material . in an embodiment , no mesh material in employed in the area of the thin film that is employed for filtering purposes , thereby maximizing transmittance efficiency . in one or more embodiments , the gas flow is substantially parallel to the thin film surface . in one or more other embodiments , the gas flow may be directed at an angle to the thin film to achieve proper gas flow support to maintain the spectral purity filter at the desired operational position . in one or more embodiments , different gas volumes and / or velocities may be employed at different points and / or on different sides of the thin film to achieve proper and stable gas flow support for the thin film . in one or more embodiments , the remaining edges of the spectral purity filters are unsupported . in this configuration , there are no structures interrupting the laminar gas flow along the thin film surfaces ). in one or more embodiments , one or both of the edges that are parallel to the gas flow may be attached to one or more supporting members to stiffen the thin film . since the gas flow is parallel to the edge supporting members , there are also no structures in the gas flow path that may disrupt the laminar flow even though additional stiffness is achieved . in one or more embodiments , the supporting member that is attached to the thin film is a relatively inflexible supporting member that is capable of providing mechanical strength to permit coupling of the spectral purity filter to the rest of the lithography system . a flexible connecting member , such as a mylar ® film , may optionally be coupled between the inflexible supporting member and the more fragile thin film material . by providing a flexible connecting member , stress fractures due to , for example , vibration or other forms of mechanical stress may be reduced during use . in one or more embodiments , a start - up procedure may be provided . the spectral purity filter may initially rest in a vertical direction and may be supported by gravity . as part of the start - up procedure , gas flow may be gradually provided and may be varied in volume and / or velocity and / or direction to smoothly rotate the thin film to a more horizontal position . the gas flow may be provided in gradually increasing volumes and / or velocities and / or direction to avoid blasting the thin film with a sudden blast of gas . in an embodiment , a mechanical rotating arrangement ( such as a motor ) may be provided , alternatively or additionally , to assist the cantilevered thin film to rotate to the operational position , which may be more horizontal . the features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the figures and discussions that follow . fig1 shows , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , a spectral purity filter 100 having a thin film 102 . thin film 102 is attached along one edge 104 to a support structure 106 . for discussion purpose , edge 104 of thin film 102 that is attached to support structure 106 is referred to herein as the primary supported edge . thin film 102 may represent , for example , a thin film in the range of 10 - 100 nm thick and may be formed of a suitable material such as , for example , zr or si . in one or more embodiments , thin film 102 may be a planar structure having parallel planar surfaces . in other embodiments , thin film 102 may be a tapered structure such that the primary supported edge 104 is either thicker or thinner than the opposite edge or may be in the shape of a lens . in an embodiment , thin film 102 is rectangular or square in shape , and only one edge is attached to a support structure . in another embodiment , thin film 102 may have a different shape than shown ( such as for example a non - polygonal shape or a polygon with more than three or four edges ). fig2 shows , in accordance with an embodiment , spectral purity filter 100 disposed in an example operational position , which is substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of gravity . however , such position is not a limitation of the present invention , and the operational position may be at any desired angle . if the operational position is other than vertical , i . e ., other than parallel to gravity , support is provided to spectral purity filter 100 in the form of gas flow support provided by gas flow directed along the planar surface or planar surfaces of spectral purity filter 100 . for example , a gas may be flowed out of gas port 120 a along the lower side 110 of spectral purity filter 100 to provide gas flow support for spectral purity filter 100 . in some embodiments , gas may also be flowed along the upper side 112 of spectral purity filter 100 . this gas is shown flowing from gas port 120 b in the example of fig2 . the angle of incidence of the gas flow may be zero ( in which case the gas is flowed substantially parallelly to the plane of the thin film ) or may be at some other angle to provide the desired gas flow support . gas may be flowed from a single slit disposed near the primary - supported edge as shown in the example of fig2 or may be flowed from one or more jets directed along or at the planar surface or surfaces of the thin film . in one or more embodiments , the gas employed to provide gas flow support for the thin film of the spectral purity filter may be hydrogen , which is present in many euv lithography systems . however , any gas may be employed without limitation . in fig2 , edge 120 that is opposite primary supported edge 104 is preferably left free , i . e ., unattached to a supporting member , so as to avoid disrupting the laminar air flow . furthermore , the edges that are parallel to the air flow are also left unattached . in this cantilevered arrangement , the spectral purity filter is supported mechanically along the primary supported edge 104 and is supported by gas flow elsewhere . in other embodiments , however , one or more of the remaining edges may be attached to a supporting member , which provides mechanical stiffness for the attached edge ( s ). in the example of fig2 , support structure 106 is mechanically coupled to a gas manifold 130 that is configured for flowing gas along the lower and upper surfaces of thin film 102 . manifold 130 may in turn be coupled to other support structures of the lithography system . in an embodiment , the gas flow is directed along the axis that connects primary supported edge 104 with opposite edge 120 . fig3 shows spectral purity filter 100 in the pre - operational position . in this position , supporting structure 106 , which is coupled with primary supported edge 104 , is connected to the gas manifold ( or to other supporting structures of the lithography system ). however , since thin film 102 hangs vertically downward and is supported by gravity , gas flow support is unnecessary . as a start - up sequence , gas flow may be provided to facilitate rotating thin film 102 to its operational position ( e . g ., the horizontal position of fig2 ). the volume and / or velocity of gas employed for rotating thin film 102 may be varied over time and / or direction ( using for example rotatable nozzles ) and / or differentiated between the upper and lower surfaces to facilitate smoothly rotating thin film 102 into its operational position . in this case , support structure 106 may be permitted to free pivot to enable the rotation of spectral purity filter 100 into the operational position . in another example , a rotational force ( using for example a motor ) may be exerted on support structure 106 to assist in the rotation of spectral purity filter 100 into its operational position . it is preferred , however , that gas flow be provided to provide continuous gas flow support to thin film 102 while rotating and while spectral purity filter 100 is disposed at its operational position . fig4 shows , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , a spectral purity filter 400 having a thin film 402 . thin film 402 has an edge 404 coupled to a support structure 410 that comprises a flexible member 408 and a structural member 406 . in the example of fig4 , edge 104 is coupled to flexible member 408 , which is in turn coupled to structural member 406 . flexible member 408 , which is more flexible than structural member 406 , absorbs mechanical vibration and shocks to better protect thin film 402 against mechanical stress . in an example , flexible member 408 represents a flexible membrane such as mylar and may be attached to thin film 402 using an appropriate adhesive , for example . while this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments , there are alterations , permutations , and equivalents , which fall within the scope of this invention . although various examples are provided herein , it is intended that these examples be illustrative and not limiting with respect to the invention . for example , although the gas that provides gas flow support is shown flowing from slits , it is possible to flow such gas from one or more jets directed along or at the surface ( s ) of the thin film . as another example , although the gas is shown flowing along the axis that connects the primary supported edge with its opposite edge , the gas that provides the support may be flowed cross - wise or in any other direction as suitable for providing such support . as another example , although zr and si are discussed as examples of spectral purity filter thin film material , any suitable spectral purity filter material may be employed . also , the title and summary are provided herein for convenience and should not be used to construe the scope of the claims herein . further , the abstract is written in a highly abbreviated form and is provided herein for convenience and thus should not be employed to construe or limit the overall invention , which is expressed in the claims . it should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention . it is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations , permutations , and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention .
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the present invention constitutes an improvement over commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 and u . s . pat . no . 2 , 779 , 844 . the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 is itself an improvement over the invention disclosed and claimed in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 2 , 894 , 101 to lindell et al , which employs both a switch operator disclosed in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 563 , 102 to bernatt et al and an arc - extinguishing housing disclosed in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 671 , 697 to harner et al . referring first to fig1 there is shown one phase switch 10 of a three - phase , high - voltage switch , the other two phases of which are not shown . the other two phases may be aligned with the phase switch 10 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of fig1 . all three phase switches 10 may be located within a metal housing or cabinet . for a more complete description of this arrangement , see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 . the phase switch 10 is mounted to a metallic frame 12 to which all three phase switches may be commonly mounted . each phase switch 10 includes a switch blade 14 that is secured to a metallic switch - blade support 16 which is carried by one or more horizontal insulators 18 appropriately mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis 20 . electrical connection to the switch blade support 16 is made by a sliding contact 22 which is mounted on , and secured to , a stationary terminal 24 . the stationary terminal 24 is mounted on a stationary lower insulator 26 , which is carried by the frame 12 . the phase switch 10 also includes a stationary contact assembly , generally indicated at 28 , which constitutes the subject matter of the present invention , the details of which are set forth hereinafter . the stationary contact assembly 28 includes a contact support terminal bracket 30 that is mounted on an upper insulator 32 in any appropriate fashion . the stationary contact assembly 28 is enclosed by an arc - extinguishing housing , generally indicated at 34 , which constitutes the subject matter of the harner et al patent . the arc - extinguishing housing 34 is secured in any convenient fashion to the contact support terminal bracket 30 . the insulator 18 and the switch blade 14 are pivoted between the switch opened ( solid lines ) and the switch closed ( phantom lines ) positions about the horizontal axis 20 by the switch operator disclosed and claimed in the bernatt et al patent . the construction of the operator of the bernatt et al patent and its connection to the insulator 18 is such as to pivot the distal end of the switch blade 14 at a high velocity , such as 28 to 34 ft . per second although other blade velocities are contemplated . such relatively high velocity of the switch blade 14 minimizes arcing between the distal end of the switch blade 14 and the associated stationary contact assembly 28 when a circuit ( not shown ), opposed points of which are connected to the stationary terminal 34 and the contact support terminal bracket 30 , is closed to pick up a load , an overload or a short circuit . since the time permitted for arcing is correspondingly reduced by the high speed of the blade 14 , there is accordingly a corresponding reduction in erosion that would otherwise take place on both the blade 14 and the stationary contact assembly 28 if the circuit were not closed so rapidly . the switch blade 14 is arranged to pivot through a slot 35 ( fig2 ) in the arc - extinguishing housing 34 . the slot 35 , as more completely described in the harner et al patent , is defined by a pair of plates or covers 36 , only one of which is shown in fig1 ( see fig2 ). the stationary contact assembly 28 is located within the plates 36 and a pair of additional plate or cover sections 38 ( only one of which is shown in fig1 ), which may be formed integrally with , or otherwise attached to the plates or covers 36 . referring now to fig2 - 5 , it may be seen that the stationary contact assembly 28 includes a pair of contact plates 40 made of a good conducting metal . the contact plates 40 are secured to opposite sides of the contact support terminal bracket 30 by bolts 42 or other fasteners . the contact plates 40 have offset distal ends 44 , which include contacts 46 . the contacts 46 are concavities , preferably spherical , which are coined or otherwise die - formed in the distal ends 44 . typically , the radius of the concave , spherical contacts 46 is quite large , a radius on the order of approximately 13 / 8 inches being typical . this radius is indicated by the reference numeral 48 . the contacts 46 are preferably coaxial . coaxially formed on each contact plate 40 with the respective contacts 46 , are concavities 50 , also preferably spherical . the concavities 50 may be formed at the same time and during the same operation that forms the contacts 46 . the radius 52 of the concavities 50 is typically on the order of 13 / 4 inches . thus , the spherical contacts 46 and the spherical concavities 50 are mutually coaxial and each contact / concavity pair 46 / 50 is concentric . because the convexities 46 and concavities 50 are coined and no large mass ( as in the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 is added , the plates 40 may be spaced close together for a purpose set forth below . the contacts 46 define a gap 54 into and out of which the switch blade 14 is moved for engagement with and disengagement from the contacts 46 . the switch blade 14 is shown disengaged from the contacts 46 in fig4 and is shown engaged with the contacts 46 in fig3 . because of the spherical shape of the contacts 46 , the blade 14 is engaged thereby at opposed points thereof . the switch blade 14 may have a beveled edge , as indicated at 56 in fig2 and 3 . as the switch blade 14 approaches the contacts 46 , the beveled edge 56 is so related thereto that engagement of the blade 14 with the contacts 46 takes place at a relatively shallow angle . silver inserts 58 ( fig3 ) may be mounted in opposite sides of the switch blade 14 to provide low resistance contact engagement with the contacts 46 . preferably , the contact plates 40 are slotted , as shown at 60 ( fig5 ), to define a pair of furcations 62 . both furcations 62 on each contact plate 40 preferably have the contacts 46 and the concavities 50 formed therein . thus , the contact plates 40 define two pair of opposed contacts 46 for engagement with the switch blade 14 . the furcations 62 , and thus the four contacts 46 , are biased toward each other and into contact engagement with the silver inserts 58 by shallow , generally u - shaped leaf springs , generally indicated at 64 . the leaf springs 64 includes elongated central portions 66 which extend along the outside of the contact plates 40 generally parallel thereto . if the contact plates 40 contain the slot 60 forming the furcations 62 , the central portions 66 of the leaf springs 64 may also contain a slot , indicated at 68 , defining furcations 70 . the furcations 70 are generally aligned with the furcations 62 . the leaf springs 64 also include forward legs or extensions 72 and rearward legs or extensions 74 . the rearward legs or extensions 74 bear against the contact plates 40 near the bolts 42 and act as a reaction member for the leaf springs 64 . the forward legs or extensions 72 bear against the surfaces of the concavities 50 generally along the axes thereof . to this end , the terminus of each forward leg or extension 72 is ground , or otherwise shaped , to have a rounded surface which nestles in its respective concavity 50 . typically , the radius of the surface on the terminus of each forward leg or extension 72 is on the order of 1 - 23 / 32 of an inch as indicated by the radius 76 . the terminus of each forward leg or extension 72 both conformally nestles in its concavity 50 , and slidingly , frictionally moves relative thereto , as described below . the leaf springs 54 may be used with backup leaf springs 78 , held against the outside thereof . to facilitate mounting of the backup leaf springs 78 to the leaf springs 74 , and to prevent relative movement therebetween , the leaf springs 64 and 78 may contain mating dimples indicated generally at 80 which lock into each other . the back - up springs 78 may be furcated , by a slot 81 similar to the slot 68 ( see fig5 ). the leaf springs 64 and 78 are maintained bent by an equalizer 82 , which may take the form of a bolt 84 as shown . the bolt 84 extends through aligned clearance holes ( not shown ) in the leaf springs 64 and 78 and in the contact plates 40 . the tightening of a nut 86 on a threaded end of the bolt 84 bends the leaf springs 64 and 78 , and accordingly urges the contacts 46 together . referring again to fig2 and with additional reference to fig3 and 4 , the gap 54 between the contacts 46 maintained by the leaf springs 64 and 78 acted on by the equalizer 82 is slightly less than the thickness of the switch blade 14 . in order to maintain this gap 54 , a spacer pin 88 is employed . the spacer pin 88 may be made of stainless steel or the like , and is held in position by a rectangular insulating support 90 . in the preferred embodiment where the contact plate 40 is bifurcated , the insulating support 90 maintains a pair of spacer pins 88 between each pair of opposed furcations 70 . the insulating support 90 may be positioned between the contact plates 40 and may be located in a complimentarily shaped notch 92 formed in the contact support terminal bracket 30 . engagement of the insulative support 90 by the walls of the notch 92 prevents rotation thereof , while permitting the spacer pins 88 to &# 34 ; float &# 34 ; between the contact plates 40 . the bolt 84 constituting the equalizer 82 passes through a clearance hole ( not shown ) in the insulating support 90 to prevent linear movement thereof . the length of the spacer pins 88 is such that in the absence of the switch blade 14 from the vicinity of the contacts 46 , the gap 54 between the contacts 46 is maintained at a distance slightly less than the thickness of the switch blade 14 . comparing fig3 and 4 , if the switch blade 14 has moved to the closed position ( fig3 ), the contacts 46 are moved slightly apart against the biasing action of the leaf springs 64 and 78 . at this time , the full spring force of the leaf springs 64 and 78 is exerted against the contacts 46 to provide corresponding pressure thereof against the switch blade 14 and the silver inserts 48 therein . in fabricating and adjusting a commercial embodiment of the present invention where the switch 10 is rated for continuous current of 600 amperes , the bolt 84 constituting the equalizer 82 and the nut 86 thereon are tightened until the gap 54 is approximately 0 . 075 inch . subsequently , the bolt 94 and the nut 86 are readjusted with a test fixture in the gap 54 until the pressure of the contacts 46 on the test fixture is 38 pounds , plus or minus 2 pounds , with a gap 54 being maintained at approximately 0 . 125 inch by the test fixture . when the test fixture is removed from the gap 54 , the contacts 46 , which now move back toward each other , must be spaced apart from 0 . 060 to 0 . 080 inch . the switch blade 14 is approximately 0 . 125 inch thick . in operation , the switch blade 14 is pivoted in the direction indicated by arrow 94 ( see fig1 ) by the operator at high velocity . as the switch blade 14 approaches the contacts 46 , under such conditions that current flow at a relatively high voltage is to be established , there is a tendency for an arc to form between the advancing beveled edge 46 of the switch blade 14 and one or the other or both of the contacts 46 . the time for arc initiation to positive mechanical engagement between the switch blade 14 and the contacts 46 is approximately one millisecond if the arc is established at a voltage crest . this represents approximately 1 / 4 of the time for the current to reach its maximum value . if the current is established at a voltage zero , the time will be less than 1 / 3 of a millisecond . as previously noted , because of the beveled edge 56 on the switch blade 14 , and the large radius 48 of the contacts 46 , engagement between the switch blade 14 and the contacts 46 takes places at a relatively shallow angle . there is further blade travel after the time of positive mechanical contact , but during this time , the contact is a sliding contact between the blade 14 and the contacts 46 and little or no arcing exists if the contacts 46 do not bounce . the total time from arc initiation until the switch blade 14 reaches the fully closed position shown in fig2 and 3 , is four to five milliseconds or approximately 1 / 4 cycle at 60 hertz . the switch 10 constructed as described above , is capable of closing on a high - voltage circuit ( 5 , 000 volts or more ) with a high current available ( 40 , 000 amperes or more ). for example , the switch construction disclosed herein is capable of closing on a 40 , 000 ampere fault at from 14 . 4 - 25 kv two times and still carry rated continuous current on the order of 400 - 600 amperes . also , the switch 10 is capable of closing on a 40 , 000 ampere fault at the same voltage twice and still carry and interrupt the rated continuous current . the mounting of the stationary contact assembly 28 within the arc extinguishing housing 34 decreases the violence of a fault closing operation to a level which minimizes damage to the phase switch 10 and to other equipment in its vicinity . also , this construction permits opening the circuit and rapid extinguishment of any arc incident thereto . an important feature of the present invention is reduction to a minimum of transient mechanical oscillations incident to the switch closing operation . this is achieved by the use of the leaf springs 64 and 78 , by the low mass of the contacts 46 , by the close spacing of the plates 40 and by the frictional sliding engagement between the terminus of the forward legs or extensions 72 on the contacts 50 . specifically , the tensioning of the leaf springs 64 and 78 by the equalizer 82 applies a constant high force to the contacts 46 along the axis thereof by the forward legs or extensions 72 . this force application tends to damp out or prevent mechanical oscillations of the furcations 62 when the switch blade 14 engages the contacts 46 . because the contacts 46 are formed by a simple coining or stamping operation , and involve the addition of no mass thereto , in contrast to the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 , the mass thereof is kept to a minimum , considering the current carrying capacity thereof . as a consequence , the natural freqency of the entire mechanical system which includes the furcations 62 is increased over that shown in the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 676 , 629 . this increase in the natural frequency with its concomitant decrease in amplitude tends to minimize the bouncing or mechanical oscillations of the contacts 46 as they are engaged at high speed by the switch blade 14 . oscillations which do tend to occur are easily and quickly damped by the springs 64 and 78 . it will also be noted that , with respect to the contacts 46 , the furcations 62 pivot about a pivot point represented by the spacer pin 88 , as pivoting radius being defined between such spacer pin 88 and the contacts 46 . the central portions 66 of the leaf spring 64 , on the other hand , pivot about the equalizer 82 , the pivoting radius being defined between the bolt 84 thereof and the forward legs or extensions 72 . the pivoting radius for the forward extensions or legs 72 is longer than the pivoting radius for the contacts 46 . as a consequence , when flexing of the furcations 62 and of the leaf springs 64 occurs due to rapid engagement of the contacts 46 by the switch blade 14 , some relative sliding frictional movement between the rounded terminus of each forward leg or extension 72 and its conformally engaged , preferably spherical , concavity 50 occurs . this sliding frictional engagement , which involves the edges of the termini digging or biting into the concavities , dissipates energy and tends to damp or prevent mechanical oscillations of the contacts 46 and , accordingly , bounce of such contacts 46 . lastly , because the contacts 46 are coined , the plates 40 may be spaced closely together , as shown . thus , as the blade 14 engages the contacts 46 , current flow generates a magnetic field which is very effective in pulling the closely spaced plates 40 together further preventing or damping oscillations therein in aid of the springs 64 and 78 . the contact assembly 28 can move slightly from side to side as a unit . as a consequence , large asymmetric magnetic forces due to high ( e . g ., fault ) currents flowing as the switch blade 14 attempts to engage the contacts 46 are unable to cause unbalanced pressure on opposite sides of the switch blade 14 by the contacts 46 . because the contact plates 40 are preferably longer than the leaf springs 64 and 78 , such contact plates 40 cannot apply a large force on the contacts 46 . accordingly , the force applied by the contacts 46 to opposite sides of the switch blade 14 is determined primarily by the leaf springs 64 and 78 . thus , a significant change in contact force by the contacts 46 against the blade 14 does not occur if the contact plates 40 are bent or annealed by either magnetic forces due to high current flowing therein , or heat generated by such currents , or by arcs . as is well known , auxiliary contact fingers ( not shown ) may be attached to the contacts 46 in advance thereof . during a closing operation , any arc that is established to the switch blade 14 terminates on such auxiliary contacts rather than on the contacts 46 . as a result , no initial arcing takes place between the switch blade 14 and the contacts 46 , thus increasing the life of such contacts 46 . the above described embodiments of the present invention are simply illustrative of the principles thereof . various other modifications and changes may be devised by those skilled in the art which embody the principles of this invention yet fall within the spirit and scope thereof .
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referring to fig1 the engine coolant heater , generally indicated as 11 , includes a housing 13 with an insulation cover 15 to promote thermal efficiency of the engine coolant heater 11 . the top of housing 13 has an opening 17 . contained within the housing 13 is a combustion chamber 19 which includes a stack 21 which extends vertically through opening 17 . the stack 21 has fixably mounted thereto by any conventional means a hood 23 to prevent foreign objects from entering the combustion chamber 19 . the combustion chamber 19 further includes a burner 25 , which in the preferred embodiment forms the base of the combustion chamber 19 . a plurality of members 27 are fixably mounted by any conventional means such as by welding to the bottom of burner 25 and the housing base 29 to support the combustion chamber 19 and stack 21 within the housing 13 . the housing further includes a drain plug 31 screwably mounted in the base 29 to permit draining . a coolant heating tank 33 is mounted within the combustion chamber 19 . the coolant heating tank 33 includes a coolant inlet tube 35 and a coolant outlet tube 37 which journeys through the combustion chamber 19 and the housing 13 in a fitted manner to fixably support the coolant heating tank 33 within the combustion chamber 19 . the inlet tube 35 and outlet tube 37 communicate with an engine cooling system ( not shown ). in operation fuel is continuously delivered to the engine coolant heater 11 from a fuel source ( not shown ) through a fuel line 39 to the burner 25 in metered amounts , the fuel being gravity fed or pump motivated through line 39 . the fuel may be of any suitable type , e . g ., gasoline , diesel fuel , ethyl ether , etc . to initiate fuel combustion , a resistance probe 41 is electrically energized by any conventional means to deliver sufficient thermal energy to the burner 25 contained fuel to initiate combustion . after the fuel is ignited by resistance ignition probe 41 , a temperature sensor 42 will cause the resistance ignition probe 41 to be de - energized in any conventional manner , e . g ., sensor 42 can activate a switching means to remove electrical potential from probe 41 . it is noted that it is not necessary to atomize the fuel ignition and , because the fuel is delivered in a metered amount , the combustion rate is controlled . ignition probe 41 can be composed of a nickel or nickel chromium alloy , which substances when subjected to electrical stimulus will generate sufficient thermal energy to ignite diesel fuel if employed in the preferred embodiment of the preferred embodiment . the heater tank 33 is located in proximity to the burner 25 to receive substantial amounts of thermal energy generated as a result of fuel combustion , therefrom transmitting the received thermal energy to the contained coolant . the coolant outlet tube 37 is vertically elevated with respect to the coolant inlet tube 35 , such that , the acquisition of thermal energy by the contained coolant will increase the kinetic energy of the coolant to allow the coolant to be self - motivated to discharge from the heating tank 33 and circulate within an engine , eliminating the necessity for a pump to stimulate coolant circulation in an engine . referring to fig1 and , more particularly to fig2 the burner 25 of the combustion chamber 19 includes a base 43 having a metering orifice member 44 extending vertically through and slightly beyond the bottom 45 of base 43 . the fuel line 39 is in fitted communication with the metering orifice member 44 beneath the base 43 . the base 43 has a shallow ringed ridge 47 formed therein encircling the metering orifice member 44 atop base 43 . the resistance ignition probe 41 journeys through the housing 13 into the combustion chamber 19 to a point just inside the ringed ridge 47 . the base 43 also has a plurality of holes 49 extending vertically therethrough . because of the spacing between the combustion chamber 19 and stack 21 with respect to the housing 13 external air is permitted to travel unassisted therebetween and beneath base 43 through holes 49 to facilitate in fuel combustion . to promote fuel ignition , fuel delivered through line 39 and metering orifice 44 collects within ring ridge 47 . the heating rod 41 is positioned to directly communicate with fuel collected within ridge 47 and is electrically stimulated by any conventional means to obtain a temperature sufficient to ignite for fuel . for example , in the case of no . 2 diesel fuel the ignition temperature is between 500 ° to 800 ° f . after ignition is obtained , heating rod 41 is de - energized in a manner aforementioned , fuel combustion thereafter being self - sustaining . the metering orifice 44 allows a sufficient fuel flow for continuous combustion . the holes 49 in base 43 have formed ridge 51 therearound atop base 43 of sufficient elevation to protect against spillage of fuel through the holes 49 . to assist flow through the metering orifice 44 when heavy fuels are to be used , for example diesel fuel , an electrical resistance heating coil 53 can be employed . the heating coil 53 is fixably mounted to and beneath base 43 by any conventional jmeans encircling the area of communication between line 39 and metering orifice 44 . also , fixably mounted by any conventional means to the bottom 45 of base 43 is a housing ring 55 which in conjunction with bottom 45 of base 43 partially encases the heating coil 53 to promote thermal efficiency . conduit 57 carries electrical lines 59 to the heating coil 53 to enable coil 53 to be electrically energized by any conventional means . referring to fig3 an alternative burner 25 includes a base 111 having a plurality of holes 113 extending vertically therethrough . holes 113 in base 111 have formed ridge 115 therearound atop base 111 of sufficient elevation to protect against spillage of fuel through the holes 113 . a metering orifice 117 is contained in base 111 in fitted communication with line 39 beneath base 111 . encircling the metering orifice 117 on the top of base 111 is an electrical resistance heating element 119 which has a conduit 121 extending through the base 111 communicating with heating element 119 containing power lines ( not shown ). the heating element 19 creates a heat well to assist fuel flow through the orifice 117 in addition to promoting fuel ignition . aligned below the heating element 119 mounted to the underside of base 111 is insulating material 123 encircling the area of communication between the metering orifice 117 and fuel line 39 just below base 111 . in the alternative embodiment fluid which is transmitted from line 39 through metering orifice 117 is heated by elements 119 , ignition probe 41 which extends slightly within the heat well formed by heating element 119 is electrically energized to achieve ignition . once the ignition is achieved , fuel combustion is self - sustaining and continuous . the preferred embodiments of the present invention are particularly compatible for use in a vehicle in conjunction with an on board micro - processor . the micro - processor can be programmed to activate the engine coolant heater 11 in a manner aforedescribed at a particular time and deactivate the coolant heater 11 when the engine coolant has reached a certain inlet temperature . it is noted , that in the preferred embodiments of the present invention , probe 41 only requires electrical power for a short period of time sufficient to ignite a fuel . the electrical power requirement of heating coil 53 or heating element 119 in the alternative embodiment is relatively small since their function is to only supply sufficient heat to promote through orifices 44 or 117 , respectively , and need not be used unless a heavy fuel is used in the presence of an extremely cold environment . the orifices 44 and 117 are sized to permit a flow rate sufficient to have controlled fuel combustion .
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100 carrier 120 pocket 122 bottom 124 sides 126 opening 128 upper band 130 panel 140 shoulder strap 142 lower strap 143 strap buckle 150 pet retention member 153 a , 153 b retention member fasteners 170 wedge 180 pet aperture in the following description , the term “ carrier ” refers to carriers worn on the back which are used to transport a pet such as a small or medium sized dog or cat . the term “ longitudinal axis ” when used herein , means the axis defined by line 4 ′- 4 ′ of ( fig3 ). the singular terms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . similarly , the word “ or ” is intended to include “ and ” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of this disclosure , suitable methods and materials are described below . the term “ comprises ” means “ includes .” all publications , patent applications , patents , and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes . in case of conflict , the present specification , including explanations of terms , will control . in addition , the materials , methods , and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting . referring generally to fig1 through 14 , a generally teardrop shaped pet carrier 100 includes a sewn construction with sides 124 , a top opening 126 and a bottom 122 . adhered to or sewn into the bottom is a flexible panel 130 shown in fig8 and 9 as a dashed line . the carrier has sides that stretch and become taut when the panel is in a relaxed position ; i . e ., not folded or rolled for storage purposes . top bands 128 are preferably made of an elasticized fabric that constrain panel 130 to a generally j - shaped or c - shaped profile . whatever the top band material , an elastic cord , not shown , can be placed within bands 128 tying the top left and bottom left corners and the top right and bottom right corners of the panel to maintain a curved shape while permitting the panel to spring and flex slightly when the pet is transported while jogging or riding a bicycle . the panel may be one piece or a divided panel . the panel may be bent or scored transversely . carrier 100 is shown in fig1 - 4 , and fig7 - 14 having a panel in a relaxed state wherein the panel has assumed a j - shape due to the constraining material of the carrier . because panel 130 is flexible , the carrier can be stored by placing straps 140 into opening 126 and further bending along the bend shown at the bottom of the figure . as seen in fig2 , while bottom 122 is unobstructed so as to provide a even surface against a transporter &# 39 ; s back . it is possible that a pad , mat or roll can be placed between the bottom and a transporter &# 39 ; s back for cushioning purposes or to tilt / elevate the carrier ( see fig1 ). fig3 shows top opening 126 of carrier 100 bounded by sides 124 , and bottom 122 which forms a main cavity which can be any depth or size to accommodate various sizes of pets . while pet retention members 150 are depicted in the preferred embodiment as straps similar to shoulder straps 140 , retention members can be for example , a flap with an aperture that permits a pet to pass its head through . it should be also noted that aperture 180 formed by straps or flap retention member is shaped and sized such that a pet may escape if needed , for example , in cases where the pet owner stumbles or falls from his or her bicycle . fig4 is a cross - sectional view taken along lines 4 ′- 4 ′ of ( fig3 ) that shows panel 130 disposed between outer and inner surfaces of the carrier , and side 124 that connects the upper and lower portions of the panel . typically , a semi - rigid plastic panel is sewn between the materials covering of the carrier which can be a ballistic nylon , polyester webbing , kevlar or another durable material . fig4 and 5 depict typical uses of the carrier of the present invention , and show respectively , carrier 100 mounted to the back of a standing transporter , and the carrier mounted to the back of a bicyclist . in either case , the curve of bottom 122 provides a floor that encourages the pet to stand or sit in a forward facing position . in this way the pet can experience the sights along with its human transporter . fig5 a in a diagrammatic view shows a carrier when in a uncollapsed state suitable for carrying a pet , and in fig5 b , the carrier in the process of forced collapse in preparation for storing the carrier . vertices of the panel may be living hinges , or the panel may be scored so that it assumes more readily the desired profile . fig5 c and 5 d show other panel configurations that are collapsible . fig6 depicts a teardrop shaped carrier wherein the panel is divided into sections which are placed or sandwiched between the materials of the carrier . fig7 shows an embodiment having a retention member 150 in the form of a flap with an aperture or slit 180 therein to permit a pet &# 39 ; s head to pass therethrough . such a flap may be connected along any side of the carrier , and secured by fasteners such as hook and loop strips ( 153 a , 153 b ) at its free end . typically , the carrier is worn by the pet owner as shown in fig1 similar to a backpack when walking or riding ( see fig1 ). fig1 shows a typical forward mass shift of a carried body ( m ). the position of the panel 130 curve to frame ( f ) changes as the mass shifts , in this case , forward and down from the first to second frames . the tendency of the bottom of the panel to follow the pet &# 39 ; s mass maintains a stable platform for the pet when subjected to the acceleration and deceleration of transport . the outer materials of the carrier can be any sufficiently lightweight fabric , synthetic material or leather . while in the preferred embodiment , the straps are adjusted by buckles , other strap adjustment means suggesting themselves to persons having skill in the art and benefit of this disclosure can be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention . while panel 130 is shown in the preferred embodiment as a rectangular panel that is curved by biasing caused by the surrounding material / fabric , other panel shapes such as rounded corner rectangles and ellipses are contemplated and can be used together or separately in either unitary form , conjoined , adjacent or abutting each other within the present invention . in any case , when the panel of is curved , it is the intent and design of the present invention that a substantially level foothold relative to a horizontal axis be maintained for the carried pet so pet fatigue is minimized and slumping discouraged . referring to fig1 , the present invention includes an optional wedge 170 for placement between the forward facing surface of the carrier and a pet transporter &# 39 ; s back as shown to adjust the angle of the carrier for a particular mode of transport ; e . g . ; hiking , biking , boating , jogging and running among others , according to user preference and pet comfort . preferably , the wedge is constructed of a closed cell foam , but can be produced by forming a three - sided channel of a flexible plastic . the wedge can be removably affixed to the bottom of the carrier by hook and loop fasteners , snaps , or other fastening means as would suggest itself to those having skill in the art and access to this disclosure . it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner , and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed . exemplary features and objects of the embodiments described herein can be combined or not combined with one another . accordingly , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .
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referring initially to fig1 a and 1 b there is illustrated a reservoir , generally indicated by reference numeral 10 , containing hydrocarbons 12 in the sub - surface 14 . a survey vessel 16 , upon which is located a sonar transmitter 18 , being an acoustic source , and an array of receivers 20 , performs a survey by travelling over the reservoir 10 . the first or initial survey , fig1 a , may be referred to as a base survey and is typically performed in the exploration phase before production begins . the base survey of the reservoir 10 provides a set of seismic traces at a first time t . for a given trace , the base survey provides amplitudes that are a function of time . with digital recording and processing the trace is sampled at a set of values ; typical trace lengths correspond to around 1000 samples . the trace is then handled as a set of values . one or more wells 22 may be drilled in order to extract the hydrocarbons 12 . as the reservoir 10 is produced , hydrocarbons will be substituted by other fluids and the fluid pressure will change . additionally , enhanced oil recovery techniques may be applied wherein a fluid is injected into the reservoir at one or more locations giving changes in fluid pressure and saturation . changes within the reservoir may also change the stress and strain state of the surrounding rocks . thus when a further survey is carried out , fig2 b , these changes will be seen due to a consequential change in the velocity field . these changes to velocity will produce time shifts in the seismic expression of underlying reflectors and associated changes in reflectivity , causing a change in the local wavefield . thus reservoir monitoring performs a monitor survey of the reservoir 10 , taken at a second time t + δ t , with a set of seismic traces . in the simplest assumption , δ t is a positive quantity , and the monitor survey is taken at a time later than the base survey ; however , the order in which the surveys are taken is irrelevant to the operation of the process of the invention and , in principle , the time lapse δt could as well be negative — which amounts to comparing the earlier survey to the later one . as for the base survey , a sampled trace in the monitor survey is represented as a set of values . ideally , the traces in the monitor survey are associated to the same positions as in the base survey . this is carried out by using , inasmuch as possible , the same equipment , acquisition geometry and processes for running the base and monitor surveys . techniques such as interpolation may be used where traces in the monitor survey and in the base survey do not fulfil this condition . in order to link the seismic data ( traces ) on which interpretations are based and the geology ( reflection coefficients ) being interpreted , the seismic wavelet ( an impulse response which travels through the surface ) is defined , based on the known convolutional model of a seismic trace , where the seismic trace is a convolution of the seismic wavelet with the subsurface reflectivity ( plus noise ). the seismic wavelet is the waveform which would be recorded by a seismic system for a reflection from a single plane reflecting boundary in the subsurface . this wavelet can be thought of as acting like a filter through which the geology is viewed when interpreting the image provided by seismic data . however , this wavelet needs to be estimated accurately . the problem of wavelet estimation has been a key problem in geophysics for some time . present methods of wavelet estimation comprise deconvolving a seismic trace with a sequence of reflection coefficients from a seismogram . a common way of estimating wavelets is to estimate the wavelet that would best match the reflectivities measured at the well using a convolution process on the 3d seismic data . this technique has many drawbacks which include : 1 . wavelets are not stable neither laterally nor vertically and if the wells are distant to the place of interest , the wavelets may not be well adapted ; 2 . wavelets estimated in this way are adapted to 3d and may not be adequate for 4d processing ; 3 . this technique requires a large time window and so the estimated wavelet may be an “ average ” wavelet ; 4 . with better drilling technology the majority of wells ( producer and injectors ) are now drilled sub - vertically or in some cases horizontally through the reservoir . this makes conventional wavelet estimation difficult and sometimes impossible . other techniques attempt to estimate the wavelets directly from the seismic data : the spectrum can be estimated from the square root of the autorcorrelation ( with the assumption that reflectivity has a white spectrum ) and phase through kurtotsis analysis ( with assumption of uniform distribution ); however none of these approaches are reliable and they are hardly used . the problem of an inaccurately defined wavelet is more acute when dealing with 4d seismic data since only tiny anomalies are being looked for , and an inaccurate wavelet can be a huge source of error . despite this , wavelets estimated as above from 3d seismic data at the wellhead are typically used when interpreting 4d seismic data . therefore , instead of using the reflectivities measured at the well , it is proposed to use the reflectivities provided by the 4d signal . advantages of this approach include : 1 . 4d reflectivities are limited to only a small number of layers where dynamic changes have occurred ; 2 . the reflectivities can be measured away from the wells where the 4d signal actually exists . fig2 is a flowchart describing a method using the 4d signal to estimate the wavelet . at step 200 , the survey data ( base and monitor ) is obtained . this data may have been gathered as described in relation to fig1 a and 1 b . at step 210 , the monitor survey data is aligned to the base survey data . while the base and monitor surveys each show a large number of reflections ( for every boundary ), once aligned , most of the reflections overlap . only in regions where changes have occurred over the time between the surveys will there be non - overlapping reflections . consequently the change in the seismic data δs between base and monitor is sparse , with few dynamic reflections , and can be defined as : where ω is the wavelet , r b are the base reflectivities , r m are the monitor reflectivities and δr is the change in reflectivities between base and monitor . considering a layer where the saturation or pressure ( or both ) have changed , there will be a change of impedance δip at the top of this layer and an opposite change of impedance − δip at the bottom of this layer . therefore the change in reflectivities δr for any dynamic layer can be defined using only three parameters relating to the positions of the boundaries defining the layer and the magnitude of the reflectivity signal at these boundaries . in one embodiment , each layer is defined by the position of the layer top t ( or bottom or any other position identifier ), the thickness of the layer δt and the change in the reflectivity signal amplitude δa for the layer . the 4d seismic data observed will be the result of the convolution of the wavelet by a dipole of opposite sign at position t , t + δt . at step 220 initial values are given to the unknowns in ωδr ( amplitudes , initial reflectivities and the wavelet . a general initial guess of the number of layers is the minimum input . more complex initial guesses can optionally be made by picking horizons from the 4d or 3d data . at step 230 , all the seismic traces ( or a subset thereof ) are optimised simultaneously . the expected ranges of variation of the initial values can also be specified . this optimisation may be performed by minimising a cost function such as : although it should be appreciated that any norm or difference measurement of δs and ω * δr can be used to calculate the cost . while it is true that both the wavelet ω and δr are both unknown , their values relative to each another can be determined . the sparse distribution of the reflection coefficients in the 4d seismic data is the key of this technique . there are theorems in the super resolution literature showing that under certain conditions of sparsity the inversion process is exact . of course the seismic data are not noise free and noise will perturb the inversion response . fortunately as the single inversion uses data from several or many seismic traces , the wavelet can be constrained and a unique wavelet can be solved for . if instead of a single layer there are several layers where changes occur , the situation is the same since the convolution process is linear . therefore , for a signal composed of n traces , with m layers ( composed of 2 reflectors ) and a wavelet of length l , there are in total 3 × m × n + l parameters to optimise ( where the 3 in this total results from the three parameters which define δr ). this total is much smaller than n × s , where s is the number of samples . therefore the problem is overconditioned . with the wavelet estimated in this way , the absolute amplitude of the wavelet co or of the change in reflectivity δr is unknown . in an embodiment , the relative impedance inversion values may be used as they are . in another embodiment , the wavelet may be scaled ( step 240 ) to determine its absolute amplitude . a scaling factor α ( positive or negative ) may be defined , such that : the scaling step determines the constant α that determines correctly the true scaled wavelet : there are a number of different options for performing scaling step 240 , which include : 1 . convolving the unscaled wavelet with some true reflectivity measured ( for example ) at a well location : s = ω * δr true ( local to the estimation or not ). the computed synthetic trace ( s ) can be compared with true seismic ( s true = ω true * δr true ) at the well location using the ratio : 2 . using travel - time information . by using the fact that 4d data has a time shift that is given by the integral of relative velocity changes it is possible to use the base and non - aligned monitor traces to determine the magnitude of δv p / v p . thus using the commonly known expression : δr ≈ δip / ip ≈ δv p / v p + δρ / ρ ≈ βδv p v p and assuming a value for β , the true reflectivity can be approximated along with the scaling factor α ( where δv p / v p is the change in p - wave velocity value , δip / ip the change in impedance , and δρ / ρ is the change in density ). the factor β may represent an estimated ratio between δv p / v p , and δρ / ρ ( such an estimation can be made based upon knowledge of the subsurface composition , as is understood by the skilled person ) and may in a specific embodiment equate to 1 + δv p / v p / δρ / ρ . 3 . it is also possible to use prior information based on production information , reservoir simulation and rock physics modelling to directly infer the maximum reflectivity changes ( max ( δr true )) expected , and to scale the data accordingly by max ( δr )/ max ( δr true )= α . one or more steps of the methods and concepts described herein may be embodied in the form of computer readable instructions for running on suitable computer apparatus , or in the form of a computer system comprising at least a storage means for storing program instructions embodying the concepts described herein and a processing unit for performing the instructions . as is conventional , the storage means may comprise a computer memory ( of any sort ), and / or disk drive , optical drive or similar . such a computer system may also comprise a display unit and one or more input / output devices . the concepts described herein find utility in all aspects ( real time or otherwise ) of surveillance , monitoring , optimisation and prediction of hydrocarbon reservoir and well systems , and may aid in , and form part of , methods for extracting hydrocarbons from such hydrocarbon reservoir and well systems . it should be appreciated that the above description is for illustration only and other embodiments and variations may be envisaged without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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turning now to the drawings , systems and methods for operation of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game are illustrated . in several embodiments , an anti - sandbagging hybrid game is a form of a hybrid game that integrates both a gambling game that includes a real world engine ( rwe ) which manages the gambling game , as well as an entertainment game that includes a game world engine ( gwe ) which manages the entertainment portion of a game , and an entertainment software engine ( ese ) which executes the game for user entertainment . in certain embodiments , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game also includes a user interface associated with either or both the gambling game and the entertainment game . in operation of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game , a player acts upon various types of elements of the entertainment game in a game world environment . upon acting on some of these elements , a wager is triggered in the gambling game . in playing the entertainment game , using the elements , a player can consume and accrue game world credits ( gwc ) within the entertainment game . these credits can be in the form of game world objects , experience points , points , etc . wagers are made in the gambling game using real world credits ( rc or rwc ). the real world credits can be credits in an actual currency , or may be credits in a virtual currency . gambling outcomes from the gambling game may cause consumption , loss or accrual of real or virtual credits . in addition , gambling outcomes in the gambling game may influence elements in the entertainment game such as by restoring a consumed element , causing the loss of an element , restoration or placement of a fixed element , etc . example elements include enabling elements ( ee ) which are elements that enable a player &# 39 ; s play of the entertainment game and may be consumed during play and may also be replenished during play within the entertainment game . other types of elements include actionable elements ( ae ) which are elements that are acted upon and may not be restorable during normal play of the entertainment game . various hybrid games are discussed in patent cooperation treaty application no . pct / us11 / 26768 , filed mar . 1 , 2011 , entitled “ enriched game play environment ( single and / or multi - player ) for casino applications ” and patent cooperation treaty application no . pct / us11 / 63587 , filed dec . 6 , 2011 , entitled “ enhanced slot - machine for casino applications ” each disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . in many embodiments , an anti - sandbagging hybrid game utilizes an anti - sandbagging so that entertainment game play of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game is fair to the player ( s ) of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game irrespective of player skill level at the entertainment game . the anti - sandbagging module can employ handicaps to entertainment game play to ensure that both less and more skilled players can derive a normal level of pleasure and progress in entertainment game play and that there is a fair amount of competition between players of different skill levels in head to head play of the entertainment game . in certain embodiments the anti - sandbagging module only monitors entertainment game play to ensure fair game play of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game irrespective of player skill level at the entertainment game . in particular embodiments the anti - sandbagging module monitors the entire anti - sandbagging hybrid game , such as by factoring in random outcomes in the entertainment game due to payouts from the gambling game , to ensure fair play of the entertainment game irrespective of player skill level at the anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in several embodiments , an anti - sandbagging module ensures fair game play irrespective of player skill level by assigning rankings to each player of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game based upon player performance measurements and by assigning handicaps based upon each player &# 39 ; s rankings . in certain embodiments , player performance measurements are based upon a player &# 39 ; s performance results from head to head play against opponents . in particular embodiments , player performance measurements are experience points for game attributes from which a player &# 39 ; s ranking can be derived . in numerous embodiments , an anti - sandbagging module monitors a player &# 39 ; s performance during entertainment game play after an initial player ranking is assigned to handicap the player if the player has significantly deviated from the player &# 39 ; s expected performance at the entertainment game . in certain embodiments , statistical analysis using a player &# 39 ; s current performance measurements and historical performance measurements are used determine if the player has significantly deviated from expected performance at the entertainment game . anti - sandbagging hybrid games in accordance with embodiments of the invention are discussed further below . in many embodiments , an anti - sandbagging hybrid game integrates high levels of entertainment content with a game of skill ( entertainment game ), a gambling experience with a game of chance ( gambling game ), and a fair game play experience irrespective of player skill level with an anti - sandbagging module . an anti - sandbagging hybrid game provides for a random outcome independent of player skill while providing that the user &# 39 ; s gaming experience ( as measured by obstacles / challenges encountered , time of play and other factors ) is shaped by the player &# 39 ; s skill . an anti - sandbagging hybrid game in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 a . the anti - sandbagging hybrid game 128 includes a rwe 102 , gwe 112 , ese 120 , gambling game user interface 122 , entertainment game user interface 124 and an anti - sandbagging module 126 . the two user interfaces may be part of the same user interface but are separate in the illustrated embodiment . the rwe 102 is connected with the gwe 112 and the gambling game user interface 122 . the ese 120 is connected with the gwe 112 and the entertainment game user interface 124 . the gwe 112 is connected also with the entertainment game user interface 124 . the anti - sandbagging module 126 is connected with the gwe 112 . in several embodiments , the rwe 102 is the fundamental operating system for the gambling game of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game 128 and controls and operates the gambling game . the operation of a gambling game is enabled by money , such as real funds , accretes and declinates real gambling credits based on random gambling outcome , and whose gambling proposition is typically regulated by gaming control bodies . in many embodiments , the rwe includes a rw operating system ( os ) 104 , random number generator ( rng ) 106 , level “ n ” real - world credit pay tables ( table ln - rwc ) 108 , rwc meters 110 and other software constructs that enable a game of chance to offer a fair and transparent gambling proposition , and to contain the auditable systems and functions that can enable the game to obtain gaming regulatory body approval . a random number generator ( rng ) 106 includes software and / or hardware algorithm and / or processes , which are used to generate random outcomes . a level “ n ” real - world credit pay table ( table ln - rwc ) 108 is a table that can be used in conjunction with a random number generator ( rng ) 106 to dictate the real world credits ( rwc ) earned as a function of game play and is analogous to the pay tables used in a conventional slot machine . table ln - rwc payouts are independent of player skill . there may be one or a plurality of table ln - rwc pay tables 108 contained in a gambling game , the selection of which may be determined by factors including ( but not limited to ) game progress a player has earned , and / or bonus rounds which a player may be eligible for . real world credits ( rwc ) are credits analogous to slot machine game credits , which are entered into a gambling game by the user , either in the form of money such as hard currency or electronic funds . rwcs can be decremented or augmented based on the outcome of a random number generator according to the table ln - rwc real world credits pay table 108 , independent of player skill . in certain embodiments , an amount of rwc can be required to enter higher ese game levels . rwc can be carried forward to higher game levels or paid out if a cash out is opted for by a player . the amount of rwc required to enter a specific level of the game “ level n ” need not be the same for each level . in many embodiments , the gwe 112 manages the overall anti - sandbagging hybrid game operation , with the rwe 102 and the ese 120 effectively being support units to the gwe 112 . in several embodiments , the gwe 112 contains mechanical , electronic and software system for an entertainment game . the gwe 112 includes a gw game operating system ( os ) 114 that provides control of the entertainment game . the gwe additionally contains a level “ n ” game world credit pay table ( table ln - gwc ) 116 from where to take input from this table to affect the play of the entertainment game . the gwe 112 can further couple to the rwe 102 to determine the amount of rwc available on the game and other metrics of wagering on the gambling game ( and potentially affect the amount of rwc in play on the rwe ). the gwe additionally contains various audit logs and activity meters ( such as the gwc meter ) 118 . the gwe 112 can also couple to a centralized server for exchanging various data related to the player and their activities on the game . the gwe 112 furthermore couples to the ese 120 . in many embodiments , a level “ n ” game world credit pay table ( table ln - gwc ) 116 dictates the gwc earned as a function of player skill in the nth level of the game . the payouts governed by this table are dependent upon player skill and game play at large and may or may not be coupled to a random number generator . in several embodiments , game world credits ( gwc ) are player points earned or depleted as a function of player skill , i . e . as a function of player performance in the context of the game . gwc is analogous to the “ score ” in a typical video game . each entertainment game has one or more scoring criterion , embedded within the table ln - gwc 116 that reflects player performance against the goal ( s ) of the game . gwc can be carried forward from one level of game play to another , and ultimately paid out in various manners such as directly in cash , or indirectly such as earning entrance into a sweepstakes drawing , or earning participation in , or victory in , a tournament with prizes . gwc may be stored on a player tracking card or in a network - based player tracking system , where the gwc is attributed to a specific player . in certain embodiments , the operation of the gwe does not affect the rwe &# 39 ; s gambling operation except for player choice parameters that are allowable in slot machines today including but not limited to the wager amount , how fast the player wants to play ( by pressing a button or pulling the slot &# 39 ; s handle ) and / or agreement to wager into a bonus round . in this sense , the rwe 102 provides a fair and transparent , non - skill based gambling proposition co - processor to the gwe 112 . in the illustrated embodiment , the communication link shown between the gwe 112 and the rwe 102 allows the gwe 112 to obtain information from the rwe 102 as to the amount of rwc available in the gambling game . the communication link can also convey a necessary status operation of the rwe ( such as on - line or tilt ). the communication link can further communicate the various gambling control factors which the rwe 102 uses as input , such as the number of rwc consumed per game or the player &# 39 ; s election to enter a jackpot round . in fig1 a , the gwe 112 is also shown as connecting to the player &# 39 ; s user interface directly , as this may be necessary to communicate certain entertainment game club points , player status , control the selection of choices and messages which a player may find useful in order to adjust their entertainment game experience or understand their gambling status in the rwe 102 . in various embodiments , the ese 120 manages and controls the visual , audio , and player control for the entertainment game . in certain embodiments , the ese 120 accepts input from a player through a set of hand controls , and / or head , gesture , and / or eye tracking systems and outputs video , audio and / or other sensory output to a user interface . in many embodiments , the ese 120 can exchange data with and accept control information from the gwe 112 . in several embodiments an ese 120 can be implement using a personal computer ( pc ), a sony playstation ® ( a video game console developed by sony computer entertainment of tokyo japan ), or microsoft xbox ® ( a video game console developed by microsoft corporation of redmond , wash .) running a specific entertainment game software program . in numerous embodiments , an ese can be an electromechanical game system of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game that is an electromechanical hybrid game . an electromechanical hybrid game executes an electromechanical game for player entertainment . the electromechanical game can be any game that utilizes both mechanical and electrical components , where the game operates as a combination of mechanical motions performed by at least one player or the electromechanical game itself . various electromechanical hybrid games are discussed in patent cooperation treaty application no . pct / us12 / 58156 , filed sep . 29 , 2012 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . the ese 120 operates mostly independently from the gwe 112 , except that via the interface , the gwe 112 may send certain gw game control parameters and elements to the ese 120 to affect its play , such as ( but not limited to ) what level of character to be using , changing the difficulty level of the game , changing the type of gun or car in use , and / or requesting potions to become available or to be found by the character . these game control parameters and elements may be based on a gambling outcome of a gambling game that was triggered by an element in the entertainment game being acted upon by the player . the ese 120 can accept this input from the gwe 112 , make adjustments , and continue the play action all the while running seamlessly from the player &# 39 ; s perspective . the ese &# 39 ; s operation is mostly skill based , except for where the ese &# 39 ; s algorithm may inject complexities into the game by chance in its normal operation to create unpredictability in the entertainment game . utilizing this interface , the ese 120 may also communicate player choices made in the game to the gwe 112 , such as but not limited to selection of a different gun , and / or the player picking up a special potion in the gw environment . the gwe &# 39 ; s job in this architecture , being interfaced thusly to the ese 120 , is to allow the transparent coupling of entertainment software to a fair and transparent random chance gambling game , providing a seamless perspective to the player that they are playing a typical popular entertainment game ( which is skill based ). in certain embodiments , the ese 120 can be used to enable a wide range of games including but not limited to popular titles from arcade and home video games , such as but not limited to gears of war ( a third person shooter game developed by epic games of cary , n . c . ), time crisis ( a shooter arcade game developed by namco ltd of tokyo , japan ), or madden football ( an american football video game developed by ea tiburon of maitland , fla .). providers of such software can provide the previously described interface by which the gwe 120 can request amendments to the operation of the ese software in order to provide seamless and sensible operation as both a gambling game and an entertainment game . in several embodiments , the rwe 102 can accept a trigger to run a gambling game in response to actions taken by the player in the entertainment game as conveyed by the ese 120 to the gwe 112 , or as triggered by the gwe 112 based on its algorithms , background to the overall game from the player &# 39 ; s perspective , but can provide information to the gwe 112 to expose the player to certain aspects of the gambling game , such as ( but not limited to ) odds , amount of rwc in play , and amount of rwc available . the rwe 102 can accept modifications in the amount of rwc wagered on each individual gambling try , or the number of games per minute the rwe 102 can execute , entrance into a bonus round , and other factors , all the while these factors can take a different form than that of a typical slot machine . an example of a varying wager amount that the player can choose might be that they have decided to play with a more powerful character in the game , a more powerful gun , or a better car . these choices can increase or decrease the amount wagered per individual gambling game , in the same manner that a standard slot machine player may decide to wager more or less credits for each pull of the handle . in several embodiments , the rwe 102 can communicate a number of factors back and forth to the gwe 112 , via an interface , such increase / decrease in wager being a function of the player &# 39 ; s decision making as to their operational profile in the entertainment game ( i . e . power of the character , gun selection , car choice , etc .). in this manner , the player is always in control of the per game wager amount , with the choice mapping to some parameter or component that is applicable to the entertainment game experience of the hybrid game . in a particular embodiment , the rwe 102 operation can be a game of chance running every 10 seconds where the amount wagered is communicated from the gwe 112 as a function of choices the player makes in the operation profile in the entertainment game such as those cited above . in many embodiments , an anti - sandbagging hybrid game integrates a video game style gambling machine , where the gambling game ( i . e . rwe 102 and rwc ) is not player skill based , while at the same time allows players to use their skills to earn club points which a casino operator can translate to rewards , tournament opportunities and prizes for the players . the actual exchange of monetary funds earned or lost directly from gambling against a game of chance , such as a slot machine , is preserved . at the same time a rich environment of rewards to stimulate “ garners ” can be established with the entertainment game . in several embodiments , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game can leverage very popular titles with “ garners ” and provides a sea change environment for casinos to attract players with games that are more akin to the type of entertainment which a younger generation desires . in various embodiments , players can use their skill towards building and banking gwc which in turn can be used to win tournaments and various prizes as a function of their “ gamer ” prowess . numerous embodiments minimize the underlying changes needed to the aforementioned entertainment software for the hybrid game to operate within an entertainment game construct , thus making a plethora of complex game titles and environments , rapid and inexpensive to deploy in a gambling environment . in certain embodiments , anti - sandbagging hybrid games also allow players to gain entry into subsequent competitions through the accumulation of game world credits ( gwc ) that accrue as a function of the user &# 39 ; s demonstrated skill at the game . these competitions can pit individual players or groups of players against one another and / or against the casino to win prizes based upon a combination of chance and skill . these competitions may be either asynchronous events , whereby players participate at a time and / or place of their choosing , or they may be synchronized events , whereby players participate at a specific time and / or venue . in many embodiments , one or more players engage in playing an entertainment game , resident in the ese , the outcomes of which are dependent at least in part on skill . the anti - sandbagging hybrid game can include an entertainment game that includes head - to - head play between a single player and the computer , between two or more players against one another , or multiple players playing against the computer and / or each other , as well as the process by which players bet on the outcome of the entertainment game . the entertainment game can also be a game where the player is not playing against the computer or any other player , such as in games where the player is effectively playing against himself or herself ( such as but not limited to solitaire and babette ). in many embodiments , if an entertainment game includes a version of madden football ™ for example , a player can bet on whether or not the player is going to beat the computer , or if the player is playing against another player , that other player . these bets can be made , for example , on the final outcome of the game , and / or the state of the game along various intermediary points ( such as but not limited to the score at the end of the 1st quarter ) and / or on various measures associated with the game ( such as but not limited to the total offensive yards , number of turnovers , or number of sacks ). players can bet against one another , or engage the computer in a head to head competition in the context of their skill level in the entertainment game in question . as such , players can have a handicap associated with their player profile that describes their skill ( which can be their “ professed skill ” in certain embodiments ), and which is used by a gwe ( such as a local gwe or a gwe that receives services from remote servers ) to offer appropriate bets around the final and / or intermediate outcomes of the entertainment game , and / or to condition game play as a function of player skill , and / or to select players across one or more anti - sandbagging hybrid games to participate in head to head games and / or tournaments . in such a scenario , assurances should be made to ensure that the player is not sandbagging , i . e . that the player has not previously performed below his actual skill level , in order to play in a future game with a lower skill rating and consequently have a better chance to win . for example , a highly skilled scrabble ® player might play ten games of scrabble and intentionally garner mediocre scores so as to be handicapped as a “ beginner ”. this highly skilled player could then enter a “ beginner ” tournament , making a number of bets regarding the progress or outcome of the game , and in such tournament play at his true level of skill ( i . e . “ expert ”), thereby giving him a substantial advantage over the true beginner players in the tournament . such a player would be guilty of sandbagging . various embodiments include measures to prevent sandbagging in the context of hybrid games where the outcome of the game is in part or in whole determined by player skill and where betting as a function of skill - related performance and / or outcomes is permitted . each of these embodiments can be used singularly or in conjunction with one or more of the other embodiments . each of the embodiments is configured by the casino through the gwe ( via an “ anti - sandbagging module ”) or a master anti - sandbagging server to which the relevant gwes are subscribed . the gwe uses the anti - sandbagging software module to evaluate player performance against the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level as represented by his handicap . it does this by comparing the player &# 39 ; s performance during game play against the player &# 39 ; s historical performance and / or the historical performance of players with similar handicaps . to the extent that the player &# 39 ; s current performance exceeds his historical performance and / or the historical performance of his peers ( vis - à - vis their handicaps ) in a statistically meaningful way , the player is deemed to be sandbagging . in that event one or more of the below embodiments can be brought into force , having been parameterized previously by the casino as regards the severity with which the player &# 39 ; s performance and / or status is to be affected . in numerous embodiments , an anti - sandbagging module receives player performance measurements from the anti - sandbagging hybrid game and determines an appropriate skill level or ranking for the player based on those player performance metrics and initiates anti - sandbagging provisions as may be appropriate . performance measurement data may include , but is not limited to , an outcome of the player playing the entertainment game , such as an expenditure , gain , loss or accumulation of gwc , player &# 39 ; s experience points or the like ( either as a rate or a total accumulation ), a player &# 39 ; s use of entertainment game resources such as ees or aes ( either as a rate or an absolute amount ) during one or more playing sessions , or a player &# 39 ; s use , loss or accumulation of wagered credit resources , either real or virtual , ( either as a rate or an absolute amount ), etc . in addition , various other metrics may be derived from the performance measurement data , such as by determining a relationship , such as a ratio , between an outcome of the player &# 39 ; s play of the entertainment game and a resource utilized by a player when playing the entertainment game . for example , determining the relationship of a rate of accumulation of gwc or other types of experience points by a rate of use of ee , credit , ae , etc . other derivations may be determining a relationship between an accumulation of a gwc or other measure of experience by a total amount of a resource used , such as ees , aes , credits , etc . although various components of anti - sandbagging hybrid games are discussed above , anti - sandbagging hybrid games can be configured with any component appropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordance with embodiments of the invention . network connected anti - sandbagging hybrid games are discussed further below . anti - sandbagging hybrid games in accordance with many embodiments of the invention can operate locally while being network connected to draw services from remote locations or to communicate with other anti - sandbagging hybrid games . in numerous embodiments , an anti - sandbagging module receives player performance measurements from one or more anti - sandbagging hybrid games and determines an appropriate skill level or ranking for the player based on those player performance metrics and initiates anti - sandbagging provisions as may be appropriate . in a case where two or more players wish to compete against each other in a head to head anti - sandbagging hybrid game , the anti - sandbagging module determines an appropriate anti - sandbagging provision for each player based on a comparison of the player &# 39 ; s rankings to historical performance measurements for the players . a deployment diagram of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 b . in the diagram , an anti - sandbagging hybrid game 130 may be hosted by any computing device 132 capable of presenting interactive entertainment and gambling games to a player , such as ( but not limited to ) a land based or casino gaming machine , a personal computer , a gaming console , a wireless device such as a personal digital assistant , notepad computer , or smart phone . the anti - sandbagging hybrid games 130 may include a server 134 hosting an anti - sandbagging module connected with the various computing devices via a computer network , such as a local area network or a wide area network . in many embodiments , operations associated with an anti - sandbagging hybrid game such as ( but not limited to ) processes for calculating score or rwc and gwc tracking can be performed across multiple devices . these multiple devices can be implemented using or in connection with a single server or a plurality of servers such that an anti - sandbagging hybrid game is executed as a system in a virtualized space , such as ( but not limited to ) where the rwe and gwe are large scale centralized servers “ in the cloud ” coupled to a plurality of widely distributed ese controllers or clients via the internet . in many embodiments , an rwe server can perform certain functionalities of a rwe of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in certain embodiments , a rwe server includes a centralized odds engine which can generate random outcomes ( such as but not limited to win / loss outcomes ) for a gambling game , thereby eliminating the need to have that functionality of the rwe performed locally within the anti - sandbagging hybrid game . the rwe server can perform a number of simultaneous or pseudo - simultaneous runs in order to generate random outcomes for a variety of odds percentages that one or more networked anti - sandbagging hybrid games may require . in certain embodiments , an rwe of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game can send information to a rwe server including ( but not limited to ) table ln - rwc tables , maximum speed of play for a gambling game , gambling game monetary denominations or any promotional rwc provided by the operator of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in particular embodiments , a rwe server can send information to a rwe of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game including ( but not limited to ) rwc used in the gambling game , player account information or play activity and a profile associated with a player . in several embodiments , a gwe server can perform the functionality of the gwe across various anti - sandbagging hybrid games . these functionalities can include ( but are not limited to ) providing a method for monitoring high scores on select groups of games , linking groups of games in order to join them in head to head tournaments , and acting as a tournament manager . in a variety of embodiments , management of player account information can be performed by a gwe patron management server separate from a gwe server . a gwe patron management server can manage player account information , including ( but not limited to ) data concerning players &# 39 ; characters , players &# 39 ; game scores , players &# 39 ; rwc and gwc and managing tournament reservations . although a gwe patron management server is discussed separate from a gwe server , in certain embodiments a gwe server also performs the functions of a gwe patron management server . in certain embodiments , a gwe of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game can send information to a gw patron management server including ( but not limited to ) gwc and rwc used in a game , player account information , play activity and profile information for players and synchronization information between a gambling game and an entertainment game or other aspects of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in particular embodiments , a gw patron management server can send information to a gwe of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game including ( but not limited to ) entertainment game title and type , tournament information , table ln - gwc tables , special offers , character or profile setup and synchronization information between a gambling game and an entertainment game or other aspects of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in numerous embodiments , an ese server provides a host for managing head - to - head play , operating on the network of eses which are connected to the ese server by providing an environment where players can compete directly with one another and interact with other players . although an ese server is discussed separate from a gwe server , in certain embodiments a gwe server also performs the functions of an ese server . servers connected via a network to implement anti - sandbagging hybrid games in accordance with many embodiments of the invention can communicate with each other to provide services utilized within an anti - sandbagging hybrid game . in several embodiments a rwe server can communicate with a gwe server . a rwe server can communicate with a gwe server to communicate any type of information as appropriate for a specific application , including ( but not limited to ): configure the various simultaneous or pseudo simultaneous odds engines executing in parallel within the rwe to accomplish the anti - sandbagging hybrid game system requirements , determine metrics of rwe performance such as random executions run and outcomes for tracking system performance , perform audits , provide operator reports , and request the results of a random run win / loss result for use of function operating within the gwe ( such as where automatic drawings for prizes are a function of ese performance ). in several embodiments a gwe server can communicate with an ese server . a gwe server can communicate with an ese server to communicate any type of information as appropriate for a specific application , including ( but not limited to ): the management of an ese server by a gwe server such as the management of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game tournament . typically a gwe ( such as a gwe that runs within an anti - sandbagging hybrid game or on a gwe server ) is not aware of the relationship of itself to the rest of a tournament since in a typical configuration the actual tournament play is managed by the ese server . therefore , management of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game tournament can include ( but is not limited to ) tasks such as : conducting tournaments according to system programming that can be coordinated by an operator of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game ; allowing entry of a particular player into a tournament ; communicating the number of players in a tournament and the status of the tournament ( such as but not limited to the amount of surviving players , their status within the game , time remaining on the tournament ); communicating the status of an ese contained in a game ; communicating the performance of its players within the tournament ; communicating the scores of the various members in the tournament ; and providing a synchronizing link to connect the gwes in a tournament , with their respective ese &# 39 ; s . in several embodiments a gwe server can communicate with a gw patron server . a gwe server can communicate with a gw patron server to communicate any type of information as appropriate for a specific application , including ( but not limited to ) information for configuring tournaments according to system programming conducted by an operator of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game , exchange of data necessary to link a player &# 39 ; s profile to their ability to participate in various forms of game play ( such as but not limited to the difficulty of play set by the gwe server or the gwe in the game they are playing on ), determining a player &# 39 ; s ability to participate in a tournament as a function of a player &# 39 ; s characteristics ( such as but not limited to a player &# 39 ; s gaming prowess or other metrics used for tournament screening ), configuring the game contained gwe and ese performance to suit preferences of a player on a particular anti - sandbagging hybrid game , as recorded in their player account , determining a player &# 39 ; s play and gambling performance for the purposes of marketing intelligence , and logging secondary drawing awards , tournament prizes , rwc and gwc into the player &# 39 ; s account . in many embodiments , the actual location of where various algorithms and functions are executed may be located either in the game contained devices ( rwe , gwe , ese ), on the servers ( rwe server , gwe server , or ese server ), or a combination of both . in particular embodiments , certain functions of a rwe server , gwe server , gw patron server or ese server may operate on the local rwe , gwe or ese contained with an anti - sandbagging hybrid game locally . in certain embodiments , a server is a server system including a plurality of servers , where software may be run on one or more physical devices . similarly , in particular embodiments , multiple servers may be combined on a single physical device . anti - sandbagging hybrid games in accordance with many embodiments of the invention can be networked with remote servers in various configurations . a networked anti - sandbagging hybrid game in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 . the networked anti - sandbagging hybrid game 160 is connected with a rwe server 162 , gw patron management server 164 , gwe server 166 and ese server 168 over a network 170 , such as ( but not limited to ) the internet . servers networked with a networked anti - sandbagging hybrid game 160 can also communicate with each of the components of a networked anti - sandbagging hybrid game and amongst the other servers in communication with the networked anti - sandbagging hybrid game 160 . although various networked anti - sandbagging hybrid games are discussed above , networked anti - sandbagging hybrid games can be configured in any manner as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordance with embodiments of the invention . assignment of handicaps within anti - sandbagging hybrid games is discussed further below . anti - sandbagging hybrid games in accordance with many embodiments of the invention can provide the fairness of entertainment game play irrespective of player skill level by assigning handicaps as ant - sandbagging provisions to players based upon a player &# 39 ; s performance measurements . an anti - sandbagging hybrid game includes a gwe that utilizes input from an anti - sandbagging module to implement the proper handicap to players to ensure fairness of entertainment game play . an anti - sandbagging module is able to assign handicaps based upon a player &# 39 ; s ranking , and a player &# 39 ; s ranking can be based upon performance measurements received from a gwe . a sequence diagram describing an anti - sandbagging hybrid game that assigns handicaps to players that can be dynamically adjusted by current play sessions in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig2 . the timing diagram 200 includes an anti - sandbagging module 204 receiving ( 206 ) player performance measurements from a gwe 602 for a player . these performance measurements are stored as historical performance measurements to be used to evaluate the player &# 39 ; s performance in a future playing session . in the same or subsequent playing session , additional player performance measurements are received ( 210 ) are received by the anti - sandbagging module 204 . the anti - sandbagging module determines ( 212 ) if the player exceeded an expected player performance as described herein . if the player has exceeded the expected player performance , then a handicap as an anti - sandbagging provision is assigned to the player . the anti - sandbagging module then transmits ( 216 ) the assigned handicap to the gwe . the gwe then implements ( 220 ) the handicap during a player session , whether it be head - to - head or in solo play . player performance measurements . the anti - sandbagging module also receives ( 222 ) information on player performance during the handicapped play sessions to determine ( 224 ) if the player significantly deviates from expected player performance in a statistically meaningful way . the information on player &# 39 ; s performance can include current as well as historical player performance and can also include information on the particular player , other players or a group of players . if the player significantly deviates from the expected player performance in a statistically meaningful way , then the player &# 39 ; s ranking can be adjusted ( 226 ) accordingly . in certain embodiments , the player &# 39 ; s handicap is also adjusted according to the adjustment made to the player &# 39 ; s ranking . in some embodiments , the historical performance measurements are from players that are similarly ranked as the player being evaluated . that is , in the case that the player has asserted a particular ranking , the player may be evaluated to determine if the player has misstated their ranking by determining if the player &# 39 ; s performance exceeded the player performance of similarly ranked players . the extent to which randomness , as opposed to skill , affects events in , or the outcome of , the entertainment game can be altered so as to reduce the impact of player skill relative to the impact of random events upon game play . in a shooting game , for example , the accuracy with which shots can be aimed at targets is a function of the aim of the player plus a random component that impacts the trajectory of the player &# 39 ; s shot . the amount by which the trajectory is affected by the random component can be a small or large amount relative to the underlying accuracy with which the player actually aims the gun . the random component in this case can be thought of as a radius extending outward from the inherent aiming accuracy of the player , with the radius increasing to the extent which randomness is to play a greater role in determining the result of the shot , from a radius of zero to a radius much , much greater than the inherent accuracy of the player &# 39 ; s aim . in some embodiments , the introduction of randomness can be consistently applied across the game for all players participating in a game , or it can be applied independently as a function of each player &# 39 ; s handicap ( i . e . the measure of their skill in the game ) on a player by player basis . the introduction of randomness can also be dynamically established during game play in response to an evaluation of the player &# 39 ; s performance relative to historical norms for that player , or a population set of relevance ( e . g . players with a similar handicap ). if a player is outperforming his historical performance levels by a statistically significant margin as determined by the anti - sandbagging module , the amount of randomness introduced into the player action ( s ) under consideration will be increased on the fly , until such time as the player &# 39 ; s performance in the game aligns more closely with the performance expected as a function of the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level ( i . e . his handicap ). another example of using randomness as a handicap would be to introduce error in the steering ( analogous to a “ loose ” steering system ) of a race car game for the player who has been deemed by the anti - sandbagging system to be operating outside normal level ranges ( in a statistically significant way ) of play given the player &# 39 ; s professed level of skill . conventionally , games utilize an absolute scoring system to evaluate performance of the player . as a mechanism to preclude sandbagging , the invention allows for a relative scoring system to be utilized , such that the amount of gwc that a player accumulates during a game and at its conclusion , as a function of various actions and / or achievements , is scaled as a function of one of a number of factors . factors that can algorithmically modify the baseline ( i . e . absolute ) scoring system ( inclusive of the game &# 39 ; s modifications to scoring as a function of level of difficulty and / or other variables ) resident in the game include , but are not limited to the following . in some embodiments , a modifier to the score is applied as a function of player skill — either demonstrated in the immediate context of the game or based upon prior performance within the game or prior game play sessions . to do so , a modifier to the score as a function of the player &# 39 ; s performance in the game relative to his expected performance based upon a previously established handicap as established by the anti - sandbagging module through the use of one or more such modifiers , a skilled player is in effect discouraged from sandbagging because his score can be retarded as a function of demonstrated performance superior to expected or professed capability . for example , in a game of pop - a - shot , two players enter a head - to - head tournament professing to be “ beginners ” ( meaning in this case they are likely to hit less than 40 % of their shots ), information contained within their player profile . in reality one of these players , player b , is “ advanced ”, meaning he can hit over 70 % of his shots in the game , but he has sandbagged his previous playing of the game to trick the system into believing he is a beginner . the game is slated to take four minutes . during the first minute , the game calculates that player b is hitting 75 % of his shots , and determines , by comparing this performance against the historical performance of legitimate beginner players during the first minute of play , that this performance is , statistically speaking , only 10 % likely to represent the play of an actual beginner player . as a result , subsequent baskets made by player b , instead of being worth 10 points are worth a lesser amount . in this example , they are now worth only four points , which corresponds to a score that would drive player b to a number of points equivalent to the median of “ beginner ” players ( i . e . hitting 75 % of his shots at 40 % of the nominal score makes each attempt worth three points , which would be equivalent to a beginner player hitting 30 % of his shots ). in many embodiments , this process could be revisited continuously throughout game play , periodically , or a single time as a function of set up parameters controlled by the casino via the anti - sandbagging module of the gwe of the anti - sandbagging hybrid game . the algorithmic modification of the score can take as arguments not only the aforementioned evaluation of skill and the players &# 39 ; professed skill , but can also take into account the gap in score between the player or players relative to each other , or a historical record of score history for the players themselves or a class of players to which they each belong ( i . e . “ beginner ”, players who have played in excess of twenty times , players over 65 and with less than twenty plays , etc .). as such , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game can modify a player &# 39 ; s score downwards or upwards more or less via the aforementioned mechanisms ( and others ) to ensure that the game remains “ close ”. in another embodiment , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game enforces limits on the value of bets that can be placed , and / or the amount that can be won , by players as a function of the professed skill level of one or more of the players , these limits being established by the casino or operator . generally speaking , the amount that can be bet on a game , an intermediate outcome of a game , or an intermediate or final characteristic of the game would be limited . limiting the amount that can be wagered in this way dissuades high skill players from masquerading as lower skill players because the amount of money they can win is less . this functionality , configured by the casino or operator via the anti - sandbagging function within the gwe , can take a number of forms , including , but not limited to , the following . maximum bets limited for all players as a function of the lowest professed skill level of all players in the game . for example if two players are going to be competing in a football game , the lower skill level player &# 39 ; s level ( e . g . “ high school ”, “ college ”, “ pro ” might be the levels used to grade players in the context of the football game ) will govern the maximum bet that can be made for each available wager between the players . in another embodiment , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game enforces limits on the number of bets that can be placed , and / or the aggregate value of bets placed and / or the aggregate value of bets won , by players over time as a function of the professed skill level of one or more of the players , these limits being established by the casino . this functionality can take a number of forms , including , but not limited to , the following or some combination thereof . maximum number of bets a player can place over a fixed period of time , or a fixed number of game plays , or in the absolute . this cap may be applied in the context of the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level as recorded in their player profile , such that if the player moves up or down a skill level the cap can be periodically reset . maximum number of bets a player can win over a fixed period of time , or a fixed number of game plays , or in the absolute . this cap may be applied in the context of the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level as recorded in their player profile , such that if the player moves up or down a skill level the cap can be reset . maximum value of bets a player can place over a fixed period of time , or a fixed number of game plays , or in the absolute . this cap may be applied in the context of the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level as recorded in their player profile , such that if the player moves up or down a skill level the cap can be reset . maximum value of bets a player can win over a fixed period of time , or a fixed number of game plays , or in the absolute . this cap may be applied in the context of the player &# 39 ; s professed skill level as recorded in their player profile , such that if the player moves up or down a skill level the cap can be reset . in another embodiment , the anti - sandbagging hybrid game prevents sandbagging by monitoring player performance in the anti - sandbagging hybrid game against the historical performance of all players of the same overarching skill level , and / or a representative but static data set of similar information and / or against the player &# 39 ; s own historical performance . the gwe anti - sandbagging module ( or a server based version of the anti - sandbagging module interfacing to a number of gwes ) utilizes statistical methods to establish , to a prescribed confidence interval , whether the player &# 39 ; s performance in the game suggests that the player is of a higher skill level than the professed skill level of the player as recorded within his player profile . a counter is maintained in the player &# 39 ; s profile as to the number of times that the player &# 39 ; s performance exceeds the statistically expected performance for a player of the professed skill level . when the counter reaches a certain level ( a ), a warning may be issued to the player . the counter may reflect ( non - comprehensively ) the number of individual game sessions in which sandbagging was identified , or the number of specific intervals ( e . g . time or levels ) of game play in which sandbagging was identified , or the number of times sandbagging occurred and a bet over a certain amount was won , or a combination of these factors , etc . when the counter reaches a second threshold ( equal to or greater to the level a ), ( b ), the player may have his account flagged for manual review and a higher level of go - forward scrutiny , and his skill level ratcheted up one level . at a third threshold ( c ), the player &# 39 ; s account may be temporarily suspended , and at a fourth threshold ( d ) the account may be permanently closed and the individual behind the account precluded from participating in subsequent activities within the game in question , the casino in question and / or the casino group in question . the thresholds a through d may be coincident or reflect a step - wise ( but not necessarily linear ) increase in the counter , and a variety of different punitive actions ( distinct from the exemplary list above ) may be implemented . the withholding of winnings , reduction of winnings , or the assessment of penalties or fines ( against a deposit that could , for example , be required by players to participate in the skill based wagering aspect of anti - sandbagging hybrid game play ) can accompany crossing one or more of the thresholds a through d . note also that the such an embodiment is not limited expressly to four levels of punitive action , but that any number from 1 to n may be included as part of the penalty assessment construct . generally speaking , the penalty assessment methodology establishes a series of penalty thresholds . for each threshold a specific punitive action is prescribed . penalty thresholds are reached as a function of the player having been found to be sandbagging a certain number of times . the counter used to establish whether a threshold has been crossed can track one or more measures of sandbagging frequency within a single counter ( i . e . each game in which a player sandbags across multiple game titles can be tracked singularly ), or multiple counters can be used in parallel across different games or to measure sandbagging along multiple dimensions within a single game , each triggering thresholds independently . for example , consider a first person shooter game , where a player professes to be of intermediate skill , but actually has the capabilities of an expert . having sandbagged for a number of games to establish his skill as intermediate he enters into a head - to - head competition with a truly intermediate player , and then plays to the fullest of his ability . the gwe anti - sandbagging module compares the accuracy of the player &# 39 ; s shooting over a period of twenty shots against the distribution of accuracy for players graded as intermediate and determines with a high degree of statistical confidence that the player is in fact not an intermediate player . the counter increases from 0 to 1 , and in this case threshold a is crossed at a count of “ one instance where the player &# 39 ; s shooting accuracy is statistically such that it is not of an intermediate level ”. a warning is issued to the player and game play continues . two more samples of twenty shots are evaluated subsequently , and because the determination is made that the player is still performing at a level significantly above that of an intermediate player the counter has incremented to three , and threshold b is crossed , causing the player &# 39 ; s account to be flagged for review , a second warning issued , and the player &# 39 ; s professed skill as recorded in his profile to be elevated to “ expert ” for subsequent game play . in some embodiments , the aforementioned counter is maintained until a resetting event takes place , such as a certain number of game plays or a certain amount of elapsed time without any increase in the counter . note also that the penalties assessed can be “ outside ” the entertainment game ( e . g . suspension of a player &# 39 ; s account , disgorgement of winnings , resetting the player &# 39 ; s handicap to a higher level ), or “ inside ” the entertainment game ( e . g . player &# 39 ; s character is severely injured by stepping on a land mine , the player &# 39 ; s gun jams , the player &# 39 ; s football team is assessed a penalty and loss of down in a football game , etc .). reducing the benefits of skill via the introduction of deterministic errors as anti - sandbagging provision in some embodiments , performance in the context of the entertainment game is a function of both player skill and a certain degree of randomness introduced during game play . to address perceived sandbagging ( as measured in the manner previously described , i . e . a statistically significant deviation of current player performance relative to a standard or norm ) a deterministic ( instead of random ) error ( which need not be a static value ) is injected into the entertainment game . for example , in a first person shooter game , if the anti - sandbagging module determines that the player is sandbagging , a deterministic error in the player &# 39 ; s aim can be introduced into the data encapsulating the aim of the weapon generated in the entertainment game when the player fires his weapon , before such data is used by the game to establish whether the target was hit . the introduction of this inaccuracy can take place between the player &# 39 ; s game controller and the ese , or within the ese itself ( as a function of a flag set by the gwe or other means ), after data from the controller has been received . while it is possible for the player to ultimately compensate for deterministic errors , they still have the effect of causing the player to perform at a lower level than otherwise for a period of time . in various embodiments , the amount of error introduced ( or its vector ) can be altered over time as a function of the current status of the player &# 39 ; s performance relative to his professed skill . in this way a feedback loop is at work , continuously adjusting the vector of the error introduced until the player &# 39 ; s measured performance is in line with expected norms given his professed skill level . another form of sandbagging consists of players introducing “ ringers ” i . e . imposters whose pretense is intended to gain an advantage in competition , as replacements in head - to - head and / or tournament play . for example , an intermediately skilled scrabble ® player may be ranked appropriately , but allow a highly skilled player to use his account , making a number of bets regarding the progress or outcome of the game , and in such tournament play at his true level of skill ( i . e . “ expert ”), thereby giving him a substantial advantage over the true beginner players in the tournament . such a player would be guilty of using a ringer . linking an individual player to a specific account prevents ringers . in some embodiments , the anti - sandbagging module uses biometric identification methods . in order to confirm the identity of the player and to prevent a player from re - enrolling under a different name , player names and / or accounts are linked to specific biometric measurements . such measurements could include but are not limited to : retinal scans , iris recognition , fingerprints , palm prints , facial / image recognition , and voice prints . these measurements could be used for both positive and negative biometric identification . initial measurements may be taken during account set - up , when first engaging in gameplay , or when issued a unique id such as a ticket , code , or other means for anonymous play . biometric data would “ travel with ” any unique id or account . in many embodiments , players confirm biometric identification as soon as a he logs into an account or starts gameplay . if a player fails to provide accurate biometric measurements , the anti - sandbagging module may first issue a warning and allow the player to submit measurements again . further failures subject players to the penalty assessments described above . in numerous embodiments , biometric identification methods are used when the anti - sandbagging module alerts the operator that play is inconsistent with past performances . gameplay may pause , requiring the player to immediately submit to biometric identification . alternatively , the anti - sandbagging module may periodically take unobtrusive biometric measurements to confirm identification throughout gameplay . failure to provide accurate biometric measurements subjects players to the penalty assessments described above . in some embodiments of individual recognition , the player may be required to answer specific questions . these can include security questions established at account creation , questions regarding past performances , questions about account set - up date , etc . failure to provide accurate answers subjects players to the penalty assessments described above . in numerous embodiments , player geographic location or ip addresses may be tracked . changes in either may subject players to a higher degree of scrutiny or the penalty assessments described above . in an anti - sandbagging hybrid game , performance in the context of the entertainment game is a function of both player skill and a certain degree of randomness introduced during game play . however , player skill level is not necessarily a fixed factor . as players experience the game , their skill levels may measurably improve ( a beginner player becomes an intermediate player , and so on ). such an increase of skill could expose a player to censure by the anti - sandbagging module . to avoid penalizing players gaining skill rather than sandbagging , in some embodiments , upon detection that a player has improved progressively over recorded levels , the anti - sandbagging module could allow for raising the expected level of the player . alternatively , players could self - report increases of skill and thus increase expected performances before engaging in play . in various embodiments , at the onset of any game session the player is informed by the system as to their professed skill ( if one is on record at all ), and asked to confirm or alter the skill level . if no professed skill ( handicap ) is on record , the player selects the skill level they believe to be appropriate . this notification could be incorporated into player / account selection at the start of gameplay rather than as a separate event . in many embodiments , there is a short period at the onset of gameplay during which the anti - sandbagging module assesses player skill level and evaluates whether the professed skill level matches demonstrated skill . if there is a disparity , the hybrid game is paused and a player is given the option to alter his skill rating . this allows the player to more accurately self - report skill level and skill level changes . in some embodiments , a player can use the anti - sandbagging hybrid game in a mode ( for a short period of time and for free ) whereby they are “ tested ” to establish an updated handicap . this mode would be finite rather than the beginning of gameplay . in numerous embodiments , a player can , at any time , interface with the ui of a suitably configured anti - sandbagging hybrid game , a dedicated terminal , and / or a person operating a dedicated terminal or application , to report in with a new skill level . in many embodiments , a player is “ tested ” for actual v . professed skill periodically , ( e . g . day , week , month , every x game plays ) through free game play or as part of the player &# 39 ; s paid game play ( during which time the player may or may not be engaged in head - to - head competition , and may or may not be permitted to gamble ). these embodiments may or may not require participation in a player club . when a player club is unavailable or a player elects not to participate in one , the player is still identified . rather than linked explicitly to a specific account , the player is anonymously tracked , via the use of a ticket , code , or other means by which he is given a unique id that persists but is not tied to his person ( i . e . not linked specifically to his name , etc .). the process of initiating an anti - sandbagging provision has been described as taking place within the gwe anti - sandbagging module . the anti - sandbagging module interacts with the ese to implement the aforementioned embodiments . the gwe anti - sandbagging module communicates with the ese to cause the ese to alter the entertainment game environment and / or game play to impose penalties as necessary . certain embodiments , such as bet volume limits , do not invoke this gwe - ese interaction , but others , such as the introduction of random or deterministic errors require handshaking between the gwe and ese to affect the penalty or penalties . although various anti - sandbagging hybrid games constructed to assign handicaps to players are discussed above , anti - sandbagging hybrid games can be constructed to assign handicaps as anti - sandbagging provisions in any manner as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordance with embodiments of the invention . assignment of rank in anti - sandbagging hybrid games are discussed further below . performance in the context of the entertainment game in accordance with many embodiments of the invention is a function of both player skill and a certain degree of randomness introduced during entertainment game play . in order to apply the correct handicap , a player &# 39 ; s skill level is ranked . as a player &# 39 ; s skill level increases or decreases , the player &# 39 ; s overall rank , and therefore handicap , can be adjusted to reflect the change in player skill level . additionally , a player &# 39 ; s skill level at a particular entertainment game may not be related to the player &# 39 ; s skill level at other entertainment games . for example , success in a racing type entertainment game may not be indicative of the player &# 39 ; s skill level in a shooting type entertainment game . however , a player &# 39 ; s skill level in one game may be related to a player &# 39 ; s skill level in a related game , such as sequels to the same entertainment game . in many embodiments , a player may be ranked depending on the ratings of the player &# 39 ; s opponents , and the results of the player &# 39 ; s play against the opponents . in certain embodiments , the relative difference in rating between two players determines an estimate for the expected score between them . the design of the ranking system , including the range and mean rank may be chosen by the operator as appropriate for the anti - sandbagging hybrid game . thereby , rankings are calculated based on the strength of a player &# 39 ; s opponent and the actual results of the game play between the players . this system , where performance is not measured absolutely , allows handicapping inferred from wins , losses , and draws against other players . if a player wins a game , the player is assumed to perform at a higher level than his opponent for that game . conversely if a player loses , the player is assumed to perform at a lower level than the opponent . if the game is a draw , the two players are assumed to perform at nearly the same skill level . in several embodiments , these rankings are then used to predict performance so handicapping can be applied . when a player &# 39 ; s results exceed the player &# 39 ; s expected scores , the system takes this as evidence that a player &# 39 ; s ranking is too low , and can be adjusted upward . similarly when a player &# 39 ; s actual results fall short of the player &# 39 ; s expected scores , that player &# 39 ; s ranking can be adjusted downward . the anti - sandbagging module may use a simple linear adjustment proportional to the amount by which a player over performed or underperformed the expected score . this type of system can be used in a variety of entertainment games . additionally , this rating can be applied when a player &# 39 ; s performance is measured over time , rather than during play of single gaming session . the adjustment mechanism may also include a “ deadband ” or weighting functionality such that the player &# 39 ; s rating is not immediately adjusted solely as a function of a single or recent performance ( s ), but rather considers recent results in the context of a broader set of player performance data . in numerous embodiments , different rankings can be divided into “ bands of skill ,” ( similar but not the same as the popular chess ranking system elo , where a player with an elorating from 2000 - 2199 may be considered an expert , while a rating from 600 - 799 may be considered a beginner ). this allows a general handicap to be assigned to different skill bands rather than to individual ranks depending on the entertainment game in question . in a variety of embodiments , players are placed on a “ ladder ” and each player is assigned a numerical value that shows how skilled the player is at a certain game . the ladder system proceeds via a system of challenges . head to head games may occur on a scheduled or ad hoc basis between different rungs on the ladder . in ad hoc play , a first player may challenge a player at a higher level on the ladder . in certain embodiments , refusing a challenge may lead to penalties for the refusing player ( such as but not limited to reduction in rank , and / or being barred from tournaments ). if the low - ranked player wins the match , then the two players swap places on the ladder or are moved up and down a certain number of “ rungs ” on the ladder ( which may also affect the position of other players between the two rungs initially occupied by the two players ). if the low ranked player loses , then that player may be banned from challenging the same person again without challenging someone else first . there may be a limit as to how many rungs above themselves players may challenge . initial placement on the ladder may be random or deterministic based upon an entry test / challenge . in a number of embodiments , player ranking may be assigned on level based progression . a player can accumulate experience points ( xp ) based on play time , tasks undertaken , skills learned and / or a variety of other criterion . to “ level ” or “ level up ,” a player gains enough xp to reach the next level . when a level is gained , the player &# 39 ; s abilities or statistics increase , making the player stronger . in a number of embodiments , a player &# 39 ; s ranking is based ( at least in part ) on the level attained by the player , and a handicap assigned accordingly . in many embodiments , skill level may be assigned based on performance in specific aspects of the game . in certain embodiments involving a hunting game , factors including but not limited to accuracy , type of animals killed , and kill quantities may be valued separately and then combined to provide the overall ranking . in particular embodiments , skill level is not necessarily based on wins / loses , and handicapping may be applied based on specific aspects of the game ( a skilled player in each aspect of the above hunting game may be handicapped with features such as , but not limited to , less accurate guns , fewer numbers of animals , or more difficult kill - shots ). in several embodiments , there can be a short period at the onset of game play during which the anti - sandbagging module assesses player &# 39 ; s current skill level and evaluates that skill level relative to the player &# 39 ; s historical skill level ( s ) before applying the appropriate handicap . in a number of embodiments , the anti - sandbagging module assesses player skill level throughout game play to evaluate the player &# 39 ; s skill level . the anti - sandbagging module may then apply the appropriate handicap at the conclusion of the game play session . in various embodiments , a player can use an anti - sandbagging hybrid game in a mode ( such as for a short period of time and / or without payment ) whereby the player is “ tested ” to establish a skill rating . this mode can be finite rather than at the beginning of gameplay . also , this test mode can be distinct from actual gameplay . in numerous embodiments , if no professed skill is on record , players may select the skill level they believe to be appropriate . this selection could be incorporated into player / account selection at the start of gameplay rather than as a separate event . as play continues , the player &# 39 ; s performance is measured and compared to others of the professed skill level . where there are discrepancies , the rating assigned and the handicap applied is adjusted . alternatively , players that estimate their performance inaccurately may be disqualified from play . in several embodiments , ranking systems can implement skill floors for individual players . a skill floor is the minimum ranking that a player can fall to . for instance , if a player has an established ranking of “ expert ”, subsequent poor performances cannot reduce his ranking to “ beginner .” however , depending on the hybrid game in question , an “ expert ” player may have his or her rank decreased to an “ intermediate player ,” depending on the skill floor assigned . a skill floor may be assigned according to any arbitrary criteria , including but not limited to the number of games played , amount of money won , amount of games won , and / or additional factors that can be used establish a player &# 39 ; s skill level . several embodiments may or may not require participation in a player club . when a player club is unavailable or a player elects not to participate in one , the player is still identified . rather than linked explicitly to a specific account , the player is anonymously tracked , via the use of a ticket , code , or other means by which a player is given a unique id that persists but is not tied to a player &# 39 ; s person ( such as but not limited to not being linked specifically to the player &# 39 ; s name ). in numerous embodiments , rankings may be continuous or discrete . rankings may be specific to the casino , the casino family , and / or geographic location or other divisions . the anti - sandbagging module may function to normalize disparate rankings or rankings across multiple systems and locations . a process flow diagram of a process for determining if a player &# 39 ; s current performance at an anti - sandbagging hybrid game exceeds historical performance in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 a . the process 300 includes an anti - sandbagging module retrieving current player performance measurements ( 502 ) and historical performance measurements ( 504 ) for a player while playing an anti - sandbagging hybrid game . the historical performance measurements are for the particular player &# 39 ; s historical performance measurements . the order in which current player performance measurements and historical performance measurements are retrieved is non - limiting and can be retrieved in any order . the anti - sandbagging module then performs ( 206 ) statistical analysis upon the current player performance measurements and historical performance measurements . if there is sufficient deviation from expected performance measurements as defined in sandbagging definitions 507 , then the player &# 39 ; s rankings and corresponding handicaps as anti - sandbagging provisions can be adjusted ( 508 ) according to any of the anti - sandbagging provisions described herein and as specified by an operator &# 39 ; s anti - sandbagging parameters 509 . in various embodiments , the player &# 39 ; s ranking , and subsequent handicap , may be re - ranked upward to a higher rank . however , if the currently player &# 39 ; s performance measurement information indicates a poorer quality of fair play during the current play session , the player &# 39 ; s rank , and subsequent handicap , may be adjusted to a lower value . in many embodiments , an outlier test is used to determine if the player &# 39 ; s current performance information indicates that the player has significantly deviated from expected performance . in certain embodiments , an outlier test such as ( but not limited to ) the grubb &# 39 ; s outlier test can be used . the grubb &# 39 ; s outlier test can be used to detect outliers in a data set assumed to come from a normally distributed population . to perform the grubb test , a value t is calculated : xmean = mean of historical player performance measurements for previous play sessions ; and once t is calculated , a lookup table is used to determine the probability that a rejection of xi as belonging to the population of xmean is improper . for example , the lookup table illustrated in fig3 b can be utilized . in fig3 b , the headings represent the probability , in percentages , that a rejection is improper , and n is the number of sampled historical data points for player performance that were used to calculate xmean . in other embodiments , any technique for determining whether player performance is inconsistent with past performance can be utilized as appropriate to the requirements of a specific anti - sandbagging hybrid game . the table is used by looking up the value of t in the table for the number n samples . then , the probability is determined by looking up the column to the probability value featured in the header . for example , if n = 20 sampled player performance measurements and t is calculated to be 2 . 71 , then the rejection of xi as not belonging to the population of the sampled player performance measurements has a 2 . 5 % chance of being improper . put another way , there is a 97 . 5 % chance the particular instance of player performance is proper . in several embodiments , outlier tests such as ( but not limited to ) dixon &# 39 ; s q - test are used . in a dixon q - test , a ratio of distance between a tested value and its next closest value in a set of sampled values as compared to the range of all values in the sample is used to determine if the tested value comes from the same population as the set of sampled values . in certain embodiments , a process for determining a q - test is as follows . the sampled values of historical player performance measurements are arranged in ascending order : a ratio , q exp , is calculated as the difference between the value of the currently player performance measurement , x n , being tested from its nearest neighbor value , x n − 1 , divided by the range of the values of player performances : the obtained q exp value is compared to a critical q - value ( q crit ) found in the table containing the critical q values produced below . if q exp & gt ; q crit for a particular confidence interval , then the tested player performance value can be characterized as an outlier , that is , that the current player performance measurement may significantly deviate from expected player performance measurements in a statistically meaningful way . a table containing the critical q values for confidence level ( cl ) 90 %, 95 % and 99 % and n = 3 - 10 is given below : in certain embodiments , the expected performance can be the player &# 39 ; s own historical performance while playing a particular hybrid game . in particular embodiments , the expected performance can be the performance of other players having the same or similar ranking as the player in question for a particular hybrid game . although various anti - sandbagging hybrid games constructed to evaluate the rank of players are discussed above , anti - sandbagging hybrid games can be constructed to evaluate rank in any manner as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordance with embodiments of the invention . a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game that assigns handicaps as anti - sandbagging provisions according to player skill level in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig4 . the sequence diagram 400 includes interactions between one or more gwes 402 of one or more anti - sandbagging hybrid games and an anti - sandbagging module 404 . the sequence includes an anti - sandbagging module receiving ( 406 ) player performance measurements for each player 1 to n from one or more gwes 402 and determining ( 408 ) if each player 1 to n exceeded their respective expected performance based upon how each player &# 39 ; s performance measurements are related to respective historical performance measurements of the player . as the players are evaluated for sandbagging , appropriate handicaps are assigned ( 414 ) for each of the players based upon the determination of sandbagging for each player . the anti - sandbagging module then returns ( 418 ) instructions to apply appropriate handicaps as anti - sandbagging provisions or each player to the one or more gwes and the gwes implement ( 220 ) the handicaps as appropriate . a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game that adjusts a player &# 39 ; s ranking dynamically in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig5 . the anti - sandbagging module 504 receives ( 506 ) player performance measurements from a gwe 502 and assigns ( 508 ) a player ranking based upon the player performance measurements . then , the anti - sandbagging module 504 receives ( 510 ) player performance measurements from subsequent sessions of entertainment game play after the initial ranking was assigned . the anti - sandbagging module 504 can analyze the subsequent performance measurements to determine ( 512 ) if the player significantly deviated from expected player performance and adjust ( 514 ) the player &# 39 ; s rankings and handicaps applied as ant - sandbagging provisions in light of the significant deviation . although various anti - sandbagging hybrid games constructed to assign rank to players are discussed above , anti - sandbagging hybrid games can be constructed to assign rank in any manner as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordance with embodiments of the invention . any of a variety of processing apparatuses can host various components of an anti - sandbagging hybrid game and / or an anti - sandbagging module in accordance with embodiments of the invention . in several embodiments , these processing apparatuses can include , but are not limited to , a gaming machine , a console game , a personal computing device such as a smartphone or a personal digital assistant , a general purpose computer , a computing device and / or a controller . a processing apparatus that is constructed to implement an anti - sandbagging hybrid game in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig6 . in the processing apparatus 700 , a processor 704 is coupled to a memory 706 by a bus 728 . the processor 704 is also coupled to non - transitory processor - readable storage media , such as a storage device 708 that stores processor - executable instructions 712 and data 710 through the system bus 728 to an i / o bus 726 through a storage controller 718 . the processor 704 is also coupled to one or more interfaces that may be used to connect the processor to other processing apparatuses as well as networks as described herein . the processor 704 is also coupled via the bus to user input devices 714 , such as tactile devices including but not limited to keyboards , keypads , foot pads , touch screens , and / or trackballs , as well as non - contact devices such as audio input devices , motion sensors and motion capture devices that the processing apparatus may use to receive inputs from a user when the user interacts with the processing apparatus . the processor 704 is connected to these user input devices 714 through the system bus 728 , to the i / o bus 726 and through the input controller 720 . the processor 704 is also coupled via the bus to user output devices 716 such as ( but not limited to ) visual output devices , audio output devices , and / or tactile output devices that the processing apparatus uses to generate outputs perceivable by the user when the user interacts with the processing apparatus . in several embodiments , the processor is coupled to visual output devices such as ( but not limited to ) display screens , light panels , and / or lighted displays . in a number of embodiments , the processor is coupled to audio output devices such as ( but not limited to ) speakers , and / or sound amplifiers . in many embodiments , the processor is coupled to tactile output devices like vibrators , and / or manipulators . the processor is connected to output devices from the system bus 728 to the i / o bus 726 and through the output controller 722 . the processor 704 can also be connected to a communications interface 702 from the system bus 728 to the i / o bus 726 through a communications controller 724 . in various embodiments , a processor loads the instructions and the data from the storage device into the memory and executes the instructions and operates on the data to implement the various aspects and features of the components of a gaming system as described herein . the processor uses the user input devices and the user output devices in accordance with the instructions and the data in order to create and operate user interfaces for players , casino operators , and / or owners as described herein . although the processing apparatus is described herein as being constructed from a processor and instructions stored and executed by hardware components , the processing apparatus can be composed of only hardware components in accordance with many embodiments . in addition , although the storage device is described as being coupled to the processor through a bus , those skilled in the art of processing apparatuses will understand that the storage device can include removable media such as but not limited to a usb memory device , an optical cd rom , magnetic media such as tape and disks . also , the storage device can be accessed through one of the interfaces or over a network . furthermore , any of the user input devices or user output devices can be coupled to the processor via one of the interfaces or over a network . in addition , although a single processor is described , those skilled in the art will understand that the processor can be a controller or other computing device or a separate computer as well as be composed of multiple processors or computing devices . in numerous embodiments , any of an rwe , a gwe , ese and anti - sandbagging module as described herein can be implemented on multiple processing apparatuses , whether dedicated , shared or distributed in any combination thereof , or may be implemented on a single processing apparatus . in addition , while certain aspects and features of element management processes described herein have been attributed to an rwe , a gwe , an ese or an anti - sandbagging module these aspects and features may be implemented in a hybrid form where any of the features or aspects may be performed by any of a rwe , gwe , ese or anti - sandbagging module within an anti - sandbagging hybrid game without deviating from the spirit of the invention . while the above description contains many specific embodiments of the invention , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as an example of one embodiment thereof . it is therefore to be understood that the present invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically described , without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . thus , embodiments of the present invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive .
| 6 |
referring to fig1 , the baseball training aid includes a first portion 6 and a second portion 8 , where the first portion 6 is joined with the second portion 8 by a pivotal connection such as a hinge 18 . the first portion includes a knob 10 at its proximal end followed by a grip 11 on handle 12 . a first barrel portion 14 is located adjacent to the handle . a transverse hole 5 is located in said distal portion through which a first pivot pin 20 can be located . hinge 18 is pivotally connected to first portion 6 using first pivot pin 20 and second pivot pin 22 which is located in a similar transverse hole in the proximal portion of second section 8 which includes second barrel 16 . as a preferred embodiment , the first portion is 22½ inches long and the second portion is inches long . in this preferred embodiment which was directed to training a 12 - year - old little leaguer , the weight of the first portion is about 1 - 3 pounds and the weight of the second portion is about 1 pound . the diameter of the second barrel portion is 2 inches while the diameter of the first barrel varies from 1½ to 2 inches , while the length of the first barrel is about 6 inches long . again in the preferred embodiment , the distance between the first pivot pin and the distal end of the first portion is about 1 inch and the distance between the second pivot pin and the proximal end of the second portion is about 1 inch . the hinge &# 39 ; s length is 2½ inches by 2¼ inches . in the preferred embodiment and as shown in fig2 , the pivotal connection is provided by hinge mechanism 18 which urges unidirectional rotation and therefore the overall swing is attempted to be restricted to substantially one plane to groove the swing in a substantially horizontal direction — although the hinge could be replaced by other similar apparatus . in the preferred embodiment of fig2 the hinge arm ( horizontal ) portions 19 are about 2½ inches long and the vertical portions 17 are about 2¼ inches long . as mentioned previously , a typical flawed swing is often caused by kids being spoiled by the ultra - light nature of the aluminum bat and the trampoline effect of these bats which drive the ball great distances without proper arm and body rotation . especially as the kids get older , and the velocity of the pitches increase , participants using these ultra - light bats have a tendency to just stick the bat out in the way of the ball to just make contact and not properly use their wrists and not their arms , hips , thighs and torsos . in contrast , the same swing with a wooden bat would not produce nearly the same impact or distance . in many instances , the problems with these hand swings are also compounded by hitting the ball too much in front , which is worsened by , in many instances , the participant stepping frontward , causing the body to be pivoted on the front foot and the swing deprived of the benefits of the push from the back foot followed by rotation of the trunk and arms and fully utilizing the hips , thighs , and torso . during the days when heavier bats were used , participants had to use their bodies , their hips and their arms as if they were swinging an ax to cut down a tree . indeed , it is reported that the legendary player ted williams practiced his baseball swing by chopping down trees with an ax . accordingly , one of the purposes of the invention is to build up good habits as was done with the wooden bat and as illustrated in fig3 . fig3 is an illustration of the correct way that the bat should be swung with hips turned , body back , no front step and the ball is hit in front of the body over the front foot . this is the method which the present invention tries to groove . fig4 shows the device in fig1 where the second portion of the barrel has a front striking surface which is flat to further groove a flat swing . if a ball is pitched to the batter using this training aid and the swing is not flat , it will be difficult to get a correct hit . fig5 is a global top view of the operation of the batting training aid which is the subject of this invention . the drawing shows a top view of the operation of the bat starting with the bat being in position 1 proceeding counter - clockwise from approximately the 4 p . m . position on a clock . the head of a right - handed person swinging the bat is shown by numeral 100 . the person is facing north or 12 : 00 p . m . the arms are not shown . in position 1 , at about 4 : 00 p . m ., the weight is evenly distributed from front to back foot and the batter is in “ loaded ” position which , in a right - hand batter , means that the bat is generally over the right shoulder . because the subject batting aid is heavy , especially with a younger participant , full extension might be problematic if someone was using a large adult bat . in most instances a kid would not be able to hold a heavy adult bat upright . the subject invention solves this problem by operation of the hinged embodiment which folds the bat and makes the center of gravity lower and much closer to the shoulders and the head , making it easier for a kid to “ load ” with a heavy batting aid . going now to position 2 , at about 3 p . m ., in order to make the transition from folded bat position to a straighter position where the second portion of the bat is generally aligned in relation to the front portion , the participant is forced to bring the knob of the bat generally forward and rotate the body around an imaginary axis of rotation through the head . as the rotation of the batter continues , the first and second portion of the batting aid becomes more generally aligned as shown in position 3 . once again , because of the weight of the bat and the momentum caused , balance and stability must be maintained through almost equal weight distribution to both feet while a turning through the aforementioned axis of rotation using the hips , arms , and torso . when the bat reaches position 4 , at about 12 p . m ., the momentum caused by the second portion of the training aid translating and rotating by means of the hinge encourages the bat to be over the front foot — basically the ideal place a ball can be properly hit using the subject invention . if the leading end of the second portion is flat , as shown in fig4 , and if the hinge is constructed so as to encourage horizontal motion , such as shown in fig2 , the additional goal of grooving a flat swing is also encouraged . the benefits of this training can be emphasized by throwing a wiffle ball and forcing the hitter to try to make contact with the outer barrel — which can best be achieved with weight forward and the hips rotated . the bat position from position 4 to position 5 in fig5 , shows how the momentum of the hinged second portion causes a pendulum motion and ultimately the roll of the wrist and the follow through ending up in position 6 . in operation , when the participant practices using this training aid , the participant builds up his / her muscles and grooves a horizontal swing using the correct muscle groups with the knob of the bat pulled through the swing first and the flip of the wrist occurring only after the knob is generally over the front foot , followed by a progressive follow through which automatically occurs because of the momentum of the second portion of the bat and the pendulum action caused by the hinging movement . other embodiments encompassed by this invention is shown in fig6 where weights 30 are added within a hollow outer barrel portion 32 . the weights are threaded over a bolt 34 fastened at the end and are added inside . the bolt can be inward or outward 36 as shown in fig7 where weights are added to the outside , a much easier feat , and fastened with a nut 37 . fig8 shows weights 39 added to the first portion either through an opening in the handle 41 or distal thereto . fig9 shows that the building up of foam 38 or similar padding to the outside of the bat to minimize injury . fig1 shows another embodiment where the second barrel portion is fitted with fins 40 that create air resistance and force the swing to be close to the body and the knob of the bat 42 to proceed first preventing what is called “ early casting ” where the wrists break too early and before the impact point . if the swing is not proper , it will simply be too difficult to get the second portion smoothly through the hitting zone . fig1 shows yet another embodiment with fins 44 added to the first portion of bat 45 near the handle . fig1 shows yet another embodiment where a slideable sleeve 46 is utilized to fix the positions of the first and second members , so that they can be adapted to either swing freely as in fig1 or be unitary as in fig1 . in the embodiment of fig1 , instead of a hinged embodiment there is shown a unitary bat structure having a handle 48 and a flat striking surface 50 . the handle has a spacer 52 which holds the hands apart from one another . this encourages or grooves a flat swing and the proper arm and body motion as described earlier , analogous to a hockey swing . in the preferred embodiment , the flat portion is 14 inches long while the overall bat length was 34 inches long . the spacer is 6 inches long . yet another embodiment is shown in fig1 which illustrates an embodiment similar to fig1 but where an annular member 54 is positioned to slide over the handle portion of the bat from position 1 ( no . 56 ) to position 2 ( 58 ). with a right - handed batter , the left hand is placed adjacent to the knob while the right hand is placed over the annular member a distance away . the batter starts the swing with hands a distance apart at the load position but as the swing is initiated and the bat rotates into the hitting zone , the hands come together again urging a flat swing . in the embodiment in fig1 the flat striking surface training bat as illustrated in fig1 is shown with the addition of fins 58 . in the preferred embodiment , four fins are placed in the area between the handle and striking area . the fins add air resistance to the swing not only building up strength but preventing early casting . the flat striking surface allows the training aid to be used to hit practice balls further grooving a flat swing because of the flat striking area . if the swing is not flat , it will be difficult to hit the ball . while we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention , it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without the parting of the scope and spirit of this concept .
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fig1 is a block diagram of an rf transponder 5 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the rf transponder 5 includes a burst switch 10 , which is described in more detail in connection with fig2 . the burst switch 10 is in electronic communication with a processing unit 15 , which may be , without limitation , a microprocessor , a microcontroller , or some other type of processor device . the processing unit 15 may further be another type of electronic device , such as a cmos device or any other electronic circuit element provided on , for example , a semiconductor substrate or printed circuit board ( pcb ), which performs a particular function or functions . the processing unit 15 is capable of being placed into an inactive , sleep state where the current drawn by it is at a minimum . in addition , the processing unit 15 may be woken up , i . e ., moved from the inactive , sleep state to an active state , upon receipt of an external input signal . an rf transmitter 20 is in electronic communication with the processing unit 15 . the rf transmitter 20 may be a separate transmitter component , or may be part of a transceiver component that is capable of both transmitting and receiving rf signals . the rf transmitter 20 is , in response to commands received from the processing unit 15 , able to transmit rf signals through an antenna 25 connected thereto . like the processing unit 15 , the rf transmitter 20 is capable of being placed into an inactive , sleep state where the current drawn by it is at a minimum , and can be woken up by receipt of an external input signal provided by the processing unit 15 . the rf transponder 5 also includes a battery 30 which provides the power required for the operation of the processing unit 15 and the transmitter 20 . the battery 30 may alternatively be replaced by another power source , such as , without limitation , a fuel cell or a super capacitor . fig2 is a schematic diagram of the burst switch 10 . the burst switch 10 includes an antenna 35 , which , in the embodiment shown in fig2 , is a square spiral antenna . the antenna 35 is electrically connected to a matching network 40 , which in turn is electrically connected to a voltage boosting and rectifying circuit preferably in the form of a charge pump 45 . charge pumps are well known in the art . basically , one stage of a charge pump essentially doubles the effective amplitude of an ac input voltage and stores the resulting increased dc voltage on an output capacitor . the voltage could also be stored using a rechargeable battery . successive stages of a charge pump , if present , will essentially increase the voltage from the previous stage resulting in an increased output voltage . the matching network 40 matches the input impedance of the charge pump 45 to the impedance of the antenna 35 for optimal performance of the antenna 35 and optimal charge pump 45 output voltage . in one particular embodiment , the matching network 40 is an lc tank circuit formed by , for example , the inherent distributed inductance and inherent distributed capacitance of the conducing elements of the antenna 35 . the antenna 35 is tuned to receive rf signals having a particular frequency or range of frequencies . the rf signals that are received by the antenna 35 are provided , in the form of an ac signal , to the charge pump 45 through the matching network 40 . the charge pump 45 essentially amplifies and rectifies the received ac voltage signal and outputs the resulting dc signal . these operations are performed without requiring the consumption of power from the battery 30 or any other power source within or connected ( physically ) to the rf transponder 5 . referring again to fig1 , in operation , the rf transponder 5 is deployed in a state wherein the processing unit 15 and the transmitter 20 are in the inactive , sleep state . as such , the draw on the battery 30 will be at a minimum . when it is desired to “ wake - up ” the rf transponder 5 , an rf signal of an appropriate frequency is transmitted to the rf transponder 5 by , for example , an rfid reader or other suitable device . the rf signal is received by the burst switch 10 , and as described above , the rf signal is used to produce a dc signal . the dc signal that is produced is provided to the sleep input ( pin ) of the processing unit 15 , which causes the processing unit 15 to move from the inactive , sleep state to its active state . in the active state , the processing unit 15 is able to perform any action that is required , such as waking up the rf transmitter 20 and causing it to transmit a signal that contains information such as an identifier for the rf transponder 5 . when finished ( or after some predetermined period of time ), the processing unit 15 can return to an inactive , sleep state until subsequently woken up as described herein . as will be appreciated , the burst switch 10 as shown in fig2 is designed to produce a dc signal of an appropriate level for input into the sleep input of the processing unit 15 through appropriate selection of the parameters of the antenna 25 , the matching network 40 and / or the charge pump 45 . a shortcoming of the rf transponder 5 shown in fig1 is that spurious rf energy ( noise ) received by the burst switch 10 could inadvertently cause the processing unit 15 to move to the active state , thereby consuming power when not needed . also , if a number of similar rf transponders 5 ( i . e ., similar meaning the antenna 35 of each is tuned to the same frequency or frequency range ) are deployed together , an rf signal that is transmitted by a reader will activate all of the rf transponders 5 , even if they are not all currently of interest to the reader . in other words , there is no way to selectively activate one or more of them without also activating the remaining ones of them . fig3 is a block diagram of an rf transponder 50 according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention that addresses the shortcomings of the simple rf transponder 5 shown in fig1 . as seen in fig3 , the rf transponder 50 is similar to the rf transponder 5 in that it includes a burst switch 10 , a processing unit 15 , an rf transmitter 20 connected to an antenna 25 , and a battery 30 . however , the rf transponder 50 further includes a low power filtering circuit 55 . specifically , as shown in fig3 , the dc output of the burst switch 10 is provided to the filtering circuit 55 , and the output of the filtering circuit 55 is provided to the sleep input of the processing unit 15 . the function of the filtering circuit 55 is twofold . first , the filtering circuit 55 prevents spurious rf energy ( noise ) from inadvertently causing the processing unit 15 to move from an inactive , sleep state to an active state . second , the filtering circuit 55 provides a mechanism by which the particular rf transponder 50 in which the filtering circuit 55 is included can be selectively woken up , i . e ., have its processing unit 15 selectively moved to an active state . the filtering circuit 55 performs these functions by causing a wake - up signal to be sent to the sleep input of the processing unit 15 only if a particular sequence or pattern ( i . e ., format ) of rf signals is received by the burst switch 10 . in the preferred embodiment , the filtering circuit 55 is a state machine that will generate a wake - up signal only if a particular pre - set “ code ” is received from the burst switch 10 , wherein the code is a particular sequence of a certain number of voltage “ bursts ” ( i . e ., voltage signals of a certain ( although possibly varying ) length or duration ; in this case , the bursts are dc signals , but bursts as used herein may also refer to rf signals of a certain ( although possibly varying ) length or duration ) from the burst switch 10 each having a particular length expressed as a multiple of some pre - set unit of time , such as 1 millisecond . fig4 shows an example of a 4 element code that may be required to be output by the burst switch 10 and received by the filtering circuit 55 in order for the filtering circuit 55 to generate a wake - up signal for waking up the processing unit 15 . in the example of fig4 , the code that must be received is a 4 burst code consisting of a burst of length 5 ( e . g ., 5 milliseconds ), followed by a burst of length 2 ( e . g ., 2 milliseconds ), followed by a burst of length 4 ( e . g ., 4 milliseconds ), followed by a burst of length 6 ( e . g ., 6 milliseconds ). in effect , the code is 5 2 4 6 . as will be appreciated , the code scheme of fig4 is meant to be exemplary only , and any number of bursts of any possible length and any base length unit of time may be used for a particular code without departing from the scope of the invention . in operation , the filtering circuit 55 will count ( possibly on a dedicated counter ) the number of separate bursts received and the length of each burst ( the length of each burst may be stored in a register or any suitable memory ). when the count reaches the pre - set number , e . g ., 4 , the registers ( or memory ) are checked for the proper code ( i . e ., has the proper sequence of burst lengths been received ). if the code is determined to be correct , the filtering circuit 55 will generate a wake - up signal for the processing unit 15 . as will be appreciated , the required code may be generated by an rfid reader by generating a sequence of an appropriate number of rf bursts wherein each rf burst is of a particular time . as described in connection with fig2 , each such rf burst will result in a corresponding dc voltage ( dc burst ) being output by the burst switch 10 having a length equal to the length of the rf burst . thus , in order to generate the 5 2 4 6 code described above , an rf reader must output an rf burst having a length of 5 ( e . g ., 5 milliseconds ), followed by an rf burst having a length of 2 ( e . g ., 2 milliseconds ), followed by an rf burst having a length of 4 ( e . g ., 4 milliseconds ), followed by an rf burst having a length of 6 ( e . g ., 6 milliseconds ). the filtering circuit 55 thus solves the noise problem by requiring a particular sequence of rf bursts before the processing unit 15 is awakened . the filtering circuit 55 also allows a number of rf transponders 50 to be deployed and selectively and independently awakened . in particular , each transponder 50 ( or set of transponders 50 to be grouped and awakened together ) that is deployed at a location can be provided with a unique code . in order for an rfid reader to wake up a particular transponder 50 ( or set of grouped transponders 50 ), the rfid reader will need to generate the appropriate rf bursts . as an alternative , any particular rf transponder 50 may be provided with more than one code that would enable it to be awakened , wherein one code may be used to awaken the rf transponder 50 individually , and another code may be used to awaken it as part of a group of particular transponders 50 . as seen in fig3 , the filtering circuit 55 is connected to the battery 30 for power purposes . preferably , the filtering circuit 55 is a device or component that may enter a low power sleep state . the filtering device 55 will remain in a sleep state until a burst is received , at which time it will move to an active state ( the burst is the wake - up signal ), count the burst , measure its duration , and return to sleep until the next burst is received . as a result , minimal power is consumed by the filtering circuit 55 . as will be appreciated , the filtering circuit 55 thus may be any low power electronic device that can be turned on for a short period of time , increment a counter , measure a burst length , and then go back to sleep . fig5 is a block diagram of an rf transponder 60 according to a further alternative embodiment of the present invention that includes an alternate arrangement for addressing the shortcomings of the simple rf transponder 5 shown in fig1 , i . e ., the noise problem and the inability to discriminate among multiple transponders . as seen in fig5 , the rf transponder 60 is similar to the rf transponder 5 in that it includes a processing unit 15 , an rf transmitter 20 connected to an antenna 25 , and a battery 30 . however , the rf transponder 60 includes multiple burst switches 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d wherein the antenna 35 of each burst switch 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , 10 d is tuned to a different frequency or range of frequencies ( although only four burst switches 10 are shown , more or less than four may be employed to suit the particular needs of the application in question without departing from the scope of the present invention ). in addition , as represented by passive logic combination 65 , the burst switches 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , 10 d are topologically interconnected in manner that implements a selected logical combination , such as an and , an or , or any other logic operation or combination of operations . it will be appreciated that each burst switch 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , 10 d will only output a dc signal if it receives an rf signal of the appropriate frequency ( each referred to as a “ burst switch frequency ” for convenience ). thus , the passive logic combination 65 can be chosen to only provide a wake - up signal to the processing unit 15 if a particular combination of the burst switch frequencies is received . for example , the passive logic combination 65 could be implemented as an and such that all of the burst switch frequencies must be received for a wake - up signal to be sent to the processing unit 15 . alternatively , the passive logic combination 65 could be implemented with a series of ands and ors such that any two , or any three of the burst switch frequencies or a particular two or a particular three of the burst switch frequencies must be received for a wake - up signal to be sent to the processing unit 15 . thus , because particular burst switch frequencies must be received to wake - up the processing unit 15 , the arrangement shown in fig5 prevents spurious rf energy ( noise ) from inadvertently causing the processing unit 15 to move from an inactive state to an active state . in addition , the arrangement shown in fig5 may also be used to provide a mechanism by which the particular rf transponder 60 in which it is included can be selectively woken up , i . e ., have its processing unit 15 selectively moved to an active state . specifically , a number of transponders 60 may be deployed with different burst switch frequencies and / or different passive logic combinations 65 such that an rfid reader can generate appropriate rf signals to selectively wake - up certain ones of the rf transponders 60 . for example , one rf transponder 60 could be deployed wherein all of the burst switch frequencies are required to wake it up , another rf transponder 60 could be deployed wherein a particular two of the burst switch frequencies are required to wake it up , another rf transponder 60 could be deployed wherein a different particular two of the burst switch frequencies are required to wake it up , another rf transponder 60 could be deployed wherein a particular three of the burst switch frequencies are required to wake it up , and so on . in an alternative embodiment of the rf transponder 60 , instead of providing the passive logic combination 65 , the burst switches 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , and 10 d could be combined and biased with respect to one another such that the burst frequencies must be received in a particular pre - set order for a wake - up signal to be sent to the processing unit 15 . in such an arrangement , each burst switch 10 following a first one of the burst switches 10 would require the preceding burst switch 10 to be energized before it would be capable of outputting a dc signal . in this sense , the arrangement of burst switches 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , 10 d functions like an electronic combinational lock , and as such is able to prevent noise from inadvertently waking up the processing unit 15 and is able to allow the rf transponder 60 in which it is implemented to be selectively woken - up . fig6 is a block diagram of an alternative rf transponder 5 ′ that is similar to rf transponder 5 shown in fig1 except that it further includes an rf receiver 70 connected to an antenna 75 . the rf receiver 70 may be caused to move from an inactive , sleep state to an active state by the burst switch 10 in order allow for further communication with the processing unit 15 via the rf receiver 70 . the communications may be according to an established standard , such as the iso 18000 part 7 standard . similarly , fig7 is a block diagram of an alternative rf transponder 50 ′ that is similar to rf transponder 50 shown in fig3 except that it also further includes an rf receiver 70 connected to an antenna 75 . the rf receiver 70 in this embodiment may be caused to move from an inactive , sleep state to an active state by the burst switch 10 and filtering circuit 55 in the manner described elsewhere herein in order to allow for further communication with the processing unit 15 of the rf transponder 50 ′ via the rf receiver 70 . again , the communications may be according to an established standard , such as the iso 18000 part 7 standard . fig8 is a block diagram of an rfid system 80 according to an aspect of the present invention . the rfid system 80 includes a plurality of rf transponders 85 deployed in a particular location , such as within a building . the rf transponders 85 may be , without limitation , any of the rf transponder embodiments described herein , such as rf transponder 5 , rf transponder 5 ′, rf transponder 50 , rf transponder 50 ′ or rf transponder 60 . the rf transponders 85 may also be an rf transponder as described in co - pending u . s . provisional application ser . no . 60 / 673 , 715 entitled “ method and device for reducing power consumption of active rfid tags ,” owned by the assignee of the present invention , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference , or any other type of known or later developed suitable rf transponder . the rfid system 80 further includes an interrogator unit 90 which is in electronic communication with a host ( central ) computer system 95 . under the control of the host computer system 95 , the interrogator unit 90 generates the rf signals ( e . g ., bursts ) that are required to selectively awaken one or more of the rf transponders 85 in the manners described elsewhere herein . once awakened , each rf transponder 85 may simply transmit some identifying information to the interrogator unit 90 to confirm its presence at the location , or , in those embodiments that permit ( e . g ., rf transponders 5 ′ and 50 ), each rf transponder 85 may receive further communications from the interrogator unit 90 ( for example , according to the iso 18000 part 7 standard ) and respond accordingly . thus , due to the power conserving capabilities of the rf transponder 5 , the rf transponder 5 ′, the rf transponder 50 , the rf transponder 50 ′ and the rf transponder 60 described elsewhere wherein , the rfid system 80 is able to operate with minimal power consumption and therefore an extended lifetime . in order to avoid collisions in one embodiment , the rf interrogation response signals are transmitted one at a time in a sequential manner , such as according to an order determined by the unique identifier of each rfid tag 110 . other collision avoidance mechanisms are also possible . fig9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an asset management system 100 according to a further aspect of the present invention . the asset management system 100 enables centralized , remote location tracking of a number of assets 105 within a particular location 115 , such as , for example and without limitation , a hospital or another environment . the assets 105 may be any type of physical item , including both movable items and items that are permanently or temporarily fixed in place . for example , in a hospital application , the assets 105 may be various types of medial equipment , such as , without limitation , a crash cart , an ekg machine , a wheel chair , a gurney , an oxygen dispenser , a staff member , or a patient . each of the assets 105 has an rfid tag 110 physically associated therewith , preferably by physically attaching the rfid tag 110 to the asset 105 . each rfid tag 110 is preferably any of the rf transponder embodiments described herein , such as rf transponder 5 , rf transponder 5 ′, rf transponder 50 , rf transponder 50 ′ or rf transponder 60 . the asset management system 100 further includes a central asset management computer system 120 that is connected to a main network 125 . the asset management computer system 120 may include , without limitation , a pc or another suitable computing device that is provided with one or more software applications for implementing the system described herein . as seen in fig9 , a number of wireless access points 130 are in electronic communication , preferably wired communication , with the main network 125 and are dispersed throughout the location 115 . each wireless access point 130 is capable of receiving a signal from the main network 125 , and thus from the asset management computer system 120 , and wirelessly transmitting that signal within a particular defined area . in addition , each wireless access point 130 is capable of receiving wireless signals from within its particular defined area and transmitting those signals to the main network 125 , and thus to the asset management computer system 120 . the main network 125 and wireless access points 130 thus form a wireless network for the location 115 . in the preferred embodiment , the wireless network for the location 115 is a wifi network that is implemented according to the ieee 802 . 11 family of standards , or another suitable standard . the asset management system 100 also further includes a number of interface devices 135 that are dispersed throughout the location 115 . each interface device 135 is located within the range of at least one of the wireless access points 130 . as described in greater detail below , each interface device 135 is capable of receiving wireless ( rf ) signals from and transmitting wireless ( rf ) signals to the associated wireless access point 130 according to the appropriate protocol . in addition , each interface device 135 is capable of transmitting rf signals to the rf tags 110 that are in proximity thereto and receiving rf signals from those rf tags 110 . in particular , based upon control signals received from the asset management computer system 120 through the main network 125 and the appropriate wireless access point 130 , each interface device 135 is capable of transmitting one or more rf signals to the burst switch 10 of the associated rf tags 110 ( in the manner or manners described elsewhere herein in connection with the embodiments of the rf transponder 5 , the rf transponder 5 ′, the rf transponder 50 , the rf transponder 50 ′ and the rf transponder 60 ) for purposes of causing the processing unit 15 of the associated rf tags 110 to move to an active state . in addition , each interface device 135 is capable of receiving response signals from the associated rf tags 110 after they have been awakened . in this respect , the interface devices 135 function like rfid readers or interrogators . for reasons that will be explained hereinafter , each interface device 135 is provided with an identifier that uniquely identifies it . such identifiers enable the asset management computer system 120 to associate each interface device 135 with a particular location within the location 115 , such as a particular room or wing in a building . this may be done in the form of a table stored by the asset management computer system 120 . thus , each interface 135 can be located or found to be non - functional through the asset management system 100 itself . fig1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the interface device 135 shown in fig9 . the interface device 135 includes a processing unit 140 , which may be , without limitation , a microprocessor , a microcontroller , or some other type of processor device . the processing unit 140 is electrically connected to a power interface 145 which provides power thereto . the power interface 145 is adapted to be coupled to an ac source , such as a wall outlet , in order to receive an ac voltage . the power interface 145 converts the ac voltage into a dc signal that is suitable for use by the processing unit 140 . a wireless network transceiver 150 is provided in electronic communication with the processing unit 140 . the wireless network transceiver 150 is adapted to receive wireless ( rf ) signals from and transmit wireless ( rf ) signals to one or more wireless access point 130 according to the appropriate protocol , such an 802 . 11 protocol , using an appropriate frequency , such as 2 . 45 ghz . in addition , a tag transceiver 155 is provided in electronic communication with the processing unit 140 for enabling the processing unit 140 to transmit appropriate rf signals to the associated rfid tags 110 and to receive appropriate response signals from associated rfid tags 110 . thus , as will be appreciated , each interface device 135 functions as an interface between the two communications systems , i . e ., the wireless network implemented by the wireless access points 130 and the wireless communications links to the rfid tags 110 . in an alternative embodiment , a separate ( dedicated ) transmitter may be provided in each interface device 135 for sending the required signals to the burst switch 10 , and the rf transceiver 155 may be used for other communication with the rfid tags 110 . in one particular embodiment of the asset management system 100 , each of the rfid tags 110 is an rf transponder 5 ( or , alternatively , an rf transponder 5 ′). the burst switch 10 of each of the rf transponders 5 has an antenna 35 that is tuned to a particular frequency or frequency range , such as 433 mhz . in this embodiment , the asset management computer system 120 stores one or more files , such as , without limitation , one or more files in a database , that include for each asset 105 an identification of the asset type ( e . g ., crash cart , ekg machine , etc .) and a unique identifier for the asset 105 . the unique identifier may be , without limitation , a serial number . the rfid tag 110 ( i . e ., transponder 5 ) associated with each asset 105 stores the unique identifier for the asset 105 . the unique identifier may be stored in a memory of the rfid tag 110 that is part of the processing unit 15 thereof or that is separate from but in electronic communication with the processing unit 15 thereof . when deployed , the processing unit 15 of each rfid tag 110 is in a sleep state , and will remain in that state until awakened as described below . in operation , this particular embodiment of the asset management system 100 is adapted to track and maintain an inventory of each asset 105 including the particular location of each asset 105 within the location 115 . to do so , the asset management computer system 120 periodically or on demand generates an asset interrogation signal . the asset interrogation signal is sent to the main network 125 and then to each wireless access point 130 . each wireless access point 130 then wirelessly transmits the asset interrogation signal according to the appropriate protocol , such as an 802 . 11 protocol . the wirelessly transmitted asset interrogation signal is received by each interface device 135 that is within the range of each wireless access point 130 . in response to receipt of the asset interrogation signal , each interface device 135 generates a second rf interrogation signal having a frequency that will be picked up by the antenna 35 of the burst switch 10 of each rfid tag 110 . as described elsewhere herein , when the burst switch 10 of each rfid tag 110 receives the second rf interrogation signal , a dc signal is generated that causes the processing unit 15 of each rfid tag 110 to move to an active state . each such processing unit 15 is adapted to then cause an rf interrogation response signal of an appropriate frequency ( e . g ., 433 mhz ) to be generated by the associated transmitter 20 in the rfid tag 110 . each rf interrogation response signal includes the unique identifier stored by the rfid tag 110 that generated the rf interrogation response signal . in order to avoid collisions , the rf interrogation response signals are , in one embodiment , transmitted one at a time in a sequential manner , such as according to an order determined by the unique identifier of each rfid tag 110 . other collision avoidance mechanisms are also possible . the rf interrogation response signals are then received by the respective interface devices 135 ( i . e ., the interface device 135 that is in proximity to the rfid tag 110 that generated the rf interrogation response signal ). each interface device 135 compiles a list of rf interrogation response signals that is has received , and transmits a second interrogation response signal for the corresponding particular location 137 ( fig9 ) according to the chosen protocol of the wireless network that is implemented . the second interrogation response signal generated and transmitted by each interface device 135 will include the unique identifier of the interface device 135 and the list of rf interrogation response signals complied by the interface device 135 . the second interrogation response signals are then received by the associated wireless access points 130 and transmitted to the asset management computer system 120 through the main network 125 . upon receipt of the second interrogation response signals , the asset management computer system 120 is able to update the location of each asset 105 in its records . in particular , each second interrogation response signal that is received will include a list of unique identifiers that , as described above , uniquely identify each asset 105 . each second interrogation response signal will also include the identifier of the interface device 135 that sent it , thus identifying the location of that interface device 135 . as a result , the asset management computer system 120 can use this information to associate a particular location within the location 115 with each asset 105 . as described elsewhere herein , one of the shortcomings of the rf transponders 5 and 5 ′ is that they could be inadvertently awakened by spurious rf noise . this could present a problem for the embodiment of the asset management system 100 just described as the rfid tags 110 , being rf transponders 5 or 5 ′ in that embodiment , could be caused to inadvertently send rf interrogation response signals in response to noise . this problem is addressed in an alternative embodiment of the asset management system 100 in which each of the rfid tags 110 is an rf transponder 50 ( or , alternatively , an rf transponder 50 ′) that will be awakened by the same burst code , e . g ., 5 2 4 6 . in this particular embodiment , operation of the asset management system 100 is similar to that described above . however , in this embodiment , the second rf interrogation signal that is generated by each interface device 135 upon receipt of the asset interrogation signal from a wireless access point 130 will be an rf signal consisting of the appropriate rf bursts sufficient to cause the burst switch 10 of each rfid tag 110 to create the required burst code for the filtering circuit 55 of the rfid tag 110 . as described elsewhere herein , that code , when received by the filtering circuit 55 , will cause a wake - up signal to be generated for the associated processing unit 15 , which , in response , will wake - up and generate the appropriate rf interrogation response signal . thus , in this embodiment , the adverse affects of noise are minimized . a further shortcoming of the rf transponders 5 and 5 ′ is that there is no mechanism for discriminating among a number of them when deployed , i . e ., there is no way to selectively cause only certain ones of them to respond . as result , the embodiment of the asset management system 100 that utilizes the rf transponder 5 or 5 ′ will be required to interrogate all of the rfid tags 110 each time an inventory update is desired , as opposed to only interrogating selected rfid tags 110 and thus selected assets 105 . as will be appreciated , while this will still gather the necessary asset location information , it will cause battery power for certain of the rfid tags 110 to be unnecessarily consumed . thus , according to a further aspect of the present invention , a further alternative embodiment of the asset management system 100 is provided in which selected ones and / or selected groups of the rfid tags 110 may be interrogated . in this particular embodiment , each of the rfid tags 110 is an rf transponder 50 ( or , alternatively , an rf transponder 50 ′) that may be awakened by a burst code that is unique to that rfid tag 110 . for example , each individual rfid tag 110 may be assigned a unique 4 element burst code as described elsewhere herein ( such as 5 2 4 6 ) ( a 4 element burst code is merely an example , and it should be understood that the burst code may have more or less than 4 elements ). as a result , each of those rfid tags 110 may be selectively , individually interrogated by the asset management computer system 120 in the manner described elsewhere herein using the appropriate burst code in order to determine the current location thereof . in addition , one or more of the rfid tags 110 may also be adapted to be awakened by a particular burst code that is common to a selected group of rfid tags 110 . in other words , certain groups of rfid tags 110 ( and thus certain groups of assets 105 ) may also be assigned a second burst code that may be used to awaken each of the rfid tags 110 in the group . for example , all assets 105 of type one ( e . g ., crash carts , or assets on floor one of a building ) may be assigned the burst code 4 2 4 3 , all assets 105 of type two ( e . g ., ekg machines , or assets on floor two of a building ) may be assigned the burst code 3 1 4 2 , etc . as a result , the location of all assets 105 in a particular group , such as crash carts , can be readily determined , if desired , by the asset management system 100 using a single burst code . as will be appreciated , in the embodiment of the asset management system 100 just described , each asset interrogation signal that is sent by the asset management computer system 120 will need to include information that identifies the particular burst code that is to be used for that interrogation . the interface devices 135 will then use that information to generate the appropriate second rf interrogation signals that are transmitted . when multiple assets 105 or specified groups thereof are to be interrogated in this manner , the asset management computer system 120 will preferably generate and transmit the appropriate asset interrogation signals in a sequential fashion in order to avoid signal collision problems ( the responses will also be sent in a similar , corresponding sequential fashion ). thus , according to an aspect of the present invention , the asset management computer system 120 maintains a table or similar record that links each asset 105 with the code or codes that may be used to awaken the rfid tag 110 associated with the asset 105 . that same table or other record will also preferably separately list specified asset groups ( e . g ., crash cards , ekg machines , assets in a particular wing , etc .) and the common code that is assigned to each group so that such common codes may be readily accessed . in yet a further alternative embodiment of the asset management system 100 , each of the rfid tags 110 is an rf transponder 60 that , as described elsewhere herein , is able to be awakened by a particular combination or sequence of burst switch frequencies . this embodiment is similar to the embodiment of the asset management system 100 described above that employs the rf transponders 50 or 50 ′, except that the burst codes are replaced by specified combinations or sequences of burst switch frequencies . the basic operation of the asset management system 100 otherwise remains essentially the same . the present invention therefor provides a number of embodiments of rf transponders and assets management systems employing the same that minimize the power that is consumed by each transponder . as a result , the lifetime of each rf transponder may be maximized . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above , it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting . for example , the majority of the description contained herein describes the burst switch 10 as awakening a processing unit 15 . it should be appreciated that the burst switch 10 may be utilized to awaken any type of electronic device that is capable of entering an inactive , sleep state . additions , deletions , substitutions , and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims .
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the method and molding assembly of the subject invention are described herein with respect to the manufacture of a casing for an electronic control unit . the casing is made e . g . of a synthetic resin and is identified by the numeral 10 in fig1 . the casing 10 is in the form of a box with an open top . at least one printed circuit board 11 and / or bus system is accommodated in the casing 10 and at least one circuit board connector , capacitor , fuse and / or other electrical or electronic component 12 is connected with the printed circuit board 11 . an unillustrated cover is mounted on the casing 10 and the covered casing 10 is mounted on an unillustrated body . a function portion 20 bulges out sideways from one sidewall of the casing 10 . long narrow metallic cap nuts 30 are at least partly embedded in the function portion 20 , as shown in fig9 and 10 , and can be connected respectively with two conductors . one of the conductors is a terminal fitting 40 connected with an end of a wire w that extends outside the casing 10 . the other conductor is a busbar 80 that extends inside the casing 10 . the nuts 30 are arranged substantially side by side and stand vertically in the function portion 20 . as shown in fig2 and 9 , the function portion 20 has first tubes 21 that correspond with the respective nuts 30 . each first tube 21 covers substantially all of the respective nut 30 except opening thereof . the function portion 20 also has second tubes 22 that are unitarily continuous with the first tubes 21 . the second tubes 22 have introducing holes 23 that communicate from above with the openings of the nuts 30 and that are configured for receiving male screws . the function portion 20 also has third tubes 24 that are unitarily continuous with the first and second tubes 21 , 22 and that extend transversely therefrom . the third tubes 24 have insertion holes 25 that communicate with the openings of the nuts 30 ( see e . g . fig9 ) and that are configured for receiving terminal fittings . the terminal fittings 40 are inserted into the insertion holes 25 of the third tubes 24 so that leading ends of the terminal fittings 40 face the openings of the nuts 30 from above . the second tubes 22 are arranged vertically and open up . however , the third tubes 24 are arranged substantially normal to the second tubes 22 and open sideways . the introducing holes 23 extend substantially vertically along a first direction 1 d in the second tubes 22 and the introducing holes 25 extend substantially horizontally along a second direction 2 d in the third tubes 24 . thus , the first and second introducing holes 23 and 25 communicate with each other at substantially right angles above the openings of the nuts 30 . the second tubes 22 are adjacent to each other and their ends are joined unitarily . circumferentially spaced ribs 26 extend from the outer circumferential surface of each third tube 24 . one rib 26 a spans between and unitarily connects the adjacent third tubes 24 . a substantially cylindrical rubber plug 60 is fit into the introducing hole 23 of each second tube 22 after the male screw 50 is introduced . a plurality of circumferential lips 61 are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the rubber plug 60 and closely contact the inner wall of the introducing hole 23 to seal the introducing hole 23 . a step 23 a is provided at an intermediate position of the inner wall of each introducing hole 23 along the first direction 1 d , and the rubber plug 60 is placed to abut the step 23 a . the terminal fitting 40 is formed by bending a metal plate to define a barrel 41 and a main portion 42 continuous with and in front of the barrel 41 . the barrel 41 is configured to be crimped , bent or folded into connection with an exposed end section of the wire w . the main portion 42 is substantially flat and is arranged substantially normal to the first direction 1 d . the leading end of the main portion 42 is substantially ring - shaped . thus , a shaft 51 of the male screw 50 can be inserted through the ring - shaped main portion 42 and into the nut 30 when the main portion 42 is above the opening of the nut 30 ( see e . g . fig1 ). the busbar 80 has a ring - shaped first end disposed above the opening of the nut 30 and dimensioned to receive the shaft 51 of the male screw 50 . the busbar 80 also has a second end arranged in the casing 10 for connection with a conductor path of the printed circuit board 11 or another electric / electronic device . an intermediate portion of the busbar 80 is embedded in the casing 10 . the first end of the busbar 80 and the leading end of the main portion 42 are placed one over the other above the opening of the nut 30 . as a result that the shaft 51 of the male screw 50 can be introduced through communicating holes to engage the nut 30 . a hollow cylindrical seal 90 is mounted on the insulation coating of the wire w behind a rear portion of the terminal fitting 40 . two annular lips 91 are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the seal 90 . the lips 91 closely contact and seal with the inner wall of the insertion hole 25 . a mold assembly for insert molding is shown in fig5 . the mold assembly has a first mold 70 , a second mold 71 and a slidable mold 72 . the second mold 71 is movable along a first moving direction 1 md towards and away from the first mold 70 . the slidable mold 72 is movable sideways along a second moving direction 2 md substantially normal to the first moving direction 1 md . the slidable mold 72 is used to form the insertion holes 25 of the third tubes 24 and is shaped in conformity with shapes of the insertion holes 25 . as shown in fig3 , the lower mold 70 has support columns 73 for forming the introducing holes 23 of the second tubes 22 . a stepped cylindrical stopper 74 penetrates each support column 73 and has a plurality of diameters along the moving direction md 1 . each stopper 74 has a fixing portion 75 at least partly embedded in the support column 73 . a screw 76 is continuous with the upper end of the fixing portion 75 and has a diameter smaller than the fixing portion 75 . an external thread is formed on the screw 75 and is spirally engageable with the nut 30 . the stopper 74 is slidable along the moving direction md 1 and relative to the support column 73 . thus , the fixing portion 75 can project from and retract into the upper surface of the support column 73 . the nut 30 is screwed down onto the screw 76 of the stopper 74 to prevent loose movements of the nut 30 in response to pressure from the resin during insert molding . a projecting distance of the screw 76 is shorter than the shaft 51 of the male screw 50 and the screw 76 is engaged only with a part of an internally threaded area of the nut 30 . the first end of each busbar 80 is fit on the screw 76 of the corresponding stopper 74 . each nut 30 then is turned upside down and screwed down until the leading end surface of the nut 30 contacts the upper surface of the busbar 80 , as shown in fig4 . as a result , the nut 30 is held in position and loose movements are prevented . the slidable mold 72 then is moved and the upper mold 71 is lowered to close the mold , as shown in fig5 and 6 . molten resin then is injected and filled into a cavity 77 of the mold to form the function portion 20 . the mold is opened after the synthetic resin has cooled and solidified . ejector pins 78 then push the stoppers 74 up , as shown in fig8 , and the second tubes 22 are removed from the support columns 73 . the entire casing 10 , including the function portion 20 , then can be taken out of the mold . the molded article then is turned upside down and the stoppers 74 are turned and separated from the nuts 30 to complete the casing 10 . the seals 90 are mounted on the wires w and the terminal fittings 40 are crimped into connection with the ends of the wires w and the seals 90 . the terminal fittings 40 then are inserted into the insertion hole 25 of the corresponding second tube 22 so that the main portion 42 of the terminal fitting 40 is placed on the first end of the busbar 80 . the screw 50 then is inserted in the opening of the introducing hole 23 . the shaft 51 of the screw 50 passes through the leading end of the terminal fitting 40 , through the first end of the busbar 80 and into the nut 30 . the screw 50 then is tightened so that the terminal fitting 40 and the busbar 80 are squeezed between the head 52 of the screw 50 and the nut 30 along the first direction 1 d . in this way , the terminal fitting 40 and the busbar 80 are connected electrically . the rubber plug 60 is fit into the introducing hole 23 of the second tube 22 in the first direction 1 d after this screw - fastening is completed to seal the introducing hole 23 hermetically . further , the insertion hole 25 of the third tube 24 is sealed hermetically by the seal 90 mounted on the terminal fitting 40 . as described above , the nuts 30 are screwed at least partly onto the stoppers 74 mounted in the first mold 70 and are held in position while having loose movements thereof prevented . the mold then is closed and the molten resin is filled into the cavity 77 . the stoppers 74 are separated from the nuts 30 after the resin is solidified . thus , no pin withdrawal hole is left , and there is no need for potting or the like to close the pin withdrawal holes . the molten resin is filled into the cavity and solidified therein . the mold then is opened and the stoppers 74 are separated from the lower mold 70 as the mold is opened . thus , the lower mold 70 does not accompany the stoppers 74 upon separating the stoppers 74 from the nuts 30 , and operability is even better . the invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment . for example , the following embodiments are also embraced by the technical scope of the present invention as defined by the claims . beside the following embodiments , various changes can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the claims . the stoppers are mounted in the mold and the nuts are inserts assembled with the stoppers in the foregoing embodiment . however , the nuts may be mounted in the mold and the stoppers may be the inserts assembled with the nuts according to the invention . the fastening nuts for connecting the terminal fittings and the busbars are used as inserts in the foregoing embodiment . however , other nuts or the like may be used as inserts instead of the inserts having the above - described function . the stoppers are mounted detachably in the mold in the foregoing embodiment . however , the stoppers may be fixed to the mold according to the present invention .
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the preferred form of the invention is illustrated in fig1 and 2 utilizing a four cylinder internal combustion engine , it being understood that substantially only the inventive features are illustrated without regard to the fuel , exhaust , timing , electrical , lubricating or valve assemblies which are not pictured herein for the sake of brevity and clarity . as presented in fig1 the engine block is of the linear &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; type with pistons joined at their distal ends to a cylindrical connecting member which is affixed at each end thereof to a different crank bearing . the preferred embodiment as shown in fig1 includes one end of the connecting member fitted within a relatively small roller bearing as shown in fig2 said small bearing fixed inside of the internal race of a larger crank bearing . also , behind the smaller roller bearing ( fig2 ) is a crank bearing plate which is also joined to the internal crank bearing race . the opposite end of another connecting member is affixed to said plate , within an opening therein whereby the small internal bearing , the crank plate and the second connecting member all rotate in unison with the first connecting member . as would be understood from fig1 as the series of pistons reciprocate , each of said connecting members is driven and rotational motion is delivered to the power take - off . for a better understanding of the crankless mechanism of the invention , turning now to the drawings , fig1 demonstrates in schematic fashion a linear or straight four cylinder internal combustion engine 10 whereby piston a is shown in its lower most position , piston b at the apex of its cycle , piston c somewhat below piston b and piston d slightly lower than piston c . as would be understood the firing sequence and piston alignments are shown herein for illustrative purposes and are not to be considered as exact configurations . as further shown in fig1 pistons a , b , c and d are joined respectively to piston rods 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 . each piston rod is connected at its distal end to a cylindrical connecting member 15 . piston rods 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 are rotatably joined at 16 to their respective cylindrical connecting members 15 by bearings or otherwise . one end of each connecting member 15 is rotatably positioned within bearing 17 , shown in greater detail enlarged in fig2 . connecting member bearing 17 seen in fig2 is permanently affixed within crank bearing 18 by rigid attachment such as by welding to internal race 19 . on the other or &# 34 ; closed &# 34 ; side of bearing 18 , plate 20 is also rigidly affixed to internal race 19 . thus , as would be understood , as a particular cylinder fires such as piston a , piston a is driven downwardly thereby imparting rotational motion to race 19 through connecting member 15 , thereby in turn imparting rotational motion to a subsequent connecting member 15 &# 39 ; ( as illustrated in fig2 for clarity purposes ) to likewise rotate power take - off 21 . power take - off 21 comprises forward engine shaft 22 having mounted thereon fan belt pulleys 23 , 24 , distributor gear 25 , and timing gear 26 . rear engine shaft 27 likewise , as shown in fig1 ( in abbreviated fashion ) has flywheel 28 joined thereto . rear engine shaft 27 is joined to crank bearing 29 which comprises a modified form of crank bearing 18 . rear engine shaft 27 rotates simultaneously with forward engine shaft 22 . as earlier discussed , engine 10 configuration as demonstrated in fig1 is merely a schematic representation and those skilled in the art will realize that various other cylinder configurations such as the common &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; type could also be employed with more or less pistons than those shown , depending on the particular power and size requirements needed . as hereinbefore mentioned , only the novel features of internal combustion engine 10 are illustrated without regard to the conventional fuel , lubrication ( circulating or spray type ), valve , electrical , exhaust , timing and other necessary features as required for actual engine operation . in fig3 piston f is featured with wrist pin 30 supported in proximal rod bearing 31 which is affixed to piston rod 32 . distal rod bearing 33 is likewise joined to piston rod 32 at the distal end thereof . as shown along lines 4 -- 4 of bearing 34 of fig3 fig4 depicts a cross - sectional view of connecting member 35 rigidly affixed to race 36 of bearing 34 with the opposite end of a subsequent connecting rod 37 mounted in bearing plate 38 . rod 37 may also be joined to race 36 directly , thereby eliminating the need for plate 38 . in fig5 yet another piston g is presented having a pair of wrist pin bearings 40 , 40 &# 39 ; which rotatably maintain wrist pin 41 therein . piston rod 42 is rigidly affixed to wrist pin 41 and as shown the pivoting motion between piston g and piston rod 42 is allowed due to wrist pin bearings 40 , 40 &# 39 ;. while various bearing and rigid connections are shown in the engine mechanisms of fig1 - 5 , it has been found that a crankless engine with crank bearings can be provided which is efficient , reduces internal friction , is powerful and long lasting and which eliminates many problems and disadvantages of internal combustion engines having conventional crankshafts . the illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims .
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referring to fig1 there is shown a cylindrical chamber 10 immersed in an underwater environment 12 , such as a natural body of seawater . intake and outflow systems 14 and 16 , respectively , are provided to enable samples of water from environment 12 to be drawn into and expelled from the interior of cylindrical chamber 10 , in controlled amounts and at a selected rate of flow . consequently , if light emitting activity 18 is taking place in environment 12 in proximity to chamber 10 , various characteristics of such activity may be determined by monitoring the light emission which is taking place within respective samples of water contained in chamber 10 . in order to detect light emission activity which is of very low intensity , a number of photodetector assemblies 20 are provided , each assembly 20 enclosing a device such as a photomultiplier tube . each phototube includes a light sensitive surface , and generates electrical signals which represent discrete photons impinging upon its light sensitive surface . photodetector assemblies 20 are positioned in an array at an end of chamber 10 , and are oriented so that photons occurring in the interior of chamber 10 may travel toward and impinge upon the light sensitive surfaces enclosed in respective assemblies . each photodetector assembly 20 includes a quartz pressure window 22 , which protects the assembly from water and pressure of environment 12 while allowing light to pass from the interior of chamber 10 to the light sensitive surface of the assembly . each assembly is coupled to a processing electronics package 24 , which receives signals generated by respective phototubes , and each assembly is joined to chamber 10 by means of a retaining ring 26 . since the bioluminescent light which naturally occurs in an underwater environment 12 is likely to obscure other sources of low intensity light therein , as aforementioned , each assembly 20 includes an optical filter element for preventing light in excess of 400 nm ., the bioluminescent range , from being detected . fig1 shows an array of five photomultipliers positioned at an end of cylindrical chamber 10 . however , it is to be understood that the geometrical configuration of chamber 10 , and the number and respective positions of photodetector assemblies 20 in relation thereto , may be selectively varied , according to the requirements of a particular application , without going beyond the scope of the present invention . when the various surfaces enclosed within chamber 10 come into contact with the seawater of environment 12 , biological growth commences thereupon . as aforementioned , within a two to three day period , windows 22 may become so covered with such growth that no light is able to penetrate therethrough to the light sensitive surfaces of respective photodetector assemblies . therefore , in order to enable chamber 10 to be deployed for an extended time period in an environment in which frequent maintenance is impractical or impossible , each quartz window 22 is coated or overlaid with a material 28 , which includes an anti - foulant material such as an organic tin polymer , in the form of a clear coating . tin polymer coatings found to be suitable for the above purpose include a substance produced by the navy and designated thereby as omp - 2 , and a substance produced by m & amp ; t corporation and designated thereby as cn9484 . if a photon 30 , having a wavelength in the range 300 - 400 nm ., is generated in the interior of chamber 10 , the attenuation length thereof is 5 meters , as aforementioned . such length is sufficient to enable large numbers of photons 30 generated in chamber 10 to penetrate the anti - foulant material of coating 28 upon an assembly , and also the respective optical elements thereof , without being absorbed . on the other hand , it is very difficult for a photon 32 , having a wavelength in the range 200 - 300 nm ., to reach the light sensitive surface of an assembly 20 . photons 32 are likely to be absorbed by the anti - foulant material or optical elements of the assembly such as its window or optical filter . however , photons 32 may comprise a very significant proportion of the light within chamber 10 which is less than 400 nm . wavelength , and which is therefore available for low level light detection activity . consequently , coating material 28 also includes a waveshifting material having the property that photons of 200 - 300 nm . wavelength which are received thereby are shifted in wavelength into the 300 - 400 nm . range . such waveshifting material is usefully formed by dissolving the substance p - terphenyl into toluene , in a closed cycle reflux apparatus . such solution is mixed with one of the aforementioned anti - foulant polymer paints , for example , in the concentration of 3 grams per liter of p - terphenyl . by overlaying windows 22 with the above mixture , photons 32 reaching the windows tend to be shifted in wavelength before being absorbed by the anti - foulant material , and are thereby enabled to reach the light sensitive surfaces of the photodetector assemblies . in order to substantially increase the number of photons 32 in chamber 10 which get shifted into the 300 - 400 nm . range , the inner cylindrical wall 34 of chamber 10 comprises a light scattering material such as the material commercially marketed by dupont under the trademark teflon . teflon surface 34 is coated or overlaid with material 28 , so that light photons 32 impinging thereupon are shifted in wavelength to become photons 30 , and are then scattered back into chamber 10 . the anti - foulant material included in mixture 28 prevents biological growth upon the teflon surface 34 , so that the light scattering capability thereof is not diminished over time . it has been found that the above configuration of chamber 10 , photodetector assemblies 20 , and combination wave - shifting and anti - fouling material enables low levels of light activity in seawater to be monitored for periods on the order of several months . referring to fig2 there is shown a cross - sectional view of a photon detection assembly 20 , the assembly including a housing 36 for enclosing the respective elements thereof . fig2 shows the face of quartz window 22 which is exposed to environment 12 coated by mixture 28 , as aforementioned , and further shows window 22 optically coupled to an optical filter 38 by means of a layer of optical coupling grease 40 . optical filter 38 comprises a device for preventing passage of light which is in excess of 400 nm . in wavelength , to eliminate the effects of bioluminescence as aforementioned , and usefully comprises a device known in the art as a corning 7 - 54 , or a schott ug - 11 optical filter . a second layer of optical coupling grease 40 , which usefully comprises a substance known in the art as ge - g688 , is emplaced between filter 38 and the light sensitive surface 42 of a photomultiplier tube 44 . a photomultiplier tube is a device which generates electrical signals representing discrete photons which impinge upon its light sensitive surface , and usefully comprises a device manufactured by rca , and designated thereby as the rca - 8575 . fig2 further shows an o - ring 46 , which is placed in an annular channel formed in housing 36 . o - ring 46 is compressed by quartz window 22 , when retaining ring 26 is tightened , to form a watertight seal between environment 12 and the cavity of housing 36 in which photomultiplier tube 44 is contained . referring to fig3 there is shown a curve ( a ), which indicates the responsivity of the photomultiplier tube 44 of a photodetector assembly 20 to photons of various wavelengths , when the window 22 of the assembly and the cylindrical inner wall of chamber 10 are coated with mixture 28 , as described above . fig3 also shows a curve ( b ), which indicates the responsivity of the photomultiplier when the window and the inner cylindrical wall are left uncoated and a sample of environment 12 is brought into chamber 12 . it will be noted that above 300 nm ., curves ( a ) and ( b ) substantially concur . on the other hand , in the wavelength range 200 - 300 nm ., the responsivity of the photomultiplier is shown by fig3 to be improved by many orders of magnitude by the employment of mixture 28 . a substantial increase in the sensitivity in the monitoring or detecting of low intensity light emission may thereby be realized . it is to be noted that curves ( a ) and ( b ) are compiled by data generated by processing electronics package 34 in response to signals received thereby from respective photomultipliers 44 . while the structure of electronic package 34 may vary according to the intended application thereof , it is anticipated that one of skill in the art could readily provide a suitable electronics package for a particular application . referring to fig4 there is shown a photodetector assembly 20 immersed in underwater environment 12 to monitor low level light activity therein . a device 48 , known in the art as a winston collector , is employed to direct photons which enter the collector toward window 22 of the assembly 20 , and to pass therethrough to the photomultiplier tube of the assembly . the inner wall of the winston collector 48 is coated with mixture 28 so that when photons 32 impinge against the inner wall thereof , they are waveshifted into the 300 - 400 nm . range , as aforementioned . the inner wall of collector 48 may comprise teflon material , as aforementioned , or any other material which is capable of ( 1 ) reflecting light impinging thereupon ( 2 ) withstanding corrosive effects of seawater when exposed thereto over a period of time ( 3 ) and providing a surface to which mixture 28 is bondable . it has been found that very few materials besides teflon are available which have all of the above capabilities . as an alternative to using teflon , collector 48 may have an inner wall 50 , comprising a selected light reflective material , such as aluminum , an inner wall 50 being overlaid with a light transmissive material 52 which is capable of both withstanding seawater corrosion and providing a surface to which mixture 28 will adhere . obviously , many other modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the 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 .
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with reference to fig1 a glass sheet forming and quenching system generally indicated by 10 includes a furnace 12 for heating glass sheets , a forming station 14 for forming the heated glass sheets , and a quench station 16 that is constructed in accordance with the invention to provide the quenching method thereof as is hereinafter more fully described . the construction of the quench station 16 and its method of operation will be described in an integrated manner to facilitate an understanding of all aspects of the invention . with continuing reference to fig1 the furnace 12 of the system includes a conveyor 18 on which glass sheets g are heated within a heating chamber of the furnace to a sufficiently high temperature to permit forming and quenching of the glass . after the heating , the heated glass sheets g are transferred or conveyed in any suitable manner to the forming station 14 where forming apparatus 20 forms each heated glass sheet from a flat shape to a curved shape . after the forming , the heated glass sheet is supported as illustrated by an upper vacuum mold 22 in preparation for being transferred to the quench station 16 which , as mentioned above , is constructed in accordance with the present invention . the quench station 16 of the invention as illustrated in fig1 includes first and second quench sections 24 and 26 , a shuttle 28 that simultaneously provides movement of three formed sheets g 1 , g 2 , and g 3 through the quench station as is hereinafter more fully described . in addition , the quench station also includes a control 30 that supplies quenching gas in a controlled manner which during cyclical operation moves the glass sheets upwardly from and subsequently downwardly back onto the shuttle 28 upon passage through the quench station . it should be noted that the formed glass sheets normally will have curvature in a transverse direction to the direction of conveyance through the quench station 26 and may also have curvature along the direction of conveyance as illustrated . as illustrated by fig1 and 2 , the first quench section 24 has lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 for respectively supplying upwardly and downwardly directed quench gas to a formed glass sheet therebetween to provide partial quenching of the formed glass sheet . the quenching provided by the first quench section 24 is insufficient without further forced cooling in addition to natural convention to prevent loss of the glass temperature differential that toughens the glass upon final cooling to ambient temperature , either by heat strengthening or more rapid cooling that provides tempering . the second quench section 26 of the quench station also has lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 for respectively supplying upwardly and downwardly directed quenching gas to the partially quenched glass sheet upon being received therebetween during the shuttle transfer cycle described below . this quenching in the second quench station 26 completes the quenching of the glass sheet to provide heat strengthening or tempering as required by the particular manufacturing job being processed . downstream to the right of the second quench section 26 , the quench station includes an after - cooling section 36 having an upper stop 38 against which a quenched glass sheet is supported during the transfer cycle in preparation for being transferred to an unshown after - cooling conveyor and ultimate delivery from the system . the shuttle 28 illustrated in fig1 is movable along a transfer direction that corresponds with the direction conveyance c toward the right through the system and is moved by an actuator 40 so as to be simultaneously moved with respect to the forming station 14 where each glass sheet is formed , the first quench section 24 , and the second quench section 26 as well as the after - cooling section 36 . the shuttle 28 has three positions each of which includes an associated open ring 42 , 44 and 46 for respectively supporting and transferring three glass sheets during each movement toward the right . more specifically , the shuttle 28 simultaneously moves the one glass sheet g 1 from the forming station 14 to the first quench section 24 as shown , the second glass sheet g 2 from the first quench section 24 to the second quench section 26 as shown , and the third glass sheet g 3 from the second quench section 26 to the after - cooling section 36 for transfer to the unshown after - cooling conveyor and ultimate delivery as previously mentioned . as illustrated further in fig1 the gas quench control 30 includes a source 48 of pressurized quenching gas that is delivered to the quench station through a main supply conduit 50 . a valve controller 52 controls valves 54 and 56 that respectively control flow through delivery conduits 58 and 60 to the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 of the first quench section 24 . valve controller 52 also controls valves 62 and 64 that control the flow of quenching gas through conduits 66 and 68 that supply the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 of the second quench station 26 . in addition , the valve controller 52 controls a valve 70 that controls the flow of quenching gas 72 to a lower blowup plenum 74 that supplies upwardly directed quench gas at the after - cooling station 36 . each cycle of operation of the shuttle 28 illustrated in fig1 is performed by moving the shuttle from the left toward the right to the position illustrated to transfer three glass sheets , one glass sheet g 1 from the forming station 14 to the first quench section 24 , the second glass sheet g 2 from the first quench section 24 to the second quench section 26 , and the third glass sheet g 3 from the second quench section 26 to the after - cooling section 36 . with the shuttle positioned as shown in fig1 the quenching gas is supplied under the operation of control 30 to the first and second formed glass sheets g 1 and g 2 for a sufficient time to provide the partial quenching of the first glass sheet g 1 and to complete the quenching of the second glass sheet g 2 . the time involved for such quenching will depend upon the glass thickness but will normally be about 1½ to 2 seconds . the control 30 then provides a change in the force applied to the glass sheets to provide lifting thereof upwardly off of the associated shuttle rings 42 , 44 and 46 . thus , the glass sheet g 1 is moved upwardly against the upper quench head assembly 34 of the first quench section 24 , the second glass sheet g 2 is moved upwardly against the upper quench head assembly 34 of the second quench section 26 , and the third glass sheet g 3 is moved upwardly against the stop 38 of the after - cooling section 36 . the quenching proceeds at this time with the lower quench head assemblies 32 of both the first and second quench sections 24 and 26 continuing to supply upwardly directed quenching gas and with the upper quench head assemblies 34 continuing to supply downwardly directed quenching gas . simultaneously , the movement of the shuttle 28 back toward the left permits commencement of another cycle as the glass sheets progress through the quench station from the left toward the right with three being moved during each shuttle movement toward the right . prior to the commencement of each cycle , the quenching gas supplied to the first and second quench sections 24 and 26 is changed by the control 30 to release the formed glass sheets from their associated upper quench head assemblies 34 to allow the glass sheet thereof to respectively drop downwardly onto the shuttle rings 44 and 46 in preparation for respective movement from the first quench section 24 to the second quench section 26 and for movement from the second quench section 26 to the after - cooling section 36 . the change in the gas flows to lift the glass sheets can be done by : ( 1 ) increasing the upward gas flow ; ( 2 ) decreasing the downward gas flow ; or ( 3 ) both increasing the upward gas flow and decreasing the downward gas flow . when the glass sheets are forced upwardly against the upper quench head assemblies 34 in both the first and second quench section 24 and 26 shown in fig1 the greater supply of upwardly directed quenching gas relative to the amount of downwardly directed quenching gas is offset by the fact that the glass sheets are positioned closer to the upper quench head assemblies 34 so that the cooling provided is more uniform from both the lower and upper sides . as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the lower and upper blast head assemblies 32 and 34 each include a plurality of quench heads 76 and 78 , respectively , through which quenching gas is supplied upwardly and downwardly through openings in the opposed faces of the quench heads . furthermore , as shown in fig1 the upstream ends of the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 are respectively connected by lower and upper linkages 80 and 82 and are positioned by lower and upper templates 84 and 86 . likewise , the downstream ends of the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 of the second quench section 26 are also respectively connected by lower and upper linkages 80 and 82 and are positioned by lower and upper templates 84 and 86 . furthermore , while the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 of the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 of the first and second quench section 24 and 26 are fluidly isolated from each other , their respective downstream and upstream ends have mechanical lower and upper connectors 88 and 90 so as to be movable and positioned with each other in association with the lower and upper linkages 80 and 82 and the lower and upper templates 84 and 86 . as shown in fig2 - 5 , the quench station includes a framework 92 including vertical posts 94 and horizontal beams 96 on which the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 are mounted . both the lower and upper linkages 80 and 82 of the lower and upper quench head assemblies have a construction best illustrated in fig4 by the lower linkage which includes lower and upper link rows 98 and 99 that each include links 100 having pivotal connections 101 to the associated quench heads and to the adjacent links to provide a saw tooth shape that controls the angular positioning of the quench heads with respect to each other so the lower and upper quench heads oppose each other . the quench heads of the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 are thus adjustable with respect to each other to permit quenching of different shapes of formed glass sheets . as shown in fig3 the lower and upper templates 84 and 86 have upwardly facing positioning notches 102 and 104 that receive lower and upper positioners 106 and 108 on the adjacent ends of the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 to provide proper positioning of the quench heads with the associated linkages providing the proper angular location of the lower and upper quench heads with respect to each other . as illustrated in fig2 the quenching gas supply ducts 50 a and 50 b supply pressurized quenching gas to flexible lower and upper conduits 58 and 60 that respectively supply quenching gas to the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 of the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 . the lower and upper linkages 80 and 82 of the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 as mentioned above ensure that the opposed faces of the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 are aligned with each other in order to provide uniform distribution of quenching gas to the quenched glass sheet g therebetween . furthermore , as illustrated in fig3 and 7 , lower and upper adjusters 110 and 112 respectively associated with the lower and upper templates 84 and 86 provide the proper positioning of the templates on the framework 92 in order to provide the proper positioning of the lower and upper quench heads 76 and 78 in association with the angular positioning provided by the lower and upper linkages . each adjuster 110 and 112 as shown in fig6 and 7 includes a threaded adjusting member 114 that is received by a threaded member 116 on the associated template and has a lower end engaged with a support lug 118 on the framework 92 such that threading of the adjusting member provides upward and downward movement of the template to the proper location . upon such proper positioning , a lock nut 120 on the adjusting member 114 is threaded against the template mounted member 116 to secure the adjusted position . as also illustrated in fig3 and 7 , lower and upper clamps 122 and 124 respectively associated with the lower and upper templates 84 and 86 provide clamping of the templates to the framework 92 after the adjustment provided by the lower and upper adjusters 110 and 112 as described above . as illustrated in fig6 and 7 , the lower and upper clamps 122 and 124 include clamp members 126 that are operated by clamp actuators 128 in any conventional manner to clamp the associated template against the framework 92 and prevent any movement thereof after the adjustment of the templates to the proper position . clamp connectors 130 of each clamp extend from the clamp member 126 to the clamp actuator 128 and are received within downwardly opening notches 132 ( fig3 ) in the lower side of the associated template so as to permit the upward and downward adjusting movement as necessary until the template is in the proper position for the clamping . as best illustrated in fig4 the lower and upper quench head assemblies include lower and upper actuators 134 and 136 that extend between the framework 92 and the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 . more specifically , each of the lower and upper quench head assemblies 32 and 34 has a center quench head 76 , 78 that is fixedly positioned while the other quench heads are movable under the control of the lower and upper linkages previously described . the movement of the quench head assemblies for positioning by the templates as previously described prior to adjustment by the adjusters that were also previously described is initially provided by the lower and upper actuators 134 and 136 . the lower actuators 134 have lower ends that are mounted on lower horizontal beams 96 and extend upwardly for connection to the lower quench head assembly 32 with some of the actuators having connections through links 138 and others having pivotal connections 140 connected directly to the associated lower quench heads 78 . the lower actuators 134 are extendible to move the lower quench heads upwardly as required with the associated lower linkage 80 providing control of the angular position of the quench heads as they are moved . the upper actuators 136 illustrated in fig4 and 5 are mounted on upper horizontal beams 96 of the framework 92 and have connections 142 extending downwardly to a pair of links 144 that are connected to an adjacent pair of the upper quench heads 78 . these upper actuators 136 move the upper quench heads 78 under the control of these upper linkages which provide the proper angular positioning so as to oppose the lower quench heads . as best illustrated in fig5 the upper quench head assembly 34 includes thermally insulative stops 146 against which the glass sheets are forced upwardly by the quenching gas during the transferring operation as previously described . these thermally insulative stops 46 position the glass sheet and have sufficiently low thermal conductivity so as not to provide excessive conductive cooling thereof that would disrupt the uniformity in the glass cooling . as shown in fig2 and 4 , the quench station framework 92 includes an upper frame 148 that supports each upper quench head assembly 34 and has a motor driven ball screw mechanism 150 for lifting the upper frame and the upper quench head assemblies to allow broken glass removal as well as maintenance and repair . another system incorporating the quench station , a roll bending station that can be used to provide the glass sheet forming , and a press station that can be used to provide the glass sheet forming are respectively disclosed in u . s . patent applications : ( docket glt 1773 pus ); ( docket glt 1774 pus ); and ( docket glt 1775 pus ), which are all being filed concurrently herewith and the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described , those familiar with the art to which the invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the following claims .
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fig1 shows a portion of a motor vehicle , such as a truck , comprising a first embodiment of the inventive energy conversion system 30 in association with the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system 32 . the truck electrical system may be a nominal 12 volt dc system that has one or more storage batteries . when the engine is running , an engine - driven alternator supplies current for system loads and keeps the battery or batteries charged . when the engine is not running , certain loads continue to draw battery current . when the ignition switch that turns the engine on and off is in “ off ” position , only loads that have direct connection to the battery draw current . generally that current draw is fairly small . when the ignition switch is in “ on ” position without the engine running , additional loads may draw battery current . those additional loads will increase the rate at which battery state of charge diminishes . if battery state of charge diminishes to the point where battery voltage is insufficient to crank the engine at engine starting , the engine will not start . a truck may occasionally be parked for an extended amount of time during which the engine is not re - started . even the fairly small loads that are directly on the battery during this time may deplete battery charge to a point where the engine cannot be re - started . the inventive energy conversion systems that are disclosed herein can provide supplemental current for at least extending the allowable time that a vehicle can be parked without losing battery charge to the point where the engine cannot be re - started , and ideally extend the time indefinitely so that a parked vehicle can always be re - started . energy conversion system 30 comprises a self - configuring solar array assembly 34 that comprises multiple solar cell arrays ( solar cell groups ), four such arrays 36 a , 36 b , 36 c , 36 d in this example . assembly 34 further comprises an array configuration module 38 , sometimes referred to as a configuration , and a solar radiation sensor 40 . electrical system 32 comprises one or more batteries 42 and various loads that include one or more parasitic loads 44 , one or more intermittent loads 46 , a telemetric system 48 , a security system 50 , and a heating , ventilating , air conditioning system ( hvac ) 52 . a voltage monitor load control computer 54 is associated with certain loads , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 in this example , and with configuration 38 . a cab temperature sensor 56 is also associated with monitor 54 . electrical system 32 comprises a power and ground grid 58 that places the various loads and monitor 54 across positive and negative terminals of battery or batteries 42 . configuration 38 is also placed on grid 58 . overload protection devices , such as fuses f , prevent shorts in any of the devices on the grid from shorting out the battery . arrays 36 a , 36 b , 36 c , 36 d are arranged on the vehicle at various locations where solar radiation can be incident on them . they may be identical in size or different in size . they may face in the same direction or in different directions . configuration 38 functions to configure the connection of the arrays to grid 58 according to the intensity of incident solar radiation as measured by sensor 40 . configuration 38 comprises electrically controlled switches , transistors for example , that selectively connect the individual arrays in ways that create various configurations that present different voltage / current output characteristics to grid 58 . this is believed to be an effective way to associate the arrays with the grid because array size can be optimized , and the array can operate at a higher efficiency because relatively less efficient dc - to - dc conversion is unnecessary . configuration 38 may have a self - contained processor that controls the manner in which the individual arrays are connected based on processing of data from sensor 40 to operate the controlled switches , or alternatively the controlled switches in the configuration may be controlled by a remote processor that is part of electrical system 32 using data from sensor 40 . parasitic loads 44 shown in fig1 represent memory in certain on - board electronic devices that require some electric current to maintain stored data . such current requirements are relatively small , typically & lt ; 10 milliamps each , but are always present . array assembly 34 is sized to meet the load requirements of such devices , and for example , may be designed to convert incident solar radiation for a constant 50 milliamp parasitic load . intermittent loads may also be powered by converted solar radiation . computer 54 monitors conditions in electrical system 32 , including battery state of charge , and prioritizes and schedules activation of various intermittent loads 46 when the ignition switch is off . additional intermittent loads are telemetric system 48 , security system 50 , and hvac system 52 . array assembly 34 therefore can supply electric power for continuous lower current ( as a primary function ) or intermittent higher current ( as a secondary function ) while the vehicle engine is off and the alternator is not keeping the battery charged . the solar cells in each array are configured to supply an open circuit voltage that will overcome the battery charge acceptance voltage at some intensity of incident solar radiation . because the magnitude of that open circuit voltage will change as the intensity incident solar radiation changes , it is appropriate to select an intensity that will enable the arrays to be effective to some degree during cloudy or overcast weather conditions . in the embodiments disclosed here , the arrays are sized to provide that voltage level when the intensity of incident solar radiation exceeds 100 watts per square meter . this allows the array to function on cloudy days . intensity of incident radiation can become much greater and a representative response of a properly sized array is shown in fig2 . each array comprises a collection of individual solar cells . the voltage output of a cell varies with type , but is approximately 0 . 5 v . the peak current output of a cell depends on efficiency and size . a solar array is a collection of cells which are connected together in various series and parallel configuration to produce an assembly with the desired voltage and current rating . typically , the configuration is fixed , and the array produces a voltage and current response similar to that shown in fig2 . the horizontal axis of fig2 is normalized voltage output , and the vertical axis , normalized current output . when the intensity of incident solar radiation exceeds the battery charge acceptance voltage represented by the line 60 , current is delivered into the grid . at low intensity the deliverable current is relatively small , but at highest intensity ( full sunlight ), much larger current can be delivered . the line 62 illustrates array voltage / current output at incident intensity of 100 watts per square meter , and the line 62 illustrates array voltage / current output at incident intensity of 1000 watts per square meter . fig3 illustrates a condition where configuration 38 has placed the arrays in a “ parallel ” configuration . it is in this configuration that array assembly 34 can most efficiently supply current during full sun conditions . the corresponding voltage / current characteristic is presented in fig3 a . fig4 illustrates a condition where configuration 38 has placed the arrays in a “ series ” configuration . it is in this configuration that array assembly 34 can most efficiently supply current during cloudy and overcast conditions . the corresponding voltage / current characteristic is presented in fig4 a . by comparing fig3 a and 4a , one can see that the configuration of fig3 is incapable of overcoming the battery charge acceptance voltage during cloudy conditions , and hence is incapable of delivering current into the grid , while that of fig4 can deliver current . and at full sun , the configuration of fig3 can deliver more current than that of fig4 . the maximum open circuit voltage for the configuration of fig3 is 15 . 0 volts while that for fig4 is 22 . 5 volts , and so because fig3 a and 4a represent open circuit voltage of array assembly 34 , it should be kept in mind that when the assembly is delivering current into the grid , the open circuit voltage will be forced to the grid voltage , which is typically around 12 volts dc in a 12 volt electrical system . fig5 discloses a second embodiment of energy conversion system 70 that comprises two separate solar cell arrays 72 , 74 , each integrated into a respective side view mirror assembly 76 , 78 of a motor vehicle . these arrays can be connected in series or parallel configurations to provide power for continuous low current ( as the primary function ) or intermittent high current loads ( as the secondary function ) while the vehicle engine is off . fig5 shows only the parallel connection . the integration of an array into a mirror assembly provides considerable protection from environmental factors and reduces the possibility of poor solar performance due to blockage from snow , ice , dust , or other debris . each array 72 , 74 is mounted inside a respective mirror assembly shell and receives solar radiation through a lens integrated into the outer surface of the shell . the result is a multi - function assembly . the mirror shell protects the solar array from the environment , and the integrated lens allows solar radiation to enter the assembly . part of this radiation is converted to electricity when it strikes the solar array . another portion is converted to heat which is helpful in keeping the assembly clear of snow and ice , although the assembly may be provided with an electric heating element . such a heating element can perform the dual function of melting snow and ice from 1 ) driver &# 39 ; s and passenger &# 39 ; s mirrors and 2 ) the solar lenses . the heater is typically used when the vehicle engine is running , but can also be activated for short periods when the engine is off . in fig5 , the same elements that were described in connection with fig1 are designated by the same reference numerals . not all of the loads on the grid are shown in fig5 . each array 72 , 74 is protected not merely by a fuse f , but also by a respective diode 80 , 82 . each assembly also comprises a respective electric heater 84 , 86 for heating both the mirror and the lens as mentioned above . heating provided by the heaters is controlled by a respective heater control 88 , 90 , that is remote from the respective mirror assembly . each assembly further comprises a respective icing sensor 92 , 94 that signals computer 54 when there is a need for the respective heater 84 , 86 to be activated . the computer then processes the request and may initiate de - icing . as will be more fully explained later , the nature of the de - icing may depend whether the vehicle engine is or is not running . fig6 - 12 illustrate more detail of mirror assemblies 76 , 78 . in addition to housing each array 72 , 74 , each mirror assembly 76 , 78 also houses a rearview mirror 96 having a mirrored surface . respective shells 98 serve to house the arrays and the rearview mirrors . a respective protective lens 99 that is transparent to solar radiation is disposed in association with the respective shell 98 in covering relation to the respective array 72 , 74 . each shell 98 encloses the respective array , the respective heater 84 , 86 , and the respective icing sensor 92 , 94 . mirror assembly 76 is mounted on the right side of the vehicle , and mirror assembly 78 , on the left . hence they are essentially symmetrically opposite about a horizontal fore - aft centerline of the vehicle . each rearview mirror 96 is oriented so that the driver of the vehicle can have a rearward field of view when looking at it . the mirrors 96 are adjustable within shells 98 to secure a desired field of view , and in that regard may be motorized to allow the driver to position them remotely when seated in the driver &# 39 ; s seat . the arrangement of mirror assemblies 76 , 78 on the vehicle and the orientations of arrays 72 , 74 are important aspects of the invention in enabling a parked vehicle to keep battery charge . each array has a face that faces generally opposite the direction in which the respective mirror 96 faces . the array face is pitched both horizontally and vertically , the example here showing a pitch of about 20 ° from vertical and a pitch of about 25 ° from horizontal when mounted on the vehicle . if the mirror assemblies are mounted on the side doors that swing open and closed , it is understood that the array orientations just described assume that both doors are closed . hence it is those orientations that are present in fig6 , and 8 which show a truck 100 , with the mirror assemblies relatively enlarged for purposes of clarity . in fig8 , vp is the vertical pitch and hp is the horizontal pitch . another way to describe the array orientation is with reference to an imaginary line that is normal to the face of the array . each array face may be said to face in a direction that is oblique to an imaginary vertical line passing through the array , oblique to an imaginary horizontal line passing through the array parallel to the fore - aft direction in the vehicle , and oblique to an imaginary horizontal line passing through the array perpendicular to the fore - aft direction in the vehicle . the array orientations on truck 100 produces a daily window of exposure for each array that depends on the orientation of the truck . the arrangement of solar arrays mounted at opposing angles allows for access to direct solar radiation for several hours each day regardless of vehicle orientation . the “ worst case ” orientation will occur when the vehicle is pointed north . fig1 - 18 and the explanatory notations accompanying them show the amount of time that an array will have direct solar exposure with the vehicle pointed north for different times of year and different latitudes in the northern hemisphere . as the arrays convert solar radiation into electricity , that electricity is fed into grid 58 . heaters 84 , 86 can warm the interior of the shells with heat also being conducted to the exterior surface . a heater can be turned on by the driver when the vehicle is running or by computer 54 when the engine is off . sensors 92 , 94 can sense moisture and temperature and send a de - icing request to computer 54 that then processes the request and may initiate a short de - icing cycle if the proper conditions exist ( i . e . enough battery charge ). the inventive systems are designed to operate under different prevailing ambient conditions , which may be classified generally as either as cool and cloudy , or as hot and sunny . during either type of prevailing condition , the primary function of providing supplemental power for operating low current loads without depleting battery charge can be accomplished . the arrays are designed such that the open circuit voltage remains above the charge acceptance voltage of the batteries even during cloudy conditions so that the arrays deliver supplemental current to the grid . the systems eliminate the need for energy conversion ( dc to dc converters ) or auxiliary storage . by keeping the battery or batteries at a high state of charge , battery cycling and battery stress are reduced . during hot sunny days , considerably more power is required for cab cooling via hvac system 52 , but the inventive systems can supply power under that condition too because the intensity of incident solar radiation is also greater . cab temperature sensor 56 in fig1 signals temperature inside the truck cab . when the temperature rises to a point where some ventilation of the cab interior is appropriate , computer 54 operates a ventilation fan that can provide some ventilating to relieve the temperature . because a motor is used to ventilate the cab , the current draw is much larger than the continual draw of the parasitic loads . hence , such ventilation is allowed only intermittently . the loads for which the arrays may be considered as two distinct types , 1 ) low power continuous loads ( less than 0 . 12 watts for example ) and 2 ) high power controllable loads ( greater than 0 . 12 watts for example ). in addition to those already mentioned , the low power loads may include devices such as clocks and devices which have two modes of operation ( sleep or active ). devices in sleep mode retain active memory and monitor sensor inputs . the controllable ( active ) loads include telemetric system 48 , security system 50 , and hvac system 52 . the inventive systems function to power these load types both directly and indirectly . the arrays provides direct power to low level loads during daylight hours when the arrays are active and can supply power in excess of that required for the low level loads . the excess power provides additional charge to the vehicle battery or batteries . when the arrays are unable to supply all the required power , the deficiency is reclaimed from the battery or batteries . active loads are controllable and can be activated ( or made inactive ) by human intervention or intervention of the vehicle &# 39 ; s computer . in some cases the solar arrays will not be capable of supplying power to an active load continuously . when the ignition switch is off however , most active loads can be operated intermittently and still satisfy the requirements of the vehicle , in which case the arrays can supply power for intermittent occasional operation of active loads with the deficiency being supplied from the vehicle battery or batteries functioning as a power reservoir . when the engine is off , the vehicle &# 39 ; s computer can be used to calculate battery state of charge , estimate active loads , and measure ambient temperature . in this way , the computer can determine which loads can be safely turned on and for how long . the vehicle security system 50 is active when the ignition switch is off . the inventive systems provide power for this function which operates in low and high power modes . in the low power mode ( a majority of the time ), the system scans various sensors for abnormal conditions . when an abnormal condition occurs , the security system becomes active for a short time to handle the condition . the function of telemetric system 48 is to acquire information concerning the vehicle and transmit the information to a central base station . telemetric can operate both when the engine is running and off the inventive systems supply power for telemetric when the ignition switch is off . control of telemetric system 48 is accomplished using computer 54 to schedule periodic telematic transmissions , which is often once a day . therefore , the average power consumption required for this function is within the capabilities of the arrays . cab cooling is desirable to reduce cab interior temperature during periods of high solar loading . this function takes significant power and could not effectively be accomplished unless a power source is available . the solar array provides a good source since this is the time of peak array output . the cab cooling function is accomplished by controlling equipment typically supplied with the vehicle . these components are mostly found in hvac system 52 and include mode control doors , fan , and a hvac controller . the cooling cycle is controlled by the vehicle central computer , which monitors the system and controls the cooling cycle . the process is initiated by a cab cooling request which is generated when the temperature of a cab crosses a programmed setpoint . after this the computer reads the solar radiation sensor and calculates the amount of power available for cab cooling . the computer will cycle the cooling fan on and off using a low speed setting . during on times , some of the required power may be extracted from the batteries , but they will be replenished during fan off times . the computer will adjust the fan duty cycle so that the average power required does not exceed the power available through the solar array or arrays . a typical on / off cooling cycle may be 120 seconds long with the fan on for 12 seconds ( 10 % duty cycle ). the system is independent of the method used to control fan speed , and will work with any hvac system which uses one of the common methods ( resistive element , pwm , linear power module , etc ). for a vehicle having one or more arrays totaling an area of 0 . 10 square meter and a conversion efficiency of 12 %, the average daily power output can be calculated for various geographic locations . two sample locations are used as examples for calculating power output , 1 ) saint paul , minnesota ( 45 ° north latitude ), and 2 ) phoenix , ariz . ( 33 . 5 ° north latitude ). for these two locations , the average daily incident solar energy per square meter , as published by nasa , is shown in fig2 . in the embodiment of fig5 , the size of each array 72 , 74 is approximately 0 . 05 square meter . direct sunlight produces approximately one kilowatt of energy per square meter . the amount of energy expected from each mirror assembly per hour of incident solar radiation is : 1 kw - hr x area ( 0 . 05 ) x efficiency ( 0 . 12 )= 6 watt - hrs . spreading this over a 24 hr period provides average power of 0 . 25 watts . dividing by an assumed battery voltage of 13 . 0 volts yields an average delivered current of 19 . 2 milliamps per kw - hr of insolation . because the two arrays 72 , 74 are mounted in approximately opposite directions , one array will typically receive direct sunlight , and the other , indirect sunlight . for the array receiving indirect sunlight , an estimated 0 . 8 kw - hr day will be used . for the array receiving direct sunlight , the chart in fig2 is used . a de - rating factor of 0 . 74 is used for the saint paul location in the winter months to account for poor orientation of the array . the resulting calculations produce the estimates for power and current output shown in fig1 . the inventive systems can supply efficient power over this wide range of solar inputs and provide the power requirements for certain devices under various conditions as explained earlier . when a system has multiple arrays , a configuration like configuration 38 in fig1 can selectively connect the arrays to optimize the system for the available solar energy for the particular power requirements of the vehicle electrical system ( low power on cloudy days , high power on sunny days ). fig2 a , and 4 a show that array output is substantially different during a cloudy period of a day from that of a sunny period . although the output is substantially less during cloud cover , the power needs of the loads like those shown in fig1 for example are also typically lower , and so array power can still provide a substantial portion of those power needs . to extract such power from a fixed configuration array , the array would need to be sized such that the vehicle system voltage is low ( i . e . 60 %) when compared with the array &# 39 ; s peak voltage . that however is not the optimal configuration during a sunny condition when the vehicle is requesting higher power for cab cooling . during sunny conditions , the optimal configuration will be higher ( i . e . 80 % of peak voltage ). therefore , a fixed array cannot operate efficiently for these diverse conditions without some type of output conversion or array manipulation . fig2 discloses a further embodiment of energy conversion system 110 . the same elements that were described in connection with fig1 are designated by the same reference numerals in fig2 . this system comprises a single array 36 whose output is voltage regulated by a voltage regulator 116 controlled by computer 54 to prevent battery overcharging by the array . a protection diode 114 connects the regulated voltage output to grid 58 . while a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described , it should be appreciated that principles of the invention apply to all embodiments falling within the scope of the following claims .
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the present invention is based on the discovery that the properties of a ceramic composite body , particularly a ceramic composite body which is manufactured by reactive infiltration of a parent metal comprising zirconium , hafnium , tantalum , titanium , etc ., into a permeable mass , for example , comprising boron carbide , can be modified by a post - manufacturing treatment . such post - manufacturing treatments comprise a carburization process , a boriding process , a high temperature assisted consolidation ( e . g . hiping ) and / or a nitriding process . each of the above - mentioned post - manufacturing treatments can alter the microstructure , and thus the resultant mechanical , physical , and thermal properties , of a portion or substantially all of a zbc composite body . in a first preferred embodiment , a zbc composite body , produced according to patent &# 39 ; 130 ( discussed above herein ), can be modified by exposing the composite to a gaseous carburizing species . such a gaseous carburizing species can be produced by , for example , embedding the zbc composite body in a graphite bedding and reacting at least a portion of the graphitic bedding with moisture or oxygen in a controlled atmosphere furnace . however , the furnace atmosphere should comprise typically , primarily , a non - reactive gas such as argon . the use of grade 5 argon gas from matheson gas products , inc ., produces desirable results . it is not clear whether impurities present in the argon gas supply the necessary o 2 for forming a carburizing species , or whether the argon gas merely serves as a vehicle which contains impurities generated by some type of volatilization of components in the graphitic bedding or in the zbc composite body . in addition , a gaseous carburizing species could be introduced directly into a controlled atmosphere furnace during heating of the zbc composite body . once the gaseous carburizing species has been introduced into the controlled atmosphere furnace , the lay - up should be designed in such a manner to permit the carburizing species to be able to contact at least a portion of the surface of the zbc composite body buried in the loosely packed graphite powder . while not wishing to be bound by any specific theory , it is believed that carbon in the carburizing species , and / or carbon from the graphitic bedding , will dissolve into the interconnected zirconium carbide phase and / or the zirconium metal , which can then transport the dissolved carbon throughout substantially all of the zbc composite body , for example , by a vacancy diffusion . the diffusion of carbon into the residual zirconium parent metal is relatively low ( e . g ., when the processing temperature is below about the melting point of the parent metal ). thus , absent the zirconium carbide phase , it would be less practical , or economical , to attempt to dissolve carbon throughout all of the residual zirconium metal in the zbc composite body , because the process would take a relatively long period of time ( e . g ., the rate of diffusion is dependent upon the temperature and the diffusion coefficient ). in this regard , the diffusion of carbon in the zirconium carbide phase and in the zirconium metal phase are both time dependent . however , the rate of transport of carbon in the zirconium carbide phase is much faster than the transport rate of carbon in the zirconium metal phase . once a desirable amount of carbon has been diffused into the zbc composite body and contacts residual zirconium parent metal , the zirconium parent metal is substantially converted into zrc . such conversion is desirable because the modified zbc composite will have an increased hardness and an increased elastic modulus , at the limited expense of both flexural strength and toughness . moreover , the elevated temperature properties will also improve because of a lower metal content in the zbc composite . it has been discovered that zbc composites having a residual parent metal in an amount between 5 to 30 volume percent can be modified by a post - carburization treatment to result in about 0 to about 2 volume percent , typically about 1 / 2 to about 2 volume percent , of parent metal remaining in the zbc composite body . thus , substantially all of the parent metal , however , typically about 4 - 1 / 2 to 28 volume percent of the parent metal , can be transformed from zirconium into zrc . while not wishing to be bound by any specific theory , the following discussion is believed to explain the manner in which carburization occur within a zbc body . specifically , carburizing a zbc body may be dependent upon the ability to induce movement of carbon through the zbc body at a sufficient rate . the flux or movement of carbon is generally proportional to the product of the diffusivity of carbon times the solubility of carbon into the zbc body . particularly , below the melting point of zr ( e . g ., about 1850 ° c . ), the diffusivity of c into the zr phase is greater than in the zrc x phase , whereas the solubility of c in the zr phase is relatively low . thus , the product of solubility and diffusivity may be relatively higher in the carbide phase than in the zr phase and accordingly , the carbon transport may occur substantially through the carbide phase in comparison to the metal phase . for temperatures above 1850 ° c ., zr may be liquid and the solubility of c increases whereas the diffusivity of carbon tends to be relatively constant . accordingly , it is believed that in this higher temperature regime ( e . g ., above the melting point of zirconium ), transport of carbon is primarily through the zr phase with a relatively smaller quantity of carbon being transported within the carbide phase . moreover , by controlling the time of exposure of the zbc composite body to any one of the post - manufacturing treatments , namely , the carburizing , boriding , hiping and / or nitriding and controlling the temperature at which these processes occur , a modified zone or layer can be formed on at least one exterior surface of a zbc composite body . further , in some aspects of the present invention , a plurality of post - manufacturing treatments may be desirably conducted simultaneously or sequentially . such post - treatment processes can result in a hard , wear - resistant surface surrounding a core of zbc composite material having a higher metal content and higher fracture toughness . in summary , it has been found that by subjecting a zbc composite containing , typically between about 5 - 30 volume percent of residual zirconium parent metal , to a carburizing , a boriding , and / or a nitriding species in a controlled atmosphere furnace operating at a temperature of about 1500 °- 2200 ° c ., for a period of time of about 5 - 48 hours that a modified zbc composite will be formed resulting in a more desirable composite body . the following are examples of the present invention . the examples are intended to be illustrative of various aspects of a post - manufacturing treatment of a composite body , particularly a zbc composite body . however , these examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention . a zbc composite body formed according to example 1 disclosed in patent &# 39 ; 130 , was produced . table 1 shows various mechanical properties of the formed zbc composite body . all surfaces of the zbc composite body were degreased ultrasonically by using acetone and ethanol . the zbc composite was then buried in a high purity graphite powder bedding having an average particle diameter of about 75 microns . the graphite powder was purchased from lonza , inc ., and was identified as ks - 75 . the graphite powder bedding was contained within a graphite mold ( grade atj from union carbide ). the mold was covered on a top surface thereof with a graphite cover plate . the complete assembly of the buried zbc composite body was then placed into a closed atmosphere resistance heating furnace . the atmosphere in the furnace was grade 5 argon from matheson gas products , inc . the furnace was first evacuated at room temperature to a pressure of 1 × 10 - 4 torr and thereafter backfilled with argon . the furnace was then evacuated to a pressure of about 1 × 10 - 2 torr and thereafter heated to a temperature of about 500 ° c . under vacuum . the furnace was again backfilled with argon which then remained flowing at a rate of about one liter per minute and was maintained at a qauqe pressure of about 2 psig . the furnace was heated to a temperature of about 1750 ° c . over a 6 - hour period and then held at 1750 ° c . for about 12 hours . the furnace was then cooled for about 6 hours . after cooling , the carburized zbc composite was removed from the furnace and any excess graphite powder was removed by grit blasting . table 1 shows the mechanical properties of the zbc composite after the carburization treatment had been affected . it is evident that the amount of residual zirconium parent metal was reduced from about 10 % to about 1 / 2 %, by volume ; the hardness , elastic modulus , and shear modulus all increased . however , the increase occurred at the limited expense of flexural strength . it is noted that a flexural strength of about 500 mpa is adequate for many aerospace applications . table 1______________________________________ before after carburization carburization______________________________________zr content , vol % 9 . 9 0 . 5 80 . 6 hra 81 . 9 hrahardness 1011 hk 1388 hkelastic modulus , gpa 364 442shear modulus , gpa 158 184flexural strength 875 497mpa ( 4 - point ) ______________________________________ a preform comprising b 4 c was formed by mixing about 477 grams of 1000 grit b 4 c , about 9 . 5 grams of dow xus 40303 binder and about 715 grams of methylene chloride which mixture was sediment cast into a 7 inch diameter atj graphite mold . before sediment casting , the graphite mold was sanded with a relatively coarse grit sandpaper . the preform was placed into a furnace in order to burnout or remove the binder . the furnace was then evacuated and backfilled with argon . during the subsequent heating step , argon was passed through the furnace at a rate of approximately 2 liters per minute . the furnace was heated from room temperature up to about 200 ° c . in about four hours . this temperature was maintained for approximately two hours . the furnace was heated from about 200 ° c . to about 50 ° c . at a rate of approximately 20 ° c . per hour . the temperature was increased from about 350 ° c . to about 450 ° c . in about two hours . the furnace was permitted to cool to room temperature in approximately eight hours . the preform weighed about 466 grams and measured about seven inches in diameter and about 0 . 6 inches in thickness . a nuclear grade zirconium sponge weighing about 2333 . 25 grams supplied by western zirconium was cleaned and air dried at about 45 ° c . for one hour and at 70 ° c . for at least two hours . the zirconium sponge was placed directly on top of the b 4 c preform inside the graphite mold . the graphite mold was placed on top of a 10 × 10 × 4 inch inverted agsx boat into an electric resistance vacuum chamber furnace . the furnace was evacuated and backfilled with argon . a vacuum was drawn on the furnace and the furnace was brought to a temperature of about 1000 ° c . after 1000 ° c . was reached , argon at 2 liters / min was passed through the furnace having a chamber pressure of about 2 psig . heating was continued until a temperature of about 1900 ° c . was reached . the total time to reach 1900 ° c . was about 8 . 5 hours . this temperature was maintained for approximately one hour . the furnace was permitted to cool to room temperature in about 12 hours . the graphite crucible was removed from the furnace and inspected . it was discovered that the zirconium sponge had reactively infiltrated the b 4 c to form a platelet reinforced composite comprising zirconium diboride and zirconium carbide . the platelet reinforced composite weighed approximately 2670 grams . the composite was lightly sand blasted in order to remove unreacted b 4 c . after the sand blasting treatment , the composite weighed approximately 2570 grams and measured approximately 7 inches in diameter and about one inch in thickness . the formed composite then was subjected to a boriding treatment . specifically , the above described platelet reinforced composite was embedded in 1000 grit b 4 c in a graphite crucible having an inner diameter of approximately 8 inches . the amount of b 4 c utilized weighed approximately 521 grams and was obtained from esk . the graphite crucible containing the platelet reinforced composite and the b 4 c bedding material was placed into a vacuum furnace . the furnace was evacuated and backfilled with argon . the furnace was heated at a rate of approximately 300 ° c . per hour . when a temperature of about 1000 ° c . was reached , argon was passed through the furnace at a rate of approximately 2 liters per minute . the chamber pressure was about 2 psig . the furnace was continually heated until a temperature of about 1900 ° c . was obtained . this temperature was maintained for about 30 hours . the furnace was permitted to cool to room temperature at a rate of approximately 200 ° c . per hour . the graphite crucible was removed and inspected . it was discovered that the b 4 c bedding had reacted with residual zirconium metal in the zbc platelet reinforced composite . the borided composite had a reduced metal content on the order of about 0 - 2 volume percent . fig2 is a photomicrograph at 1000 × of a section of the modified zbc composite produced according to the method of example 2 . the darker regions are platelets of zrb 2 . the gray region comprise zrc 2 . a zbc body was formed substantially according to the procedures set forth in example 1 in patent &# 39 ; 130 . all surfaces of the zbc composite were degreased and ultrasonically cleaned by utilizing acetone and ethanol . the zbc body weighed approximately 3 . 6 grams and was embedded in 1 . 0 - 5 . 0 micron zrn powder which was contained in an al 2 o 3 refractory boat . the al 2 o 3 boat containing the zrn powder and the zbc body was placed into an electric resistance tube furnace . the furnace was evacuated and backfilled with dried nitrogen gas . during subsequent heating steps , nitrogen was passed through the furnace at a rate of approximately 300 ° c . per minute . the furnace was heated at a rate of approximately 200 ° c . per hour until a temperature of about 1600 ° c . was reached . this temperature was maintained for about 12 hours . the furnace was cooled at a rate of approximately 200 ° c . per hour . the alumina crucible was removed from the furnace and inspected . it was discovered that a nitrogen species had reacted with the zbc body to form a zrn phase . fig3 is a photomicrograph at 1000 × of a section of the modified zbc composite produced according to the method of example 3 . the darkest areas correspond to platelets of zrb 2 . the dark region in the upper left hand side , which is defined by zrb 2 platelets , comprises zrc . the lighter region on the lower left - hand side comprises zr ( c x n 1 - x ) y . the lightest region comprises zr metal . rectangular zbc bodies were made substantially in accordance with the procedures set forth in example 1 of the &# 39 ; 533 application . the zbc bodies ( labelled a through h ) were embedded within a bedding comprising cancarb ® carbon black powder inside an agsx graphite boat . the boat and its contents were placed inside a vacuum / inert atmosphere furnace . the furnace chamber was twice evacuated and backfilled with argon gas . during the subsequent heating steps , argon was passed through the furnace at a rate of about 500 cc / min which produced a furnace chamber pressure of 2 ( gauge ) psig . the temperature was raised from room temperature to about 1500 ° c . in 5 hours and held there for approximately 24 hours . the temperature of the furnace was cooled to room temperature . upon removal from the furnace , each sample showed a carburized layer approximately 1 mm thick upon the surface which was in contact with the carbon black . the carburization substantially converted the free zirconium metal within the zbc into a carburized layer comprising zirconium carbide ( i . e ., zrc x ). the following table 1 exhibits the percent weight gain for seven samples which were processed in accordance with this example . specifically , a greater weight gain corresponds to a greater degree of carburization ( e . g ., a thicker zone of of zirconium carbide upon the zbc body ). table 1______________________________________sample sample size percent weight gain______________________________________a 1 &# 34 ; × 2 &# 34 ; 0 . 24b 1 &# 34 ; × 2 &# 34 ; 0 . 23c 1 &# 34 ; × 2 &# 34 ; 0 . 22d 1 &# 34 ; × 2 &# 34 ; 0 . 18e 1 &# 34 ; × 3 / 4 &# 34 ; 0 . 26f 1 &# 34 ; × 3 / 4 &# 34 ; 0 . 23g 1 &# 34 ; × 3 / 4 &# 34 ; 0 . 30h 1 &# 34 ; × 3 / 4 &# 34 ; 0 . 25______________________________________ fig4 is a photomicrograph at 50 × of a section from the aboveidentified sample a . for example , the carburized zone comprising zirconium carbide in sample a is approximately 1 mm in thickness and is represented in fig4 by the lighter colored region on the left hand side of the photomicrograph . a zbc body was formed using the techniques disclosed in the &# 39 ; 533 application . the zbc body was a rectangular parallel piped measuring about 0 . 17 × 0 . 24 × 0 . 8 inches and weighed 2 . 3 grams . the zbc body was substantially embedded in boron powder ( from the aee co ., crystalline boron , - 325 mesh , 98 - 99 % purity ) inside an agsx grade graphite crucible . the crucible and its contents were placed in an avs vacuum / inert graphite resistance heated furnace which was then twice evacuated and backfilled with 99 . 999 % pure argon gas ( supplied by airco products ). during the subsequent heating steps , argon gas was passed through the furnace at a rate of about 2 liters / minute . the temperature was then raised from room temperature to about 1500 ° c . in 4 hours , held there for about 12 hours and then cooled to room temperature in 3 hours . after removal from the furnace , visual inspection showed that the color of the sample changed from a metallic appearance to a light grey . a borided layer of about 150 microns was formed by substantially converting free zirconium metal within the borided layer into zrb 2 . the boriding process of this example was conducted at a temperature below the melting point of the zirconium parent metal . particularly , by utilizing a temperature greater than the melting point of the zr metal phase of the zbc body , the degree of boridization may be increased . example 5 was substantially repeated , but the boron powder was replaced with boron carbide ( b 4 c ) powder ( 500 grit , esk co .). the zbc body measured about 0 . 17 × 0 . 24 × 0 . 9 inches and weighed about 2 . 4 grams . after reaction , the sample changed color to a light grey and had a reacted ( i . e ., borided ) to a depth of about 150 microns . however , the zirconium metal within the zbc body was not converted entirely into a boride and thereby produced a core of zbc surrounded by a layer comprising zrc and zrb 2 . a zbc body was formed from a 7 - inch diameter preform prepared by mixing 60 % by weight of methylene chloride ( from j . t . baker co .) with 1 % by weight of an organic binder ( dow experimental binder xus 40303 . 0 , lot 861230 - 2 ) to form a solution into which about 39 % by weight b 4 c powder ( 1000 grit esk , lot m9 - b , dried at 110 ° c .) was added . the mixture was then stirred to get a high viscosity slip which was sediment cast into a 7 - inch diameter graphite atj grade boat which was presoaked with methylene chloride for one hour . the crucible with the mixture was air dried until all the solvent visually disappeared and dried further in an oven at about 45 ° c . for 1 hour and heated further at about 70 ° c . for 2 hours to remove the remaining traces of solvent . the crucible containing the preform was placed inside an avs vacuum / inert graphite electric resistance furnace which was twice evacuated and backfilled with argon gas . during the subsequent heating steps , argon was passed through the furnace at a rate of about 2 liters / min . the furnace was heated from room temperature to about 200 ° c . in 4 hours , held at 200 ° c . for 2 hours , heated from about 200 ° c . to about 350 ° c . at 20 ° c . per hour and heated further from 350 ° c . to 450 ° c . in about 2 hours . the preform was cooled to room temperature in about 8 hours resulting in a density of 1 . 24 g / cm . sup . and a thickness of about 0 . 59 inches . approximately 2333 grams of zirconium metal sponge ( western zirconium nuclear grade , lot 4903 ) was placed upon the preform to comprise an assembly . the assembly was placed on top of a 10 - inch by 10 - inch by 4 - inch thick agsx boat and inside an avs vacuum / inert graphite resistance heated furnace which was evacuated and backfilled with 99 . 999 % pure argon gas ( supplied by airco products ). the furnace was heated under a vacuum to about 1000 ° c . at which time the argon gas was permitted to flow through the furnace at a rate of 2 liters / minute . the assembly was heated further to about 1900 ° c . in a total of 8 . 5 hours , held there for about 1 hour and cooled to room temperature in 12 hours . after removal of the assembly from the furnace , the excess b 4 c ( e . g ., about 100 grams ) was removed from the composite by sandblasting . the formed zbc body was about 7 inches in diameter and had about 1 inches cut off one side before being placed within a bedding of 1000 grit b 4 c ( esk co . lot m9 ) inside an 8 inch diameter atj grade graphite crucible . the zbc body weighed about 2103 grams prior to processing . the crucible and its contents , the zbc body and the bedding , were placed inside an avs vacuum / inert graphite resistance heated furnace which was evacuated and backfilled with argon gas . the furnace was heated under vacuum to about 1000 ° c . at which time the argon gas was permitted to flow through the furnace at a rate of about 2 liters / minute . the assembly was further heated to about 1900 ° c . at a total rate of about 300 ° c . per hour , held there for about 30 hours and then cooled to room temperature at a rate of 200 ° c . per hour . after removal from the crucible the sample was analyzed and indicated the presence of the following phases : about 61 area percentage zrb 2 ; about 38 area percentage zrc ; and 1 area percentage zr . the sample displayed room temperature mechanical properties of a shear modulus of about 175 gpa ; a young &# 39 ; s modulus of about 422 gpa ; and a poisson &# 39 ; s ratio of about 0 . 205 . also , the sample had a room temperature toughness of about 11 mpa - m and a room temperature strength of about 693 mpa . a zbc body was formed by substantially the techniques disclosed in the patent &# 39 ; 130 . the zbc body was a rectangular parallelepiped with dimensions of about 2 . 55 cm long by 0 . 55 cm thick by 0 . 44 cm wide and weighed about 3 . 8 grams . the zbc body was substantially embedded in zrn powder ( 99 . 8 $, 1 - 5 micron , atlantic equipment engineers ) within an alumina crucible . the crucible and its contents were placed inside a lindberg electric resistance tube furnace which was twice evacuated and backfilled with 99 . 999 % pure argon gas ( supplied by airco products ). during the subsequent heating steps , argon was passed through the furnace at a rate of about 500 cc / minute . the temperature was raised from room temperature at a rate of 250 ° c . per hour to a temperature of about 1600 ° c . at which time the gas was switched to substantially oxygen - free nitrogen ( i . e ., dried by passing through an approximately 7 inch column of a hydrous calcium sulfate ) also flowing at 500 cc / minute . the temperature was maintained at 1600 ° c . for about 1 / 2 hour and then lowered to room temperature at a rate of 300 ° c . per hour . visual examination of the sample showed a color change to a golden color . an increase in the sample weight indicated an reaction . further analysis showed that diffusion of the nitrogen into the zbc body to form zrn had occurred which varied from about 25 microns to 500 microns depending on the positioning of the sample within the flow of nitrogen gas passing through the furnace ( e . g ., upstream or downstream of the nitrogen go flow ). fig5 is a photomicrograph at 400 × of a section of the nitrided zbc body formed according to this example . specifically , the lighter colored region to the left of fig5 represents the nitrided region . the darker region to the right represents the original zbc body . example 8 was substantially repeated using a zbc bar shaped body with dimensions of about 1 . 1 cm long by 0 . 59 cm thick by 0 . 26 cm wide and weighing about 1 . 1 grams . the nitridation reaction temperature was maintained at about 1600 ° c . for about 1 hour and then lowered to room temperature at a rate of 300 ° c . per hour . visual examination of the sample showed a color change to a golden color . an increase in the sample weight indicated a reaction . further analysis showed that diffusion of the nitrogen into the zbc body was approximately ioo microns . fig6 is a photomicrograph at 400 × of a section of the nitrided zbc body formed according to this example . specifically , the lighter colored region to the left of fig6 represents the nitrided region . the darker region to the right represents the original zbc body . example 8 was substantially repeated using a zbc bar shaped body with dimensions of about 1 . 9 cm long by 0 . 59 cm thick by 0 . 26 cm wide and weighing about 1 . 8 grams . the reaction temperature was maintained at about 1600 ° c . for about 2 hours . visual examination of the sample showed a color change to a golden color . further analysis showed that nitrogen had diffused into the zbc body to a depth of approximately 250 microns . fig7 is a photomicrograph at 400 × of a section of the nitrided zbc body formed according to this example . specifically , the lighter colored region to the left of fig8 represents the nitrided region . the darker region to the right represents the original zbc body . example 8 was substantially repeated using a zbc bar shaped body with dimensions of about 1 . 5 cm long by 0 . 59 cm thick by 0 . 26 cm wide and weighing about 1 . 8 grams . the reaction temperature was maintained at about 1600 ° c . for about 4 hours . visual examination of the sample showed a color change to a golden color . there was a relative increase in the sample weight ( about 2 . 7 % by weight ) indicating a more complete reaction . further analysis showed that diffusion of the nitrogen into the zbc body had occurred through substantially the entire body . there was an outer larger scale comprising zrn and zrc which was about 125 microns thick , while the remainder of the body was composed of a composite of zrc and residual zr . particularly , examples 7 through 11 demonstrate that a post - treatment process may be controlled by selecting an appropriate reaction time to provide a post - treated composite possessing a modified region having a predetermined thickness . while the present invention has been disclosed in its preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise disclosure contained herein , but may otherwise be embodied in various changes , modifications , and improvements which may occur to those skilled in the art , without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .
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referring to fig1 the plug or packer 10 has a mandrel 12 preferably made of a readily milled material such as a composite . mandrel 12 can optionally have a passage 13 that can be optionally closed with a ball landed on a seat or with a valve ( not shown ). shoulder 14 supports sealing element 16 . a cone 18 has individualized tapered surfaces 20 on which a slip , drag block or other retainer , collectively referred to as slip 22 is guided between opposed surfaces 24 and 26 . the slips 22 are each connected to a slip ring 28 that has a triangular undercut 30 when viewed in section in fig1 that extends for 360 degrees , preferably . the undercut is defined by surfaces 32 and 34 as better seen in fig2 . the undercut 30 and lock ring 36 may be inverted from the fig2 position in which case the ribs 56 will be oriented uphole to resist differential pressure in an uphole direction . lock ring 36 has an outer surface 38 that is preferably parallel to surface 32 of undercut 30 . bottom surface 40 of ring 36 is contacted by surface 34 of undercut 30 during the setting process . a shear pin or some other breakable member 42 allows the sealing element 16 to be compressed against a surrounding tubular that is not shown before the slips 22 are released to move up ramp surfaces 20 by the breaking of the shear pin 42 . movement of ring 28 relative to mandrel 12 brings together surfaces 34 and 40 to push the lock ring 36 in tandem with ring 28 during setting with a setting tool that is well known and is not shown and which serves as the force to brace the mandrel 12 while applying compressive force to the sealing element 16 and then extending the slips 22 against the surrounding tubular . the slips 22 have a surface treatment such as wickers 44 that resist reaction force from the compressed sealing element 16 as well as applied pressure loads from uphole applied in the direction of arrow 46 . because the wickers 44 are designed to hold pressure differential from above they are oriented downhole so that when the flow back rate is significantly increased the wickers 44 will disengage from the surrounding borehole wall , usually a tubular and the plug 10 will come loose . if there is a ball landed on a seat in the plug it may lift off and come uphole or lift and come uphole to seat on the next borehole plug . the flow through the plug will be sufficient to propel that plug into the plug above it , if any , and then further up the hole into specialized surface or subsurface equipment for isolation and depressurization so that the plug or plugs can be removed . the lock ring 36 has a surface treatment 48 on bottom surface 50 that faces the mandrel 12 . during setting when the ring 28 takes lock ring 36 with it the surface treatment 48 rides along surface 54 of mandrel 12 without penetration of surface 54 . however , after the set and release from the plug by the setting tool the reaction force from the sealing element 16 causes the downhole oriented ribs 56 to penetrate the surface of the mandrel 12 to brace the lock ring 36 so that it can act as a wedge using surface 38 to prevent motion of ring 28 in the direction of arrow 46 . lock ring 36 can run continuously for nearly 360 with a single split to facilitate assembly to the mandrel 12 . alternatively , there can be discrete spaced segments for the majority of the 360 degree extent of the undercut 30 . undercut 30 can be continuous or discontinuous for 360 degrees to retain lock ring 36 when lock ring 36 is formed of discrete segments . the wedging action between surfaces 32 and 38 reduces the stress in an axial direction parallel to surface 54 to discourage shear failure of the ribs 56 while the preferred composite construction of the mandrel 12 encourages penetration through surface 54 . the wedging action creates a radial and axial component forces to the ribs 56 to increase the penetration into the mandrel 12 and to decrease the axial shear force component acting on the ribs 56 at the outer surface of said mandrel 12 . the ribs 56 can be parallel or one or more spiral patterns or a thread form such as a buttress thread . the rib spacing can be equal or variable . the lock ring 36 can preferably be made of composite material or a soft metallic that can be easily drilled . optionally , if lock ring 36 is a continuous split ring the faces 58 and 60 that define the split can be placed on opposed sides of a tab 62 on mandrel 12 to rotationally lock the two together to prevent lock ring relative rotation with respect to the mandrel 12 when milling out . when segments are used for the lock ring 36 each segment can be rotationally retained in a dedicated undercut 30 in ring 28 to rotationally secure the components when milling out . alternatively , some or all of the above described plug 10 apart from sealing element 16 can be made of a disintegrating controlled electrolytic material to forgo the milling out altogether . optionally the ribs 56 can be omitted so that bottom surface 50 can make frictional contact with surface 54 with no or minimal penetration so that the retaining force is principally or entirely a frictional contact . surface 50 can have surface roughening or it can even be smooth . while the ability to hold reaction force may be somewhat decreased without the ribs 50 there is still enough resistance to reaction force to hold the set position for some applications . wedging action creates the frictional retention force . fig4 shows packers 10 still in position and others already displaced by a new uphole force shown schematically as arrow 70 . this condition is normally accomplished by reducing pressure above the set packers 10 from a surface location . when a net uphole force is developed against any of the packers 10 the wickers at some level of net uphole force will no longer be able to retain the grip to the surrounding tubular and the packer 10 will move uphole . it wall pass lower valve 74 of surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 and will be stopped by the upper valve 76 . once one or more of the packers 10 are in the specialized surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 , the bottom valve 74 is closed and a vent valve 78 is opened and the packers are removed out the top of the specialized surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 through valve 76 . milling is only needed if one of the packers 10 fails to come to the surface under a net uphole flow from the formation schematically represented by arrow 70 . the specialized surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 can also feature a counter to give a local signal of how many packers 10 have passed into the specialized surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 . as previously stated the orientation of wickers 44 in a downhole direction allows them to function to hold the set of each packer 10 with a net force applied from uphole in a downhole direction such as when performing a treatment . care must be taken to keep a constant net force in a downhole direction to keep the packer or packers 10 in position . when the treatment ends for the zone the surface pressure is reduced and the grip of the wickers 44 is overcome . the wickers need no radial retraction , they simply give up their grip in the uphole direction as wickers 44 are not oriented to dig in in the uphole direction . this makes the design suitable for treatment where the net pressure is in a downhole direction and later retrieval where the net force on the packer is reversed in direction to bring the packer or packers to the surface . with that the sealing element 16 cannot hold the packer 10 in position and the motion starts uphole into the specialized surface or subsurface capture equipment 72 . the one way oriented wickers 44 allow fixation under a net downhole pressure and retrieval under a net uphole flow . if the packers 10 have a landed object on a seat that closes a passage through the mandrel of a packer 10 it is possible for the object to lift off the seat and then flow through the packer 10 passage as well as the net uphole flow on the mandrel will bring that packer uphole . bringing up one or more packers can also wipe the borehole of proppant or other solids that may have accumulated in the borehole . optionally if the borehole has sliding sleeves for zone access , the recovery of the packers 10 with flow from below can also act to close sliding sleeves on the way out of the borehole . one such sliding sleeve 80 is shown adjacent treated formation 82 although multiple such sliding sleeves can be used and operated to close or to open by the passing packers 10 depending on the application . fig5 illustrates a horizontal borehole 100 that has a smaller dimension than an upper section 102 with a transition 104 in between . section 100 can be a liner with a top at transition 104 and the upper section can be casing . two plugs 106 and 108 are illustrated although more can be used . the plug 106 is backed by wiper 110 and the plug 108 is backed by wiper 112 . arrow 114 represents a net uphole force on the plugs 106 and 108 sufficient to dislodge their grip to the horizontal borehole after a treatment such as fracturing for example . this condition is typically accomplished by lowering the pressure above the plugs 106 and 108 such as by lowering the pressure above them from the surface for one example . the wipers 110 and 112 move with their respected plugs 106 and 108 out of section 100 and past transition 104 into casing 102 . as that happens the fins 116 oriented uphole and the fins 118 oriented downhole flex to a relaxed position as shown for plug 110 that has passed the transition 104 . the plugs 110 and 112 each have a mandrel 120 with an open passage 122 . the lowermost wiper is preferably positioned uphole from tow perforations 124 . the plugs 110 and 112 can be delivered with their associated plug so that for example wiper 112 is delivered with plug 108 on a variety of conveyances such as coiled tubing , wireline or slickline . as an alternative to the arrangement in fig6 a single wiper or multiple stacked wipers 126 can be delivered first ahead of plugs 128 , 130 and 132 as shown in fig6 so that a net uphole force represented by arrow 134 can bring up the wiper or wipers 126 with all the plugs above such as 128 , 130 and 132 although a greater or lesser number of plugs can be retrieved in this manner . the opposed orientation of fins 116 and 118 allows pumping the associated wiper into the hole as well as recovering the associated wiper with a net uphole force from the formation with there being at least some fins in either direction of movement that engage the surrounding borehole wall to aid in the movement of the wiper in question . note that sealing against the borehole walls of various dimensions on the way up the hole is not critical as long as flow is deterred sufficiently to allow the wiper in question to take up the hole however many plugs are used and that need recovery without a need to drill them out . accordingly , as in fig7 a wiper 136 can be associated with a plug 138 . a wiper 140 can be associated with plug 142 and a wiper 144 can be associated with plug 146 . typically the plugs illustrated in fig7 are identical and can be of the type that receive progressively larger balls in an uphole direction to close off a passage through them or depending on the treatment they can be straight plugs with no passage through them . either way whether one wiper per plug is used or one wiper for a plurality of plugs , the goal is to be bring the plugs with the wiper or wipers to a capturing device above or below the wellhead as previously described . fig8 - 11 illustrate some alternative wiper designs . fig8 has been previously described and fig9 varies in that the fins , typically made of a resilient material such as rubber are extending radially perpendicular to the mandrel of the illustrated wiper . the wiper design can simply be a ring around a mandrel that may have a passage through the mandrel . the ring can have a quadrilateral shape as shown in fig1 or a round shape as shown in fig1 or triangular to name a few options . the ring may be flexible foam or some other material that can compress without undue resistance when going into a smaller dimension in the borehole and have some shape memory to expand on the way up the hole as the size of the hole increases one or more times . the rings need not be continuous because , as stated before , enough resistance to flow around the wiper is needed to keep the plug or plugs moving uphole at a reasonable speed . typically the well is allowed to come in by opening a valve or valves at the surface to release the plugs so that the plugs with the associated wiper or wipers can come up the hole . the plugs may engage each other on the way up the hole after they are broken loose and start the trip up the hole . as long as there is a perforation for formation access below the lowest wiper , all the plugs and wiper ( s ) should come up to the capture device as the path of least resistance is toward the surface . with regard to fig1 - 14 , alternative arrangements for retaining or capturing packers or plugs 200 and 202 are illustrated with the understanding that the number of such packers or plugs can vary . the construction that is preferred for each plug has been described above although other designs that will release with a net uphole differential pressure are also contemplated . preferably the plugs have slips arranged below the sealing element and not above the sealing element making them amenable to release with a lowering of the pressure above so that formation fluid can flow them toward the surface . fig1 illustrates a receptacle 204 above a wellhead 206 that includes isolation valve ( s ) of a type typically used in wellheads . the receptacle is in a position typically used for lubricators but lubricators are typically used for insertion of assemblies into the borehole whereas receptacle 204 is used to catch packers or plugs such as 202 and 204 that are flowed to the surface with induced differential pressure that makes them lose grip when the differential is in the direction of the surface . receptacle 204 has a closed top 208 that leads to a valve 210 . valve 212 is connected to receptacle 204 near a lower end 214 . line 216 can be oriented to a tank or flare that is not shown . line 218 connects the receptacle 204 to valve 210 and line 220 connects the receptacle 204 to valve 212 . the two positions of valve 212 are to close off line 220 or to open line 220 into line 222 . valve 210 aligns line 218 to line 216 or in another position aligns line 222 to line 216 . arrows 224 schematically illustrate packers or plugs 200 and 202 moving to the surface when a passage from receptacle 214 is open to line 216 . initially , pressure above plugs or packers 220 and 202 is reduced sending plugs or packers that can be above them but are not shown into receptacle 204 . the presence of such plugs or packers in receptacle 204 can slow the uphole fluid velocity if the access to line 216 is through valve 210 and one or more plugs or packers are covering line 218 . in those circumstances valve 212 can align line 220 to line 222 with valve 210 positioned to communicate line 222 to line 216 . alternatively both lines 218 and 220 can be lined up at the same time to line 216 as this will keep any plugs or packers in receptacle 214 away from line 220 so it can operate as an unrestricted vent . since the fluid coming up with the packers or plugs such as 200 and 202 is treatment fluid for the earlier treatment there is a very low risk of flammability . line 216 can be connected to separation equipment to remove hydrocarbons that can either be captured or flared . arced line 224 is intended to schematically illustrate a multifunctional device or multiple devices that count the number of packers or plugs that enter the receptacle 204 and provides a trap for those entering packers or plugs to prevent their exit . this can be in the form of spring loaded spaced fingers that flex up toward closed top 208 to allow entry of plugs or packers into receptacle 204 but the spring return that pushes the finger array down prevents exit of such plugs or packers , effectively trapping them . other one way devices to trap plugs or packers in receptacle 204 are also contemplated . fig1 is slightly different than fig1 and where the components are the same similar numbers will be used . the main differences are that receptacle 204 ′ has valve 226 at the top that opens wide enough to pass packers or plugs . an adequately secured hose 228 is directed to a tank 230 . instead of capture inside the receptacle 204 ′ the plugs or packers 200 ′ or 202 ′ continue their movement into hose 228 and tank 230 displacing mostly treatment fluids ahead of them . the plugs or packers 200 ′ and 202 ′ and others that may have been further uphole can be recovered from the tank 230 . tank 230 can be an open pit or an enclosed vessel with a remote vent to separation equipment and ultimately a flare . once the counter 224 ′ confirms to surface personnel that all the plugs and packers are out of the hole valve 226 can be closed . valve 232 is an alternate outlet out of receptacle 204 ′ in case there is a blockage with a packer or plug in hose 228 . valve 232 is an alternative fluid outlet out of receptacle 204 ′ into line 216 ′. wellhead 206 ′ has several inline valves that are not shown and between such valves there are side outlet valves one of which is valve 234 connected to line 236 that communicates with line 216 ′. line 216 ′ can function as a production line . after all the packers or plugs are in receptacle 204 ′ or in the tank 230 through hose 228 , valves 226 and an inline valve in wellhead 206 ′ can be closed and valve 234 opened to communicate through lines 236 and 216 ′ to tank 230 or another location for storage of produced fluid that is not shown . in essence there is no or minimal delay between flowing the plugs or packers to the surface and clearing the borehole to the next step in getting production . the captured plugs or packers can be dealt with at a later time without delaying production and , of course avoiding the need to mill anything . it should be noted that the wellhead 206 in fig1 can be equipped in a similar way as in fig1 so that trapped packers or plugs in receptacle 204 can be isolated and the next step toward production initiated without delay or any milling . the captured plugs in receptacle 204 can be removed at a later time while production is on the way . the entire receptacle with the captured plugs or packers can be removed with a hoist or crane off of closed inline valves in wellhead 206 . fig1 illustrates a capture assembly that can be located between a wellhead 206 ″ and one or more remotely actuated formation isolation valves such as 238 . valves ( s ) 238 are typically full opening ball valves that can be remotely actuated in a number of known ways . a slotted liner 204 ″ has a closed top 208 ′. the slotted liner 204 ″ serves as a receptacle for the plugs or packers 200 ″ and 202 ″ and can be located in the blowout prevented in part or supported at another location below . an inlet guide cone 240 has openings 242 to allow flow to go into receptacle 204 ″ and out through its slots or to go in an annular space 244 around the outside of receptacle 204 ″ and onto the surface . while it is conceivable that production can begin with receptacle 204 ″ still in the hole , it will be clear that it is preferred to remove receptacle 204 ″ after closing formation isolation valve ( s ) 238 before production begins . other enclosures different from a slotted liner are also contemplated . basically cylindrically shaped enclosures big enough to accept the plug or packer without getting the plug or packer cocked inside are acceptable . there needs to be openings for sufficient flow to get the plugs or packers to releases in the first place and that condition needs to continue after some of the plugs or packers are captured . fig1 - 17 describe options for collecting borehole data from locations where plugs 300 are set . in fig1 there is a passage 302 through each plug which can be a location for data sensing and collecting module 304 placed there in a manner that still allows flow through passage 302 for rapid deployment of each plug 300 . alternatively , module 304 can be incorporated into the body of each plug . as another alternative there may not even be a passage 302 or a seat 306 on which an object such as a ball 308 lands on . instead , the plug body itself would contain the module 304 and when pressure is reduced above the plugs as described in detail above they are made to release and travel uphole where they can be recovered as also described above and the module 304 can then be connected to a processor that is not shown to collect the data in a format for analysis in aid of production which follows after a treatment as defined herein is completed . a host of properties can be sensed and collected over time such as temperature , formation properties such as porosity , pressure or viscosity to name a few examples . alternatively module 304 can be in a recess 310 and held by a retainer 312 that is flush with the outer surface 314 of the object which is preferably a sphere . the same sensors could be used regardless of the location of the module 304 in the plugs 300 or the objects 308 landed on the plugs 300 , if used . there are alternative procedures for the data recovery from the modules 304 . in one option a plug 300 as described above , is set and an object 308 is landed on seat 306 for performance of a treatment . subsequently another plug 300 is located further uphole and another object 308 is landed on that plug followed by a treatment further uphole . this process repeats until the entire interval is treated . after that the pressure uphole of all the plugs 300 is reduced and they release their grip as described above and flow toward the surface taking all the objects 308 with them . regardless of whether the modules 304 are in the plugs 300 or the objects 308 they are all readily identifiable as to which plug 300 or object 308 they correlate to either by external markings or through stored data in module 304 . the data from each module can be correlated to a well depth in that manner . the plugs 300 and the associated objects 308 would typically come out and be collected in the reverse order from which they were introduced into the borehole but an opportunity for losing that order can occur at the surface so that they are tagged so that order can be recreated if necessary . as mentioned before the plugs 300 may be configured without passages but can still contain a module 304 in which case when all the plugs 300 are caused to release and flow to the surface the modules 304 will be recovered with the plugs 300 . in another possible method one plug 300 can be run in with a module 304 in it or alternatively with an object 308 preferably a ball with a module 304 delivered to the plug 300 . after treatment against a first plug 300 it can be caused to release to come to the surface , with a ball 308 if used , and a second plug 300 can be set further uphole and the process repeated . alternatively , if a ball 308 is used with a plug 300 and the module 304 is in the ball 308 the ball can be recovered after treatment against first plug 300 without the first plug 300 by reducing pressure above ball 308 enough to bring up the ball but not so much as to release the plug 300 . the teachings of the present disclosure may be used in a variety of well operations . these operations may involve using one or more treatment agents to treat a formation , the fluids resident in a formation , a wellbore , and / or equipment in the wellbore , such as production tubing . the treatment agents may be in the form of liquids , gases , solids , semi - solids , and mixtures thereof . illustrative treatment agents include , but are not limited to , fracturing fluids , acids , steam , water , brine , anti - corrosion agents , cement , permeability modifiers , drilling muds , emulsifiers , demulsifiers , tracers , flow improvers etc . illustrative well operations include , but are not limited to , hydraulic fracturing , stimulation , tracer injection , cleaning , acidizing , steam injection , water flooding , cementing , etc . the above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below :
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the embodiments below are provided by way of example , so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and fully conveys the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . the examples relate to a general power interface for connecting a load to an adjustable power supply circuit having a time - dependent holding current level . in the examples below the adjustable power supply circuit is sometimes embodied as a triac which may be part of a dimmer . however , the adjustable power supply circuit may be any adjustable power supply circuit fulfilling any requirements set forth below . in the examples below the load is sometimes embodied as a ( led - based ) light source . however , the load may be any suitable load fulfilling any requirements set forth below . fig1 illustrates a prior art circuit 100 comprising a voltage source 102 , an adjustable power supply circuit 104 and a load 106 . the adjustable power supply circuit may have a time - dependent holding current level . there may be a problem with operating the circuit if , for example , the load is too small to work properly with the adjustable power supply circuit . this could , for example , be the case if the adjustable power supply circuit is a wall dimmer and the load is a light source , particularly if the light source comprises one or more light emitting diodes ( leds ). as a result the light source may start to flicker or even permanently switch off when the dimming level determined by the dimmer becomes too low . according to an embodiment of the present invention , a current shaper 110 is arranged to be operatively connected between the load 106 and the adjustable power supply circuit 104 as shown in a power interface circuit 108 of fig2 a . the power interface is thus provided for connecting the load to the adjustable power supply circuit . as will be further disclosed below , the power interface is arranged such that the above mentioned problems are avoided , or at least reduced . particularly the current shaper is configured to interrupt and re - establish a current flow from the adjustable power supply circuit to the load . the current shaper thus ensures that the current through the adjustable power supply circuit at least periodically is above the holding current level of the adjustable power supply circuit . thereby the current shaper keeps the adjustable power supply circuit in a conducting state even if the average current consumption of the load is lower than the holding current level . the current shaper may be configured to supply the load with a minimum forward voltage being higher than a peak value of a mains voltage provided to the adjustable power supply circuit by the voltage source . the holding current level may be determined by a circuit topology ( including the electronic components and the values thereof ) of the adjustable power supply circuit and a switch comprised in the adjustable power supply circuit . fig2 b is a second example of a power interface circuit comprising an adjustable power supply circuit 202 , a load 204 , a rectification circuit 206 , a power supply 208 and a current shaper 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention . for illustrative purposes the adjustable power supply circuit 202 is in fig2 b embodied as a triac 214 circuit . the triac may be comprised in a typical dimmer . further , the load 204 is represented by a typical led - based light source 216 . however , it may also be possible to use the disclosed power interface with non - ssl light sources , e . g . for dimmable low wattage cfl - lamps . in fig2 b a set of diodes form the rectification circuit 206 . the presence of a rectification circuit 206 as such and / or the components comprised in the rectification circuit 206 generally depends on the realization of the current shaper 210 . the power interface circuit will be described in an operating state . when it is activated , a current higher than the holding current requirement of the triac 214 is built up . during a deactivation period , firstly the energy stored in an inductor 218 ( further inductors may be comprised in the current shaper 210 , see below ) freewheels into the capacitor 220 , which generally has a voltage higher than the peak value of the mains voltage ( as supplied by the voltage source 208 ), and secondly there is a pause in the mains supply current . the capacitance of the capacitor 220 may be determined according to a pre - determined maximum amount of flicker in the light outputted by the light source . due to the short duration of the pause , the triac 214 will stay on and further current flow is possible during the next activation interval . the purpose of resistor 222 is to reduce the voltage over the leds . the diode 224 is a free - wheeling diode used to allow continuation of current flow from an inductive load after deactivation of the switch in the current shaper , thereby eliminating sudden voltage spikes occurring at inductive loads when the supply voltage is suddenly reduced or removed . the current shaper 210 may have a certain minimum operating voltage , i . e . it may not be possible to draw the full required peak current at very low input voltages around the zero crossing . as a result , at the end of the ( either positive or negative ) mains half cycle the current may fall below the value required to keep the triac 214 on . however , this is the indented mode of operation . during the next half cycle , the circuit power interface 210 will start consuming power from the mains voltage source as soon as the triac 214 is activated again . using a current shaper having a fixed peak current ( but without output voltage regulation ) may result in an output voltage which varies according to the firing angle of the adjustable power supply circuit . the minimum forward voltage of the load , such as the minimum forward voltage of the led - based light source , has to be selected to be higher than the peak value of the mains voltage . but , when using a different power interface circuit topology which incorporates some voltage translation ratio , a lower forward voltage of the load , such as lower led burning voltages , may also be possible . the load is powered all the time from the energy stored in the capacitor 220 . the size of this capacitor has to be selected according to the allowed level of flicker in the light output of the lamp . the allowed level of flicker may be pre - determined . fig2 c is a third example of a power interface circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention . as in fig2 b the circuit of fig2 c comprises an adjustable power supply circuit 202 , a load 204 , a rectification circuit 206 , a power supply 208 and a current shaper 210 arranged to generate a pulsed current . the functions of these elements are generally the same as the functions of the corresponding elements in fig2 b ; the adjustable power supply circuit 202 is embodied as a triac circuit 214 , the load 204 is embodied as a led - based light source 216 , and the rectification circuit 206 is embodied as a number of diodes . in comparison to the circuit of fig2 b the circuit of fig2 c comprises a reduced number of rectification and freewheeling diodes . the requirement of a rectification circuit and / or the number of freewheeling diodes may in general depend on the current shaper . for the embodiment in fig2 c the current shaper requires a rectification circuit . fig2 d - 2 e show further examples of a power interface circuit according to embodiments of the present invention . the power interface circuits of fig2 d - 2 e each comprise an adjustable power supply circuit 202 , a load 204 , a rectification circuit 206 , a power supply 208 and a current shaper arranged to generate a pulsed current . the functions of these elements are generally the same as the functions of the corresponding elements in fig2 b ; the adjustable power supply circuit 202 is embodied as a triac circuit 214 , the load 204 is embodied as a led - based light source 216 , and the rectification circuit 206 is embodied as a number of diodes . in the circuit of fig2 d the current shaper is formed by an inductor 226 , a diode 228 and a switch 230 controlled by a switch control signal generator 232 . the switch control signal generator 232 is arranged to control a switch of the current shaper . the switch 230 is thus utilized when the pulsed current is being generated . in comparison to the power interface circuit of fig2 d the power interface circuit of fig2 e comprises two additional current sensing resistors 234 , 236 . in fig2 e the switch control signal generator 232 is arranged to receive feedback signals from the load and the adjustable power supply circuit , respectively , thereby providing an adaptive switch control signal generator . examples of switch control signal generators and their internal components will be further disclosed below with references to fig4 a - 4 b . in general the current shaper comprises a circuit capable of switching between two different impedances . fig3 a is a schematic illustration of a first current shaper according to an embodiment of the present invention . the current shaper may be formed by an electric circuit providing a pulsed current . the current shaper of fig3 a comprises an inductor 302 , a diode 304 and a switch 306 . when being charged the current shaper acts as a load and absorbs energy ; when being discharged , it acts as an energy source . the voltage produced by the current shaper during the discharge phase is related to the rate of change of current , not to the original charging voltage , thus allowing different input and output voltages . the current shaper may be a boost converter ( also known as step - up converter ) which is activated and deactivated according to a required pulse repetition rate . for a boost converter a rectifier circuit may be required , but other current shapers may not require such a rectifier . the current converter may be configured for a fixed peak current by choosing its components ( and the control thereof ) accordingly . with reference to fig6 , a description is given of a test circuit which may be used to choose values of the components of the current shaper . as stated above there may be other variations of current shapers . fig3 b - 3 e show further examples of current shapers according to embodiments of the present invention . the current shapers of fig3 b - 3 e have in common that the circuit design is based on a transistor acting as the switch . in more detail , the switches of the current shapers of fig3 b - 3 e are embodied as either metal oxide semiconductor field - effect transistors ( mosfet ) 308 , 310 or bipolar junction transistors ( bjt ) 312 , 314 controlled by switch control signal generators 316 , 318 , 320 , 322 . switch control signal generators will be further disclosed below with reference to fig4 a - 4 b . the switch of the current shaper of fig3 b is embodied as a mosfet 308 connecting its drain between the inductor and the anode side of the diode of the current shaper . the source of the mosfet 308 is connected to ground . alternatively , as shown in the current shaper of fig3 c , the switch may be embodied as a mosfet 310 connecting its source between the inductor and the diode of the current shaper . for this embodiment the drain of the mosfet 310 is connected to ground . the switch of the current shaper of fig3 d is embodied as a npn bjt 312 connecting its collector between the inductor and the diode of the current shaper . the emitter of the npn bjt 312 is connected to ground . according to a further alternative as shown in fig3 e , the switch of the current shaper may be embodied as a pnp bjt 314 connecting its collector between the inductor and the diode of the current shaper . for this embodiment the emitter of the pnp bjt 314 is connected to ground . alternatively , without changing the effective functionality of the circuit , the positive potential may be directly connected to the load , wherein the inductor and the diode are placed in the negative path . as mentioned above the current shaper may comprise a switch control signal generator . fig4 a - 4 b are schematic illustrations of switch control signal generators according to embodiments . a first example of a switch control signal generator is shown in fig4 a . in the switch control signal generator of fig4 a the functionality is based on a standard timer integrated circuit 402 , well know in the literature and to the person skilled in the art . the duration of the high and low periods of the output signal is determined by the components connected to the timer circuit 402 , namely resistors 404 , 406 , capacitors 408 , 410 and diode 412 . in contrast to the switch control signal generator of fig4 a , where the timing is fixed by the components used , it is also possible to generate the timing signal in dependence on actual measured or captured data . in fig4 b , a possible control loop to generate the switch signal is shown . via a first input the rectified input voltage is measured . based on this , the type of adjustable power supply circuit and the current setting of the adjustable power supply circuit is detected ( by the so - called dimmer type and setting detection 414 ). the generation of timing signals in the switch current control loop 416 is influenced by this detection . in addition a so - called dim value is derived . based on this dim value ( being the set point command ), a measured led current ( being the actual value ) and a measured capacitor voltage ( being a feed forward disturbance compensation ), the desired switch current and hence the led current is calculated in a led control loop 418 . the result of the block 418 ( as set point command ) is compared with the actual switch current ( being the actual value ) to calculate the timing signals , influenced by the result from the so - called dimmer type and setting detection 414 . finally , a switch driver 420 is used to amplify the timing signal towards a suitable gate or base drive signal . fig5 illustrates the pulsed current 502 generated by the current shaper as a function of time . in general , the figure shows that the pulsed current is made up of time intervals of high current and time intervals of no current . the period of the current comprising one time interval of high current and one time interval of no current is denoted t 1 . the behavior of the pulsed current depends inter alia on the circuitry of the current shaper . more particularly , the components of the current shaper and the control signals thereof are chosen such that the period t 1 of the current shaper in general is 5 - 50 μs , preferably 15 - 30 μs . the activation time of the current shaper is denoted t 2 . a longer t 1 may imply a longer t 2 . in general , if the adjustable power supply circuit comprises a capacitance , then t 1 ( and thus also t 2 ) will depend on this capacitance . thus , the period t 1 may be defined by inter alia a capacitance in the adjustable power supply circuit . further , the peak value of the pulsed current should be higher than the required holding current level of the triac . fig6 is a schematic illustration of a test circuit according to embodiments . thus , the test circuit may be utilized in the design process of the current shaper . hence the test circuit may be regarded as a triac evaluation circuit . in other words the test circuit may be used to find the parameters of the current shaper for a given triac 602 and a given load . in the example of fig6 the load is represented by resistors 604 , 606 , 608 and leds 610 , 612 , 614 connected to the resistors 604 , 606 , 608 . that is , the resistors 604 , 606 , 608 are used to set the current level , in combination with the supply voltage level provided by the source 630 . in fig6 the current shaper is formed by the mosfet 616 and the resistor r 1 . one purpose of r 1 is to limit the switching speed of the mosfet 616 . the external pulse generator vpulse is utilized to control the period of the mosfet 616 . the mosfet 616 is used to modulate the current , depending on the pulse train supplied by vpulse ( i . e ., the mosfet 616 enables a pulsed current to be generated ). a resistor 618 may be utilized in order to reduce the voltage over the mosfet 616 . the led 620 next to the resistor 618 provides a visual reference of the pulse . a diode 622 is a freewheeling diode . further , inductors 624 and 626 represent inductors used in a typical wall dimmer circuit and the parasitic inductance in the installation , respectively , where this kind of inductance is typically present . free - wheeling diodes may be used in order to allow for demagnetisation of the inductors . in the intended power interface circuits according to fig2 a - 2 e , this demagnetization is performed by the current shaper presenting a forward voltage higher than the mains voltage . during a test evaluation , the circuit of fig6 can be activated by manually pressing a button 628 to supply a trigger current , while supplying a static on - signal ( duty - cycle = 100 %) to the mosfet 616 . then , the duty cycle of the mosfet drive signal can be reduced until the triac 602 switches off . at a slightly higher duty cycle , it is possible to start the circuit again and keep it in the conductive state for any desired period of time . thus , by tuning the values of the components of the current shaper a suitable duty cycle ( i . e . wherein the triac is kept in a conductive state for any desired period of time ) may be found . as an example , a triac with a static dc holding current of 13 . 2 ma was used . for the present example the current flow thought the load was activated every ˜ 23 μs for a time period of ˜ 3 μs . due to the inductance , this current slowly ramped up and down . the average value of the current consumption was then measured to be only ˜ 8 ma . this current is to be compared to the dc holding current of the triac which , as stated above , is 13 . 2 ma . thus , as a result , the minimum average current to keep the triac on in pulsed mode is significantly smaller than in dc mode . in a 230v system , the 8 ma would correspond to a load with a maximum power consumption of 1 . 2 w ( if not adjusted by the adjustable power supply circuit ). the combination of repetition rate , activation period and peak current ( in this example : 23 μs , 3 μs and 55 ma , respectively ) may thus be tuned to the requirements of the circuitry . a higher repetition rate , longer activation periods and higher current may be possible , whereas e . g . a slower repetition rate may be possible at a higher peak current . the person skilled in the art realizes that the present invention by no means is limited to the preferred embodiments described above . on the contrary , many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims .
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as an exemplary patient - specific orthotic device type , a posterior leaf spring afo that treats drop foot was chosen . a standard afo was characterized ( type c - 90 superior posterior leaf spring , alimed , inc ., dedham , mass .) and the performance of the orthotic device produced by practice of the method of the invention was compared to this standard device . the main steps in the method according to the invention are now described . all these steps are general and could be used on any body part . referring now to fig5 , after the body part of the patient in need of the patient - specific orthotic device is identified , the appropriate appendage of the patient is positioned ( 42 ) and the external contours of the body part are imaged ( 43 ) to obtain a digital image of the freeform surfaces comprising the patient &# 39 ; s anatomy in the area of interest using any 3d camera / scanning technology that is capable of creating a full 3d point cloud . this process requires data from the full extent of the body part to be fitted . for an ankle - foot orthotic device , for example , data are collected from below the knee to the heel of the leg and also from the underside of the foot . depending on the scanning technology selected , individual challenges and techniques exist to obtaining the best quality surface data . due to the semi - transparent exterior layers of the epidermis , variation in skin tones and presence of hair follicles , assistive scanning devices may be required . in the case of stereoscopic photogrammetry , for example a skin - tight nylon stocking can be wrapped around the anatomy portion to be scanned , which eliminates many of these challenges and normalizes the color tones over the appendage . use of the skin - tight stocking material also isolates the color ranges for hue and saturation of the white scan surface from extraneous surface data , e . g ., the practitioner &# 39 ; s gloves and floor . the patient must remain completely still during the scan in order to record the correct surface data . to hold the patient appendage steady during surface capture , it may be necessary to use a fixture or assistive device to the medical practitioner . the scanner itself may be hand held by the practitioner , a medical assistant , or controlled as part of a robotic armature for automated scanning . as a supplement to the method of the invention , the patient &# 39 ; s surface data may be captured by making a cast or impression of a specific region of the body part , and this impression may be used as a negative surface representing the patient &# 39 ; s anatomy . this kind of supplementation may be necessary , e . g ., in order to capture geometry on the side of a joint such as the interior contour of a hand grasping a bar . referring again to fig4 , the captured data are next modified and manipulated using a range of digital processing tools . these data are in the form of a point cloud , which is a collection of points in three - dimensional space representing the co - ordinates of the scanned surface . any of the points in the point cloud not matching the hue and saturation range of the scanned surface may now be removed from the scan automatically according to the standards set by the software . remaining overlapping data points are removed through decimation of the point clouds , and extraneous anomalies like spikes and singularities are removed according to the derivative of the surface curves . when all extraneous data points have been removed , the individual points in the cloud may be connected by triangles to form a surface mesh . then , according to the instructions of the gait analysis prepared by the medical practitioner , specific surfaces in the mesh from the point cloud may be expanded or contracted to give the final fit more or less freedom of motion against the patient &# 39 ; s body . up to this stage the surfaces comprising the digital model of the patient have contained data of the entire scanned extremity , rather than just the surface area expected to be in direct contact with the patient - specific medical device . the extra data around the contact surfaces is necessary to minimize deviation tolerances during digital manipulation by keeping distances of neighboring points consistent . the extra surfaces are no longer necessary , and are removed when the orthosis contact region is isolated and trimmed using a boundary curve . this is a curve projected onto the surface of the cleaned data points which represents the trimlines where the medical practitioner would normally cut the physical orthosis for the patient . once the modified surface has been finalized , it may be offset a distance to provide room for tolerance and compliance with the patient &# 39 ; s skin . this offset surface is then thickened into a 3d object along the vectors normal to the surface . the digital model may now have cavities created for the later insertion of embedded components in the final device or may be moved directly to the fabrication step . as indicated in fig4 , fabrication of the orthotic device using the final digital model ( 45 ) can take place using any automated machine capable of following instructions to create 3d surface contours ( e . g ., layered manufacturing techniques , such as stereolithography ; fused deposition modeling ; selective laser sintering ; cnc milling ). the build orientation in the layered fabrication machine is significant because the mechanical properties of the device material will change depending on the build direction . all layered fabrication techniques yield anisotropic materials , which have different material properties depending on the orientation of stress and strain . currently the weakest build direction in all layered manufacturing processes is in the z axis ( build direction ) and so should be noted when orienting a part inside the build envelope . if a part is expected to have certain stiffness properties from a finite element simulation but is oriented differently in the build envelope , then it may deform or yield in unexpected modes . to maintain the highest strength and longest effective lifespan , an afo , for example , should be build on its side , as if the tibia and navicular are orthogonal with the build direction . insertion of embedded components may take place either during the build process , following the insertion method described herein as a guideline , or at post - fabrication stages . embedded components ( some of which are shown in fig2 a - 2d ) are meant to diversify the functionality and effectiveness of the device and provide quantifiable feedback to the medical practitioner and patient in the form of sensor data in order to aid the rehabilitation process . exemplary embedded components and their functions include , e . g ., components for sensing ( fig2 b ), for power , for data storage , for data transmission , for electrical muscle stimulation ( ems ). for example , strain sensors may be placed at key locations for predicting and tracking the fatigue of the orthotic device and for estimating when the orthotic device might be most likely to break and what the failure mode might be . for an afo , such sensors are most useful in the region just under the calcaneous , cuboid , and at the base of the fibula as shown in fig2 c . a pedometer / accelerometer sensor would be useful for tracking the number of steps taken with the device and for relating a failure mode to distance traveled . temperature sensors can monitor heat on the skin or friction created by the orthotic device , which can be an indication of skin breakdown in the case of diabetic foot ulcers . pressure sensors could be used to monitor for swelling in the patient or the distribution of forces during the gait cycle . any embedded sensor could be implemented in conjunction with a separate instrumentation kit that enabled field deployed gait analysis or actual gate data acquisition at the point of care , which could be in a remote location from the gait lab . in addition , embedded electrodes with an on - board power supply have the potential to aid rehabilitation by stimulating muscle activity from inside the orthotic device . recent research has shown that low levels of electrical current can help in the healing process . magnets have been shown to benefit patients under certain treatment regimes . other exemplary embedded components include actuators ( such as electro - active polymers , shape memory alloys ( as shown in fig2 d ), piezoelectric actuators and electromagnetic actuators ), which could assist the patient in movement during toe off and also soften forces during heel strike . microprocessors can permit automatic adjustments and calculations in the orthotic device according to sensor and environmental input . memory chips can store data from a microprocessor in the orthotic device or can transmit the data wirelessly to a data transmitter / receiver ( such as ir , rf , fm or optical ), which could be used to transmit information to and from the orthotic device . moreover , any patient wearing an instrumented orthosis with embedded data transmission electronics can have a single or team of medical practitioners remotely monitor their rehabilitation gait exercises without physically attending a medical facility . a group of medical experts may monitor a wearer with the capacity to simultaneously conference with engineers and orthotists to recommend redesign constraints to a patient &# 39 ; s orthotic device without the need of any two parties to be in the same physical location . remote monitoring via teleorthotics also allows a practitioner to warn a patient if they are not remaining within their assigned rehabilitation regiment or remind a patient if their orthotic device is reaching the end of its expected safe lifetime . interchangeable rods or other components of various geometries , as shown in fig2 a , or materials ( such as rubber , carbon fiber , aluminum , steel or fiberglass ) can be inserted in cavities of the orthotic device , e . g ., to change the mechanical characteristics of the device , for example , to stiffen or dampen key regions according the intended patient treatment process . depending on the treatment regimen and patient range of motion , interchangeable components for an afo device , for example , could be inserted around the tarsal - metatarsal joints for lateral stability or along the fibula and calcaneous for dorsiflexion / plantarflexion stability support . this would allow for a broader range of orthotic devices all created using the same simple method . a component can be embedded during the build process by following a basic insertion procedure developed for the production of an articulated robotic hand having embedded components , as described in de laurentis et al ., assembly automation , 2004 , vol . 24 ( 4 ), 394 - 405 . as described in this reference , the proper insertion point for the component was determined by dividing the height ( the distance from the platform to the proposed layer of part introduction ) by the layer thickness plus one ( 1 ) since the machine begins its count at layer one : it is important to have enough time during the build process for the proper placement of the component into the part being fabricated . this is accomplished by either stopping the machine ( not recommended ) or by adjusting the z - wait time length at not only the desired layer but also at the previous and successive layers . in summary , the key points to consider for inserting or embedding component parts are as follows : ( 1 ) correct clearance for part / component types ; ( 2 ) proper build orientation ; ( 3 ) utilization of support structures ; ( 4 ) support configuration and / or style ; ( 5 ) elimination or venting of trapped resin volumes ; ( 6 ) appropriate selection of components to be embedded ; ( 7 ) protection or preparation of sensitive parts to be inserted ; ( 8 ) calculation of the right insertion layer level ; and ( 9 ) suitable adjustment of the z - wait time . the same process described above may be used in the surface contour design , development , and fabrication of other patient - specific devices such as haptic computer interfaces ( e . g ., joysticks , keyboards , mouse ); personal electronics ( e . g ., cell phones , digital camera , remote controller , wearable computer devices ); sports equipment ( e . g ., padded glove , racquet handle , steering wheel , rifle stock , archery bow frame ); safety equipment ( e . g ., safety eyewear , helmet , body padding , wrist guard ); ergonomic furniture ( e . g ., armchair backing , armrest ); and tools ( e . g ., kitchen tools and cutlery , surgical hand tools , power tool gripping surface ). the process described herein does not require that the scanning , data modification , and device fabrication facilities are in close proximity to each other . each step can be completed remotely from the others since the patient scan data , modification steps , and fabrication instruction files can be communicated over the internet ( e . g ., via secure server downloads or electronic mail attachments ) and , thus , can be separate from each other , which allows for a telemedicine / teleorthotics treatment for patients . one embodiment of service architecture to support such remote communication is given in the flow chart of fig6 . for example , 3d scanner regional facilities ( 62 ) located in different parts of a state each can service several orthotist clinics ( 63 ) by scanning patients , e . g ., for fit of an afo . each scanner regional facility digitally transfers ( 64 ) its scan data to a central data processing facility ( 65 ) along with a matching instruction file from each orthotist per patient scan . the central data processing facility prepares , modifies , and manipulates the scan data ( 66 ) according to the orthotists &# 39 ; instructions and sends the instruction files to several computer automated fabrication facilities for manufacture ( 67 ), based on which facility is close to which orthotist . the manufactured afo device is then returned to the ordering orthotist . the following examples are presented to illustrate the advantages of the present invention and to assist one of ordinary skill in making and using the same . these examples are not intended in any way otherwise to limit the scope of the disclosure . an exemplary patient - specific orthotic device was manufactured by layered fabrication according to the method of the invention in two prototypes and a final device using different materials and different machines to determine the optimum combination . the common fabrication machine was the viper si2 stereolithography ( sla ) ( three d systems , rock hill , s . c .). an sla machine uses a laser beam to sequentially trace the cross sectional slices of an object in a liquid photopolymer resin ( e . g . cross sections of an orthosis , organ , anatomical feature ). the area of photopolymer that is hit by the laser partially cures into a thin sheet . the platform upon which this sheet sits is then lowered by one layer &# 39 ; s thickness ( resolution on the order of 0 . 05 mm ) and the laser traces a new cross section on top of the first . these sheets continue to be built one on top of another to create the final three - dimensional shape . the current afo that was selected as a model was the type c - 90 superior posterior leaf spring ( alimed , inc ., dedham , mass .) this model geometry , which is available in injection molded polypropylene and a pre - determined range of sizes , offers the subject a full range of plantar and dorsiflexion . the resin used for prototype 1 and prototype 2a was accura si 40 from three d systems for the purpose of validating the fabrication surface resolution of sla . this resin is intended primarily for prototyping and testing of rigid cases and enclosures and is most suitable for high temperature applications . prototype 2b was built using somos ® 9120 epoxy photopolymer ( dsm somos , elgin , ill . ), which offers superior fatigue properties and strong memory retention . this resin is intended for making medical products and serves as the validation for a medical - grade sla material . the mechanical properties observed comparing these three materials are listed in table 1 . the 3d scans used for the prototypes were obtained by use of a 3d facecam 500 ( genex technologies , inc ., bethesda , md .). this 3d scanner uses stereoscopic photogrammetry to capture a 3d surface by triangulating the reflection of a projected scattered pattern of colored light . the field of view allows a 3d resolution of 307 , 200 ( 640 × 480 ) data points of information . this technology is able to capture images for both the geometry and the texture of the desired body part of the subject that is being scanned . the data that is received from the camera is in the form of a full 3d point cloud with all contours greater than 0 . 5 mm . in order to get the best quality data from the 3d scans , a specific process was used to capture and securely hold the patient &# 39 ; s ankle - foot complex . the scanning operation was broken down into 3 images of the ankle region with the patient in a seated incline position leaning forward . other orientations are possible but this was the best combination of patient comfort , minimal number of scans , and ease to position the ankle into the necessary pose of “ subtalar neutral .” the patient &# 39 ; s leg was covered with a skin - tight nylon sock to create a uniform surface to scan and counteract inherent scanning difficulties like hair follicles , specularity , and non - uniform skin tone . this step is a valuable aid in the software processes that follow because it normalized the scan surface . the 3d camera ( facecam ) was placed on level with the part of the body that required an orthotic device . the facecam was placed at 70 cm from the target body part for optimal focal range . for an ankle - foot orthotic device such as described herein , the patient should be leaning forward at an incline exposing the ankle and leg . fig3 shows the position of the camera for each of the scans of the ankle area while load bearing . the 3d scanner should be placed at the same level as the patient &# 39 ; s ankle cup and 70 cm directly behind the posterior of the leg . the first scan is taken from this position . the next two scans are taken from − 45 and 45 degrees from the posterior scan , as illustrated in fig3 . the software used to clean , smooth and combine the scans to a workable cad model was rapidform2004 ( rapidform , inc . sunnyvale , calif .). after the data for the scans were moved into the rapidform software , extraneous data for the background and floor were removed based on the color of the patient &# 39 ; s leg and the background . the individual scans were cleaned to remove spikes and anomalies as well as to smooth the contours and fill holes in the mesh for any missing data points . as few modifying steps as possible were used so as to preserve the integrity of the original scans while at the same time removing extraneous data . to merge individual meshes into a single mesh , it is necessary that the meshes overlap slightly by sharing common points . the algorithms used by rapidform require common points as a reference to align the meshes . after the cleaning and merging procedures were carried out , the surfaces of the digital model which will be the patient contact interface ( e . g ., edges of the orthotic device ) were isolated and cut using a boundary curve . the final surface was offset and thickened according to the guidelines described herein . once completed , the final model was exported from rapidform2004 as a . stl file for use in a rapid prototyping machine , e . g ., the viper si2 sla machine . the digital model for prototype 1 was created to prove the viability of the technology and the processes used by evaluating the resolution of the freeform surfaces comprising the contours on the anterior part of the leg . this prototype was successfully fabricated using the viper sla machine and preliminary data from the patient &# 39 ; s leg . the build cycle consisted of 1643 layers of resin , and was built in a total time of 21 . 07 hours . the data for the bottom of the foot were not available for this prototype , so underside surfaces were added in synthetically from the rapidform2004 program using the hole - filling tool . prototype 1 proved that the process could produce a reasonable end surface for a product , but showed that further refinement of the scan surface data would be required and illustrated the need for a number of scanning positions to collect the appropriate data . in prototype 2 , bottom of the foot data were captured to a new 3d scan to show that merging of data from the bottom of the foot was possible . this prototype digital model was fabricated with two different sla materials : accura si 40 ( prototype 2a ) and somos ® 9120 ( prototype 2b ). due to restrictions of the built platform of the viper , prototype 2a had to be fabricated in an inclined build orientation . this build cycle consisted of 2 , 269 layers of resin and was built in a total time of 16 . 7 hours . the prototype 2b digital model was sent to a commercial rp service vendor to be built using somos 9120 resin ( prototype 2b ). fig5 shows the final computer model for prototype 2 that was sent to be built . both fabricated versions of prototype 2 proved that with the included bottom of the foot data , the fit to the patient was excellent . table 2 is a comparison between the physical properties of the standard polypropylene afo and prototype 2 ( a & amp ; b ), whose dimensions closely matched those of the polypropylene afo but weighed 21 % less . gait evaluations were conducted of a single healthy subject at spaulding rehabilitation hospital , boston , mass . using a vicon motion capture system . a healthy subject &# 39 ; s gait cycle was used as a control to evaluate gait deviations without an afo compared to gait with a standard ( polypropylene ) afo and the afos fabricated according to the method of the invention . each of the three afos was fitted to the right leg of the subject during four separate walking tests to determine the effect , if any , of the orthotic device on a subject &# 39 ; s normal gait : ( 1 ) with sneakers and no afo ( no afo ); ( 2 ) with the standard polypropylene afo ( standard afo ); ( 3 ) with the rigid afo made with the accura 40 resin ( prototype 2a ), and ( 4 ) with the flexible afo made from the somos ® 9120 resin ( prototype 2b ). to characterize the gait pattern of the subject reflective markers placed with on the following specific anatomical landmarks of the subject &# 39 ; s pelvis , and knee , ankle and foot of each leg . additional markers were also rigidly attached to wands and placed over the mid - femur and mid - shank . the subject was instructed to walk along a 20 foot walkway at a comfortable speed for all trials . results from this type of study can be used by physicians in the prescription and evaluation of orthotic and prosthetic devices as well as for other clinical applications requiring the analysis of movement patterns during ambulation . the normal gait analysis results are gathered in order to have baseline comparison data . comparing the three different afos allows one to establish how the patient specific afo perform compared to the standard afo . for each setup , data were gathered from both the left and the right side . the data taken for each side were broken down into the sagittal plane and the coronal plane . pelvic , hip , knee and ankle data were taken for each plane , as listed in table 3 . temporal parameters were examined across all the experimental conditions to test whether different afo implementations had an effect on the temporal characteristics of ambulation . these parameters include cadence , step length , step time , stride length , stride time , and walking speed . additionally , the percent of the gait cycle spent in double support and the timing of foot off , opposite foot contact and opposite foot off were calculated . these characteristics are compared in table 4 for four gait conditions ( no afo , standard afo , rigid final prototype , and flexible final prototype ). when the subject performed each of the testing exercises wearing each of the afos to be tested , the results compared to no afo showed that initial contact with the floor was made with the foot in a more neutral position , which allowed for more plantarflexed initial contact . this result is most likely due to the afos being made when the subject &# 39 ; s foot was set in subtaylor neutral position , i . e ., 0 ° dorsiflexion , and wearing the device then decreased range of motion for platarflexion . there was more range of motion ( rom ) for the standard polypropylene afo vs . afos made by the method of the invention . this may be due to greater compliance and flexability of polypropylene or to a poorer fit of the standard afo around the foot and ankle of the subject . a poorer fitting afo will likely allow more movement at the ankle joint , which it is meant to control , because it is not in sufficient contact with all of the bony protuberances around the calcaneus and cuboid . just before toe - off , an afo is meant to assist with the progression of the lower leg over the foot by stabilizing dorsiflexion at the ankle . the standard polypropylene afo allows more rom during this phase compared to the afos according to the invention , which perform similarly . this greater rom is due to a combination of greater plantarflexion and also greater dorsiflexion during gait , derived from the specificity of the fit of the afo according to the invention to the subject . overall , results showed that the patient - specific afos performed as well as the standard afo for rom studies , and in some respects outperformed them for securing the ankle - foot complex during gait . while the present invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment , one of ordinary skill , after reading the foregoing specification , will be able to effect various changes , substitutions of equivalents , and other alterations to the compositions and methods set forth herein . it is therefore intended that the protection granted by letters patent hereon be limited only by the definitions contained in the appended claims and equivalents thereof .
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referring to the drawings in detail , fig1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a regeneration system 10 for a dehydrator . gas from a well is brought to the base of an absorber 12 as shown by arrow 14 . prior to introduction of the gas to the absorber , it may be passed through an optional inlet scrubber ( not shown ) which typically comprises a separator system which may be an integral part of the absorber or a separate vessel . water vapor is removed from the gas stream by dehydration in the absorber 12 . a hygroscopic liquid , such as glycol , is used to remove the water vapor from the gas . diethylene glycol and triethylene glycol are the principal glycols used for gas dehydration . glycols have good hygroscopicity , stability to heat and chemical decomposition , and low vapor pressures . in the absorber , the gas flows upward through a packed bed or through a series of bubble cap or valve trays filled with glycol where intimate contact with the gas is made . the dry gas leaves absorber 12 near the top thereof at gas outlet 15 as shown by arrow 16 . dry , lean concentrated glycol is continuously pumped into the absorber near the top as shown by arrow 18 through a glycol inlet 20 . as the glycol moves downward , it absorbs water vapor from the rising gas stream . the water - rich glycol is removed at the bottom of the absorber as shown by arrow 22 through glycol outlet 24 . the absorber and its operation are well known in the prior art and do not form a part of the invention . a glycol - gas heat exchanger 30 may be utilized which uses the dry gas leaving the absorber 12 to cool the lean glycol prior to entering the absorber 12 . this heat exchanger 30 may be a coil at the top of the absorber or may be an external unit . after passing through the glycol - heat exchanger 30 , dry gas is allowed to flow into a sales or transmission line as shown by arrow 32 . the rich glycol exiting the glycol outlet 24 of the absorber is often passed through a glycol filter 34 to remove solids and other impurities . the rich glycol is thereafter directed to a pump 36 as shown by arrow 38 . the circulating pump 36 utilizes the rich glycol under pressure from the absorber 12 to furnish part of its required driving energy . gas , under pressure from the absorber 12 , is taken in with the rich glycol to supply additional volume and driving energy for the pump . the gas entrained with the rich glycol will not enter the sales or transmission line and is sometimes termed &# 34 ; waste gas &# 34 ;. in the schematic diagram shown in fig1 solid lines with arrows represent glycol flow while dashed lines with arrows represent gas flow . the rich glycol with entrained gas is forced from the pump 36 to a reflux jacket chamber 40 . the reflux jacket chamber inlet 42 as shown by arrows 44 . the reflux jacket chamber 40 is a closed unit as will be seen . the reflux jacket chamber is elongated with a closed top and a bottom arranged vertically to the ground . gravity will cause gas in the rich glycol to separate so that the gas moves upward toward the top of the reflux jacket chamber 40 and the glycol settles downward . this gas is removed from the reflux jacket chamber 40 via gas outlet 46 . the retention time in the reflux jacket chamber may vary , although it has been found that a minimum average of five minutes is satisfactory to separate the gas dissolved in the glycol . the reflux jacket chamber , thus , acts as a glycol - gas separator that captures waste gas from the pump and flash gas dissolved in the glycol . unlike other glycol - gas separators , the reflux jacket chamber operates at atmospheric pressure . no automatic controls are required as it is filled by the pump and emptied by gravity . the rich glycol is then forced out of the reflux jacket chamber 40 through glycol outlet 48 . as shown by arrow 50 , the rich glycol may be directed through a glycol heat exchanger 52 which cools the lean glycol coming from the reboiler after regeneration and preheats the rich glycol which is going to a reboiler 54 . the rich glycol is then forced to a reboiler 54 through a glycol inlet 56 as shown by arrow 58 . the reboiler 54 applies heat above the boiling point of water to separate the glycol and water by simple distillation . the reboiler may be equipped with a direct fired firebox using a portion of the dehydrated gas for fuel . alternatively , the reboiler may use hot oil or steam as are well known in the art . the gas separated and removed from the glycol in the reflux jacket chamber 40 is directed to the reboiler through an inlet 60 as shown by arrow 61 to a preheat coil 62 within the reboiler . the gas in the preheat coil 62 is in heat exchange relationship with the glycol heated in the reboiler . the gas is thus heated before being directed to a stripper tube 64 which contains a sparger tube 66 therein . the gas is used as a stripping gas to remove residual water from the glycol in the reboiler . the stripping gas provides intimate contact between the hot gas and lean glycol after most of the water has been removed by distillation . the gas is allowed to bubble out of apertures ( not shown ) in the sparger tube 66 and through the glycol . on top of the reboiler , and in communication therewith , is a still column 68 . liquid vapor will rise from the reboiler through the still column . glycol vapors which coalesce will drop back down into the reboiler 54 and be heated . the passage of the water vapor through the still column 68 is shown by arrow 70 . the water vapor and waste gas leaves the still column and enters riser tubes in the reflux jacket chamber shown by arrow 72 . finally , the water vapor and waste gas will be allowed to drop down through a downcomer tube illustrated by arrow 74 to outlet 76 . fig2 illustrates a sectional view of a reboiler 54 , still column 68 and reflux jacket chamber 40 to show the regeneration of the glycol . rich glycol , having been forced from the pump 36 ( not seen in fig2 ), is directed into the reflux jacket chamber 40 through glycol inlet 42 . the reflux jacket chamber has a closed top 80 and a bottom 82 . the reflux jacket chamber in the present embodiment is substantially cylindrical although it will be understood that other configurations are possible . the rich glycol will be allowed to fill substantially the entire bottom portion of the reflux jacket chamber 40 with the exception of riser tubes to be described hereafter . the glycol in the reflux jacket chamber will be relatively cool . gas that has been entrained in the rich glycol will separate by action of gravity so that the gas will move to the top of the chamber . the gas is illustrated by dots while the glycol is illustrated by a series of dots separated by dashed lines . the level of glycol in the chamber is illustrated at reference numeral 84 . after the glycol has settled out of the gas , the rich glycol is removed from the reflux jacket chamber through outlet 48 . an auxiliary glycol outlet 86 may also be provided . the rich glycol is thereafter directed to the reboiler glycol inlet 56 shown at the base of the reboiler . a fire tube or other heating mechanism 102 heats the glycol . it has been found that reboiler temperatures can be lowered significantly when the present system is employed because adequate glycol purity can be achieved at lower temperatures . the gas that has been separated from the glycol and reflux jacket chamber is directed through the gas outlet 46 shown by arrow 61 and to reboiler gas inlet 60 as illustrated by arrow 61 . the gas , which is relatively cool , is heated in the preheat coil 62 and delivered to a sparger tube 66 . it retains a number of apertures . a sparger tube is located within a stripper tube 64 . in the present embodiment , the stripper tube is inched horizontally with respect to the reboiler . as the gases bubble through the sparger tube , it strips residual water in the glycol . since the stripping gas is waste gas that was introduced by the pump and used to power the pump , the amount of gas available is proportional to the rate of the glycol being pumped . the stripping gas rate is therefore somewhat proportional . the reboiler in the present embodiment is aligned with a storage tank 88 . the lean glycol must travel through the stripper tube on its way out of the reboiler . the lean glycol in the storage tank 88 is allowed to exit the storage tank through outlet 90 and return to begin the system anew as shown by arrow 92 . the water vapor boiled off from the glycol in the reboiler 52 along with the remaining waste gas will rise upward into the still column 68 and through the packing 94 which is illustrated by the &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; pattern in fig2 . an enlarged view of the reflux jacket chamber is shown in fig3 . after the water vapor , remaining glycol vapor and waste gas rises through the still column , it will be allowed to enter a series of riser tubes 96 which are in heat exchange relation with the rich glycol in the reflux jacket chamber 40 . as the water vapor , remaining glycol vapor and waste gas rise through the riser tubes , it will cool and the remaining glycol vapor will condense . the riser tubes terminate in a plenum chamber 97 . the water vapor and waste gas are allowed to move down downcomer tube 98 which passes through the entire length of the reflux jacket chamber and terminates at outlet 100 . by taking the place and physical position of a reflux coil , the reflux jacket chamber enhances the reflux ability of the still column 68 and , therefore , cuts down on glycol loss from the still column . the cool , rich glycol in the reflux chamber absorbs energy from the rising vapors and causes glycol vapors to condense and fall back into the reboiler . fig3 is an enlarged sectional view of the reflux jacket chamber 40 that has been rotated from the fig2 sectional . fig4 is a sectional view of the reflux jacket chamber taken along lines 4 -- 4 of fig3 . whereas , the present invention has been described in relation to the drawings attached hereto , it should be understood that other and further modifications , apart from those shown or suggested herein , may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention .
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the invention solves the previously discussed problems associated with parasitic loading by reducing the voltage swing of signal line voltages by half the supply voltage from drivers to their associated receivers . fig2 a illustrates a timing diagram of one example of operation , associated with the invention . such a diagram can indicate the timing of the driver - to - receiver scheme shown in the schematic drawings of fig2 b and 2c . following a precharge of line 8 of fig2 b and 2c , as indicated by the precharge signal transition from high to low of precharge signal pc , the signal at node in rises from logic low to logic high . the precharge of line 8 results in node dout and dout -- of fig2 b and 2c respectively , being precharged to a voltage level of v dd / 2 as shown in fig2 a . after node in attains its logic high level , nodes dout and dout -- began transition from their precharged voltage levels . in the particular example shown in fig2 a , node dout rises to a logic high value of voltage v dd while node dout -- falls to voltage v ss , a logic low value . note , however , that in another example of operation , node dout could have been illustrated so it falls to v ss in voltage from its precharged v dd / 2 level while node dout -- rises to v dd from its v dd / 2 precharged level . in any case , the voltage transitions that nodes dout and dout -- must make are substantially reduced as compared with precharging nodes dout and dout -- to voltage v dd and having one of them fail in voltage v ss . the reduced precharge voltage thus results in power consumption reduction and increased device speed . fig3 illustrates a schematic drawing of the invention &# 39 ; s driver and receiver circuits . p - channel transistors 20 , 26 and n - channel transistors 24 , 28 are off during the precharge of line 8 to voltage v dd / 2 thus the signal at nodes in and in -- are at a logic low level during precharge . nodes in and in -- represent nodes receiving complementary logic voltage levels during normal operation except that during precharge both of these nodes are at a logic low level . precharge of line 8 is accomplished through n - channel transistors 32 and 34 which comprise a precharge circuit which may be part of or stand separate from the driver circuit which turn on in response to a high precharge signal at node pc . transistors 32 and 34 receive one - half the supply voltage to the remainder of the driver circuit . as shown , node in for receiving an input signal is connected to the gate of transistor 24 . transistor 26 receives an inverter input signal through inverter 40 . transistor 28 receives the complement of the signal at node in through its connection to node in -- , and transistor 20 is connected to node in -- through its connection to inverter 30 . when the precharge signal at node pc is turned off , lines 8 are left floating at around their precharge voltage . next , one of the signals at nodes in and in -- is switched to a logic high level resulting in either node dout ( in low ) being pulled logic low in voltage and node dout -- being pulled logic high in voltage or node dout -- ( in high ) being pulled logic low in voltage and dout being pulled logic high in voltage . receiver circuit 6 receives signals at nodes dout and dout -- for processing , after its own precharge cycle which occurs via p - channel transistors 42 and 44 . this precharge occurs substantially concurrent with the precharge of driver circuit 2 . receiver circuit 6 has both a true output at node rout and a complemented output at node rout -- . the outputs are preceded by inverters 46 and 48 respectively which are connected to cross - coupled elements , p - channel transistors 50 and 52 and n - channel transistors 54 and 56 . after precharge , the voltage difference between nodes dout and dout -- , when in excess of the threshold voltage of transistor 54 or transistor 56 , will amplify and latch the values at nodes rout and rout -- . fig4 illustrates a timing diagram of the foregoing discussed circuits of fig3 . note that the reduced precharge and transition from a lower voltage of nodes dout and dout -- result in both a faster and more energy conservative operation . fig5 illustrates a schematic drawing of an alternative embodiment of the invention &# 39 ; s driver circuit . p - channel pull - up transistors 20 and 26 of fig3 have been omitted . thus , as shown , the circuit of fig5 provides considerable simplification of the driver circuit of fig3 . when either transistor 24 or transistor 28 receives a logic high level at its input at nodes in and in -- respectively , only line 8 directly connected to that logic high input receiving transistor is pulled low in voltage . the other line 8 remains floating at around its precharge level . fig6 illustrates a schematic drawing of an improvement of the invention &# 39 ; s driver circuit as shown in fig5 . during operation , the line 8 which is not being driven is connected to one - half of the supply voltage of the receiver circuit shown in fig3 v dd / 2 , by n - channel transistor 21 or 27 . thus , only one line 8 is pulled low while the other line 8 remains connected to a precharge voltage , v dd / 2 , through a drain - source path of a turned - on transistor 21 or 27 rather than floating around the precharge voltage as in the driver circuits of fig3 and 5 . fig7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention &# 39 ; s receiver circuit . transistors 54 and 56 are shown as having their gates connected to a voltage reference source , v ref , instead of being cross - coupled in the manner shown in the receiver circuit of fig3 . this embodiment provides considerable improvement in many instances over that shown in the receiver circuit of fig3 . with cross - coupling , the operating level of transistors 54 and 56 are self - referencing and cannot easily be adjusted . however , the v ref level in fig7 can be easily changed as suited such that the receiver operating speed can be improved . although the invention has been described in detail herein with reference to its preferred embodiment and certain described alternatives , it is to be understood that this description is by way of example only , and it is not to be construed in a limiting sense . it is to be further understood that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of the invention , and additional embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to , and may be made by , persons of ordinary skill in the art having reference to this description . it is contemplated that all such changes and additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of the invention as claimed below .
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in the following description , numerous references to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment , although they may . in the figures , like numbers refer to like elements . the present invention provides a user - interface , data organization , and protocols for locating information using search technologies suited to the information to locate . protocols include facilities to pass queries to the search engines and return results . protocols further include facilities for exchanging search engine capabilities , user profile information , search logs , and other information to be described . herein , various reference is made to the term “ search engine .” the meaning of “ search engine ” should be understood to comprise any technology capable of searching for information according to a received query . fig1 shows a system embodiment 100 in accordance with the present invention . the client system 103 interacts with a search manager 108 of a server system 107 . interaction may take place by way of a web browser 104 in communication with a web server 106 . client system 103 may comprise a computer system , such as a personal computer , handheld computer , laptop computer , set top box , and so on . in general , any device comprising a processor and memory to store instructions and data for execution and manipulation by the processor , may serve as client system 103 . the web browser 104 enables the client 103 to communicate with servers of a computer network , such as the internet or a corporate intranet . the client 103 may submit a search query to the server 107 by way of the web browser 104 . the search query may have certain properties , such as search scope . one example of a search scope is a date restriction , e . g . to return only documents having a creation date later than a certain date , or before a certain date , or between dates , etc . other examples of scope are content author and content language , to name just a few . the search query may be received by the web server 106 , which forwards the query to the search manager 108 . the search manager 108 may associate content categories with the query . the search manager 108 may identify a suitable search engine , such as search engine 110 , to service queries having the associated content categories . the search manager 108 may further identify specific domains of the search engines which are suitable to the content categories and other properties of the query ( such as scope ). the search manager 108 may pass the query to the search engine 110 using various protocols to be discussed . the search engine 110 may perform the search and return search results to the search manager 108 , again via the protocols . although only a single search engine 110 is shown , the search manager could pass the query to multiple search engines . the search manager 108 is distinguished from the search engine 110 , in that the search manager may not directly perform actual searching . the search manager 108 is capable of communicating with one or more search engines which perform searching . the search manager 108 may also perform searching , although this need not be the case . fig2 shows an embodiment 200 of a system in accordance with the present invention . the search manager 108 may identify and communicate with a plurality of search engines suited to servicing a particular query . the search manager 108 may accomplish this , for example , by ascertaining the search capabilities of the search engine 110 . these capabilities may include content categories and scopes to which the search engine 110 is best suited . these capabilities may be identified as a collection of properties returned to the search manager 108 by the search engine 110 . these properties may assist the search manager 108 in ascertaining the search technology &# 39 ; s suitability to handling a particular query . the search manager 108 may query another search engine 202 in a similar fashion . in fact , the search engines 110 and 202 may be part of a set of search engines queried by the search manager 108 . the search engine 110 may communicate with the search engines 204 and 206 , to ascertain their properties , using protocols in accordance with the present invention . the search engine 110 may apply properties returned by engines 204 and 206 to ascertain whether either or both are suitable candidates for servicing particular queries . the search engine 110 may query engines 204 and 206 for their properties and may include these with its own properties in response to a query for properties from the search manager 108 . once the properties of the various search engines are known , the search manager 108 may identify which particular search engines are most suitable for servicing a particular query to locate information . for example , the search engine 110 may be identified based upon the properties returned to the search manager 108 . using protocols in accordance with the present invention , the search manager 108 may submit the query to locate information to the search engine 110 , possibly specifying domain or scope restrictions for the search . the search engine 110 may attempt to service the query , and may also communicate the query to search engines 204 and 206 . search engines 204 and 206 may also attempt to service the query , and may return search results to the search engine 110 . the search engine 110 may merge these returned search results with the results of its own attempt to service the query , and the merged query results may be returned to search manager 108 . all of this may be carried out using protocols in accordance with the present invention . the search manager 108 may return the complete search results to the client 103 which initiated the query . fig3 shows an embodiment 300 of a mapping scheme in accordance with the present invention . the mapping scheme 300 may be employed to define a set of search engines to employ for servicing a query to locate information . content category selections 304 are made from a set 302 of available content categories . content categories are broad classifications of content ; for example “ sports ”, “ weather ”, “ finance ”, etc . selected content categories 304 are mapped to a set 306 of suitable search engines and possibly also domains for locating content in those content categories . mapping of selected content categories 304 to suitable search engines 306 may be accomplished in various ways , for example , by way of a lookup table or database which maps content categories to search engines . the database and / or lookup table may be kept current by using protocols to request the properties of available search engines whenever desired . a set of one or more domains may be associated with a particular search engine . when the search manager 108 receives a query , selected content categories may be associated with the query . the selected categories may map to particular search engines and domains best suited to the query . search domains may comprise a set of one or more servers which provide the physical storage for documents . domains may have certain attributes , such as branding , copyright , and access policies . other attributes of domains may include the domain &# 39 ; s availability for searching , and a range of dates for the documents of the domain ( e . g . scope ). content categories may be independent of the search domain . for example , a single content category of “ sports ” may comprise several — or several hundred — domains . some domains might be internal to an organization ( part of an intranet ), whereas others of these domains may be on the world wide web ( the internet ). the set of underlying web domains for “ sports ” could change daily , along with the associated search engines , but the content category would remain “ sports ”. it may be possible to query a search engine for properties of its associated domains , such as the name and description of a domain , a count of the number of documents or other information sources available on the domain , a range of dates associated with the information on the domain , and copyright and branding information for the domain . content categories may be arranged in a taxonomy . fig4 shows a category taxonomy embodiment 400 in accordance with the present invention . high level content categories 402 include finance , health and sports . within the finance category are other categories 404 , including stocks , bonds , and ira . in other words , categories may be the parents of other categories . the stocks category includes the categories of semi - conductor stocks , consumer products stocks , and biotechnology stocks 406 . of course , resolution into finer categories can continue indefinitely . in one embodiment , in addition to a parent - child relationship , categories may also be associated with other related categories in addition to parents , children , and siblings . fig5 shows a system in accordance with the present invention . an administration system 509 includes an administrator application 502 and web browser 504 . the administrator 509 may communicate via web server 106 to the server 107 . the administrator system 509 may be employed to configure a content category taxonomy for the search manager 108 . the administrator system 509 may be further employed to configure a mapping of content categories to domains . in one embodiment , the taxonomy and mappings may be stored by the server 107 . of course , the taxonomy and mapping could also be stored elsewhere , including in a fashion distributed among servers of the network . for example , each available search engine could store its own content categories and associated mapping of content categories to domains , which might then be merged to produce a complete taxonomy . the administrator 509 may also be employed to associate access policies with search engines and / or search domains . for example , some search domains may require an authentication procedure , or certain payment terms , before allowing a search to proceed . further , the administrator 509 may be employed to define a set of one or more default search engines and / or domains for particular content categories . it may be possible for a user , upon submitting a query , to override these defaults by explicitly specifying a set of search engines and / or domains . the administrator 509 may also be employed to set policies for the order in which search results should be returned from multiple search engines and / or domains , and how multiple sets of search results should be merged ( duplicate elimination , etc .). the search manager 108 may read user profile information from a profile database 506 . profile information for a user may comprise information about prior searches submitted by the user , as well as a user &# 39 ; s preferences . using the profile information , the search manager 108 may instruct the search engine 110 to update the results of the user &# 39 ; s prior searches . the updated results of the user &# 39 ; s prior searches may be stored in the content cache 508 . the user may access these results , which may then reflect more recently available information . a web crawler 510 may be employed to direct the updating of prior search results on a periodic basis . the user profile information may also be provided to search engines so that when a search query is received from a particular user , the search engines may determine how many search results to return , how to interpret various search terms , and so on . fig6 shows an embodiment 600 of a system in accordance with the present invention . an agent 602 may be employed to facilitate a selection of content categories most suited to a query . the client 103 generates a query 604 . by way of example , the query is “ fiber optic stocks ”. of course this is merely one possible query . the query is submitted to the agent 602 , which comprises intelligence for ascertaining relevant content categories , sub - categories , sub sub - categories , etc . most suited to the query . using said intelligence , the agent 602 identifies suitable categories 304 from the set of available content categories 302 . for example , the selected content category 1 may comprise “ semi - conductor stocks ”, and the selected content category 3 may comprise “ telecommunication stocks ”. the selected content categories 304 may be mapped to search technologies and search domains most suited to servicing the categories “ semi - conductor stocks ” and “ telecommunication stocks .” the agent may further apply user profile information from a profile database 506 in determining the selected content categories . for example , the user profile information may indicate that the user has frequently submitted queries to locate information on the world cup . thus , thus upon receiving a query including the term “ football ”, the agent would tend to select content categories related to “ soccer ” over categories related to national football league - style football . in one embodiment , the scope of a search may be limited to information having a particular creation date or range of creation dates — for example , documents created on or after jul . 1 , 2000 . the search scope may also be limited to content from one or more particular domains . fig7 shows a server embodiment 700 in accordance with the present invention . embodiment 700 comprises a processor 702 coupled to a controller 704 by way of a processor bus 722 , commonly referred to as a front side bus . bus controller 704 is coupled to memory 706 via memory bus 724 . bus controller 704 is also coupled to various peripheral devices such as mass storage 714 , network interface 726 , and display 708 via i / o bus 728 . network interface 726 provides apparatus 700 with access to networks such as the internet or corporate intranets . memory 706 stores a software embodiment 734 to perform search management operations , and / or web server operations , and / or agent operations , including communication with search engines and mappings , as herein described and in accordance with the present invention . software 734 may be stored in memory 706 in a form suitable for access and execution by processor 702 . an archived loadable form 736 of software 734 may be stored by mass storage 714 for loading into memory 706 for execution by processor 702 . mass storage 714 may comprise any form of non - volatile memory including hard drives , cd rom drives , zip drives , diskettes , and so on . memory 706 is typically a form of random access memory ( ram ) such as a dram , flash memory , sdram , and so on . memory 706 supplies the instructions of software 734 stored therein to processor 702 for execution . execution of software embodiment 734 by processor 702 may result in a process to perform search management , and / or web server operations , and or agent operations , including mappings and communication with search engines , as herein described and in accordance with the present invention . of course , those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments could comprise and software , hardware , and firmware , or any combination thereof , to carry out the operations of the present invention as well . details of one embodiment of communication protocols between search managers and search engines , and search engines and search engines , will now be described . communication between these components may include connection , message exchange , encoding , message format , message syntax , and message schema . connection is the process of establishing communication . message exchange involves the exchange of particular messages designed to elicit particular actions and responses . encoding is the manner in which the data in messages is represented for the purposes of security , size , and reliability . message format is the high - level data organization to which the message conforms , such as extensible markup language ( xml ) or extensible style sheets ( xls ). message syntax is the grammar and rules for parsing a message format . message schema is the particular field interpretations for the message format . in an embodiment , connection and encoding may comply with hypertext transfer protocol ( http ) or the secure hypertext transfer protocol ( https ), although other connection and encoding protocols are certainly possible . the message format may comprise xml , xls , or the widely available but potentially more limited http get and http post command formats . message exchange may include messages to initiate searches , return search results , return search activity logs , and return search engine domains and capabilities , among others . message syntax may comprise the well - known internet url message syntax ( henceforth , the internet syntax ), a subset of the internet syntax ( henceforth internet light ), structured query language ( sql ), and many others . message schema will vary according to the particular message format and syntax . one embodiment of a message syntax and schema is described in more detail in tables 1 and 2 . the protocols may include facilities to retrieve search activity logs from search engines . search activity logs comprise properties of prior searches performed by a search engine . properties may include the text or terms of the search query , the type of the return data ( documents , statistics , etc . ), time and date of the search , the client making the search request , and so on . as previously described , it may be expedient to merge search results returned from multiple search engines . typically , each search engine will assign a unique ( unique within the returned results ) identifier to each “ document ”, e . g . container of information , in the return results . however , when results are returned from multiple search engines , these identifiers may collide , that is , may apply to more than on document in the merged results , even when the documents are different . in one embodiment , a search engine id is combined with the document id for each returned document , so that there are no duplicate identifiers in the merged results even when document ids from separate search engines collide . it is also possible that the search results from a first search engine may identify a document which is the same as a document identified in the results returned from a second search engine . these are known as duplicates . each search engine may assign the document a different identifier . thus , the document would be identified in the merged search results using two different identifiers . to correct for this possibility , in one embodiment the uniform resource locators ( urls ) associated with each returned document are examined . when the urls of two documents are identical , one of the documents may be removed from the list of search results , or otherwise identified as a duplicate . in one embodiment , communication between search managers and search engines , and between search engines , is accomplished by way of a common gateway interface ( cgi ) entry point . this entry point may have a “ standard ”, e . g . predetermined , name , such as “/ _search ”. this entry point may be located in the root directory of a web server , which operates on port 80 , in manners well known in the art . a message may be submitted to the search engine as follows : here , “ search_engine . com ” is the domain name of the search engine . “ query ” is a keyword which indicates that the text which follows defines a query . see table 2 for more details about one embodiment of a query message schema , including keyword definitions and their meanings . in one embodiment , the query message schema may support more than just queries to locate and return documents matching a certain criteria . the schema may support messages to return a set of domains which may be accessed by a search engine , to return activity logs from a search engine , to return categories supported by a search engine , and search statistics , to name just some of the possibilities . table 1 , below , describes one embodiment of a query message schema in more detail . table 2 below identifies one embodiment of a search string syntax and schema in accordance with the present invention . this term is excluded ( e . g . must not be present ) for a the title , description , date , alt , and keywords fields are well - known meta - data fields which may be included in documents to facilitate searches . the url field describes a documents url . while certain features of the invention have been illustrated as described herein , many modifications , substitutions , changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefor , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such embodiments and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention .
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for some individuals ( e . g ., individuals suffering from atrial fibrillation ), anatomical structures within the heart , such as a laa , can be problematic with respect to the pooling of blood , the formation of blood clots , and subsequent damage ( e . g ., heart attacks , strokes , and the like ) that can be caused by these clots . reduction of the size of , or occlusion / covering of a laa can minimize the risk of clot formation and subsequent damage caused by the formed clots . referring now to fig1 a , a left atrium 10 can include a lateral wall 12 with a laa 20 having physiological characteristics that are distinct from the other portions of the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 10 . exemplary characteristics that distinguish the laa 20 from the surrounding lateral wall 12 can include increased distensibility of the laa , higher concentration of atrial natriuretic factor ( anf ) granules , differing neuronal configuration , and the like . during normal heart function , the laa 20 can expand and contract in synchronization with the left atrium 10 , but to a greater degree due in part to the increased distensibility of the laa 20 . when the laa 20 expands , an interior 22 of the laa 20 can fill with blood , which can be emptied during subsequent contraction of the left atrium 10 and the laa 20 . during irregular heart function ( e . g ., atrial fibrillation , irregular function due to mitral valve disease , or the like ) blood may pool and stagnate within the interior space 22 , leading to the formation of blood clots . these clots can travel from the interior 22 of the laa 20 , to the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 , and throughout the circulatory system , possibly resulting in heart attack or stroke . preventing blood flow in and out of the laa 20 by decreasing the size of , and / or occluding / covering the laa 20 may reduce the risk of thromboembolism . in some cases , only a small amount of the laa can be inverted ( fig1 h - 1j ). for example , a small portion of the laa ( as seen in fig1 i ) or a large portion of the laa ( as seen in , e . g ., fig1 a ) can be inverted depending upon , e . g ., the type of device , the size of the device , and / or the desired treatment . in some cases , a device provided herein can be used to stiffen the lateral wall of the left atrium . referring now to fig1 b - 1c , pressure can be applied to the laa 20 through the use of an externally placed occlusion device 30 . the inversion device 30 can approach the laa 20 from a position external to the laa ( e . g ., the epicardial / pericardial space 14 ) and can apply pressure to the laa 20 causing at least a portion of the laa 20 to prolapse toward the interior 16 of the atrium 10 into the ostium 26 . the inversion device 30 can be designed in such a way as to minimize damage and avoid puncturing or piercing the laa 20 when used . once tissue 24 of the laa 20 has been inverted into the ostium 26 ( e . g ., as shown in fig1 b ), an occlusion device , such as a laa occlusion plug 100 , can be placed in the laa 20 . the occlusion plug 100 can retain the laa 20 in an at least partially inverted position ( e . g ., as depicted in fig1 c ), minimize or eliminate the remaining interior space 22 , and / or isolate the interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium 10 . in the position depicted in fig1 c , blood can continue to flow within the interior 16 of the atrium 10 , but may be prevented from flowing into the occluded interior space 22 of the laa 20 . referring now to fig1 c , the occlusion plug 100 can include a “ mushroom ” shape with a smaller proximal portion 110 and a larger distal portion 120 . the occlusion plug 100 can be delivered to the ostium 26 and abut the at least partially inverted tissue 24 of the laa 20 in an unexpanded state ( not shown ) that is smaller than the expanded state shown in fig1 c . once delivered in the unexpanded state to the ostium 26 of the laa 20 , the occlusion plug 100 can be expanded to the state shown in fig1 c . in some embodiments , when the plug 100 is transitioned to the expanded state , the laa can be further pushed inward into the interior 16 of the atrium 10 , increasing the amount of the tissue 24 prolapsed into the interior 16 of the atrium 10 and decreasing one or more portions 28 of the laa 20 remaining in the epicardial / pericardial space 14 . as the occlusion plug 100 expands , the cross - sectional area of the distal portion 120 can become larger than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 , such that portions of the inverted tissue 24 ( e . g ., the portions 25 a and 25 b ) can contact the lateral wall 12 of the atrium 10 . in the case of a plug 100 that has a cross - sectional area that is circular in shape ( shown in fig1 d ), a ring of tissue 24 from the laa 20 can contact a ring shaped portion of the lateral wall 12 , effectively sealing off the remaining interior space 22 of the laa from the interior space 16 of the atrium 10 . in some embodiments , the plug 100 can include cross - sectional shapes other than circular ( e . g ., square , rectangular , triangular , and the like ) that , when expanded , can fluidly disconnect the interior space 22 from the interior space 16 . with the interior space 22 fluidly disconnected from the interior space 16 , blood may no longer flow from the interior space 16 to the interior space 22 . if clots form within the interior space 22 , these clots may not enter the interior space of the atrium 16 to be moved throughout the circulatory system , thus minimizing the risk of heart attack , stroke , and the like , caused by embolisms formed in the interior space 22 of the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the occlusion plug 100 is a balloon - type plug , made of an expandable , biocompatible material , that can be deployed in the area of the laa 20 in a non - expanded state . after deployment to the laa 20 , the occlusion plug 100 can be expanded by filling the interior under pressure . exemplary materials that can be used to fill the interior of the plug 100 can include saline , silicone , expanding foam , a liquid polymer than can solidify when cured , and the like . in some embodiments , the plug 100 can include an expanding mechanism that biases the plug 100 to the expanded state shown in fig1 c . as explained in more detail in connection with fig1 d , the plug 100 can include expansion arms that bias the plug to the expanded state . prior to deployment , the plug 100 can be stressed from the expanded state to the non - expanded state . after deployment , the force applied to transition the plug 100 to the non - expanded state can be removed , thus allowing the bias of the expansion mechanism to return the plug 100 to the expanded state . referring now to fig1 c - 1d , in some embodiments , the occlusion plug 100 can have a generally cylindrical shape , with the distal end 120 having a larger diameter than the proximal end 110 . when deployed , the distal end 120 of the plug 100 can invaginate a portion of the tissue 24 such that it can completely cover the ostium 26 without encroaching on blood flow within the interior 16 of atrium or from the pulmonary veins . the plug 100 can include one or more expansion arms 140 that can bias the expansion device toward the expanded state shown in fig1 c - 1d . in some embodiments , the expansion arms include a material that exhibits superelasticity when used in the patient &# 39 ; s body . as such , the expansion arms can flexibly shift from a non - expanded state to an expanded state when deployed in the body . for example , the arms 140 may be formed from a length of nitinol wire or from a sheet of nitinol material , which has been processed to exhibit superelasticity below or at about a normal human body temperature , such as below or at about 37 degrees c . the nitinol material may comprise , for example , nickel titanium ( niti ), niobium titanium ( nbti ), or the like . in some cases , the expansion arms 140 may include a metal material such as stainless steel , spring steel , titanium , mp35n and other cobalt alloys , or the like . in these embodiments , the expansion arms 140 can be formed from a material or materials that allow them to be reversibly adjustable from a non - deployed position to a deployed position . referring now to fig1 e , some embodiments of the occlusion device can include a woven nitinol disc 145 . the woven structure could be circular ( as shown in fig1 e ), or any other shape , examples of which are shown in fig1 f & amp ; 1g . the weave pattern 147 and nitinol gauge may be selected such that the device can remain flexible and deployable ( through a catheter ) while being rigid enough to resist forces ( e . g ., the pressures exerted by the left atrium ) and remain in position . as with other embodiments , the nitinol disc 145 can have an atraumatic covering ( fabric , polymer , etc .). in some embodiments , the exterior surfaces of the occlusion device can include a porous , biocompatible material that can allow for tissue ingrowth . for example , the outer skin of the expandable plug can include porous polyethylene terephthalate , porous polytetrafluoroethylene , and the like . after implantation , the body can produce tissue ingrowth into the surface of the occlusion device , therefore adding additional securement to the device . referring now to fig1 h - 1j , some embodiments of the occlusion device can invert only a small amount of the laa 20 into the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 . as depicted in previous embodiments , a large amount of the tissue of the laa 20 can be inverted and / or manipulated such that the remaining interior volume 22 of the laa 20 can be only a small fraction ( e . g ., 10 %, 14 %, 21 %, 27 %, less than half , or the like ) of the original volume . in other examples , such as those shown in fig1 h - 1j can invert only a small amount of the tissue associated with the laa 20 , such that the remaining volume 22 is greater than half of the original volume . the amount of tissue that is inverted can depend on factors such as the diameter of the ostium 26 , the size of the occlusion device , the method used to secure the occlusion device in place , the size of the involution tool 30 , and the like . in use , the occlusion device can be deployed via a catheter with a lumen capable of delivering a stabilizing catheter / sheath , performing measurements ( e . g ., electrograms , impedance , ultrasound , pressure , and the like ) and having suction capabilities to remove and potentially recirculate blood . in some embodiments , where an intercostal approach is used , it is preferable to not puncture , pierce , or in other way damage the lung , which generally lies between the chest wall and the laa 20 . once the pleural space is entered , the lung can be mechanically displaced , for example , by using a deflectable paddle / sweeper - type catheter , inflating a balloon , injecting an inert gas such as helium to temporarily deflate the lung , wet gauze / cloth , and the like . in some cases , the pleural space need not be entered . for example , both the pleura and lung can be deflected away using the techniques described herein . in such cases , the need to leave a chest tube in place can be avoided . in some cases , the pleural space can be entered when there might be pleural or pericardial adhesions making it difficult to deflect the pleural space with the lung . with the lung partially out of the way , direct access to the laa can be possible . in one example , the pleural space can be entered using a dual lumen needle , through which two flexible wires can pass . one wire can be used to place an asymmetrically expanding balloon in the pleural space . the asymmetrically expanding balloon may be biased to expand to a greater degree toward the exterior and posterior of the patient . in other words , when the balloon is expanded , it can encourage the lung to move out of the pleural space , thus leaving a working space . the second wire can be used to advance , for example , a sheath , a needle , an occlusion device , and the like into the vicinity of the laa 20 . in another example , a balloon in front of and around an access sheath can be used to move the lung out of the way while the same sheath , having a lumen to be used with appropriate deflection , can be used to target the laa and deploy a laa occlusion device . in some embodiments , selective intubation of the right main bronchus can be used to deflate ( wholly or partially ) the left lung to allow placement of an access sheath . it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that there exist many methods of delivering an occluding device to a laa , using a catheter , and not puncture or pierce the lung . in some embodiments , an access sheath can be coated with lung repellent substances ( e . g . a wet sponge coating ) and / or a tissue compatible / atraumatic coating . in some embodiments , techniques for imaging for the lung , pleural space , pericardial space , laa , laa ostium , and the like , can be incorporated to assist in placement of the occluding device . exemplary forms of imaging may include direct imaging ( e . g ., ultrasound , ct , or the like ), or indirect / inferred imaging ( e . g ., measuring oxygen saturation , impedance , electrical signals , and the like ). for example , ultrasound may be used directly to guide the catheter . this may be two - dimensional imaging and / or doppler ( e . g ., as is used to check pulses ) which could be implemented in a hollow tube / sheath . in examples using doppler , an operator can identify heart sounds blood flow when in close proximity to the laa , and / or sounds typical of pulmonary auscultation when the lungs are in the way . when respiratory interference is audible , the patient can be instructed to exhale allowing a needle that is measuring impedance and an electrocardiographic signal to be passed through the hollow doppler sheath or guide . this can be incorporated into a timed respiratory training for the patient who will be awake ( e . g ., when local anesthesia is used ) to control breathing and facilitate deployment . in some examples , a side arm of the sheath can have capabilities for lung deflation , lung deflection , suction , and the like , as noted above . referring now to fig1 f - 1g , embodiments of the occlusion device can include expandable plugs , such as expandable plugs 150 ( fig1 f ) and 160 ( fig1 g ) that are not generally cylindrical in shape . expandable plug 150 can have a generally triangular shape , while plug 160 has a generally square shape . many other shapes can be designed and utilized to cover , occlude , and / or prolapse a laa for the purpose of preventing blood flow in and out of the laa . referring now to fig2 a - 2l , some embodiments of the occlusion device can be used to maintain , and / or further invert , at least a portion of the laa 20 in the interior space 16 of the atrium 10 and isolate the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium . for example , fig2 a depicts an expandable disc 200 which can be delivered to the laa 20 . after use of the inversion device 30 , the expandable disc 200 can be delivered to the laa 20 in a non - expanded state ( not shown ), where the cross - sectional area of the expandable disc 200 in the non - expanded state is smaller than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 . once in place , the disc 200 can expanded ( e . g ., in a way that is similar to the way in which the plug 100 is expanded ), to further invert a portion of the tissue 24 of the laa 20 and cause portions of the tissue 24 ( e . g ., the portions 25 a and 25 b ) to contact the lateral wall 12 , thus effectively isolating the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium . referring now to fig2 j , in some embodiments , the expandable disc 200 can be further secured to the atrium 10 through the use of securement devices such as sutures or clips ( e . g ., clips 201 a and 202 b ). referring now to fig2 b , an embodiment of the occlusion device includes an umbrella device 210 that can include a mechanical device that can be used to transition the umbrella device 210 from a non - expanded state ( not shown ), where the cross - sectional area of the device 210 is smaller than the cross - section area of the ostium 26 , to the expanded state shown in fig2 b , where portions of the laa 20 can contact the lateral wall 12 , thus effectively fluidly disconnecting the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium 10 . in this embodiment , the mechanical device can include arms 212 that are biased to the orientation shown in fig2 b . during storage and / or prior to insertion , the arms 212 can be stressed into a position that increases the longitudinal length 213 of the umbrella device 210 while decreasing the cross - sectional area of the device 210 to a size that is smaller than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 . when deployed , the force applied to maintain the arms 212 in the stressed positions can be removed , thus allowing the bias of the arms 212 to reversibly transition the umbrella device 210 to the expanded state shown in fig2 b . referring now to fig2 c , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include an occlusion device 220 that includes a combination of a mechanically expandable disc 221 , which is biased to a expanded state shown in fig2 c and a conforming / spacing filling balloon 222 . for example , after use of the inversion device 30 , the expandable disc 221 can be stressed to a non - expanded state ( not shown ), where the cross - sectional areas of the expandable disc 221 and the balloon 222 are smaller than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 , and delivered to the laa 20 . once in place , the disc 221 can be allowed to expand to further invert the tissue 24 of the laa 20 . after allowing the expandable disc 221 to transition to the expanded state shown , the balloon can be inflated / expanded until portions ( e . g ., the portions 25 a and 25 b ) contact the lateral wall 12 , thus effectively isolating the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium . the conforming / space filling balloon can be expanded , for example , by filling it with saline , which will be retained within the balloon 222 . referring now to fig2 d , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include a radial expander 230 which can be retained in place through radial force applied at or within the ostium 26 of the laa 20 . for example , the radial expander 230 , prior to placement in an laa 20 , can be transitioned to a non - expanded state where the radial expander 230 is smaller than the space created through the use of the inversion device 30 ( not shown ). once positioned , the radial expander 230 can be expanded in the radial direction ( e . g ., in the directions represented by arrow 231 ) to the partially expanded state shown . continued expansion of the radial expander 230 can exert force on portions of the laa 20 ( e . g ., portions 25 a and 25 b ). the expansion of the radial expander 230 can cause portions of the laa 20 ( e . g ., the portions 233 a and 233 b ) to contact the lateral wall 12 of the atrium , thus fluidly disconnecting the interior 16 of the atrium 10 from the remaining interior 22 of the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the radial expansion of the radial expander 230 can occur due to actuation of a mechanical expansion system , such as the turning of a screw , advancement of a ratchet system , and the like . the actuation of the mechanical system can cause the radius of the radial expander 230 to increase , thus displacing portions of the laa 20 . in other embodiments , the radial expander 230 may include a balloon that can be expanded by filling the balloon with , for example , saline , silicone , or the like . in still other embodiments , the expander 230 can be biased by one or more mechanical devices toward the fully expanded state ( not shown ). in some embodiments , the radial expander 230 can be nitinol based ( e . g ., constructed of a nitinol mesh ) such that the expander 230 is normally biased toward the expanded state . prior to insertion , the radial expander 230 can be stressed from the expanded state to a non - expanded state where the diameter of the expander 230 is smaller than the diameter of the ostium 26 . after being positioned , the stress maintaining the device 230 in the non - expanded state can be removed , allowing the bias of the device 230 to transition it to the expanded state . referring now to fig2 e - 2f , another embodiment of the occlusion device can include a double - disc system 240 delivered to the laa 20 . after use of the inversion device 30 , the expandable discs 241 and 242 can be delivered to the laa 20 in non - expanded states ( not shown ), where the cross - sectional areas of the expandable discs 241 and 242 are smaller than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 . once in place , the discs 241 and 242 can expanded . the disc 241 can further invert the laa 20 , for example , causing the inverted tissue 24 to have a diameter that is greater than that of the ostium 26 . as with the embodiment described in connection with fig2 a , the expansion of the disc 241 can cause portions of the laa 20 ( e . g ., the portions 25 a and 25 b ) to contact the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 20 , thereby fluidly disconnecting the interior 16 of the atrium 10 from the remaining interior 22 of the laa 20 . to further secure the system 240 in place and / or increase the force sealing the laa 20 against the lateral wall 12 , the second disc 242 can be secured against the laa 20 and / or the lateral wall 12 through the use of an adjustment mechanism 244 . for example , the adjustment mechanism 244 may include teeth that can interact with a ratchet mechanism included in the second disc 242 . when the discs 241 and 242 are deployed to the positions shown in fig2 e , force can be applied to the second disc 242 causing it to move toward the disc 241 with the direction indicated by arrow 243 , while a balancing force is applied to the adjustment mechanism 244 , maintaining the disc 241 against the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 20 , minimizing it &# 39 ; s impinging of the left atrial interior space . the disc 242 can be moved until reaching the position shown in fig2 f . through the combination of the adjustment mechanism 244 and the discs 241 and 242 , the discs 241 and 242 can be held in the positions shown in fig2 f , thus securing the system 240 in place , minimizing the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 , and fluidly disconnecting the interior space 22 from the interior space 16 of the atrium 10 . in this embodiment , the discs 241 and 242 are positioned on opposing sides of the lateral wall 12 , while still remaining epicardially in that neither disc 241 nor disc 242 contact the blood . in alternate embodiments , the system 240 can be deployed from the endocardial side . in some cases , the margins at the circumference of the disc that is more external ( away from the heart ; e . g ., disc 242 ) can tilt towards the disc that is relatively more internal ( e . g ., disc 241 ). referring now to fig2 m - 2o , some embodiments of the occlusion device can include a woven nitinol device 245 that can function in a similar manner to the occlusion device described in connection with fig2 e - 2f . in one example , the device 245 can be constructed of a nitinol mesh that is biased toward the deployed shape depicted in fig2 o . prior to insertion , the device can be reversibly transitioned toward the non - deployed shape depicted in fig2 m , thus allowing it to be passed through , for example , a catheter lumen . once located in the vicinity of a left atrial appendage , the catheter can be withdrawn , allowing the device 245 to begin transitioning to the deployed state . fig2 n depicts the device 245 where the distal portion 246 has been allowed to return to the deployed state , while the proximal portion 247 still remains in the non - deployed state ( e . g ., still within a catheter lumen ). further withdrawal of the catheter can allow the entire device 245 to transition to the deployed state shown in fig2 n . referring now to fig2 g , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include an laa invaginated segment enlarging device 250 that can be employed to increase the size ( e . g ., diameter ) of the inverted portion of the laa 20 to a size ( e . g ., diameter ) that is greater that that of the ostium 26 . after use of the inversion device 30 ( as described in connection with fig1 b ), the enlarging device 250 can be delivered to the laa 20 such that it abuts the inverted tissue 24 of the laa 20 ( not shown ). once in position , the enlarging device 250 can be expanded to increase the amount of inverted tissue 24 of the laa 20 to the size shown in fig2 g . as the amount of inverted tissue 24 increases , portions 25 a and 25 b of the inverted tissue 24 can contact the lateral wall 12 , thus fluidly disconnecting the interior 16 of the atrium 10 from the remaining interior 22 of the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the enlarging device 250 can be expanded by introducing a fluid , such as a liquid polymer , foam , or resin into the interior 251 of the enlarging device . for example , a liquid polymer can be introduced into the interior 251 to enlarge the device 250 . once the device 250 is enlarged to a point where the portions 25 a and 25 b contact the lateral wall 12 , thus fluidly disconnecting the interior 16 of the atrium 10 from the remaining interior 22 of the laa 20 , the polymer can be allowed to cure , thus maintaining the inverted tissue 24 in substantially the position shown in fig2 g and effectively isolating the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the blood located in the interior 16 of the atrium 10 in some embodiments ( depicted in fig2 p - 2q ), metal coils ( e . g ., platinum coils , and the like ) can be injected into the laa 20 to maintain or increase the size ( e . g ., diameter ) of the inverted portion of the laa 20 to a size ( e . g ., diameter ) that is greater that that of the ostium 26 . for , the inversion device 30 can be used to invert a portion of the laa 20 ( as described in connection with fig1 b ) to a size similar to that shown in fig2 p . metal coils 255 can then be delivered to the laa 20 such that they fill up space and maintain the laa in the inverted position . coils can be injected until the portions 25 a and 25 b contact the lateral wall 12 , thus fluidly disconnecting the interior 16 of the atrium 10 from the remaining interior 22 of the laa 20 , and effectively isolating the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the blood located in the interior 16 of the atrium 10 referring now to fig2 h , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include a nitinol expanding device 260 that can be employed to secure a portion of the laa 20 tissue in the ostium 26 and / or fluidly disconnect the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the interior 16 of the atrium 10 . after use of the inversion device 30 ( as described in connection with fig1 b ), the nitinol expanding device 260 can be delivered to the laa 20 in an elongated , non - expanded state ( similar to the elongated state depicted in fig2 m ), where the cross - sectional area of the expanding device 260 in the non - expanded state is smaller than the cross - sectional area of the ostium 26 . once in place , the expanding device 260 can be allowed to expand ( e . g ., by removing a surrounding catheter ), from the non - expanded state , to the normally - biased , expanded state shown in fig2 h . the distal portion 262 can expand to further invert a portion of the tissue 24 of the laa 20 and cause portions of the tissue 24 ( e . g ., the portions 25 a and 25 b ) to contact the lateral wall 12 , thus effectively isolating the remaining interior space 22 of the laa 20 from the interior space 16 of the left atrium , while the proximal portion 264 can expand to fill space and help maintain the device 260 in the position shown in fig2 h . referring now to fig2 i , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include a patch device 270 used to further collapse the laa 20 into the interior 16 of the atrium 10 , thus minimizing or eliminating the interior 22 of the laa 20 . for example , after use of the inversion device 30 ( as described in connection with fig1 b ), the patch device 270 can be applied to the laa 20 such that a disc or patch 271 is abutted against at least a portion of the laa 20 in the epicardial / pericardial space 14 . in some embodiments , one more anchors ( e . g ., anchors 272 a and 272 b ) can be secured around the perimeter of the patch 271 via securing sutures ( e . g ., sutures 273 a and 273 b ). after placement of the patch 271 , the anchors 272 a and 272 b can be inserted through the cardiac tissue of the lateral wall 12 and into the interior 16 of the atrium 10 . once inside the atrium 10 , the anchors can abut the interior of the lateral wall 12 and , via the sutures 273 a and 273 b , hold the patch 271 in place ( e . g ., in the position shown in fig2 i . in some embodiments , the laa 20 can be further inverted by tightening the sutures 273 a and 273 b , thus further minimizing or eliminating the interior 22 . referring now to fig2 k , an embodiment of the occlusion device can include an endocardially deployed suture loop . for example , pressure can be applied to the laa 20 through the use of the inversion device 30 , as described in fig1 b . fig1 b depicts an embodiment where pressure is applied until at least a portion of the laa 20 prolapses toward the interior 16 of the atrium 10 into the ostium 26 . however , in the embodiment described here , pressure can be applied with the inversion device 30 until the majority of the laa 20 prolapses into the interior 16 of the atrium 10 , as shown in fig2 k . an endocardial catheter 280 can deploy a loop / suture 281 around the inverted tissue 24 of the laa 20 , as shown . as the loop / suture 281 is tightened , portions 25 a and 25 b of the laa 20 are drawn toward each other in the directions indicated by arrows 282 until the portions 25 a and 25 b contact each other , thus substantially eliminating the interior 22 of the laa 20 and securing the majority of the tissue 24 in the interior 16 of the atrium 10 . referring now to fig2 l , another embodiment of the occlusion device can include a set of epicardially deployed anchors 290 a and 291 a and a set of endocardially deployed anchors 290 b and 291 b . for example , after use of the inversion device 30 ( as described in connection with fig1 b ), anchor 290 a can be deployed from an epicardial catheter 292 a and anchor 290 b can be deployed by from an epicardial catheter 292 b . when tightened , as depicted by anchors 291 a and 291 b , the anchors can secure a portion of the inverted tissue 24 of the laa 20 , minimize or eliminate the interior 22 of the laa 20 , and / or fluidly disconnect the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the interior 16 of the atrium 10 . now referring to fig3 a - 3d , some embodiments of an occlusion device include “ clam - shell ” type occluding devices which can be deployed into the epicardial and / or endocardial regions ( described in greater detail in connection with fig4 a - 4d ). the occluding devices can then be used to exclude the flow of blood into the interior 22 of the laa 20 and / or to minimize or eliminate the interior 22 . referring now to fig3 a , one embodiment of a “ clam - shell ” occluding device 300 can include expandable discs 301 a and 301 b connected by adjustment member 302 . for example , the expandable disc 301 a can be deployed in the interior 16 of atrium 10 , the expandable disc 301 b can be deployed in the epicardial / pericardial space 14 , with the adjustment member passing through the tissue of the laa 20 . one exemplary method of deploying the occluding device 300 will be described in more detail in connection with fig4 a - 4d . once deployed as shown in fig3 a , discs 301 a and 301 b can be brought closer together using , at least in part , the adjustment member 302 . as the discs 301 a and 301 b are brought together , at least the perimeter of disc 301 a can contact the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 10 ( e . g ., at portions 13 a and 13 b ) and the disc 301 b can contact the tissue of the laa 20 . due in part to the increased distensibility of the laa 20 , as the distance between the discs 301 a and 301 b is decreased , the disc 301 a can remain substantially stationary as the disc 301 b moves toward the disc 301 a ( in the direction indicated by the arrow 303 ), thus collapsing the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the distance between the discs 301 a and 301 b can be decreased until reaching the positions shown in fig3 b . in other embodiments , the discs 301 a and 301 b can be brought closer together and can even be brought together until the laa 20 is fully collapsed . still referring to fig3 a , in some embodiments , surfaces 305 a and 306 a of the disc 301 a and surfaces 305 b and 306 b of the disc 301 b can be substantially flat . in some embodiments , however , the surfaces 305 a , 305 b , 306 a , and 306 b can be curved , making them convex or concave . for example , the disc 301 a can be curved such that the surface 305 a facing the interior 22 of the laa 20 is concave , while the surface 306 a facing the interior 16 of the atrium 10 is convex . in some embodiments , the disc 302 b can also be curved such that the surface 305 b facing the interior 22 of the laa 20 is concave , while the surface 306 b facing the epicardial / pericardial space 14 is convex . referring now to fig3 c , one embodiment of a “ clam - shell ” occluding device can employ expandable discs that are both deployed in the epicardial / pericardial space and can be used to minimize or eliminate the interior of a left laa , and / or fluidly disconnect the interior of the laa 20 from the interior of the left atrium . for example , an occluding device 310 can include expandable discs 311 a and 311 b connected by adjustment member 312 . the expandable discs 301 a and 301 b can both be deployed in the epicardial / pericardial space 14 on two sides of the laa 20 , substantially parallel to each other , but substantially perpendicular to the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 10 . in some embodiments , the adjustment member can be a pair of sutures that connect the two discs 311 a and 311 b and surround , but don &# 39 ; t penetrate the laa 20 . in other examples , one or more sutures can connect the discs 311 a and 311 b and pass through the laa 20 . once deployed as shown in fig3 c , discs 311 a and 311 b can be brought closer together using , at least in part , the adjustment member 312 . as the discs 311 a and 311 b are brought together , they can remain substantially parallel to the lateral wall 12 and contacting the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the distance between the discs 311 a and 311 b can be decreased until reaching the positions shown in fig3 d . in other embodiments , the discs 311 a and 311 b can be brought closer together , further shrinking the interior 22 , isolating the interior 22 from the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 , and / or fully collapsing the laa 20 , thus eliminating the interior 22 . referring now to fig3 e , one embodiment of a “ clam - shell ” occluding device 320 can include expandable discs 321 a and 321 b connected by adjustment member 322 . for example , the expandable disc 321 a can be deployed in the interior 16 of atrium 10 and the expandable disc 321 b can be deployed in the epicardial / pericardial space 14 , with the adjustment member passing through the tissue of the laa 20 . one exemplary method of deploying the occluding device 300 will be described in more detail in connection with fig4 a - 4d . expandable disc 321 a can include a protrusion 323 on one side that , when deployed , can be positioned in an ostium 324 of a pulmonary vein 325 , such the upper pulmonary vein . when positioned , the protrusion 323 can help in anchoring the disc 321 a relative to the pulmonary vein 325 . once deployed as shown in fig3 e , discs 321 a and 321 b can be brought closer together using , at least in part , the adjustment member 322 . as the discs 321 a and 321 b are brought together , at least the perimeter of disc 321 a can contact the lateral wall 12 of the left atrium 10 , for example , at portions 13 a and 13 b as shown in fig3 e , isolating the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 . due in part to the increased distensibility of the laa 20 , as the distance between the discs 321 a and 321 b is decreased , the disc 321 a will remain substantially stationary , with respect to the left atrium 10 , as the disc 321 b moves toward the disc 321 a ( in the direction indicated by the arrow 326 ), thus collapsing the laa 20 . in some embodiments , the distance between the discs 321 a and 321 b can be decreased to or fluidly disconnect the interior of the laa 20 from the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 and / or minimize or eliminate the interior 22 of the laa 20 . referring now to fig3 f , an embodiment of a “ clam - shell ” occluding device 300 can include a space filling device 304 that can assist in disconnecting the interior 22 of the laa 20 from the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 and / or filling the interior 22 of the laa 20 . after deployment of the occluding device 300 , the adjustment mechanism 302 can be used to compress the laa 20 by decreasing the distance between the discs 301 a and 301 b . when desired , the space filling device can be expanded to seal off the interior 22 from the interior 16 of the atrium 10 and / or minimize or eliminate the interior 22 . in some embodiments , the space filling device 304 can be biased to the expanded state depicted in fig3 f . in these embodiments , prior to expanding the space filling device 304 , the space filling device 304 can be stressed into a non - expanded state for delivery . when desired , the stress maintaining the space filling device 304 in the non - expanded state can be removed , thus causing the device 304 to return to the expanded state shown . in some embodiments , the space filling device can be a structure ( e . g ., a balloon ) that can normally be in a non - expanded state ( not shown ). when desired , the space filling device 304 can be filled ( e . g ., with saline , silicone , or the like ) causing it to expand to the state shown in fig3 f . in some cases , the margins at the circumference of one or more discs for a “ clam - shell ” device provided herein can be configured to tilt towards the other disc . for example , both discs of a “ clam - shell ” device provided herein can be configured such that a portion at the circumference of each disc can tilt toward a portion of the other disc . in one exemplary use , depicted in fig4 a - 4c , a fine needle 400 can be used to deploy an laa occlusion device , such as the “ clam - shell ” occluding device 300 around the laa 20 . in this example , the heart can be accessed from an epicardial position using the needle 400 , which can be advanced from the intercostal space ( e . g ., third , fourth , or fifth between the mid - clavicular and posterior axillary lines ) through the tissue 24 of the laa 20 and into the interior 16 of the left atrium 10 . referring to fig4 a , when the tip 405 of the catheter 400 is located in the left atrium 10 , the expandable disc 301 a can be deployed from the tip 405 until fully deployed as shown in fig4 b . as the needle 400 is withdrawn from the interior 16 of the atrium 10 into the interior 22 of the laa 20 ( e . g ., as depicted in fig4 b ), the adjustment mechanism 302 can be deployed from the needle 400 . the disc 301 a can be pulled back until flow into the interior 22 of the laa 20 is excluded . as the needle 400 is withdrawn , the adjustment mechanism 302 will continue to deploy from the tip 405 . referring now to fig4 c , at a point after the needle 400 is withdrawn from the laa 20 into the epicardial / pericardial space 14 , the expandable disc 301 b of the occlusion device 300 can begin to be deployed from the needle 400 into the epicardial / pericardial space 14 . the two disc 301 a and 302 b of the occlusion device 200 can be brought closer together with a ratchet , screw , or sliding mechanism to completely exclude flow into the interior 22 laa 20 and / or to collapse the laa 20 until the interior 22 is minimized or eliminated . in some cases , the expandable devices provided herein can contain expandable portions that are not only radially expandable . for example , the entire device can go from being a cylinder to a cone shape with the larger diameter portion of the cone shape being internal to the ostium ( but either internal or external to the atrium itself ) and the point or smaller diameter portion of the cone shape being external to the ostium . such devices can be deployed in a manner such that when the device is ratcheted or effectuated using a mechanism to expand the internal portion , the external portion can become smaller . in some cases , an unexpanded device can resemble a cylinder that , when effectuated , the device expands internally but externally as well either radially or in a fairly gradual expansion so it resembles , for example , a dumbbell . while the previous embodiments describe the application of external pressure to invert and / or obliterate a left atrial appendage , followed by securing of the appendage , similar techniques can be applied to other appendage like structures to prevent fluid communication of an interior of a structure with a main lumen or visceral cavity . exemplary applications can include the gallbladder , appendage , diverticula , pseudoaneurysms of the ventricle , pharyngal pouches and peripheral veins , diverticulae or aneurysmally enlarged veins / varices , and the like . it is noted that a laa occlusion device can include any of the features , improvements , and alterations disclosed herein , in any combination . it is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof , the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention , which is defined by the scope of the appended claims . other aspects , advantages , and modifications are within the scope of the following claims .
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in general , the present invention extends the techniques of prior lumber sorting systems by employing a limiter connected to a hook to limit the rotation of the hook while the limiter is within a raceway . fig2 is a side elevation view of a portion of a representative embodiment of a sort conveyor 21 of a lumber sorter constructed in accordance with principles of the present invention , showing generally a hook and limiter assembly in a raceway . sort conveyor 21 has a hook 26 for picking up , moving and dropping pieces of board lumber . hook 26 has a head portion 27 , a distal end 36 and an opening 43 . hook 26 has a carrying portion 5 for carrying pieces of board lumber . hook 26 is pivotally connected to a belt 34 at a pivot 30 such that it can rotate with respect to belt 34 . also connected to hook 26 is a limiter 80 which is connected to hook 26 about pivot 30 . hook 26 and limiter 80 form an assembly 81 . limiter 80 is shown running within a raceway 90 which is comprised of an upper wall 92 and a lower wall 94 . raceway 90 may be provided as an elongate channel defined by the vertically opposed upper wall 92 and lower wall 94 . the distance between upper wall 92 and lower wall 94 is predetermined according to the shape and / or size of limiter 80 . limiter 80 will have at least one dimension that is longer than the distance between upper wall 92 and lower wall 94 to impede rotation of limiter 80 within raceway 90 . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , limiter 80 is a block with a first contact element 82 , a second contact element 84 , a first rounded edge 86 and a second rounded edge 88 . first contact element 82 and second contact element 84 are positioned apart from each other at a distance that is greater than the width of raceway 90 as formed by upper wall 92 and lower wall 94 . in operation , limiter 80 can rotate within raceway 90 upon rounded edges 86 , 88 until first contact element 82 and second contact element 84 contact raceway walls 92 , 94 . continued rotation is arrested because the width formed by first and second contact elements 82 , 84 is greater than the width of raceway 90 as formed by walls 92 , 94 . in the embodiment shown in fig3 , first contact element 82 and second contact element 84 restrain limiter 80 from rotating clockwise , but do permit counter - clockwise rotation if force is applied to counter - act gravity . because hook 26 is connected to limiter 80 to form assembly 81 , assembly 81 , and therefore hook 26 , are also limited in their rotation accordingly . alternative embodiments permit different configurations of the degree of rotation of limiter 80 within raceway 90 by , for example , altering the location of contact elements 82 , 84 . for example , the rotation of limiter 80 within raceway 90 may be reduced below 90 degrees by including a lug ( not shown ) on limiter 80 between first contact element 82 and second rounded edge 88 and between second contact element 84 and first rounded edge 86 . in this embodiment the lugs become alternate contact elements that meet walls 92 , 94 of raceway 90 and restrict continued rotation before limiter 80 has rotated 90 degrees . another alternative embodiment has a limiter that is not comprised of a block . for example , first and second contact elements 82 , 84 may be pegs ( not shown ) or ends of a rigid elongate member ( not shown ). the pegs or ends of the rigid elongate member limit the continued rotation of limiter 80 once they contact walls 92 , 94 of raceway 90 because they are spaced apart at a distance that is greater than the separation between walls 92 , 94 . fig3 a is another side elevation diagram of a portion of sort conveyor 21 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing generally six hook and limiter assemblies 81 travelling counter - clockwise around a pulley 22 in the direction of arrows 24 . the operation of limiters 80 in sorting pieces of board lumber is described with reference to the assemblies 81 shown in the diagram , proceeding counter - clockwise from assembly 81 a through to 81 f . assembly 81 a is travelling within raceway 90 a in a first orientation . first contact element 82 a is in contact with upper wall 92 a and second contact element 84 a is in contact with lower wall 94 a , preventing the downward rotation of distal end 36 a under gravity . first contact element 82 a , upper wall 92 a , second contact element 84 a , lower wall 94 a and gravity maintain assembly 81 a in the first orientation relative to belt 34 . the application of pivotal force to assembly 81 a in a counter - clockwise direction rotates 81 a in a counter - clockwise direction up to about 90 degrees , until first contact element 82 a meets lower wall 94 a and second contact element 84 a meets upper wall 92 a , at which point further counter - clockwise rotation is impeded and a clockwise rotation will be effected by gravity once the applied force ceases . assembly 81 b is exiting from raceway 90 a in the first orientation . as assembly 81 b exits raceway 90 a first contact element 82 b and second contact element 84 b come out of contact with the walls of raceway 90 a . as assembly 81 b exits raceway 90 a , lug 100 b , which is connected to pulley 22 , rotates into contact with head portion 27 b . the rotation of assembly 81 b under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 b and head portion 27 b such that assembly 81 b is maintained in the first orientation relative to belt 34 . assembly 81 c is rotating along the periphery of pulley 22 in the first orientation . as assembly 81 c rotates along the periphery , lug 100 c rotates with pulley 22 and maintains contact with head portion 27 c . the rotation of assembly 81 c under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 c and head portion 27 c such that assembly 81 c is maintained in the first orientation relative to belt 34 . assembly 81 d is continuing to rotate along the periphery of pulley 22 such that limiter 80 d is being guided to entry within raceway 90 b in the first orientation . lug 100 d ensures that assembly 81 d is in the proper orientation as limiter 80 d enters raceway 90 b . the rotation of assembly 81 d under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 d and head portion 27 d such that assembly 81 d is maintained in the first orientation relative to belt 34 and is in a suitable orientation for the entry of limiter 80 d within raceway 90 b . as lug 100 d guides limiter 80 d into raceway 90 b , first contact element 82 d and second contact element 84 d come into contact with lower wall 94 b and upper wall 92 b respectively . assembly 81 e is travelling within raceway 90 b in the first orientation and has just been released from contact between head portion 27 e and lug 100 e . first contact element 82 e is in contact with lower wall 94 b and second contact element 84 e is in contact with upper wall 92 b . upon release by lug 100 e , assembly 81 e rotates clockwise about 90 degrees under gravity on rounded edges 86 e , 88 e to the second orientation , as indicated by arrow 110 . assembly 81 f is travelling within raceway 90 b and has just rotated clockwise about 90 degrees under gravity along the direction of arrow 110 to a second orientation . first contact element 82 f is in contact with upper wall 92 b and second contact element 841 is in contact with lower wall 94 b , preventing the continued clockwise rotation of assembly 81 f beyond the second orientation . first contact element 82 f , upper wall 92 b , second contact element 84 f , lower wall 94 b and gravity maintain assembly 81 f in the second orientation relative to belt 34 . the application of pivotal force to assembly 81 f in a counter - clockwise direction rotates 81 f in a counter - clockwise direction up to about 90 degrees , until second contact element 84 f meets upper wall 92 b and first contact element 82 f meets lower wall 94 b , at which point further counter - clockwise rotation is impeded and a clockwise rotation will be effected by gravity once the applied force ceases . fig3 b is a continuation of fig3 a showing another portion of sort conveyor 21 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing generally six hook and limiter assemblies 81 travelling counter - clockwise around a pulley 23 in the direction of arrows 24 . the operation of limiters 80 in sorting pieces of board lumber is described with reference to the assemblies 81 shown in the diagram , proceeding counter - clockwise from assembly 81 g through to 81 l . assembly 81 g is travelling within raceway 90 b in the second orientation . first contact element 82 g is in contact with upper wall 92 b and second contact element 84 g is in contact with lower wall 94 b , preventing continued rotation under gravity . first contact element 82 g , upper wall 92 b , second contact element 84 g , lower wall 94 b and gravity maintain assembly 81 g in the second orientation relative to belt 34 . the application of pivotal force to assembly 81 g in a counter - clockwise direction rotates 81 g in a counter - clockwise direction up to about 90 degrees , until second contact element 84 g meets upper wall 92 b and first contact element 82 g meets lower wall 94 b , at which point further counter - clockwise rotation is impeded and a clockwise rotation will be effected by gravity once the applied force ceases . assembly 81 h is exiting from raceway 90 b in the second orientation . as assembly 81 h exits raceway 90 b first contact element 82 h and second contact element 84 h come out of contact with the walls of raceway 90 b . as assembly 81 h exits raceway 90 b , lug 100 h , which is connected to pulley 23 , rotates into contact with head portion 27 h . the rotation of assembly 81 h under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 h and head portion 27 h such that assembly 81 h is maintained in the second orientation relative to belt 34 . assembly 81 i is rotating along the periphery of pulley 23 in the second orientation . as assembly 81 i rotates along the periphery , lug 100 i rotates with pulley 23 and maintains contact with head portion 27 i . the rotation of assembly 81 i under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 i and head portion 27 i such that assembly 81 i is maintained in the second orientation relative to belt 34 . assembly 81 j is continuing to rotate along the periphery of pulley 23 in the second orientation such that limiter 80 j is being guided to entry within raceway 90 a . lug 100 j ensures that assembly 81 j is in the proper orientation as limiter 80 j enters raceway 90 a . the rotation of assembly 81 j under gravity is impeded by the contact between lug 100 j and head portion 27 j such that assembly 81 j is maintained in the second orientation relative to belt 34 and is in a suitable orientation for the entry of limiter 80 j within raceway 90 a . as lug 100 j guides limiter 80 j into raceway 90 a , first contact element 82 j and second contact element 84 j come into contact with lower wall 94 a and upper wall 92 a respectively . assembly 81 k is travelling within raceway 90 a in the second orientation and has just been released from contact between head portion 27 k and lug 100 k . first contact element 82 k is in contact with lower wall 94 a and second contact element 84 k is in contact with upper wall 92 a . upon release by lug 100 k , assembly 81 k rotates counter - clockwise about 90 degrees under gravity on rounded edges 86 k , 88 k to the second orientation , as indicated by arrow 111 . assembly 81 l is travelling within raceway 90 a and has just rotated counter - clockwise about 90 degrees under gravity along the direction of arrow 111 to the first orientation . first contact element 82 l is in contact with upper wall 92 a and second contact element 84 l is in contact with lower wall 94 a , preventing the continued counter - clockwise rotation of assembly 81 l beyond the first orientation . first contact element 82 l , upper wall 92 a , second contact element 84 l , lower wall 94 a and gravity maintain assembly 81 l in the first orientation relative to belt 34 . as shown in fig3 a and 3b , gravity is used to transition assembly 81 from one orientation to the other . between transitions , limiter 80 , raceway walls 92 , 94 and lug 100 cooperate to maintain the assembly 81 in its current orientation . before it is transitioned , assembly 81 is moved from one raceway to another while held by a lug to restrain its rotation relative to the belt . once assembly 81 has been moved to the other raceway , it is released by the lug allowing gravity to transition assembly 81 to the other orientation . the transition from the first orientation to the second orientation allows hook 26 to pick up pieces of board lumber from a feed conveyor . this arrangement allows for assembly 81 to be rotated to a dropping position by diverter lug 42 and counter - rotated by gravity to a resting , or carrying , position and no further . in the foregoing description , assembly 81 rotates from one orientation to the other under the force of gravity . however , this is not essential . if desired , mechanical means may be used to force rotation of the assembly 81 , either acting with or against the force of gravity . now that the invention has been described , numerous modifications , substitutions and mechanical equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art . the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described herein with reference to the described drawings , but is defined in the claims appended hereto .
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referring first to fig1 and 2 , and especially fig1 numeral reference 1 deontes a pair of vertical rods each comprising two pipes telescopically connected to each other with their upper ends being bent to form handles 2 . explanation will hereinafter be given on one vertical rod for simplicity . the vertical rod is provided at its lower end with a wheel 3 which includes a hub 4 provided on its one side with a brake 5 . in this embodiment , as the brake use is made of a drum brake for automobiles ; however , this invention is not limited thereto . it is , therefore , understood that the brake of any type that can apply a braking force to a wheel may be employed . the brake 5 is actuiated by manipulation of a brake lever 7 connected thereto by way of a wire 6 , said lever being attached to the handle 2 . it will be noted that the wire 6 is passed through the inside of the vertical rod 1 to shorten its length as much as possible , since it otherwise will interfere with such manipulation . as shown in fig2 numeral reference stands for a one - way clutch mounted on the other side of the hub 4 . as the one - way clutch , use may be made of a free wheel comprising a combination of a rachet and a pawl . this one - way clutch is fixed at its inner side to the hub 4 and a stop pin 9 is inserted in between the teeth of a sprocket positioned on the outer side thereof , whereby the reversal of motion of the wheel is prevented . numeral reference 10 denotes a step mounted on the upper portion of the wheel 3 . in this embodiment , a l - shaped pipe 11 is fixed to the lower portion of the vertical rod 1 to use as the step its horizontal portion , and the hub 4 is supported at its end by the lower end thereof . thus , the hub is supported at its both ends . said stop pin 9 is also locked at the lower portion of the l - shaped pipe 11 by a nut 12 . numeral reference 13 stands for a lock nut for preventing expansion and contraction of the vertical rod . referring now to fig3 and 4 , and especially to fig3 numeral reference 1 denotes a pair of vertical rods each comprising two pipes telescopically connected to each other with their upper ends being bent to form handles 2 . explanation will hereinafter be given on one vetical rod for simplicity . a wheel 3 is mounted on the lower end of the vertical rod 1 , and a horizontally extending step 4 is fixed to the portion of the vertical rod 1 which lies just above said wheel 3 . in this embodiment , a l - shaped pipe 5 is fixed to the lower portion of the vertical rod 1 to use its horizontal portion as the step 4 , and the axle 6 of the wheel is supported at its one end by the lower end of the pipe 5 and at its other end by the lower end of the vertical rod 1 . said wheel 3 is rotatively supported at its hub on the axle 6 through bearings 8 and 8 , and an annularly recessed portion 9 is formed in said hub 7 in coaxial relation to the axis of the axle 6 and hence the axis of the wheel 3 . the outer side of said recessed portion 9 is closed by a side plate 10 fitted over the axle and secured to the lower end portion of the vertical rod 1 . a pair of semicircular brake shoes 11 are disposed in the recessed portion 9 to operate against the outer periphery 9a which forms a brake drum . the brake shoes 11 and a brake cam 12 are of a known inside expanding type braking device , in which one end of each brake shoe 11 is pivoted by pin ( not shown ) provided on the inner side of the plate 10 , while the other end of each shoe is in abutting contact with the brake cam 12 rotatively attached to the side plate 10 . the outer end of the brake cam 12 is also caused to project outwardly through the side plate 10 . to this projection 12a is fixed a lever 13 . the lever 13 is connected to a brake lever 15 pivotally mounted on the handle 12 by way of an inner cable 14a of a push - pull cable 14 . reference 11a denotes a brake lining secured to the outer periphery of the brake shoe . a one - way clutch 16 is mounted on the inner periphery 9b of the recessed portion 9 . the one - way clutch 16 is similar to an ordinary one - way clutch interposed between the rear wheel sprocket and the rear axle of a bicycle etc ., in which one of the opposite faces of an inner race 16a is secured to the inner periphery 9b of the recessed portion 9 and an outer race 16b surrounds the inner race with a series of needles 16c disposed between the races . as in the common form of bicycle hub one - way clutch , the needles are somewhat flattened in cross - section and the spacing between the races is less than the maximum needle diameter . this construction allows relative rotation between the inner and outer races in one direction only . the outer race 16b of the one - way clutch 16 is provided on its outer periphery with a number of radially extending portions 16d in engagement with member 17 . these members which hold the outer race in position are threaded through the side plate 10 , and are designed to be horizontally movable from the side plate 10 toward the inside of the recessed portion 9 . in this connection , it will be noted that the one - way clutch is designed such that the wheel is permitted to rotate only at the time of the forward movement . numeral reference 18 denotes a lock nut for preventing expansion and contraction of the vertical rod 1 . the operation of the sliding type athletic apparatus according to the present invention will now be described mainly with reference to the second embodiment mentioned hereinbefore . the handles 2 are first gripped to draw the brake levers 15 , so that the levers 13 rotate in a counterclockwise direction ( in fig3 ) through the inner cables 14a of the push - pull cables 14 , followed by rotation of the brake cams 12 . the brake shoes 11 expand and rotate diametrically by said brake cams , so that the brake linings 11a come in abutting contact with the outer peripheries 9a of the recessed portions 9 to brake the wheels . in this state , one &# 39 ; s feet are placed on both steps , and the brake levers 15 are gradually unloosed while taking one &# 39 ; s balance , so that the levers 13 , brake cams 12 and brake shoes 11 rotate in the direction reverse to that above mentioned . as a result , the brake lining 11a are out of engagement with the outer peripheries of the recessed portion 9a to release the braking of the wheels . at the same time , one wheel 3 is kicked rearward in the same manner as in roller skates , so that the wheel 3 is apt to rotate rearward . in this case , however , the one - way clutch 16 is actuated such that it is in engagement with the members 17 thereby to restrain such rotation . hence , the other wheel 3 is caused to rotate forward due to the resultant counter action . when the wheel 3 rotates in the forward direction , the one - way clutch 16 is released while the one - way clutch and members 17 are located inwardly of the brake shoe 11 , with the result that there in no fear that these components come in collision with the brake shoe 11 and the wall surface of the recessed portion 9 . thus , the sliding type athletic apparatus of the present invention can be caused to slide forward by alternately kicking a pair of the wheels 3 rearward in the same manner as aforesaid . furthermore , the one - way clutch 16 is kept immovable even at the time of the rearward movement of the wheel 3 by removing the members 17 . therefore , a practiced hand can take a variety of exercises with this apparatus . the sliding type athletic apparatus according to the present invention is effective in building up the sense of physical equilibrium and permitting a wide variety of exercises . moreover , the apparatus can be made small by forming a recessed portion in one side of the hub of each wheel and arranging a braking device and a one - way clutch in said recessed portion thereby to restrain any increase in the horizontal width . depending upon height , each vertical rod can be adjusted by unloosing the lock nut . although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the foregoing specification , it will , of course , be understood that various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention . it is , therefore , intended that the following claims cover all such modifications and changes as may fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention .
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although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structures . while the preferred embodiment has been described , the details may be changed without departing from the invention . referring now to the drawings and in particular to fig1 and 2 , an embodiment of the cable tie tensioning and cut - off tool 10 incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown as having a housing 12 in the shape of a pistol or gun and having a handle or grip portion 14 , a barrel portion 16 , and a trigger 18 . the trigger 18 is located forwardly of the grip 14 and under the barrel portion 16 where it fits naturally in the hand of a user ( not shown ). the tool 10 is typically used to install cable ties 20 ( seen in phantom in fig4 a - 4d ) around elongate bundles 22 , such as wire cable or the like . as mentioned earlier , cable ties are widely used in a variety of environments and applications , and may be used , for example , to bundle a plurality of elongate wires , cables , or other elongate articles 22 , as shown in the figures . however , it is to be understood that the tool 10 of the present invention may be used to secure cable ties 20 in other applications , such as to secure elongate articles to rigid structures or used as hose clamps ( not shown ), by way of non - limiting example . as illustrated , a tie 20 includes a head portion 24 and a tie tail portion 26 . the tool 10 grips the tail portion 26 of the tie 20 and pulls it through the head 24 until a predetermined tension is achieved . the tool 10 then locks the tension and automatically cuts off the excess tail portion 26 adjacent the head 24 . as seen in fig4 a - 4d , one housing 12 sidewall has been cut away to show the opposite housing 12 sidewall and the internal parts and mechanism of the present tool 10 . the tool 10 generally contains a reciprocating tension mechanism , such as the pawl link 28 shown , located in the barrel portion 16 of the tool 10 . the tension mechanism 28 further includes a gripping mechanism , such as the tie - gripping pawl 30 shown , for gripping the tail portion 26 of a tie 20 , and a locking mechanism , such as the rack 32 and pinion 34 shown for locking the tension mechanism 28 at a predetermined tension prior to activating a cutoff mechanism . in operation , the tensioning mechanism pulls the gripped tail portion 26 rearwardly to a predetermined tension . upon reaching the predetermined tension , the locking mechanism locks the tension . a cutoff mechanism , such as the illustrated cutter link 118 , also located at the forward end of the barrel portion 16 , then activates to cause a blade member 160 to cut off the tie tail 26 closely adjacent the head portion 24 . the predetermined tension is set or adjusted by way of a tension adjustment mechanism located at the rear of the tool 10 , as will be discussed in detail . the present device provides consistent tension and cutting performance such that uniform tension per setting across all tools is achieved . the device target goal is no scatter in tension force per setting . present devices have tolerances of up to +/− 25n . tolerance range is greatly reduced with the present device . the present tool 10 includes a novel tension adjustment mechanism . as will be seen , the tension control and adjustment mechanism of the present tool 10 functions to provide a controlled tension to the rear of the cutoff cam 36 ( see fig4 a - 4c ). this , in turn , determines the point at which the cutoff cam 36 pivots to actuate the locking mechanism and the cutoff mechanism , to thereby cutoff the tie tail 26 . the tension adjustment system of the present device is simple to use and eliminates the use of two knobs , as in known devices , through the use of an acme thread cam action and knob as will be discussed . with reference particularly to the view of fig5 - 7c , it may be seen that the tension control mechanism includes a u - bracket 38 positioned horizontally , and slidably moveable , within the housing 12 at the rear end of the barrel portion 16 . the forward ends 40 of the u - bracket 38 are pivotally coupled to the rear end of the cutoff cam 36 by means of a tension pin 42 extending through the forward ends 40 of the u - bracket and through an elongated slot 44 formed in the cutoff cam 36 ( see particularly fig1 b ). the rearward end of the u - bracket 38 is biased toward the rear of the housing 12 by means of the inner and outer tension springs , 46 , 48 respectively . the tension springs 46 , 48 are confined between a tension shaft 50 and a tension nut 52 . a rotating cam 54 is coupled to a tension adjustment knob 56 by way of tessellated portions 58 which engage corresponding interlocking splines 60 in the adjustment knob 56 . the rotating cam 54 further includes a threaded portion 62 adapted to threadingly engage fixed cam 64 and its housing 66 . as the adjustment knob 56 is turned , the rotating cam 54 either draws the tension shaft 50 closer to the rear of the housing 12 or drives the tension shaft 50 farther from the rear of the housing 12 depending on the direction in which the adjustment knob 56 is turned . accordingly , the tension applied by the u - bracket 38 to the cutoff cam 36 is increased as the adjustment knob 56 is turned so as to compress the tension springs 46 , 48 and is decreased as the adjustment knob 56 is turned to decompress the tension springs 46 , 48 . as seen in fig7 a , the tessellated portions 58 of rotating cam 54 mate with and slide on splines 60 . this features allows the threaded portion 62 to rotate and move longitudinally along the splines , while the adjustment knob 56 remains stationary . this feature allows the overall tool 10 length and overall ergonomics to remain constant throughout its adjustment range . preferably , the adjustment knob 56 includes indicia 68 to designate selected tension settings . the indicia 68 may correspond to the incremental tension ranges provided by detents 70 on the adjustment knob 56 in which a ball 72 , or other suitable device , rides . the present tension adjustment system further includes capability to calibrate , hold and lock . a locking latch 74 is slidingly located on the housing 66 of the fixed cam 64 . as seen particularly in the view of fig6 - 8b , the locking latch 74 includes a switch 76 and a locking pin 78 , seen as a screw in these views . to adjust tension , the hold switch 76 on the top of the tool 10 is moved to an unlocked position ; the adjustment knob 56 is rotated to the desired tension setting ; the hold switch 76 is released to the lock position . the precise tension setting is accomplished by rotating the adjustment knob 56 across multiple discrete detent stops 70 . the tension adjustment system preferably includes the mil spec 1 through 8 settings , including ½ and ¼ increments . further , the tension adjustment system may be calibrated at the point of manufacture or may be calibrated in the field . when the device 10 is to be calibrated in the field , a calibration tension tool 80 , may be used , as will be discussed later with reference to fig1 a - 17b . the tension - lock - cut system embodying various features of the invention , and its operation , may be seen in fig9 - 12 . the tension - lock - cut system of the present invention reduces the tool 10 backlash perceived by a user , eliminates dynamic tension on the cable tie 20 during the tension and cut phases , and standardizes cut - off force during the cut phase . to these ends , the tension - lock - cut system includes a tension - lock - cut linkage 82 ( see fig1 a and 10b ). as seen , the linkage 82 includes a pawl link 28 mounted for horizontal , linear reciprocal movement relative to the housing 12 . the pawl link 28 is supported for linear movement within the housing 12 by way of channels ( not shown ) formed in the interior wall the housing 12 . a tie gripping pawl 30 is carried at the forwardmost end 84 of the pawl link 28 ( see fig1 ) and is pivotally attached to the pawl link 28 . the gripping pawl 30 is upwardly pivotable , as will be discussed later in greater detail . referring further to fig1 a and 10b , the pawl link 28 is reciprocated within the housing 12 by way of an actuating structure located in the trigger 18 , a short link 86 , and a handle link 88 . the trigger 18 includes an elongate , rigid trigger handle link 90 that extends upwardly into the barrel portion 16 of the housing 12 . as seen , the trigger handle link 90 includes two substantially parallel spaced arms 92 at its upper end . each of the arms 92 includes an aperture 94 . a pair of trigger bearings 96 dimensioned to be closely received in the apertures 94 serves to pivotally mount the trigger handle link 90 within the housing 12 for movement around a substantially horizontal pivot axis 98 . when thus mounted , the trigger 18 is movable from a forward or initial position shown in fig1 a , to a rearward or final position adjacent the handle 14 , as shown in fig1 d . a pair of trigger inner links 100 extends upwardly into the barrel portion 16 of the housing 12 alongside the trigger handle link 90 between the arms 92 . the lower ends 102 of the trigger inner links 100 are pivotally joined to the trigger handle link 90 for pivoting movement around a substantially horizontal pivot axis 104 . the upper ends 106 of the trigger inner links 100 further include apertures 108 . the upper ends 106 support a horizontally disposed dog bone cam shaft 110 that is concentrically aligned with the apertures 94 in the upper ends of the trigger handle link 90 and apertures 108 in the inner trigger links 100 . intermediate links 112 each comprise rigid , elongate , substantially parallel member that are of arcuate form . the intermediate links 112 are each pivotally joined at their lower ends 114 at a rearward point 116 of the cutter link 118 . the intermediate links 112 are further pivotally joined at their upper ends 120 to the upper ends 106 of the trigger inner links 100 by way of dog bone cam shaft 110 . a rack member 32 having a plurality of upstanding teeth 31 is affixed to the rearwardmost end 122 of pawl link 28 . the rack member 32 is adapted to engagingly support pinion member 34 . pinion member 34 includes a plurality of teeth members 33 adapted to engage the corresponding teeth members 31 in the rack member 32 . the pinion member 34 further includes an upstanding arm member 124 and pivot members 126 . pivot members 126 are adapted to support pinion torsion spring 128 ( see fig1 b and 11a ). the pinion torsion spring 128 pivotally biases the pinion 34 toward the cutoff cam 36 , such that the upstanding arm member 124 is in contact with the cutoff cam 36 . the cutoff cam 36 is pivotally mounted for pivotal movement around a substantially horizontal pivot axis 130 and includes a cradle 132 in its upper surface . the dog bone cam shaft 110 ordinarily rests in the cradle 132 . the cutoff cam 36 is preferably further formed with a pair of spaced apart blocks 134 which form a channel 136 at a rearward portion of the cutoff cam 36 . the channel 136 is adapted to receive the upstanding arm member 124 of pinion 34 . it is to be noted that the width of the cradle 132 is preferably of a width great enough to enhance toll longevity and consistent repeatability . as further shown , the linkage 82 also includes a handle link 88 having an upper end extending upwardly and forwardly toward the rear end 122 of the pawl link 28 . a pair of substantially parallel spaced short links 86 is pivotally joined at their forward ends 138 to the trigger inner link 100 at pivot axis 140 . the short links 86 are further joined at their rearward ends 130 to the handle link 88 for pivoting movement around substantially horizontal axis 142 . as mentioned previously , the linkage 82 is coupled to the tension adjustment system through the u - bracket 38 . forward ends 40 of the u - bracket 38 are pivotally coupled to the rear end of the cutoff cam 36 by means of a pin 42 extending through the forward ends of the u - bracket 38 and through the elongated slot 44 formed in the cutoff cam 36 . fig1 a shows the linkage in its initial , un - actuated state . in this position , the trigger handle link 90 and trigger inner links 100 are fully forward and away from the handle member 14 . the cutoff cam 36 is pivoted in its full clockwise position around the pivot axis 130 under a predetermined tension developed and controlled by the tension adjustment system . this seats the dog bone cam shaft 110 into the cradle 132 and aligns the dog bone cam shaft 110 , the upper end 106 of the inner trigger links 100 , and the upper ends 120 of the intermediate links 112 with pivot axis 144 . as viewed in fig1 b , cable tie tensioning beings when the trigger 18 is squeezed toward the handle or grip portion 14 in the direction of arrow a . as the trigger 18 begins moving , the short link 86 pivots the handle link 88 in a clockwise direction around the pivot axis 146 and against handle torsion spring 148 . at the same time , the handle link 88 draws the pawl link 28 away from the nose piece 150 ( see fig4 b and 4 c ). as the pawl link 28 begins to move back in the direction of arrow b , the pawl 30 disengages from the nose guide block 152 and begins to pivot upwardly in response to its spring bias , thereby trapping the tie tail 26 between itself and the nosepiece backing plate 154 . this grips the tie tail 26 and pulls the tie tail 26 back along with the pawl 30 and pawl link 28 . this has the further effect of pulling the tie tail 26 through the head portion 24 to tighten the tie 20 around a bundle 22 . when the tie 20 is initially installed and the tie tail 26 is first pulled back , it generates little resistance to being pulled . as the tie 20 draws up against the bundle 22 , the tie tail 26 begins to resist being pulled . the resistance is felt by the pawl link 28 and is transferred through the handle link 88 , the short link 86 and inner trigger link 100 to the dog bone cam shaft 110 . as long as the tie tail 26 does not resist being pulled by the pawl link 28 , little resistance is felt by the handle link 88 as it is pushed back by the short link 86 . as the tie tail 26 begins to resist being pulled , the resistance felt by the pawl link 28 is transferred back through the handle link 88 , the short link 86 , the inner trigger link 100 , and to the dog bone cam shaft 110 . the resistance force transferred by the short link 86 to the inner trigger link 100 tends to pivot the inner trigger link 100 in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis 140 . such pivoting movement on the inner trigger link 100 is impeded by the dog bone cam shaft 110 that is held in position by the cutoff cam 36 . the resistance force that is transferred to the dog bone cam shaft 110 through inner trigger link 100 tends to rotate the cutoff cam 36 around the cam pivot axis 130 . the cutoff cam 36 resists such rotation due to the restraining force applied to it by the tension control mechanism . the force increases as the tie tail 26 is pulled more snugly , until the resistance force becomes great enough to overcome the force applied to the cutoff cam 36 by the tension control mechanism . when this occurs , the cutoff cam 36 rotates in the counterclockwise direction shown by arrow c in fig1 d . an alternative , low tension arrangement may be seen in the views of fig9 - 9d . when the tool 10 is used in low tension operation , the possibility exists that tension is insufficient to disengage the cutoff cam 36 . in this context , and as shown , the tool 10 may be provided with a cavity 200 , having a spring biased ball bearing 202 . when engaged , the ball bearing 202 provides biasing pressure against the cutoff cam 36 to thereby provide the additional tension necessary for proper tool 10 function in low tension applications . as illustrated , a slidable low tension latch 204 may be moved from a first position to a second position to thereby change the degree of compression on the spring 206 and thereby adjust the degree of ball 202 bias against the cutoff cam 36 . the lock operation may be best viewed in the illustration of fig1 d . as seen , operation of the device has progressed to the point at which the resistance force transferred through the pawl link 28 , the handle link 88 , the short link 86 and inner trigger link 100 to the dog bone cam shaft 110 has become great enough to overcome the force applied to the cutoff cam 36 by the tension control mechanism . as seen , the cutoff cam 36 rotates in the counterclockwise direction shown by arrow c around the cam pivot axis 130 , thereby allowing the dog bone cam shaft 110 to move forwardly , in the direction of arrow d , out of the cradle 132 in the cutoff cam 36 . when this occurs , the pinion 34 rotates in a counterclockwise direction , shown by arrow e , through the biasing action of pinion torsion spring 128 . the pinion 34 continues to rotate in the direction of arrow e until the plurality of pinion teeth members 33 engage corresponding teeth members 31 in the rack 32 . the engagement of pinion teeth members 33 and rack teeth members 31 effectively locks further rearward tensioning of the component parts . it will be appreciated that the advantage provided by the locking of rearward tensioning just prior to the cutoff operation causes the tool 10 to accurately tension the tie tail 26 each time a cut is performed . further , blade 160 life is increased since the tie tail 26 is stationary during cutoff . this eliminates inadvertent drag of the tie tail 26 across the blade 160 sharp edge which occurs when the tie tail 26 is constantly tensioned during cutoff operation . cutoff of the tie tail 26 and movement of cooperating parts may be viewed in fig4 d and 12 . as seen , once the pinion 34 and rack 32 have engaged one another and rearward tensioning ceases , intermediate link 112 moves in the direction of arrow f ( see fig1 ). as it does so , it pushes the rear end 116 of the cutter link 118 down in the direction of arrow g ( see fig1 d ). this movement pivots the cutter link 118 around the cutter link axis 162 thereby causing the cutter link 118 to raise the blade member 160 in the direction of arrow h , and thereby cut off the tie tail 26 . when the tie tail 26 is cut , it no longer applies a resisting force to the pawl link 28 and the tool 10 returns to the original condition seen in fig4 a . the present device 10 is further provided with certain features designed to improve the ergonomics of the device . as may be viewed particularly in fig1 a - 14c , the device 10 may include protective coverings , or boots 170 , over certain areas of user interface . with particular reference to fig1 a - 13c , it may be seen that the handle portion 14 may include a handle boot 170 . the handle boot 170 is preferably fabricated of soft , elastomeric material , such as rubber , or other suitable resilient material that will conform to the user &# 39 ; s hand ( not shown ). the boot 170 may be joined to the handle member 14 by way of a key lock system as is shown , wherein key members 172 are molded as a part of the boot 170 , with key members 172 adapted to be engaged in lock apertures 168 in the handle member 14 . as may be seen with particular reference to fig1 c , while in the installed position , the handle boot 170 and the handle member 14 interact to create a air bladder 174 . the air bladder 174 , in conjunction with the soft characteristic of the handle boot 170 , creates a trampoline effect during use of the tool 10 . for example , as the user &# 39 ; s hand pushes against the handle boot surface 171 , the air bladder 174 and boot 170 conform to the user &# 39 ; s hand thereby reducing user fatigue and discomfort . as may be viewed in fig1 a - 14c , the device 10 is seen to further include a trigger boot 170 a . similar to the handle boot 170 , the trigger boot 170 a is preferably formed of a soft , elastomeric material , such as rubber , or other suitable resilient material that will conform to the user &# 39 ; s hand . as in the handle boot 170 , the trigger boot 170 a may be joined to the trigger member 18 by way of a key lock system . in the case of the trigger boot 170 a key members 172 may be formed as a part of the trigger member 18 , which are adapted to be engaged in lock apertures 168 formed in the trigger boot 170 a . the overall design and mentioned ergonomic improvements to the tool 10 are known to improve measurable applied grip force , thereby reducing musculoskeletal injury to the user and improving work environment safety . for example , when rated on the borg - 10 rating of perceived exertion scale , users consistently rated the tool 10 as requiring less than “ moderate ” effort as compared to other prior art tools . ( see borg , g . a ., psychophysical bases of perceived exertion , med sci sports exerc . 1982 ; 14 ( 5 ): 377 - 81 for discussion of the borg - 10 scale ). further , when evaluated using the strain index , ( see moore j s , garg a ., the strain index : a proposed method to analyze jobs for risk of distal upper extremity disorders , am ind hyg assoc j . 1995 may ; 56 ( 5 ): 443 - 458 ), the present tool 10 resulted in more “ low risk ” scenarios as compared to other prior art tools . the strain index is a semi - quantitative evaluation method that considers several exposure variables to determine the risk of user musculoskeletal disorders . variables include intensity of effort , efforts per minute , percent duration of exertion , among others . with attention now to fig1 a and 15b , it may be seen that the forwardmost end of the device 10 barrel 16 carries a nosepiece 150 . the nosepiece 150 preferably includes a blunt , substantially vertical planar face 151 adapted to butt up against the head 24 of a cable tie 20 ( not seen in these views ) when the tie 20 is tensioned . the nosepiece 150 further includes an upper , horizontal portion 153 that , in cooperation with the face 151 defines a slot 156 for receiving the tie tail portion 26 of the cable tie 20 . as may be further seen , the slot 156 may be open toward the left side of the device 10 so that the tail 26 may be inserted into the device 10 from the side . a nose guide block 152 positioned behind the nose piece 150 defines a lower surface for supporting the underside of the tie tail 26 . as further viewed in fig1 a and 15b , the sharpened blade member 160 is located immediately behind the nose piece 150 and the nose guide block 152 . blade member 160 is confined between a pair of vertical channels 157 defined between the nosepiece 150 and the housing 12 which permit the blade member 160 to reciprocate vertically behind the nosepiece 150 . as further seen , the blade member 160 includes a blade link aperture 161 arranged to secure the forward end 119 of the cutter link 118 therethrough and thereby carry the blade member 160 on the cutter link 118 during reciprocation of the cutter link 118 while cutting . with specific reference to fig1 a , it may be seen that the blade member 160 further includes a blade perimeter 158 having a beveled portion 159 . as seen , the beveled portion 159 corresponds to a respective beveled area 164 on the housing 12 . the blade beveled portion 159 is configured to allow single directional mounting of the blade 160 by the user . this feature alleviates improper blade 160 mounting during replacement or repair . correct blade 160 mounting further increases the longevity of both the blade member 160 and the tool 10 . further , the beveled portion 159 gives a well understood indication to users of correct blade 160 placement , thereby increasing user efficiency during blade replacement . as mentioned previously , the tension adjustment system may be calibrated at the point of manufacture or may be calibrated in the field . calibration sets the base tension point from which the further tension adjustments , discussed previously , may be made . during calibration , a calibration tension tool 80 may be used . with specific reference to fig1 a - 17b , a calibration tension tool 80 for use with the present device 10 may be seen . as seen , the calibration tension tool 80 includes a first side 180 and a second side 182 . as viewed particularly in fig1 a , the first side 180 preferably includes a plurality of upstanding protuberances 184 . illustrated in fig1 b is the second side 182 of calibration tension tool 80 and showing an upstanding , elongate key device 186 . as shown , the key device 186 may further include at least one pin portion 188 . use of the calibration tension tool 80 may be viewed in fig1 a and 17b . as seen in fig1 a , the first side 180 of calibration tool 80 may be used to remove the calibration cap 190 . as seen , the protuberances 184 engage corresponding detents 191 in the calibration cap 190 while the calibration tool 80 rotates in the direction of arrow f to twist off the calibration cap 190 . with the calibration cap 190 removed , and as seen in fig1 b , the key device 186 on the second side 182 of calibration tool 80 along with pin portions 188 engage the tension calibration nut 52 in corresponding detents 192 . the calibration tool 80 is then rotated in the direction of arrow g to thereby rotate the tension shaft 50 and rotating cam 54 to a predetermined tension position . it is to be noted that rotation of the tension shaft 50 may be in clockwise or counterclockwise direction , depending on whether the user wishes to set calibration at a higher or lower set tension . the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . furthermore , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described . while the preferred embodiment has been described , the details may be changed without departing from the invention .
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turning now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same , fig1 illustrates a medical imaging apparatus a in data communication with an image processor b . the imaging device a is illustrated as a computed tomography scanner which is adapted to output digitized image data . it will be appreciated , however , that the imaging device is suitably comprised of any medical imager which is adapted for generation of digitized image data . the image processor b includes a pixel processor 10 in data communication , through a bus 12 , to a system memory . in the preferred embodiment , the pixel processor 10 is comprised of a motorola 68020 microprocessor running in the range of 16 - 25 mhz . it will be appreciated , however , that various other processors are suitably adaptable for the pixel processing functions . the system memory includes dynamic random access main memory (&# 34 ; dram &# 34 ;) 14 and video random access memory (&# 34 ; vram &# 34 ;) 16 . vram is a dual port memory which provides an ability for dual port access ( concurrent reads and writes ). transfers of data between the imager a , the pixel processor 10 , the dram memory 14 , and the vram memory 16 , accordingly all occur via the bus 12 . all operations of components of image processor b are synchronized by a system clock ( not shown ), as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art . data transfers are alternatively provided via the pixel processor 10 , or directly via direct memory access (&# 34 ; dma &# 34 ;) control . data transfers utilizing the pixel processor 10 must engage in a three - step operation . for example , data from the dram memory 14 is read into the pixel processor 10 via the bus 12 . in a subsequent clock cycle , data is read from the pixel processor 10 to the vram 16 . in the dma mode , memory may , for example , be transferred in one cycle between the dram 14 and the vram 16 . such dma transfers require , however , independent control . this is provided by the chained dma control unit 22 . in the preferred embodiment , the vram covers 768k ( 786 , 432 ) bytes of memory ; each byte comprising , 8 bits . each pixel is defined by two bytes or 16 bits . this memory configuration allows for storage of an image . the vram 16 physically covers 768 × 512 pixels . the display area is 640 × 512 pixels . the image size is sized at 512 &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ; × 512 &# 34 ; vertical &# 34 ; pixels , with each pixel being assigned one of 2 14 colors . it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , however , that other memory sizes may be used to provide for varying degrees of image size or image complexity , such as resolution and coloration . the chained dma control 22 provides for selective linear or non - linear addressing of memory locations in dram 14 or vram 16 . the functioning of dma control 22 will be described with particularity below . output from the vram 16 is written to a digital - to - analog converter (&# 34 ; dac &# 34 ;) 24 . an analog output 26 of the dac 24 is communicated to an associated video display terminal such as a crt ( not shown ). turning now to fig2 and 3 , with continuing reference to fig1 the chained dma control 22 will be described with particularity . in the preferred embodiment , addresses of the memory 14 , 16 are comprised of 32 bits . addressing within the dma control unit 22 is formed either linearly , via a linear address generator 30 , or as a chained address , via chained address generator 32 . the linear address generator 30 provides the standard , linear , sequential chain of memory address locations . this address is provided as a single 32 bit output 36 . parameters for commencement and completion of a linear address string are setable via interface with a central processing unit (&# 34 ; cpu &# 34 ;), such as pixel processor 10 . the chained address generator 32 , similarly to the linear address generator 30 , generates an address portion comprised of 32 bits . for purposes of discussion , the 32 bit address output from chain address generator 32 has been divided into a 12 - bit column address portion 40 and a 20 - bit row address portion 42 . the designations &# 34 ; row &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; column &# 34 ; are utilized for ease in visualization of a corresponding vdt output . in actuality , a single 32 - bit address is used . the column address is comprised of the least significant 12 bits of the address , while the row address portion is comprised of the most significant 20 bits thereof . the chained address generator 32 is , similarly to the linear address generator 30 , cpu programmable . an additional input to the chained address generator 32 is provided by an end - of - line counter 44 , which provides an end - of - line signal eol thereto . the end - of - line counter 44 is similarly cpu programmable . relative interactions of the end - of - line counter 44 and the chained address generator 32 will be described with particularity below . the linear address generator 30 , the chained address 32 , and the end - of - line counter 44 are all synchronized to the system data clock which is illustrated at 50 . with particular reference to fig3 and continuing reference to fig2 the function of the chained address generator 32 and end - of - line address counter 44 will be described . fig3 graphically illustrates a memory address space 54 which includes a column address extent a and a row address extent b . an arbitrary memory location 56 is defined by a unique row / column address in the form of ( a i , b i ). the column a i is dictated by the column address portion 40 , while the row address b i is dictated by the row address portion 42 . in the preferred embodiment , the memory address space 54 is defined as 2 megabytes , addressable from address 0 to address 1 , 048 , 575 . the column address extent a is defined as 2 12 addresses in banks of 4k each . accordingly , the extent of each row is : ( 4 , 096n )- 1 , where n is defined as the row number . these 4k of column addresses per row are defined by the 2 12 bits from the column address portion 40 . a vram space 60 is mapped as a portion of the memory address space 54 . the vram space 60 is mapped over a portion of the memory address space 54 , with the remainder 58 being reserved for expansion . the vram space 60 defines the output to be communicated to the digital - to - analog converter 24 ( fig1 ), and thereafter to the associated video display terminal . the extent of the vram space 60 is limited only by the vram present . as noted above , in the preferred embodiment , this includes 768k of total vram memory . the vram 60 has stored data obtained from the imaging apparatus a ( fig1 ). the contents of the vram 60 are sequentially polled to form a video output which is communicated to an associated video display terminal . the dma transfer is defined by a commencement point 64 , a column extent c , and a total transfer size , which infers a row extent d by the relation : ## equ1 ## the total memory area of the vram which is available for image generation is dictated by a × b . this quantity is limited by the geometry of a selected video display . turning particularly to fig2 with continued reference to fig3 a row and column address representative of commencement point 64 is loaded into chained address generator 32 , together with total byte count c × d . vram column extent c is preprogrammed into the end - of - line counter 44 . the chained address generator sequentially , at a rate dictated by the data clock 50 , increments the column address portion 40 from the column of the commencement point 64 . the end - of - line counter 44 similarly increments its column register synchronously with the data clock 50 , comparing it after each such increment with the preprogrammed value of the vram column extent c therein . when this extent has been achieved , the counter 44 generates the end of line signal eol , and communicates it to the chained address generator 32 . after receipt of the eol signal , the chained address generator increments its row address number to the next row , at the column address dictated by the commencement point 64 . this continues until the total byte count d has been achieved , after which time the processor ends and the pixel transfer 20 regains control . in this fashion , a rectangular image of any size is written directly to the vram space 60 . concurrently with the dma writing of image data to the vram 16 , data is also communicated for display through the dac 24 . it will be appreciated that vram provides a means by which concurrent reads and writes of data stored therein are enabled . such concurrent addressing and accessing of the vram memory provides a means by which sequential cine images are formed . the fast , non - linear , dma control provides a means for efficient utilization of expensive vram memory , and the provision of high resolution , flicker - free , display of cine images . vram provides a means by which image data stored therein is displayable concurrently with updates thereto . this increases efficiency of the transfer . this , combined with chained dma provides for fast access to non - sequential display . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of the specification . it is intended that all such modifications and alterations be included insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims , or the equivalents thereof .
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with reference to fig1 - 3 , there is illustrated an apparatus useful to perform the method and obtain a strip product having a refined domain structure to provide electrical steels according to the present invention . the domain refinement is carried out by local mechanical deformation irrespective of whether the steel is at elevated temperature or not . as shown , there two rows , 10 and 12 , of low inertia rolls 14 which are staggered such that the initially occurring row has three evenly spaced apart rolls 14 and downstream thereof there are three evenly spaced apart rolls 14 . the total number of such rolls in each row is arbitrary but , preferably the total number of rolls is an even number to prevent lateral thrust on the strip because of the angled scribe patterns being imparted thereto . as shown in fig2 the rolls 14 of each row are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the axial lengths of the rolls of the other row . the aggregate of the axial lengths of the rolls of both rows are selected to at least correspond to or exceed the width of the strip to be scribed . the length of each roll 14 may range up to about one - half the strip width . preferably , each scribing roll may have an axial length on the order of between 1 and 22 inches ( 2 . 5 to 55 . 9 cm ) long . the arrows shown in these figures indicate the direction of travel of the strip which is also parallel to the rolling direction . the rolls 14 are each supported by a yoke 48 connected by a ball joint to foundation structure to allow freedom of lateral movement . vertical movement of each roll is controlled by operation of a piston and cylinder assembly 15 to apply a predetermined pressure causing the operation of the scribing roll . directly below the scribing rolls 14 of each of the rows 10 and 12 at the opposite side of the strip , there are arranged identical anvil or press rolls 16 . the rotational axis of rolls 16 extends parallel to the rotational axes of the rolls 14 thereabove and have their axes co - planar with the associated scribing rolls . the anvil rolls are adapted to serve as rigid resistant members for the scribing rolls and support the strip when fed between the cooperative set of rolls . the scribing rolls are urged by actuators 15 ( fig1 ) against the strip to effect the desired local mechanical deformation in the upper surface of the strip under a pressure sufficient to impart plastic deformation along the sites where each of protruding ridges of the scribing roller contact the strip . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 3 , the rolls 14 are idler rolls which rotate by the frictional contact with the constantly moving strip . the strip is advanced between the rolls by a strip driving means , such as one or more well known pinch roll units , not shown and / or by driving the anvil rolls 16 as described hereinafter . the strip speed is within the range of approximately 20 to 400 feet per minute ( 6 to 92 meters per minute ). the rolls 16 are rotatably supported by providing a support shaft 20 extending from opposite ends of the rolls and supported in bearing units 22 mounted in a well known manner , not shown . motor gear drive units 24 are coupled to the shaft 20 to drive the rolls 16 . in some application of the invention , either or both of the rolls 14 and 16 may be directly driven either to advance the strip through the roll units or , if the strip is moved by other means , to match the roll speed with the strip speed . in the arrangement shown in fig1 - 3 , the anvil rolls are positively driven by motor - gear drive units 24 . one of the considerations as to whether the rolls are directly driven or not will be whether the strip is in a heated condition or cooler , such as at room temperature . in the heated condition the yield strength of the strip may be greatly reduced resulting in a danger that the inertia of the rolls may tear or otherwise damage the strip or cause the forming of non - uniform scribes during the scribing . each of the scribing rolls 14 is provided with strip deforming projections that may take any one of several different forms according to the present invention . fig2 and 3 illustrate a helical arrangement of spaced apart projections 26 formed on the outer peripheries of each scribing roll . the projections 26 extend the full face length of each roll and are constructed so that the scribe lines produced thereby in the face of the strip always extend in a direction generally transverse to the rolling direction . the scribing rolls are arranged as shown such that the ridges 26 of each scribe roll are oriented so that the scribe lines 27 in the strip are in pattern of columns c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 - cn . the columns extend the length of the strip with the scribe lines of adjacent patterns merging to form a chevron design which occurs repeatedly across the width of the strip . one or more chevron patterns may be scribed on the steel strip by the alternating orientation or arrangement of staggered scribing rolls 14 . the projections of each staggered scribing roll 14 is axially at an angle in alternating directions . in a preferred embodiment the scribing pressure is selected to impart plastic deformation to the base metal of the strip and thereby cause an affect upon the magnetic domain walls . the refinement has been found to be heat resistant when recrystallized grains are formed in the strip beneath the plastically deformed surface by annealing at a temperature of , for example , 1400 ° f . for one minute or less . the mgo coating or other oxide coating on the strip may be refurbished to reestablish a smooth face surface , filling in the gaps where scribing occurred . alternatively , the chevron pattern may be used to refine the magnetic domains with little or no plastic deformation of the steel strip and without damaging the coating . such steel may exhibit non - heat resistant domain refinement . in the embodiment of fig4 the projections in the body of scribing roll 14a are in the form of a chevron pattern of scribing ridges 28 extending across the roll face but change direction between opposite ends of the scribing roll 14a . furthermore , the apexes of the chevrons fall in a substantially common plane at approximately the axial longitudinal center of the scribing roll 14a . in the embodiments of fig1 - 3 and fig4 the scribing ridges 26 and 28 are spaced apart and extend across the face surface of the scribing rolls . the pitch or spacing of the scribing ridges as measured between the valleys or scribed grooves defining two adjacent projections may be on the order of 1 to 15 mm , usually between 2 to 10 mm , preferably between 5 and 10 mm , and have a depth on the order of 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 mil . the groove formed by each scribing surface 26 and 28 extends at an angle of 45 ° or less and can have an angle between 10 ° to 20 °. the helical arrangement of ridges formed by the scribing ridges produces on the surface of the strip as a result of the scribing operation pattern , scribed lines that always change direction but are always angled at an angle , θ , of 45 ° or less , preferably between 20 ° and 10 ° from the perpendicular to the strip rolling . the arrangement of the scribed marks caused by the adjacent patterns on segments form an included angle φ of at least 90 °, preferably in the range of 90 ° to 160 ° and form a chevron pattern of scribe lines on the strip across the entire width of the strip . the chevron projections are pressed against the strip under a pressure support to impose local compressive forces or stresses on a strip surface as scribe lines . it has also been found that chevron patterns with smaller legs tend to provide further improvement in core loss values over larger chevrons . by smaller legs , it is meant that the oblique lines of the chevron are shorter , and do not extend to the end of the scribing roll , such as shown in fig4 . in such embodiments , two or more chevrons are provided on a scribing roll 14a such that the oblique lines or legs of the chevron may range from 0 . 5 to 22 inches long , preferably about 0 . 5 inch . such chevron patterns provide at least three advantages over typical mechanical scribe lines which extend substantially across the width of the sheet strip transverse to the rolling direction . first , there appears to be an improvement in maintaining the track of the strip as it passes between the scribing rolls and the anvil rolls . a tendency of the strip to &# 34 ; drift &# 34 ; or shift laterally in the plane of the sheet was observed when providing mechanical scribing that extends in a direction substantially across the strip width from edge to edge . the chevron patterns appear to minimize tracking problems . thus the scribe lines in the scribing pattern should form equally a plus and minus θ to the scribe lines to maximize the neutralizing benefit to lateral thrust that might otherwise result when the scribe lines occur at different angles in columns or arrays . θ is the angle between the scribe lines and the normal to the easy direction of magnetization . with regard to the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , it bears particular note that the angled arrangement of the scribe lines imparted by the strip by each scribe roller impose a lateral thrust on the strip which is neutralized by selecting the number of scribe rolls and the orientation of the scribe lines produced thereby so that there is no net lateral thrust as would occur should the alternating patterns of scribe lines be the result of an unequal number of scribing rollers . second , there is a further improvement in core loss reductions by 5 to 10 milliwatts per pound ( mwpp ) at 60 h z and 1 . 5t . over typical scribing which has scribe lines extending substantially across the width of the sheet strip . this is shown by the data in the following table for high permeability steel with μ10 of the order of 1920 to greatly benefit the magnetic quality by a chevron scribing pattern . table______________________________________scribe line core loss , mwpp @ 60 h . sub . zorientation , θ pitch , mm μ10 1 . 5t 1 . 7t______________________________________none none 1923 369 511 ± 15 ° 5 1918 338 (- 9 . 6 %) 470 (- 9 . 6 %) 0 ° 5 1916 344 (- 6 . 5 %) 473 (- 7 . 3 %)± 15 ° 10 1924 350 (- 4 . 9 %) 480 (- 5 . 0 %) ______________________________________ third , there appears to be an improvement in handling characteristics of the scribed material during core winding operations for the transformer manufacturer . the chevron patterns appear to provide fewer winding and lacing difficulties , perhaps as the result of the absence of unidirectional scribe lines that may induce lateral thrust . such improved winding and lacing results in improved gap patterns and higher stacking factors . the segmented scribing roller disclosed in pending u . s . patent application ser . no 07 / 978 , 204 , filed nov . 18 , 1992 , and assigned to the same assignee as this patent application , can be used to scribe a surface of the strip while supported by a solid anvil roll to carry out the method and obtain the strip product according to the present invention . the segmented scribing roller offers the advantage of providing uniform scribing pressure by the use of an arbor used to support inflatable bladders that apply uniform pressure or support of segments . the segments rotate about an axis and each have scribing surfaces contacting the strip for the scribing operations . it being necessary , however , to form the scribing surfaces so as to produce the requisite chevron pattern as shown and described herein . the segmented anvil roller disclosed in pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 977 , 359 , filed nov . 17 , 1992 , and assigned to the same assignee as this patent application , can be used to support the strip during scribing by any one of a variety of scribing roll patterns and roll constructions described herein . the segmented anvil roller offers the advantage of providing uniform support for the strip while contacted at the opposite face by a scribing roller having scribing surfaces arranged to produce the requisite chevron pattern shown and described herein . the steel strip and method for producing the same according to the present invention , may utilize the very hard surface anvil or press roll as disclosed in pending u . s . application ser . no . 07 / 977 , 584 , filed nov . 17 , 1992 and assigned to the same assignee of this patent application . such features for the anvil or press roll prevent excessive penetrations of the scribes in the steel strip and allow controlling of the degree of such penetrations to maintain high stacking factor . while the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures , it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom . therefore , the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment , but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims .
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in fig1 the reference numeral 10 designates a flow meter embodying features of the present invention . the meter 10 includes a flow meter body 12 having a crankcase portion 14 and opposing , axially - aligned , hollow first and second cylinder portions 16 and 18 , respectively , extending outwardly from the crankcase portion 14 . the head ends of the cylinder portions 16 and 18 are capped by first and second head end cover plates 20 and 22 , respectively . the bottom of the crankcase portion 14 is sealed by a removable base cover 24 having a well portion 24a defined by a cylindrical wall 24b extending downwardly and a closed bottom end 24c . an opening 24d is formed in the wall 24b and extends horizontally , as viewed in fig1 from the exterior to the interior of the well portion 24a . the opening 24d is sealed with a tube 26 inserted into the well portion 24a and sized to fit firmly against the wall 24b . the tube 26 comprises a relatively thin wall , non - magnetic metallic material such as aluminum or stainless steel . two o - ring gaskets 28 are disposed between the tube 26 and the wall 24b in annular grooves 24e formed in the upper and lower inside portions of the wall 24b to further seal the opening 24d . a magnetic wheel assembly 30 having a support structure 32 is secured to the base cover 24 via a plurality of screws , two of which are shown identified by the reference numerals 34a and 34b , which extend through the structure 32 into the base cover 24 . the support structure 32 is composed of a plastic material such as delrin or kevlar and includes a bore 32a formed in the center thereof through which a shaft 36 is rotatably mounted . a slotted wheel 38 is attached to the top end of the shaft 36 and includes a slot 38a formed therein which extends radially and opens outwardly therefrom . the slotted wheel 38 further includes a boss 38b having a diameter approximately twice that of the shaft 36 for rotatably seating the slotted wheel 38 on the structure 32 . a magnetic wheel 40 is coupled to the lower end of the shaft 36 and is thus disposed inside the tube 26 . the magnetic wheel 40 is formed from a plastic injection molded material and incorporates a series of 20 magnetic poles ( not shown ) angularly spaced about the outer circumference of the wheel 40 . the magnetic wheel 40 is diametrically sized so that a small gap will exist between the wheel 40 and the tube 26 . a thrust washer 42 is disposed between the magnetic wheel 40 and the structure 32 to reduce surface contact therebetween and consequent wear on materials and drag on the fluid meter 10 . a hall effect transducer 44 having two sensors , commonly known in the art , is mounted in the opening 24d such that the sensors abut the tube 26 and are thus located within close proximity to the magnetic wheel 40 . the opening 24d is then sealed with a potting compound such as an epoxy material to further seal the opening 24d . due to the proximity of the sensors to the wheel 40 , the sensors can detect fluctuations in the magnetic influence of the magnetic poles of the wheel 40 when the wheel 40 rotates . in response to such detection , the transducer 44 generates a pulsed signal proportional to the rate of rotation of the wheel 40 . the two sensors are , furthermore , horizontally spaced so that the direction of rotation of the magnetic wheel 40 can be determined by identifying which of the two sensors first detects the magnetic influence of a particular pole . a bore 46 is formed in the top central portion of the flow meter body 12 and a ball bearing assembly 48 is fitted therein . a crankshaft 50 is rotatably disposed in the bearing assembly 48 and , as more clearly shown in fig2 a and 2b , includes a straight vertically oriented upper shaft portion 52 which bears laterally against the bearing 48 . an upper third 52a of the upper shaft portion 52 extends above the bearing assembly 48 and is shaped to receive a rotary valve discussed below with reference to fig3 a and 3b below . a circumferential groove 52b is formed near the top end of the upper shaft portion 52a for receiving a snap ring , discussed below , to secure the crankshaft 50 in the bearing assembly 48 . a ring portion 52c is formed at the lower end of the shaft portion 52 and bears upwardly against the bottom of the bearing assembly 48 . a first link 54 is connected to the lower end of the upper portion 52 below the ring portion 52c and extends radially outwardly therefrom . a first crank pin 56 extends downwardly from the first link 54 through a first roller bearing 58 and into a second link 60 . as best shown in fig2 b , relative to the crankshaft upper portion 52 , the second link 60 is angularly offset from the first link 54 by 60 °. a second crank pin 62 extends downwardly from the second link 60 through a second roller bearing 64 secured thereto with a snap ring 66 which resiliently fits into a circumferential groove appropriately formed in the lower end of the second crank pin 62 . a pin 68 extends downwardly from the second crank pin 62 into the slot 38a for engaging the slotted wheel 38 and imparting rotary motion to the slotted and the magnetic wheels 38 and 40 , respectively , when the crankshaft 50 is rotated . referring to fig1 the flow meter 10 further includes first and second pistons 80 , 81 reciprocally disposed in the cylinders 16 , 18 . first and second connecting rods 82 , 83 drivingly connect the respective pistons 80 , 81 to the respective first and second roller bearings 58 , 64 , and hence to the crankshaft 50 . the first piston 80 and connecting rod 82 are more clearly shown in fig4 a and 4b . it is understood that the numbers shown in fig4 a and 4b , when primed , refer to substantially identical aspects or components of the second piston 81 and connecting rod 83 . accordingly , the first and second connecting rods 82 , 83 are formed from flat stock with scotch yoke portions 82a , 82a &# 39 ; which are punched to provide oblong slotted yokes 82b , 82b &# 39 ; for slidingly engaging the respective first and second roller bearings 58 , 64 . guide extensions 82c , 82c &# 39 ; extend longitudinally from the yoke portions 82a , 82a &# 39 ; and include spherically shaped end portions 82d , 82d &# 39 ;. referring to fig4 a , the pistons 80 , 81 include cylindrical guide chamber walls 80a , 80a &# 39 ; which define guide chambers 80b , 80b &# 39 ; each of which have one open end and an inside diameter sized for receiving the respective spherical end portion 82d &# 39 ;, 82d . the pistons 80 , 81 further include grooves 80c , 80c &# 39 ; circumscribed thereabout for receiving gaskets 86 , 86 &# 39 ; made of a resilient material such as delrin . the connecting rods 82 , 83 include , opposite the end portions 82d , 82d &# 39 ;, connecting ring portions 82e , 82e &# 39 ; which slide onto the piston guide chamber walls 80a , 80a &# 39 ; and are secured thereto via snap rings 84 , 84 &# 39 ;. it is understood that the rods 82 , 83 may be secured to the pistons 80 , 81 using a number of techniques know in the art . for example , the piston rods 82 , 83 may be welded or threaded onto the pistons 80 , 81 or secured thereto by a bolt connection to a flange formed on the connecting rods 82 , 83 . it is further understood that , when disposed in the flow meter 10 , the guide chambers 80b , 80b &# 39 ; receive and , in operation , guide the opposing end portions 82d &# 39 ;, 82d of the respective second and first connecting rods 83 , 82 to thereby facilitate reciprocation of the pistons 81 , 80 in the cylinders 18 , 16 . referring to fig1 it can be appreciated that the pistons 80 , 81 delineate in the cylinders 16 , 18 respective first and second inner ends 88 , 90 having open communication with the crankcase portion 14 , and respective first and second head end chambers 92 , 94 opposing the inner ends 88 , 90 . it can be further appreciated that a crankcase chamber 96 is defined by the crankcase portion 14 in combination with the inner ends 88 , 90 . the gaskets 86 , 86 &# 39 ; circumscribing the pistons 80 , 81 engage the cylinders 16 , 18 and seal the head end chambers 92 , 94 from the crankcase chamber 96 . as depicted in fig5 taken along the line 5 -- 5 in fig1 a valve seat 100 is defined in the top central portion of the flow meter 10 . the valve seat 100 includes first , second , and third , arcuate ports 102 , 104 , 106 , respectively . each of the ports 102 , 104 , 106 subtend an arc about the bore 46 of approximately 80 ° and are angularly spaced apart approximately 40 ° between ports . referring to both fig1 and 5 , the first port 102 is in fluid communication with the first head end chamber 92 via a first passageway 108 formed in the fluid meter body 12 . the second port 104 is in fluid communication with the second head end chamber 94 via a second passageway 110 formed in the fluid meter body 12 . referring to fig5 and 6 , the third port 106 is in fluid communication with the crankcase chamber 96 via a third passageway 112 formed in the fluid meter body 12 . referring to fig1 a rotary valve 120 is positioned on top of the valve seat 100 to control the admission and discharge of a fluid into and out of the first , second , and third ports 102 , 104 , 106 . the valve 120 is composed of a plastic material such as delrin and , with reference to fig3 a and 3b , includes a hole 120a formed in the center thereof through which the upper crankshaft portion 52a extends for rotatably coupling the valve 120 to the crankshaft 50 . as shown in fig1 a sleeve 122 and a coil spring 124 are fitted over the upper crankshaft portion 52a , until they rest on the rotary valve 120 , and are secured thereto by a snap ring 126 placed in the groove 52b . the valve 120 and the crankshaft 50 are thus resiliently secured together longitudinally by the spring 124 , though the downward movement of the spring 124 is limited by the sleeve 122 which prevents the spring 124 from compressing more than a predetermined amount . referring to fig3 a and 3b , the valve 120 further includes an arcuate inlet port 120b and an arcuate outlet port 120c axially and radially aligned to alternately register with the first , second , and third arcuate ports 102 , 104 , 106 of the valve seat 100 when the valve 120 is rotated by the crankshaft 50 . each of the ports 120b , 120c subtend an arc about the hole 120a of approximately 100 ° and are angularly spaced apart approximately 80 ° between ports . as further shown in fig1 a dome 132 is secured to the top of the flow meter body 12 and the rotary valve 120 . a supply chamber 134 is formed in the dome 132 for supplying fluid to the inlet port 120b of the rotary valve 120 . a supply port 136 formed in the dome 132 provides fluid communication between the supply chamber 134 and fluid supply lines ( not shown ). similarly , an annular discharge chamber 138 is formed in the dome 132 about the supply chamber 134 for receiving fluid discharged from the outlet port 120c of the rotary valve 120 . a discharge port 140 provides fluid communication between the discharge chamber 138 and fluid discharge lines ( not shown ). fig7 is a plan view depicting one instantaneous position of the rotary valve ports 120b , 120c ( shown in phantom ) superimposed over the first , second , and third ports 102 , 104 , 106 of the valve seat 100 . in operation , the rotary valve 120 is rotated by the crankshaft 50 in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 142 . accordingly , the inlet and outlet ports 120b , 120c sequentially register with each of the ports 102 , 104 , 106 . as shown in fig7 the inlet port 120b is registered with the third port 106 and the outlet port 120c is registered with the second port 104 . registration of the inlet port 120b with the first port 102 is depicted as impending . because each of the ports 102 , 104 , 106 subtend an angle of approximately 80 ° and each of the rotary valve ports 120b , 120c subtend an angle of approximately 100 °, each port 102 , 104 , 106 alternately registers with the inlet port 120b for 180 ° of rotation of the crankshaft 50 and then with the outlet port 120c for 180 ° of rotation . it can be appreciated that the inlet port 120b or the outlet port 120c may register with one or two , but not all three , of the ports 102 , 104 , 106 simultaneously . the ports 102 , 104 , 106 may , however , register with only one of the ports 120b , 120c at a time . to more fully illustrate the operation of the flow meter 10 , and with reference to fig1 it will be assumed that , initially , the flow meter body 12 is filled with fluid , the crankshaft 50 is rotated to place the first piston 80 in as close proximity to the head cover 20 as possible ( i . e ., a &# 34 ; top dead center &# 34 ; position ), the second piston 81 leads the first piston 80 by a phase angle of 60 °, and the rotary valve ports 120b , 120c are related to the first , second , and third ports 102 , 104 , 106 as shown in fig7 . a fluid , such as gasoline from an external source ( not shown ), is then supplied through the supply port 136 and passed through the supply chamber 134 , the inlet port 120b of the rotary valve 120 , and , in accordance with fig7 through the third port 106 . the fluid then flows through the third passageway 112 ( fig6 ) and into the crankcase chamber 96 where it applies pressure to displace the second piston 81 outwardly ( away from the crankshaft 50 ) ( the first piston 80 resists outward movement since it is in a top dead center position ). the outward movement of the second piston 81 expels fluid from the second chamber 94 thereby causing the fluid to pass through the second passageway 110 , the second port 104 , the discharge chamber 138 , and out through the discharge port 140 to a discharge line ( not shown ). the movement of the second piston 81 also drives the crankshaft 50 via the second connecting rod 83 . accordingly , the crankshaft 50 imparts counterclockwise rotation to the rotary valve 120 and the inlet port 120b begins to register with the first port 102 . fluid in the supply chamber 134 then begins to flow through the inlet port 120b of the rotary valve 120 and through the first port 102 . the fluid then flows through the first passageway 108 into the first chamber 92 and applies pressure to displace the first piston 80 inwardly ( towards the crankshaft 50 ), thereby effecting further rotation of the crankshaft 50 and the rotary valve 120 . the process continues according the principles described herein . as a result , the pistons 80 , 81 reciprocate in the cylinders 16 , 18 , respectively , thereby rotating the crankshaft 50 , the attached rotary valve 120 , and the magnetic wheel 40 . the sensors in the hall effect transducer 44 , detect the consequent fluctuation in the magnetic influence of the magnetic poles on the wheel 40 , and generate a pulsed signal which is proportional to the flow rate of the fluid passing through the flow meter 10 . although not clear from the drawings , it is understood that the pulsed signal may be employed to drive an electronic counter and indicator for recording the volume and total value of fluid , such as gasoline , dispensed through the flow meter 10 . table 1 shows the relative amount of fluid supplied to and discharged from each of the three chambers 92 , 94 , 96 of the flow meter 10 as the crankshaft 50 rotates through 30 ° increments . an initial reference angle of 0 ° is defined by the instantaneous position of the rotary valve as depicted in fig7 . positive values indicate fluid supplied and negative values indicate fluid discharged . ______________________________________angle first second crankcase total totalof chamber chamber chamber fluid fluidrotation 92 94 96 in out______________________________________ 0 - 30 ° 0 . 27 - 1 . 00 0 . 73 1 . 00 - 1 . 0030 - 60 ° 0 . 73 - 1 . 00 0 . 27 1 . 00 - 1 . 0060 - 90 ° 1 . 00 - 0 . 73 - 0 . 27 1 . 00 - 1 . 00 90 - 120 ° 1 . 00 - 0 . 27 - 0 . 73 1 . 00 - 1 . 00120 - 150 ° 0 . 73 0 . 27 - 1 . 00 1 . 00 - 1 . 00150 - 180 ° 0 . 27 0 . 73 - 1 . 00 1 . 00 - 1 . 00180 - 210 ° - 0 . 27 1 . 00 - 0 . 73 1 . 00 - 1 . 00210 - 240 ° - 0 . 73 1 . 00 - 0 . 27 1 . 00 - 1 . 00240 - 270 ° - 1 . 00 0 . 73 0 . 27 1 . 00 - 1 . 00270 - 300 ° - 1 . 00 0 . 27 0 . 73 1 . 00 - 1 . 00300 - 330 ° - 0 . 73 - 0 . 27 1 . 00 1 . 00 - 1 . 00330 - 360 ° - 0 . 27 - 0 . 73 1 . 00 1 . 00 - 1 . 00______________________________________ as evident from the table , the inlet and outlet ports 120b , 120c and the ports 102 , 104 , 106 cooperate such that the volume of fluid admitted to , or withdrawn from , the crankcase chamber 96 is equal to the algebraic sum of the volume respectively withdrawn from , or admitted to , the head end chambers 92 , 94 . thus the crankcase chamber 96 provides what may be termed a &# 34 ; blind &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; hypothetical &# 34 ; piston and cylinder , mechanically and hydraulically cooperating with the pistons 80 , 81 which are structurally existent . thus the meter operates hydraulically and mechanically like a three piston meter or hydraulic motor although it only has the physical components of a two piston meter or motor . it should be noted that the flow into and out of the flow meter 10 is substantially constant . this constant flow results from reciprocating the axially - aligned pistons 80 , 81 sixty degrees out of phase and from utilizing scotch yokes 82b , 82b &# 39 ; which are substantially harmonic . fig8 shows an alternative connecting rod 82 that may be utilized having straight guide edges 82f which reciprocate along guide rails 144 provided in the crankcase 14 as the piston 80 reciprocates in the cylinder 16 thereby rendering the guide end portion 82d and corresponding guide chamber 80b unnecessary . it is understood that less harmonic conventional connecting rods having circular rather than oblong yokes 82b , 82b &# 39 ; and which thus do not require any supplemental guiding may also be used . according to the embodiment of fig9 - 11 , a flow meter 10a is provided which is identical to the flow meter 10 of fig1 - 8 with the exception that the connecting rods 82 and 83 of the flow meter 10 have been replaced by connecting rods 152 and 150 respectively , in the flow meter 10a . the connecting rod 150 is better shown in fig1 and is formed from flat stock including a yoke portion 150a through which an elongated slot 150b extends for receiving the bearings 58 . a connecting tab 150c is formed at one end portion of the connecting rod 150 by bending the latter portion at right angles to the remaining portion of the connecting rod . two openings are provided in the tab 150c for receiving bolts , or the like ( not shown ), for attaching the connecting rod 150 to the piston 81 ( fig1 ). two spaced guide tabs 150d and 150e are provided at the other end portion of the connecting rod 150 , which corresponds to the distal end of the yoke portion 150a . the guide tabs 150d and 150e are formed by bending the latter end portion at right angles to the plane of the connecting rod 150 and cutting away a portion of the end portion extending between the tabs . each tab 150d and 150e is provided with a guide notch for reasons to be described . fig1 depicts the connecting rod 150 attached to the piston 81 along with a connecting rod 152 which is attached to the piston 80 and which is identical to the connecting rod 150 . for the convenience of presentation , the bearing 58 , which extends in the yoke 150b of the connecting rod 150 , and the bearing 64 , which extends in the corresponding yoke of the connecting rod 152 are not shown in fig1 , since they function in the same manner as shown and described in connection with the embodiment of fig1 - 7 . a portion of each of the opposite edge portions of the connecting rod 152 extend in the notches in the guide tabs 150d and 150e of the connecting rod 150 . likewise , a portion of each of the opposite edge portions of the connecting rod 150 extend in the notches in the corresponding guide tabs of the connecting rod 152 . therefore , during the reciprocal movement of the pistons 80 and 81 as described above , the connecting rod 150 supports and guides the connecting rod 152 , and the connecting rod 152 supports and guides the connecting rod 150 . it is understood that multiple flow meters may be integrated into a single unitary assembly to gain several advantages over the single flow meter described above . for example , a multiple flow meter wherein two fluid meters are integrated together facilitates the construction of gasoline dispenser pump stations having two , four , six , or eight gasoline dispensers . such an example is shown in fig1 which contains the flow meter 10a of fig9 - 11 in addition to an identical flow meter 10b mounted adjacent the flow meter 10a within a single housing , shown in general by the reference numeral 160 . to this end , the housing 160 encloses the flow meter body 12 of the embodiment of fig9 - 11 and an additional flow meter body 12a which is a mirror image of the body 12 . a partition 162 separates the meter bodies 12 and 12a , and the housing 160 includes a dome 132a that extends over both of the meter bodies . several components of the flow meter 10a , including the cover plate 20 , the magnetic wheel assembly 30 , the transducer 44 , the rotary valve 120 , and the outlet port 140 have been omitted from fig1 in the interest of clarity . since the meter 10b is identical to the valve 10a only a portion of the former valve is shown in fig1 . in this context , the meter 10b includes a pair of pistons , one of which is shown by the reference numeral 80a , which are identical to the pistons 80 and 81 . the meters 10a and 10b are oriented in the housing 160 so that their respective pistons 80 and 80a are aligned in the same plane , while the piston 81 of the meter 10a is aligned in the same plane as the corresponding piston ( not shown ) of the meter 10b . also , the connecting rods 150 and 152 of the meter 10a extend parallel to the connecting rods ( not shown ) of the meter 10b . an inlet port 136a extends through the dome 132a and is identical to the inlet port 136 of the meter 10a with the exception that it is located so as to supply fluid to a chamber ( not shown ) of the meter 10b that is identical to the chamber 134 of the meter 10a . in this context , an outlet port ( not shown ) would also be provided through the dome 132a for discharging fluid from the latter chamber of the meter 10b . in operation , the meter 10b would function in an identical manner as described above in connection with the operation of the meter 10a . in this context a single inlet port or conduit could be provided which supplies the fluid to the inlet ports 136 and 136a of the meters 10a and 10b , respectively , so that they can operate independently , or simultaneously , as needed . it can be appreciated that the multiple meter assembly of fig1 eliminates the need for two separate houses , or meter bodies , along with their associated components , and is therefore relatively compact and cost efficient especially since manufacturing costs are considerably reduced . also , installation of multiple flow meters is facilitated as a result of simplified mounting and pipe work and the reduced cabinet size required . flexibility is also enhanced because a multiple flow meter could also serve a single hose outlet at twice the speed of delivery of a single unit flow meter . it is understood that several variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , the provision of two meters in the embodiment of fig1 is shown by way of example only and additional meters , preferably in multiples of two arranged as shown in fig1 , could be employed . it is also understood that the multiple meter assembly of fig1 could incorporate the connecting rods and associated components of fig1 - 8 . further , in each of the embodiments , the ports 102 , 104 , 106 , 120b , 120c may subtend arcs of a number of different angles and , moreover , may have non - arcuate shapes . also , the supply port 136 and the discharge port 140 may instead be utilized as discharge and supply ports respectively . furthermore , the supply and discharge lines connected thereto may be arranged for measuring the volume of any fluid that flows through any line . for example , in addition to measuring a fluid , such as gasoline , that flows from a dispenser , the meter could be used to measure the volume of water flowing from a pipe into a structure such as a residential house or other building . it is understood that other variations in the present invention are contemplated and in some instances , some features of the invention can be employed without a corresponding use of other features . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention .
| 7 |
digital watermarking is a quickly growing field of endeavor , and many techniques are known . generally , all seek to steganographically convey multi - bit data ancillary to some other signal or medium . digital watermarking systems typically have two primary components : an encoder that embeds the watermark in a host media signal , and a decoder that detects and reads the embedded watermark from a signal suspected of containing a watermark ( a suspect signal ). the encoder embeds a watermark by altering the host media signal . the detector component analyzes a suspect signal to detect whether a watermark is present . in applications where the watermark encodes information , the reader component extracts this information from the detected watermark . the present assignee &# 39 ; s prior application ser . no . 09 / 127 , 502 , filed jul . 31 , 1998 ( now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 345 , 104 ), shows techniques by which very fine lines can be printed on a medium to slightly change the medium &# 39 ; s apparent tint , while also conveying digital data . commonly owned application ser . no . 09 / 074 , 034 , filed may 6 , 1998 ( now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 449 , 377 ), details how the contours of printed imagery can be adjusted to convey digital data . ( that technique can be applied to printed text characters , as well as the line art imagery particularly considered .). assignee &# 39 ; s u . s . pat . no . 5 , 850 , 481 details how the surface of paper or other media can be textured to convey optically - detectable binary data . the assignee &# 39 ; s u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 841 , 886 , 5 , 809 , 160 , and the priority applications cited above , detail various techniques for steganographically encoding . three papers by brassil et al show other techniques for conveying watermark data by slight changes to printed text , “ electronic marking and identification techniques to discourage document copying ,” proceedings of infocom &# 39 ; 94 conference on computer , ieee comm . soc conference , jun . 12 - 16 , 1994 , pp . 1278 - 1287 ; “ hiding information in document images ,” november , 1995 , 7 pages , at & amp ; t bell laboratories technical report ; and “ document marking and identification using both line and word shifting ,” infocom &# 39 ; 95 . the foregoing is just a sampling of the large literature on watermarking . the artisan is presumed to be familiar with such art , all of which is generally suitable for use with the novel implementations detailed below . in accordance with any of the known watermarking techniques , a business card is steganographically encoded with plural bit data . in one embodiment , at least part of this data identifies an internet address or web site at which data about the giver of the card is stored . if sufficient bits can be encoded into the business card , ascii or binary numeric encoding can encode the address literally . alternatively , to reduce the data payload , an abbreviated form of an address is encoded . one example of such an abbreviated form is a unique identifier ( uid ), which can be , e . g ., a 24 - bit value . desirably , the steganographic encoding is tailored to facilitate decoding in the presence of arbitrary rotation or scale distortion of the card introduced during scanning . ( some such techniques are shown , e . g ., in applicant &# 39 ; s related patents identified above . of course , other techniques are known to those skilled in the art , and such techniques may be employed with the present invention .). as shown in fig1 , the card is scanned ( e . g ., by use of conventional opto - electronic devices , such as a business card reader , scanner , web cam or other sensing device ). the output data is then optionally processed to account for any skew or scale factor . the plural - bit digital data is then decoded and / or stored , e . g ., in personal productivity software . ( although not particularly shown in fig1 , the detailed process may often be supplemental to known ocr - reading of business cards , and entry of the textual data into personal productivity software . that is , the scan data may be processed both by ocr techniques , and by steganographic decoding techniques , and the results of both operations may be selectively stored in a data structure or other memory for later reference .). the steganographically - decoded plural - bit data is provided to a web browser or other internet appliance and used to initiate a link to a remote computer over the internet &# 39 ; s network of computers . if the remote address was literally encoded in the business card , that address is used directly . if an abbreviated form of address was encoded , an additional step may be required . if a uid was encoded in the card , rather than a literal address , the web browser might consult an index to correlate the uid to an address . the index could be a table or other data structure stored on the user &# 39 ; s local computer , but more commonly is a remote name server database to which the browser links as a default when processing business card uids . data obtained from the index is then used to complete the linking to the ultimate destination — e . g ., a web site associated with the card - giver . ( in addition to reducing the business card payload , such linking through an index , e . g ., by a uid , offers flexibility in that the ultimate destination can be moved to other server sites as needed , with just a simple update to the index . alternatively , all business cards encoded with the former address would be rendered obsolete if the site were relocated .) at the ultimate site , in one embodiment , the card - recipient is presented with whatever information the business card giver chooses to provide , including biographical information , photos , promotional offers or advertisements relating to the card - giver &# 39 ; s business ( or relating to enterprises to whom the card - giver has rented screen space ), etc ., etc . in one embodiment , the giver &# 39 ; s site is linked to the giver &# 39 ; s personal productivity tool ( s ) and permits viewing , e . g ., of calendar information ( showing where the business card giver is scheduled to be today , or for the rest of the week , month , etc .) typically , this calendar information is not available to casual web browsers ; the steganographically decoded data from the business card may include some authentication data ( akin to a password ) that permits access to otherwise restricted data . this authentication data can take the form of a web page address to which no publicly - accessible link points , a password that is separately presented to the web server by the user &# 39 ; s browser after a link is established , or other known technique . in one form of the invention , the giver of business cards may have several differently - encoded cards , each with a different level of access authorization . thus , some cards may access a biographical page without any calendar information , other cards may access the same or different page with access enabled to today &# 39 ; s calendar , and still other cards may access the same or different page with access enabled for the card - giver &# 39 ; s complete calendar . in another form of the invention , a single card is used with all recipients , yet provides different recipients with different levels of access . this may be done , for example , by providing the most limited form of access to all recipients . if a recipient desires more information , he can enter supplemental information ( e . g ., a name , email address , phone number or other information ) that identifies him or her . the giver of the business card can pre - authorize certain identified individuals to receive different levels of access ( e . g ., by setting permission levels in a calendary program or otherwise ). based on the supplemental information entered by the user , a commensurate level of access is granted . ( a great variety of other ways of granting different permissions can naturally be used ; the foregoing just illustrates a range of possibilities .) an illustrative system 10 is now described with reference to fig2 and 3 . system 10 facilitates registration , the obtaining ( or accounting of ) unique identifiers , and access to additional data stored in an on - line database via the watermarked business card . fig2 illustrates system 10 , including a plurality of user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 , and a central site 43 . the user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 communicate with the central site 43 via a network , such as an internet , intranet , dedicated network , wan , lan , wireless network , etc . of course , the user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 may be adjacently located , or may be located remotely with respect to one another . for example , a first user terminal 40 may be located in an office or business , while a second user terminal 41 may be located in a residence . the third terminal 42 may even be a remote terminal , which gains access to the network via a wireless connection , remote connection , guest connection , etc . of course , system 10 will typically include many more user terminals , and may even include a plurality of distributed servers , which collectively function as central site 43 . if a plurality of distributed servers is employed , the servers can communicate to synchronize their data . preferably , with such a distributed server configuration , each distributed server may respond to individual requests . preferably , each of the user terminals 40 , 41 , 42 includes a general purpose or dedicated computer incorporating at least a cpu , memory , interface to an input device ( e . g ., web camera , business card reader , optical scanner , other sensing device , etc . ), a display ( or other output device ), and a network connection . the network connection may be used to connect to the network to communicate with central site 43 . of course , a user terminal may comprise a portable computing unit , such as a personal financial assistant , portable phone , wireless imaging device , pocketpc , palmpilot , pda , etc ., with associated imaging components and / or wireless , cable , phone or other networking ability . to illustrate , such units may include a miniature digital camera module , e . g ., a “ digital eye ” or other input sensing device . such an input sensing device enables mobile or portable devices to capture , display and transmit digital data ( audio , images , video ). the “ digital eye ” modules typically include a complete camera on a chip , cmos imaging sensor , miniaturized lens , imaging software , etc . suitable client software programming instructions , stored in a user terminal memory , or in a remote memory , can be used to affect various types of functionality for the user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 . for example , the software may include a browser or other internet navigation tool . alternatively , the software may be a separate module or may be integrated within a software application . in either case , the software instructions help to facilitate communication between the respective user terminal and the central site 43 . the user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 preferably include software instructions to facilitate detection and decoding of embedded data . central site 43 includes a computer or server ( or a plurality of interconnected servers ). as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , these computers maintain and execute software , e . g ., for hosting ( and / or supporting ) web pages , communication , database management , etc . site 43 also maintains suitable software program instructions to facilitate the system operations described herein . of course , system 43 may include a plurality of distributed central sites and a database ( or databases ). the database may be maintained under the direction of the central site 43 , or may be remotely accessed by the central site 43 . a user ( e . g ., a card - giver ) initiates a registration process by accessing a website or other interface supported by central site 43 , e . g ., with the aid of an interface residing on a user terminal 40 , 41 or 42 . the interface may include a dialog box , web browser , application , and / or other communication mechanism . the central site 43 maintains a series of web pages ( or other interface ) to facilitate the registration process . from a user &# 39 ; s perspective , a first - time user initially registers with the central site 43 . the registration process may include gathering the user &# 39 ; s contact information , selecting payment options ( e . g ., credit card , on - line exchange , etc . ), and optionally assigning a user name ( or id ) and password . as a result of the registration process , the user is assigned a unique identifier . ( of course , this assignment may either be perceptible or imperceptible to the user . such an assignment will typically be associated the user ( and / or username / password ) with the unique identifier .). the unique identifier is typically embedded by the central site 43 in a gallery item to be provided to the user , along with an address ( e . g ., a url , ip address , and / or uid ) associated with the central site 43 . preferably , the central site 43 maintains a plurality of gallery items including , for example , patterns , colors , graphics , shading , tints , backgrounds , logos , fonts , etc . via the central site 43 interface , a user selects a gallery item ( or items ) to be applied when printing a business card . the selected gallery item is then digitally watermarked . the watermark includes the user &# 39 ; s unique identifier and may include the central site &# 39 ; s address ( in some applications , the central site &# 39 ; s address is known to the decoding software without being specified on the card , or is inferred by the decoder from the identifier , e . g ., identifiers in the range of 3000 - 5000 are directed to www . digimarc . com / bizcards ). the selected , watermarked gallery item is provided to the user , e . g ., via e - mail , downloaded , etc ., from the central site 43 . the selected , watermarked gallery item is then used in a typical printing process . for example , a watermarked background item is used as a card &# 39 ; s background when printing a business card . consider the following applications . a watermarked background item is provided for use with printing software ( e . g ., quark express , microsoft word , adobe acrobat , etc ., etc .). the software incorporates the background item in a particular custom business card design . the resulting cards are printed ( e . g ., from a home computer system or commercial printer ). alternatively , an electronic version of the watermarked background item is supplied to a commercial printer ( e . g ., copy store , office supply store , printer , etc .). the printer applies the watermarked background to the card during the printing processes . the resulting business cards include the watermarked background . preferably , the user provides information to an on - line informational database , associated with the central site 43 . this process may occur during the initial registration process via the web pages or user interface . or the user may later access the database with a username / password . as a further alternative , the user is provided with access data that is used to access the database . the access data may include embedded data having appropriate identifiers and authorizations , and may even be embedded into a document , such as a “ master ” business card or other item ( e . g ., a watermarked driver &# 39 ; s license , or key chain ). the master business card can then be read by a compliant reader ( e . g ., a user terminal ), which uses the embedded data to access the database or user interface . in one embodiment , central site 43 maintains the database . in another embodiment , central site 43 links ( or provides redirection data ) a user and / or card recipient to a remotely accessed database . upon access to the on - line database , the user may enter data . the data may include business contact information , personal data , current ( or “ now ”) contact numbers , etc . this now contact number can be continually updated throughout the day ( either by the user , or in accordance with a programmed calendar ) with the then - most - suitable communications channel to contact the user ( card - giver ). when the user leaves home to go to the office , or leaves the office for a trip in the car , or works a week at a corporate office in another town , etc ., this data field can be updated accordingly . ( a pocket gps receiver , with a wireless uplink , can be carried by the person to aid in switching the “ now ” number among various possibilities , depending on the user &# 39 ; s instantaneous position .). the now number may also include an “ out - of - office ” or a “ currently - unavailable ” setting , which allows a user to indicate that they are away from the office . such a setting may also include redirection information , such as when the user will return , whom to contact in the user &# 39 ; s absence , etc . when this on - line database is polled for the “ now ” number , it provides the then - current information . the user data can also include pictures , resumes , corporate or personal web links , graphics , pdf versions of brochures , logos , etc . of course , this information may be updated as needed . optionally , the user provides audio / visual data , such as audio and / or video clips ( e . g ., digital files ). the clips may include greetings , further information , contact information , personalized messages , virtual tours , mission statements , etc . alternatively , the user may enter pointers or links to such audio / visual data . as a further alternative , system 10 may allow a user to input a “ redirect ” address ( e . g ., a url ), which is then associated by system 10 with the user &# 39 ; s unique identifier . system 10 then redirects any card - recipients to the redirect address when selected ( or automatically upon access to the central site 43 ). of course , the user can turn on / off the redirect address , and / or update the redirect address as needed . the system may optionally support translation and / or pronunciation tools . to illustrate , the central site 43 may optionally allow a registered user to provide an audio and / or video clip to demonstrate the correct pronunciation of their name , business and / or other personal data to card recipients ( or other persons who gain access ). the system may also optionally include automated translation and pronunciation functionality ( e . g ., audio synthesis , wave files , digital speech , etc . ), which can be provided to a card recipient . watermarked business cards are distributed in a typical fashion . after receipt , a card recipient presents the embedded card to an associated input device of a recipient &# 39 ; s terminal 45 , as shown in fig3 . ( of course , a recipient &# 39 ; s terminal 45 may include components and software like those discussed above with respect to the user terminals 40 , 41 and 42 . in one embodiment , the user terminals may be used as a recipient terminal . of course system 10 may include many such recipient terminals .). the embedded data is extracted by decoding software running on the recipient &# 39 ; s terminal 45 . preferably , as discussed above , the extracted data includes the card - giver &# 39 ; s unique identifier and , in some cases , an electronic address . in one embodiment , the address is a url corresponding to the central site 43 . in other embodiments , the recipient terminal 45 is provided with software that always looks to a programmed , default address . or a protocol is established by which the decoder can locally look - up the identifier in a data structure and determine an address to which the identifier should be sent ( e . g ., identifiers in the range 3000 - 5000 are sent to www . digimarc . com / bizcards ). the software interface ( e . g ., browser ) is redirected to the address , and the extracted unique identifier is provided to the central site 43 . upon receipt of a recipient &# 39 ; s request , the central site 43 indexes the on - line database via the provided unique identifier . at this point , the card recipient can access the respective user &# 39 ; s data via web pages ( or other interface ) supported by central site 43 . preferably , some or all of the user &# 39 ; s data is electronically available ( e . g ., via download , e - mail , etc .) in a standardized format , such as in a vcard or ascii file . the term vcard is used generally herein to include electronic files or standardized formats of digital information . in one example , a vcard is a standardized format which allows a card recipient to seamlessly incorporate the electronic data into her software appointment / contact manager , such as in microsoft &# 39 ; s outlook application , etc . in another example , a vcard is a virtual card that includes a greeting , data or other message . a vcard may include a “ hot ” url , which allows a card - recipient to link to the card - giver &# 39 ; s website . ( instead of accessing the central site , presentation of the card can cause a remote computer to dispatch an e - mail to the card - recipient &# 39 ; s terminal ( e . g ., addressed per e - mail address data transmitted to the central site with the card - recipient &# 39 ; s request ). this e - mail can contain the user information described above , or any of the information detailed below . functionality detailed below can be invoked by a card - recipient through activating a hyperlink included in the e - mail sent to the card - recipient &# 39 ; s terminal . alternatively , instead of accessing the card - giver data in a database or website , presentation of the card can open an instant message dialog channel with the recipient ( a channel which may convey video and audio , as well as text ). again , information and functionality described above and below can be presented to the card - recipient through this channel . in another embodiment , a card - giver up - loads a vcard into the database , to help simplify data entry . the vcard can be uploaded in a number of know methods , including drag - and - drop , file transfer , cut - and - paste , copy , etc . or an extension may be added to a software productivity manager , such as microsoft &# 39 ; s outlook , to facilitate such transfer . the card recipient may also select from a plurality of options provided by the central site 43 . ( of course , the following options may be provided as standard or optional features .). as a first option , the recipient selects a contact channel for the respective user ( card - giver ). for example , an e - mail link may be selected , which will launch an e - mail program on the recipient &# 39 ; s terminal . as another example , a “ now ” contact channel is selected and the card - giver &# 39 ; s defined “ now ” channel is activated ( e . g ., a phone number is dialed , an e - mail application is launched , a video link is established , a pager number is called , a radio frequency channel is activated , a personal computing assistant is pinged , etc .). in one embodiment , a card - recipient leaves her own “ calling card ” in the form of a link ( or vcard , message , etc .) to her own central - site ( or other ) account . for example , the card - recipient brings up the card - giver &# 39 ; s account ( in any of the methods discussed above ), and then flashes ( e . g ., presents to an optical scanner or other input device ) her own card . system 10 stores the link to the card - recipient &# 39 ; s account ( e . g ., data associated with the card - recipient &# 39 ; s unique identifier ). an e - mail alert ( or other communication ) is automatically sent by system 10 to the card owner stating that a calling card has been left and can be picked up any time . the card - giver , upon access to system 10 , can check a mailbox or recent message area to retrieve the message . or the calling card , vcard , or link to the card - recipient &# 39 ; s account can be included in the e - mail or other communications . the central site 43 may support one or more “ hot ” buttons . a hot button is preferably a link or shortcut to a communications channel , website or ip address . for example , an e - mail hot button can be selected by a card - recipient , which launches an e - mail program . ( in one embodiment , an e - mail program resident on the card - recipient &# 39 ; s terminal is launched . in another , the e - mail program is maintained by central site , which the card - recipient interfaces with .). selecting other hot buttons may invoke a phone call , video conference , fax , voice mail ( e . g ., calling a voice mailbox or recording and / or uploading an audio file for delivery to the card - giver ), pager , and / or gps locator . a card recipient may select to listen or view the card - giver &# 39 ; s audio / visual files , or to activate the translation and / or pronunciation files . such files are transferred ( or streamed ) to the card recipient &# 39 ; s terminal for performance via a multimedia player . of course , such a player may be an independent application , or may be integrated with a browser or other tool . alternatively , the card recipient selects a link to another location ( via a pointer or link ). the files are retrieved or accessed at this other location . the card recipient may request that a “ tickler ” be sent when the respective card - giver updates her on - line data . there can be various levels of gradation to trigger such a tickle . for example , the recipient can be notified ( e . g ., via e - mail , phone - messaging , and / or mail , etc .) when a standard contact field ( address , e - mail , etc .) is changed . alternatively , the card recipient is tickled when any information changes , including the “ now ” contact number . the card recipient may select an option to expedite contact with the card - giver in the future ( e . g ., the next time the card recipient holds the business card up to their compliant device ). for example , the card recipient may request that instead of accessing the data in the on - line database , a contact channel be opened . to accomplish this , a cookie or other data structure may be stored locally on the recipient &# 39 ; s terminal 45 . the cookie or data structure identifies the user ( via the user &# 39 ; s unique identifier ) and also the recipient ( e . g ., via an identifier or last - session identifier ). such data is provided to the central site 43 the next time the card recipient accesses the central site 43 via the recipient &# 39 ; s terminal 45 . the central site 43 examines the data and determines that , instead of viewing the user &# 39 ; s data , the recipient wishes to activate a contact channel ( e - mail , phone number , etc .). optionally , the recipient is queried to confirm her choice ( e . g ., a dialog box which asks the recipient whether they want to access the database , or activate the communications channel .). of course , locally storing extracted identifiers in an “ immediate contact list ,” and then comparing a currently extracted user identifier to the immediate contact list can be used to carry out this same process . this same result is achieved by assigning the card recipient a username and / or password , which is examined by the central site 43 . an immediate contact list can be associated with the username / password to determine access to the database , or to launch a communications channel . a card - recipient may also register with the central site 43 . upon registration , the card - recipient is given a username / password ( or is allowed to select such ). ( in another embodiment , the card - recipient is given embedded data , which is applied to a printed document or item .) the username / password ( and embedded data ) can be used to access the central site in the future . for example , if the card - recipient loses a business card , or does not have access to a respective , downloaded vcard , the card - recipient “ logs - on ” to the central site and searches for a particular name . ( in this case , the central site supports a name search functionality using known database search / index techniques .). permissions levels can be established to prevent a card - recipient from unauthorized perusing . to illustrate , a card - recipient may only access those files ( e . g ., card - giver accounts ), which she has already accessed via an embedded business card . or a card - recipient is only permitted access to a minimum level of information , such as name , contact number or e - mail . system 10 generates many benefits , such as the ability to enhance functionality of business cards , change on - line data while static data on a business card remains the same , simplifying contact processes , and linking to related information . centralizing the data in an on - line database also provides efficiency and security . these and other benefits are readily apparent from the description in this document . as an alternative implementation , a representative , administrator , or office supplier may handle the registration process , instead of the user . such an administrator may represent a variety of users and have special access privileges . for example , a print shop or office supplier may contact the central site 43 on a user &# 39 ; s behalf , to obtain a watermarked gallery item . optionally , the print shop or office supplier may also to enter the user &# 39 ; s data into the online database . similarly , an organization or business may complete the registration process for its members or employees , and thereafter control database entry . organizational control may be advantageous in that a position ( e . g ., purchasing agent , sales person , technical position ) may be updated to reflect personnel changes , organizational restructuring , etc . control can also be important to organizations , in that terminated employees can be removed from association with the company . such control also allows a company to maintain brand and image control . for example , a highly “ brand - sensitive ” company may not want its employees to be able to add non - brand related content to the contact site . accordingly , the company can control the content associated with an employee &# 39 ; s unique identifier . whereas the above system implementation has been described with respect to business cards , the present invention is not so limited . in fact , many other watermarked documents may be used to accomplish the same functionality via the system 10 architecture . consider envelopes , letterhead , note pages ( e . g ., post - it brand notes ) and stationary . a user may similarly register and obtain a gallery item to apply to such . a card recipient , upon receipt of these types of watermarked documents , presents the respective document to a compliant terminal in the manner discussed above . access to the on - line data repository is similarly achieved . ( corporations too , may want to have these types of items linked to general contact or company information .). now consider a resume . a potential employee may submit watermarked resumes to a plurality of potential employers . the potential employee adds impressive data to the linked on - line database , including , for example , audio or video clips , to be viewed by potential employers . a potential employee may even custom design the information for an individual employer by sending the employer a resume embedded with a corresponding , specific unique identifier . the employer , upon access to the on - line data via the encoded resume , is greeted with specific and targeted data . ( a business card may even replace a resume , in that the bibliographic information is easily accessible on - line via the encoded business card .). encoded labels may also be used with system 10 . for example , printed mailing / shipping labels may be encoded with an identifier , which is used to link to associated information ( e . g ., sender , addressee , corporate information , product information , etc .). such an encoded label could be used with packaging to augment a shipping manifest , shipping label , product and handling instructions , etc . for shipments without external markings , the encoded label could provide a means to determine the package &# 39 ; s content . moreover , such an encoded label may be used to track a package throughout a distribution system . of course , other documents , such as stickers , brochures , appointment cards , etc . may be encoded in a similar manner , and implemented with system 10 . as a further alternative , a user need not select a gallery item , but may instead present her own document to be watermarked . the user &# 39 ; s document itself is then embedded with data , which can then be reprinted . for example , a user presents a business card to an optical scanner . the optical scanner captures an electronic copy of the business card . the electronic copy is then watermarked ( e . g ., by subtle alterations to the text or graphics already present ) and returned to the user for printing and distribution . ( the watermarking may be accomplished via the central site 43 , or via software maintained by a user terminal , which communicates with the central site 43 to assign or register a unique user identifier .). of course the watermark survives the printing process , and is reproduced when the watermarked , electronic copy is printed . since , a unique identifier is assigned to the user &# 39 ; s document , the user may then access the on - line database for data entry associated with the unique identifier . similarly , a further embodiment allows a user to submit an electronic card image to a watermarking professional , who embeds the image with the unique identifier ( and , optionally , with an electronic address ). the watermarking professional can then either return the watermarked , electronic card image to the user or send the card image directly to a printer for printing . in this case , the professional preferably communicates ( either before , during or after embedding ) with the central site to facilitate the association of a unique user identifier with the user . alternatively , upon an initial access to the central site , the identifier is extracted and registered , and the user is then permitted to enter data . as even a further embodiment , system 10 supports a model wherein a professional designs a document ( e . g ., business card ), potentially including artwork ( e . g ., graphics , text , shading , background , etc . ), which document is specifically supportive of digital watermarks . the document is then watermarked with a unique identifier as discussed above . in one embodiment , a card - recipient maintains a visual database of each card - giver accessed via the on - line database . to illustrate , a card - recipient , upon access to the on - line database , may download a visual icon ( e . g ., a digital image of the card - giver , a company logo , graphic , etc .) associated with a card - giver . the icons serve as a shortcut to the card - giver &# 39 ; s data . the card - giver &# 39 ; s data ( e . g ., vcard , unique identifier , perhaps encrypted for protections , and / or other data ) may be stored locally , or may be accessed via the on - line database . such icons may be stored in a file , folder , or on a computer &# 39 ; s desktop environment . a card - giver , in one embodiment , may choose to have her e - mail forwarded to the on - line database . ( the database may manage the e - mail in an account associated with the card - giver &# 39 ; s unique identifier .). the card - giver may then access the on - line database ( e . g ., via a her own watermarked business card or a master business card ) to retrieve her e - mail . this allows a traveler to easily access her e - mail when on the road , upon the presentment of her business card to a compliant device . ( kiosks may be set - up , in airports , travel hubs , coffee shops , convention centers , offices , corporate sites , etc ., to provide additional compliant devices for such travelers .). the central site 43 and / or online database can be configured to allow a user to be associated with a plurality of different data sets . for example , a business card may include two unique identifiers , each of which triggers a separate response . a first identifier may be included on a front side of a business card , while a second identifier is included on the backside of the card . the first identifier links to business data , while the second identifier may link to personal data , corporate data , and / or industry data , etc . from the perspective of the database , the user may be assigned separate identifiers to accomplish the separate responses , or the identifiers may be linked as subsets to a user &# 39 ; s main profile . alternatively , a user may carry several differently watermarked cards , each linked to separate information in the on - line database . another variation included within the scope of the present invention is a distributed system . for example , instead of storing data in a central site ( or a plurality of central sites ), user data may be distributed or maintained in alternative locations . to illustrate , a card - giver may maintain related data ( e . g ., contact information , audio / video clips , links , etc .) on her own client system ( or on a designated system ). software resident on a recipient or user terminal may then query a look - up router to obtain an appropriate address ( e . g ., one corresponding to the extracted unique identifier ) to access for the card - giver &# 39 ; s related data . ( in this case , a user may initially query the look - up router to obtain an appropriate unique identifier . in one embodiment , the user &# 39 ; s address is the unique identifier .). upon receipt of the address , the software accesses to the indicated site ( or terminal ). as a further alternative , the watermark itself includes sufficient encoded address information so that the decoding software ( and / or communications software ) can link to the client system without needing to query a central site or look - up router . ( in this case , the user &# 39 ; s address may serve as a unique identifier , which can be embedded by client software on the user &# 39 ; s terminal .). of course , such modifications are within the scope of the present invention . the reference to business cards is illustrative only . of course , the invention is more widely applicable . going back a century , “ calling cards ” were used by persons whose interests were strictly social , rather than business . the principles of the present invention can similarly be applied . teenagers can carry small cards ( or adhesive stickers ) that can be exchanged with new acquaintances to grant access to private dossiers of personal information / favorite music / artwork / video clips / etc ., to invoke instant message communications , or any other purpose . the cards can be decorated with art or other indicia that can serve purposes wholly unrelated to the linking data steganographically encoded therein . additionally , a calling card may even be blank ( e . g ., no text or obvious graphic ), while still carrying encoded data in the background , texturing , or shading . or the card may have a one word identifier or graphic to identify the card - giver . even the “ card ” paradigm is too restrictive . the same techniques can be applied to any object . a music cd cover can be encoded to point to a promotional site associated with the music artist . a book jacket can link to a similar site . printed advertising distributed through the us mail ( cards , magazines , etc .) can be encoded to point to related web - based promotional sites . ( sponsors of such advertising or other sites can reward visits to their internet site by issuing card recipients digital tokens or coupons that can be redeemed for premiums , cash - back , etc ., either for any such visit , or only if the visit was effected through the portal of a steganographically - encoded printed medium .). many contexts arise in which data to be presented to a consumer is valuable only if timely . the postal service mail is ill - suited for some such information due to the latency between printing a document , and its ultimate delivery to a recipient . the principles of the present invention allow the recipient to take a steganographically - encoded data object ( card , etc .) that was printed well before delivery , and use it on receipt to receive up - to - the - minute information . ( in this and other embodiments , the steganographically - encoded data can also include data uniquely identifying the recipient / user , so the web site can present data customized to that user .) the present technology also has application in access control systems . an identification badge ( either with photo or graphics , or with text alone ) can be encoded with steganographically access control data ( e . g ., access codes or digital keys ) that is recognized by optical - scanner - equipped locks and the like , permitting access by authorized persons to restricted areas or restricted services ( e . g ., computer privileges ). given the low cost of media and printing ( as compared with other access control technologies ), the cards can be issued on a daily , weekly , or other frequent interval , and the access control system can be programmed to permit access in response to such cards only for the pre - set limited period . lost cards soon lose their threat . tickets to sporting events , concerts , and other events can be steganographically encoded to permit the bearer to access premium web content available only to those who have purchased tickets ( e . g ., an on - line text -, audio -, or video - chat session with the featured performer or sports star the day before the event ). alternatively , the encoded data may link to a transactional site . in some such embodiments , the ticket is printed with a nominal show data and seat assignment , but also includes a uid in addition to the encoded address of an associated transactional ticket site . the user then can visit the transactional web site to change seating ( or date ). on attending the event , the consumer presents the ticket to a steganographic decoder apparatus that discerns the uid and looks up the seat assignment most - recently picked by the consumer . it then prints a chit entitling the consumer to take the seat earlier selected on - line . the reference to “ scanning ” of objects naturally brings to mind images of desktop flatbed scanners , or multi - function hydra devices . while such devices can be used — together with convention digital cameras ( including video cameras )— the inventors foresee that image input devices will soon be much more commonplace . the provision of digital cameras as built - in components of certain computers ( e . g ., the sony vaio laptops ) is just one manifestation of this trend . another is camera - on - a - chip systems , as typified by u . s . pat . no . 5 , 841 , 126 and detailed in nixon et al ., “ 256 × 256 cmos active pixel sensor camera - on - a - chip ,” ieee j . solid - state circuits , vol . 31 ( 12 ), pp . 2046 - 2051 ( 1996 ), and fossum , “ cmos image sensors electronic camera - on - a - chip ,” ieee transactions of electron devices , vol . 44 , no . 10 , october 1997 . still another is head - mounted cameras ( as are presently used in some computer - augmented vision systems ). another is a camera module for mobile phones that use a ccd image sensor . such camera often feature low electric power consumption , and high sensitivity . another is a wristwatch with an image sensor . these and other image input devices could all be used in connection with the present invention . to facilitate embodiments of the present invention , a prior art camera - on - a - chip system can be modified to also include a steganographic watermark detector on the same semiconductor substrate . such a chip — in addition to providing image output data — can also analyze the image data to discern any steganographically encoded data , and produce corresponding output data . ( again , such analysis desirably includes correction for scale and rotation factors , so precise positioning of the object being “ read ” is not essential for correct decoding .). to provide a comprehensive disclosure without unduly lengthening this specification , applicants incorporate by reference the patents , applications , and publications identified above . having described and illustrated the principles of our invention with reference to illustrative embodiments , it should be recognized that the invention is not so limited . for example , while certain of the embodiments were illustrated with reference to an internet - based embodiment , the same techniques are similarly applicable to any other computer - based system . for example , the central server does not necessarily need to be on the internet . within a company , such central site may be available via an intranet or other network . watermark documents or objects ( e . g ., an id or security badge ) may be used for access to specific documents or access to specific locations or services within the company &# 39 ; s facilities . also , for internet - based embodiments , the use of web browsers and web pages is not essential ; other digital navigation devices and other on - line data repositories can be similarly accessed . while steganographic encoding of the digital data is used in the preferred embodiments , visible forms of digital encoding — such as bar codes or alphanumeric codes — can naturally be employed where aesthetic considerations permit . although not belabored , artisans will understand that the registration , watermarking , detecting and other operations can be performed in accordance with software instructions stored in a computer memory ( or library ) or on other storage media , and executed by a processor in the computer as needed . ( alternatively , dedicated hardware , or programmable logic circuits , can be employed for such operations .). the above section headers ( e . g ., “ system implementation ”) provide no substantive limitations . rather , the section headers are merely provided for the reader &# 39 ; s convenience . of course , elements discussed in one section can be combined with those in another section , and so forth . in view of the many embodiments to which the principles of our invention may be applied , it should be recognized that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of our invention . rather , we claim as our invention all such embodiments as fall within the scope and spirit of the following claims , and equivalents thereto .
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turning first to fig1 there is shown a typical prior art strut assembly 10 used to support a mirror 12 . the strut assembly 10 includes a typical mirror mount pad 14 affixed to mirror 12 . the mirror mount pad 14 includes a cup section 16 with an internal radiused bearing surface or ball socket 18 . residing in cup section 16 is strut ball 20 which engages ball socket 18 . ball socket 18 and strut ball 20 form a ball joint . strut ball 20 is retained in cup section 16 by means of cap 22 which threadably engages the outside of cup section 16 . there is a strut 24 which includes a first threaded end 26 and a second threaded end 28 . first threaded end 26 engages a threaded orifice through strut ball 20 . second threaded end 28 includes a similar threaded orifice in a second strut ball 30 . strut ball 30 resides in a lower cup section 32 which includes a radiused bearing surface or socket 34 . lower cup section 32 ( as shown ) is an integral extension of the support structure 36 . there is a lower cap 38 which threadably engages the outside of lower cup section 32 to retain strut ball 30 within lower cup section 32 . this type of prior art strut assembly 10 is used in a six strut system . the six strut system provides kinematic control of the six degrees of freedom of the mirror 12 as the mirror 12 is adjusted . each strut 10 carries a vertical load component of one - sixth of the weight of the mirror 12 and mount pads 14 . to adjust the position of the mirror 12 , one strut assembly 10 is either driven up or down , or the strut length is adjusted . in either case , when one strut joint 10 is moved , the other five strut assemblies 10 must rotate freely to carry the load in tension or compression only with no bending of the strut 24 . if there is friction in the ball joint , the result will be some bending of strut 24 . this , in turn , generates a moment which is transmitted to the mirror 12 which , in turn , results in error producing distortion in mirror 12 . since frictional moments are proportional to p , r , and μ , where p is load , r is the radius of the ball , and μ is the coefficient of friction , the choices available for reducing the frictional moment are to reduce the load , reduce the radius of the ball , or reduce the coefficient of friction . looking next at fig2 there is shown the upper portion off - loaded strut joint assembly 50 of the present invention . strut joint assembly 50 includes a mount pad 52 which is affixed to mirror 54 . mount pad 52 includes an integral upper cup section 56 with a radiused bearing surface or upper ball socket 58 . residing within upper cup section 16 and engaging upper ball socket 58 is upper strut ball 60 . upper strut ball 60 and upper ball socket 58 form an upper ball joint . extending down from upper strut ball 60 is upper shank 62 . there are a series of circumferential grooves 64 in upper shank 62 . similarly , there are a series of circumferential grooves 66 in the internal surface of upper cup section 56 . upper shank 62 terminates at a shoulder 68 . upper shank 62 and shoulder 68 are integral parts of strut 70 which continues to extend downward from shoulder 68 . residing between the lower portion of upper cup section 56 and shoulder 68 is a flexible rolling seal 72 . rolling seal 72 should be constructed with very little stiffness to rotation about the directions normal to the longitudinal axis of strut 70 . the rolling seal should preferably be fabricated of a low durometer elastomeric material which is non - porous , compatible with the epoxy material , and which does not produce unacceptable outgassing products in the space environment . rtv is an example of such a material . it should be as thin as practicable to minimize bending stiffness , but still withstand the air pressure without risk of failure . an annular chamber 74 is defined by the inner surface of upper cup section 56 , the outer surface of upper shank 62 , and rolling seal 72 . there is an air pressure port 76 on one side of upper cup section 50 allowing for communication with annular chamber 74 . similarly , there is an epoxy injection port 78 on an opposite side of upper cup section 56 also allowing for communication with annular chamber 74 . there is tube 80 connected to air pressure port 76 through which compressed air can be injected into annular chamber 74 from a source ( not shown ). there is also a tube 82 connected to the epoxy injection port 78 with a valve 84 therein . a source of epoxy ( not shown ) is connected to valve 84 . mount pad 52 includes cylindrical chamber 86 above upper strut ball 60 . there is a bore 88 which passes through upper strut ball 60 and has an axis which is collinear with the cylindrical axis of strut 70 . there is a bore 90 which passes through upper shank 62 intersecting with bore 88 with bore 88 and 90 being substantially perpendicular to one another . bores 88 and 90 allow for the equalization of air pressure between annular chamber 74 and cylindrical chamber 86 . increasing air pressure within annular chamber 74 and cylindrical chamber 86 via air pressure port 76 reduces the load on upper strut ball 60 . pressure can be increased until the joint separates and the air pressure carries the entire load . in other words , the air pressure can be increased until upper strut ball 60 and upper ball socket 58 separate . at that point , air pressure carries the entire load for strut joint assembly 50 . by adjusting the pressure through a valve ( not shown ) located in tube 80 to a value just below the separation pressure , contact between upper strut ball 60 and upper ball socket 58 can be maintained while little of the load is actually carried by upper strut ball 60 . at this pressure , the friction moment that can be generated by the ball joint ( the interface between upper strut ball 60 and socket 58 will be minimized and will be greatly reduced from the friction moment developed by a joint which is carrying the full gravity load of mirror 54 . when the adjustment of the position of mirror 54 is complete , the ball joint is locked by injecting an epoxy adhesive through valve 84 and tube 82 to thereby fill annular chamber 74 . the completion of the filling of annular chamber 54 can be determined by looking for epoxy exiting through air pressure port 76 into tube 80 which , of course , is preferably clear to allow for visual inspection . the volume of air contained within tube 80 from the source ( not shown ) should be great enough such that the displacement of air from annular chamber 74 caused by the injection of epoxy will not increase the air pressure within annular chamber 74 and cylindrical chamber 86 . once the epoxy is injected into annular chamber 74 , it is allowed to cure and , after cure , air pressure may be released . grooves 64 , 66 are provided to ensure that sufficient pull - out strength is developed in the ball joint . in essence , rolling seals 72 in combination with annular chamber 74 , bores 88 , 90 and cylindrical chamber 86 create an air spring . the force of the air spring is adjustable through the amount of air pressure supplied through air pressure port 76 . the lower end of strut 70 ( see fig3 ) also includes shoulder 92 and a lower shank 94 which terminates at lower strut ball 96 . lower strut ball 96 , lower shank 94 and shoulder 92 reside within cylindrical housing 98 which is affixed to support structure 40 . the lower end 100 of cylindrical housing 98 is internally threaded and threadably engaged therewith is strut position adjuster 102 . extending from strut position adjuster 102 is platform 104 which supports hemisphere 106 thereon . hemisphere 106 is allowed to float laterally on platform 104 . positioned above hemisphere 106 is floating seat 108 . floating seat 108 includes an annular channel 110 therein in which resides an o - ring 112 . o - ring 112 acts as a seal between floating seat 108 and the internal wall of cylindrical housing 98 . located at the base of floating seat 108 is a radiused bearing surface 114 which engages the outer surface of hemisphere 106 . the upper portion of floating seat 108 includes a radiused bearing surface or lower ball socket 116 which engages the outer surface of lower strut ball 96 . lower ball socket 116 and lower strut ball 96 form a lower ball joint . floating seat 108 further includes a chamber 118 below lower strut ball 96 . there is an annular groove 120 in the internal surface of housing 98 . similarly , there is an annular groove 122 in the circumferential surface of shoulder 92 . annular grooves 120 , 122 provide residence for rolling seal 124 . there is an air pressure port 126 into housing 98 which is positioned just below rolling seal 124 . on the opposite side of housing 98 there is an epoxy fill port 128 which is preferably positioned lower on housing 98 than is air pressure port 126 . lower shank 94 includes multiple grooves 130 . there is a bore 132 which passes through lower shank 94 preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of strut 70 . bore 132 intersects with bore 134 . the cylindrical axis of bore 134 is substantially collinear with the longitudinal axis of strut 70 . bores 132 , 134 create a pressure equalization passage between chamber 136 and chamber 118 . in order to align mirror 54 , strut position adjuster 102 is used . through rotation of strut position adjuster 102 , floating seat 108 and strut 70 can be raised or lowered . floating seat 108 in combination with hemisphere 106 which merely rests on platform 104 and is not affixed thereto obviates potential rotation of floating seat 108 as well as lateral translation of seat 108 which may have otherwise resulted from machining eccentricities . hemisphere 106 accommodates wobble at the surface of platform 104 and can slide laterally on platform 104 as adjuster 102 is utilized thereby uncoupling eccentricity effects . as was described in connection with the upper strut assembly , lower strut assembly can be off - loaded by supplying air under pressure through air pressure port 126 into chamber 136 . air pressure equalizes in chamber 118 such that the entire load of strut 70 can be carried by air pressure as opposed to the interface between lower strut ball 96 and lower ball socket 116 . by adjusting the pressure to a value just below the separation pressure , lower strut bill 96 can still maintain contact with radius bearing surface 114 but carry very little of the load . at this pressure , the frictional moment that can be generated by the lower ball joint assembly will be minimized and will be greatly reduced from the frictional moment developed by a ball joint which is carrying the full gravity load . when the adjustment of the position of mirror 54 is complete , the lower ball joint is locked by injecting an epoxy adhesive through epoxy fill port 128 into chamber 136 . after the epoxy adhesive is cured , air pressure may be released . turning next to fig4 there is shown the upper portion of a strut joint assembly 150 which is an alternative embodiment to the strut joint assembly 50 . mount pad 152 includes an integral upper cup section 156 with a radiused bearing surface or upper ball socket 158 . residing within upper cup section 116 and engaging upper ball socket 158 is upper strut ball 160 . upper strut ball 160 and upper ball socket 158 form an upper ball joint . extending down from upper strut ball 160 is upper shank 162 . there are a series of circumferential grooves 164 in upper shank 162 . similarly , there are a series of circumferential grooves 166 in the internal surface of upper cup section 156 . upper shank 162 terminates at a threaded shoulder 168 . extending down from threaded shoulder 168 is strut 170 . there is a rolling seal 172 which engages the internal surface of upper cup section 156 on one side thereof and engages adjusting nut 173 the , opposite side thereof . there is an annular chamber 174 between upper cup 156 and upper shank 162 . there is an epoxy injection port 176 into one side of upper cup section 156 and an epoxy fill indicator port 178 on an opposite side of upper cup section 156 . residing in annular chamber 174 is helical coil spring 180 which preferably has a very low stiffness in rotation about directions normal to the cylindrical axis thereof . in such manner , moments due to rotational stiffness over the small range of adjustment necessary for mirror alignment are negligible as compared to fully loaded frictional moments . the force of coil spring 180 on mount pad 152 is adjusted by rotating adjusting nut 173 on threaded shoulder 168 . thus , the force of helical coil spring 180 can be adjusted until mount pad 152 just lifts off of upper strut ball 160 . the adjusting nut 173 can then be backed off a small amount to allow contact between upper strut ball 160 and upper ball socket 158 but with minimal load carried by upper strut ball 160 . the mirror 154 can then be aligned and , once alignment is complete , the ball joint can be locked by injecting epoxy into annular chamber 174 through epoxy injection port 176 . epoxy fill indicator port 178 allows for recognition of when annular chamber 174 has been filled . rolling seal 172 defines the lower portion of annular chamber 174 and prevents leakage of epoxy from annular chamber 174 when epoxy is injected therein . extending from the bottom of strut 170 ( see fig5 ) is threaded shoulder 192 and lower shank 194 terminating in lower strut ball 196 . threadably engaging threaded shoulder 192 is adjusting nut 197 . lower strut ball 196 , lower shank 194 and shoulder 192 reside within cylindrical housing 198 which is affixed to support structure 140 . the lower end 200 of cylindrical housing 198 is internally threaded and threadably engaged therewith is strut position adjuster 202 . extending from strut position adjuster 202 is platform 204 which supports hemisphere 206 thereon . hemisphere 206 is allowed to float laterally on platform 204 . positioned above hemisphere 206 is floating seat 208 . floating seat 208 includes an annular channel 210 therein in which resides an o - ring 212 . o - ring 212 acts as a seal between floating seat 208 and the internal wall of cylindrical housing 198 . located at the base of floating seat 208 is a radiused bearing surface or socket 214 which engages the outer surface of hemisphere 206 . the upper portion of floating seat 208 includes a radiused bearing surface or lower ball socket 216 which engages the outer surface of lower strut ball 196 . lower ball socket 216 and lower strut ball 196 form a lower ball joint . floating seat 208 further includes a chamber 218 below lower strut ball 196 . annular grooves 220 , 222 provide residence for rolling seal 224 . there is an epoxy fill indicator port 226 into housing 198 which is positioned just below rolling seal 224 . on the opposite side of housing 198 there is an epoxy injection port 228 which is preferably positioned lower on housing 198 than is epoxy fill indicator port 226 . lower shank 194 includes multiple grooves 230 . there is an annular chamber 236 defined on the sides by the internal surface of housing 198 and the circumferential surface of lower shank 194 , on top by adjusting nut 197 and at the bottom thereof by floating by 208 . residing in annular chamber 236 is helical coil spring 240 which has a very low stiffness in rotation about the directions normal to the axis thereof . thus , moments resulting from rotational stiffness of coil spring 240 over the small range of adjustment rotation necessary for mirror alignment are negligible compared to fully loaded friction moments . strut position is adjusted through rotation of strut position adjuster 202 . through rotation of adjusting nut 197 , lower strut ball 196 can be lifted such that it no longer engages radius bearing surface 116 . full load from strut 170 would be passed through coil spring 240 to floating seat 108 and ultimately to strut position adjuster 202 with full load , of course , being carried by the support structure 240 . by backing off slightly on adjusting nut 197 , contact between lower strut ball 196 and lower ball socket 116 is reinitiated but with a minimal amount of load being transmitted through lower strut ball 196 . with minimal load being carried by lower strut ball 196 , mirror 154 can be aligned . once mirror 154 is aligned , the ball joint can be locked by injecting epoxy through epoxy fill port 228 to fill annular chamber 236 . once the epoxy is cured , the ball joint is locked . note that fig5 shows that there is no seal between housing 198 and adjusting nut 197 . this assumes that housing 198 is in a vertical , upright orientation . for other orientations , it will be necessary to include a seal such as a rolling seal between adjusting nut 197 and housing 198 . turning next to fig6 there is shown a schematic of a mirror 54 , 154 supported on six strut joint assemblies 50 , 150 which are attached to a support or a reaction structure 40 , 140 . the adjustment is performed by translating the strut assembly in the vertical direction using the strut position adjuster 102 , 202 ( see fig3 and 5 ). the upper and lower ball joints may then be locked in arbitrary order , but essentially simultaneously . in order to support and align a mirror 54 utilizing the strut joint assembly 50 of the present invention , the mount pads 52 are first attached to mirror 54 . housings 98 are affixed to the support structure 40 with the lower balls 96 engaging sockets 116 . upper balls 60 are left unrestrained . rolling seals 124 are in place . rolling seals 72 have already been installed on upper shanks 62 . mirror 54 is then lowered with the upper balls 60 positioned so that as mirror 54 descends , upper balls 60 engage upper sockets 58 . at this point , mirror 54 is supported on the six strut joint assemblies 50 . rolling seals 72 are then engaged with upper cups 56 . the air pressure fittings and tubing are then connected to air pressure ports 76 , 126 and the epoxy injection fittings and tubing are connected to the epoxy injection ports 78 , 128 . the valves connected to the epoxy injection ports 78 , 128 are closed . air pressure is then applied annular chambers 74 , 156 through air pressure ports 76 , 126 to a pressure sufficient unseat upper balls 60 and lower balls 96 from upper sockets 58 and lower sockets 116 , respectively . the air pressure is then adjusted to allow upper balls 60 and lower balls 96 to engage upper sockets 58 and lower sockets 116 , respectively , but with upper balls 60 and lower balls 96 carrying minimal load . the alignment of mirror 54 is then checked and the positional error is determined . using an adjustment matrix , the direction and magnitude of each required strut position change is then calculated . each strut is then adjusted as required . the motion imparted during this adjustment may be measured with the appropriate instrumentation . the steps of checking the alignment of mirror 54 , calculating the direction and magnitude of each required strut position change , and adjusting each strut are then repeated until mirror 54 is aligned within tolerance limits . the wavefront error of mirror 54 is determined by optical wavefront testing , and the deformation due to strut forces is substracted from the measured interferogram . if the resulting wavefront meets the requirements , strut joint assemblies 50 may be locked . epoxy is then injected through epoxy injection ports 78 , 128 with epoxy injection equipment ( not shown ) until the epoxy begins to flow out of the air pressure ports 76 , 126 . the epoxy is allowed to cure . air pressure is maintained at the adjusted level within annular chambers 74 , 136 through injection and curing of the epoxy so that upper and lower balls 60 , 96 remain substantially off - loaded . a final wavefront test may then be performed to verify acceptable performance . in order to support and align a mirror 154 utilizing the strut joint assembly 150 of the present invention , the mount pads 152 are first attached to mirror 154 . housings 198 are affixed to the support structure 140 . adjusting nuts 197 are adjusted to allow lower balls 196 to rest in ball sockets 216 . upper balls 160 are left unrestrained . rolling seals 172 have already been installed on upper shanks 162 . the upper rolling seals 172 , coil springs 180 , and adjusting nuts 173 are then assembled with upper shoulders 168 and upper cups 156 with adjusting nuts 173 in the &# 34 ; slack &# 34 ; position . mirror 154 is then lowered with the upper balls 160 positioned so that as mirror 154 descends , upper balls 160 engage upper ball sockets 158 . at this point , mirror 154 is supported on the six strut joint assemblies 150 . rolling seals 172 are then engaged with upper cups 156 . the appropriate fittings and tubing are then connected to the epoxy injection ports 176 , 226 . upper and lower adjusting nuts 173 , 197 are then adjusted to compress coil springs 180 , 240 to a sufficient degree to unseat ( separate from ) upper balls 160 and lower balls 196 from upper ball sockets 158 and lower ball sockets 216 , respectively . upper and lower adjusting nuts 173 , 197 are then backed off a predetermined amount , dependent on mirror weight and spring stiffness , to allow upper balls 160 and lower balls 196 from upper ball sockets 158 and lower ball sockets 216 to re - engage with ball sockets 158 , 216 carrying a very small portion of the total load . the alignment of mirror 154 is then checked and the positional error is determined . using an adjustment matrix , the direction and magnitude of each required strut position change is then calculated . each strut is then adjusted as required . the motion imparted during this adjustment may be measured with the appropriate instrumentation . the steps of checking the alignment of mirror 154 , calculating the direction and magnitude of each required strut position change , and adjusting each strut are then repeated until mirror 54 is aligned within tolerance limits . the wavefront error of mirror 154 is determined by optical wavefront testing , and the deformation due to strut forces is substracted from the measured interferogram . if the resulting wavefront meets the requirements , strut joint assemblies 150 may be locked . epoxy is then injected through epoxy injection ports 176 , 228 with epoxy injection equipment ( not shown ) until the epoxy begins to flow out of the epoxy fill indicator ports 178 , 226 . the epoxy is allowed to cure . a final wavefront test may then be performed to verify acceptable performance . in using strut joint assemblies 50 , 150 of the present invention , all six upper ball joints and all six lower ball joints should be off - loaded throughout mirror alignment , epoxy injection and epoxy cure . it is important to be able to perform an optical test in the off - loaded condition . ideally , all six upper ball joints and all six lower ball joints would be epoxied simultaneously . as a practical matter , epoxy injection can be performed one ball joint at a time . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are apparent and which are inherent to the invention . it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed with reference to other features and subcombinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims . as many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth are shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .
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describing the invention in detail as shown in the drawings , the apparatus 1 comprises a support frame 2 which has a plurality of vertically aligned bearings 3 and 4 mounted thereon in which an operating shaft assembly 5 is journaled . the shaft assembly is split into two counter - rotary sections 8 and 10 . shaft section 8 is connected to one jaw or clamp holder 12 and the shaft section 10 is connected to jaw or clamp holder 14 of a die 15 . the jaw sections each carry a half section segment 16 of a die ring 17 . each section 16 has a tongue 18 fitted into a groove 20 in the associated jaw or clamp holder 12 or 14 . in addition , there is provided an end stop 22 at each end of segment 16 abutting the end of the same , the stop being attached by screws 24 , 24 threaded into the associated end portion of the jaw section 12 or 14 . jaws 12 , 14 have arms 25 , 26 respectively at one of their ends keyed by keys 27 , 28 to the respective shaft sections 8 and 10 . the shaft sections 8 and 10 are connected to pistons 34 , 36 of air or hydraulic motors 38 , 40 , the pistons operating in cylinders 42 , 44 . thus , the clamps and their associated die sections are opened and closed by reversely turning the respective shaft sections in order to admit cup - shaped container halves or cups 45 , 46 which are made of metal , preferably aluminum of about 6 - 10 mils in thickness . associated delivery and discharge mechanism is used to bring the cups to the assembly apparatus 1 and to remove the assembled container but are of no concern as to the present invention . as best seen in fig1 and 2 , the assembly apparatus is provided with vacuum holders 48 , 49 which are mounted on the frame and each have an arcuately shaped pocket 40 with a vacuum slot 51 connected with an associated vacuum line 53 . the holders 48 , 49 releasably hold the upper and lower halves 45 , 46 of the container with the open end portions 55 , 56 ( fig4 ) thereof facing each other . the clamps are then closed about these open end portions as seen in the right half of fig4 . if desired , the clamps may first be closed and the halves advanced toward each other and entered into the upper and lower ends of the die 17 . it will be noted that the upper and lower end portions 58 , 60 of the dies are provided with truncated conical guide surfaces 61 , 62 which flare downwardly and upwardly respectively and at their outer ends are of a diameter greater than that of the body portions 63 , 64 of the upper and lower cup sections . thus , the edge portions 55 , 56 of the body portions 63 , 64 are easily guided into the center portion of the die . the center portion of the die has an upper cylindrical die portion with a surface 67 which is equal to substantially the outside diameter of the upper cup . the upper cup is advanced into the surface 63 which rounds the lower edge portion of the upper cup by an upper pusher 70 which has a cap 71 at the lower end of rod 72 of a piston which operates in an air cylinder 73 carried by the frame . the upper cup slips along the holder 48 and is guided into the cylindrical die surface 67 until the lower edge 75 of the upper cup seats upon the shoulder 76 at the bottom of the squaring surface 67 . simultaneously , with the upper cup being inserted into the cylindrical section 67 , the lower cup is pushed upwardly by an air or hydraulic cylinder 77 which has a base pod 78 bearing against the bottom or base 79 of the lower or male cup . the edge portion 56 of the lower cup has been previously coated with an appropriate adhesive 79 . the edge portion 56 of the lower cup is very slightly necked - in but not deformed as it moves past the shoulder 76 . the inner edge of the shoulder 76 is of a diameter slighty less than the inner diameter of the upper cup , and the shoulder 76 has a radial dimension slightly larger than the thickness of the metal of the body wall of the upper cup . it has been found that the fit of the lower cup edge portion into the upper edge portion merely springs the metal of the lower cup very slightly without permanent deformation and that upon release from the die , the hoop compressive forces on the edge portion 56 are slightly relieved and tensile hoop stresses develop in the edge portion 55 . thus , a tight fit is insured between the two halves and the adhesive which is preferably thermoplastic polyolefin resins such as carboxylated polypropylene or polyethylene as well as thermosetting resins such as epoxy resins . these resins , when heated , will distribute and bond in shear the opposing outer surface 82 of the inner portion 56 to the inner surface 83 of the outer portion 55 . it will be noted that no inner support is required to telescope the two cups into each other and no wrinkling occurs at the juncture so that a good , leak - proof bond is developed which resists separation of the two halves in shear . it will be understood that any cold adhesive or thermoplastic adhesives may be used to bond the two halves . after the two cup halves are assembled , the die is opened and the upper and lower pushers separated and a vacuum withdrawn from the holders and the assembled unit is withdrawn or drops out and the following two halves are entered into the apparatus at opposite sides of the die and assembled in a continuous process . having described a preferred embodiment of the invention , it will be appreciated that various other variations will now become apparent to those skilled in the art which are comprehended within the scope of the appended claims .
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fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) show examples of the relations between groove widths , pulse widths and pulse intervals with peak currents as parameters in an electric discharge method of cutting a work piece with a wire electrode . a work piece 1 to be cut is of skd - 11 which contains , according to the japan industrial standard , c 1 . 4 - 1 . 6 %, si less than 0 . 4 %, mn less than 0 . 6 %, p less than 0 . 03 %, s less than 0 . 03 %, cr 11 . 0 - 13 . 0 %, mo 0 . 8 - 1 . 2 %, v 0 . 2 - 0 . 5 %, and fe remaining , and is 60 mm in thickness . in fig5 ( a ), the pulse interval and the relative speed between the wire electrode and the work piece 1 are maintained unchanged ( the relative speed being 0 . 5 mm / sec ) and the pulse width is changed . in fig5 ( b ), the pulse width and the relative speed are maintained constant , and the pulse interval is changed . fig5 ( c ) illustrates the width of a groove cut thereby . in order to cut the work piece into a configuration as shown in fig3 it is apparent from fig5 that it is necessary to obtain the width of a groove cut in the straight portion from the cutting conditions thereof in fig5 and then to obtain the electric energy , i . e ., the peak current and the pulse width , or the peak current and the pulse interval with which the same cut groove width as that in the straight portion is obtained in the curved portion with the relative speed of the wire electrode 2 and the work piece 1 in the lower surface , so that the electric energy is decreased to the value thus obtained . in this case , the width of the curved groove is smaller than that of the straight portion in the upper surface , because the relative speed in the curved portion is higher than that in the straight portion . however , in the case of the die , the accuracy of the curved portion may not be so high . if it is required to increase the accuracy of the curved portion , then the curved portion can be additionally machined later because it still has a margin owing to the narrow groove width . a difficulty may occur that when the electric energy is reduced so that the groove width of the curved portion becomes equal to that of the straight portion in the lower surface , the wire electrode and the work piece may be short - circuited because of the high relative speed described above , which makes it impossible to cut the work piece . however , the difficulty can be readily eliminated by employing a method such that , as is clear from fig5 and its description above , the above - described relative speed in the curved portion is further decreased and the electric energy is also decreased so as to have the same groove width as that of the straight portion . one example of the various experiments which have been actually conducted will be described as conducive to a full understanding of the invention . a work piece was cut in such a manner that the groove width of the curved portion was equal to that ( 0 . 33 mm ) of the straight portion in the upper surface of the work piece 1 , i . e ., the relative speed of the material and the wire electrode in the curved portion was equal to that ( 0 . 5 mm / sec ) of the straight portion . as a result , the maximum groove width of the curved portion in the lower surface was 0 . 38 mm . in this experiment , the relative speed in the lower surface was 0 . 3 mm / sec , the width of the pulse voltage applied to the discharge gap was 10 μsec , the pulse interval thereof was 2 μsec , the open voltage was 150 v , the peak current was 25 a , the taper angle θ was 1 . 3 degrees , the work piece 1 was of skd - 11 , the thickness thereof was 60 mm , the wire electrode was of copper and had a diameter ( d ) of 0 . 2 mm , and the working liquid was a water having a specific resistance of 20 kω cm . in view of the foregoing result , another work piece was cut , in which the groove width of the curved portion was equal to the groove width ( 0 . 33 mm ) of the straight portion in the lower surface , the pulse width was decreased to 2 μsec in cutting the curved portion by referring to fig5 ( a ) and the remaining conditions were the same as those in the above - described case . in this case , the groove width of the straight portion was equal to that of the curved portion in the lower surface . however , the groove width in the upper surface of the work piece 1 was 0 . 29 mm , and the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 were short - circuited in the upper surface . in order to eliminate the short - circuit phenomenon , another work piece was cut in which , referring to fig5 ( a ), the relative speed of the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 was decreased to 0 . 1 mm / sec , the pulse width was further decreased to 0 . 5 μsec so that the groove width of the curved portion was equal to that of the straight portion in the lower surface , and the remaining conditions were the same as those in the above - described case . the groove width of the curved portion was equal to that ( 0 . 33 mm ) of the straight portion in the lower surface of the work piece 1 . no short - circuiting was caused between the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 in the upper surface . in this case , the relative speed of the material 1 and the wire electrode 2 in the curved portion of the upper surface was 0 . 25 mm / sec , and the groove width was 0 . 28 mm . shown in fig6 through 9 is one example of an automatic control device adapted to automatically control the electric energy . the control device 20 comprises an n / c device 22 , a computer 23 and a multiplexer 24 . the control device 20 drives the drive motors 4 , 5 , 14 and 15 with the aid of instructions from a magnetic tape 21 so that the table 3 and the upper wire guide 10 are suitably moved to cut the work piece into a desired configuration . for instance , when the cutting operation is advanced to the point b - b in fig3 the computer 23 in the control device 20 calculates the electric energy necessary for cutting the curved portion by using data stored therein , the electric energy is converted into electrical signals by the n / c device 22 and the multiplexer 24 , and the electrical signals thus obtained are outputted as instruction signals , as a result of which the electric energy supplied to the gap between the work piece 1 to be cut and the wire electrode 2 is controlled to a desired value . as well known in the art , the computer 23 ( fig7 ) comprises a main memory circuit 231 , an operation circuit 232 and an input and output control circuit 233 . the computer 23 carries out numerical calculation processes such as arc interpolation calculations , straight line interpolation calculations , and conversions of decimal numbers into binary numbers according to the data supplied thereto . in fig7 the arrows show the flow of such data . as shown in fig8 the n / c device 22 functions to read the program data of the tape 21 by a tape reader 221 , to supply the read data to the input - output control circuit 233 of the computer 23 so that the program data is processed by the computer 23 to form signals which are necessary to control the cutting apparatus and to amplify the resultant signals by an x - and y - axis drive amplifiers amp thereof to drive the motors 4 and 5 for the x - y table , or to switch the electrical conditions . the multiplexer 24 in fig9 comprises and gates 2441 , 2442 , 2443 , 2444 , 2451 , 2452 , 2453 , 2454 , 2461 , 2462 , 2463 and 2464 , so that the output data # 1 through # 4 of the n / c device are stored in and outputted by temporary latch circuits 244 , 245 and 246 with the aid of selection signals spw , srw and spi of pulse width , pulse interval and peak current . the power supply unit 16 comprises a dc power source 17 , current limiting resistors r1 through r4 and a switching circuit trc having switching elements tr1 through tr4 which are adapted to switch these resistors and carry out the switching of the pulse circuit . the peak value of the pulse current can be changed to a desired value by the selective on - off control of the switching elements tr1 through tr4 by means of gate circuits g1 through g4 . a pulse width and pulse interval setting pulse generator , or a control circuit prwcc , comprises first and second presettable counters 25 and 26 , a j - k flip - flop 27 , an or gate g5 , and gates g6 and g7 , and an oscillator osc . the preset values of the presettable counters 25 and 26 are controlled by the output of the multiplexer 24 to control the pulse width and the pulse interval . for instance , it is assumed that , in carrying out the cutting operation as shown in fig1 through 4 , a value &# 34 ; 6 &# 34 ; is applied by the multiplexer 24 to the counter 25 for the straight cutting operation . ( in this case , the output q of the flip - flop 27 is assumed at a logical level &# 34 ; 1 .&# 34 ;) then the clock pulse from the oscillator osc is applied through the gate g6 ) to the first presettable counter 25 . when the count value of the counter 25 reaches a value &# 34 ; 6 ,&# 34 ; then the counter 25 outputs a coincidence signal to the or gate g5 . as a result , a pulse is applied to the clock terminal t of the j - k flip - flop to change the state of the j - k flip - flop whereby the output q thereof is set to a logic level &# 34 ; 0 .&# 34 ; accordingly , the gate g7 is opened , and the second presettable counter 26 for setting the pulse interval starts its counting operation . when the count value of the counter 26 reaches the predetermined output value of the multiplexer 24 , the first counter 26 for setting the pulse width starts its operation again . thus , the pulse width and the pulse interval , and the peak current value are controlled to the predetermined values . when the wire electrode 2 reaches the change points b and b , then the multiplexer 24 outputs a numerical value &# 34 ; 0010 &# 34 ; according to the instruction preset in the tape 21 , and the set value of the first presettable counter 25 is decreased to &# 34 ; 2 .&# 34 ; in other words , the set value of the counter 25 in the straight cutting operation ( in the first mode ) is lower than that of the counter 25 in the curved cutting operation ( in the second mode ). accordingly , the time interval which elapses from the time instant that the first presettable counter 25 receives the signal from the gate g5 until the counter 25 provides the output to the gate g6 in the curve cutting operation is shorter than that in the straight cutting operation . accordingly , the time that the output q of the flip - flop 27 is at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is shorter , and the period of time that the switching circuit trc is closed in the curve cutting operation is shorter than that in the straight cutting operation . that is , the pulse width of the pulse voltage applied between the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 becomes smaller . in the curve cutting operation , the drive signals applied to the motors for the table 3 , namely , the x - axis motor and the y - axis motor by the amplifier amp in the n / c device are so changed that the speed of movement of the table effected by the two motors 4 and 5 , i . e ., the relative speed of the material 1 and the wire electrode 2 is decreased . furthermore , various instructions are stored in the tape 21 in advance to satisfy the conditions that control is so made that the cut groove width of the curved portion is equal to that of the straight portion in the lower surface to the work piece 1 as described above , and the pulse width and the table 3 feeding speed are such that the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 are not short - circuited . the control is started at the change points b and b where the straight cutting operation is switched over to the curve cutting operation and ended at the change points c and c where the curve cutting operation is changed to the straight cutting operation again . in the straight cutting operation after the change points c and c , the same control as that in the straight cutting operation which was effected until the wire electrode reaches the change points b and b is carried out . instead of the control of the pulse width as described above , the control of the pulse interval may be carried out . in this case , as is apparent from fig5 ( b ), the pulse interval in the curve cutting operation is made longer than that in the straight cutting operation . that is , the multiplexer 24 outputs a numerical value , for instance , six ( 6 ) in decimal notation ( corresponding to &# 34 ; 0110 &# 34 ; in binary rotation ) to set the count setting value of the second presettable counter 26 to six in decimal notation . that is , the count setting value in the curved cutting operation is made larger than that in the straight cutting operation . in the case where the groove width is controlled by controlling the peak current value , the peak current value in the curve cutting operation is made smaller than that in the straight cutting operation . it is assumed that all of the semiconductor switching elements tr1 through tr4 shown in fig6 are conductive ( on ) in the straight cutting operation , that is , in fig9 all of the data # 1 through # 4 are at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the peak current selection signal spi is at &# 34 ; 1 .&# 34 ; then , in the curve cutting operation , the switching elements tr1 and tr2 are rendered conductive ( on ), while the switching elements tr3 and tr4 are rendered nonconductive ( off ) if the data # 1 and # 2 are at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the data # 3 and # 4 are at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and the peak current selection signal spi is at &# 34 ; 1 .&# 34 ; accordingly , all of the current limiting resistors r1 through r4 are parallel - connected in the straight cutting operation . on the other hand , in the curve cutting operation , only the resistors r1 and r2 are parallel - connected . therefore , the total current limiting resistance in the curve cutting operation is higher than that in the straight cutting operation , and accordingly the peak current value is decreased in the curve cutting operation . selection of the above - described pulse width control , the pulse interval control and peak current value control and combination of them depend on various factors such as the material and the thickness of the work piece 1 , the taper angle , the roughness of the cut surface , and the dimensional accuracy . at any rate , the tape 21 should be prepared so that the work piece can be cut in accordance with the above - described requirements . according to the data stored in the tape 21 thus prepared , at least one of the pulse width selection signal spw , pulse interval selection signal srw and peak current selection signal spi is raised to &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; and at least one of data # 1 through # 4 is raised to &# 34 ; 1 .&# 34 ; as is apparent from the above description , in the above - described embodiment of the invention , even in the case where the relative speed of the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 in the upper surface must be made different from that in the lower surface due to the difference between the length of the cutting path in the upper surface and that in the lower surface , the electric energy supplied to the cutting apparatus can be readily controlled according to the data set therein and , accordingly , the groove width of a portion of the work piece , i . e ., a predetermined portion thereof can be controlled as desired . fig1 is a graphical representation indicating the relations between open voltages and groove widths with the various relative speeds of the work piece and the wire electrode as parameters . in this case , the work piece 1 is of skd - 11 and is 60 mm in thickness , and the capacitance of a discharge capacitor 19 ( fig1 ) described later is 0 . 6 μf . in order to cut a material into a configuration as shown in fig3 it is apparent from fig1 that it is necessary to obtain the width of a groove cut in the straight portion similarly as in the case of fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ), by using fig1 and then to obtain an open voltage with which the same groove width as that in the straight portion is obtained in the curved portion with the relative speed of the wire electrode 2 and the work piece 1 in the lower surface , so that the open voltage , i . e ., the electric energy is reduced to the value thus obtained . in this case , the groove width of the curved portion is smaller than that of the straight portion in the upper surface similarly as in the case of fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ). however , in the case of a die , the accuracy of the curved portion may not be so high and if it is required to increase the accuracy of the curved portion the curve portion can be additionally cut later because it still has a margin owing to the narrow groove width , as mentioned before . a difficulty may be caused that when the open voltage is reduced so that the groove width of the curved portion is equal to that of the straight portion in the lower surface , the wire electrode and the work piece may be short - circuited similarly as in the above - described case , which makes it impossible to cut the work piece . however , the difficulty can be readily eliminated by employing a method such that , as is clear from fig1 and its description above , the above - described relative speed in the curved portion of the lower surface is further decreased , and the open voltage is also decreased so that the groove width of the curved portion is equal to that of the straight portion . the control of the open voltage can be manually achieved . shown in fig1 is one example of a control device which automatically achieve the control of the open voltage . the control device 20 comprises an n / c device 22 , a computer 23 ; and a digital - to - analog ( d / a ) converter 24 . the control device 20 drives the drive motors 4 , 5 , 14 and 15 with the aid of instructions from the magnetic tape 21 so that the table 3 and the upper wire guide 10 are suitably moved to cut the work piece into a desired configuration . for instance , when the cutting operation is advanced to the point b - b in fig3 the computer 23 calculates the open voltage which is necessary for cutting the curved portion by using the data stored therein . the digital signal is applied through the n / c device 22 to the d / a converter , where it is converted into an analog signal e , which is outputted as an instruction signal by the control device 20 . a power supply unit 16 comprises a dc electric source 17 , a discharge circuit made up of a limiting resistor 18 and a capacitor 19 and a voltage control circuit vrc constituted by connecting a transistor tr 1 , a first transistor tr 2 and a second transistor tr 1 in the main circuit , and resistors 31 through 35 whose resistances are r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 and r e , respectively , as shown in fig1 . the operation of the circuit shown in fig1 will be described . when an instruction signal , or a voltage e is applied to the base of the transistor tr 3 , then the voltage at the emitter thereof is e - v be3 ( v be3 being the base - emitter voltage of the transistor tr 3 ), and the voltage at the emitter of the transistor tr 2 is also e - v be3 because the voltage at the emitter of the transistor tr 2 is equal to the voltage at the emitter of the transistor tr 3 . in general , each of the base - emitter voltage v be3 of the transistor tr 3 and the base - emitter voltage v be2 of the transistor tr 2 is equal to about 0 . 6 v . therefore , the transistor tr 1 is so controlled that the base voltage v b2 of the transistor tr 2 is e - v be3 + v be2 ≈ e , and accordingly , the potential at the voltage division point vdp of a voltage division circuit vdc made up of the resistors 31 and 32 is also e . as a result , the emitter voltage of the transistor v e1 of the transistor tr 1 is : ## equ1 ## the emitter voltage v e1 of the transistor tr 1 is the open voltage of the power supply unit 16 and is proportional to the instruction voltage e as described above . thus , the emitter voltage v e1 is controlled to a predetermined release voltage . as is apparent from fig1 ad 11 , also in the embodiment shown in fig1 , even in the case where the relative speed of the material 1 and the wire electrode 2 in the upper surface must be made different from that in the lower surface due to the difference between the length of the cutting path in the upper surface and that in the lower surface , the open voltage applied to the cutting apparatus is automatically controlled , and accordingly the cut groove width of a portion of the material , i . e ., a predetermined portion thereof can be controlled to a predetermined value , or , if necessary , to a desired different value . the operation of the circuit shown in fig1 will be described in more detail . in the straight cutting operation , the voltage of the signal e is 5 v , that is , the voltage at the voltage division point vdp is 5 v . therefore , the cutting operation is carried out with the emitter voltage v e1 of the main transistor tr 1 , i . e ., the open voltage of the power supply unit 16 being 150 v . when the wire electrode 2 reaches the change point b - b , the output of the d / a converter 27 , i . e ., the voltage e is reduced to 2 . 5 v in accordance with the instruction stored in the tape 21 , and accordingly the voltage at the voltage division point vdp is also decreased to 2 . 5 v . therefore , the emitter voltage v e1 of the main transistor tr 1 , i . e ., the open voltage of the power supply unit 16 is decreased to 75 v . during the curved cutting operation , the voltage is maintained at 75 v . when the wire electrode reaches the change point c - c to perform the straight cutting operation again , the voltage is restored to 150 v again . when , in the curved cutting operation , the open voltage of the power supply unit becomes lower than that in the straight cutting operation as described above , then the cut groove width is decreased as is clear from fig1 . accordingly , similarly as in the embodiment shown in fig6 the cut groove width of the curved portion becomes equal to that of the straight portion in the lower surface of the work piece 1 . also in the embodiment shown in fig1 , similarly as in the embodiment shown in fig6 it is necessary to make the relative speed of the work piece 1 and wire electrode 2 in the curved cutting operation lower than that in the straight cutting operation so that the work piece 1 and the wire electrode 2 and not short - circuited in the upper surface of the work piece 1 . the apparatus described above may be so programmed that , when a work piece is being electrically cut with the wire electrode being held vertical in an ordinary manner , the width of a groove cut therein can be controlled at a predetermined point . while the invention has been described with reference to the electric discharge type taper - cutting , it should be noted that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby . that is , the invention is applicable to the case also where a work piece is cut with the wire electrode while an electrolytic liquid being applied to the working gap between the work piece and the wire electrode for electrolysis action . in the electrolysis type cutting operation , the amount of cutting is determined as a function of current density and time and as a function of applied voltage ( normally 5 to 15 v ) and time . therefore , the variation of the relative speed of the wire electrode and the work piece to be cut in the electrolysis type cutting affects the width of a groove cut more than that in the electric discharge type cutting . accordingly , the effect of the invention in the electrolysis type taper - cutting should be highly appreciated . in the above - described embodiments , the wire is employed as the electrode , however , it should be noted that it is not always necessary that the electrode is a wire , as can be understood from the nature of the present invention . that is , the same effect can be obtained by using a so - called &# 34 ; wire - shaped electrode &# 34 ; such as an electrode which is made of , for instance , a non - flexible rod . as is apparent from the above description , in the invention , the electric energy applied between the wire electrode and the material to be cut is controlled so that the width of a groove cut therein is controlled at a predetermined time instant using the cutting operation . accordingly , the curved cutting ( or the bent cutting ) can be effectively and suitably carried out in a cutting operation according to the taper - cutting method .
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in fig1 is shown a schematic representation of a preferred arrangement of an energy conserving greenhouse 11 of the present invention . the energy conserving greenhouse 11 , hereinafter referred to as greenhouse can , of course , be any desired shape but is shown herein as preferrably having a gabled roof 12 that is supported by upstanding walls 13 that rest on a foundation 14 and should be understood to have at least one entrance into the interior thereof . the greenhouse 11 preferrably has at least one sun passing opening formed therethrough that is herein identified as a shuttered lense 15 . shuttered lense 15 is shown arranged through roof 12 to pass sunlight directed thereon from a focusing collector 16 . the focusing collector 16 is arranged , preferrably , on the roof 12 to focus and pass sunlight , shown as arrows a , into the shuttered lense 15 , that sunlight , as a beam , passes into greenhouse 11 and into an infra red filter trap 17 , hereinafter referred to as i . r . trap 17 . through the i . r . trap 17 a liquid is passed that absorbs the sunlight infra red spectra , heating that liquid , passing therethrough the sunlight visible spectra , also known as the sunlight photosynthetic portion . the i . r . filter trap 17 is preferrably arranged within the greenhouse 11 and should , for obtaining good heat conduction , be located as close to focusing lense 15 as possible and could even be arranged as part of the focusing lense 15 , but if so arranged , would tend to pass heat therefrom into the atmosphere above the structure and so it is preferred to arrange it within the structure . shown in fig1 and 2 , a diffuser reflector 18 is included within greenhouse 11 to break up and reflect that visible spectra passed from the i . r . filter trap 17 onto living plants 19 and earth 19 ( a ) therein . to further reflect visible spectra light passing from the diffuser 18 and visible spectra light reflected off from the leaves of plants 19 , the greenhouse 11 interior walls 20 and ceiling 20 ( a ) are preferrably arranged to reflect light , by painting the surfaces white , covered with a mirror surface , or the like , to provide for a maximum utilization of the photosynthetic fractions in the plant growth process . to further provide a maximum utilization of the sunlight photosynthetic fractions the greenhouse soil 19 ( a ) can be covered with a reflective material . so arranged the only light absorbing surfaces within the greenhouse 11 would be plants themselves , achieving thereby a maximum utilization of the growth fractions of sunlight visible spectra , and providing a minimization of the amount of sunlight needed to be passed into the greenhouse 11 for plant growth . so arranged the sunlight gathering surface area of the focusing collector 16 and the open area of the shuttered lense 15 can be held to only that required to collect and pass just that minimum sunlight , holding energy losses through that open area to the minimum . the above light reflecting arrangement of providing reflective surfaces to everything but the growing plants in the greenhouse 11 reduces to a minimum the ratio of sunlight required as compared to the plant growth area . so arranged , the ratio is less than one foot of growth area per each foot of sunlight gathering surface of the focusing collector to adequately support growth of plants 19 . the block schematic of fig3 shows the sunlight processing flow into and within the greenhouse 11 . shown therein the entering sunlight is identified as arrow a and is shown as consisting of infra red spectra portions , broken arrow c , and a visible spectra portion or photosynthetic fractions , including ultra violet , shown as solid arrow b . shown therein the sunlight spectra is separated at the infra red filter trap 17 , that infra red spectra being utilized for heating a liquid that provides , as shown by broken lines c going to a heat storage unit 21 and by broken lines d therefrom , heating the absorbant walls and air , block 21 ( b ), for immediate heating of the greenhouse 11 interior . a uniform temperature is thereby achieved for plants 19 and earth 19 ( a ), the heat storage unit 21 also retaining heat therein for later greenhouse 11 heating , that heat passing into the greenhouse through duct 21 ( a ), shown in fig1 . the remaining sunlight spectra , specifically the visible and ultra violet portions passes , from the i . r . filter trap 17 , shown as arrow b , against diffuser 18 whereat it is broken up and reflected against plant 19 surfaces , earth 19 ( a ), reflective walls 20 and ceiling 20 ( a ), that light eventually striking and being absorbed by a plant 19 surface , promoting plant growth and providing some heating of the greenhouse 11 interior . fig2 shows a cross section of a portion of the greenhouse 11 showing preferred apparatus for passing sunlight therein . it should , however , be obvious that , while only one such arrangement is shown a number of such arrangements could be so included as part of greenhouse 11 , which additional arrangements would still fall within the scope of this disclosure . shown in fig2 sunlight , arrows a , passes into a sunlight receiving area , shown herein as a lense 16 ( a ) of focusing collector 16 . focusing collector 16 should , of course , be understood to also include a tracking arrangement , not shown , align continuously the lense 16 ( a ) such that captured sunlight will be directed into and through shuttered lense 15 no matter the sun &# 39 ; s attitude . as already mentioned herein , sunlight passes from the shuttered lense 15 , shown also as arrow a , through the infra red filter trap 17 and thence against diffuser 18 . at the filter trap the infra red portion of the sunlight is absorbed by an infra red absorbing media , preferrably a liquid flowing therein , heating that liquid , the remainder of the sunlight passed therethrough , identified as arrow b , consists of the visible spectra or sunlight photosynthetic fractions and ultra violet . this sunlight remainder is then deflected and separated by diffuser reflector 18 , shown by arrows b 1 , onto and against growing plants 19 and earth 19 ( a ) that are shown arranged as a single tier in fig1 and as two tiers in fig2 and against wall and ceiling inner surfaces 20 and 20 ( a ). as shown in fig2 the greenhouse walls 13 and the roof 12 are preferrably well insulated to minimize the heat loss therethrough , and , of course , the shuttered lense 15 preferrably involves only a narrow or small area , that should be understood to be only that area necessary to pass an amount of sunlight a therethrough that is just that light needed for utilization by plants 19 and earth 19 ( a ) in the growth process . to further minimize heat loss , as shown in fig2 through the shuttered lense 15 , a shutter cap 23 , shown best in fig7 is preferrably included to close off and seal the shuttered lense 15 during hours where sunlight is not available . shutter cap 23 , preferrably consists of a plate 24 which can be manual or lever operated but is preferrably operated by a driver can 25 having a dog 25 ( a ) on one end that is journaled into a hole 24 ( a ) in plate 24 . so arranged , by operating motor 26 that turns , through a belt 26 ( a ), a pulley 27 that rotates a shaft 27 ( a ) to turn can 25 so as to move plate 24 across the shuttered lense . so arranged , the end 24 ( b ) of plate 24 will pass into an appropriate notch 12 ( a ) formed in roof 12 . obviously , the shutter cap 23 , to avoid damage or potential fire , if it were inadvertantly left across said shuttered lense when sunlight is passing therethrough , should include a failsafe arrangement , not shown , to release said shutter plate 24 so that it will pass back into its recessed attitude shown in fig7 . also , to further preclude fire or damage , the shutter plate 24 should have a reflective surface on the surface opposite to the focusing collector 16 and should also be formed from a material that will not be damaged by high temperatures . sunlight passed from and through shuttered lense 15 , as already discussed herein , travels through the i . r . filter trap 17 . i . r . filter trap 17 , as shown best in fig8 preferrably consists of a transparent or translucent fluid carrying pipe 28 , shown preferrably herein as a rectangular pipe , that receives the consolidated beam of sunlight , arrow a , containing both of infra red spectra , arrow c , and visible spectra or photosynthetic fractions and ultra violet , arrow b . as stated , the infra red spectra thereof , arrow c , is absorbed by fluid 29 traveling in pipe 28 , the visible spectra or photosynthetic fractions , and ultra violet , arrow b , passing therethrough , for diffusion within the greenhouse 11 providing heating and lighting therein . the heated fluid 29 is circulated as part of a greenhouse heating system 22 , shown best in fig1 that consists of the i . r . filter trap 17 , a heat storage section 21 and ducts 21 ( a ). heat from fluid 29 , not immediately used in greenhouse heating , is transferred for storage , as into rocks , or the like , not shown . the heating system 22 , as needed , may also involve fans , pumps or the like , not shown , to transfer heat from that storage section 21 during the period when the sun is not shining into the air and walls of the greenhouse 11 , to maintain a constant temperature therein . in practice , a solution of copper chloride , or an organic salt saturated solution , or the like , has been found to have sufficient infra red spectra heat absorption capabilities to absorb that heat portion of the sunlight spectra . the visible spectra or photosynthetic fractions of sunlight , arrow b , as already stated herein , pass from the i . r . filter trap 17 against diffuser 18 , shown in fig2 and best in fig1 . diffuser 18 , preferrably is arranged to scatter or disperse outwardly the visible spectra striking thereon but , it should be understood , could be arranged to pass light therethrough , spreading that light in such passage , not shown . so arranged , the sunlight spectra , arrow b , is scattered or broken into multiple beams , shown as arrows b 1 in fig2 . to provide for required light dispersion a faceted reflective surface is preferrably included with the diffuser 18 and in addition to the convex surface shown in fig2 and 10 , it can also involve flat or concave surfaces , not shown , to direct a portion of the visible spectra striking thereon against another surface , such as a reflective wall or ceiling whereat it is broken up . the respective convex , concave , or flat surfaces of diffuser 18 , shown at 30 in fig1 , can be covered with such things as dimpled aluminum , frosted glass , flat white paint , or be a glass beaded screen , or the like , for breaking up , and reflecting light striking thereon . preferrably , however , any portion of the diffuser 18 that is intended to redirect light received thereon should be a light reflective surface . referring to fig9 ( a ) and 9 ( b ), the focusing collector 16 could be arranged either laterally or longitudinally on the surface of roof 12 . in either of configuration of fig9 ( a ) or 9 ( b ) the present invention should be understood to include an alignment arrangement , not shown , for tracking the sun as it moves from east to west daily and / or north to south seasonally . optimumlly , it would be ideal if sufficient energy could be removed from sunlight striking the focusing collectors 16 to both promote the photosynthesis of plants within greenhouse 11 , and to satisfy the greenhouse heating needs . however , as those heating needs are dependent upon outside temperature as well as the amount of sunlight available and the amount actually collected , it is preferrable to include with greenhouse 11 a backup heating arrangement , not shown . certainly , in determining heating needs it is necessary to consider : the heat retention qualities of the insulated walls , roof and flooring of greenhouse 11 ; the amount of heat generated in the plant growth process ; the heat available in the sunlight after its passage through the i . r . filter trap 17 ; and the heat generated by auxiliary equipment such as fans , pumps , and the like therein . whether the greenhouse 11 of the present invention provides for either a partial or total energy independence , it is certainly an improvement in energy conservation over former conventional greenhouses . therefore , as the cost of construction of such a former greenhouse as compared to the cost of construction of the greenhouse 11 of the present invention would be essentially the same , the greenhouse 11 of the present invention provides a significant energy saving improvement over former greenhouses . obviously , in calculating sunlight needed in greenhouse 11 it is necessary to take into consideration the cost of focusing collectors 16 and the size of the shuttered lense 15 and the predicted heat losses therethrough , balanced against the greenhouse heat and light needs . as has been outlined herein , the amount of available photosynthetic fraction of incident sunlight for plant growth can be increased by appropriately including reflecting surfaces within the greenhouse itself and even covering the earth wherein the plants grow with a reflective surface . as a further consideration in determining the visible spectra needs within the greenhouse 11 it has been found that the light intensity necessary to promote plant growth is somewhat dependent upon the presence of atmospheric co 2 as well as the interior temperature of the structure . while the maintenance of optimum co 2 level has been difficult in conventional greenhouses due to ventilation requirements , as the greenhouse 11 can be closed and is well insulated , the co 2 level can therefore be maintained within very close limits . further , where it has heretofore been found in practice that somewhat less than a foot of collector area is needed for each foot of plant growth area , by closely controlling conditions within the greenhouse and providing for a full utilization of light passed therein for plant growth , as is possible with the present invention , it is possible for the greenhouse 11 to require as little as one quarter plant growth area . the greenhouse 11 of the present invention would preferrably not be designed at such minimum sunlight admission level but would preferrably be arranged to approximately match one square foot or less of collector area for each foot of greenhouse plant growth area . further , as the weather is unpredictable and certainly changeable , it may be necessary in anticipation of a cloudy day to provide for artificial illumination within the greenhouse to augment natural sunlight , which inclusion of artificial illumination would also come within the scope of the present disclosure . assuming therefore that the focusing collectors 16 have sufficient area to provide the required light within greenhouse 11 , it is of course desirable that they be arranged to focus that sunlight into as small an area or narrow band as possible for projection through shuttered lense 15 , the size of which area or band , or course , determining the size of the shuttered lense . certain focusing collectors have been shown appropriate for use with the greenhouse of the present invention . in fig4 is shown an example of a square fresnel lense arrangement of a focusing collector , viewed from above that is shown to resemble a target , with , in fig4 ( a ) that fresnel lense shown in profile view as consisting of a number of circular incline planes 31 which planes are each themselves prismatic lenses . in this arrangement sunlight striking on each plane is bent , as shown in fig4 to meet at a common area , at which area shuttered lense 15 is preferrably arranged . in this configuration the shuttered lense 15 could be circular or square in shape . a number of such focusing collectors may have to be installed with roof 12 to provide for the required amount of sunlight , though only one such focusing collector is shown herein for purposes of this disclosure . distinct from the point or small area focusing , shown with the focusing collector of fig4 and 4 ( a ), in fig5 is shown a rectangular panel configuration of a focusing collector 16 , that includes a number of incline plane lenses 32 that are shown arranged alongside one another . each incline plane lense 32 should be taken as being a prismatic lense , the lenses facing oppositely on different sides of a common longitudinal center 32 ( a ), the incline faces of the two adjacent lenses meeting at the longitudinal center 32 ( a ). so arranged , sunlight striking thereon will be focused into a band that passes into a narrow rectangular shuttered lense 15 . another embodiment of a focusing collector 16 is shown in fig6 . therein , focusing lense 16 is shown as consisting of two concave mirrors 33 that are arranged as opposite sides of a parabola with a slot or narrow opening 34 therebetween . a collimating mirror 35 , is arranged with its reflective face opposite to opening 34 such that sunlight , arrow a , striking on the reflective faces of the concave mirrors 33 will be reflected therefrom against the collimating mirror 35 that , in turn , reflects that sunlight , arrow a , through opening 34 and thence through shuttered lense 15 into i . r . filter trap 17 . in all of the above embodiments of shuttered lense 16 sunlight is focused into a small area or narrow band for passage through a minimal opening of shuttered lense 15 . a wide area of sunlight can thereby be consolidated into a smaller area or narrow band necessitating thereby that only a minimum opening be formed through an insulated greenhouse roof for passing just sufficient sunlight therethrough needed to promote plant growth within that greenhouse . the present invention , therefore , provides for a collection of that amount of sunlight necessary or needed for plant growth for transmittal into a greenhouse such as to require only a minimal opening formed therethrough so as to compromise to a minimum the insulative characteristics of the structure , minimizing thereby heat losses through the structure . although a preferred embodiment of my invention in an energy conserving greenhouse and the individual components thereof have been herein disclosed , it should be understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example and that variations are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims , which claims i regard as my invention .
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the embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non - limiting embodiments and detailed in the following description . descriptions of well - known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein . the examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein . accordingly , the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein . as mentioned above , there remains a need for designing a rigid modular holding system with radial and axial compensation giving high rigidity and good precision . referring now to drawings , and more particularly to fig3 through 11 , where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures , there are shown preferred embodiments . according to an embodiment , fig3 a cross sectional view of a female portion 300 of the embodiment here in with parts and the front view . a joining portion of one side of modular locking can be called as female portion 301 . herein embodiment taken as cylindrical shape but not limited to joining of triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , heptagonal etc as per the design requirement . butting face and inside contour can be machined accurately to the required size as per the design and the other side of the female part can be machine spindle holder of any design for example bt holders , iso holders , hsk holders and also not limited to combination tools , multiple series connections , structural member coupling , motor shafts etc . which require modular connection as per application and design . corresponding female side is having cylindrical hole 304 as mentioned in above embodiment and shape is not limited to triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , heptagonal etc as per the design requirement . 309 and 310 are respective depth of cylindrical and cubical parts of 301 . central through coolant 311 can be concentric or can be designed as per the requirement . having threaded holes 303 perpendicular to cylindrical portions 304 and at the same time parallel and near to the butting face . cylindrical portion is continued with cubical part 305 concentric to the female part and the shape is not limited to cylindrical , triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , heptagonal etc as per the design requirement . threaded hole 302 in angular direction as shown and the desired angle is as shown as 45 degree in the embodiment and not limited to 15 degree − 75 degree . as per the design and application requirement number of threaded holes 302 and 303 are in four numbers each but not limited to 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 8 or equaling to number of sides designed . in an embodiment , fig4 a cross sectional view of a male portion 400 of the embodiment here in with parts and the front view . a joining portion of another side of modular locking can be called as male portion 401 . herein embodiment taken as cylindrical shape but not limited to joining of triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , hectogonal etc as per the design requirement . butting face and projected portion can be machined accurately to the required size as per the design and matching with the other butting female portion accurately with the required clearance as per the design concentric to the male portion . here , the cubical portion is machined to the required size but shape is not limited to joining of triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , hectoganal etc as per the design requirement . cylindrical portion 402 guides the male portion into the female portion and at the same time can have sufficient clearance for the radial adjustment as per the design . cylindrical portion 402 is continued with cubical portion 403 but the shape is considered as cubical but not limited to triangular , cubical , rectangular , hexagonal , hectoganal etc as per the design requirement . the size is designed with the required clearances moving freely inside the cubical portion of female part 305 and at the same time have enough clearance for radial adjustment . this cubical portion 403 have notch on the flat portion as shown as 404 may accommodate tightening of the grub screw 307 , can act as radial adjustment for compensation locking when tightened locks the butting face 407 and 308 rigidly without any gap at the same time parallel to the axis . the number of notches and the screw is designed as four numbers in the embodiment but not limited to any numbers etc as per the design requirement and application . here centre through coolant 411 can be designed concentric or as per the application and requirement . in an embodiment , modular holding system with axial and radial compensation is developed with cylindrical mounting and with cubical locking system in holding parts , which acts as anti rotational as well as guiding and holding the parts together . according to an embodiment , as shown in fig3 an fig4 , male and female portion can have clearance in od and face as per the design , end of 409 and 410 can have enough clearance so that cannot touch to the female body in the face except 407 and 308 butting together tightly , rigidly without any gap when assembled together . according to an embodiment , radial and axial run outs and locking can be done by grub screws designed by the sizes as per the requirement with very low cost compared to the cost of nuts and bolts , bullets , grub screws and number of parts are reduced considerably . in an example embodiment , as per fig4 may be a cutting tool , but not limited to reamer , milling cutter , arbor , boring bar , a shaft , motor side , structural part , modular connection required serial connection , cartridge for blade type of reamer , milling cutters or reamers , in modular form etc ., as per the design and application for which modular holding is required . according to an embodiment , fig5 illustrates assembly with a cross sectional view of a modular holding 500 where male and female portion are assembled together by inserting 402 and 403 in respecting mating parts 304 and 305 . screw 307 can be tightened in such a way that it may be locked or inserted inside the groove or notch touching 404 . this can enable the 401 positioned in placed with 301 so that 401 may not have any risk of coming out from its position . now tighten 306 uniformly and make them to just touch flat locking portion of 402 on cylindrical od . dial can be mounted on od of 406 where axial run out to be adjusted by rotating the assembly can identify the highest run out point and inline corresponding screw 306 can be adjusted axial run out very closely up to 0 - 5 micron . and all other screws 306 tightened moderately to touch the cylindrical locking portion . now dial can be mounted on 408 highest run out can be checked and inline opposite screw 307 to be tightened to adjust the radial run out within 0 - 5 micron . then all other corresponding screws 307 can be tightened to hold the butting face 407 and 308 together rigidly without any gap . once again dial can be mounted on 406 to check the axial run out if it is disturbed slightly above procedure will be repeated once again to achieve run out as close as 0 - 2 micron axially and radially . coolant hole can be taken in the central concentric as shown in the fig5 very easily without affecting the rigidity and also can be designed as per the requirement off centre to the cutting edges or where ever required . provision of appropriate seal also can be designed butting faces of 407 , 308 or end of 403 as per the design . according to an embodiment , a rigid modular holding system with axial and radial compensation is designed where modular locking is achieved within the diameter , size of the joining parts hence amount of material require for modular locking is reduced considerably almost 50 % and also considerable reduction in processing cost . with the simple design face butting is achieved within the outside diameter and there is no gap and 100 % butting of the joining faces which gives high rigidity acts like a single piece . in an embodiment , fig6 is a cross sectional view of modular holding of structural joints . here , requirement is modular locking of the two parts 601 and 602 by rigidly can be almost importance . axial run out adjustment may not be that critical and required and if required also can be adopted . however in the fig6 shown with modular locking as explained above with angular locking screw 607 on thread 606 and tightened together for locking of male and female portion corresponding 604 and 605 rigidly with the butting face . however not shown in the fig6 central portion concentric hole can be made in 604 and 605 to reduce the weight and the cost appropriately designing without affecting the rigidity . here , number of screws 607 can be designed as per application and the size of the modular connection required . the major advantage is that the modular connection by utilizing the space within the 604 and 605 and corresponding 601 and 602 for which modular holding is required . here no material protruding out from the surface of 601 and 602 anything assembling and fixing over that members can not have any problem , where flange may become obstruction for designing like this as shown in the fig2 . 2 . at the same time lot of saving on material and processing cost of flanges , nut bolts and fasteners is replaced by simple grub screws can be tightened and loosened easily by required allen keys . according to an embodiment , fig7 illustrates assembly with a cross sectional view of serial joints of multiple modular holding . as per the embodiment , fig7 showing multiple serial connection of modular locking for any numbers as shown in the 701 , 702 , 703 , 704 or 705 but not limited to any number . as explained in the fig5 assembly of modular locking can be done starting from 701 to 702 axial and radial adjustment can be controlled in microns . 702 can be connected with 703 , same procedure can be repeated for all other modular connection and at the end of 705 can be achieved axial and radial run out in microns . in cutting tool application anywhere in between or at the end of 705 cutting edges or modular connection with cutting edges can be designed as per the required design and application . according to an embodiment now referring fig8 shows assembly with cross sectional view of padded type of reamer with modular cartridge type of holding with multiple cutting edge . here , the traditional usage of blades used like in mapal design is replaced by innovative modular locking system where 802 is made up carbide not limited to any other cutting materials hss , ceramic , pcd , cbn , steel with brazed type etc ., as per the design requirement and also the cutting edge 803 . further , the modular locking as explained in fig5 is designed and mounting screws can be designed as per the requirement of size and criticality . axial screws are used for size adjustment by shifting 802 in axial direction an projecting out cutting edge 803 to the required size of 3 - 20 micron from the pad and the inline angular screw can be tightened and adjusted to get the require back tapper and clamping of 802 rigidly by face butting 804 . here , number of cutting edges can be one but not limited to 2 , 4 , 6 or 8 as per the design and application . further , once the cutting edge is used it can be rotated for other cutting edges . cartridge 802 can be replaced by new cartridge . considerable cost saving can be achieved and at the same time higher speed and feed can be achieved . in an embodiment , fig9 illustrates assembly with multiple cartridges used for boring , reaming , milling and in tooling design . as per the embodiment , fig9 multiple modular cartridge holding system with cutting edges with single or multiple cutting edges . 901 is a tool holder body and 902 cartridges as explained in the fig5 can be designed for multiple cartridges . as shown in the fig9 are cartridges and 903 is cutting edge . here by adjusting axial locking screws whole cartridge can be moved to the desired side and od run out and size can be achieved on cutting edge 903 at the same time with the angular locking screw back tapper of cutting edge 903 can be achieved . this can be applied to reamer with multiple cutting edges and not limited to boring bars with the single or multiple cutting edges , iso inserts , boring bars , milling cutters etc ., as per the design and application . cartridge 902 can have single cutting edge or multiple cutting edges as per the design and application . cost reduction in tooling can be achieved with the novel application of the modular holding . according to an embodiment , fig1 illustrates assembly with a cross sectional view of coupling type of modular holding . as per the embodiment , fig1 is a cross sectional view of typical modular joints can be designed for shaft joining or coupling as per the design and application . here , 1001 is considered as motor side or drive side as a female part of modular joint . 1005 as connected shaft side as a male part of modular joint . as explained in the embodiment axial adjustment not shown in the drawing can be used only if it is required and angular holding grub screws 1003 is used for locking the joints rigidly . number of grub screws can be designed as per the size and application . modular joints on the butting face designed with gasket /‘ o ’ ring / sealing elements 1006 which can helps to avoid vibration , sealing as well as required expansion and flexibility in the coupling joints which is very essential . modular joints are rigid and economical . according to an embodiment , fig1 illustrates assembly with a cross sectional view of piping joint or hollow shaft modular holding with sealing . as per the embodiment now referring fig1 cross sectional view of typical piping or hollow shafts modular joining system . here full internal area of pipes or hollow shafts are used for the intended purpose or flow of fluid inside . this modular joint can be designed for piping , pipe fittings , valves , piping instruments , modular connection . here 1101 is the pipe and female part can be joined together by welding 1102 is forming the female part of the modular joint and 1107 is a pipe and male part may be joined together by welding 1102 is forming the male part of the modular joint . further , axial locking may not be used much and only if in the critical design can be used if required . angular locking grub screw 1106 is clamped for locking the joints rigidly . number of grub screw required can be designed as per the size and application . here sealing element , ‘ o ’ ring , gasket are designed and provided in two places of the butting faces of the male and female parts which acts as a sealing element with the modular locking . the design is simple , rigid , leak proof and cost effective . according to an embodiment , a rigid modular holding system with axial and radial compensation is designed to use for modular holding in engineering , construction , machine building field where above short comings are eliminated by material used within the size of joining parts . face butting is 100 % face to face locking . alignment or concentric locking of mating parts is achieved by simple design of angular locking by the grub screw . axial locking screws may be used as per the design if required to achieve the alignment in rotary or static parts modular locking . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept , and , therefore , such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . therefore , while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein .
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this invention is a convenient , low - temperature method for preparing pt — ti nanometer size particle catalysts . the use of pt — ti catalysts will allow a reduced platinum loading on the cathode of the fuel cell , and thus reduce its cost . the two main sources for the degradation of the cathode performance in the fuel cell are carbon corrosion and sintering of the pt catalyst particles . the presence of the titanium may prevent sintering of the catalyst particles and thus improve the durability of the cathode . in accordance with this invention platinum - titanium alloys are synthesized under cavitation conditions to produce nanosize particles of the alloys by co - reduction of titanium and platinum molecular compounds . titanium and platinum may be incorporated into the same sonically decomposable precursor compound , or separate compounds of the metals may be used . the process has been demonstrated with compounds of platinum ( ii ) and titanium ( iv ). but it is considered feasible to use compounds of the metals in other oxidation states , such as platinum ( iv ) and titanium ( iii ). examples of suitable separate compounds of titanium and platinum include titanium ( iv ) tetrachloride — ticl 4 , dicyclopentadienyl titanium dicarbonyl —( c 5 h 5 ) 2 ti ( co ) 2 , indenyltitanium trichloride — c 9 h 7 ticl 3 , or titanium ( iv ) ethoxide — ti ( oc 2 h 5 ) 4 ; and bis ( ethylenediamine ) platinum ( ii ) dichloride —[( nh 2 ch 2 ch 2 nh 2 ) 2 pt ] cl 2 , dimethyl ( 1 , 5 - cyclooctadiene ) platinum ( ii )—( ch 3 ) 2 pt ( c 8 h 12 ), or platinum ( ii ) acetylacetonate — pt ( ch 3 cochcoch 3 ) 2 . the reducing agent is hydrogen gas , either in pure form , or in a combination or mixture with an inert gas such as helium or argon . a hydrocarbon solvent with low vapor pressure is suitable as the reaction medium and it may be cooled to sub - ambient temperatures . tridecane , decalin , or tetralin are examples of suitable hydrocarbon liquids . anaerobic conditions are maintained inside the reaction vessel by flowing high purity argon gas over the liquid surface , and the reducing gas ( hydrogen ) is bubbled through the liquid reaction medium during the reduction reaction . the average pressure inside the reaction vessel is close to atmospheric pressure throughout the reaction . the reaction vessel is cooled to sub - ambient temperatures in order to lower the vapor pressure of the reaction medium and volatile precursors , and in order to affect a selective entrainment of the reactants into the bubbles formed in it by cavitation . ultrasonic sound energy of suitable frequency and amplitude is used in the synthesis of the platinum and titanium containing particles . the frequency will usually be above about 16 khz and depend upon the specific sound generating device that is used . a generator producing sonic energy at a frequency of about 20 khz is suitable . the high - intensity ultrasound source or a high - shear mixer creates microscopic bubbles inside the reaction medium with diameters ranging from 10 to 200 μm with a lifetime of about one microsecond temperatures and pressures in the bubbles can reach , respectively , 5000 k and 2 kbar . each bubble is surrounded by a shell 2 to 10 μm in thickness , of extremely hot liquid in which the temperature can be as high as 2 , 000 k . under these conditions in the liquid medium , the platinum and titanium molecular compounds are reduced to the respective metals , and nanosize alloy particles are formed due to the very fast cooling rates achieved in the process . the size and morphology of the particles can be varied by selectively adjusting , for example , the composition of the liquid medium , the composition or concentration of the precursors in the reaction medium , the temperature of the medium in the reaction vessel , or the duration and intensity ( amplitude ) of the ultrasonic pulses . a pt — ti alloy has been synthesized sonochemically from ticl 4 and pt ( ch 3 cochcoch 3 ) 2 precursors , under a flow of pure hydrogen gas in decalin . x - ray diffraction ( xrd ) and chemical analysis data indicate a disordered pt 3 ti alloy with crystallite size of about seven nanometers . electrochemical tests showed that the oxygen reduction activity of the alloy was very close to that of pure platinum and that no platinum oxidation occurs for potentials as high as 1 . 2 v . the reaction mixture , containing about equimolar amounts of titanium and platinum , was prepared in an inert atmosphere just prior to use . fifty milliliters of the mixture were made by adding 0 . 5 ml of 1m ticl 4 in toluene to 40 ml of decalin containing 0 . 1967 g of pt ( ii ) acetylacetonate dissolved in 0 . 5 ml of toluene . more decalin was added to take the volume up to 50 ml . the resulting yellow - orange mixture contained a significant amount of finely divided solid particles or colloidal material that did not readily settle . 30 ml of the mixture were placed in a sonication cell , a water - jacketed glass vessel with a port for the ultrasonic horn , and several other ports for gas management , solution addition , and temperature measurement . hydrogen was bubbled through the mixture , and an argon blanket was maintained above the liquid . cooling was provided to the cell by a refrigerated circulating bath . the temperature of the reaction mixture was initially − 8 ° c ., but it quickly climbed to about 5 ° c . during the sonication . the mixture was exposed to 225 w of vibrational energy at 20 khz ( ultrasonic ) with a duty cycle of 0 . 1 sec . “ on ” to 0 . 4 sec . “ off ”. the sonication was allowed to continue with this protocol until 5 . 3 hrs of “ on ” time had accrued . the mixture was centrifuged and the solid was collected and washed with toluene . preferred process specifications for the synthesis of a specific alloy or intermetallic compound of titanium and platinum are suitably developed by varying conditions and compositions on a small scale batch reactor basis . the preferred batch reaction , with its specified precursor ( s ), liquid medium composition , liquid medium temperature , reducing gas composition and flow , and ultrasound frequency and intensity , can be scaled to a suitable production capacity . the process may also be conducted on a continuous basis by flowing a stream of the liquid medium and precursors around or past the ultrasonic generator . while the invention has been described in terms of specific examples it is recognized that other modes of practice can readily be adapted by those skilled in the art . the scope of the invention is , to be limited only by the following claims .
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[ 0014 ] fig1 illustrates a block diagram of a speech recognition device or system 100 of the present invention . in one embodiment , the speech recognition device or system 100 is implemented using a general purpose computer or any other hardware equivalents as shown in fig5 below . although the recognition device or system 100 is preferably implemented as a portable device , it should be noted that the present invention can also be implemented using a larger computer system , e . g ., a desktop computer or server and the like . the speech recognition device or system 100 comprises a sampling and analog - to - digital ( a / d ) conversion module 110 , a feature extractor or feature extraction module 120 , a speech recognizer or a speech recognizer module 130 and various input / output ( i / o ) devices 140 . in operation , an input audio signal ( e . g ., a speech signal ) on path 102 is received by the sampling and analog - to - digital ( a / d ) conversion module 110 , where the input signal is sampled and digitized from a microphone ( not shown ) into a sequence of samples that are later processed by a processor . the digitized sequence of samples is then forwarded on path 103 to the feature extraction module 120 . the sample sequence is first grouped into frames ( commonly 1 centi - second in length ) and speech features are extracted for each of the frames using various signal processing methods . some examples of these are mel - cepstral features , or plp cepstral features . specifically , conventional feature extraction methods for automatic speech recognition generally rely on power spectrum approaches , whereby the acoustic signals are generally regarded as a one dimensional signal with the assumption that the frequency content of the signal captures the relevant feature information . this is the case for the spectrum representation , with its mel or bark variations , the cepstrum , fft - derived ( fast fourier transform ) or lpc - derived ( linear predictive coding ), lpc derived features , the autocorrelation , the energy content , and all the associated delta and delta - delta coefficients . cepstral parameters are effectively used for efficient speech and speaker recognition . originally introduced to separate the pitch contribution from the rest of the vocal cord and vocal tract spectrum , the cepstrum has the additional advantage of approximating the karhunen - loeve transform of speech signal . this property is highly desirable for recognition and classification . in one embodiment of the present invention , the speech features on path 104 can be mel - cepstral features , or plp cepstral features . it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to a particular type of feature , as long as the same features are used to train the models and used during the recognition process . namely , the present invention is not feature dependent . in turn , the speech recognizer 130 receives the speech features and is able to decode the “ recognized text ” from the speech features using various models as discussed below . finally , the recognized text on path 105 is further processed by various i / o devices or other processing modules 140 , e . g ., natural language processing module , speech synthesizer and the like . [ 0021 ] fig2 illustrates a block diagram of a generic speech recognizer 130 comprising a text decoder or extractor 210 , acoustic models 220 and a language model 230 . specifically , the input speech features on path 104 obtained from the utterance ( input audio signal ) are decoded using the acoustic models 220 and a language model 230 . the acoustic models are trained using a large amount of training speech . typically , acoustic models are hidden markov models ( hmms ) trained for each sound unit ( phone , triphone , etc .). each hmm usually has 3 states and each state may be modeled using one or more gaussians . some of the states may be tied by sharing the same gaussians . the hmm techniques are used to identify the most likely sequence of words that could have produced the speech signal . however , one problem with the hmm based speech recognition is the mismatch between the speech data used for training and during testing / use . typical training data is obtained under controlled environments that are noise free . however , the test speech is obtained in real world conditions which are usually noisy . this mismatch leads to a significant loss in performance . thus , the present dnc is developed to compensate for the mismatch . [ 0023 ] fig3 illustrates a block diagram of a speech recognizer 130 of the present invention comprising a text decoder or extractor 210 , a dynamic noise compensator , or a dynamic noise compensation module 310 , clean acoustic models 320 and a language model 230 . fig3 illustrates the speech recognizer using the dnc of the present invention . in one embodiment , the input noisy speech features are used to compensate the clean speech models ( using the dnc formula as disclosed below ) to generate models for noisy speech . these models are then used along with the language model 230 to decode the input speech features on path 104 . [ 0024 ] fig4 illustrates a block diagram of the dynamic noise compensation module 310 of the present invention . it should be noted that fig4 when viewed with the discussion provided below , also serves as a flowchart for the present noise compensation method . [ 0025 ] fig4 illustrates the architecture of the dnc comprising a noise estimation module 410 , a model weight selection module 420 , two multipliers 430 and a summer 440 . the first two stages are the noise model estimation module and the model weight selection module . specifically , the noise model is estimated using the features corresponding to the noise in the input . in one implementation , the energy is used to identify the low energy frames . the noise estimate is then used to select appropriate weight for the interpolation . this weight is then used to combine the clean speech models and the noise model to generate the models for noisy speech . specifically , the noise energy estimate is used to compute an estimate of the signal to noise ratio ( snr ). in one implementation , the snr is approximated by the ratio of the maximum energy to the estimated noise energy . this snr is used to look up a table of snr - weight pairs and the weight corresponding to the closest snr value in the table is used . in one embodiment , the snr - weight table is generated in accordance with the following procedure . first , the clean speech is used to build the clean speech hmms . second , a test set of clean speech is used and corrupted using random samples of a variety of noises ( for example , car noise or other noises in an environment that the speech recognition system is intended to operate within ). the noise energy is then changed to produce noisy speech data at different snrs . the present dnc algorithm is then applied with a number of weights , where the appropriate weight is then selected ( i . e ., the weight which produced the best recognition performance for a noisy speech having a particular snr ). this estimation is repeatedly performed at different snrs , thereby generating the table of snr - weight pairs . namely , the dynamic noise compensation is a new method that estimates the models for noisy speech using models for clean speech and a noise model . current state - of - the - art speech recognition systems use hmms to model speech units like triphones . a typical hmm has 3 states each modeling the initial , middle and the final segments of that triphone . typically , these models are gaussian mixture models ( gmms ) which are a collection of gaussians modeling the probability distribution of the features belonging to that state . each gaussian is represented by two parameters , the mean and the variance . the use of hmms in the field of speech recognition is well known and description of hmms can be found in general references such as l . rabiner and b . juang , “ fundamentals of speech recognition ”, prentice hall , 1993 and frederick jelinek , “ statistical methods for speech recognition ”, mit press , cambridge , mass ., 1998 . in the context of the present dnc , the hmms are trained using clean speech data . the training procedure estimates the parameters of all the gaussians in the models . in dnc , these parameters are modified so that they now model noisy speech . consider a gaussian modeling clean speech . let the mean of the gaussian be m and standard deviation c . if the noise estimate from the noisy speech is n , then the mean m ′ and variance c ′ for noisy speech are estimated as : the interpolation weight w is determined from an estimate of the signal to noise ratio ( snr ). in one embodiment , the noise estimate ( and the snr ) is obtained by averaging low energy frames in the input noisy speech . specifically , to estimate the noise , the frames with the lowest energy in the input speech are identified . these frames are assumed to be noise frames and these are used to estimate a noise model . generally , the noise model can be a gmm ( i . e ., a mixture of gaussians ), but in practice it has been found that a single gaussian model of noise works quite well . in turn , the mean of the noise model ( n ) is used in the dnc formula to estimate the noisy speech models . this noise estimate is used to update all the gaussians in the clean speech models ( hmms ) using the above formula . [ 0032 ] fig5 illustrates a block diagram of a speech recognition system 500 of the present invention as implemented using a general purpose computer . the speech recognition device or system 500 comprises a processor ( cpu ) 512 , a memory 514 , e . g ., random access memory ( ram ) and / or read only memory ( rom ), a speech recognizer module 516 , and various input / output devices 520 , ( e . g ., storage devices , including but not limited to , a tape drive , a floppy drive , a hard disk drive or a compact disk drive , a receiver , a transmitter , a speaker , a display , a speech signal input device , e . g ., a microphone , a keyboard , a keypad , a mouse , an a / d converter , and the like ). namely , speech recognizer module 516 can be the speech recognizer module 130 of fig1 . it should be understood that the speech recognizer module 516 can be implemented as a physical device that is coupled to the cpu 512 through a communication channel . alternatively , the speech recognizer module 516 can be represented by one or more software applications ( or even a combination of software and hardware , e . g ., using application specific integrated circuits ( asic )), where the software is loaded from a storage medium , ( e . g ., a magnetic or optical drive or diskette ) and operated by the cpu in the memory 514 of the computer . as such , the speech recognizer module 516 ( including associated methods and data structures ) of the present invention can be stored on a computer readable medium , e . g ., ram memory , magnetic or optical drive or diskette and the like . additionally , it should be understood that various modules and models ( e . g ., feature extraction module , language models , acoustic models , speech synthesis module , translation module and its sub - modules ) as discussed above or known in the art can be stored and recalled into memory 514 for execution . although various embodiments which incorporate the teachings of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein , those skilled in the art can readily devise many other varied embodiments that still incorporate these teachings .
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a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester composition and a method of producing the same according to the present invention are described in the following . the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester composition in the present invention comprises causing a radical polymerization inhibitor , or both of a radical polymerization inhibitor and a basic compound , to coexist with a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the following general formula ( 1 ): in the formula , r 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group , r 2 represents an organic residue and r 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue . the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in the present invention are compounds represented by the general formula ( 1 ) and having specific structures containing a vinyl ether group represented by — o — ch ═ ch — r 3 and a ( meth ) acryloyl group represented by ch 2 ═ cr 1 — coo — within one molecule . in the practice of the present invention , such compounds may be used singly or two or more of them may be used in combination . in the practice of the present invention , the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 1 ) may be those compounds in which the substituent represented by r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group , the substituent represented by r 2 is an organic residue and the substituent represented by r 3 is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue . in the present specification , the term “ organic residues ” as used herein in defining compounds represented by the general formula means organic groups bound to the fundamental structures constituting these compounds . the organic residues represented by r 2 in the above general formula ( 1 ) are preferably , for example , straight , branched or cyclic alkylene groups containing 2 to 20 carbon atoms , alkylene groups containing 2 to 20 carbon atoms and having at least one oxygen atom in the form of an ether linkage and / or an ester linkage within the structure thereof , and aromatic groups which contain 6 to 11 carbon atoms and may optionally be substituted . among them , alkylene groups containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms and alkylene groups containing 4 to 10 carbon atoms and having at least one oxygen atom in the form of an ether linkage are preferred . the organic residues represented by r 3 in the above general formula ( 1 ) are preferably , for example , straight , branched or cyclic alkyl groups containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms and aromatic groups which contain 6 to 11 carbon atoms and may optionally be substituted . among them , alkyl groups containing 1 to 2 carbon atoms and aromatic groups containing 6 to 8 carbon atoms are preferred . as typical examples of vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ), specifically , the following ones are preferred : 2 - vinyloxyethyl ( meth ) acrylate , 3 - vinyloxypropyl ( meth ) acrylate , 1 - methyl - 2 - vinyloxyethyl ( meth ) acrylate , 2 - vinyloxypropyl ( meth ) acrylate , 4 - vinyloxybutyl ( meth ) acrylate , 4 - vinyloxycyclohexyl ( meth ) acrylate , 6 - vinyloxyhexyl ( meth ) acrylate , 4 - vinyloxymethylcyclohexylmethyl ( meth ) acrylate , 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl ( meth ) acrylate and 2 -( vinyloxyethoxyethoxy ) ethyl ( meth ) acrylate . in the practice of the present invention , methods of producing vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 1 ) are preferably , for example , the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic acid and a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether to esterification ( method a ), the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic acid halide and a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether to esterification ( method b ), the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic anhydride and a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether to esterification ( method c ), the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic ester and a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether to transesterification ( method d ), the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic acid and a halogen - containing vinyl ether to esterification ( method e ) and the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic acid alkali ( or alkaline earth ) metal and a halogen - containing vinyl ether to esterification ( method f ). among them , the method comprising subjecting a ( meth ) acrylic ester and a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether to transesterification ( method d ) is preferred . on that occasion , the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which is mentioned later herein is preferably applied . in accordance with the present invention , stabilized vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester compositions can be obtained by causing a radical polymerization inhibitor , or both of a radical polymerization inhibitor and a basic compound , to coexist with the above vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the radical polymerization inhibitor and basic compound may each be used singly or a combination of two or more species . as methods of producing vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester compositions according to the present invention , ( 1 ) the method comprising adding a predetermined amount of a radical polymerization inhibitor , or a predetermined amount of a radical polymerization inhibitor and a predetermined amount of a basic compound , to the above vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester , ( 2 ) the method comprising adding the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester to a predetermined amount of a radical polymerization inhibitor , or a predetermined amount of a radical polymerization inhibitor and a predetermined amount of a basic compound , and ( 3 ) the method comprising a combination of the above two methods are preferred . such a production method , namely the method of causing a radical polymerization inhibitor , or both of a radical polymerization inhibitor and a basic compound , to coexist with the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ), also constitutes an aspect of the present invention . the radical polymerization inhibitors to be used in accordance with the invention maybe those radical polymerization inhibitors in general use . specifically , there may be preferably mentioned quinone type polymerization inhibitors such as hydroquinone , methoxyhydroquinone , benzoquinone and p - tert - butylcatechol ; alkylphenol type polymerization inhibitors such as 2 , 6 - di - tert - butylphenol , 2 , 4 - di - tert - butylphenol , 2 - tert - butyl - 4 , 6 - dimethylphenol , 2 , 6 - di - tert - butyl - 4 - methylphenol and 2 , 4 , 6 - tri - tert - butylphenol ; amine type polymerization inhibitors such as alkylated diphenylamine , n , n ′- diphenyl - p - phenylenediamine , phenothiazine , 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine , 4 - benzoyloxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine , 1 , 4 - dihydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine and 1 - hydroxy - 4 - benzoyloxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine ; copper dithiocarbamate type polymerization inhibitors such as copper dimethyldithiocarbamate , copper diethyldithiocarbamate and copper dibutyldithiocarbamate ; n - oxyl type polymerization inhibitors such as 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl , 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl , 4 - benzoyloxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl and esters of 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl ; etc . among these , quinone type polymerizaiton inhibitors , amine type polymerization inhibitors , copper dithiocarbamate type polymerization inhibitors and n - oxyl type polymerization inhibitors are preferred radical polymerization inhibitors . particularly preferred radical polymerization inhibitors are hydroquinone , methoxyhydroquinone , benzoquinone , p - tert - butylcatechol , phenothiazine , alkylateddiphenylamine , copper dibutyldithiocarbamate , 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl , 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl , esters of 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl , and the like . the level of addition of the above radical polymerization inhibitors may vary according to the species of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the general formula ( 1 ) but preferably is not less than 0 . 00001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weigh , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , but preferably not more than 5 % by weight , more preferably not more than1 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight , relative to said vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the above range of the radical polymerization inhibitor addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of polymerization inhibition and economy . the basic compounds to be used in accordance with the present invention are preferably , for example , alkali ( alkaline earth ) metal hydroxides such as lithium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , cesium hydroxide , magnesium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide ; alkali ( alkaline earth ) metal carbonate salts such as lithium hydrogen carbonate , sodium hydrogen carbonate , potassium hydrogen carbonate , cesium hydrogen carbonate , magnesium hydrogen carbonate , calcium hydrogen carbonate , lithium carbonate , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , cesium carbonate , magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate ; alkali ( alkaline earth ) metal carboxylate salts such as lithium acetate , sodium acetate , potassium acetate , cesium acetate , magnesium acetate and calcium acetate ; alkali ( alkaline earth ) metal alkoxides such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , sodium butoxide , potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium butoxide and calcium ethoxide ; amines such as ammonia , methylamine , ethylamine , butylamine , ethanolamine , dimethylamine , diethylamine , dibutylamine , diethanolamine , trimethylamine , triethylamine , tributylamine , tris ( 2 - ethylhexyl ) amine , triethanolamine , ethylenediamine , tetramethylethylenediamine , tren , 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 , 2 , 2 ] octane , aniline , methylaniline , dimethylaniline , pyridine , piperidine , picoline , n , n - dimethyl - p - toluidine , lutidine , quinoline , isoquinoline and collidine ; etc . preferred among these basic compounds are alkali ( alkaline earth ) metal hydroxides and amines . particularly preferred basic compounds are sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , tris ( 2 - ethylhexyl ) amine , tributylamine and triethanolamine . the level of addition of the above basic compounds may vary according to the species of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the general formula ( 1 ) but preferably is not less than 0 . 00001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weigh , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , but preferably not more than 5 % by weight , more preferably not more than 1 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight , relative to said vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the above range of the basic compound addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of polymerization inhibition and economy . by causing radical polymerization inhibitors , or both of radical polymerization inhibitors and basic compounds , to coexist with vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 1 ) in accordance with the present invention , it becomes possible to stabilize the above esters more effectively . the ratio between the radical polymerization inhibitor and basic compound on that occasion may be such that each are used at an addition level within the range mentioned above . the compositions of the present invention , namely “ the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters and the radical polymerization inhibitors ”, or “ the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters together with the radical polymerization inhibitors and the basic compounds ” may be used together with other components such as additives , organic solvents and the like . in such cases , the ratio of other components is preferably not less than 50 % by weight , more preferably not less than 70 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 80 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 90 % by weight , most preferably not less than 95 % by weight , relative to the total amount of the composition . the method of handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters according to the present invention is now described . the method of handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters according to the invention is preferably ( a ) the mode in which the water concentration in a liquid phase containing the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) is at a level not higher than 15 % by weight , ( b ) the mode in which the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in contact with the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) is at a level of 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume , ( c ) the mode in which the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) is handled in a lightproof structure or ( d ) the mode in which the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) is handled in a lightproof structure while keeping the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within said lightproof structure at 0 . 01 to 22 % by volume . it is also possible to appropriately combine the modes ( a ), ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ). the term “ handling ” as used in the present invention means the transportation of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in tank lorries or the like ; the storage in tanks , containers or the like ; transfer through piping including pipes , valves , nozzles , etc . ; and mixing and stirring in reaction vessels , reaction apparatuses , tanks , containers or the like . these operations may be conducted singly or two or more of them may be conducted in appropriate combination . in handling the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters of the general formula ( 1 ) according to the present invention , it is preferred that radical polymerization inhibitors , or both of radical polymerization inhibitors and basic compounds be caused to coexist with the esters . as the radical polymerization inhibitors and basic compounds , there may respectively be used those specifically mentioned hereinabove . the level of addition of the above radical polymerization inhibitors may vary according to the species of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) but preferably is not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 001 % by weigh , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 002 % by weight , but preferably not more 5 % by weight , more preferably not more 1 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight , relative to said vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the above range of the radical polymerization inhibitor addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition and economy . the level of addition of the above basic compounds may vary according to the species of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the general formula ( 1 ) but preferably is not less than 0 . 00001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weigh , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , but preferably not more than 5 % by weight , more preferably not more1 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than0 . 1 % by weight , relative to the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the above range of the basic compound addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition and economy . in cases where the above radical polymerization inhibitors and basic compounds are caused to coexist with the esters , the ratio between the radical polymerization inhibitor and basic compound may be such that each are used at an addition level within the range mentioned above . in handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in the above - mentioned mode ( a ), the water concentration in the liquid phase , namely in the liquid phase containing vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ), is adjusted within a specific range . the water concentration in the liquid phase is not more than 15 % by weight , preferably not more than 5 % by weight , more preferably not more than 3 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 1 %, particularly preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight . the above water concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of stable handling . for adjusting the water concentration in the above liquid phase to not more than 15 % by weight in the production of vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters , the following methods are preferred : the method comprising storing them promptly after purification by distillation or washing with water - insoluble solvents ; the method comprising bubbling dried inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon and mixed gas composed of such inert gas and oxygen through the esters at room temperature or under warming conditions ; the method comprising drying the esters with dehydrating agents such as molecular sieve , calcium chloride , magnesium sulfate , calcium sulfate or potassium carbonate , etc . these methods may appropriately be used in combination . in handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in the above - mentioned mode ( b ), the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase , namely in the gaseous phase in contact with the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters , is adjusted within a specific range . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume , preferably not lower than 0 . 02 % by volume , more preferably not lower than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not higher than 12 % by volume , more preferably not higher than 10 % by volume . the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of stable handling and economy . the “ gaseous phase ( gaseous phase in contact with the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester )” means the gaseous phase in containers or structures , such as tank lorries or tanks , with the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters placed therein for handling . as for the method of adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the above gaseous phase to 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume , for example , the method comprising blowing inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , into the gaseous phase and / or liquid phase and the method comprising blowing mixed gas composed of inert gas and oxygen into the gaseous phase and / or liquid phase are preferred . furthermore , in accordance with the present invention , it is preferred from the viewpoint of stable handling and economy that , in handling the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters , the molecular oxygen concentration in the above gaseous phase be adjusted to 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume and the water concentration in the liquid phase containing the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester be adjusted to not higher than 15 % by weight . in this case , the adjustment methods , the preferred molecular oxygen concentration range and the preferred water concentration range are the same as mentioned above . in handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in the above - mentioned mode ( c ), handling them in lightproof structures makes stable handling possible . the “ lightproof structures ” used in handling according to the present invention are structures made of lightproof materials , such as structures for transportation for example tank lorries ; structures for storage for example tanks , drums , bottles and cans ; structures for transfer for example pipes , nozzles and valves ; and structures for mixing and stirring for example reaction vessels , tanks and containers ; etc . the portion of the inside surface area of the structure to which light can reach is preferably not more than 20 %, more preferably not more than 15 %, still more preferably not more than 10 %, particularly preferably not more than 8 %, of the whole inside surface area of the structure . the “ lightproof materials ” as so referred to herein are materials substantially impermeable to light ( visible rays , ultraviolet rays and infrared rays ). furthermore , the structure inside surface portion to which light can reach or the structure inside surface portion to which light cannot reach may be continuous or discontinuous . the lightproof materials mentioned above include , for example , as preferred species , iron and steel such as industrial pure iron , carbon steel ( jisg - ss , jisg - sc , jisg - sb , jisg - sm , jisg - sgp , jisg - stgp , jisg - sts , jisg - stb , jisg - stl , jisg - stkm , jisg - swr , jisg - sk , jisg - sf , jisg - sc , etc . ), cast iron ( jisg - fc , jisg - fcd , jisg - fcm , etc . ), low - alloy steeel ( jisg - snc , jisg - sncm , jisg - scr , jisg - scm , jisg - sacm , jisg - sca , etc . ), low - alloy cast iron ( nitensil , nihard , acicular , etc . ), low - nickel steel ( jisg - stpl , jisg - stbl , jes - ni , astm - a203 , etc . ), nickel steel ( astma353 , etc . ), chrome stainless steel ( jisg - suh1 , jisg - suh2 , jisg - suh3 , aisi - tp501 , aisi - tp503 , etc . ), etc . ; high silicon cast iron ; high nickel cast iron such as 15 % ni cast iron ( ni - resist1 , etc . ), 20 % ni cast iron ( ni - resist2 , etc . ), 30 % ni cast iron ( ni - resist3 , etc . ), etc . ; high chromium steel such as high cr cast iron ( nirosta , etc . ), high cr — mo cast iron , etc . further includes martensitic stainless steel such as 13 crsteel ( sus403 , sus410 , sus414 , sus416 , etc . ), 13cr steel ( sus420 , etc . ), 16cr2ni steel ( sus431 , sus440a , sus440b , sus440c , etc . ), etc . ; ferritic stainless steel such as 18 cr steel ( sus420 , etc . ), 25cr steel ( sus446 , etc . ), 13cr — al steel ( sus405 , etc . ), etc . ; austenitic stainless steel such as 18 - 8 steel ( sus301 , sus302 , sus303 , sus304 , sus305 , sus308 , sus321 , sus347 , etc . ), 18 - 8l steel ( sus304l , etc . ), 18 - 8mo steel ( sus316 , sus317 , etc . ), 18 - 8mol steel ( sus316l , etc . ), 22cr - 12ni steel ( sus309 , sus309s , etc . ), 25cr - 20ni steel ( sus310 , sus310s , sus314 , etc . ), etc . ; special austenitic stainless steel such as 20 alloys ( worthite , durimet20 , carpenter20 , aloyco20 , fa20 , etc . ), hn alloys ( chromax , etc . ), etc . ; fe — cr — al alloys such as fe — cr — al — si alloys ( sicromal8 , sicromal9 , sicromal10 , sicromal11 , sicromal12 , etc . ), fe — cr — al — co alloys ( kanthala , etc . ), etc . ; high manganese steel such as jis - scmnh , etc . ; copper and copper alloys such as industrial pure copper ( jis - cup , jis - cub , jis - cut , jis - dcup , jis - dcut , etc . ), cu — al alloys ( jis - abp , jis - abb , jis - bstf , aluminum bronze , aluminum brass , etc . ), cu — si alloys ( jis - sibt , jis - szbc , siliconbronze , everdur , aralloys , silzinbronze , etc . ), cu — sn - p alloys ( jis - pbp , jis - pbs , jis - pbb , jis - pbc , phosphor bronze , etc . ), cu — sn — zn alloys ( jis - bsc , bronze casting , etc . ), cu — zn alloys ( jis - nbsp , etc . ), cu — zn — sn alloys ( red - brass , etc . ), cu — zn alloys ( jis - bsp , jis - lbc , jis - rbsp , brass , leadedbrass , redbrass , etc . ), etc . ; cu — ni alloys such as cu — ni 20 ( cupro - nickel , jis - cntf2 , etc . ), ni — ag ( nickel silver , german silver , jis - nsp , jis - snp1 , etc . ), cu — ni 30 ( cupro - nickel , jis - cntf3 , jis - cnp3 , etc . ), etc . ; aluminum and aluminum alloys such as industrial pure aluminum ( jis - alp , jis - alr , jis - alb , jis - alv , jis - alw , jis - alt , alcoa - ec , alcoa - 1050 , alcoa - 1060 , alcoa - 1100 , alcoa - 1130 , alcoa - 1175 , alcoa - 1260 , etc . ), highlypure aluminum , al — mn alloys ( jis - a2p3 , jis - a2t3 , alcoa - 3003 , etc . ), high - tensile aluminum alloys ( jis - a3p , jis - a3r , jis - a3t , jis - a3b , jis - a3w , alcoa - 2014 , alcoa - 2017 , alcoa - 2024 , alcoa - 2025 , duralumin , super duralumin , y alloys , etc . ), al — mg — si alloys ( jis - a4f , alcoa - 6061 , etc . ), al — si alloys ( jis - ac3a , jis - ac4abc , alcoa - 4032 , silumin casting , etc . ), al — mg alloys ( jis - corrosion protected aluminum alloy type 1 , jis - corrosion protected aluminum alloy type 2 , jis - corrosion protected aluminum alloy type 7 , alcoa - 5052 , alcoa - 5056 , alcoa - 5083 , etc . ), etc . ; magnesium and magnesium alloys such as industrial pure magnesium , magnesium alloys ( jis - mc , dowmetal , elektron , etc . ), etc . ; nickel such as industrial pure nickel ( jis - vnip , jis - vcnip , jis - vniw , jis - vcnit , astm - b39 , astm - 160 , astm - 161 , astm - 162 , etc . ), etc . ; ni — cr — fe alloys such as 27a ( inconel , colmonoy6 , etc . ), 27b ( incone1600 , astm - b163 , astm - b166 , astm - b167 , astm - b168 , etc . ), 27c , etc . ; ni — cu alloys such as monel ( jis - ncut , jis - ncup , astm - b127 , astm - b163 , astm - b164 , astm - b165 , monel 400 , etc . ), k monel , etc . ; ni — mo — fe — cr alloys such as 30a ( hastelloya , contracid , etc . ), 30b ( astm - b333 , astm - b335 , astm - b494 , hastelloyb , chlorimet2 , etc . ), 30c ( astm - b336 , astm - b494 , hastelloyc , chlorimet3 , etc . ), 30d ( hastelloyn , etc . ), 30e ( hastelloyf , etc . ), 30f ( ni - o - nel , etc . ), 30g ( r - 55 , etc . ), etc . ; ni — cr — cu — mo alloys such as 31a ( illiumg , etc . ), 31b ( illium98 , etc . ); ni — si alloys such as hastelloyd , etc . ; cobalt alloys such as co — cr alloys ( stelite21 , stelite23 , stelite27 , stelite31 , etc . ), co — cr — ni alloys ( haynes25 , haynes36 , etc . ), co — si alloys , etc . ; lead and lead alloys such as industrial pure lead ( jis - pbp , jis - pbt , jis - pbtw , astm - b29 , astm - b325 , etc . ), lead telluride , hard lead ( jis - hpbp , jis - hpbt , astm - b23 , astm - b32 , etc . ), homogen lead fusion lining , etc . ; tin ; zinc and zinc alloys such as industrial pure zinc ( jis - zinc plate , astm - b6 , etc . ), zinc alloys ( astm - b69 , etc . ), etc . ; precious metals such as silver , gold , platinum , niobium , tantalum ( astm - b364 , astm - b365 , etc .) and platinum group and vanadium group metals ; tungsten ; titanium and titanium alloys such as industrial pure titanium ( jis - tp , jis - ttp , jis - tb , jis - tw , astm - b265 , astm - b337 , astm - b338 , astm - b348 , astm - b299 , astm - b367 , astm - b381 , etc . ), titanium alloys ( astm - b265 , astm - b348 , astm - b367 , astm - b381 , etc . ), etc . ; zirconium and zirconium alloys such as zirconium ( astm - b349 , astm - b350 , astm - b351 , astm - b352 , astm - b353 , astm - b356 , etc . ), zirconium alloys ( zircaloy - 1 , zircaloy - 2 , zircaloy - 3 , astm - b350 , astm - b351 , astm - b352 , astm - b353 , astm - b356 , etc . ), etc . ; molybdenum such as astm - b384 , astm - b385 , astm - b386 , astm - b387 , etc . ; chromium such as astm - b383 , astm - b391 , astm - b392 , astm - b393 , astm - b394 , etc . ; silicate products such as porcelain , earthenware , liparite , acid - resistant bricks , acid - resistant tiles , acid - resistant porcelain , silica cement , fire bricks , refractory mortar , vitreous enamel , etc . ; concrete ; sulfur cement ; carbon and graphite products such as carbon formed products , graphite formed products , impervious carbon , impervious graphite , etc . ; asbestos ; synthetic resins such as opaque vinylidene chloride resin , opaque phenol resin , opaque furan resin , opaque vinyl chloride resin , opaque ethylene tetrafluoride , opaque ethylene trifluoride , opaque silicate resin , opaque polyethylene , opaque polyisobutylene , opaque polystyrene , opaque epoxy resin , opaque unsaturated polyester , opaque polyamide resin , opaque chlorinated polyether resin , opaque polycarbonate resin , opaque polyurethane resin , opaque urea resin , opaquemelamine resin , etc . ; asphalt ; natural rubber and synthetic rubber such as opaque natural rubber , opaque natural rubber hydrochloride or chlorinated natural rubber , opaque nitrile rubber , opaque styrene rubber , opaque butadiene - isobutylene synthetic rubber , opaque polychloroprene , opaque asbestos - filled rubber sheet , opaque butyl rubber , opaque polysulfide rubber , opaque chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber , opaque fluorine rubber , opaque silicone rubber , opaque urethane rubber , etc . ; glass such as glass of which inside and / or outside is coated with opaque synthetic resin , glass of which inside and / or outside is coated with natural rubber or synthetic rubber , glass of which inside and / or outside is coated with metal , glass of which inside and / or outside is plated with metal , etc . among these , iron and steel , high silicon cast iron , high nickel cast iron , high chromium steel , martensitic stainless steel , ferritic stainless steel , austenitic stainless steel , special austenitic stainless steel , fe — cr — al alloys , high manganese steel , copper and copper alloys , cu — ni alloys , aluminum and aluminum alloys , magnesium and magnesium alloys , nickel , ni — cr — fe alloys , ni — cu alloys , ni — mo — fe — cr alloys , ni — cr — cu — mo alloys , ni — si alloys , cobalt alloys , lead and lead alloys , tin , zinc and zinc alloys , tungsten , titanium and titanium alloys , zirconium and zirconium alloys , molybdenum and chromium are more preferred as the lightproof material . these lightproof materials can be used singly or two or more of them may be used in combination . in handling a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) in the above mode ( d ), the ester is handled in a lightproof structure in an atmosphere such that a molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the structure of 0 . 01 to 22 % by volume , whereby quality degradation due to polymerization or decomposition can effectively be prevented and the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester can be handled in a more stable manner . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the above structures is preferably not lower than 0 . 02 % by volume , particularly preferably not lower than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not higher than 18 % by volume , particularly preferably not higher than 15 % by volume . if the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the structures is lower than 0 . 01 % by volume , vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters may undergo polymerization due to free of oxygen . if the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the structures is higher than 22 % by volume , quality degradation may occur due to polymerization or decomposition . therefore , the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of quality , polymerization inhibition and economy . it is necessary to handle the esters in lightproof structures since the quality degradation due to polymerization or decomposition mentioned above is accelerated in optically transparent structures . available for use in adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the above structures to a specific range are ( a ) the method comprising feeding molecular oxygen or a gas containing molecular oxygen , such as air , and an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , respectively to the structure and ( b ) the method comprising admixing molecular oxygen or a molecular oxygen - containing gas , such as air , with an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , in advance and then feeding the mixture to the structure , and the like . as for the gas feeding method , the gases or gas mixture is fed to one or both of the liquid phase and gaseous phase either continuously or intermittently . as for the method of maintaining the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the structure within a specific range , the continuous or intermittent feeding method and the method comprising initial atmosphere substitution , followed by tight closure are preferred . in handling vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ), the handling temperature is , specifically , preferably not lower than − 20 ° c ., more preferably not lower than − 15 ° c ., still more preferably not lower than − 5 ° c ., particularly preferably not lower than 0 ° c . conversely , it is preferably not higher than 125 ° c ., more preferably not higher than 100 ° c ., still more preferably not higher than 80 ° c ., particularly preferably not higher than 60 ° c . the handling pressure may be at ordinary pressure ( atmospheric pressure ), under pressure or under reduced pressure . the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester according to the present invention is described in the following . the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester is a method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 1 ). the above method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester comprises reacting a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether represented by the following general formula ( 2 ): in the formula , r 2 represents an organic residue and r 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue , with a ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the following general formula ( 3 ): in the formula , r 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and r 4 represents an organic residue , and in which the above hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a divinyl ether represented by the following general formula ( 4 ): in the formula , r 2 represents an organic residue and the two r 3 groups are the same or different and each represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue , a 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compound represented by the following general formula ( s ): in the formula , r 2 represents an organic residue and r 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue , and an unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ether represented by the following general formula ( 6 ): in the formula , r 3 represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue ; r 5 represents an organic residue containing an unsaturated bond represented by — cr 6 ═ cr 7 —; and r 6 and r 7 are the same or different and each represents a hydrogen atom or an organic residue . in the present specification , such production method is referred to as the production method ( a ). in the above production method ( a ), vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters can be produced economically by using hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether compositions containing at least one compound selected from the group consisting of divinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 4 ), 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compounds represented by the above general formula ( 5 ) and unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 6 ) as a raw material ( raw material composition ) without using an entirely pure hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether as a raw material and , by using such hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether compositions , it becomes possible to remove the by product lower alcohols more easily and curtail the time for producing the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters as compared with the case of using the entirely pure hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers . in accordance with the present invention , the starting material alcohols in the transesterification reaction are compositions containing hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers . the above hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers may be the compounds represented by the above general formula ( 2 ), in which the substituent represented by r 3 is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue and the substituent represented by r 2 is an organic residue . the above r 2 and r 3 are the same as the r 2 and r 3 in the above general formula ( 1 ), respectively . typical examples of the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 2 ) specifically include the following preferred ones : 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 3 - hydroxypropyl vinyl ether , 4 - hydroxybutyl vinyl ether , 4 - hydroxycyclohexyl vinyl ether , 1 , 6 - hexanediol monovinyl ether , 1 , 4 - cyclohexanedimethanol monovinyl ether , diethylene glycolmonovinyl ether , triethylene glycol monovinyl ether and dipropylene glycol monovinyl ether . the raw material compositions used in the practice of the invention contain , in addition to the hydroxy - containing vinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 2 ), at least one compound selected from the group consisting of divinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 4 ), 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compounds represented by the above general formula ( 5 ) and unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 6 ). the divinyl ethers of the above general formula ( 4 ), 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compound of the above general formula ( 5 ) and unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ethers of the above general formula ( 6 ) may be contained respectively singly or two or more of them may be contained . the lower limit to the total amount of the impurities represented by the above general formulas ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) is preferably not less than 0 . 01 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 1 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 5 % by weight , but preferably not more than 70 % by weight , more preferably not more than 50 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 30 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 20 % by weight , relative to the raw material composition . the above impurity content range is preferred from the viewpoint of reaction rate , yield and economy . the impurities represented by the above general formula ( 4 ), the above general formula ( 5 ) and the above general formula ( 6 ) are preferably contained in the starting material hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers of the above general formula ( 2 ). they may also occur in the reaction system , however , as a result of intentional addition to the reaction system or formation during the reaction , for instance . in cases where the above impurities occur in the reaction system , the lower limit to the total amount thereof is preferably not less than 0 . 001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 005 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 01 % by weight , but preferably not more than 10 % by weight , more preferably not more than 8 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 3 % by weight , relative to the reaction system . the above impurity content range is preferred from the viewpoint of reaction rate , yield and economy . one species of the impurities to be contained in the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers in the practice of the present invention is the divinyl ethers . the divinyl ethers may be those compounds represented by the above general formula ( 4 ), in which the substituent represented by r 3 may be the same or different and each is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue and the substituent represented by r 2 is an organic residue . the above r 2 and r 3 are the same as mentioned above . typical examples of the divinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 4 ) specifically include such preferred ones as divinyl ether , ethylene glycol divinyl ether , propylene glycol divinyl ether , propanediol divinyl ether , butanediol divinyl ether , 1 , 4 - cyclohexane divinyl ether , 1 , 6 - hexanediol divinyl ether , 1 , 4 - cyclohexanedimethanol divinyl ether , diethylene glycol divinyl ether , triethylene glycol divinyl ether and dipropylene glycol divinyl ether . one species of the impurities to be contained in the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers in accordance with the present invention is the 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compounds , and may be the compounds represented by the general formula ( 5 ), in which the substituent represented by r 3 is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue and the substituent represented by r 2 is an organic residue . the above r 2 and r 3 are the same as mentioned above . typical examples of the 2 - substituted - 1 , 3 - dioxo compounds represented by the above general formula ( 5 ) specifically include such preferred ones as 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolane , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxane , 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxepane , 1 , 6 - hexanediol acetaldehyde cyclic acetal , diethylene glycol acetaldehyde cyclic acetal , triethylene glycol acetaldehyde cyclic acetal and dipropylene glycol acetaldehyde cyclic acetal . one species of the impurities to be contained in the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers in accordance with the present invention is the unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ethers , and may be the compounds represented by the above general formula ( 6 ), in which the substituent represented by r 3 is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue and the substituent represented by r 5 is an organic residue containing an unsaturated bond represented by — cr 6 ═ cr 7 —. the above r 3 is the same as mentioned above . the organic residue represented by r 5 in the above general formula ( 6 ) and containing an unsaturated bond represented by — cr 6 ═ cr 7 —, in which r 6 and r 7 are the same or different and each is a hydrogen atom or an organic residue , is an organic residue having a structure derived from the — r 2 — oh group in the general formula ( 2 ) by dehydration . specifically , when — r 2 — oh is — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 — oh , for instance , the organic residue represented by r 5 is — ch 2 ch ═ ch 2 and both of r 6 and r 7 are hydrogen atoms . when — r 2 — oh is — ch 2 ch ( oh ) ch 3 , the organic residue represented by r 5 is — ch 2 ch ═ ch 2 or — ch ═ ch — ch 3 and r 6 is a hydrogen atom in either case and r 7 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group . typical examples of the unsaturated bond - containing vinyl ethers represented by the above general formula ( 6 ) specifically include such preferred ones as2 - propenyl vinyl ether , 1 - propenyl vinyl ether , 3 - butenyl vinyl ether and 5 - hexenyl vinyl ether . the ( meth ) acrylic esters , which are starting materials in the practice of the invention may be those compounds represented by the above general formula ( 3 ), in which the substituent represented by r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and the substituent represented by r 4 is an organic residue . the organic residues represented by r 4 in the above general formula ( 3 ) are preferably , for example , straight , branched or cyclic alkyl groups containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms and aromatic groups containing 6 to 10 carbon atoms , which may optionally be substituted . among these , alkyl groups containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms are preferably used . typical examples of the ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 3 ) are , specifically , as preferred ones , lower alkyl ( meth ) acrylic esters such as methyl ( meth ) acrylate , ethyl ( meth ) acrylate , propyl ( meth ) acrylate , isopropyl ( meth ) acrylate , butyl ( meth ) acrylate , isobutyl ( meth ) acrylate , sec - butyl ( meth ) acrylate and tert - butyl ( meth ) acrylate . these may be used singly or in admixture . in the practice of the invention , the transesterification reactions are preferably carried out in the presence of transesterification catalysts . the alcohols formed as reaction byproducts are preferably removed from the reaction system . as for the reaction mole ratio between the ( meth ) acrylic esters and the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers in the above transesterification reactions , specifically , the ( meth ) acrylic esters / hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers mole ratio is preferably within the range of 6 / 1 to 1 / 5 , more preferably within the range of 5 / 1 to 1 / 3 , still more preferably within the range of 4 / 1 to 1 / 2 , particularly preferably within the range of 3 / 1 to 1 / 1 . the above mole ratio range is preferred from the viewpoint of yield and economy . the above transesterification catalysts are , specifically , as preferred ones , oxides such as calcium oxide , barium oxide , lead oxide , zinc oxide and zirconium oxide ; hydroxides such as potassium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide , lithium hydroxide , calcium hydroxide , thallium hydroxide , tin hydroxide , lead hydroxide and nickel hydroxide ; halides such as lithium chloride , calcium chloride , tin chloride , lead chloride , zirconium chloride and nickel chloride ; carbonate salts such as potassium carbonate , rubidium carbonate , cesium carbonate , lead carbonate , zinc carbonate and nickel carbonate ; hydrogen carbonate salts such as potassium hydrogen carbonate , rubidium hydrogen carbonate and cesium hydrogen carbonate ; phosphate salts such as sodium phosphate , potassium phosphate , rubidium phosphate , lead phosphate , zinc phosphate and nickel phosphate ; nitrate salts such as lithium nitrate , calcium nitrate , lead nitrate , zinc nitrate and nickel nitrate ; carboxylate salts such as lithium acetate , calcium acetate , lead acetate , zinc acetate and nickel acetate ; alkoxy compounds such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide , calcium methoxide , calcium ethoxide , barium methoxide , barium ethoxide , tetraethoxytitanium , tetrabutoxytitanium and tetra ( 2 - ethylhexanoxy ) titanium ; acetylacetonato complexes such as lithium acetylacetonate , zirconia acetylacetonate , zinc acetylacetonate , dibutoxytin acetylacetonate and dibutoxytitanium acetylacetonate ; quaternary ammonium alkoxides such as tetramethylammonium methoxide , tetramethylammonium tert - butoxide and trimethylbenzylammonium ethoxide ; dialkyltin compounds such as dimethyltin oxide , methylbutyltin oxide , dibutyltin oxide and dioctyltin oxide ; distannoxanes such as bis ( dibutyltin acetate ) oxide and bis ( dibutyltin laurate ) oxide ; and dialkyltin dicarboxylate salts such as dibutyltin diacetate and dibutyltin dilaurate . these may be used singly or two or more of them may be used in combination . among these transesterification catalysts , potassium carbonate , cesium carbonate , tetraethoxytitanium , tetrabutoxytitanium , tetra ( 2 - ethylhexanoxy ) titanium , zirconia acetylacetonate , dibutyltin oxide , dioctyltin oxide , bis ( dibutyltin acetate ) oxide , bis ( dibutyltin laurate ) oxide , dibutyltin diacetate and dibutyltin dilaurate are preferably used . the level of addition of the above transesterification catalysts is , specifically , preferably not less than 0 . 001 mole percent , more preferably not less than 0 . 005 mole percent , still more preferably not less than 0 . 01 mole percent , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 05 mole percent , but preferably not more than 20 mole percent , more preferably not more than 15 mole percent , still more preferably not more than 10 mole percent , particularly preferably not more than 5 mole percent . the above range of transesterification catalyst addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield and economy . as the method of removing the above by product alcohols , for example , the method comprising carrying out the reaction under reduced pressure , the method comprising carrying out the reaction using azeotropic solvents and the method comprising carrying out the reaction in the presence of adsorbents are preferred . among these , the method comprising carrying out the reaction under reduced pressure and the method comprising carrying out the reaction using azeotropic solvents are preferred . the above azeotropic solvents may be ones which do not adversely affect the reaction . specifically , ethers such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether and dibutyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane , hexane , heptane and cyclohexane ; halogenated hydrocarbons such as chloroform , methylene chloride , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane and chlorobenzene ; and the like are preferred . these azeotropic solvents may be used singly or two or more of them may be used in combination . the level of addition of the above azeotropic solvents is , specifically , preferably not less than 0 % by weight relative to the total weight of the ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 3 ) and the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers represented by the general formula ( 2 ). conversely , it is preferably not more than 300 % by weight , more preferably not more than 200 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 150 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 100 % by weight , relative to the total weight of the ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 3 ) and the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers represented by the general formula ( 2 ). the above range of the organic solvent addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield and economy . the ( meth ) acrylic ester used in excess as well as the impurities represented by the above general formulas ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) may also serve as the azeotropic solvent . the reaction temperature for the above reaction is preferably not lower than the boiling point or azeotropic point of the by product alcohol . specifically , the temperature is preferably not lower than 40 ° c ., more preferably not lower than 50 ° c ., particularly preferably not lower than 60 ° c . conversely , it is preferably not higher than180 ° c ., more preferably not higher than 170 ° c ., particularly preferably not higher than 160 ° c . the reaction pressure may be at ordinary pressure , under pressure or under reduced pressure . the reaction time can appropriately be selected so that the above reaction can be driven to completion . from the viewpoint of polymerization inhibition and yield , the production of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters of the above general formula ( 1 ) is preferably carried out in the presence of polymerization inhibitors . as for the polymerization inhibitors , those radical polymerization inhibitors mentioned above are preferably used , for instance , and one or two or more of them may be used . the level of addition of the above polymerization inhibitors may vary according to the species of the ( meth ) acrylic ester of the general formula ( 3 ) as used and the species of the product vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester of the general formula ( 1 ) but is preferably within the range of not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 001 % by weight , but preferably not more than 5 % by weight , more preferably not more than 1 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight relative to the ( meth ) acrylic esters of the general formula ( 3 ). the above range of polymerization inhibitor addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition and economy . in the production method according to the invention , it is also preferable to cause basic compounds to coexist with radical polymerization inhibitors . suited for use as basic compounds are the same ones as mentioned hereinabove , and one or two or more of them may be used . the level of addition of the above basic compounds may vary according to the species of the starting material hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether and the species of the product vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester of the general formula ( 1 ) but preferably is not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 001 % by weight , but preferably not more5 % by weight , more preferably not more 1 % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight , relative to the above hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers . the above range of basic compound is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition and economy . as the method of producing vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters according to the present invention , the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which comprises reacting a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether represented by the above general formula ( 2 ) with a ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 3 ) in the presence of not more than 5 % by weight of water ( production method ( b )), the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which comprises reacting a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether represented by the above general formula ( 2 ) with a ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 3 ) in an atmosphere such that a molecular oxygen concentration is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume ( production method ( c )), the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which is carried out in a lightproof structure ( production method ( d )) and the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which is carried out in a lightproof structure in an atmosphere such that a molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within said lightproof structure is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume ( production method ( e )) are preferred . also suited are the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which comprises reacting a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether represented by the above general formula ( 2 ) with a ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the general formula ( 3 ) in the presence of an n - nitrosophenylhydroxylamine salt represented by the following general formula ( 7 ): in the formula , m represents a metal atom or an ammonium group and n represents an integer equal to the valence of m ( production method ( f )) and the method of producing a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which comprises reacting a hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether represented by the above general formula ( 2 ) with a ( meth ) acrylic ester represented by the above general formula ( 3 ) in an atmosphere such that a molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) concentration in the gaseous phase in the reaction system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume ( production method ( g )). one of these production methods may be carried out or the production methods mentioned above may be carried out in appropriate combination . it is preferred , however , that they be carried out in appropriate combination . in the above production methods ( b ), ( c ), ( f ) and ( g ), hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers of the above general formula ( 2 ) and ( meth ) acrylic esters of the above general formula ( 3 ) are subjected to transesterification reaction . the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers of the above general formula ( 2 ), the ( meth ) acrylic esters of the above general formula ( 3 ), the methods of subjecting these to transesterification reaction and the reactions conditions , and the like , are the same as those mentioned hereinabove . further , in carrying out the transesterification reaction , the reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of the above - mentioned radical polymerization inhibitors or the radical polymerization inhibitors and the basic compounds . the levels of addition of the radical polymerization inhibitors and basic compounds are the same as in the production method ( a ). the above production method ( b ) is carried out in the presence of not more than 5 % by weight of water . thus , the amount of water in the liquid phase in the reaction system is kept at not more than 5 % by weight relative to the total weight of the liquid phase in the reaction system . in the above production method ( b ), the amount of water in the reaction system , namely in the liquid phase in the reaction system , is not more than 5 % by weight , preferably not more than 3 % by weight , more preferably not more than 1 % by weight , relative to the total weight of the liquid phase in the reaction system . the above water content range is preferred from the viewpoint of selectivity , yield and economy . in the above production method ( c ), the transesterification reaction is carried out in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the reaction system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume . by selecting the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the reaction system in the above range , the polymerization in the above reaction system can be effectively inhibited and the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester can be produced in high yields . in a preferred embodiment , the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the above reaction system is not less than 0 . 02 % by volume , more preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not more than 9 % by volume , more preferably not more than 8 % by volume . the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition in reaction system , explosion avoidance and economy . available for adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the above gaseous phase to 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume are ( a ) the method comprising feeding molecular oxygen or a molecular oxygen - containing gas , such as air , into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until that concentration falls within the range of 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system , ( b ) the method comprising feeding molecular oxygen or a molecular oxygen - containing gas , such as air , and an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , respectively into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until the concentration falls within the range of 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system , ( c ) the method comprising admixing molecular oxygen or a molecular oxygen - containing gas , such as air , with an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , in advance and feeding the mixture into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until the concentration falls within the range of 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system , and the like . as the methods for feeding molecular oxygen or a mixed gas containing molecular oxygen to the reaction system , it may be fed to one or both of the liquid phase and gaseous phase in the reaction system either continuously or intermittently . in the above production method ( f ), the polymerization in the above reaction system can be effectively inhibited and the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters can be produced in high yield by causing n - nitrosophenyl - hydroxylamine salts represented by the above general formula ( 7 ) to coexist in the step of the transesterification reaction . the n - nitrosophenylhydroxylamine salts of the general formula ( 7 ) may be used singly or two or more species may be used in combination . referring to the above general formula ( 7 ), typical examples of the metal atom represented by m are aluminum , copper , iron ( iii ), tin , zinc , magnesium and the like . among these , aluminum is particularly preferred . the level of addition of the above n - nitrosophenyl - hydroxylamine salts is preferably not less than 0 . 00001 % by weight , more preferably not less than 0 . 0001 % by weight , still more preferably not less than 0 . 0002 % by weight , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 0005 % by weight , but preferably not more5 % by weight , more preferably not morel % by weight , still more preferably not more than 0 . 5 % by weight , particularly preferably not more than 0 . 1 % by weight , relative to the ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 3 ). the above range of n - nitrosophenylhydroxylamine salt addition level is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition in reaction system , and economy . in the above production method ( g ), the polymerization in the above reaction system can be effectively inhibited and the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters can be produced in high yields by carrying out the transesterification reaction in an atmosphere such that the molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) concentration in the gaseous phase in the reaction system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume . the molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) concentration in the gaseous phase in the above reaction system is preferably not less than 0 . 01 % by volume , more preferably not less than 0 . 02 % by volume , still more preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not more than 10 % by volume , more preferably not more than 9 % by volume , still more preferably not more than 8 % by volume . the above range of molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecularnitrogendioxide ( no 2 ) concentration is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition in reaction system , explosion avoidance , and economy . for adjusting the molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) concentration in the above gaseous phase to 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume , there are available , ( a ) the method comprising feeding a gas containing molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until the concentration falls within 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system , ( b ) the method comprising feeding molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) and an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , respectively into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until the concentration falls within 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system , and ( c ) the method comprising admixing molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) with an inert gas , such as nitrogen or argon , in advance and feeding the mixture into a reaction vessel ( vapors occurring therein ) during reaction until the concentration falls within 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume relative to the volume of the gaseous phase in the reaction system . as the method for feeding molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ), or a mixed gas containing molecular nitrogen monoxide ( no ) and / or molecular nitrogen dioxide ( no 2 ) to the reaction system , it may be fed to one or both of the liquid phase and gaseous phase in the reaction system either continuously or intermittently . the term “ production ” as used herein referring to the above production methods ( d ) and ( e ) includes , within the meaning thereof , the steps of raw materials charging , reaction , reaction solution transfer and so forth . these steps may be carried out independently or two or more of them may be carried in appropriate combination . among these , the raw materials charging step and the reaction step , in particular , are meant by the term . the above production methods ( d ) and ( e ) can be applied , for example , in carrying out the above - mentioned production methods a to f . among these , the production method which comprises subjecting ( meth ) acrylic esters and hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers to transesterification reaction ( production method d ) is preferred from the industrial viewpoint . as the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers and ( meth ) acrylic esters , the same ones as those hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ethers represented by the general formula ( 2 ) and those ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 3 ), and the like are preferred . the method of subjecting these to transesterification reaction and the reaction conditions may be the same as mentioned referring to the production methods mentioned above , for instance . in cases where the mode of the above production methods ( d ) and ( e ) are applied to the production methods a to f , it is preferred in each case that radical polymerization inhibitors and / or basic compounds be caused to coexist . furthermore , in carrying out the transesterification reaction , the reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of the above - mentioned radical polymerization inhibitors or the radical polymerization inhibitors and the basic compounds . the level of addition of the radical polymerization inhibitors may vary according to the species of the starting material ( meth ) acrylic compound , such as ( meth ) acrylic acid , ( meth ) acrylic halide , ( meth ) acrylic anhydride , ( meth ) acrylic ester , ( meth ) acrylic acid alkali ( or alkaline earth ) metal salt or the like , and the level of addition of the above basic compounds may vary according to the species of the starting material vinyl ether , such as hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether , halogen - containing vinyl ether or the like . however , they are the same as in the production method ( a ). according to the above production method ( d ), vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) can be produced in a stable manner by producing them in lightproof structures . as the lightproof structures used in production , there may be mentioned structures made of lightproof materials such as reaction vessels , reaction apparatus , mixing apparatus , tanks , pipes , nozzles , valves and the like for the production purpose . the inside surface area of the structures to which light can reach is the same as mentioned above . the lightproof materials are also preferably the same ones as mentioned above . according to the above production method ( e ), vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ) can be produced in a more stable manner by producing them in lightproof structures in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within said lightproof structures is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume . in this manner , by carrying out the reaction while adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the lightproof structures to 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume , it becomes possible to effectively inhibit the polymerization of vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in the liquid phase and / or gaseous phase as well as the formation of impurities and of peroxides , hence it becomes possible to produce the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in high yields . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the above lightproof structures is generally 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume . preferably , however , it is not less than 0 . 02 % by volume , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not more than 12 % by volume , particularly preferably not more than 10 % by volume . if the molecular oxygen concentration within the gaseous phase in the lightproof structures is less than 0 . 01 % by volume , the starting material ( meth ) acrylic compounds and the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters may undergo polymerization due to free of oxygen . if the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the structures is higher than 15 % by volume , the formation of impurities and of peroxides and the polymerization of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters may occur . therefore , the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition , and economy . the above - mentioned formation of impurities and of peroxides and polymerization of vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters are more accelerated in structures permeable to light and , therefore , it is necessary to carry out the production inside lightproof structures . in adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase within the lightproof structures to 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume , those methods of adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration mentioned hereinabove can be applied . as for the gas feeding method , the gas may be fed to one or both of the liquid phase and gaseous phase either continuously or intermittently in each step of the production process . the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters of the general formula ( 1 ) produced by the above production methods can be obtained by purifying the reaction solution . as methods of purifying the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the above general formula ( 1 ), there may preferably be applied , for example , the method of purifying a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester which is carried out in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the purification system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume ( purification method ( a )), the method of purifying vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters which is carried out in a lightproof structure in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the purification system is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume ( purification method ( b )) and a combination of these . the above - mentioned purification method ( a ) and purification method ( b ) constitute a further aspect of the present invention . the methods of purifying vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters according to the invention are described below . the above term “ purification ” used herein means procedures after which the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters represented by the general formula ( 1 ) have improved concentration and / or purity as compared with the value before that procedure . more specifically , procedures include raw materials recovery , catalysts recovery , neutralization , filtration , decantation , extraction , water washing , evaporation , distillation , column chromatography and other procedures . the above procedures may be performed singly or two or more may be performed in appropriate combination . among them , the distillation procedure is particularly preferred . as the “ lightproof structures ” used in the above purification , there may be mentioned structures made of lightproof materials such as distillation vessels , distillation towers , rectification towers , distillation apparatus , separation apparatus , filtration apparatus , mixing apparatus , tanks , pipes , nozzles , valves and the like , for the purification purpose . the inside surface area of the structures to which light can reach is the same as mentioned above . the lightproof materials are also preferably the same ones as mentioned above . in the above purification method ( a ), the impurity formation due to polymerization and decomposition in the above process of purification can be effectively prevented and the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters can be purified stably in simple and economical manners by carrying out the purification procedure in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the purification system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the above purification system is 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume . preferably , however , it is not less than 0 . 02 % by volume , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not more than 9 % by volume , particularly preferably not more than 8 % by volume . the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition , impurity formation prevention and economy . in adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration to 0 . 01 to 10 % by volume , the above - mentioned methods of adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration can be applied . as for the methods of gas feeding to the purification system , the gas may be fed to one or both of the liquid phase and gaseous phase in the purification system either continuously or intermittently . in the above purification method ( b ), the impurity formation due to polymerization and decomposition in the above process of purification can be effectively prevented and the desired vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters can be purified stably in simple and economical manners by carrying out the purification procedure in lightproof structures in an atmosphere such that the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the purification system is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the above purification system is 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume . preferably , however , it is not less than 0 . 02 % by volume , particularly preferably not less than 0 . 05 % by volume , but preferably not more than 12 % by volume , particularly preferably not more than 10 % by volume . the above molecular oxygen concentration range is preferred from the viewpoint of yield , polymerization inhibition , and economy . in adjusting the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase in the above purification system to 0 . 01 to 15 % by volume and in gas feeding , the same methods as in the purification method ( a ) can be applied . as the use of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester compositions according to the invention and of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters produced and purified according to the invention , they can be used in a wide range , for example as raw materials in the medicinal and agricultural chemicals , as synthetic intermediates and further as polymerizable materials . the present invention , which has the constitution mentioned above , can improve the stability of vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters by preventing the polymerization of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters during storage and handling thereof without impairing the polymerizability thereof and thus makes it possible to handle the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in a stable manner . it further makes it possible to produce and purify vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters in a simple , economical and stable manner while preventing the formation of impurities due to polymerization and decomposition in the process of production or purification of the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters . the following examples illustrate the present invention in further detail . they are , however , by no means limitative of the scope of the invention . a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester composition was prepared by adding 10 mg of methoxyhydroquinone , a radical polymerization inhibitor , to 100 g of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate . the composition was placed in a sealed container and stored at 50 ° c . for 120 days . thereafter , as results of analyses by visual observation and by an hlc - 8120 gpc type gel permeation chromatography ( product of tosoh ; hereinafter referred to as “ gpc ”) with tetrahydrofuran as the carrier , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 1 was followed except that the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or radical polymerization inhibitor used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied . the species used , the amounts thereof and the results of visual observation and gpc are shown in table 1 . as regards the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters , vea stands for 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate , vem for 2 - vinyloxyethylmethacrylate , veea for 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate , veem for 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate , vba for 4 - vinyloxybutyl acrylate , and vbm for 4 - vinyloxybutyl methacrylate . as regards the radical polymerization inhibitors , mehq stands for methoxyhydroquinone , ptz for phenothiazine , hq for hydroquinone , and tempo for 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine - n - oxyl . a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester composition was prepared by adding 5 mg of methoxyhydroquinone , a radical polymerization inhibitor , and 5 mg of sodium hydroxide , a basic compound , to 100 g of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate , and the composition was placed in a sealed container and stored at 50 ° c . for 120 days . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or radical polymerization inhibitor and / or basic compound used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied . the species used , the amounts thereof and the results of visual observation and gpc are shown in table 2 . a 100 - g portion of each of radical polymerization inhibitor - free vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester was placed in a sealed container and stored at 50 ° c . an hour later , all the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters used began to become turbid and , after 5 hours , became white solids insoluble in tetrahydrofuran . the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters used were as shown in table 3 . the symbols used in table 3 are the same as above . except that radical polymerization inhibitor - free butyl methacrylate was used in comparative example 7 and radical polymerization inhibitor - free 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate in comparative example 8 . butyl methacrylate and 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate both showed no turbidity for 10 hours , without formation of any substance insoluble in tetrahydrofuran . a vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester composition was prepared by adding 10 mg of methoxyhydroquinone , a radical polymerization inhibitor , to 100 g of 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate , and the composition was placed in a sealed container and stored at 100 ° c . for 12 hours . until 5 hours later , no solid matter was detected by visual observation . after 12 hours , however , the composition became a solid insoluble in tetrahydrofuran . the same procedure as in example 25 was followed except that 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate was used in lieu of 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate . until 5 hours later , no solid matter was detected by visual observation . after 12 hours , however , the composition became a solid insoluble in tetrahydrofuran . the same procedure as in example 25 was followed except that 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was used in comparative example 9 and 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate in comparative example 10 . with both 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate and 2 -( methoxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate , no tetrahydrofuran - insoluble matter formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that 100 g of toluene was added following the production of the composition obtained by example 13 . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that 50 g of toluene was added following the production of the composition obtained by example 13 . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that 25 g of toluene was added following the production of the composition obtained by example 13 . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that 10 g of toluene was added following the production of the composition obtained by example 13 . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . the same procedure as in example 13 was followed except that 5 g of toluene was added following the production of the composition obtained by example 13 . as results of analyses by visual observation and gpc , neither discoloration nor high - molecular compound formation was observed . each vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester used in the following examples 32 to 55 was synthesized by the above - mentioned production method d and then purified by distillation under reduced pressure . a 100 - g portion of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate having a water content of 0 . 01 % by weight as determined by using a model mks 510 karl fischer moisture meter ( product of kyoto denshi kogyo , hereinafter referred to as “ moisture meter ”; indicator : hydranal composite 5k ( product of r & amp ; h laborchemikalien gmbh & amp ; co . kg ); solvent : dehydrated solvent kt ( product of mitsubishi chemical )) was added to a test tube and 10 mg of methoxyhydroquinone was further added . after mixing , a 21 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was passed through the gaseous phase in the test tube for 10 minutes and then the test tube was tightly stoppered . the test tube prepared in the above manner was shaken on an oil bath maintained at 80 ° c . for 40 days , followed by visual observation and by analysis using a model gc - 1700 gas chromatograph ( product of shimadzu ; hereinafter this chromatographic analysis is referred to as “ gc ”), gpc and analysis using a model rq flex peroxide assaying instrument ( product of merck co . ltd . ; hereinafter this analysis is referred to as “ rq assay ”). while neither impurity formation nor high - molecular substance formation was observed , a peroxide content of 2 ppm was detected . the same procedure as in example 32 was repeated except that the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or radical polymerization inhibitor used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied and that the oxygen concentration and / or water content was varied and further that a basic compound was used or not used . the species used , the amounts thereof , the storage temperature , the number of days of storage , and the results of visual observation , gc , gpc and rq assay are shown in tables 4 to 6 . the symbols used in tables 4 to 6 are the same as in table 1 and table 2 . [ 0165 ] table 5 example 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 vinyl ether group - containing vea vem veea veea veem veem vba vbm ( meth ) acrylic ester ( g ) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 radical polymerization inhibitor mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq ( mg ) 10 10 10 5 10 5 10 10 basic compound — — — teha — teha — — ( mg ) — — — 5 — 5 — — oxygen concentration 1 . 5 vol % 0 . 8 vol % 5 vol % 10 vol % 7 vol % 9 vol % 7 vol % 0 . 5 vol % water content 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % 7 wt % storage temperature 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . number of days of storage 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days visual observation no change no change no change no change no change no change no change no change result of gc analysis 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity 3 % purity decrease decrease decrease decrease decrease decrease decrease decrease result of gpc analysis no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer formed formed formed formed formed formed formed formed result of rq assay not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected [ 0166 ] table 6 example 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 vinyl ether group - containing vea vem veea veea veem veem vba vbm ( meth ) acrylic ester ( g ) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 radical polymerization inhibitor mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq ( mg ) 10 10 10 5 10 5 10 10 basic compound — — — teha — teha — — ( mg ) — — — 5 — 5 — — oxygen concentration 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % 7 vol % water content 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % 0 . 01 wt % storage temperature 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . 80 ° c . number of days of storage 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days 40 days visual observation no change no change no change no change no change no change no change no change result of gc analysis no change no change no change no change no change no change no change no change result of gpc analysis no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer formed formed formed formed formed formed formed formed result of rq assay not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate ( 100 g ), 5 mg of methoxyhydroquinone and 5 mg of tris ( 2 - ethylhexyl ) amine were added to a 200 - ml sus 316container used as a lightproof structure . after mixing up , the gaseous phase in the container was completely substituted with a 7 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ), followed by tight closure . the container was stored outdoors in an applicants &# 39 ; research laboratory at suita , osaka , japan for 180 days starting from apr . 1 , 2000 , followed by visual observation , gc , gpc and rq assay . no deterioration in quality was observed , namely neither impurity formation , nor high molecular substance formation nor peroxide formation was detected . the same procedure as in example 56 was repeated except that the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or radical polymerization inhibitor and / or basic compound used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied and the oxygen concentration was varied . the species used , the amounts thereof and the results of visual observation , gc , gpc and rq assay are shown in table 7 and table 8 . the symbols used in tables 7 and 8 are the same as in tables 1 and 2 . [ 0169 ] table 8 example 65 66 67 68 69 70 vinyl veem veem veem veem vba vba ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester ( g ) 100 100 100 100 100 100 radical mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq mehq polymerization inhibitor ( mg ) 5 10 10 10 5 10 basic teha — — — teha — compound ( mg ) 5 — — — 5 — oxygen 0 . 5 vol % 9 vol % 21 vol % 30 vol % 15 vol % 0 . 2 vol % concentration number 180 days 180 days 180 days 180 days 180 days 180 days of days of storage visual no change no change no change no change no change no change observation result no change no change no change no change no change no change of gc analysis result no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer of gpc formed formed formed formed formed formed analysis result not detected not detected not detected 10 ppm not detected not detected of rq assay example 71 72 73 74 vinyl vba vbm vbm vbm ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester ( g ) 100 100 100 100 radical mehq mehq mehq mehq polymerization inhibitor ( mg ) 10 5 10 10 basic — teha — — compound ( mg ) — 5 — — oxygen 21 vol % 18 vol % 0 . 3 vol % 21 vol % concentration number 180 days 180 days 180 days 180 days of days of storage visual no change no change no change no change observation result no change no change no change no change of gc analysis result no polymer no polymer no polymer no polymer of gpc formed formed formed formed analysis result not detected not detected not detected not detected of rq assay the same procedure as in example 56 was followed except that a 200 - ml glass container coated with an opaque tetrafluoroethylene resin on 85 % of the inside surface area thereof was used as a structure . upon gc , gpc and rq assay , no deterioration in quality was observed , namely no impurity formation , no high - molecular substance formation or no peroxide formation was detected . the same procedure as in example 56 was followed except that a 200 - ml transparent glass container was used as a structure . as a result of visual observation , gc , gpc and rq assay , impurity formation , the formation of a high - molecular substance with a molecular weight ( number average ) of 1 , 500 and peroxide formation ( 12 ppm ) were found . the same procedure as in comparative example 11 was followed except that 2 - vinyloxyethyl propionate , which is the acryloyl group - free vinyl ether having similar structure as 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate , was used in lieu of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate . the same procedure as in comparative example 11 was followed except that 2 - ethoxyethyl acrylate , which is the vinyl ether group - free acrylate ester having similar structure as 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate , was used in lieu of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate . in reference examples 1 and 2 , each composition in the container after 180 days of storage was evaluated by visual observation , gc , gpc and rq assay . no deterioration in quality was observed , namely neither impurity formation nor high - molecular substance formation nor peroxide formation was detected . according to the above results , it can be recognized that the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic esters have specific properties , which are not seen in either acryloyl group - free vinyl ethers having similar structure or vinyl ether group - free acrylate esters having similar structure . a glass - made 3 - liter five - necked flask equipped with a stirrer , thermometer , oldershaw rectifying column , gas inlet tube and liquid addition line was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether containing 11 g of ethylene glycol divinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dioctyltinoxide . the contents were mixed and stirred while introducing air into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c . this was the production starting point . the reaction was continued while continuously adding that amount of the acrylate ester corresponding to the weight of ethyl acrylate found in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope , namely the distillate at the top of the oldershaw rectifying column , to the reaction system through the liquid addition line . samples were taken from the reaction system at 30 - minute intervals from the production starting point and the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was followed by gc . the yield became constant after 8 hours . the production time was thus 8 hours . the yield of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate at that time was 95 mole percent . the same procedure as in example 76 was repeated except that different starting materials , different impurities contained therein , different polymerization inhibitors and different catalysts were used . the materials used , the amounts thereof , the reaction time , the product and the yield thereof as determined by gc for each run are shown in table 9 . in cases where methyl methacrylate was used as one of the starting materials , that weight of methyl methacrylate corresponding to the methyl methacrylate in the methyl methacrylate - methanol azeotrope distillate was continuously added to reaction system through the liquid addition line . as regards the ( meth ) acrylic ester , ae stands for ethyl acrylate , and mma for methyl methacrylate . as regards the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether , hev stands for 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , degv for diethylene glycolmonovinyl ether , and bdv for 1 , 4 - butanediol monovinyl ether . as regards the impurity of the general formula ( 4 ), namely the compound represented by the general formula ( 4 ) given hereinabove , egdv stands for ethylene glycol divinyl ether , degdv for diethylene glycol divinyl ether , and bddv for 1 , 4 - butanediol divinyl ether . as regards the impurity of the general formula ( 5 ), namely the compound represented by the general formula ( 5 ) given herein above , mdol stands for 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolane , mtoc for 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 6 - trioxocane , and mdop for2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - dioxepane . as regards the impurity of the general formula ( 6 ), namely the compound represented by the general formula ( 6 ) given herein above , 4bve stands for 4 - butenyl vinyl ether . as for the radical polymerization inhibitor , tempol stands for 4 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethyl - piperidine - n - oxyl . as regards the catalyst , dbto stands for dibutyltin oxide , doto for dioctyltin oxide , tbt for tetrabutoxytitanium , dbtdac for dibutyltindiacetate , bdbtlo for bis ( dibutyltinlaurtae ) oxide , and zraa for zirconia acetylacetonate . the other symbols are the same as in table 1 . the same apparatus as used in example 76 was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine , 10 g of dioctyltin oxide and 11 g of ethylene glycol divinyl ether , and the same procedure as in example 76 was carried out . as a result of following by gc , the production time was found to be 8 hours , after which the yield of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was 95 mole percent . the same apparatus as used in example 76 was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dioctyltin oxide , and the reaction was started , with stirring , by immersing the apparatus in an oil bath at 130 ° c . the same procedure as in example 76 was followed except that 11 g of ethylene glycol divinyl ether was added 2 hours after the start . as a result of following by gc , the production time was found to be 9 hours , after which the yield of 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was 95 mole percent . the same procedure as in examples 76 , 79 , 82 , 84 , 90 or 93 was repeated except that the hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether used was free of any impurity . the starting materials , polymerization inhibitor and catalyst used , the amounts thereof , the production time found , the product and the yield thereof as determined by gc in each run are shown in table 10 . the symbols used in table 10 are the same as in table 9 . a glass - made 3 - liter five - necked flask was charged with a stirrer , thermometer , oldershaw rectifying column , gas inlet tube and liquid addition line was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dibutyltin oxide . on that occasion , the water content of the whole system as determined by the moisture meter was 0 . 1 % by weight . while introducing air into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , the contents were mixed and stirred and then temperature raising was started by immersing the flask in an oil bath at 130 ° c . while continuously adding that amount of the acrylate ester corresponding to the weight of ethyl acrylate in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope distilling from the top of the oldershaw rectifying column to the reaction system through the liquid addition line , the reaction was continued for 12 hours . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 95 mole percent . when 10 g of the reaction system was added to 100 ml of hexane , the system was dissolved to give a colorless transparent homogeneous solution . the starting materials , polymerization inhibitor , basic compound and catalyst used , the amounts thereof , the water content of the whole system as determine by using the moisture meter , the product and the yield thereof , and the result of the test for solubility in hexane are shown in table 11 for each run . the symbols used in table 11 are the same as in tables 1 to 10 . in cases where methyl methacrylate was used as one of the starting materials , that weight of methyl methacrylate corresponding to the methyl methacrylate in the methyl methacrylate - methanol azeotrope distillate was continuously added to reaction system through the liquid addition line . the starting materials , polymerization inhibitor , basic compound and catalyst used , the amounts thereof , the water content of the whole system as determine by using the moisture meter , the product and the yield thereof , and the result of the test for solubility in hexane are shown in table 12 for each run . the symbols used in table 12 are the same as in tables 1 to 10 . a glass - made 3 - liter five - necked flask equipped with a stirrer , thermometer , oldershaw rectifying column , gas inlet tube and liquid addition line was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dibutyltin oxide . the contents were mixed and stirred while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c . the reaction was continued for 12 hours while continuously adding that amount of the ethyl acrylate corresponding to the weight of the ethyl acrylate found in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope , namely the distillate at the top of the oldershaw rectifying column , to the reaction system through the liquid addition line . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 109 was followed except that a 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced into the gaseous phase . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 109 was repeated except that the ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether and / or radical polymerization inhibitor used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied and that the oxygen concentration was varied and further that a basic compound was used or not used . the species used , the amounts thereof , the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester produced and the yield thereof , the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction , and the absence or presence of a solid matter in the gaseous phase and in the liquid phase of the reaction system and the result of analysis by rq assay are shown for each run in table 13 . the symbols used in table 13 are the same as in tables 1 to 12 . in cases where methyl methacrylate was used as one of the starting materials , that weight of methyl methacrylate corresponding to the methyl methacrylate in the methyl methacrylate - methanol azeotrope distillate was continuously added to reaction system through the liquid addition line . a glass - made 3 - liter five - necked flask equipped with a stirrer , thermometer , oldershaw rectifying column and liquid addition line was charged with 793 g of diethylene glycol monovinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine , 300 mg of aluminum n - nitrosophenylhydroxylamine and 10 g of dioctyltin oxide . while mixing and stirring , the flask was immersed in an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c ., and the temperature was allowed to begin to rise . the reaction was continued for 12 hours while continuously adding that amount of ethyl acrylate corresponding to the weight of the ethyl acrylate found in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope , namely the distillate at the top of the oldershaw rectifying column , to the reaction system through the liquid addition line . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was found to be 95 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . the same procedure as in example 117 was followed except that 1 , 502 g of methyl methacrylate was used in lieu of ethyl acrylate . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate was found to be 97 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . a glass - made 3 - liter five - necked flask equipped with a stirrer , thermometer , oldershaw rectifying column , gas inlet tube and liquid addition line was charged with 793 g of diethylene glycol monovinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dioctyltin oxide . the contents were mixed and stirred while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) nitrogen monoxide gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c . the reaction was continued for 12 hours while continuously adding that amount of ethyl acrylate corresponding to the weight of the ethyl acrylate found in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope , namely the distillate at the top of the oldershaw rectifying column , to the reaction system through the liquid addition line . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . the same procedure as in example 109 was followed except that an 8 % ( by volume ) nitrogen monoxide gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced into the gaseous phase . the molecular nitrogen monooxide concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . the same procedure as in example 119 was followed except that 1 , 502 g of methyl methacrylate was used in lieu of ethyl acrylate . the molecular nitrogen monooxide concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate was found to be 97 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . the same procedure as in example 109 was followed without introducing the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). after 2hours , a white solid was formed in the gaseous phase and liquid phase and , therefore , the reaction was discontinued . a lightproof structure , namely a 3 - liter separable apparatus made of sus 316and equipped with a stirrer , thermometer holder , gas inlet tube , liquid addition line and rectifying column was charged with 529 g of 2 - hydroxyethyl vinyl ether , 1 , 502 g of ethyl acrylate , 300 mg of phenothiazine and 10 g of dibutyltin oxide . the contents were mixed and stirred while introducing air into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c . the reaction was continued for 12 hours while continuously adding that amount of ethyl acrylate corresponding to the weight of the ethyl acrylate found in the ethyl acrylate - ethanol azeotrope , namely the distillate at the top of the oldershaw rectifying column , to the reaction system through the liquid addition line . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 21 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , 3 ppm of peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 122 was followed except that a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of air . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 123 was repeated except that the ( meth ) acrylic ester and / or hydroxyl group - containing vinyl ether and / or radical polymerization inhibitor used differed in species and / or the amounts thereof were varied and that the oxygen concentration was varied and further that a basic compound was used or not used . the species used , the amounts thereof , the vinyl ether group - containing ( meth ) acrylic ester produced and the yield thereof , the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction , and the absence or presence of a solid matter in the gaseous phase and in the liquid phase of the reaction system and the result of analysis by rq assay are shown for each run in table 14 . the symbols used in table 14 are the same as in tables 1 to 13 . in cases where methyl methacrylate was used as one of the starting materials , that weight of methyl methacrylate corresponding to the methyl methacrylate in the methyl methacrylate - methanol azeotrope distillate was continuously added to reaction system through the liquid addition line . the same procedure as in example 123 was followed except that the upper lid - forming portion of the sus 316 - made separable apparatus used in example 123 was replaced with a transparent glass lid ( in this case , the lightproof material sus 316 accounted for 83 % of the reaction apparatus structure inside surface area otherwise through which light could reach within the structure inside ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 109 was followed except that air was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by weight ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 21 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis by rq assay , however , 17 ppm of peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 109 was followed except that a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by weight ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during reaction was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . as a result of analysis by gc , the yield of the desired 2 - vinyloxyethyl acrylate was found to be 96 mole percent . no solid matter formation was found either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the reaction system . as a result of analysis by rq assay , however , 12 ppm of peroxide was detected . the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 was introduced into a glass - made 3 - liter distillation apparatus equipped with a stirrer , thermometer holder , gas inlet tube , pressure reducing regulator and rectifying column . while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase , the contents were mixed and stirred and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 130 ° c . by reducing the pressure gradually from 667 hpa to 67 hpa , ethyl acrylate and ethanol were allowed to distill out of the top of the rectifying column and the starting material ethyl acrylate was recovered . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 133 was followed except that a 10 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 10 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 133 was followed except that a 0 . 1 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 02 to 0 . 1 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 133 was followed except that the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 129 was introduced in lieu of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 . methyl methacrylate and methanol were thus allowed to distill out of the top of the rectifying column and the starting material methyl methacrylate was recovered . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . following the procedure of example 133 , the contents in the apparatus were mixed and stirred while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase , and the temperature was raised on an oil bath at 150 ° c . by reducing the pressure to 17 hpa , that portion of the starting material diethylene glycol monovinyl ether remaining unreacted was caused to distill off from the top of the rectifying column and thus recovered . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . following the procedure of example 136 , the same procedure as in example 137 was followed . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 137 was introduced into a glass - made one - liter distillation apparatus equipped with a stirrer , thermometer holder , gas inlet tube , pressure reducing regulator and rectifying column . while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase from the gas inlet tube , the contents were mixed and stirred and heating was started on an oil bath maintained at 150 ° c . by reducing the pressure gradually to 13 hpa , 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was caused to distill off from the top of the rectifying column for purifying the same . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during distillation / purification was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase and of the distillate 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 139 was followed except that the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 138 was introduced in lieu of the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 137 , to thereby causing 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate to distill out for purifying the same . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during distillation / purification was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase and of the distillate 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate , no peroxide was detected . a 400 - ml portion of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 was introduced , together with 400 ml of a 1 n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide , into a glass - made one - liter separating apparatus equipped with a stirrer and a gas inlet tube . while introducing an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the gaseous phase from the gas inlet tube , the contents were stirred at room temperature for 1 hour , and then the contents were allowed to stand for 1 hour , whereby they separated into an oil phase , an aqueous phase and a catalyst phase . after removing the aqueous phase containing unreacted diethylene glycol monovinyl ether , the catalyst phase was removed by filtration . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the separating apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the oily phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 141 was followed except that the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 129 was introduced in lieu of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 , to thereby remove the aqueous phase containing unreacted diethylene glycol monovinyl ether and the catalyst layer . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the separating apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the oil phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 was introduced into a lightproof structure , namely a sus 316 - made 3 - liter distillation apparatus equipped with a stirrer , thermometer holder , gas inlet tube , pressure reduction regulator and rectifying column . while introducing a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase through the gas inlet tube , the contents were mixed and stirred , and heating was started on an oil bath at 130 ° c . by reducing the pressure gradually from 667 hpa to 67 hpa , ethyl acrylate and ethanol were allowed to distill out of the top of the rectifying column and thus the starting material ethyl acrylate was recovered . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 143 was followed except that an 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 8 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 143 was followed except that a 0 . 1 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 02 to 0 . 1 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 143 was followed except that the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 129 was introduced in lieu of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 , to thereby cause methyl methacrylate and methanol to distill out of the top of the rectifying column for recovering the starting material methyl methacrylate . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . following the procedure of example 143 , the residue was stirred while introducing a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase , and heating was started on an oil bath at 150 ° c . by reducing the pressure to 17 hpa , the unreacted portion of the starting material diethylene glycol monovinyl ether was distilled out of the top of the rectifying column for recovering the same . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . following the procedure of example 146 , the same procedure as in example 147 was followed . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 133 was followed except that a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during raw material recovery procedure was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase , 12 ppm of peroxide was detected . the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 147 was introduced into a lightproof structure , namely a sus 316 - made one - liter distillation apparatus equipped with a stirrer , thermometer holder , gas inlet tube , pressure reduction regulator and rectifying column . while introducing a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the liquid phase through the gas inlet tube , the contents were mixed and stirred , and heating was started on an oil bath at 150 ° c . by reducing the pressure to 13 hpa , 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate was allowed to distill out of the top of the rectifying column and the same was thus purified . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during distillation / purification was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase and of the distillate 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 149 was followed except that the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 148 was introduced in lieu of the mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 147 , to thereby cause 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate to distill out for purifying the same . the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during distillation / purification was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis by rq assay of the liquid phase and of the distillate 2 -( vinyloxyethoxy ) ethyl methacrylate , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 139 was followed except that a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). the molecular oxygen concentration in the gaseous phase during distillation / purification was 0 . 1 to 15 % by volume . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the distillation apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the liquid phase by rq assay , 21 ppm of peroxide was detected . a 400 - ml portion of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 was introduced , together with 400 ml of a 1 n aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide , into a lightproof structure , namely a sus 136 - made one - liter separating apparatus equipped with a stirrer and a gas inlet tube . while introducing a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) into the gaseous phase , the contents were stirred at room temperature for 1 hour , and then the contents were allowed to stand for 1 hour , whereby they separated into an oil phase , an aqueous phase and a catalyst phase . after removing the aqueous phase containing unreacted diethylene glycol monovinyl ether , the catalyst phase was removed by filtration . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the separating apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the oily phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 151 was followed except that the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 129 was introduced in lieu of the reaction mixture obtained by the same procedure as in example 127 , to thereby remove the aqueous phase containing unreacted diethylene glycol monovinyl ether and the catalyst layer . no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the separating apparatus . furthermore , as a result of analysis of the oily phase by rq assay , no peroxide was detected . the same procedure as in example 141 was followed except that a 15 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ) was introduced in lieu of the 8 % ( by volume ) oxygen gas ( the balance being nitrogen ). no solid matter formation was observed either in the gaseous phase or in the liquid phase of the separating apparatus . however , as a result of analysis of the oily phase by rq assay , 10 ppm of peroxide was detected .
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the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference made to the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 a fluid powered brush system a includes a toothbrush b , a flexible cord c , a shower head d , an impeller housing e , and a supply pipe f . referring to fig3 the brush b includes an operating head 2 detachably connected to a handle 4 at g . specifically , operating head 2 includes an annular member 3 which is inserted into a corresponding annular recess formed in handle 4 . preferably , the annular member 3 has a thickness which is equal to or slightly greater than the width of the recess in handle 4 to snugly secure the operating head 2 to handle 4 . it will be readily appreciated that other conventional removable fastening arrangements may be used . a pair of brushes 6 are rotatably supported by operating head 2 . each of the brushes 6 include an upper surface 8 and a lower surface 10 . a bevel gear 12 extends around the upper surface 8 of each of the brushes 6 . a plurality of bristles 14 extend downwardly from the lower surface 10 of each of the brushes 6 . although two brushes 6 are shown , it will be readily appreciated that this number may be varied as desired . an output shaft 16 extends substantially parallel to the horizontal axis of toothbrush b and is rotatably supported in operating head 2 by shoulders 18 and 20 . a pair of bevel gears 22 are nonrotatably supported by shaft 16 directly above the bevel gears 12 . the bevel gears 22 are disposed in meshing engagement with the corresponding bevel gears 12 . although the gear ratio for bevel gears 12 and 22 is depicted as being approximately 1 to 1 , it will be readily appreciated that this ratio may be varied if it is desired to rotate one of brushes 6 at a faster rate . the flexible cord c includes a protective sheath 24 and a flexible , rotatable cable 26 . a support collar 28 is connected to handle 4 and rotatably supports cable 26 therein . the rotatable cable 26 extends substantially parallel to the horizontal axis of toothbrush b in handle 4 and is detachably connected to output shaft 16 at h . output shaft 16 includes a pin 30 ( shown in dotted lines ) which is received in a corresponding hole in rotatable cable 26 . the pin 30 preferably has a diameter equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the hole formed in cable 26 to nonrotatably secure the output shaft 16 to cable 26 . other types of detachable fasteners may be used . for example , the pin 30 may be provided with a plurality of fins extending radially therefrom to be inserted into corresponding grooves extending outwardly from the outer periphery of the hole formed in cable 26 . such an arrangement would prevent any relative rotation between output shaft 16 and cable 26 . as seen in fig1 and 2 , the impeller housing e is positioned upstream of the openings 32 of shower head d . an impeller 34 , having a plurality of vanes 36 extending outwardly therefrom is nonrotatably secured to a gear 38 . the impeller 34 and gear 38 are rotatably supported in impeller housing e by shaft 39 . shaft 39 is secured to shower head d at the end opposite impeller 34 and gear 38 . three supply conduits 40 ( only two of which are shown ) are equally spaced in impeller housing e and are secured to the inner surface thereof . the supply conduits 40 direct the fluid flowing through pipe f at the impeller 34 in order to rotate the same . a gear 42 is positioned in meshing engagement with gear 38 adjacent the periphery of housing e . gear 42 includes a shaft 44 and is rotatably supported by bearings 46 . the flexible cord c includes a support collar 48 secured to the impeller housing e . the rotatable cable 26 passes through the support collar 48 and is nonrotatably fixed to shaft 44 of gear 42 . thus , cable 26 rotates upon rotation of impeller 34 , which in turn causes brushes 6 to rotate . the gear ratio for gears 38 and 42 may be varied as desired . this embodiment is a significant improvement over previously known fluid powered brush systems . specifically , the drive force imparted on each of the brushes 6 is constant . thus , the brushes 6 may be rotated at substantially the same speed if desired . moreover , none of the fluid passing through pipe f is drawn off to drive toothbrush b . this aspect of the invention permits an individual to brush his or her teeth while taking a shower without in any way reducing the amount of fluid ultimately emitted by the shower head e . finally , numerous operating heads 2 may be used with the handle 4 . fig4 through 7 illustrate various alternative arrangements for driving rotatable cable 26 which will be described hereinafter . components of these embodiments which are identical to those of the fluid powered brush system a illustrated in fig1 to 3 will be given like reference numerals . referring to fig4 the impeller housing e is disposed such that it extends substantially parallel to supply pipe f . specifically , impeller housing e is detachably connected to conduit 51 which extends substantially perpendicular to pipe f . in this embodiment , a wall 52 directs all of the fluid flowing through pipe f into the impeller housing e to rotate impeller 34 . the fluid is subsequently directed out of the impeller housing e and through shower head d . in the embodiment depicted in fig5 an impeller 54 is disposed in the shower head d . the impeller 54 has a plurality of vanes 56 extending outwardly therefrom and is secured to bevel gear 58 . shaft 60 rotatably supports the bevel gear 58 and impeller 54 in the shower head d . a bevel gear 62 is positioned in meshing engagement with bevel gears 58 and 64 . the cable 26 ( not shown ) is nonrotatably secured to bevel gear 64 . three supply conduits 40 direct fluid to the impeller 54 to rotate the same . as best seen in fig6 and 7 , the toothbrush b may be drivingly connected to an external body brush i . the external body brush i includes a plurality of brush heads 66 which are preferably driven in a similar manner to brushes 6 illustrated in fig1 through 3 . the flexible cord c includes a detachable support sleeve 68 for detachably securing the same to external body brush i . the support collar 68 includes a flexible annular collar 70 . the collar 70 mates with flexible annular collar 72 of shoulder 74 . flexible cable 26 includes a pin 75 inserted in a corresponding hole in shaft 76 . a bevel gear 78 is formed on the innermost end of shaft 76 . gear 78 is disposed in meshing engagement with the bevel gear 80 extending from the immediately adjacent brush head 66 . although not shown , a similar arrangement may be used to detachably secure the cord c to the impeller housing e and / or shower head d . the above - identified figures depict alternative arrangements for toothbrush b which will hereinafter be described . referring to fig8 toothbrush j includes an operating head 82 and a handle 84 . a shaft 86 extends through operating head 82 and handle 84 and is rotatably supported therein by shoulders 88 . a pair of brushes 90 extend from the lower surface of operating head 82 and are identical in configuration to brushes 6 illustrated in fig3 . bevel gears 92 extend around the upper surface of each of the brushes 90 . a pair of bevel gears 94 are fixed to output shaft 86 and disposed in meshing engagement with corresponding bevel gears 92 . four impellers 96 are spaced along output shaft 86 in handle 84 . referring to fig9 the impellers 96 include a plurality of vanes 98 extending outwardly therefrom . as seen in fig1 , impellers 96 may be provided with arcuately shaped vanes 100 . a plate 102 separates handle 84 into a working chamber 104 and a reservoir chamber 106 . the plate 102 has a plurality of apertures 108 formed therein . a supply line 110 includes a first end which is disposed in handle 84 . the other end of supply line 110 is preferably connected upstream of the shower head such that a portion of the water flowing to the shower head is drawn off and directed to toothbrush j . the supply line 110 includes four outlet ports 112 disposed directly above corresponding impellers 96 . a control valve 114 is positioned upstream of the outlet ports 112 to prevent the flow of fluid therethrough . upon depression of the control valve 114 , fluid is permitted to flow through the outlet ports 112 to turn impellers 96 which subsequently rotate brushes 90 . a drain 116 is formed in the handle 84 to drain fluid from reservoir chamber 106 . a drain tube may be connected to drain 116 to direct fluid away from the individual and to the shower drain . a conduit 118 extends between the reservoir chamber 106 and opening 120 formed in operating head 82 . a control valve 122 similar to control valve 114 regulates the flow of fluid through conduit 118 . upon depression of the control valve 122 , fluid from the reservoir chamber 106 is permitted to flow through the conduit 118 and out opening 120 to provide the user with fluid to rinse his or her mouth . this embodiment is a significant improvement over previously known fluid powered brushes . more specifically , the brush j avoids substantial discrepancies in the drive force imparted on each of the brush heads 90 . thus , the brush heads may be rotated at substantially the same speed . further , this arrangement readily enables an individual to rinse his or her mouth . referring to fig1 , toothbrush k includes an operating head 124 and a handle 126 . the operating head 124 is identical to operating head 82 of toothbrush j . also , conduit 128 and control valve 130 are identical to conduit 118 and valve 122 of toothbrush j . plate 132 rotatably supports four impellers 134 . the vanes of impellers 134 can be configured in either the manner shown in fig9 or fig1 . a bevel gear 136 is fixed to each of the impellers 134 via shaft 138 . four bevel gears 140 are fixed to output shaft 142 and are disposed in meshing engagement with corresponding bevel gears 136 . thus , shaft 142 rotates upon rotation of impellers 134 . supply conduit 144 extends in handle 126 and includes four outlet ports 146 disposed directly adjacent corresponding impellers 134 . although not shown , a control valve similar to control valve 114 of toothbrush j may be provided to control the flow of fluid through supply conduit 144 . the opposite end of supply conduit 144 is connected upstream of the shower head e , as shown in fig1 . a wall 148 directs all of the fluid passing through pipe f to supply line 144 . plate 150 separates handle 126 into a working chamber 152 and a reservoir chamber 154 . a plurality of apertures 156 are formed in plate 150 to permit fluid to flow therethrough . a one way valve 158 is associated with each of the apertures 156 . the one way valves 158 prevent fluid in the reservoir 154 from flowing into working chamber 152 . a return conduit 160 communicates with reservoir chamber 154 and directs the fluid back to pipe f so that it may emitted through shower head e . this embodiment includes all of the advantages discussed in connection with toothbrush j . in addition , the toothbrush k minimizes the fluid drawn off from the shower by redirecting most if not all of the fluid to the shower head via return conduit 160 . while this invention has been described as having a preferred design , it is understood that it is capable of further modifications , uses and / or adaptions of the invention following in general the principle of the invention including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains , and as may be applied to the essential features set forth , and fall within the appended claims .
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fig2 shows a robot 20 having a robot arm 30 in accordance with the invention . robot 20 and robot arm 30 are contained within a micro - environment enclosure 32 which is in communication with a plurality of stations 34 arranged along two rows 36 and 38 . each station 34 can be a processing station in which steps of a semiconductor manufacturing process are to be performed on a semiconductor wafer ( not shown ), or a storage module such as a cassette containing a stack of such wafers . robot arm 30 comprises an extensible linkage 40 and an end effector linkage 50 . extensible linkage 40 comprises individual links 42 , 44 and 46 , with link 42 being considered proximalmost and being rotatably mounted at a proximal portion thereof in robot 20 . similarly , link 44 is rotatably mounted at a proximal portion thereof to a distal portion of link 42 , and link 46 is rotatably mounted at a proximal portion thereof to a distal portion of link 44 . it will be understood that the terms “ proximal ,” “ proximalmost ,” “ distal ,” and “ distalmost ,” used herein are relative terms and are not to intended to be limited to any specific physical elements described , but are rather intended to merely designate relationships between elements . end effector linkage 50 is mounted at the distal portion of distalmost link 46 of extensible linkage 40 . an end effector support structure 58 is provided at the distal portion of link 46 for supporting the end effector linkage 50 . end effector linkage 50 comprises proximalmost link 52 mounted at a proximal portion thereof to support structure 58 . link 52 is rotatable , either by virtue of rotation relative to structure 58 or by rotation of structure 58 itself . rotation is imparted using a suitable motor discussed below . link 54 is rotatably mounted at a proximal portion thereof to a distal portion of link 52 . at the distal portion of link 54 , an end effector 56 is rotatably mounted and suitably configured for holding substrates such as semiconductor wafers and conveying these to or from the different stations 34 . motion of linkages 40 and 50 is preferably decoupled . in this manner , extensible linkage 40 serves to generally transport end effector linkage 50 laterally along the x direction by translating distalmost portion of link 46 , to which end effector linkage 50 is mounted , along a lateral trajectory . end effector linkage 50 is thus transported to the vicinity of the desired station 34 , thereby enabling end effector linkage 50 to reach the station 34 in order to deliver the wafer thereto or retrieve it therefrom . such motion of end effector linkage 50 , and of end effector 56 in particular , may be along a straight line trajectory or a different trajectory depending on the arrangement of stations and the particular application contemplated . additionally , it will be appreciated that the motions of the linkages 40 and 50 , while decoupled mechanically , may be synchronized in time so as to reduce the length of time required to reach a particular station 34 . specifically , extension or retraction of extensible linkage 40 may occur during a first duration , while extension or retraction of end effector linkage 50 may occur during a second duration . however , the first and second durations may at least partially overlap to reduce overall time of the combined motions . of course , such synchronization would be governed by the particular layout of the system as a whole , taking in account the presence of obstacles at a particular instant during motion of the linkages 40 and 50 and the end effector 56 . motion to extensible linkage 40 is imparted using a first , r - axis motor 62 housed in robot 20 as shown in fig3 and 4 . r - axis motion is the extension and retraction motion of linkage 40 along the x direction , with the origin of this radial motion being taken to be rotation axis 63 of the proximal portion of proximalmost link 42 . rotation of motor 62 is transferred to links 42 , 44 and 46 via a first mechanical linkage which includes belts 64 and 66 cooperating with pulleys such as pulley 68 , as seen from fig3 and 4 . it will be appreciated that the number of links of the extensible linkage 40 and end effector linkage 50 can be different from that described . in the three - link arrangement , the mechanical linkages used to couple the links preferably provide a 1 : 2 motion ratio between the first and second link and then a 2 : 1 ratio between the second and third link so that the result is linear motion of the linkage as a whole . accordingly , as mentioned above , rotation of motor 62 results in extension and retraction of linkage 40 in a straight line in the x direction , thereby translating end effector linkage 50 mounted thereon in the direction of rows 36 and 38 of stations 34 . other motions , of course , are possible , depending on the particular application and the arrangement of stations 34 to be accessed . for instance , robot arm 30 can also be rotated ( t - axis motion ), for example to accommodate a different arrangement of stations 34 . t - axis motion can be provided by a motor 70 in robot 20 . in fig4 the t - axis is shown to be coincident with axis 63 about which link 42 rotates . it will be appreciated that this is not necessary , however , and a non - coincident configuration is also contemplated . end effector linkage 50 can be extended and retracted independently of extensible linkage 40 . extension / retraction motion of end effector linkage 50 is motivated by motor 72 provided in support structure 58 . a suitable belt and pulley linkage , including belts 69 and 71 for instance , transfers rotation of motor 72 to links 52 and 54 and end effector 56 in a manner similar to that described with respect to extensible linkage 40 . the extension / retraction motion of end effector linkage 50 will be referred to as secondary radial motion as referenced from support structure 58 . motors 62 and 72 corresponding to extensible linkage 40 and end effector linkage 50 , respectively , are independently actuated such that the motions of the two linkages are decoupled . the arrangement of fig1 is such that two rows ( 36 , 38 ) of stations 34 are arranged in opposing relation , with arm 30 disposed therebetween . to access confronting stations , end effector 56 is mounted in end effector linkage 50 such that its motion is “ reversible ” and it can be “ flipped ” to access stations 34 from either row 36 or row 38 . specifically , as seen from fig3 links 52 and 54 and end effector 56 are stacked one on top of the other such that rotation of any of the links does not interfere with rotation of any other link . a similar arrangement is shown for the extensible linkage 40 , providing a “ reversible ” extension direction such that stations on either side of the robot 20 along the x direction can be accessed . in other words , the extensible linkage 40 can be made to extend either to the right or to the left of robot 20 in the plane of fig1 . end effector linkage 50 is also equipped for y - axis , or yaw , motion . such motion is provided by y - axis motor 74 mounted to second link 44 of extensible linkage 40 and connected via belt 76 and pulleys 78 to support structure 58 in order to rotate the support structure and end effector linkage 50 mounted thereon . in this manner , y - axis , or yaw , motion of end effector linkage 50 is achieved . this motion can be used to supplement or replace the secondary radial motion of end effector linkage 50 in order to achieve the reversible motion of the end effector 50 described above . additionally , end effector 56 itself can be mounted to have yaw axis motion . a separate motor ( not shown ) can be provided for this purpose . robot 20 is preferably a gpr ( global positioning robot ) type robot and is provided with elevational , z - axis motion for arm 30 . a plurality of z - axis motors 80 ( only one is shown ) mounted in a stationary frame 81 are used to vertically move a plate 82 , which is part of an elevatable frame in which arm 30 is mounted , in order to impart elevational motion to robot arm 30 . robot 20 is also designed to be tiltable with respect to the z axis in order to provide an additional degree of freedom to arm 30 generally and to end effector 56 in particular . tilting is achieved by for example rotating motors 80 to different extents as described in detail in related u . s . pat . ser . nos . 5 , 954 , 840 and 6 , 059 , 516 which are directed to a gpr robot and which are incorporated herein by reference . a gpr robot is a parallel - serial type manipulator , wherein the elevational , z - axis motion comprises the parallel component and the substantially planar multiple link motion of arm 30 comprises the serial component . a parallel - serial manipulator is uniquely suited for use in the invention because it overcomes disadvantages associated with parallel manipulators and serial manipulators considered singularly . to achieve comparable degrees of freedom , serial manipulators require universal wrists and associated actuators , which are of significant size and weight but which cannot practically be placed close to the base of the robot in order to reduce the effect of their mass . on the other hand , parallel manipulators have very limited motion and working space . exacerbating these constraints is the context of semiconductor processing , wherein severe limitations are imposed relating to manipulator weight and size and the type of components , such as motors , links , and mechanical linkages , used . these limitations are a function of the highly controlled conditions of friction , contamination , humidity , temperature , etc . gpr robots combine the advantages of parallel and serial manipulators , providing fast global ( over a large working area ) motion through simple planar ( t , r , y ) serial arm and accurate elevational ( z ) and tilting motion . while described with respect to a single end effector 56 and end effector linkage 50 , in the preferred embodiment the robot arm is equipped with dual end effectors and associated linkages as shown in fig5 - 7 . end effectors 92 and 94 are mounted in support structure 96 disposed at the distal portion of extensible linkage 98 , and more specifically , in distalmost link 99 thereof . support structure 96 is rotatable such that y - axis , or yaw motion , is achieved . a motor 100 and suitable mechanical linkage comprised of belt 102 and pulleys 104 motivate this motion , with motor 100 being mounted in second link 97 of extensible linkage 98 . end effector 92 is part of end effector linkage 106 , which includes links 108 and 110 . end effector 94 is part of end effector linkage 112 , which includes links 114 and 116 . motors 118 and 120 motivate linkages 106 and 112 , respectively , using appropriate mechanical linkages which include belts 122 and 124 and pulleys 126 and 128 . motion of linkages 112 and 116 is decoupled such that they can be moved independently of each other and of extensible linkage 98 . as seen from fig7 end effectors 92 and 94 are designed to be offset vertically so that they can overlap when their respective linkages are extended to the same extent . to that end , upper end effector 92 is provided with a bracket portion 130 which is sized and shaped to clear any substrate , such as semiconductor wafer 132 , carried by lower end effector 94 . in this manner , end effectors 92 and 94 are capable of occupying the same radial and angular positions with respect to the mounting portion of the extensible linkage 40 in which end effector linkages 106 and 112 are mounted . the use of two independently motivated end effectors 92 and 94 provides several advantages , including the ability to simultaneously access two oppositely disposed stations 34 from the dual - row arrangement of stations shown in fig1 . additionally , swapping of substrates from a single station 34 can be effected substantially simultaneously , with one end effector for example removing a substrate from a location within a station 34 and the other end effector substituting a second substrate into the same location . this obviates the need to remove the first substrate from the station 34 , drop off the first substrate at a different station 34 , pick up a second substrate , return to the first station 34 , and drop off the second substrate at the first station . the savings in time made possible by the dual end effector arrangement , which translate to substantial savings in processing costs , will be readily appreciated . the above are exemplary modes of carrying out the invention and are not intended to be limiting . it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications thereto can be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .
| 1 |
under beer &# 39 ; s law a = abc , where a is the amount of light absorbed by a sample , a is the molar absorptivity of the sample , b is the path length of the light as it travels through the sample , and c is the concentration . the value of a , i . e ., the molar absorptivity , is constant for each sample compound . since the path length will vary across different portions of a cylindrical volume , such as a capillary column , it is necessary to integrate over the volume to obtain the total transmitted light . it can be shown that beer &# 39 ; s law for a cylinder can be expressed as a = π / 4 abc , where b is the diameter of the column . in a system with a large amount of scattered or stray light , deviations from beer &# 39 ; s law will occur . the deviation will result in a measured absorbance a &# 39 ; which differs from the true absorbance a . the measured absorbance is defined as : ## equ1 ## where : i o is the light incident on the sample region ; i o &# 39 ;= i o + i s is the total incident light intensity ; and substituting the true absorbance a =- log ( i / i o ) into eq . 1 we obtain a relation between the measured and the true absorption as follows : ## equ2 ## at low absorption , where a & lt ;& lt ; 1 , this can be reduced as follows : ## equ3 ## thus , stray light will cause a constant depression from the true absorbance , and thus stray light becomes a limiting factor in determining the detection level , i . e ., the minimum amount of material that can be sensed . at high absorption , where a & gt ;& gt ; 1 , eq . 2 can be reduced as follows : ## equ4 ## thus , the stray light becomes the limiting factor for the absorbance that can be measured . accordingly , stray light affects the overall dynamic range of the detector at both ends , i . e ., at high and at low absorption levels . fig1 is a plot of eq . 4 , based on theoretical calculations , assuming the presence of 35 % ( curve 10 ) and 75 % ( curve 15 ) stray light . the pronounced effects of stray light can be clearly seen as the curves approach limiting absorbencies of 0 . 45 and 0 . 12 respectively . data collected in connection with the development of the present invention shows that the amount of stray or scattered light present in a capillary on - column optical detection system of the prior art can easily be in the range of 35 - 75 %. while the adverse effects of stray light have been shown in connection with optical absorbance , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that similar adverse effects will occur in other systems , e . g ., in a fluorescence detector . accordingly , while the present invention is , for convenience , described primarily in connection with absorption detection , it is not intended to be so limited , and it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the benefits herein described will be applicable to other optical detection apparatus . the present invention is directed to apparatus and methods for minimizing the effects of stray light so as to provide greater dynamic range and improved linearity of detector response . the reduction of stray light is accomplished using a combination of techniques each of which reduces stray light in the system . an overall absorbance detector 20 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically in fig2 to which we now turn . a lamp 30 provides light for use in the detector . this light is processed in a known manner by optical elements 41 - 47 . in the embodiment shown , one of these optical elements , grating 46 , is used to provide monochromatic light . it should be understood that as used herein the term &# 34 ; light &# 34 ; is intended to include radiation in the ultraviolet ( uv ) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum , in addition to &# 34 ; visible &# 34 ; and infrared light . uv light is very commonly used in absorbance and fluorescence detection in hplc , ce and sfc . light from grating 46 passes through exit slit 50 and follows a path through focussing lens 60 , slit 70 , capillary column 80 , spatial filter 90 , and collecting lens 100 according to the present invention and as described below in greater detail in connection with fig3 . a portion of the unfiltered , unabsorbed light which exits collecting lens 100 reaches photodiode 110 where it is detected using known current measurement techniques . except for the modifications within dashed line 25 which are shown in greater detail in fig3 and described below , an embodiment of system 20 used by the inventors is a modified version of a commercially available uv detector design which can be purchased as varian model no . 2550 . this commercial detector is designed for use with large - bore hplc and requires modification for use with capillary columns . while an embodiment of the present invention has been built using the varian apparatus , it should be apparent that alternative designs and techniques are widely available . in particular , everything up to exit slit 50 can be replaced by a number of known designs and techniques for producing monochromatic light . moreover , in some applications monochromatic light is unneeded and may not be desired . turning now to fig3 ray tracings are shown in connection with the apparatus of the present invention to illustrate the methods employed to minimize the stray light reaching photodiode 110 . monochromatic light passing through exit slit 50 is shown having a slight amount of divergence . in the embodiment using the aforementioned commercial system , the angle of divergence was approximately 8 °. this light is captured by lens 60 and focussed onto capillary column 80 . capillary column 80 is made of fused silica which is optically transparent to light radiation at the wavelengths of interest and , in particular , to uv light . any coating on the column is removed in the area where light is to be focussed , as described in the aforementioned u . s . pat . no . 4 , 375 , 163 . using a commercially available lens , it is possible to focus light from exit slit 50 down to a spot slightly less than 1 mm in diameter . as noted above , in ce a sample plug be approximately 1 mm in length , and in capillary column hplc a sample plug may be even longer . thus , if a focal spot were significantly smaller than 1 mm less of the sample would be illuminated , to the detriment of the efficiency of the system . however , a 1 mm focal spot is still much larger than the outer diameter of the typical capillary column used for separation . accordingly , slit 70 is positioned in front of column 80 to block or mask light which would otherwise strike the column walls and be scattered . when using a column with an inner diameter of 75 μm and an outer diameter of 375 μm , it has been found that a 100 μm slit greatly reduces the stray light without adversely affecting illumination of the sample . in theory , it would appear that the width of the slit should be approximately the same size as the inner diameter of the column to minimize the amount of light striking a portion of the column wall that is not in front of the column bore . however , when working with the very small dimensions involved , the miniature size of the slit will make the task of attaining and maintaining the nearly perfect optical alignment which is required very difficult . these alignment problems are mitigated by the use of a 100 μm slit . if a slit smaller than the diameter of the column , i . e ., less than 75 μm were used , or if alignment is not accurate , the illumination of the sample would be reduced , to the detriment of the signal - to - noise ratio of the system . after passing through slit 70 and column 80 , the remaining light is incident on collecting lens 100 . in the preferred embodiment , lenses 60 and 100 are a matched pair and are coaxially aligned . in one embodiment , two commercially available 6 mm diameter quartz lenses with a 5 mm focal length were used . moreover , as is explained in greater detail below , it has been found that by placing lens 100 approximately the same distance from the column as lens 60 , the effects of stray light are further reduced . it should be noted that , in this configuration , the distance between the column and either lens is approximately the focal length of the lens . thus , light exiting collecting lens 100 will have approximately the same angle of divergence as the light reaching the lens 60 in accordance with well known principles of optics . a mask or spatial filter 90 is placed in front of lens 100 , i . e ., between column 80 and the lens . in the above described embodiment , spatial filter 90 had an aperture diameter of 2 mm and thus blocks a significant portion of the periphery of the lens . use of a spatial filter in front of lens 100 was found to further reduce the amount of stray light reaching photodiode 110 . a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the various techniques used to minimize stray light . the results of the experiments are shown below : table 1______________________________________ detection limit - uraciloptical design ( moles / liter ) ______________________________________a ) slit only 7 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6b ) a & amp ; focussing lens 3 . 3 × 10 . sup .- 6c ) b & amp ; collecting lens @ 9 mm , & amp ; mask 2 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6d ) b & amp ; collecting lens @ 5 mm , no mask 5 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6e ) d & amp ; mask 9 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 7______________________________________ optical design c is similar to that shown in fig3 however , the collecting lens is positioned farther away from the column , i . e ., 9 mm , with the result that the collected light is focussed onto the photodiode . comparing design c with the design of the present invention , i . e ., design e , it should be noted that placing the collecting lens at a distance approximately equal to its focal length , so that the light from the column is slightly divergent , improves sensitivity by a factor of almost three . likewise , use of a mask improves sensitivity by a factor greater than five over a comparable maskless design , i . e ., design d . while data suggest that , at least in the designs tested , use of a spatial filter or mask in front of the collecting lens provides a greater improvement of detection limit than positioning of the collecting lens , proper positioning of the collecting lens can be quite significant . the primary source of stray light emanating from the column is , as noted above , from the column walls . use of a ray tracing programs has shown that this light will mostly be at the periphery of the beam passing through the sample in the column , and will stay at the periphery . placement of a properly sized spatial filter or mask will prevent this peripheral light from reaching the photodiode . it is believed that even more dramatic improvements in the detection limit can be obtained be carefully sizing and configuring the spatial filter . for example , the mask need not have a circular aperture since the sample is not circular . rather the sample is closer to being cylindrical . thus , a rectangular or elliptical aperture is likely to be an improvement over the design tested . moreover , while the preferred embodiment is shown wherein the spatial filter is positioned in front of the collecting lens , in an alternate embodiment , the spatial filter is placed in front of the photodiode . again , the purpose of this is to block the periphery of the light beam where most of the scattered light is present . however , in the design of the present invention the photodiode is , effectively , self - masking due to the placement of collecting lens 100 . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention collecting lens 100 is positioned a distance approximately equal to its focal length from the column . as explained above , as a result of this placement , light passing through the lens is substantially collimated or even slightly divergent . assuming that the photodiode is properly sized , light at the periphery of the beam from lens 100 will miss the photodiode . again , the primary component of the peripheral light is light scattered from the column walls . in comparison , in design c , where the collecting lens is positioned so as to produce a converging beam , the peripheral scattered light is focussed on the photodiode . this self - masking phenomenon explains the apparently incongruous result shown in table 1 , where the detection limit of design b , i . e ., a slit and a focussing lens , ( but no collecting lens ), is better than that of design d , i . e ., a slit , a focussing lens and a collecting lens without a mask . in design b , light coming from the column is highly divergent , and thus almost none of the scattered light at the periphery of the beam will land on the photodiode . by properly sizing and positioning the photodiode , it is believed to be possible to rely entirely on this self - masking effect , eliminating the need for a collecting lens with a spatial filter in front of it . the concentration detection limits of uracil obtained in accordance with the present invention correspond to a mass detection limit of 0 . 01 pg . this is a factor of five improvement over the detection limit reported for a commercially available uv absorbance detector . similar tests using anthracene as a sample , resulted in a concentration detection limit of 5 . 4 × 10 - 8 m , which translates to a mass detection limit of 38 fg . this is a factor of five improvement over the maskless two lens design ( i . e ., design e ), and is an order of magnitude better than a commercially available spherical ball detector . anthracene was used because of its large molar absorptivity and , as a result , has become a standard in the chromatography field for comparing uv detectors . the detection limit obtained for anthracene is close to the theoretically calculated value of the system detection limit based on the fact that such a system is photon shot noise limited . in another implementation of the present invention , a &# 34 ; monolens &# 34 ; was constructed in accordance with the design of fig4 . the monolens comprises a central quartz body portion 200 with four quartz hemispherical lobes 210 , 220 , 230 and 240 , respectively , which serve as lenses . hemispherical lobes 210 and 230 are coaxially aligned , as are hemispherical lobes 220 and 240 , with all four having their axes lying on the same plane . in one embodiment , the quartz hemispherical attachments are glued to body portion 200 using glue which is transparent to the light frequencies of interest . alternately , the body and hemispherical lobes can be machined out of a single piece of quartz so as to form an integral unit . although four hemispherical lobes are shown , in most applications it will only be necessary to provide two such lobes . the monolens of fig4 was designed in order to allow both absorbance detection and fluorescence detection . for fluorescence detection it is desirable to position the collecting lens at right angles to the focussing lens to further minimize the effects of stray light . at the center of body portion 200 and equidistant from the hemispherical lobes is a bore 250 barely wide enough to accommodate capillary column 80 . in one design , the central bore was specified to be 0 . 5 mm in diameter . this allows the monolens to be used for on - column detection . accordingly , the column is inserted into the bore where it is surrounded by the monolens . while the bore should be close in diameter to the outer diameter of the capillary column , it is inevitable that there will be gaps between the column and the monolens . to minimize refraction problems which could arise as the light travels through these gaps , the space between the monolens and the column may be filled with a fluid having an index of refraction nearly the same as quartz . the body portion and hemispherical lobes of the monolens are dimensioned such that light incident on one of the hemispherical lobes is focussed at a point at the center of column 80 , i . e ., the center of bore 250 . with this design the focal spot can be substantially smaller than the 1 mm focal spot described above in respect to a commercially available lens . if the focal spot is made small enough , for example , 75 - 100 μm , and if the design is accurately made , there is no longer a need for a slit to partially block light from striking the column walls . light will not strike the periphery of the column walls by virtue of being tightly focussed . in one embodiment , the focal spot was calculated to be 83 μm , or just slightly larger than the inner diameter of the capillary column . when using the monolens design it is not practical to place a slit in front of the column , nor is it practical to place a spatial filter in front of the collecting lens . rather , as shown in fig4 a spatial filter 260 is placed in front of focussing lens 210 and another spatial filter 270 is places behind collecting lens 230 . in the embodiment shown in fig4 spatial filters 260 and 270 also serve to keep the monolens properly positioned by holding it at shoulders 280 adjacent the hemispherical lobes . spatial filters 260 and 270 are , in turn , held in position by lens holders 290 and 295 respectively . although positioned differently than in the design of fig3 spatial filters 260 and 270 nonetheless serve to reduce the amount of light scatter in the optical detector . as noted before , light from exit slit 50 will be slightly divergent . the amount of divergence is 8 ° for the aforementioned varian 2550 detector . spatial filter 260 blocks some of the diverging light , and further blocks other stray light which may be present in the system . likewise , light transmitted by collecting lens 230 will be slightly divergent , with the scattered light being mostly at the periphery of the transmitted beam . spatial filter 270 helps block the diverging peripheral portion of the beam . static tests were performed using the monolens design , with uracil again being used as the absorbing compound . a detection limit of 9 . 3 × 10 - 7 m was obtained , which is virtually the same detection limit as was obtained using the embodiment of fig3 . again , it is believed that this is subject to improvement as the dimensions of the optical elements and filters are maximized . nonetheless , the detection limits reported show a substantial improvement over the prior art . although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings , it is not intended that the invention be restricted to such embodiments . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and departures from the foregoing description and drawings may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . therefore , it is intended that the invention be limited only by the following claims .
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within the scope of the present invention it has been found that 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine may take on various polymorphous crystal modifications and that the compound prepared in wo 2004 / 018468 is present at ambient temperature as a mixture of two enantiotropic polymorphs . the temperature at which the two polymorphs transform into one another is 25 ± 15 ° c . ( see fig1 and 2 ). the pure high temperature form ( polymorph a ), which can be obtained by heating the mixture to temperatures & gt ; 40 ° c ., melts at 206 ± 3 ° c . in the x - ray powder diagram ( see fig3 ) this form shows characteristic reflections at the following d values : 11 . 49 å , 7 . 60 å , 7 . 15 å , 3 . 86 å , 3 . 54 å and 3 . 47 å ( cf . also table 1 and 2 ). ( a ) refluxing 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine in absolute ethanol and optionally filtering the mixture , ( b ) cooling the hot solution or the hot filtrate until crystallisation sets in , ( c ) diluting with a solvent such as tert .- butylmethylether , ( d ) suction filtering the solvent mixture and ( e ) drying the polymorph a at 45 ° c . in vacuo . the low temperature form ( polymorph b ) is obtained by cooling to temperatures & lt ; 10 ° c . in the x - ray powder diagram ( see fig4 ) this form shows characteristic reflections at the following d values : 11 . 25 å , 9 . 32 å , 7 . 46 å , 6 . 98 å and 3 . 77 å ( cf . also table 3 and 4 ). ( a ) dissolving 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine in absolute ethanol and refluxing and optionally filtering the mixture , ( b ) cooling the hot solution or the hot filtrate for crystallisation to a temperature below 10 ° c ., ( c ) diluting with a solvent such as tert .- butylmethylether , ( d ) suction filtering the solvent mixture and ( e ) drying the polymorph at a temperature below 10 ° c . in vacuo . another polymorph ( polymorph c ) shows characteristic reflections in the x - ray powder diagram ( see fig5 ) at the following d values : 12 . 90 å , 11 . 10 å , 6 . 44 å , 3 . 93 å and 3 . 74 å ( cf . also table 5 ). ( a ) 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine is dissolved in methanol and refluxed and optionally filtered in the presence of activated charcoal , ( b ) the methanolic solution is cooled to a temperature of 40 - 60 ° c ., ( c ) a solvent such as tert .- butylmethylether or diisopropylether is added , ( d ) the resulting suspension is first of all cooled slowly to 15 - 25 ° c . and then later to 0 - 5 ° c ., ( e ) the crystals formed are suction filtered and washed again with tert .- butylmethylether or diisopropylether and ( f ) the crystals thus obtained are dried at a temperature of 70 ° c . in the vacuum dryer . another polymorph ( polymorph d ) melts at 150 ± 3 ° c . this polymorph is obtained if polymorph c is heated to a temperature of 30 - 100 ° c . or dried at this temperature . finally , there is also polymorph e , which melts at a temperature of 175 ± 3 ° c . anhydrous polymorph e is formed if polymorph d is melted . on further heating , polymorph e crystallises out of the melt . the polymorphs thus obtained may be used in the same way as the mixture of the two polymorphs a and b described in wo 2004 / 018468 for preparing a pharmaceutical composition which is suitable for treating patients with type i and type ii diabetes mellitus , prediabetes or reduced glucose tolerance , with rheumatoid arthritis , obesity , or calcitonin - induced osteoporosis , as well as patients in whom an allograft transplant has been carried out . these medicaments contain in addition to one or more inert carriers at least 0 . 1 % to 0 . 5 %, preferably at least 0 . 5 % to 1 . 5 % and particularly preferably at least 1 % to 3 % of one of the polymorphs a , b , or c . the following examples are intended to illustrate the invention in more detail . crude 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine is refluxed with 5 times as much absolute ethanol and the hot solution is filtered clear through activated charcoal . after the filtrate has been cooled to 20 ° c . and crystallisation has set in , the solution is diluted to double the volume with tert .- butylmethylether . then the suspension is cooled to 2 ° c ., stirred for 2 hours , suction filtered and dried in the vacuum dryer at 45 ° c . polymorph a melts at 206 ± 3 ° c . in the dsc diagram another slightly endothermic signal can be seen at approx . 25 ° c . this is a fully reversible solid - solid phase transition between the two enantiotropic crystal modifications a and b . the form a is the thermodynamically stable modification above this transformation temperature , w | form b is the thermodynamically stable modification below this transformation temperature . fig2 shows a cyclic dsc diagram , in which the phase transition from − 40 ° c . to 120 ° c . and vice versa has been run through a total of 3 times . during heating , the phase transition is observed as an endothermic signal and , correspondingly , during cooling it is observed as an exothermic signal . during the first heating cycle the phase transition may also be observed as an endothermic double signal or as a very broad signal while in all the other cycles the signal occurs as a very sharp endothermic or exothermic signal , depending on whether heating or cooling is taking place . fig3 shows an x - ray powder diagram of the anhydrous form a crude 1 -[( 4 - methyl - quinazolin - 2 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - butyn - 1 - yl )- 8 -( 3 -( r )- amino - piperidin - 1 - yl )- xanthine ( 26 kg ) is refluxed with 157 l methanol , combined with 1 . 3 kg of activated charcoal and after 30 minutes &# 39 ; stirring the mixture is filtered and rinsed with 26 l methanol . 122 l of methanol are distilled off from the filtrate , then the residue is cooled to 45 - 55 ° c . 52 l of tert .- butylmethylether are added to the residue over 30 minutes . then the mixture is stirred for another 60 minutes at 45 - 55 ° c . crystallisation takes place within this time . a further 78 l tert . butylmethylether are added to the suspension over 30 minutes and then it is stirred again for a further 60 minutes at 45 - 55 ° c . it is diluted to four times the volume . the suspension is slowly cooled to 15 - 25 ° c . and stirred overnight at this temperature . after the suspension has been cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . the crystals are suction filtered , washed with 2 batches tert .- butylmethylether and dried at 70 ° c . in the vacuum dryer . fig5 shows an x - ray powder diagram of polymorph c in the dsc diagram of form c a whole range of signals can be observed . the strongest signal is the melting point of the anhydrous form a at approx . 206 ° c ., which is produced in the dsc experiment . before the melting point a number of other endothermic and exothermic signals can be observed . thus , for example , a very broad and weak endothermic signal can be seen between 30 and 100 ° c ., which correlates with the main loss of weight in thermogravimetry ( tr ). a tg / ir coupling experiment provides the information that only water escapes from the sample in this temperature range . an x - ray powder diagram taken of a sample maintained at a temperature of 100 ° c . shows different x - ray reflections from the starting material , suggesting that form c is a hydrate phase with stoichiometry somewhere in the region of a hemihydrate or monohydrate . the temperature - controlled sample is another anhydrous modification d , which only stable under anhydrous conditions . the d form melts at approx . 150 ° c . another anhydrous crystal modification e crystallises from the melt , and when heated further melts at approx . 175 ° c . finally , form a crystallises from the melt of form e . form e is also a metastable crystal modification which occurs only at high temperatures .
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referring to the accompanying drawing , diagrammatically shown therein is a pneumatic tire uniformity testing apparatus including a rotational assembly 17 , comprising measuring rim members on which a pneumatic tire 1 to be tested for uniformity thereof is mounted during a measuring run . the rotational assembly 17 is arranged in an appropriate fashion in the remaining structure ( not illustrated ) of the tire uniformity testing apparatus , such structure being found for example , in the above - mentioned article in ` automobil - industrie `. the tire uniformity testing apparatus also includes a test surface formed in this embodiment by a rotatable testing drum as indicated at 2 . the tire 1 to be tested is pressed against the testing drum 2 , at a contact surface or patch , by means of a suitable loading device ( not nown ) which is capable or pressing the tire 1 against the surface of the testing drum 2 with a given loading . automatic tire uniformity measuring installations which may be used in this connection are also to be found for example in ` hofmann report 89 ` to which reference may be made . the apparatus further includes a measuring value pick - up means 8 which is disposed on the axis or shaft of the testing drum 2 , which is used to measure forces occuring in the contact surface or patch at which the tire 1 and the testing drum 2 are in contact with each other . the measurement value pick - up means 8 may be of any suitable configuration , like multi - component measuring hub assemblies as described in ` hofmann news 3 ` or ` hofmann news 4 `. connected to the measurement value pick - up means 8 is a force fluctuation measuring device 9 which , on the basis of the force signals supplied thereto by the output of the measuring value pick - up means 8 , evaluates the force fluctuations involved , for example by separating off the constant component contained in the measured signal . suitable evaluation circuits are to be found in the above - mentioned article from ` automobil - industrie ` and also in above - quoted ` holfmann news 3 and 4 `. the apparatus for inflating the tire includes a tire inflating device 14 , which is connected to the interior of the tire by way of a pressure line or conduit 15 , for producing the necessary pressure for inflating the tire to desired value . the inflation pressure of the tire 1 is measured and monitored by a tire inflation pressure measuring device 3 which is connected to the interior of the tire by way of a pressure line or conduit 16 . the tire inflation pressure measuring device 3 has its output connected to a pressure control device 13 which also receives a suitable reference pressure value from a reference pressure value storage device 4 . the pressure control device 13 then actuates the tire inflation device 14 according to the result of a comparison between the measured or actual tire inflation pressure and the reference pressure value . a suitable form of tire inflation pressure control device for a tire to be tested in this way is to be found in above - mentioned ep no . 0 264 037 al to which reference may be hereafter be directed . connected to the tire inflation pressure measuring device 3 is a pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 in which the constant component is separated from the measurement signal , so that all that remains is a component of the signal corresponding to the pressure fluctuations . for that purpose , the pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 may be connected to the reference pressure value storage means 4 which provides the constant component of the tire inflation pressure . the pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 is connected to a multiplier 6 . the value of a correlation factor ki is fed to another input of the multiplier 6 . the value ki may be stored in a storage device or memory as indicated at 11 , but , as indicated above , it may also be supplied to the multiplier 6 by way of a suitable keyboard . the multiplier 6 also has an input connected to a storage device or memory 12 storing the value of radial spring stiffness cri . that value can also be applied to the multiplier 6 by way of a suitable input unit . in which δp denotes the pressure fluctuations of the tire inflation pressure . the signal corresponding to δp is supplied by the pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 . the product resulting from the above - indicated multiplication is a compensation parameter . the multiplier 6 thus produces output signal proportional to value of the compensation parameter . the output signal is passed to a compensating means in which the illustrated embodiment is in the form of a subtracting means 7 . in the compensating means 7 , the force fluctuation measurement signal supplied by the force fluctuation measuring device 9 is combined with the output signal from the multiplier 6 in such a way that force fluctuation components , which are contained in the measured force fluctuation signal , attributed to fluctuations in the tire inflation pressure are eliminated . in the illustrated embodiment , that operation is effected in the subtracting means 7 by virtue of the output signal of the multiplier 6 being substracted from the output signal of the force fluctuation measuring device 9 . as its output signal , the subtracting means 7 supplies a force fluctuation measuring signal without the force fluctuation components attributed to fluctuations in the tire inflation pressure during the measuring run . as the force fluctuations are continuously measured during the measuring run , as the tire inflation pressure is constantly monitored by the tire inflation pressure measuring means 3 , and as the corresponding pressure fluctuation measurement signal is produced under those circumstances , the above configuration providesd an association in respect to time between the force fluctuation measurement signal supplied by the force fluctuation measureing device 9 and the compensation signal which is supplied as the output signal from the multiplier 6 . the output signal from the compensating circuit 7 , which in the illustrated embodiment is in the form of a subtracting means , is passed to an evaluation device 10 in which the degree of uniformity of the tire 1 being tested is assessed in conventional manner . the entire measuring and evaluation procedure described above may be carried out using analog equipment . however , using both analog and digital equipment is preferred , with analog - digital converters placed at appropriate locations between the measuring devices and the evaluation stages of the apparatus . for example , an analog - digital converter may be provided between the pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 and the multiplier 6 . likewise , an analog - digital converter may be disposed between the force fluctuation measuring device 9 and the compensating circuit or substracting means 7 . it will be appreciated that the fluctuations in pressure and the fluctuations in forced may also be ascertained in digital form , in which case analog - digital converters are to be suitably disposed upstream of the pressure fluctuation measuring device 5 and the force fluctuation measuring device 9 . because the compensation circuit 7 supplies an output signal for the evaluation device 10 , from which force fluctuation components resulting from fluctuations in tire inflation pressure have been removed , regulation of the tire inflation pressure only involves a low level or regulating expenditure and inexpensive equipment . there is , therefore , no need to use a high - grade system for regulating the tire inflation pressure . it may be noted at this point that , in the above - described and illustrated embodiment , force measurements are effected by means of a measurement value pick - up device 8 which is operatively disposed at the axis of the testing drum 2 . it is also possible , however , for the measurement value pick - up device to be placed in the region of the rotational assembly 17 and , in particular , at the axis of rotation of the tire 1 to be tested . it will be appreciated that the above - described apparatus and procedure have been set forth solely by way of example and illustration of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications and alternations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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