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fig1 - 3 show a preferred embodiment of a pet toy 10 . in its broadest context , the pet toy 10 comprises a housing 12 with a hollow interior and a transparent window 14 inset on front wall of the housing 12 . a hook 18 may be attached on back wall of the housing 12 so pet toy 10 can be hung . within the housing 12 is a motor 24 , which is energized by suitable means , such as an electric cord or battery operated , neither of which is shown , through a control box 22 . a motor bracket 26 is secured to the housing 12 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . a motor 24 is connected to the motor bracket 26 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the motor 24 is connected to the first end of arm 28 by a crank arm 30 . the second end of arm 28 is connected about perpendicular to first end of arm 32 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 32 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of shaft 34 by gluing or any other type of fastener . in addition , the first end of shaft 34 is also connected to a bracket 26 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of shaft 34 is connected to bracket 26 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . a mirror 36 is fastened lengthwise to shaft 34 by gluing or any other type of fastener . a mirror 38 is positioned directly below mirror 36 such that mirror 38 is mounted at an angle to a bracket 40 so that the reflection seen in mirror 38 reflects into mirror 36 . a bracket 40 is mounted lengthwise to shaft 42 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the lower end of shaft 42 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 44 by glue or any other type of fastener . in addition , the lower end of shaft 42 is also connected to the first end of bracket 46 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of bracket 46 is secured to the housing 12 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 44 is connected to the first end of arm 48 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 48 is connected to a motor 50 by a crank arm 52 . the motor 50 is secured to the housing 12 by a motor bracket 54 . the speed of the motors 24 and 50 may be adjusted by control knob 16 which is attached to housing 12 and is operated through speed control box 20 . a laser source 56 which is energized by suitable means , such as an electric cord or battery operated , neither of which is shown , through a control box 22 , is mounted on the first end of bracket 62 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the second end of bracket 62 is secured to the housing 12 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the laser source 56 is comprised of a laser emitting end 58 and a power receiving end 60 which emits a laser beam when activated . the laser emitting end 58 must be positioned so that the laser beam reflects into mirror 38 . thus , mirror 38 must be positioned at an angle so that the reflection seen in mirror 38 reflects into mirror 36 . the mirror 36 must be positioned at an angle so that the reflection in mirror 36 reflects through the transparent window 14 onto the floor . in use , the operator places the pet toy 10 on the edge of a shelf , plugs the toy into a standard electrical outlet , not shown , and adjusts a control knob 16 , as desired , to regulate the speed of the motors 24 and 50 . the motor 24 will turn the crank arm 30 which will interengage arms 28 , 32 , and shaft 34 to turn simultaneously and will move the mirror 36 at the desired speed . the motor 50 will turn the crank arm 52 which will cause arms 44 , 48 , and shaft 42 to turn simultaneously and will move the mirror 38 at the desired speed . thus , the light from the laser source 56 will reflect into mirror 38 which in turn will reflect into mirror 36 . the reflection from mirror 36 will forecast through the transparent window 14 projecting a moving laser beam onto the floor . since the beam is invisible until it intersects the floor , the pet will only see and only be chasing one red circle . the variable speed of the pet toy 10 is also extremely attractive to cats because each cat &# 39 ; s agility is different thereby providing a device that will satisfy a wide range of users . it is a preferred method for the pet toy 10 to have two variable speed motors thereby providing each mirror with two different speeds of motion . these two different speeds will , in turn , provide a greater pattern of randomness which will make the pet toy 10 even more attractive to cats . as the pet toy 10 increases the number of variable speed motors and mirrors used , so increases the randomness of the pattern . it is to be understood that having a pet toy comprised of a number of motors and mirrors that are less than what is discussed hereinabove does not diminish from the scope of the invention . since a cat &# 39 ; s agility decreases as its age increases , a pet toy which provides a minimum degree of randomness would be of interest to elderly or handicapped cats who , despite their diminished abilities , still need their exercise to maintain their health , but cannot sustain the high level of excitement and activity that the preferred embodiment provides . therefore , fig4 - 10 show alternative embodiments that provide varying degrees of randomness without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in a second embodiment , as shown in fig4 a mirror 102 is mounted at an angle to a bracket 104 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the bracket 104 is mounted lengthwise to a shaft 106 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the lower end of shaft 106 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 108 by glue or any other type of fastener . in addition , the lower end of shaft 106 is also connected to a bracket 110 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 108 is connected to the first end of arm 112 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 112 is connected to the first end of arm 116 by a crank arm 114 . the second end of arm 116 is connected to a motor 118 by a crank arm 120 . the motor 118 is connected to a motor bracket 122 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . a crank arm 120 connects the motor 118 to the first end of arm 124 . the second end of arm 124 is connected about perpendicular to first end of arm 126 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 126 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of shaft 130 by gluing or any other type of fastener . in addition , the first end of shaft 130 is also connected to the bracket 122 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of shaft 130 is connected to the bracket 122 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . a mirror 128 is fastened lengthwise to the shaft 130 by gluing or any other type of fastener . a laser source 132 is mounted on a bracket 138 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the laser source 132 is comprised of a laser emitting end 134 and a power receiving end 136 which emits a laser beam when activated . the laser emitting end 134 must be positioned so that the laser beam reflects into mirror 102 . thus , mirror 102 must be positioned so that the reflection seen in mirror 102 reflects into mirror 128 . as to the operation of the second embodiment and all other embodiments hereinbelowdescribed , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of operation will be provided . in a third embodiment , as shown in fig5 a motor 202 is connected to a motor bracket 204 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the motor 202 is connected to the first end of arm 206 by a crank arm 208 . the second end of arm 206 is connected about perpendicular to first end of arm 210 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 210 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of shaft 212 by gluing or any other type of fastener . in addition , the first end of shaft 212 is also connected to a bracket 204 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of shaft 212 is connected to the bracket 204 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . mirror 214 is fastened lengthwise to shaft 212 by gluing or any other type of fastener . a laser source 218 is mounted on the first end of bracket 216 by screws , however , gluing or other fasteners could also be used . the laser source 218 is comprised of a laser emitting end 220 and a power receiving end 222 which emits a laser beam when activated . the laser emitting end 220 must be positioned so that the laser beam reflects into mirror 214 . in a fourth embodiment , as shown in fig6 a motor 302 is connected to the first end of arm 306 by a crank arm 308 . the second end of arm 306 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 310 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 310 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of a shaft 312 by gluing or any other type of fastener . in addition , the first end of shaft 312 is also connected to a bracket 304 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of shaft 312 is connected to a bracket 304 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . a mirror 314 is fastened lengthwise to the shaft 312 by gluing or any other type of fastener . a laser source 330 is mounted to a bracket 316 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the laser source 330 is comprised of a laser emitting end 332 and a power receiving end 334 which emits a laser beam when activated . the laser emitting end 332 must be positioned so that the laser beam reflects into mirror 314 . the bracket 316 is mounted lengthwise to a shaft 318 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the lower end of shaft 318 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 320 by glue or any other type of fastener . in addition , the lower end of shaft 318 is also connected to a bracket 322 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 320 is connected to the first end of arm 324 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 324 is connected to a motor 326 by a crank arm 328 . the fifth embodiment , as shown in fig7 - 8 , is different from the hereinabovedescribed embodiments such that the device does not contain mirrors . the laser source 404 moves by the same plurality of means as the heretoforementioned embodiments except the beam reflects directly through the transparent window 402 onto the floor . the fifth embodiment would be extremely attractive to elderly cats who still need exercise , but cannot sustain the high level of excitement and activity of the preferred embodiment . as shown in fig7 - 8 , laser source 404 is mounted on the first end of bracket 410 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the bracket 410 is mounted lengthwise to a shaft 412 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the lower end of shaft 412 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 414 by glue or any other type of fastener . in addition , the lower end of shaft 412 is also connected to the first end of bracket 416 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of bracket 416 is secured to the housing 400 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 414 is connected to the first end of arm 418 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 418 is connected to a motor 420 by a crank arm 422 . the motor 420 is secured to housing 400 by a motor bracket 424 . the laser source 404 is comprised of a laser emitting end 406 and a power receiving end 408 which emits a laser beam when activated . the laser emitting end 406 must be positioned so that the laser beam reflects through the transparent window 402 onto the floor . the sixth embodiment , as shown in fig9 is different from the heretoforementioned embodiments such that the laser source 504 is protruding from the housing . as shown in fig9 a laser source 504 is mounted on the first end of bracket 510 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the bracket 5 10 is mounted lengthwise to a shaft 512 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the bracket 510 is aligned with an opening 502 so that the laser emitting end 506 is protruding from the opening 502 and projecting a laser beam from the laser emitting end 506 onto the floor . the lower end of shaft 512 is connected about perpendicular to the first end of arm 514 by glue or any other type of fastener . in addition , the lower end of shaft 512 is also connected to the first end of bracket 516 by means of a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of bracket 516 is secured to the housing 500 by gluing or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 514 is connected to the first end of arm 518 by a pin or any other type of fastener . the second end of arm 518 is connected to a motor 520 by a crank arm 522 . the motor 520 is secured to the housing 500 by a motor bracket 524 . while the present invention has been described in accordance with a preferred and modified embodiments thereof , it is believed that those familiar with the art will recognize the advancement of the present invention over the prior art and will understand that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention .
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preferred embodiments according to the present invention will now be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings . it is intended , however , that unless particularly specified , dimensions , materials , relative positions and so forth of the constituent parts in the embodiments shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not as limitative of the scope of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a freeze - storing apparatus for cooling and freezing baked food includes a cooling chamber 1 for cooling baked food in high or medium humidity , a freezing chamber 2 for freezing baked food , and a conveyor 3 for conveying baked food . the cooling chamber 1 is configured to be sealed hermetically so that desired temperature and humidity can be maintained inside . the freezing chamber 2 also is sealed hermetically so that temperature inside can be maintained at freezing temperature and below , and desired humidity . the conveyor 3 transfers baked food through the cooling chamber 1 and the freezing chamber 2 . here , baked food or goods refer to fully baked or half baked bread and confectionary . in both instances , the crust part is fully baked to prevent water from being absorbed inside when spraying water on the crust . moreover , humidity means relative humidity ( rh ) and high humidity means that the relative humidity ( rh ) is 65 % and above , and medium or mid - humidity means that the relative humidity is 45 - 60 % rh . in freeze - storing baked goods , the most important thing is to keep the constant humidity of the core of baked food . therefore , it is necessary to cool the baked food to bring the core temperature 30 to 35 ° c . by maintaining the temperature and high humidity in the cooling atmosphere . the freshly baked food can be cooled in the cooling chamber at 90 % rh and above thus to bring the surface temperature of the baked food to near 30 ° c . freshly - baked bread is laid in the cooling chamber or traveled in the cooling chamber of high humidity , thereby lowering its temperature near room temperature with enough moisture maintained in the crust . thus , baked food can be processed , maintaining excellent crust condition and preventing crust flaking . when the humidity is between 45 % rh and 60 % rh , water can be sprayed on the surface of the baked bread before the cooling process . by spraying water , only the water from the surface of baked food evaporates , preventing the water evaporation from the inside of baked food , and keeping the appropriate moisture inside even when the surrounding is at mid - humidity , i . e ., 45 to 60 % rh . the conveyor 3 is formed of vertical conveyors 4 , 5 and horizontal conveyor 7 . the conveyor 3 is in the form of a vertical conveyor 4 , 5 inside the cooling and freezing chambers 1 , 2 and is configured to move in the vertical direction . its speed can be adjusted so that the baked food can travel on the conveyor in the chambers 1 , 2 for a desired period of time . a pre - mixed air chamber 6 can be located at the exit side of the cooling chamber 1 . the chamber 6 takes in air a and produce pre - mixed air m by spraying warm water h to the air a . the pre - mixed air m is sprayed in the atmosphere on the exit side of the cooling chamber 1 . in this case , the temperature of the sprayed water h is preferably higher than that of the pre - mixed air . introducing the pre - mixed air in the exit side of the cooling chamber 1 prevents temperature drop as the water contained in the pre - mixed air evaporates taking evaporative latent heat from the surrounding . in the cooling chamber 1 , temperature of the atmosphere on the exit side is maintained by introducing the pre - mixed air m of high humidity and high temperature from the pre - mixed air chamber 6 . when water contained in the pre - mixed air m evaporates taking evaporative latent heat from the surrounding , the pre - mixed air of high humidity and high temperature provides heat to maintain the atmospheric temperature on the exit side of the cooling chamber 1 . therefore , the cooling chamber 1 can be maintained approximately at room temperature and high humidity on both the entrance and exit sides . with this structure , baked food is placed on the conveyor 3 and enters the cooling chamber 1 from the entrance 1 a . the baked food is conveyed through the cooling chamber 1 on the vertical conveyor 4 at prescribed speed for a desired period and is cooled in the cooing chamber 1 . the baked food comes out from the exit 1 b of the cooling chamber 1 and enters the freezing chamber 2 from the entrance 2 a on the horizontal conveyor 7 . the baked bread is carried through the freezing chamber 2 on the vertical conveyor 5 to move in the vertical direction inside the freezing chamber 2 , thereby freeze - storing the baked bread to the temperature below the freezing point , i . e ., − 30 to − 40 ° c . the baked food is freeze - stored in the atmosphere of − 30 to − 40 ° c . to make the core temperature − 10 ° c . and below . the baked bread coming out from the exit 2 b of the freezing chamber 2 is retrieved at station 8 packed and shipped at station 9 to stores such as convenient stores . the constant temperature and high humidity inside the cooling chamber 1 is maintained by introducing the pre - mixed air m of high humidity and high temperature . the pre - mixed air provides heat and humidity to maintain the constant temperature and high humidity inside the chamber 1 as the water contained in the pre - mixed air m evaporates taking evaporative latent heat from the surrounding . therefore , the cooling chamber 1 is maintained approximately at room temperature and high humidity on both the entrance and exit sides , and the baked food can be cooled , lowering the core temperature to 30 to 50 ° c . and maintaining high humidity . the temperature of the freezing chamber 2 is kept below the freezing point of baked food , e . g ., − 30 to − 40 ° c . so that even large bread can be frozen to below the freezing point . the result of cooling and freezing tests is described below . half - baked zopf ( braided bread ) ( 500 g / unit ), i . e ., partially baked , was tested under various conditions . zopf is rich bread made from flour 100 , salt 2 , yeast 0 . 8 , water 62 , fat 5 , egg 5 and others in weight ratio . after mixing ingredients and fermenting the dough , bread was baked for the primary baking . the primary - baked bread was divided into one for spraying water and the other for no spraying on the crust , and cooled and frozen under the conditions shown in fig2 . the bread was baked in an oven at a store for the final baking ( 175 ° c . for 11 min . → 190 ° c . for 5 min ) and evaluated . the result of the tests is shown in fig3 - 7 . in the sensory test , test no . 1 showed the best result and test no . 4 showed the second best result ( showed water spots partially ). the bread of test no . 5 came out too soft and loose and its color was bad . the bread of test no . 6 had thick crust and the quality was poor . as this sensory test shows , good result was obtained from test nos . 1 and 4 in which during the cooling process the temperature and humidity was kept high at 26 to 27 ° c . and 49 % rh plus water spray in test no . 1 and 65 % rh in test no . 4 and cooling time was long , 62 minutes , and after the cooling process the core temperature was kept at 30 to 35 ° c . this test was carried out using half - baked bread . in the case of testing fully baked bread , the fully baked bread whose crust was sprayed with water did not show crust flaking maintaining good quality as the crust was hard and kept the water out , preventing deterioration . referring to fig8 - 10b , bread baked in the baking process 11 having a crust temperature 88 to 96 ° c . is stored in the cooling chamber in which a humidifying process 12 is performed . in the humidifying process 12 , the baked bread at high temperature is highly humidified inside the cooling chamber approximately at 34 ° c . and above 95 % rh , and in a cooling process 13 the baked bread is cooled inside the chamber of high temperature and high humidity for about 60 minutes to lower the crust temperature to about 30 to 33 ° c . in the humidifying process 12 and the cooling process 13 , freshly - baked bread at high temperature is cooled in the cooling chamber , thereby lowering its temperature near room temperature while holding enough moisture in the crust of the baked bread . after the cooling process , the baked bread is plainly wrapped and conveyed into the freezing chamber . here , “ plainly wrapped ” means wrapping baked food plainly enough to prevent water evaporation from the surface layer between the cooling chamber and freezing chamber . by plainly wrapping the baked bread coming out of the cooling chamber , the water evaporation from the crust is prevented while conveying the baked bread from the cooling chamber to the freezing chamber . the freezing chamber is controlled such that the temperature inside is − 17 to − 20 ° c . and the relative humidity is 50 to 70 % rh . inside the freezing chamber has a freeze box controlled to be at the temperature of − 17 to − 19 ° c . and high relative humidity , 80 to 85 % rh . the baked bread is stored in the freezing box during a high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 . by performing the high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 , the baked bread is freeze - stored while holding enough moisture in the crust , thereby retaining good quality . it is also possible to cool freshly baked bread slowly in the high - humidity atmosphere to bring the crust temperature to room temperature and then to freeze the cooled bread rapidly . here , cooling “ slowly ” means to cool the baked food at a slow speed so that the temperature difference from the entrance to the exit of the cooling chamber is small ( within ± 5 ° c .). the cooling period of the baked food traveling from the entrance to the exit of the cooling chamber can be 35 to 80 minutes . the humidifying process 12 and the cooling process 13 are performed on freshly baked bread so that its temperature is lowered near to the room temperature while maintaining enough moisture in the crust , and the plain wrapping process is performed for preventing water evaporation from the crust . then the high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 is performed by storing the plainly wrapped bread in the freezing box in which the temperature is kept below the freezing point (− 17 to − 20 ° c .) and the humidity is kept high at 80 to 85 % rh . thus , the baked bread maintains enough moisture in the crust from baking to freeze - storing , thereby maintaining good crust quality and preventing crust flaking , and further freeze - storing for long period while maintaining good sensory condition . according to another process , the baked bread can be sent to the high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 and then to the lower - humidity freeze - storing process 16 . in the high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 , the baked bread is freeze - stored for a short period of time , e . g ., two days in the freezing box of low temperature and high humidity inside the freezing chamber of low temperature and lower humidity . next in the lower - humidity freeze - storing process 16 , the baked bread is further freeze - stored for longer period of time than the high - humidity freeze - storing process 15 , in which the temperature is kept below the freezing point of bread with the relative humidity of 50 to 70 % rh . in many cases , baked bread is freeze - stored for a short period and shipped to stores . however , by performing the high - humidity freeze - storing 15 even for a short period , baked bread can be freeze - stored holding enough humidity in the crust and shipped to stores without quality deterioration . fig9 shows a comparison of evaluation test results of freeze - stored baked bread and non freeze - stored baked bread . fig9 also shows freezing conditions and the sensory evaluation . half - baked zopf ( braided bread ) ( 500 g / unit ), which is partially baked bread , was tested under various conditions . the bread used for the test was baguette made from flour 100 , salt 1 . 9 , yeast 1 . 0 , water 63 . 3 in weight ratio . after mixing ingredients well to make the dough , the dough is primary - fermented for 2 hours at 28 ° c ., punched down for pushing the air out , final - fermented for 1 hour at 30 - 35 ° c ., and baked in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 230 ° c . in fig9 , case nos . 1 - 3 are freeze - stored according to the present invention . case nos . 4 - 6 are freeze - stored according to comparative examples . case nos . 1 and 2 were processed in the humidification process 12 , the cooling process 13 inside the cooling chamber , and the high - humidity freezing process 15 inside the freezing box . case no . 3 was processed in the high - humidity freezing process 15 inside the freezing box followed by the lower - humidity freeze - storing process 16 . bread in case nos . 1 and 2 showed no defect such as crust flaking and retained great shape and excellent taste . on the other hand , baked bread of case nos . 4 - 6 showing the comparative examples , which was not processed in the humidifying process 12 or cooling process 13 showed defects in shape and taste after freeze - storing . fig1 a shows the relation between the storing period and the crust flaking percentage in weight and fig1 b shows the relation between the storing period and the crust flaking percentage in area . as apparent from fig1 a and 10b , crust flaking in case nos . 1 - 3 is suppressed to ⅓ of the comparative examples of case nos . 4 - 5 . an apparatus and a method for freeze - storing baked foods including baked bread allows the baked food to be freeze - stored for a long time , while maintaining its good crust condition without crust flaking , and good sensory condition . fresh baked food is cooled in a humidified atmosphere , and freeze - stored at temperature lower than the freezing point , namely at the atmosphere of − 30 to − 40 ° c . to make the core temperature − 10 ° c . and below . baked food is cooled to make the core temperature 30 to 35 ° c . in the atmosphere in which the cooling space is maintained highly humid at 20 to 28 ° c . and 65 % rh and above ( 45 % rh and above in the case of water - spraying the crust ) even when the pre - mixed air is introduced therein . as a result , baked food can be freeze - stored maintaining excellent texture , flavor , and softness without deterioration in quality . when the humidity is between 45 % rh and 60 % rh , water can be sprayed on the surface of the baked bread before the cooling step . by spraying water , only the water from the surface of baked food evaporates , preventing the water evaporation from the inside of baked food , and keeping the appropriate moisture inside even when the surrounding is at mid - humidity , i . e ., 45 to 60 % rh . further , freshly - baked food at high temperature can be cooled unattended in the atmosphere of high humidity such as inside the cooling chamber of high humidity , thereby lowering its temperature near room temperature , holding enough moisture in the crust of the baked food . by plainly wrapping the baked food after the cooling step , water evaporation from the crust can be prevented . further , by storing the baked food in the freezing chamber of the freezing point and below , the baked food can be cooled to the freezing point with enough moisture in the crust , thereby achieving a freeze - storing of baked food maintaining excellent quality . accordingly , freshly - baked food can be freeze - stored keeping enough moisture in the crust from post - baking to the freeze - storing step . thus , the baked food maintains enough moisture in the crust from baking to freeze - storing , thereby maintaining good crust quality and preventing crust flaking , and further freeze - storing for long period maintaining good sensory condition can be achieved . with the above configuration of the present invention , this problem of the prior art can be solved and freeze - storing of baked food becomes possible maintaining excellent texture , flavor , softness , and others . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . all modifications and equivalents attainable by one versed in the art from the present disclosure within the scope and spirit of the present invention are to be included as further embodiments of the present invention . the scope of the present invention accordingly is to be defined as set forth in the appended claims .
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referring now to the figures and more particularly to fig1 and 2 , a communications adapter device 10 includes a housing 12 comprising a top cover 16 and a lower base member 18 . a communications board 24 is provided between the top 16 and bottom 18 sections of the housing 12 , and a label 14 is positioned on the top cover 16 . a receptacle 22 for connection to an external device can be provided at one end of the communications adapter device 10 . here , the receptacle 22 is shown as a universal serial bus ( usb ) type a connector . various other types of connectors can also be used . the cover 16 can comprise a metal material , which is preferably stainless steel , while the bottom 11 comprises a material that allows transmissions from the antenna with limited interference , such as plastic . an aperture 40 can be provided in the cover 16 to limit interference with transmissions from the antenna . other constructions , such as a plastic housing 12 , can also be used . referring now to fig3 , a block diagram of one embodiment of a wireless communications board that can be used with the housing 12 is shown . here , the receptacle 22 is connected to the communications board 24 , and can be connected , for example , to a universal serial bus ( usb ) port on an external usb host device 38 . the communications board 24 includes a processor 27 , such as a microprocessor , microcontroller , or other device , that is programmed to process communications received between the external device 38 on the usb port , and one or more wired or wireless communication devices for communicating with peripheral devices . the usb interface of the controller 27 is configured in software to include at least one interrupt in endpoint through which a usb host , such as usb host device 38 , will poll the device 10 , and one or more bulk in / out endpoint pairs for higher speed data transfer , as defined in usb 2 . 0 specification section 8 . 4 . 5 . the wireless communication devices on communication board 24 can include , as shown here , a wlan communication device 30 , bluetooth device 32 or other wireless communications devices operating to provide other wireless protocols including zigbee , 3g , 4g , ieee 802 . 11 , etc . the processor 27 can also communicate through a communication device to a network through a local area network or wide area network connector , such as ethernet communications device 34 , which can be connected to an rj 45 connector 23 as shown here . in addition to the processor 27 , a memory component 25 comprising , for example , a flash 26 and a ram memory 28 , which can be , for example , a synchronous dynamic random - access memory ( sdram ). although specific type of memory is shown here , various types of memory components suitable for this application will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art including read only memory ( rom ), electronically programmable read only memory ( eprom ), erasable electronically programmable read only memory ( eeprom ), etc . although a number of different processors could be used in this application , the microcontroller is preferably an arm microcontroller with integrated peripheral controllers , including , for example , a synchronous dynamic random access memory ( sdram ) controller , flash controller , and static random - access memory ( sram ) controller . the processor also can include serial interfaces , including universal serial bus ( usb ), secure digital input output ( sdio ), universal asynchronous receiver transmitter ( uart ), serial digital interface ( sdi ), and inter - integrated circuit ( i2c ). the usb interface can include hardware for producing negative acknowledgement codes . one example of a device providing this function is the nxp lpc3130 available from nxp semiconductors n . v ., eindhoven , the netherlands . referring still to fig3 , the usb connection to receptacle 22 provides power for operating the communications board 24 through the dc to dc convertor 36 , and the processor 27 transmits information bi - directionally between external devices communicating through the communications devices 30 , 32 , 34 to the connected peripheral device 38 . communications to the communications card 24 from peripheral devices 39 can be , as shown here , from a networked pc , a tablet pc , or a mobile phone , for example , although any device capable of communication with the communication board 24 can be used . although the wireless communication board 24 can be connected to various devices , in the embodiment shown here , the connected host device 38 is a printer . computers , cellular phones , personal digital assistants , and other electronic devices , however , can be connected . referring still to fig3 , the main memory 28 can store instructions used to execute the operating system , as well as executable software for the communication module application . the memory 28 can also store temporary processes and variables , raw print job data extracted from the bluetooth 32 , wlan 30 and lan 34 interfaces during operation through , for example , a dynamic ram bus interface with the processor 27 . referring still to fig3 , the flash memory provides permanent storage for storing the board support package , a boot loader , an operating system kernel , firmware drivers and application software for the communication module . the processor 27 can , for example , boot up from the flash memory 26 . the flash memory 26 can also include a backup boot image that can be retrieved to safely re - boot the system when there is a boot failure due to , for example , a boot loader corruption . the flash can be connected with the processor 27 on a static ram interface . referring yet again to fig3 , the lan controller 34 can be a non peripheral component interconnect ( pci ) lan controller that includes both integrated physical and media access control ( mac ) layers . it is connected with the mcu &# 39 ; s static ram interface . when configured in this way , the lan controller 34 can support 10 / 100 mbps transfer rate and support multiple power modes . referring still to fig3 , the wlan module 30 can be a highly integrated system in package ( sip ) unit , which comprises a wireless mac base band controller ( i . e . e . e . 802 . 11b / g / n platform for internet content selection ( pics ) compliant ), rf power amplifier , clock oscillators , dc - dc converters and rf transceivers . it can also support ieee 802 . 11d , e , h , i , k , r , s pics . it can also support the bluetooth co - existence . it can be connected with a sdio peripheral interface controller with the processor 27 . the bluetooth module 32 can also be a highly integrated standalone unit which consists of a bluetooth base band controller , transceiver and clock oscillators . the bluetooth module 32 can communicate with the processor 27 through a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter ( uart ) interface , and can support bluetooth version 2 . 1 + edr standard . as shown here , optionally the bluetooth module can be integrated with wlan module 30 as a single package . in that case , the uart interface from the main mcu is shared between these two different bluetooth modules . referring again to fig1 and 2 , the top cover 16 of the wireless communications device 10 can include an aperture 40 that can be positioned adjacent the antenna 20 , and can be oriented one to three length to width with respect to the antenna 20 . the antenna 20 is preferably a microstrip or multilayer chip antenna , although other types of antennas can also be used . in one embodiment of the invention a at8010 - e2r9haa antenna was shown to be advantageous . this device is available from advanced ceramic x corp ., tzuchieng road , shinchu industrial district , shinchu , hsien 303 , taiwan . the antenna can be a 2 . 4 ghz antenna which operates in the industrial scientific medical ( ism ) band and can be used with wlan , bluetooth , and other types of communication devices including these described above . referring still to fig3 , the host device 38 and communication device 10 are programmed to treat an nak packet as an indication that there is no data at this time . referring now to fig4 , which illustrate the process steps for switching between low power and normal operating modes in the normal operation mode 50 ( e . g . when the communication device 10 has data to process and send to the usb host device 38 ), the controller 27 is maintained in an idle mode , with all of the peripheral interfaces active . when the host device 38 polls the communication card 24 , the controller 27 sends a response packet to the host device 38 indicating it has data to send . the host device 38 then reads the data from the communication card 24 . the data is stored in memory 25 , and can be in ram 28 , flash memory 26 , or both . in a specific example , when the host device 38 is a printer , the communication card 24 can include expanded storage for spooling print jobs . here , the a print job could be saved to flash memory 26 , while the card continues to handle ( and save ) additional print jobs as it waits for the printer 38 to read the data . alternatively , a communications card 24 without expanded storage could buffer portions of a print job in ram 28 for sequential transfer to the printer as it is received from a source . referring still to fig3 and 4 , during operation , the controller 27 continually monitors inactive time , and when the communication adapter device 10 has been inactive for a selected amount of time controller 27 determines whether to put the communication adapter device 10 into a standby mode ( step 52 ). if the selected time has not been exceeded , the controller maintains the device in the normal mode ( step 50 ). in a printer application , the time period can be optimized based on the time period between successive print jobs , and the amount of time that is necessary to bring the communications device 10 back to a normal state . a time frame of 5 seconds of inactivity has been found to be effective , where a 1 second time frame was necessary to wake up the communications adapter device 10 . referring still to fig4 , when the selected time has been exceeded , the controller 27 puts the wired and wireless communication devices 30 , 32 , and 34 into low power or sleep mode ( step 54 ). the controller 27 maps the standard interface lines corresponding to the peripheral controllers to interrupt lines , and is also “ suspended to ram .” in the “ suspended to ram ” state , the current state of the kernel and the running applications of controller 27 are saved into ram 28 , and the ram is placed into “ self - refresh ” mode which further increases the power savings kernel . the controller 27 then turns off the peripheral controllers or interfaces , including the sdio , uart , and communications through usb connection to the host 38 through receptacle 22 ( step 56 ). the controller then deactivates internal clocks , and enters into a low power mode . ( step 58 ) the host device 38 continues to poll the wireless communication device 10 , but the communications device 10 now responds with negative acknowledgement codes ( nak packets ), which are a standard part of the usb specification ( usb 2 . 0 specification section 8 . 4 . 5 ), and which are used to communicate to a host device 38 that the communication device 10 has no data to send . the nak packets are generated in hardware dedicated to the usb interface within the controller 27 . when the software operating on controller 27 toggles a bit in a dedicated “ nak enable ” register , the hardware will generate the nak packet . the hardware enables the nak packets to be generated when the controller is suspended and the internal clocks are disabled , including the clock to the usb hardware . the usb host 38 does not see any change in behavior from the device . when an external device sends a wireless connection request to the wireless communication device 10 by , for example , attempting a bluetooth connection ( step 60 ) through the uart or sdio interface , the peripheral interfaces on the controller 27 in communication device 10 can trigger an interrupt on the controller 27 , which will bring the controller out of the suspend to ram state . when the controller wakes up the stored current state is retrieved from the ram 28 , and operation continues from where it left off , which shortens wakeup time . the controller 27 also wakes up the selected uart or sdio controller to receive the command and data . ( step 62 ). while the communication device 10 is returning from the idle state , the usb hardware continues to respond to the usb host 38 with nak packets . once the microcontroller 27 has returned from the idle state , it returns to the normal mode 50 and processes the communication . because the host device 38 has been programmed to interpret the nak packet as an indication that there is no data at this time , the host 38 behaves as if the communication device 10 remained active throughout . therefore , the logic necessary for entering the idle state is contained almost entirely on the communication device 10 , and minimal logic is implemented on the host device 38 . it should be understood that the methods and apparatuses described above are only exemplary and do not limit the scope of the invention , and that various modifications could be made by those skilled in the art that would fall under the scope of the invention . for example , although the peripheral controllers are described as part of the processor , these controllers could be provided as separate components . various other modifications will be apparent to those of skill in the art . to apprise the public of the scope of this invention , the following claims are made :
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the present invention relates to apparatus and methods are provided for overwriting memory in vehicle event recorder systems . embodiments are described hereinafter that are constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention . in order to facilitate the understanding of the described embodiments , definitions are provided for terms that may not be readily available in popular dictionaries . vehicle event recorders : video image recording systems which are responsive to triggers indicative of some event of interest . time dilation : an expansion of a video sequence timeline by way of frame rate manipulation . trigger : electronic means for setting some instant in time associated with a particular event of interest and further for causing initiation of some associative processes . expanded timeline definition : a prescribed set of rules which sets forth and defines a timeline associated with a video frames sequence having more than one frame rate associated with any particular portion of the timeline . overwrite manager : a computer module determining , in accordance with an expanded timeline definition , which data recorded in memory and associated with a particular video frame is to be discarded and may be overwritten with data from a newly collected video frame . video event recorder systems are typically built around and deployed with memories of limited sizes , in order to contain cost . while mass storage and mass storage management may be included in such devices , for example , a computer - type hard drive , these types of components remains quite expensive , causing overall systems to double in cost if such memories were included . instead , a ‘ lightweight ’ memory solution is envisioned in the present invention , in which an abbreviated memory or memory buffer is used to temporarily store information collected during a predetermined time of service , for example a day , of a vehicle equipped with this type of video event recorder . upon return to base , a vehicle may transfer the information collected to a different memory for management and analysis . accordingly , the present invention makes it possible to equip vehicles with video event recorders having very inexpensive cameras and memory . memories of such video event recording systems are preferably handled in the following manner . a memory system is divided into two portions : a fast , managed loop memory buffer , and a temporary mass storage memory . video continuously received from a video camera may be put into the fast memory buffer . however , the amount of data generated by a video system is quite extensive and most of the time totally uninteresting , but certain portions of the video may become of great interest . for example , when a vehicle is involved in a traffic accident , the captured video may yield important clues as to fault , cause , identity , and response , among others . in this event , it is important to preserve video data associated with these select video capture periods . to this end , a trigger is arranged , whereby the occurrence of some incident of interest , such as an automobile accident , causes data stored in the memory buffer to be transferred to a more permanent memory facility . old data in the memory buffer is continuously overwritten by new data received from the video camera in real - time . in common and simplistic versions , this step is performed in a “ first - in , first - overwritten ” manner . because the memory buffer is limited in its capacity to store video frames , “ first in first overwritten ” schemes provide a timeline of limited extent . for example , at a frame rate of four frames per second , a given memory buffer may be suitable for storing 30 seconds of video frame data , or a 30 second video timeline . in ‘ first - in , first overwritten ’ schemes , this timeline may be arranged as 15 seconds of continuous video before a trigger event and 15 seconds of continuous video after a trigger event . however , a continuous frame rate throughout the entire event capture period need not be maintained . it is possible to have a modest frame rate at times associated with the capture period extremities , and a high frame rate during periods around an event trigger . therefore , the storage frame rate may be adjusted throughout a prescribed capture time period , allowing for an extended temporal range . instead of a 30 second timeline , is entirely possible to have a 48 second timeline for the same memory . such a timeline may be embodied as 12 seconds of video at a frame rate of one frame per second for the periods of time furthest apart from the event trigger , both before and after . in addition , the video sequence may include video for 24 continuous seconds , 12 seconds before and 12 seconds after an event trigger , at a video frame rate of four frames per second . this way , the temporal range is extended but the temporal resolution is compromised in the time periods furthest from the trigger event . to create such a managed loop memory buffer management system , an overwrite scheme is provided to select which frames are ‘ expired ’ and no longer part of the particular extended timeline scheme . it should be remembered that video is continuously captured at all times , and that video is captured at the maximum frame rate , because it is not known in advance when an event trigger will occur . accordingly , the system always captures video at the maximum frame rate as the capture frame rate cannot be adjusted in view of any event trigger which may come in the future . video captured at the maximum frame rate is put into the memory and as it is put in the memory it displaces previously recorded video frames . these frames are added to the memory locations determined to be available in accordance with a prescribed overwrite scheme such as the one mentioned above . however , this step is provided differently from a first in first overwritten scheme . in the presently described embodiment , most frames being overwritten are actually newer than at least one other frame stored elsewhere in the memory buffer . newly captured frames are written to memory positions in a pseudo -‘ interleaved ’ fashion while some of older frames are preserved . when a trigger event occurs , data in memory is transferred from the memory buffer to a memory of more permanent nature . when such data is transferred , an expanded timeline is reconstructed as a timeline having at least two frame rates . at the extremities of the capture period timeline , the frame rate is reduced . at and about the point of greatest interest ( trigger event ) the frame rate is maximized during the capture period . this ‘ throttling ’ of frame rate provides for a memory of preset size to accommodate a timeline of greater temporal extent , although in some places resolution maybe reduced . referring now to fig1 , a first timeline is shown that is associated with a memory system divided into a plurality of memory bins . for exemplary purposes , some arbitrary numbers for memory size , number of bins , video frame rates , etcetera , have been selected . it is to be understood that these are not necessarily preferred values , but values selected to promote an understanding of the example provided . the memory related to fig1 is a high - speed , high - performance memory of limited extent , and is arranged as a buffer . this memory communicates with incoming video data recorded by a video camera , and its output is directed to another means for data storage means , such as a memory system having a greater capacity but lower speed , for example a semiconductor dram type memory . alternatively , the memory of fig1 may be a non - volatile , high - performance memory based on ferromagnetic principles , which can respond in real - time to video collected by a video camera , but is of limited size and not suitable for saving the mass amounts of data generated by video image systems . in general , the memory of fig1 may be limited to a few megabytes and may temporarily hold a limited number of video frames , which may or may not be transferred to a more permanent memory in a transfer operation . in particular , the memory may be divided into 120 bins , with each bin be sufficient for storing the data associated with a single video frame . a timeline 1 is associated timeline 1 with this memory , and is comprised of a 30 second time interval . the timeline is marked in the figure from 0 to 30 . a one second interval 2 is illustrated at the beginning of the timeline . further , that one second interval is divided into quadrants , representing a quarter of a second interval 3 . for the video systems of immediate interest , this quarter of a second interval nicely accommodates a single video frame ( implicitly setting a frame rate of four frames per second ). while most modern video systems have far higher performance than recording four frames per second , four frames per second is a useful rate for vehicle recorder systems , which tend to have limited memories in the interest of maintaining a low cost . further , the kinds of events being recorded in vehicle recorder systems are appropriately captured with frame rates of a few frames per second . when video images are captured by a camera , frame - by - frame , each frame images can be recorded into a memory bin 4 . a first frame is recorded and put into a first memory bin . thereafter , a quarter of second later , a second frame is recorded and put into an another memory bin , for example , an adjacent bin . this frame - by - frame recording scheme may continue for up to 30 seconds before all memory bins becomes full and the supply of empty bins is exhausted . in fig1 , the first 116 memory bins are shaded to indicate that one frame each of video data has been written to those bins . this is equivalent to recording of a video signal 5 of four frames per second for 29 seconds . fig1 also illustrates four empty memory bins 6 , which would be filled in the next second of video recording . because the recording of video images in this manner is known in the art , figure a is labeled as prior art . fig2 illustrates a similar timeline 21 in conjunction with a graphical illustration of a memory having 120 memory bins . as in fig1 , a time interval equivalent to one second 22 as well as a time interval of one quarter second 23 is illustrated for reference . the graphical depiction of the memory includes lightly shaded areas 24 and 25 . the memory bins presented as 24 represent those bins having data written thereto from a video which was collected from a time t = 14 up to a time t = 30 . the demarcation indicated as dotted line 26 indicates time t = 14 . at time t = 30 , the memory is completely full . video data collected for 30 seconds at four frames per second fills 120 memory bins . the video data collected at time t = 31 cannot be saved to memory unless a portion of the memory already allocated and consumed in a previous data write step is overwritten . thus , in the graphic of fig2 , memory bins indicated by 25 on a second line represent that video frame data that is recorded in these memory bins at the expense of data captured 30 seconds prior . accordingly , for the time period indicated , i . e . video data collected from t = 0 to t = 14 , that video data is lost to an overwrite step . in fig2 , those bins shaded dark are indicated as 27 , representing the over - written bins . this illustrates the so - called ‘ round - robin ’ or ‘ first - in , first - overwritten ’ fifo memory management schemes . since these schemes are also known in the art , fig2 is also labeled as prior art . the fifo memory management scheme is very useful . when a new video frame is collected by the video camera , it is placed into memory at the same location as the oldest frame in the memory which is discarded in the overwrite step . therefore , the fifo memory management scheme implies that the oldest video information in the memory is the least valuable . the memory described is a buffer memory , that is , this memory temporarily holds the data of a video series for some specified time , but also continuously discards previously recorded information . when the buffer contains a data set associated with an important event , that data is transferred from the buffer memory to a more permanent memory before becoming subject to being lost by overwrite actions . a video series becomes ‘ important ’ when a detectable event occurs which implicitly indicates video is valuable ; for example , if a vehicle is involved in a traffic accident , accelerometers can detect the accident and trigger a transfer of data from the buffer memory to a permanent memory . in those vehicle event recorder systems , a trigger is sometimes arranged to indicate that such an event has occurred , that is , an event for which the video images associated therewith may be of extreme importance . in this case , the short term buffer memory of 120 video frames should be transferred to a more permanent long - term memory for example , a durable flash type memory . fig3 is directed at illustrating a timeline which includes an event moment . fig3 includes a timeline 31 , and the dashed line 32 to indicate the 29th second along with a marker ‘ x ’ 33 to indicate a trigger event has occurred at the 29th second . when a trigger event occurs , it is important to preserve the video data which occurred after the accident as well as the video data which occurred before the accident . video images collected during a time period starting 15 seconds before the accident are in the bins indicated by 34 ; i . e . those video image frames collected between t = 14 and t = 29 . memory bins at the end of the time line indicated by 35 include four video frames collected during the first second after the accident . video image frames collected between t = 30 and t = 44 are placed in the memory bins indicated by 36 . thus , the memory buffer contains video images for the 15 seconds prior to the accident and the 15 seconds after the accident . because the memory is of limited size , it can only hold video image data which represents 30 seconds of video recording . at this point in time , no new frames are recorded to memory ; overwrite is prevented , and the memory buffer is “ locked ”. rather , the system pauses to transfer data in the buffer memory to a permanent flash memory . after data is successfully transferred to the flash memory , the buffer is “ unlocked ” and may be used again in the fashion described . as video data which was placed into buffer memory bins between time t = 30 and time t = 44 , it caused older - data to be displaced , overwritten and forever destroyed . data which was recorded between t = 0 and t = 14 is completely lost and no access is possible any more to this information , which at one time resided in those memory bins , because that information was destroyed in the overwrite step . however , some of this information may be very valuable and , accordingly , it is quite undesirable to lose it entirely ; in fact , some of this data may be more important than data which saved in its place . since the moments leading to a vehicle accident can explain a great deal about the what actually happened , it is highly desirable to have at least some limited information that relates to the accident scene at t = 1 , for example . if one can just see one frame at t = 1 , that may be extremely valuable in explaining what happened in the accident . therefore , the fifo scheme may actually destroy critically useful data . this is also apparent from fig4 , which explicitly shows certain bins a - f associated with various points of the timeline 41 and with reference to trigger event 42 time at time t = 29 . the following discussion further illustrates the importance of bins a - f . in a fifo system , all memory bins , indicated by reference numerals 44 and 45 , are preserved in the memory buffer . amongst the oldest recorded video frames remaining are those which reside in memory bins a and b , and which represent two adjacent frames , or frames captured within a quarter of a second from each other . since these frames represent images very close in time , these frames are expected to be quite similar to each other . while it is sometimes desirable in video systems to have high temporal resolution , i . e . as many frames per second as possible , one will appreciate that at higher frame rates , a frame will contain very similar information as the frame closest thereto . accordingly , where memory is limited , these adjacent frames lose their importance as most of the information contained in each frame is similarly contained in the adjacent frame . thus , if we keep frame a and discard frame b , most of the information of frame b can be known by examining frame a . on the other hand , frames d , e and f , which are discarded in a fifo system , may actually contain extremely important information . frame d is separated in time from frame e by one second . in a video scene , there may be considerable differences between one frame captured an entire second later than another frame . further , frame d occurs a full 29 seconds before the trigger event . in a traffic accident , it can be quite useful to know about what was happening at time periods before and after a trigger moment . thus , it may be possible in a memory having a finite number of memory bins to trade some of the bins associated with less important time slots for bins associated with time slots having a greater importance . if we discard frame b , and preserve frame d , we may gain a greater overall understanding of the incident being recorded . in effect , we can trade some time resolution ( frame rate ) at t = 15 , for improved overall temporal range to realize an extended timeline . one skilled in the art will notice that if video data associated with a frame rate of one frame per second was preserved , in seconds 1 - 12 , then 36 memory bins into would remain available , which would accommodate newly captured video data . thus , rather than completely overriding the oldest video data in memory , one can perform an overwrite action on 3 of every 4 memory bins in the overwrite portion of the timeline , thereby maintaining ¼ th of the oldest video data in those memory bins . that is to say , for the oldest video data in memory , it may be useful to save one frame per second . to this end , when the overwrite operation is executed , new data is written to three memory bins , before one bin is skipped , and the process is repeated . timeline 51 includes a trigger event 52 at time t = 29 . in one overwrite scheme of interest , it is required that a timeline be comprised of 12 seconds of low temporal resolution , 24 seconds full temporal resolution and a further 12 seconds of low temporal resolution . this is further defined in detail as a 12 second period of one frame per second video , a 24 second period of four frames per second video , and finally a 12 second period of one frame per second ; for a total video sequence of 48 seconds . since it cannot be known at what time in the future an event trigger will occur , a data overwrite scheme must preserve data associated with various frames , of which a prescribed timeline is comprised . in the present example , continuous video data at a frame rate of four frames per second is preserved for a period of 12 seconds 54 before the trigger event ; that data is in memory bins indicated by 53 . while in the fifo system one can preserve data at four frames per second for up to 15 seconds before and after the trigger event , in the system of the present embodiment only 12 seconds of four frames per second data be kept . however , it will be shown that the present embodiment enables the expansion of the total timeline of the video sequence to 48 seconds in contrast to the 30 second timeline of the fifo system . in the 31st second , the first overwrite operation begins . whether or not a trigger has occurred , newly captured video data is written to every three out of four memory bins , leaving the fourth memory bin undisturbed . therefore , old data is preserved , albeit at one quarter of the frame rate from which it was originally recorded . video data after the trigger event is recorded in the memory bins 55 at a frame rate of four frames per second . just because some bins are skipped , the frame rate of video data collected after the trigger event is not necessarily reduced . this is readily understood in consideration of the time point indicated by 57 which indicates the time t = 41 seconds , while , without skipping bins , this point in memory would have been time t = 45 . careful observation will prove that the bins indicated by 55 will accommodate data at four frames per second for the entire 12 seconds , after the event trigger . after the time point indicated by 57 , several memory bins remain available for further overwrite operation before reaching the memory bins which contain data to be preserved in agreement with the timeline definition 12 / 24 / 12 . at least some of those memory bins up to the position indicated by 54 are available for overwrite . after the full 12 seconds of four frames per second video is recorded , it is desirable to continue recording video data at one frame per second for an additional 12 seconds . data captured in this period can be stored in memory bins , which are scattered in various locations about the memory buffer . fig6 illustrates on example of such locations . more particularly , fig6 illustrates memory bin locations which are available for overwrite as the memory approaches its full capacity for the particular schemes presented herein . once a trigger event occurs , i . e . is set in time , it is possible to compute which video frames must be saved in accordance with the particular timeline definition , and which frames may be discarded . for example , 48 frames at four frames per second may be preserved immediately before the trigger event . in addition , 12 frames at a video rate of one frame per second may be preserved for the time t = 5 up to t = 17 . these frames must be protected from any further overwrite operation , and are marked “ must be saved ” in fig6 . these frames are saved as they are included in the timeline definition . all frames which precede t = 5 are in condition for being discarded , that is , such frame lie outside the time range which is to be preserved . accordingly , frames indicated for example as 69 have aged sufficiently and are may be erased . these are the frames which originally were preserved in the overwrite operation as skipped frames . video frames captured after the trigger event are also saved in the memory . for 12 seconds after the trigger event , t = 29 to t = 41 , video is captured at a rate of four frames per second . such a video data 65 is put into memory in accordance with the need to save particular frames of the oldest video data . when all video frames from the period t = 29 to t = 41 are properly recorded , the system continues to record data at the frame rate of one frame per second . this is different from the earlier operation , in which the overwrite action resulted in the preservation of one frame per second . for the time period 12 seconds after the event trigger up to 24 seconds after the event trigger , data is put into memory at the reduced frame rate of one frame per second . other frames may be captured by the camera , but are discarded before entering the memory or instantly thereupon . thus , the frames represented by 67 are put into memory bins which are available in accordance with the “ ok to erase ” label in the drawing . a person skilled in the art will note that after three of these frames are placed in the memory , the fourth frame 68 cannot be placed into the memory in the same repeating geometric position . that is to say , those memory bins are not available for overwrite . therefore , video captured after that time must be carefully managed and fit into the available memory bins . fig7 illustrates the steps taken in the final filling of the remaining memory bins . in timeline 71 , event trigger 72 is situated at time t = 29 . in agreement with this exemplary timeline definition , video captured at a frame rate of four frames per second from t = 17 to t = 29 is stored in memory , as indicated by 73 . similarly , video captured for a 12 second period at a frame rate of four frames per second from t = 29 to t = 41 is stored in memory , as shown by reference numeral 74 . finally , video frames captured during a 12 second period from t = 42 to t = 54 at a frame rate of one frame per second include those particular frames represented as 75 , which must be inserted into the memory bins remaining available for overwrite . arrows 76 indicate that these frames may be placed in locations near the beginning of the memory , where data had once been stored but is now expired because the trigger event occurs at t = 29 . once a trigger event is established , the bins which may be overwritten can be determined according to the particular rules defining the timeline . the example of fig7 clearly illustrates that careful management of an overwrite scheme enables a memory buffer to dilate a timeline by manipulating which video frames are preserved and which are overwritten . consequently , temporal resolution is sacrificed to extend temporal range , that is , the frame rate of “ saved data ” is altered in order to make more space available for video frames captured further in time from the event trigger . accordingly , the greatest amount of information can be preserved in a memory buffer of the limited size . while the example of fig7 illustrates where the data may be written in memory , those skilled in the art will note that the physical positions of memory bins may be altered . therefore , after a timeline definition is set , an algorithm may be developed defining the bins containing data that has expired and thus implicitly defining a bin available for overwrite at any moment in time . while the example presented of fig5 - 7 illustrates one possible solution , it should be understood that other arrangements may provide for a time dilation in accordance with the spirit of the present invention , and that specific values may be used that are different from those presented in the above exemplary timeline definition . in another exemplary timeline definition , one might arrange a system whereby two periods of eight seconds are used to capture video of a high frame rate , and two periods of 28 seconds are used to capture data at a low frame rate , thus achieving a total expanded timeline of 72 seconds . the advantages offered by the above examples do not depend upon the particular values chosen in these examples . one should also recognize that because capturing / saving video at two different frame rates enables a user one to expand the timeline , capturing / saving video at three different frame rates also enables a user to expand the timeline with greater flexibility . accordingly , the memory may be manages to preserve frames for some time periods at a rate of four frames per second , and in other time periods at a rate of two frames per second , and in still other time periods at a rate of one frame per second . this arrangement provides for very high temporal resolutions for the periods immediately surrounding an accident ( trigger event ), for medium level resolutions for periods further away from the trigger event , and finally for low temporal resolutions at the extremities of the time range . in addition , asymmetric timeline definitions are possible , that is , the time periods on either side of the event trigger may not be equal in extent or in number . a timeline definition may be devised that has a long , high resolution period before the event trigger , and a short high resolution period after the event trigger . fig8 illustrates various timeline definitions of interest , and is related to several examples each working equally well within the common concept of timeline dilation . fig8 graphically illustrates a first memory buffer 81 , which was discussed in detail in a previous example , and in which there are two frame rates , namely , a high video frame rate of four frames per second and a low video frame rate of one frame per second . a trigger event 82 occurring at some instant in time implicitly sets the time periods for any particular example , and time period 83 starts immediately after the trigger event and extends for 12 seconds . a second time period 84 extends from the trigger event to 12 seconds prior to the trigger event . in both of these time periods , video is captured and put into the memory buffer at a rate of four frames per second . the number of shaded memory bins reflects a frame rate of 4 frames per second . time periods at the extremities of the timeline , periods 85 and 86 , are each also configured to be 12 seconds in length . however , since only one frame per second is collected in those time periods , the number of memory bins consumed is considerably smaller , i . e . ¼ of those consumed in the other time periods . this arrangement provides for a total timeline of 48 seconds , and in memory buffers that do not overwrite / store data at variable rates , the same memory size could only accommodate a timeline of 30 seconds . fifo memories of the same size are restricted to 30 seconds . a second example presented as 87 in fig8 suggests two high temporal resolution periods of 10 seconds each . in addition , there are two low temporal resolution periods of 20 seconds each . while there is a reduced overall period of high - resolution video data , the total timeline is extended to 60 seconds . a third example is presented through the memory buffer of graphic 88 , and illustrates that an asymmetric timeline definition may also be configured . the two periods with a high rate of video recording need not be the same in extent . in fact , video may be recorded at a high frame rate for a longer period after a trigger event than that in the period immediately preceding the trigger event . in the present example , video is recorded in the memory buffer for 16 seconds after the trigger event , but only for four seconds prior to the trigger event . accordingly , the total high - resolution time period is the same as in the previous example , 20 seconds , but greatly favors preserving information after the trigger event , at the expense of information preceding the trigger event . in a fourth example , there are six distinct time periods comprised in the timeline . two 9 second periods occur symmetrically about an event trigger . in these time periods video may be captured a rate of four frames per second . two additional periods each of 8 seconds may be used to record / overwrite data at a frame rate of two frames per second . two additional 8 second periods are provided to store data at a frame rate of one frame per second . one skilled in the art will appreciate that in the timeline of this example , two of the 8 second periods are of different sizes with respect to memory capacity , i . e . greater number of bins , than the other two 8 second periods . this is consistent with the higher frame rate used in two of the 8 second periods . one skilled in the art will also appreciate the great latitude available for managing a memory buffer of limited capacity to expand a timeline . one skilled in the art will further appreciates that where memory buffers deploy fifo or ‘ round - robin ’ strategies for overwrite operations , very important data may be lost . fifo and ‘ round - robin ’ strategies discriminate against the oldest data in a memory buffer , and in situations where the oldest data is not the least valuable , fifo and round - robin systems are inferior to the system of the present invention . referring now to fig9 , the fundamental elements of apparatus according to the present invention is described . video camera 91 is operable for collecting optical energy and for converting the image of a scene into electrical signals , suitable for processing by common electronic means such as digital semiconductor memories and processors . in addition , these systems include a trigger mechanism 92 . in one embodiment , a trigger mechanism is the device arranged to provide an electrical signal that indo indicates that a particular video series should be transferred to permanent memory for long - term storage . a trigger may be an accelerometer operable for detecting abrupt changes in speed , for example , speed changes related to a traffic accident . triggers may be activated by other events such as heavy braking or swerving maneuvers , and may be activated by means other than accelerometers . for example , a user panic button can be used to activate a trigger event . when the user believes that a video series should be saved , he can hit a panic button to activate one type of trigger . it is not relevant what precisely causes a trigger to be activated , but rather how memory performs once a trigger event has occurred . overwrite manager 93 is a control module that interfaces with the trigger and a video camera , and also with a buffer memory 94 . an overwrite manager includes means where a timeline definition may be set and further means for executing overwrite operations in agreement with the stored timeline definitions . further , an overwrite manager may additionally integrate with flush module 95 . when a trigger event occurs , overwrite manager 93 continues to overwrite data to buffer memory 94 in accordance with the timeline definition , by way of an overwrite pointer which is associated with a cell subject to an impending overwrite action . overwrite manager 93 sends a signal 96 to flush module 95 that cause flush module 95 to copy buffer memory 94 and to transfer the video data set with the prescribed expanded timeline to high - capacity long - term storage 97 . overwrite manager 93 controls the algorithms and the necessary processing components for writing to buffer memory 94 and save selected data while purging redundant data in accordance with a particular expanded timeline definition . fig1 and 11 which illustrate the primary steps of methods in accordance with the present invention . in particular , fig1 describe such methods in the most general sense to include step 101 , whereby frame data is received from a video camera , and step 102 , whereby the newly received data is written over old data stored in the memory buffer according to an expanded timeline definition . fig1 illustrates these methods in greater detail . frame data 111 is received from a video camera in a first step . buffer memory data write step 113 includes sub - step 114 , in which the frame is written to a bin marked open . it is important that data be written in the buffer memory in an organized fashion , without disturbing particular data frames , necessary to fill the prescribed expanded timeline definition . therefore , a bin is marked ‘ open ’ when it no longer contains frame data necessary for the expanded timeline definition . in second sub - step 115 , a determination is made as to which memory bin contains frame data that is no longer needed in agreement with the timeline definition . this determination made during each cycle . for every new frame entering the buffer memory , another frame becomes no longer necessary at the same instant . finally , in third sub - step 116 , the bin which contained data that is no longer required is marked ‘ open ’. in following cycle 112 , the next incoming frame is written to the appropriate bin . it is helpful to set a buffer memory pointer to direct the incoming frame to a bin marked ‘ open ’. one skilled in the art will appreciate that advanced memory management schemes may be deployed to expand a recorded timeline in memory buffers having limited capacity . while embodiments of the invention have been described above , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made . the appended claims are intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .
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the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments . as used herein , the word “ exemplary ” or “ illustrative ” means “ serving as an example , instance , or illustration ,” any implementation described herein as “ exemplary ” or “ illustrative ” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations . all of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure , which is defined by the claims . for purposes of description herein , the terms “ upper ”, “ lower ”, “ left ”, “ rear ”, “ right ”, “ front ”, “ vertical ”, “ horizontal ”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in fig1 . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field , background , brief summary or the following detailed description . it is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings , and described in the following specification , are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims . hence , specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting , unless the claims expressly state otherwise the laparoscopic visualization system or device 10 fig1 comprises an outer shell 200 fig2 made of a soft foam , rubber , or other shock absorbing material . not only is the material of the shell shock absorbing , but it serves as a thermal insulator as well , helpful not only in maintaining the temperature of the structures therewithin but also keeping heat from escaping from within the shell . the shell 200 is designed to protect a distal lens of a laparoscope or other scope ( not shown ) from damage prior to , during , and after a surgical procedure . interior major components of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 are illustrated in their assembled manner in fig1 . the primary assembly is called the inner assembly . it encompasses all the major elements of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . an indicator 105 is always used for differentiating when the device is on or off . in the preferred embodiment the laparoscopic visualization system 10 uses a blue emitting led 105 , as the indicator . blue is the preferred color because it is easily seen in the operating room . white is not the preferred led color choice because it is not always readily visible . among the many advantages of using an led 105 as the main indicator , are its low cost , low and efficient power consumption , its resistance to vibration and shock damage , its low heat generation , its insensitivity to lower temperatures such as in an operating room , its ability to be unaffected by on / off cycling and its long life cycle . the led 105 may also serve to warn when the batteries are becoming weak by flashing intermittently . in a further embodiment it is possible to have several leds 105 or one multifunctional led 105 , as the indicator 105 . in a different embodiment ( not shown ) a small light bulb or temperature change color sticker can be used . a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 125 is used for containing all operating circuitry for the assembly 10 and a resistor 110 is incorporated into the pcb 125 and has a resistance of between 10 and 1000 ohms . one of the purposes of the resistor 110 is to control the current passing through the led 105 , which in turn controls the brightness of the led 105 . another factor affecting the brightness of the led 105 is the length of heating coil 145 . by extending the length of the heating coil 145 , the resistance increases thus increasing the current going to the led . the resistors 110 value must also be changed in order to maintain the same brightness to the led 105 . as the length of heating coil 145 is extended , power production drops . this is demonstrated by applying ohms law e = i x r , where the voltage e remains constant in a parallel circuit . by increasing the length of the heating coil 145 , the resistance increases , causing the branch current to decrease . this affects the brightness of the led 105 in the adjacent parallel circuit . as the coil 145 resistance increases the current in the adjacent parallel circuit also increases causing the led 105 to become brighter . a resistor in series with the led helps to control the brightness . by applying the power formula p = v . sup . 2 / r , it is clearly demonstrated why less power is produced in this branch . in another embodiment , no resistor or led is used . one of the major advances in the present laparoscopic visualization system 10 is the arrangement and location of a thermoswitch 115 . through empirical testing and analysis , it has been determined that the most efficient and stable temperature control of the anti - fog solution is achieved when the thermoswitch 115 is positioned as shown in fig3 directly over the heating coil 145 , and just below the level of the liquid ( most preferably water containing a surfactant for convenience referred to as surfactant 190 ). the laparoscopic visualization system 10 is maintained between 50 - 70 . degree . c . ( 122 - 158 . degree . f .). functionality determines the temperature range selected ; le , defogging , cleaning , etc . outstanding results were ultimately obtained by providing a wrapping material 116 in the form of a pellicle that serves as a compression cuff for pressing the thermoswitch 115 into close physical and thermal transfer relationship with both the can assembly 150 and the heating element 145 . the wrapping material 116 has four primary functions : it stabilizes the thermoswitch 115 ; element 145 and can assembly 150 against shock and vibration ; it holds the thermoswitch 115 in heat transfer relationship with both the element 145 and the fluid in the can assembly 150 ; it acts as a thermal insulator by reducing heat loss ; and finally it secures the thermal transfer switch 115 , coil 145 and can assembly 150 together as a unit . in a preferred form , the wrapping material 116 is a pellicle of heat shrink plastic such as any suitable grade of thermoplastic heat shrink resin in the form of a circular band about 11 / 4 inches in diameter which after being slipped over the can assembly 150 and thermoswitch 115 is warmed with a heat gun until it shrinks sufficiently to tightly compress the thermoswitch 115 securely and in thermal transfer relationship with the coil and can assembly 150 . we prefer to use a heat shrink pellicle that has a thickness of at least about 0 . 005 inch since it was found to also be effective as a thermal insulator in enhancing the temperature stability of the thermoswitch 115 while at the same time maintaining efficient heat transfer from the fluid and coil 145 to the thermoswitch thereby improving overall thermal efficiency of the complete system as described more fully in connection with fig1 thereby substantially prolonging battery life . the ideal temperature range for the laparoscopic visualization system 10 will depend on several factors , among them are the length of heating coil 145 , the location of the heating coil 145 , and the amount of heat wrapping material 116 covering the thermoswitch 115 . when wrapping material 116 is used in accordance with the present invention , outstanding temperature stability is achieved , as demonstrated in the chart of fig1 . the two saw tooth lines show temperature variations where no insulation surrounds the thermoswitch 115 . in contrast the narrow edged lines indicate a stable better controlled temperature variation . single or double insulation can be used for covering the thermoswitch 115 . in the preferred embodiment , there is minimal insulation between the thermoswitch 115 , and heating can assembly 150 , resulting in better heat transference to the antifog solution inside the heating can assembly 150 from the heating coil 145 coiled there around . in the preferred embodiment , thermoswitch 115 is a mechanical type switch . the configuration of the main framework 140 may require the thermoswitch 115 to be off center . the main framework 140 is specially designed , sized and configured to provide a means of securely attaching and holding all the components in the correct orientation . the thermoswitch 115 may be in the form of a temperature sensor made of bi - metallic material or a thermocouple temperature sensing device in an ic or microcontroller . it may also be any heating resistive mechanism . in the preferred embodiment , a bimetallic strip type thermoswitch 115 is used . the bimetallic strip type thermoswitch 115 is used to convert a temperature change into a mechanical displacement . the bimetallic strip type thermoswitch 115 comprises two pieces of different metals which expand at different rates as they are heated . the bimetallic strip type thermoswitch 115 can be made of steel and copper , or in some cases steel and brass , joined together throughout their lengths by riveting , brazing or welding . the different expansion rates force the flat strip to bend in one direction when heated , and in the opposite direction when cooled below the initial temperature . the metal with the higher coefficient of thermal expansion is usually placed on the outer side of a curve so that when the thermoswitch 115 is heated , it displaces further . moving the heating coil 145 , up or down the along a length of the heating can assembly 150 affects the ultimate temperature the antifog solution reaches . the thermoswitch 115 is designed to open and close at pre - determined temperatures . if the thermoswitch 115 is situated away from the heating coil 145 and the heating coil 145 is not positioned at or below the level of the antifog solution 190 , more power will have to be generated by power source 205 of fig2 , to cause the thermoswitch 115 to reach the desired cut off temperature . this explains why the orientation of the thermoswitch 115 is so critical and why having it in the proper location significantly extends the useful life of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . the most important features of the thermoswitch 115 are its quick temperature response time and self - resetting characteristics . fig1 also shows pin connectors 120 which connect the heating coil 145 to the pcb 125 , completing the circuit . the improved simple connection allows quick assembly and significantly reduces the amount of human error during assembly . the heating coil 145 is preferably a 35 gauge copper enamel coated wire ; copper being preferred . nichrome can also be used , but in general any wire capable of conducting current , or any resistive heating element can also be used . the length of the heating coil 145 can be between 5 - 14 feet . in the preferred embodiment , the length is between 7 - 11 feet . this length provides the best balance and most efficient means to quickly reach the desired warming temperature . in order to provide the most efficient transfer of heat , the heating coil 145 needs to be tightly coiled in a single layer along the outside of heated can assembly 150 . by not using a multilayered winding , hot spots and shorting of the heating coil 145 are avoided . each loop of coil 145 must be adjacent to and in contact with the next to generate an even , controlled amount of heat . the heating coil 145 is engaged through an on / off switch 130 which is actuated through a lever 142 connected to an elongated side arm 148 , actuated by a button 950 of fig9 b , on outer shell 200 . the user just needs to depress the button 950 and the on / off switch 130 will turn on the device 10 , will turn on the led indicator 105 , and begin warming the heating coil 145 . the main connection from power source 205 to the on / off switch 130 is made through a connector 191 , fig2 on printed circuit board 125 of fig1 . the lever 142 , if necessary , may also be actuated by pushing upwardly thereon from below , within the shell 200 to turn the laparoscopic visualization system 10 off an improved main framework 140 of fig3 is used to support the integrated parts comprising the inner assembly 100 . the inner assembly 100 integrates the printed circuit board 125 , the heating can assembly 150 , and beveled valve cap 160 and the lever 142 on the main framework 140 , as well as for allowing positioning of the wrapping material to heating coil 145 within its confines . fig2 provides an exploded view of the internal elements of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 within shell 200 . the plastic or ceramic beveled valve cap 160 is used to lock the insertion valve 170 in place and can be held in place by gluing , applying wrapping material or any other industry standard method . a cup 180 , made of a firm yet flexible material , such as a foam , for example , is seated within a base area of the heating can assembly 150 and is used to protect the distal lens of a laparoscope from damage and scratching when inserted . an extra feature of the cup 180 is that it can also be used for white balancing . the cup 180 may also be made of rubber , cloth , sponge or felt materials . the main framework 140 holds the key elements of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . when the on / off button 950 of fig9 a is depressed , lever 142 which mechanically engages and moves an elongated sidearm 148 in functional communication with the internal on / off switch 130 turning it on , thus activating the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . a battery holder 195 is used to hold three aa batteries 205 , forming power source 205 , in place . battery holder 195 provides power to the assembly 10 , through power connector 191 . an optional battery pull tab 210 of fig2 is used to provide a means of extracting the batteries . the laparoscopic visualization system shell 200 is covered along the bottom with a bottom cover assembly 900 . the laparoscopic visualization system bottom cover assembly 900 has the option of having an adhesive strip 905 to secure the laparoscopic visualization system shell 200 , to the patient or an anchoring site . the laparoscopic visualization system shell 200 engages an external laparoscopic reducer 980 fig2 . this reducer can also be custom sized to fit custom made laparoscopes . the framework 140 includes top and bottom slots 201 of fig1 , which engage around the lever 142 in a manner where it is slideable between an up ( off ) position and a down ( on ) position , relative to an actuator 202 of the on / off switch 130 which engages within a slot 203 formed in side arm 148 of the lever 142 . in the preferred embodiment the laparoscopic visualization system 10 of fig2 uses surfactant 190 in the form of a sterile fluid 190 , however sterile water , sterile saline , or any sterile anti - fog solution may also be used . in the preferred embodiment , 5 ml of liquid 190 is reserved in the canister 150 . evaporation of the liquid 190 in the canister 150 is not a concern because of the enclosed environment within canister 150 . another important consideration is that the surfactant 190 , with respect to the orientation of the heating coil 145 , must be such that heat can transfer effectively , including when the canister 150 is in a horizontal position . it will be understood that the duckbill valve 174 in inset , along a top level of the liquid 190 so that , when placed on its side , the main volume of the liquid remains within a small area beneath the duckbill valve 174 and in contact with the heating coil 145 to maintain the temperature thereof as constant as possible . fig3 illustrates a detailed internal view of key elements of inner assembly 100 . the beveled valve cap 160 holds the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 in place over the entrance to the heated can assembly 150 , with the printed circuit board 125 the heating coil 145 being mounted to the main framework 140 as well , forming the inner assembly 100 . the inner assembly 100 of fig3 includes beveled valve cap 160 which is held in place by at least two valve cap elongated prongs 155 . the prongs 155 are slightly offset , allowing the beveled valve cap 160 to securely lock into place over an entrance to heating can assembly 150 formed by a flexible insertion valve 170 , which is used to guide a laparoscope into heating can assembly 150 . at least one insertion valve expansion orifice 172 is provided along an inner periphery of the insertion valve 170 to compensate for the different diameters of laparoscopes used . the at least one insertion valve expansion orifice 172 also permits air to escape from the heated can assembly 150 upon insertion of a laparoscope . the heating can assembly 150 in its preferred embodiment is made of stainless steel . it is constructed of a biocompatible material and is inexpensive to produce . in other embodiments it can be made of plastic , aluminum , ceramic or a combination thereof or of other metals that have excellent heat conductivity . the thickness of the heated can assembly 150 is an important consideration because it determines the heating properties . the thickness of the heated can assembly 150 can be between 0 . 1 to 0 . 75 mm . in fig3 top 161 of the heating can assembly 150 is slightly flared allowing the beveled valve cap 160 to have a tighter and better fit when secured thereon . the insertion valve 170 includes several important qualities . among them are its construction , being made of a flexible rubber or plastic material that permits instruments whose diameters are between 2 - 12 mm to be inserted snugly , thus permitting only minimal leakage . the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 must be designed to allow easy passage of other medical devices , and it is self - sealing once the medical devices are removed . in the preferred embodiment the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 helps to control pressure in the heating can assembly 150 , which can be accomplished by any suitable means , such as by the provision of a compressible bladder 500 of fig6 b , or a one way venting or duckbill valve 174 . fig4 illustrates a top view of inner assembly 100 . the beveled valve cap 160 has at least one cut away recess 196 that is better seen in fig3 . recess 196 permits the led 105 to fit closely to the valve cap 160 . the cut away recess 196 also reduces the overall size of the inner assembly 100 . how the pcb 125 mechanically engages the main framework 140 is also illustrated . fig4 shows the symmetry and ergonometry of the beveled valve cap 160 with respect to the main framework 140 . insertion valve 170 further includes a normally closed duckbill or one way venting valve 174 comprising two mating flexible sections 175 , the mating edges 176 of which is closed when nothing is inserted into the heating can 150 , the duckbill valve 174 being spaced downwardly from the beveled cap 160 , at a position just above the level which liquid 190 reaches , the duckbill valve 174 being in a normally closed position . fig5 illustrates a perspective view of the beveled cap assembly 160 . a smooth beveled valve cap opening 165 is used to help guide the laparoscope into the heated can assembly 150 . a side wall 167 of the valve cap 160 is designed so that its height is sufficient to provide a secure fit over the insertion valve 170 of fig6 b . there are at least two valve cap elongated prongs 155 symmetrically located on the bottom 171 of the valve cap 160 which are used for securing the valve cap 160 to the main framework 140 over the entrance to heating can assembly 150 . fig6 a illustrates a top view of the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 . the insertion valve 170 and duckbill valve 174 provide a point of entry for the insertion device . a special insertion valve expansion bladder 500 of fig6 b is provided to compensate for the pressure displacements caused by the insertion of laparoscopic devices into the canister 150 and to compensate for the expansion that takes place when the liquid 190 is heated . the compressible valve expansion bladder 500 provides a mechanism for pressure control within canister 150 . fig6 b illustrates a side view of the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 , with expansion bladder 500 protruding . the expansion bladder 500 serves a further purpose , for the insertion of a leakage reducer 700 . the leakage reducer 700 is a major improvement to the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . it assists in preventing leakage of liquid that may have escaped from the insertion valve duck bill 174 of fig6 b that expands to allow a laparoscopic device to enter and provides a tight fit there around , inside the heated can assembly 150 . fig7 a , illustrates a top isometric view of the laparoscopic leakage reducer 700 . the leakage reducer 700 provides an opening for the insertion valve expansion bladder 500 of fig6 to securely engage within the canister 150 . the leakage reducer 700 locks into place with the laparoscopic insertion valve 170 of fig6 a , providing a secondary leakage preventing structure and a tool used for accommodating different sized medical devices . the leakage reducer 700 can be permanently attached as one piece or as two separate pieces . in the preferred embodiment the attached tethered reducer 980 of fig2 connects at recessed reducer attachment area 965 of fig9 c . it is snapped into place through the recessed opening 175 of fig9 a , providing a firm snug fit for laparoscopic devices . this further minimizes the leakage potential for the surfactant 190 . fig7 c illustrates a u - shaped projection on the inner surface of retainer 700 that at least partially surrounds aperture 705 to serve as a spacer 710 to keep a pressure release aperture in the leakage reducer 700 from being obstructed , e . t . by a part of valve 170 when the surgical scope is inserted into the chamber . the u - shaped spacer 710 provides a unique means for enabling air to escape with little or no loss of the surfactant liquid 190 . fig8 a shows the orientation of the pcb 125 and the inner assembly 100 of laparoscopic visualization system 10 . a small gap defines the outer chamber within the main framework 140 , and the heating can assembly 150 , allowing the heating coil 154 to be received within the main framework 140 . fig8 b and 8c show the compactly designed simple pcb 125 , incorporating the on / off switch 130 , the led 105 , the resistor 110 , illustrating the location and orientation of the thermoswitch 115 , and the heating coil connector pins 120 as well . this ergonomic design dramatically reduces the potential for human error during assembly . the integration of the above defined structures into the pcb 125 significantly improves quality control , manufacturing and assembly of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . a pcb battery connector 192 is provided for quickly connecting the battery pack 195 connector 191 . a pcb locking feature 147 of fig8 a is also employed to help secure the pcb 125 to the main framework 140 . fig9 a illustrates a side view of the shell 200 of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . recessed opening 175 shown allows and helps guide a laparoscope into the heating can assembly 150 . a bottom cover 910 of bottom cover assembly 900 can be used for securely attaching the laparoscopic visualization system 10 to a suitable structure within the surgical field during laparoscopic procedures . an endoscopic lens cleaning pad 960 attached via a rear flange 961 is used to clean the laparoscopic lens before or after insertion into the heated can assembly 150 . the circular opening 955 is formed as part of the housing assembly . the blue led 105 indicator projects light through a circular opening 955 in the shell 200 . fig9 b illustrates a perspective view of the shell 200 of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . the figure demonstrates how user friendly the laparoscopic visualization system 10 is to the surgical team with its simple design , letting the user know when it is activated , by illumination means and warming the liquid 190 used for cleaning the lens . fig9 c illustrates an isometric view of the bottom cover assembly 900 of laparoscopic visualization system 10 . an optional additional recessed reducer attachment area 965 may be incorporated to compensate for attaching different sizes of valve reducer 980 . a bottom housing assembly opening 970 is configured to easily allow the inner assembly 100 of the laparoscopic visualization system 10 to be inserted into the shell 200 through the bottom . battery holder insertion opening 975 is specially cut out to allow battery holder 195 to snugly and frictionally fit into the shell 200 , and glue or other adhesives can be applied to further secure the inner assembly 100 in the shell 200 . fig1 illustrates a perspective view of the bottom cover assembly 900 . a bottom cover adhesive 905 can be used to attach to bottom cover 910 to the body assembly 200 . its purpose is to provide means for securely attaching the laparoscopic visualization system 10 to a stationary object , preferably within the surgical field . a bottom cover locking insert 920 is also provided for attaching the bottom cover assembly 900 to the shell 200 . a special housing attachment tab 915 is designed to clip onto or grab onto a bottom surface of the heating can assembly 150 . a specially designed clamping tab 925 is also provided for attaching the laparoscopic visualization system 10 to a secure object during surgery . a bottom support member 930 is designed at an angle and is used for holding the inner assembly 100 in place . a bottom battery locking latch 940 is used to provide an attachment for the bottom cover assembly 900 . a bottom battery angled support 945 is used to secure battery holder 195 inside the shell 200 . in a further proposed embodiment , the laparoscopic visualization system 10 may incorporate brushes or other mechanical means for cleaning various laparoscopic instruments . the warmed liquid 190 in the heated can assembly 150 may also be used to warm and clean other types of laparoscopic instruments , thus acting as a multipurpose instrument cleaner . fig1 presents an electrical schematic of the preferred embodiment wherein all the essential elements are shown . a power supply 205 consisting of three ( 3 ) aa batteries 205 is the source that drives the circuitry . an on / off switch 130 in the normally open position is connected in series with the simple parallel circuit presented on the pcb 125 that provides heating and “ on ” indication to the laparoscopic visualization system 10 . further , normally closed thermal switch 115 connects in series with the heating coil assembly 145 . the heating coil 145 is connected to heating coil pin connectors 120 at points as illustrated . when the temperature of the heating can assembly 150 reaches a predetermined temperature , it causes the thermoswitch 115 to open , breaking the electrical current going into the heating coil assembly 145 . whenever the temperature within heating can assembly 150 drops below a predefined lower temperature threshold , the thermoswitch 15 closes and allows current to flow into the heating coil 145 to warm liquid 190 . although in the preferred embodiment the power source 205 is a dc source it does not preclude use of an ac power source . in a further embodiment thermal epoxy 117 of fig1 , may be used for better transference of heat from the heating coil 145 to the thermal switch 115 . one advantage of using thermal epoxy 117 is that it allows the bi - metallic thermoswitch 115 to freely expand and contract without any physical restriction or hindrance . as will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art , numerous modifications and substitutions can be made to the above - described embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention . accordingly , the preceding portion of this specification is to be taken in an illustrative , as opposed to a limiting sense .
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fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system in accordance with the present invention . system 100 includes a processor 110 , which can be any suitable and readily available computer , microprocessor or the like . system 100 also includes a camera 131 , or like input device to provide , for example , a stream of video or signal input to input sampler 130 . camera 131 can provide , for example , an ntsc analog video source ( or any other video source such as pal ). input sampler 130 can be a suitable interface for providing image frames 132 . alternatively , camera 131 can be a digital camera for providing a continuous stream of digital samples in which case input sampler 130 can be a frame grabber or the like , configured to select image frames to be processed . in alternative embodiments in accordance with the present invention , data input can alternately , or in addition , be provided , for example , from communications interface 140 which can provide on - line ( e . g . real time ), or off - line ( e . g . non - real time ), data representing images or signals to be processed . off - line data can be provided alternatively from memory 120 which can be configured to store data associated with images or signals received from any of the inputs and can store data associated with calculations of processor 110 such as averages and the like described herein . change detection and image compression in accordance with the present invention can be used to generate output data which can be sent , for example , to display 160 , or can be output to communications channels associated with , for example , communications interface 140 , or antenna 170 , for radio communications . in addition , outputs from processor 110 , can be stored in memory 120 for later retrieval . in an exemplary embodiment , processor 110 can be configured ( e . g ., programmed ) to train on a number , n , of images in a stream of image frames 132 . after initial training , a new image can be tested by operation of processor 110 to determine when there are differences from values accumulated , for example , in memory 120 during training . training can be updated by processor 110 by adding one or more additional images to the training set without recalculation of the entire set . a simple update procedure allows a training sequence to be computed based on the addition of the new image rather than reprocessing the entire set of n + 1 training images for each new image to be added . of course processor 110 can be configured as any suitable computer processor , or any number of dedicated processors , programmed using any suitable computer readable medium , to automatically perform any or all of the functions described herein . in a given set of images , individual pixel values , for example , in an 8 bit intensity representation such as a grey scale , or in any other representation , can be represented as integers from zero to 255 or in any other desired representation . in a color pallet representation , each value , for example , red , green , blue for an rgb display pallet , can be represented as an integer value from zero to 255 . for higher or lower bit value representations , more or less intensity or color values can be used . overall image intensity can vary from an image representing one scene look to a different image representing a scene look later in time . all data paths shown in fig1 can be parallel or serial or any combination thereof . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating a functional block diagram of an exemplary training process in accordance with the present invention . in fig2 , image 211 ( e . g ., an image represented by m × n pixels ) can be retrieved at step 210 from , for example , input sampler 130 , memory 120 , or the like . the intensity difference when viewed in individual image frames can have the effect of making the same object look bright in one image frame and dim in a different frame when no actual change in the object has occurred . consequently , image normalization 220 as illustrated in fig2 can be used for both image training as well as image testing . one such scene normalization approach includes computing a minimum pixel value , a maximum pixel value , and an average pixel value in image 211 . pixel values can then be mapped to new values where the original interval from minimum to average is mapped linearly to the interval from zero to 127 . 5 , or any desired interval . also , the interval from average to maximum can be mapped linearly to the interval from 127 . 5 to 255 , or any desired intervals . by re - mapping pixel values to fall within the predetermined intervals in the above example , pixel values can be normalized such that the average pixel value will be “ forced ” to 127 . 5 , the minimum value will be zero , and the maximum value will be 255 . re - mapping can also aid in threshold definition wherein a threshold can be considered to be a pixel value which a certain percentage of pixels will exceed . of course , any suitable normalization procedure can be used . after normalization in step 220 , each of one or more m × n training images can be wavelet transformed at step 230 using wavelet image compression as part of transformation and training . for each of the resulting sets of wavelet coefficients , the magnitudes can be computed . each set of wavelet coefficients can be sorted . for example , a fast sort can be used to sort with the largest predetermined percentage x of the wavelet coefficients being retained . the retained coefficients are referred to a “ selected ” coefficients . a typical value for x can be about 0 . 05 , as most of the useful information in an image is often retained by 5 percent of the coefficients . accordingly , the threshold can be set at 5 % in step 240 . alternately , any desired threshold can be used . each coefficient set corresponding to a compressed image can be processed by inverse wavelet transform to produce an approximation of the original image , if desired . thus , the original training set of n images , ( e . g ., corresponding to m × n individual pixel values , where each of the n images includes m rows of pixels and n columns of pixels ) become n thresholded sets of wavelet coefficients , with sub - threshold wavelet coefficients considered to be zero at step 250 . for high degrees of correlation between successive images in a training set , pixel values for a given row and column location in each image can be highly correlated . a wavelet transform converts an m × n image into an m × n matrix of wavelet coefficients , where the row i and column j of the wavelet coefficient ( the storage location of the wavelet coefficient within this matrix ) correspond to a particular wavelet scale , a particular row translation operation , and a particular column translation operation . consequently , a high degree of correlation between wavelet coefficients from successive images can be expected . wavelet coefficients which are discarded can be fairly correlated from one image to the next based on location within the coefficient matrix . in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , for each of the nonzero coefficients corresponding to a location in the coefficient matrix , an average and a standard deviation can be computed for the particular wavelet coefficient across the training set of n training images as indicated in step 260 . nonzero coefficients can be used to compute averages and standard deviations . also , there should be “ enough ” ( m of n logic ) nonzero occurrences of a particular wavelet coefficient to use the coefficient as nonzero and to compute the average and standard deviation . once values are updated in step 260 , selected coefficients can be saved , for example , in memory 120 in step 270 . fig3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary change detection process in accordance with the present invention . once a training set is developed , as described with respect to fig2 , the change detection of fig3 can be performed . in general , a difference change can be determined when the magnitude of the difference between a nonzero training coefficient and a nonzero value of the corresponding coefficient from , for example , a test image exceeds a specified number of standard deviations in value from the training coefficient . other types of change can be referred to as addition change and deletion change , representing something being added to or removed from a scene , respectively . for each wavelet coefficient level , a minimum magnitude ( min value ) and a maximum magnitude ( max value ) of the nonzero coefficients can be computed . min values and max values can be used to define a threshold for each coefficient level used to detect a significant addition , where the training coefficient value is zero and the test coefficient magnitude exceeds the threshold . a significant deletion occurs when the training coefficient exceeds the threshold and the testing coefficient is zero . quantities that can be stored , based on training on n images , are : average and standard deviation for each of the factor of x “ selected ” wavelet coefficients . also , for each of the h levels , h maxima and h minima can also be stored , for example , in memory 120 . values can easily be updated when an additional image is added to the training set . in accordance with the exemplary embodiment as illustrated in fig3 , image 310 can be normalized in step 320 , and compressed by computing the wavelet transform in step 330 . in step 340 , wavelet coefficients can be sorted and thresholded according to a threshold value x ( for example , 0 . 05 resulting in 5 % of the coefficients being retained and 95 % of coefficients being discarded without a significant diminution in information content for a reconstructed image ). alternately , any desired threshold can be used to retain any desired percentage of coefficients . if t ( i , j ) represents a coefficient associated with image 310 under test and t r ( i , j ) represents a corresponding training coefficient , then change detection can be performed , for example , in step 350 by performing the following exemplary test : if | t ( i , j )− t r ( i , j )|& gt ; k ( σ ( t r ( i , j )); ( 4 ) where k is a constant , and where sigma is the standard deviation calculated during training , i . e . standard deviation of the training coefficients , and where “≢” represents a significant non - zero value ( e . g ., greater than 0 . 1 , or any other desired non - zero value ). if the absolute value of the difference between the test coefficient and training coefficient is greater than the product of the constant k and the standard deviation of the training coefficients , a difference change illustrated in block 351 can be inferred and indicated . step 360 includes detecting an addition change which can be determined by performing the following test : where c is a constant , “ min ” value and “ max ” value are calculated during training , and where “≡” represents a value close enough to zero for a desired level of accuracy so as to be considered zero . thus , if the absolute value of the test coefficient is greater than the sum of the min value and the product of the constant c and the difference between the max value and min value , an addition change as illustrated in block 361 can be inferred and indicated . step 370 includes detecting a deletion change which can be determined by performing the following test : where c is a constant and min value and max value are calculated during training . thus , if the absolute value of the training coefficient is greater than the sum of the min value and the product of the constant c and the difference between the max value and min value , a deletion change illustrated in bock 371 can be inferred and indicated . where none of the conditions of steps 350 , 360 and 370 are satisfied for a given ( i , j ), operational flow proceeds to decision block 380 . operational flow also proceeds to decision block 380 from each of blocks 351 , 361 and 371 . when all ( i , j ) values of the process loop have been evaluated , the process ends with block 390 . otherwise , the ( i , j ) values are modified ( e . g ., incremented via any prescribed order ) and operation returns to step 350 . with the training approach illustrated in fig2 , the calculated values associated with , for example , averaging the nonzero wavelet coefficients can , for example , cause the number of nonzero average values to either grow or shrink relative to x . accordingly , multiple approaches can be used . fig4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary change detection training process in accordance with the present invention which can also be performed by the fig1 processor 110 . the change detection training process of fig4 can , for example , address coefficient growth / shrinkage . images can be normalized in step 410 and averaged in step 420 , prior to wavelet compression by computation of wavelet coefficients in step 430 . in step 440 , a factor of x of wavelet coefficients produced in step 430 can be selected from the average of training images calculated in step 420 . selected coefficients can then be used and applied against new images until a change is detected . averages and standard deviations of the training coefficients can be updated as new training images are processed , but particular coefficient “ selections ” can continue to be stored , until a change is detected . in step 450 , a new , or next image is obtained , which is followed by the computation of the wavelet transform in step 460 . in step 470 , for the selected coefficients ( from step 440 ) the minimum and maximum values for each selected coefficient are updated . by way of example , if in a 512 -×- 512 pixel image array there are k wavelet coefficients , only the highest x % will be retained . the selected coefficients can be , by way of example , coefficients 1 , 10 , 13 , 26 , 89 , 129 . . . and so forth . for these selected coefficients , when new correspondingly numbered coefficients are generated , the new coefficients are compared to the existing selected ones . if a new max or min is found , that becomes the new max or min . statistical information ( e . g ., mean , mean - square , sigma ( σ ) or any other suitable statistical information ) can be generated on an image - by - image basis . this process , steps 450 – 470 , can be repeated for each new image that is obtained . fig5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary change detection testing process in accordance with the present invention which can also be performed by the fig1 processor 110 . the method of fig5 presupposes a training set of n images has been processed , wavelet coefficients selected , and statistical information generated . in fig5 change detection testing procedure 500 first obtains a test image ( e . g . image 510 ), which is normalized in step 520 as described above . wavelet compression can be performed by computing the wavelet transform , as described above , in step 530 , and sorting , thresholding and selecting of wavelet coefficients can be performed , as described above , in step 540 . step 550 includes detecting a difference change which can be determined by performing the following test : if t ( i , j ), t r ( i , j ) are selected ; if | t ( i , j )− t r ( i , j )|& gt ; k ( σ ( tr ( i , j )); ( 7 ) indicate a difference change where k is a constant and sigma is the standard deviation of the training coefficients . “ selected ” refers to the action of step 540 in which wavelet coefficients are selected ( if highest x %). thus , if the absolute value of the difference between the training coefficient and the test coefficient is greater than the product of the constant k and standard deviation of the training coefficients , then difference change 551 (“ yes ” path from step 550 ) can be inferred and indicated . if , however , the conditions checked for in step 550 are not true , then the method proceeds to step 560 (“ no ” path from step 550 ). step 560 includes detecting an addition change which can be determined by performing the following test : where c is a constant and min value and max value are calculated during training . thus , if the absolute value of the test coefficient is greater than the sum of the min value and the product of the constant c and the difference between the max value and min value , an addition change illustrated in block 561 (“ yes ” path from step 560 ) can be inferred and indicated . if , however , the conditions checked for in step 560 are not true , then the method proceeds to step 570 (“ no ” path from step 560 ). step 570 includes detecting a deletion change which can be determined by performing the following test : where c is a constant and min value and max value are calculated during training . thus , if the absolute value of the training coefficient is greater than the sum of the min value and the product of the constant c and the difference between the max value and min value , a deletion change illustrated as block 571 (“ yes ” path from 570 ) can be inferred and indicated . the question of step “ 570 ” is optional because if steps 550 and 560 are not true , then step 570 is true . steps 550 through 571 are repeated for additional ( e . g ., all ) wavelet coefficients generated for the latest test images . after the last wavelet coefficient is checked , a new image with a new set of wavelet coefficients can be processed by the method of fig5 . where none of the conditions of steps 550 , 560 and 570 are satisfied for a given ( i , j ), operational flow proceeds to decision block 580 . operational flow also proceeds to decision block 580 from each of blocks 551 , 561 and 571 . when all ( i , j ) values of the process loop have been evaluated , the process ends with block 590 . otherwise , the ( i , j ) values are modified ( e . g ., incremented via any prescribed order ) and operation returns to step 550 . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary fast change detection testing process in accordance with present invention . the method of fig6 presupposes a training set of n images has been processed , wavelet coefficients determined and statistical information generated . as in previously described testing procedures , image 610 can be normalized in step 620 , and compressed by computing wavelet transform coefficients in step 630 . at step 640 , however , instead of performing a processor intensive sort routine , a threshold test can be performed . from the training images , a max value is determined , and a training threshold is determined , defined as y % of the max value . then , each new wavelet coefficient generated in step 630 is compared to the training threshold . if the wavelet coefficient meets or exceeds the training threshold it is selected . if it is less than the training threshold it is rejected . then , the steps of 650 , 660 or 670 are performed . step 650 , in which difference change 651 is determined , can be identical to step 550 of fig5 . likewise , step 660 can be identical to step 560 of fig5 , and step 670 can be identical to step 570 of fig5 , and result in addition change 661 and deletion change 671 , respectively . steps 650 through 671 are repeated for the wavelet coefficients generated from the latest test image . after the last wavelet coefficient is checked , then a new image , with a new set of wavelet coefficients can be processed by the method of fig6 . where none of the conditions of steps 650 , 660 and 670 are satisfied for a given ( i , j ), operational flow proceeds to decision block 680 . operational flow also proceeds to decision block 680 from each of blocks 651 , 661 and 671 . when all ( i , j ) values of the process loop have been evaluated , the process ends with block 690 . otherwise , the ( i , j ) values are modified ( e . g ., incremented via any prescribed order ) and operation returns to step 650 . in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention , two dimensional wavelet transforms can be used for compression by calculating wavelet transform coefficients . such two dimensional wavelets can yield various “ levels ”, e . g . 0 , 1 , . . . h , of wavelet coefficients for an original image which is of dimension m × n where , for an exemplary case of m = n , m is 2 h for some positive integer h . level 1 coefficients can contain information in the image associated with the largest wavelet surfaces , i . e . two dimensional wavelet function . as level numbers increase from one to h , corresponding wavelet surface areas can decrease until level h wavelet surfaces are the smallest possible . as an example , for a daubechies 2 wavelet the smallest wavelet surface can be 2 pixels by 2 pixels . for a daubechies 6 wavelet , the smallest wavelet surface can be 6 pixels by 6 pixels . particular wavelet coefficient levels ( e . g . corresponding to particular sizes of wavelet surfaces ), can be filtered out or set to zero prior to performing , for example , a fast sort or threshold comparison , for coefficient retention determinations in the context of developing training values , for example , in blocks 240 , 340 , 440 , 540 and 640 ( of fig2 – 6 , respectively ). in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention , it will be appreciated that computations can be reduced , as the wavelet transform can be faster than , for example , a fast fourier transform . additional computations such as , for example , simple threshold comparisons can also be computationally minimal , resulting in a robust computationally efficient method for compressing and detecting specified changes to an image representing a scene look . computational efficiency can be affected if computationally intensive sort operations are bypassed . the invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments . however , it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it can be possible to embody the invention in specific forms other than those described above . this can be done without departing from the spirit of the invention . embodiments described above are merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way . the scope of the invention is given by the appended claims , rather than the preceding description , and all variations and equivalents which fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein .
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for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended . any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein , and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein , which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure , are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed . in describing and claiming the present disclosure , the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below . as used herein , the terms “ comprising ,” “ including ,” “ containing ,” “ characterized by ,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open - ended terms that do not exclude additional , unrecited elements or method steps . referring to fig6 , a structural member 60 consistent with the features and benefits of the disclosure will be discussed . the structural member 60 may be designed from a cross section for distributing the mass making up the structural member 60 further from the centroid of cross section . the structural member 60 as illustrated in cross sectional form in the figure may comprise a framed portion 62 and flange portions 64 . the flange portion 64 may be configured with various attachment enabling structures that allow other structures to be attached thereto and thereby be supported by said box portion 62 . the actual structural member 60 is formed by extending material substantially normal to the disclosed and discussed cross section illustrated in the figure . the flange portion may be continuous along the length of the extended framed portion 62 , or may be formed of smaller segments that are affixed to a framed portion along its lengths . one of the benefits from the design of the embodiment of the structural member for use in a tower leg is to maximize the moment of inertia while minimizing the cross sectional area . the cross sectional area determines the amount of material that must be used to form the shape over a length in the 3 rd dimension . the total stress in a leg is the summation of the axial stress due to substantially normal forces and the bending stress due to a large moment force . since the bending moment is normally higher the design may be governed by the bending loads . the stress response from the bending moment is inversely proportional to inertia and is given by the equation : where i is the second moment of inertia ; m is the bending moment ; and y is the distance from the neutral axis or centroid . it may be inferred that a greater moment of inertia results in lower stresses being transmitted and propagated throughout the tower . it is a well known fact that the moment of inertia increases as the mass is distributed away from the centroid and decreases as the distribution of mass is closer to the centroid . the shape of an embodiment of a structural member 70 cross section illustrated in fig7 is broadly divided into two regions ; flanges or flange portions 74 and box shaped frame portions 72 . the box shaped frame 72 may further divided into flat surfaces 76 and concave & amp ; convex surfaces 78 and 79 respectively . the box shaped frame 72 may be the central structure for providing the primary support for the structural member 70 . a flange 74 which extends to form the flanges may look like “ wings ” attached to the structural member and allow for increased attachment options without the use of welds which can weaken the structural member . a continuous flange 74 may also provide supportive structure within the structural member at the greatest distance from the centroid or center of mass . in other words , the flange portions may provide attaching means and structural integrity . when designing a structural member the total number of flat surfaces 76 can be from 2 to n , and the total number of curved surfaces 78 and 79 can be from 1 to m , wherein n and m are variables representing a count of their respective objects . the curved surfaces 79 adjacent to the flanges are concave shaped surfaces or in other words the concave surfaces act as a connector between the framed shaped portion 72 and the flanges 74 . the remainder of the curved surfaces can be convex . the area of the cross section may be such that the structure does not undergo buckling or fail due to global axial loading , and the moment of inertia of the cross section has to be such that the structure does not fail due to a global bending moment . the parameters controlling the shape should be optimized so that the cross sectional area is a minimum while the the moment of inertia is at a maximum relative to the material available . there are no limitations on the number of surfaces n of the shape . as the number of surfaces n is increased more variations are possible . at the same time it will be appreciated that the complexity of the part is proportional to increases the cost of fabrication . typically a tower leg with the proposed shaped structural members may be manufactured by metal forming processes with the appropriate raw material . some of these processes include roll forming and brake press forming . it is within the scope of this disclosure to consider forming processes having a plurality of processes for manufacture and quality control . based on the design requirements of functionality and cost factor , a structural member for use in a leg member of a tower may be designed with five flat surfaces ( n = 5 ) for optimal performance and cost savings in an embodiment . in certain embodiments there may be a total of 6 control parameters which determine the shape of the cross section when n = 5 . the parameters are illustrated in the table 1 below . as explained above , there is no limitation to building and designing a cross sectional shape with other n values . the parameters which may control the shape are illustrated in the table 2 below . the structural composition of each shape is illustrated in table 3 below . table 3 bellow illustrates the relationship of shapes as n increases , thus allowing a cross sectional shape to be fine tuned for desirable characteristics . from table 2 it can be observed that as the number of flat surfaces ( n ) increases the number of parameters required to control the shape increase or in the least remain the same due to increased complexity . from table 3 it can be observed that the summation of flanges and flat surfaces matches with the parameter n . features of the present disclosure may optimize the cross sectional area . in an embodiment of a design approach one would determine what would be the required moment of inertia along the horizontal and vertical axis of the cross section . such a methodology may be used to determine dimensional aspects of the design depending on the global loads it must be designed to withstand . another process might be to determine the desired thickness ( t ) of the cross section and thereby provide a dependent variable for the process . thickness ( t ) may generally be governed by the bearing loads in the bolted connections and buckling likelihood under suspected loads . the radius of curvature in the curved portions 78 and 79 may have a lower limit with dealing with forces because it may depend on the thickness ( t ). the width ( w ) of the shape has a lower limit which depends on the minimum gap required to work within the boundary of the shape with tools used to tighten the bolted connections between structural members forming a leg . a sensitivity analysis has been carried to find out which parameter may bring out the maximum change in the moment of inertia while there is a minimum increase in the area overall area of the cross section . each of the parameters were varied while keeping the other remaining five parameters constant . in fig2 the moment of inertia along h - axis ( in 4 ) is plotted with the area ( in 2 ). in fig2 the ratio between moment of inertia along h - axis and area ( in 2 ) is plotted with area ( in 2 ). it is observed in both the plots that the contribution towards moment of inertia per unit area ( along h - axis ) may be the maximum when the length ( l ) of the cross section is increased . in a separate study it is observed that the moment of inertia per unit area is the maximum when the width ( w ) of the cross section is increased . from the above it will be appreciated that to have an optimized shape which has the minimum area , the moment of inertia along the horizontal and vertical axes may be controlled by the respective parameters and all other design parameters f , theta , rce / rcx , t may be kept at a minimum so that they do not contribute towards an increase in area and thus the mass of the structural member . a wind tower is subjected to bending , substantially normal and torsional loads . the bending loads are high and they govern the design of the leg . the structural shape of the present disclosure is designed so that the two side flanges from the structure act as support for cross bracing and also function as part of the full structural shape in transferring the axial and the bending loads . by designing the side flanges as part of the structural shape the need for separate welded / bolted gussets to the structural leg for attaching bracing is eliminated . this feature reduces the total amount of steel required in a wind tower structure design . in prior leg designs the gussets transfer loads from cross bracing only , and therefore predominantly only utilized for the torsional loads in the tower . it should also be noted that the weld process creates stress foci by changing the nature of the material , usually steel , into a harder but less resilient form . this change in nature can cause laminar force distribution that is typically evenly distributed throughout a structure to concentrate in focused areas as the force refracts due to changes in the nature of the material the force is being transmitted through . accordingly , a greater amount of homogeny in the the material results in more predictable force distribution , thereby prolonging the life of the structure . an embodiment may place an emphasis on the length of the side flanges . the side flanges of the present structural shape function as both a structural part of the leg shape and also as the attachment area for the bracing in the tower . the length of the side flanges ( dimension f in fig7 ) should be sufficient to allow enough interface area for the bracing members to bolt or connect . the angle that the bracing approaches the leg may influence the interface area needed on the side flanges but generally the combined cross sectional area of both side flanges should represent about 10 %— about 40 % or about 20 %— about 28 % of the total cross sectional area of the present leg structural shape . an embodiment of a method of design may concentrate on the constant thickness throughout the cross section . the present structural shape has a constant thickness to allow for multiple fabrication methods that may include cold forming through rolling or break pressing . an embodiment may employ a method of design focused on a recessed side flange attachments point . the present structural shape is designed so that a line running parallel to the side flange which is tangent to the further most point of the structural shape , maintains a distance equal to about 100 % to about 180 % or about 140 % to about 150 % of dimension a of fig7 . other cross section shapes are possible in addition to that illustrated in fig7 . these cross section shapes are illustrated in fig8 - 14 . fig8 illustrates circular cross section of the framed portion 88 having width w . flanges 84 may be disposed on either side of the framed portion 88 and may comprise radiused convex or concave portions 89 connecting said flanges 84 with said framed portion 88 . the flanges may have length configured to receive various attaching members . the structural member cross sections may be defined by thickness , wherein it may be constant or variable across the cross section . fig9 illustrates a structural member cross section 90 having a framed portion comprising alternating flat 92 and curved 98 portions . also illustrated in the cross sectional view are flanges 94 disposed on opposite ends of the framed portion . fig1 illustrates a structural member cross section 100 having convex portion 106 disposed between concave portions 108 . the illustrated embodiment may also comprise flanges 104 disposed on opposing ends of the cross section . fig1 illustrates a structural member cross section comprising assembly of more easily formed shapes , or shaped members that are common in the industry . the embodiment may comprise angular pieces 114 , flat pieces 116 , and a “ c ” channel piece forming a framed portion . the components may be assembled in to a structural member on site while erecting a wind tower . the components may also aid in the repair of a wind tower wherein the repair portion of the wind tower may need an unassembled structural member to fit a constrained space . fig1 illustrates a structural member cross section 120 wherein the radius of the framed portion is defined by “ a ”, and the flange portion is defined by “ b ”, and the thickness of the cross section is defined by “ t ” such that major components of the structural member 120 are defined having an adjustable ratio for fine tuning the structural member 120 for specific loads and applications . fig1 illustrates a structural member cross section comprising a circular framed portion 138 having flanged portions 134 connected thereto by brackets 136 thereby forming the structural shape 130 comprised of individual components . the embodiment may be defined by separate flange portions 134 such that the flange portions are not made of continuous material but of separate materials . an embodiment may call for different material selections for the components in order to provide flexibility in fine tuning the characteristics of the structural shape 130 . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a structural member cross section 140 wherein a framed portion 148 and any flanged portions 144 are fabricated from a single kind of material . as discussed above , single kind of material may have homogeneous properties that transfers forces readily there through . fig1 illustrates a top down cross sectional view of an embodiment of a wind tower 150 showing how a tower comprising five leg members 152 designed a consistent with the structural shape members discussed above . as can be seen in the figure , the leg members are joined by cross members 153 one to another thereby forming a rigid structure with improved structural members having better distribution of forces therein . the angles formed by the components may dictate the number of leg members available for use in the structure . for example , in an embodiment it may be desirable to have a structural tower under a biased load thereby providing increased rigidity within a structural tower . fig1 . illustrates an embodiment of a profile of cross section of a structural member wherein an angle 162 formed by opposing flanges 164 is determined , such that the number of legs to be used in constructing a wind tower is constrained by the angle 126 formed by the flanges . the equation 180 ( n - 2 )/ n may be employed to design the structural members and their characteristics in responding to loads where n is the number of legs in a wind tower design . in the illustrated embodiment for example wherein the desired number of legs is six ( 6 ) the equation would be : angle = 180 ( 6 − 2 )/ 6 = 120 degree angle defined by the flange portions 164 . accordingly a tower made of six legs would comprise legs made up of structural members have 120 degree angles defined by the flanges of the structural member . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of cross section of a structural member 170 having a varying thickness 179 of material throughout the cross section . a variable thickness may provide the advantage of fine tuning structural members to respond to a specific loading within a tower structure . additionally , variable thickness may provide low manufacturing costs by allowing or accommodating deformation of the material during the forming process . for example : during roll forming , cold or thermal aided , uniformity of composition of the material being worked may be imperfect thereby resulting in some inconsistent thickness along the cross section 170 as illustrated in the figure . an embodiment of a structural member may have a cross sectional shape designed to compensate for the short comings of some forming processes . in other words , a structural member may be designed wherein inconsistencies are allowed to form is less tolerance critical portions so that more tolerance critical portions of the structural shape may be preserved with tighter tolerances . in an embodiment a second forming process may be employed to provide a more precise tolerance wherein after a first process has been performed such as roll forming , a second process employing a press brake may be performed on the structural member to further and more precisely shape the structural member . the embodiment may further allow non - uniformity at various cross sections along the length of the structural member in a predictable manner such that the refining process of the press break can be employed in a more uniform fashion from one structural member to the next structural member . in an embodiment multiple press brake processes may be employed in succession or assembly line fashion to form a structural member . for example , a first press brake process may form a first deformation or bend in a material , the deformed piece is then changed in orientation relative to the press brake , a second press brake process may then be performed causing a second deformation of the piece . an embodiment of a structural member having n number of flat portions separated by m number of curved portions may require n + m processes to fully form a structural member . alternatively , flat material stock may only require m number of processes as the flat portions plus flanges are derived from the original flatness of the raw material . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of cross section of a structural member 180 wherein opposing flanges 184 form an angle a in the range of 100 degrees to 130 degrees . also illustrated in the embodiment is dimension “ a ” that represents the allowable width of any connecting members thereby allowing cladding to be placed around the tower . it is a well known fact that inertia increases as the mass is distributed away from the centroid and decreases as the distribution of mass is closer to the centroid . an analysis of different cross sections reveals that the present disclosure cross section has the greatest distribution of mass away from the centroid and so this is the optimum design . the inertia of the different shapes is kept as a constant to compare the different areas of different cross sections . this feature enables quantification of the proportionate increase in area . for a fixed inertia i 1 along axis 1 and inertia 12 along axis 2 for area a for the present disclosure leg the areas for other cross sections are illustrated in table a below . for each shape the following optimization rule was applied and typical design limits were set as constraints such as minimize area while constraining the other variables to : the dimensions that are needed to define the different cross sections are illustrated in fig1 . a main difference between the present disclosure structure and other cross sections is that the present disclosure structure provides more control in distributing the material away from the centroid providing a larger number of parameters or options for defining the shape of the cross section . also the moment of inertia of each shape is arrived by dividing the cross section into regular shapes which have pre - defined moment of inertia values . table b below illustrates the number of regions and the number of dimensions for each shape . of the shapes explored , the present disclosure cross section has the maximum number of regions and dimensions to define . table b dimensions and number of regions in each cross section . shape dimensions no . regions structural member 5 3 current ( prior art ) leg 3 1 semi circular 3 3 v - shape 2 2 angle cross section 3 4 as can be seen in the table the disclosed structural member provides increased options for providing a structural member having a cross sectional shape and area that can be fine tuned for any given application by simply varying the appropriate variable or dimension that characterizes the structural member . fig1 illustrates the joining or splicing of two structural members in the formation of a wind tower leg in a space frame wind tower . splicing allows for the connection of a first structural member 191 to be placed upon a second structural member 192 thereby forming a leg or leg segment 190 . after aligning the first and second structural members , splicing or connecting plates 195 may be used to splice the structural members together . the connecting plates 195 may be paired so as to provide a pressure fit such that the spliced ends of the structural members are sandwiched between the connecting plates 195 . a fastener 197 having a secondary component 196 may be used to provide the fastening of the spliced components . the fasteners 197 may be of interference fit type . a standard bolt nut combination may also be used . in an embodiment of an assembly method a user may first use a common bolt and nut combination to first align the splicing components and then replace said bolt and nut combination with interference fit fasteners that are more wear resistant . fig2 illustrates the joining or splicing of two structural members in the formation of a leg in a space frame wind tower . splicing allows for the connection of a first structural member 201 to be placed upon a second structural member 202 thereby forming leg portion 200 . after aligning the first and second structural members splicing or connection plates 204 and 206 may be used to splice the structural members together . the connection plates 204 and 206 may be paired so as to provide a pressure fit such that the spliced ends of the structural members sandwiched between the connecting plates 204 and 206 . the present embodiment illustrates a connecting plate having a profile similar to the profile of the structural members . a fastener 208 having a secondary component 209 may be used to provide the fastening of the spliced components . the fastener 208 may be of interference fit type . a standard bolt and nut combination may also be used . in an embodiment of an assembly method a user may first use a common bolt and nut combination to first align the splicing components and then replace said bolt and nut combination with interference fit fasteners that are more wear resistant . fig2 illustrates the joining or splicing of two structural members in the formations of a leg in a space frame wind tower . splicing allows for the connection of first structural member 211 to be placed upon second structural member 212 thereby forming a leg portion 210 . after aligning the first and second structural members , splicing or connecting end plates 214 and 213 may be fitted and attached to the facing end portions of the first and second structural members and are then used to splice the structural members together . the connecting end plates 213 and 214 may be paired so as to provide pressure fit such that the spliced ends of the structural members abut one another . the present embodiment illustrates connecting end plates having a channel with profile similar to the profile of the structural members so as to receive the end of the structural members therein . a fastener 216 having a secondary component 217 may be used to provide the fastening of the splicing components . a fastener 219 and a secondary fastener component 218 may be used to a affix the connecting end plates to the respective structural members . the fasteners may be of interference fit type . a standard bolt and nut combination may also be used . a shim 215 may be employed between said first and second structural member ends thereby providing some adjustability in the leg construction in order to provide alignment of the wind tower during construction . the shim 215 may also be composed of a material with predetermined properties so as to reduce forces transmitted throughout the wind tower such as a dampening feature . in an embodiment of an assembly method a user may first use common bolt and nut combination to first align the splicing components and then replace said bolt and nut combination with interference fit fasteners that are more wear resistant . fig2 illustrates the joining or splicing of two structural members in the formation of a leg in a space frame wind tower . splicing allows for the connection of a first structural member 221 to be placed upon a second structural member 222 thereby forming a leg portion 220 . in the present embodiment the first and second structural members have ends 221 a and 222 a respectively formed thereon . after aligning the first and second structural members , ends 221 a and 222 a are affixed with fastener 225 . a fastener 225 having a secondary component 224 may be used to provide the fastening of the splicing components . the fasteners may be of interference fit type . a standard bolt nut combination may also be used . a shim 223 may be employed between the first and second structural member ends thereby providing some adjustability in the leg construction in order to provide alignment of the wind tower during construction . the shim 223 may also be composed of a material with predetermined properties so as to reduce forces transmitted throughout the wind tower common bolt and nut combination to first align the splicing component and then replace said bolt and nut combination with interference fit fasteners that are more wear resistant . illustrated in fig2 and 24 an embodiment of the present disclosure may be formulated to optimize the cross sectional area and torsional rigidity . in the design approach , one may determine what would be the required moment of inertia along the horizontal and vertical axis of the cross section . the next step may be to determine the thickness of the cross section of a structural member . this is governed by the bearing loads in the bolted connections and the potential for buckling . the radius of curvature has a lower limit which depends on the thickness . the width of the shape has a lower limit which depends on the minimum gap required to work within the boundary of the shape with tools to tighten the bolted connections between leg members . a sensitivity analysis was carried to find out which parameter brings out the maximum change in moment of inertia while there is minim increase in the area . each of the parameters was varied while keeping the other five parameters held constant . in fig2 the ratios between moment of inertia and the area are plotted along the vertical axis while the area of the cross section is plotted on the horizontal axis . it is observed in the plots that the contribution towards moment of inertia per unit area ( along h axis ) is the maximum when the length of the cross section is increased . in a separate study it is observed that the moment of inertia per unit area ( along v axis ) is the maximum when the width of the cross section is increased . from the above it will be appreciated to that to have an optimized shape which has the minimum area , the moment of inertia along the horizontal ( along h axis ) and vertical axes ( along the v axis ) may be controlled by the respective parameters and all other design parameters may be kept at a minimum so that they do not contribute towards an increase in area . beyond optimizing a structural shape for inertia and cross - sectional area , other design parameters may also be considered . length of the side flanges - the side flanges of the present structural shape function as both a structural part of the leg shape and also as the attachment area for the bracing in the tower . the angle that the bracing approaches the leg will influence the interface area needed on the side flanges but generally the combined cross sectional area of both side flanges should represent about 40 % of the total cross sectional area of the present leg structural shape . fig2 represents graphically an analysis of different cross sections revealing that the present disclosure cross section has the greatest distribution of mass away from the centroid and so this is the optimum design . the inertia of the different shapes is kept as a constant to compare the different areas of different cross sections . this feature enables quatinfication of the proportionate increase in area . fig2 illustrates a method 250 for splicing structural members together thereby forming a leg . at 215 a user aligns a first structural member with a second structural member at their respective ends . at 253 a user aligns a joiner such that it spans the aligned ends of the first and second structural members . at 255 a user fastens the joiners to the first and second structural members with a fastener as described above . joiners may be of splicing plates and connectors described above with regard to fig1 and 20 . joiners may be a joiner structure that is affixed or a continuation of the structural member as illustrated in fig2 and 22 . an embodiment of a related method may include the process of fastening the component first with common fasteners that allow for some tolerance for adjustments and then performing a second process of removing the common fasteners one at a time . once the common fastener is removed an engineered fastener , such as an interference fit fastener may be used to provide increased wear resistance . fig2 illustrates a method 260 for splicing structural members together thereby forming a leg . at 261 a user aligns a first structural member with a second structural member at their respective ends . at 253 a user aligns the leg structural members by shimming spliced structural members . at 265 a user aligns a joiner such that it spans the aligned ends of the first and second structural members and the shims . at 267 a user fastens the joiner to the first and second structural members with a fastener as described above . joiners may be of the splicing plates and connectors described above with regard to fig1 and 20 . joiners may be a joiner structure that is affixed or a continuation of the structural member as illustrated in fig2 and 22 . an embodiment of a related method may include the process of fastening the components first with common fasteners that allow for some tolerance for adjustment and then performing second process of removing the common fasteners one at a time . once the common fastener is removed an engineered fastener , such as an interference fit fastener may be used to provide increased wear resistance . with reference to fig2 - 33 a method of constructing a tower will be discussed in great detail , including structures that will be used in constructing a tower using structural members with the present disclosure . referring to fig2 the portions of a structural member will be discussed . fig2 is a cross sectional view of a structural member 270 having a pair of wings or flange faces 274 , a pair of side faces 276 , and a front face 278 . illustrated in fig2 is an example of a tool used to install and tighten the drive pins that may be hand held and may be pneumatic and may include a reaction arm . the tool used may have a minimum rated torque capacity of 2000 ft ., lbf . in addition , the tooling may be subject to the dimensional constraints defined structure member dimensions as shown in the diagram . pre - assembled tower sections can be installed with crawler cranes . the splice plates may generally be bolted to the section top . the section may be hooked to the crane with cables and is lifted and placed on the tower . the steps illustrated below apply for all the legs in the tower . with reference to fig2 a foundational structural member 310 will be discussed . foundation splice plates 312 and 313 may be attached to the tower leg member 310 before the leg member is set on the foundation anchors . in use a user would place an inside front splice plate 312 against the inside front face at the bottom end of the leg member 310 and align the fastening holes therein . the user may then insert drive pins 314 into holes in the splice plate 312 such that the head of the drive pin 314 is on the inside of the tower leg . user then may place one washer 316 over exposed thread of drive pin 314 and hand tighten a temporary heavy hex nut onto each drive pin 314 . using the provided pneumatic tool discussed above , a user may tighten the temporary nut until the drive pin has been pulled into engagement with the splice plate 312 and the leg member 310 . the user should then remove the temporary nuts 315 and the washers 316 . the user may then place the outside front splice plate 313 over the drive spins 314 that are protruding from the front face of the tower leg 310 . place one washer 316 and then read one nut 315 onto each drive pin 314 as shown in the figure . the user should then use the provided pneumatic tool to tighten the nuts . referring now to fig2 the splicing of structural members will be discussed . in a first structural member 320 place a splice plate on the outer side of the front face , side and wing faces inches from the structural member 320 and insert two long bolts 325 through each plate 322 . the long bolts 325 go through holes in the front face , and in the side face , and in the flange face . place another set of splice plates 322 inches away front the structural member on the inner side of all the faces so that long bolts 325 pass through the corresponding bolt holes in the respective faces . the head of the bolt 325 is in the outside face . insert a nut 327 on all the bolts 325 . a second structural member 326 aligned with the first structural member 320 and splice plates 324 and 322 . the user may then tighten the long bolts 327 with the recommended pneumatic tool until all the splice plate 322 and 324 on the inside and outside of the front face , side and wing faces mate with the structural member surfaces as can be seen in fig3 . it should be noted that the splice plates may be used to align the structural members such that the legs can be adjusted during construction as indicated by and in the figure . a user may then place drive pins 328 in any remaining holes and tighten to the specification prescribed as shown in fig3 . with reference to fig3 the attachment of a tower top ring 380 at the top of a structural tower will be discussed . a user may attach a tower top ring 380 to the upper most portion of a structural member 370 by use of a center bracket 376 , side bracket 377 and drive pin fasteners 375 . a user may first align the side bracket 377 to the bolt holes of the structural member 370 and the center bracket in the side face 276 . the user may then insert drive pins 375 through the holes in the side face 276 and brackets 377 and 376 thereby attaching the brackets to the structural member 370 . a user should then use a measuring device to check if there is a difference in elevation between the top surfaces of flanges from each of a plurality of the legs . the user may then use shim plates to raise the top of any leg flange which is lower in elevation . the difference in elevation is compared to legs whose flanges have the highest top surface . once the brackets have been leveled a user may place the tower top ring 380 on the flanges and make sure that the bolt holes in the ring align with the bolt holes in the top surface of the flanges and the shims . the user should then insert the fasteners or drive pins 375 and tighten to a specified torque thus completing the tower structure . with a reference to fig3 a cross - section of a structural member will be discussed . the structural member may comprise a frame portion 402 and flange portions 404 . it may be desirable to control or minimize the spring constant k of a structural member . in an embodiment the angle indicated by d in the illustration may be between 95 degrees to 140 degrees . by increasing angle d in the framed portions 402 the plane frame portion sides are put into direct conflict with the plane of deflection experienced by the structural member , thereby greatly increasing the structural rigidity and spring constant of a tower leg . by modifying the angle d a structural member may be tuned for specific applications . it should be noted also that by increasing the angle , more room is provided within the member thus allowing for greater tool use options . while the cross sectional shape of a structural member for use in a tower leg may be optimized with the principles of the disclosure thus far , additional stiffness or simply deformation resisting support may be desired . this deformation resisting support can be implemented in a variety of configurations several of which are disclosed herein . if additional stiffness is desired or needed at infrequent intervals throughout a structural member , a cross section brace may be employed for providing additional support as illustrated in fig3 . the cross section brace 348 may be incorporated into a structural member 340 . the structural member 340 will also comprise flange portions 344 that may be configured to offer additional strength and also provide attaching means for lattice structures . the cross section brace 348 may span a portion of the frame portion 342 of the structural member 340 and may comprise end extensions for bracing the flange portions 344 . fig3 illustrates an embodiment of a structural member 350 that has been equipped with additional supports throughout . the cross section brace 358 may be incorporated into a structural member 350 . the structural member 350 will also comprise flange portions 354 that may be configured to offer additional strength and also provide attaching means for lattice structures . the cross section brace 358 may span a portion of the frame portion 352 of the structural member 350 and may comprise end extensions for bracing the flange portions 354 . the embodiment shows additional flat bracing members 359 that may be added to the structural member 350 . fig3 illustrates an embodiment of a structural member 360 that has been equipped with additional supports throughout . the cross section brace 368 may be incorporated into a structural member 360 . the cross sectional brace 368 may be formed from a c shape that spans at least a portion of the frame portion 362 of the structural member 360 . the structural member 360 will also comprise flange portions 364 that may be configured to offer additional strength and also provide attaching means for lattice structures . the cross section brace 368 may span a portion of the frame portion 362 of the structural member 360 and may comprise end extensions for bracing the flange portions 364 . the embodiment shows additional flat bracing members 369 that may be added to the structural member 360 . fig3 illustrates an embodiment of a structural member 370 that has been equipped with additional supports throughout . the cross section brace 378 may be incorporated into a structural member 370 . the structural member 370 will also comprise flange portions 374 that may be configured to offer additional strength and also provide attaching means for lattice structures . the cross section brace 378 may span a portion of the frame portion 372 of the structural member 370 and may comprise attaching means for attaching the brace to the flange portions 374 . fig3 illustrates and embodiment of a structural member 380 that has been equipped with additional support . the cross section brace 388 may be incorporated into a structural member 380 . the structural member 380 will also comprise flange portions 384 that may be configured to offer additional strength and also provide attaching means for lattice structures . the cross section brace 388 may span a portion of the frame portion 382 of the structural member 380 and may comprise end extensions for bracing the flange portions 384 . a cross section brace may be positioned for possible local stress and deformation reduction . the cross section brace may be formed of bent steel plate that can either be the full length of the tower leg or can be localized to shorter lengths . there are multiple ways to attach the cross section brace and multiple shapes . attachment methods considered may be bolting the plate to both of the flanges or bolting the cross section brace to inner walls of the shape where interface with the flanges does not have to occur . an embodiment may use welding of the cross section brace to the structural member . an embodiment may utilize mechanical interface to connect one side of the cross section brace while bolting the opposite side to the opposite the other side . the cross section brace may be shaped to maximize the moment of inertia of the combined shape of the structural member and the cross section brace . the cross section brace which is localized may readily be applied at each of the structural member splicing points along the tower leg and can also readily be used at the tower leg to tower leg joints of a tower . at these leg - to - leg joints the cross section brace can either be utilized near the end of each leg or the cross section brace can also be used as a leg - to - leg splice plate thereby spanning from one leg to the next as it is joined to both . it is to be understood that the above - described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure . numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements . thus , while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications , including , but not limited to , variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concept set forth herein . in the foregoing detailed description , various features of the present disclosure are grouped together into single embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure . this method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim . rather , as the following claims reflect , inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment . thus , the following claims are hereby incorporated into this detailed description by this reference , with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure . it is to be understood that the above - described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure . numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements . thus , while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications , including , but not limited to , variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein .
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embodiments of the inventive concept will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . the inventive concept , however , may be embodied in various different forms , and should not be construed as being limited only to the illustrated embodiments . rather , these embodiments are provided as examples so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the inventive concept to those skilled in the art . throughout the attached drawings , like reference numerals denote like elements . hereinafter , an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . as shown in fig1 a , a computer system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes a storage device 1000 , a host device 2000 , and a connector 3000 . in detail , the storage device 1000 includes a processor 110 , a rom 120 , a ram 130 , a storage medium interface ( storage medium i / f ) 140 , a storage medium 150 , a host interface ( host i / f ) 160 , a nonvolatile memory device 170 , a power supply device 180 , and a bus 190 . the host device 2000 performs a process of issuing a command for operating the storage device 1000 , transmitting the issued command to the storage device 1000 connected via the connector 3000 , and transmitting or receiving data to or from the storage device 1000 according to the issued command . the connector 3000 is a means for electrically connecting an interface port of the host device 2000 and an interface port of the storage device 1000 , and includes a data connector and a power connector . for example , when a serial advanced technology attachment ( sata ) i / f is used , the connector 3000 may include a 7 - pin sata data connector and a 15 - pin sata power connector . first of all , the components of the storage device 1000 will be described . the power supply device 180 is a device for supplying a power source voltage required for the storage device 1000 , and serves to supply reserved power to the storage device 1000 when power is abnormally cut off . in fig1 , a power line is indicated by the dotted line . the operation of the power supply device 180 will be described with reference to fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the power supply device 180 includes a power supply unit 310 , a reserved power charging unit 320 , and a power distribution unit 330 . the power supply unit 310 is a means for supplying power required for the storage device 1000 in a normal power on state . the reserved power charging unit 320 is a means for supplying reserved power required for performing an operation of storing address map change information required for recovering address map information in the nonvolatile memory device 170 in the storage device 100 when power supplied from the power supply unit 310 is abnormally turned off . a detailed operation of the reserved power charging unit 320 will be described in detail with reference to fig1 and 13 . the power distribution unit 330 serves to select power generated from the power supply unit 310 or the reserved power charging unit 310 and distribute the selected power to a required circuit in the storage device 100 under the control of the processor 110 . in particular , in case of abnormal power off , the power distribution unit 330 supplies power charged in the reserved power charging unit 320 to the storage device 100 according to a second control signal ctl 2 applied from the processor 110 . for reference , when the storage device 1000 is initialized , the processor 110 generates a first control signal ctl 1 having a logical value for connecting a first input terminal in 1 and an output terminal out of the power distribution unit 330 . and , while power is being normally supplied , the processor 110 generates the first control signal ctl 1 having a logical value for connecting a first input terminal in 1 and an output terminal out of the power distribution unit 330 . when power supply is abnormally turned off , the processor 110 generates a first control signal ctil having a logical value for connecting a second input terminal in 2 and the output terminal out of the power distribution unit 330 . when a voltage of power applied to the storage device is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which a power off control signal is not generated , the processor 110 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . namely , when the voltage of power output from the power supply device 180 is dropped to below the threshold voltage in a power on mode , the processor 110 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . in this manner , while power is normally supplied according to the first control signal ctl 1 generated by the processor 110 , power generated from the power supply unit 310 is supplied to the storage device 1000 , and when power supply is abnormally turned off , power generated by the reserved power charging unit 320 is supplied to the storage device 1000 . first , an operation of a reserved power charging unit 320 ′ according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 , the reserved power charging unit 320 ′ according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first switching unit sw 1 and a capacitor c 1 . a power source voltage vd generated by the power supply unit 310 is applied to a first terminal t 1 of the first switching unit sw 1 , a first terminal of the capacitor c 1 is connected to a second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 , and a second terminal of the capacitor c 1 is connected to a ground . a second control signal ctl 2 for controlling the switching operation of the first switching unit sw 1 is applied to a control terminal t 3 of the first switching unit sw 1 . the second control signal ctl 2 is generated by the processor 110 as follows . the processor 110 generates the second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for connecting the first terminal t 1 and the second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 in a power on state . when abnormal power off occurs , the processor 110 generates a second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for cutting off the first terminal t 1 and the second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 . in this manner , according to the generated second control signal ctl 2 , in a power on state , the power source voltage vd is charged to the capacitor c 1 , and in a state in which supplied power is abnormally cut off , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is applied to the second input terminal in 2 of the power distribution unit 330 . namely , when the supplied power is abnormally cut off , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is supplied as reserved power to the storage device . with reference back to fig1 , the processor 110 interprets commands and controls the components of the data storage device according to the interpretation results . the processor generates various control signals required for controlling the power supply device 180 . also , the processor 110 may include a code object management unit , and may load a code object stored in the storage medium 150 to the ram 130 by using the code object management unit . the processor 110 loads code objects to the ram 130 for executing the method for managing address map information and the access method in a disk drive according to the flow charts of fig1 to 24 , and the method for managing address map information through a network according to the flow chart of fig4 . then , the processor 110 may execute tasks with respect to the method for managing address map information and the access method in a disk drive according to the flow charts of fig1 to 24 , and the method for managing address map information through a network according to the flow chart of fig4 by using the code objects loaded to the ram 130 . the method for managing address map information , the access method in a disk drive , and the method for managing address map information through a network executed by the processor 110 will be handled in detail in a description of fig1 to 24 and fig4 . the rom 120 stores program codes and data required for operating the data storage device . the program codes and data stored in the rom 120 or the storage medium 150 are loaded to the ram 130 under the control of the processor 110 . in an embodiment of the present invention , when the storage device is initialized , the processor 110 loads address mp information stored in the storage medium 150 to the ram 130 . if it is designed to store address map information in the nonvolatile memory device 170 , when the storage device is initialized , the processor 110 loads the address map information stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 to the ram 130 . address map change information generated whenever data is written is stored in the ram 130 . the address map change information may include information regarding a position of data written without being reflected in address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 . the address map change information may include a logical band number , a virtual band number , and a finally accessed virtual address . the address map change information may include a logical band number with respect to data written without being reflected in address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 , a virtual band number allocated to the logical band , and a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band allocated to the logical band . the ram , as a volatile memory device , may be implemented as a dram or an sram . also , the ram 130 may be designed to be driven according to an sdr ( single data rate ) method or a ddr ( double data rate ) method . the storage medium 150 is a main storage medium of the storage device , and may include a disk or a non - volatile semiconductor memory device . for example , the storage device may include a disk drive and a detailed configuration of a head disk assembly 100 , including a disk and a head in the disk drive , is shown in fig3 . referring to fig3 , the head disk assembly 100 includes at least one disk 12 rotated by a spindle motor 14 . the disk drive may also include a head 16 positioned adjacent to a surface of the disk 12 . the head 16 senses and magnetizes a magnetic field of each disk 12 , thereby reading information from or writing information to the rotating disk 12 . typically , the head 16 is coupled to a surface of each disk 12 . although a single head 16 is illustrated , the head 16 needs to be regarded as including a write head for magnetizing the disk 12 and a separate read head for sensing the magnetic field of the disk 12 . the read head may include a magneto - resistive ( mr ) element . the head 16 may be referred to as a magnetic head or a head . the head 16 may be incorporated into a slider 20 . the slider 20 is configured to generate an air bearing between the head 16 and the surface of the disk 12 . the slider 20 is coupled to a head gimbal assembly 22 that is attached to an actuator arm 24 having a voice coil 26 . the voice coil 26 is positioned adjacent to a magnetic assembly 28 so as to define a voice coil motor ( vcm ) 30 . a current provided to the voice coil 26 generates a torque which rotates the actuator arm 24 with respect to a bearing assembly 32 . the rotation of the actuator arm 24 moves the head 16 across the surface of the disk 12 . information is usually stored in ring - shaped tracks 34 of the disk 12 . each track 34 generally includes multiple sectors . a sector structure of a track is illustrated in fig5 . as shown in fig5 , one servo sector t includes a servo information field s and a data field . the data field may include a plurality of data sectors d . of course , one servo sector may include a single data sector d . the data sector is also called a sector . the data sector d may include an area for storing data and a spare area . in an embodiment of the present invention , a logical block address ( lba ) corresponding to data written to the data sector d is written in the spare area of the corresponding data sector d . also , signals as illustrated in fig6 are recorded to the servo information field s . as shown in fig6 , a preamble 601 , a servo synchronization indication signal 602 , a gray code 603 , and a burst signal 604 are written to the servo information field s . the preamble 601 provides clock synchronization when reading servo information , and provides a predetermined timing margin by setting a gap before the servo sector . also , the preamble 601 is used to determine a gain ( not shown ) of an automatic gain control ( agc ) circuit . the servo synchronization indication signal 602 consists of a servo address mark ( sam ) and a servo index mark ( sim ). the servo address mark is a signal that indicates a start of a sector , and the servo index mark is a signal that indicates a start of a first servo sector in a track . the gray code 603 provides track information , and the burst signal 604 is used to control the head 16 to follow the center of the track 34 . for example , the burst signal may include four patterns a , b , c , and d , and four burst patterns are combined to generate a position error signal used to control track following . the disk 12 is divided into a maintenance cylinder area , which is inaccessible to a user , and a user data area , which is accessible to the user . the maintenance cylinder area may be referred to as a system area . various information required to control the disk drive is stored in the maintenance cylinder area , as well as information required to perform the storage medium access method , data writing method , and storage device parameter adjustment method according to the present invention . particularly , the maintenance cylinder area stores a mapping table for converting a logical block address lba into a virtual address va based on a virtual zone or virtual band . here , the address map information may include information for converting a logical block address received from the host device into a physical address of the storage medium based on a virtual band corresponding to the physical area of the storage medium including a disk . in detail , the address map information may include mapping information between a logical band classified as an aggregate of logical block addresses and a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the storage medium and mapping information between a logical block address in a virtual band allocated to a logical band and a virtual address . also , the address map information may include mapping table information indicating a correspondence relationship of a physical address of the storage medium to a logical block address . also , the address map information may include mapping table information indicating an allocation relationship between the logical band classified as an aggregate of logical block addresses and a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the storage medium and an allocation relationship between the logical block address in the logical band and the virtual address . the head 16 moves across the surfaces of the disk 12 in order to read or write information in different tracks . a plurality of code objects used to realize various functions of the disk drive may be stored in the disk 12 . for example , a code object for executing an mp3 player function , a code object for executing a navigation function , a code object for executing various video games , and the like , may be stored in the disk 12 . referring again to fig1 , the storage medium interface 140 is an element that enables the processor 110 to access the storage medium 150 in order to write and read information . in detail , the storage medium interface 140 in the storage device that is implemented as a disk drive includes a servo circuit controlling the head disk assembly 100 and a read / write channel circuit performing signal processing for data reading / writing . the host interface 160 performs data transmission / reception to / from the host device 2000 such as a personal computer , a mobile device , etc ., and may be an interface having various sizes , such as a serial advanced technology attachment ( sata ) interface , a parallel advanced technology attachment ( pata ) interface , or a universal serial bus ( usb ) interface . the nonvolatile memory device 170 may be implemented as a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device . for example , the nonvolatile memory device 170 may be implemented as a flash memory , a pram ( phase change ram ), an fram ( ferroelectric ram ), a mram ( magnetic ram ), or the like . address map change information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 . in detail , when supplied power is abnormally cut off , the address map change information stored in the ram 130 is read and stored to the nonvolatile memory device 170 under the control of the processor 110 . the bus 170 transfers information between the elements of the storage device . next , a software operation system of a hard disk drive , which is an example of the storage device , will be described with reference to fig2 . as shown in fig2 , a plurality of code objects 1 through n are stored in a disk 150 a , which is a storage medium of the hard disk drive ( hdd ). the rom 120 stores a boot image and a packed real time operating system ( rtos ) image . the plurality of code objects 1 through n are stored in the disk 150 a . the code objects stored in the disk may include not only code objects required for operating the disk drive but also code objects related to various functions that may be extended to the disk drive . in particular , code objects for executing the method for managing address map information and the access method in a disk drive according to the flow charts of fig1 to 24 , and the method for managing address map information through a network according to the flow chart of fig4 are stored in the disk 150 a . obviously , the code objects for executing the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 may also be stored in the rom 120 instead of the disk 150 a . also , code objects performing various functions such as a mp3 player function , a navigation function , a video game function , or the like may also be stored in the disk 150 a . the ram 130 reads the boot image from the rom 120 while booting the disk drive , and an unpacked rtos image is loaded to the ram 130 . also , code objects required to operate a host interface stored in the disk 150 a are loaded to the ram 130 . in particular , the address map information is loaded to the ram 130 . also , the address map change information generated whenever a data write operation is performed is stored in the ram 130 . circuits that are required to perform signal processing for data reading / writing are included in a channel circuit 200 , and circuits required for controlling the head disk assembly 100 for performing data reading / writing operations are included in a servo circuit 210 . an rtos 110 a is a real time operating system program and is a multi - program operating system using a disk . in the rtos 110 a , real time multi - processing is performed as a foreground process having high priority , and batch processing is performed as a background process having low priority according to a task . also , the rtos 110 a loads code objects from the disk and unloads code objects onto the disk . the rtos 110 a manages a code object management unit ( comu ) 110 - 1 , a code object loader ( col ) 110 - 2 , a memory handler ( mh ) 110 - 3 , a channel control module ( ccm ) 110 - 4 , and a servo control module ( scm ) 110 - 5 to perform tasks according to requested commands . the rtos 110 a also manages application programs 220 . in detail , the rtos 110 a loads code objects required for controlling the disk drive to the ram 130 when booting the disk drive . accordingly , after the booting is executed , the disk drive may be operated by using code objects loaded to the ram 130 . the comu 110 - 1 stores location information regarding locations to which code objects are written , and arbitrates a bus . also , the comu 110 - 1 stores information regarding priorities of performed tasks . in addition , the comu 110 - 1 manages task control block ( tcb ) information required to execute tasks for code objects , and stack information . the col 110 - 2 loads the code objects stored in the disk 150 a to the ram 130 using the comu 110 - 1 and unloads the code objects stored in the ram 130 to the disk 150 a . accordingly , the col 110 - 2 may load the code objects stored in the disk 150 a used to execute the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 to the ram 130 . the rtos 110 a may execute the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 , which will be described below , by using the code objects loaded to the ram 130 . the mh 110 - 3 performs writing or reading data to / from the rom 120 and the ram 130 . the ccm 110 - 4 performs channel controlling required for performing signal processing for data reading / writing , and the scm 110 - 5 performs servo controlling including the head disk assembly for performing data reading / writing . next , an electrical circuit configuration of the disk drive 1000 as an example of a storage device according to an embodiment of a technical concept of the present invention illustrated in fig1 is illustrated in fig4 . as shown in fig4 , the disk drive 1000 according to an embodiment of a technical concept of the present invention includes a pre - amplifier 410 , a read / write ( r / w ) channel 420 , a processor 430 , a voice coil motor ( vcm ) driver 440 , a spindle motor ( spm ) driver 450 , an rom 460 , a ram 470 , a host interface 480 , a nonvolatile memory device 490 , and a power supply device 500 . the processor 430 may be a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a microprocessor , a microcontroller , or the like . the processor 430 controls the r / w channel 420 to read information from the disk 12 or write information to the disk 12 according to a command received from the host device 2000 through the host interface 480 . the processor 430 is coupled to the vcm driver 440 which provides a driving current for driving the vcm 30 . the processor 430 provides a control signal to the vcm driver 440 to control motion of the head 16 . the processor 430 is coupled to the spm driver 450 , which provides a driving current for driving a spindle motor ( spm ) 14 . the processor 430 , upon being supplied with power , provides a control signal to the spm driver 450 to rotate the spm 14 at a target speed . the processor 430 is coupled to the power supply device 500 and generates control signals for controlling the power supply device 500 . the processor 430 is also coupled to the rom 460 and the ram 470 . the rom 460 stores firmware and control data for controlling the disk drive . the rom 460 also stores program codes and information for executing the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 . obviously , the program codes and information for executing the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 may be stored in the maintenance cylinder area of the disk 12 , instead of the rom 460 . the ram 470 loads the program codes stored in the rom 460 or the disk 12 in an initialization mode under the control of the processor 430 , and temporarily stores data received through the host interface 480 or data read from the disk 12 . in particular , address map information is loaded to the ram 470 in an initialization mode . namely , address map information is stored in the ram 470 in an initialization mode . also , address map change information generated whenever a data write operation is executed is stored in the ram 470 . the ram 470 may be implemented by a dynamic random access memory ( dram ) or a synchronous random access memory ( sram ). the ram 570 may be designed to operate in a single data rate ( sdr ) or double data rate ( ddr ) scheme . the processor 430 may control the disk drive so as to execute the methods according to the flowcharts of fig1 to 24 and fig4 using program codes and information stored in the rom 460 or the maintenance cylinder area of the disk 12 . the ram 490 may be implemented as a flash memory , a pram ( phase change ram ), an fram ( ferroelectric ram ), a mram ( magnetic ram ), or the like . address map change information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device 490 . in detail , when supplied power is abnormally cut off , the address map change information stored in the ram 470 is read and stored to the nonvolatile memory device 490 under the control of the processor 430 . the power supply device 500 is a device for supplying a power source voltage required for the disk drive , and when power is abnormally cut off , the power supply device 500 supplies reserved power to the disk drive . in fig4 , a power source line is indicated by the dotted line . a detailed configuration example of the power supply device 500 is illustrated in fig1 . fig1 has been already described above , so repetitive descriptions will be omitted . the reserved power charging unit 320 illustrated in fig1 may be designed as shown in fig1 or may also be designed as shown in fig1 . a detailed configuration of the reserved power charging unit illustrated in fig1 has been already described above , so repetitive descriptions thereof will be omitted . another embodiment of the reserved power charging unit illustrated in fig1 will be described . as shown in fig1 , a reserved power charging unit 320 ″ according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a first switching unit sw 1 , a second switching unit sw 2 , and a capacitor c 1 . a power source voltage vd generated by the power supply unit 310 is applied to a first terminal t 1 of the first switching unit sw 1 , a first terminal of the capacitor c 1 is connected to a second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 , and a second terminal of the capacitor c 1 is connected to a ground . a second control signal ctl 2 for controlling the switching operation of the first switching unit sw 1 is applied to a control terminal t 3 of the first switching unit sw 1 . a terminal of a spindle motor spm generating counter electromotive force is connected to a first terminal t 4 of the second switching unit sw 2 , a first terminal of the capacitor c 1 is connected to a second terminal t 5 of the second switching unit sw 2 , and a third control signal ctl 3 for controlling a switching operation of the second switching unit sw 2 is applied to a control terminal t 6 of the second switching unit sw 2 . the second control signal ctl 2 and the third control signal ctl 3 are generated by the processor 430 as follows . the processor 430 generates the second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for connecting the first terminal t 1 and the second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 in a power on state . in a state in which supplied power is abnormally cut off , the processor 430 generates a second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for cutting off the first terminal t 1 and the second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 . in this manner , according to the generated second control signal ctl 2 , in a power on state , the power source voltage vd is charged to the capacitor c 1 , and in a state in which supplied power is abnormally cut off , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is applied to the second input terminal in 2 of the power distribution unit 330 . namely , when the supplied power is abnormally cut off , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is supplied as reserved power to the storage device . in the state in which supplied power is abnormally cut off , the processor 430 generates a third control signal ctl 3 having a logical value for connecting the first terminal t 4 and the second terminal t 5 of the second switching unit sw 2 , and applies the generated third control signal ctl 3 to the control terminal t 6 of the second switching unit sw 2 . accordingly , the capacitor c 1 is charged by counter electromotive force ( bem f ) generated from the spindle motor 14 rotated by inertia after supplied power is cut off . with reference to fig4 , a data read operation and a data write operation executed after a physical address of a disk corresponding to a logical block address designated by a read command or a write command will be described . in a data read mode , the disk drive amplifies an electrical signal sensed by the head 16 from the disk 12 in a pre - amplifier 410 . and then , a signal output from the pre - amplifier 410 by an automatic gain control circuit ( not shown ) which automatically varies a gain according to the amplitude of a signal in the read / write channel 420 , converted into a digital signal , and then , decoded to detect data . for example , the detected data is subjected to error correction processing using a reed - solomon code as an error correction code , converted into stream data , and then , transmitted to the host device 2000 through the host interface 480 . in a data write mode , the disk drive receives data and lbas from the host device through the host interface 480 , adds an error correction symbol by the reed - solomon code to the data by the processor 430 , encoded to fit a record channel by the read / write channel 420 , and then , recorded in the disk 12 through the head 16 by a record current amplified by the pre - amplifier 410 . in an embodiment of the present invention , corresponding lbas are written to data stored in a sector of a spare area allocated to each sector in a data write mode . an operation for executing the method according to the flow chart of fig1 to 24 and fig4 by the processor 430 by using the program codes and information loaded to the ram 470 will be described . first , a shingled write method , a novel write method proposed to enhance a record density in a disk drive as one of storage devices according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described . the shingle write method is a writing method in which data is written only in one direction as tracks on a disk are overwritten as if shingles are stacked . that is , as shown in fig7 , in the shingle write method , assuming that data is written only in the arrow direction , an ( n − 1 ) th track is partially overwritten when an nth track adjacent to the ( n − 1 ) th track is written , and the nth track is partially overwritten when the ( n + 1 ) th track adjacent to the nth track is written , thereby increasing the tpi ( track per inch ) characteristic , which is the radial recording density of a storage medium . the shingle write method has to satisfy the restriction that the ( n − 1 ) th track cannot be written after writing the nth track because a flux is always generated only in one direction . as shown in fig8 , if the ( n − 1 ) th track in the direction opposite to the shingle write direction is written after writing the nth track , the nth track is erased due to an adjacent track interference ( ati ) effect . accordingly , to solve this problem , there is a need for a technique of dynamically allocating a new disk address for a logical block address ( lba ) provided from a host so as to always perform writing only in either one of the inner and outer circumferential directions of the disk . the present invention provides a disk accessing method , which uses an existing lbas as it is by using a virtual address in the process of converting the existing lbas into a cylinder head sector ( chs ), i . e ., a physical address of a disk drive , and satisfies the condition that the shingle write direction in the disk drive is limited to only one direction . referring to fig9 , the configurations of a zone and virtual bands for realizing the accessing method suggested in the present invention will be described . a storage area of the disk 12 is divided into a plurality of physical zones . the tpi ( tracks per inch ), i . e ., recording density , and bpi ( bits per inch ) for each physical zone may be differently set . each physical zone includes a plurality of virtual bands , and each virtual band is defined as a set of consecutive m tracks to be overwritten . also , a guard track is arranged between the virtual bands to avoid overwriting between the virtual bands . referring to fig9 , ( k + 1 ) number of virtual bands vb_ 0 to vb_k are arranged in physical zone 1 . that is , a virtual band is defined as a segment of a unit size of a physical storage space of a storage medium . in the track included in the virtual bands , address map information is generated such that data is sequentially written in any one of an inner circumferential direction or outer circumferential direction of the disk . next , the structure of allocating logical bands and virtual bands for each zone will be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a view schematically showing the structure of allocating virtual bands vb to logical bands lb for each physical zone of a storage medium according to an embodiment of the inventive concept . as shown in fig1 , virtual bands are allocated to logical bands in order to perform an actual writing operation in a physical zone of a storage medium . physical zone 1 of the storage medium may consist of ( k + 1 ) number of logical bands . a logical band is defined as a set of consecutive logical block addresses in units of a first size . that is , a logical band refers to a set of consecutive writable logical block addresses . for example , assuming that the range of logical block addresses of physical zone 1 consists of 10 , 000 lbas of 0 through 999 , and each of the logical bands belonging to physical zone 1 is defined as a set of 1 , 000 lbas , the number of logical bands included in physical zone 1 is 10 . the number of virtual bands is set to q ( q & gt ; k ), which is more than the number of logical bands . the virtual bands are defined as the segments of the physical storage device of the storage in units of a second size . that is , if the storage medium is a disk , a virtual band is defined as a set of m tracks to be overwritten . virtual bands not allocated to logical bands may be referred to as reserved virtual bands . in other words , storage areas corresponding to the virtual bands not allocated to the logical bands may be referred to as reserved areas . reserved virtual band information is stored in a free queue to be explained in fig1 below . an operation of managing address map information in a storage device including a storage device for accessing by using a virtual band will be described . fig1 is a view showing a detailed configuration of the processor 110 and the ram 130 of the storage device illustrated in fig1 and the processor 430 and the ram 470 of the disk drive illustrated in fig4 according to an embodiment of the present invention . for the sake of explanation , fig1 will be described with reference to the disk drive of fig4 . as shown in fig1 , the processor 430 includes a power control processor 430 - 1 , an address map information management processor 430 - 2 , and an address conversion processor 430 - 3 . address map information 470 - 1 is loaded to the ram 470 under the control of an address map information management processor 430 - 2 . here , the address map information may include information for converting a logical block address into a physical address of a storage medium by using a virtual address . the address map information may be , for example , mapping table information showing an allocation relationship between a logical band and a virtual band , and an allocation relationship between a logical block address and a virtual address in a virtual band allocated to a logical band . also , the address map information may be included in meta information . the address map information 470 - 1 may be read from the nonvolatile memory device 490 or the disk 12 and stored to the ram 470 . the address map information 470 - 1 may be configured to search for a virtual address based on lba . the virtual address may be defined based on a physical address in a storage medium . when the storage medium is a disk , the virtual address may be defined based on a physical address of a sector . also , the virtual address of the disk may be defined based on chs ( cylinder header sector ). besides , the virtual address of the disk may be defined based on a physical zone , a virtual band , a track , and a sector . the address map information 470 - 1 may be generated such that data is sequentially written in any one of an inner circumferential direction and an outer circumferential direction in a track of the disk included in a virtual band according to the shingled write method . the address map information 470 - 1 may include information representing an allocation structure of logical bands and virtual bands for each physical zone . that is , the address map information 470 - 1 may include information representing the mapping structure of virtual bands allocated to logical bands for each physical zone as shown in fig1 . address map information showing an allocation state of the virtual bands allocated to the logical bands illustrated in fig1 may be generated as shown in fig2 . as shown in fig2 , the address map information may include a logical band number lba no , a virtual band number vb no , and a finally accessed virtual address number la va in a virtual band . with reference to fig2 , it can be seen that virtual band numbers 2 and 0 are allocated to a logical band number 0 , a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number 2 is 199 , and a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number 0 is a . for example , when the size of virtual bands is allocated into 200 sectors , and virtual addresses 0 to 199 are set for each virtual band , the final virtual address 199 is allocated to the virtual band number 2 , so there is no virtual address which can be newly allocated . in case in which ‘ a ’ has a value smaller than 199 , when a write command with respect to lbas included in a logical band 0 is received , the address map information is updated such that a virtual address ( a + 1 ) of the virtual band number 0 is mapped to lbas designated by the write command . in fig2 , a , b , c , and d are virtual addresses having an integer value between 1 and 199 . an example of a mapping structure of virtual addresses ( va ) with respect to lbas in the virtual band 0 ( vb_ 0 ) allocated to the logical band number 0 is illustrated in fig2 . with reference to fig2 , the virtual band 0 ( vb_ 0 ) includes virtual addresses 0 to 199 , and the virtual addresses are allocated by sector . thus , according to fig2 , 200 sectors are included in a unit virtual band . thus , in fig2 , 200 sectors are included in a unit virtual band . horizontal lines show sectors included in a single track . as shown in fig2 , one track includes 20 sectors . 20 sectors included in a track 1 are designated as virtual addresses 0 to 19 , respectively . the 20 sectors included in a track 10 are designated as vas 180 to 199 in the same manner . as shown in fig2 , lbas 0 to 9 are allocated to vas 0 to 9 , lba 20 and 21 are allocated to vas 15 and 16 , lbas 50 to 59 are allocated to vas 38 to 47 , and lbas 10 to 18 are allocated to vas 86 to 94 . vas 10 to 14 , 17 to 37 , and 48 to 85 represent invalidated virtual addresses , and vas 95 to 199 represent non - allocated valid virtual addresses . the invalidated virtual addresses refer to previous virtual addresses corresponding to updated lbas . address map information with respect to virtual band 0 ( vb_ 0 ) illustrated in fig2 may be generated as shown in fig2 a , for example . fig2 a is a view showing a mapping table simply showing mapping relationships of vas corresponding to individual lbas allocated in vb_ 0 . the mapping table having the structure as shown in fig2 a has a structure in which vas corresponding to respective lbas are simply arranged , so the amount of data is disadvantageously large . thus , in order to complement the shortcomings , a method of generating address map information by grouping a group in which lbas and vas are sequentially increased together is proposed . namely , in the newly proposed address map information , a group in which lbas and vas are sequentially increased together is represented by a start lba , a start va , and a number ( scn ) of sequentially increased sector . with reference to fig2 , in vas 0 to 9 , lbas 0 to 9 are sequentially increased , in vas 15 to 16 , lba 20 to 21 are sequentially increased , in vas 38 to 47 , lba 50 to 59 are sequentially increased , and in vas 86 to 94 , lbas 10 to 18 are sequentially increased . the mapping information regarding the four groups in which lbas and vas are sequentially increased together as described above may be shown in fig2 b . with respect to a group in which lbas 0 to 9 are sequentially increased in vas 0 to 9 , a start lba 0 , a start va 0 , and the number of sequentially increased sectors is 10 , so ( lba , scn , va ) may be represented as ( 0 , 10 , 0 ). in the same manner , with respect to a group in which lbas 20 to 21 are sequentially increased in vas 15 to 16 , since the start lba 20 , the start va 15 , and the number of sequentially increased sectors is 2 , ( lba , scn , va ) may be represented by ( 20 , 2 , 15 ). also , in a group in which lbas 50 to 59 are sequentially increased in vas 38 to 47 may be represented by ( 50 , 10 , 38 ), and in a group in which lbas 10 to 18 in va 86 - 94 , ( lba , scn , va ) may be represented by ( 10 , 9 , 86 ). to sum up , the address map information as shown in fig2 b as shown in fig2 b may be generated . it can be seen that the address map information is simple and the amount of data is reduced in comparison to the address map information illustrated in fig2 a . with respect to virtual bands allocated to logical bands , address map information for each virtual band may be generated in such a manner as shown in fig2 b . thus , the allocation relationship of the logical bands and the virtual bands as shown in fig2 , the mapping information representing a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band , and mapping information representing vas corresponding to lbas in the virtual band allocated to the logical band as shown in fig2 a or 27 b may be loaded to the ram 470 by zone . with reference to fig1 , the power control processor 430 - 1 generates control signals required for controlling the power supply device in fig1 to 13 . the power control processor 430 - 1 generates a first control signal ctl 1 having a logical value connecting a first input terminal in 1 and an output terminal out of the power distribution unit 30 . the power control processor 430 - 1 generates a first control signal ctl 1 having a logical value for connecting the first input terminal in 1 and the output terminal ou . when supplied power is abnormally cut off , the power control processor 430 - 1 generates the first control signal ctl 1 having a logical value for connecting the second input terminal in 2 and the output terminal out . when a power voltage applied to the storage device is dropped to below a threshold value in a state in which power off control signal is not generated , the power control processor 430 - 1 determines that supplied power is abnormally cut off . namely , when a voltage of power output in the power supply device 500 is dropped to below a threshold voltage , the power control processor 430 - 1 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . while supplied power is being normally supplied according to the first control signal ctl 1 generated in the power control processor 430 - 1 , power generated by the power supply unit 310 is supplied to the circuits constituting the disk drive , and when abnormal power off occurs , power generated by the reserved power charging unit 310 is supplied to the circuits constituting the disk drive . the power control processor 430 - 1 generates a second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for connecting a first terminal t 1 and a second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 illustrated in fig1 in a power on state . in a state in which abnormal power off occurs , the power control processor 430 - 1 generates the second control signal ctl 2 having a logical value for disconnecting the first terminal t 1 and the second terminal t 2 of the first switching unit sw 1 . according to the second control signal ctl 2 , in the power on state , the power voltage vd is charged to the capacitor c 1 , and in a power off state in which power supply is abnormal , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is applied to the second input terminal in 2 of the power distribution unit 330 . namely , when abnormal power off occurs , the voltage charged in the capacitor c 1 is supplied as reserved power to the circuits constituting the disk drive . also , in a state in which abnormal power off occurs , the power control processor 430 - 1 generates a third control signal ctl 3 having a logical value for connecting the first terminal t 4 and the second terminal t 5 of the second switching unit sw 2 and applies it to the control terminal t 6 of the second switching unit sw 2 . accordingly , the capacitor c 1 is charged by counter electromotive force ( bemf ) generated from the spindle motor 14 rotating by inertia . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 performs a process of managing address map information . in detail , when power is supplied to the disk drive , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 loads address map information stored in the nonvolatile storage device 490 to the ram 470 . namely , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 reads the address map information from the disk 12 or the nonvolatile storage device 490 and stores it to the ram 470 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 changes the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 based on a write command . namely , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 adds virtual band newly allocated to a logical band or virtual address information added according to lbas in an allocated virtual band to the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 . accordingly , the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 is updated whenever a write command is executed . whenever a write command is executed , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 generates the address map change information 470 - 2 and stores it to the ram 470 . the address map change information 470 - 2 is information related to a position of data written in the disk 12 without being reflected on address map information stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . the address map change information 470 - 2 may be configured to include a logical band number , a virtual band number , and information regarding a finally accessed virtual address . namely , the address map change information 470 - 2 may be configured by a logical band number lb no with respect to data written to the disk 12 without being reflected on the address map information stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory 490 , a virtual band number vb no allocated to a corresponding logical band , and a virtual address la va finally accessed in a virtual band allocated to the corresponding logical band . in an embodiment of the present invention , whenever the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 is updated according to a write command , the updated address map information 470 - 1 is not stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . the reason is because , if the process of storing the updated address map information in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 is performed whenever the address map information 470 - 1 is updated , while the address map information is being stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 , a write / read process cannot be performed , degrading the performance of the disk drive . thus , in an embodiment of the present invention , for example , the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 is stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 under the following conditions . when a system termination command is received , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 stores the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . and , when the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the ram 470 is stored in a full state on an initially set address map change information list , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 stores the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 to the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . here , the full state refers to a state in which address map change information cannot be added to the address map change information list any further . the size of the address map change information list may be determined to be a size for storing the address map change information in the nonvolatile storage device 490 by reserved power when power is abnormally cut off . after storing the address map information 470 - 1 , stored in the ram 470 , to the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 deletes the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the ram 470 . namely , after storing the address map information 470 - 1 , stored in the ram 470 , to the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 performs a process of deleting the address map change information 470 - 2 . when abnormal power off occurs , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 stores the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the ram 470 to the nonvolatile memory device 490 by using reserved power . for reference , when voltage of power applied to the storage device is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which power off control signal is not generated , the power control processor 430 - 1 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . accordingly , when the power control processor 430 - 1 determines that abnormal power off has occurred , the address map change information 470 - 2 . stores the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the ram 470 to the nonvolatile memory device 490 . for example , it is assumed that after the address map information having an allocation state of virtual bands with respect to the logical bands as shown in fig2 a is stored from the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 to the ram 470 , the address map information stored in the ram 470 is changed to the address map information having the allocation state of the virtual bands with respect to the logical bands as shown in fig2 b according to performing of a write command . also , it is assumed that power is abnormally cut off before the address map information configured by the logical bands and the virtual bands as shown in fig2 b stored in the ram 470 is stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . the address map information regarding the logical bands and the virtual bands as shown in fig2 a is as shown in fig2 . with reference to fig2 , a virtual band number 0 is allocated to a logical band number 0 , and the finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number 0 is 199 . virtual band numbers 1 and 3 are allocated to the logical band number 3 , a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number 3 is 101 . virtual band numbers 2 and 4 are allocated to a logical band number k , a finally accessed virtual address in a virtual band number 2 is 199 , and a finally accessed virtual address in a virtual band number 3 is 145 . in the above description , a unit virtual band includes virtual addresses 0 to 199 . namely , the unit virtual band includes 200 sectors . thus , the virtual bands in which the finally accessed virtual address is 199 are virtual bands in which a valid virtual address that may be allocated to the lbas does not exist . when the disk drive is initialized , the address map information as shown in fig2 stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory 490 is loaded to the ram 470 . also , when the disk drive is initialized , address map information indicating a mapping relationship of vas corresponding to lbas in each virtual band allocated to the logical bands stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 is also loaded to the ram 470 . for example , when an allocation structure of vas with respect to the lbas of the virtual band number 3 allocated to the logical band number 3 is as shown in fig3 , address map information indicating a mapping relationship of the vas corresponding to the lbas with respect to the virtual band number 3 may be expressed as shown in fig3 . accordingly , the address map information as shown in fig3 representing the mapping relationship of vas corresponding to lbas in the virtual band number 3 is loaded to the ram 470 . in this manner , the address map information indicating the mapping relationship of the vas corresponding to the lbas in the other remaining virtual bands allocated to the logical bands is located to the ram 470 . next , when the address map information stored in the ram 470 is changed to the address map information including the logical bands and the virtual bands as shown in fig2 b according to performing of a write command , address map change information as shown in fig3 is generated . with reference to fig2 b , since updating occurs in virtual band numbers 5 , 6 , and 3 , corresponding address map change information is generated . when a finally accessed virtual address number in a virtual band number 5 allocated to the logical band number 0 is 13 , address map change information ( 0 , 5 , 13 ) represented by ( lb no , vb no , la va ) is generated . when a finally accessed virtual address number in a virtual band number 6 allocated to the logical band number 2 is 8 , address map change information ( 2 , 6 , 8 ) represented by ( lb no , vb no , la va ) is generated . when a finally accessed virtual address number in a virtual band number 3 allocated to the logical band number 3 is 106 , address map change information ( 3 , 3 , 106 ) represented by ( lb no , vb no , la va ) is generated . thus , the address map change information 470 - 2 as shown in fig3 is generated , and the thusly generated address map change information 470 - 2 is stored in the ram 470 . in a state in which the address map change information 470 - 2 is stored in the ram 470 , when abnormal power off occurs , as mentioned above , the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the ram 470 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 490 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 checks whether or not the address map change information has been stored in the nonvolatile memory device 490 when power is supplied to the disk drive . when the address map change information has been stored in the nonvolatile memory device 490 , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 reads the address map change information 470 - 2 stored in the nonvolatile memory device 490 and stores it to the ram 470 . when power is supplied to the disk drive , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 also reads the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 and stores it to the ram 470 . accordingly , the address map information representing the mapping relationship of the virtual bands corresponding to the logical bands and the address map information representing the mapping relationship of the vas corresponding to the lbas for each virtual band allocated to the logical bands as shown in fig2 are stored in the ram 470 . also , the address map change information as shown in fig3 is stored in the ram 470 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 newly allocates a virtual band number not present in the address map information among the virtual band numbers included in the address map change information to the address map information . namely , among the virtual band numbers 5 , 6 , 3 included in the address map change information illustrated in fig3 , the virtual band number 3 exists in the address map information illustrated in fig2 , but the virtual band numbers 5 and 6 do not exist . thus , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 newly allocates the virtual band numbers 5 and 6 . as shown in fig3 , it can be seen that the virtual band number 5 in the address map change information corresponds to the logical band number 0 , and the virtual band number 6 corresponds to the logical band number 2 . thus , as shown in fig3 , the virtual band number 5 is newly allocated to the logical band number 0 , and the virtual band number 6 is newly allocated to the logical band number 2 . in this manner , after reconfiguring the virtual bands , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 calculates an area of the disk 12 as a storage medium corresponding to a difference between a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual bands included in the address map change information and a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual bands included in the corresponding address map information . in detail , regarding a virtual band of the virtual band number newly allocated to the address map information among the virtual band numbers included in the address map change information , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 calculates an area of the disk corresponding to a section starting from a virtual start address with respect to the corresponding virtual band to a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number included in the address map change information . with reference to fig2 and 30 , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 calculates an area of virtual addresses 0 to 13 in the virtual band number 5 to which a virtual band is newly allocated , and calculates an area of virtual addresses 0 to 8 in the virtual band number 6 according to the address map change information . with respect to a virtual band included in the address map change information in which a virtual band number is not newly allocated to the address map information , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 calculates a disk area corresponding a section from an immediately next virtual address of a finally accessed virtual address read from the address map information to a finally accessed virtual address read from the address map change information . with reference to fig2 and 30 , in a virtual band 3 to which a virtual band is not newly allocated , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 calculates an area corresponding to a section starting from a next virtual address 102 of a finally accessed virtual address 101 of the virtual band number 3 read from the virtual map information to a finally accessed virtual address 106 with respect to the virtual band 3 read from the address map change information . namely , a disk area corresponding to virtual addresses 102 to 106 of the virtual band address number 3 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 controls the disk drive to read the lbas written in the disk areas calculated as described above . in detail , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 converts the virtual addresses with respect to the virtual bands calculated as described above into physical addresses of the disk , and controls the disk drive to access the disk according to the converted physical addresses . namely , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 converts the virtual addresses into chs ( cylinder head sector ) information indicating a physical position of the disk and generates a voice coil motor driving control signal for accessing the disk based on the converted chs ( cylinder head sector ). with reference to fig4 , when the generated voice coil motor driving control signal is applied to the vcm driving unit 440 , the vcm driving unit 440 generates a voice coil motor driving current corresponding to the voice coil motor driving control signal and supplies the generated current to the voice coil motor 30 . accordingly , the magnetic head 16 is moved to a track position of the disk desired to be accessed . and then , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 generates a control signal for reading logical block addresses from an area of the disk written without being reflected on the address map information . namely , under the control of the address map information management processor 430 - 2 , lbas may be read from the sector positions of the disk corresponding to the virtual addresses 0 to 13 of the virtual band number 5 , the virtual addresses 0 to 8 of the virtual band number 6 , and the virtual addresses 102 to 106 of the virtual band number 3 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 adds the virtual address mapping information corresponding to the read logical block addresses to the address map information stored in the ram 470 . for example , when the lbas as shown in fig3 is read from the sectors of the disk corresponding to the virtual addresses 0 to 13 of the virtual band number 5 , va mapping information corresponding to the lbas as shown in fig3 is generated and added to the address map information regarding the virtual band number 5 stored in the ram 470 . with reference to fig3 , lbas 75 to 86 are mapped to 12 continuous sectors including va 0 and lbas 101 and 102 are mapped to two continuous sectors including va 12 . and , when the lbas as shown in fig3 are read from the sectors of the disk corresponding to the virtual addresses 0 to 6 of the virtual band number 6 , the va mapping information corresponding to the lbas as shown in fig3 are generated and added to address map information regarding the virtual band number 6 stored in the ram 470 . with reference to fig3 , lbas 3050 to 3058 are mapped to nine continuous sectors including va 0 . and then , when address map information as mapping information of the vas corresponding to lbas with respect to the virtual band number 3 loaded to the ram 470 is as shown in fig3 , an allocation relationship of the lbas to the vas in the virtual band number 3 may be represented as shown in fig3 . when lbas read from sectors corresponding to virtual addresses 102 to 106 of the virtual band number 3 illustrated in fig3 according to address map change information are 3511 to 3515 , ( 3511 , 5 , 102 ) is added to the address map information including ( lba , scn , va ) with respect to the virtual band number 3 . accordingly , the address map information as shown in fig3 with respect to the virtual band number 3 loaded to the ram 470 is updated to the address map information as shown in fig3 . the address map information management processor 430 - 2 stores the updated address map information stored in the ram 470 to the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 480 . and then , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 executes process of deleting the address map change information stored in the ram 470 and the nonvolatile memory device 490 . in this manner , even when power is abnormally cut off , the address map information management processor 430 - 2 may restore the address map information by using the address map change information . with reference back to fig1 , the address conversion processor 430 - 3 performs a process of converting an lba designated by a received command into physical location information of the storage medium by using a virtual band and a virtual address . a detailed configuration of the address conversion processor 430 - 3 is illustrated in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the address conversion processor 430 - 3 may include a first processor 430 - 3 a , a second processor 430 - 3 b , and a third processor 430 - 3 c . the second processor 430 - 3 b and the third processor 430 - 3 c may be designed to be integrated into a single processor 430 - 3 b ′. obviously , though not shown in the drawings , the first processor 430 - 3 a and the second processor 430 - 3 b also may be designed to be integrated into a single processor . the first processor 430 - 3 a performs the operation of extracting an lba designated by a received command . the second processor 430 - 3 b performs the operation of converting the lba extracted by the first processor 430 - 3 a into a virtual address . that is , the second processor 430 - 3 b performs the operation of searching the mapping table 470 - 1 and converting the lba into a virtual address . the second processor 430 - 3 b finds out virtual bands and virtual addresses corresponding to the lba designated by a read command by using address map information stored in the ram 470 . the second processor 430 - 3 b allocates the virtual bands and the virtual addresses corresponding to the lba designated by the write command as follows . as shown in fig1 , the second processor 430 - 3 a may include a free queue 131 , an allocation queue 132 , and a garbage queue 133 . the second processor 430 - 3 b converts an lba designated by a command into a virtual address by using the free queue 131 , the allocation queue 132 , and the garbage queue 133 . the second processor 430 - 3 b stores information about the virtual bands not assigned to a logical band in the free queue 131 in an order complying with a prescribed rule . the free queue 13 is means that stores information about virtual bands that can be allocated to a logical band in response to a command and is on standby for selection . the free queue 131 may store classified information about virtual bands that can be allocated to a logical band for each virtual zone or each physical zone . the second processor 430 - 3 b stores information about virtual bands allocated to a logical band in the allocation queue 132 . specifically , if the virtual bands allocated to a logical band including an lba designated by a command do not exist in the mapping table 470 - 1 or all virtual addresses are already allocated and consumed for the virtual bands allocated to the logical band including the lba designated by the command , the second processor 430 - 3 b selects a virtual band on standby in the free queue 131 , and allocates the virtual band to the logical band including the lba designated by the command and moves it to the allocation queue 132 . next , the second processor 430 - 3 b allocates a virtual address corresponding to the lba designated by the command based on the virtual band allocated to the logical band stored in the allocation queue 132 . concretely , if a new virtual address is allocated to the logical band including the lba designated by the command and stored in the allocation queue 132 , the second processor 430 - 3 b allocates the newly allocated virtual address corresponding to the first sector of the logical band to the lba designated by the command . if a virtual band already allocated to the logical band including the lba designated by the command exits in the allocation queue 132 , the second processor 430 - 3 b allocates a virtual address not allocated for the virtual band to the lba designated by the command . for example , a virtual address of the sector right next to the last accessed sector in the virtual band can be allocated to the lba designated by the command . the second processor 430 - 3 b selects a virtual band , whose number of virtual addresses invalidated because of data update exceeds a threshold value , from among the virtual bands allocated to the logical band , and moves it to the garbage queue 133 ( p 2 ). for example , if the number of virtual bands stored in the free queue 1601 is less than the initially set minimum value , the second processor 430 - 3 b performs a garbage collection process . that is , the second processor 430 - 3 b reads data stored in the sectors of valid virtual addresses from the virtual bands stored in the garbage queue 133 , and executes rewriting to a newly allocated virtual address designated by a virtual band . the second processor 430 - 3 b moves information about the virtual band that has executed rewriting , among the virtual bands stored in the garbage queue 133 , to the free queue 131 ( p 3 ). next , the third processor 430 - 3 c controls the storage device to convert the virtual address converted in the second processor 430 - 3 b into a physical address of the disk and access the storage medium in accordance with the converted physical address . that is , the third processor 430 - 3 c generates a voice coil motor driving control signal for converting the virtual address into cylinder head sector ( chs ) information representing the physical location of the disk and accessing the disk based on the converted chs information . referring to fig4 , when the voice coil motor driving control signal generated by the third processor 430 - 3 c is applied to the vcm driver 440 , the vcm driver 440 generates a voice coil motor driving current corresponding to the voice coil motor driving control signal and supplies it to the voice coil motor 30 . therefore , the magnetic head 16 is moved to a track position of the disk desired to be accessed , and performs a data write or read operation corresponding to a command . next , a storage medium accessing method according to an embodiment of the inventive concept executed under the control of the processor 110 shown in fig1 or the processor 430 shown in fig4 will be described with reference to the flow chart of fig1 . the processor 110 determines whether or not abnormal power off occurs in the storage device ( s 101 ). for example , when a power voltage is dropped to below a threshold value in a state in which a power off control signal is not generated , the processor 110 may determine that abnormal power off has occurred . a specific embodiment of determining abnormal power off is illustrated in fig1 . a process of determining whether or not abnormal power off occurs will be described with reference to fig1 . the processor 110 determines whether or not the storage device is in a power on mode ( s 201 ). the power on mode is a mode in which power is supplied to the storage device , and when once the storage device is changed to the power on mode , the power on mode is continuously maintained unless a command such as system termination , or the like , is generated . in the power on mode , a power off control signal is not generated unless a command such as system termination , or the like , is not generated . the processor 110 monitors the voltage vd of the power while the storage device is maintained in the power on mode ( s 202 ). the processor 110 compares the voltage vd of the monitored supply power and a threshold voltage vth ( s 203 ). here , the threshold voltage vth may be set as a value obtained by adding a marginal voltage to a minimum voltage with which the processor 110 is normally operated . obviously , the threshold voltage vth is set to be lower than a normal power voltage . when the processor 110 compares the voltage vd of the monitored supplied power with the threshold voltage vth ( s 203 ). here , the threshold voltage vth may be set to have a value obtained by adding a certain margin voltage to a minimum voltage with which the processor 110 can normally operate . obviously , the threshold voltage vth is set to be lower than the normal power voltage . when the monitored power voltage vd is lower than the threshold voltage vth , the processor 110 determines an abnormal power off state ( s 204 ). in this manner , a state in which power is abnormally turned off can be determined . with reference back to fig1 , when abnormal power off occurs according to the determination results in step s 101 , the processor 110 stores the address map change information generated in the storage device in the nonvolatile storage device 170 by using reserved power ( s 102 ). here , the address map change information is generated whenever a write command is executed and stored in the ram 130 as a volatile storage device . the address map change information is information related to a position of data written in the storage medium 150 without being reflected in the address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 . the address map change information 470 - 2 may be configured to include a logical band number , a virtual band number , and information regarding a finally accessed virtual address . namely , the address map change information may be configured by a logical band number with respect to data written to the storage medium 150 without being reflected on the address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 , a virtual band number vb no allocated to a corresponding logical band , and a virtual address la va finally accessed in a virtual band allocated to the corresponding logical band . for example , the address map change information may be generated in the manner as described above with reference to fig2 a , 29 b , and 31 . next , when power is supplied to the storage device again , the processor 110 performs of processing to update address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 ( s 103 ). an operation of performing processing of updating address map information based on the address map change information will be described in detail with reference to fig1 . it is determined whether or not the storage device is in a power on mode in which power is supplied ( s 301 ). namely , the processor 110 determines whether or not the storage device transitions to a power on state from a power off state . when the storage device transitions to a power on state according to the determination results in step s 301 , the processor 110 reads address map information from the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 and stores it in the ram 130 ( s 302 ). next , the processor 110 determines whether or not the address map change information has been stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 ( s 303 ). when the storage device is abnormally turned off before transitioning to the power on state , the address map change information may be stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 . if the storage device is normally turned off according to a power off control signal without experiencing an abnormal power off occurrence before transitioning to the power on state , the address map change information is not stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 . when the address map change information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device 170 according to the determination results in step s 303 , the processor 110 reads the address map change information and the address map information ( s 304 ). namely , the processor 110 reads the address map change information from the nonvolatile memory device 170 and stores it in the ram 130 . next , the processor 110 performs a process of reconfiguring the address map information ( s 305 ). namely , the processor 110 performs a process of adding mapping information regarding a position of data written on the storage medium 150 without being reflected on the address map information stored in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 to the address map information based on the address map change information . the process of reconfiguring the address map information in step s 305 will be described in detail with reference to fig2 . first , the processor 110 performs a process of reconfiguring a virtual band mapped to a logical band in the address map information based on the address map change information ( s 401 ). in detail , the processor 110 newly allocates a virtual band number not present in the address map information among virtual band numbers included in the address map change information to the address map information . for example , it is assumed that address map information indicating an allocation relationship between the logical bands and the virtual bands is as shown in fig2 and the address map change information is as shown in fig3 . then , among the virtual band numbers 5 , 6 , 3 included in the address map change information illustrated in fig3 , the virtual band number 3 exists in the address map information illustrated in fig2 but the virtual band numbers 5 and 6 do not exist . thus , the processor 110 newly allocates the virtual band numbers 5 and 6 . next , the processor 110 performs a process of reconfiguring va mapping information corresponding to the lbas in the address map information based on the address map change information ( s 402 ). namely , the processor 110 performs a process of adding the mapping information of the vas and lbas corresponding to the written sectors in the storage medium 150 without being reflected on the address map information to the address map information . a process of reconfiguring the va mapping information corresponding to the lbas in the address map information will be described in detail . the processor 110 calculates a storage area of data written in the storage medium 150 without being reflected on the address map information ( s 501 ). namely , the processor 110 calculates an area of the storage medium corresponding to a difference between a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band included in the address map change information and a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band included in the corresponding address map information . in detail , regarding a virtual band of the virtual band number newly allocated to the address map information among the virtual band numbers included in the address map change information , the processor 110 calculates an area of the disk corresponding to a section starting from a virtual start address with respect to the corresponding virtual band to a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number included in the address map change information . with respect to a virtual band included in the address map change information in which a virtual band number is not newly allocated to the address map information , the processor 110 calculates a disk area corresponding a section from an immediately next virtual address of a finally accessed virtual address read from the address map information to a finally accessed virtual address read from the address map change information . next , the processor 110 reads lbas from the data storage area calculated in step s 501 ( s 502 ). namely , the processor 110 reads lbas from the sectors of the area of the storage medium 150 written without being reflected on the address map information . as described above , data and corresponding lbas are written in each sector of the storage medium 150 when a write operation is performed . next , the va mapping information corresponding to the lbas read in step s 502 is added to the address map information ( s 503 ). for example , for example , when the lbas as shown in fig3 is read from the sectors of the storage medium 150 corresponding to the virtual addresses 0 to 13 of the virtual band number 5 in step s 502 , the processor 110 generates va mapping information corresponding to the lbas as shown in fig3 and adds it to the address map information regarding the virtual band number 5 stored in the ram 130 . with reference to fig3 , lbas 75 to 86 are mapped to 12 continuous sectors including va 0 and lbas 101 and 102 are mapped to two continuous sectors including va 12 . through the operation according to the flow charts of fig2 and 21 as described above , the step s 305 of reconfiguring the address map information illustrated in fig1 may be performed . with reference back to fig1 , after reconfiguring the address map information in step s 305 , the processor 110 stores the reconfigured address map information in the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 ( s 306 ). and then , the processor 110 deletes the address map change information stored in the ram 130 and the nonvolatile memory device 170 ( s 307 ). namely , the processor 110 performs an operation of deleting the address map change information stored in the ram 130 and the nonvolatile memory device 170 . through such an operation , the address map information can be updated based on the address map change information . next , an access method in a disk drive according to an embodiment of the present invention of the technical concept of the present invention executed under the control of the processor 430 will be descried with reference to fig2 . the processor 430 controls the disk drive to write data and lbas on the disk 12 based on a write command received through the host interface 480 ( s 601 ). namely , the processor 430 converts the lbas designated by the write command into physical addresses of the disk 12 by using the address map information stored in the ram 470 and write the data and the lbas in sectors corresponding to the converted physical addresses . an operation of performing a write process will be described in detail with reference to the flow chart illustrated in fig2 . the processor 430 determines a logical band ( lb ) corresponding to lbas designated by a received write command ( s 701 ). in detail , the processor 430 determines a logical band corresponding to the lbas designated by the write command received as logical band numbers including lbas designated by the received write command . for example , when a logical band number 0 is allocated to lbas 0 to 999 and lbas designated by a write command is 75 , a logical band corresponding to the lbas designated by the write command is determined to be a logical band number 0 . the processor 430 determines whether or not a virtual band allocated to the logical band determined in step s 701 exists ( s 702 ). in detail , the processor 430 searches the address map information 470 - 1 stored in the ram 470 and determines whether or not a virtual band allocated to the determined logical bands already exists in step s 701 . when there is a virtual band allocated to the logical band determined in step s 701 according to the determination results in step s 702 , the processor 430 determines whether or not allocation - available virtual addresses vas exist in the allocated virtual band ( s 703 ). namely , the processor 430 determines whether or not virtual addresses that can be allocated in the allocated virtual band have been all used up . when a finally accessed virtual address in the allocated virtual band is a virtual address corresponding to a final sector included in the virtual band , the processor 430 determines that all the virtual addresses have been used up . for example , in a state in which the size of the virtual band is set to have 200 sectors and start virtual addresses are set to be 0 to 199 , when a finally accessed virtual address is 199 , the processor 430 may determine that the virtual addresses in the corresponding virtual band have been all used up . when there is no virtual band allocated to the logical band determined in step s 701 according to the determination results in step s 702 or when there is no virtual address which can be allocated to the allocated virtual band , the processor 430 allocates a new virtual band to the logical band determined in step s 701 based on a physical zone ( s 704 ). namely , among virtual bands included in a physical zone corresponding to the logical zone including the lbas designated by the command , the processor 430 may allocate a virtual band not allocated to a different logical band to the logical band including the lbas designated by the command . next , the processor 430 allocates virtual addresses vas corresponding to the lbas designated by the command based on the allocated virtual band ( s 705 ). in detail , when a new virtual address is allocated in step s 704 , the processor 430 may allocate a start virtual address indicating a first virtual sector which has been newly allocated to the lba designated by the command . when there are virtual addresses that can be allocated to the lbas in the virtual band already allocated to the logical band , the processor 430 may allocate a next virtual address subsequent to the finally accessed virtual address to the lba designated by the command . next , the processor 430 converts the virtual addresses allocated in step s 705 into chs ( cylinder head sector ) information corresponding to physical access position information of the disk 12 ( s 706 ). next , the processor 430 executes a seek operation based on the chs information corresponding to the physical access position information converted in step s 706 ( s 707 ). in detail , the processor 430 generates a voice coil motor driving control signal for moving the magnetic head 16 to a target track position of the disk 12 according to the converted chs information . with reference to fig4 , when the generated voice coil motor driving control signal is applied to the vcm driving unit 440 , the vcm driving unit 440 generates a voice coil motor driving current corresponding to the voice coil motor driving control signal and supplies the same to the voice coil motor 30 . accordingly , the magnetic head 16 is moved to the track and sector position of the disk desired to be accessed . after finishing the seek operation in step s 707 , the processor 430 performs an operation of writing data and lbas in the sector position corresponding to the vas of the disk ( s 708 ). as described above , the processor 430 controls the disk drive to write data in the data storage region of the sector and write lbas in a spare area of the sector . according to this operation , the write process is performed in the disk drive . with reference back to fig2 , after the write process is performed in step s 601 , the processor 430 generates address map change information ( s 602 ). the address map change information is information related to a position of data written in the disk 12 without being reflected on the address map information stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . the address map change information may be configured to include information regarding a logical band number , a virtual band number , and a finally accessed virtual address . namely , the address map change information may be configured to include a logical band number lb no , a virtual band number vb no allocated to the corresponding logical band , and a finally accessed virtual address la va in the virtual band allocated to the corresponding logical band , which are written in the disk 12 without being reflected on the address map information stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 . for example , after the address map information including the logical bands and the virtual bands as illustrated in fig2 a are stored to the ram 470 from the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 , when it is changed to the address map information including the logical bands and virtual bands as shown in fig2 b according to performing of a write command , the address map change information may be generated in the form as shown in fig3 . the processor 430 stores the address map change information generated in step s 602 in the ram 470 as a nonvolatile memory device ( s 603 ). after performing the step s 603 , the processor 430 determines whether or not abnormal power off occurs in the disk drive while waiting for receiving a next command ( s 604 ). when the voltage of power applied to the disk drive is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which a power off control signal is not generated , the processor 430 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . namely , when the voltage of power output from the power supply device 500 is dropped to below the threshold voltage in a power on mode , the processor 430 determines that abnormal power off has occurred . when abnormal power off has occurred in the disk drive according to the determination results in step s 604 , the processor 430 reads the address map change information stored in the ram 470 and stores it in the nonvolatile memory device 490 by using reserved power ( s 605 ). after the abnormal power off occurs in the disk drive , when power is normally supplied to the disk drive again , the processor 430 updates the address map information stored in the disk 12 or the nonvolatile memory device 490 of the disk drive based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device 490 ( s 606 ). the method of updating address map information based on the address map change information has been described in detail with reference to fig2 and 21 , so a repetitive description thereof will be omitted . next , a method for managing address map information according to another embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention executed under the control of the processor 110 illustrated in fig1 or the processor 430 illustrated in fig4 will be described with reference to the flow chart of fig2 . the processor 110 determines whether or not the address map change information is stored in a full state in an address map change information list allocated to the ram 130 ( s 801 ). here , the full state refers to a state in which address map change information cannot be added to the address map change information list any further . for reference , three address map change information items including ( lbno , vb no , and la va ) are proposed in fig3 . in case in which the size of the address map change information list is designed to store ten address map change information items , when ten address map change information items are stored in the address map change information list , it becomes a full state . the size of the address map change information may be determined within a size in which the address map change information can be stored in the nonvolatile storage device 170 by reserved power when power is abnormally cut off . when the address map change information stored in the ram 130 reaches a full state according to the determination results in step s 801 , the processor 110 stores the address map information stored in the ram 130 to the storage medium 150 or the nonvolatile memory device 170 ( s 802 ). when the storage device is a disk drive , the storage medium 150 may be a disk . after performing step s 802 , the processor 430 deletes the address map change information stored in the ram 130 ( s 803 ). a method of managing address map information through a network according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention will be described . first , a network system performing a method for managing address map information regarding a storage device through a network will be described with reference to fig4 . as shown in fig4 , the network system according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention includes a program providing terminal 510 , a network 520 , a host pc 530 , and a storage device 540 . the network 520 may be implemented as a communication network such as the internet . obviously , the network 520 may be implemented as a wireless communication network as well as as a wire communication network . the program providing terminal 510 stores a program for managing address map information according to the technical concept of the present invention illustrated in fig1 to 24 . the program providing terminal 510 performs a process of transmitting a program for managing address map information according to a program transmission request from the host pc 530 connected through the network 520 . the host pc 530 includes hardware and software for performing accessing the program providing terminal 510 through the network 520 , requesting a transmission of a program for managing address map information , and downloading the requested program for managing address map information from the program providing terminal 510 . the host pc 530 may execute the method for managing address map information according to the technical concept of the present invention in the storage device 540 based on the flow charts illustrated in fig1 to 24 according to the program for managing address map information downloaded from the program providing terminal 510 . a method for managing address map information through a network according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of fig4 . first , the host pc 530 using the storage device 540 such as a disk drive , or the like , accesses the program providing terminal 510 through the network 520 ( s 901 ). after accessing the program providing terminal 510 , the host pc 530 transmits information requesting a transmission of the program for managing an address map information to the program providing terminal 510 ( s 902 ). then , the program providing terminal 510 transmits the requested program for managing address map information to the host pc 530 , so that the host pc 530 can download the program for managing address map information ( s 903 ). and then , the host pc 530 processes to execute the downloaded program for managing address map information in the storage device ( s 904 ). by executing the program for managing address map information in the storage device , when abnormal power off occurs in the storage device , the address map change information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device by using reserved power and address map information regarding the storage device may be updated by using the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . one embodiment may be a method for managing address map information , the method comprising : when abnormal power off occurs in a storage device , storing address map change information generated in the storage device in a nonvolatile memory device ; and when power is applied to the storage device , updating address map information with respect to the storage device based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address received from a host device into a physical address of a storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address received from a host device into a physical address of a storage medium by using a virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address received from a host device into a physical address of a storage medium such that it is sequentially written in one direction in a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes mapping information between a logical band classified as an aggregate of logical block addresses and a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of a storage medium and mapping information between a logical block address in a virtual band allocated to a logical band and a virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes information regarding a position of data written without being reflected in the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes a logical band number , a virtual band number , and a finally accessed virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes a logical band number with respect to data written without being reflected in the address map information , a virtual band number allocated to the logical band , and a virtual address finally accessed in the virtual band allocated to the logical band . an embodiment may also include wherein when a power source voltage is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which power off control signal is not generated in the storage device , it is determined that abnormal power off has occurred . an embodiment may also include wherein the nonvolatile memory device includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device . the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device can include a nand flash memory device or a nor flash memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information generated in the storage device is stored in a volatile memory device while power is being normally supplied . an embodiment may also include wherein , in the updating of the address map information , the address map information is reconfigured based on a logical block address read from an area in which data and a corresponding logical block address are written without being reflected in the address map information by using the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the updating of the address map information comprises : reading the address map information and the address map change information when power is applied to the storage device ; reconfiguring the address map information based on the address map change information ; and storing the reconfigured address map information in the storage device . the address map information may be read from the nonvolatile memory device or the storage medium constituting the storage device , and the address map change information may be read from the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the reconfiguring of the address map information comprises : newly allocating a virtual band number not present in the address map information among virtual band numbers included in the address map change information to the address map information ; reading a logical block address from an area of the storage medium corresponding to a difference between a virtual address finally accessed in the virtual band included in the address map change information and a virtual address finally accessed in a virtual band included in the address map information corresponding thereto ; and adding mapping information of the virtual address corresponding to the read logical block address to the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein , in the reading of the logical block address , the logical block address is read from an area of the storage medium corresponding to a section starting from a start virtual address with respect to the virtual band of the newly allocated virtual band number to a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number included in the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein , in the reading of the logical block address , regarding a virtual band included in the address map change information to which the virtual band number is not newly allocated , the logical block address is read from an area of the storage medium corresponding to a section starting from an immediately next virtual address of the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map information to the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein the logical block address is read from a logical block address storage area allocated to the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the logical block address storage area is allocated in units of areas designated by a physical address . an embodiment may also include wherein the physical address is allocated in units of sectors . an embodiment may also include wherein a logical block address corresponding to data written in a sector area while a write operation is being performed is written in the logical block address storage area . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device or the storage medium of the storage device . an embodiment may also include wherein the storage device includes a disk drive , and the address map information is stored in a disk of the disk drive . an embodiment may also include deleting the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device after the address map information is updated . an embodiment may also include wherein when abnormal power off occurs in the storage device , the address map change information stored in the volatile memory device is read by using reserved power and stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the reserved power includes power supplied by a voltage charged by a charging element . an embodiment may also include further comprising : when the address map change information is stored in a full state in an initially set address map change information list , reading the address map information stored in the volatile memory device and storing the read address map information in the nonvolatile memory device of the storage medium of the storage device ; and deleting the address map change information stored in the volatile memory device after the address map information is stored in the nonvolatile memory device of the storage medium of the storage device , wherein the address map information regarding the storage device is stored in the volatile memory device when the storage device is initialized , and the address map information stored in the volatile memory device is updated whenever the address map change information is generated . another embodiment may be an access method in a disk drive , the method comprising : converting a logical block address designated in a command into a physical address of a disk based on address map information ; accessing the converted physical address position of the disk and executing a data write operation ; generating address map change information based on the data write operation ; and when abnormal power off occurs in a disk drive , storing the generated address map change information in a nonvolatile memory device , wherein when power is applied to the disk drive , a process of updating the address map information is executed based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein when the disk drive is initialized , the address map information is read from the disk and stored in a volatile memory device , and the logical block address designated in the command is converted into a physical address of the disk based on the address map information stored in the volatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information is stored in the disk or the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address received from a host device into a physical address of the disk by using a virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address received from the host device into a physical address of the disk such that it is sequentially written in any one direction of an inner circumferential direction and an outer circumferential direction in a track included in a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the disk . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes mapping information between a logical band classified as an aggregate of logical block addresses and a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the disk and mapping information between a logical block address in a virtual band allocated to a logical band and a virtual address corresponding to a sector . an embodiment may also include wherein data and a logical block address corresponding thereto are written to the disk when the data write operation is executed . an embodiment may also include wherein the logical block address is written by data sector of the disk . an embodiment may also include wherein when a voltage of a power source applied from the disk drive is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which power off control signal is not generated in the disk drive , it is determined that abnormal power off has occurred . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes information regarding a position of data written in the disk without being reflected in the address map information stored in the disk or the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes a logical band number , a virtual band number , and a finally accessed virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes a logical band number with respect to data written in the disk without being reflected in the address map information stored in the disk or the nonvolatile memory device , a virtual band number allocated to the logical band , and a virtual address finally accessed in the virtual band allocated to the logical band . an embodiment may also include wherein a process of updating the address map information comprises : reading the address map information and the address map change information when power is applied to the disk drive ; reconfiguring the address map information based on the address map change information ; and storing the reconfigured address map information in the disk drive . an embodiment may also include wherein , in the reconfiguring of the address map information , a virtual band number not present in the address map information among virtual band numbers included in the address map change information is newly allocated to the address map information based on the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein the updating of the address map information comprises : moving a magnetic head to a first area of the disk in which data and a logical block address corresponding thereto are written without being reflected in the address map information by using the address map change information ; reading the logical block address from the first area ; and adding virtual address mapping information corresponding to the logical block address read from the first area to the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the first area of the disk is determined based on a difference between a finally access virtual address in a virtual band included in the address map change information and a finally accessed virtual address in a virtual band included in the address map information corresponding thereto . an embodiment may also include wherein the first area includes an area of the disk corresponding to a section starting from a start virtual address with respect to the virtual band of the newly allocated virtual band number based on the address map change information to a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number included in the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein , regarding a virtual band included in the address map change information to which the virtual band number is not newly allocated , the first area includes an area of the disk corresponding to a section starting from an immediately next virtual address of the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map information to the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein the process of updating the address map information further comprises : deleting the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device after the step of executing the reconfigured address map information in the disk drive is executed . another embodiment may be a storage device comprising : a storage medium ; a storage media interface accessing the storage medium to write data or read data , a volatile memory device ; a nonvolatile memory device ; and a processor controlling the storage medium interface to write data to the storage medium or read data from the storage medium , wherein the processor stores address map change information generated based on a data writing operation in the volatile memory device , reads the address map change information from the volatile memory device and stores the read address map change information in the nonvolatile memory device by using reserved power in case in which abnormal power off occurs , and performs an operation of updating address map information based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein when a voltage of a power source applied to the storage device is dropped to below a threshold voltage in a state in which power off control signal is not generated , the processor determines that abnormal power off has occurred . an embodiment may also include further comprising : a power supply device supplying reserved power to the storage device when abnormal power off occurs . an embodiment may also include wherein the power supply device comprises : a reserved power charging unit charging supplied power to a charging element ; and a power distribution unit supplying power charged in the reserved power charging unit to the storage device when abnormal power off occurs . an embodiment may also include wherein when abnormal power off occurs , the power distribution unit supplies power charged in the reserved power charging unit to the processor , the volatile memory device , and the nonvolatile memory device constituting the storage device . an embodiment may also include wherein the reserved power charging unit further comprises : a circuit for charging a counter electromotive force generated from a motor rotating by inertia in a state in which abnormal power off occurs to the charging element . an embodiment may also include wherein when the storage device is initialized , the processor stores address map information stored in the storage medium to the volatile memory device , and update the address map information stored in the volatile memory device based on a write operation . an embodiment may also include wherein when the address map change information is stored in a full state in an initially set address map change information list , the processor reads the address map information stored in the volatile memory device and writes the read address map information to the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information is written to the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor reads the address map information stored in the volatile memory device , writes the read address map information to the storage medium , and then , deletes the address map change information stored in the volatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address into a physical address of the storage medium by using a virtual address . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes information for converting a logical block address designated by a command into a physical address of the storage medium such that it is sequentially written in any one of an inner circumferential direction and an outer circumferential direction in a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map information includes mapping information between a logical band classified as an aggregate of logical block addresses and a virtual band corresponding to a physical area of the storage medium and mapping information between a logical block address in a virtual band allocated to a logical band and a virtual address corresponding to a sector . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor controls the storage medium interface to write data and a logical block address corresponding thereto to the storage medium when the data write operation is executed . an embodiment may also include wherein a data storage area and a logical block address storage area are allocated in units of sectors to the storage medium . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes information regarding a position of data written in the storage medium without being reflected in the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes a logical band number with respect to data written in the storage medium without being reflected in the address map information , a virtual band number allocated to the logical band , and a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band allocated to the logical band . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor performs an address map information updating process of accessing a first area of the storage medium written without being reflected in the address map information by using the address map change information read from the nonvolatile memory device when power is applied to the storage device , and adding virtual address mapping information corresponding to a logical block address read from the first area to the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor determines the first area based on a difference between a finally accessed virtual address in a virtual band included in the address map change information and a finally accessed virtual address in a virtual band included in the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor includes an area of the storage medium corresponding to a section starting from a start virtual address with respect to a virtual band of a newly allocated virtual band number based on the address map change information to a finally accessed virtual address in the virtual band number included in the address map change information , in the first area . an embodiment may also include wherein , regarding a virtual band included in the address map change information to which the virtual band number is not newly allocated , the processor includes an area of the storage medium corresponding to a section starting from an immediately next virtual address of the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map information to the finally accessed virtual address read from the address map change information , in the first area . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor executes an address map information updating process of newly allocating a virtual band number not present in the address map information among virtual band numbers included in the address map change information to the address map information based on the address map change information . an embodiment may also include wherein the processor performs processing of deleting the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory after performing the operation of updating the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein the storage device includes a disk drive . an embodiment may also be a computer system comprising : a host device issuing a command for operating a connected storage device ; and a storage device for writing data transmitted from the host device in a storage medium or reading data from the storage medium and transmitting the data to the host device based on the command issued from the host device , wherein when supplied power is abnormally cut off , the storage device stores generated address map change information based on a data write operation in a nonvolatile memory device by using reserved power , and updates address map information with respect to the storage device based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device . an embodiment may also include wherein the storage device writes data and a logical block address corresponding thereto in a storage medium when a data write operation is executed . an embodiment may also include wherein the address map change information includes information regarding a position of data written in a storage medium of the storage device without being reflected on the address map information . an embodiment may also include wherein , when power is applied , the storage device executes an address map information updating process of accessing a first area of the storage medium written without being reflected on the address map information by using the address map change information read from the nonvolatile memory device and adding virtual address mapping information corresponding to a logical block address read from the first area to the address map information . another embodiment may be a method for managing address map information through a network , the method comprising : downloading a program for managing address map information with respect to a storage device from a terminal connected to the network ; and executing the downloaded program for managing address map information with respect to the storage device , wherein the program for managing address map information with respect to the storage device includes a program code for performing a process of storing address map change information generated in the storage device to a nonvolatile memory device when power is abnormally cut off , and a process of updating address map information with respect to the storage device based on the address map change information stored in the nonvolatile memory device when power is applied to the storage device . another embodiment may be a computer - readable storage medium storing a program code for executing a method described herein in a computer . the present invention can be applicable to storage devices using various write methods as well as to a disk drive using the shingled write method . the present invention can be realized as a method , an apparatus , a system and so on . when the present invention is realized as software , the members of the present invention are code segments which execute necessary operations . programs or code segments may be stored in a processor readable medium . the processor readable medium may be any medium which can store or transmit information , such as an electronic circuit , a semiconductor memory device , a rom , a flash memory , an erom ( erasable rom ), a floppy disc , an optical disc , a hard disc , or the like . although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it is obvious that the present invention is not restricted to the specific structures or arrangements shown or described in this specification . s 102 : store address map change information in nonvolatile memory device s 103 : update address map information based on address map change information stored in nonvolatile memory device s 303 : address map change information is stored in nonvolatile memory device ? s 306 : store reconfigured address map information in storage medium or nonvolatile memory device s 401 : reconfigure virtual band ( vb ) mapped to logical band ( lv ) s 501 : calculate data storage area written without being reflected on address map information s 503 : add va mapping information corresponding to read lba to address map information s 601 : write data and lba in storage medium based on write command s 605 : store address map change information in nonvolatile memory device s 606 : update address map information based on address map change information stored in nonvolatile memory device s 701 : determine lb corresponding to lba designated by write command
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in the following discussion , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced without such specific details . furthermore , lists and / or examples are often provided and should be interpreted as exemplary only and in no way limiting embodiments to only those examples . similarly , in this disclosure , language such as “ could , should , may , might , must , have to , can , would , need to , is , is not ”, etc . and all such similar language shall be considered interchangeable whenever possible such that the scope of the invention is not unduly limited . for example , a comment such as : “ item x is used ” can be interpreted to read “ item x can be used ”. exemplary embodiments are described below in the accompanying figures . the following detailed description provides a comprehensive review of the drawing figures in order to provide a thorough understanding of , and an enabling description for , these embodiments . one having ordinary skill in the art will understand that in some cases well - known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments . referring now to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a left side elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 . the primary components illustrated in fig1 include a vacuum vessel device 400 , a vacuum vessel top portion 410 , a vacuum vessel bottom portion 420 , a sight port 430 , a vacuum relief valve 440 , a plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 , a washout connector 460 , at least one primary outflow drain line 50 , a front wheel 20 , a plurality of rear wheels 30 , and a frontal support and repositioning structure 300 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the vacuum vessel device 400 is shown comprising a vacuum vessel top portion 410 and a vacuum vessel bottom portion 420 . in another embodiment , the vacuum vessel device 400 could be constructed as a single component . in yet another embodiment , the vacuum vessel device 400 could be constructed from multiple sub - components . in any case , the vacuum vessel device 400 is adapted to receive inflowing vapors / liquids and store them until they are drained away via the outflow drain line 50 . the vacuum vessel device 400 can be constructed from any sufficiently strong material that can withstand the various pressures associated with having a vacuum applied thereto as well as the sometimes volatile , caustic , and otherwise reactive properties of the gases / liquids to be held therein . in one embodiment , stainless steel is used to form a curved tank having a low point to which any liquids held therein would naturally flow due to gravity . the vacuum vessel device 400 comprises a plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 that are attached to the vacuum vessel device 400 . in one embodiment , at least one of the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 extends upwards from a top surface of the vacuum vessel device 400 . the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 are adapted to releasably attach to incoming drain lines so as to receive therethrough the last remaining liquids / vapors from a system . an outflow drain line 50 can be attached at the low point 51 on the vacuum vessel device 400 . the outflow drain line 50 has a plurality of attachments 58 that allow it to be connected to a vacuum truck or similar gas / vapor pumping device . in one embodiment the outflow drain line 50 extends outwards and slightly downwards from the vacuum vessel device 400 so that no pooling locations are created therein . in another embodiment one or more additional outflow drain lines 50 are incorporated into the vacuum vapor liquid recovery system . a sight port 430 can be incorporated into the vacuum vessel device 400 . the sight port 430 provides a means for a person to visually inspect the interior of the vacuum vessel device 400 . there are many reasons why this can be desirable , including : determining if anything is entering the vacuum vessel device 400 , determining if materials are exiting , determining the amount of materials in the vacuum vessel device 400 , etc . the sight port 430 can be built with glass , plastic , or any other suitably strong and sufficiently transparent material ( s ). a vacuum relief valve 440 can also be attached to the vacuum vessel device 400 . the vacuum relief valve 440 can serve to automatically relieve a vacuum at a certain level ( or maintain it at that level ), say at three inches of mercury , for example . in other embodiments other levels of vacuum relief valves 440 are contemplated . in yet another embodiment , a user - selectable , variable - setting vacuum relief valve 440 can be employed . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the vacuum relief valve 440 can be a valve that is opened and closed by a ball with a spring . when no vacuum is present , the spring keeps the ball tightly against the seal , effectively closing the valve . however , when a sufficiently strong vacuum is applied , the ball is pushed away from the seal , the spring is actuated and outside air flows through the valve and into the system 10 . in another embodiment , a ball check valve can be used . a ball check valve can be placed in an open position to allow forward flow and in a closed position to block reverse flow . a ball check valve is a check valve in which the closing member , the movable part to block the flow , can be a spherical ball . in some ball check valves , the ball is spring - loaded to help keep it shut . for those designs without a spring , reverse flow is used to move the ball toward the seat and create a seal . the interior surface of the main seats of ball check valves are more or less conically - tapered to guide the ball into the seat and form a positive seal when stopping reverse flow . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , a washout connector 460 is incorporated into the vacuum vessel device 400 . the washout connector 460 is adapted to provide for the attachment of a washout device to the vacuum vessel device 400 . the washout device can spray water , chemicals , cleaners , air , etc . into the vacuum vessel device 400 in order to washout or clean the interior thereof . the vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 illustrated in fig1 includes a front wheel 20 and a plurality of rear wheels 30 . the front wheel is mounted within a frontal support and repositioning structure 300 in the embodiment shown in fig1 . in another embodiment , the front wheel 20 may be replaced by one or more support legs ( see fig3 a and 3b ). in yet another embodiment , the front wheel 20 may comprise two or more front wheels . one or more transport handles can be attached to the vacuum vessel device . the frontal support and repositioning structure 300 illustrated in fig1 comprises a set of components which allows a user to move and position the vacuum vapor liquid recover system 10 and which supports the vacuum vessel device 400 in a usable orientation . the pull handle 310 attaches to the distal end of the handle collar 320 . a handle stand 322 can extend from the handle collar 320 , the stand 322 can be adapted to hold the handle off of the ground when the pull handle 310 is set down by the user of the system . this allows the pull handle 310 to be easily and quickly grasped when needed rather than attempting to retrieve it from the dirt , mud , or other debris . in another embodiment , a simple transport handle is used in place of the handle collar , handle stand and pull handle . extending from the proximal end of the handle collar is a handle neck 326 . the handle neck 326 extends to the wheel fork 340 which surrounds the front wheel 20 and attaches the handle components to the wheel 20 . in an alternate embodiment , the wheel fork 340 utilizes a single arm on one side of the wheel 20 rather than the more common two - arm fork extending on either side of the wheel 20 . in another embodiment the handle neck , handle collar , handle stand , etc . can be replaced by a simple handle attached to the wheel fork 340 . the wheel fork 340 attaches to an axle of the front wheel 20 , allowing the wheel to roll freely as needed and yet provide the user with the leverage to rotate the orientation of the front wheel 20 via the mounting member 350 . the mounting member 350 can similarly comprise a one or two arm fork which rotatably mounts the front wheel 20 to the mounting support 360 . the mounting member 350 is free to rotate within the mounting support 360 such that the front wheel can be oriented in any direction as desired by the user . a lock cap 355 secures the mounting member 350 to the mounting support 360 . the mounting support 360 is attached to a front portion of the vacuum vessel device 400 . the mounting support 360 supports the front of the vacuum vessel device 400 and keeps it oriented correctly such that the low point 51 of the vacuum vessel device 400 remains the low point as the system 10 is repositioned . a handle rest support 370 can be attached to the mounting support 360 . the handle rest support 370 provides a structure against which the handle can be rested when not in use . the handle rest support 370 can also incorporate a handle retention device 380 which can comprise a simple flexible grasping clamp which receives within it the handle and securely holds it in place until swung out therefrom by the user . other types of handle retention means can be utilized in the handle retention device 380 , including magnets , springs , etc . the rear support and repositioning structure 700 illustrated in fig1 comprises a set of components which allows a user to move and position the vacuum vapor liquid recover system 10 and which supports the vacuum vessel device 400 in a usable orientation . in fig1 , the only component of a rear support and repositioning structure 700 that is visible is the rear wheel 30 . see fig2 for an embodiment with two rear wheels 30 and 35 . in other embodiments , the rear support and repositioning structure 700 can comprise one or more transport handles ( see fig3 a , transport handle 495 ) and one or more wheels 30 . in yet another embodiment , the rear support and repositioning structure 700 can comprise a plurality of transport handles 495 and a plurality of support legs 27 ( see fig3 a ). the pull handle 310 attaches to the distal end of the handle collar 320 . a handle stand 322 can extend from the handle collar 320 , the stand 322 can be adapted to hold the handle off of the ground when the pull handle 310 is set down by the user of the system . this allows the pull handle 310 to be easily and quickly grasped when needed rather than attempting to retrieve it from the dirt , mud , or other debris . in another embodiment , a simple handle is used in place of the handle collar , handle stand and pull handle . in order to employ the vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 , a user manipulates the frontal support and repositioning structure 300 in order to reposition the system 10 in proximity to one or more drain pipes . the user then attaches one or more drain hoses to the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 on the system 10 and opens the valves to let material flow down the drain hoses and into the system 10 . a vacuum truck or similar recovery equipment can be connected to the plurality of attachments 58 on the outflow drain line 50 in order to induce a vacuum within the system 10 and assist the flow of materials down the drain hoses and into the system 10 . once the drain pipes are emptied , the valves on the drain hoses / pipes can be closed , the drain hoses can be disconnected from the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 and the vacuum vessel device 400 can be completely emptied into the vacuum truck . the user then again manipulates the frontal support and repositioning structure 300 in order to reposition the system 10 into storage or into position for its next use . fig2 illustrates a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 . the vacuum vessel device 400 is illustrated as are the components of one embodiment of the frontal support and repositioning structure 300 and the rear wheels 30 and 35 . the sight port 430 is seen from above such that the viewing port 436 itself is visible . the viewing port 436 comprises the glass , plastic or similarly transparent material which allows the user to view the interior of the vacuum vessel device 400 and any contents therein . since the viewing port 436 can be transparent , the interior cavity inside the vacuum vessel device 400 is visible . in other embodiments , non - transparent viewing ports 436 are contemplated , including translucent and opaque . surrounding the viewing port 436 is a plurality of port attachment means 432 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , the port attachment means 432 comprise a plurality of bolts that secure the sight port 430 to the vacuum vessel device 400 . a portion of the outflow drain line 50 is shown extending from the rear of the system 10 . the plurality of attachments 58 is illustrated as is the shut - off valve 56 . as discussed above , the plurality of attachments 58 is adapted to allow the system 10 to be connected to a vacuum truck or other gas / vapor pumping / recovery devices . the shut - off valve 56 can be extremely useful as way to maintain a vacuum or partial vacuum within the system 10 as well as to ensure no liquids / vapors escape the system when not attached to the vacuum truck . additionally , the shut - off valve 56 helps to ensure foreign bodies ( rodents , insects , etc .) can not enter the system 10 unexpectedly . fig3 a illustrates a left side elevation view of another exemplary embodiment of a vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 utilizing transport handles 493 and 495 and support legs 26 . the transport handles 493 and 495 can replace ( as shown in fig3 a ) or supplement the frontal support and repositioning structure 300 ( see fig1 and 2 ). although only one support leg 26 is visible in fig3 a , one or more additional support legs can be added to help maintain the stability of the vacuum vessel device 400 . depending on the overall size of the vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 , one , two , or more people may be required in order to lift and reposition the system 10 using the transport handles 493 and 495 . additionally , for particularly large and / or heavy embodiments of the system 10 , the transport handles 493 and 495 can be adapted such that a forklift , tractor , or other equipment can grasp the handles and lift / reposition the system 10 . fig3 b illustrates a left side elevation view of yet another exemplary embodiment of a vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 utilizing transport handles 493 and 495 and support legs 26 and 27 . in the view illustrated in fig3 b , support legs 26 and 27 have replaced the front and rear wheels of the embodiments illustrated in fig1 and 2 . although only two support legs 26 and 27 are visible in fig3 b , additional support legs can be utilized in order to ensure the vacuum vessel device 400 is fully supported . fig4 illustrates a side elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 placed in an environment in which it could be employed . here , a process tower 600 is shown with a process tower drain hose 12 connected thereto . the drain hose 12 is connected to one of the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 on the system 10 . a second drain hose 14 is illustrated as being connected to the system 10 and also to a low point drain for process piping 800 near the pump 700 . the vacuum truck 500 is illustrated as being attached to the outflow drain line 50 of the system 10 via an outflow drain hose 16 . when the vacuum truck 500 is activated , it draws a vacuum in the outflow drain line 50 and when the shut - off valve 56 ( not visible in fig4 , see fig2 ) is opened on the drain line 50 , the vacuum extends into the vacuum vessel device 400 . each of the plurality of inflow drain line ports 450 can also incorporate its own shut - off valve , but assuming they do not , any vacuum extending into the vacuum vessel device 400 would then automatically extend into the drain hoses 12 and 14 . any materials / vapors / liquids existing in the process tower 600 and process piping 800 should drain through the drain hoses 12 and 14 , into the system 10 , and then into the vacuum truck 500 . if the vacuum truck exerts too large of a vacuum , then the vacuum relief valve 440 in the system 10 would activate to protect the drain hoses , process tower , process piping , pump , etc . from excess vacuum . in this way , the materials are drained from the tower , piping , etc . without evaporating or otherwise escaping into the environment as would otherwise happen when simple catch basins are employed under the drains as is done in the prior art . fig5 illustrates a left side elevation view of two exemplary tow bar devices which can be employed in the system to facilitate the powered relocation of the vacuum vapor liquid recovery system 10 . this view depicts a portion of the front wheel assembly 20 , and a plurality of hitch assemblies 564 and 565 . a proximal end of the tow bar 560 attaches to the front wheel 20 . the distal end of the tow bar 560 attaches to the plurality of hitch assemblies 564 and 565 , allowing the system 10 to be towed and maneuvered by a vehicle , such as an all terrain vehicle ( atv ), lawn tractor or other tractor , truck , etc . also depicted in fig5 is an electrical connector 563 that can be used to connect lights and / or any other electrical device to the power system of the tow vehicle or any other power source . lights , although not shown , could be attached to the rear wheel assembly , vacuum vessel device , etc . and configured in any way currently known in the art . the first hitch assembly 564 is configured with a ball hitch that attaches to a standard - type trailer ball attached to a tow vehicle . the first hitch assembly 564 can be sized to fit any of the ball sizes used in the industry . the second hitch assembly 565 is configured with a pin hitch that attaches to any trailer hitch requiring a clevis pin type connection . other trailer / tow - equipment connections are contemplated in other embodiments . while particular embodiments have been described and disclosed in the present application , it is clear that any number of permutations , modifications , or embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of this disclosure . particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the embodiments should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics , features , or aspects with which that terminology is associated . in general , the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification , unless the above detailed description section explicitly defines such terms . accordingly , the actual scope of the claims encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments , but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the claimed subject matter . the above detailed description of the embodiments is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise embodiment or form disclosed herein or to the particular fields of usage mentioned above . while specific embodiments and examples are described above for illustrative purposes , various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure , as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize . also , the teachings of the embodiments provided herein can be applied to other systems , not necessarily the system described above . the elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments . any patents , applications and other references that may be listed in accompanying or subsequent filing papers , are incorporated herein by reference . aspects of embodiments can be modified , if necessary , to employ the systems , functions , and concepts of the various references to provide yet further embodiments . in light of the above “ detailed description ,” the inventor may make changes to the disclosure . while the detailed description outlines possible embodiments and discloses the best mode contemplated , no matter how detailed the above appears in text , embodiments may be practiced in a myriad of ways . thus , implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the spirit of the embodiments as disclosed by the inventor . as discussed herein , specific terminology used when describing certain features or aspects should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics , features , or aspects of the embodiments with which that terminology is associated . while certain aspects are presented below in certain claim forms , the inventor contemplates the various aspects in any number of claim forms . accordingly , the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects . the above specification , examples and data provide a description of the structure and use of exemplary implementations of the described systems , articles of manufacture and methods . it is important to note that many implementations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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a first embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig1 , where a control loop 101 on an integrated circuit 100 is arranged to select a voltage for regulating the voltage supply for the integrated circuit 100 . as shown in fig1 the integrated circuit 100 includes the control loop 101 , where the control loop 101 is coupled between an output from a regulator 102 and a control input of a selectable voltage source 103 . the control loop 101 is arranged to select a voltage for the integrated circuit 100 using the selectable voltage source 103 . the selectable voltage source 103 comprises a series of resistors 104 couple between a reference voltage , for example ground , and a second reference voltage , for example from a supply power line . accordingly , the series of resistors act as voltage dividers between the two reference voltages . however , as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art other techniques for providing a selectable voltage source can be provided . further , while the power supply will be external to the integrated circuit the second reference voltage may be derived on the integrated circuit from the power supply voltage , for example from the collector of a transistor ( not shown ). coupled between the series of resistors 104 are electrical taps 105 , where each electrical tap 105 includes a switch to allow selection of a voltage associated with the coupling position of the electrical tap 105 with respect to the series of resistors 104 . as such , a different voltage point along the voltage gradient formed by the series of resistors 104 is selectable by the respective electrical taps . accordingly , a required voltage is selected using the selectable voltage source 103 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the voltage selected is the target output voltage of regulator 102 . the voltage selected using the selectable voltage source 103 will depend upon the reference voltages and the configuration of resistors formed in the series of resistors 104 and the number and configuration of electrical taps 105 . a voltage selected by an electric tap switch is provided to an output of the selectable voltage source ( i . e . the electric tap switch couples the selectable voltage source output to the appropriate voltage point on the series of resisters 104 ). although , fig1 shows four resistors 104 in series and three electrical taps 105 , as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art the selectable voltage source 103 could be configured with any number of resistors and / or electrical taps . additionally , alternative mechanisms of providing a selectable voltage might also be used , such as the use of voltage not current reference , or the use of a variable element such as resistance of a transistor , or variable voltage gain with a fixed primary reference . the regulator 102 is for regulating the voltage supply to the integrated circuit 100 , as is well known to a person skilled in the art . although any suitable form of regulator 102 could be used , for the purposes of the present embodiment the regulator 102 includes a differential amplifier 106 and an npn transistor 107 . although the npn transistor 107 is shown to be part of the integrated circuit 100 , sometimes the npn transistor will be instantiated externally to the integrated circuit 100 . further , any suitable transistor could be used , for example a pnp transistor or fet . an output from the selectable voltage source 103 is coupled to a non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 , an output from the differential amplifier 106 is coupled to the base of the npn transistor 107 and an inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 is coupled to the emitter of the npn transistor 107 , where the emitter output of the npn transistor 107 acts as the regulated voltage source for the integrated circuit 100 . the collector of the npn transistor 107 is coupled to the supply power line . as is well known to a person skilled in the art the regulator 102 is arranged to maintain a constant voltage based on the input voltage applied at the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 . the control loop 101 is arranged to measure the regulated voltage at the output of the regulator 102 , which for the purposes of the present embodiment is the output from the emitter of the npn transistor 107 , and , based upon a required predetermined voltage , is arranged to set an appropriate electric tap 105 switch to select an appropriate voltage for outputting from the selectable voltage source 103 to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 . the control loop 101 includes an analogue to digital converter 108 adc and a controller 109 . the adc 108 is arranged to sample the regulated voltage at the output of the regulator 102 and provide the sampled digital representation of the regulated voltage to the controller 109 . ideally the adc 108 will have a resolution and accuracy equal to or greater than that of the selectable voltage source 103 . based upon the measured voltage - information received by the controller 109 from the adc 108 and predetermined voltage information stored in memory ( not shown ) of the controller 109 , the controller 109 determines whether the regulated voltage at the output of the regulator 102 needs to be modified . if the regulated voltage at the output of the regulator 102 does not correspond with the predetermined voltage information stored in the controller 109 , the controller 109 makes a determination as to the voltage that should be provided to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 and sets the appropriate electric tap switch of the selectable voltage source 103 to allow the appropriate voltage to be provided from the selectable voltage source 103 to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 . the operation of the controller 109 may be programmable . examples of the type of actions that the controller 109 may be configured to perform include : 1 ) determining that the regulated voltage is too low for optimum operation of the integrated circuit and cause the selected voltage to increase , for example using predetermined information relating to voltage taps , alternatively performing iterative increases in voltage ; 2 ) determining , based on other information received by the integrated circuit , that the voltage should be reduced to reduce power consumption ; 3 ) determining , based on other information , that the integrated circuit is in a test mode and that a voltage monitoring threshold should be reduced ; 4 ) based on known characteristics of the regulator the controller 109 could be arranged to raise voltage supply to provide increased supply voltage margin for correct operation of the integrated circuit ; 5 ) determine , based on information in memory , that the integrated circuit is used in a safety critical application and that a voltage monitor threshold should be adjusted closer to the operational limits of the integrated circuit ; 6 ) determine , based on a previous measurement stored in non - volatile memory , that the regulator voltage should be adjusted . the controller 109 could be any suitable form of processing device , for example a microcontroller , logic element or a digital signal processor dsp . it will also be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the entire feedback path , which includes the adc 108 , the controller 109 and voltage adjustment , can be replaced by dedicated circuitry . the advantage of an adc 108 and a microprocessor core , which acts as the controller 109 , is that such features typically exist in combination on many existing integrated circuits . as the adc 108 samples the regulated voltage supply on the integrated circuit this allows an increase in accuracy of voltage measurement and consequently allows a more accurate selection of voltage to be provided to the regulator 102 from the selectable voltage source 103 . although , as described above , the voltage information is stored in controller memory , equally the voltage information could be stored in memory external to the controller 109 . typically the voltage information will be stored in memory in binary form . as such , when supply power voltage is provided to the integrated circuit 100 the controller 109 identifies the presence of regulated voltage at the output of the regulator 102 and based upon the predetermined voltage information stored in the controller 109 , the controller 109 will cause the regulated voltage provided by the regulator 102 to self adjust dynamically to the required regulated voltage by the controller 109 selecting an appropriate electric tap switch of the selectable voltage source 103 to allow the desired voltage to be provided to the non - inverting input of the differential amplifier 106 . consequently , the control loop 101 will allow the regulated voltage provided by the regulator 102 to self adjust as predetermined by the instructions or operation of the controller 109 . a second embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig2 , where the same features as shown in fig1 have the same reference numerals . the second embodiment of the present invention is based on a control loop 101 that is configured to select a voltage for controlling the supply voltage range over which an integrate circuit 200 is arranged to operate . as shown in fig2 the integrated circuit 200 includes the control loop 101 , where the control loop 101 is coupled to a first input of a comparator 201 and a control input of the selectable voltage source 103 . the control loop 101 and first input of the comparator are also coupled to an output from a selectable voltage source 103 . a second input of the comparator 201 is coupled to the integrated circuits voltage supply , which will typically be regulated . an output of the comparator 201 is coupled to a reset line for the integrated circuit , which when set high will place the integrated circuit in a reset condition . the comparator 201 is arranged to compare the voltage output from the selectable voltage source 103 , which is received at the comparators first input , with the integrated circuits voltage supply , which is received at the comparators second input . upon the comparator 201 detecting that the integrated circuits voltage supply is below the output voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 the comparator 201 is arranged to set its output high and consequently place the integrated circuit 200 in a reset condition . as the control loop 101 is able to select an appropriate output voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 it is possible for the control loop to dynamically define the operating voltage range for the integrated circuit 200 . further , by allowing the control loop 101 to select different output voltages from the selectable voltage source 103 the control loop 101 can be configured , as described below , to select an appropriate operating range for the integrated circuit 200 during normal operation of the integrated circuit 200 to minimise risk of erroneous operation while also allowing the possibility of extending the operating voltage range of the integrated circuit 200 to allow testing of the integrated circuit 200 with an extended operating voltage range , while still providing protection to the integrated circuit should large fluctuations in the integrated circuit voltage supply occur . as with the previous embodiment the selectable voltage source 103 comprises a series of resistors 104 couple between a first reference voltage , for example ground , and a second reference voltage , for example a supply power line . accordingly , the series of resistors 104 act as voltage dividers between the two reference voltages . coupled between the series of resistors 104 are electrical taps 105 , where each electrical tap 105 includes a switch to allow selection of a voltage associated with the coupling position of the electrical tap 105 with respect to the series of resistors 104 . as such , a different voltage point along the voltage gradient formed by the series of resistors 104 is selected by the respective electrical taps . accordingly , a voltage is selected using the selectable voltage source 103 by closing an appropriate electrical tap switch at the voltage point along the voltage gradient formed by the series of resistors 104 corresponding to the voltage required . the voltages selectable using the selectable voltage source 103 will depend upon the difference in voltage between the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage and the configuration of resistors formed in the series of resistors 104 and the number and configuration of electrical taps 105 . although , fig2 only shows four resistors 104 in series and three electrical taps 105 , as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art the selectable voltage source 103 could be configured with any number of resistors and / or electrical taps . the control loop 101 includes an adc 108 and a controller 109 . the adc 108 is arranged to sample the output voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 , which is provided to the first input of the comparator 201 . the adc 108 is arranged to provide the sampled digital representation of the voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 to the controller 109 , where as described above the controller 109 can control the output voltage of the selectable voltage source 103 as required . for the purpose of the present embodiment the controller 109 is programmed to allow one of two voltages to be output from the selectable voltage source . the first allowable output voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 corresponds to the minimum operating voltage of the integrated circuit 200 during normal operation . the second allowable output voltage from the selectable voltage source 103 corresponds to the minimum operating voltage of the integrated circuit during testing of the integrated circuit , where the second allowable output voltage is lower than the first allowable output voltage . if the controller 109 is configured to allow the integrated circuit 200 to operate under normal operating conditions the controller 109 sets the appropriate electric tap switch for allowing the first allowable output voltage to be output from the selectable voltage source 103 to the first input of the comparator 201 . as such , if the integrated circuits supply voltage goes below the first allowable voltage the comparator 201 will set is output high and place the integrated circuit 200 in a reset condition until the integrated circuits supply voltage increases above the first allowable voltage . to avoid the integrated circuit oscillating between an operational condition and a reset condition some form of hysterisis could be adopted . if testing of the integrated circuit 200 is required the controller 109 can be placed in a test mode that causes the controller 109 to set the appropriate electric tap switch for allowing the second allowable output voltage to be output from the selectable voltage source 103 to the first input of the comparator 201 . consequently , this allows the operating voltage range of the integrated circuit 200 to be lowered to the second allowable voltage , thereby allowing extended testing of the integrated circuit 200 . this permits testing at below normal operating voltage and ensures highly reliable operation of the integrated circuit over its normal operating voltage range . through use of the invention , the reset monitor is never fully disabled , which is advantageous to a safety critical system . as such , if the integrated circuits supply voltage goes below the second allowable voltage the comparator 201 will set is output high and place the integrated circuit 200 in a reset condition until the integrated circuits supply voltage increases above the second allowable voltage . to avoid the integrated circuit oscillating between an operational condition and a reset condition some form of hysteresis could be adopted . although the controller 109 has been described as allowing the generation of two output voltages from the selectable voltage source 103 , the controller 109 can be configured to select any number of voltages from the selectable voltage source 103 . for example , in addition to the controller 109 being programmed with two operating modes , the controller 109 could be programmed with a safety critical mode , which allows the controller 109 to be configured to control the selectable voltage source 103 to output a third allowable output voltage that is higher than the first allowable output voltage , thereby narrowing the operating voltage range of the integrated circuit 200 which may be appropriate for safety critical devices , where the comparator would cause the integrated circuit 200 to reset if the integrated circuits voltage supply went below the third allowable output voltage . in operation the third allowable output voltage might be approached iteratively , whereby the current reset voltage is stored in a non - volatile manner that persists over a reset condition . the reset threshold might be increased fractionally , and if no reset occurs the new threshold would again be stored as a known good operating voltage . in this way the actual operating voltage range of the integrated circuit and supply can be established , and the controller could then set a suitable threshold for continuous operation as suits a safety critical system . it would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that such an embodiment of the invention would use a multitude of voltage taps . in addition to the adjustable setting of the lower allowable operating voltage for the integrated circuit 200 , equally the same approach could be used to alternatively or additionally set the higher allowable operating voltage for the integrated circuit 200 . whereas operating voltages lower than required are always encountered when the power supply to the integrated circuit is switched off , operating voltages higher than allowable are often indicative of a fault condition . consequently , safety critical systems should monitor for such conditions . as such , the control loop for selecting a voltage for an integrated circuit can be used for selecting a voltage for an integrated circuit for a variety of different purposes . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed subject matter may be modified in numerous ways and may assume embodiments other than the preferred forms specifically set out as described above , for example the control loop 101 could be configured to provide the functionality described in the first and second embodiments within the same integrated circuit and / or the comparator 201 in the second embodiment could be configured to reset the integrated circuit 200 by setting its output low .
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the present invention , in one embodiment , is a potentially curative therapy for certain cardiac conditions that utilizes a systems approach . the systems approach incorporates the introduction of a biologic , the introduction of a drug , the introduction of a device - based back - up , the introduction of the capability to terminate the biologic function , and / or the introduction of a device based therapy . for example , fig1 illustrates a biologic / device system 8 . system 8 will be described with reference to the specific treatment of common exemplary cardiac arrhythmias originating in the av - node or sa node such as av - block , sick sinus syndrome , atrial tachycardias , etc . ; however , it will be appreciated that the system 8 can be utilized to treat a variety of cardiac conditions , including heart failure , as well as neurological conditions , cancer , and provide islet cell transplantation , or other cell / gene therapies . for example , the present biologic therapy delivery management system 8 is useful to , among other things , provide curative therapy for cardiac arrhythmias , generating biologic pacemakers , performing av - nodal conduction modulation ( e . g ., reducing conduction velocities in the av - node in atrial fibrillation ), and modifying focal tissue for tachycardias . fig1 schematically illustrates how an imd 10 is implanted and coupled with a heart 12 . specifically , imd 10 may be an ipg to provide a pacing function , an icd to provide shocks , a monitoring implant to record various cardiac performance characteristics , or a device including any combination of these functions . a lead 30 is coupled to the imd 10 and is placed appropriately within the heart 12 . the lead 30 terminates in an appropriate electrode or sensor to deliver the appropriate therapy and / or monitor the appropriate variables . also provided is a biologic reservoir 20 containing the desired biologic agent and possibly other agents to either supplement or terminate the biologic , as will be described in greater detail . referring to fig1 a and 2 b , a stylet or lumen 50 interconnects the reservoir 20 with the myocardium in the right atrium ( ra ), and more specifically in this example , the av or sa node . the lumen 50 is guided through the lead 30 and may either be removed after the procedure or left in place . the combination of the lead 30 and lumen 50 is capable of performing a variety of functions . the lumen 50 includes a distal tip 55 . distal tip 55 may be forced into contact with the myocardial tissue or forced into the myocardial tissue thereby permitting delivery of the biologic or other agent through the lumen 50 and into or onto the tissue . an anchoring mechanism 60 may be attached to the lead 30 to facilitate the attachment of the lead 40 to the myocardial tissue . anchoring mechanism 60 may , for example , take the form of a helical coil that that can be rotationally advanced through an appropriate depth of tissue . in this manner , the lead 30 is secured to a targeted area and the lumen 50 can be advanced , allowing for the delivery of the biologic . in addition , the anchoring mechanism 60 can function as an electrode to deliver various therapies , sense certain parameters , or provide for ablation of the surrounding tissue , as will be described more fully below . alternatively , an electrode separate from the anchoring mechanism may be provided . one lead structure suitable for use as lead 30 and lumen 50 is more fully described in co - pending and commonly assigned application ser . no . 10 / 262 , 046 , entitled “ active fluid delivery catheter ”, filed oct . 2 , 2002 , which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . in use , a patient suffering from a particular condition is designated to receive the combined biologic and device therapy . the lead 30 is delivered into the heart , e . g ., the ra and the appropriate position is targeted . lead positioning would be done by using one or more of the various mapping techniques such as electrophysiologic , radiologic , ultrasound echographic or mri - quided . for example , the tip of the lead 30 may be advanced to contact the av node , sa node , or other desired location . after the lead 30 is properly positioned , it is rotated ; thereby securing the helical anchor 60 into the myocardial tissue . thus , the lead 30 is now positioned and secured within the heart , and particularly in the proper location within the ra . the lumen 50 is then inserted into the lead 30 ( or simply advanced if already present ) until the tip 55 is proximate the myocardial tissue . then , the tip 55 is either advanced to contact the myocardial tissue or to penetrate therethrough , depending upon the nature of the biologic that will be delivered . if not already coupled , a proximal end of the lumen 50 is coupled with a biologic reservoir 20 external to the patient . the biologic is delivered from the reservoir 20 into the myocardial tissue . typically , the biologic is delivered as a solution into the tissue . once delivery is complete , the proximal end of the lumen 50 is disconnected from the reservoir and the lumen 50 is either removed from the lead 30 or seated for storage within the lead 30 . the imd 10 is coupled with the lead 30 that is implanted in a patient . in this embodiment , the lead provides a dual function as a conduit for the delivering of a biologic or other drug agent and also as a means for sensing , detection , cardioverting , defibrillating and / or pacing . in one embodiment , imd 10 includes cardiac monitoring features that monitor various cardiac parameters . in this manner , imd 10 can determine the effectiveness of the delivered biologic . as previously explained , the biologic will take time to reach efficacy . thus , in the meantime , imd 10 , via lead 30 can also provide an appropriate therapy such as pacing , cardioversion and / or defibrillation . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating the system 8 parameters . as previously explained , the imd 10 is implanted and the biologic is delivered ( 100 ). the imd 10 monitors ( 110 ) cardiac function to determine the efficacy of the biologic over time . the imd 10 can serve at least two therapy roles . specifically , since the biologic requires time to act . cardiac functioning may be impaired as a result of the underlying cardiac dysfunction . thus , the imd 10 may deliver therapy during this time ; however , this does not indicate a failure of the biologic . alternatively , after a period of time the biologic will have either successfully altered the cell structure and positively affected the cardiac parameter ( e . g ., reformed a node or generated pacing cells ). in such a case , the monitored cardiac performance is good ( 120 ). once such a state is confirmed , imd 10 will not need to deliver subsequent therapy 150 . however , imd 10 will continue to monitor and be available to deliver therapy in the event the biologic function is subsequently impaired or diminished . even when the biologic is successful or partially successful , the imd 10 may provide pacing therapy in some cases . for example , if the patient has an episode of atrial fibrillation or flutter , the imd 10 may provide overdrive pacing to control or terminate the condition . as another possibility , the biologic may improve cardiac performance to some extent or otherwise provide a change in condition , but some continued dysfunction may remain ( 130 ). for example , a new sa node may be formed , but without a rate response . in such a case , the imd 10 will take the appropriate therapeutic action , depending upon the measured parameters . if the dysfunction is tolerable , no intervention need be taken ( 150 ). if pacing or a similar therapy is required , that therapy is delivered ( 160 ). alternatively , the situation may warrant the termination of the biologic 170 . this decision tree can be programmed into the imd 10 or the imd 10 can provide the monitored data to an external source and the appropriate course of action can be externally programmed into the imd 10 . the imd 10 may determine that the biologic has completely failed ( 140 ) either by achieving no improvement or by possibly generating aberrant tissue . in such a case , the biologic may be destroyed and / or other therapies may be employed , such as overdrive pacing . one mechanism to destroy the biologic is to use the lead 30 to ablate the surrounding tissue by delivering an appropriate electrical current , thereby destroying the biologic and the tissue that was generated . alternative methods of ablation could be used such as rf or chemical delivery , delivered via the lead 30 or by external means . in one embodiment , the lumen 50 ( either because it is still in place or reinserted through lead 30 ) is used to deliver a cytotoxic agent to the target area thereby destroying the tissue affected by the biologic . if the efficacy of the biologic is less than optimal or even completely dysfunctional , the same or alternative biologics could be reintroduced to reattempt the therapy . in one embodiment , the proximal end of the lead 30 is re - exposed and reconnected to reservoir 20 ( or the like ) to deliver new or additional biologics . the cytotoxic chemical could also be introduced in this fashion . once the lead 30 is re - exposed the lumen 50 can be accessed if present or inserted for use . fig4 illustrates another embodiment where biologic reservoir 20 is implanted subcutaneously along with the imd 10 . a second lead or lumen 32 is illustrated to allow fluid delivery from the reservoir 20 , which includes a pumping mechanism , to the targeted cardiac tissue . it should be appreciated that the lumen 32 may be a separate component , as illustrated , or could function as lumen 50 and proceed within lead 30 as previously described . with biologic reservoir 20 implanted , the biologic could be delivered over time , redelivered to reinitiate or restart therapy , or by providing a separate fluid chamber , automatically deliver a cytotoxic agent to terminate the biologic . by forming an appropriate connection 40 with imd 10 , biologic reservoir 20 can be triggered by the imd to take the appropriate course of action . fig5 illustrates the functions of the sa and av node , as well as how their pathologies differ . the basic electrophysiology of the cardiac muscle and the cardiac nodes is presented . a goal of the therapy with the present system 8 is to restore certain pathologic conditions back to forms as close as possible to the ones shown . the present invention is applicable to many cardiac and neurological conditions . in some embodiments , biologics are used to act on cardiac conduction pathways . fig6 illustrates the basic electrophysiology of the cardiac muscle and the cardiac nodes . the electrophysiology of a cardiomyocyte is governed by the flow of ions across the cell membrane and across the membranes of the intracellular organelles , such as the sr and the mitochondria . flow of these ions across the membranes are not constant , but vary in time and morphology , as illustrated . pathologies distorting these currents would affect the electrophysiology of the cells , as well as the entire organ . for example , a defective ion channel might cause a cell to depolarize prematurely and initiate conduction of the signals with wrong timing , where gene therapy could be used to correct the abnormal channel function . all the currents shown in fig6 are governed by channel proteins , which are coded by genes , which are diagrammed in fig7 . genetic therapies delivered by the system 8 can be enhancing , reducing the function of the genes responsible for the electrophysiology , or can deliver genes that mimic cardiac pacemaker potentials ( e . g ., slow diastolic depolarization ) derived from other organ systems ( e . g . the brain ). genetic therapies for the enhancement of the gene expression can be via : over expression of the gene , over expression of a promoter , under expression of a silencer , over expression of a regulatory , over - expression of auxiliary subunits responsible for the pacemaker potentials . genetic therapies for the reduction of the gene expression can be via : rna interference ( e . g . sirna ), rna silencing ( missense ), over - expression of suppressor elements , blockade of transcription by decoy technologies , dominant negative suppression using a mutant channel gene . genetic therapies can be delivered via : viral vectors such , retrovirus , adenovirus , adeno - associated virus , non - viral vectors including , plasmids , lipid based , via - electroporation ( from the delivery lead itself ), or genetically engineered cells ( with pacemaker activity and conductivity ). cellular therapies may consist of autologous cells ( cultured , altered , or ex - vivo transfected ) including : fibroblasts , bone marrow derived stem cells , skeletal muscle derived , or cardiac derived — sa nodal cells . cellular therapies may also include allogeneic cells , such as mesenchymal stem cells , or xenogeneic cells . cells that are placed into the myocardium would act as new conduction pathways , new sinus nodes , new insulators to break or slow down the signals , and / or new av nodes . overall , the new biological node would create new functions to replace the lost ones , create blockage of pathways and / or reduce local conduction velocities in tissues ( myocardial and conduction system ). in addition to the cellular modifications , the imd 10 would provide the monitoring and necessary intervention , such as pacing , burst pacing , bias voltages to modify local potentials , and high energy shocks . in addition , the imd 10 could provide an alarm function for notifying a physician and / or patient of aberrant tissue function . this function can use transtelephonic or telemetered data transmission protocols . in certain embodiments , the lead system provides a platform for the initial delivery of the biologics and / or drugs as well as the re - intervention for additional delivery or secondary therapy . the lead 30 also provides electrical conduction for monitoring functions such as monophasic action potentials , action potential durations , depolarization frequency ( heart rate , atrial rate , ventricular rate ), and qt , st , ors , and p wave morphologies . further , the lead 30 allows for intervention such as overdrive pacing or the delivery of shocks to terminate arrhythmias and provides a route for ablation . ablation techniques could include rf energy , alcohol , or other ablation technologies . while the foregoing has been described with respect to the introduction of a biologic into the heart , it should be appreciated that various fluids and substances having a wide variety of purposes can be introduced into the heart in this manner . many types of drugs ( e . g ., amiodarone ), proteins ( e . g ., mmp - 9 ( matrix metallo protease ) therapeutic use for heart failure ), anti - arrhythmic compounds , and other therapeutic solutions can be delivered in various does and directly to a target area . this increases the potency and the efficacy , as the delivery is local . furthermore , fluids and even substances can be withdrawn from the heart 12 , out through the lumen 50 . as previously described , it is possible to implant a reservoir 20 so that the biologic or other solutions are selectively deliverable . the reservoir 20 could be implanted with a single useable quantity or it could be externally refillable . fig8 illustrates another embodiment where a more traditional imd 200 ( e . g ., a pacemaker , icd or the like ) includes the lead 30 having a fluid delivering lumen 50 as previously described . the imd 200 includes a fluid access port 21 that is in fluid communication with lead 30 . in this way , the fluid access port 210 can be accessed subcutaneously after implantation by inserting a syringe through the skin and piercing the fluid access port 210 . the fluid access port includes a self sealing membrane that will automatically reseal after the needle 220 is withdrawn . in this manner , fluids can be delivered from the syringe to the target area of the heart through the lead 30 lumen 50 combination . that is , advancing the piston of the syringe 220 generates sufficient pressure to transfer the contents of the syringe 220 , through the lumen 50 and into the heart 12 . this would be useful for the introduction of a biologic as explained above as well as for introducing various drugs or compounds for any number of purposes . in addition , the syringe or a similar device can be used to withdraw fluid ( e . g ., from the interstatial space ) from the heart for therapeutic purposes or for testing and evaluation . for example , the withdrawn samples could be used to assess inflammation , transplant rejection , infection or for other diagnostic purposes . other mechanism can be employed to deliver fluids to the target area after implantation . for example , a transvascular catheter could be advanced within the coronary vasculature . epicardial access could be obtained through surgical ports ( e . g ., a thoracotomy ). alternatively , endocardial catheter could be guided by intracardial egm and / or other mapping modalities . the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments useful in cardiac applications . it should be appreciated that the present invention is not so limited and may be utilized in various portions of the body to affect various organs , tissue , systems , anatomical features , or physiological functions including , for example , the heart , brain , pancreas , liver , stomach , venous system , nervous system , or spine . furthermore , it should be appreciated that the present invention may be utilized to deliver therapies or treatments that affect disparate or remote organs or systems . for example , biologics may be introduced in one site that affect a nervous pathway or function that ultimately affects or controls a remote physiological function . while multiple embodiments are disclosed , still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description , which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention . as will be realized , the invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects , all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive .
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fig1 and 2 illustrate a prestressed concrete vessel 1 cylindrically designed and arranged centrally inside a safety tank ( not shown ) made of steel reinforced concrete and having a cylindrical shape . within the prestressed concrete vessel 1 , there are arranged a high temperature reactor 2 and the other components of the primary or cooling gas circuit , consisting of a turbine , a high pressure and a low pressure compressor and heat exchangers . as will be further described below , the connection of the heat exchangers are designed with two loops or circuits , wherein a recuperator , a precooler and an intermediate cooler are contained in each circuit . the high temperature reactor 2 , installed in a cavity 3 , is a graphite - modified , helium - cooled reactor , the fuel elements of which may be ball or block shaped . a hot gas collection chamber 4 is located below the bottom of the reactor core for collecting the heated gas released by the reactor core . a cold gas collection chamber 5 is provided above the reactor for collecting the gas flowing back from the main circuit before it is led back to the reactor core . the reactor core is surrounded by a cylindrically designed thermal barrier 6 , and the cavity 3 has a sealing liner 7 which is not equipped on its side facing the reactor 2 with any thermal protection means , such as isolation or cooling system for insulating against the loss of heat . between the thermal barrier 6 and the liner 7 , there is arranged an annular chamber 8 . the high temperature reactor 2 is connected to the remaining components of the main circuit by two outlet connecting ducts 9 , attached to the high temperature reactor 2 at the bottom by the same inlet connecting ducts 10 attached on top . vertically beneath the high temperature reactor 2 , is arranged a horizontal duct 11 in the prestressed concrete vessel . a single shaft gas turbine 12 , a low pressure compressor 13 , and a high pressure compressor 14 are located within the vessel in separate housings . the compressors are situated with the gas turbine on a common shaft . a generator ( not shown ) which is arranged in the safety tank , is coupled to the gas turbine 12 . the gas turbine and the compressors have two oppositely , horizontally arranged connecting ducts for each gas line . two vertical gas ducts 15 extend adjacent the gas turbine 12 upwards to the level of the bottom of the reactor core . a hot gas line 16 is installed in each of these gas ducts . each hot gas line 16 is connected to one of the reactor outlet connecting ducts 9 and with one of the two turbine inlet connecting ducts . in the upper part of the prestressed concrete vessel 1 , there are two more vertical gas ducts 17 , in an arrangement similar to that of vertical gas ducts 15 . in each case , one cold gas line 18 is connected to one of the two reactor inlet connecting ducts 10 . six vertical pods 19 are arranged in a partial circle ( see fig1 ) around the reactor cavity 3 , each pod being closed by explosion - proof lid 20 . the pods 19 act to enclose the heat exchangers such that they are arranged , as shown in fig1 in symmetrical arrangement with respect to the horizontal duct 11 , two recuperators 21 , two precoolers 22 , and two intermediate coolers 23 . all of the heat exchangers are installed at the same level as the reactor cavity 3 . both recuperators 21 are designed in box construction , and are operated countercurrently . the high pressure gas fed in from above is led through the interior of tubes 31 ( see fig2 ). the precoolers 22 and the intermediate coolers 23 are also designed in box construction and are operated countercurrently . the water , flowing within the tubes , enters the coolers from below . all of the heat exchangers are surrounded by a pressure casing 33 , which separates the inlet and outlet streams . at the same level as the horizontal duct 11 , there are provided several horizontal gas lines in the prestressed concrete vessel for connecting the heat exchangers of one loop or circuit with each other , or with the gas turbine assembly , respectively . as depicted in fig1 a gas line 24 runs between the recuperator , and the precooler of each loop , while the connection between both recuperators 21 , and the turbine outlet connecting duct , is effected in each case by a gas line 25 . the gas flows in each case through a gas line 26 from the precoolers 22 to the two inlet connecting ducts of the low pressure compressor , and between the low pressure compressor outlet and the two intermediate coolers 23 , by virtue of a gas line 27 provided in each case . on a somewhat lower plane , there are located two gas lines 28 ( dashed lines in fig1 ) which connect the two intermediate coolers 23 with the inlets of the high pressure compressor . from the high pressure compressor 14 , to the two recuperators 21 , the gas is led through vertical gas ducts 15 and 17 , over a large part of its flow , whereby it flows along the outside of the hot gas lines 16 and the cold gas lines 18 , which are arranged as coaxial gas lines . on its way from the gas duct 15 to the gas duct 17 , the gas is led into the reactor cavity 3 , coaxially to the reactor outlet connecting ducts 9 , and enters the annular chamber 8 between the thermal barrier 6 , and the liner 7 . while it flows upwardly in this annular chamber , it cools the liner 7 which is equipped additionally with a means for insulating against the loss of heat in the prestressed concrete vessel 1 ( see fig3 ). at the upper end of the vertical gas duct 17 , there is provided , in each case , a horizontal connection line 29 of coaxial construction in communication with one of the two pods 19 in which the recuperators 21 are installed . above the two recuperators , there is , in each case , arranged a gas distributor 30 , serving also as a support through which the gas is distributed to the tubes 31 . the upward feedback of the gas is effected in a central tube ( not shown ). the inner conduit 32 of the horizontal connecting line 29 is in each case connected to one of the two cold gas lines 18 . all recesses in the prestressed concrete vessel 1 are coated with a sealing skin or liner made of steel . in the region of the coaxial gas lines in the gas ducts 15 and 17 and the horizontal connecting lines 29 , only small temperature loads occur at the sealing liners , since the hot or warm gas streams , respectively , are surrounded in each case by colder gas streams . besides the six vertical pods for the heat exchangers , there are provided in the prestressed concrete vessel 1 , three other vertical pods 34 which are arranged along a circle having a radius smaller than that of the six vertical pods ( dashed lines in fig1 ). these act as an afterheat removal system , and , as shown in fig3 are made up of the conventional cooler 35 and blower 36 . each cooler 35 and blower 36 is installed one upon the other in one of the pods 34 . the cooler - blower units are each in communication with the high temperature reactor 2 by means of a coaxially arranged gas line 37 . during stand - by operation , a by pass of cold , high pressure gas flows through the cooler - blower units as shown by dotted arrows in fig2 . the cold gas stream is led upwardly from the bottom of each pod 34 into an annular chamber between the sealing liner of the pod and the cooler casing . it then enters the blower and flows again through the cooler 35 in a downward direction . during the operation of the afterheat removed system , the flow direction is reversed , whereby the entry of the gas into the reactor core is effected through special borings in the top of the thermal barrier 6 ( not shown ). the main or turbine circuit will now be described with reference to either of the two identical heat exchanger loops connected in parallel . the pressure during operation ranges between about 72 . 9 and 22 . 9 bars , while the temperature ranges between an upper limit of about 850 ° c . and a lower limit of about 20 ° c . on the hot gas side , the gas flows at 850 ° c . and 70 bar directly from the hot gas collection chamber 4 through the coaxial hot gas lines 16 to the two inlet flanges of the gas turbine 12 . in the gas turbine 12 , the working gas is released at a pressure of about 24 . 14 bars , and enters the recuperator 21 at a temperature of about 502 . 5 ° c . through the gas lines 25 at the side of the recuperator 21 and from the bottom . the gas is then streamed through the recuperator 21 from the bottom to the top . as a result , it is cooled down to about 147 . 7 ° c . by the cold gas flowing countercurrently at the high pressure side of the recuperator 21 . below the distributor 30 , the gas stream is reversed 180 °, and is led back between the casing of the recuperator 21 and the sealing liner of the pod 19 to the bottom of the pod . the gas reaches the precooler 22 through the gas line 24 and flows from the bottom to top between the sealing liner of the pod and the casing of the precooler 22 . it enters the precooler after a reversal of the gas flow along the side of the casing from the top to the bottom . here , the gas is cooled down to the lowest process temperature of 20 ° c ., before it is led to the inlet of the low pressure compressor 13 through the gas line 26 , after leaving the low pressure . the gas having a pressure of about 41 . 2 bars is led to the intermediate cooler 23 through the gas line 27 , flowing through it in the same manner as the precooler 22 and flowing out of it at a temperature of about 20 ° c . the gas reaches the inlet of the high pressure compressor 14 through the gas line 28 in which its pressure is increased to the maximum process pressure of about 72 . 9 bars . at the outlet of the high pressure compressor 14 , the working gas behind the diffuser is deflected by 180 ° and flows around the entire gas turbine assembly . it then enters the vertical gas duct 15 through which it flows upwardly along the outside of hot gas line 16 . it is then led upwardly at a temperature of 100 °- 140 ° c . through the annular chamber 8 into the reactor cavity 3 , whereby it directly impinges the liner 7 at this temperature . from the annular chamber 8 , the cold , high pressure gas then flows through the vertical gas duct 17 , and the horizontal connecting line 29 whereby it passes along the outside of the cold gas line 18 into the recuperators 21 . in the recuperator 21 , it is distributed among the single tubes 31 by the distributor 30 . during the flowing through in the tubes 31 from the top to the bottom , the operation gas is heated by the turbine gas , flowing countercurrently along the side of the casing . in the central tube ( not shown ), it is then led upwardly and leaves the recuperator 21 through the inner conduit 32 of the coaxial horizontal connecting line 29 . through the cold gas line 18 , and the reactor inlet connecting duct 10 , the gas finally reaches the cold gas collection chamber 5 of the high temperature reactor 2 . fig3 shows a section of the prestressed concrete vessel 1 with the liner 7 , and its cooling system 38 . this comprises a number of cooling lines , which are arranged in a thermal insulation layer 39 along the side of the concrete . the liner 7 is mounted along this layer by means of anchorings 40 . in the prestressed concrete vessel 1 , there are arranged axially running bracing cables , as well as annular bracing cable 42 around the circumference of the vessel . furthermore , in fig3 there can be seen the thermal barrier 6 in the cavity 3 , and the annular chamber 8 . fig4 illustrates a precooler 43 in another embodiment of the nuclear power plant with a cooling system which is connected to the cooling system 38 of the liner 7 . this precooler is installed within a pod 19 , situated in the prestressed concrete vessel 1 . the feed of helium coming from the recuperator is effected from the top through the external conduit 44 of a coaxial gas line . the gas is led off again out of the precooler 43 through internal conduit 45 to a compressor , as indicated by the arrows . the cooling water enters the precooler 43 from the bottom , and flows in the manner indicated by the black arrows . after passing through the precooler 43 , it is led along an annular chamber 46 , which is bordered by the pressure casing 33 of the precooler and the sealing liners 47 of the pod 19 through the lines 48 . the annular chamber 46 is in communication with the cooling system 38 of the liner 7 through conduit 48 , thus permitting the flow of cooling water between the precooler and the liner cooling system . the cooling system of a recuperator can also be designed in a similar fashion except , that instead of passing cooling water through the annular chamber between the pressure casing 33 of the recuperator and the sealing liner 47 of the pod 19 , low temperature helium from the primary circuit ( not shown ) is flowed through the annular chamber . the specification and drawings set forth preferred embodiments of the invention . it should be noted , however , that the invention is not limited to those specific embodiments and methods specifically disclosed , but extends instead to all embodiments substitute and equivalent constructions falling within the scope of the invention , as defined by the claims .
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by way of background , we first describe an example photovoltaic power conditioning unit . thus fig1 shows photovoltaic power conditioning unit of the type we described in wo2007 / 080429 . the power converter 1 is made of three major elements : a power converter stage a , 3 , a reservoir ( dc link ) capacitor c dc 4 , and a power converter stage b , 5 . the apparatus has an input connected to a direct current ( dc ) power source 2 , such as a solar or photovoltaic panel array ( which may comprise one or more dc sources connected in series and / or in parallel ). the apparatus also has an output to the grid main electricity supply 6 so that the energy extracted from the dc source is transferred into the supply . the power converter stage a may be , for example , a step - down converter , a step - up converter , or it may both amplify and attenuate the input voltage . in addition , it generally provides electrical isolation by means of a transformer or a coupled inductor . in general the electrical conditioning of the input voltage should be such that the voltage across the dc link capacitor c dc is always higher than the grid voltage . in general this block contains one or more transistors , inductors , and capacitors . the transistor ( s ) may be driven by a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) generator . the pwm signal ( s ) have variable duty cycle , that is , the on time is variable with respect to the period of the signal . this variation of the duty cycle effectively controls the amount of power transferred across the power converter stage a . the power converter stage b injects current into the electricity supply and the topology of this stage generally utilises some means to control the current flowing from the capacitor c dc into the mains . the circuit topology may be either a voltage source inverter or a current source inverter . fig2 shows details of an example of a power conditioning unit of the type shown in fig1 ; like elements are indicated by like reference numerals . in fig2 a q 1 - q 4 , d 1 - d 4 and the transformer form a dc - to - dc conversion stage , here a voltage amplifier . in alternative arrangements only two transistors may be used ; and / or a centre - tapped transformer with two back - to - back diodes may be used as the bridge circuit . in the dc - to - ac converter stage , q 9 , d 5 , d 6 and lout perform current shaping . in alternative arrangements layout may be located in a connection between the bridge circuit and the dc link capacitor . transistors q 5 - q 8 constitutes an “ unfolding ” stage . thus these transistors q 5 - q 8 form a full - bridge that switches at line frequency using an analogue circuit synchronised with the grid voltage . transistors q 5 and q 8 are on during the positive half cycle of the grid voltage and q 6 and q 7 are on during the negative half cycle of the grid voltage . control ( block ) a of fig1 may be connected to the control connections ( e . g . gates or bases ) of transistors in power converter stage a to control the transfer of power from the dc energy source . the input of this stage is connected to the dc energy source and the output of this stage is connected to the dc link capacitor . this capacitor stores energy from the dc energy source for delivery to the mains supply . control ( block ) a may be configured to draw such that the unit draws substantially constant power from the dc energy source regardless of the dc link voltage v dc on c dc . control ( block ) b may be connected to the control connections of transistors in the power converter stage b to control the transfer of power to the mains supply . the input of this stage is connected to the dc link capacitor and the output of this stage is connected to the mains supply . control b may be configured to inject a substantially sinusoidal current into the mains supply regardless of the dc link voltage v dc on c dc . the capacitor c dc acts as an energy buffer from the input to the output . energy is supplied into the capacitor via the power stage a at the same time that energy is extracted from the capacitor via the power stage b . the system provides a control method that balances the average energy transfer and allows a voltage fluctuation , resulting from the injection of ac power into the mains , superimposed onto the average dc voltage of the capacitor c dc . the frequency of the oscillation can be either 100 hz or 120 hz depending on the line voltage frequency ( 50 hz or 60 hz respectively ). two control blocks control the system : control block a controls the power stage a , and control block b power stage b . an example implementation of control blocks a and b is shown in fig2 b . in this example these blocks operate independently but share a common microcontroller for simplicity . in broad terms , control block a senses the dc input voltage ( and / or current ) and provides a pwm waveform to control the transistors of power stage a to control the power transferred across this power stage . control block b senses the output current ( and voltage ) and controls the transistors of power stage b to control the power transferred to the mains . many different control strategies are possible . for example details of one preferred strategy reference may be made to our earlier filed wo2007 / 080429 ( which senses the ( ripple ) voltage on the dc link )— but the embodiments of the invention we describe later do not rely on use of any particular control strategy . in a photovoltaic power conditioning unit the microcontroller of fig2 b will generally implement an algorithm for some form of maximum power point tracking . in embodiments of the invention we describe later this or a similar microcontroller may be further configured to control whether one or both of the dc - to - dc power converter stages are operational , and to implement “ soft ” switching off of one of these stages when required . the microcontroller and / or associated hardware may also be configured to interleave the power transistor switching , preferable to reduce ripple as previously mentioned . now to fig3 a , this shows a further example of a power conditioning unit 600 . in the architecture of fig3 a photovoltaic module 602 provides a dc power source for dc - to - dc power conversion stage 604 , in this example each comprising an llc resonant converter . thus power conversion stage 604 comprises a dc - to - ac ( switching ) converter stage 606 to convert dc from module 602 to ac for a transformer 608 . the secondary side of transformer 608 is coupled to a rectifying circuit 610 , which in turn provides a dc output to a series - coupled output inductor 612 . output inductor 612 is coupled to a dc link 614 of the power conditioning unit , to which is also coupled a dc link capacitor 616 . a dc - to - ac converter 618 has a dc input from a dc link and provides an ac output 620 , for example to an ac grid mains supply . a microcontroller 622 provides switching control signals to dc - to - ac converter 606 , to rectifying circuit 610 ( for synchronous rectifiers ), and to dc - to - ac converter 618 in the output ‘ unfolding ’ stage . as illustrated microcontroller 622 also senses the output voltage / current to the grid , the input voltage / current from the pv module 602 , and , in embodiments , the dc link voltage . ( the skilled person will be aware of may ways in which such sensing may be performed ). in some embodiments the microcontroller 622 implements a control strategy as previously described . as illustrated , microcontroller is coupled to an rf transceiver 624 such as a zigbee ™ transceiver , which is provided with an antenna 626 for monitoring and control of the power conditioning unit 600 . referring now to fig3 b , this shows details of a portion of an example implementation of the arrangement of fig3 a . this example arrangement employs a modification of the circuit of fig2 a and like elements to those of fig2 a are indicated by like reference numerals ; likewise like elements to those of fig3 a are indicated by like reference numerals . in the arrangement of fig3 b an llc converter is employed ( by contrast with fig2 a ), using a pair of resonant capacitors c 1 , c 3 . the circuits of fig1 to 3 are particularly useful for microinverters , for example having a maximum rate of power of less than 1000 watts and or connected to a small number of pv modules , for example just one or two such modules . in such systems the panel voltages can be as low as 20 volts and hence the conversion currents can be in excess of 30 amps rms . we will now describe techniques which enable a solar microinverter to be encapsulated to provide a combination of thermal management , dielectric resistance , environmental robustness and good electromagnetic emissions performance . referring now to fig4 a and 4 b , these show an exploded 3 - d view of a solar photovoltaic inverter 400 according to an embodiment of the invention . the solar inverter comprises a power conditioning circuit , for example of the type shown in fig3 a and 3 b , mounted on a circuit board 402 , having , in the illustrated example , two dc power inputs 404 and an ac power output 406 , each comprising a cable connection to the circuit board 402 . the circuit board is provided with a conductive shield comprising first and second portions 408 a , b of a can which substantially encloses the circuit board 402 , fitting around the perimeter of the circuit board . the can may be formed , for example , from 0 . 8 mm - 1 mm aluminium , and provides emc ( electromagnetic compatibility ) shielding , as well as a thermal conductor for heat spreading / dissipation . each of can portions 408 a , b is provided with a set of holes 410 ( not visible in can portion 408 a ) and these enable the entire assembly to be overmoulded in an injection moulding process so that the encapsulation becomes the mechanical housing of the device . by providing holes 410 the encapsulating material is able to expel air from the assembly . this means that there is no condensation , no issues associated with thermal expansion of the air , and the injection moulding process ensures that there are no hot spots from residual air bubbles when the inverter is in use . the injection moulding process is performed in the usual way , by providing a suitable injection moulding tool within which the assembly to overmould is located , the overmoulding , for example of polyamide then being applied under pressure . the mould or tool may be shaped to enable the escape of air through air vents , for example in the parting line of the mould . the result is a plastic overmould 412 . in fig4 , for ease of representation , this is not shown as extending through can portion 408 a but nonetheless in practice the overmould coats the circuit board 402 . similarly for ease of representation the lower part of overmould 412 is not shown in fig4 a . in the illustrated example overmould 412 includes strain relief features 412 a for cables 404 , 406 . the overmould process is able to provide a high degree of environmental sealing / protection , for example up to ip67 or ip68 . a high degree of hermetic sealing is also useful where an inverter may need to have a long shelf life , to ensure that there is minimal moisture ingress . the circuit board 402 may include , for example , a transformer 402 a , and to prevent cracking of overmoulded core this is preferably pre - coated in silicone to allow for thermal expansion . fig4 b shows another example of a solar photovoltaic inverter 450 , very similar to that of fig4 a , according to an embodiment of the invention . like elements to those of fig4 a are indicated by like reference numerals . in the arrangement of fig4 a the shielding and overmould are asymmetric with respect to the printed circuit board assembly 402 . again not all of holes 410 are shown , and again the full extent of the plastic overmould is omitted , for clarity . in fig4 b the base portion of overmould 412 comprises a base plate with locking features to match an interface base 414 , for mounting the inverter on a photovoltaic panel . optionally the interface base 414 may be incorporated into the overmould 412 . the pcb assembly 402 of fig4 b also includes a modular connector system 416 , comprising a connector plate which is overmoulded to form a seal behind the plate . this facilitates a manufacturing process in which standard form inverters are overmoulded and then afterwards cable connectors added for the photovoltaic panels by mating a suitable cable connector to the standard interface 416 of the modular connector system . in embodiments one or both can portions 408 a , b may be employed as the antenna 626 of the rf transceiver 624 of the fig3 a . referring to fig5 , the antenna / shield may either be allowed to float or it may be grounded via an rf choke 502 making connection to a ground line 500 of the inverter . where one or both of can portions 408 a , b is used as an antenna it is preferable that hole portions 410 have maximum dimension which is no greater than the wavelength at the frequency of operation of rf transceiver 624 , preferably no greater than a quarter wavelength so that the holes are effectively ‘ invisible ’ to the rf signal . in embodiments the rf transceiver 624 is a zigbee ™ ( transceiver ) operating at approximately 2 . 4 ghz , in which case the quarter wavelength dimension is 31 . 25 mm ( although in practice this will be modified a little by the effect of the dielectric overmoulding of the can / antenna ). referring now to fig6 a , this shows a further embodiment of an overmoulded solar photovoltaic inverter 700 , showing a view from above and two side elevations . the inverter 700 has a plastic overmould 702 , which forms the body of the inverter , into which is moulded a mounting plate 704 . in alternative embodiments the mounting may be formed from the overmould itself . the inverter has a pair of cables 706 a , b for positive and negative dc connections to a photovoltaic panel , for example of standard mc4 type , and an ac mains output cable 706 bearing a suitable connector at the end . fig6 b illustrates components of the inverter 700 prior to overmoulding , showing top and side views of the inverter 700 , cross - sectional views of top and bottom electrically conductive shield ( faraday cage ) components 750 , 760 , and the mounting plate 704 . as can be , seen the faraday cage incorporates a plurality of holes to enable the overmoulding to be performed after coating the circuit board with silicone or the like . no doubt many other effective alternatives will occur to the skilled person . it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments and encompasses modifications apparent to those skilled in the art lying within the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto .
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referring to fig1 , general features of a portable therapeutic gas concentrator are shown . typically gas is drawn into the inlet through an inlet filter 1 into a compressor 2 . compressed air is then delivered at a rate of about 3 lpm to 30 lpm ( through various filters and other devices ) to a gas separation section for selectively adsorbing a component of the gas . the preferred embodiments of the invention , although applicable to a variety of gas concentrator implementations , will be described in detail for the case where the inlet gas is air , and the gas separation section is based on psa , va , vpsa or some combination thereof , utilizing adsorbent beds 3 which selectively adsorb nitrogen , producing oxygen rich product . a variety of gas separation section cycle types and bed arrangements are known in the art , most of which can benefit from the embodiments of the invention . whatever the details of the gas separation section 3 , typically product gas is accumulated in a storage device 4 . storage devices may include a tank in the traditional sense , or may be some other device effective for holding a volume of gas , such as a tube , or some other volume filled with an adsorbent to increase its holding capacity . many modern concentrators used for therapeutic applications also include a programmable controller 5 to operate the concentrator and provide for user interface 8 and communications . also typical are gas exhaust 6 , and delivery to patient , which often is through a conserver device 7 . earlier portable oxygen concentrator designs were heavier and typically had an oxygen output of only around 0 . 1 l / lb of system weight . this low output to weight ratio was largely a result of thicker housing walls and redundant components to aid in sound reduction and vibration isolation . for a system that can be carried by the user by a shoulder strap or backpack system , a higher oxygen output to weight ratio is desired . embodiments of the current invention increase the oxygen to weight ratio by as much as 30 % over prior art concentrators while also achieving lower sound levels and increased durability . by comparison , popular existing systems have much lower oxygen to weight ratios . the inogen one delivered 0 . 75 l of oxygen and weighed 9 . 7 pounds for an output to weight ratio of 0 . 08 l / lb . the respironics everflo in measurements made by the inventors produced 1 . 05 l of oxygen at 10 . 2 pounds for an output to weight ratio of 0 . 10 l / lb . the inventors also tested the airsep freestyle and measured 0 . 45 l of oxygen and weighs 4 . 3 pounds for an output to weight ratio of 0 . 10 l / lb . while efforts have been made to achieve greater oxygen output to weight ratios in transportable units such as continuous flow portable concentrators like the sequal eclipse , these units have integrated cart handles and wheels so they are not designed for the same purpose as a carried or worn concentrator and are not as likely to experience the same level of abuse as the type of concentrator designed by the inventors . as a portable concentrator shrinks to a size where it can be carried , the likelihood of significant drop and impact is greatly increased . system housing wall thickness may be reduced from 0 . 050 ″ down to 0 . 030 ″ or less depending on the flame rating requirements of the selected material . further , as the volume of the concentrator shrinks from around 1200 cubic inches , the noise , vibration , and heat generating components become ever closer to the housing walls , and inlet vents , and exhaust vents . this volume reduction necessitates improved functionality from noise mitigation and vibration mitigation designs while not allowing for additional size or weight to achieve the noise and vibration reductions . for instance the inventors tested the invacare xpo2 and measured a high oxygen to weight ratio of 0 . 12 l / lb producing 0 . 84 l of oxygen at 7 . 3 pounds , but observed noise level increases to above 45 dba as a result . as miniaturization of a portable oxygen concentrator progresses the designers are faced with ever more difficult challenges , and this disclosure details several novel design approaches that offer solutions to weight , noise , and durability requirements . the figures depict exemplary implementations that resemble portions of an as - built novel concentrator . however it is to be understood that the details in the figures are by way of example only and in many cases serve to illustrate a particular version of a novel concept that need not follow the exact configuration of the figures to fall within the teachings and claims of the invention . referring to fig2 a general illustration of the novel concentrator is shown . concentrator housing 21 , battery 22 and user interface 8 are shown . the battery 22 , as depicted in the exemplary figure , forms a nearly seamless integration with the concentrator so that the battery actually forms the bottom of the concentrator and has integral overmolding that functions as an impact absorber and anti - slip footing for the concentrator . since many drops and impacts would be taken by the bottom of the concentrator , the location of the battery provides a level of protection where damage to the battery would not stop the concentrator from functioning on external power such as ac or dc power . in addition , the sliding rails of the battery and the interlocking components that form the mating rail on the concentrator form a particularly strong and rigid area of the concentrator that allow the battery and shell of the concentrator to dissipate energy without harmfully transmitting it to the working internals of the device . the housing 21 of the concentrator is also devoid of corners and flat surfaces to further stiffen the outer shell , which allows for reduced wall thickness without reduced durability . fig3 a and 3 b depict a particular embodiment of the concentrator 21 . base panel 33 connects to side panels 31 and 32 as well as front panel 34 and rear panel 35 as can be seen when front and rear panels 34 and 35 are attached they form an air plenum with an offset flow path , which for the exemplary panel design shown is completely non - overlapping . this offset ducting design is a significant improvement for noise isolation . a mesh screen 37 may be employed as a debris filter on the input air plenum . at least some and preferably all the side , front and rear panels are configured to overlap bottom panel 33 . when battery 22 is installed , it is configured to contact and retain the panels for added rigidity . similarly , top panel 35 also contacts all of the body panels as well . in the exemplary implementation , the air plenum space formed by the mating of panels 31 , 32 and 34 and the similar air plenum space formed by the mating of panels 31 , 32 and 35 create a double walled structure where there are a plurality of connecting points , preferably eight or more . these double walled structures are similar in function to the battery attachment on the bottom of the concentrator where multiple components are mated to increase rigidity and strength while also providing for noise reduction and easy serviceability . in one particular embodiment , the side panels wrap around the front and back of the device to mate together forming the inner wall of the double walled structure and are the two side panels and the top panel are joined with a single screw creating a three point anchor system . the side panels further have mirror imaged cut - outs to form the inner air vent opening at the front of the device and the inner exhaust vent opening at the rear of the device . to form the outer wall of the intake or the exhaust plenum , a convex and stylized panel is installed by engaging retention clips that protrude from the convex outer panel through slots on the side panels . these clips and slots are locked into place when the panel is slid upward and further reinforced because the battery blocks the panel from disengagement in the downward direction . the opening in the end panel is offset from the opening formed in the wall section of the side panels and the air flows through the space formed between the end panels and the wall section of the side panels . the path through both plenums is offset , preferably substantially non - overlapping or completely non - overlapping , to provide noise isolation by eliminating a direct path for noise to exit the device . as shown in fig4 a , b and c panels can be attached to each other via an interference fit such as snapped together with retention clips 42 and 43 . when assembled , retention clips may be further reinforced with fastener mounts 41 to ensure that housing holds its shape during impact to prevent undue deformation to internal components . the multitude of snapping features or other forms of interference fit type of fastening devices also allows for a reduction in the number of screws or fasteners required to assemble the concentrator since panels can be locked in place by two fasteners while maintaining strength around the entire perimeter of the panel through the snap features . this assembly method greatly reduces the assembly time and weight that would be required to have a high number of fasteners . for example , the sequal eclipse is a simple clamshell design that 10 screws to fasten the two halves together . the inventors design uses 13 screws to fasten six panels together for roughly 50 % less fasteners per housing panel . a particular implementation is shown in fig4 b and 4 c . as shown in fig4 b , when side panel 31 is mated with bottom panel 33 , a rail is formed along the length of the panels . when battery 22 is installed , the side panel can no longer be removed because the retention clips must be disengaged in the direction of movement that is blocked by the battery 22 . as shown in fig4 c , back panel 35 attached to side panels 31 and 32 by sliding upwards to engage the retention clips 43 . when battery 22 is installed , back panel 35 is prevented from sliding downward and thus cannot be disengaged by drop or impact . similar arrangements as shown in the figures also apply to the front and other side panels . thus when battery 22 is installed , all four panels are contacted and restrained such that the panels cannot be disassembled with battery in place and structural integrity is greatly increased . referring to fig5 , the plenums formed by the assembled panels are shown . input 52 is offset from opening 53 as output 55 is offset from opening 54 . preferably an air barrier 50 is present within the housing between the input and output plenums , and it carries an air mover 51 , which provides the only airflow path through the barrier . in a particular embodiment barrier 50 has a plurality of functions such as an electronic circuit board and air mover 51 is a cooling fan mounted to the board 50 . the circuit board 50 is preferably sealed to the housing with foam to prevent air leakage back across the air barrier . the air flow through the body is shown . in a particular as built embodiment , the absorber columns are in the input side of the barrier and the compressor is in the output side of the barrier . when assembled the panels and barrier constitute a very rigid shell with controlled noise airflow that is particularly suited to an oxygen concentrator where room air must be drawn into the system as a source of oxygen and the nitrogen rich exhaust gas must be expelled from the concentrator . it is advantageous to separate these gas streams so that there is no excess nitrogen drawn into the air inlet of the compressor . referring to fig6 a , b and c , details of the compressor side of the novel concentrator are shown . in the exemplary version depicted , a compressor bracket 64 is mounted to panel 33 . bracket 64 is preferably mounted to panel 33 with shock / vibration isolating elements which in the exemplary version shown are rubber feet 65 . feet 65 preferably have a durometer between 20 a and 60 a . compressor 62 is in turn mounted to bracket 64 with another set shock / vibration isolation elements , providing two levels of isolation . in the exemplary version , the second set of isolators is fabricated on the bracket as overmolded rubber 64 . panel 33 in an as - built configuration is the only housing panel with structural mounting for a vibrating component . panel 33 is an internal panel where the battery is mounted on the underside of the panel . this panel is particularly suited for compressor mounting since the highly mass dense battery absorbs much of the transmitted vibration and prevents the transmission of vibration to the side panels that may contact the user while the device is being carried . in the inventors &# 39 ; prior art concentrator the compressor was mounted to a separate internal chassis that was then surrounded by housing components which led to added weight and size . the separate internal chassis of the prior art concentrator was also more susceptible to damage during drop or impact because the structure was not supported across much of its surface area . panel 33 is fully supported by battery 22 leading to a much stronger and more resilient design . bracket 64 may be made of aluminum for example and in the exemplary version the compressor 62 is a two piston unit . the two piston inputs are connected by low profile compliant member 63 . element 63 in the embodiment shown is a rubber duct 630 and 631 with one snap fit and one threaded attachment to allow for vertical compliance since the compressor assemblies are pressed onto the motor shaft without a hard stop to prevent bearing loading . it may be made from two joined molded rubber pieces and the air channel preferably is between 0 . 02 and 0 . 08 sq in . the compliant member preferably has a durometer between 20 a and 70 a to prevent the flat surfaces from resonating noise . the inventors tried multiple materials and fabrication methods and achieved unacceptable results until the proper material durometer were selected . the flat geometry of the compliant member allows for adequate cross section to prevent flow loss from the compressor while also minimizing the protrusion height from the concentrator . with the small external dimensions of a carried portable oxygen concentrator all components must be optimized to reduce space in critical directions . prior art intake joining tubes were two hard plastic cylinders that slid internal to one another for compliance and protruded as much as twice as far from the compressor as the inventors compliant member 63 . air filter 61 is preferably arranged with its input and output at right angles and had tortuous air path 610 again for noise isolation . air filter 61 is plumbed to the air blower with compliant tubing in the durometer range of 20 a to 60 a . the compressor mounting arrangement preferably also includes bump stops 66 to limit compressor deflection in the event of the concentrator being dropped or impacted . stops 66 are placed adjacent to mounting feet 65 and compressor 62 . the stops 66 built into bracket 64 substantially prevent the compressor from colliding with delicate components like the printed circuit board or the external housing components . the bump stops 66 adjacent the mounting feet 65 also allow for softer mounting feet to be used without risk of tearing due to over deflection during drop impact . bracket 64 may also include mounting for beds with compliant airflow elements . when assembled , the compressor filter assembly us mounted to the housing through two layers of isolation and only connected to the rest of the system through compliant elements . thus the assembly is highly resistant to shock and displacement while providing vibration and noise isolation . fig7 a and 7 b illustrate another embodiment of the novel concentrator . pressure sensor 72 is designed to mount to a circuit card 50 with two fasteners . the in effect is a stiff fixed mounting that can create a torque or twist on the sensor between the mounting screws and the barbed tubing connections . due to the shock , vibration and general motion experienced in the portable concentrator environment , this fixed mounting point induced strain can couple vibration into the sensor and can affect the quality of the measured reading . the inventors developed clip 73 which snap mounts to the sensor 72 and is a cantilever designed to mount into fastener points intended for the sensor , while suspending the sensor itself so that it is mounted near the barbed tubing connections to relieve any strain or stress on the body of the sensor where the delicate pressure measuring components are housed . this strain relief in effect greatly diminishes the vibration coupled into the sensor and allows for more reliable and more sensitive breath detection capabilities . referring to fig8 , the absorber bed side of the concentrator of one embodiment is detailed . absorber columns 81 are supported , preferably at the top and bottom by isolation elements which fit into the housing panels such as panel 33 . these elements are in the exemplary version shown , foam blocks 82 and 83 with cutouts supporting the columns . the columns are located and held relative to each other by clips 84 . clips 84 and blocks 82 and 83 may also carry one or more other items in addition to absorber beds , including air dryers , an oxygen sensor , and product gas accumulator . thus the columns and other items are floating in the housing with no hard contact to the housing at all . this arrangement greatly improves the durability and survivability of the concentrator while providing yet more noise and vibration isolation . further in some embodiments , the columns are held in the concentrator without any screws whatsoever allowing for a very comply column replacement of the zeolite is ever contaminated . in addition , noise barrier 50 and blower 51 may also be mounted in the foam blocks . the resulting assembly shown in fig9 illustrates the overall concentrator assembly of one embodiment . rigid and strong shell 21 composed of interlocking panels and locked by battery 22 has no direct contact with any interior components . the columns 81 , dryer , accumulator , and all electronics 50 and fan 51 float in a float in a foam chassis 82 and 83 on one side of the air barrier . compressor 62 vibrates too much to use a foam chassis , so it and all directly attached components are supported by two levels of rubberized isolation , again with no direct hard attachment to the exterior housing panels . in one implementation , the only communication between the two sections is by way of compliant airflow elements such as soft plastic tubing and the like . airflow is carefully designed to reduce noise . the result is a very hard shell , with all interior components possessing a large amount of freedom of motion relative to the shell and each other , producing an extremely damage resistant and very quiet design . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has shown , described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention . it will be understood that various omissions , substitutions , and changes in the form of the detail of the apparatus as illustrated as well as the uses thereof , may be made by those skilled in the art , without departing from the spirit of the invention . consequently , the scope of the invention should not be limited to the foregoing discussions , but should be defined by appended claims .
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embodiments of the invention allow scalable repair block error correction for sequential multiple data blocks in a disk drive . for example , a repair block can be used to store error correction symbols for multiple data blocks . this could be one repair block for one data track , or it could be one repair block for a certain amount of data such as 1 megabyte ). the term “ scalable ” is used herein to mean that each repair block can be designed to correct 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , or more individual data blocks . in a preferred embodiment cauchy encoding is used because this mathematical method allows efficient / small amount of dedicated hardware to perform on - the - fly ( otf ) calculations ). prior art xor dedicated hardware only creates a parity block . the invention can be used advantageously in shingled magnetic recording ( smr ) disk drives . sequential data blocks are generally written in sequential tracks in smr drives , so one repair block for multiple sequential data blocks is practical . if used in conventional hard drives , the random writes of single lbas would require reading of the entire track then modification and rewrite of repair block . embodiments of the invention achieve verifiable otf - erasure recovery in smr - hdd using a combination ( concatenation ) of : the medc can be implemented in various ways known in the art . the ted is preferably designed as a “ cauchy - type .” both cauchy - type ecc , as well as reed solomon ecc , are “ maximum distance separable ” ( mds ) codes . a scalable “ cauchy - type sector erasure - correction code ” is a programmable set of sector - symbol multipliers that iteratively generates a cauchy matrix that multiplies the sectors in a track to produce cumulatively weighted parity - sectors , where the number of programmable multipliers equals the number of parity sectors . the unique property of a “ cauchy - type ” matrix guarantees that there is a similar set of programmable multipliers that will recover any combination of erased data sectors [ and parity sectors ], up to the mds - correction capability , by iteratively generating the appropriate inverse submatrix . this “ cauchy - type ” property permits otf - erased sector recovery of a programmable number of erased sectors , using relatively inexpensive encoder / decoder hardware and , most importantly , it permits the storage of parity - sectors in sram making this scheme implementable in hard drive controller ( hdc ) logic . in contrast shift - register storage of parity sectors would require millions of gates . the concatenated medc provides sector erasure pointers to the ted and also a means to verify its correctness , as the parity - sector calculation automatically satisfies the check equations of the metadata - ecc . this provides a means to verify the integrity of the parity sectors and furthermore the recovery of old key - id of the erased sectors as a “ data integrity handshake ”. this natural concatenation guarantees a simple implementation of the mandatory verification of the erased - sector recovery , using existing hdc - hardware . benefits of the invention include density gains on the order of 3 % of hard error rate specification . ecc information occupies ˜ 0 . 5 % at track od and 1 . 0 % at id . complexity increases with increased number of sector correction capability . sequential operation performance is maintained . fig1 a is a block illustration of selected components in the data flow path 10 in a write operation in a disk drive according to an embodiment of the invention . unless noted otherwise the components of the drive operate according to the prior art . the write data flows into the ecc module 18 which includes the track - erasure encoder / decoder ( ted ) 15 and media erasure detection encoder / decoder ( medc ) 14 . the medc receives the write data ( also called user data ) and generates the data sector which is the data plus the calculated ecc checks for the data . the ted 15 uses the data and the checks generated by the medc along with the cumulative sums in its buffer to generate the output of additional parity sectors p 1 . . . p r as the sum of weighted data sectors for the track . the drive formatter ( df ) 16 performs the standard function of formatting the data before it is delivered the channel 17 . the df 16 appends the parity sectors ecc to the medc output to supply the channel 17 with the concatenated sector data and p 1 . . . p r parity sectors to write the track information . fig1 b is a block illustration of components in the data flow path 10 in a read operation in a disk drive according to an embodiment of the invention . the data sector and p 1 . . . p r parity sectors information comes back from the channel 17 through the df 16 and into the medc 14 . the ted 15 uses the data output from the medc and generates the erased data sectors for input back to the medc . fig1 c illustrates the block structure of encoder / syndrome generator components of a ted 15 that generate r - parity sectors according to an embodiment of the invention . the ted 15 includes r - programmable multipliers 91 that each generate a parity sector . the encoder / syndrome generator takes track t =[ b 1 , b 2 , . . . b n ] composed of n - blocks , over gf ( 2 12 ) is encoded into parity sectors { p j } 1 r by cumulative weighted symbol sums over the block index i : p j =[ σ i = 1 n a i j s i , 1 , σ i = 1 n a i j s i , 2 , . . . , σ i = 1 n a i j s i , n ] the exponent i of the gf ( 2 12 )- multipliers { a i j }, i = 1 , . . . , n , is identical to the block index i in b i in the track t [ multiplier weights are generated otf by exponentiation of a j , j = 1 , . . . , r , the number of parity sectors ]. after a read , recalculate modified parity sectors { circumflex over ( p )} j , the weighted block sum calculation skips over the erased blocks b i sub ( k ) indices i k to produce syndromes s j = p j ⊕{ circumflex over ( p )} j . given the syndrome - sector s j , j = 1 , . . . , r and the list of block b i sub ( k ) erasure indices i k we need to calculation the multiplier matrix composed of the multiplier columns indexed by block b i sub ( k ) erasure indices i k , the row indices j are those of the error - free parity sectors . the syndrome sectors contain cumulative a i k j — weighted sums of the erased blocks b i sub ( k ) . the decoder needs to solve the matrix equation m − 1 s , which requires that the erased block multiplier matrix be invertible . track ecc data integrity is address as follows . parity sectors are weighted cumulative block sums and satisfy block medc check equations . parity sector medc decidability requires adding cumulative weighted sums of lba / key - id block data , excluding erased blocks . data integrity verification includes regeneration and “ hand - shake ” confirmation of old key - id . the track - erasure encoder / decoder ( ted ) 15 architecture permits abort - recovery at any block location within a track without the penalty of having to recalculate the parity sectors for the whole track . block - erasure pointers are used by ted to recover erased blocks to be written in allocated dram - buffer space . ted erasure recovery can be done either on - the - fly ( otf ) or in data recovery procedures ( drp ). the recovery process for the ted buffer 15 b in the event of abort during writing multi - sectors of data will be described with reference to fig2 . the assumption in this example is that the abort occurs during writing of the jth sector of at least j + 1 sectors . the write command is aborted immediately due to errors . the ted buffer 15 b is corrupted by bad data . as shown here , the bad data jth sector is loaded into ted buffer 15 b and medc buffer 14 b . correct data for the ted buffer can be recovered without drp . when write command is resumed , new data is fed from dram . as new data is filled in , ted buffer is recovered at the same time . the recovery method is to read the jth old sector data in medc buffer 14 b first as new data jth sector is written . the ted buffer is then loaded with the content defined as : fig3 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the invention for ecc correction on - the - fly . all the sectors on the track are read by the loop 31 - 34 . the medc ecc is used to determine the correctness of each sector and count failing ones 32 . correct sector data is fed to the syndrome generator 33 . if the number of failing sectors is more than a predetermined value “ n ” 35 , the method does a re - read or another error recovery to attempt to reduce the number of error sectors down to the correctable number 36 - 40 . the starting sector can be chosen from arbitrary sectors on the track . lba of failing sectors is available in unc error map . when the number of error sectors & lt ;= n , track erasure decoding according to the invention is available and the method jumps to block 41 . hardware / firmware ( hw / fw ) sets the erasure pointer from the error sector lba before starting decoding . hw / fw starts track erasure decoding , then waits for decoding completion . medc error checking is performed for recovered sectors after track erasure decoding 42 - 43 . medc validates recovered sectors as well as recovers the lost lba and key id and checks recovered data , then waits for checking completion . if medc error checking is ok , recovered sector can be transferred from ted sram to dram 44 . if the correction limit is exceeded then failure is reported 45 . fig4 a and 4b are illustrations of data that will be used to describe an error correction process according to an embodiment of the invention . in this example sector data is coming in from channel as in fig1 b . sot is start of track and eot is end of track . medc validates data sectors and non - adjacent sectors x 0 and x 1 are determined to be bad as shown in fig4 b . good sector data are uploaded into dram buffer and accumulated in ted buffer at the same time . should bad sector data be detected , the method discards bad sector data but allocates space in dram buffer for erasure sectors e 0 , e 1 as shown in fig4 a . in fig3 . and 4 b , erasure sectors e 0 , e 1 are recovered and uploaded to dram following the last sector data . a cauchy - matrix track ecc for an embodiment of the invention can be found as described in this section . choose two elements { a , b } ∈ gf ( 2 12 ) and define an r × n matrix whose rows are indexed by i and whose columns are indexed by j . for example , a is gf ( 2 12 )- generator and b = a 499 . thus , any submatrix of c up to r × r - size is guaranteed to have non - zero determinant . therefore , we can decode up to r erasures using up to r error free parity sectors in any order . a m = π k = 1 m − 1 ( a k + a m ) π k = m + 1 r ( a k + a m ), m & lt ; r a ( r )= π k = 1 r − 1 ( a k + a r ) b m = π k = 1 m − 1 ( b k + b m ) π k = m + 1 r ( b k + b m ), m & lt ; r b ( r )= π k = 1 r − 1 ( b k + b r ) e m = π k = 1 r ( a m + b k ), m = 1 , . . . , r f m = π k = 1 r ( a k + b m ), m = 1 , . . . , r the r - parity sector track - ecc decoder inverts the block - erasure cauchy - submatrix m by using the 4r precalculated constant lists { a , b , e , f }:
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fig1 illustrates a valve arrangement according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention , having an engine valve 2 and having a driving device ( actuator ) for said engine valve . the valve 2 comprises — in the usual way — a valve plate 3 which is adapted to a valve seat ring 7 in order to close off the engine bay . when the valve 2 is open , that is to say when the valve is lowered , the combustion chamber 4 of the engine is connected to the combustion gas duct 6 . it is said connection that is to be controlled or regulated by means of the valve drive . the engine valve 2 bears , on its valve shank 5 , an actuating piston 14 which is fixedly connected thereto and which has an upper active surface , which is formed on the upper side of the actuating piston 14 , and also a lower active surface , which is formed on the underside of the actuating piston 14 . together with the pressure chamber housing 15 in which the actuating piston 14 is arranged so as to be movable upward and downward , the actuating piston 14 forms an upper pressure chamber 10 and a lower pressure chamber 12 . the two pressure chambers 10 and 12 have in each case one first fluid valve 20 and 22 and one second fluid valve 24 and 26 for a pressure fluid , in the exemplary embodiment described here a hydraulic oil or the fuel for the engine , preferably a diesel fuel . in the present exemplary embodiment , said fluid valves are designed as solenoid valves , with in each case only one open and one closed position being provided for the first fluid valves 20 and 22 in each case via the fluid inflow line 16 to the pressure reservoir p 2 and via the fluid outflow line 18 to the pressure reservoir p 1 , while the second fluid valves 24 and 26 can be connected in each case via the fluid inflow and outflow line 19 to the base reservoir p 0 . the second fluid valves 24 and 26 can be controlled in analog or — alternatively — digital fashion into a multiplicity of positions . it is pointed out at this juncture that said analog or digital modulating design of the opening of the second fluid valves 24 and 26 is merely exemplary . other modulation methods such as intermittent opening , if necessary also with for example pulse width modulation assuming a suitable bandwidth of the opening , may likewise be used . the two first fluid valves 20 and 22 can be selectively connected to a first pressure reservoir p 2 for the pressurized fluid and to a second pressure reservoir p 1 . here , it is provided that , to accelerate the engine valve 2 in each case one direction , one of the first fluid valves 20 and 22 is opened and therefore the first pressure reservoir p 2 is connected to one of the two pressure chambers . here , for acceleration for the purpose of opening the engine valve 2 , the upper first fluid valve 20 is opened . so as not to generate a counter pressure , the lower second fluid valve 26 , which is connected to the base reservoir p 0 , is simultaneously opened . here , for acceleration for the purpose of closing the engine valve 2 , the lower first fluid valve 22 is opened . so as not to generate a counter pressure , the upper second fluid valve 24 , which is connected to the base reservoir p 0 , is now simultaneously opened . as already mentioned , the first fluid valves 20 and 22 can also be connected to a second pressure reservoir p 1 . here , it is provided that , to brake the engine valve 2 in each case one direction , one of the first fluid valves 20 and 22 is opened and therefore the second pressure reservoir p 1 is connected to one of the two pressure chambers . here , for braking during the opening of the engine valve 2 , the lower first fluid valve 22 , connected to the second pressure reservoir p 1 , is opened . to continue to fill the upper pressure chamber 10 with fluid , the upper second fluid valve 24 which is connected to the base reservoir p 0 is simultaneously opened . here , the fluid flows , unpressurized , into the upper pressure chamber 10 . here , for braking during the closing of the engine valve 2 , the upper first fluid valve 20 , connected to the second pressure reservoir p 1 , is opened . to continue to fill the lower pressure chamber 12 with fluid , the lower second fluid valve 26 which is connected to the base reservoir p 0 is simultaneously opened . here , the fluid flows , unpressurized , into the lower pressure chamber 12 . in the present exemplary embodiment , it is provided , and the control arrangement is also set up in such a way , that a non - accelerated movement can be carried out in each case between the acceleration and the braking processes . here , the two first fluid valves 20 and 22 are closed and the two second fluid valves 24 and 26 are opened , such that the engine valve 2 performs a virtually uniform movement and in each case one pressure chamber 10 or 12 is emptied and the other pressure chamber 10 or 12 is filled to the same extent . it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that , by means of the length of said non - accelerated phase , the movement of the engine valve can be regulated using measurement data regarding the present position of the engine valve 2 . this is provided in the exemplary embodiment . it is also provided in the present exemplary embodiment that , for a short time , both second fluid valves 24 and 26 are open while the first fluid valve 20 or 22 are still open . this has the effect that no shocks occur as a result of the incompressible fluid . the supply for the first fluid valves 20 and 22 is fed from said base reservoir p 0 — as described below . above , in each case individual fluid valves 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 have been described for the fluid valve means according to the invention . in particular , the first fluid valve means 20 and 22 with the selective connections , described in the exemplary embodiment , to p 1 and p 2 may however also be designed in each case as separate fluid valves for p 1 and p 2 — without restricting the generality of the invention . provision may also be made for the second fluid valve means 24 and 26 to be divided into in each case one merely switchable fluid valve and additionally one fluid valve which can be controlled in terms of its flow rate , if the specific design of the hydraulic or pneumatic relationships and / or the regulating bandwidth necessitate this . in the present exemplary embodiment , two - stage pressure generation is carried out from the base reservoir p 0 firstly to the second pressure reservoir p 1 and from there to the first pressure reservoir p 2 , in each case by means of a pressure stage 31 and 32 which comprises a regulable high - pressure pump 33 and 35 respectively and a non - return valve 38 and 39 respectively . in said exemplary embodiment , therefore , the energy recovered by means of the braking of the engine valves 2 is used in its entirety for maintaining the pressure in the first pressure reservoir p 2 in that — after a starting process — the first pump from p 0 to p 1 consumes very little energy and the high - pressure pump from p 1 to p 2 is correspondingly relieved of load . an optimal recuperation system is therefore proposed . a central electronic control / regulating unit 42 determines , for each engine valve , the optimum movement sequence for each engine valve on account of the ambient and operating conditions and transmits said specification to the electronic valve control device 40 , which outputs the commands for opening the fluid valves . each engine valve 2 has a separate electronic valve control device 40 . the position of the engine valve 2 is detected over the entire movement path and transmitted to the valve control device 40 by means of a measuring sensor 50 , and said valve control device 40 , in the event of deviations from the setpoint value , corrects the opening of the respective outlet solenoid valve 24 and 26 to p 0 . the lift of the engine valves 2 and the course of the movement over time may be determined freely . the central electronic control / regulating unit 42 determines the pressure in the high - pressure system , specifically in the pressure reservoirs p 2 and p 1 . in the fluid pressure system p 2 , the same pressure prevails for all the engine valves 2 which it supplies . the pressure may be adapted to different operating conditions by controlling the regulable high - pressure pump 33 . as parameters for the regulation by means of the central regulating device 42 , use is made , for example , of the following : throttle pedal position , brake actuation , gear selection , program selection of automatic transmission , temperatures of engine oil or water , position of the vehicle ( ascending or descending gradient ), outside air temperature . each engine valve 2 has a valve control device 40 which , by means of control commands to the fluid valves 20 and 22 and also 24 and 26 , controls the movement of the engine valve as precisely as possible according to the specifications of the central valve regulating device 42 . all the valve control devices 40 of an engine transmit the parameters of the valve movement back to the central regulating device 42 , which can adapt the pressure in the high - pressure system — in particular in the first pressure reservoir p 2 . with said system of the comparison of the actual position of the engine valve 2 with the setpoint position , deviations from the specification are corrected . such deviations may have different causes , for example for the fluid : temperature , viscosity and aging , and with regard to wear : play between the piston and cylinder chamber , production tolerances . the valve shank 5 of the engine valve 2 protrudes , at the upper delimitation of the upper pressure chamber 10 , through the cover of the cylinder . a spiral spring 62 acts , in a valve spring chamber 66 , on a spring plate which is connected to the valve shank 5 . in the event of faults in a limited number of engine valves , the relevant cylinder — or else plurality of cylinders — may be partially shut down and the pistons moved passively . an emergency running program with mechanical restoration of engine valves 2 into a rest state is therefore provided . in the rest state , the fluid in the high - pressure system can be discharged by means of a brief opening of all the fluid valves . the engine valves 2 are guided by means of said springs 62 into their upper position in order that servicing and repairs can be carried out in the unpressur ± zed state . the valves do not come into contact with the pistons of the engine when said pistons are in the vicinity of top dead center . the cylinder head , when removed from the engine block , may be put down in the installed position without the risk of damage . the mounting and dismounting of the valve drive are thereby considerably simplified . fluid which passes into the valve spring chamber 66 through the upper valve guide 60 at the transition from the upper pressure chamber 10 to said valve spring chamber 66 is conducted through an opening into the unpressurized base reservoir p 0 . in a second exemplary embodiment according to fig2 , the engine fuel is used as fluid , and the first pressure reservoir p 2 serves as an intermediate stage for the provision p 3 of the required fuel pressure for the fuel injection . a third pump is provided which provides the required fuel pressure . the operating conditions for the control and the movement of the engine valves 2 are otherwise unchanged . it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that , within the scope of the patent claims , further modifications are possible without it being necessary to depart from the basic concept of optimum recuperation . these include for example an embodiment ( not illustrated here in the figure ) in which the first pressure reservoir p 2 is fed directly from the base reservoir p 0 , while the second pressure reservoir p 1 is fed either by means of an auxiliary pump or a branch from the first pressure reservoir p 2 only during the starting of the engine when no fluid pressure is yet present there , but then obtains its pressure solely from the braking of the engine valves 2 . in this case , it may be provided that the excess of energy obtained in the second pressure reservoir p 1 as a result of the braking serves — as an intermediate stage — for the above - described provision of the required fuel pressure for the fuel injection . in the above description , it has been assumed that the pressures in the two pressure reservoirs p 1 and p 2 will be unequal , with the pressure in p 2 being assumed to be greater than that in p 1 if p 1 is provided as an intermediate stage for p 2 . this is however not necessary . the pressure in p 1 may basically be equal to the pressure in the first pressure reservoir . the two pressure reservoirs p 1 and p 2 may then be connected or formed together . in this case , the braking force for the engine valves 2 would then be approximately equal to their acceleration force . in one particularly simple , not specially claimed but highly advantageous design of the recuperation , only one pressure reservoir cylinder p 2 is provided , which is then preferably connected by means of in each case one fluid line 16 and 18 , which is simultaneously designed as a fluid inflow line and also as a fluid outflow line , to the upper first fluid valve 20 and to the lower first fluid valve 20 on the one hand and to the pressure reservoir p 2 . said design with self - recuperation is particularly advantageous if the valve control is controlled by means of the length of the overrunning phase . in this case , it would also be possible for the overrunning phase to be configured such that the two first fluid valves 20 and 22 are open , if necessary also when the second fluid valves 24 and 26 are closed . it would even be possible for the pressure relationships to be interchanged , such that the braking force of the engine valves 2 is greater than their acceleration force , which would then be imparted for longer than the braking force . this may be realized for example by interchanging p 2 and p 1 , with which indeed the two first fluid valves 20 and 22 are acted on .
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turning first to fig1 to 3 , a description concerning the various components of the present invention will now be briefly discussed . as can be seen in this embodiment , fig1 shows a sacrificial anode assembly 2 which comprises a generally cylindrical sacrificial metal element 4 which has an elongate ductile connector 6 extending from a trailing first end thereof . the sacrificial metal element 4 includes a catalytic activating agent or a catalytic activator 8 ( only diagrammatically shown ) and both the sacrificial metal element 4 and the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 are at least partially received and accommodated within a central bore 10 of a generally cylindrical spacer 12 . following completion of assembly of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 , the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is sealed within a substantially evacuated container 14 ( only diagrammatically shown ), as generally shown in fig1 , which is substantially free of oxygen , water vapor and / or carbon dioxide so as to inhibit the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 from reacting with the sacrificial metal element 4 and thereby improve the storage or shelf life of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . the housing spacer 12 comprises a generally elongate cylindrical body 16 which has both a leading end 18 and a trailing end 20 and the central bore 10 facilitates insertion of the sacrificial metal element 4 in the housing spacer 12 . when the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is inserted into a cavity 22 provided with an electrolytic backfill 24 , as discussed below in further detail and generally shown in fig4 , the backfill 24 provides communication between the sacrificial metal element 4 and the adjacent concrete 26 . the housing spacer 12 is designed to surround and at least partially encase and enclose the sacrificial metal element 4 and prevent both the leading end surface as well as the perimeter side surface of the sacrificial metal element 4 from directly contacting with the concrete 26 , i . e ., as generally shown in fig1 , the leading end surface of the sacrificial metal element 4 is spaced axially inwardly and away from the leading end 18 of the housing spacer 12 so as to avoid contact with the concrete 26 . the exterior surface of the housing spacer 12 has a plurality of radially outwardly extending retaining members 28 which facilitate spacing and generally centering of the housing spacer 12 , and thus centering of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 , radially with respect to the walls or inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 ( see fig4 ) as well as retention of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 . the interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 has one or more nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 located for engagement with the at least one annular groove or recess 34 formed in the sacrificial metal element 4 for coupling , connecting and captively retaining the sacrificial metal element 4 to the housing spacer 12 . as noted above , the sacrificial metal element 4 has at least one annular groove or recess 34 formed within the exterior surface of the sacrificial metal element 4 . the at least one annular groove or recess 34 is located so as to engage with the one or more nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 , supported by interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 , and maintain a secure engagement between the sacrificial metal element 4 and the housing spacer 12 . generally there is sufficient play between the at least one annular groove or recess 34 and the one or more nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 so as to permit some relative movement therebetween while still securely coupling the sacrificial metal element 4 to the housing spacer 12 . it is to be appreciated that a variety of other types of conventional coupling mechanisms or arrangements , for reliably coupling or connecting the sacrificial metal element 4 to the housing spacer 12 , may be utilized instead of the at least one annular groove or recess 34 and the one or more nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 , as discussed above , without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . one challenge with off site or pre - application or integration of an activating agent or an activator with the sacrificial metal element 4 is that the activating agent or the activator typically begins reacting with the sacrificial metal element 4 as soon as the activating agent or the activator is applied to or mixed with the sacrificial metal element 4 in the presence of oxygen and water vapor . furthermore , it is to be appreciated that carbon dioxide may also react with the sacrificial metal element to form a metal carbonate passivating layer on the sacrificial metal element . in order to minimize such reaction ( s ), it is necessary to package the coated sacrificial metal element 4 , or the sacrificial metal element 4 with the integral activating agent or the activator , generally within an environment which is free of reactive gasses or within a container 14 shortly after combining the sacrificial metal element 4 with the catalytic activating agent or the activator , e . g ., typically within 14 days after assembling or combining those components with one another . a preferred method of gas free packaging of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is a conventional vacuum packaging process in which the sacrificial anode assembly 4 is vacuum sealed within an evacuated plastic bag or container 14 , and this process is discussed below in further detail . other methods of inert packaging of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 are envisioned and contemplated , such as packaging the sacrificial anode assembly 2 in a quantity of a non - reactive gas ( es ), such as nitrogen , or argon , which is sealed within the sealed container 14 along with the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . examples of suitable containers 14 for packaging the sacrificial anode assembly 2 include sealed plastic bags , both hard or soft plastic containers , metal containers , shrink wrap packaging , etc . the housing spacer 12 is preferably a material that is designed for centering and maintaining the sacrificial metal element 4 in a spaced relationship within the cavity 22 . the housing spacer 12 must be sufficiently stiff such that it will not collapse under the weight of the sacrificial metal element 4 . as described above , the housing spacer 12 is preferably assembled with the sacrificial metal element 4 and the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 , prior to embedding or placing the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 , but such assembly could be performed on site if desired or necessary . the housing spacer 12 preferably is cylindrically shaped and a diameter of the central bore 10 of the housing spacer 12 is larger than a diameter of an exterior surface 36 of the sacrificial metal element 4 . it is to be appreciated that the housing spacer 12 can also be conical or venturi shaped and / or have a varying distance between the interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 and the exterior surface 36 of the sacrificial metal element 4 . the housing spacer 12 ideally has a cylindrical body 16 , so as to substantially match the preferably cylindrical shape of the sacrificial metal element 4 , but the housing spacer 12 may also have a cross section that is triangular , rectangular , pentagonal , hexagonal , or some other desired shape . for sacrificial metal element 4 having a length of less than about 75 mm , typically only one housing spacer 12 is used , while for sacrificial metal elements 4 having a length greater than 75 mm , typically the sacrificial metal element 4 accommodates two or more sequentially arranged housing spacers 12 ( see fig5 and 6 ). when two or more sequentially arranged housing spacers 12 are utilized for the longer sacrificial metal elements 4 ′, it is to be appreciated that such longer sacrificial metal elements 4 ′ are provided with two or more sequentially arranged and spaced apart annular grooves or recesses 34 , each located for receiving and accommodating the one or more respective nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 of the respective housing spacer 12 . the body 16 of the housing spacer 12 is typically solid , but the body 16 may include one or more interruptions 38 such as holes , slots , windows , perforations or apertures ( only shown in dashed lines in fig2 ) in order to increase ion flow and conductivity through the body 16 of the housing spacer 12 . while such interruptions 38 in the body 16 of the housing spacer 12 will generally increase the conductivity , they also will simultaneously reduce the structural integrity of the housing spacer 12 , and increase the possibility the sacrificial metal element 4 may inadvertently directly contact the reinforcing steel 35 . in view of this drawback , the number , the size , the spacing and the location of the interruptions 38 in the body 16 should be designed so as to avoid the sacrificial metal element 4 from contacting the reinforcing steel 35 . fig1 and 4 shows the plurality of nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 , supported by the interior surface 40 of the body 16 of the housing spacer 12 , received within the annular groove or recess 34 of the sacrificial metal element 4 so as to facilitate a reliable but a relatively loose interconnection therebetween . since the radial inwardly length of the plurality of nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 is greater than the radial depth of the annular groove or recess 34 of the sacrificial metal element 4 , an annular gap 42 is formed between the exterior surface 36 of the sacrificial metal element 4 and the interior surface 40 of the body 16 of the housing spacer 12 . this gap 42 permits the electrolytic backfill 24 to directly contact and electrochemically couple and connect the sacrificial metal element 4 with the concrete 26 . the size of the gap 42 , located between the interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 and the exterior surface of the sacrificial metal element 4 , is preferably sufficient so that the gap 42 to be at least partially filled with a small quantity of the conductive electrolytic backfill 24 . by providing a gap 42 between the housing spacer 12 and the sacrificial metal element 4 and using a conductive electrolytic backfill 24 , which is sufficiently pliable to penetrate into the gap 42 between the housing spacer 12 and the sacrificial metal element 4 , the otherwise negative effect of the housing spacer 12 , on the current output of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 , becomes negligible . this effect is dependent on the conductivity and fineness of the backfill and the presence of the activating agent . the effect of the housing spacer 12 on current output is not significant when the gap 42 is about 1 mm and lime putty is used as a backfill 24 . the housing spacer 12 also has no significant effect on the current output when the gap is completely filled with activating agent . preferably , there are between two and eight nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 . the nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 may ideally have a wedge shaped profile , as generally shown in fig1 . this permits the sacrificial metal element 4 to easily be slid and snapped in place within the internal bore 10 of the spacer 12 , and be captively retained therein once the one or more nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 are received within and engage with the at least one annular groove or recess 34 . the nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 can be coplanar , axially spiral , or axially randomly distributed . it is to be appreciated that the size , the number and the location of nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 are selected so as not to compromise the open area through which ions can flow into and out of the housing spacer 12 . in an alternative embodiment , the nub ( s ), protrusion ( s ) or annular member ( s ) 32 could each be coupled to or formed as an annular ring which is sized to engage with the annular groove or recess 34 formed in the sacrificial metal element 4 . it is to be appreciated that in the place of , or in addition to , protrusions 32 located on the interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 , separate protrusions may be formed on exterior of the sacrificial metal element 4 that would engage a mating groove ( s ), hole ( s ), recess ( es ) or indentation ( s ) formed in the interior surface 40 of the housing spacer 12 . the plurality of retaining members 28 of the housing spacer 12 typically extend both axially and radially from at least adjacent one trailing end 20 of the housing spacer 12 , as generally shown in fig1 - 4 . the retaining members 28 each have a sufficient length so as to engage with an inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 and thereby assist with both retaining and maintaining the housing spacer 12 , and thus the sacrificial metal element 4 , centered in place , even in an overhead downwardly facing cavity 22 , as well as assists with retaining the backfill 24 within the cavity 22 . the size , the number and the spacing of the retaining members 28 are generally limited to maximize the open area through which ions can flow past the retaining members 28 . for example , the housing spacer may have between three and ten retaining members 28 integrally formed with the housing spacer 12 . each retaining member 28 preferably has a width of between 2 and 8 mm , and a length of between 7 and 25 mm . the angle at which the retaining members 28 project away from the exterior wall of the housing spacer 12 assists with applying a desired “ spring ” or retaining pressure , e . g ., a compression force , by which the retaining members 28 engage with the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 and thereby retain the sacrificial anode assembly 2 and the backfill 24 in their installed position . the angle formed between the retaining members 28 and the housing spacer 12 is preferably between about 30 degrees and 70 degrees . as each retaining member 28 generally tapers radially away from the housing spacer 12 , from the leading end of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 toward the trailing end of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . such taper facilitates ease of insertion of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 , as the retaining members 28 are each easily deflected radially inward somewhat as the outer ends or edges of the retaining members 28 engage with and slide along the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 . once the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is completely received within the cavity 22 , so that the leading end 18 abuts against a base of the cavity 22 as generally shown in fig4 , the outer ends or edges of the retaining members 28 have a tendency , due to the angle that they project from the exterior surface of the housing spacer 12 , to be compressed by and thus frictionally engage against the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 and thereby facilitate a secure retention of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 . during a typical installation , the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is inserted into a cavity 22 , which is typically a cored or a drilled hole or a cut chase , mechanically formed in the concrete 26 containing the steel to be protected and located adjacent to exposed steel 35 that is connected to the steel to be protected . the cavity 22 is typically cylindrical in shape and has a diameter of between 15 and 100 mm , e . g ., typically approximately between 25 and 50 mm , and a depth of between 35 and 500 mm , typically approximately between 35 and 300 mm , which is sized to receive one or more desired sacrificial anode assemblies 2 . it is to be appreciated that the diameter cavity 22 must be larger than exterior surface of the housing spacer 12 , but is preferably smaller than the outer diameter d ( see fig3 ) of the retaining members 28 so that the retaining members 28 can engage with and be deflected somewhat by the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 , as the desired sacrificial anode assembly 2 is received therein , and frictionally retain the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 , even in an overhead cavity 22 . typically , the cavity 22 will have a length which is somewhat longer than a total axial length of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . the preferred process for packaging the anode assembly 2 is vacuum packing , a process used in the food processing industry . in this case , the vacuum bags will preferably have at least one face that is dimpled to facilitate the flow of air out of the bag and , once the required vacuum is achieved , the opening of the bag is sealed by conventionally heating and melting of the overlapped plastic layers together . the plastic forming the plastic bag should be sufficiently thick and durable so as not be easily punctured during the vacuum packing process . more than one layer of plastic may be used to avoid the bag from being inadvertently punctured during the packaging , shipping , distribution or sales processes . the vacuum packaging greatly increases the shelf life of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . as noted above , a suitable backfill 24 , to be used with the anode assembly is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 8 , 002 , 964 , and such disclosure is fully incorporated herein , as see gb 2430 938 . the backfill 24 is ideally a pliable , putty - like , ionically conductive material . the backfill 24 is typically preferably first placed within the cavity 22 and then the complete sacrificial anode assembly 2 is preferably pressed directly into the backfill 24 , accommodated within the cavity 22 , which may cause some of the backfill 24 to be displaced from inside the cavity 22 . it is to be appreciated that this process may , for some applications , be reversed . the backfill 24 is selected such that the backfill 24 retains its plasticity during the installation . in order to install the sacrificial anode assembly 2 , as noted above , the cavity 22 is first cored or drilled into the concrete 26 . then a sufficient quantity of the pliable , electrolytic backfill 24 is placed within the cavity 22 . next , the sealed , evacuated container 14 , containing the preassembled sacrificial anode assembly 2 , is opened and the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is then inserted into the backfill 24 located within the cavity 22 , the leading end 18 of the housing spacer 12 first , so that the connector 6 remains located outside of the cavity 22 . if a preassembled sacrificial anode assembly 2 is not available , then the sacrificial anode assembly 2 should preferably be assembled on site for insertion as a sacrificial anode assembly into the cavity 22 . lastly , the connector 6 is then connected to a desired piece of the steel 35 , and located within the concrete 26 , in a conventional manner . turning now to fig5 , this figure shows two sequentially arranged housing spacers 12 which both accommodate a portion of the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 . the two housing spacers 12 both assist with maintaining the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 spaced radially from the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 during use , as shown in fig6 . due to the sequential arrangement of the housing spacers 12 as well as the manner in which the housing spacers 12 each accommodate a portion of the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 ′, the backfill 24 is still readily able to flow in and around the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 ′, during operation of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 . turning now to fig7 , this figure shows an elongate housing spacer 12 ′ which accommodates a substantial portion of the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 ′. according to this embodiment , the elongate housing spacer 12 ′ is provided with two sets of spaced apart retaining members 28 which both assist with maintaining the elongate housing spacer 12 ′ generally centered within the cavity 22 and thereby space the longer elongate sacrificial metal element 4 ′ from the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 during use , as generally shown in fig7 . in order to facilitate passage of the backfill 24 around the sacrificial metal element 4 , during operation of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 , as well as the flow of ions , one or more openings interruptions 38 may be provided within the body 16 of the elongate housing spacer 12 ′. turning now to fig8 , an alternative arrangement of the retaining members 28 of the housing spacer 12 is shown . according to this embodiment , the retaining members 28 each generally have an oval shape which extends from adjacent the leading end 18 toward the trailing end 20 of the housing spacer 12 , e . g ., forms a taper profile . such tapered profile facilitates ease of insertion of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 since the intermediate sections 28 of the retaining members 28 are easily deflected radially inward somewhat as those sections of the retaining members 28 engage with and slide along the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 . once the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is completely received within the cavity 22 , so that the leading end 18 abuts against a base of the cavity 22 , the intermediate sections 28 ′ of the retaining members 28 are compressed by and thus frictionally engage against the inwardly facing surface 30 of the cavity 22 and thereby facilitate a secure retention of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within the cavity 22 . it is to be appreciated that a variety of other types of other retaining members 28 , e . g ., wedges , etc ., may be utilized for generally centering and retaining the housing spacer 12 and / or the sacrificial metal element 4 and the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 , within the cavity 22 , without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the important feature of the retaining members 28 is that they must generally frictionally engage with the inwardly facing surface 40 of the cavity 22 so as to generally center and retain at least the sacrificial metal element 4 within the cavity 22 . with reference now to fig9 , this figure shows the sacrificial metal element 4 and the housing spacer 12 embedded in a backfill 24 located within an anode cavity 22 that may be , for example , a 25 mm diameter by 40 mm deep hole which is mechanically drilled or otherwise bored or formed within a concrete 26 . the sacrificial metal element 4 may be coated with a catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator . the anode cavity 22 opens into an adjacent cavity 44 that was formed because of corrosive damage . in this adjacent cavity 44 , a steel bar 35 was exposed and cleaned , in a conventional manner . the elongate ductile connector 6 interconnects the sacrificial metal element 4 with the steel bar 35 in order to deliver a galvanic protection current from the sacrificial metal element 4 to reinforcing steel ( not shown ) located within the concrete 26 that is connected to the steel bar 35 , during use . as described above , a first end of the elongate ductile connector 6 is formed or embedded within or otherwise connected with the sacrificial metal element 4 while the second opposite end of the elongate conductor 6 is sufficiently long so as to facilitate a secure electrical clamping or connection with the steel bar 35 , for example , via a conventional cable tie 46 which makes and maintains the electrical connection therebetween in a secure and substantially permanent manner . steel or stainless steel tie wire may also be used to secure the connection . once the sacrificial anode assembly 2 is installed , as generally described above and shown in fig9 , then the adjacent cavity 44 is filled with an appropriate concrete repair material 48 so that both the sacrificial anode assembly 2 and the steel bar 35 are embedded within and substantially covered by the concrete repair material 48 . during such repair , a cavity 22 is drilled typically at 500 mm intervals in the concrete 26 around the periphery of the cavity 44 and a respective sacrificial anode assembly 2 is located within each one of those cavities 22 and connected , as described above , so as to provide the desired galvanic current protection . the sacrificial metal element 4 is a metal less noble that steel , and preferably comprises either zinc or a zinc alloy . the sacrificial metal element 4 is preferably cast as a cylindrical shaped body , but it is to be appreciated that the sacrificial metal element 4 may be shaped into a variety of other shapes or configurations , such as regular polygon prisms . the sacrificial metal element 4 generally has a constant cross section along its length , but the cross - sectional shape of the sacrificial metal element 4 may vary depending upon the particular application . the sacrificial metal element 4 , which is designed to fit within a 28 mm diameter by 50 mm long cavity 22 , will typically have a diameter or width of 18 mm and a length of 40 mm . the elongate ductile connector 6 facilitates convenient connection of the sacrificial metal element 4 to the steel without the need to splice any additional conductor directly to the sacrificial metal element 4 during the installation process . the connector 6 may be a steel or a titanium wire . the connector 6 typically has a length of between 250 and 400 mm and a diameter of between 0 . 7 and 2 mm . the connector 6 is preferably at least partially embedded within the trailing end of the sacrificial metal element 4 and may extend the entire length of the sacrificial metal element 4 . more preferably , the sacrificial metal element 4 is cast around at least a portion of connector 6 with the connector 6 extending out from the trailing end of the sacrificial metal element 4 for a sufficient distance to facilitate ease of connection of the remote free end of the connector 6 with the steel 35 reinforcement in the concrete 26 to be protected . as noted above , the sacrificial metal element 4 is assembled with the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 . that is , either the exterior surface 36 of the sacrificial metal element 4 is coated with the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 , e . g ., a compound ( s ) containing halide ions and sulphate ions , or alternatively , as diagrammatically shown in fig1 a , the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 is intimately mixed with and dispersed within and throughout the sacrificial metal element 4 . the quantity of the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 , to be included with the sacrificial metal element 4 should preferably be sufficient to provide the desired ion flow between the sacrificial metal element 4 and the concrete 26 but insufficient to create a significant corrosion risk by the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 to the steel 35 once the sacrificial metal element 4 has been consumed . preferably the quantity of catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 is such that if it were to be uniformly distributed within the cavity 22 , the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 would be diluted to a concentration that is insufficient to present a corrosion risk to steel embedded within the concrete 26 . for a chloride activator , this equates to a quantity of less than 1 . 6 kg of chloride ions per cubic meter of anode cavity . as indicated above , the catalytic activating agent or catalytic activator 8 can be coated on the exterior surface 36 of the sacrificial metal element 4 or integrated into and throughout the sacrificial metal element 4 , or both , and that the same the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 or two different the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 may be applied to the sacrificial metal element 4 . ideally the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 is applied to or integrated into the sacrificial metal element 4 , prior to packaging the sacrificial anode assembly 2 for shipment and subsequent sale or installation . this allows the installation process of the sacrificial anode assembly 2 within a cavity 22 , at the installation site , to proceed at a faster rate than if the catalytic activating agent or the catalytic activator 8 was manually applied to each sacrificial metal element 4 , on site , prior to installation or was injected into a porous anode body after installation . since certain changes may be made in the above described sacrificial anode assembly , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention herein involved , it is intended that all of the subject matter of the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted merely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shall not be construed as limiting the invention .
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[ 0027 ] fig1 shows a system 100 for producing a medium with a multichannel program in accordance with this invention . in this system 100 , a program consisting of a musical work has been previously recorded and processed , if necessary , and then stored in program storage 10 . the storage 10 may be a hard drive , a digital or analog recording media , etc . if the program is stored as analog signals , a suitable conversion is performed on the signals by an analog - to - digital converter ( not shown ). in order to record this multichannel program on a dvd , the program is first sent to a mixer 12 which combines the six channels using various encoding and error correction schemes into a single data stream . the data stream is combined by mixer 24 with scripting data and then recorded by the recording equipment 14 . scripting data is generated which provides additional information about the musical work , including a table of contents , the name of the composer ( s ), the orchestra and / or devices used to produce the musical work and so on . the data stream and the scripting data are combined and the recorded on a dvd 17 . ( in most instances , a large number of dvds are produced in this manner , however a single dvd is shown for the sake of clarity ). in accordance with this invention , the system 100 further includes an audio converter 16 used to convert the six channel program from program storage 10 into a corresponding dual channel program . the converter includes a set of controls 15 that generate parameters required for the conversion . these controls may be set and modified during the conversion by an operator , such as the producer , composer or sound engineer . the converter 16 may initially use a set of preselected set of coefficients . as the multichannel program is converted into a dual channel program and played on speakers 18 , 20 , the operator can continue to adjust the coefficients using controls 15 until a set of satisfactory coefficients are obtained . the coefficients selected by the operator are detected by coefficient detector 22 which monitors the controls 15 . the coefficients are then mixed with the data from mixer 12 using a multiplexer 24 so that the recording equipment 14 stores the six channel data stream , the scripting data and the coefficients on the dvd 17 . [ 0030 ] fig2 shows somewhat diagrammatically a playback device 110 . this device can play the six channel program on dvd 17 either as a six channel or can convert it to a dual - channel program . a dual mode device is shown here merely to illustrate how a multichannel program can be processed . of course dvd players can be constructed to play either only six - or only dual channel programs , as discussed below . the data from the dvd 17 is first fed to a demutiplexer 30 which normally separates the program data and the scripting data . the scripting data is sent to a screen . the program data is sent to a six channel player 32 . the six - channel player then plays the program on six speakers 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 . optionally , the demultiplexer 30 may also strip from the data stream on dvd 17 the conversion coefficients . these coefficients may be stored in a coefficient memory 48 . moreover , in this latter case the program data is sent to an audio converter 50 . the audio converter 50 converts the six - channel program into a dual channel program using the coefficients from memory 48 . the dual channel program is sent to a dual channel player 52 which then plays the program on speakers 54 and 56 . the playback device 110 is shown in a configuration which allows the device to play a six - channel program as either six - or a dual - channel program . of course similar devices may be constructed to play a six - channel program only on a six channel player , or to always convert the six - channel program into a dual channel program . [ 0034 ] fig3 a shows a block diagram of the audio converter and the scripting operation in a somewhat diagrammatic form . on this figure , the audio converter 16 receives six channel signals , each channel signal having been separated by a demultiplexer ( not shown ) from the six - channel program and fed to one of the corresponding six inputs 60 a - f . the six channel signals are the standard analog signals and are designated as lf , rf , lr , rr , c and sub . if the program storage 10 stores digital programs then each program has to be converted into six analog signals . the six channel signals are fed to a control panel 62 holding 18 controls , a set of three controls being dedicated to each channel signal . the three controls are the pan ( 64 a ), level ( 64 b ) and phase ( 64 c ) controls . the pan and level controls 64 a and 64 b , can be used to attenuate a respective input continuously . the third control 64 c is a two - position switch and is used to control the phase . the position of each of these controls defines a corresponding conversion coefficient . in accordance with this invention , the position of each of the controllers are sensed by a plurality of position sensors 66 . the sensed coefficients from sensors 66 are stored in a temporary buffer 68 and transmitted to a pc when required . the pc stores the coefficients on a floppy disk 70 . each of the six channel signals are modified by the controls 64 a , 64 b , 64 c resulting in a set of twelve signals . these twelve signals are partitioned into a right and a left group and fed to respective summing networks 70 , 72 . the summing networks sum add the signals of each group and feed them to respective speakers 18 and 20 as shown . the producer of dvd 17 or a sound engineer or composer listens to all , or at least part of the program as it is rendered into a 2 - channel version by the circuitry of fig3 a and adjusts the coefficients accordingly by manipulating one of the controls 64 a , 64 b and 64 c . thus , during the recording a six - channel program , three sets of digital data are obtained : a set of six digital sound objects 80 , one set of coefficients for each of the six channels 74 ; and one set of graphical elements 78 . an authoring tool well known in the art is used to generate an authoring script 76 from the set of coefficients . the three sets of data are then combined and recorded by recording equipment 14 on dvd 17 . as shown in fig3 b the control board 62 as consisting of six stages 82 a - f which generate the eighteen coefficients . fig3 c shows details of stage 82 a , the remaining stages being similar . as can be seen in fig3 c , stage 82 a includes three variable resistors r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , a pair of ganged switches s 1 , s 2 and four amplifiers a 1 - a 4 . resistors r 2 and r 3 are ganged as well . the stage 82 a operates as follows . the input channel signal , in this case lf , is attenuated by resistor r 1 and then fed in parallel to amplifiers a 1 and a 2 . the two amplifiers a 1 and a 2 are arranged so that they deliver similar outputs but with reversed phase . switch s 1 is used to select the output of either amplifier a 1 or amplifier a 2 . the signal selected by switch s 1 is attenuated and fed in parallel to resistors r 2 and r 3 . the output of resistors r 2 and r 3 are fed to respective amplifiers a 3 and a 4 which generate two identical outputs with opposite phases . going back to fig3 a , the outputs of amplifiers a 3 and a 4 from all six stages are fed respectively to two summing networks 70 and 72 . the outputs of these networks are amplified by two amplifiers 73 a and 73 b and then fed to respective speakers 18 and 20 . the three coefficients generated by each stage shown in fig3 b and 3c are the level data lev 0 , related to the position of resistor r 1 , the phase data ph 0 related to the position of switch s 1 , and the pan data pan 0 related to the positions of resistors r 2 and r 3 . as shown in fig3 c , each stage includes two sensors 66 a , 66 b and switch s 2 . sensor 66 a is used to detect the position of resistor r 1 . sensor 66 b is used to sense the position of resistors r 2 / r 3 ( it should be remembered that since these two switches are ganged , one encoder for both resistors is sufficient . switch s 2 is ganged with switch s 1 and is arranged so that its output is either low or high . the outputs of sensors 66 a , 66 b and switch s 2 are fed to a common data bus 69 , which then provides the respective coefficients to buffer 68 . sensors 66 can be implemented in a number of ways . for example , if the resistors r 1 , r 2 and r 3 have shafts , then the sensors can be implemented using shaft encoders . more specifically , referring to fig4 a , resistor r 1 is shown as a variable resistor with a shaft x 1 . mounted on shaft x 1 is a shaft encoder se 1 which senses the position of the shaft x 1 and generates digital data corresponding to this position . the level coefficient from sensor 66 a , lev 0 is related to the data obtained from the encoder se 1 . this level may between the values 0 and m where m is a predetermined value expressed in bits . typically the value m for the coefficient lev 0 corresponds to a voltage gain of about 2 or a db gain of about 6 db . the coefficient pan from sensor 66 b may vary from 0 to n . the transfer function for the pan data for the stage of fig3 a is given by : where c is a constant to convert the shaft position into corresponding angular measurements in degrees or radians and d is the coefficient pan 0 from the sensor 66 b . [ 0049 ] fig5 shows a graph of leftin and rightin as a function of the respective pan coefficients . another way of implementing sensors 66 is shown in fig4 b . in this figure , the resistor r 1 is displaced by a voltage controlled amplifier vca a variable resistor rx and a digital - analog converter dac . in this configuration the gain of amplifier vca is controlled by the resistor rx between a value of zero or ground and the dc voltage by generating a control voltage vc . the control voltage vc is fed to both the amplifier vca and the adc . the adc then converts the voltage vc to corresponding digital data d . a third implementation is shown in fig4 c . in this implementation , a variable resistor rx is ganged to resistor r 1 and connected between dc voltage and ground . the voltage from resistor rx is then fed to a digital converter adc to generate data d . obviously numerous modifications may be made to this invention without departing from its scope as amended herein .
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the present invention will be described in detail by using a dvd recorder and a dvd - ram according to an embodiment of the present invention . first of all , the logical structure on the dvd - ram will be described with reference to fig4 a and 41b . fig4 a shows a data structure on a disc seen through a file system , and fig4 b shows a physical sector address on a disc . the head portion of the physical sector address has a lead - in region which stores a reference signal necessary for stabilizing a servo , an identification signal with other media and the like . a data region is provided following the lead - in region . in this portion , logically effective data are recorded . finally , a lead - out region is provided and stores the same reference signal as in the lead - in region and the like . a management information for the file system which is referred to as a volume information is recorded on the head of the data region . since the file system is not directly related to the contents of the present invention , the description of it will be omitted . through the file system , the data in the disc can be dealt with as a directory or a file as shown in fig4 a . all the data to be dealt with by the dvd recorder are put on a video_rt directory under a root directory as shown in fig4 a . a file to be dealt with by the dvd recorder is roughly classified into two kinds , that is , one management information file and at least one av file ( ordinarily , a plurality of files ). next , the contents of the management information file will be described with reference to fig4 a . the management information file is roughly divided into a vob table and a pgc table . vob ( video object ) means a program stream of mpeg . pgc defines the playback order of cell which uses any partial section ( or all sections ) in the vob as one logical playback unit . in other words , the vob is a unit which is significant as the mpeg , and the pgc is a unit at which a player plays back . the vob table stores the number of vobs ( number_of_vobs ) and each vob information therein . the vob information comprises a corresponding av file name ( av_file_name ), a vob identifier in the disc ( vob_id ), a start address in the av file ( vob_start_address ), an end address in the av file ( vob_end_address ), a playback time length of the vob ( vob_playback_time ) and an attribute information of the stream ( vob_attribute ). a stream attribute information field comprises a video attribute ( video_attribute ), a first audio stream attribute ( audio 0 _attribute ) and a second audio stream attribute ( audio 1 _attribute ). the audio stream attribute information comprises an audio coding mode ( coding_mode ), an application flag ( application_flag ), a quantization coefficient ( quantization ), a sampling frequency ( sampling_frequency ) and the number of audio channels ( number_of_channels ). the pgc table includes the number of pgcs ( number_of_pgcs ) and each pgc information therein . the pgc information comprises the number of cells ( number_of_cells ) in the pgc and each cell information . the cell information comprises corresponding vob_id , a playback start time in the vob ( cell_start_time ), a playback time in the vob ( cell_playback_time ), a playback start address in the vob ( cell_start_address ), a playback end address in the vob ( cell_end_address ), an audio flag ( audio_flag ) for specifying that audio signal played back in the cell is an original audio or a after - recording audio . the cell information further comprises cell_start_address and cell_end_address for the after - recording audio . next , an av file will be described with reference to fig4 b . the av file includes at least one vob ( ordinarily , a plurality of vobs ). the vob is continuously recorded in the av file . the vob in the av file is managed by the vob information of the above - mentioned management information file . a player can access the vob by first accessing the management information file to read out the start and end addresses of the vob . moreover , the cell is defined as a logical playback unit in the vob . the cell is the partial playback section ( or the whole sections ) of the vob and can be freely set by a user . by the cell , it is possible to edit av data simply without actual operation of the av data . in the same manner as the vob , an access information about the cell is managed in the cell information in the management information file . the player can access the cell by first accessing the management information file to read out the start and end addresses of the cell . the address information of the cell is based on the vob and the address information of the vob is based on the av file . therefore , the player actually accesses the av file by adding the address information of the vob to the address information of the cell to calculate an address information in the av file . fig4 is a diagram showing the structure of the vob according to the present embodiment . two audio streams are set to an audio stream # 1 and an audio stream # 2 , respectively . as shown in fig4 , the same audio stream is stored in the audio stream # 1 and the audio stream # 2 . it is to be noted that the audio streams are not simply identical as streams but are identical in pack and packet units . the value of scrs ( system clock references ) of a pack header , the value of stream numbers of a packet header and the value of original_or_copy are different . however , other fields , for example , pst and the like have the same values . of course , the contents of a payload are identical . the fields of original_or_copy are different in order to explicitly indicate , in the streams , that the stream # 1 is an original stream and the stream # 2 is a dummy stream for the after - recording operation . the flags may have the same values . by putting such two audio streams in the vob , one of the original audio data can remain even if one of the audio streams is recorded by the afterrecording operation as shown in fig4 . for the following purpose , the two audio streams are put in . a recording region for the after - recording operation , that is , a recording band is kept . in addition , if the attribute of the audio stream to be after - recorded , that is , a coding mode and a bit rate are set identical to that of the audio stream recorded in a dummy , a pack and a packet header become completely identical and the after - recording operation can be carried out only by exchanging the contents of the payload . this means that even though the system encoder of the mpeg should carry out the multiplexing operation of the audio pack so that an audio buffer neither underflows nor overflows , the multiplexing operation can be omitted on the after - recording operation . when the after - recording operation is to be carried out in various coding modes and bit rates , the audio pack should be replaced not only to ensure a band but also to prevent the overflow and underflow of the audio buffer . therefore , it is impossible to simply ensure the replacement of the audio pack between sets having different algorithms . in the present embodiment , the scr and the pts are not changed in the same coding mode and the same bit rate but data are rewritten in a pack unit such that only the contents of the audio payload are replaced . of course , while the contents of the pack header and the packet header including the scr and the pts may be rewritten , it is apparent that the completed stream should satisfy the conditions of the mpeg stream . next , the reason why the same audio data are to be recorded in the stream # 1 and the stream # 2 will be described with reference to fig4 . for example , in the case where a part of the vob is to be after - recorded , when the data recorded as the stream # 2 are silent or have insignificant contents , for example , insignificant data and significant data are switched with each other on the boundary between a after - recorded portion and a non - after - recorded portion . since the dvd recorder has only one audio decoder , the stream # 1 and the stream # 2 cannot be played back at the same time . accordingly , when the partial after - recording operation is to be carried out , it is necessary to designate the audio stream to be played back to a decoder so as to switch the audio stream from original data to after - recorded data or from after - recorded data to original data on the boundary portion . the audio stream to be played back is generally designated by control from the host side , that is , a microprocessor . therefore , it is hard to designate the switching in a frame unit . by recording the same audio data as the original on the dummy audio stream itself as shown in fig4 , it is also possible to continuously play back on the boundary portion where the partial after - recording operation is executed . the above - mentioned problem of the partial after - recording operation can be solved when the audio streams are not completely identical but have the same contents , that is , are data having the same contents as analog data during the playback . description will be given to the reason why two completely identical streams are required to be recorded . when the user wants to turn back the after - recorded audio data ( that is , to erase the audio data ) after the partial after - recording operation , it is necessary to record some data again because the overwritten data cannot be turned back . when the silent audio stream is to be recorded , the above - mentioned problem of the partial after - recording operation is caused when the user tries the after - recording operation again in the partial section of the silent audio stream section . in the case where the two identical audio streams are used in the pack and packet units except the scr and the stream number as shown in fig4 , an original state can be restored by copying data in the packet unit from the stream # 1 to the stream # 2 . at this time , it is apparent that the stream number in the packet header should be modified . fig4 is a diagram showing the state of the stream # 2 recorded for the after - recording operation described above . the state of the stream # 2 is divided into “ same audio stream ”, “ stream having the same audio contents ”, “ after - recorded stream ” and “ individual stream ”. as described above , it is possible to carry out the after - recording operation from the same audio stream and the stream having the same audio contents . on the contrary , it is possible to return only to the same audio stream . that is , it is possible to return from the after - recorded audio stream to the same stream . moreover , the after - recorded stream can be regarded as an independent stream . in the independent stream ( for example , the audio stream # 2 in which silent data are recorded ), the after - recording operation can be carried out for the whole vob . however , the partial after - recording operation of the vob causes the above - mentioned problem . the above - mentioned state is managed in an application flag on the dvd - ram disc . next , the structure of the dvd recorder will be described with reference to fig4 . in the drawing , the dvd recorder comprises a user interface 7801 , a system controller 7802 , an input section 7803 , an encoder 7804 , an output section 7805 , a decoder 7806 , a track buffer 7807 and a drive 7808 . the user interface 7801 transfers data displayed to the user or accepts a request from the user . the system controller 7802 serves to wholly perform management and control . the input section 7803 including an ad converter inputs video and audio data . the output section 7805 outputs a video and audio data . the decoder 7806 decodes an mpeg stream . the user interface 7801 first accepts a request from the user . the user interface 7801 transmits the request from the user to the system controller 7802 . the system controller 7802 interprets the request from the user and gives a process request to each module . when the user give s a request for picture recording , the system controller 7802 gives a request for encoding to the en coder 7804 . the encoder 7804 carries out video encoding , audio encoding and system encoding for video and audio information sent from the input section 7803 , and transfers the encoded data to the track buffer 7807 . next , the system controller 7802 gives , to the driver 7808 , a request for writing data stored in the track buffer , and the drive 7808 fetches data from the track buffer and records the fetched data in the dvd - ram . the user &# 39 ; s request for stop is transmitted to the system controller 7802 through the user interface 7801 . the system controller 7802 gives a request for encoding stop to the encoder 7804 , and the encoder 7804 stops an encoding process when the data are completely encoded and informs the system controller 7802 of encoding termination . then , the system controller 7802 gives a request for a writing termination to the drive 7808 , and the drive 7808 stops reading and writing data to the dvd - ram when the track buffer 7807 becomes empty . finally , the system controller 7802 modifies an av file information , a clip sequence information and a file system information for the recorded vob , and records them in the dvd - ram through the drive 7808 . in particular , a value of application flag is recorded as the same audio stream . for the recording operation , it is important that two audio streams are inserted into the outputting vob in the encoder 7804 , while one audio data is input . a process of inserting the two audio streams will be described with reference to fig4 . fig4 is a diagram showing the structure of the encoder . as shown , the encoder comprises a video encoder 7804 a , an audio encoder 7804 b and a system multiplexer 7804 c . the video encoder 7804 a encodes an input video signal into an mpeg video stream . the audio encoder 7804 b encodes an input audio signal into an audio stream . at this time , there is one audio stream . next , the multiplexer 7804 c performs packing , packetizing and multiplexing the video stream and audio stream . in the multiplexing process , copy is carried out in an audio pack unit and the multiplexing is executed for the two audio streams . the audio stream may be copied in a form of a packet , or in a form of a payload immediately before the packetizing process . as described above , the two audio streams are inserted into the vob . next , description will be given to the after - recording operation in the dvd recorder . first of all , description will be given to the input and output of av data on the after - recording operation by the dvd recorder . in the input and output of the av data , data are read or written in a unit called an av block . the av block indicates the continuous recording region shown in fig3 . when the continuous recording region is much greater than a continuous recording length necessary for seeking the continuous recording region , it may be divided into small regions as av blocks . subsequently , the track buffer 7807 is divided into track buffer 1 and track buffer 3 to be used for playback and track buffer 2 and track buffer 4 to be used for recording . this state is illustrated in fig5 . the input and output of the track buffer will be described in a time series with reference to fig5 . description will be given by taking , as an example , the case where the vob is constituted by four av blocks a , b , c and d as shown in fig5 b . fig5 a is a diagram representing the buffer storage amounts of the track buffers 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 on a time base . at the track buffer 1 ( tb 1 ) and the track buffer 3 ( tb 3 ), the data storage amount is increased because data are input from the drive , that is , data are read out for playback from the dvd - ram , and the data storage amount is decreased because data are supplied to the decoder . on the contrary , at the track buffer 2 ( tb 2 ) and the track buffer 4 ( tb 4 ), the data storage amount is increased because data are input from the encoder after the after - recording operation , that is , data are recorded ( overwritten ) on the dvd - ram , and the data storage amount is decreased because data are supplied to the drive for recording in the dvd - ram . during period t 1 in the drawing , first , the av block a is read out on the track buffer 1 and the after - recording operation starts immediately after the data are read out . during period ta , the after - recording operation is carried out for the av block a . the after - recorded data of the av block a are recorded on tb 2 . therefore , the storage amount of the tb 2 is increased during the period ta . the drive reads the next av block b immediately after the period t 1 . the av block a and the av block b are not present on the same continuous recording region , and therefore the av block b is read out after the seeking of a head ( period t 2 ). after the after - recording operation of the av block a is ended , the after - recording operation of the av block b then starts ( period tb ). the data of the av block b stored in the track buffer 3 are supplied to the decoder . the data after - recorded through the encoder are stored in the track buffer 4 during the period tb . immediately after the after - recording operation of the av block a is ended , the drive overwrites the after - recorded data of the av block a stored in the track buffer 2 onto the av block a ( period t 3 ). when the overwriting process on the av block a is completed , the drive then reads out the av block c . the read data on the av block c are stored in the track buffer 1 ( period t 4 ). by repeating the above - mentioned operation , the after - recording process can be carried out . next , description will be given to a process flow in the dvd recorder . the user &# 39 ; s request for the after - recording operation is transmitted to the system controller 7802 through the user interface 7801 . first of all , the system controller 7802 gives , to the drive 7808 , a request for reading out the vob to be after - recorded . the drive 7808 reads out the vob to be after - recorded from the dvd - ram in an av block unit and records the read vob in the track buffer 1 . at the same time , the system controller 7802 gives a request for the after - recording process to the encoder 7804 . the encoder 7804 performs the audio - encoding of audio data input from the input section 7803 , reads out an audio pack including the audio stream # 2 in the stream sent from the decoder , replaces a payload with the encoded after - recording audio stream , and records the after - recording audio stream in the track buffer 2 . this state is shown in fig5 . when the after - recording process of the av data stored in the track buffer 1 is completed , the encoder 7804 consecutively starts the after - recording process of the av data recorded in the track buffer 3 and notifies the system controller 7802 that the after - recording process of the track buffer 1 is ended . next , the system controller 7802 gives , to the drive 7808 , a request for writing the data of the track buffer 2 . the drive 7808 overwrites and records the data of the track buffer 2 on the dvd - ram after the completion of writing into the track buffer 3 . by sequentially carrying out the above - mentioned processes for the track buffer 1 , the track buffer 2 , the track buffer 3 and the track buffer 4 as described above , the after - recording operation can be executed . moreover , when the vob is completely read out from the dvd - ram , the drive 7808 informs the system controller 7802 of termination of the vob reading process . the system controller 7802 gives a request for termination of after - recording to the encoder 7804 . the encoder 7804 carries out the after - recording process until the after - recording processes of all the audio data remaining in the track buffer 1 and the track buffer 3 are terminated . the encoder 7804 informs the system controller 7802 of the after - recording termination when the after recording processes of all the data are completed . next , the system controller 7802 gives a request for a writing end process to the drive 7808 . the drive 7808 overwrites and records all the vob data remaining in the track buffer 2 and the track buffer 4 on the dvd - ram disc and informs the system controller 7802 that the after - recording process is completed after the completion of the recording operation . the system controller 7802 changes the application flag to the “ after - recorded ” and carries out the recording operation on the dvd - ram through the drive 7808 again . the user &# 39 ; s request for a playback process is transmitted to the system controller 7802 through the user interface 7801 . the system controller 7802 gives a request for reading the vob to the drive 7808 , and the drive 7808 reads out the vob data from the dvd - ram and transfers the vob data to the track buffer 7807 . then , the system controller 7802 gives a request for playing back the vob to the decoder 7806 , and the decoder 7806 reads out data from the track buffer 7807 , decodes the read data and outputs the decoded data through the output section 7805 . when the vob is completely read out , the drive 7808 informs the system controller 7802 of termination of the reading process , and the system controller 7802 gives a request for ending the playback to the decoder 7806 . the decoder 7806 carries out the reading and decoding operations of the data until the data of the track buffer 7807 becomes empty , and informs the system controller 7802 of the end of the playback operation after the completion of decoding process for all data . at this time , the following is important . in the case where the user gives a request for switching the audio stream , that is , a request for playing back the audio stream # 2 , the system controller 7802 informs the user through the user interface 7801 that the switching is impossible , without playing back the audio stream # 2 when the value of the application flag indicates the same audio streams or the same audio contents . when the same audio streams or the same audio contents are recorded in the audio stream # 2 , an error message is displayed for the user . this prevents the user from thinking that the switching has failed or that the dvd recorder is out of order , because the user performing the switching operation of the audio stream expects the playback of an audio stream different from the audio stream # 1 , however just the same audio is played back in this case even if audio stream to be played back is switched to the audio stream # 2 . while the audio stream 2 has been a dummy audio stream for the after - recording operation in the present embodiment , the audio stream 1 may be the dummy audio stream for the after - recording operation . the payloads in the packets between the two audio streams have been coincident with each other in the present embodiment . the sizes of the audio data to be packetized may be different from each other , and may be identical to the audio streams recorded in the completed vob or have the same contents as the audio streams recorded in the completed vob . in the present embodiment , furthermore , restrictions may be put on that the audio pack of the audio stream # 1 always comes earlier between the corresponding audio packets between the two audio streams or the audio pack of the audio stream # 2 may be arranged immediately after the audio pack of the audio stream # 1 . by putting such restrictions , it is easy to find the audio pack of the audio stream # 2 during the after - recording operation . moreover , restrictions can be put on that the audio stream # 2 precedes the audio stream # 1 . moreover , there have been four kinds of values of the application flag , that is , “ the same audio stream ”, “ the stream having same audio contents ”, “ the after - recorded stream ” and “ the individual stream ”. the “ same audio stream ” and the “ same audio contents ” may be dealt with as one state , the “ after - recorded stream ” and the “ individual stream ” may be dealt with as one state . also the “ same audio stream ”, “ stream having same audio contents ” and “ after - recorded stream ” may be dealt with as one state . furthermore , although four track buffers have been provided in the description of the after - recording operation , the av data may be overwritten on the track buffers by sharing the track buffer 1 and track buffer 2 , and by sharing the track buffer 3 and track buffer 4 , respectively . it has been possible to implement the after - recording operation which is hard to perform in the dvd and the dvd recorder in the first embodiment . however , the dvd and the dvd recorder further have the following problem . different from the conventional tape media , the dvd can carry out recording in various audio stream formats . this causes the after - recording operation in the dvd recorder to be hard to perform . concretely , the audio stream which can be recorded in the dvd has three kinds of formats of ac - 3 , mpeg audio and linear pcm . moreover , there are various modes such as recording channel numbers , a recording bit rate and the like in individual formats . on the other hand , a general audio encoder rarely can operate with all encode modes , channel numbers and bit rates , and can operate with only a mode suitable for each merchandise target . in other words , when the after - recording operation is applied to the disc on which data have been recorded by the other dvd recorder , the after - recording operation should be actually started or the recorded audio stream should be analyzed in order to decide whether the after - recording operation is operable or not . the dvd and dvd recorder in this embodiment have basically the same structure as in the first embodiment , and are characterized by a method of having a management information on the disc and the operation of a recorder for performing the after - recording process . in the present embodiment , the difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described . first of all , the logical structure of the dvd - ram will be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 shows a physical sector address on a disk and a data structure on the disk which can be seen through a file system . all the data to be dealt with by the dvd recorder are put on a dvd_rtr directory immediately under a root directory as shown in fig1 . the file to be dealt with by the dvd recorder is roughly divided into 2 kinds of files , that is , one management information file and at least one av file ( ordinary a plurality of av files ). the av file stores an rtr_mov . vro file for storing a motion picture and an rtr_sto . vro file for storing a still picture and audio data which are recorded at the same time with the motion picture or the still picture . fig2 is a diagram showing the structure of the rtr_mov . vro file having motion picture . as shown in fig2 m_vob ( movie video object ) which is the program stream of mpeg is provided in the rtr_mov . vro file in order of picture recording . the m_vob comprises a vobu ( video object unit ) in which one unit is 0 . 4 to 1 . 0 second based on a video reproducing time . the vobu comprises v_pck ( video pack ), a_pck ( audio pack ) and sp_pck ( sub - picture pack ). each pack is constituted in a 2 kb unit . video data in the vobu also comprises at least one gop ( group of pictures ). the gop is the decode unit of the mpeg video and includes a plurality of p pictures and b pictures with the i pictures in a head . fig3 is a diagram showing the structure of the rtr_sto . vro file in which a still picture and audio data are recorded . as shown in fig3 s_vob ( still picture video object ) which is an mpeg program stream for the still picture is recorded in the rtr_sto . vro file in order of picture recording . a great difference between the m_vob and the s_vob is that motion picture data and audio data are not mutually multiplexed but audio data ( audio part ) are successively recorded after the still picture data ( video part ), in addition to the recording of the still picture data in place of the motion picture data . moreover , the s_vob is constituted by one vobu . the vobu comprises the v_pck , the a_pck and the sp_pck . next , description will be given to the relationship between the m_vob and s_vob described above with reference to fig4 and management information . as described above , av data have two kinds of data , that is , the m_vob for a motion picture and s_vob for a still picture . each m_vob has management information m_vobi . attribute information of the corresponding m_vob is recorded in m_vobi . in case of the s_vob , when management is carried out for each s_vob , the amount of the management information gets increased . therefore , management information s_vogi is provided for each group s_vog having a lump of s_vobs . s_vogi stores the attribute information of a corresponding s_vob group . it is important that the data of the mpeg stream have no linearity between a time and a data amount . as described above , a compressing method using a time correlation characteristic and compression using a variable length coding method which is referred to as vbr are executed in order to implement highly efficient compression in the mpeg stream . therefore , the time and the data amount , that is , address information do not uniquely correspond to each other . the m_vobi has a filter ( tmap ) for converting a time and an address . the s_vogi has a filter ( s_vob entries ) for converting still picture number and an address in the group . next , description will be given to the management information of a playback sequence . the playback sequence is defined as a sequence ( pgc ) of a cell indicative of a partial or whole interval of the m_vob and the s_vog . the playback sequence has two kinds of parts , that is , an original pgc and a user - defined pgc . the original pgc refers to all the av data in the disc . the user - defined pgc defines a playback order of av data which the user selects in the disc ( plural definitions can be obtained ). the original pgc is also called a program set ( program set ), and includes a layer which is called a program ( program ) having a plurality of cells logically bundled there between . the user - defined pgc is also called a play list ( play list ) and includes no program there between differently from the original pgc . next , the contents of the management information file “ rtr . ifo ” will be described with reference to fig5 to 33 . management information referred to as rtr_vmg ( real time recording video management ) is recorded in the rtr . ifo file . the rtr_vmg comprises seven tables of rtr_vmgi , m_avfit , s_avfit , org_pgci , ud_pgcit , txtdt_mg and mnfit . rtr_vmgi ( real time recording video management information ) comprises vmgi_mat and pl_srpt . vmgi_mt ( video management information management table ) stores the following information as information related to the whole disc . a player and a recorder can first read the vmgi_mat to roughly obtain structural information of the disc . vmg_id stores an identifier “ dvd_rtr_vmgo ” indicating that video recording data are recorded in this disc . the version number of a recording format of the video recording data is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig7 . recorded therein is a time zone to be used by all date and time information recorded in this disc . as shown in fig7 tm_zone comprises tz_ty ( time zone type ) and tz_offset ( time zone offset ). tz_ty indicates which one of the greenwich mean time as a universal time and a standard time for each region is used for the reference of date information . tz_offset records a time difference between the date and the greenwich mean time . a static time length obtained when displaying a soundless still picture is recorded . a character set code for a primary text which will be described below is recorded therein . start address of m_avfit is recorded therein . when m_avfit is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . start address of s_avfit is recorded therein . when s_avfit is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . start address of org_pgci is recorded therein . when org_pgci is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . start address of ud_pgcit is recorded therein . when ud_pgcit is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . start address of txtdt_mg is recorded therein . when txtdt_mg is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . start address of mnfit is recorded therein . when mnfit is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this start address . pl_srpt ( play list search pointer table ) is a table comprising pl_srpti and n pl_srps . pl_srpti ( play list search pointer table information ) stores the following information for accessing to pl_srp . moreover , the following information for giving access to the user — defined pgc which is actual data of the play list is recorded in pl_srp ( play list search pointer ). any of the following values is recorded as a value for identifying the type of a play list in accordance with a description format shown in fig9 . pgc number corresponding to the play list is recorded therein . the pgc number indicates the recording order of pgc information in ud_pgcit which will be described below . information about the date and time at which the play list was created is recorded therein in accordance with the description format shown in fig9 . text information indicative of the contents of the play list is recorded therein . for example , in the case where a television program is picture recorded , the name of the program is recorded . moreover , the primary text information is constituted by a field for the ascii code and a field of a character code set specified by the above - mentioned chrs . when information indicative of the contents of the play list are optionally recorded as it_txt in addition to the above - mentioned primary text , the it_txt_srp number is recorded as link information to the it_txt to be recorded in the txtdt_mg . the it_txt_srp number indicates the recording order in txtdt_mg which will be described below . thumb nail information which is representative of the play list is described . in thm_ptri is recorded the following information indicative of the position of a thumb nail . cell number of a cell including a thumb nail is recorded therein . the cell number indicates the recording order of cell information in the ud_pgci to which the play list corresponds . when a cell indicated by the above - mentioned cn is a motion picture cell , the display time of a video frame to be used as a thumb nail is recorded in accordance with a ptm description format shown in fig1 . the ptm is given in accordance with the reference time of a time stamp described in the mpeg program stream . moreover , when the cell indicated by the above - mentioned cn is a still picture cell , the still picture vob entry number of a still picture to be used as the thumb nail is recorded in accordance with an s_vob_entn description format shown in fig1 . the still picture vob entry number indicates the recording order of the still picture vob entry in a still picture vob group indicated by this cell . m_avfit ( motion picture av file information table ) stores management information corresponding to motion picture av file “ rtr_mov . vro ” and comprises m_avfiti , m_vob_sti and m_avfi . m_avfiti ( motion picture av file information table information ) stores the following information necessary for giving access to m_vob_sti and m_avfi . number of fields of succeeding avfi information is indicated therein . when the value is “ 0 ”, there exists no avfi , while when the value is “ 1 ”, there exists avfi . moreover , the presence of the avfi also corresponds to that of rtr_mov . vro which is the av file for motion pictures . m_vob_sti ( movie vob stream information ) stores the following information as the stream information of movie vob . the following video attribute information is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig1 . any one of the following values for identifying a video compression mode is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying a television system is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying a resolution ratio is recorded therein . recorded therein is any one of the following values for identifying that closed caption data for a field 1 are recorded or not in a video stream . recorded therein is any one of the following values for identifying that closed caption data for a field 2 are recorded or not in the video stream . any one of the following values for identifying a video resolution is recorded therein . the following audio attribute information corresponding to an audio stream 0 ( corresponding to the audio stream # 1 described above ) is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig1 . any one of the following values for identifying an audio compressing method is recorded . any one of the following values for identifying application information is recorded therein . when using the mpeg audio , any one of the following values for identifying the presence of drc ( dynamic range control ) information is recorded therein . when using the lpcm audio , the following value for identifying the quantization is recorded therein . the following value for identifying a sampling frequency is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying the number of audio channels is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying a bit rate is recorded therein . it is important that only the bit rate of a basic stream excluding an extended stream is recorded when the corresponding audio stream is the mpeg audio stream having the extended stream . the reason is that the extended stream cannot be expressed by the above - mentioned fixed bit rate because it carries out the compression using the variable length coding method . the following audio attribute information corresponding to an audio stream 1 ( corresponding to the above described audio stream # 2 provided for after - recording ) is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig1 . individual fields are the same as the above - mentioned a_atro . the following sub - picture attribute information is recorded in accordance with a format as shown in fig1 . any one of the following values for identifying application information is recorded therein . color palette information for a sub - picture is recorded in accordance with the format shown in fig1 . m_avfi ( motion picture av file information ) comprises information necessary for giving access to movie vob ( m_vob ), m_avfi_gi , m_vobi_srp and m_vobi . m_vobi_srp_ns is recorded in m_avfi_gi ( motion picture av file information general information ). m_vobi_srp ( movie vob information search pointer ) stores address information for accessing each m_vobi . the start address of m_vobi is recorded therein . the indicated address herein can be used in seeking operation for accessing the vob information . m_vobi ( movie vob information ) comprises management information of movie vob , m_vob_gi , smli , agapi , tmapi and cp_mngi . m_vob_gi ( movie vob general information ) stores the following information as the general information of the movie vob . the attribute information of vob is recorded therein in accordance with a format shown in fig1 . any one of the following values for identifying the status of the vob is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying the status of an audio stream 0 is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying the status of an audio stream 1 is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying analog copy preventing signal control information is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying whether or not the vob is seamlessly reproduced together with the vob present just before . recorded therein is any one of the following values indicative of the presence of an audio reproducing gap in the audio stream 0 and vobu having an audio reproducing gap interval multiplexed . recorded therein is any one of the following values indicative of the presence of an audio reproducing gap in the audio stream 1 and vobu having an audio reproducing gap interval multiplexed . the date and time on which the vob was recorded is recorded therein in the same format as in the pl_create_tm shown in fig9 . it is important that the recording date and time indicates the recording date and time of the display video frame of the vob head and the vob_rec_tm should also be corrected when the vob head video frame is changed by edit or partial erasure . when the recording date and time is to be displayed synchronously with the reproduction of the vob as often seen in a camcorder , the recording date and time is possible to obtain by adding an elapsed time in the vob to the vob_rec_tm . vob_rec_tm_sub is a field for absorbing the error of the vob_rec_tm to be modified when the vob head video frame is channel to the edit and the partial erasure on the vob . the vob_rec_tm has only information about year , month , day , hour , minute and second as shown in fig9 . therefore , in the case where the edit or erasure is carried out in each frame or field , the vob_rec_tm cannot provide a sufficient recording precision . by using this field , therefore , a fraction is recorded . m_vob_sti number corresponding to the vob is recorded therin . m_vob_sti number shown herein is the recording order in the above - mentioned m_vob_sti table . the display start time of the vob is recorded therein with the same reference time as a time stamp in a stream . the display end time of the vob is recorded therein with the same reference time as a time stamp in a stream . it should be noted that the time stamp in the stream indicates the display start time of the frame , while vob_v_e_ptm stores the display end time , that is , a time obtained by adding the display period of the frame to the display start time . smli ( seamless information ) stores the following information necessary for seamless reproduction with the last vob . moreover , this field is provided only when “ 1b ” is recorded in the above - mentioned sml_flg . agapi ( audio gap information ) stores the following information necessary for processing an audio reproducing gap in a decoder . moreover , this field is provided in the case where a value other than “ 00b ” is recorded in either the above - mentioned a 0 _gap_loc or a 1 _gap_loc . the time of the audio reproducing gap , that is , the time that the decoder temporarily stops audio reproduction is recorded therein with the same reference time as a time stamp in a stream . the time length of an audio reproducing gap is recorded with a precision of 90 khz . cp_mngi ( copy management information ) comprises copy management information for the vob , cpg_status and cpgi . as the copy protecting status of the vob , values for identifying “ copy free ” or “ one generation copying ” are recorded therein . tmap_gi ( tmap general information ) comprises tm_ent_ns , vobu_ent_ns , tm_ofs and adr_ofs . each field is as follows . number of fields of tm_ent which will be described below is recorded therein . number of fields of vobu_ent which will be described below is recorded therein . the offset value of a time map is recorded therein with a video field precision . an offset value in the av file of the head of the vob is recorded therein . tm_ent ( time entry ) comprises the following fields as access point information for each constant interval tmu . tmu for ntsc is 600 video fields ( ntsc ), while tmu for pal is 500 video fields . the entry number of vobu including a time indicated by the tm_ent ( tmu ×( n − 1 )+ tm_ofs for nth tm_ent ) is recorded therein . a difference between a time indicated by the tm_ent and the display start time of vobu indicated by the above - mentioned vobu_entn is recorded therein . a head address in the vob of the vobu indicated by the above - mentioned vobu_entn is recorded therein . vobu_ent ( vobu entry ) stores the following structure information of the corresponding vobu in a format shown in fig1 . by adding succeeding fields in order , it is possible to obtain a time and address information necessary for accessing desirable vobu . number of packs from a vobu head pack to a pack including last data of the head i picture in the vobu is recorded therein . the reproducing time length of the vobu is recorded therein . vobu_sz : s_avfit ( still picture av file information table ) has management information corresponding to the still picture av file “ rtr_sto . vro ” recorded therein , and comprises s_avfiti , s_vob_sti and s_avfi . s_avfiti ( still picture av file information table information ) stores the following information necessary for accessing s_vob_sti and s_avfi . “ 0 ” or “ 1 ” is recorded therein as the s_avfi number . this value also corresponds to the still picture av file number , that is , the presence of the rtr_sto . vro file . number of s_vob_sti which will be described below is recorded therein . in s_vob_sti ( still picture vob stream information ) is recorded the following information as the stream information of the still picture vob . video compression mode , tv system , aspect ratio , and video resolution are recorded therein as video attribute information . individual fields are the same as v_atr in the above - mentioned m_vob_sti . audio coding mode , application flag , quantization / drc , fs , and number of audio channels are recorded as audio stream attribute information . individual fields are the same as a_atro in the above - mentioned m_vob_sti . application flag is recorded therein as sub - picture attribute information . the field is the same as sp_atr in the above - mentioned m_vob_sti . color palette information for a sub - picture is recorded therein . a recording format is the same as sp_plt in the above - mentioned m_vob_sti . s_avfi ( still picture av file information ) comprises information necessary for accessing a still picture vog , s_avfi_gi , s_vogi_srp and s_vogi . number of fields of s_vogi_srp which will be described below is recorded therein . the start address of s_vogi is recorded in the s_vogi_sa ( still picture vob group information start address ). the s_vogi ( still picture vob group information ) comprises the management information of the still picture vob , s_vogi_gi , s_vob_ent and cp_mngi . the following information is recorded as the general information of a still picture vob group in s_vog_gi ( still picture vob group general information ). number of still picture vobs in the still picture vob group is recorded therein . recorded therein is s_vob_sti number of s_vob_sti which stores the stream information of the still picture vob . the s_vob_sti number is the recording order in the above - mentioned s_vob_sti table . the recording date and time information of the first ( head ) still picture vob in the still picture vob group is recorded therein . the recording date and time information of the last still picture vob in the still picture vob group is recorded therein . the start address of the still picture vob group in the rtr_sto . vro file is recorded therein . cp_mngi ( copy management information ) stores copy management information related to the still picture vob group . individual fields are the same as the cp_mngi of the above - mentioned m_vobi . s_vob_ent ( still picture vob entry ) corresponds to individual still picture vobs in the still picture vob group , and is divided into the following types a and b depending on the presence of audio data . the type a comprises s_vob_ent_ty and v_part_sz . individual fields are as follows . the type information of the still picture vob is recorded therein in a format shown in fig2 . any one of the following values for identifying the type a or the type b is recorded therein . any one of the following values for identifying the status of the still picture vob is recorded therein . number of sub - picture streams in the still picture vob is recorded therein . the data amount of the still picture vob is recorded therein . the type b has a_part_sz and a_pb_tm in addition to s_vob_ent_ty and v_part_sz . individual fields are as follows . the type information of the still picture vob is recorded therein . individual fields are the same as the above - mentioned type a . the data amount of a video part in the still picture vob is recorded therein . the data amount of an audio part in the still picture vob is recorded therein . the reproducing time length of the audio part of the still picture vob is recorded . ud_pgciti ( user - defined pgc information table information ) stores the following information constituting the user - defined pgc information table . the start address of ud_pgci is recorded in ud_pgci_sa . a seek is carried out up to a recorded address when the pgci is accessed . the details of the ud_pgci ( user - defined pgc information ) will be described in the following pgci . the details of o_pgci ( original pgc information ) will be described in the following pgci . txtdt_mg ( text data management ) comprises txtdti , it_txt_srp and it_txt . individual fields are as follows . a character set code to be used for the it_txt is recorded therein . it_txt_srp_ns ( number of it_txt search pointers ): it_txt_srp ( it_txt search pointer ) stores the following as access information to corresponding it_txt . the start address of the it_txt is recorded therein . when the it_txt is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this address . the data size of the it_txt is recorded therein . when the it_txt is to be read , data with only this size is read . the it_txt comprises a plurality of sets or one set , each set having idcd ( identification code ), txt ( text ) corresponding to the idcd and tmcd ( termination code ). when there is no txt corresponding to the idcd , the idcd and the tmcd may make a set without txt . the idcd is defined as follows . pgci ( pgc information ) has a data structure which is common to o_pgci and ud_pgci , and comprises pgc_gi , pgi , ci_srp and ci . pgc_gi ( pgc general information ) comprises pg_ns and ci_srp_ns as the pgc general information . individual fields are as follows . number of programs in the pgc is recorded therein . for the user - defined pgc , “ 0 ” is recorded in this field because the user - defined pgc has no program . pgi ( program information ) comprises pg_ty , c_ns , prm_txti , it_txt_srpn and thm_ptri . individual fields are as follows . the following information indicative of the status of this program is recorded therein by using a format shown in fig2 . text information indicative of the contents of this program is recorded therein . the details are the same as in the above - mentioned pl_srpt . in the case where information indicative of the contents of this program is optionally recorded as the it_txt in addition to the above - mentioned primary text , the number of it_txt_srp recorded in the txtdt_mg is recorded in this field . thumb nail information which is representative of this program is described therein . the details of thm_ptri are the same as in the thm_ptri of the above - mentioned pl_srpt . ci_srp ( cell information search pointer ) stores address information for accessing the cell information . the start address of the cell information is recorded therein . in the case where the cell is accessed , a seek is carried out up to this address . “ ci ” ( fig3 ): ci ( cell information ) is classified into mi_ci for a motion picture and s_ci for a still picture . m_c_gi ( motion picture cell general information ) has the following basic information constituting a cell . the following information for identifying a motion picture cell and a still picture cell are recorded in a format shown in fig3 . the search pointer number of movie vob information to which this cell corresponds is recorded therein . in the case where access is to be given to stream data to which this cell corresponds , access is first given to a movie vob information search pointer number indicated by this field . number of entry point present in this cell is recorded therein . the reproducing start time of this cell is recorded in a format shown in fig1 . the reproducing end time of this cell is recorded in the format shown in fig1 . the effective interval of this cell in the vob to which this cell corresponds is specified by using the c_v_s_ptm and c_v_e_ptm . m_c_epi ( motion picture cell entry point information ) is classified into a type a and a type b depending on the presence of a primary text . m_c_epi ( type a ) comprises the following information indicative of an entry point . the following information for identifying the type of this entry point is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig3 . a time that the entry point is put is recorded in accordance with the format shown in fig1 . m_c_epi ( type b ) has the following prm_txti in addition to the ep_ty and ep_ptm included in the type a . recorded therein is text information indicative of the contents of locations indicated by this entry point . the details are the same as in the above - mentioned pl_srpt . s_c_gi ( still picture cell general information ) has the following basic information constituting a cell . information for identifying a motion picture cell and a still picture cell are recorded . the details are the same as in the above - mentioned motion picture cell . recorded therein is the search pointer number of still picture vob group information to which this cell corresponds . in the case where access is to be given to stream data to which this cell corresponds , access is first given to a still picture vob group information search pointer number indicated by this field . the reproducing start still picture vob number of this cell is recorded in the format shown in fig1 . the still picture vob number is the order in the s_vog indicated by the above - mentioned s_vogi_srpn . the reproducing end still picture vob number of this cell is recorded in the format shown in fig1 . the still picture vob number is the order in the s_vog indicated by the above - mentioned s_vogi_srpn . the effective interval of this cell in the s_vog to which the cell corresponds is specified by using the s_s_vob_entn and e_s_vob_entn . s_c_epi ( still picture cell entry point information ) is classified into a type a and a type b depending on the presence of a primary text . s_c_epi ( type a ) comprises the following information indicative of an entry point . the following information for identifying the type of this entry point is recorded in accordance with a format shown in fig3 . a number of still picture on which an entry point is put is recorded therein in accordance with the format shown in fig1 . s_c_epi ( type b ) has the following prm_txti in addition to the ep_ty and s_vob_entn included in s_c_epi of type a . recorded therein is text information indicative of the contents of locations indicated by this entry point . the details are the same as in the above - mentioned pl_srpt . next , the structure of the dvd recorder in this embodiment will be described . the dvd - recorder of this embodiment has almost the same structure as the one of the first embodiment but differs in the following point . that is , in the dvd - recorder , the system controller 7802 includes an after - recording check section 78021 and an after - recording operation section 78022 for performing after - recording as shown in fig5 . though the operation of the recorder of this embodiment is almost same as in the first embodiment , a significant difference is that the after - recording check section 78021 in the recorder of this embodiment checks in advance whether the recorder has an ability to perform after - recording for an audio stream which is intended to be after - recorded . as described above , the optical disc of this embodiment has bit rate information (“ bitrate ”) as attribute information of a dummy audio stream provided for after - recording in addition to audio coding mode information , and information of number of audio channels . with reference to the audio attribute information , the dvd recorder checks in advance whether or not the recorder can perform an after - recording operation by using the dummy audio stream . concretely , it is determined whether the after - recording operation is possible or not by comparing audio coding mode , audio channel number and bit rate with an encode ability of the dvd recorder . when the after - recording operation is determined to be possible , the after - recording operation is performed as in the first embodiment . when the after - recording operation is determined to be impossible , the user is notified that the after - recording operation is impossible via the user interface 7801 in a predetermined manner ( for example , to display message ). this operation is described below with reference to flow charts in fig5 , 55 and 56 . referring to fig5 , upon receiving a user request for after - recording to a desired program ( pg ) via the user interface 7801 ( s 1 ), the system controller 7802 reads in movie vob information ( m_vobi ) and movie vob stream information ( m_vob_sti ) related to the designated program ( pg ) ( s 2 ). then , the possibility of an after - recording operation in the recorder is checked ( s 3 ). that is , it is determined whether or not the after - recording operation is possible with reference to m_vobi and m_vob_sti ( s 3 ). with the result , when the after - recording operation is determined to be possible ( s 4 ), the controller starts the after - recording operation ( s 5 ). when the after - recording operation is determined to be impossible ( s 4 ), the controller notifies the user that the after - recording operation is impossible ( for example , displays message ) ( s 6 ). the check routine of the possibility of the after - recording operation ( step s 3 ) is performed as follows in accordance with the flowchart of fig5 . the controller checks number of audio streams based on ast_ns of m_vob_sti ( in fig1 ) ( s 31 ). when there are two audio streams ( s 32 ), attribute of each audio stream is checked or determined whether or not each audio stream is in a state where it is possible to perform the after - recording operation to the stream ( referred to as “ after - recordable state ”) ( s 33 ). details of this process will be described later . with the result of the check , when the audio stream is in after - recordable state ( s 34 ), coding mode (“ audio coding mode ”) ( see fig1 ) in a_atr 1 of m_vob_sti is checked ( s 35 ). when an encoder of the dvd recorder is operable in the checked coding mode ( s 36 ), bit rate (“ bitrate ”) in a_atr 1 of m_vob_sti is checked ( s 37 ). when the encoder is operable in the checked bit rate ( s 38 ), it is decided that the after - recording operation is “ possible ” ( s 39 ). otherwise , it is decided that an after - recording operation is “ impossible ” ( s 40 ). the check routine of attribute of audio stream ( step s 33 ) is performed as follows in accordance with the flowchart in fig5 . firstly , it is determined whether the al_status of audio stream for after - recording ( audio stream 2 ) ( see fig1 ) is in “ dummy state for after - recording ” ( s 321 ). when the al_status is in “ dummy state for after - recording ”, the audio stream is decided to be in “ after - recordable state ” ( s 322 ). it is noted that “ dummy state for after - recording ” indicates that the audio stream is prepared for after - recording but that after - recording data have not been recorded yet in the audio stream . when the a 1 _status is not in “ dummy state for after - recording ”, notice is served to user that the audio stream has already been after - recorded , and user &# 39 ; s response is waited ( s 323 ). when afterrecording is ordered by user in the response ( s 324 ), the audio stream is decided to be in after - recordable state ( s 322 ). when after - recording is not ordered by user in the response ( s 324 ), the audio stream is decided not to be in after - recordable state ( s 325 ). the dvd recorder according to this embodiment creates the management information for each motion picture recording . the dvd recorder especially creates audio coding mode , number of audio channels and bit rate information as an audio stream attribute information , and records them onto the optical disc . while in this embodiment the recorder is provided for the dvd - ram disc , this invention is not limited to dvd - ram but applicable to re - writable disc . while in this embodiment details of data : structure on the disc is described , the data structure is not limited to the structure described above . that is , this invention can be implemented by the recorder that compares audio attribute information including bit rate with encoding ability in advance when the recorder performs after - recording . while in this embodiment the description is made for two audio streams , same advantage could be obtained when only one audio stream is recorded as in the case where two audio streams are recorded . although the present invention has been described in connection with specified embodiments thereof , many other modifications , corrections and applications are apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , the present invention is not limited by the disclosure provided herein but limited only to the scope of the appended claims .
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in fig1 reference number 2 refers to the drill bit lowered into well 1 by means of the drill string . conventional drill collars 3 are screwed on above the bit . a first measuring means is made up of a sub 4 , generally placed above bit 2 where measurements near to the bit are more interesting , notably in order to follow the dynamic of the bit . however , it can also be placed within or at the top of the drill collars , or even at the level of the drill pipes . the drill string is completed by conventional pipes 7 up to the suspension and connection sub 8 . above this sub , the drill string is lengthened by adding cabled pipes 9 . cabled pipes 9 are not described in this document since they are well - known from the prior art , notably through patents fr - 2 , 530 , 876 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 806 , 115 or patent application fr - 2 , 656 , 747 . a second measuring means placed in a sub 10 is screwed below kelly 11 , the cabled pipes being then added below this sub 10 . a rotary electric connection 12 placed above kelly 11 is electrically connected to the surface installation 13 by a cable 14 . when the drill rig is provided with a power swivel , there is no kelly and measuring sub 10 is screwed on directly below rotary connection 12 , which is located below the power swivel . measuring sub 4 includes a male connector 6 whose contacts are linked to the measuring sensors and to the associated electronics included in sub 4 . a cable 5 equivalent to a wireline logging cable comprises , at its lower end , a female connector 15 suited for co - operating with connector 6 . the upper end of cable 5 is suspended from sub 8 . sub 8 is suited for suspending the cable length 5 and for connecting electrically the conductor or conductors of cable 5 to the electric link or links of the cabled pipe placed immediately above . the electric link provided by the cabled pipes bears reference number 16 . this electric link passes through 17 in the second measuring sub 10 . when a kelly 11 is used , it is also cabled and includes two electric cables 18 and 19 . one cable , 18 , connects the second sub 10 to the rotary contacts of rotary connection 12 , and the other , 19 , connects line 17 to other rotary contacts of connection 12 . sub 4 is generally connected by a single conductor to the surface installation 13 . the measurements and the power supply pass through the same line . the measuring means of sub 4 preferably comprises sensors for measuring , alone or in combination : the accelerations along three orthogonal axes , one of them merging in the longitudinal axis of the drill string , the first three measurements can be obtained through strain gages stuck onto a test cylinder . they are protected from the pressure by an appropriate housing . the design and the build - up of this housing are suited for substantially preventing measuring errors due to efficiencies . accelerations are measured by two accelerometers per axis in order to check errors induced by the rotation dynamics . the last set of measurements is obtained by specific sensors mounted in a separate part of the sub . the orders of magnitude of the mechanical characteristics of the first sub 4 are for example as follows : the second measuring means of measuring sub 10 preferably includes , alone or in combination , sensors for measuring : the design of this surface sub 10 is not basically different from that of the first sub , apart from the obligation to leave a free mud passage substantially coaxial to the inner space of the string so as to allow , if need be , transfer of a bit inside the string . the orders of magnitude of the mechanical characteristics of the second sub 10 are for example as follows : in a variant of the acquisition system according to the embodiment of fig1 a high measurement transmission frequency is obtained by means of electric links made up of cable 5 , line 16 and 17 , and surface cable 14 . fig2 shows a torque signal recorded by surface sub 10 . the recording time is two minutes , from 0 . 5 to 2 . 5 mn , laid off as abscissa . the amplitude of the oscillations , laid off as ordinate , is expressed in n . m . the signal portion represented comprises , from the abscissa zone 1 . 5 , a zone of strong oscillations corresponding to a dysfunctioning of the stick - slip type . the previous zone corresponds to a trouble - free running . the object of the invention is to calculate the damping factor associated with the fast natural mode relative to the stick - slip . to that effect , a transfer function is identified between the bottomhole signals and the surface signals , such as the bottomhole torque measured with bottomhole sub 4 and the surface torque measured with surface sub 10 . autoregressive moving average models ( arma ), that are well - known and that can be characterized by the equations as follows , are used : ## equ1 ## where x ( t ) is the output signal , u ( t ) the input signal and e ( t ) a white noise . &# 34 ; system identification toolbox user &# 39 ; s guide &# 34 ;, july 1991 , the math works inc ., cochituate place , 24 prime park way , natick , mass . 01760 . &# 34 ; system identification -- theory for the user &# 34 ; by lennart ljung , prentice - hall , englewood cliffs , n . j ., 1987 . &# 34 ; digital spectral analysis with applications &# 34 ; by s . lawrence marple jr ., prentice - hall , englewood cliffs , n . j ., 1987 . &# 34 ; digital signal processing &# 34 ; by r . a . roberts and c . t . mullis , addison - wosley publishing company , 1987 . for the identification of an autoregressive model , the most delicate stage consists in determining its orders ( p , q ), i . e . the number of coefficients of the model . in fact , if the order selected is too small , the model cannot express all the modes of vibration . conversely , if the order selected for the model is too great , the transfer function obtained has more natural modes than the system , and errors can thus result therefrom . a modeling error can be significant . the delay nt reveals the transfer time of a signal through the drill string . the transmission rate of the shear waves is about 3000 m / s . consequently , knowing the length of the drill string during the recording , the delay nt can be automatically determined . for example , during the acquisition of the signal shown in fig2 the length of the string was about 1030 m , which gives a delay nt of 0 . 34 s , i . e . about n = 15 values for a sampling of the data at 45 hz . determination of p : tests have been carried out in order to determine the parameter p that characterizes the number of poles of the transfer function . in order to get an idea of the value of p , a spectral study of the signals has been carried out to determine the number of frequency peaks with phase change , that is associated with the number of natural modes . this allows to get an idea of the order of magnitude of p , knowing that two conjugate complex poles correspond to each natural mode and therefore that p is equal to double the number of natural modes . at the end of this first approximation , the value of p ranges between 24 and 36 . after a series of tests on different torque signals , the optimum determination of p is 26 . in order to determine the parameter q , it is increased from the value 1 until an optimum representative model is obtained . the real surface signals have thus been compared with those obtained with the transfer function from the bottomhole signals recorded by bottomhole sub 4 . it turned out that q = 1 is sufficient . in the case of autoregressive models , the polynomial ## equ2 ## constitutes the denominator of the transfer function obtained . consequently , if the zeros of this polynomial are determined , one obtains the poles of the transfer function that is associated with the natural modes of the system . fig3 shows the evolution of the natural modes of the signal of fig2 as a function of time laid off as abscissa , the frequencies in hertz being laid off as ordinate . the natural modes are calculated here according to the principle expounded above . the stability of the natural modes represented by a cross demonstrates the existence of an invariant linear transfer function between the bottomhole and the surface as regards the twisting moment . as for the calculation of the dampings μ related to the natural modes , the following formula has been used : where p is the module of the pole and m the phase of the pole corresponding to the natural mode . fig4 shows the evolution as a function of time of the damping of the first natural mode , i . e . 0 . 3 hz , which is related to the stick - slip type dysfunctioning that causes the strong oscillations of the torque from the time 1 . 5 in fig2 . it may be observed that , at the time 1 . 5 , the damping has undergone a strong decrease that correlatively generates the stick - slip motion . it is therefore possible to predict the start of the stick - slip by carrying out a real time calculation of the damping value of the natural mode associated with the stick - slip . in our example , it is the first natural mode , but it is obvious that in other examples relative to another system it could be another mode than the first mode , for example the second or even the third . however , it is experimentally recognized that only the first natural modes can be associated with the stick - slip type dysfunctioning . a system allowing to calculate the damping in real time from the surface torque signals and possibly from the bottomhole torque signals thus allows to predict the start of the stick - slip motion through the real time analysis of the evolution of the damping value . the means for calculating and for determining a transfer function are preferably placed in the surface installation 13 ( fig1 ). when the damping reaches a low value within the space of several ten seconds , the operator can be alerted by an alarm and correct drilling parameters so as to prevent stick - slip . the drilling parameters can be the weight on bit , the rotating speed , the friction torque on the walls of the well when a remote - controlled device is integrated in the drill string .
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reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig1 through 4 show a first driving system of the present invention . this first driving system corresponds to a case in which all cathode lines and all anode lines are reset by dropping their voltage to a ground potential ( 0 v ) once in a shifting scan to the next cathode line . in fig1 through 4 , the system comprises anode lines a 1 through a 256 , cathode lines b 1 through b 64 , luminous elements e 1 , 1 through e 256 , 64 , a cathode line scanning circuit l , an anode line driving circuit 2 , an anode line resetting circuit 3 , and an emission control circuit 4 . the cathode line scanning circuit 1 comprises scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 for sequentially scanning each of the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 . one terminal of each of the scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 is connected to a reverse bias voltage source whose voltage is equal to the source voltage v cc ( e . g ., 10 v ) and the other terminal is connected to the ground voltage ( 0 v ). the anode line driving circuit 2 comprises current sources 2 1 through 2 256 , i . e ., driving sources , and driving switches 6 1 through 6 256 for selecting each of the anode lines a 1 through a 256 . the anode line driving circuit 2 connects the current sources 2 1 through 2 256 to drive the luminous elements at a pertinent anode line by turning on an arbitrary driving switch . the anode line resetting circuit 3 comprises shunt switches 7 1 through 7 256 for resetting the anode lines a 1 through a 256 to the ground potential ( 0 v ). it is noted that on / off control of scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 , driving switches 6 1 through 6 256 and shunt switches 7 1 through 7 256 , is controlled by the emission control circuit 4 . the operations for emitting light by means of the first driving system will be explained with reference to fig1 through 4 . the operations described below will be explained by referring to an example when luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 1 , 2 are caused to emit light by scanning the cathode line b 1 and , then , the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 , are caused to emit light by shifting the scan to the cathode line b 2 . further , in order to facilitate this description , the luminous elements emitting light are indicated by the diode symbol and the other luminous elements that are not emitting light are indicated by the capacitor symbol . the reverse bias voltage v cc applied to the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 is set at 10 v , which is equal to the source voltage of the system . in fig1 at first the scanning switch 5 1 is switched to 0 v and the cathode line b 1 is scanned . the reverse bias voltage of 10 v is applied to the other cathode lines b 2 through b 64 via the scanning switches 5 2 through 5 64 . further , the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 are connected to the anode lines a 1 and a 2 via the driving switches 6 1 and 6 2 . still further , 0 v is applied to the other anode lines a 3 through a 256 via the shunt switches 7 3 through 7 256 . accordingly , fig1 illustrates that only the luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 2 , 1 emit light because only these elements are biased in the forward direction such that driving currents flow into these elements from the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 , as indicated by arrows in the figure . in the state of fig1 the luminous elements indicated by a hatched capacitor are being charged , respectively , in the direction of the polarity shown in the figure . then , the following reset control is carried out in shifting the scan so that a state of emission in which the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 emit light , as shown in fig4 is brought about from the state of emission in fig1 . that is , before shifting the scan from the cathode line b 1 in fig1 to the cathode line b 2 in fig4 all of the driving switches 6 1 through 6 64 are turned off , and all of the scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 and the shunt switches 7 1 through 7 256 are switched to 0 v , to shunt all of the anode lines a 1 through a 256 and the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 to 0 v , as shown in fig2 . when all are reset to 0 v , all of the anode lines and cathode lines have the same potential of 0 v , so that any electric charge stored or charged in each luminous element is discharged via the routes indicated by arrows in the figure . in this way , the electric charge stored or charged in all of the luminous elements becomes zero instantly . after discharging the electric charge stored in all of the luminous elements to zero as described above , only the scanning switch 5 2 , which corresponds to the cathode line b 2 , is switched to the side of 0 v to scan the cathode line b 2 as shown in fig3 . at the same time , only the driving switches 6 2 and 6 3 are switched to the side of the current sources 2 2 and 2 3 and the shunt switches 7 1 and 7 4 through 7 256 are turned on to apply 0 v to the anode lines a 1 and a 4 through a 256 . when these switches are switched and the cathode line b 2 is scanned , charging currents rush into the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 , which are to emit light next , via a plurality of routes as indicated by arrows in fig3 . the electric charges stored in all of the luminous elements are zero , as described above , and thus the parasitic capacitors c of the respective luminous elements are instantly charged . that is , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 2 , 2 via a route of current source 2 2 → driving switch 6 2 → anode line a 2 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 2 , 1 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 2 , 3 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 2 , 64 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this way , the luminous element e 2 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state instantly shifts to the stationary state shown in fig4 . further , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 3 , 2 via a route of current source 2 3 → driving switch 6 3 → anode line a 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 3 , 1 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 3 , 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 3 , 64 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this manner , the luminous element e 3 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state shifts to the stationary state shown in fig4 instantly . as described above , according to the first driving system , all of the cathode lines and anode lines are connected once to 0 v , i . e ., the ground potential , to perform a reset before shifting to the next scan . thus , when the scan is switched to the next scan line , luminous elements on the switched scan line can emit light instantly . although the luminous elements other than the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 are charged via the routes indicated by arrows in fig3 such charging direction is the reverse bias direction , so that there is no possibility that the luminous elements other than the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 will emit light erroneously . furthermore , although current sources 2 1 through 2 256 have been used as the driving sources in the example shown in fig1 through 4 , the same effect may be realized also by using voltage sources instead . fig5 through 8 show a second driving system of the present invention . the second driving system corresponds to a case when all of the cathode lines and anode lines are reset once to the source voltage v cc = 10 v before the next cathode line is scanned . in order to accomplish this resetting method , three - point change - over switches are used as the driving switches 6 1 through 6 256 . in each of these three - point switches , a first contact is opened , a second contact is connected to the current sources 2 1 through 2 256 , and a third contact is connected to the source voltage v cc = 10 v , respectively , in the circuit shown in fig5 through 8 . because the portions of the circuit structure other than the driving switches 6 1 through 6 256 are the same as that of the first driving system described above , the explanation of such other portions will not be repeated here . operations for emitting light by means of the second driving system will be explained with reference to fig5 through 8 . the operations described below are with reference to cases when the luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 2 , 1 emit light by scanning the cathode line b 1 and , then , the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 emit light by shifting the scan to the cathode line b 2 in a manner similar to the first driving system described above . in fig5 the scanning switch 5 1 first is switched to 0 v and the cathode line b 1 is scanned . the reverse bias voltage of 10 v is applied to the other cathode lines b 2 through b 64 via the scanning switches 5 2 through 5 64 . the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 are connected to the anode lines a 1 and a 2 via the driving switches 6 1 and 6 2 , 0 v is applied to the other anode lines a 3 through a 256 via the shunt switches 7 3 through 7 256 . as shown in fig5 only the luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 2 , 1 emit light because only these elements are biased in the forward direction such that driving currents flow into these elements from the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 as indicated by arrows in the figure . in fig5 the luminous elements indicated by a hatched capacitor are being charged , in the direction of the polarity shown in the figure . then , a reset control is carried out by shifting the scan so that a state of emission in which the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 emit light as shown in fig8 is brought about from the state of emission in fig5 . thus , before shifting the scan from the cathode line b 1 in fig5 to the cathode line b 2 in fig8 all of the shunt switches 7 1 through 7 256 are turned off , and all of the scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 and the driving switches 6 1 through 6 256 are switched to 10 v , to shunt all of the anode lines a 1 through a 256 and the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 to 10 v once to reset all by 10 v , as shown in fig6 . when all are reset to 10 v , all of the anode lines and cathode lines have the same potential of 10 v , so that electric charge stored or charged in each luminous element is discharged via the routes indicated by arrows in the figure . in this way , the electric charge stored or charged in all of the luminous elements becomes zero instantly . after discharging the electric charge stored in all of the luminous elements to zero , as described above , only the scanning switch 5 2 which corresponds to the cathode line b 2 is switched to 0 v to scan the cathode line b 2 , as shown in fig7 . at the same time , the driving switches 6 2 and 6 3 are switched to the side of the current sources 2 2 and 2 3 and the other driving switches 6 1 and 6 4 through 6 256 are switched to the open end side . further , the shunt switches 7 1 and 7 4 through 7 256 are turned on to apply 0 v to the anode lines a 1 and a 4 through a 256 . when these switches are switched and the cathode line b 2 is scanned , charging currents rush into the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 , which are to emit light next , via a plurality of routes as indicated by arrows in fig7 . the electric charges stored in all of the luminous elements are zero , as described above , and thus the parasitic capacitors c of the respective luminous elements are charged instantly . that is , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 2 , 2 via a route of current source 2 2 → driving switch 6 2 → anode line a 2 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 2 , 1 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 2 , 3 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 2 , 64 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this way , the luminous element e 2 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state instantly shifts to the stationary state shown in fig8 . further , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 3 , 2 via a route of current source 2 3 → driving switch 6 3 → anode line a 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 3 , 1 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 3 , 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 3 , 64 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this manner , the luminous element e 3 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state instantly shifts to the stationary state shown in fig8 . as described above , according to the second driving system , all of the cathode lines and anode lines are connected once to 10 v , i . e ., the source voltage , to perform a reset before shifting to the next scan , so that when the scan is switched to the next scan line , luminous elements on the switched scan line can emit light instantly . although the luminous elements other than the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 to emit light are charged , respectively , via routes as indicated by arrows in fig7 such charging direction is the reverse bias direction , so that there is no possibility that the other luminous elements will emit erroneously . although the current sources 2 1 through 2 256 have been used as the driving sources in the example shown in fig5 through 8 , the same effect may be realized also by using voltage sources instead . fig9 through 12 show a third driving system of the present invention . the third driving system corresponds to a case when all of the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 are reset to 10 v , and the anode lines a 1 through a 256 are preset , in order to be ready for the next emission before the next cathode line is scanned . because the circuit structure itself is the same as that of the second driving system described above , explanation of such structure will not be repeated here . operations for emitting light by means of the third driving system will be explained with reference to fig9 through 12 . the operations described below are with reference to cases when the luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 2 , 1 emit light by scanning the cathode line b 1 and then the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 emit light by shifting the scan to the cathode line b 2 in a manner similar to the first and second driving systems described above . in fig9 the scanning switch 5 1 is first switched to 0 v and the cathode line b 1 is scanned . the reverse bias voltage of 10 v is applied to the other cathode lines b 2 through b 64 via the scanning switches 5 2 through 5 64 . the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 are connected to the anode lines a 1 and a 2 via the driving switches 6 1 and 2 , and 0 v is applied to the other anode lines a 3 through a 256 via the shunt switches 7 3 through 7 256 . as shown in fig9 only the luminous elements e 1 , 1 and e 2 , 1 emit light because only these elements are biased in the forward direction such that driving currents flow into these elements from the current sources 2 1 and 2 2 as indicated by the arrows in the figure . fig9 the luminous elements indicated by a hatched capacitor are being charged in the direction of the polarity shown in the figure . then , a reset control is carried out by shifting the scan so that a state of emission in which the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 emit light as shown in fig1 is brought about from the state of emission in fig9 . thus , before shifting the scan from the cathode line b 1 in fig9 to the cathode line b 2 in fig1 , all of the scanning switches 5 1 through 5 64 are switched to 10 v to reset all as shown in fig1 . further , for the anode lines , only the driving switches 6 2 and 6 3 , which correspond to the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 2 , 3 that emit light , are connected to 10 v for preset , and the other driving switches 6 1 and 6 4 through 6 256 are connected to the open end side . further , the shunt switches 7 1 and 7 4 through 7 256 are turned on to achieve connection to 0 v . when all of the cathode lines b 1 through b 64 are reset to 10 v and the anode lines a 2 and a 3 are preset to the source voltage of 10 v , electric charge stored or charged in each luminous element is charged / discharged via the routes indicated by arrows in the figure . in this way , the electric charge stored in each of the luminous elements e 2 , 1 through e 2 , 64 and e 3 , 1 through e 3 , 64 , connected to the anode lines a 2 and a 3 , which are to be caused to emit light , becomes zero instantly . after discharging the electric charge stored in each of the luminous elements e 2 , 1 through e 2 , 64 and e 3 , 1 through e 3 , 64 to zero as described above , the scanning switch 5 2 is switched to of 0 v to scan the cathode line b 2 as shown in fig1 . at the same time , the driving switches 6 2 and 6 3 are switched to the side of the current sources 2 2 and 2 3 . when these switches are switched and the cathode line b 2 is scanned , charging currents rush into the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 , which are to emit light , via a plurality of routes as indicated by arrows in fig1 , thus charging the parasitic capacitor c of the respective luminous elements instantly . that is , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 2 , 2 via a route of current source 2 2 → driving switch 6 2 → anode line a 2 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 2 , 1 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 2 , 3 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 2 , 64 → luminous element e 2 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this way , the luminous element e 2 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state shifts to the stationary state shown in fig1 instantly . further , the charging currents flow into the luminous element e 3 , 2 via a route of current source 2 3 → driving switch 6 3 → anode line a 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , as well as via a route of scanning switch 5 1 → cathode line b 1 → luminous element e 3 , 1 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , via a route of scanning switch 5 3 → cathode line b 3 → luminous element e 3 , 3 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , . . . and via a route of scanning switch 5 64 → cathode line b 64 → luminous element e 3 , 64 → luminous element e 3 , 2 → scanning switch 5 2 , at the same time . in this manner , the luminous element e 3 , 2 is charged instantly by these plurality of charging currents , and emits light . then , the state shifts to the stationary state shown in fig1 instantly . as described above , according to the third driving system , all of the cathode lines are reset to 10 v and the anode lines are preset to be ready for the next emission before shifting to the next scan , so that when the scan is switched to the next scan line , luminous elements on the switched scan line can emit light instantly . although the luminous elements other than the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 are charged via routes as indicated by arrows in fig1 , such charging direction is the reverse bias direction , so that there is no possibility that luminous elements other than the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 will emit light erroneously . although all of the cathode lines have been reset to 10 v in the third driving system described above , all of the cathode lines may instead be reset to 0 v . further , although current sources 2 1 through 2 256 have been used as the driving sources in the example shown in fig9 through 12 , the same effect may be realized by using voltage sources instead . as is apparent with reference to each figure of fig3 and 10 described above , the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 are charged not only from the current sources 2 2 and 2 3 , but also from the other luminous elements connected to the anode lines a 2 and a 3 at the same time via the cathode lines b 1 and b 3 through b 64 to which the reverse bias voltage is applied . therefore , when a large number of luminous elements are connected to the anode lines , the luminous elements e 2 , 2 and e 3 , 2 may emit light just by the charging current obtained via those other luminous elements , if for a short time . accordingly , the current sources 2 1 through 2 256 of the anode line driving circuit 2 may be obviated by scanning the cathode lines with a period shorter than a duration of the emission caused by the charging current obtained via the other luminous elements . further , although the embodiments described above have been explained in connection with examples exemplifying the system of scanning cathode lines and driving anode lines , the same invention may be realized by scanning anode lines and driving cathode lines . as described above , according to the present invention , the parasitic capacitors of luminous elements to emit light are charged by the driving sources via the drive lines and also by the reverse bias voltage of the scan lines at the same time via the parasitic capacitors of the other luminous elements not emitting . this is accomplished by switching the scanning position to the next scan line after resetting all of the scan lines , so that an end - to - end voltage of the luminous elements to emit light may be built up instantly to a voltage which allows the emission , thus allowing the luminous elements to emit light instantly . further , because the charge obtained via the other luminous elements is utilized , the capacity of each driving source may be reduced and the driving unit can be miniaturized . moreover , the driving unit is adapted to be able to emit light quickly while eliminating all of the driving sources on the drive line side , so that the driving unit may be further simplified and miniaturized . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the driving system of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .
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fig3 a and 3b show the diagram of the transistor of the storage cell according to the invention . a memory point of the metal - ferroelectric - semiconductor type , like that of the invention , comprises a semiconductor substrate 1 , a thin ferro - electric layer 2 and a conductive layer 3 , placed on either side of the ferroelectric layer 2 . the semiconductor substrate can be of the p type or the n type . in the device described , consideration is given to a p type semiconductor substrate 1 . the conductive layer 3 is made from a degenerated semiconductor material or metal . the memory point according to the invention also has a gate electrode 4 , a source zone 5 and a drain zone 6 . with the ferroelectric 2 , the gate electrode 4 produces a gate pattern of the transistor . the conductive layer 3 is placed on either side of said gate pattern . it is therefore in direct contact with the ferroelectric 2 on the edge or flank thereof , which means that there is no intermediate material between the conductive layer 3 and the ferroelectric 2 . according to a preferred embodiment of the invention , the conductive layer 3 covers the source zone 5 and the drain zone 6 of the semiconductor 1 , forming a single electrode therewith . according to another embodiment of the invention , the conductive layer 3 can be insulated from the source zone 5 and the drain zone 6 and can form an independent electrode . as in most conventional memories , the gate electrode 4 is connected to an addressing line , also known as a word line ( wl ). in the same way , the transistor source 5 is connected to a bit line ( bl ) and the transistor drain 6 is connected to earth or ground ( v ss ). the bit line bl is both the bit writing line and the bit reading line . fig3 c shows an embodiment of the invention , in which the conductive layer 3 is insulated from the source and drain zones 5 , 6 . this conductive layer 3 is then connected to a specific addressing line , referred to as the write bit line ( wbl ). the transistor source 5 is connected to a reading line , referred to as the read bit line ( rbl ). in the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in fig3 a and 3b , i . e . in the embodiment where the conductive layer is electrically connected to the source 5 and drain 6 of the transistor , the pole connected to the source will be connected to a single line serving both as the addressing line and as the reading line , said line being the bit line bl and in this case the drain is connected to earth v ss . more specifically , fig3 a shows a memory point at state 0 . fig3 b shows a memory point according to the invention in state 1 , i . e . the programmed memory point . the writing of the information in said memory point is carried out in a similar manner to that of a conventional metal - ferroelectric - semiconductor transistor , i . e . writing takes place by applying programming voltages to the gate and the conductive layer 3 respectively via the word line wl and the bit line bl . the programming voltages are such that the value of the electric field in the ferroelectric exceeds the coercive field and consequently in such a way that there is a reversal of the residual polarization in the vicinity of the drain 6 . in the embodiment described , the source and drain zones are positively charged . by applying a negative voltage to bl and a positive voltage to wl , said polarization , whose direction is opposite to that of state 0 ( fig3 a ) makes it possible to repel the negative charges from the channel 8 . this polarization reversal has the effect of making the transistor non - conductive by the field effect produced , which obviously makes it necessary to appropriately choose the transistor parameters , namely the type and the doping value , the gate capacity and the gate voltage on reading . it is also necessary to choose the parameters of the ferroelectric material , namely the coercive field and the residual polarization following the polarization stage . it is this residual polarization which makes it possible to store the information in a non - volatile manner . the programming diagram of such a memory point is given in the table of fig4 in which the programming voltage vp exceeds , in absolute terms , the coercive field and the reading voltage vc is below said field . according to a preferred embodiment of the invention , a dielectric layer 7 is interposed between the ferroelectric 2 and the semiconductor 1 and serves as a barrier . it is appropriately chosen in such a way that the structure is chemically stable . thus , said dielectric layer 7 is chosen so that the two interfaces between the dielectric and the semi - conductor and between the dielectric and the ferro - electric trap a minimum of charges , so as not to shield the electric field induced by the ferroelectric 2 . according to an embodiment of the transistor of the memory cell according to the invention , consideration is given to a p type semiconductor 1 with doping of approximately 10 15 / cm 3 . the thin ferroelectric layer 2 is of lzt , i . e . lead zirconate titanate of formula pb ( zr , ti ) o 3 having an appropriate thickness . according to the preferred embodiment of the invention , the dielectric layer 7 is of sio 2 and is interposed between the ferroelectric 2 and the semiconductor 1 . this dielectric layer has a thickness between a few nanometres and a few dozen nanometres . above the dielectric layer 7 and the ferroelectric 2 , a conductive material is deposited in order to form the gate electrode 4 . all these layers are etched in order to obtain a transistor gate pattern . the source and drain zones 5 , 6 respectively are produced in self - aligned manner , by ion implantation of donor dopants and adequate annealing . the source and drain electrodes 5 , 6 are produced on either side of the gate pattern , using a pattern base residue method . thus , a conductive layer 3 is deposited over the entire surface and is then etched by a known etching procedure . when etching has taken place , i . e . when the planar surfaces are freed , material residues constituting the original conductive layer remain at the base of the steps , i . e . these residues form a type of hillock between the ferroelectric layer 2 and the source and drain electrodes 5 , 6 . therefore these metal residues are in direct contact with the ferroelectric 2 , on its vertical flank , and with the semiconductor 1 on its base , i . e . on the source and drain zones 5 , 6 respectively . the metal constituting the residues is chosen in such a way that the contact with the ferroelectric 2 has an appropriate electrical behaviour . the metal thickness on the flank of the ferroelectric 2 is such that it can permit a polarization having the desired sign , which is sufficiently extensive to partly cover the channel zone . this thickness is approximately 100 nanometres for a ferroelectric layer of approximately 200 nanometres . the process for producing such a memory point consists of producing the metal - ferroelectric - semiconductor transistor in optimized manner , so that the residual polarization and the coercive field permit an operation of the memory . the parameters to be considered for obtaining this optimization of the transistor ferroelectric composition are firstly the threshold voltage difference vo - v1 between the two states 0 and 1 . this threshold voltage difference is approximately given by the expression : e f being the thickness of the ferroelectric 2 , vo and v1 the voltages applied to the gate corresponding to the absence of a charge ( flat band voltage ) in the semiconductor . this voltage difference vo - v1 must be adequate , i . e . equal to or greater than a few volts , so that for a reading gate voltage v l between vo and v1 , the transconductances are significantly different and consequently permit the reading of the state of the memory point . in practice , this voltage difference vo - v1 is approximately 5 volts . according to the preferred embodiment of the invention , a dielectric layer 7 is interposed between the ferroelectric 2 and the semiconductor 1 . this dielectric layer has a typical thickness of approximately 10 to 13 nanometres . this dielectric layer makes it possible to bring the value of the electric field e ( for q = 0 ) closer to the value ec of the coercive field . thus , the variation of the polarization with the electric field e is very high in a ferroelectric . for a standard ferroelectric , such as lead zirconate titanate , pb ( zr 0 . 55 ti 0 . 45 o 3 ), ec is approximately 50 kv / cm and the thickness to obtain a voltage difference of approximately 5 v ( vo - v1 = 5 volts ) is therefore e f = 5100 nanometers . during the programming of the erasing of the memory point , the potential difference between the drain electrode and the gate electrode ( 5 v ) applied to said same typical thickness e f , the average electric field being 100 kv / cm , so that this value is well above the value of the coercive field , whose value was given hereinbefore and which makes it possible to reverse the polarization direction and therefore the state of the memory point . the dielectric layer makes it possible to reduce the gate capacitance ## equ2 ## c f being the capacitance of the ferroelectric and c d the capacitance of the dielectric . the thickness of the dielectric layer is chosen in such a way as to optimize the characteristics of the transistor , i . e . its average threshold voltage ## equ3 ## its voltage response and its saturation current . for a dielectric thickness e d equal to or greater than 20 nanometers , the gate capacitance c 1 is roughly equal to the dielectric capacitance . it is pointed out that the values given above are for exemplary purposes only , bearing in mind that the semiconductor type and its doping , the ferroelectric type and composition for changing the coercive field , the ferroelectric thickness , the electrode height on the ferroelectric flank , the dielectric thickness and the programming and reading voltages can be modified , whilst maintaining the operating principles defined hereinbefore . the metal - ferroelectric - semiconductor transistor according to the invention has the advantage of permitting a metal contact for the polarization at the time of writing , said metal - ferroelectric contact being more intimate ( absence of native oxide and better metallurgical compatibility ) and therefore easier to obtain . moreover , the transistor according to the invention makes it possible to reduce the voltage necessary for the local switching of the ferroelectric at the time of programming , the distance between the two writing electrodes being reduced ( distance between the gate and the contact on the ferroelectric ). in such a transistor , it is also possible to place a dielectric layer between the ferroelectric layer and the semiconductor channel 8 ( which makes the practical construction easier ), whilst still permitting a low programming voltage , because the voltage is directly applied to the ferroelectric .
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reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed , which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims ; numerous alternatives , modifications and equivalents are encompassed . for the purpose of clarity , technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the embodiments has not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description . referring to fig1 , a block diagram of a computer system useful for implementing embodiments of the present invention is shown . in at least one embodiment of the present invention , a processor 100 is connected to a memory 102 and one or more force feedback elements 104 . the processor 100 may be part of an on board flight computer , some other in - vehicle computer system , a mobile personal computing device , or any other mobile computing platform . furthermore , the processor 100 may be connected to an antenna 106 for receiving data and a display 108 for displaying pertinent information . in one embodiment of the present invention , an aircraft may house a computer system according to the present invention . the processor 100 , detecting a critical event or otherwise receiving data through the antenna 106 indicating a critical event , may determine a signal to apply to the one or more force feedback elements 104 to produce a tactile sensation . the tactile sensation may alert the pilot that a critical event has occurred . different signals may produce different tactile sensations indicating different critical events or events of varying criticality . furthermore , the processor 100 may display information pertaining to the critical event on the display 108 in a minimally intrusive way because obtrusive warnings are no longer necessary as the pilot is notified by alternative means . in another embodiment of the present invention , the processor 100 , incorporated into personal computing device , may receive a signal through the antenna 106 . the signal may include embedded data indicating that the signal contains critical information . the processor 100 may detect such embedded data and determine a signal to apply to the one or more force feedback elements 104 to produce a tactile sensation . referring to fig2 , a perspective , environmental view of a flight helmet including an embodiment of the present invention is shown . a flight helmet 200 may include a plurality of force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 affixed to particular locations on or within the flight helmet 200 . for example , a first force feedback element 202 may be affixed or embedded at the left jaw line of the flight helmet 200 , a second force feedback element 204 may be affixed or embedded at the right jaw line of the flight helmet 200 and a third force feedback element 206 may be affixed or embedded at the rear of the flight helmet 200 . the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 are positioned to produce a tactile sensation to the wearer ; for example , in at least one embodiment , the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 are embedded in the helmet so as to be in substantial physical contact with wearer . a person skilled in the art may appreciate that while fig2 shows the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 on the outer surface of the helmet 200 , such illustration is only for clarity and should not be considered limiting . each of the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 is connected to a computing device such that the computing device may apply signals to each of the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 to produce tactile pulses that may be felt and distinguished by the pilot wearing the flight helmet 200 . signals to each force feedback element 202 , 204 , 206 may indicate critical events that require a pilot &# 39 ; s attention . signals to each force feedback element 202 , 204 , 206 may also vary to indicate data pertinent to a critical event . for example , where an onboard computer system detects a critical event behind the aircraft or receives data pertaining to a critical event behind the aircraft , the computer system may apply a signal to the third force feedback element 206 to indicate to the pilot that a critical event has occurred behind the aircraft . likewise , where an onboard computer system detects a critical event to the left or right of the aircraft or receives data pertaining to such a critical event , the computer system may apply a signal to the first force feedback element 202 or the second force feedback element 204 respectively to indicate a location of the critical event . alternatively , two or more force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 may be activated in sequence to indicate information pertaining to a critical event , such as a direction relative to the aircraft . for example , when attempting to re - acquire a target , the onboard computer system may active one of the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 to indicate the relative direction of that target . furthermore , the onboard computer system may apply varying signals to the one or more force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 . for example , the onboard computer system may apply a signal to produce a pulse having a first frequency to indicate one level of criticality , or a pulse having a second frequency to indicate a different level of criticality . alternatively , signals may vary the magnitude of a pulse . in another embodiment , where an onboard computer system detects or receives data pertaining to multiple critical events , the onboard computer system may determine multiple disparate locations pertaining to each critical event relative to the aircraft . the onboard computer system may then apply signals to two or more of the force feedback elements 202 , 204 , 206 to indicate to the pilot the relative locations of each critical event . furthermore , the onboard computer system may vary each signal to indicate relative levels of criticality associated with each critical event . referring to fig3 , a perspective , environmental view of a vest including an embodiment of the present invention is shown . the vest 300 may include a plurality of force feedback elements 304 , 306 affixed to particular locations on or within the vest 300 . for example , a first force feedback element 304 may be affixed or embedded in the upper left quadrant of the vest 300 and a second force feedback element 306 may be affixed or embedded in the upper right quadrant of the vest 300 . the force feedback elements 304 , 306 are positioned to produce a tactile sensation to the wearer ; for example , in at least one embodiment , the force feedback elements 304 , 306 are embedded in the vest so as to be in substantial physical contact with wearer . a person skilled in the art may appreciate that while fig3 shows the force feedback elements 304 , 306 on the outer surface of the vest 300 , such illustration is only for clarity and should not be considered limiting . each of the force feedback elements 304 , 306 is connected to a portable computing device 302 such that the portable computing device 302 may apply signals to each of the force feedback elements 304 , 306 to produce tactile pulses that may be felt and distinguished by the person wearing the vest 300 . signals to each force feedback element 304 , 306 may indicate critical information received by the portable computing device 302 that may require attention . signals to each force feedback element 304 , 306 may also vary to indicate data pertinent to the critical information . for example , where a portable computing device 302 receives critical information , the portable computing device 302 may apply a signal to one or more of the force feedback elements 304 , 306 depending on some data embedded in the critical information such as criticality or relative location if the portable computing device 302 has access to information pertaining to its own relative location . in another example , tactile pulses produced by force feedback elements may function as silent “ friendly ” indicators in a battlefield situation . furthermore , the portable computing device 302 may apply varying signals to the one or more force feedback elements 304 , 306 . for example , the portable computing device 302 may apply a signal to produce a pulse having a first frequency to indicate one level of criticality , or a pulse having a second frequency to indicate a different level of criticality . alternatively , signals may vary the magnitude of a pulse . in another embodiment , each force feedback element 304 , 306 may be specifically associated with one or more types of critical information . where the portable computing device 302 receives multiple types of critical information , the portable computing device 302 may determine and apply multiple disparate signals to two or more force feedback elements 304 , 306 . furthermore , the portable computing device 302 may vary each signal to indicate relative levels of criticality associated with each type of critical information . referring to fig4 , a flowchart of a method for signaling a critical event with force feedback elements according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown . a computer system executing such method may receive 400 data pertaining to a critical event . data pertaining to a critical event may include the existence of such critical event , the location of such critical event , the relative criticality of such critical event or other pertinent information . the computer system may determine 402 one or more force feedback elements to activate based on the data . for example , where the data indicates the location of a critical event , the computer system may select a force feedback element indicating the relative location of the critical event . alternatively , certain force feedback elements may be associated with certain critical events such that the activation of a force feedback element or combination of force feedback elements indicates a particular critical event or type of critical event . the computer system may then determine 404 one or more signals to apply to the selected force feedback elements . the signals may be configured to produce a pulse in the force feedback elements having a desirable frequency , or some combination of frequencies in two or more force feedback elements . the signals may also vary the magnitude of pulses in the force feedback elements . the computer system may then apply 406 such signals to the selected force feedback elements . it is believed that the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description of embodiments of the present invention , and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form , construction , and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages . the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof , it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes .
| 6 |
referring to fig1 there is shown a photovoltaic device 10 comprising a series array of solar cells . by way of example , a regular pattern of five solar cells is shown ; however , any number of solar cells may be connected in series in accordance with the present invention . continuing with the description of the present invention , a more detailed sectional view of a portion of device 10 is illustrated in fig2 . the device 10 comprises a substrate 12 , which may be any one of known electrical insulating materials . suitable materials are glass , anodized aluminum foil or a plastic foil such as the polyimide sold under the trademark kapton . a plurality of conductors are spaced apart on insulating substrate 12 as shown in fig1 and 2 , only two of which are numbered for the sake of clarity . a first conductor 14 is disposed adjacent to a second conductor 16 , the conductors being deposited on the substrate 12 in a known manner . any conductive material which may be selectively deposited is suitable for the conductors 14 and 16 . for example , aluminum , gold or tin oxide may be vapor deposited using aperture masks to achieve the desired pattern of conductors . alternatively , suitable metals may be selectively plated on substrate 12 by means of mechanically masking portions of the substrate 12 from a plating solution . likewise , the substrate 12 may be completely plated and then selectively etched . after the conductors are in position on the substrate 12 , a layer 18 of a first semiconductor material is deposited on the conductors and on the substrate between the conductors . a presently preferred material for semiconductor layer 18 is cds , which may be vapor deposited in a known manner . a layer 20 of a second semiconductor material is disposed on layer 18 , a photovoltaic junction 21 being formed therebetween . a presently preferred material for the semiconductor layer 20 is cu 2 s which is preferably vapor deposited on cds layer 18 in a known manner . alternatively , the cu 2 s layer 20 may be formed by dipping the device 10 into a solution containing cuprous ions . the cuprous ions displace cadmium ions to form the cu 2 s layer 20 on cds layer 18 . a plurality of like current carrying strips or grid members are disposed on cu 2 s layer 20 in a known manner using aperture masks to form a uniform grid pattern , which permits light to pass between strips thereby activating the solar cell . a suitable protective coating ( not shown ) is preferably deposited over the top of device 10 , examples of suitable coatings being sio 2 , si 3 n 4 or a clear plastic . by way of example , fig1 illustrates a grid pattern consisting of five rows of current carrying strips with seven strips per row . in actual practice the grid pattern may consist of hundreds of strips . strips 22 , 24 , 26 , and 28 are representative of the remaining strips , which , for the sake of clarity , are free of reference numerals . current carrying strips 22 and 24 are used to illustrate the relative vertical spacing of the strips . a presently preferred grid spacing &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; is about 500 microns , while the presently preferred width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of current carrying strips is about 25 microns . since the width &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; of adjacent conductors is typically on the order of 1 cm , it is necessary to greatly exaggerate the scale of the drawings to clearly show the details of the structure . each row of current carrying strips corresponds to an underlying conductor , the current carrying strips being slightly offset from the underlying conductor . as illustrated in more detail in fig2 strip 26 overlies conductor 14 and extends beyond edge 31 of conductor 14 in the direction of conductor 16 to a point near adjacent facing edge 33 of conductor 16 . each row of current carrying strips are electrically connected in common . for example , a connecting strip 34 joins the row of current carrying strips in which strips 22 and 24 lie . likewise , connecting strip 36 joins the row of current carrying strips in which strip 26 lies . the connecting strips have a presently preferred width &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; of about 40 microns , the strips preferably being vapor deposited through aperture masks using known registration techniques . the connecting strips lie directly over the facing edge of the adjacent conductor , as for example , connecting strip 36 lies directly over adjacent facing edge 33 . the connecting strips comprise a material which shorts the junction 21 in the immediate vicinity of the connecting strips . i have discovered that such desired shorting effect is produced by materials such as zinc , cadmium and indium , which presumably diffuse through cu 2 s layer 20 to the junction 21 . again referring to the detailed view of fig2 it remains to describe how a series connection of adjacent solar cells is achieved within device 10 . a first solar cell 40 comprises conductor 14 and portions of the semiconductor layers 18 and 20 in juxtaposition over conductor 14 . a second solar cell 50 comprises conductor 16 and portions of the semiconductor layers 18 and 20 in juxtaposition over conductor 16 . the solar cells 40 and 50 are electrically connected in series by virtue of a low resistance path designated r 1 in fig2 . by the term low resistance path is meant that r 1 is selected to be on the order of 1 ohm for each square cm of cell area . the magnitude of r 1 depends on the resistivity and thickness of cds layer 18 , the preferred resistivity being between 1 and 100 ohm - cm , and the preferred thickness being about 30 microns . to assure that adjacent solar cells 40 and 50 are not shorted , shunt resistance paths r 2 and r 3 must have a relatively high resistance in comparison to r 1 . the magnitudes of r 2 and r 3 are determined by the resistivity of layers 18 and 20 and by the separation distances &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; respectively . it has been found that &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; ≦ 0 . 01 cm and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; ≦ 0 . 25 cm produces a total shunt resistance ( r 2 in parallel with r 3 ) which is much greater than r 1 , about 200 times greater than r 1 . therefore , it will be seen that a means for providing a low resistance path between current carrying strip 26 and conductor 16 comprises a connecting strip 36 of a material which penetrates through semiconductor layer 20 and shorts junction 21 . it will be readily apparent that a series array of solar cells may be advantageously produced in the above described manner . now referring to fig3 there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the present invention , similar numerals designating similar parts . the device 100 of fig3 is produced in a manner similar to that of device 10 of fig2 with the exception that connecting strip 136 comprises a metal such as gold or silver which does not penetrate cu 2 s layer 120 . therefore , prior to depositing the connecting strips , it is necessary to provide a window in cu 2 s layer 120 along a line above edge 133 of conductor 116 . the cu 2 s can be removed by ordinary mechanical means such as abrading or scribing . alternatively , windows in the cu 2 s layer may be created by use of an electron beam or laser . thus , in accordance with the embodiment of fig3 means for providing a low resistance path between the current carrying strips 126 and the conductor 116 comprises a metallic strip 136 contacting a cds layer 118 through a window in cu 2 s layer 120 . it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that other structures performing similar functions may advantageously employ these teachings , which other structures are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims . for example , a so - called backwall solar cell arrangement may be similarly produced . in a backwall solar cell the light passes through a transparent substrate and translucent conductors ( such as tin oxide ) into the semiconductor material . in such an embodiment , a continuous metallic strip replaces the discontinuous grid arrangement of fig1 there being no need for light passage ways between grid members .
| 7 |
the first embodiment of the present invention will be described referring to fig7 through 10 . as fig7 shows , the sample to be etched comprises a laminate structure consisting of a silicon substrate 1 , a gate insulation film 2 of a thickness of about 10 nm , a doped silicon film 3 that has been made to be of a low resistance by doping a large amount of an impurity such as phosphorus ( p ), a tungsten silicide ( wsi ) film 4 , and a photoresist pattern 6 . the underlying doped silicon film 3 and the overlying tungsten silicide film 4 constitute a tungsten polycide film 5 . the dry - etcher used in this embodiment is called an iem ( ion energy modulation ) system , which utilizes the rie ( reactive ion etching ) technology with the functions of impressing a radio - frequency ( rf ) voltage to the upper and lower electrodes , and controlling the phase difference of the rf voltage . as fig8 shows , this equipment has an etching stage 9 for supporting the sample to be etched , a lower electrode 10 , an upper electrode also functioning as a shower head 12 , an rf table 13 , a lower electrode rf power source 14 for supplying electric power to the lower electrode 10 , an upper electrode rf power source 15 for supplying electric power to the upper electrode 12 , and a modulator 16 for controlling phase difference of rf voltage supplied to the upper and lower electrodes , and is capable of generating plasma of a density of about 1 × 10 11 cm - 3 . among dry - etching , rie is classified as anisotropic etching , and has advantages that the etch rate is high , and etching advances in the vertical direction because ions impinge only in the depth direction . the numerals 7 , 8 and 11 in these drawings represent the material gas supplied to the dry - etcher , the exhaust gas from the dry - etcher , and a silicon wafer as the sample to be etched , respectively . next , a method for dry - etching the tungsten polycide film 5 ( method for forming a gate electrode ) will be described . first , as fig7 shows , a gate insulation film 2 of a thermal oxide is formed on a silicon substrate 1 , then a doped silicon film 3 is formed on the gate insulation film 2 using cvd ( chemical vapor deposition ). then , a tungsten silicide film 4 as a metal silicide film is deposited on the doped silicon film 3 using pvd ( a method for coating a surface with a substance vaporized in a vacuum ) or cvd . by this the doped silicon film 3 and the tungsten silicide film 4 constitute the tungsten polycide film 5 . next , a photoresist is applied to the surface of the tungsten silicide film 4 and exposed , then developed and patterned to form a photoresist pattern 6 corresponding to the shape of the gate electrode . in this embodiment , the developing conditions are established to make the thickness of the residual photoresist film after development twice the thickness of the tungsten silicide film 4 or more . this value can be accomplished easily also by a photoresist for krf excimer laser exposure . next , the overlying tungsten silicide film 4 is subjected to first dry - etching with the dry - etcher described above under the following conditions : cl 2 / o 2 = 90 / 10 sccm ( standard cubic centimeter per minute ) the etch rate of the tungsten silicide film 4 under these conditions is 250 nm / min , the tungsten silicide - to - photoresist selection ratio is about 1 to 1 . 3 . if the above selection ratio is 1 . 5 or more , the deposition provided from the photoresist film 6 decreases the side - wall protecting effect weakens resulting in the occurrence of the side - etching of the tungsten silicide film 4 ( see fig6 ). as the plasma source in this embodiment , ecr or icp ( inductively coupled plasma ) is used . since the plasma density of such a plasma source is as high as the order of 1 × 10 12 to 1 × 10 13 cm - 3 under conventional conditions , it is preferred to shift the conditions toward decreasing the source power and increasing the bias to make the etch rate of the tungsten silicide film 4 250 nm / min , and the plasma density the order of 1 × 10 11 cm - 3 . if the plasma density is excessively high , the re - dissociation of the deposition by plasma will easily occur , the side - wall protecting effect decreases , and the ion scattering speed component and the radical concentration increases , causing side - etching to proceed easily . normal rie is also not preferred , because the plasma density is 1 × 10 10 cm - 3 resulting in the shortage of the plasma density and the decrease of etch rate . in the dry - etching of the tungsten silicide film 4 , which is the narrowest space described above , dry - etching is performed for the time required for completely removing the tungsten silicide film 4 plus a predetermined time α ( see fig9 ). although the photoresist pattern 6 is considerably removed during this time , the beveling of the tungsten silicide film 4 is not yet started as fig9 shows even when the selection ratio is the minimum of 1 . in other words , how small the thickness of the photoresist film 6 may be at this time as long as no beveling occurs . next , the underlying doped silicon film 3 is subjected to second dry - etching under the following conditions : the etch rate of the doped polysilicon film 3 under these conditions is 170 nm / min , the selection ratio against the gate insulation film ( oxide film ) is about 60 to 80 . if the phase difference of the upper and lower electrode is 90 ° or the bias is decreased , the selection ratio will become even higher . since what plays the role of the mask in this second etching is the tungsten silicide 4 which has been dry - etched in first etching , the photoresist pattern 6 may disappear during this dry - etching ( see fig1 ). this is because the etch rate of the tungsten silicide 4 is less than 3 nm / min , and the tungsten silicide 4 plays the hard mask of the doped polysilicon film 3 . if the photoresist pattern 6 has disappeared , the phenomenon that carbon is released from the decomposed photoresist during dry - etching is prevented and the selection ratio against the gate insulation film ( thermal oxide film ) 2 is lowered . in dry - etching in conventional etching methods using an hbr - based etching gas or an etching gas containing cl 2 and hbr , radical concentration is high and anisotropy is easily lost because a high - density plasma such as ecr plasma ( of a plasma density of 1 × 10 12 to 1 × 10 13 cm - 3 ) is used ( see fig4 ). if the plasma density is high , a lot of electrons with high energy are generate and charge - up is likely to occur , or notches are easily produced in the interface with the gate insulation film ( see fig3 ). furthermore , in radical etching , the etch rate is very sensitive to the quality of the doped silicon film or the amount of the dopant . ( change in the etch rate before and after doping is 20 to 40 percent .) in contrast , in dry etching of this embodiment using hbr gas alone or an hbr / o 2 gas , since the plasma density is in the order of 1 × 10 11 cm - 3 , the radical concentration is lower than that of high - density plasma , and therefore the scattered radical speed component parallel to the silicon wafer 11 is small , little anisotropy is lost . the high selection ratio , which is an advantage of high - density plasma , of almost the same value as in the use of an ecr plasma source ( polysilicon - to - oxide selection ratio of 60 to 100 ) can be achieved when the pressure is set to about 100 mt . in addition , since radical etching is inhibited with little lowering ion energy , the etch rate is little affected by the quality of the doped silicon film 3 or the amount of the dopant . ( change in the etch rate before and after doping is 10 to 20 percent .) after the underlying gate insulation film 2 is exposed , over - dry - etching is continued under the same conditions . the exposure of the gate insulation film 2 can be detected by epd ( end point detector ), for example through the start of decrease in the change ( gradient ) of emitting light having a wavelength of 405 nm , whereby the accurate etching time can be determined . by two - step dry - etching , for example , 100 to 150 nm when converted to film thickness , no doped polysilicon 3 remains on the step portion of the gate insulation film 2 , and no notches , side - etching , or damage of the substrate occur . according to the method for dry - etching of this embodiment , since dry - etching is performed by setting the etching gas system to the conditions not to remove the tungsten silicide film 4 , and using the tungsten silicide film 4 as the mask , the occurrence of beveling of the metal silicide film due to decrease in the thickness of the photoresist film can be prevented completely , and the problem that the amount of over - etching is limited by the remaining photoresist film is solved . also , since the plasma density is set to the order of 1 × 10 11 cm - 3 in the second - step etching conditions , defective shape such as side - etching and notches , and the cause of poor withstand voltage such as charge - up , which raise problems when high - density plasma is used , can be minimized without impairing other properties . in addition , in the second etching step , since hbr gas alone or hbr / o 2 gas is used , the etch rate of the doped silicon 3 can be about 100 to 200 nm / min , resulting a better end - point detection . next , the second embodiment of the present invention will be described . dry - etching as in the embodiment 1 is repeated except that after first etching almost the same as in the first embodiment has been completed , the silicon wafer 11 is removed from the dry - etcher ( fig8 ), and was subjected to surface cleaning treatment , such as ammonia / hydrogen peroxide treatment or sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide treatment sequentially . by these ammonia / hydrogen peroxide treatment or sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide treatment , the photoresist film 6 remaining on the tungsten silicide film 4 and the deposition on the side wall of the gate insulation film 2 are completely removed . then , in order to remove the natural oxide film , the silicon wafer is subjected to the third etching step under almost the same conditions as in the first embodiment for a predetermined time ( e . g ., 5 sec ), then subjected to the second etching step under almost the same conditions as described in the first embodiment . since the mask used in the second etching step is the tungsten silicide film 4 , not the photoresist film 6 , the effect of carbon supplied from the photoresist film 6 is completely eliminated . this mask of the tungsten silicide film 4 is the mask not required to remove after etching . since the effect of carbon is completely eliminated , the polysilicon / oxide selection ratio can be increased , eliminating needs for decreasing ion energy and increasing plasma density . as a result , defective shape such as notches and side - etching , and the cause of poor withstand voltage such as charge - up , frequently observed in conventional methods , can be minimized . almost the same effect as in the first embodiment can also be achieved by the second embodiment . in addition since the photoresist pattern 6 is completely removed , a higher polysilicon / oxide selection ratio than in the first embodiment can be secured . although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the present invention . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention .
| 7 |
referring now to the drawings , there is shown in fig1 a logic diagram of a 4 - phase clock generator in accordance with the present invention for outputting clock signals φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 3 and φ 4 synchronized with the master clock signal φ . the master clock signal φ is inputted to a nor gate 3 and an or gate 4 through an inverter 2 and is also inputted to an or gate 5 and a nor gate 6 . the nor gates 3 and 6 output clock signals φ 1 and φ 4 respectively . the clock signal φ 1 is inputted to the or gate 5 , the output of which is received by a nand gate 8 . the clock signal φ 4 is inputted to the or gate 4 , the output of which is received by a nand gate 7 . the nand gates 7 and 8 output respectively clock signals φ 3 and φ 2 . the clock signal φ 2 is inputted to the nor gate 3 and the nand gate 7 . the clock signal φ 3 is inputted to the nand gate 8 and the nor gate 6 . in this embodiment , the nor gates 3 and 6 form first gate and fourth gate means respectively . the or gate 5 and the nand gate 8 form a second gate means and the or gate 4 and the nand gate 7 form a third gate means . clock signals φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 3 and φ 4 are first , second , third and fourth clock signals respectively . the logic equations of clock signals φ 1 to φ 4 are as follows . referring now to fig1 and 2 , when the master clock signal φ is a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the second nor gate 6 outputs a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; without reference to the logic level of the clock signal φ 3 . the second or gate 4 receives the inverted master clock signal φ and the clock signal φ 4 and the logic levels of φ and φ 4 are both &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. therefore the second or gate 4 outputs &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. the second nand gate 7 receives &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and outputs &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; without reference to the logic level of the clock signal φ 2 . the first or gate 5 receives the master clock signal φ whose logic level is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and outputs &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the first nand gate 8 receives the output &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the first or gate 5 and the clock signal φ 3 , &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, therefore the first nand gate 8 outputs &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. the first nor gate 3 receives the inverted master clock signal φ and the clock signal φ 2 and the logic levels of φ and φ 2 are both &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, therefore the first nor gate 3 outputs &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. after the master clock signal φ changes from a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the inverted master clock signal φ changes from &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. then φ 1 turns into &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, that makes φ 2 turn into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. and then φ 3 turns into &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, that makes φ 4 turn into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. when φ changes from &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, φ 4 turns into &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, that makes φ 3 turn into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. then φ 2 turns into &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, and that makes φ 1 turn into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the levels of φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 3 and φ 4 change in the above order as shown by line 90 after the logic level of φ changes from &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, and the logic levels of φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 3 and φ 4 change in inverse order as shown by line 72 after the logic level of φ changes from &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. referring now to fig3 there is shown a shift register comprising a series of inverters 11 , 12 and 13 separated by transfer gates 14 , 15 and 16 . the transfer gates 14 and 16 are made of a p - channel mos fet 17 and a n - channel mos fet 18 connected in parallel and a p - channel mos fet 21 and a n - channel mos fet 22 connected in parallel , respectively . the transfer gate 15 is made of a p - channel mos fet 19 and a n - channel mos fet 20 connected in parallel . clock signals φ 1 and φ 2 are applied to gate electrodes of the n - channel mos fets 18 and 22 and the p - channel mos fets 17 and 21 respectively . clock signals φ 3 and φ 4 are applied to gate electrodes of the p - channel mos fet 19 and the n - channel mos fet 20 respectively . the behavior of the transfer gates 14 , 15 and 16 in each time period of t 1 through t 9 shown in fig2 are as follows . t 1 : φ 1 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and φ 2 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, therefore the transfer gates 14 and 16 are conductive . φ 3 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and φ 4 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, therefore the transfer gate 15 is nonconductive . t 2 : φ 1 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, then the n - channel mos fets 18 and 22 are nonconductive . t 3 : φ 2 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the p - channel mos fets 17 and 21 are nonconducting and the transfer gates 14 and 16 are nonconductive . therefore in this period , all transfer gates 14 , 15 and 16 are nonconductive . t 4 : φ 3 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, then the p - channel mos fet 19 is conductive . t 5 : φ 4 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the n - channel mos fet 20 is conductive . therefore in this period the transfer gate 15 is conductive and the transfer gates 14 and 16 are nonconductive . t 6 : φ 4 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, then the n - channel mos fet 20 is nonconductive . t 7 : φ 3 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the p - channel mos fet 19 is nonconductive and the transfer gate 15 is nonconductive . therefore in this period all transfer gates 14 , 15 and 16 are nonconductive . t 8 : φ 2 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, then the p - channel mos fets 17 and 21 are conductive . t 9 : φ 1 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, then the n - channel mos fets 18 and 22 are conductive . therefore in this period , the transfer gates 14 and 16 are conductive and the transfer gate 15 is nonconductive . the shift register transfers information applied to the input in to the output out by conduction from one to the next adjoining transfer gates one after the other . the information applied to input in during t 1 is transferred to the input of the transfer gate 15 and is transferred to the input of the transfer gate 16 during t 4 , t 5 and t 6 , then it is outputted from output out during t 8 and t 9 . all transfer gates are nonconductive during t 3 and t 7 , and all transfer gates do not become conductive at the same time . therefore the information applied to input in is transferred to the output out synchronized to the master clock signal and race hazards never can occur in this shift register . referring now to fig4 there is shown a third embodiment of this invention . the master clock signal φ is inputted to a nor gate 3 and an or gate 4 , and the master clock signal φ , inverted by an inverter 27 , i . e . φ , is inputted to a or gate 5 and a nor gate 6 . other components are the same as the embodiment shown in fig1 . the waveforms of this circuit are shown in fig5 . the waveforms of clock signals φ 1 through φ 4 are the same as those shown in fig2 . referring now to fig6 there is shown a fourth embodiment of this invention . a master clock signal φ is inputted to a nand gate 33 , which outputs a clock signal φ 2 , and to an and gate 34 . the inverted master clock signal φ , inverted by an inverter 32 , is inputted to an or gate 35 and a nand gate 36 which outputs a clock signal φ 3 . a nand gate 38 receives the clock signal φ 2 and the output of the or gate 35 , and outputs a clock signal φ 1 which is inputted to the nand gate 33 . the nor gate 27 receives the clock signal φ 1 and the output of the and gate 34 , and outputs a clock signal φ 4 which is inputted to the or gate 35 and the nand gate 36 . the clock signal φ 3 is inputted to the and gate 34 . in the embodiment of fig6 the nand gates 33 and 36 form a first and a fourth gate means respectively . the or gate 35 and the nand gate 38 form a second gate means . the and gate 34 and the nor gate 37 form a third gate means . clock signals φ 2 , φ 1 , φ 4 and φ 3 are first , second , third and fourth clock signals respectively . the logic equation of clock signals φ 1 through φ 4 are as follows . referring now to fig7 after the master clock signal φ changes from a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the logic levels of clock signals φ 2 , φ 1 , φ 4 , φ 3 change in that same order as shown by line 74 . after the master clock signal φ changes from a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the logic levels of clock signals φ 3 , φ 4 , φ 1 and φ 2 change in that order as shown by line 76 . referring now to fig8 there is shown a fifth embodiment of this invention . a master clock signal φ is inputted to a nor gate 43 which outputs a clock signal φ 1 , an inverter 42 which outputs an inverted master clock signal φ and to a nand gate 46 which outputs a clock signal φ 3 . an or gate 45 receives the clock signal φ 1 and the inverted master clock signal φ . an and gate 44 receives the clock signal φ 3 and the inverted master clock signal φ . a nand gate 48 receives the output of the or gate 45 and outputs a clock signal φ 2 which is inputted to the nor gate 43 . the nor gate 47 receives a clock signal generated by inverting the clock signal φ 2 and the output of the and gate 44 , and outputs a clock signal φ 4 . the clock signal φ 4 is inputted to the nand gate 46 and a clock signal generated by inverting the clock signal φ 4 is inputted to the nand gate 48 . in this embodiment , a first gate means and a fourth gate means comprise the nor gate 43 and the nand gate 46 respectively . a second gate means comprises the or gate 45 and the nand gate 48 . a third gate means comprises the and gate 44 and the nor gate 47 . clock signals φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 4 and φ 3 are first , second , third and fourth clock signals respectively . the logic equations of clock signals φ 1 through φ 4 are as follows . referring now to fig9 after the master clock signal φ changes from a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the logic levels of clock signals φ 1 , φ 2 , φ 4 and φ 3 change in that order as shown by line 78 . after the master clock signal φ changes from a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the logic levels of clock signals φ 3 , φ 4 , φ 2 and φ 1 change in that order as shown by line 80 . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a dynamic logic circuit made of complementary mos fets and using 4 - phase clock signals . logic sections made of n - channel mos fets 54 , 55 and 56 have at least three terminals respectively and perform such logic operations as &# 34 ; not &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; nand &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; nor &# 34 ;. transfer gates 51 , 52 and 53 consist of pairs of n - channel and p - channel mos fets 63 and 64 , 65 and 66 , and 67 and 68 respectively . the transfer gate 51 is connected between the first terminal of the logic section 54 and an input &# 34 ; in &# 34 ;. p - channel mos fets 57 , 59 and 61 are connected to the second terminal of logic sections 54 , 55 and 56 respectively . n - channel mos fets 58 , 60 and 62 are connected to the third terminal of logic sections 54 , 55 and 56 respectively . the transfer gate 52 is connected between the second terminal of the logic section 54 and the first terminal of the logic section 55 . the transfer gate 53 is connected between the second terminal of the logic section 55 and the first terminal of the logic section 56 , the second terminal of which is an output &# 34 ; out &# 34 ;. the 4 - phase clock generator shown in fig1 is used to operate this dynamic logic circuit . the clock signal φ 1 is applied to gate electrodes of n - channel mos fets 63 and 67 . the clock signal φ 2 is applied to gate electrodes of p - channel mos fets 57 , 61 , 64 and 68 and the gate electrodes of n - channel mos fets 58 and 62 . the clock signal φ 3 is applied to gate electrodes of p - channel mos fets 59 and 66 and to the gate electrode of the n - channel mos fet 60 . the clock signal φ 4 is applied to the gate electrode of the n - channel mos fet 65 . the information applied to the input &# 34 ; in &# 34 ; while the transfer gate 51 is conductive is transferred to the logic section 54 , the output of which is fixed when the clock signal φ 2 becomes a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the output of the logic section 54 is transferred to the logic section 55 when the transfer gate 52 becomes conductive . the output of the logic section 55 is fixed when the clock signal φ 3 becomes a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the output of the logic section 55 is transferred to the logic section 56 when the transfer gate 53 becomes conductive . the output of the logic section 56 is fixed when the clock signal φ 2 becomes a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the clock signals φ 1 and φ 4 are used only to operate the transfer gates . the clock signals φ 2 and φ 3 are used not only to operate the transfer gates , but also to precharge and discharge the logic sections . namely the clock signals control logic operations and the shifting of results of logic operations . after the output of a certain logic section is fixed , the transfer gate connected to the second terminal of the certain logic section becomes conductive and the output of the certain logic section is transferred to the next logic section . while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications of the embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description . it is , therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention .
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a tray 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 . the tray 10 includes a floor 12 and a pair of opposed end walls 14 extending upwardly from ends of the floor 12 . a first side wall 16 a extends upwardly from a first side of the floor 12 and a second side wall 16 b extends upwardly from a second side of the floor 12 . the first side wall 16 a includes a first cutout 18 opening upwardly in a middle portion of the first side wall 16 a . the second side wall 16 b includes a second cutout 20 or window opening upwardly in the middle portion of the second side wall 16 b . a pair of bail members 22 are pivotably and slidably secured at opposite ends to the end walls 14 . each bail member 22 includes a support portion 24 extending from one end wall 14 to the other . the support portion 24 is connected at each end to a support arm 26 having an elongated pin 28 extending outwardly therefrom . each pin 28 is trapped in a slot 30 through the end wall 14 . the pin 28 can slide freely from one end to the other of the slot 30 and can pivot slightly in the slot 30 . at least a portion of each end wall 14 includes an inner wall 36 and an outer wall 38 . the arm 26 is between the inner wall 36 and the outer wall 38 so that the pin 28 of the bail member 22 can be received in the slot 30 through the outer wall 38 . the inner wall 36 includes a high notch 54 and a low notch 56 for selectively supporting the support portion 24 at different heights ( support portion 24 shown in phantom in the high notch 54 and the low notch 56 ). each end wall 14 further includes an upper portion 40 and a lower portion 42 , set inwardly from the upper portion 40 . the inner wall 36 and the outer wall 38 form the upper portion 40 . the side walls 16 a , b also each include an upper portion 44 a , b set outwardly from a lower portion 46 a , b , respectively . fig2 is a perspective view of the tray 10 with a similar tray 10 ′ nested therein and nested in a similar tray 10 ″. referring to the uppermost tray 10 ′, in the nested position , the bail members 22 ′ are positioned such that the support portions 24 ′ are outside the upper portions 44 a , b ′ of the side walls 16 a , b ′. the lower portions 46 a , b ′ of the side walls 16 a , b ′ are fully nested between the upper portions 44 a , b of the side walls 16 a , b of the tray 10 below . the lower portions 42 ′ of the end walls 14 ′ are fully nested between the upper portions 40 of the end walls 14 of the tray 10 below . this minimizes the overall stacking height when the trays 10 , 10 ′, 10 ″ are empty . fig3 is a perspective view of the tray 10 with the similar tray 10 ′ stacked thereon . the bail members 22 ′ are positioned such that the support portions 24 ′ are supported in the high notches 54 ′ of the inner wall 36 ′. the lower portions 46 a , b ′ of the upper tray 10 ′ are only slight received between the upper portions 44 a , b of the lower tray 10 . fig4 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 4 - 4 of fig3 . as shown , the support portion 24 of the bail member 22 of the lower tray 10 is received within a channel 60 ′ formed on the underside of the floor 12 ′ proximate the cutout 20 in the second side wall 16 b ′. the support portion 24 of the bail member 22 contacts the floor 12 ′ of the upper tray 10 ′. thus , the second side wall 16 b ′, which is weakened by the large cutout 20 ′, is reinforced by the bail member 22 of the tray 10 below . fig5 is a perspective view of the tray 10 with the similar tray 10 ′ stacked thereon in a low stack position . the bail members 22 ′ are positioned with the support portions 24 ′ in the low notches 56 ′ ( referring to the upper tray 10 ′, because the bail members in the lower tray 10 are positioned similarly , but not visible ). when stacked thereon , the lower portions 46 a , b ′ of the side walls 16 a , b ′ of the upper tray 10 ′ are partially nested between the upper portions 44 a , b of the side walls 16 a , b of the lower tray 10 . this provides a reduced stacking height when the trays 10 , 10 ′ are loaded with products that permit a lower stacking height . fig6 is a partial sectional view of the tray of fig3 taken along lines 6 - 6 , showing movement of the bail member 22 ′ from the nest position to the high stack position . as shown , the support portion 24 ′ of the bail member 22 ′ is positioned outwardly of the upper portion 44 a ′ of the first side wall 16 a ′ when the bail member 22 ′ is in the nest position . the bail member 22 ′ can be moved from the nest position to the high stack position in the high notch 54 ′ of the end wall 14 ′ in the direction shown . the bail member 22 ′ is pivoted only slightly about the pin 28 ′ during the movement . the elongated pin 28 ′ is captured in the slot 30 ′ in the outer wall 38 ′ of the end wall 14 ′ ( the slot 30 ′ and pin 28 ′ are shown in phantom , as they are behind the inner wall 36 ′ in this view ). the slot 30 ′ includes a generally horizontal first portion 30 a ′ continuous with a sloped second portion 30 b ′, which is continuous with a generally horizontal , short third portion 30 c ′. during movement of the bail member 22 ′ from the nest position to the high stack position , the pin 28 ′ moves from one end of the first portion 30 a ′ to the opposite end of the first portion 30 a ′, adjacent the second portion 30 b ′. the pin 28 ′ is elongated horizontally in order to limit rotation of the pin 28 ′ within the slot 30 ′. as can be seen in fig6 , the support portion 24 ′ of the bail member 22 ′ has a vertically elongated cross section , which provides more stiffness in the vertical direction . thus , the support portion 24 ′ of the bail member 22 ′ at least substantially maintains this orientation in the high stack position ( fig6 ) and in the low stack position ( fig7 ). as shown with reference to the bail member 22 of the lower tray 10 ( not shown in fig6 ), the support portion 24 of the bail member 22 is received in the channel 60 ′ formed on the underside of the floor 12 ′ and contacts the floor 12 ′ to provide support . fig7 is a view similar to that of fig6 , but showing movement of the bail member 22 ′ from the nest position to the low stack position , which is also partial sectional view taken along lines 7 - 7 of fig5 . during the movement , the pin 28 ′ slides through the first portion 30 a ′ of the slot 30 ′. the bail member 22 ′ is then pivoted so that the pin 28 ′ can slide through the second portion 30 b ′ of the slot 30 ′ to the third portion 30 c ′ where the pin 28 ′ returns to its horizontal orientation and , correspondingly , the support portion 24 ′ of the bail member 22 ′ returns to its vertical orientation in the low notch 56 ′. since the pin 28 ′ and the support portion 24 ′ have both been moved down the same distance , the orientations of the pin 28 ′ and the support portion 24 ′ are unchanged . again referring to the bail member 22 of the lower tray 10 ( not shown in fig7 ), the support portion 24 is received within the channel 60 ′ and contacts the floor 12 ′ to support the floor 12 ′. fig8 is a top view of the tray 10 of fig1 with the bail members 22 in the nest position outside the side walls 16 a , b . fig9 is a perspective view of a tray 110 according to a second embodiment of the invention showing the bail members 122 in multiple positions . to the extent not otherwise described or illustrated , the tray 110 is identical to that of fig1 and like reference numerals will be used where possible , with a “ 1 ” preappended . the tray 110 includes side walls 116 a , b . in this embodiment , the bail members 122 are vertically aligned with the upper portions 144 a , b of the side walls 116 a , b when in the nest position . this decreases the overall footprint of the tray 110 in the nested position . fig1 is a perspective view of the tray 110 of fig9 nested in a similar tray 110 ″ and with a similar tray 110 ′ nested therein . in this embodiment , the band 50 ( fig1 ) of the first embodiment is removed so that the support portion 124 of the bail member 122 directly abuts the underside of the upper portions 144 a , b ′ of the side walls 16 a , b ′ and the outer surface of the lower portions 146 a , b ′. fig1 is a perspective view of the tray 110 of fig9 in a high stack position with a similar tray 110 ′ stacked thereon . the support portion 124 ′ is supported in the high notch 154 ′. fig1 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 12 - 12 of fig1 . like the previous embodiment , the support portion 124 of the lower tray 110 is received within the channel 160 ′ in the underside of the floor 112 ′ and contacts the floor 112 ′ to provide reinforcement . fig1 is a perspective view of the tray 110 of fig9 with a similar tray 110 ′ stacked thereon in a low stack position . the support portions 124 ′ are received in the low notches 156 ′. fig1 is a top view of the tray of fig9 with the bail members 122 shown in the nest position ( and shown in the two stack positions in phantom ). in this embodiment , the support portions 124 of the bail members 122 are vertically aligned with the side walls 116 a , b when in the nest position . fig1 is perspective view of a tray 210 according to a third embodiment of the present invention . except as otherwise illustrated or described , the tray 210 is identical to the tray 110 . each bail member 222 includes a locating feature 225 projecting upwardly from the corners where the support portion 224 joins the arms 226 . the locating feature is generally perpendicular to the support portion 224 and arms 226 . the locating feature assists with blind stacking , by assisting the proper location of a prior art trays onto the tray 210 , as shown in more detail in fig1 , described below . each side wall 214 includes a rail 227 extending upwardly from a middle portion thereof . each rail 227 is aligned between the locating features 225 on opposite bail members 222 . each side wall 214 further includes a pair of columns 241 projecting outwardly . a foot 243 is formed at the bottom of each column 241 . the foot is spaced outwardly from the side wall 214 . the rail 227 and feet 243 make the tray 210 more compatible with existing tray designs in a manner that will be described below . fig1 is a perspective view of the tray 210 of fig1 stacked on a prior art tray 310 and with a prior art tray 310 ′ stacked thereon . the feet 243 receive a rail 327 of the prior art tray 310 , such that the rail 327 is received between the feet 243 and the end wall 214 . the rail 227 ( not visible ) and the locating features 225 are received behind a foot flange 343 ′ of a prior art tray 310 ′ stacked on the tray 210 . this improves the stability of the stack and the compatibility of the tray 210 with the prior art trays 310 , 310 ′. while embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention . rather , the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation , and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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one aspect of this invention pertains to a process for preparing compounds of formula i comprising four steps , a - d , typically operated as follows . step a ) forms iv by reacting ii ( prepared for example from substituted indanone , such as 5 - chloro - 1 - indanone , as described in detail in wo 9211249 ) with about a molar equivalent of iii in the presence of acid catalyst such as p - toluenesulfonic , sulfuric or acetic acid , optionally in an inert solvent such as methanol , isopropanol , tetrahydrofuran , dichloromethane , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane and the like . typical reaction conditions include temperatures of about 40 ° to 120 ° c ., preferably 65 ° to 85 ° c ., for about 0 . 5 to 25 h . compound iv can be recovered by standard methods such as filtration , optionally after dilution of the reaction mixture with water . alternatively , iv can be extracted with solvent and used directly in the next reaction step without isolation . step b ) forms v by reacting iv with di ( c 1 - c 3 alkoxy ) methane such as dimethoxymethane or diethoxymethane in the presence of a lewis acid , optionally in an inert solvent such as dichloromethane , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane , chlorobenzene , α , α , α - trifluorotoluene and the like . the di ( c 1 - c 3 alkoxy ) methane can be in molar excess . lewis acids include p 2 o 5 , bf 3 and so 3 , which generally require 0 . 9 to 4 . 0 molar equivalents ( relative to v ) for best results ; further included are metal ( especially scandium , ytterbium , yttrium and zinc ) trifluoromethanesulfonates , which can be used in about 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 molar equivalents relative to v . the most preferred lewis acids for this step are p 2 o 5 and so 3 ; the so 3 may be in the form of a complex such as dmf . so 3 ( dmf is dimethylformamide ). typical reaction conditions include temperatures of about 20 ° to 150 ° c ., preferably 50 ° to 60 ° c ., and pressures of about 100 to 700 kpa , preferably 100 to 300 kpa , for about 0 . 5 to 48 h . it is preferable to continuously remove the byproduct c 1 - c 3 alcohol by distillation during the reaction when non - sacrificial lewis acid such as a rare - earth trifluoromethanesulfonate is employed . compound v can be recovered by standard methods such as filtration and used without further purification in the next reaction step . alternatively , when metal trifluoromethanesulfonates are employed as the lewis acid , v can be recovered by concentrating the reaction mass , optionally diluting with an inert , water - immiscible solvent such as ethyl acetate , washing with water to remove the metal trifluoromethanesulfonates , concentrating the organic phase and inducing v to crystallize from same , optionally by adding a suitable solvent such as aqueous methanol , hexane and the like . step c ) forms vi by reacting v with hydrogen , from a hydrogen source or preferably molecular hydrogen itself , in the presence of a hydrogenolysis metal catalyst such as palladium , preferably supported on a substance such as charcoal , in an inert solvent such as methyl acetate , ethyl acetate , toluene , diethoxymethane or c 1 - c 3 alcohol . typical reaction conditions include temperatures of about 0 ° to 30 ° c ., preferably about 20 ° c . and pressures of about 105 to 140 kpa , preferably about 35 kpa , for about 3 h . compound vi can be recovered from solution by standard methods such as filtering and collecting the palladium for recycle to subsequent batches , separating the organic phase , concentrating same by removing solvent and inducing crystallization of vi , optionally by adding aqueous c 1 - c 3 alcohol , acetonitrile or aliphatic hydrocarbon such as hexane . preferably compound vi is used in the next step without isolation from solution in the organic phase . step d ) forms i by reacting vi with about a molar equivalent of vii optionally in the presence of about 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 molar equivalents ( relative to vii ) of an acid scavenger such as trialkylamine , pyridine or , preferably , aqueous sodium carbonate or bicarbonate , in an inert solvent such as toluene , xylene , methyl acetate , ethyl acetate , dichloromethane , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane , diethoxymethane and the like . typical reaction conditions include temperatures of about 0 ° to 30 ° c . for about 0 . 2 to 2 h . compound i can be recovered by standard methods such as washing the reaction mixture with aqueous acid or aqueous sodium chloride , concentrating the organic phase and inducing crystallization of i from same , optionally by addition of a c 1 - c 3 alcohol , water , alcohol - water mixtures or an aliphatic hydrocarbon such as hexane . steps c and d can be combined in a single reaction pot by adding vii and the optional acid scavenger during the hydrogenolysis of v . in this way , compound vi is acylated as soon as it is formed to give i . typical solvents for the combined steps c and d are methyl acetate , ethyl acetate , toluene , xylene , dichloromethane , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane and the like . acid scavengers can be a trialkylamine such as tripropylamine , tributylamine , diisopropylethylamine , and the like , or a solid inorganic compound such as sodium bicarbonate , calcium oxide , sodium pyrophosphate , citric acid trisodium salt and the like . reactions steps a - d proceed substantially with retention of configuration at chiral center *. in a preferred embodiment , the compound of formula ii employed in step a is enantiomerically enriched thereby providing a compound of formula i which is enantiomerically enriched with the same absolute configuration . by enantiomerically enriched it is meant that a bulk sample of the compound contains an excess of either the (+) or (-) enantiomer and includes anything greater than a 1 - to - 1 ( racemic ) mixture of enantiomers up to and including 100 % of the pure enantiomer . thus , for example , an enriched compound having 25 % (-) enantiomer and 75 % (+) enantiomer is viewed as a mixture of 50 % racemate and 50 % pure (+) enantiomer and is referred to as having 50 % enantiomeric excess of the (+) enantiomer . in an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention , the compound of formula ii is enriched with the (+) enantiomer which leads to a compound of formula i enriched with the (+) enantiomer , the (+) enantiomer having been found to be the more arthropodicidally active enantiomer . enrichment of the compound of formula ii is preferably at least 10 % and more preferably at least 20 % of the (+) enantiomer . enantiomerically enriched compounds of formula ii can be produced , for example , by physically separating the enantiomers of a racemic mixture according to standard methods . however , such methods are difficult to operate on a large scale and are often wasteful as the undesired enantiomer must be discarded . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , an enantiomerically enriched compound of formula ii is prepared by an enantioselective process comprising five steps , i - v . by &# 34 ; enantioselective &# 34 ; is meant that the desired enantiomer of the chiral product is formed preferentially , although not necessarily exclusively . steps i - v are typically operated as follows . step i ) forms viii by reacting an appropriately - substituted phenylacetyl halide which can be purchased ( for example from spectrum chemical manufacturing co .) or prepared from the acids by known procedures and optionally generated in situ , with about 1 to 4 molar equivalents , preferably 2 molar equivalents , of ethylene gas and about 0 . 9 to 1 . 5 molar equivalents of a lewis acid such as aluminum chloride in about 3 to 10 parts by weight of an inert solvent such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , carbon disulfide , or o - dichlorobenzene . typical reaction conditions include temperatures in the range of about - 20 ° to + 30 ° c ., preferably - 5 ° to 0 ° c ., pressures in the range of about 60 to 400 kpa and reaction times of about 0 . 5 to 8 h . compound viii can be isolated by standard methods or when the solvent is suitable , for example dichloromethane or dichloroethane , the reaction mixture can be employed in the next step without isolation of viii . in a preferred embodiment , the reaction mixture from step i is employed in step ii without isolation of viii . step ii ) forms ix by reacting viii with about 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 equivalents of a peroxycarboxylic acid , preferably peroxyacetic acid , in an inert solvent such as acetic acid , dichloromethane , o - dichlorobenzene , or 1 , 2 - dichloroethane . typical reaction conditions include temperatures in the range of about 15 ° to 55 ° c ., preferably 25 ° to 45 ° c ., and reaction times of about 5 to 35 h . the temperature is kept low for safety reasons . preferably , but not necessarily , the reaction is conducted in the presence of 0 . 5 to 2 . 5 molar equivalents of a buffering agent such as sodium acetate . the rate of addition of the peroxycarboxylic acid to the solution of viii is controlled to avoid accumulating excess peroxycarboxylic acid . the product can be isolated , for example , by quenching with water , optionally adding a reducing agent such as sulfur dioxide to remove excess oxidant , and filtering . if necessary , the ph can be adjusted below 3 before filtration of the product . step iii ) forms x by esterification of ix according to standard methods . in a preferred embodiment , ix is reacted with alcohol solvent ( about 2 to 20 parts by weight ) in the presence of about 1 to 20 molar equivalents of the corresponding carbonate derivative of the alcohol as a dehydrating agent and about 0 . 001 to 0 . 2 molar equivalents of an acid catalyst , such as sulfuric acid or p - toluenesulfonic acid ; wherein typical reaction conditions include temperatures in the range of about 75 ° to 105 ° c ., pressures in the range of about 100 to 500 kpa and reaction times of about 10 to 30 hours . compound x can be isolated by standard methods . alternatively , the reaction mixture can be employed in the next step without isolation of x . preferably , x is not isolated before step iv . step iv ) forms xi by reacting x with a strong base such as an alkali metal alkoxide or hydride in an appropriate solvent such as the corresponding alcohol , benzene , toluene or xylenes . typical reaction conditions include temperatures of about 60 to 90 ° c ., pressures of about 100 to 500 kpa and reaction times of about 0 . 5 to 10 hours . the product can be recovered as the alkali - metal salt and isolated , for example , by filtration . alternatively , the product can be first neutralized with an acid such as glacial acetic acid or dilute aqueous mineral acid ; then isolated , for example , by filtration or extraction . step v ) forms enantiomerically enriched ii by reacting xi with about 0 . 9 to 1 . 5 equivalents of a hydroperoxide such as hydrogen peroxide and monoethers of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of about 0 . 001 to 1 . 5 equivalents of an optically - active amine base and optionally an inert solvent . preferred monoethers of hydrogen peroxide include t - butylhydroperoxide , cumene hydroperoxide and combinations thereof . suitable solvents include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane , aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene , xylenes , ethylbenzene , mesitylene and cumene , halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane and ortho - dichlorobenzene , ketones such as methylethylketone , methylisobutylketone and methylisopropylketone , esters such as methyl acetate , ethyl acetate , isopropyl acetate , and ethers such as diethyl ether and tetrahydrofuran . aromatic hydrocarbon solvents are preferred . typical reaction conditions include reaction temperatures in the range of about - 5 ° to 50 ° c . and reaction times of about 2 hours to 8 days . the amine base is preferably a cinchona alkaloid or derivative thereof . preferably , to produce ii enriched with the (+) enantiomer ( designated (+) ii ), the cinchona alkaloid is cinchonine , quinidine , the corresponding dihydro - derivatives of cinchonine or quinidine and any combination of the foregoing ; wherein the chiral alkaloid has the [ 8 -( r ). 9 -( s )] configuration . formula ii compounds enriched with the (-) enantiomer are obtained by employment of bases , such as cinchonidine , quinine and derivatives thereof , having the [ 8 -( s ), 9 -( r )] configuration . the product can be recovered by standard methods including filtration , optionally following dilution with either a sufficient amount of aqueous acid to remove the catalyst or a non polar solvent such as hexanes . alternatively , the product mixture can be diluted with a polar , water - immiscible solvent such as ethyl acetate , washed with aqueous acid to remove the catalyst , concentrated and crystallized . optionally , ii can be triturated or recrystallized with a suitable solvent , such as isopropyl acetate , to separate the pure enantiomer from the enriched enantiomeric mixture . in a preferred embodiment , the solvent in step v is one in which the compound of formula xi has a substantially greater solubility than the corresponding compound of formula ii . with such solvents , ii will precipitate and can be recovered by filtration and the filtrate , containing any dissolved ii , unreacted xi and catalyst , can be conveniently recycled to a subsequent batch . preferably , the solvent is also water immiscible so the filtrate can be washed , prior to use in a subsequent batch , with aqueous base and / or water to reduce the amount of acidic impurities and water soluble byproducts . recycle of the filtrate minimizes product loss and provides more efficient use of catalyst . aromatic hydrocarbons such as xylenes are particularly preferred solvents for use in this manner , especially for the preparation of a compound such as iia . to a 1 - l three - necked flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , thermometer , reflux condenser , and nitrogen inlet was charged 87 g ( 0 . 363 mol ) of methyl 5 - chloro - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 - hydroxy - 1 - oxo - 1h - indene - 2 - carboxylate , 63 . 5 g ( 0 . 380 mol ) of phenylmethyl hydrazinecarboxylate ( from lancaster synthesis ), 1 . 8 g ( 0 . 01 mol ) of p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate , and 300 ml of methanol . the slurry was heated to reflux ( 67 ° c . ), resulting in an orange solution from which the product gradually precipitated . after 14 - 16 h , the mixture was cooled to 5 ° c . and filtered . the filter cake was washed with 100 ml of cold methanol and dried at 60 ° c . under vacuum with nitrogen purge for 2 h to yield 135 g ( 96 % based on the indene carboxylate ) of iva as a white crystalline solid . an analytical sample was prepared by recrystallization from acetonitrile , mp 187 - 188 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 23 ( d , 1h , j = 18 hz ), 3 . 48 ( d , 1h , j = 18 hz ), 3 . 7 ( s , 3h ), 4 . 58 ( br s , 1h ) 5 . 19 ( br ab q , 2h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 25 ( d of d , 1h ), 7 . 45 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 75 ( br d , 1h ), 9 . 55 ( br s , 1h ). the product appears to be nearly exclusively the z -( syn -) isomer . to a dry 1 - l three - necked flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , thermometer . reflux condenser , and nitrogen inlet was charged 42 g of diatomaceous earth , 500 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane , and 100 ml of dimethoxymethane . phosphorus pentoxide ( 42 g , 0 . 31 mol ) was added under nitrogen with external cooling ( 20 ° c . bath ) and the mixture was allowed to stir for 15 min at 20 °- 25 ° c . before adding 97 g ( 0 . 25 mol ) of iva in portions . the mixture was heated to 55 °- 60 ° c . for 2 h and then filtered . the filter cake was washed with two 100 ml portions of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane and the combined filtrate was reduced in volume by distillation to about 150 ml . the ph was raised from about 1 . 5 to about 4 by the addition of about 5 g of naoac in 300 ml of methanol , and the residual dichloroethane was removed by distillation of about 150 ml of solvent . about 30 ml of water was then added , and the mixture was cooled to 5 ° c . and filtered . the filtered product was washed with 100 ml of cold methanol and suction - dried on the filter overnight to yield 89 g ( 89 % based on iva ) of va . an analytical sample was prepared by recrystallization from isopropanol , mp 122 - 124 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 16 ( d , 1h , j = 16 hz ), 3 . 42 ( d , 1h , j = 16 hz ), 3 . 64 ( s , 3h ), 5 . 12 ( d , 1h , j = 10 hz ), 5 . 26 ( ab q , 2h , j = 12 hz ), 5 . 53 ( br , d , 1h , j = 10 hz ). 7 . 2 - 7 . 45 ( m , 7h ), 7 . 65 ( d , 1h , j = 9 hz ). a 1 - l three - neck flask equipped with magnetic stirrer , thermometer , ph probe , and gas inlet valve with a three - way stopcock was flushed with nitrogen and charged with 27 . 3 g ( 0 . 13 mol ) of citric acid monohydrate , 100 ml of water , 10 . 4 g ( 0 . 13 mol ) of 50 % aqueous naoh , 0 . 6 g of 5 % palladium - on - carbon , 500 ml of methyl acetate , and 52 . 0 g ( 0 . 13 mol ) of va . the reaction vessel was purged with nitrogen and the mixture was stirred vigorously for about 3 h at 5 °- 10 ° c . while passing a stream of hydrogen subsurface . the reaction was monitored by hplc for disappearance of va ; when the reaction was complete ( about 4 h ), the reaction vessel was purged with nitrogen and the palladium - on - carbon was filtered onto a pad of diatomaceous earth and rinsed with 50 ml of methyl acetate and 20 ml of water . the filtrate was separated , and the organic phase containing via was used directly in the next step . in a separate batch , the above procedure for step c was repeated and via was isolated by removing about 400 ml of solvent by distillation , adding about 100 ml of hexanes and filtering and suction drying the crystallized product , mp 124 °- 127 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 18 ( d , 1h , j = 17 hz ), 3 . 40 ( d , 1h , j = 17 hz ), 3 . 65 ( d , 3h ), 4 . 43 ( d , 1h , j = 7 hz ), 4 . 79 ( d , 1h , j = 7 hz ), 6 . 10 ( br s , ih ), 7 . 25 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 54 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ). to the organic phase from the step c containing via was added aqueous saturated nahco 3 ( 140 g , about 0 . 15 mol ), followed by 41 g ( 0 . 14 mol ) of methyl ( chlorocarbonyl )[ 4 -( trifluoromethoxy ) phenyl ] carbamate ( compound vii ) and the mixture was stirred for about 1 h at 10 °- 15 ° c . the organic phase was separated , dried ( mgso 4 ), concentrated under vacuum to remove about 400 ml of methyl acetate , and the residual solvent was exchanged by distillation with 300 ml of methanol until the head temperature reached 64 ° c . the mixture was cooled to 5 ° c . and the product was filtered , washed with 70 ml of cold methanol and suction - dried to yield 58 g of ia ( 85 % overall , based on va from step c ), mp 139 - 141 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 25 ( d , 1h , j = 16 hz ), 3 . 48 ( d , 1h , j = 16 hz ), 3 . 70 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 71 ( s , 3h ), 5 . 20 ( d , 1h , j = 10 hz ), 5 . 69 ( d , 1h , j = 10 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 4 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 50 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ). to a flask was charged 34 g ( 0 . 20 mol ) of 4 - chlorophenylacetic acid ( pcpa ) and 150 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane . the suspension was stirred , 25 g ( 0 . 21 mol ) of thionyl chloride was added and the resultant solution was heated at 80 °- 90 ° c . for 2 - 3 h . a distillation head was attached , and 25 ml of solvent was distilled in order to remove residual so 2 and hcl . the pale orange solution of the acid chloride was cooled to - 5 ° c ., aluminum chloride ( 30 g , 0 . 22 mol ) was charged at - 5 ° to 0 ° c ., and the distillation apparatus was replaced with a balloon . ethylene gas ( 12 g , 0 . 43 mol ) was charged to the balloon in portions , while maintaining the temperature at - 5 ° to 0 ° c . the red solution was transferred gradually by cannula into 200 ml of 5 ° c . quench water at a rate to maintain the quench temperature at 20 °- 30 ° c . after the mixture was stirred for 1 h at 25 ° c ., the lower organic layer containing viiia was separated and washed with 100 ml of 5 % aqueous hcl . the solution of viiia from the previous step was charged to a flask equipped with an overhead stirrer . sodium acetate ( 16 g , 0 . 20 mol ) was charged to the pot and the mixture was stirred at 25 °- 30 ° c . with cooling while 114 g ( 0 . 60 mol ) of 32 % peracetic acid was continuously added from a constant - addition funnel over 3 - 4 h . the mixture was allowed to stir an additional 20 h 25 ° c . and then 300 ml of 0 . 8n hcl was added and the resulting slurry was cooled to 5 ° c . the mixture was filtered , washed with cold 5 % aqueous nahso 3 , water , suction - dried , and dried overnight in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . and reduced pressure to afford 35 - 36 g ( 76 - 78 % yield based on pcpa ) of 99 % pure ixa as a white crystalline solid , m . p . 156 - 158 ° c . to a flask equipped with a thermowatch and overhead stirrer was charged 45 . 7 g ( 0 . 200 mol ) of ixa , 5 ml of methanol , and 100 ml of dimethyl carbonate . sulfuric acid ( 1 g ) was added , and the mixture was stirred under nitrogen at 85 ° c . for 20 h . the acid was neutralized with 3 g of 25 % sodium methoxide solution and the bulk of the dimethyl carbonate ( dmc ) was distilled from the reaction flask . methanol ( 100 - 200 ml ) was added during distillation to form the methanol / dmc azeotrope ( 62 ° c .) to facilitate removal of the dmc which would otherwise distill at 90 ° c . the product from this - step was carried into the next step without isolation . after most of the dmc was removed , an additional 150 ml of methanol was added to the methanol solution of xa from the previous step , followed by 47 . 5 g ( 0 . 22 mol ) of 25 % naome in methanol . the solution was maintained at 70 ° c ., and methanol was distilled to the minimum level required for efficient stirring . when the reaction was complete , the mixture was cooled to ambient temperature . acetic acid ( 3 g , 0 . 05 mol ), was added , followed by sufficient 1n hcl to bring the ph to 5 - 6 . the mixture was cooled to 5 ° c ., filtered , and the crude solid was washed with water , then cold hexanes , affording 40 - 42 g ( 89 - 93 % yield ) of xia as a beige solid , m . p . 80 °- 82 ° c . a mixture of 10 . 0 g of xia , 17 ml ( 51 mmol ) of a 3 . 0 m t - butylhydroperoxide in iso - octane , 70 ml of isopropyl acetate and 0 . 2 g of cinchonine ( aldrich ® chemical co .) was stirred at ambient temperature for 6 days . to the mixture was added about 100 ml of ethyl acetate , 30 ml of dilute aqueous sodium bisulfite and 20 ml of 2n hcl . the mixture was shaken and separated , and the organic extract was washed sequentially with water and brine . the solvent was removed under vacuum and the crude solid product was washed with hexane to afford 7 . 31 g of iia ( 68 % yield ) having an enantiomeric ratio of 72 % (+) to 28 % (-) as determined by hplc analysis using a chiral column . the (+) enriched iia was recrystallized from isopropyl acetate to yield 4 to 5 g of the pure (+) iia , m . p . 163 °- 165 ° c ; [ α ] d 25 + 115 . 1 ° ( chcl 3 , c = 1 . 0 ); 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 21 ( d , 1h , j = 18 hz ), 3 . 67 ( d , 1h , j = 18 hz ), 3 . 72 ( s , 3h ), 4 . 07 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 38 ( d of d , 1h , j = 8 and 1 hz ), 7 . 47 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), and 7 . 70 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ). illustration of an alternative operation of steps a - d starting from enantiomerically enriched iia and forming enantiomerically enriched ia . to a 1 - l single - necked flask equipped with a dean - stark apparatus and a nitrogen inlet was added 75 g ( 0 . 312 mol ) of (+) iia ( 50 % enantiomeric excess ), 54 . 6 g ( 0 . 358 mol ) of phenylmethyl hydrazinecarboxylate , 1 . 78 g ( 0 . 0094 mol ) of p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate ( aldrich ® chemical company ), and 275 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane . the slurry was heated to reflux , resulting in an orange solution from which the product gradually precipitated . the water phase collected in the dean - stark trap was removed . after 2 h , the mixture was cooled to room temperature . the reaction mixture was used directly in step b . to a 2 - l three - necked flask equipped with an overhead stirrer , thermometer , reflux condenser , and nitrogen inlet was added 88 . 5 g of diatomaceous earth ( celite ®) and 300 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane . phosphorus pentoxide ( 88 . 5 g , 0 . 623 mol ) was added followed by 120 ml of dimethoxymethane . the slurry of (+) iva in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane from step a was then added . the mixture was heated to 35 °- 40 ° c . for 5 h , and then cooled to 30 ° c . and filtered . the filter cake was washed with 135 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane and the combined filtrate was distilled to minimum volume . methanol was added and the distillation was continued . when all the 1 , 2 - dichloroethane was removed and approximately 500 ml of methanol remained in the pot , the distillation was stopped and the pot was cooled to 45 ° c . the product began to precipitate , and 120 ml of water was added . cooling was continued to 20 ° c . the mixture was filtered , and the filter cake was washed with 370 ml of 3 : 1 methanol / water . the solid was dried overnight under vacuum at 80 ° c . to yield 100 . 5 g ( 80 . 5 % for 2 steps ) of (+) va . the 1 h nmr spectrum matched that obtained for va in example 1 . purity was 99 . 3 % by hplc . analysis by chiral hplc indicated 43 % enantiomeric excess of the (+) enantiomer . a 500 ml 3 - neck flask equipped with magnetic stirrer , thermometer and gas inlet valve with 3 - way stopcock was flushed with nitrogen and charged with 50 ml of methyl acetate , 50 ml of 0 . 5m sodium di - hydrogen phosphate buffer solution ( ph 3 . 5 ) and 0 . 2 g of 50 % water - wet 5 % palladium - on - carbon . the two - phase suspension was stirred at ambient temperature for 0 . 5 h . in a separate flask , 10 g ( 0 . 025 mole ) of (+) va was added to 50 ml of methyl acetate under nitrogen , heated to 35 ° c . and stirred until dissolved . the solution of (+) va was added to the pd catalyst suspension and the mixture was cooled to 10 ° c . the reaction vessel was evacuated and the mixture was stirred vigorously at 10 ° c . while passing in a stream of hydrogen subsurface . the reaction was monitored for disappearance of (+) va by tlc and gc . when the reaction was complete ( about 1 . 5 h ), the reaction vessel was evacuated and pureed with nitrogen ; the reaction mixture was filtered through a pad of diatomaceous earth and the filter pad was washed with an additional 20 ml of methyl acetate . the liquid phases were separated and the methyl acetate phase containing (+) via was carried directly on to step d . the methyl acetate solution from step c containing (+) via was added to a solution of 3 g of nahco 3 in 38 ml of water . the mixture was cooled to 10 ° c . under nitrogen and 7 . 43 g ( 0 . 025 mole ) of vii was added in one portion . the reaction was stirred at 10 ° c . for 1 h . the methyl acetate phase was separated and concentrated under vacuum to remove about 100 ml of solvent . methanol , 50 ml , was added and the slurry was re - evaporated to remove the remaining methanol as the methyl acetate / methanol azeotrope . a final 50 ml of methanol was added and the suspension was heated to reflux . diatomaceous earth ( 0 . 4 g ) was added as heating was continued and then 17 ml of water was added dropwise . the resulting slurry was cooled , filtered , washed with 33 ml of 2 : 1 methanol / water , and vacuum dried to afford 11 . 16 g of enriched (+) ia ( 78 % overall yield for steps c and d based on va ). analysis by chiral hplc indicated 42 % excess of the (+) enantiomer . a 1 - l 3 - neck flask equipped with magnetic stirrer , thermometer , and gas inlet valve with three - way stopcock was flushed with nitrogen and charged with 580 ml of methyl acetate , 0 . 164 g sodium acetate ( 2 mol %), and 0 . 8 g of 5 % palladium - on - carbon catalyst . approximately 200 ml of solvent was removed by distillation and the resulting dry solvent / catalyst suspension was allowed to cool to 50 ° c . and 40 . 0 g ( 0 . 1 mole ) of va was added in one portion . the mixture was stirred to dissolve va and then cooled to ambient temperature . the reaction vessel was purged with nitrogen then the mixture was stirred vigorously at ambient temperature as a stream of hydrogen was admitted subsurface . the reaction was monitored for disappearance of va . when the reaction was complete ( about 3 . 0 h ), the reaction vessel was evacuated and purged with nitrogen ; the palladium - on - carbon was filtered onto a pad of diatomaceous earth and rinsed with 50 ml of dry methyl acetate . the filtrate was used directly in step d . the methyl acetate solution from step c containing via was combined with a solution of 12 g of nahco 3 in 150 ml of water . the mixture was cooled to 10 ° c . under nitrogen and 29 . 7 g ( 0 . 1 mole ) of compound vii was added in portions over 0 . 5 h ; the mixture was stirred for about an additional hour at 10 °- 15 ° c . the methyl acetate phase was then separated and concentrated under vacuum to remove about 400 ml of solvent . methanol ( 50 ml ) was added and the solvent again removed in vacuo . 70 % aqueous methanol ( 100 g ) was then added and the mixture was stirred for 45 minutes with cooling from an ice bath . the product was filtered , washed with 25 ml of cold 70 % aqueous methanol , and vacuum dried to yield 51 g ( 86 % overall yield from va based on 88 . 9 % hplc assay ), mp 135 - 138 ° c . a suspension of 11 . 25 g ( 50 mmol ) of va , 70 ml of mixed xylenes , and 1 . 4 g ( 4 . 8 mmol ) of cinchonine ( aldrich ® chemical co .) was stirred under nitrogen and 7 . 0 g ( 70 mmol ) of 90 % aqueous t - butyl hydroperoxide ( aldrich ® chemical co .) was added . the resulting solution was allowed to stir at room temperature for 24 hours during which time the product began to crystallize . the reaction mixture was then diluted with 100 ml of ethyl acetate and washed successively with two 50 ml portions of saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , 50 ml of 1n aqueous hydrochloric acid , and 50 ml of saturated aqueous sodium bisulfite . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent removed under reduced pressure to give 10 . 6 g of enriched (+) iia ( 86 % purity , 76 % yield based on va ). analysis by chiral hplc indicated 45 % enantiomeric excess of the (+) enantiomer . to a dry 500 ml 4 - neck flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer , thermometer , and two gas inlets was charged 49 . 9 g ( 0 . 128 mol ) of iva and 250 ml of diethoxymethane . the mixture was cooled to - 10 ° c ., and the reaction vessel was evacuated (˜ 24 cm hg pressure ). sulfur trioxide gas was admitted to the cooled reaction vessel at a rate such that temperature of the reaction mixture was maintained between - 10 ° c . to 0 ° c . when the addition was complete , nitrogen was admitted to release the vacuum . the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature , stirred for 4 . 75 h , added to 50 ml of water at room temperature with good stirring and stirred for an additional 2 h . the mixture was filtered and the organic phase from the filtrate was separated and evaporated . the residue was dissolved in 125 ml of methanol and combined with the solid from the filtration . to this slurry was added 125 ml of water dropwise after which the mixture was stirred for 1 . 5 h , then filtered . the filter cake was dried under vacuum at room temperature to give 46 . 3 g ( 90 % based on iva ) of va . a small portion of product was recrystallized from methanol to afford a sample whose mp and 1 h nmr spectrum matched that of va obtained in example 1 , step b . in a first reaction flask , 70 . 5 g ( 0 . 30 mole ) of methyl 4 -( trifluoromethoxy ) phenyl carbamate is dissolved in 700 ml of dichloromethane . then 14 . 0 g of 60 % sodium hydride ( 0 . 35 mole ) in mineral oil is added followed by 60 ml glyme ( ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ) within 15 min . there is exothermic reaction and the temperature of the reaction mixture increases to slightly above that of the ambient room temperature . the reaction mixture is stirred overnight ( ca . 16 h ) without external heating . in a second reaction flask equipped with a distillation column , 120 g ( 1 . 2 mole ) of phosgene is dissolved in 300 ml dichloromethane which is cooled to 5 - 10 ° c . the reaction mixture from the first flask , a thick slurry , is slowly added to the second flask containing the phosgene solution at 5 - 10 ° c . after addition is complete , excess phosgene is removed by distillation until the head temperature indicates only dichloromethane is coming overhead . distillation is stopped , and the reaction mixture is cooled to about 0 ° c . ice water , 200 ml , is added to dissolve the byproduct sodium chloride . the dichloromethane layer is separated from the aqeuous layer , filtered and dried with mgso 4 . the dried dichloromethane solution , c which contains compound vii , is then distilled to take off the dichloromethane and in exchange , hexane , 400 ml total , is added ( solvent exchange procedure ). when the dichloromethane is removed and the hexane begins to distill , distillation is stopped . the hexane solution is then cooled to 5 ° c . whereupon vii is precipitated ( seeding may be required ), recovered by filtration , washed with additional cold hexane and dried . yield is typically about 94 % for 97 - 98 % pure vii , m . p . 97 - 99 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 80 ( s , 3 ), 7 . 29 ( s , 4 ).
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one or more objects of the present invention are accomplished by the provision of an acid - hardening resin composition which is activated by exposure to actinic light , said composition comprising a blend of ( 1 ) condensation polymerizable aminoplast ; ( 2 ) condensation polymerizable alkyd resin ; and ( 3 ) a sulfolene catalyst . in one embodiment , the condensation polymerizable composition described above is a coating system which contains a photoinitiator as an additional component . in another embodiment , the condensation polymerizable composition described above is a coating system which contains a photoinitiator , and which has incorporated therein a quantity of polymerizable olefinically unsaturated monomer or prepolymer as an additional component . illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a condensation polymerizable coating composition comprising a homogeneous liquid blend of ( 1 ) between about 20 and 50 weight percent of aminoplast or aminoplast precursor , ( 2 ) between about 50 and 80 weight percent of residual hydroxycontaining alkyd resin , ( 3 ) between about 0 . 5 and 15 weight percent of a sulfolene catalyst ; and ( 4 ) between about 0 . 1 and 10 weight percent of a photoinitiator ; based on total aminoplast / alkyd resin weight . a condensation polymerizable composition of the present invention can be prepared by the simple expediency of blending the selected components at room temperature to form a homogeneous coating medium . in the manner of conventional coating systems , a present invention condensation polymerizable composition can also contain immiscible polymeric or non - polymeric organic or inorganic fillers , pigments or reinforcing agents , e . g ., silica , organophilic silica , bentonite , powdered glass , colloidal carbon , titanium dioxide , and the like . the aminoplast component employed can be any of the aldehyde condensation products of compounds such as melamine , urea , dicyandiamide , benzoquanamine , and the like ; and mixtures and etherified derivatives of these condensation products . procedures for preparing aminoplasts are described in aminoplasts , c . p . vale ( cleaver - hume press , ltd ., london ). further illustration of aminoplast preparation and application is set forth in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 957 , 835 3 , 501 , 429 ; 3 , 522 , 159 ; 3 , 535 , 148 ; 3 , 773 , 721 ; 3 , 852 , 375 ; 3 , 891 , 590 ; 3 , 954 , 715 ; 3 , 965 , 058 ; 3 , 979 , 478 ; 4 , 071 , 578 ; and the like . the aldehyde used in preparation of the condensation aminoplasts may be ( 1 ) monofunctional or ( 2 ) polyfunctional , having at least two aldehyde groups separated by at most one carbon atom ; such as formaldehyde , paraformaldehyde , polyoxymethylene , trioxane , acrolein , and aliphatic or cyclic aldehydes such as glyoxal , acetaldehyde , propionaldehyde , butyraldehyde , and furfuraldehyde . condensation , when using formaldehyde , furfuraldehyde , paraformaldehyde , polyoxymethylene or trioxane , is generally accomplished with the use of a mildly acid or mildly alkaline catalyst . when using acrolein , glyoxal , acetaldehyde , propionaldehyde , or butyraldehyde , condensation is generally accomplished by combining the reactants in the presence of a strongly acid catalyst , neutralizing the reaction product , adding more aldehyde , and further reacting in the presence of a mildly acid , or alkaline , catalyst . these aldehyde condensation products ( i . e ., aminoplasts ) contain methylol or similar alkylol groups , the structure of the alkylol group depending upon the particular aldehyde employed . all or part of these alkylol groups may be etherified by reaction with an alcohol . among the preferred amine - aldehyde products for use in the present invention are those which are substantially alkylated by an etherification reaction , i . e ., in which at least a major portion of the alkylol groups have been reacted with an alcohol . essentially any monohydric alcohol can be employed for this purpose , including such alcohols as methanol , propanol , butanol , heptanol and other alkanols having up to about 12 carbon atoms or more , as well as benzyl alcohol and other aromatic alcohols , cyclic alcohols such as cyclohexanol , monoethers of glycols such as the cellosolves and carbitols , and halogen - substituted or other substituted alcohols , such as 3 - chloro - propanol . the preferred alcohols are methanol , butanol , and similar lower alkanols . the aldehyde is often employed as a solution in water or alcohol , and the condensation , polymerization and etherification reactions may be carried out either sequentially or simultaneously . in an acid - hardening coating composition of the present invention , the aminoplast or aminoplast precursor component is employed in a quantity between about 20 and 50 weight percent , and preferably in a quantity between about 25 and 45 weight percent , based on the total weight of the aminoplast and alkyd resin components in the composition . by the term &# 34 ; aminoplast precursor &# 34 ; is meant a mixture of aldehyde and amine compounds which yield an aminoplast under condensation conditions . the aminoplast component of a present invention coating composition is capable of undergoing condensation polymerizable reaction with the alkyd resin component under acid - hardening conditions . the alkyd resin component employed in a present invention composition can be any of the saturated or unsaturated alkyds utilized in the coatings field , produced from any polybasic acid and polyfunctional alcohol . for example , the alkyd may be made from such polyfunctional acids as phthalic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , isophthalic acid , succinic acid , adipic acid , azaleic acid , fatty acids and the like , as well as anhydrides of such acids . among the polyols employed are glycerol , trimethylolethane , trimethylolpropane , pentaerythritol , sorbitol , mannitol , ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , 2 , 3 - butylene glycol , and similar alcohols . the alkyd resin may be oil - modified or non oil - modified , can contain in part a monobasic acid such as benzoic acid , and can be copolymerized with one or more other ethylenically unsaturated monomers . such monomers include ethyl acrylate , methyl methacrylate and other esters of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid , acrylonitrile , olefinic hydrocarbons , and other polymerizable monomers . the alkyd resin which are particularly preferred are those having an average molecule weight of 200 - 600 and containing predominantly hydroxyl groups as terminal groups , i . e ., those which have been prepared with an excess of the alcohol reactant , and which are residual hydroxy - containing . the alkyd resins can be prepared in accordance with standard procedures , e . g ., with or without a catalyst , with or without the introduction of a stream of inert gas , as solution condensation , melt condensation or azeotropic esterification , at temperatures of up to 220 ° c . or higher , so that the water or the alkanols produced by the esterification are continuously removed . the esterification can be followed by measuring the hydroxyl and acid numbers . esterification conditions are selected so that the reaction is as complete as possible , i . e ., until the acid number , in case of ester charges of n mole of diol , m mole of polyol , and ( n + m - 1 ) moles of dicarboxylic acid , is smaller than 10 mg . koh / g . the molecular weight of the esters can thus be regulated by the ratio of the initially charged amounts of alcohol reactant and dicarboxylic acid mixture . the alkyd resin component of a present invention acid - hardening coating composition is employed in a quantity between about 50 and 80 weight percent , and preferably in a quantity between about 60 and 75 weight percent , based on the total weight of the alkyd resin and aminoplast components in the composition . it is a particular advantage of the present invention that a sulfolene compound is employed to catalyze the acid - hardening condensation polymerization between the aminoplast and alkyl resin components . it has been found that a sulfolene compound is superior to conventional acid catalysts , such as trichloroacetic acid , for the preparation of a present invention acid - hardening coating composition . as illustrated in example vii , a coating composition containing sulfolene as a catalyst has greater thermal stability than a coating composition containing p - toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst . further , it has been found that sulfolane is an ineffective catalyst for the practice of the present invention in comparison with the structurally related sulfolene compound . ## str1 ## sulfolene ( i . e ., butadiene sulfone ) or substituted sulfolene is readily prepared by reacting a large molar excess of liquid butadiene or substituted butadiene with liquid sulfur dioxide under non - aqueous conditions , at pressures between 100 - 500 psi and temperature around 100 ° c . methods of preparing sulfolene and substituted sulfolene are described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 395 , 050 ; 2 , 402 , 891 ; 2 , 420 , 834 ; 2 , 443 , 270 ; 3 , 077 , 479 ; 3 , 822 , 286 ; and the like . the use of sulfolene compounds for acid catalysis is disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 326 , 868 and 3 , 800 , 013 . sulfolene compounds suitable for the practice of the present invention include those prepared by the reaction of sulfur dioxide with conjugated diene monomers such as butadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 - methyl butadiene - 1 , 3 ; pentadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 , 3 - dimethyl butadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 , 3 - diethyl butadiene - 1 , 3 ; 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetramethyl butadiene - 1 , 3 ; 1 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 , 3 - diethyl butadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 - methyl pentadiene - 1 , 3 ; 4 - methyl pentadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 - methyl hexadiene - 1 , 3 ; 4 - ethyl hexadiene - 1 , 3 ; cyclopentyl butadienes ; cyclohexyl butadienes ; 2 - chlorbutadiene - 1 , 3 ; 2 - methyl - 3 - chlorbutadiene - 1 , 3 ; 3 - methoxybutadiene - 1 , 3 ; and the like . the sulfolene catalyst component of a present invention acid - hardening coating composition is employed in a quantity between about 0 . 5 and 15 weight percent , and preferably in a quantity between about 1 and 10 weight percent , based on the total weight of aminoplast and alkyd resin components in the composition . in general , a conventional photoinitiator derivative is suitable for incorporation in a present invention acid - hardening coating composition . the photoinitiator component is selected to provide a fast cure response when the curable coating composition is exposed to low energy activation from a light source having a wavelength in the range between about 2000 and 6000 angstroms . suitable light sources are sunlamps , mercury arcs , carbon arcs , tungsten filament lamps , xenon arcs , krypton arcs , and the like . the radiation emitting source is preferably within about twelve inches of the coating surface being cured . the cure response is initiated usually in less than about 5 seconds with ultraviolet radiation at room temperature . the photoinitiator component can be added as a single compound or a mixture of compounds . illustrative of suitable photoinitiator compunds are those disclosed in chemical reviews , 68 ( no . 2 ), 125 ( 1968 ), and in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 840 , 390 ; 3 , 864 , 133 ; and the like . typical photoinitiator compounds include acyloin and derivatives thereof , such as benzoin , benzoin methyl ether , benzoin ethyl ether , benzoin isopropyl ether , benzoin isobutyl ether , desyl bromide , and α - methylbenzoin ; diketones such as benzil and diacetyl , etc . ; organic sulfides such as diphenyl monosulfide , diphenyl disulfide , desyl phenyl sulfide , and tetramethylthiuram monosulfide ; s - acyl dithiocarbamates , such as s - benoyl - n , n - dimethyldithiocarbamate and s -( p - chloro - benzoyl )- n , n - dimethyldithiocarbamate ; phenones such as acetophenone , α , α , α - tribromoacetophenone , o - nitro - α , α , α - tribromoacetophenone , benzophenone , and p , p &# 39 ;- tetramethyldiaminobenzophenone ; sulfonyl halides such as p - toluenesulfonyl chloride ; and the like . if desired , an amine can also be incorporated in an invention curable coating composition to accelerate the rate of curing by light radiation when the photoinitiator is an aryl ketone . amines that exhibit this synergistic rate - enhancing effect include triethanolamine , tributylamine , triethylamine , and the like . the photoinitiator component of a present invention acid - hardening coating composition is employed in a quantity between about 0 . 1 and 10 weight percent , and preferably in a quantity between about 1 and 6 weight percent , based on the total weight of aminoplast and alkyd resin components in the composition . as previously indicated hereinabove , in a preferred embodiment a present invention acid - hardening coating composition can include a quantity of polymerizable olefinically unsaturated monomer or prepolymer as an additional component . a preferred polymerizable component is one which functions as a low viscosity solubilizing medium for the other organic components , and which polymerizes readily without volatilizing when the coating composition is subjected to ultraviolet radiation curing conditions . suitable polymerizable compounds include vinyl acetate , vinyl butyrate , butyl acrylate , divinylbenzene , allyl methacrylate , diethylene glycol dimethacrylate , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , trimethyolopropane trimethacrylate , diallyl adipate , methylene - bis - acrylamide , diethylene glycol diacrylate , ethylene glycol diacrylate , diallyl fumarate , diallyl phthalate , divinyl sulfone , butylene dimethacrylate , trimethylene glycol diacrylate , butylene glycol diacrylate , pentamethylene glycol diacrylate , glyceryl triacrylate , octylene glycol diacrylate , the tetraacrylate ester of pentaerythritol , ethyl diallylphosphonate , triallylisocyanurate , and the like . a preferred class of polymerizable compounds are those which are liquid at 25 ° c ., and which contain 2 - 4 polymerizable olefinically unsaturated groups and have a molecular weight in the range between about 120 and 600 . highly preferred polymerizable compounds for the purposes of this invention include trimethylolpropane triacrylate and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate . the said optional polymerizable component of a present invention acid - hardening coating composition is employed in a quantity between about 2 and 30 weight percent , and a preferably in a quantity between about 5 and 25 weight percent , based on the total weight of the aminoplast and alkyd resin components in the composition . the coating of substrates with an invention resin composition is accomplished by conventional application techniques such as spraying , dipping , curtain and roll coating , and the like . the coated substrate is exposed to electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength above about 2000 angstroms and up to about 6000 angstroms . the optimal exposure time will vary , depending on such factors as film thickness , temperature , radiation power , and the like . generally , with a mercury vapor radiation power of about 200 watts per linear inch set at a distance of 12 inches from the coating surface , cure response is initiated within about 5 seconds , and in most cases within about 2 seconds . it has been demonstrated that superior film properties are obtained if a present invention coating is irradiated with actinic light in a first step , and then subjected to a heat treating cycle in a second step . it is particularly noteworthy that no curing can be achieved if a present invention coating is not exposed to ultraviolet radiation prior to a heat - treating cycle ( e . g ., 5 minutes at 150 ° c .). this is in contrast to conventional acid - hardening resin coating systems . the sulfolene catalyst component of the present invention coating compositions requires photoinitiation before it can induce the condensation polymerization reaction between the aminoplast and alkyd resin components . the following examples are further illustrative of the present invention . the reactants and other specific ingredients are presented as being typical , and various modifications can be devised in view of the foregoing disclosure within the scope of the invention . a mixture of 65 . 1 grams of ethylene glycol ( 1 . 0 mole ), 79 . 8 grams of 1 , 2 - propanediol ( 1 . 0 mole ), 74 grams of phthalic anhydride ( 0 . 5 mole ) and 73 grams of adipic acid ( 0 . 5 mole ) is heated under a nitrogen atmosphere over a period of 16 hours . during the heating period the temperature is increased gradually from 140 ° c . to 200 ° c . approximately 25 milliliters of water is separated during the reaction period . a colorless ester mixture is recovered which has an acid number of about 2 . 5 milligrams koh / gram ( average m . w . of 245 ). an alkyd resin is prepared which is composed of the following combination of monomers : ______________________________________ mole ratio weight % ______________________________________pentaerythritol 2 . 01 , 6 - hexanediol 9 . 0 30phthalic anhydride 10 . 0methyl methacrylate 1 . 0ethyl acrylate 2 . 0 70hydroxyethyl acrylate 0 . 1acrylic acid 0 . 1______________________________________ a reaction vessel is charged with xylene and dicumyl peroxide , and the charge is heated to reflux . the mixture of acrylic monomers listed above is added dropwise to the refluxing reaction medium . after the addition of the monomer mixture is completed , more dicumyl peroxide in xylene is introduced and the reflux is continued for an additional brief reaction period . then as a catalyst there is added dibutyltin oxide dissolved in a minimal quantity of water . this is followed by the sequential addition of 1 , 6 - hexanediol , phthalic acid and pentaerythritol . after a reflux period of several hours , the solvent is distilled off and the acrylic - modified alkyd product is recovered . to a reaction vessel equipped with thermometer , stirrer and reflux condenser , are charged 270 grams of formaldehyde dissolved in 510 grams of water . the ph of the reaction medium is adjusted to 8 . 5 with sodium hydroxide , then 126 grams of melamine are added over a period of two hours at a reaction medium temperature of 50 ° c . the temperature is maintained at 50 ° c . for three hours after the addition of the melamine is completed . the ph is adjusted to 9 . 5 , and the solid methylolmelamine product which forms is recovered by filtration . the methylolmelamine product of example ii is charged to a reaction vessel , and to the charge is added 480 grams of methanol while the reaction medium is maintained at about 35 ° c . by cooling . the ph of the reaction medium is adjusted to 3 . 0 with sulfuric acid . agitation is continued until all of the suspended solids are completely dissolved , then the ph of the reaction medium is adjusted to 9 . 0 with sodium hydroxide . the reaction medium is vacuum distilled to remove unreacted methanol , formaldehyde and other volatiles . toluene is added to azeotrope out residual traces of water . at normal pressure , 480 grams of methanol are added to the reaction vessel contents with cooling to 35 ° c . the ph is adjusted to 3 . 0 with sulfuric acid , and the reaction medium is maintained at 35 ° c . for about three hours . the ph is adjusted to 9 . 0 with sodium hydroxide , and then the reaction medium is subjected to vacuum distillation to remove volatiles from the resultant methoxymethylmelamine product . aminoplast / alkyd resin coating compositions are prepared by admixing the following components in the proportions indicated . each of the coating compositions is drawn down on steel panels employed a 1 mil bird applicator , passed under a 200 watt / inch medium pressure mercury vapor lamp for 3 passes at 20 fpm , and then baked at 150 ° c . for 5 minutes . it is to be noted that the three compositions containing sulfolene catalyst in accordance with the present invention exhibit superior coating properties . ______________________________________ parts by weightcomponents 1 2 3 4______________________________________modified alkyd resin ofexample ii 75 . 0 75 . 0 75 . 0 75 . 0hexamethoxymethylmelamine 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5sulfolene 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 -- benzoin ethyl ether -- 5 . 0 -- -- benzophenone -- -- 5 . 0 -- 50 % p - toluenesulfonic acid -- -- -- 10 . 0in ethanoltukon hardness 11 . 75 55 . 0 * 15 . 4 1 . 0film thickness ( mils ) 1 . 0 - 1 . 5 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 0 . 8 - 1 . 0 0 . 8 - 1 . 0gloss , 60 ° 92 . 4 76 . 2 116 . 8 115 . 2gloss , 20 ° 54 . 2 27 . 4 76 . 8 89 . 2______________________________________ * extreme hardness probably attributable to low film thickness . in the manner of example v , the following aminoplast / alkyd resin coating compositions are prepared and drawn down on steel panels . composition number 7 containing sulfolene catalyst and trimethylolpropane triacrylate monomer in accordance with the present invention exhibits exceptional tukon hardness in comparison with the other compositions illustrated . sulfolane , for example , is ineffective as a catalyst as compared to sulfolene . ______________________________________ parts by weightcomponents 5 6 7 8______________________________________modified alkyd resin ofexample ii 75 . 0 75 . 0 75 . 0 75 . 0hexamethoxymethylmelamine 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5trimethylolpropanetriacrylate 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5 12 . 5benzophenone 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0sulfolane -- 5 . 0 -- -- sulfolene -- -- 5 . 0 -- hexachloroethane -- -- -- 5 . 0tukon hardness 0 . 9 2 . 35 15 . 0 5 . 8______________________________________ when the coating procedure is repeated , but without exposure of the coatings to actinic light , the following tukon hardness is observed for the respective coatings . ______________________________________ 5 6 7 8______________________________________tukon hardness tacky 1 . 0 2 . 3 tacky______________________________________ as is noted , without prior exposure to actinic light , essentially no curing of the coatings is effected by the 150 ° c . baking cycle . this example demonstrates the thermal stability of a present invention composition containing a sulfolene compound as an acid - hardening catalyst . ______________________________________ parts by weightcomponents 9 10______________________________________modified alkyd resin ofexample ii 75 . 0 75 . 0hexamethoxymethylmelamine 12 . 5 12 . 5sulfolene 5 . 0 -- 50 % p - toluenesulfonic acidin ethanol -- 10 . 0______________________________________ each sample was stored in a glass jar in an oven at 120 ° f . and observed at 24 - hour intervals .
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fig1 illustrates a computer architecture including an instruction unit 110 , to which is attached conventional elements such as a level 1 instruction cache ( l1 i - cache ) 100 , n branch unit 112 , n fixed point unit 122 , n floating point unit 132 and thread switch logic 300 . various , conventional registers such as general purpose registers ( gprs ) 116 and special purpose registers ( sprs ) 118 are connected to the n fixed point unit 122 , n branch unit 112 and the thread switch logic 300 . also , floating point registers ( fprs ) 114 are connected between the floating point unit 132 and gprs 116 . furthermore , a level 1 data cache ( l1 d - cache ) 50 is connected to the instruction unit 110 via scu 200 containing cache line buffer 210 and via bus 220 . a level 2 cache ( l2 cache ) 180 and main memory 140 are also connected to the instruction unit 110 in this fashion . a translation lookaside buffer ( tlb ) 120 , a segment lookaside buffer ( slb ) 125 and segment registers ( srs ) 135 are connected to the l1 i - cache 100 and scu 200 . within the l1 i - cache , there is i - cache control logic and the erat 410 as further described in relation to fig2 . fig2 illustrates the internal construction of the l1 i - cache 100 by showing an i fetch effective address being fed into the i cache control logic . the l1 i cache 100 includes an instruction cache 430 . in this example , the i cache 430 is a 2048 × 8 instruction i cache which stores the most recently used instructions or instructions most likely to be used in the future . instructions accessed in the i cache 430 are fed to the i buffer upon an i cache hit . the i cache 430 is addressed by a field of the effective address which , in this example , includes ea bits 48 - 58 . the i cache 100 also includes an i cache directory 420 , selector ( sel ) 440 , erat 410 , hash 405 , comparators 450 , 455 and logical and gate 460 which are connected as follows . the i cache directory 420 receives a field of the effective address . in the example shown in fig2 i cache directory 420 is a 256 × 2 directory receiving ea bits 48 - 56 , which is utilized to address the i cache directory to output corresponding real page numbers . one of these real page numbers is selected by selector 440 and fed to comparator 455 . the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 receives a hashed portion of the effective address , via hash 405 , that is utilized to output a line of the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 including an effective page number ( epn ) and a real page number ( rpn ). the real page number from the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 is fed to comparator 455 and compared against the real page number output from the i cache directory 420 . if comparator 455 outputs a 1 , then this correct comparison indicates an i cache directory hit . the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 also outputs an effective page number that is fed to comparator 450 . comparator 450 compares the effective page number output from effective - to - real address translation cache 410 against another field of the effective address . in this example , comparator 450 compares bits 0 - 46 of the effective address against the effective page number output from effective - to - real address translation cache 410 . a valid comparison from comparator 450 indicates an effective - to - real address translation cache hit . and gate 460 then ands the outputs from comparators 450 and 455 . if there is a directory hit and an effective - to - real address translation cache hit , then there is an i cache hit outputted from and gate 460 . if not , then there is an i cache miss . fig3 a illustrates the two types of effective addresses , which include a 32 - bit segment register mode effective address in which 32 bits of the 64 - bit word specify the effective address . more specifically , a 4 - bit field labeled sr specifies which of the 16 segment registers contain the corresponding virtual address . the virtual address is then concatenated with the offset field to access the translation lookaside buffer 120 and thereby obtain the real address . the 64 - bit mode effective address includes a tag or segment identification ( id ) that is utilized to address a segment table to obtain a virtual address that is concatenated with the offset to address the translation lookaside buffer 120 and thereby obtain the real address . fig3 b illustrates the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 in more detail . as shown , the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 includes two fields for each entry including a tag or effective address field and a real address field . for a segment register entry corresponding to a 32 - bit segment register mode effective address translation , the effective address field has the same structure as the 32 - bit segment register mode effective address . on the right side corresponding to the effective address is shown the real address xyz . a second , normal entry is shown in fig3 b including effective address abc and real address def . still further , a validity bit may be utilized for each entry in the erat 410 . fig3 c illustrates the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch ( erat - sr ) 500 . because the illustrated implementation utilizes 16 segment registers 135 , the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch has a corresponding number ( 16 ) of bits . each bit in the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 corresponds uniquely with a segment register 135 . fig3 d illustrates the erat invalidate pending latch 550 , which may be implemented with a single bit or flag . the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 and effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 may be situated within the instruction unit 110 . furthermore , the logic for managing the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 and effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 may also be constructed within instruction unit 110 . the invention described above performs effective - to - real address translation in both the 32 - bit segment register mode and 64 - bit mode as generally known in the art . as described above , these processes employ a two - step effective - to - virtual and then virtual - to - real address translation using either segment registers 135 and translation lookaside buffer 120 or the segment lookaside buffer 125 and translation lookaside buffer 120 in the 64 - bit mode to perform an effective - to - real address translation . the most recently translated addresses are stored in the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 also as known in the art . the present invention intelligently manages the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 by utilizing the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 and effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 . the first process for managing the effective - to - real address translation cache is the effective - to - real address translation cache loading process upon an effective - to - real address translation cache miss as shown in the high - level flow chart of fig4 . the process for loading the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 upon an effective - to - real address translation cache miss begins with start step 600 as shown in fig4 . then , the process decides whether the address is from a 32 - bit segment register mode in step 610 . if not , then 64 - bit addressing is being utilized , and the process proceeds by loading the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 as normal through the segment lookaside buffer 125 and translation lookaside buffer 120 as generally known in the art as indicated by step 640 . thereafter , the 64 - bit addressing mode for loading the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 ends as indicated by step 650 . if step 610 determines that 32 - bit segment register mode addressing is being utilized , then step 620 loads the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 as conventionally known by accessing the segment registers 135 and translation lookaside buffer 120 in step 620 . then , the invention sets a corresponding bit in the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 that corresponds to the segment register 135 that was accessed in step 620 to translate the effective address to the virtual address . in this way , the invention keeps track of which segment registers 135 have been utilized to load the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 . thereafter , the effective - to - real address translation cache loading process for the 32 - bit addressing modes ends as indicated by step 650 . effective - to - real address translation cache segment register cache management continues as shown in fig5 . upon the execution of a move to segment register ( mtsr ) instruction , the process flow in fig5 begins as indicated by step 700 . then , step 720 compares the segment register being set by the move to segment register instruction to the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 . if the segment register 135 being affected by the move to segment register instruction has already been utilized to load an effective - to - real address translation in the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 , then step 720 will determine this occurrence by examining the bit in the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 corresponding to this segment register 135 to see if a match occurs . if step 740 determines that such a match has occurred , then step 760 sets the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 . if no match occurs or after the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch is set by step 760 , then this process ends as indicated by step 780 . many computer architectures , such as the powerpc ® architecture , allow the actual invalidation of the effective - to - real address translation cache to be delayed until a context synchronizing event occurs . the present invention takes advantage of this capability as indicated by fig6 . fig6 illustrates the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidation process , which begins with a context synchronizing operation 800 . upon the occurrence of context synchronizing operation 800 , step 820 then examines the effective - to - real address translation invalidate pending latch 550 . if step 820 determines that the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 has not been set , then the process ends as indicated by step 880 and the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 is not invalidated . if , on the other hand , step 820 determines that the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 has been set , then step 840 actually invalidates the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 at that time . it is to be noted that two events must occur to invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 . the first event is the context synchronizing operation . when the context synchronizing occurs , then the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 must also be set to invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 in step 840 . thereafter , the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 and the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 may be cleared or otherwise reset in step 860 . the process is then complete as indicated by end step 880 . by utilizing the above elements , the present invention can intelligently manage the effective - to - real address translation cache , and particularly , the timely invalidation of the effective - to - real address translation cache without unduly affecting processor performance . by maintaining indicators in the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 indicating which of the segment registers 135 are currently mapped in the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 , the invention can then determine when a move to segment register instruction renders the effective - to - real address translation cache invalid . upon the execution of a move to segment register instruction , the invention examines the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 500 to determine if the segment register 135 that the move is going to is one of the segment registers 135 currently mapped in the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 . if no match is detected , no further action is taken . if a match is detected , the hardware will set the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 . when the processor detects a context - synchronizing event , and the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 is set , the hardware will then and only then invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 . the hardware is then reset by clearing the effective - to - real address translation cache segment register latch 550 and the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidate pending latch 550 . delaying the effective - to - real address translation cache invalidation causes fewer invalidations to occur and results in greater processor efficiency . the following exemplary code stream illustrates the increased processor efficiency of the present invention . conventional effective - to - real address cache invalidation mechanisms would blindly invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 after each of the mtsr instructions . such conventional effective - to - real address translation cache invalidation mechanisms would invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache five times with the above code stream . in contrast , the present invention would invalidate the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 only once with the above code stream . if , however , the number of effective - to - real address translation invalidations is too high , the effective - to - real address translation cache can be split into halves , each with its own effective - to - real address translation segment register latch and effective - to - real address translation invalidate - pending latch . when an address from 32 - bit segment mode is loaded into the effective - to - real address translation cache , the effective - to - real address translation segment register latch for that half of the effective - to - real address translation cache is updated but not the latch for the other half of the effective - to - real address translation cache . the process for an mtsr instruction compares the segment register being set to each effective - to - real address translation segment register latch and sets the corresponding effective - to - real address translation invalidate - pending latch . at a context synchronizing operation , each half of the effective - to - real address translation cache is invalid according to its own effective - to - real address translation invalidate - pending latch . in this way , there will be times that only half the effective - to - real address translation cache is invalidated compared to the entire effective - to - real address translation cache in the basic operation disclosed . of course , the effective - to - real address translation cache could also be divided into fourths or eighths and so on , as a way to reduce the number of entries invalidated . the above techniques of controlling and managing the effective - to - real address translation cache 410 may be implemented with discreet logic elements within the instruction unit 110 . alternatively , the above process control may be implemented in software to program the instruction unit 110 and thereby arrive at a specially program machine . the choice between hardware , software , firmware , or a mixture of these elements are routine choices within the scope of the present invention and may be implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art using known techniques . 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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one or more embodiments will be described below . these described embodiments are only examples of implementation techniques , as defined solely by the attached claims . additionally , in an effort to provide a focused description , irrelevant features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification . with reference to fig1 , a phase locked loop 100 is now described . the phase locked loop 100 includes a phase frequency detector ( pfd ) 110 , which receives an input signal fin having an input frequency , and an output signal fout having an output frequency . the output signal fout received by the phase frequency detector 110 is the output signal fout of the phase locked loop 100 . the phase frequency detector 110 has outputs up , dn coupled to a charge pump 200 or 300 , also referred to as an attenuation circuit . the charge pump 200 or 300 in turn has an output coupled to a loop filter z , which is in turn coupled to a voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) 120 . the output of the vco 120 is coupled to the input of the phase frequency detector 110 via an optional divider 130 . in operation , the phase frequency detector 110 compares the input signal fin to the output signal fout , and generates the control signals up , dn for the charge pump 200 or 300 based thereupon . when the phase of the input signal fin leads the phase of the output signal fout , the control signal up is asserted at a logic high , while the control signal dn remains at a logic low . conversely , then when the phase is the input signal fin lags the phase of the output signal fout , the control signal dn is asserted at a logic high , while the control signal up remains at a logic low . when the phase of the input signal fin and the phase of the output signal fout match , neither up nor dn are asserted . the charge pump 200 or 300 generates a control signal for the vco 120 , which is passed through the loop filter z , which extracts the low frequency content of the control signal . the vco 120 , based on the control signal , adjusts the phase and frequency of the output signal fout . when up is asserted , the charge pump 200 or 300 increases the voltage of the control signal , as opposed to decreasing the voltage of the control signal when dn is asserted . those of skill in the art will appreciate that since the phase of the input signal fin cannot both lead and lag the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 will not simultaneously assert both up and dn . an optional divider 130 may be included in the feedback loop coupling the output signal fout to the phase frequency detector 110 . the divider 130 serves to divide the frequency of the output signal fout , thereby causing the frequency of the output signal fout to be generated by the vco 120 as a multiple of the frequency of the input signal fin . for example , if the divider 130 divides the frequency by 2 , in order for the phase frequency detector 110 to see that the input signal fin and the feedback signal ( the output signal fout after being fed through the divider 130 ) have a same frequency , the output signal fout would have a frequency twice that of the input signal fin . if the divider 130 is not present , or if the divider divides by 1 , then the frequency of the output signal fout will match the frequency of the input signal fin . details of the charge pump 200 and loop filter z will now be given with reference to fig2 - 3 . the charge pump 200 includes a first current source 202 coupled between a power supply node vcc and a node 204 . switch s 1 is coupled between node 204 and node 206 . switch s 2 is coupled between node 206 and node 208 . a second current source 210 is coupled between node 208 and ground . switch s 3 is coupled between node 204 and node 218 . switch s 4 is coupled between node 206 and node 218 . switch s 7 is coupled between node 218 and node 208 . a first capacitor cs is coupled between node 206 and node 212 , and switch s 5 is coupled in parallel with the first capacitor cs between node 206 and node 212 . a second capacitor cs 2 is coupled between node 206 and ground gnd . switch s 6 is coupled between nodes 212 and 214 , and the loop filter z is coupled between node 214 and ground . in addition , the non - inverting terminal of an amplifier 216 is coupled to node 214 , while the inverting terminal and output terminal of the amplifier 216 is coupled to the node 218 . the capacitors cs and cs 2 have a capacitance value less than a capacitance value of impedance elements used in the loop filter z . the value of cs 2 differs from that of cs by a factor of one less than a desired gain a of the charge pump circuit 100 . that is , the value of cs 2 is cs *( a − 1 ). the loop filter z , details of which are shown in fig3 , includes a resistor r 1 and capacitor c 1 coupled in series between node 214 and ground . a capacitor c 2 is coupled between node 214 and ground , and a resistor r 2 and capacitor c 3 are coupled in series between node 214 and ground . in operation , switch s 1 is triggered in response to assertion of up , while switch s 2 is triggered in response to assertion of dn . switch s 3 is triggered in response to assertion of a complement of up , noted as nup , while switch s 7 is triggered in response to assertion of a complement of dn , noted as ndn . switch s 6 is triggered in response to assertion of a signal representing a logical nand operation between the complement of up and the complement of dn hb ( shown in fig2 a ), while switches s 4 and s 5 are triggered in response to assertion of a signal h which is a complement of that signal . thus , when the phase of the input signal fin leads the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts up while keeping dn low . the switches s 1 , s 6 , and s 7 are closed and the other switches opened , resulting in the flow of current from the first current source 202 through nodes 204 and 206 into the second capacitor cs . this serves to charge up the second capacitor cs with a voltage seen at node 214 . the amplifier 216 has a unity gain , and thus passes the voltage seen at node 214 to its output at node 218 . the control signal for the vco 120 is output from node 214 . on the other hand , when the phase of the input signal fin lags the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts dn while keeping up low . the switches s 2 , s 3 , and s 6 are thus closed and the other switches opened , resulting in the sinking of current from node 206 , and thus the discharge of the voltage at the second capacitor cs . therefore , the voltage at node 214 falls , which the amplifier 216 passes to its output at node 218 . the control signal for the vco 120 is output from node 214 . where the phase of the input signal fin is matched to the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts neither up nor dn . thus , switches s 3 , s 4 , s 5 , and s 7 close , while the other switches remain open . this serves to pass the current from the first current source 202 through the node 204 , into node 218 , into node 208 , and to ground gnd through the second current source 210 . the charge pump circuit 200 described above provide a variety of advantages over traditional charge pump circuits . for example , the charge pump circuit 200 uses a charge - pump current 202 and 210 that is higher by a factor of a , but preserves the overall pll loop gain by an attenuation factor of 1 / a which is achieved via capacitive division . this is illustrated in fig6 - 7 . shown in fig8 a - 8c is how noise suppression increases as a increases . in addition , the thermal noise in the charge pump circuit 200 from the current sources 202 and 210 is reduced by a factor of a . amplifier noise feedthrough to the loop filter z is proportional to cs * vamp * fin , where fin is the input frequency to the pll and where vamp is the voltage at the non - inverting terminal of the amplifier 216 , and should be less than the noise from the current sources 202 and 210 . thus , for the same loop gain in the charge pump circuit 200 , the noise entering the loop filter z is reduced . this also serves to reduce the in - band phase noise . the reduction in output noise over conventional charge pump circuits is on the order of 1 / a and can be seen in fig6 - 7 . an alternate design for the charge pump circuit 300 is now described with reference to fig4 . the charge pump circuit 300 includes a first current source 302 coupled between the power supply node vcc and node 304 , and a switch s 1 coupled between the node 304 and a node 306 . a switch s 2 is coupled between the node 306 and a node 308 . a second current source 310 is coupled between the node 308 and ground gnd . a resistor r 3 is coupled between the node 306 and a node 312 , and the loop filter z is coupled between the node 312 and ground gnd . a resistor r 4 is coupled between the node 306 and a node 314 , through switch s 3 . a amplifier 316 has its non - inverting terminal coupled to node 312 , and its inverting terminal and its output coupled to the node 314 . the values of the resistor of the attenuation filter z is high . a switch s 4 is coupled between node 304 and node 314 . node 314 is coupled to node 311 . the resistance of the resistor r 3 may equal ( a − 1 )* r 4 , while the resistance of r 4 is chosen to reduce the noise contribution from the resistive attenuation network and make its noise contribution less than that of current sources 302 and 310 . to do so , r 4 & gt ; a / gm , where gm is the transconductance of the current sources 302 and 310 . this causes 1 / a of the current from the current sources 302 , 310 to flow across r 3 and into the attenuation filter z . the current sources 302 , 310 conduct a times more current than conventional charge pump current sources , thus the transconductance of the current sources 302 , 310 can be a times more than that of conventional charge pump current sources . in addition , when the resistors r 3 and r 4 have large values , the noise from the amplifier 316 that enters the attenuation filter z is reduced . in operation , switch s 1 is triggered in response to assertion of up , while switch s 2 is triggered in response to assertion of dn . switch s 3 is triggered in response to assertion of a logical nand operation between complements of up and dn , denoted as hb , while switch s 4 is triggered in response to a complement of assertion of up and switch s 5 is triggered in response to a complement of assertion of dn . therefore , when the phase of the input signal fin leads the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts up while keeping dn low . switch s 1 , s 3 , and s 5 are then closed while switch s 2 and s 4 are open , resulting in the flow of current from the first current source 302 through node 306 , into the resistor r 3 , and into node 312 , thereby generating a voltage across the resistor r 3 , which is seen by the non - inverting terminal of the amplifier 316 at node 312 , which passes the voltage at node 312 to its output at node 314 . the control signal for the vco 120 is output from node 312 . when the phase of the input signal fin lags the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts dn while keeping up low . the switches s 2 , s 3 , and s 4 close while the switches s 1 and s 5 open , resulting in the sinking of current from node 306 . therefore , the voltage at node 312 , and thus the voltage of the control signal for the vco 120 , falls . when the phase of the input signal fin matches the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts neither up nor dn . thus , switches s 4 , s 5 are closed , while switches s 1 , s 2 , s 3 remain open . this serves to couple output of the amplifier 316 to the non - inverting terminal of the amplifier 316 and to ground , lowering the voltage at node 312 , and thus the voltage of the control signal for the vco 120 . the loop filter z of fig5 is usable with the charge pump circuit 300 , and comprises a resistor r coupled in series with a capacitor c . when the loop filter z is employed , the value of the resistor r 3 differs from that of the resistor r 4 by a factor of one less than a desired gain a of the charge pump circuit 300 . that is , the value of r 3 is r 4 *( a − 1 ). the charge pump circuit 300 has the same advantages as the charge pump circuit 200 described above . as stated , the charge pump circuit 300 offers an increased gain over conventional charge pumps by a factor of a , yet reduces the loop gain within the charge pump circuit 300 by a factor of 1 / a , so the overall loop gain for the phase locked loop 100 is preserved . in addition , the thermal current noise in the charge pump circuit 300 is increased by a factor of a or √{ square root over ( a )}, but is attenuated by when entering the loop filter z . the noise feed through from the amplifier 316 to the loop filter z is proportional to thus , for the same loop gain in the charge pump circuit 300 , the noise entering the loop filter z is reduced . an embodiment where the phase locked loop 100 employs one of the charge pump circuits 200 , 300 described above as well as an additional charge pump circuit 400 is now described with reference to fig8 . the phase locked loop 100 operates as the phase locked loop of fig1 , however the additional charge pump circuit 400 is coupled in series between the pfd 110 and the loop filter z before the phase locked loop 100 locks , while one of the charge pump circuits 200 , 300 is coupled in series between the pfd 110 and the loop filter z after the phase locked loop 100 locks . the purpose of this selection between charge pump circuits 200 , 300 or 400 is so as to assist quick locking of the phase locked loop 100 while still receiving the advantages of the charge pump circuits 200 , 300 as described above . it should be noted that if the current output by the charge pump 400 is i , then the current output by the charge pump circuits 200 , 300 would be i * a . selection of the charge pump circuit 200 , 300 or 400 is based upon a selection signal . as shown in fig1 , a selection signal lock is generated based on a lock detector detecting whether or not the phase locked loop 100 has locked , by comparing the input frequency fin to the feedback signal . an inverse of this selection signal enh is used to enable the charge pump circuit 400 , while an inverse of that signal enl is used to enable the charge pump circuits 200 , 300 . the charge pump circuit 400 , as shown in fig9 , includes a first current source 402 coupled between a power supply node and node 404 . a first switch s 1 is coupled between node 404 and node 406 . an amplifier 416 has a non - inverting terminal coupled to node 406 . a loop filter z is coupled between node 406 and ground . the inverting terminal of the amplifier 416 is coupled to its output at node 414 so as to bias the amplifier 416 in a unity gain mode . a switch s 2 is coupled between node 406 and node 408 . a second current source 410 is coupled between node 408 and ground . a switch s 3 is coupled between node 404 and node 414 , while a switch s 4 is coupled between node 414 and node 408 . in operation , switch s 1 is actuated by assertion of up , while switch s 2 is actuated by assertion of dn . switch s 3 is actuated by an inverse of up , nup , while switch s 4 is actuated by an inverse of dn , ndn . when the phase of the input signal fin leads the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts up while keeping dn low . the switches s 1 , s 4 are closed and the other switches opened , resulting in the flow of current from the first current source 402 through nodes 404 and 406 into the loop filter z and the non - inverting terminal of the amplifier 416 , thereby increasing the voltage seen at the non - inverting terminal . due to the unity gain of the amplifier 416 . the voltage seen at node 406 is passed to its output at node 414 . the control signal for the vco 120 is at node 406 . when the phase of the input signal fin lags the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts dn while keeping up low . the switches s 2 , s 3 are thus closed and the other switches opened , resulting in the sinking of current from node 406 . therefore , the voltage at node 406 falls , which the amplifier 416 passes to its output at node 414 . the control signal for the vco 120 is at node 406 . where the phase of the input signal fin is matched to the phase of the output signal fout , the phase frequency detector 110 asserts neither up nor dn . thus , switches s 3 , s 4 while the other switches remain open . this serves to pass the current from the first current source 402 through the node 404 , into node 414 , into node 408 , and to ground gnd through the second current source 410 . it should be understood that any of the loop filters z described herein may be used with any of the embodiments described herein , and that other types of loop filters ( i . e . active loop filters utilizing operational amplifiers ) are also usable with any of the embodiments described herein . while the disclosure has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be envisioned that do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the disclosure shall be limited only by the attached claims .
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the vacuum - pressure pump includes a fixed handle 102 , which is attached to a sealed cylinder 104 , and together they form the body of the pump . the fixed handle 102 is shaped to include indentations 106 for the fingers of an operator &# 39 ; s hand . a movable handle 108 is pivoted at a joint 110 on a support 112 which is attached to the fixed handle 102 . the end of the movable handle 114 is coupled via a joint 115 to a piston rod 116 . the piston rod 116 extends into the cylindrical chamber 104 and terminates in a cylindrical piston cap 118 with a resilient cylindrical piston 120 disposed thereon . the cap 118 and piston 120 are shown slightly drawn back from the inner end 121 of the cylindrical chamber 104 . the cap 118 has at its leading end a small disc formation 501 ahead of which is a larger disc formation 500 . the piston 120 is pressed to the inner end of the cylinder 104 by a spring 122 . one end of the spring 122 bears against a cap 124 secured to the outer end of the cylinder 104 , and the other end of the spring 122 bears against a spreader ring 123 . the spring 122 thus presses against the back side of the spreader ring 123 which in turn presses against the back side of the piston 120 to thereby improve the seal between the piston 120 and the cylinder 104 . the piston rod 116 may be flat and may have a pair of reinforcing ribs on either side , only one rib 125 is shown in fig1 . when the pair of handles 102 and 108 is squeezed , the piston 120 will be drawn back . when the pair of handles is released , the spring 122 will cause the piston 120 to return to the inner end 121 of the cylinder 104 . for pressure pump operability it is necessary that the spring 122 is strengthened over a spring 122 normally operable as only a vacuum pump . also , to facilitate the generation of a pressure there is located a pressure pad 502 at a location opposite the piston for exerting thumb pressure on the end of the piston to assist in urging its forward movement . at the inner end of the cylindrical chamber 104 is a first recessed area 126 where an inlet valve means , being an umbrella valve 128 is placed ( see fig2 ). also at the inner end of the cylindrical chamber 104 is a second recessed area 130 at which an outlet valve means being a duckbill valve 132 is placed ( see fig3 ). the first valve means and the second valve means re separate units . note that the second recessed area 130 is normal to the axis of the cylindrical chamber . the cylindrical piston 120 can cover and seal this second recessed area 130 when the piston is at that end of the chamber . when the piston is drawn back , air will be drawn from the pump &# 39 ; s inlet area 134 into the area 136 evacuated by piston 120 creating a differential pressure . when the handle is released and the spring loaded piston 120 returns to the inner end 121 of the cylindrical chamber 104 the air in the cylinder &# 39 ; s evacuated area 136 will be forced to exit via the duckbill valve 132 to the pump &# 39 ; s exhaust area 138 . it can be easily seen that repeated squeezings and releasings of the two handles 102 and 108 will result in air being pumped from the inlet area 134 to the outlet area 138 , and a high vacuum will be generated . in addition , pressure will be generated through the exhaust area 138 . the valving means 400 is disposed in a valving body 401 which converts the pump between a vacuum pump and a pressure pump . the valving body 401 includes a cylindrical formation 402 wherein there is a rotatable rotor 403 with four circumferentially disposed and spaced apertures 404 , 405 , 406 , and 407 located at substantially right angular spacing from each other . apertures 405 and 407 are connected by a tube 408 which is also connected with aperture 404 by a pipe 409 . thus , apertures 404 , 405 and 407 are interconnected by means of tube 408 and pipe 409 . said apertures are centered in the body of rotor 403 as shown in fig8 and are not directly open to the air but rather connected with either tube 408 or pipe 409 as shown . aperture or opening 406 is open to the air as shown in fig4 and is not connected to any of the other apertures 404 , 405 and 407 . the forward end of the valving body 401 is connected with a port 410 through which the differential pressure is used so that either a vacuum is drawn or a pressure created . the port 410 is connected by tube 411 with the cylinder formation 402 . a branch tube 412 from the tube 411 permits for connection to a vacuum and / or pressure gauge ( not shown ) as required . also connecting with the cylinder 402 is a tube 413 connected to the input to the umbrella valve inlet , and a tube 414 to a second port 510 connected by a conduit 415 with the duckbill valve outlet . operation of the valving means 400 is through the rotor 403 and an axial handle 425 mounted on spindle 416 whereby the rotor 403 can be rotated and positioned in either the vacuum position or the pressure position ( as shown in fig6 ). as shown in fig4 and 8 the spindle 416 includes a step key 416a which engages a meeting key slot ( not shown ) within handle 425 . the valving body has an i - piece cross - sectional structure as best seen in fig4 and 6 , and the end 418 adjacent the pump body has a substantially circular plate 417 . there is a support shoulder 419 with apertures 420 through which screw means can affix the valving means body 401 with the pump body . in the illustration of fig1 the tube 415 is shown as being composed of two sections 415a and 415b which are effectively joined when the valving body is affixed to the vacuum / pressure pump . the affixation can be through a tapered coupling 421 with a suitable o - ring seal 422 to ensure pressure and vacuum can be maintained . in operation of the pump means as a pressure pump as indicated in fig1 air drawn on through aperture 406 , enters tube 413 and through the umbrella valve into the cylinder . from there it passes through duckbill valve when the piston is returned under spring pressure , to the tube conduit 415 . in turn it enters aperture 407 and passe through conduits 408 and 409 to aperture 404 and in turn along tube 411 to port 410 . as a vacuum pump the air is drawn through port 410 to tube 411 , and with the valving rotor 403 in the position shown in fig5 it passes through tube 408 to tube 413 , as the piston is drawn back in its cylinder . when the piston is returned , it pumps air through the duckbill valve , conduit 415 , tube 414 and exits through aperture 406 . this causes a vacuum to be drawn at port 410 . referring now to fig2 the operation of an umbrella valve is disclosed . the umbrella valve 128 operates in conjunction with a pair of air inlets 202 and 204 . it comprises a rubber plug 206 ( which may be made of polyfluorosilicone ), which is inserted through its retaining wall 208 at a plug - hole 210 and which is thickened at a section 212 to prevent it from falling through the plug - hole 210 . valve 128 also comprises a broad gas shield 214 which covers the air inlets 202 and 204 and which is impermeable to gases . the gas shield is flexible but has some tension , so that gas flow may occur from the inlet area 134 ( fig1 ), through the air inlets 202 and 204 , past an edge 220 of the gas shield 214 to the other side of the gas shield shown as area 136 . when the air pressure of inlet 134 exceeds that of area 136 , gas flow will occur . however , when this air pressure differential is reversed , no gas flow will occur . an umbrella valve is a standard device and is well - known in the art . referring now to fig3 the operation of a duckbill valve is disclosed . the duckbill valve 132 comprises a pair of solid , flexible walls 302 and 304 ( which may be made of polyfluorosilicone ) and which are compressed together at a lip 306 . the valve 132 is anchored with a solid base 308 connected to the solid walls 302 and 304 . the walls terminate in a lip 306 which is flexible but which has some tension , so that gas flow may occur from the inside area 130 to the outside areas 138 of the valve 132 . when the air pressure of area 130 exceeds that of area 138 , gas flow will occur from area 130 to area 138 , but when the air pressure differential is reversed , no gas flow will occur . a duckbill valve is a standard device and is well known in the air . the valving body 400 can be affixed through a retrofit to a vacuum pump thereby adapting the vacuum pump into a vacuum - pressure pump as required . the pressures attainable are as high as 25 - 30 p . s . i . depending on the spring pressure . the components are conveniently made of plastic and are easily repairable . the invention can be repaired or cleaned by removing the end cap 124 from the cylinder 104 . as shown in fig7 the end cap 124 includes locking grooves 430 and 432 . corresponding locking arms 434 and 436 extend outward from the end of cylinder 104 . the end cap 124 is inserted over the end of the cylinder 104 with the locking arms 434 and 436 passing through the locking grooves 430 and 432 . the end cap 124 is then rotated in a clockwise direction whereby the ends of the locking arms are positioned over the face of the end cap 124 . when positioned in this manner the end cap 124 is further held in place by means of screw 438 which passes through a flange 440 extending from the bottom edge of the end cap 124 . the screw 438 fits within an aperture in the body of the pump as shown in fig1 . it should be understood that while a presently preferred embodiment has been disclosed , variations are possible which remain within the scope of the present invention .
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turning now to the drawing , and in particular to fig1 there is shown a longitudinal section of a first embodiment of a separating and rolling device according to the present invention , which is incorporated in an arrangement for processing a round bar - shaped solid workpiece , as shown schematically in fig1 a . according to fig1 a , the workpiece is transferred to an inlet gutter 17 for transport by a feed unit , e . g . a rotary drive 18 to the separating and rolling device 16 ( shown here only schematically ), whereby the rotary drive 18 imparts a rotation upon the workpiece shortly before entrance into the separating and rolling device 16 . in the end position of the rotary drive 18 , as shown in dotted line , the workpiece is released and coasts by itself into the separating and rolling device 16 , while the rotary drive 18 returns to the initial position for grabbing a further workpiece . suitably , a buffer zone 19 is provided upstream of the separating and rolling device 11 to implement an end - to - end sequential positioning of workpieces . an induction heat unit 20 is shown here in a location between the separating and rolling device 11 and the buffer zone 19 for heating the workpiece and thereby decrease its resistance to deformation . persons skilled in the art will understand that the arrangement of the buffer zone 19 and the induction heat unit 20 is optional and may be omitted , if desired . turning now again to fig1 the separating and rolling device includes two cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 for the continuous separation of identically sized disk - shaped blanks 4 from a workpiece in the form of a round solid bar 5 advancing in a direction indicated by arrow 8 and having a radius r . the cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 are each provided with a coil 2 and rotate in a common direction as indicated by arrow 9 . a positive connection of the cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 ensures a synchronous operation for the cutting procedure . the positive connection may be implemented , for example , by disposing articulated spindles 15 ( fig1 a ) between the cutting rollers of the separating and rolling device 16 and a suitable gear mechanism . such a configuration is generally known to the artisan and thus has not been described in more detail for sake of simplicity . each of the cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 has a main body subdivided in different sections , i . e . entry portion ea which terminates in a primary portion ha . following the primary portion ha is a separating portion ta . as shown in fig1 the coils 2 of the cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 have cutting edges 6 , 7 , and are characterized by a steady increase in height commencing from the entry portion ea via the primary portion ha into the initial zone of the separating portion ta . in the separating portion ta , the cutting edges 6 , 7 of the coils 2 have a height 10 which slightly exceeds the radius of the round bar 5 to be cut . in order to prevent a collision of confronting cutting edges 6 , 7 of the coils 2 in the separating portion ta , the tips of the confronting cutting edges 6 , 7 are directed alternately to the left and to the right , and thus away from one another , as shown in particular in fig2 which is a sectional view , on an enlarged scale , of a detail marked x in fig1 . dash - dot line 3 indicates the center axis of the round bar 5 for better understanding . in a configuration of the separating and rolling device with only two cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , it is difficult to keep a precise central guidance of the round solid workpiece 5 as a consequence of the availability of a geometrically very small gap . therefore , a guiding gib is provided which is shown in fig1 b and 1 c in more detail and generally designated by reference numeral 21 . the gib 21 is configured as endless sliding shoe 22 guided in chain links . in this manner , the round workpiece 5 is secured in the spaces between the coils 2 and conjointly pulled by the coils 2 of the cutting rollers 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 as a result of the coil pitch referring now to fig3 there is shown a longitudinal section of a second embodiment of a separating and rolling device according to the present invention . parts corresponding with those in fig1 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . in this embodiment , provision is also made for an arrangement of only two cutting rollers 1 , 3 , 1 . 4 for the continuous separation of identically sized disk - shaped blanks 4 from a workpiece in the form of a round solid bar 5 . the increase in height of the coils 2 in the entry portion ea and the primary portion ha is comparable to the embodiment of fig1 . however , in order to prevent a collision of confronting cutting edges 11 , 12 in the separating portion ta , the cutting edges 11 , 12 are arranged in alternating sequence and in oscillating manner . this type of arrangement is shown in a simple way in fig4 whereby the height 10 of the cutting edges 11 , 12 is ensured to slightly exceed the radius r of the round bar 5 . the coils 2 have thus a configuration in which the height steadily increases and decreases about 180 °, respectively . referring now to fig5 there is shown a schematic , partially sectional view , of a third embodiment of a separating and rolling device according to the present invention , having three cutting rollers in 120 ° offset disposition , thereby defining a top roller 1 . 5 and two bottom rollers 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 . all three cutting rollers 1 . 5 , 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 have a same base radius r and , as shown by arrows 9 , rotate in a common direction . the increase in height of the coils 2 in the entry portion ea and the primary portion ha ( not shown here ) is comparable to the embodiments of fig1 and 3 . a collision in the separating portion ta ( shown here ) is prevented by configuring the cutting edge 13 of the top roller 1 . 5 at a height 10 which is slightly greater than the radius r of the round bar . the height of the coils 2 of the bottom rollers 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 in the separating portion ta remains constant and thus no longer increases . to prevent a collision of the cutting edge 13 of the top roller 1 . 5 with the surface of both bottom rollers 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 , the radius r of the round bar 5 should satisfy the requirement r ≧ 0 . 366 r , wherein r is the base radius of the cutting rollers 1 . 5 , 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 . [ 0034 ] fig6 shows a variation to decrease the radius r of the round bar 5 . both bottom rollers 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 are pushed together until their surfaces touch one another . the arrangement of the three cutting rollers 1 . 5 , 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 is hereby reduced to an angular offset of less than 120 °. a collision of the cutting edge 13 of the top roller 1 . 5 is prevented when the radius r of the round bar 5 satisfies the requirement r ≧ 0 . 2601 r . a further minimization of the radius r of the round bar 5 is implemented by the configuration shown in fig7 in which the three cutting rollers 1 . 8 , 1 . 9 . 1 . 10 have different base radii . the top roller 1 . 8 has a base radius r . 1 which is greater than the base radii r . 2 of the bottom rollers 1 . 9 , 1 . 10 , whereby the base radii r . 2 of the bottom rollers 1 . 9 , 1 . 10 are identical . unlike the embodiment of fig5 and 6 , both bottom rollers 1 . 9 , 1 . 10 may coast idly or may be driven at matching rotating speed , as shown by way of example in fig8 . the bottom rollers 1 . 9 , 1 . 10 are both supported on a bearing block 23 and rotated by a drive 24 , e . g . an electric motor . no positive connection of the three cutting rollers 1 . 8 , 1 . 9 . 1 . 10 is implemented here . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an apparatus for the continuous , chipless separation of individual , identical disk - shaped blanks or rods from round bar - shaped workpieces , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention .
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my referenced paper and the &# 39 ; 185 patent describe very completely the geometry of the surface - skimming - type of diode laser , and especially the importance of the active regions being close to the active surface of the device . the surface - skimming laser structure is characterized by an optical waveguide structure such that the optical mode is sufficiently confined to the structure &# 39 ; s surface and the optical field is strong in very close proximity to that surface , referred to herein as the active surface . this is the topmost surface of the structure . air is a critical component in the waveguide and bounds active surface . the referenced paper and patent also describe in detail how to achieve such structures , which are typically built up of iii - v semiconductor materials . those same materials and techniques can be used to construct a surface - skimming laser in accordance with the present invention , except that plural layers providing plural active regions are stacked over the substrate , with the active regions having different compositions such that they are capable when excited of lasing at different wavelengths . the surface - skimming laser structures produced in accordance with the invention are capable of many different types , such as edge - emitting lasers , grating lasers , and vertical cavity emitting lasers . the first two laser types have been described in the referenced paper and patent . the third type is described below . the basic device structure is illustrated in fig1 ( not to scale ), wherein a semiconductor body 10 comprises a p - type or semi - insulating substrate 11 on which is grown in succession , typically by well - known mocvd processes , a thick lower waveguiding or cladding layer 12 , and thin layers 13 - 15 , each of which can constitute one of three active regions of a surface - skimming laser . as one example , not meant to be limiting , the substrate 11 is of gaas , the cladding layer 12 of algaas , the layer 13 containing a third active region of ga 0 . 5 in 0 . 5 p , the active layer 14 containing a second active region of al 0 . 5 ga 0 . 9 as , and the active region 15 containing a first topmost active region of in 0 . 1 ga 0 . 9 as . well - known buffer layers and etch - stop layers are not shown . the compositions of the active layers 13 - 15 are chosen such that the first active layer 15 , closest to the active surface designated 16 , has the shortest bandgap and is thus capable of lasing at the longest wavelength , and the bandgap and lasing wavelengths of the two remaining layers 14 and 13 progressively increase , respectively decrease , as their distance from the active surface 16 progressively increases toward the substrate 11 . from the structure illustrated in fig1 can be constructed a single surface - skimming laser having one of three selected wavelengths , dual surface - skimming lasers having two different wavelengths selected from among three possible values , or a tri - beam emitting surface - skimming laser emitting at three different wavelengths . wavelength selection is achieved by providing closest to the active surface the active region with the desired wavelength . by providing appropriate contacts and other known isolation regions , and selectively removing at two or more body locations one or more active layers portions starting from the active surface 16 , plural laser structures result each of which can be separately addressed , and each of which may have remaining closest to the active surface one of three of the active regions . if all three are exposed , then tri - wavelength emission from the multiple active region surface - skimming lasers results . an example of the latter is depicted in fig2 . three different lasers are indicated at 20 , 21 and 22 . each is separated by an n - type diffused region 23 , for example , of silicon , and ion - implanted regions 24 , for example of hydrogen , which penetrate through active layers 13 - 15 down into the cladding diffused and implanted regions function to provide electrical and optical isolation between the three lasers , as well as provide the electrical structure for the necessary lateral current flow , when voltage is applied between electrical contacts 25 - 28 , for example of gold , provided on top of the diffused regions 23 . with this structure , the light emission is from the edges , indicated by the arrows 29 - 31 . optical facets at the front and rear surfaces to form the laser cavities as is well - known are not shown . as will be observed in fig2 the active layer closest to the surface 16 in the first laser 20 is layer 15 , which will lase at approximately 950 nm ( λ 1 ). the layer portion 15 at the second laser 21 has been removed exposing the second active layer 14 which will lase at approximately 850 nm ( λ 2 ). both layer portions 13 and 14 at the third laser 22 have been removed exposing the third active layer 13 which will lase at approximately 650 nm ( λ 3 ). each of the lasers 20 - 22 can be addressed by applying potentials to the adjacent electrodes defining the lateral boundaries of the active layer . for example , the first laser 20 is addressed by applying a potential between contacts 25 and 26 . alternatively , two or all three of the lasers can be simultaneously activated by applying appropriate potentials to their respective flanking electrodes . fig3 is a view similar to fig2 of another form of multiple active region , lateral - injecting laser providing multiple wavelength emission from a monolithic structure . the same reference numerals are used for similar elements . as in the fig2 embodiment , a tricolor laser structure is realized by leaving the entire structure intact for a long wavelength laser 40 , removing the topmost active layer or longest wavelength structure 15 for a middle wavelength laser 41 , and removing the two uppermost active regions layers 15 , 14 for the shortest wavelength laser 42 . now , by replacing the lower waveguiding layer 12 of fig2 with a distributed bragg reflector ( dbr ) mirror 52 of sufficiently broad bandwidth , and depositing dielectric stack mirrors 44 , 45 , 46 on the exposed surfaces , respectively , of the three active regions 15 , 14 and 13 , then three vertical cavity surface emitting lasers result , with the direction of the output beams at wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 and λ 3 indicated , respectively , by the arrows 47 , 48 , 49 . the mirrors 44 - 46 are conveniently deposited by known electron beam deposition . the mirrors would be adjusted in wavelength to be optimal at the respective wavelengths of their emitting laser region . as with the surface - skimming laser , the laser of fig3 is characterized by lateral current flow , but with vertical cavities formed between layer 52 acting as a common bottom mirror and structures 44 , 45 and 46 acting as mostly reflecting , slightly transparent top mirrors to allow exiting of the output radiations 47 , 48 , 49 . moreover , the laser embodiment of fig3 is not limited to multiple beams of different wavelengths . a feature of my invention is a laterally - injecting laser with a vertical cavity for a beam output normal to the plane of the layers . a further feature is the foregoing in combination in a monolithic body with multiple active regions , preferably layered , but which progressively decrease in wavelength ( increase in bandgap ) as their distance from the top surface increases . thus , selection of a particular wavelength output is easily obtained by selectively disabling longer wavelength active regions , if any , to access or enable the active region of the desired wavelength . it will also be appreciated that the mirror formed by the stack of dielectric layers is not critical to this aspect of the invention . the top mirror can also be formed , for example , by a stack of semiconductor layers functioning to reflect radiation , or by a dbr stack , or by a iii - v semiconductor compound layer . as described in the referenced &# 39 ; 185 patent , by providing suitable gratings at the active surface , indicated schematically for one laser 41 at 55 in fig4 then conventional grating surface emitting lasers result , indicated in fig4 by the vertical arrows 56 . the structures depicted are readily made by conventional techniques well known in the art . preferably the active layers are single quantum well regions . this has the advantage that the total thickness of the three active layers can be kept to a minimum , with the result that the entire series of three wavelengths could be accomplished by removing as little as 50 nm of material at the rightmost shortest wavelength laser . this means also that a minimal step height difference results which facilitates application in multiple beam polygon ros systems . conventional etchants can be used for this semiconductor material removal . etch - stop layers provided between the active regions prevents undesired removal of the underlying ultra - thin layer . for example , not meant to be limiting , fig5 illustrates an intermediate step in the manufacture with etch - stop layers 57 , 58 , for example , of gainp . fig5 shows a conventional etch - resistant mask 59 . with a conventional etchant such as h 2 o 2 / h 3 po 4 , the active layer 15 at the dotted portion 15 &# 39 ; could be etched off , with the etching stopping at etch - stop 57 . then an etchant such as hbr can be used to remove the exposed portion of etch - stop layer 57 where it is desired to etch off an underlying portion of the active region 14 . other etch - stop and etchant compositions will be evident to those skilled in the art . in the preferred embodiments , the multi - layer structure is readily made by conventional epitaxial layer deposition techniques . preferably , all epitaxial layers are p - doped , with the diffused regions n - doped , for example with silicon , to produce the desired p - n junctions , and the implanted regions p - doped or semi - insulating to isolate . the invention also contemplates a single wavelength surface - skimming laser from a multi - wavelength structure of the type depicted in fig1 . in this case , the pre - layered structure as shown can be pre - fabricated . when a laser is desired with a wavelength equal to λ 1 , λ 2 or λ 3 , then the pre - fabricated structure is etched , to remove all quantum wells with emissions shorter than the desired wavelength in a given cavity , and suitable diffusion , implanting , and contact making steps carried out in order to produce one of the three lasers 20 - 22 shown in fig2 . alternatively , the fig2 structure can be shelved and made suitable to lase in a single wavelength by applying current across only one pair of the contacts . ( b ) reduced step height variations for better coupling to waveguide structures , ( c ) precise horizontal alignment of the several lasers since conventional photolithography techniques can be used to make the monolithic structure , the improved alignment providing better coupling to other optical structures , ( d ) close proximity of the laser active region to the surface which facilitates operation as grating surface emitting layers and for harmonic generation , as well as to incorporate conventional transistors into the structure . it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific compositions given as examples . for example , in the fig1 embodiment , another preferred combination would include ingaas for active region 1 , algaas for active region 2 , and algainp for active region 3 . other combinations of materials will be evident from the referenced paper , patent , and copending application , whose contents are also incorporated herein . although there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative , and not restrictive . this scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description .
| 7 |
fig1 is a photograph of the film , according to the invention , as initially manufactured . the photograph shows a fragment of a film having a hole therethrough . fig2 is a photograph of the film after it has broken into large fragments after exposure to light . fig3 is a photograph of the film after it has further broken into small fragments after further exposure to light . this invention is further described in more detail by reference to the following illustrative examples , but not limited to them . twenty parts by weight of polyisobutylene oxide resin powder having a reduced specific viscosity of 3 . 5 dl / g determined in o - dichlorobenzene at 120 ° c , and 80 parts by weight of polypropylene resin powder , trademark : noblen fs - 2011 , of sumitomo chemical co ., ltd ., were thoroughly blended . into this mixture , there were added 0 . 9 percent by weight , based on the weight of the isobutylene oxide resin powder , of tetrakis [ methylene - 3 -( 3 , 5 - ditertiary butyl - hydroxy phenyl ) propionate ] methane , and 0 . 1 percent by weight , on the same basis , of dibenzyl sulfide as an anti - oxidant . the resulting composition was melt - extruded and formed into a transparent film , 60 cm wide , 40 m long , and approximately 30 microns thick . holes of 5 cm in diameter were punched in the film at longitudinal intervals of 30 cm . the film then was placed on three fields of a farm in the kanto area of japan . seeds of corn were planted through the holes on april 5 , 1973 . on may 31 of that year , the film began to deteriorate and the wind further caused crevices and cracks therein . subsequently by june 6 , most of its parts which had been exposed to the sunlight split into pieces , some of which thereafter mingled with the soil and others of which were scattered in the form of flakes by the wind . by june 13 , 1973 , nearly all of the pieces of the film had disappeared completely . in addition , the corn grew very well . it was found that the total weight of economical female ears per are of corn in the field covered with the light - degradable mulching film was 160 . 0 kg / are . while , that of corn in the control field covered with polyethylene film of 20 micron thickness was 137 . 2 kg / are . in comparison , the female ears of the former were generally larger than those of the latter . the reason will be explained as follows : in the latter case , the mulching film was not decomposed in summer , whereby the film imparted to corn high temperature and drought harm . on the other hand , the former mulching film was photolytically decomposed , so that it made the production of corn increase . accordingly , the film proved itself practical for use as a light - degradable mulching film for agricultural use . at the outset in laboratory tests , the film possessed a tensile elongation of 350 percent when measured at a speed of 10 mm per minute by the tensilon utm - ii , of toyo baldwin co . the initial tensile elongation of 350 percent , however , reduced to 100 percent after 180 hours exposure by we - sun - hc , a standard sunshine carbon weather - o - meter , made by tokyo rika kogyo co . at 60 ° c , with shower sprays on the film for 15 minutes every 2 hours . polyisobutylene oxide resin powder and polypropylene resin powder were respectively blended at the ratios shown in table 3 in the same way as in example 1 . into these mixtures , the antioxidant and the ultraviolet light absorber or ultraviolet light sensitizer as listed in table 3 were also added . the resulting compositions were formed into transparent films . table 3 indicates the periods of time of exposure to the carbon arc weather - o - meter required to reduce the tensile elongations of the films to 100 percent under the same conditions as in example 1 . the films shown in table 3 , which were placed on a surface of the same outdoor ground as in example 1 and exposed to sunlight from apr . 1 , 1973 to june 10 , 1973 , remained high in strength and in elongation and resisted rain and wind , and showed a remarkable effect of maintaining the soil temperature properly while the film remained intact for the number of days shown in table 3 . after the passage of the indicated number of days , the films began to exhibit visible signs of light degradation , and then they cracked further into powder and fragments capable of being plowed into a field . these test results show that the films are excellent as mulching films and that their light degradation period can be predetermined in advance . the effects of these light - degradable mulching films on agricultural products will be explained below . the mulching film of example 3 was adapted to the test growth of sweet potato in the same field as in example 1 . it was found to photolytically decompose in about one month since planting dated may 4 . the increase of the product was observed , which is considered to lead from the same reason as in example 1 , as well as the operation of removing the film could omitted . separately , the mulching film was adapted to the growth of peanut and taro , and the effects of both omitting film - removing operation and the increase of the product were observed , which is shown in tables 1 and 2 . table 1______________________________________growth test of peanut weight of total grainmulching film kg / are______________________________________film of example 4 28 . 7polyethylene removed after 29 . 7film two months not removed 21 . 0 through the test * no 24 . 5______________________________________ table 2______________________________________growth test of taro amount of productmulching film kg / are______________________________________film of example 4 113 . 4polyethylene removed after 96 . 0film two months not removed 78 . 3 through the test * ______________________________________ * note : not cultured table 3__________________________________________________________________________ filmsmaterials example 2 example 3 example 4 example 5 example 6__________________________________________________________________________polyisobutylene oxide 50 40 30 20 10 ( parts by weight ) polypropylene ( parts by weight ) 50 60 70 80 90agent for controlling none ultraviolet ultraviolet ultraviolet nonelight - degradation light light light absorber absorber sensitizer tinubin tertiary anthra - 328 butyl quinone phenyl salicylate 2 . 0 0 . 2 0 . 2 parts by parts by parts by weight weight weight test resultselongation of original 250 320 400 360 410film ( percent ) weather - o - meter exposure period 55 110 140 70 210until the film tensile elonga - tion reduced to 100 % ( hours ) a . period during which 18 33 42 21 65 the film form remained intact during outdoor exposure ( days ) b . further period , after 2 4 6 3 10 period a , required for the film to break into pieces on continued outdoor exposure ( days ) __________________________________________________________________________ polypropylene resin powder , trademark : noblen fs - 2011 , of sumitomo chemical co ., ltd ., was made into a film in the same way as in example 1 . the elongation of the film initially was 420 percent , and after it was exposed to the weather - o - meter for 400 hours , the elongation was 270 percent . the film did not crack after exposure outdoors for three months under the same conditions as in example 1 . a film was prepared in the same manner as in comparative example 1 from a composition consisting of three parts by weight of the polyisobutylene oxide resin in example 1 , 0 . 2 part by weight of β - methyl anthraquinone as an ultraviolet light sensitizer and 97 parts by weight of the polypropylene resin in comparative example 1 . the film , after exposure outdoors for 26 days , split here and there , and broke into relatively large fragments , which then were scattered about by the wind without pulverizing during the following week . thus , this film is unsuitable for use as a light - degradable agricultural mulching film . forty parts by weight of the foregoing polypropylene resin , 60 parts by weight of polyisobutylene oxide resin having a reduced specific viscosity of 2 . 6 dl / g and the same antioxidant used in example 1 were blended and the composition was made into a film of 20 micron thickness . the film started to break apart after 10 days exposure to sunlight and then after the passage of two more days , split partially into fragments . the initial tensile elongation of the film was 270 percent , and its tensile elongation was reduced to 15 percent after exposure for a total of 40 hours to the carbon arc weather - o - meter under the conditions explained in example 1 . the film degraded upon exposure to sunlight so fast that it failed to keep the ground that it covered warm enough . this film is unsatisfactory as a mulching film for agricultural use . a composition consisting of 25 parts by weight of polyisobutylene oxide resin mixed with the same antioxidant used in example 1 , 75 parts by weight of polyethylene , trademark : hizex 21colp , of sumitomo chemical co ., ltd ., and 0 . 1 part by weight of benzophenone as an ultraviolet light sensitizer was made into film , which then was exposed outdoors under the same conditions as in example 1 . after the passage of 72 days , the film started to break apart due to photolytic decomposition and thereafter it was completely broken into pieces after 10 more days . the initial elongation of the film was 280 percent and the elongation was reduced to 100 percent when exposed to the carbon arc weather - o - meter for 240 hours . one hundred parts by weight of polyethylene and 0 . 5 part by weight of benzoquinone as an ultraviolet light sensitizer were blended and made into a film of 2 . 0 micron thickness in the same manner as in example 7 . the film cracked when exposed outdoors for about two months under the same conditions as in example 7 , but it did not disintegrate into pieces thereafter , and finally was scattered about by strong wind . films , each of which was 25 microns in thickness , having the respective resin compositions as shown in table 2 , were prepared and they were subjected to the same weather - o - meter test as in example 1 and also the same outdoor test as explained in example 2 . the results given in table 2 were obtained . each of these films is suitable for agricultural use , and is a light degradable mulching film according to this invention . the polyisobutylene oxide resin used has a reduced specific viscosity of 3 . 2 , measured in o - dichlorobenzene at 120 ° c . in this composition , there was used the same antioxidant as employed in example 1 . table 4__________________________________________________________________________materials and filmtest results example 8 example 9 example 10 example 11__________________________________________________________________________polyisobutylene oxide 40 30 30 20 ( parts by weight ) polypropylene polyethylene ( nobline fs - 2011 ( hizex 2100 made by sumitomo made by sumitomo chemical co ., chemical co , ltd .) ethylene propylene polypropylene ltd .) rubber ( noblen fs - 2011 60 50polyolefin resin ( esprene made by made by ( parts by weight ) sumitomo chemical sumitomo polyisobutylene ethylene - vinyl co ., ltd .) chemical co ., rubber acetate copolymer ltd .) ( pv - 30sh made by ( evaflex - 260 made by 60 50 nichiyu chemical sumitomo chemical co .) co ., ltd .) 10 30 cis - 1 , 2 - poly - butadienepolydiene resin none ( s - 810 made by none none ( parts by weight ) japan synthetic rubber co .) 20 ultraviolet ultraviolet light absorber light sensitizer 2 - hydroxy - 4 - p - benzoquinoneagent for controlling methoxy - 2 &# 39 ;- none nonelight - degradation carboxy benzo -( parts by weight ) phenone 0 . 1 0 . 2weather - o - meter 105 85 95 260exposure period untilthe film tensileelongation is reducedto 100 % ( hours ) a . period during 32 25 31 80 which the film form remained intact during outdoor exposure ( days ) b . further period , 4 3 4 8 after period a , required for the film to break into pieces on continued out - door exposure ( days ) __________________________________________________________________________
| 2 |
the identification of novel biomarkers was carried out by screening plasma proteins . the passage of molecules from the cns to plasma allows the direct identification in the plasma of biomarkers coming from disease sites , which are added to the possible alteration of specific plasma markers . furthermore , the sampling of peripheral fluids allows for the collection of a greater number of samples during the discovery step of the biomarkers , providing a greater statistical robustness of the results obtained . a two - dimensional electrophoresis ( 2de ) screening of the plasma proteome of patients suffering from als was carried out comparing the latter with healthy individuals and non - neurological patients sampled shortly after a heart - stroke or coronary - stroke ( in the following referred to as cardiovascular patients ). the concept at the basis of applied proteome research is that most diseases result in a variation in the amount of proteins and peptides in the body fluids and tissues . proteomic strategies may reveal the disruption of the balance in the distribution of different protein isoforms or modifications in proteins such as those deriving from oxidative stress , directly or indirectly related to the aetiological mechanisms [ perluigi et al ., 2005 ]: for this reason much of the current applied biochemical research is directed to the study of the proteome of biological fluids to identify biomarkers related to different pathological conditions . as regards complex biological mixtures such as blood , different proteomic analyses have already identified proteins specifically associated to non - genetic diseases and unrelated to tumours [ aivado et al ., 2007 ; kim et al ., 2007 ; li et al ., 2007 ; avasarala et al ., 2005 ]. it should be noted that not always are the identified biomarkers rare proteins or fragments thereof , or proteins or parts of proteins the expression of which is peculiar and rare . on the contrary , many publications report disease biomarkers which consist of modified forms of common and ubiquitary proteins such as albumin and proteins related thereto [ yagame et al ., 1995 ; kaiser et al ., 2004 ; funding et al ., 2005 ; german et al ., 2007 ]. an important advantage of proteomics based on 2de consists in the possibility of identifying alterations in the amount of fragments and modified forms of proteins for which the level of the intact molecule does not significantly change [ finehout et al ., 2007 ]. peculiar protein fragments specific for als and other diseases with a strong apoptotic component , may derive from the selective activation of proteases and specific degradation pathways , which are usually active at low levels [ ilzecka et al ., 2001 ]. in particular , as far as neurodegenerative diseases are concerned , it has been shown that c - terminal fragments of albumin present in the cerebrospinal fluid ( csf ) of patients with ad are specific disease biomarkers , probably because the disease implies alterations in the degradation process of albumin [ finehout et al ., 2007 ]. it has also been shown that albumin fragments have toxic activity on organotypic cultures of cholinergic neurons and on primary cultures of astrocytes [ moser and humpel , 2007 ]. therefore , peptides deriving from the degradation of albumin or other abundant plasma proteins could represent not only an epiphenomenon of the disease , but also of the main players in the pathogenesis . for the proteomic study that has led to the identification of the biomarkers of the disease , the plasma proteome of three groups of individuals was considered : healthy subjects ( controls , n = 14 ) cardiovascular patients , within 6 hours of heart - stroke or coronary - stroke ( n = 8 ) als patients ( n = 27 ) the cardiovascular patients were included in the study as a “ filter ” to eliminate the biomarkers that discriminate als patients from controls only due to the inflammatory process ongoing in the patients . the plasma proteome of two groups of als patients was considered for the proteomic study that led to the identification of the progression biomarker : a study was first carried out on 10 patients subjected to a treatment with riluzole ( analysing two samples — t1 and t2 — for each patient performed at an interval of 10 - 12 months ). the result was then confirmed by a second study on 8 patients subjected to a treatment with riluzole + lithium ( analysing two samples — t0 - lithium and t1 - lithium — for each patient performed at an interval of 3 - 5 months ). fresh blood from all patients was sampled by standard methods with their informed consent . the plasma samples were then centrifuged at 400 g for 10 ′ at 4 ° c . albumin was not depleted from the sample , not only because albumin is a carrier protein which may bind to interesting markers , but also because ( as previously disclosed ) modified forms of albumin differentially present in the disease at issue may have a diagnostic role . the depletion of albumin may therefore lead to loss of useful biomarkers [ kawakami et al ., 2005 ; german et al ., 2007 ]. once the samples were prepared , 2de was performed for each sample and for at least one technical replicate according to jacobs et al . [ 2001 ] with some modifications . in brief , 6 μl ( about 400 μg of total protein in case of coomassie staining ), or 1 . 5 μl ( about 100 μg of total protein in case of sypro staining ) of each plasma sample were heated for 5 ′ at 95 ° c . with 10 μl of sds 5 % w / v , dtt 2 . 5 % w / v , and diluted to 330 μl with 7 m urea , 2 m thiourea , 4 % w / v chaps , 0 . 5 % v / v of ipg buffer 3 - 10 nl ( ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ), and traces of bromophenol blue , as in hughes et al ., 1992 . the sample was then loaded on cm ipg 3 - 10 nl strips ( ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ) for isoelectrofocusing ( ief ) by in - gel rehydration ( 2 h at 0 v , 12 h at 30 v ). ief was then performed at 20 ° c . on an ipgphor apparatus ( ge healthcare ) as follows : 500 v at 500 v / hr , 1 , 000 v at 1 , 000 v / hr with a linear gradient ; 8 , 000 v at 13 , 500 v / hr with a linear gradient , 8 , 000 v at 72 , 000 v / hr . prior to sds - page ( sds - polyacrylamide gel denaturing electrophoresis ), the ipg strips were equilibrated twice for 15 ′ in a buffer containing 50 mm tris - hcl ph 8 . 8 , 6 m urea , 30 % v / v glycerol , 2 % w / v sds , and traces of bromophenol blue , containing 1 % w / v dtt for the first equilibration step and 2 . 5 % w / v iodoacetamide for the second one . sds - page was performed on 12 . 5 % polyacrylamide gels ( 1 . 5 mm thick ) according to laemmli [ 1970 ] but without stacking gel , using a hoefer se600 apparatus ( ge healthcare ). the second dimension was run at 60 ma / gel at 16 ° c . until the bromophenol blue dye front reached the bottom of the gel . proteins with a molecular weight ( mw ) in the range between 15 and 100 kda and with an isoelectric point ( pi ) in the range between 4 . 5 and 8 . 5 were used as standards for the calibration of the mws and of the pls . the gels were coloured with coomassie brilliant blue r350 ( sigma , san diego , us ) or with sypro ruby ( molecular probes , invitrogen ). stained gels were scanned with an imagemaster labscan v3 . 0 scanner ( ge healthcare ) for the gels stained with coomassie blue or with a ccd camera ( perkin elmer ) for the gels coloured with sypro . images were analysed with the imagemaster 2 - de platinum 5 . 0 software ( ge healthcare ). for each group , a reference gel was chosen , i . e . the gel containing the highest amount of well focalized spots . spots were detected and gels in turn matched with their respective reference . spots present in more than 70 % of the gels in a given group were used to create a synthetic gel ( average gel ) that represents the average proteome of each group . the three average gels were subsequently matched to detect the spots shared by the three examined populations ; the subsequent quantitative analysis consisted in comparing the corresponding percentage volumes (% vol ) of each of these spots in the three populations . for each spot , the % vol was calculated as an integral of the volume of each spot stained with coomassie blue ( area of the spot multiplied by its intensity ) normalised by the sum of the volumes of all of the spots in the reference average gel . spots , which consistently and significantly varied among the three populations , were extracted through a non - parametric anova ( kruskal - wallis test ), plus a multiple comparisons post - test ( dunn &# 39 ; s test ), and p values & lt ; 0 . 05 were considered statistically significant . the spots identified in this manner are listed in fig1 a and shown in fig2 ( spot 65 , 66 , 110 , 125 , 182 , 183 , 87 , 34 , i . e . seq id no : 1 - 8 , excluding spot 8 ). the average % vol values and the standard deviations for each of the spots are summarised in fig3 , highlighting the differences among the als patients and the rest of the individuals considered . spot 110 allows to distinguish als patients both from controls and from cardiovascular patients . the experimental variability among technical replicates of the same sample has been determined by comparing the different % vol obtained , and did not result in any case above 0 . 8 times ( average variability : 0 . 45 times ; minimum variability : 0 . 2 times ). after the quantitative analysis was completed in the manner disclosed above , unmatched spots were subjected to a qualitative analysis , in order to identify those proteins or protein fragments representative of the als patient group only , and absent in the other groups , or vice - versa ( qualitative analysis ). spot 8 ( seq id no : 1 ) is also an identified als marker ( fig1 a , fig2 ; the three - dimensional magnification of spot 8 stained with coomassie blue appears in fig4 a ; the levels of this marker in the tested individuals are shown in fig5 ). considering all of the 9 spots , a post - test discriminating analysis has been performed to assay the ability thereof to classify each individual in the appropriate population , on the basis of the measured % vol ( software : statistixl ). the overall correct prediction efficiency reaches 89 . 8 % with the correct identification of all of the als patients and of 81 . 5 % of als patients . the same analysis has led to the formulation of the following linear function ( diagnostic function , df ): in which % vol ( n ) indicates the % vol of spot n , according to the numbering indicated on the 2de map of fig2 . the correspondence between the numbering of the spots considered for the computation of the df as shown in fig2 and of their respective seq id nos , used elsewhere in the present patent , has been shown in fig1 a . the value of the df for each of the subjects included in the study is shown in fig6 . a positive value of this function is clearly a diagnostic parameter for als , while a negative value tends to be associated to individuals not suffering from als . the average values of the df , the corresponding standard deviations and the size of the considered groups have been taken as input values for the following power analysis , comprising the computation of cohen &# 39 ; s d parameter , which accounts for the effect of the size of the sample in the determination of the normalised size effect , as disclosed by cohen [ 1992 ] and by hedges and olkin [ 1985 ]. the power analysis which was performed therefore provides a measure of the confidence by which the same size effect may be observed on the entire population . as regards the disease progression biomarkers , a non - parametric analysis ( mann - whitney test ) was carried out with a threshold of p ≦ 0 . 05 in order to identify the spots which vary consistently and significantly between the two populations of samples ( t1 vs t2 , t0 - lithium vs t1 - lithium ), as shown in fig7 a and 7b : spot 101 is an als progression biomarker . once the biomarkers were identified in the disclosed manner , the identity thereof was determined by mass spectrometry . in particular , the selected protein spots were excised manually from the gels and destained overnight with 40 % ethanol in 25 mm ammonium bicarbonate , washed twice with 25 mm ammonium bicarbonate , three times with acetonitrile , and dried . each gel fragment was rehydrated in 25 mm ammonium bicarbonate containing 0 . 6 μg of modified porcine trypsin and digested overnight at 37 ° c . peptides were extracted by sonication in 25 mm ammonium bicarbonate , loaded onto a zorbax 300 sb c18 rp column ( 75 μm × 150 mm , 3 . 5 μm particles , agilent , santa clara , calif ., usa ) and eluted with a gradient of acetonitrile from 5 % to 80 % ( containing 0 . 1 % formic acid ) at a flow rate of 0 . 3 μl / min by an hp 1100 nanolc system coupled to a xct - plus nanospray - ion trap mass spectrometer ( agilent ) ( elsewhere referred to as lc - esi ms / ms . ms parameters were the following : scan range m / z = 100 - 2 , 200 , scan speed 8 , 100 m / z s - 1 , dry gas flow 5 l / min , dry temperature 300 ° c ., capillary 1 . 8 kv , skimmer 40 v , ion charge control ( icc ) target 125 , 000 , maximum accumulation time 300 ms . positively charged peptides were automatically isolated and fragmented , and spectra were deconvoluted by the dataanalysis software version 3 . 4 ( bruker daltonics , bremen , germany ). mass spectrometry data obtained by lc - esi ms / ms were fed to the mascot search algorithm for searching against the ncbi non - redundant database ( http :// www . matrixscience . com — mass tolerance for the monoisotopic peak masses was set to 1 . 8 da for the parent ion or 0 . 8 da for the fragments ; the maximum number of non - cut sites per peptide was 3 ). allowed modifications were cysteine carbamidomethylation and methionine oxidation . hits with a probability - based mowse score higher than 47 were considered significant ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). the protein identity of the biomarkers obtained in this manner is shown in fig1 and indicated with the corresponding seq id nos . as clearly results , albumin fragments ( seq id no : 1 - 4 ) are predominant . 1 - 4 ). the minimum amino acid sequence of these fragments is shown in fig1 a and diagrammatically shown in fig8 as compared to the whole albumin sequence , identified by accession number 28592 , which results being the reference sequence for human serum albumin . fragments of this sequence have been identified in the present study as the biomarkers which are the object of the present patent . “ minimum fragment sequence ” means the sequence obtained by examining the peptides deriving from the tryptic digestion of a fragment , by sorting the peptides on the basis of the sequence of the native protein , and obtaining the sequence included between the n - terminal amino acid of the first peptide and the c - terminal amino acid thereof . this sequence is included within the fragment at issue , but is not limited thereto . further amino acids may be present both at the n - terminal and at the c - terminal included between the identified tryptic sites and the following tryptic site ( in an n or c - terminal direction ). therefore , although the fragments corresponding to spot 66 and spot 8 in fig1 a ( highlighted in the two - dimensional map of fig2 ) have the same minimum sequence ( seq id no : 1 ), they are probably different at the c - terminal ( as both minimum sequences start at the n - terminal end of mature albumin ). in particular , as there are many acidic residues immediately downstream of the minimum sequence , it is possible that the fragment corresponding to spot 66 has some c - terminal acidic residues more than the fragment corresponding to spot 8 , in accordance with its more acidic isoelectrical point ( fig2 , fig8 ). the fragmentation of albumin in vivo is altered in many conditions , among which the after - effects of hematopoietic stem cell transplant [ kaiser et al ., 2004 ], exocrine pancreatic damage [ walgren et al ., 2007 ], acute corneal rejection [ funding et al ., 2005 ], meningococcal sepsis [ holland et al ., 2001 ], diabetic nephropathy [ yagame et al ., 1995 ], ischemic heart disease , acute inflammation , endotoxicosis and ageing [ bito et al ., 2005 ]. as regards the cns and neurodegenerative diseases , specific albumin fragments have already been reported as being biomarkers : for instance , some c - terminal fragments of albumin present in the csf represent specific biomarkers for ad [ finehout et al ., 2007 ]. furthermore , a specific serum albumin fragment has been found to be increased 2 . 8 times in a mouse model of muscle dystrophy [ doran et al ., 2006 ]. as als is characterised by an extensive activation of serum proteases [ ilzecka et al ., 2001 ; demestre et al ., 2006 ] and by a strong oxidative stress [ barber et al ., 2006 ], it is feasible that some degradation mechanisms typical of the disease produce specific albumin fragments , such as those included in the set of biomarkers disclosed in fig1 a and shown in fig8 against the sequence of the whole albumin . another biomarker which was identified and corresponds to spot 182 ( fig1 a and fig2 ; seq id no : 6 ), is a glycoform of transferrin . it should be recalled that , in als patients , transferrin accumulates in bunina bodies [ mizuno et al ., 2006 ], that the sod1 protein modulates the expression of the transferrin receptor [ danzeisen et al ., 2006 ], and finally that defects in the expression of alsin cause the intracellular accumulation of transferrin in motoneuron cultures [ jacquier et al ., 2006 ]. if singularly considered , and not in combination with the other biomarkers disclosed in the present invention , transferrin would have a limited value as an als biomarker , as transferrin glycoforms are involved in an aspecific manner in different neurodegenerative and non - neurodegenerative diseases [ zeman et al ., 2000 ; brettschneider et al ., 2008 ]. however , we have verified that the inclusion of these two spots in the identified set of biomarkers increases the overall diagnostic power of the set , probably because , as recalled , there are some mechanisms which lead to the alteration of transferrin in als patients . another biomarker that was identified and corresponds to spot 183 ( seq id no : 7 ) is the constant chain of igms . the involvement of igms in als is well documented and mainly based on serological evidence on patients . high anti - gm1 ganglioside igm titres are commonly found in patients with peripheral neuropathies and neuromotory syndromes [ pestronk , 1991 ]. more recently , high titres of igms against gm2 and gd2 were also dosed [ mizutani et al ., 2003 ]. noteworthy , igm is the isotype of serum immune responses reported against neurofilament proteins [ couratier et al ., 1998 ]. therefore , in general , the igm fragment identified as an als marker could derive from the igm related immune response , reported in more than one study on als patients . another biomarker identified with the disclosed method is chain a of gamma - fibrinogen ( spot 125 , seq id no : 5 ). although fibrinogen is not synthesised in the cns , the increase of fibrinogen gamma a chain in the csf is thought to be connected to blood - csf barrier damage and fibrinogen is generally regarded as a marker of inflammation associated to neurological diseases , since it is known that the nervous system is especially able to produce fibrin receptors and fibrin - dependent intracellular signalling molecules under inflammatory conditions [ discussed in akassoglou e strickland , 2002 ]. recent studies have shown that macrophages in the cns and schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system are the two cytotypes most commonly involved in phenomena correlated with extravasation of fibrinogen and products resulting from the degradation thereof . impairment of the fibrinolysis pathway is closely associated to the pathogenesis of ms , for which neuroinflammation is one of the main pathological features [ adams et al ., 2004 ]. furthermore , in the csf of ad patients , an increase in chain a of gamma - fibrinogen has a role as disease biomarker , although this increase may be merely due to damage of the hematoencephalic barrier [ lee et al ., 2007 ]. the last als biomarker that was identified ( spot 87 ; seq id no : 8 ) was found to be a form of clusterin ( apo j ). an increase in the mrna for clusterin was shown by in situ hybridisation in areas of active neurodegeneration of the spinal cord [ grewal et al ., 1999 ]. clusterin may have a complex role in neurodegenerative processes : as well as having an inhibiting activity on the cell membrane anchoring complex , this multifunctional glycoprotein may promote cell aggregation and serve as molecular chaperone , preventing the aggregation of denatured proteins . the increase of the mrna level of clusterin and of the protein itself may be detected in cerebral ischemic damage and in many neurological diseases , among which ad , multiple sclerosis and epilepsy . in some cells , the induction of the expression of clusterin is associated to apoptosis ; non - neural cells engineered so as to produce reduced amounts of clusterin are more sensitive to oxidative stress [ grewal et al ., 1999 ]. it allows to discriminate the population of als patients from both control populations ( healthy and cardiovascular patients ); the different expression of spot 8 in als patients with respect to healthy controls has also been tested by 2de western blotting ( fig4 b ). as regards the als progression biomarker , the analysis by lc - esi ms / ms has identified it as complement component 3 , in particular fragment 2 of chain α ′ of c3c ( seq id no : 9 ). in non - denaturing conditions , this fragment is bound by disulphide bonds to other 2 polypeptide chains again deriving from complement c3 : chain β ′ and fragment 2 of chain α ′ ( polypeptide c3c seq id no : 10 ) ( http :// www . uniprot . org /). c3c fragments have already been identified by 2de as peripheral als markers [ goldknopf et al ., 2006 ]: however the fragments reported in goldknopf et al . do not correspond to the specific fragment disclosed in the present invention , as is apparent from the totally different pi ( and therefore from the different position in the 2de maps obtained from serum or plasma , an example of which is shown in fig9 ). furthermore , c3c has never been involved in the progression of the disease , and therefore the c3c fragment corresponding to spot 101 represents a truly new als progression biomarker . it should be clear at this point to the person skilled in the art that any combination of disclosed biomarkers , with different statistical power , may be used for the differential diagnosis of als with respect to other neurodegenerative diseases , as well as for its progression . furthermore , each combination of such biomarkers may be used together with other biomarkers to obtain a better predictive and statistical power . for example , the disclosed biomarkers , and in particular the % vol evaluated by 2de , may be used in combination with the als serum markers discovered by goldknopf et al . [ 2006 ], both for the diagnosis and for the evaluation of the stage of progression of the disease . it is apparent that such combinations fall within the aim and scope of the present patent , as do other combinations of other types of biomarkers and / or physiological and / or diagnostic markers . the diagnostic procedure object of the present invention may be carried out by different embodiments . by way of mere example , the following paragraph discloses an embodiment based on the sampling of blood from subjects to be tested , on the quantification by 2de of the identified biomarkers , on the computation of a diagnostic function to identify the presence of als and on the evaluation of the stage of progression of the disease by comparing the amount of c3c on 2de between diachronic samples . as disclosed in the paragraph directed to the variants of the suggested method , it should be understood that the procedure disclosed in detail in the following is one among the many possible procedures which exploit the same set of biomarkers , which procedures must be considered , as a whole , as falling within the spirit and the scope of the present patent . in particular , the present invention is based on the discovery of a set of als biomarkers , the amount of which is correlated with the presence of the disease ( all of the biomarkers indicated in fig1 a , i . e . all except c3c ) or with its progression ( only c3c , fig1 b ). the amount of these biomarkers may be evaluated by 2de , as previously disclosed , but it is apparent to a person skilled in the art that any other evaluation method of the level of one or more of the biomarkers shown in fig1 falls within the scope and spirit of the present patent application . by mere way of example , the biomarkers may be quantified by one or more of the following alternative techniques : 1 . western blot 2 . enzyme - linked immunoadsorbent assay ( elisa ) 3 . high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ) 4 . mass spectrometry furthermore , a variant falling within the scope of the present patent application consists in using any numerical combination of the amount of some or all the disclosed biomarkers to compute a different diagnostic ( linear or non - linear ) function or derive any statistical parameter so as to obtain a score useful for the diagnosis of als or for the evaluation of its progression . it should also be understood that any combination of the present biomarkers with other diagnostic methods for als or other neurological disorders must be considered to be part of the present patent application . it should finally be understood that , although the use of human blood samples is preferable as compared to other biological material , the testing and use of any combination of biomarkers shown in fig1 in biological samples other than human blood must be part of the present patent application . in order to diagnose als in an individual , or evaluate the stage of progression of the disease , the following paragraphs disclose : ( 1 ) a method for quantifying the biomarkers object of the present patent ; ( 2 ) a method for diagnosing als based on the quantification of previous item ( 1 ); ( 3 ) a method for evaluating the stage of progression of als based on the quantification of the c3c biomarker obtained with the procedure of item ( 1 ). the plasma of the individuals involved was obtained by standard methods . once the plasma samples were prepared ( by centrifugation at 4 ° c . for 10 ′ at 400 g ), a 2de experiment was carried out for each sample and for the corresponding technical replicate , according to jacobs et al . [ 2001 ] with some modifications . in brief , 6 μl ( about 400 μg of total protein , in case of coomassie staining ), or 1 . 5 μl ( about 100 μg of total protein , in case of sypro staining ) of each plasma sample were heated for 5 ′ at 95 ° c . with 10 μl of sds 5 % w / v , dtt 2 . 5 % w / v , and diluted to 330 μl with 7 m urea , 2 m thiourea , 4 % w / v chaps , 0 . 5 % v / v of ipg buffer 3 - 10 nl , and traces of bromophenol blue , as in hughes et al ., 1992 . the sample was then loaded on 18 cm ipg 3 - 10 nl strips by in - gel rehydration ( 2 h at 0 v , 12 h at 30 v ). isoelectrofocusing was then performed at 20 ° c . on an ipgphor apparatus ( ge healthcare ) or equivalent as follows : 500 v at 500 v / hr , 1 , 000 v at 1 , 000 v / hr with a linear gradient ; 8 , 000 v at 13 , 500 v / hr with a linear gradient , 8 , 000 v at 72 , 000 v / hr . prior to sds - page , the ipg strips were equilibrated twice for 15 ′ in a buffer containing 50 mm tris - hcl ph 8 . 8 , 6 m urea , 30 % v / v glycerol , 2 % w / v sds , and traces of bromophenol blue containing 1 % w / v dtt for the first equilibration step , and 2 . 5 % w / v iodoacetamide for the second one . sds - page was performed on 12 . 5 % polyacrylamide gels ( 1 . 5 mm thick ) according to laemmli [ 1970 ] but without stacking gel , using a hoefer se600 apparatus ( ge healthcare ) or equivalent apparatus . the second dimension was run at 60 ma / gel at 16 ° c . until the bromophenol blue dye front reached the bottom of the gel . standard proteins having mw ( 15 - 100 kda ) and pi ( ph 4 . 5 - 8 . 5 ) may be used for the calibration of the mw and of the pi . the gels must then be stained with coomassie brilliant blue r350 ( sigma ) or with sypro ruby ( molecular probes , invitrogen ). after staining , the digital images of the gels are acquired by using an imagemaster labscan v3 . 0 scanner ( ge healthcare ) or an equivalent for the gels stained with coomassie or a ccd camera ( perkin elmer ) for gel stained with sypro , and the images are analysed with the imagemaster 2 - de platinum 5 . 0 software ( ge healthcare ) or an equivalent . to identify the diagnostic spots on the tested gel , the image of the gel is overlapped with the appropriate reference gel ( fig2 ). the % vol is obtained for each diagnostic spot by densitometric analysis as a percentage ratio of the normalised density of the spot on the total of the density of all of the spots aligned between the examined gel and the reference gel . to carry out the 2de western blot experiments , the plasma proteins were denatured and subsequently separated on a 2de gel , as disclosed for coomassie and sypro staining . after the gels were run , they were immediately introduced into an aqueous solution containing 25 mm tris , 40 mm 6 - aminohexanoic acid and 20 % v / v methanol , checking that the final ph was 9 . 4 . the proteins separated thereby were transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane ( hybond c - extra with 0 . 45 micrometre pores ; ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ) by applying a “ semi - dry ” transfer . after transfer , the membranes were incubated for 1 hour at 42 ° c . in a blocking solution containing tbs and 0 . 1 % w / v tween 20 ( t - tbs ) and 3 % w / v fish gelatine . t - tbs was also used for washing away unspecific antibody binding . a polyclonal alb ( n17 ) santa cruz antibody was used as a primary recognition antibody at a dilution of 1 : 500 . as the antibody is raised in goat , an anti - goat hrp ( horse radish peroxidase ) conjugate was used as secondary detection antibody ; the membrane was therefore incubated with a specific chemiluminescent substrate provided by the ecl western blotting kit ( pierce , euroclone ). the images corresponding to the proteins identified after film exposure , were acquired by an imagemaster labscan v3 . 0 ( ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ). the following diagnostic function df may be computed from the % vol of the spots identified in fig1 : wherein it should be understood that the numbering of each spot shown highlighted by way of example on the 2de map in fig1 corresponds to the seq id no shown in fig1 a for each spot , i . e . : it should also be understood that any other function ( for example a different linear function or a non - linear function ) of the indicated amounts of biomarkers obtained as disclosed or by western blot , elisa or other methods , may be used instead of the disclosed function , and falls within the scope of the present patent . as shown in fig6 , the value of df tends to be positive in the presence of als . it is therefore assumed that , in case the quantification of the suggested biomarkers leads to a value of df & gt ; 0 , the tested individual suffers from als . the person skilled in the art will have no difficulty in recognising that , if a different function is used , a different threshold value must be selected , but the information inputted , however related to one or more of the reported biomarkers , is the same and is covered by the present patent . to identify spot 101 on the test gel , the same gel is overlapped to the image of a reference gel ( fig9 ). the % vol of spot 101 is therefore computed as previously disclosed . in the course of time from the clinical onset of the disease , the % vol of spot 101 is expected to decrease in als patients ( fig7 a , 7 b and 7 c ). therefore , a comparison of the % vol of this spot with the corresponding value obtained in a previous moment is informative of the progression of the disease . as is apparent to the person skilled in the art , the measurement of the amount of protein corresponding to spot 101 ( c3c ) by any other means may replace the evaluation of the % vol of spot 101 , without departing from the scope of the present patent . the decrease of % vol of spot 101 with the progression of the disease has also been studied by 2de - western blotting as disclosed hereinafter ( fig7 c ). to carry out the 2de western blot experiments , the plasma proteins were denatured and subsequently separated on a 2de gel , as disclosed for coomassie and sypro staining . after the gels were run , they were immediately introduced into an aqueous solution containing 25 mm tris , 40 mm 6 - aminohexanoic acid and 20 % v / v methanol , checking that the final ph was 9 . 4 . the proteins separated thereby were transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane ( hybond c - extra with 0 . 45 micrometre pores ; ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ) by applying a “ semi - dry ” transfer . after transfer , the membranes were incubated for 1 hour at 42 ° c . in a blocking solution containing tbs and 0 . 1 % w / v tween 20 ( t - tbs ) and 5 % w / v milk . t - tbs was used for washing away unspecific antibody binding . a polyclonal antibody ( a 0062 , dako ) was used as a primary recognition antibody at a dilution of 1 : 5000 . as it was raised in rabbit , an anti - rabbit hrp ( horse radish peroxidase ) conjugate was used as secondary detection antibody ; the membrane was then incubated with a specific chemiluminescent substrate provided by the ecl western blotting kit ( pierce , euroclone ). the images corresponding to the proteins identified after film exposure were acquired by an imagemaster labscan v3 . 0 ( ge healthcare , uppsala , sweden ). the person skilled in the art and dealing with als will immediately recognise the advantages of a diagnostic test such as that disclosed and of the corresponding biomarkers , which have the following advantages : 1 . greater objectivity with respect to clinical diagnostic methods , the test being related to a molecular aspect of the disease and to the measurement of quantitative parameters for the diagnosis ; 2 . greater accuracy of the suggested biomarkers with respect to others , as they are selected by considering two control groups , the first formed by healthy subjects and the second by cardiovascular subjects , to distinguish between specific als markers and generic inflammation markers ; 3 . simple sampling required for diagnosis , as the measurement is based on haematic biomarkers , small volumes of blood and on a single value for the diagnosis of als ; 4 . possibility of developing simplified diagnostic methodologies , as the detected biomarkers may be detected with techniques other than 2de ; 5 . possibility of a follow - up at a quantitative level of the disease and of the therapies , as one of the detected biomarkers varies its level during the course of the disease . what has been disclosed up to this point is a privileged example of the invention with some possible variations . the terms , descriptions and figures are shown by mere way of illustration and do not imply limitations in the aims or object of the present patent . the person skilled in the art will recognise that many possible variants are possible in the spirit and scope of the present invention , in the description of which each term has been used in the broadest sense possible , without any limitation unless explicitly indicated . in particular , the present invention is based on the discovery of a set of als biomarkers , the amount of which is correlated to the presence of the disease ( all of the biomarkers indicated in fig1 a , i . e . all except c3c ) or to its progression ( only c3c , fig1 b ). the amount of these biomarkers may be evaluated by 2de , as previously disclosed , but it is clear to a person skilled in the art that any other evaluation method of the level of one or more of the biomarkers shown in fig1 falls within the scope and spirit of the present patent application . by mere way of example , the biomarkers may be quantified by one or more of the following alternative techniques : 1 . western blot 2 . elisa 3 . hplc 4 . mass spectrometry . furthermore , a variant falling within the scope of the present patent application consists in using any numerical combination of the amount of some or all of the disclosed biomarkers to compute a different diagnostic ( linear or non - linear ) function or derive any statistical parameter that provides a score useful for the diagnosis of als or for the evaluation of its progression . it should also be understood that any combination of the present biomarkers with other diagnostic methods for als or other neurological disorders must be considered to be part of the present patent application . it should finally be understood that , although the use of human blood samples is preferable as compared to other biological material , the testing and use of any combination of biomarkers shown in fig1 in biological samples other than human blood must be part of the present patent application . adams r a , passino m , sachs b d , nuriel t , akassoglou k . 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( 2006 ). transferrin localizes in bunina bodies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . acta neuropathol , 112 : 597 . mizutani k , oka n , kusunoki s , kaji r , kanda m , akiguchi i , shibasaki h . ( 2003 ). amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with igm antibody against gangliosides gm2 and gd2 . intern med , 42 : 277 . moser k v e humpel c . ( 2007 ). blood - derived serum albumin contributes to neurodegeneration via astroglial stress fiber formation . pharmacology , 80 : 286 . perluigi m , poon h f , hensley k , pierce w m , klein j b , calabrese v , de marco c , butterfield d a . ( 2005 ). proteomic analysis of 4 - hydroxy - 2 - nonenal - modified proteins in g93a - sod1 transgenic mice - a model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . free radic biol med , 38 : 960 . pestronk a . ( 1991 ). motor neuropathies , motor neuron disorders , and antiglycolipid antibodies . muscle nerve , 14 : 927 . rowland l p . ( 1998 ). diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . j neurol sci , 160 : s6 . shaw p j e williams r . ( 2000 ). serum and cerebrospinal fluid biochemical markers of als . amyotroph lateral scler other motor neuron disord , 1 : s61 . walgren j l , mitchell n d , whiteley l o , thompson d c . ( 2007 ). evaluation of two novel peptide safety markers for exocrine pancreatic toxicity . toxicol sci , 96 : 184 . yagame m , suzuki d , jinde k , yano n , naka r , abe y , nomoto y , sakai h , suzuki h , ohashi y . ( 1995 ). urinary albumin fragments as a new clinical parameter for the early detection of diabetic nephropathy . intern med , 34 : 463 . zeman d , adam p , kalistová h , sobek o , kelbich p , andel j , andel m . ( 2000 ). transferrin in patients with multiple sclerosis : a comparison among various subgroups of multiple sclerosis patients . acta neurol scand , 101 : 89 .
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referring now to the drawings in general and in particular to fig1 of the drawing , there is shown the subject improved bulk material container , generally by the numeral 10 , which comprises a central shell portion 12 having a top cap 14 positioned on the upper portion thereof , and a bottom cap 16 positioned on the lower portion . the bulk material container 10 is designed to be lifted by a separate lifting frame 18 having a plurality of lifting fingers 20 projecting underneath the bottom of the container . the lifting frame 18 is attached to a rope 22 , steel cable , or other means which then may be raised and lowered as desired to position the bulk material container in a given pouring position . a modified lifting frame is shown in fig1 and its use will be described more fully hereinafter . when it is desired to control the flow of material from the container , a sliding plate 24 having a hand hold 26 is positioned within a slot 28 formed in the bottom cap 16 , as will be described more fully hereinafter . the bottom cap 16 is tightly restrained on the central shell 12 by means of a steel band 30 as well as by an interlocking feature locking the bottom cap 16 to the central shell 12 as will be more fully described hereinafter when referring to fig3 of the drawing . referring now to fig2 of the drawing there is shown an exploded perspective view of the subject bulk material container shown in fig1 of the drawing showing the respective parts of the subject invention in somewhat more detail . the bottom cap 16 has formed in the bottom thereof a plurality of scorelines 32 forming a star pattern 34 in the bottom of the bottom cap 16 , as will be described more fully hereinafter . also formed in the bottom of the bottom cap 16 is a pouring opening 36 in proximity to the plurality of scorelines 32 and in the central portion of the star pattern 34 from which the quantity of materials packaged in the container in the polyethylene bag 38 may be removed . the entire bulk material container 10 is also contained within an outer polyethylene bag 40 which is placed over the top cap 14 and the central shell 12 containing the inner poly bag 38 and also over the bottom cap 16 and the sliding plate 24 . an inner poly sheet 42 is also positioned underneath the bottom cap 16 with its ends 44 being positioned within the outer poly bag 40 in the preferred embodiment . prior to shipping of the bulk material container 10 , the entire combination is then passed through a heat shrink tunnel in order to heat shrink the outer poly bag 40 tightly over the bulk material container 10 and also to heat shrink the inner poly sheet 42 so that its ends 44 adhere to the outer poly bag 40 , thereby forming a tight moisture resistant covering over the entire package . the entire package is placed for shipment on a special wooden pallet 46 having slots 48 sized to allow the lifting fingers 20 of the lifting frame 18 to be positioned within the slots beneath the bottom cap 16 in order to lift the entire package as shown in fig1 of the drawings . by referring to fig1 , there is shown a modification of the lifting frame 18 wherein a plurality of lifting fingers 20 project underneath the bottom of the container 10 on one side with an opposing horizontal strip 21 having a plurality of barbs 23 to prevent relative downward movement of the bulk material container 10 within the frame 18 . the horizontal strip 21 is affixed to vertical pivoting legs 25 which are connected by rods 19 to the lifting component 27 of the frame in such a manner as to cause the act of lifting to press the horizontal strip 21 against the container 10 with a force proportional to the weight of the container and its contents . the frame 18 is then suspended by its lifting component 27 at an angle which is equivalent to the angle of repose of the catalyst or other material carried in the container 10 . the frame 18 must be placed around the container 10 so that the horizontal strip 21 is oriented to be on the side of the container 10 which is closest to the pouring opening in the bottom of the container . the outer polyethylene bag 40 , in the preferred embodiment , may be approximately 6 mils thick while the inner polyethylene sheet 42 may be approximately 4 mils thick . by the use of the polyethylene bag 40 and sheet 42 of the size mentioned , a six sided moisture and dust protection is given to the entire package and its contents container within the inner poly bag 38 . the inner poly bag 38 may be spot glued to the inside of the central shell 12 during production of the shell and may have its ends 50 tied with a twist type metal wire 52 or the ends 50 may be left loose and simply folded on top of the bulk product as desired by the customer . referring now more particularly to fig1 and 3 of the drawing , there will be described in detail the construction of the central shell 12 which comprises a series of rectangular panels 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 hingedly attached together by a plurality of scorelines 62 , 64 and 66 . the panels 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 are divided in the middle by an elongated scoreline 65 which runs the length of the panels 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 . formed on one end of panel 60 is a manufactures joint flap 66 by means of the scoreline 68 and formed on the opposite end of the production blank on panel 54 , in the position shown in fig1 , is a manufactures joint flap 70 hingedly attached to the panel 54 by means of the scoreline 72 . formed on the panel 54 on one side thereof is a side panel 74 by means of the scoreline 76 and in a like manner there is formed a side panel 78 on the panel 56 by means of the scoreline 80 . panel 58 has formed on its side a side panel 82 by means of the scoreline 84 and panel 60 has formed on its side a side panel 86 by means of the scoreline 88 . the respective side panels 74 , 78 , 82 and 86 are separated from each other by means of the slots 90 , 92 and 94 . when formed in the manner just described the central shell 12 also has applied thereto an adhesive in the area 96 between the scorelines 62 , 72 , 65 and 76 and in a like manner the adhesive is applied to the area 98 formed between the scorelines 65 , 80 , 62 and 64 . the area 100 formed between the scorelines 64 , 66 , 65 and 84 also has applied thereto an adhesive which is also applied to the area 102 formed between the scorelines 66 , 65 , and 88 . by referring now to fig3 and 4 of the drawing as well as fig1 , it can be seen how the central shell 12 is formed to provide a double wall shell which has adhesive 104 applied between the respective panels as before mentioned . in erecting the central shell 12 , the panels 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 , as well as the manufactures joint 66 are folded along the elongated scoreline 65 so that one half of the panel 54 is laminated to the area 96 with one half of the panel 56 being laminated to the area 98 . in a similar manner one half of the panel 58 is laminated to the area 100 while one half of the panel 60 is laminated to the area 102 . referring now to fig4 of the drawing there will be seen how the manufactures joint is constructed for the subject central shell 12 which comprises positioning the manufactures joint flap 66 against the panel 54 and positioning the manufactures joint flap 70 against the panel 60 with both being adhesively attached to their panels or stapled in place by means well known in the art . when formed thusly , it can be seen how the central shell 12 becomes a rigid double wall shell which is also clearly seen by referring to fig3 of the drawings . referring now to fig8 of the drawing there is seen a plan view of the production blank for the bottom cap 16 which comprises a central panel 106 having a plurality of side panels 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 hingedly attached thereto by means of the scorelines 116 , 118 , 120 and 122 . the side panels 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 have formed therein in the central portion a pair of scorelines 124 and 126 dividing the respective panels in half to form outer panels 108a , 110a , 112a , and 114a . by referring now particularly to fig3 of the drawing and also to fig8 it will be seen how the bottom cap 16 is interlocked with the shell 12 by the use of the side panels 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 in combination with the outer panels 108a , 110a , 112a and 114a . the outer panels 108a , 110a , 112a and 114a are positioned between the side panels 74 , 78 , 82 and 86 which had previously been folded outward from the shell and turned upwardly so that the outer panels 108a , 110a , 112a and 114a can be turned downwardly between the upwardly turned side panels and the shell proper . when positioned in this manner as shown in fig3 of the drawing there is then applied the steel or plastic band 30 which is tightly positioned around the shell structure thereby allowing the bottom cap or bottom of the container to be able to support great amounts of weight from the bulk materials contained within in the inner poly bag 38 . referring now to fig5 of the drawing there is shown a view taken along line 5 -- 5 of fig2 of the bottom cap showing the plurality of scorelines 32 formed in the central panel 106 of the bottom cap 16 . as before mentioned , the plurality of scorelines 32 are formed in a star pattern 34 which also contains the pouring opening 36 which is formed in a generally elongated configuration in the preferred embodiment but may be formed circular or in some other configuration with the spirit and scope of the invention . the pouring opening 36 is formed off center within the star pattern 34 in the preferred embodiment and may also be centrally located therein . the star pattern is formed in the preferred embodiment with the star points positioned in the corners of the central panel 106 . it is within the spirit and scope of the invention that some or all of the star points may be positioned at locations other than the corners of the central panel 106 . for example by referring to fig1 there is shown a modification of fig5 wherein the score lines 32 are placed in a star pattern also but have their points 35 located at other than the corners of the central panel 106 . there is applied a friction diminishing coating in the form of a silicone coating 128 which is applied across the central panel 106 and the star pattern 34 at least as wide as the pouring opening 36 and preferably somewhat wider . the purpose of the friction diminishing silicone coating 128 is to reduce the friction between the sliding plate 24 and the central panel 106 as the sliding plate is moved on the central panel . the sliding plate 24 may also have applied thereto a silicone coating 130 as shown in fig6 of the drawing and the slide plate may be formed out of hard fiberboard or some other material as desired by the purchaser or supplied by the manufacturer . the slide plate 24 is sized to fit within the slot 28 formed on the central panel 106 as shown in fig8 of the drawing and contains the hole 26 formed in the panel 132 hingedly attached to the slide plate by means of the scoreline 134 . referring now to fig7 of the drawing there is shown in greater detail how the star pattern 34 and its respective scorelines 32 allow the central panel 106 of the bottom cap 16 to be weakened thereby deforming from the weight of the product positioned on the bottom cap in the inner poly bag 38 . since the central shell 12 as well as the top cap 14 and the bottom cap 16 are formed out of corrugated paperboard in the preferred embodiment it can be seen by referring to fig7 that whenever a scoreline 32 is placed in the central panel 106 the structural integrity of the corrugated paperboard will be weakened because of the diminished thickness in the paper thereby allowing the bottom to deform to the position shown in fig7 to provide a generally funnel shaped bottom which serves as an aid in guiding the material out of the container . whenever the slide plate 24 is positioned in the container as shown in fig7 of the drawing the silicone coating 130 on the slide plate 24 will come in contact with the silicone coating 128 on the central panel 106 allowing the pull plate 24 to be easily moved in and out of the container according to the desires of the operator . referring now to fig9 of the drawings there is shown in detail the top cap 14 of the subject invention which comprises generally a central panel 136 having formed thereon a plurality of side panels 138 , 140 , 142 and 144 by means of the scorelines 146 , 148 , 150 and 152 . the side panel 140 has formed on each end thereof a flap 154 and a flap 156 by means of the scorelines 158 and 160 . in a like manner the side panel 144 has formed on the side thereof a flap 162 and a flap 164 by means of the scorelines 166 and 168 . when erecting the top cap 14 , the side panels 138 , 140 , 142 and 144 are folded 90 degrees about their respective scorelines 146 , 148 , 150 and 152 . thereafter the flaps 154 and 156 are turned inwardly about their respective scorelines 158 and 160 and are stapled or glued to their adjacent side panels 138 or 142 . in a like manner the flaps 162 and 164 are turned inwardly about their respective scorelines 166 and 168 and are stapled or glued to their respective side panels 138 or 142 . from the above it can be seen that there has been provided by the subject invention a new and improved bulk material container which is designed to handle a large quantity of bulk materials such as chemical catalysts or other bulk materials and which has new and improved features which allow the bulk materials to be quickly and easily removed from the container by bottom dumping as a result of the deformable bottom formed in the container . whenever the subject container is lifted from the pallet 46 by means of the lifting frame 18 , the weight of the bulk materials contained in the inner poly bag 38 will exert a downward force on the bottom cap 16 and especially the central panel 106 deforming the central panel so that the star pattern 34 formed by the scorelines 32 forms a funnel for channeling the bulk materials out through the pouring opening 36 whenever the sliding plate 24 has been extracted by pulling it outwardly through its associated slot 28 . as a result the subject new and improved bulk material container may be partially dumped in a controlled manner by utilizing the sliding plate 24 and may be totally dumped without requiring an extra operation to manually remove a quantity of the bulk materials that generally remain in a prior art type of container . depending upon the weight of the material contained within the inner poly bag 38 , it may be necessary to slit the inner poly bag 38 , as well as the inner poly sheet 42 , with a knife or some sharp object if the weight of the bulk material is not sufficient to tear the sheets away whenever the sliding plate 24 is removed from the face of the pouring opening 36 . it can be seen that there has been provided by the subject invention a new and unique container which accomplishes all of the objects and advantages of the invention and it should be apparent that many changes can be made in the various structural parts and arrangement of parts in the subject invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and the preferred embodiment , given by way of illustration only , is not to limit the invention &# 39 ; s scope .
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as mentioned above , thermally stable diamond compacts are used in applications where high temperatures are generated in use or during manufacture of the tool . such compacts are not easily wetted by conventional brazes and this is one of the reasons why they are as a general rule held mechanically in the working surface of the tool . for example , in a surface set drill bit the individual compacts , which may have a triangular , cubic , hexagonal or other useful shape , will be held mechanically in the matrix of the working surface of the drill bit . it is desirable to supplement the mechanical bond by a bond of a chemical or braze nature . it has been found that the alloy specified above bonds extremely strongly to the diamond compact surface to which it is applied . furthermore , the alloy , it has been found , bonds readily to a variety of commercially available brazes and forms a braze bond with the matrix of conventional surface set and impregnated drill bits . the alloy coated surface may be bonded readily to a cemented carbide support , either directly or through another commercially available braze . when another commercially available braze is used , it is preferably a high temperature braze such as a silver / copper / zinc / nickel / manganese braze or a copper / manganese / nickel / indium / tin braze both of which have a liquidus temperature above 700 ° c . the diamond compact , being thermally stable , can withstand such temperatures and the resulting braze bond is extremely strong . the invention thus enables a thermally stable diamond compact to be brazed to a tool or tool holder in contrast to uncoated thermally stable diamond compacts of the prior art . the alloy will preferably contain 40 to 70 percent by weight of gold or silver or a combination thereof . examples of suitable alloys are the following : 3 . a silver / copper / palladium ternary alloy containing the active metal , particularly titanium . the thickness of the alloy layer is not critical , but it will generally not exceed 200 microns in thickness . the thermally stable diamond compact may be used in the form of small fragments having any one of a number of useful shapes such as cube , triangle or hexagon . for such compacts it is preferable that the alloy layer is bonded to at least 75 percent of the surface thereof . the thermally stable diamond compact may also be provided in the form of a disc or segment of a disc having a major flat surface on each of opposite sides thereof . for such compacts it is preferable that at least one of the major flat surfaces has the alloy layer bonded to it . the coated flat surface may be bonded to a cemented carbide support . the alloy may be bonded to the surface of the diamond compact by contacting the surface with the alloy , for example in the form of a foil , and then raising the temperature of the coated compact to a temperature above the liquidus temperature of the alloy in a non - oxidising atmosphere . an example of a suitable non - oxidising atmosphere is a vacuum of 10 - 4 mbar or better . to improve the wettability of the diamond compact surface , it is preferable first to apply a flashing of gold or silver to the compact surface before the alloy is bonded thereto . the gold or silver flashing will generally have a thickness of no more than a few microns . a method of applying a gold or silver flashing prior to bonding the alloy to the surface is described fully in european patent publication no . 0 104 063 . the thermally stable diamond compact may be any known in the art , but is preferably one of the type described in british patent application no . 8508295 . the invention will further be described with reference to the following examples . a diamond compact in disc form was produced using the method described in british patent application no . 8508295 . the compact consisted of a mass of diamond particles containing a substantial amount of direct diamond - to - diamond bonding to form a coherent skeletal mass and a second phase consisting essentially of silicon in the form of elemental silicon and silicon carbide . the compact was a thermally stable diamond compact as discussed hereinbefore . a major flat surface of the diamond compact was degreased in alcohol . a 100 micron thick foil of a silver based alloy was placed on the degreased and etched surface of the diamond compact . the silver - based alloy contained 62 % silver , 19 % copper , 14 % palladium and 5 % titanium , all percentages being by weight . a cemented tungsten carbide disc was placed on the alloy foil to produce an unbonded stack . a load of 50 to 100 gms was applied to the unbonded stack . the loaded stack was then heated in a vacuum of better than 10 - 4 mbar to 1100 ° c . and maintained at this temperature for 10 minutes . the stack was allowed to cool to ambient temperature . it was found that an excellent bond between the thermally stable diamond compact and the cemented carbide disc was obtained . a similar bonded compact was produced using the same procedure , save that a flashing ( 0 , 1 mm thick ) of gold was applied to the compact surface after degreasing . again excellent bonding between compact and cemented carbide disc was obtained . a thermally stable diamond compact as described in example 1 had a major flat surface degreased in alcohol . to this degreased and etched surface was applied a 100 micron thick foil of the same silver / copper / palladium / titanium alloy . the compact and foil were heated to 1100 ° c . in a vacuum of better than 10 - 4 mbar and held at this temperature for 5 minutes . the compact was cooled to ambient temperature . the alloy was found to bond strongly to the diamond compact producing a metallised surface . the metallised compact was positioned on the top of a cemented tungsten carbide disc with the metallised surface face down . between the metallised surface and the cemented carbide disc was placed a 100 micron thick disc of nicuman - 36 alloy ( 56cu - 36mn - 2ni - 3in - 3sn ) having a melting range of 771 ° to 825 ° c . a load of about 50 to 100 gms was applied to the compact / carbide unbonded stack . the stack was heated to 1000 ° c . in a vacuum of better than 10 - 4 mbar and held at this temperature for 10 minutes . the stack was allowed to cool to ambient temperature . it was found that the diamond compact was strongly bonded to the cemented carbide disc . a thermally stable diamond compact as described in example 1 was fragmented into a plurality of cubes . the cubes were degreased in alcohol . the clean surfaces of the cubes then had applied to them a flashing , approximately 0 , 1 microns in thickness , of gold using standard sputtercoating techniques . all but one surface of each cube was then wrapped in a foil of an alloy as described in example 1 . the wrapped cubes were heated to a temperature of 1100 ° c . in a vacuum of 10 - 4 mbar . this caused the alloy to melt and bond firmly to each cube . the gold flashing assisted in wetting the surfaces of the cubes and assisting in the bonding of the alloy to these surfaces . the alloy was found to be very firmly bonded to the cubes exhibiting a shear strength in excess of 15 kgmm - 2 .
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the conventional hypodermic syringe 10 generally consists of a molded plastic barrel 11 for holding fluid , a plunger 12 used to draw fluid into the barrel or to eject fluid , a needle holder 13 at one end of the barrel which is usually an integral part of the barrel itself and a hollow needle 14 through which the fluid passes into or out of the body of the patient or animal . to help keep the needle sterile before it is used , a small diameter elongated plastic tubular covering 15 having a small hub 19 near its open end and closed at its other end covering over the needle 14 is removably attached to barrel 11 near the needle holder area usually merely by a friction fit so it can be easily removed for use . additionally , ordinarily each syringe assembly is separately enclosed in a container of some sort , usually a paper package , which can be easily opened when the syringe is to be used . after the package is opened and the syringe is being prepared for use tubular covering 15 is removed and the needle is injected . in some cases the syringe assembly remains intact but in other cases the barrel and the needle may be separated , for example , when the syringe is used to aspirate some part of the body . in any event , for safety reasons as described earlier , the nurse , for example , will place the needle into a receptacle before disposing it . if the needle is discarded uncovered into the waste it could later accidentally prick janitors or others who might be cleaning up . also , if the needle is laying around uncovered , it could fall into bed sheets or other laundry and eventually stick someone . when the syringe remains intact , the nurse will usually insert the needle back into tube 15 . if the needle is separated , the nurse may place the needle in the same receptacle or in a different one before throwing it away . as mentioned earlier , it is not uncommon for the user to be stuck by the needle while trying to place the needle into tube 15 or some other receptacle because the nurse fails to insert the needle into the receptacle opening and as a result , gets stuck by the point of the needle . to overcome this problem , the present invention provides a shield near the open end of the receptacle . in one embodiment , the shield may be in the form of an annular disc 16 which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the receptacle and extends radially and perpendicular outward therefrom . the receptacle may be a different tube or may be tube 15 which had originally covered the needle . disc 16 may be formed integrally with the tube 15 when it is molded or formed or it can be separately made and slipped over the tube and frictionally held in place or it may be locked into a slot around the tube near the open end . as a further feature , the disc 16 may be made out of material that is strong enough to not be torn or pierced by the needle point yet be somewhat flexible or resilient so that if it is made as an integral part of the tube 15 , when the hypodermic syringe is first assembled the disc 16 can be folded or squeezed back on the tube and held in place when packaged yet spring back to its normal position as a shield when the package is opened . this avoids adding appreciable bulkiness to the packaging of the hypodermic syringe . an alternative embodiment is illustrated in fig3 which shows a cone shaped shield which flares outward and rearward from the open end of tube 15 . this also may be constructed as an integral part of the tube or may be friction fitted onto the tube or snapped into a slot or groove formed on the outside of the tube . the flare of shield 17 would not add as much bulkiness to the packaging of the hypodermic syringe as the unfolded disc 16 of fig2 . the shield 17 , however , similarly could be made of a material similar to that described above to further reduce bulkiness in packaging . yet another embodiment is illustrated in fig4 which shows a tube 20 having an outwardly forwardly flaring funnel - shaped opening or mouth at 18 . preferably , this would be formed as an integral part of receptacle 20 ; however , it could be an attachment to tube 15 similar to the previously described embodiments . if the flare were an integral part of the receptacle then the barrel 11 would require a suitable mating tapered surface of some other means would be provided to enable the receptacle to be pushed onto and held by friction at the end of the barrel . in the less common case of the needle being separated from the barrel after use , it can be disposed of by inserting it in an elongated opening 21 ( fig5 ) formed at about the axis of plunger 12 contained in barrel 11 . preferably a recess 22 is formed at the outer end of plunger 12 to engage and frictionally hold the holder end 13 of the inserted needle . the flange 23 on the barrel 11 protects the fingers while the needle is being inserted . fig6 is a rear view of a somewhat rectangular shaped shield 24 around tube 15 . a shield 25 ( fig7 ) also might be shaped as a cloverleaf or cross . a further prior art device , which is not shown in the drawing , includes another plastic tube open at both ends covering over the barrel with tube 15 passing through the opening at one end and the additional tube held in place over the barrel by a cap at its other end . when the syringe is to be used the cap is removed and the additional tube is removed and tube 15 is removed . to place the needle back in tube 15 after use and before discarding , the latter is first inserted into the additional tube and the syringe needle is then inserted into tube 15 located at the far end of the additional tube . this is awkward and time - consuming and most nurses find it troublesome to deal with . these difficulties are avoided with the instant invention .
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fig2 shows the first embodiment of a projection apparatus 20 of the present invention . in general , the projection apparatus 20 comprises a light source 21 , an optical engine 23 , a dmd module 25 , and a cooling module 30 . the projection apparatus 20 can further comprise other essential components for projection , for example , a print circuit board 26 which is not described herein . in addition , fans 22 , 24 are appropriately disposed in this embodiment to form cooling airflows in the projection apparatus 20 . the aforementioned components are all disposed within a housing 29 and integrated to perform a projection function . the dmd module 25 further comprises a dmd chip 251 , which is utilized to process light provided from the light source 21 with the inputted image signals . thus , the dmd chip 251 is one of the principal heat generating portions in the dmd module 25 . the cooling module 30 of the present invention is utilized to cool the dmd module 25 and specifically cool the dmd chip 251 of the dmd module 25 . fig3 is a schematic view illustrating the cooling module 30 . the cooling module 30 generally consists of a heat conduction device 31 , at least one heat pipe 33 , and at least one fin 35 . in this embodiment , one heat pipe 33 and a plurality of fins 35 are illustrated . the heat pipe 33 has a first portion 331 and a second portion 333 in which the first portion 331 connects to the heat conduction device 31 and the second portion 333 connects through the plurality of fins 35 . because the first portion 331 and the second portion 333 are in heat conduction , heat generated from the dmd module 25 for processing light can be outwardly removed from the heat conduction device 31 through the heat pipe 33 and the fins 35 . in this case , the heat conduction device 31 is in contact with the dmd module 25 ; more specifically , in contact with the dmd chip 251 . in actuality , the heat pipe 33 can be integrally formed with the heat conduction device 31 , or alternatively , the heat pipe 33 can be welded or adhered to the heat conduction device 31 during the manufacturing process . a cross - sectional view of the heat conduction device 31 is shown in fig4 a as another embodiment . the heat conduction device 31 includes a contact portion 311 which has a first surface 311 a and a second surface 311 b opposite to the first surface 311 a . in application , the first surface 311 a can be adjacently in contact with the dmd chip 251 while the first portion 331 of the heat pipe 33 can connect to the second surface 311 b . preferably , the heat conduction device 31 further comprises a heat conduction base 313 adjacent to the second surface 311 b of the contact portion 311 . as compared with the contact portion 311 , the heat conduction base 313 possesses a greater area for enhancing heat dissipating efficiency . more specifically , the first portion 331 of the heat pipe 33 is completely embedded in the heat conduction base 313 and in contact with the second surface 311 b of the contact portion 311 . more preferably , at least one base fin 313 a ( or any other simple heat conduction device ) is formed on the outer surface of the heat conduction base 313 which is opposite to the contact portion 311 . increasing the base fin 313 a will increase the heat exchange area and thus promote the cooling efficiency . fig4 b and fig4 c show other embodiments of the heat conduction device 31 . unlike the aforementioned embodiment , the first portion 331 of the heat pipe 33 is attached onto the outer surface of the heat conduction base 313 and is opposite to the contact portion 311 as shown in fig4 b . in fig4 c , the first portion 331 of the heat pipe 33 is partially embedded in the heat conduction base 313 from the outer surface thereof . it is noted that the heat conduction base 313 and the base fin 313 a illustrated in fig4 a , 4 b , and 4 c are only utilized to enhance the cooling efficiency , not as essential elements in the embodiments . with reference to fig2 , the cooling module 30 of the present invention further comprises a fan 22 disposed adjacent to the fins 35 . the fan 22 is suitable for generating a cooling airflow 221 which assists in outwardly dissipating hot air through the fins . therefore , an airflow field can be generated from the cooling airflow 221 flowing in the projection apparatus 20 . this airflow field can also cool other components . preferably , the location of the fan 22 should be adjustable and thus guides the cooling airflow 221 substantially towards the interior of the projection apparatus 20 or more preferably , towards the light source 21 . generally , because the light source 21 is the main heat generating portion in the projection apparatus 20 , the cooling airflow 221 directed at the light source 21 will help cool the light source 21 . furthermore , a plurality of venting apertures 291 can be disposed on the housing 29 of the projection apparatus 20 to facilitate the formation of the airflow field . these venting apertures 291 can also coincide with other fans 24 to facilitate cooling other components in the projection apparatus 20 . for example , in fig2 , the fans 24 are disposed opposite to the plurality of venting apertures 291 to draw airflows . this process can fully and efficiently contribute to the interior airflow field . certainly , the positions of the fans 24 are not limited . the fans can be alternatively disposed on the same side of the venting apertures 291 or other substitute locations . in the ideal situation , light generated by the light source 21 should be guided into the optical engine 23 for projection . nevertheless , scattering light is inevitable . for simplicity , light generated from the light source 21 will be differentiated into a first part and a second part herein ( not shown in the figures ). the first part of the light is guided into the optical engine for projection , while the second part of the light , which is not usable , scatters outward from the optical engine . heat accumulated on the dmd module 25 results from the first part of the light generated by the light source 21 , while the second part of the light may scatter outward from the housing 29 , causing imperfections in the use and quality of the performance . the second embodiment of the present invention provides an arrangement for dealing with the scattered second part of the light . as shown in fig5 , the cooling module 30 of the present embodiment works with fans 24 to generate airflow for cooling the fins 35 and also to shelter the second part of light from the light source 21 . fig6 illustrates a schematic view of the cooling module 30 of the present embodiment . the plurality of fins 35 is disposed substantially along a lengthwise direction of the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 , and successively parallel to one another . consequently , a plurality of parallel spaces is formed for venting airflows and dissipating hot air . for simplicity , each of the fins 35 can be defined as having a first edge 351 and a second edge 353 . the first edge 351 is opposite to the second edge 353 in view of the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 . each of the first edges 351 partially overlaps with the second edge 353 of the adjacent fin thereof along the illuminating direction s ( as shown in fig6 with broken lines ) which is construed by the second part of light generated by the light source 21 . in this embodiment , each of the fins 35 forms a substantially non - orthogonal angle with the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 and then forms overlaps for light sheltering . alternatively , if each of the fins 35 forms an orthogonal angle with the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 , the fins 35 do not provide light sheltering . another embodiment of the plurality of fins 35 is shown in fig7 . each of the fins 35 has a fin body portion 350 and a bending portion 352 which connects with the fin body portion 350 . the first edge 351 is formed on the fin body portion 350 while the second edge 353 is formed on the bending portion 352 . specifically , the fin body portion 350 forms a substantially orthogonal angle with the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 , while the bending portion 352 forms a substantially non - orthogonal angle with the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 . the fins 35 have a plurality of bending portions 352 to increase the overlapping . thus , the bending portion 352 and the fin body portion 350 at least partially overlap along the direction s of the second part of the light , generated by the light source 21 , for shelter . another preferred embodiment is shown in fig8 . the bending portions 352 are respectively formed on the first edge 351 and the second edge 353 of the fins 35 . more preferably , these two groups of bending portions 352 are disposed opposite each other . this can facilitate overlap formations along the direction s of the second part of the light . fig9 shows still another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the fin body portion 350 has a cambered shape . thus , a deviation is formed from the center to the first edge 351 and the second edge 353 of each fin 35 . overlaps for light sheltering can still be formed along the direction s of the second part of the light . the cooling module 30 of the present invention is not limited to be formed with a single heat pipe . as shown in fig1 , the second portion 333 of the heat pipe 33 has two sections that form an included angle therewith , and the fins 35 disposed on the heat pipe 33 are distributed on the two sections . even though the plurality of heat pipes are not illustrated in the figures , either the first portion or the second portion of the heat pipe 33 is expected to be disposed with the fins 35 in plurality . aforementioned embodiments can help cool the dmd module 25 . for example , when the fins 35 of the present invention collaborate with the plurality of heat pipes 33 , the fin body portion 350 has two holes which connect with two heat pipes 33 therethrough as shown in fig1 . to achieve the predetermined cooling efficiency , the way that the holes are to be designed depends on how many that the heat pipes 33 are given . according to the aforementioned disclosures , the cooling module 30 of the present invention uses the heat pipe 33 and the fins 35 to enhance the cooling efficiency of the dmd module 25 . the fins 35 can not only provide rapid cooling but also shelter light due to the overlaps between the fins 35 . the conventionally disposed light shelter plate would be economized . this design thus benefits the dlp apparatus that contributes a narrow interior and an effective airflow field . in addition , the fans 24 and the venting apertures 291 can be disposed on opposite sides , same sides or any other positions in the projection apparatus 20 . furthermore , the fans 24 can either draw or blow airflows . all of these can be adapted in the embodiments as shown in fig5 and fig1 . the above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof people skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof . nevertheless , although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions , they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended .
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referring to fig1 , the present invention shall be described in the context of a simplified computer system 10 having a mass storage device (“ msd ”) 12 , a solid - state drive (“ ssd ”) 14 and a memory 16 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the mass storage device 12 , which may be , for example , one or more hard disk drives , optical disc drives or magnetic tape drives , holds data which may be measured , for example , in petabytes or exabytes , and couples directly or indirectly to a device controller 18 , which may be , for example , one or more serial ata (“ sata ”) controllers or similar devices . the device controller 18 also couples directly or indirectly to the ssd 14 , which may be measured in size , for example , in gigabytes , such as a 128 gigabyte ssd , and the device controller 18 also couples directly or indirectly to a system controller or chipset 20 . the system controller or chipset 20 couples directly or indirectly to one or more system processors 60 , which may execute computer readable software fixed in a tangible medium , and to memory 16 . the memory 16 may be any conventional computer system memory , and in a preferred embodiment , may be dynamic random access memory (“ dram ”), which may be measured , for example , in gigabytes . the ssd 14 comprises interface logic 30 , an ssd controller 32 , a ram buffer 40 and a plurality of flash memory packages 42 , 44 , 48 and 50 , or similar non - volatile computer memory which can be electrically erased and reprogrammed . the device controller 18 communicates with interface logic 30 , which , in turn , communicates with the ssd controller 32 generally via i / o requests and responses . the ssd controller 32 comprises an ssd processor 34 or similar logic , a buffer manager 36 and a flash controller 38 . the ssd processor 34 couples between the interface logic 30 and the flash controller 38 , and the ssd processor 34 also couples to the ram buffer 40 . the buffer manager 36 couples between the interface logic 30 and the flash controller 38 . the ssd controller 32 operates to translate logical pages of incoming requests to physical pages , to translate physical pages of outgoing responses to logical pages , and to issues commands to flash memory packages 42 , 44 , 48 and 50 via the flash controller 38 . the flash controller 38 communicates with the plurality of flash memory packages 42 , 44 , 48 and 50 via a plurality of flash memory channels 46 and 52 , in which certain flash memory packages 42 and 44 are coupled via one channel 46 , and certain flash memory packages 48 and 50 are coupled via another channel 52 . in a preferred embodiment , data will be organized in the ssd 14 such that that multiple entries to be read reside on the same page , thereby reducing the number of page reads . referring to fig2 a , a block diagram of exemplar flash memory package 42 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . each flash memory package may comprise a plurality of flash memory integrated circuit chips or dies 80 and 82 . in turn , each die 80 and 82 may further comprise a plurality of flash memory planes , such as planes 84 and 86 on die 80 , and planes 88 and 90 on die 82 . referring to fig2 b , a block diagram of exemplar flash memory plane 84 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . each flash memory plane may further comprise a cache register 92 , coupled in turn to a data register 94 , coupled in turn to a plurality of blocks 96 . each block may further comprise a plurality of pages 98 for holding data . the data register 94 may temporarily store a data page during a read or write . a page generally represents a minimum increment of data access , being either the amount of data that must be written to or read from the ssd package in a single read cycle or write cycle . in operation , for a write command , the ssd controller 32 may first transfer data to the cache register 92 , then to the data register 94 , via a channel such as channel 46 . the data may then be written from the data register 94 to a corresponding physical page . conversely , for a read command , the data may be first read from the physical page to the data register 94 , then to the cache register 92 , and then the data may be transferred from the cache register 92 to the controller via a channel such as channel 46 . this architecture accordingly provides varying degrees and levels of parallelism . parallelism , as used herein , means that data can be read or written to simultaneously in different parallel structures . each channel can operate in parallel and independently of each other . thus , the ssd 14 allows channel - level parallelism . typically , the data transfers from / to the flash memory packages 42 and 44 on the same channel , or the flash memory packages 48 and 50 on the same channel , are serialized . however , data transfers may also be interleaved with other operations , such as reading data from the page 98 to the data register 94 on other packages sharing the same channel . this interleaving allows package - level parallelism . the ssd controller 32 also allocates consecutive logical pages across a gang of different packages on the same channel to provide package - level parallelism . the command issued to a die 80 can be executed independently of others on the same flash memory package 42 . this allows die - level parallelism . accordingly , multiple operations of the same type , such as read cycles , write cycles and / or erase cycles , can occur simultaneously on different planes in the same die . a two plane command may be used for executing two operations of the same type on two different planes simultaneously . this provides plane - level parallelism . furthermore , data transfers to and from the physical page can be pipelined for consecutive commands of the same type . this may be achieved using the cache register 92 in the plane . for consecutive write commands , the cache register 92 stores the data temporarily until the previous data is written from the data register 94 to the physical page 98 . the cache register 92 may similarly be used for pipelining read commands . currently , reading data from the physical page 98 to the data register 94 may typically takes on the order of 25 microseconds ( μs ). data transfers on the channel may typically take on the order of 100 μs . thus , transfer time on the channel is the primary bottleneck for page reads . as such , the throughput of page reads may be significantly improved by leveraging channel - level parallelism . a first approach to extract the benefits of parallelism may be to simply use multiple threads issuing requests in parallel . by issuing multiple requests in parallel , and increasing the depth of the i / o queue , the overall throughput may be considerably improved . however , to issue requests in a manner that ideally exploits parallelism , it is important to understand the mapping between pages and channels . recently , the authors of “ essential roles of exploiting internal parallelism of flash memory based solid state drives in high - speed data processing ,” hpca , pages 266 - 277 , 2011 , f . chen , r . lee , and x . zhang , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference , have devised a method to determine the mapping . a group of consecutive logical pages is striped across different packages on the same channel . the authors discuss a technique to determine the size of the group that gets contiguously allocated within a channel . they refer to this logical unit of data as a “ chunk .” they show how to determine the chunk size and the number of channels in the ssd . using this , they also show how to derive the mapping policy . in particular , they discuss techniques for deriving two common mapping policies : ( a ) write - order mapping , where the i th chunk write is assigned the channel 1 % n , assuming n is the number of channels , and ( b ) logical block address (“ lba ”) based mapping , where the lba is mapped to a channel based on lba % n . using the above , the chunk size and number of channels for the 128 gigabyte ssd 14 may determined , for example , to be 8 kilobytes and 32 , respectively , following a write - order mapping . with this knowledge of the order of writes to the ssd 14 , we can determine the channel corresponding to a page , which enables determining how to reorder and schedule requests to spread them across channels . in addition , package - level parallelism may be achieved by issuing chunk - sized or larger reads . based on the above properties of the ssd 14 , we identify the following guidelines in designing large hash table - based data structures : ( a ) avoiding random page writes and issue few large writes , ( b ) combining multiple reads by arranging data in such a way that the multiple lookups can be confined to a single page or a small number of pages , and ( c ) intelligent request reordering to allow uniform distribution over channels . referring now to fig3 , a logical diagram illustrating indexing data in a storage system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown . a data element 100 is received for storage in a storage system 102 , which may be a mass storage device , at a storage address 104 . a slot address 106 , such as slot “ 0 ,” is determined in an index 108 in a first memory 110 (“ in - memory ”), which may be dram , as a function 101 , such as a random hash - based function , of a value of the data element 100 for storage . the data element 100 linked to the storage address 104 is stored as an index pair 112 and 114 , respectively , at the slot address 106 in the index 108 in the first memory 110 . the index 108 , a collection of index pairs at various slot addresses in the first memory 110 , may be referred to as an “ incarnation .” an alternative embodiment may provide a plurality of incarnations in the first memory 110 , such as an additional index 109 in the first memory 110 . at intervals , such as when the index 108 is full , which may be determined , for example , by reaching a predetermined number of slot addresses for an incarnation , the index pairs , such as index pair 112 and 114 , are transferred from the first memory 110 to an index 125 , a portion of which may be referred to as a “ slice table ,” in a second flash memory 126 larger in capacity than the first memory 110 , such as an ssd , to be preferentially combined with previously transferred index pairs . for example index pair 112 and 114 having the slot address “ 0 ” may be transferred to the slice table 125 in the second flash memory 126 at a particular “ slice ” or index 120 with other index pairs also having the same slot address “ 0 ,” such as index pair 130 and 132 . the slice table 125 may exist alongside additional slice tables , such as index 127 . similarly , index pair 140 and 142 having the slot address “ n ” may be transferred to the slice table 125 in the second flash memory 126 at a particular “ slice ” 124 in the second flash memory 126 with other index pairs also having the same slot address “ n ,” such as index pair 144 and 146 . in other words , index pairs at each slot address in an incarnation are transferred to slices where they are grouped with previously transferred index pairs according to having the same slot address . for “ n ” slot addresses in the index 108 in the first memory 110 , there may be “ n ” slices in the index or slice table 125 in the second flash memory 126 . for such embodiments using hash tables , this may be referred to as “ slice hash .” such intervals need not occur at fixed or predetermined times . in a preferred embodiment , the size of a slice can be limited to a page , and thus it would require only one page read . for example , for a 16b key - value pair , one slice can contain as many as 128 incarnations . additional incarnations may be created in the first memory 110 , such as the additional index 109 . for example , determining the slot address for distinctly different data values could result in determining the same slot address . in this case , the entries may be stored in different incarnations using the same slot address . in transferring incarnations to the slice table , the most recently created incarnation may be transferred as the latest entries in the corresponding slice table — with the oldest entries in the slice table evicted as may be required , such as due to space limitations — a in a fifo order . a slot address 106 , such as slot “ 0 ,” is determined in an index 108 in a first memory 110 (“ in - memory ”), which may be dram , as a function 101 , such as a random hash - based function , of a value of the data element 100 for storage . the data element 100 may also be received for retrieval from the storage system . in this case , a slot address 134 is determined in the index or slice table 125 of the second flash memory 126 as a function of a value of the data element 100 for retrieval . the preferentially combined index pairs having the same slot address are read from the second flash memory 126 in a single read cycle , the data element for retrieval is identified and a linked storage address is obtained . for inserts / writes , we insert a key into the in - memory index 108 . if the in - memory index 108 becomes full , we first read the corresponding slice table 125 from the second flash memory 126 . we then replace the entries for the corresponding incarnation for each slot or slice with the entry of the in - memory index 108 . then , we write back the modified slice table 125 to the second flash memory 126 . the in - memory index 108 is cleared , and the current incarnation count is incremented . subsequent insertions happen in a similar way . once all incarnations are exhausted on the second flash memory 126 , the incarnation count is reset to zero . thus , this scheme supports a default fifo eviction policy . for updates , if the key is in the in - memory index 108 , the in - memory index 108 is updated with the new value . alternatively , if the key lies on the second flash memory 126 , directly updating the corresponding key - value pair on the second flash memory 126 would cause random page writes and affect performance . instead , the new key - value pair is inserted into the in - memory index 108 . for lookups / reads , the key is first looked up in the in - memory index 108 . if not found , the corresponding slice table is looked up on the second flash memory 126 and the slice is read from the ssd . the entries for all incarnations may be scanned in the order of the latest to the oldest incarnation . this ensures that the lookup does not return stale values . based on the first few bits of keys , the in - memory index 108 may be partitioned into multiple small in - memory indexes , and , for each in - memory index 108 , a corresponding small - sized slice table on flash may be maintained . thus , if an in - memory partition becomes full , only the corresponding slice table on the ssd requires updating . in this way , the size of slice tables on flash and the worst case insertion latency may be controlled . if additional memory is available , spurious lookups may be reduced using in - memory bloom filters . all lookups may be first checked in these bloom filters . if the bloom filters indicate that a key is present in the second flash memory 126 , only then is an ssd lookup issued . further , memory may be used opportunistically . for example , bloom filters can be maintained for only some partitions , for example , those that are accessed frequently . this gives the ability to adapt to memory needs , while ensuring that in the absence of such additional memory application performance targets are still met . referring now to fig4 , a diagram illustrating adding concurrency to slice hash is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in order to leverage the parallelism inherent to an ssd , i / o requests should be issued in parallel . instead of using a multithreaded programming model , multiple concurrent i / o requests may be issued to the ssd , such as that described in “ b +− tree index optimization by exploiting internal parallelism of flash - based solid state drives ,” pvldb , 5 , 2011 , h . roh , s . park , s . kim , m . shin , and s .- w . lee , referred to as “ psync i / o ,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . internally , psync i / o uses multiple asynchronous i / o calls , and waits until all i / o &# 39 ; s are completed . a controller 200 may processes requests originating from request queue 202 , which may comprise insert , update and / or lookup operations , in batches . the controller 200 first processes all requests that can be instantly served in memory . then the controller 200 processes lookup requests which need reading from the ssd . to leverage channel - level parallelism maximally , the controller should pick requests that go to different channels . based on determining a mapping between pages and channels as discussed above , a channel - estimator may be developed to estimate the mapping between read requests and channels . using these estimates , a set of k requests , with k corresponding to the size of the ssd &# 39 ; s ncq , such that the number of requests picked for any channel is minimized . while it is desirable to use as much concurrency as the ncq can provide , it is important to optimally exploit channel parallelism . the algorithm underlying request selection works as follows . in block 204 , a “ depth ” for each channel is maintained , which estimates the number of selected requests for a channel . multiple passes over the request queue are taken until k requests are selected . in each pass , requests that would increase the depth of any channel by at most 1 are selected . in this manner , the set of read requests to be issued are found . in block 206 , the controller then asks a worker 210 to process these read requests in parallel , such as using psync i / o . while the worker 210 is waiting for flash reads to complete , the controller also determines the next batch of read requests to be issued to the worker 210 . after the flash page reads are complete , the worker 210 searches the entries of all incarnations on the corresponding flash page for the given key . after processing lookups , in block 208 the controller assigns ssd insert requests to the worker 210 . these occur when an in - memory index is full and needs to be flushed onto the flash ssd 212 . the worker 210 processes these ssd insert requests , and accordingly reads / writes slice tables from the ssd 212 . note that there may be consistency issues with reordering reads and writes . the controller handles such corner cases explicitly . building on the technique used in “ essential roles of exploiting internal parallelism of flash memory based solid state drives in high - speed data processing ,” write - order mapping to predict the channel corresponding to a request may be determined . as discussed above , data chunk writes alternate across channels . in other words , the first write goes to the first channel , the second write goes to the second channel , and so forth . knowing this write order can help determine the channel for any chunk . one approach is to maintain an index that keeps track of the assignment of each chunk to a channel ; whenever a chunk is written , estimate its channel as 1 % n for the i th write and update the index . for example , the size of the index may be estimated around 160 megabytes for 4 kilobyte data chunk in a 128 gigabyte ssd , and assuming 4 bytes for the chunk identifier , and 1 byte for the channel in the index . we consider an approach that does not require any index management . we configure the size of the slice table to be a multiple of n × chunksize , where n is the number of channels . this simplifies determination of the channel . whenever a slice table is written to the ssd , there will be n chunk writes , and the i th chunk write would go to the i th channel . the subsequent slice table write would also follow the same pattern ; after the n th channel , the first chunk write would go to the first channel , the second chunk write would go to the second channel , and so on . in other words , once we determine the relative chunk identifier ( first , or second , or nth ) for an offset in the slice table , we can determine the channel . the relative chunk identifier can be determined as the offset modulo chunk size . due to its simplistic design and low resource footprint , slice hash can easily leverage multiple ssds attached to a single machine . slice hash can benefit from multiple ssd &# 39 ; s in two ways : ( a ) higher parallelism ( the key space is partitioned across multiple ssds ; one controller - worker combination for each ssd is maintained ; lookup / insert requests may be distributed across multiple ssds ; and each controller may handle requests in parallel ), and ( b ) lower memory footprint ( for each in - memory index , one slice table per ssd is maintained ). for lookups , concurrent lookup requests to all ssds may be issued , in effect requiring an average latency of one page lookup . for insertions , insertions into a slice table on one ssd are made , and as it becomes full , insertions move to next ssd . once all ssd &# 39 ; s slice tables are full , insertions return to the slice table on the first ssd . this may reduce the memory footprint , while maintaining the same latency and throughput . other systems , such as bufferhash and silt , do not support such scaling out and ease of tuning . in practice , depending on the specific requirements of throughput and memory footprint , a combination of the above two techniques may be used to tune the system accordingly . thus , slice hash allows us to leverage multiple ssd &# 39 ; s in many different ways . latency and the memory overhead of slice hash may be analyzed accordingly . table 2 provides a summary of notations relevant for such analysis . the memory overhead per entry may be estimated . the total number of entries in an in memory hash table is h / s eff where h is the size of a single hash table and s eff is the effective average space taken by a hash entry ( actual size ( s )/ utilization ( u )). the total number of entries overall in a slice hash for a given size f of flash is : here , m is the total memory size . hence , the memory overhead per entry is mi # entries , in other words , for s = 16 bytes ( key 8 bytes , value 8 bytes ), u = 80 %, m = 1 gigabyte , and f = 32 gigabytes , the memory overhead per entry is 0 . 6 bytes / entry . in contrast , silt and bufferhash have memory overheads of 0 . 7 bytes / entry and 4 bytes / entry , respectively . by using n ssd &# 39 ; s , we can reduce the memory overhead to even lower , using the technique outlined above . for the above configuration with n = 4 ssd &# 39 ; s , this amounts to 0 . 15 bytes / entry . the average time taken for insert operations may be estimated . the time taken to read a slice table and then write it back is first calculated . this is given by where s is the size of the slice table , b is the size of a flash block , and r b and w b are the read and write latencies per block , respectively . this happens after h / s eff entries are inserted to the hash table ; all insertions up to this point are made in memory . hence , the average insertion cost is ( r b + w b ) × s eff × k b , for typical block read latency of 0 . 31 ms , a blocked write latency of 0 . 83 nearly seconds , s = 16 bytes , m = 1 gigabyte , f = 32 gigabytes , and u = 80 %, the average insertion cost is approximately 5 . 7 microseconds ( μs ), and thus still small . in contrast bufferhash has an average insertion latency of approximately 0 . 2 μs . similarly , the worst - case insertion cost of slice hash is ( 0 . 31 + 083 )× s / b milliseconds ( ms ). by configuring s to be the same size as b , we can control the worst - case insertion cost of the ( 0 . 31 + 083 )= 1 . 14 ms , slightly higher than the worst - case insertion cost ( 0 . 83 ms ) of bufferhash . we consider a cuckoo hashing based hash table implementation with two hash functions . suppose the success probability of the first lookup is p . for each lookup , a corresponding slice is read . we configure h , the size of an in - memory hash table , such that size of a slice is not more than a page . with this , the average lookup cost is r p +( 1 − p )× r p or ( 2 − p )× r p assuming that almost all of the lookups go to ssd and only few requests are served by in - memory hash tables . for p = 0 . 9 , r p = 0 . 15 ms , the average lookup cost is 0 . 16 ms . silt and bufferhash , both have similar average lookup cost . the worst case condition may occur upon reading both pages corresponding to the two hash functions . the worst case lookup latency is 2 × r p . for r p = 0 . 15 ms , this cost is 0 . 3 ms . in contrast , bufferhash may have very high worst case lookup latency ; in the worst case , it may have to scan all incarnations . for k = 32 , this cost would be 4 . 8 ms . the ratio of the number of insertions to the number of block writes to the ssd may be estimated as the ratio r write . a hash table becomes full after every h / s eff inserts , after which the corresponding slice table on flash is modified . the number of blocks occupied by a slice table is s / b or kx h / b . thus thus , by increasing the number of incarnations k , the frequency of writes to ssd ( which is inversely proportional to r write ) also increases . this in turn affects the overall performance . slice hash increases the number of writes to the ssd which may impact its overall lifetime . the lifetime of an ssd may be estimated . for a given insert rate of r , the number of block writes to the ssd per second is r / r writes or the average time interval between block writes is r writes / r . the ssd may supports e erase cycles . assuming the wear leveling scheme for flash is perfect , then the lifetime ( t ) of the ssd could be approximately estimated as number of blocks , f / b times erase cycles e , times average time interval between block writes , r wrires / r , in other words , bloom filters , including as described in “ network applications of bloom filters : a survey ,” internet mathematics , a . broder and m . mitzenmacher , 2005 , 1 ( 4 ): 485 - 509 ; “ bloomflash : bloom filter on flash - based storage ,” in icdcs , b . k . debnath , s . sengupta , j . li , d . j . lilja , and d . h . c . du ., pages 635 - 644 , 2011 ; and “ buffered bloom filters on solid state storage ,” in adms , m . canim , g . a . mihaila , b . bhattacharjee , c . a . lang , and k . a . ross , 2010 , the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference are traditionally used as in - memory data structures . some recent studies have observed , with storage costs falling and data volumes growing into the peta - and exa - bytes , space requirements for bloom filters constructed over such datasets are also growing commensurately . in limited memory environments , there is a need to maintain large bloom filters on secondary storage . the techniques described above may be applied for supporting bloom filters on flash storage efficiently , referred to as “ slice bloom .” similar to slice hash , several in - memory small bloom filters and corresponding slice filters may be provided on flash , similar to slice tables in slice hash described above with respect to fig3 . the in - memory bloom filters are written to flash as incarnations . each slot in a slice filter contains the bits from all incarnations taken together . in traditional bloom filters , a key lookup requires computing multiple hash functions and reading entries corresponding to the bit positions computed by the hash functions . here , the corresponding in - memory bloom filter partition may be first looked up , and then the corresponding slice filter on the flash storage for each hash function may be looked up . the number of hash functions would determine the number of page lookups , which could limit the throughput . since flash storage is less expensive than conventional memory , such as dram , more space per entry on flash may be used , in other words , a larger m / n where m and n are the bloom filter size and number of unique elements , respectively , and reduce the number of hash functions ( k ) while maintaining a similar overall false positive rate . for example , for a target false positive rate of 0 . 0008 , instead of using m / n = 15 and k = 8 , we can use m / n = 32 and k = 3 . by reducing k , the number of page lookups may be reduced and performance improved . locality sensitive hashing , including as described in “ similarity search in high dimensions via hashing ,” in proc . vldb , 1999 , a . gionis , p . indyk , and r . motwani ; “ image similarity search with compact data structures ,” in proc . cikm , 2004 , q . lv , m . charikar , and k . li ; and “ small code and large image databases for recognition ,” in proc . cvpr , 2008 , a . torralba , r . fergus , and y . weiss , the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference , is a technique used in the multimedia community for finding duplicate videos and images at large scale . these systems use multiple hash tables . for each key , the corresponding bucket in each hash table is looked up . then , all entries in the buckets are compared with the key to find the nearest neighbor based on a certain metric , for example , the hamming distance or an l2 norm . once again , the techniques discussed above may be applied to build large lsh hash tables efficiently on flash storage , referred to as “ slice lsh .” each of the lsh hash tables is designed as slice hash ; when a query comes , it goes to all slice hash instances . we further optimize for lsh to exploit ssd - intrinsic parallelism . when we write in - memory lsh hash table partitions to flash , they are arranged on the flash such that each lsh slice table partition belongs to one channel and the hash tables are uniformly distributed over multiple channels . this ensures that multiple hash table lookups would be uniformly distributed over multiple channels , and the intrinsic parallelism of flash ssds is maximally leveraged . one or more specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above . it is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and / or illustrations contained herein , but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims . it should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation , as in any engineering or design project , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers &# 39 ; specific goals , such as compliance with system - related and business related constraints , which may vary from one implementation to another . moreover , it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming , but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design , fabrication , and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure . nothing in this application is considered critical or essential to the present invention unless explicitly indicated as being “ critical ” or “ essential .” certain terminology is used herein for purposes of reference only , and thus is not intended to be limiting . for example , terms such as “ upper ,” “ lower ,” “ above ,” and “ below ” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made . terms such as “ front ,” “ back ,” “ rear ,” “ bottom ,” “ side ,” “ left ” and “ right ” describe the orientation of portions of the component within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the component under discussion . such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above , derivatives thereof , and words of similar import . similarly , the terms “ first ,” “ second ” and other such numerical terms referring to structures do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context . when introducing elements or features of the present disclosure and the exemplary embodiments , the articles “ a ,” “ an ,” “ the ” and “ said ” are intended to mean that there are one or more of such elements or features . the terms “ comprising ,” “ including ” and “ having ” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements or features other than those specifically noted . it is further to be understood that the method steps , processes , and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated , unless specifically identified as an order of performance . it is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed . references to “ a microprocessor ” and “ a processor ” or “ the microprocessor ” and “ the processor ” can be understood to include one or more microprocessors that can communicate in a stand - alone and / or a distributed environment ( s ), and can thus be configured to communicate via wired or wireless communications with other processors , where such one or more processor can be configured to operate on one or more processor - controlled devices that can be similar or different devices . furthermore , references to memory , unless otherwise specified , can include one or more processor - readable and accessible memory elements and / or components that can be internal to the processor - controlled device , external to the processor - controlled device , and can be accessed via a wired or wireless network . all of the publications described herein including patents and non - patent publications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties .
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referring initially to fig1 a system is shown , generally designated 10 , for managing data access in a distributed data storage system , such as a storage area network ( san ) having associated client computers and at least one server computer . as shown , the system 10 can include a cluster of server computers , and the network can include plural storage disks and tapes and other storage devices . one or more of the disks can be “ local ” to a client computer , i . e ., the client computer manages one or more disks as though the disks were local to the client computer . in one intended embodiment , the computers of the present invention may be personal computers made by international business machines corporation ( ibm ) of armonk , n . y ., or the computers may be any computer , including computers sold under trademarks such as as400 , with accompanying ibm network stations . or , the computers may be unix computers , or os / 2 servers , or windows nt servers , or ibm workstations or ibm laptop computers . the flow charts herein illustrate the structure of the logic executed by the computers of the present invention as embodied in computer program software . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the flow charts illustrate the structures of logic elements , such as computer program code elements or electronic logic circuits , that function according to this invention . manifestly , the invention is practiced in its essential embodiment by a machine component that renders the logic elements in a form that instructs a digital processing apparatus ( that is , a computer ) to perform a sequence of function steps corresponding to those shown . in other words , the flow charts may be embodied in a computer program that is executed by a processor within the computers as a series of computer - executable instructions . these instructions may reside , for example , in a program storage device 12 of the computers . the program storage device 12 may be ram of the computers , or a magnetic or optical disk or diskette , dasd array , magnetic tape , electronic read - only memory , or other appropriate data storage device . in an illustrative embodiment of the invention , the computer - executable instructions may be lines of compiled c ++ compatible code . to better understand the flow charts described below that illustrate the present invention , reference is first made to fig2 - 4 . as a preferred but non - limiting example of the types of semi - preemptible access locks that can be used in the present invention , attention is now directed to fig2 which shows a table 14 of locks and lock semantics . it is to be understood that a semi - preemptible access lock of the present invention permits predefined open accesses to assets in the data storage system as long as the semi - preemptible access lock is held by a client computer . that is , to access an asset a client computer first obtains a semi - preemptible access lock , and then , as further described below , the client computer can permit processes to obtain file locks as required to instantiate actual open instances . once an actual open instance is closed and the file lock relinquished , the client computer nonetheless retains the semi - preemptible access lock to support subsequent open instances until such time as the semi - preemptible access lock is relinquished in accordance with the disclosure below . as shown , six locks , respectively named “ metadata ”, “ read ”, “ shared ”, “ write ”, “ update ”, and “ exclusive ” can be provided from which a client computer can select , depending on the type of access to an asset that is desired by the client computer and the types of other concurrent open instances of the asset the client computer is willing to accept . accordingly , as indicated in the third column of the table 14 , the “ m ” semi - preemptible access lock can be used to access metadata of an asset under the lock , and when the “ m ” lock is used another client computer concurrently can access the same asset for any other type of open instance , i . e ., read , metadata , and write . furthermore , the “ r ” lock can be used to obtain read accesses of an asset , and when the “ r ” lock is used another client computer concurrently can access the same asset for any other type of open instance . on the other hand , when the “ s ” lock is used , read accesses of an asset can be obtained under the lock , and when the “ s ” lock is used another client computer can concurrently access the same asset but only for read accesses and metadata accesses . as further shown in fig2 the “ w ” lock can be used to obtain both read and write accesses of an asset , with any other concurrent access of the asset by another client computer being permissible . moreover , the “ u ” lock can be used to obtain read and write accesses of an asset , and when the “ u ” lock is used another client computer concurrently can access the same asset but only for read and metadata accesses . on the other hand , when the “ x ” lock is used , read and write accesses of an asset can be obtained under the lock , and when the “ x ” lock is used another client computer can concurrently access the same asset but only for metadata accesses . the set of access privileges granted by a lock “ l ” can be designated “ p l ”. in contrast , the set of sharing privileges restricted by a lock “ l ” can be designated “ c l ”. fig3 illustrates a compatibility table 16 , which shows which locks are compatible with which other locks . check marks indicate compatibility . as intended by one preferred embodiment , two locks are compatible with each other if they mutually share the access modes that the other lock protects . stated differently , in one presently preferred embodiment lock l s is compatible with lock l t iff p ls c lt and p lt c ls . thus , for example , the “ m ” lock is compatible with all other locks that might happen to have been granted , the “ r ” lock is compatible with all other locks but the “ x ” lock , the “ w ” lock is compatible with the “ m ”, “ r ”, and “ w ” locks , the “ s ” lock is compatible with the “ m ”, “ r ”, and “ s ” locks , the “ u ” lock is compatible with the “ m ” and “ u ” locks , and the “ x ” lock is compatible only with other outstanding “ x ” locks . as set forth further below , locks may require upgrading or downgrading . fig4 shows the legal upgrades and downgrades between the msrwux locks . for example , as indicated by the arrows the “ x ” lock can be upgraded to any other lock , the “ u ” lock can be upgraded to any other lock but the “ x ” lock , the “ w ” and “ s ” locks can be upgraded to the “ r ” and “ m ” locks , and the “ r ” lock can be upgraded only to the “ m ” lock . in contrast , the “ m ” lock can be downgraded to any other lock , and the “ r ” lock can be downgraded to the “ w ”, “ s ”, and “ u ” locks . fig5 shows the server logic that is executed when a request for a semi - preemptible access lock l r is received by the server . commencing at block 40 , a request for an access lock is received . moving to decision diamond 42 , the server determines whether the requested lock is compatible with any other outstanding access lock . if it is determined at decision diamond 42 that the requested lock is compatible with all outstanding access locks , the process moves to block 44 to grant the requested lock . in contrast , if the test at decision diamond 42 is negative , the logic moves to block 46 to demand all incompatible locks from the client computers that hold those locks . if any denials are received at decision diamond 48 , the requested lock is denied at block 50 ; otherwise , the lock is granted at block 44 . fig6 shows the logic executed by a client computer when a demand for a semipreemptible lock is received from the server . commencing at block 70 , the demand is received , and at decision diamond 72 it is determined whether any open instances exist that are protected by the demanded lock , i . e ., whether any children nodes representing local locks exist under the root node representing the demanded lock in the client forest . if not , the lock is relinquished at block 74 . on the other hand , if open instances exist that are protected by the demanded semi - preemptible access lock , the logic flows to block 76 to determine the compatibility of each semi - preemptible access lock held by the client computer vis - a - vis the demanded lock . proceeding to block 78 , all locks that are incompatible with the demanded lock are added to an incompatible list , and then , at block 80 , each lock in the incompatible list is attempted to be downgraded in accordance with the downgrades shown in fig4 while still protecting any local instances , i . e ., while still encapsulating any local file locks . if it is determined at decision diamond 82 that any downgrades failed , the requested lock is refused to be relinquished at block 84 ; otherwise , if all incompatible locks can be successfully downgraded as described further below , the client computer relinquishes the requested lock at block 86 . should a client computer receive a request for a local open instance that requires a stronger access lock than the one held by the client computer , it invokes the logic above to request the required access lock . as recognized herein , the client never needs to upgrade from a held lock to a stronger incompatible lock , because that would mean the client is not using the full strength of its current access lock . clients address this situation by downgrading their current access lock to an access lock that protects existing open instances , and then upgrading to the needed stronger lock . while the particular system for managing asset access in a distributed storage system as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the above - described objects of the invention , it is to be understood that it is the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and is thus representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention , that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art , and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims , in which reference to an element in the singular means “ at least one ”. all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above - described preferred embodiment that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims . moreover , it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention , for it to be encompassed by the present claims . furthermore , no element , component , or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element , component , or method step is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . § 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “ means for ”.
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the suspended urinary external drainage system type diaper 10 as shown in fig1 has a flexible outer liquid barrier 12 made from a plastic material , a treated nylon material or other suitable material . the barrier 12 is connected to the collector 14 . the collector 14 has a tubular cross section and preferably forms a ring that encircles the entire diaper 10 . a flexible material is used to construct the collector . however , the collector 14 must maintain a central passage that permits the flow of liquid when such flow is required . the flow of liquid can be ensured by using a semi - rigid material for collector construction or by providing internal projections 68 , shown in fig3 that prevent the collector walls from collapsing . the diaper 10 has a back half 16 and a front half 18 connected by crotch portion 20 . the barrier 12 is narrow in the crotch portion 20 so that the barrier and two portion of the collector 14 can pass between the legs of a person wearing the diaper 10 . the collector 14 as shown in fig1 extends across the top portion 22 of the back half 16 as well as the top portion 24 of the front half 18 . the portions of the collector 14 that extend across the top portion 22 of the back half 16 could be eliminated but in some situations fluid might be retained in the collector that should be discharged . a large number - of capillary tubes 26 pass through the walls of the collector 14 and extend into the center section of the front half 18 of the diaper 10 . each capillary tube 26 has an inlet end 28 and a discharge end 30 . the inlet ends 28 are positioned in a center portion of the front half 18 and in the crotch portion 20 where a plurality of the inlets can receive any fluids that are discharged and carry these fluids to the collector 14 under the force of gravity regardless of the position the person wearing the diaper 10 is in . the discharge ends 30 of the capillary tubes 26 are positioned away from the walls of the collector 14 so that any discharge fluids in the collector are generally out of contact with the discharge ends of other tubes . the capillary tubes 26 make sealing contact with the walls of collector 14 where they pass through the walls . the capillary tubes 26 can be glass or plastic . if they are plastic , they must be a plastic that will not hold fluid droplets on their surfaces . medical plastics used in heart pumps and blood filters can be used . discharge openings are provided at position 32 through 42 in the walls of the collector 14 . positions 32 and 42 are toward the top of the back half 16 of the diaper . positions 34 and 40 are in the crotch area or portion 20 . positions 36 and 38 are near the top of the front half 18 of the diaper . at each position 32 through 42 there is preferably an upper opening 44 and a lower opening 46 as shown at positions 36 and 38 in fig2 . two openings 44 and 46 are provided so that fluid can be drained from the collector 24 regardless of the position of the person wearing the diaper . each of the openings 44 is connected to a short discharge tube 48 . each opening , 46 is also connected to is a short discharge tube 50 . each pair of short discharge tubes 48 and 50 are connected to a common t coupler 51 with an outlet 52 . the short discharge tubes 48 and 50 have sufficient length for the outlet 52 to fall below the opening 44 and 46 depending on the orientation of the diaper 10 . long discharge tubes 54 , 56 , 58 , 60 , 62 , and 64 connect the out lets , 52 of each t coupler 51 to a holding bag 66 . a one - way valve ( not shown ) is built into each t coupler 51 if desired to prevent the return flow of discharged fluids to the collector 14 . if desired the long discharge tubes 54 - 64 can be connected to a common connector and a single final discharge tube can extend to the holding bag 66 . long discharge tubes could also be connected directly to each of the openings 44 and the holding bag 66 . long discharge tubes would also have to be connected to the openings 46 and to the holding bag 66 . the capillary tubes 26 are covered with a fabric lining 70 . the outer edge of the lining 70 is secured to the collector 14 . this fabric lining 70 is a soft cotton material which permits urine to pass through to the inlet ends 28 of the capillary tubes 26 . the cotton material is treated to prevent the absorption of liquid and keep the lining substantially dry . tape strips 72 and 74 on each side of the back half 16 of the diaper 10 can adhere to the front half 18 to hold the diaper on an individual . the diaper 10 is made primarily from inexpensive synthetic materials . this makes it inexpensive to change the diaper 10 two or three times a day and keep the wearer dry substantially all the time . skin problems are substantially reduced and infections are substantially eliminated . labor costs are substantially reduced . overall there will be significant savings . the drain tubes 48 and 50 are removed from the collector 14 when the diaper 10 is changed . a disinfectant can be quickly forced through the drain tubes if desired . the holding bag 66 is discarded together with the urine collected and the disinfectant periodically . the disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently preferred form of the invention , but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof . the invention is defined in the claims .
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aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention . alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention . additionally , well - known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention . before the present invention is disclosed and described , it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting . it must be noted that , as used in the specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . while the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel , it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures , in which like reference numerals are carried forward . the figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale . the present invention provides a new system to safely and efficiently transfer a card holder &# 39 ; s account information to a vendor &# 39 ; s pos device . the term “ card ” encompasses credit , charge , and debit cards , or any other type of card used to identify a user &# 39 ; s account information . the term “ vendor ” includes , but is not limited to any entity ; such as a merchant or other retailer , including hardware or software used thereby , that accepts card information in relation to completion or facilitation of financial transactions . the term “ pos device ” encompasses any economic transaction device , such as credit - card readers , atm machines , fuel dispensers , and others . referring now to fig1 , an exemplary card 100 is shown . as stated above , the term “ card ,” is used generically herein , and is not necessarily meant to refer only to a credit card , but can include charge cards , debit cards , smart cards , microprocessor cards , and other identification - number - bearing cards of the same or different dimensions . fig1 shows the front face of the card 100 . in one embodiment , the card 100 is made of a medium 102 , which can be , for example , plastic or other type of synthetic , and supports printed or raised characters , such as a visible account number 104 , an expiration date 106 , an authorization number 108 , and a name 110 of the cardholder . in addition , the card can include graphics 112 that , for example , identify the card issuer or an institution to which the card is associated . an account number 104 is created and used by an issuing institution , such as a bank , to uniquely identify the card holder and the card holder &# 39 ; s account . generally , each issuer type is also identified by this number . for instance , account numbers issued by american express are 15 digits long and account numbers issued by visa and mastercard are 16 digits long . in addition , account number formats are able to vary between issuing institutions . to authorize a card &# 39 ; s use , a merchant receives account information , such as the account number , so they can transmit it to the credit card issuer or some other credit verifying entity for verification of the account . this can be accomplished in several ways utilizing embodiments of the present invention , including traditional methods . a first traditional way is for the merchant to manually enter the account numbers digit by digit into the pos system . this can be accomplished by reading the visible number 104 on the front face of the card and typing the number 104 into a keypad on the payment terminal . a second traditional method to receive the account information is by swiping a magnet strip , described below , on the card across a magnetic strip reader . both of these first two methods are well known in the art . fig2 shows the back side of the card 100 , which includes a magnetic strip 200 attached to or integrated into the body 102 . the magnetic strip 200 is encoded with the account number 104 shown on the front face or some other code that is associated with the user &# 39 ; s account number . the pos system is provided with a magnetic strip reader that is used to capture the account number and transmit it to the credit card issuer for verification of the account . typically , the back side of credit cards has a signature box 202 . when a card is first received , the holder signs his or her name in the signature box 202 . during a transaction , a merchant can compare the signature of the person completing the transaction to the signature in the signature box 202 . this comparison acids a layer of security to help ensure that the person completing the transaction is actually the authorized card holder . in addition to the two traditional methods of manually entering numbers and swiping the magnetic strip 200 on the card , as just described , embodiments of the present invention advantageously also provide further methods of communicating account information to a merchant that provide greater convenience than any method currently known in the art . fig3 shows the card 100 of fig1 and 2 with a wireless account information transmitting device 300 integrated into the body 102 . in some embodiments of the present invention , device 300 is used as a receiving device as well . in one embodiment , the transmitter is a radio frequency identification ( rfid ) device 300 . radio frequency identification ( rfid ) is a well - known automatic identification method , relying on storing and remotely retrieving data via rfid transponders . in this exemplary application , the data includes a credit - card holder &# 39 ; s account information and is stored in a memory 310 provided on the card 100 . the rfid transponder device 300 has its own internal power source 302 , which is used to power a clock 308 and any integrated circuits that are used to generate an outgoing radio - frequency signal 304 . in one embodiment , the rfid device 300 has a practical communication range of only about 1 foot or less . this short range helps limit the number of persons / devices that are able to receive , i . e ., intercept , the credit card information to those that are in the very near vicinity . however , the present invention , is not limited to any particular range . a clandestine receiver may be equipped with a more - sensitive antenna and , hence , may be able to communicate with the card or pos device over a longer distance than normally expected . the invention can , therefore , transmit at distances less than or greater than 1 foot . in addition , the present invention provides features not present in prior - art economic - transaction systems . specifically , the inventive card 100 includes a vibration detector 306 , which is coupled to the clock 308 , a processor 309 , the memory 310 , and the wireless account information transmitting device 300 . the vibration detector 306 can be any device that senses vibrations and shock , whether acoustic or tactile , acceleration , tilt , and many others . exemplary implementations of the vibration detector 306 include microelectromechanical systems ( mems ) ( separate or built directly into processor chips ), microphones , piezoelectric crystals , and more . as shown in fig4 , the merchant is equipped with a pos system 400 that is able to wirelessly receive and interpret information from the card 100 . the pos system 400 includes a housing 402 enclosing a wireless receiving antenna 404 , which is capable of receiving card information transmitted by the wireless account information transmitting device 300 on the card 100 . the housing 402 also includes at least a surface 406 on an area facing the customer during a transaction . as shown in fig5 , also located on or within the housing 402 is a vibration detector 408 , which is operable to detect the occurrence of a vibration and , in particular , a tap on the surface 406 . the vibration detector 408 can be any device that senses vibrations and shock , whether acoustic or tactile , acceleration , tilt , and many others . exemplary implementations of the vibration detector 408 include microelectromechanical systems ( mems ) ( separate or built directly into processor chips ), microphones , piezoelectric crystals , and more . the pos system 400 further includes a clock 410 and a processor 412 , which includes comparative capabilities , as will be explained below . in operation , the vibration detector 306 within the card 100 will detect a vibration and , in particular , a tap of the card 100 against the surface 406 of the housing 402 . correspondingly , the vibration detector 408 of the housing 402 also detects the same tap . as will now be explained , the independently - recognized taps can be used to authenticate a transaction . fig6 , in conjunction with fig3 - 5 , show an exemplary process that takes place during an exemplary transaction utilizing the inventive card 100 and pos system 400 . the flow begins at step 600 and moves directly to step 602 where a card holder 414 , in physical possession of a card 100 , comes within a defined proximity to a pos terminal system 400 , shown in fig4 . in step 604 , the card holder 414 makes a brief physical contact , i . e ., “ taps ,” the card 100 against the surface 406 of the pos system 400 . upon occurrence of the tap , in step 606 , both the vibration detector 306 of the card 100 and the vibration detector 408 of the pos system 400 detect the vibration . substantially simultaneously with detecting the vibration , in step 608 , both the card 100 and the pos system 400 mark a time stamp , which will provide a reference of when the tap occurred . the pos system 400 , in step 610 , through use of the clock 410 and the processor 412 , begins counting the amount of time expired since the time stamp , i . e ., since the tap occurred . in step 612 , the card 100 , through use of the clock 308 and processor 309 , also begins counting the amount of time expired since the tap occurred . in step 614 , the transmitter 300 of the card 100 wirelessly transmits information 304 to the pos system 400 . the information 308 includes the account number , i . e ., credit card number , as well as a tap confirmation signal , which includes information indicating the amount of time that has expired since the tap occurred . in other embodiments , the credit card account number or other account - generating information can be transmitted separately from the transmission of the tap confirmation . in step 616 , the pos system 400 receives the information 304 , including the tap confirmation . the pos system 400 then , in step 618 compares the amount of expired time , which information is contained within the tap confirmation signal 304 , to the elapsed time recorded by the pos system 400 since the last tap occurred . if the times match , i . e ., have the same amount of expired time and are accurate , within a predetermined amount of error , the transaction is confirmed in step 620 and the account information 416 is then transmitted , in step 622 , to an account - verifying entity 418 , which can be the card issuer or any agent or extension thereof , for verification that that account number is valid and that the transaction is authorized by the issuer of the card . this transmission can be wired , such as via the internet , phone line , or any other network , or may be wireless . the process ends at step 624 . if , in step 618 , the elapsed times do not match , the transaction is denied in step 626 and , as an optional step ( dashed line ), the failed transaction can be reported in step 628 to a relevant merchant , bank , the account holder , and / or the card holder . the inventive tap - verifying step advantageously ensures that account information from other cards in proximity to the pos system 400 is not erroneously accepted into the transaction . if sufficient precision of corresponding tap times between the card and pos system 400 is required , the likelihood that another card near the pos system 400 will be tapped at the same time becomes virtually impossible or , at least , extremely unlikely . the present invention includes various amounts of precision between the card 100 and pos system 400 elapsed time calculations , but an error of no more than 5 milliseconds is used in at least one embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , if the elapsed time calculations vary by more than 5 milliseconds , the transaction is not allowed . in one embodiment , the allowed range of time difference would be between 1 and 5 milliseconds . if the card 100 was provided with a 32 khz clock , for instance , which is relatively slow ( selected for the purpose of saving power ), the frequency the “ clock ticks ” would be a thirtieth of a millisecond , allowing , time measurement to a precision on that order . the present invention , however , is in no way limited to transactions using cards like credit cards . a great majority of today &# 39 ; s card holders carry cellular telephones when making a purchase . although numerous other electronic devices , such as mp3 players , personal desktop assistants ( pda ), pagers , global positioning system ( gps ) units , and others , could be used with the present invention , the cellular telephone will be described herein as an exemplary embodiment of an alternative to the card device 100 described above . as shown in fig7 , a cellular telephone 700 includes a built in microphone 702 . as is well known in the art , a microphone 702 enables the cellular telephone 700 to convert sounds in the environment of the telephone 700 ( e . g ., a user &# 39 ; s speech ) into a series of electrical signals . in addition , cellular telephone 700 utilizes an antenna 704 , whether internal or external ( as shown ), to communicate with the cellular telephone &# 39 ; s service provider . this antenna 704 also allows the device to communicate with other electronic devices , such as the pos system 400 , in addition to the cellular - telephone service provider . fig7 also shows the telephone 700 having a processor 706 , a clock 708 , and a memory 710 — subsystems that are present in virtually every cell phone in existence . as with the credit card 100 described above , the cellular telephone 700 can , itself , be tapped against the pos system 400 to produce an audible sound . the tapping sound produced by such mechanical contact is recognized by both the cellular phone 700 and the pos system 400 substantially simultaneously . in this embodiment , the microphone 702 of the cellular telephone 700 performs the same or similar function as the vibration detector 306 , which is to capture the moment of the tap . here , microphone 702 , serving as a vibration detector , and the vibration detector 408 of the pos system 400 will record an electronic signature of the tapping sound . substantially simultaneously with detecting the vibration , both the phone 700 and the pos system 400 mark a time stamp , which will provide a reference of when the tap occurred . the pos system 400 , through use of the clock 410 and the processor 412 , begins counting the amount of time expired since the time stamp , i . e ., since the tap occurred . the phone 700 , through use of the clock 708 and processor 706 , also begins counting the amount of time expired since the tap occurred . the steps involved in a consumer attempting to make an authorized purchase from a merchant or retailer are shown in fig8 . the process flow starts at step 800 and progresses to step 802 , where the consumer inputs his / her account information into the phone 700 or , more specifically , the memory 710 within the phone 700 . it should be noted that , the cellular telephone 700 is just one of a myriad of electronic devices capable of use with the present invention and , therefore , this embodiment of the invention should not be limited to a cell phone configuration . in step 803 , the user places the device in a tap - verification state . this state - change can be performed by operation of a hard switch , soft buttons , or any other way of indicating to the device that the state should be entered . in step 804 , the owner 414 of the electronic device comes in close proximity with a pos system 400 . in step 806 , the consumer 414 taps their cellular telephone 700 to the payment terminal 400 , thereby creating an audible sound . both the electronic device 700 and payment terminal 400 receive and record the time of the tapping sound in step 808 . from a security standpoint , the fact that both vibration detectors 408 , 702 located in the pos system 400 and the cellular telephone 700 , respectively , hear the tapping sound and provide a subsequent comparison of the recorded times and their respective elapsed times to the time of comparison provides a novel mode of achieving secure authentication . since the tapping creates a sound from the mechanical interaction of the cellular telephone 700 and pos system 400 , both sounds will have substantially identical timestamps and , in one embodiment , audio waveforms . in this embodiment , both the pos system 400 and the cellular telephone 700 capture the actual audio waveform of the tap . a subsequent comparison of this audio waveform can be used to differentiate a second device that was tapped at the same time , but not against the same surface 406 . once the tapping is audibly captured , the cellular telephone 700 , in step 810 , sends the user account information and timestamp to the pos system 400 through antenna 704 . optionally , the cellular telephone 700 can also transmit the audio signature it received at the time of the tap in step 810 as well . when the pos device 400 has both its own recorded timestamp and receives the timestamp and account information from the cellular telephone 700 , in step 812 , both timestamps are sent along with the user account information to an authorization service . the authorization service can be a comparison performed within the pos system 400 or can be carried out remotely at an account verifying entity 418 . again , the comparison can also include a comparison of the audio signatures of both sides of the tap that were recorded in step 808 . at step 814 , the authorization service compares the two elapsed times since the tap occurred or , in some embodiments , the audible waveforms , with one being from the cellular telephone 700 and the other from the pos system 400 . the comparison step determines if the elapsed time or audio signals are the same , i . e ., vary by no more than an acceptable error margin , e . g ., 0 . 5 %. various techniques known to those skilled in the art may be used to characterize the two audio signals , such as intensity - over - time , frequency - domain spectra ( e . g . : fast fourier transform processing ), or other techniques of signal analysis . this margin of error may account for the amount of time it takes to transmit and receive the elapsed time value between the card 100 and the pos system 400 . if the elapsed time is a match , then the process advances to step 816 , whereby the authorization service confirms the successful authorization to the merchant and applies the purchase to the account information provided . the transaction by the user completes at step 818 , where the request is confirmed by the bank . the process ends at step 824 . however , if at step 814 the authorization service determines that the two elapsed times vary from each other by more than the allowable variation , the transaction is denied at step 820 . for example , the audible nature of sound allows for its interception by someone or some piece of electronic theft equipment within range of the sound . however , the speed of sound creates a delay in a recorded audio signature when the sound is received subsequent to the tapping . this delay provides sufficient verification information for the authenticating service to differentiate the intercepted signal , post - tapping , from the user - authorized signal that was created simultaneous to the tapping . this security measure protects the account holder and issuer from unauthorized purchases . in addition , in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , this denial will also trigger a notification , in step 822 , to the merchant and account holder of the attempted unauthorized purchase . by sending this notification , the merchant will not proceed with the purchase and the account holder will be put on notice of the thwarted unauthorized purchase on their account so s / he can take further action . once this notification occurs , the process ends at step 824 . the heretofore mentioned tapping / confirming technology can be implemented in many other applications including , but not limited to , automobile key fobs , locker / safe devices , gap pumps , computer terminal access devices , door knobs , and many others . a transaction authentication system , device , method , and protocol has just been described that advantageously provides an added layer of security to economic transactions as well as to many other possible situations where access is limited to those with authorization .
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referring now to fig1 and 2 , a two compartment bag that is a first embodiment of the invention comprises a first rectangular backing sheet part 10 of any one of the thin plastics material usually employed in the plastics bag making industry , the sheet part having a top edge 12 , a bottom edge 14 and side edges 16 , and a second rectangular cover sheet part 18 also having top , bottom and side edges . to avoid multiplicity of reference numbers the corresponding edges of all of the separate sheet parts from which the bag is formed are given the same reference numbers as those of the first sheet part . in the finished bag the side edges 16 of this second sheet part register with the corresponding edges of the first sheet part , while the two sheet parts are formed by folding to a j - shape a section taken from a first continuous strip of plastics material , the common fold junction between them comprising their bottom edges 14 . the side edges 16 of these two sheet parts are sealed together to form a first larger compartment 20 of the two bag compartments , and in this embodiment the backing sheet part 10 is somewhat longer than the cover sheet part 18 , giving a top border part 22 extending beyond the second sheet part that can be provided with wicket holes 24 , and / or folded down to close the top end of the first compartment when desired . in other embodiments the section may be folded to a u - shape , whereby the two sheet parts are of the same length without such a top border part . a second shorter compartment 26 is formed from a section of a second continuous strip of plastics material attached to the front surface of the second cover sheet part 18 , this sheet section being folded along two parallel fold lines to provide a third rectangular compartment forming sheet part 28 , a fourth rectangular closure sheet part 30 , and a fifth rectangular connecting sheet part 32 connecting the third and fourth sheet parts . the top edges 12 of the third and fifth sheet parts comprise the common fold junction between them , while the bottom edges 14 of the fourth and fifth sheet parts are constituted by the other parallel common fold junction . the third , fourth and fifth sheet parts are all of much shorter length than the backing and cover sheet parts , while the widths of all of the first through fifth sheet parts are the same , so that all of the side edges register with one another . in this embodiment the bottom edges 14 of the second and third sheet parts register with one another . the fourth sheet part overlays a portion of the second sheet part , the top edge 12 of the third sheet part and an immediately adjacent top portion 34 of the third sheet part to an extent that will be described in detail below . the first larger compartment 20 between the first and second sheet parts 10 and 18 extends the full length of the second sheet part and has an opening to its interior at its top end . this first compartment is made of sufficient size for a larger item 36 , such as a periodical , magazine or a folded newspaper , to be received therein and the top border part 22 of the backing sheet part 10 to be folded down to close the compartment , if desired . the closure can be made more permanent , again if desired , by stapling or by a strip of adhesive tape 38 overlying the top edge of the first sheet part and the adjacent surface of the second sheet part . if the bag is made sufficiently long it is also possible to twist the upper end and tie it with a knot or with a wire tie . the second shorter compartment 26 formed between the third through fifth sheet parts is within the area of the first compartment , this second compartment having a labyrinthine opening to its interior comprising a downward facing opening between the lower portion of the fourth sheet part 30 and the overlaid top portion 34 of the third sheet part 28 , and an upward facing opening between the third and fifth sheet parts . a small but relatively bulky item 40 , such as a sample box of cereal , can easily be inserted through this opening into the second compartment and will be retained securely therein by the closure formed by the overlapping two sheets , despite the fact that the opening remains permanently open for ready removal of the item by the recipient . if nevertheless a more secure closure is desired this can be achieved by use of a small piece of adhesive tape 42 . prior proposals for comparable dual compartment bags have restricted the use of the second smaller compartment to the receipt and accommodation of a small very thin item , such as an accompanying invoice or waybill , and none provides a structure that can successfully receive and retain a bulky item therein without the necessity for a permanent closure means , such as a protected adhesive strip or a separate strip of adhesive tape . it has been found that the requirements for a successful multiple compartment bag that will safely store a bulky item in a second compartment while providing immediate permanent access , are that the compartment should extend the full width of the first compartment , thereby providing the maximum possibility of bulging outward from the first compartment while containing the bulky item , and that the labyrinthine opening should be formed as the result of overlap lengthwise between the sheet parts of closely defined limits . specifically , the minimum lengthwise overlap required is considerable , namely at least 30 % of the overall length of the second compartment , if the item is to be safely retained and readily removable as required , as compared to the 10 % provided in the embodiment of the japanese publication no . 5 - 330563 ( a ) referred to above . a maximum value for the overlap is found to be 70 % of the overall length of the second compartment , since above this value there is not justifiable increase in retentiveness , and it becomes rapidly and surprisingly too difficult to readily insert and remove the bulky item , so that the additional material required is wasted . fig1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment in which the overlap to form the labyrinthine opening is at the minimum value of 30 % such a bag can be produced using readily available sheet handling and sealing equipment and is simple and inexpensive to manufacture . in the absence of the bagged items it is sufficiently flat that it can readily be collated , stacked and packaged for transport to the place of use . any of the outwardly facing sheet part surfaces can be provided with decorative and informative printed matter , using any of the available printing techniques for plastics materials . even with both compartments loaded the bags are of consistent size set by the size of the first compartment , so that if desired the loaded bags can still readily be packed for transport to the distribution point . thus , newspaper and magazine periodical publishers are able to use the bags in the field of home sample delivery using their existing distribution networks , especially since their delivery personnel are accustomed to being required to bag the newspaper prior to delivery and / or to insert into the publication additional booklets and / or advertising flyers delivered to them separately in bulk . with the multi - compartment bags of the invention it is possible for the bags , the newspapers or magazines , and the samples to be delivered separately in bulk to each delivery person , and thereafter it is not an onerous task for that person to insert the publications and the samples into the bags to result in easily carried and deliverable units . similarly , a sample delivery organization is able to provide economically easily carried and deliverable units each consisting of a bulky sample together with any pertinent or other printed advertising material . although in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 the second compartment 26 is much smaller in length than the first compartment 20 , this need not always be the case , and the length of the second compartment can be increased to a maximum when the top common junction 12 between the fourth and fifth sheet parts extends immediately adjacent to the top edge 12 of the second sheet part 18 . fig3 and 6 show another embodiment in which the bottom common junction 14 between the third and fifth sheet parts does not register with the bottom edges 14 of the first and second sheet parts but is spaced therefrom , the second compartment 26 therefor being located higher on the first compartment than with the embodiment of fig1 and 2 . in the embodiment illustrated by these two figures the overlap between the third and fourth sheets has an intermediate value of 45 %. fig4 and 7 show a three - compartment bag consisting of a single first compartment 20 and two shorter sample receiving compartments 26 within the area confines of the first compartment . two third through fifth sheet parts are provided for each bag , appropriately sealed to the second sheet part , so as to form two similar shorter additional compartments each with a labyrinthine opening formed between overlapping third and fourth sheet parts , and each of which can receive and securely retain a respective small bulky sample . in the embodiment illustrated by these two figures the overlap between the third and fourth sheets has a higher intermediate value of 55 %. more than two such additional compartments can be provided if their total transverse lengths are sufficiently less than the overall length of the first compartment , and if the spacing between the additional compartments is sufficient for samples to easily inserted and removed through their respective openings . fig5 and 8 show a further embodiment in which the first through fourth sheet parts have all been provided by separate continuous sheets of the plastics material , so that no folding is required for manufacture of the bags , the sheets being laid upon one another in an appropriate sequence . the third and fourth sheet parts are sealed directly to the second sheet part and the fifth connecting sheet part 32 is not required , since its connecting function is performed by the intervening part of the second cover sheet 18 . in this embodiment the first and second sheet parts are of the same length , while the overlap between the third and fourth sheets has the maximum value of 70 %. in other embodiments which are not shown the first and second sheet parts may be obtained by folding a wider sheet to u - shape or to j - shape , as required , while the third and fourth sheet parts are obtained from separate sheets . referring now to the flow diagram of fig9 the two compartment bag of fig1 and 2 may be manufactured by feeding onto a support surface 44 , comprising the upper surface of a continuous conveyer belt moving in the direction of the arrow 46 , a sheet 48 of the thin transparent plastics material . the sheet is folded by any of the folding means well known to those skilled in the art ( not shown ) to a j - shape in which it provides different length first and second sheets . subsequently these sheets are divided transversely to provide respective successions of the first rectangular backing sheet parts 10 and second rectangular cover sheet parts 18 joined together along the common bottom fold junction 14 . the sheets used in the manufacture of the bags will usually be supplied from respective rolls thereof ( none of which are shown ) and are fed onto the conveyor surface 44 by any of the well known means available in the industry for that purpose . a second sheet 50 is fed from its roll down onto the upper surface of the succession of second sheet parts 18 and is adapted to provide upon folding along two spaced parallel fold lines ( by folding means which are not shown ) respective successions of third , fourth and fifth sheet parts forming a respective succession of second compartments . prior to the folding of the second sheet 50 it is heat sealed at a sealing station to the second cover sheet parts along two spaced parallel seal lines by respective transversely spaced heated sealing wheels 52 , the upper seal line also establishing the common junction between the fourth and fifth sheet parts 30 and 32 , while the lower seal line also establishes the common junction between the third and fifth sheet parts 28 and 32 . in this embodiment the lower common junction registers with the common junction between the first and second sheet parts , so that the bottom edges of the first and second compartments register with one another . also in this embodiment , because of the prior folding of the first sheet 48 , a shield plate 54 is interposed between the sheet parts 10 and 18 to prevent them from being sealed together along the upper seal line by the respective heated sealing wheel 52 . the sheet 50 shown in solid lines is of transverse width such that when folded as illustrated the overlap between the resulting third and fourth sheet parts is of the minimum value of 30 % of the overall length of the second compartment , while the sheet 50 shown in chain broken lines is of transverse width such that when similarly folded the overlap between the resulting third and fourth sheet parts is of the maximum value of 70 % of the overall length of the second compartment . although in this embodiment two spaced heat seal lines are employed to fasten the two sheets together , and thereby fasten the second compartment to the first compartment , in other embodiments only a single such fastening line , or more than two such fastening lines may be employed , as long as it or they are adequate to provide a secure connection between the superimposed butting sheet parts . fastening methods known in the industry other than heat sealing may instead be employed , such as the use of hot glue or double sided tapes . the superimposed folded and sealed together first and second sheets then pass to a sealing and severing station at which the registering side edges 16 of all of the sheet parts are simultaneously heat sealed together by the action of a heat sealing bar 56 extending transversely of the moving sheets , this single edge sealing operation being all that is required to securely establish all of the first compartment and the second compartment or compartments . at the same time the thus formed separate bags are partially or completely separated from one another by cutting through the middle of the transverse seal line produced by the bar 56 ; any partial separation is such as to enable the bags to be readily separated later as required . whether completely or partially separated the bags will thereafter usually be collated , stacked and packaged for transport to the point of eventual use . in another method which is not illustrated the second sheet 50 is sealed to the first sheet 48 prior to folding the latter , thus avoiding the need for the intervening plate 54 . any of the first through fourth sheet parts can be supplied as separate sheets from respective rolls thereof , but folding from a wider sheet is usually preferred whenever this is possible , the ease of handling compensating for the slight wastage of material caused by the presence of the fifth connecting sheet part 32 , whose function is otherwise provided by the intervening part of the second sheet part . the inexpensive thin plastic sheets required for low cost items such as the bags of the invention are almost universally produced by blow molding that results in a continuous tube of the material , and two rows of bags can be produced simultaneously from such a tube by slitting it longitudinally into two parallel sheets of the u - shape or j - shape required for the first and second sheet parts . similarly each of the one or more second compartments can be formed from a respective smaller diameter tube that is slit longitudinally and then folded as described above .
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fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a plug 12 of the invention before friction fitting to a fence post 10 . the post 10 has one or more slots 14 formed therein to receive a strand of wire . the slots 14 have , for example , an inverted - l shape in vertical cross section . the slots 14 optionally have other equivalent vertical section shapes , for example , l shapes , angled shapes , curve shapes , etc . the slots 14 are regularly or irregularly spaced vertically along the post 10 . the post 10 has , for example , a y - shaped horizontal cross section . the post 10 can have other equivalent horizontal section shapes , for example , t shapes , i shapes , h - shapes , circular shapes , rectilinear shapes , etc . the post 10 is formed , for example , from metal or plastics . referring to fig2 , each plug 12 is sized and shaped to be friction - fitted into a slot 14 and over a strand of wire 16 received therein to thereby fasten the strand of wire 16 in position on the post 10 . the plug 12 is formed , for example , as an integral moulding in plastics . the strand of wire 16 is , for example , barbed wire , wire mesh , smooth wire , and combinations thereof . referring to fig3 and 4 , each plug 12 optionally includes an elongate , generally rectangular horizontal plug body 18 having curved fir tree branches 20 extending thereunder downwardly and rearwardly . other equivalent fir tree branches 20 may also be used , for example , the curved branches 20 may further or alternatively extend upwardly from the plug body 18 . in use , the fir tree branches 20 allow the plug 12 to be friction - fitted into a slot 14 and over the stand of wire 16 with a low insertion force ( i . e ., the force required to insert the plug 12 into the slot 14 ) while maintaining a high extraction force ( i . e ., the force required to withdraw the plug 12 from the slot 14 ). the plug body 18 may have other shapes which complement the shape of the slots 14 . the plug body 18 is enclosed on three sides by two vertically overlapping side or peripheral flanges 22 , and a vertically overlapping rear end flange 24 . the plug 12 is generally h - shaped in vertical cross section through the plug body 18 and side flanges 22 , and generally squared - u - shaped in horizontal cross section through the side and rear end flanges 22 , 24 . in use , the plug 12 friction -, press -, snap - or push - fits into the slot 14 , and the side flanges flex - fit , clip , snap or clamp around portions of the post 10 adjacent to opposing side edges of the slot 14 , as illustrated in fig2 . the side flanges 22 prevent the plug 12 from being displaced from the slot 14 in directions generally parallel to the strand of wire 16 . each side flange 22 has a semi - circular cut - out 26 adapted to overlie the strand of wire 16 when in position in the slot 14 . the side flanges 22 therefore allow the plug 12 to be snugly flush - mounted around the post 10 and over the strand of wire 16 . the side flanges 22 and / or the rear end flange 24 optionally have gripping projections , for example ribbing or flanges ( not shown ), to aid gripping during insertion and withdrawal of the plug 12 from the slot 14 . each post 10 has , for example , a plurality of slots 14 , and a plurality of plugs 12 are provided for each post 10 . the posts 10 and plugs 12 are provided separately or together as a kit of parts . the kit of parts optionally further includes the wire 16 . 1referring to fig5 , the plug 12 is compatible with electric fencing insulators 28 to fasten strands of electrified wire or tape to the post 10 as part of an electrified fence . referring to the lower insulator 28 , the plug 12 is inserted into a slot 14 in the post 10 , and a pin 30 is inserted horizontally through one end of the insulator 28 and through the wire - receiving portion of the slot 14 to thereby fasten the insulator 28 to the post 10 . a strand of wire or tape ( not shown ) to be electrified is then fastened to the free end of the insulator 28 by a vertical pin 32 . it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention advantageously allow fencing wire to be easily and securely fastened to fence posts without the need for tying off individual wires . the embodiments have been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims which follow .
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referring to fig1 , 2 , 3 , 3 a - 3 c , 8 and 9 , there is shown an embodiment of the electronic candle 10 . candle 10 , generally , includes an illumination assembly 11 , a slidably removable candle cover sleeve 12 , a top cover assembly 13 a base 41 with 42 cylindrical arms and a cover 14 . the assembly rests on pedestal 15 . illumination assembly 11 has a housing 16 , electronic assembly 17 , movable switch arm 18 , operably connected with electronic assembly 17 , two vertically disposed illumination elements or leds 19 , and translucent illumination housing 20 , for purposes hereinafter appearing . it also has a base 41 with cylindrical arms 42 and a compression spring 40 . candle cover sleeve 12 is cylindrically shaped . candle cover sleeve 12 is partially clear , textured or transparent . candle cover sleeve 12 has an outer cylindrical surface 22 , an inner cylindrical surface 23 , an annular top edge 24 and an annular bottom edge 25 having radially outwardly disposed lip 25 a . a radially inwardly protruding element 30 is formed on inner cylindrical surface 23 at a prescribed distance from bottom edge 25 for purposes hereinafter appearing . inner cylindrical surface 23 is formed with recess 26 for receiving a sheet 35 bearing indicia 36 ( fig1 ), whereby the indicia is viewable through clear portion 28 . the candle cover sleeve also has a lowered and angled circular top 22 a and on 22 a outer surface a 22 b recess to receive photo 63 . a compression spring 40 is operably disposed between candle cover sleeve 12 bottom edge 25 , illumination housing 16 , housing base 41 and cylindrical arms 42 . spring 40 is retained between candle cover sleeve 12 , lip 25 a , base 40 and cylindrical arms 42 . cylindrical arms 42 also limit candle cover sleeve 12 motion when base cover 14 is placed . ( fig3 a - 3c ). referring to specifically to fig3 a - 3c , candle cover sleeve 12 is shown in operable engagement with switch arm 18 , spring 40 and illumination circuitry 17 and leds 19 . referring to fig3 a , element 30 slidably engages the outer surface of housing 16 . spring 40 is uncompressed in fig3 a . sleeve bottom edge 25 and 25 a rests on spring 40 in the disposition of fig3 a . in the foregoing manner of constructions , switch arm 18 is disposed in the initial “ off ” position . referring specifically now to fig3 b , there is shown the downward movement of candle cover sleeve 12 by the user ( not shown ) pressing downwardly on candle cover sleeve top edge 24 . this downward movement causes the candle cover sleeve bottom edge 25 a to compress spring 40 . candle cover sleeve protruding element 30 , slidably moves downwardly from the outer surface housing 16 , and contactingly slidably engage switch arm 18 . this engagement causes switch arm 18 to pivot inward to initiate “ on ” position as shown in fig3 b . this downward initial movement of candle cover sleeve 12 causes switch arm 18 to actuate electronic assembly 17 to turn the illuminating leds 19 on . referring now specifically to fig3 c , there is shown the operating position after the user ( not shown ) disengages from sleeve top edge 24 . spring 40 decompresses and returns to its initial disposition . sleeve protruding element 30 likewise returns to its initial position . switch arm 18 likewise returns to its initial position . circuitry 17 power holding circuitry electronics 51 , however , causes leds 19 to remain on for an extended period if sleeve 12 remains downwardly unmoved . candle 10 is then effectively illuminated in perpetuity . if candle cover sleeve 12 is depressed by the user again , the switch arm 18 is moved to an inward position , and circuitry 17 power holding electronics 51 will turn the leds 19 off . referring specifically to fig8 and 9 there is shown a block diagram and an actual schematic of the electronic circuitries the dual power source the dc / dc power converter , and flame flickering circuitry to provide the leds with illumination in effect in perpetuity . the electronic assembly 17 is connected to wall outlet power supply ( not shown ) in a customary manner . the power supply is connected to dual power source 50 , which provides power to the power holding circuitry 51 and to dc / dc power converter 52 . the power source 50 provides power to simulate flame flickering circuitry 53 . fig9 shows an actual working circuitry . in this manner of construction , leds 19 remains lighted by either the batteries or the external power source . this permits the leds 19 to remain lighted in perpetuity . if batteries are rechargeable types the external power source will recharge them at the same time . candle 10 remains lighted in perpetuity , as is the generally most desired presentation for memorial candles . candle 10 is provided with a sheet or insert 35 which is imprinted with a memorial notice 36 once with inscribed the name 37 of the deceased ( fig1 ). further , referring to fig2 and 3a , candle cover sleeve 12 top assembly 13 includes a transparent cover or magnifying lens 60 , and a photo 63 of the deceased . the photo is shaped that it will fit into recess 22 b . the inside upper portion of candle cover sleeve 12 with its lowered and angled circular top 22 a and its recess 22 b will receive photo and the photo will be held and protected by lens cover 60 by pressing it in to candle cover sleeve top . referring to fig4 and 5 , there is shown a further embodiment of the electronic candle 10 customization . with transparent plate or insert 61 having recess 62 a in its upper top surface closing the candle cover sleeve at top edge 24 a chamber or compartment 70 can be created with a slanted bottom toward the front . the compartment or chamber 70 may be used to stow or preserve a memento ( not shown ) or significance to the customer or viewer . the transparent insert 61 may receives a picture in its recess 62 a that is covered with lens 60 . the inserted object will be visible from the front and side from the upper clear section of candle cover sleeve 12 . referring to fig1 - 12a , there are shown alternative embodiments of candle cover sleeve 12 , namely 80 , 90 and 100 . all embodiments of candle cover sleeve 12 are thermoformed or injection molded with same dye but with different inserts ( nothing , cross , star of david , etc .) to the dye for the different insignias . also the candle cover sleeves can be molded in various colors to enhance the significant of the insignias . candle cover sleeve 80 is of molded thermoplastic construction like candle cover sleeve 12 . candle cover sleeve 80 differs from candle cover sleeve 12 in three principal aspects . candle cover sleeve 80 is formed with a cross 81 molded and formed as part of the unitary candle cover sleeve construction . candle cover sleeve 80 is formed of red colored thermoplastic construction . candle cover sleeve 80 is also formed of an upper inner surface , which is textured 84 . texture surface “ breaks up ” the flickering light emanating from the colored leds 19 to provide an enhanced simulated flickering wax candle effect . candle cover sleeve 90 is formed or molded with a star of david 91 . candle cover sleeve 90 is formed of a deep blue colored thermoplastic construction . the upper inner surface of candle cover sleeve 90 is textured ( not shown in fig1 ) in a manner similar to that of candle cover sleeve 80 . the leds utilized with candle cover sleeve 90 are complementarily colored to provide an enhanced simulated wax candle flickering effect . candle cover sleeve 100 represents when customer wants no religious designation of candle . it has the same construction than the candles with insignias . the following table i shows a coordination of the textured candle cover sleeve colors , the led colors and their required voltage provided by the dc / dc converter 52 to cause the respective enhanced simulated wax candle flickering effects . referring to fig5 - 7 , there is shown an alternate embodiment candle 100 . candle 100 differs from candle 10 that candle 100 does not include memorial elements 36 , 37 , and 35 . candle 100 is constructed with a partially open external memorial collar assembly 110 . collar assembly 110 is slidably disposed on the outer surface of the candle cover sleeve 12 and rests on cover 14 . collar assembly 110 is formed of 2 rings of 121 and 121 a and a cylindrical segment of 120 . upper and lower inner recesses 112 and 113 are formed in ring 121 and 121 a . indicia bearing sheet 114 of paper or thermoplastic , which is imprinted with the memorial indicia 36 and 37 , is removably disposed in recesses 112 and 113 . a protective transparent plastic cover sheet 115 is disposed in recesses 112 and 113 in front of sheet 114 and functionally retained in recess 112 - 113 . fig6 shows a perspective view of collar 110 and fig7 is a sectional view of collar 110 at axis 7 - 7 . candle 100 may include any of the candle cover sleeve configuration . the afore - discussed embodiments provide a readily customized memorial candle for funerary and memorial businesses . one method , by way of example , useful in a funerary business is where a loved one of the deceased completes an e - form that with the internet instructs the funeral director as to e . g . the name , religion and image of the decease . the funeral director that imprints the requested memorial information 36 and 37 and photo and assembles the candle with the appropriate candle cover sleeves e . g . 80 or 90 or 100 or any other and complementary leds ( table i ). this construction and methodology permits a readily customized and personalized electronic candle , which stimulates a flickering lighted wax candle in perpetuity . a business , such as a funerary or memorial business , may utilize the afore - discussed electronic candle construction to provide cost - effective personalization and customization services to diverse customers . in one preferred embodiment of the business ; ( a ) an e - form is provided by the business on the business website ; ( b ) a prospective customer accesses the website and completes the e - form , including information such as ( i ) name of deceased ; ( ii ) religion of deceased and ( iii ) photograph of the deceased ; ( c ) the business then assembles the appropriate symbol bearing candle cover sleeve ( colors ), leds and memorial indicia and simultaneously bills the customer &# 39 ; s credit card ( fig1 ). the funerary business or customizing agent may transfer the indicia and customization instructions 201 to a printer and the memento 202 to the assembly location where the electronic candle is assembled ( fig1 ). the customer is then provided with the customized and personalized electronic candle at or in connection with a funeral or memorial service . the described systems and candle 10 constructions provides a simulated flame lighted in perpetuity , with readily viewable memorial indicia 37 , memorial photo and / or memorial memento . the present invention provides a complete all - in - one customized and personalized memorial unit . the above - discussed specific embodiments are not intended to be limiting in any way . many changes can be made to the invention without departing from the scope thereof . it is intended that all material contained herein be interpreted as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense of the invention which is defined by the adjoined claims .
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while the following description will be presented in terms of a stamping operation , it is to be understood that reference to such a stamping operation is intended to be illustrative only and that practice of the invention is in no way limited to stamping tools . to the contrary , it is contemplated and intended that the inventive cleaning practices may be equally applicable to any number of forming tools that apply controlled deformation to a work piece including cutting tools , extrusion tools and the like as will be well known to those of skill in the art . reference will now be made to the various drawings wherein to the extent possible , like elements are designated by corresponding reference numerals in the various views . in fig1 , a stamping tool 10 of tool steel or the like and a metal work piece 20 of a deformable metal such as aluminum or the like are illustrated prior to stamping . as will be appreciated , the stamping tool 10 has a contoured workface defining a pattern 12 of indentations and protrusions of varying size and shape . during the stamping operation the pattern across the stamping tool is pressed in relief across the work piece 20 . fig2 illustrates the stamping tool 10 and the metal work piece 20 subsequent to the stamping operation . as can be readily observed , following the stamping operation localized regions of small amounts of metal substrate residue 20 a become adhered to the stamping tool . these deposits will normally build up over time so as to change of the profile of the stamping tool 10 and affect friction conditions that were optimized for forming . fig3 depicts the inventive method of cleaning the stamping tool 10 . this method uses a solution of caustic material in the form of a base or mild acid that does not attack the tooling material , which can be either in the form of a gel or saturated onto a cloth 15 . the gel or saturated cloth 15 is placed into contacting relation with critical areas of the stamping tool 10 which have localized regions of metal substrate residue buildup . after approximately 5 minutes of contact the gel is neutralized or wiped off or the saturated cloth is removed . the contact is preferably substantially static in nature with the gel or cloth 15 being held in a substantially fixed position so as to promote uninterrupted chemical reaction . to facilitate the cleaning action an optional ultrasonic vibration device 25 may be secured at least partially around the gel or saturated cloth 15 to promote loosening of the substrate residue 20 a . fig4 illustrates the cleaned stamping tool 10 in which the localized buildup of metal substrate residue 20 a is no longer evident . the stamping tool requires no additional cleaning or polishing . according to potentially preferred practices , the caustic material may be either basic or acidic in nature . by way of example only , and not limitation , exemplary caustic compositions include naoh , koh , acetic acid , phosphoric acid and chemicals with similar caustic properties , and any combination of such materials depending on the adhered material and the tooling material used . by way of example only , and not limitation one caustic material that has been found to be effective is a gel marketed under the trade designation drano ®. in accordance with a particularly preferred practice , the cleaning operation may be performed at slightly elevated temperatures such as 50 - 100 ° c . in order to accelerate the reaction . the present method is believed to be particularly beneficial for cleaning ferrous stamping tools with deposits from aluminum and aluminum alloy metal work pieces . however , the practice can also be applied to clean other tooling materials including ceramics and the like and other work piece metals that stick to such tooling including magnesium , titanium , zinc coatings on steel and the like . the composition of the cleaning agent preferably in gel form is tailored such that it is reactive to the adhered material and has no reaction with the tooling material , which can be steel or another material suitable for tooling . it is to be understood that while the present invention has been illustrated and described in relation to potentially preferred embodiments , constructions , and procedures , that such embodiments , constructions , and procedures are illustrative only and that the invention is in no event limited thereto . rather , it is contemplated that modifications and variations embodying the principals of the invention will no doubt occur to those of skill in the art . it is therefore contemplated and intended that the present invention shall extend to all such modifications and variations as may incorporate the broad aspects of the invention within the true spirit and scope thereof .
| 2 |
with reference now to the drawings , a new and improved question and answer board game embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention will be described . turning initially to fig1 - 7 , the components of a first preferred form of the invention are shown . a game board 10 ( fig1 ) is provided of generally rectangular shape and preferably , is foldable along a central crease or fold line 12 for compact storage within a storage or packing box ( not shown ). in accordance with the invention , the board 10 is designed to simulate the layout of an actual pocket billiards snooker table and to that end , preferably features a green field 14 surrounded by a red border 16 . six circular segments 18 preferably of a black or dark color are positioned substantially as shown to simulate the pockets of the billiard table . a transverse line 20 extends across the board about a fifth of the way from one end and is intercepted by a centrally disposed semi - circle 22 . the line 20 represents the &# 34 ; balk &# 34 ; line whereas the semi - circle 22 defines the &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; of a conventional snooker table layout as is well known . finally , the board 10 comprises a series of four ( 4 ) centrally aligned black dots 24 , 26 , 28 and 30 which on an actual snooker table would represent the locations for certain colored snooker balls of ascending point value when the balls are racked at the start of each game or inning as will be more particularly described . in an actual snooker game , there are 22 balls consisting of one ( 1 ) cue ball , fifteen ( 15 ) red balls each having an assigned value of one ( 1 ) point , and six ( 6 ) differently colored balls respectively having assigned ascending point values as follows : if board 10 were an actual snooker table and one wished to rack the table at the start of a game , typically the 15 red balls would be racked with the apex of the triangle on spot 26 ; the black ball would be placed on spot 24 ; the pink ball would be placed touching and in front of the red ball on spot 26 ; the blue ball would be placed on spot 28 ; the brown ball on spot 30 ; the yellow ball would be placed on the spot defined by the intersection of the d and the balk line to the left of spot 30 as viewed in fig1 ; and the green ball would be placed on the spot defined by the intersection of the d and the balk line to the right of spot 30 as viewed in fig1 . in the board game of the present invention , the game pieces shown in fig3 and 4 are used to simulate the &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; and the &# 34 ; colored &# 34 ; snooker bails . thus , in fig4 there are fifteen ( 15 ) similarly shaped and sized &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; game pieces 32 each having an assigned point value of 1 . in fig3 there are six ( 6 ) similarly shaped and sized game pieces of differing colors having assigned differing point values respectively as follows : except for their color , game pieces 32 - 44 may be identical and fabricated from molded plastic or wood . preferably , they assume the shape substantially as shown in fig3 and 4 . it thus will be appreciated that in setting up the game board of the present invention prior to beginning play , the pieces 32 - 44 are arranged on the board in the same manner as actual snooker balls are placed on a snooker table with the game pieces taking the place of the actual racked and positioned balls . turning now to fig5 - 7 , the question and answer game cards 46 will be described . the game cards 46 simulate the cue and cue ball used in snooker and are structurally similar to each other in size and shape so as to form a conveniently handled &# 34 ; deck &# 34 ; ( fig5 ). any reasonable number of cards may be provided in the deck , and several different decks may be used . each card 46 includes an obverse face 48 and a reverse face 64 ( fig7 ). the obverse side 48 of each card 46 has printed thereon or in any other suitable manner displays a series of seven ( 7 ) questions preferably arranged from top to bottom as indicated by the arabic numerals 1 - 7 in fig6 . to the left of each question is a color - coded block or other space 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 , 60 , and 62 associating the questions with the colors of game pieces 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 , respectively . it is to be noted that the intellectual content of the questions on the obverse side 48 of each game card 46 is entirely arbitrary and forms no part of the present invention . thus , the questions may relate to any category of subject matter such as trivia , sports , geography , history , and so on . the only requirement of the invention in this regard is that the questions become increasingly more difficult as they range from top to bottom of each card , i . e . question 1 is easiest , question 7 most difficult . nor is it required that the questions on each obverse card face be devoted to the same category . they may be intermixed by category , as long as the ascending order of difficulty is adhered to . the reason for this will become apparent when it is noted that colored blocks or spaces 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 , 60 and 62 on each card obverse face 48 are as follows , respectively ; black and thus correspond to the same ascending point value as defined by the color coding of game pieces 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 , respectively ( e . g ., red = 1 , black = 7 ). in other words , the difficulty of each question on the obverse face 48 of each card 46 is , in accordance with the present invention , associated with the same ascending point value as that of the simulated game pieces 32 - 44 and therefore , of the actual &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; colored &# 34 ; balls in snooker . on the reverse side 64 of each game card 46 ( fig7 ) are displayed in corresponding order the &# 34 ; answers &# 34 ; to the questions on the obverse side and the same color coding scheme regarding degree of difficulty . thus , the answer to any posed question may be determined easily and rapidly by merely flipping each card over . if a posed question is answered correctly , the game piece corresponding to that question may be removed from the game board simulating the pocketing of a snooker ball . under the rules of the game of the present invention , each player commences a game or inning by first attempting to correctly answer a question on a given card 46 corresponding to the &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; game pieces each of which has a point value = 1 , i . e . the easiest or first question on the obverse face 48 of the card 46 . if the player correctly answers the &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; question ( corresponding to pocketing a &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; ball in snooker ), he or she receives 1 point and then , and only then , may attempt to answer a question of higher point value or , synonymously , of a greater degree of difficulty ( corresponding to attempting to pocket a &# 34 ; colored &# 34 ; ball in snooker ). in accordance with the invention , chance selection means are provided for selecting the next question to be answered after a &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; question has been correctly answered . in the preferred embodiment , the chance selection means is in the form of a seven ( 7 ) sided die 66 wherein each of the seven sides has a different color . corresponding to red , yellow , green , brown , blue , pink , and black , respectively . by this arrangement , each of the seven colored sides of die 66 will also have associated with it , respectively , the same point values assigned to the &# 34 ; colored &# 34 ; game pieces and the questions 1 through 7 on each card obverse face 46 as described above . thus , when the die 66 is tossed , the colored side facing up will indicate the color cede for the next question , e . g . if &# 34 ; pink &# 34 ; faces up , the next question will have a point value = 6 , and this question will appear on line 6 of the question card obverse face 48 having the &# 34 ; pink &# 34 ; color - coded block 60 . to determine if the answer to question 6 is correct , the card is turned over to its reverse face 64 where the correct answer will be found on line 6 next to a corresponding &# 34 ; pink &# 34 ; color - coded block . as mentioned above , correctly answering a question having a point value greater than = 1simulates pocketing a colored snooker ball and the point value of the correctly answered question is added to the player &# 39 ; s score . a player continues to use the chance selection means ( die 66 ) until all questions on the card are answered correctly , or until a question cannot be answered correctly , whichever occurs first . the next player then &# 34 ; racks &# 34 ; the snooker table ( i . e . game board 10 ) by replacing any removed game pieces and selects another answer card 46 from the deck to start a new game or inning . the chance selection means or die 66 also may be used to determine order of play among a plurality or group of players since each of the colored faces of the die 66 has a point value assigned to it . thus , for example , the red face = 1 , the yellow face = 2 , the black face = 7 , and so on . hence , each player may toss the die in turn to determine order of play with , for example , the highest point value commencing play first , the next highest commencing play second , and so on . turning now to fig8 - 10 , where like reference numerals represent like parts , there is shown an alternative form of the present invention . in its alternative preferred form , game board 10 is mounted on four legs 68 at each corner thereof to simulate a raised snooker table . in addition , there is provided a pair of receptacles 70 , 72 positioned respectively in the surface of game board 10 near the opposed , longitudinally extending sides thereof substantially as shown . receptacles 70 , 72 serve as convenient storage means for question and answer cards 46 . as shown in fig9 each receptacle 70 , 72 includes an elevator platform 74 attached to a compression spring 76 fixed to the floor 78 of the receptacle . by the action of this arrangement , a new or next question / answer card 46 conveniently may be presented to the players from , say , receptacle 70 . when an inning is over and the card 46 is no longer in use , it may temporarily be stored in the other receptacle 72 . in recording the progress of a player , any suitable scoring means may be used . for example , the scores of each player may be recorded by adding the point value of all questions answered correctly each inning and noting the sum in a column on a piece of paper under each player &# 39 ; s name . in the preferred embodiment of fig8 - 10 , however , a mechanical scoring device generally represented by reference numeral 80 is preferably provided . scoring device 80 is in the form of a housing having a neoclassical get - up to suggest an academic institution ( i . e . college or university ). in this regard , note the arch 82 and columns 84 . each column 84 represents a different . player ( while four ( 4 ) are shown , any number may be provided ), and includes a finger tab 86 movable within a longitudinal slot in each column . each tab is mechanically connected inside housing 80 in a known manner to a slide 88 extending upwardly . through the roof of the housing . slides 88 bear suitable markings or indicia thereon to indicate each corresponding player &# 39 ; s score , i . e . the slide markings could indicate level of achievement such as bachelor &# 39 ; s degree , master &# 39 ; s degree , ph . d ., or have numerical grades ranging from a minimum to a maximum , and so on . when the game begins , all tabs 86 will be in their bottommost position , and as each player &# 39 ; s score . accumulates , the tabs 86 and slides 88 will be moved upwardly in corresponding fashion to reveal each player &# 39 ; s progress . it will be noted in fig1 that the length of columns 84 is sized so that the bottom and surfaces of the columns abut the upper surface of game board 10 when the scoring device 80 is positioned adjacent the board substantially as shown . this permits a compact and convenient arrangement between the game board and scoring device facilitating increased enjoyment during use . in playing the question and answer board game of the present invention , the following &# 34 ; rules &# 34 ; are preferred : ( 1 ) the game pieces initially are positioned on the game board following typical rules for racking a snooker table ( as described above ). ( 2 ) the chance selection means ( e . g . 7 - sided die 66 ) is thrown in turn by each player to determine order of play ( highest number goes first , followed by next highest , etc .). ( 3 ) each player must start an inning by first attempting to answer the easiest or &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; question on a selected card . ( 4 ) if the &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; question on a given card is incorrectly answered , the inning is over and the next player takes his / her turn . ( 5 ) if the &# 34 ; red question &# 34 ; on a given card is correctly answered , a &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; piece is removed from the board and the chance selection means thrown to determine the next question to be answered on a given card ( or a different card ) by that player . ( die is thrown again if the next question comes up &# 34 ; red ,&# 34 ; i . e . &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; question must be a color other than &# 34 ; red .&# 34 ;) ( 6 ) if the next question is answered correctly , the corresponding point value is noted and added to the player &# 39 ; s score . in addition , the game piece corresponding to the color of the correctly answered question is removed from the board . ( 7 ) a player follows the procedure of ( 6 ) until he / she fails to answer a question or all colored game pieces other than &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; are removed from the board whichever comes first . ( 8 ) only the colored game pieces are repositioned on the board following completion of an inning . ( 9 ) the game ends when all &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; pieces have been removed from the board and the last player &# 39 ; s inning is over . ( 10 ) the player with the highest cumulative score at the end of the game is declared the winner . ( 11 ) any reasonable number of players may participate ; however , 2 - 4 players are preferred . while the above &# 34 ; rules &# 34 ; of the board game of the present invention may be presented in any suitable manner , it is preferred that they be printed on the inside cover of the packing box or carton ( not shown ) in which the game board 10 , the question and answer cards 46 , the game pieces 32 through 44 , the chance selection means 66 , and any other parts , are stored . it will be appreciated from the above description that , by playing the question and answer game board of the present invention , the pocket billiard game of snooker may be simulated with each correctly answered question being analogous to the pocketing of a &# 34 ; red &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; colored &# 34 ; snooker ball . the same point value schemes are employed and the object of both games is the same , i . e . achieve the highest total score . playing the question and answer board game of the present invention thus not only offers enjoyment similar to that which one would receive from experiencing an actual game of snooker , but furthermore , leads to enhanced knowledge . it is thus seen that all of the objects and advantages of the invention may successfully be achieved . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention . for example , instead of using chance selection means in the form of the 7 - sided die 66 , a spinnable arrow supported on a card having a circular design with seven color - coded segments may be employed instead . still other obvious modifications or alterations will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art .
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one embodiment of the system includes a multi - source , multi - layer network usage metering and mediation solution that gives network service providers ( nsps ), including internet service providers ( isps ) and enterprise network ( intranet ) operators , the information needed to set the right - price for ip ( internet protocol ) services . with the system , the providers can generate accurate usage - based billing and implement usage - based charge - back models . the system derives ip session and transaction information , collected in real time , from a multitude of network elements . the system gathers , correlates , and transforms data from routers , switches , firewalls , authentication servers , ldap , web hosts , dns , and other devices to create comprehensive usage and billing records . the system transforms raw transaction data from network devices into useful billing records though policy - based filtering , aggregation , and merging . the result is a set of detail records ( drs ). in some embodiments , the detail records are xacct detail records ( xdrs ™) available from xacct technologies . drs are somewhat similar in concept to the telephony industry &# 39 ; s call detail records ( cdrs ). thus , drs can be easily integrated with existing customer care and billing ( ccb ) systems . in addition to billing data , drs enable nsps to deploy new services based on documented usage trends , plan network resource provisioning , and audit service usage . the system provides a clear picture of user - level network service use by tracking a variety of metrics such as actual session quality of service ( qos ), traffic routes , and end - user application transactions . the system is based on a modular , distributed , highly scaleable architecture capable of running on multiple platforms . data collection and management is designed for efficiency to minimize impact on the network and system resources . the system minimizes network impact by collecting and processing data close to its source . modular architecture provides maximum configuration flexibility , and compatibility with multiple network information sources . the system , or other embodiments , may have one or more of the following features . data collection can be from a wide range of network devices and services , spanning all layers of the network — from the physical to the application layer . real - time , policy - based filtering , aggregation , enhancement and merging creates accurate , detailed and comprehensive session detail records ( drs ). real time correlation of data from various sources allows billing record enhancement . leverages existing investment through integration with any customer care & amp ; billing solution , reducing costs , minimizing risks and shortened time - to - market . web - based user interface allows off - the - shelf browsers to access the system , on - demand , locally or remotely . carrier - class scalability allows expansion to fit an nsps needs without costly reconfiguration . customized reporting with built - in report generation or an nsps choice of off - the - shelf graphical reporting packages . comprehensive network security features allow secure communication between system components and multiple levels of restricted access . the following describes the system 100 of fig1 . the system 100 allows nsps to account for and bill for ip network communications . the following paragraphs first list the elements of fig1 then describes those elements and then describes how the elements work together . importantly , the distributed data gathering , filtering and enhancements performed in the system 100 enables load distribution . granular data can reside in the peripheries of the system 100 , close to the information sources . this helps avoids reduce congestion in network bottlenecks but still allows the data to be accessible from a central location . in previous systems , all the network information flows to one location , making it very difficult to keep up with the massive record flows from the network devices and requiring huge databases . the following lists the elements of fig1 . fig1 includes a number of information source modules ( isms ) including an ism 110 , an ism 120 , an ism 130 , an ism 136 , an ism 140 , and an ism 150 . the system also includes a number of network devices , such as a proxy server 101 , a dns 102 , a firewall 103 , an ldap 106 , a cisco netflow 104 , and a radius 105 . the system also includes a number of gatherers , such as a gatherer 161 , a gatherer 162 , a gatherer 163 , a gatherer 164 , and a gatherer 165 . the system of fig1 also includes a central event manager ( cem ) 170 and a central database ( repository ) 175 . the system also includes a user interface server 185 and a number terminals or clients 180 . this paragraph describes how the elements of fig1 are coupled . the various network devices represent devices coupled to an ip network such as the internet . the network devices perform various functions , such as the proxy server 101 providing proxy service for a number of clients . each network device is coupled to a corresponding ism . for example , the proxy server 101 is coupled to the ism 110 . the dns 102 is coupled to the ism 120 . the firewall 103 is coupled to the ism 130 . the ism 136 is coupled to the ldap 106 . the ism 140 is coupled to the cisco netflow 104 . the ism 150 is coupled to the radius 105 . each gatherer is associated with at least one ism . thus , the gatherer 161 is associated with the ism 110 and is therefore coupled to that ism . the gatherer 162 is coupled to the ism 120 . the gatherer 163 is coupled to the ism 130 and the ism 136 . the gatherer 164 is coupled to the ism 140 . the gatherer 165 is coupled to the ism 150 . the various gatherers are coupled to the cem 170 . the user interface server is coupled to the terminals 180 and the cem 170 . the following paragraphs describe each of the various elements of fig1 . the network devices represent any devices that could be included in a network . ( throughout the description , a network device , unless specifically noted otherwise , also refers to an application server .) a network device represents a subset of information sources that can be used by the system 100 . that is , the network devices are merely representative of the types of sources of information that could be accessed . other devices such as on - line transaction processing databases can be accessed in other embodiments of the invention . typically , the network devices keep logging and statistical information about their activity . a network information source can be the log file of a mail server , the logging facility of a firewall , a traffics statistics table available on a router and accessible through snmp , a database entry accessible through the internet , an authentication server &# 39 ; s query interface , etc . the network devices represent the information sources accessed by the isms . each type of network device can be accessing using a different method or protocols . some generate logs while others are accessible via snmp , others have proprietary apis or use other protocols . the isms act as an interface between the gatherers and the network devices enabling the gatherers to collect data from the network devices . thus , the isms represent modular , abstract interfaces that are designed to be platform - neutral . the information source modules act as interfaces or “ translators ”, sending ip usage data , in real time , from the network devices to the gatherers . each ism is designed for a specific type of network data source . ( in other embodiments , some ism are generic in that they can extract information from multiple network devices ). isms can be packaged separately , allowing nsps to customize ism configurations to meet the specific requirements of their network . for example , in the system of fig1 if the nsp did not have cisco netflow devices , then the ism 140 would not have to be included . the isms can communicate with its corresponding network device using protocols and formats such as udp / ip , tcp / ip , snmp , telnet , file access , odbc , native api , and others . in some embodiments , the reliability of system 100 is enhanced through on - the - fly dynamic reconfiguration , allowing the nsp to add or remove modules without disrupting ongoing operations . in these embodiments , the cem 170 can automatically update the isms . the following isms are available in some embodiments of the invention . dns ( e . g . ism 120 )— resolves host names and ip addresses . generic proxy server ( e . g ., ism 110 )— collects data from access logs in a common log format . checkpoint firewall - 1 — collects data from firewall - 1 accounting log and security log . cisco ios ip accounting — collects accounting data from a cisco router using ios ip accounting . the data from an asynchronous ism is dynamic so that the asynchronous ism reacts to the information and relays it to the associated gatherer without prompting from other information sources in the system 100 . if the firewall 103 were a checkpoint - firewall - 1 , then the ism 130 would be an example of an asynchronous ism . when a network session is initiated , the details are recorded by the firewall - 1 103 . the corresponding ism 130 receives the details and passes them on automatically to the gatherer 163 . synchronous isms provide its information only when accessed by a gatherer . the ism 120 is an example of a synchronous ism . the dns server 102 maintains information matching the ip addresses of host computers to their domain addresses . the ism 120 accesses the dns server 102 only when the ism 120 receives a request from the gather 162 . when the dns server 102 returns a reply , the ism 120 relays the reply information to the gatherer 162 . pipe isms operate on record flows ( batches of records received from information sources ). pipe isms process one or more enhancement flows the records as the flows arrive . the pipe ism may initiate new record flows or may do other things such as generate alerts or provision network elements to provide or stop services . the pipe is implemented as an ism to keep the internal coherency and logic of the architecture . ( record flows can terminate in a database or in a pipe ism . the pipe ism can perform filtering and aggregation , send alarms , or act as a mediation system to provision network elements when some event occurs or some accumulated value is surpassed . specifically , pipe isms can act to enable pre - payment systems to disable certain services such as a voice ip call , when the time limit is surpassed or amount of data is reached .) the gatherers can include caches and buffers for storing information from the isms . the buffers allow the gatherers to compensate for situations where there is a loss of connection with the rest of the system 100 . the cache sizes can be remotely configured . the cache minimizes the number of accesses to the information source . ism queries can be cached and parallelized . caching of synchronous ism queries provides for fast responses . parallelizing queries allows for multiple queries to be processed at the same time . the gatherers gather the information from the isms . in some embodiments , the gatherers are multi - threaded , lightweight , smart agents that run on non - dedicated hosts , as a normal user application on windows nt or unix , as a background process , or daemon . what is important though is that the gatherers can be any hardware and / or software that perform the functions of a gatherer . the gatherers can be installed on the same network segment as the network device such as router and switch or on the application server itself . this placement of a gatherer minimizes the data traffic impact on the network . the gatherers collect network session data from one or more isms . session data can be sent to another gatherer for enhancement or to the cem 170 for merging and storing in the central database 170 . the gatherers can be deployed on an as needed basis for optimal scalability and flexibility . the gatherers perform flexible , policy - based data aggregation . importantly , the various types of isms provide different data and in different formats . the gatherers normalize the data by extracting the fields needed by the cem 170 and filling in any fields that may be missing . thus , the gatherers act as a distributed filtering and aggregation system . the distributed data filtering and aggregation eliminates capacity bottlenecks improving the scalability and efficiency of the system 100 by reducing the volume of data sent on the network to the cem 170 . aggregation can be done by accumulating groups of data record flows , generating a single data record for each group . that single record then includes the aggregated information . this reduces the flow of the data records . filtering means discarding any record that belongs to a group of unneeded data records . data records are unneeded if they are known to be collected elsewhere . a policy framework enables the nsp to configure what to collect where . filtering and / or aggregation can be done at any point along a data enhancement ( described below ) so that aggregation schemes can be based on enhanced data records as they are accumulated . the filtering and / or aggregation points are treated by the system 100 as pipe isms which are flow termination and flow starting points ( ie : like an asynchronous ism on the starting end and like a database on the terminating end ). data enhancement paths and filtering and / or aggregation schemes can be based on accumulated parameters such as user identification information and a user &# 39 ; s contract type . as noted above , the pism can be used in the context of filtering and / or aggregation . one or more record flows can terminate at the pism and can be converted into one or more new record flows . record flows are grouped based on matching rules that apply to some of the fields in the record flows , while others are accumulated or undergo some other operation such as “ maximum ” or “ average ”. once the groups of accumulated records have reached some threshold , new accumulated records are output . this can be used for example in order to achieve a business - hybrid filtering and aggregation data reduction by imposing the business rules or the usage - based products that are offered to the customer , onto the record flows as they are collected in real - time . this is done instead of previous system where the information is stored in a database and then database operations are performed in order to create bills or reports . the filtering and aggregation reduces the amount of data that is stored in the central database 175 while not jeopardizing the granularity of data that is necessary in order to create creative usage - based products . typically , data collected from a single source does not contain all the information needed for billing and accounting , such as user name and organization . in such cases , the data is enhanced . by combining ip session data from multiple sources , such as authentication servers , dhcp and domain name servers , the gatherers create meaningful session records tailored to the nsp &# 39 ; s specific requirements . in the example of fig1 the gatherer 161 can provide information to the gatherer 162 so that the source ip address for an internet session from the proxy server 101 can be combined with the domain address from the dns server 102 . the enhancement procedure can be triggered by an asynchronous ism . the information from the asynchronous ism is associated with field enhancements in the central database 175 . a field enhancement defines how a field in the central database is filled from the source data obtained from the asynchronous ism . through the field enhancements , the missing parameters are added to a record using the data collected from one or more synchronous isms . enhancements are described in detail below . the gatherers can include caches and buffers for storing information from the isms . the buffers allow the gatherers to compensate for situations where there is a loss of connection with the rest of the system 100 . the caches can reduce the number of accesses to an information source . the buffer and / or cache sizes can be remotely configured . the central event manager ( cem ) 170 acts as the central nervous system of the system 100 , providing centralized , efficient management and controls of the gatherers and the isms . the cem 170 can perform one or more of the following tasks : coordinates , controls , and manages the data collection process . the cem 170 coordinates the operation of the gatherers and manages the flow of data through the system 100 through the collection scheme defined in the system configuration . the latter includes the configuration of the gatherers , the isms , the network devices , the fields in the central database 175 ( described below ), and the enhancement procedures . based on the collection scheme the cem 170 determines the system 100 &# 39 ; s computation flow ( the set of operations the system 100 must perform to obtain the desired information ). the cem 170 then controls all the gatherers , instructing them to perform , in a particular sequence , the operations defined in the computation flow . the cem 170 receives the records collected by the gatherers and stores them in the central database 175 . nsps can configure the cem 170 to merge duplicate records before storing them in the central database 175 . record merging is described below . performs clean - up and aging procedures in the database 175 . the system 100 collects and stores large amounts of session information every day . the cem 170 removes old data to free space for new data periodically . the nsp defines the expiration period for the removal of old records . the cem 170 is responsible for coordinating the removal of records from the central database 175 . the cem 170 places a time stamp on every record when the record enters the central database 175 and deletes the record after the time period the nsp has defined elapses . the nsp can perform version upgrades of the system 100 at the cem 170 . the gatherers can be automatically upgraded once a new version is installed on the host computer of the cem 170 . isms are also installed via the cem 170 and exported to the gatherers . the cem 170 maintains a list of licenses installed in the system and verifies periodically if the system is properly licensed . this feature lets the nsp centrally install and uninstall licenses . it also prevents unlicensed use of the system 100 and any of its components . monitors the state of the gatherers and isms . the gatherers periodically communicate with the cem 170 . the cem 170 continuously monitors the state of each gatherer and network devices in the system 100 . the cem 170 can be fault - tolerant , that is , it can recover from any system crash . it coordinates the recovery of the system 100 to its previous state . the central database 175 is the optional central repository of the information collected by the system 100 . the central database 175 is but one example of a sink for the data generated in the system 100 . other embodiments include other configurations . the central database 175 stores and maintains the data collected by the gatherers , as well as the information on the configuration of the system 100 . thus , in configuring the system 100 , the nsp defines what data will be stored in each field in the central database 175 and how that data is collected from the isms . the information on network sessions is stored in the database in the form of a table . each field in the table represents a network session parameter . each record describes a network session . the system 100 has a set of pre - defined fields that are configured by the cem 170 on installation . the nsp can modify the central database 175 structure by adding , deleting , or modifying fields . the nsp access the data in the central database 175 by running queries and reports . the old data is removed from the central database 175 to free space for new data periodically . you can specify the time interval for which records are stored in the central database 175 . the structure of the central database 175 with some of the predefined fields is illustrated in the following figure . as each ip session may generate multiple transaction records , during the merge process the cem 170 identifies and discards duplications , enhancing the efficiency of the data repository . generally , data records are passed through the merger program , in the cem 170 , into the central database 175 . however , the data records are also cached so that if matching records appear at some point , the already stored records can be replaced or enhanced with the new records . the database tables that contain the record flows can be indexed , enhancing the efficiency of the data repository . a merge is achieved by matching some of the fields in a data record and then merging the matching records from at least two record flows , transforming them into one record before updating the central database 175 . in some embodiments , adaptive tolerance is used to match records . adaptive tolerance allows for a variation in the values of fields that are compared ( e . g ., the time field value may be allowed to differ by some amount , but still be considered a match ). the adaptive aspect of the matching can include learning the appropriate period to allow for the tolerance . the reason that the records that do not match any previous records are sent through into the central database 175 , in addition to being cached for later matching , is to avoid loss of data in case of system failure . the following table illustrates an example of the types of records stored in the central database 175 by the cem 170 . destination source destination duran total source ip ip host host service date / time on bytes counter 199 . 203 . 13 204 . 71 . 177 . 3 pclev . xacc yahoo . com http 1998 - 04 - 26 6464 435666 261019 2 . 187 5 t . com 10 : 56 : 55 199 . 203 . 13 207 . 68 . 137 . 5 prodigy . xac microsoft . co telnet 1998 - 04 - 26 747 66743 261020 2 . 131 9 ct . com m 10 : 56 : 55 199 . 203 . 13 199 . 203 . 132 . pceitan . xac xpert . com smtp 1998 - 04 - 26 82 55667 261021 2 . 177 1 ct . com 10 : 56 : 55 199 . 203 . 13 204 . 162 . 80 . 1 pcadi . xacc cnet . com http 1998 - 04 - 26 93 33567 261022 2 . 173 82 t . com 10 : 56 : 55 the system 100 supports a non - proprietary database format enabling the central database 175 to run on any of a number of commercially available databases ( e . g ., ms - sql server , oracle server , db2 , etc .). the user interface server ( uis ) 185 allows multiple clients ( e . g . terminals 180 ) to access the system 100 through , the microsoft internet explorer with java ™ plug - in or netscape navigator with java ™ plug - in . other embodiments can use other applications to access the system 100 . the main function of the uis 185 is to provide remote and local platform independent control for the system 100 . the uis 185 can provide these functions through windows that correspond to the various components of the system 100 . access to the system 100 can be password protected , allowing only authorized users to log in to the system and protecting sensitive information . the nsp can perform one or more of the following main tasks through the uis 185 : [ 0101 ] fig2 illustrates the data distillation process performed by the system of fig1 . the data distillation aggregates and correlate information from many different network devices to compile data useful in billing and network accounting . first , the isms 210 gather data from their corresponding network device . note that for some isms ( e . g . pipe isms ), real - time , policy - based filtering and aggregation 215 can also be done . this data is then fed to the gatherers 220 . the gatherers 220 perform data enhancement to complete the data from the isms 210 . the results are provided to the cem 170 . the cem 170 performs data merges 270 to remove redundant data . the merged data is then optionally stored in the central database 175 as a billing record 275 or is sent directly to an external system . the billing record information can be accessed from external applications , through the application interface 290 , via a data record 280 . filtering and / aggregation and / or data enhancements can be done at any stage in the system 100 . as mentioned above , the gatherers 220 provide data enhancement features to complete information received from the isms 210 . the following describes some example data enhancement techniques used in some embodiments of the invention . [ 0105 ] fig3 illustrates an example of data enhancement . data enhancement comprises a number of field enhancements . a field enhancement specifies how the data obtained from the trigger of the enhancement procedure is processed before it is placed in a single field in the central database 175 . the data can be placed in the field directly , or new information may be added to the record by applying a synchronous ism function . ( in the example below , the function is “ resolve the ip address to a host fqdn ”). field enhancements may involve one or multiple steps . there is no limit to the number of steps in a field enhancement . the data record starts with fields obtained from an asynchronous ism 300 . the fields in the dr 300 are then enhanced using the field enhancements . the enhanced fields result in the dr 320 . a visual representation of an enhancement can be presented to the nsp . the enhancement may include an itinerary of isms starting off with an aism , passing through pisms , and terminating in the cem 170 . using this view f the system 100 , the nsp need not be shown the actual flow of data since the flow may be optimized later in order to achieve better performance . this is more of a graphical logical view of how the enhancement is achieved in steps . ( pisms can terminate more than one flow and initiate more than one flow .) a visual representation of a field enhancement shows the per - field flow of data correlation . this process ends in the cem 170 or in a pism . the nsp supplies information telling the system 100 how to reach each of the terminating fields ( in the cem 170 or the pism ) starting off from the initiating fields ( pism or aism ). each step of enhancement defines cross correlation with some sism function . [ 0108 ] fig4 a illustrates various field enhancements ( 410 through 440 ). a field enhancement includes applying zero or more functions to a field before storing the field in a specified field in the central database 175 . one - step field enhancement 410 . the initial source data from the asynchronous ism is placed directly in a field in the central database 175 . example : the field enhancement for the source ip field . two - step field enhancement 420 . the initial source data from the asynchronous ism is used to obtain new additional data from a synchronous network device and the new data is placed in a field in the central database 175 . example : the field enhancement for the source host field . three - step enhancement 430 . the initial source data from the asynchronous ism is used to obtain additional data from a synchronous ism . the result is used to obtain more data from another ism and the result is placed in a field in the central database 175 . the following illustrates an example data enhancement . suppose the data obtained from a proxy server 101 contains the source ip address of a given session , such as 199 . 203 . 132 . 2 , but not the complete domain address of the host computer ( its fully qualified domain name ), such as www . xacct . com . the name of the host can be obtained by another network device — the domain name system ( dns 102 ) server . the dns - server 102 contains information that matches ip addresses of host computers to their fully qualified domain names ( fqdns ). through an enhancement procedure the information collected from the proxy server 101 can be supplemented by the information from the dns 102 . therefore , the name of the host is added to the data ( the data record ) collected from the proxy server 101 . the process of adding new data to the data record from different network devices can be repeated several times until all required data is collected and the data record is placed in the central database 175 . [ 0113 ] fig4 b illustrates another example data enhancement where an enhanced record 490 is created from an initial netflow record 492 . fields in the enhanced record 490 are enhanced from the radius record 494 , the qos policy server record 496 , the nms db record 498 , and the ldap record 499 . the following describes the process for defining enhancement procedures in some embodiments of the system . typically defining an enhancement procedures for the system 100 includes ( 1 ) defining enhancement procedures for each asynchronous ism and ( 2 ) configuring field enhancements for all fields in the central database 175 for which the nsp wants to collect data originating from an asynchronous ism that triggers the corresponding enhancement procedure . 2 . select the enhancement procedures list using the uis 180 . 4 . select a trigger for the new enhancement procedure . the trigger can correspond to any asynchronous ism in the system 100 . alternatively , the trigger can correspond to any asynchronous ism in the system 100 that has not already been assigned to an enhancement procedure . 5 . optionally , a description for the enhancement procedure can be provided . 6 . the new enhancement procedure can then be automatically populated with the existing fields in the central database 175 . optionally , the nsp can define the fields ( which could then be propagated to the central database 175 ). alternatively , based upon the type of asynchronous ism , a preset set of fields could be proposed to the nsp for editing . what is important is that the nsp can define field procedures to enhance the data being put into the data records of the central database 175 . 7 . the nsp can then define the field enhancements for every field in the new enhancement procedure for which the nsp wants to collect data from the ism that is the trigger of the new enhancement procedure . defining a field enhancement involves specifying the set of rules used to fill a database field from the information obtained from the trigger of the enhancement procedure . the nsp defines field enhancements for each field in which nsp wants to collect data from the trigger . if no field enhancements are defined , no data from the trigger will be collected in the fields . for example , suppose the firewall asynchronous ism 130 that triggers an enhancement procedure . suppose the central database 175 has the following fields : source ip , source host , destination ip , destination host , user name , total bytes , service , date / time , and url . if the nsp wants to collect session data for each field except the url from the firewall ism 130 , which triggers the enhancement procedure , the nsp defines a field enhancement for each field with the exception of the url . in some embodiments , the field enhancements are part of the enhancement procedure and the nsp can only define and modify them when the enhancement procedure is not enabled . the field enhancements can be defined in a field enhancement configuration dialog box . the field enhancement configuration dialog box can have two panes . the first displays the name of the enhancement procedure , the name of its trigger , and the name and data type of the field for which the nsp is defining the field enhancement . the second is dynamic and interactive . its content changes depending on the nsp &# 39 ; s input . when first displayed , it has two toggle buttons , end and continue , and a list next to them . the content of the list depends on the button depressed . when end is depressed , the list contains all output fields whose data type matches the data type of the field for which the nsp is defining the field enhancement . for example , if the field &# 39 ; s data type is ip address , the list contains all fields that are of the same type , such as source ip and destination ip that the aism supplies . the fields in the list can come from two sources : ( 1 ) the source data which the gatherer receives from the trigger and ( 2 ) the result obtained by applying a synchronous ism function as a preceding step in the field enhancement . the following notation is used for the fields : sisname . functionname ( inputargument ). outputfield for the output of a field that is the result of applying a function sisname . . . outputfield for the output of a field that is the result of applying a function as the final step of a field enhancement source ip is the field provided by the trigger of the enhancement procedure that contains the ip address of the source host . dns . . . host name and dns . name ( source ip ). host name are the names of a field originating from the resolved function name of a network device called dns that resolves the ip address to a domain address . the input argument of the function is the field provided by the trigger of the enhancement procedure , called source ip . it contains the ip address of the source host . the function returns the output field called host name that contains the domain address of the source host . the notation dns . . . host name is used when the field is the result of applying the function as the final step of a field enhancement . the notation is dns . name ( source ip ). host name is used when the field is used as the input to another function . in the user interface , if end is unavailable , none of the output fields matches the data type of the field . when continue is depressed , the list contains all applicable functions of the available synchronous network device configured in the system 100 . if the preceding output does not match the input to a function , it cannot be applied and does not appear on the list . when the function has multiple input and / or output arguments , the notation reflects this . the arguments are separated by commas . where dns is the name of the synchronous ism ( or network device ) as it appears in the system configuration . ( host name : string ) is the input to the function — host fqdn of data type string ( ip address : ip address ) is the output — ip address of data type ip address the nsp can define the field enhancement by choosing items from the list . the list contains the option & lt ; none & gt ; when the end button is depressed . choosing this option has the same effect as not defining a field enhancement : no data from the trigger will be stored in the field in the central database 175 . [ 0148 ] fig5 illustrates an example record merge . record merging removes duplicate records from the central database 175 . the following example shows how merges work and illustrate , the need for merging duplicate records . suppose the system 100 is using two asynchronous isms 110 and 130 . all outbound network traffic going through the proxy server 101 is routed through the firewall 103 . the firewall 103 records the proxy server 101 as the source of all sessions passing through the proxy server 101 , although they originate from different workstations on the network . at the same time , the proxy server 101 records the destination of all sessions as the firewall 103 , although their actual destinations are the different internet sites . therefore , all sessions are logged twice by the system 100 and the records are skewed . the data from the firewall 103 indicates the destination of a given session , but not the source ( see data record 520 ), while the data from the proxy server 101 records the source , but not the destination ( see data record 510 ). defining a merge eliminates the duplication of records . a merge can be defined instructing the cem 170 to store the destination data obtained from the firewall 103 and the source data from the proxy server 101 in the central database 175 . the merge will also eliminate the problem of skewed data by storing the correct source and destination of the session in the central database 175 . both network devices provide information on the url . the latter can be used to identify the fact that the two seemingly independent records ( 510 and 520 ) are actually two logs of the same session . two enhancement procedures are defined for the example of fig5 . the trigger of the first , designated flow one , is the proxy server asynchronous information source module . the trigger of the second , flow two , is the firewall asynchronous information source module . the records from flow one and flow two are records of the same session . they both have the same value for the url field . based on this value , the cem 170 identifies the two records are double logs of the same session . it merges the two data records taking the source ip value from flow one and the destination ip from flow two as the values to be stored in the central database 175 . the following describes defining merges . a merge is a set of rules that specify how duplicate records from multiple enhancement procedures must be identified and combined before being stored in the central database 175 . the nsp can merge the records from two or more enhancement procedures . to define a merge , the nsp identifies the following information . how to identify duplicate records ( which fields of the records must match ). how to combine the records ; that is , for each field , which value ( from which enhancement procedure ) must be stored in the central database 175 . if the nsp does not specify how records must be combined , the records are merged as follows : when the values in all but one of the fields are null , the non - null value is stored . when the fields contain non - null values , the value of the first record received ( chronologically ) is stored . in some embodiments , the user interface used by an nsp to configure the system 100 can be presented as a graphical representation of the data enhancement process . every step in the enhancement can be shown as a block joined to another block ( or icon or some graphical representation ). the properties of a block define the operations within the block . in some embodiments , the entire data enhancement process from network devices to the central database 175 can be shown by linked graphics where the properties of a graphic are the properties of the enhancement at that stage . in some embodiments , multiple cems 170 and / or central databases 175 can be used as data sources ( back ends ) for datamart or other databases or applications ( e . g ., customer care and billing systems ). in some embodiments , the types of databases used are not necessarily relational . object databases or other databases can be used . in some embodiments , other platforms are used . although the above description of the system 100 has been ip network focused with unix or windows nt systems supporting the elements , other networks ( non - ip networks ) and computer platforms can be used . what is important is that some sort of processing and storing capability is available at the gatherers , the cems , the databases , and the user interface servers . in some embodiments , the gatherers and other elements of the system 100 , can be remotely configured , while in other embodiments , some of the elements need to be configured directly . for example , a gatherer may not be remotely configurable , in which case , the nsp must interface directly with the computer running the gatherer . in other embodiments , the general ideas described herein can be applied to other distributed data enhancement problems . for example , some embodiments of the invention could be used to perform data source extraction and data preparation for data warehousing applications . the gatherers would interface with isms that are designed to extract data from databases ( or other data sources ). the gatherers would perform filtering and aggregation depending upon the needs of the datamart ( in such an embodiment , the central database and cem could be replaced with / used with a datamart ). the data enhancement would then be done before storing the information in the datamart . [ 0170 ] fig6 illustrates a system 600 where multiple systems 100 are linked together . this system could be an isps point of presence accounting system . the system 620 and the system 610 can store detailed network accounting information in their local detailed accounting databases . this information can then be aggregated and sent over the more expensive long distance links to the billing database in the system 630 . customer service information can still be accessed at the detailed accounting database , but the aggregated information may be all that is needed to create the bills . additional embodiments of the invention are described in the attached appendices a - f . a network accounting and billing system and method has been described . in some embodiments , the system can access any network related information sources such as traffic statistics provided by routers and switching hubs as well as application server access logs . these are accumulated in a central database for creating auditing , accounting and billing reports . because of the distributed architecture , filtering and enhancements , the system efficiently and accurately collects the network usage information for storage in a form that is useful for billing and accounting .
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“ quantitative pcr ” or “ qpcr ” is defined as a polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ) process which monitors the kinetics of pcr for the quantification of dna templates . when qpcr follows a reverse transcription reaction , it can be used for the quantification of rna templates as well . “ threshold cycle ” or “ c t ” is defined as a fractional cycle number at which a reporter signal rises above a threshold value . “ threshold ” or “ threshold value ” is defined as the reporter signal value that is used for calculation of threshold cycle ( c t ). “ local window ” or “ lw ” is defined as a subsection of the amplification curve with a certain number of data points . the qdas algorithm characterizes the pcr amplification by using data from each local subsection to approximate the global features of the curve . “ local quality value ” or “ lqv ” is a measurement that characterizes the trend for the data - points in the “ local window ” lw . for example , trend might incorporate the slope and the tightness of the data - points in the window region . “ quality score ” or “ qs ” is defined the “ local quality value ” lqv of the “ maximum local quality window ” mlw . it is used as an indicator for characterization of the amplification curve and qdas classification for the amplification status report . “ maximum local quality value window ”, or “ maximum lqv window ”, or “ mlw ” is defined as the local window with the highest lqv score among all the possible local windows for a given amplification curve . the lqv score for the mlw is defined as the quality score for the whole amplification . “ threshold window ” or “ tw ” is defined as the local window that is closest to mlw and across threshold value by a defined margin . “ reporter normalized ” or “ rn ” is defined as the reporter signal normalized ( divided ) by a passive reference signal . “ subtracted reporter normalized ” or “ delta rn ” is defined as the reporter signal subtracted the background and then normalized by the passive reference signal . “ passive reference signal ” is defined as the signal generated by a stable reagent added into the sample reaction . it is used to monitor reaction volume difference . “ reporter signal ” is defined as the signal generated by a pcr product reporter . it is used to measure the amount of pcr product . it is defined as a more general term in this document , and could be referenced more specifically as reporter normalized ( rn ), or subtracted reporter normalized ( delta rn ). “ quantitative pcr analysis system ”, or “ qpcr analysis system ”, or “ qdas ” is defined as the implementation of the algorithm and system depicted in this documentation . “ qdas c t ” or “ qc t ” is defined as the c t value calculated by the qdas algorithm . the qc t concords with the c t values calculated by commercial instrumentation software , but reports more accurate and consistent ct values when data is less than ideal . “ background normalized ” or “ bn ” is defined as the difference between the reporter normalized ( rn ) and the subtracted reporter normalized ( delta rn ). it is the absolute background and noise measured by qpcr instrument , normalized ( divided ) by the passive reference signal . in one embodiment of the present invention , methods and systems are provided for measuring biological data , including but not limited to data for cycling reactions . examples of suitable data include but are not limited to , fluorescent signal data , optical signal data , magnetic signal data , and electronic signal data . any number of assays are suitable , including quantification of dna by qpcr and quantification of rna by rt - pcr . the shape and characteristics are estimated of an amplification curve . a quality score ( qs ) is produced for a region of maximum lqv for the amplification curve . a c t value is calculated as illustrated in fig3 . a status classification is made of the amplification curve . the status classification can be any one of a set of classifications enumerated in table 1 . in one embodiment , automated methods and systems are provided for measuring the quality of a qpcr amplification curve and performing localized curve fitting . this embodiment includes the following steps : a windowing method is used to estimate the shape and characteristics of the amplification curve ; a local window ( lw ) is used to characterize the local features for a section of amplification curve . a local quality value ( lqv ) is computed based on the slope ( 1st derivative ) and correlation coefficient ( r ) of the amplification curve by localized linear regression within each window ; a threshold window ( tw ) is identified as the window that intersects the threshold and is closest to the maximum lqv a c t is calculated based on localized quadratic regression on the threshold window ; a quality score ( qs ) for the curve is assigned as the maximum lqv of all window regions . a status classification is made , as illustrated in fig4 . in one embodiment , a measurement of lqv is made at each region along an amplification curve . the region with maximum lqv is indicative of the effectiveness of the amplification . a threshold window is identified and used to calculate a c t value . the method reduces the occurrence of false c t values due to high variation of data . an amplification curve may intersect the threshold multiple points . our definition of the threshold window will select the optimal intersection as illustrated in fig5 . in one embodiment , a reporter signal is generated by the fluorescent signal of a chemical reagent . a passive reference signal is generated by the fluorescent signal of a second chemical reagent . at the conclusion of a pcr assay run , a reporter file is generated . the reporter file contains rn and delta rn values of each pcr cycle for the each plate well , and serves as the input file for qpcr data analysis system ( qdas ). the qdas system performs data quantification and quality determination . by way of illustration , and without limitation , 40 rn values and 40 delta rn values are read by the qdas . the rn and delta rn values are stored in a database . in one embodiment , the values are stored in a relational database schema and dataset table as illustrated in fig6 . data modeling procedures typically try to find a global mathematical function for the representation of data curves . however , these methods are not always practical due to the wide range of features of amplification curves in real - world situations . in this invention , we utilize a windowing method to perform localized approximation of the assay data curve . localized approximation allows the system to capture the critical trend as expressed by slope and correlation coefficient for each subsection of the curve and summarize these measurements as a global score that can be used to classify the amplification . the qdas performs a curve fit ( regression ) for each shifting window of the curve . the window is defined as a region along the curve that includes a set of adjacent data points . the shifting window is defined as each overlapping window along the curve ( fig5 ). the window is used to estimate the slope ( first derivative ) and variation for each window of the curve . the window size can range from 1 data point up to the total number of cycles . there are two considerations for choosing the number of points for the shifting window . the more data points are included , the more sensitive the model is to the data variation . more data points have a higher risk of rejecting reasonably good amplification curves . the fewer data points included , the less sensitive the model to data variation . fewer data points have a higher chance of accepting a poor curve and may generate a false high quality score . in one embodiment , the window size is optimized to contain four points . a window size of pour points performed reliably on broad range of empirical qpcr datasets . during a qpcr reaction early pcr cycles tend to have high variation due to the instrument and assay start - up ( fig1 ). to better accommodate this variation , the shifting window can have the options to skip these early pcr cycles . in one embodiment , the shifting window skips the first three pcr cycles and starts at the fourth pcr cycle to exclude the high variation . starting at the fourth pcr cycle , a window represented by a four - point data frame is generated that consists of the following arrays : 1 ) a four - element , one - dimension array that stores the four consecutive cycle numbers , and 2 ) a four - element , one - dimension array that stores the delta rn values . in certain embodiments all or a portion of the windows overlap the adjacent data windows . fig4 illustrates one working example of the window shifting method with overlapped windows . in one embodiment , a linear - least - squares regression is utilized and calculates the slope and correlation coefficient ( r ). the calculation is repeated for all the possible four point window of consecutive cycles . for each window a local quality value ( lqv ) is computed . the lqv incorporates the slope measurement and correlation coefficient . “ 1000 ”: a scaling factor that will bring the final quality score ( qs , or maximum lqv ) into the range from zero to about 1000 . 2 ). “ slope ”: the slope of the fitted line on the four - point data frame , which measures the efficiency of pcr . the value ranges from about zero to about 1 . 0 . the value for typical successful pcr reactions ranges from 0 . 1 to 0 . 7 . slope is the dominant factor ( most weighted ) for the quality score ( qs , or maximum lqv ) in comparison to the correlation coefficient ( r ). 3 ). “ 2 / pi * arcsin ( r )”: the correlation coefficient r has the value range from − 1 to 1 in theory . it measures the tightness of the four points . however for the four - point window with the maximum lqv , its value mostly ranges from 0 . 8 to 0 . 99999 with distribution skewed towards higher value end ( close to 1 ) given reasonable pcr success rate . if the coefficient was directly factored into the lqv , it would have only minimum effect on the quality score ( qs , or maximum lqv ). for this reason , the correlation coefficient ( r ) is transformed using the arcsin function , which increases the spread on the data . in order to bring the range back to (− 1 , 1 ) after the transformation , the coefficient of “ 2 / pi ” is introduced . after the transformation , the correlation coefficient ( r ) will have a noticeable effect on the quality score ( qs , or maximum lqv ) but slope remains the dominant factor . the region of maximum slope corresponds to the linear phase of the pcr curve . this region is the four cycle window where amplification is occurring at the most rapid rate . the final quality for the pcr is determined by the characteristics on the four - point data frame with the maximum lqv . the quality score ( qs ) is based on two parameters : 1 ) the slope of the fitted line on the four - point data frame , which measures the efficiency of pcr , and 2 ) the correlation coefficient ( r ), which measures tightness of the four points . the four - point window with the maximum lqv is used to represent the overall quality of the assay well . this quality score ( qs ) is used to determine the pass / fail status of the curve and to determine the cycle threshold . an automated algorithm , qdas algorithm , can be utilized in the calculation of an accurate c t value . in one embodiment , a localized curve fitting strategy is used to determine a precise c t value . the algorithm is illustrated in fig5 and fig6 , and detailed below . the qdas algorithm uses the window that intersects the threshold and is closest to the curve region with maximum lqv . this window is named as threshold window . once the maximum lqv has been determined , the qdas program finds the threshold window that intersects the threshold and is closest to the maximum lqv window by shifting the window towards the threshold ( fig3 , and fig4 ). in order to tolerate data variation for a good pcr amplification , the window is shifted beyond the desired threshold by a specified margin . an upper threshold and lower threshold is defined as the c t calling threshold plus or minus the defined margin . in one embodiment , the margin is 10 % of the threshold value , such that the resulting lower threshold is 90 % of the threshold value and the upper threshold is 110 % of the threshold value . if the smallest delta rn value for the maximum lqv window is greater than the lower threshold , the qdas algorithm will shift backward to a window such that the smallest delta rn value is less than the lower threshold . if the largest delta rn value for the maximum lqv window is less than the upper threshold , the qdas algorithm will shift forward to a window such that the largest delta rn value is greater than the upper threshold . curve fitting is performed on the threshold window data to estimate a c t value . the curve fitting employed can be any reasonable method , including but not limited to , linear least squares regression , quadratic least squares regression , or polynomial regression . the number of data points used for the regression can be any number that is greater than one . in one embodiment , a quadratic least squares regression curve fitting method is used to fit the curve and a window size of four points is used for the regression . after the quadratic regression curve fitting is performed , the c t value for the point where the fitted quadratic curve crosses to the c t calling threshold line will be the projected c t value . the c t value thus projected is referred as qdas c t . a complication that arises when projecting the qdas c t is that mathematically the threshold line will have two crossing points on the fitted quadratic curve . although typically only one point falls within the threshold window , the algorithm must select the appropriate intersection in all cases . in one embodiment , the qdas algorithm selects the appropriate intersection as follows : if only one intersection point falls within the pcr cycle range of the threshold window , it will be selected . in most cases , it is the right - most point . in certain cases that both points are outside the threshold window range , the program will pick up the cross point that is closer to the lowest point of the swing four point window . in the rare case where there is no intersection point , a linear curve fit is used to estimate the c t value . however in this case , it typically indicates a high data variation in the threshold window that a precise c t cannot be determined . an “ abnormal curve ” statusis reported as described in table 4 . the parabolic regression algorithm employed is designed to fit the parabolic curve by the least - squares method according to the following function formula : where x and y are variables . in this document , y is substituted with the delta rn value , and x the pcr cycle number for the regression . using this formula for the computation of the cycle threshold , c t is the solution of the equation : threshold = a ( c t ) 2 + b ( c t )+ c the four - point data - frame of maximum lqv and the calculation of the qdas c t value using these methods is illustrated in fig3 : the linear regression algorithm employed when there is no parapolic intersection point and is designed to fit the line by least - squares method according to the following function formula : where x and y are variables . in this document , y is substituted with the delta rn value , and x the pcr cycle number for the regression . using this formula for the computation of the cycle threshold , c t is the solution of the equation : the delta rn value for a qpcr reaction is composed of signal readings from several chemicals as well as a background signal component . a signal reading can be any quantitative reading acquired by the qpcr instrument , including but not limited to optical reading , magnetic reading , and electric signal reading . the signal readings typically contain a passive reference so all other signals can be normalized by the volume of reaction in each well , and reduce the variance caused by volume variation during sample handling . the reporter normalized ( rn ) value is derived from a signal reading and normalized against the passive reference . as we defined the background normalized ( bn ), the delta rn value can be expressed as the difference between the rn value and normalized background signal as shown in the following formula : the passive reference signal in the pcr reaction may decrease as the cycle number increases . generally , any decrease in passive reference signal is marginal and its effect is negligible . however , in some cases the decrease in the passive reference signal may be drastic or rapid . when this happens , it will lead to an abnormal increase in normalized background and as well as the rn value . the resulting amplification curve is therefore distorted or skewed and the projected c t will be inaccurate . in order to characterize this kind of background error , we implement a background normalized ( bn ) range cutoff value . as a working example , we analyzed the data from one clinical study ( providence phase ii ). fig7 shown below plots the bn range versus the qdas c t values for all data points ( a total of 79156 wells ) from this study . for the majority of the samples , the range for the background normalized signal is less than 0 . 8 . when the bn range was larger than 0 . 8 , it may distort the amplification graph and generate a false c t value . if the bn range is greater than the configured bn threshold , qdas will label the sample as “ high background ” genes with low expression can be handled effectively by the following algorithm , which are provided by way of illustration , and without limitation : if the delta rn value of a well never rises above the threshold , the well status is marked as below detection and the c t value is reported as 40 . if the delta rn crosses the threshold at a high c t (˜ 38 or greater ) and the quality score is low (& lt ;=˜ 50 ) effectively due to non - specific amplification , the well status is marked as below quantification and the c t value is reported as 40 . generally a higher quality score indicates a better pcr amplification . a low quality score indicates a bad or failed amplification . a quality score cutoff value can be used to categorize the amplification results for quality control . the determination of cutoff value will vary depending on the study . the examples of cutoff value include but are not limited to a constant value and a variable value determined by a function . in one embodiment , a lower limit for quality scores can be selected to categorize the quality of amplification curves using a function . note that quality scores have a c t dependent component because they are predominantly based on the slope of the qpcr curve . as c t values increase , the maximum theoretical quality score decreases , so a fixed cutoff is not preferable . by way of illustration , and without limitation , data from two clinical studies and commercial patient samples were analyzed , an approximate one - sided 95 % lower prediction interval was determined , and a cubic function modeled for a set of genes . in one embodiment , a quality lower limit function is defined in the form : where a , b , c , d are coefficients for the cubic function modeled . where c t l and c t h are the lower c t point and higher c t point respectively that define sections for well classification based on quality scores . we have also defined loq ( limit of quantitation ) as the c t value beyond which quality scores less that the qlimit ( c t h ) are classified as below quantitation . in general , wells with quality scores greater than or equal to qlimit ( c t ) are classified as good amplifications . wells with quality scores less than qlimit ( c t ) are classified depending on the c t values as follows : for c t values less than or equal to c t h wells with quality score greater than or equal to qlimit ( c t h ) are classified as fair amplifications . wells with quality score less than qlimit ( c t h ) are classified as poor amplifications . for c t values greater than c t h , wells are classified as below quantitation . as a working example , the following table shows a set of parameters used to determine the qlimit function . the “ default ” signifies that the parameter set is used for any gene not explicitly configured . the graph in fig8 illustrates the use of the quality lower limit function curve for well classification , using the default parameter set shown in table 2 . during the geometric phase and linear phase an amplification curve generally rises smoothly as the pcr cycle number increases resulting in a monotonic curve . if the curve for the region between tw and mlw is not monotonic , it is an indication of inaccurate c t value . the qdas algorithm performs a slope evaluation for each lw between tw and mlw ( including both tw and mlw ). if a slope for any lw is less than zero while the amplification curve rises above threshold value , the curve for this region is not monotonic and the amplification is reclassified as abnormal curve . parameter values for the qdas algorithm can be adjusted without limitation in order to accommodate different study and stringency requirements . the following table contains a working example set of parameter values . downstream data analysis and validation can be performed based on the classification of the amplification curve . by way of illustration and without limitation , the final status for each output of the qdas program is classified as one of the categories shown in table 4 below and detailed thereafter . not all wells in a pcr plate may contain samples or reagents . certain wells remain empty either purposely by experimental design , or due to a sample handling or tracking error . qpcr always generates some signal reading regardless of whether the well is empty or not . however , if the well is empty , there is no passive reference and the minimum delta rn are reported as highly - variable numbers , dominantly negative . a signal significantly less than zero is used to detect empty wells . when the signal is less than the emptywell threshold (− 1 . 0 ) the algorithm will assign “ 0 ” for the status of an empty well . if the quality score calculated is greater than the lower limit quality function value for the reported c t it will be assigned a status “ 1 ”, “ good amplification ”. if the quality score calculated is greater than the minimum quality function value for the reported c t but less than or equal to the lower limit quality function . these wells will be assigned a status of “ 2 ”, “ fair amplification ” if the well is not empty , and the delta rn value never rises above threshold value , it will be assigned a status “ 3 ”, which means pcr amplification is “ below detection ”. if the delta rn value rises above threshold value and the quality score calculated is less than or equal to the value of the minimum quality threshold function . if 1 ) the well is not empty , and 2 ) the normalized background range is greater than background range cutoff value , it will be assigned a status “ 5 ”, which means pcr amplification is “ high background ”. in the current version of the algorithm , the cutoff value is set as “ 0 . 8 ”. high c t values (& gt ;˜ 38 ) with extremely low quality (& lt ;=˜ 50 ) are reported as a c t of 40 . this status is reported when an irregular amplification curve is detected . the following conditions will return an “ abnormal curve ” status “ 8 ”. if the quality score calculated is more than 7000 and the well is not empty ( as defined above . this happens when the qpcr probe dissociates from template or cannot be quenched as pcr proceeds . if the curve stagnates at threshold . in rare cases , the parabolic fitted curve will not cross threshold because the entire curve at the threshold region is above or below the threshold . for example , in some samples , when the amplification rises close to the threshold , it stagnates and does not increase for three or more cycles in the threshold region . when this happens , the amplification curve is distorted and an accurate c t cannot be projected . note in this case a linear curve - fit is used to estimate a c t but the curve is reported as abnormal . if a c t value is reported within the baseline normalization region . if c t value is less than or equal to 15 ( c t & lt ;= 15 ) then the well is reported as abnormal curve . values within the baseline region are typically due to high data variation and are not reliable . if a slope for any local window between the tw and mlw including tw and mlw is less than zero while the amplification curve rises above threshold value , the curve for this region is not monotonic . the ct value is inaccurate in this case and the amplification will be reported as abnormal . if a computation exception occurs status 9 “ algorithm failure ” is reported . if a well meets the criteria for multiple status codes , the evaluation order of classification and reporting can be determined based on biological , commercial , or computational factors . by way of illustration , the following is an example evaluation sequence ordering : empty well ; below detection ; below quantification ; poor amplification ; high background ; abnormal quality ; fair amplification ; good amplification . fig9 shows an illustration of a working example of the process flow for the amplification status classification . as an illustration of the implementation , the following functions have been coded into a working c # program as documented in table 5 . the qdas programs assume the integrity of the rn and delta rn values from the report file generated by qpcr instrument software . if the qpcr instrument software generates inaccurate measurements or has missing data , for example , due to gross equipment error , the results of the automated qdas program need to be examined accordingly . while embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention . rather , the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation , and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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referring to the drawings , a projector according to the present invention will be described . in fig1 the reference numeral 1 generally indicates the projector , in which red , blue and green cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g construct displayed pictures , which are then projected by a conventional projecting unit 30 on a screen 40 to form a color picture . more specifically , a channel selection circuit 4 of the projector 1 changes its operation on the basis of control data outputted from a system control circuit 5 , and thereby receives a desired television program by way of an antenna 6 . a demodulation circuit 10 demodulates output signals from the channel selection circuit 4 to generate red , blue and green chrominance signals sr1 , sb1 and sg1 . in this event , the chrominance signals sr1 , sb1 and sg1 are corrected according to control signals outputted from the system control circuit 5 . a selection circuit 12 switches contacts according to control signals outputted from the system control circuit 5 for outputting chrominance signals sr1 , sb1 and sg1 or chrominance signals sr2 , sb2 and sg2 , outputted from a video tape recorder ( vtr ) 14 , to selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g , respectively . the chrominance signals are inputted via selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g to amplifiers 18r , 18b and 18g , which drive cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g on the basis of the chrominance signals , respectively . in this manner , a displayed picture of the corresponding chrominance signals is formed on each of cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g . in this event , amplifiers 18r , 18b and 18g make correction of brightness , contrast , etc . on respective cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g according to control data outputted from the system control circuit 5 . the desired television broadcast program or the reproduced picture of the video tape recorder is thus formed on the screen 40 by projecting the displayed pictures , constructed on the cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g , on the screen . the system control circuit 5 outputs control data in response to the operations of the switches 20a , 20b , 20c , . . . , and thereby controls the whole operation of the projector 1 . more specifically , the system control circuit 5 outputs control data to a power supply circuit 21 when the power switch 20a is activated , and the power supply circuit 21 is thereby turned on to provide a power supply vcc to each circuit block of the projector 1 . when switches 20b , 20c , . . . , such as for brightness and sound volume , are activated in this state , control data are sent to corresponding circuit blocks to correct the brightness , sound volume , etc . furthermore , when the power supply circuit 21 is turned on , the system control circuit 5 switches the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g for a predetermined time interval , so that chrominance signals srefr , srefb and srefg from the reference signal generating circuit 22 are fed to the amplifiers 18r , 18b and 18b , respectively . thus , fluctuation in registration is reduced in a short time . it is considered that the fluctuation in the registration which changes as time passes is produced due to electric charges accumulated on the inner surface of the glass of each of the cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g . it was confirmed that the fluctuation of the registration was reduced to within a practically acceptable range as a sufficient period of time passed . moreover , it was found that the fluctuation in registration fell within a practically allowable range in a short time when the beam current which flowed in each of the cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g was made large . on the other hand , it was also noted that it took about 2 to 3 hours to reduce the fluctuation of the registration within a permissible range in a case where beam currents are small as in a gray display picture , for example . from these facts , if sufficient beam currents are caused to flow in cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b , and 2g by inputting reference signals at a luminance level of about 100 %, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the registration to within a practically acceptable range in a very short time . for this purpose , the reference signal generating circuit 22 generates chrominance signals srefr , srefb and srefg for uniformly displaying a white picture with a luminance level of about 100 % all over the screen , and outputs the chrominance signals to the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g . corresponding to this , the system control circuit 5 executes the procedures shown in fig2 and thereby places the cathode ray tubes in a condition , where there is little fluctuation in registration , in a short time . more specifically , in the step sp2 the system control circuit 5 judges whether or not the power switch 20a is on . when a negative result is given in this step , the step sp2 is repeated . when the power switch 20a as shown in fig3 a , is on , the system control circuit 5 proceeds to the step sp3 , in which the system control circuit 5 outputs control data to the power supply circuit 21 to provide the power supply vcc ( fig3 b ), and then outputs control data to the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g for selecting contacts b on the side of the reference signal generating circuit 22 in place of the contacts a for the selection circuit 12 ( fig3 c and 3d ). in this manner , the system control circuit 5 causes chrominance signals srefr , srefb and srefg to be outputted from the reference signal generating circuit 22 to the amplifiers 18r , 18b and 18g instead of the chrominance signals from the selection circuit 12 , so that a white picture with a luminance level of 100 % is uniformly displayed over the whole screen . subsequently , the system control circuit 5 goes to the step sp4 , in which it judges whether or not switches 20b , 20c , . . . except the power switch 20a are turned on . when the result is negative in this step , the system control circuit 5 proceeds to the step sp5 where it decides whether or not 10 minutes have passed since application of the power . when a negative result is obtained , the system control circuit 5 returns to the step sp4 . the loop of steps sp4 - sp5 is repeated until 10 minutes passes after the power is applied . in a case where a white picture is displayed at a luminance level of about 100 %, in this embodiment fluctuation in registration is reduced to within a practically acceptable range in about 10 minutes . accordingly in the system control circuit 5 , an affirmative result is given in the step sp5 in 10 minutes after the application of the power , and then in the step sp6 the contacts of the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g are changed over . then , the system control circuit 5 goes to the step sp7 and completes the routine . this routine enables displayed pictures to be constructed on the basis of the chrominance signals sr1 , sb1 and sg1 of the television program or the chrominance signals sr2 , sb2 and sg2 , outputted from the video tape recorder 14 , with a reduced fluctuation in registration . however , users may want to watch a desired program immediately after the power is applied . for this purpose , an affirmative result is provided in the step sp4 if switches 20b , 20c , . . . except the power switch 20a are turned on ( fig3 e ) before 10 minutes passes after the application of the power . then , the system control circuit 5 goes to the step sp8 , in which contacts of the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g are switched ( fig3 d ). subsequently , the system control circuit 5 proceeds to the step sp9 , where in response to turning on of switches , adjustments of the sound volume , the brightness , the contrast , and the hue , switching of the selection circuit 12 and selection of channels are performed , and then the system control circuit 5 goes to the step sp7 to complete the routine . these operations enable the user to monitor the desired displayed picture immediately after the power is applied . by turning on the power switch 20a , in this embodiment the power vcc is supplied to each circuit block , and chrominance signals srefr , srefb and srefg which are outputted from the reference signal generating circuit 22 are supplied to amplifiers 18r , 18b and 18g via selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g , respectively . thus , the white displayed picture with the luminance level about 100 % is displayed on the screen . this enables each of the cathode ray tubes 2r , 2b and 2g to be placed in a condition where there is little fluctuation in registration , and after the contacts of the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g are switched in 10 minutes , an excellent displayed picture is produced on the screen 40 . on the other hand , to monitor a desired displayed picture immediately after the application of the power , the selection circuits 16r , 16b and 16g are switched by turning on predetermined switches 20b , 20c , . . . , so that the desired displayed picture is monitored by shortening the period of the display of the white picture . although in the embodiment it is stated that a white picture with a luminance level about 100 % is displayed for 10 minutes after the application of the power , any time period of the display may be set according to need . moreover , in view of facility various pictures with a uniform brightness or color may be projected all over the screen instead of the white picture with about 100 % luminance level . in the embodiment , the operation of the projector is changed in response to the operations of the switches 20a , 20b , 20c , . . . , but the present invention may be applied to a case where the operation of the projector is changed to respond to actuators of a remote commander . although in the embodiment , the case where a television broadcast or a video tape recorder is monitored is described , the present invention may be applied to various projectors which display various pictures .
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in order to derive an accurate measurement of the moisture content of non - aqueous liquids , the responses from complementary sensors are combined . the specific choice of constituent sensors is based on performance characteristics , durability , cost , and other practical considerations . in general , multiple sensors are required to measure properties that depend on multiple factors . in the simplest case of a non - aqueous liquid of a predetermined composition , a single sensor sensitive to the presence of dissolved water may be used for the measurement of dissolved water content . however , if the composition of the non - aqueous liquid is unknown or variable , additional sensors are required to produce an accurate measurement of dissolved water content . a temperature sensor may also be used to increase the accuracy of the measurement if sensor responses vary with temperature . the apparatus of the invention may therefore consist of a sensor array , sensor transduction circuitry , a processing unit , and electronic output for transmission to a display device . the sensor array is a combination of sensors which detect moisture , physical chemical properties , and temperature . the moisture sensor may be of many types including , but not limited to , polymer film resistive and capacitive sensors , infrared absorption sensors , and light refractive sensors . the chemical property sensor may be of many types including , but not limited to , capacitors of various geometries ( e . g ., a parallel - plate capacitor ), interdigitated electrodes with or without film coatings , and sensors based on light refraction or absorption . the temperature sensor may also be of many types ( e . g ., mercury thermometers , thermistors , thermocouples ). the following sensors and sensor combinations are suitable for use in the invention : moisture sensors , dielectric property sensors and temperature sensors ; moisture sensors and dielectric property sensors ; moisture sensors and temperature sensors ; moisture sensors ; dielectric property sensors and temperature sensors ; and dielectric property sensors . as one example of the application of the invention , a system for the measurement of water content within petroleum fuels is described below . the capacity of petroleum fuels to dissolve water depends on the content of oxygenating chemicals in the fuel ( such as alcohols and ethers ), the relative amounts of aromatic and paraffin hydrocarbons , and the temperature of the fuel . thus , sensors sensitive to moisture , oxygenating chemicals , aromatic / paraffin hydrocarbons , and temperature are combined algorithmically to determine the moisture content of petroleum fuels . petroleum fuels and solvents ( e . g ., gasoline , diesel , fuel oil , stoddard solvent , and mineral spirits ) may dissolve water until their saturation limits are reached , at which point the water will begin to form a separate layer , or phase . the method comprises the collection of moisture , physical chemical properties , and temperature measurements and determining the dissolved water content or the likelihood that the petroleum fuel or solvent might undergo a phase separation from water . the water content can be determined as a mass concentration or as the solvent relative humidity ( amount of water dissolved / maximum possible dissolvable amount × 100 %). a “ letter grade ” can then be assigned to the fuel based on the measurement . the letter grade which is assigned ( indicative of the likelihood of phase separation ) may be , for example , “ a ” through “ e ”, where “ a ” would indicate very little danger of phase separation and “ e ” would indicate a high risk of phase separation . analysis of regular unleaded gasoline is an example of one application of the invention . piano ( paraffins , isoparaffins , aromatics , naphthenes , and olefins ) analysis ( astm d 5443 ) of the fuel investigated showed the absence of oxygenating chemicals ( e . g ., alcohols and ethers ). in order to re - create commercially available gasoline , oxygenating chemicals were blended into the gasoline . methyl t - butyl ether ( mtbe ) was blended to simulate ether - containing gasoline . ethanol was blended to simulate alcohol - containing gasoline . all reagents were dried thoroughly with zeolite molecular sieves . water was introduced into the gasoline types by two different methods . for the unoxygenated gasoline and the mtbe - containing gasoline , dry portions of gasoline were mixed with portions of gasoline that were saturated with water . for the ethanol containing gasoline , aliquots of water were added to the gasoline . commercially available humidity sensors ( emd3000 and emd4000 , general eastern ) were used as moisture sensors . electrical resistance of the gasoline samples was measured using these sensors when immersed in unoxygenated gasoline , mtbe - containing gasoline , and ethanol - containing gasoline . fig1 , 2 , and 3 depict the relationship between the sample electrical resistance determined by the humidity sensor and the solvent relative humidity of non - oxygenated , 11 % mtbe containing , and 10 % ethanol containing gasoline , respectively , at a series of temperatures . these measurements are also listed in tables 1 , 2 , and 3 , respectively : in general , moisture measurements determined by the humidity sensor may be improved by correcting for the effects of temperature and chemical content such as oxygnating chemicals . by measuring the temperature and physical chemical properties , the relationship between the eletrical resistance determined by the humidity sensor and the solvent relative humidity of the gasoline may be described by mathematical correlations . these correlations may be of any form . one form of correlation that describes the data is : where r is the electrical resistance of the humidity sensor ( ω ) and both a and b may be functions of temperature and chemical content . these functions may be of any form . when ethanol ( 1 - 10 vol %) is the oxygenating chemical present , a good fit to data can be found with : where etoh % is the amount of ethanol blended with the gasoline ( vol %). when mtbe is the oxygenating chemical present , a good fit to data can be found with : this method of water content measurement can also be applied to the measurement of water dissolved in ethyl alcohol . fig6 depicts the relationship between the electrical resistance of the humidity sensor and the solvent relative humidity of ethyl alcohol . these measurements are listed in table 4 : the electrical properties of the gasoline were measured with a capacitor immersed within the gasoline . fig4 depicts the relationship between the oxygenate content in gasoline and the dielectric constant measured from the capacitor at 20 ° c . ( 1 khz frequency of excitation ). table 5 lists these measurements . for ethanol containing gasoline this relationship has been modeled as : oxygenate percentage = a × dc 2 + b × dc + c , where dc is the dielectric constant of the gasoline . a good fit to the data from ethanol - containing gasoline is possible when the following formulas for a , b , and c are used : a =− 0 . 0518 t − 10 . 22 , b = 0 . 2711 t + 62 . 946 , and c =− 0 . 3244 t − 86 . 643 , where t is the temperature (° c .). for mtbe containing gasoline , a good fit to the data can be achieved with the following formulas for a , b , and c : a = 0 , b = 0 . 3452 t + 46 . 977 , and c =− 0 . 6520 t − 98 . 125 , where t is the temperature (° c .). other mathematical relationships are possible . for greater accuracy , the effect of solvent relative humidity may be factored into the model of oxygenate content . a capacitor was also used to measure the bulk electrical resistance ( or conductance , equivalently ) of the gasoline ( 20 hz frequency or excitation ). fig5 depicts the relationship between the electrical resistance of the gasoline and the solvent relativity humidity for non - oxygenated gasoline , as well as 1 %, 3 % and 10 % ethanol - containing gasoline . for a given oxygenate content , the electrical resistance of the gasoline decreases as the solvent relative humidity of the gasoline increases ; table 6 lists these measurements : thus , the electrical resistance of the gasoline may provide water content information . one combination of measurements which yields the solvent relative humidity for ethanol containing gasoline is : solvent relative humidity =( a × log ( rc ))+ b , wherein a =( 35 . 243 × log ( etoh %))− 135 . 87 , and b =(− 458 . 16 × log ( etoh %))+ 1208 . 1 where rc is the electrical resistance ( ω ) of the capacitor immersed in gasoline and etoh % is the amount of ethanol present in the gasoline ( vol %). the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons also influences the electrical properties of gasoline , including the dielectric constant and the conductivity of gasoline . higher concentrations may yield larger dielectric constants and greater conductivities . the resistance and capacitance measurements from a capacitor immersed in gasoline may provide oxygenate content and water content information . these measurements are considered duplicative to electrical impedance measurements ( e . g ., resistance and reactance ) of a test cell containing the sample . pairing a dielectric constant measurement with a phase angle difference from a measurement circuit may yield oxygenate content and water content information . equivalent representations of the measurements may include , but are not limited to , susceptance capacitance , dielectric constant , complex permitivity , resistance , conductance , admittance , reactance and impedance . furthermore , parameters derived from these property representations are considered to be equivalent representations of the measurement information . water tolerance is the amount of water that a non - aqueous liquid can dissolve before phase separation will occur with the formation of distinct non - aqueous and aqueous phases ( the aqueous phase will also contain alcohols initially present in the solvent phase ). water tolerance is related to liquid relative humidity in that the water tolerance of a non - aqueous liquid is the concentration of water in the non - aqueous liquid at 100 % relative humidity . in the case of petroleum fuels , water tolerance depends on factors such as temperature , type of distillate , content of blending components such as oxygenates , and aromatic hydrocarbon content . with knowledge of how the water tolerance of a non - aqueous liquid varies with temperature , it is possible to predict its relative humidity ( or the likelihood of phase separation occurring ) at different temperatures . for example , if the relative humidity of a non - aqueous liquid was determined to be 50 % at 30 ° c . and the water tolerance of the liquid were known to be 1 vol % at 30 ° c ., then the water concentration would be estimated at 0 . 5 vol %. if the solvent were to cool to 10 ° c ., and if the water tolerance of the liquid was 0 . 5 vol % at 10 ° c ., then the relative humidity would be predicted to be at or near 100 % and phase separation would be likely to occur . such determinations are useful when a fuel is to be transported , stored and / or used at different conditions from those of the initial measurement . the temperature dependence of the water tolerance of conventional gasoline is estimated by the following correlation : water tolerance , wt %= 6 . 97 e − 4 t + 1 . 48 e − 2 where t is the temperature in ° c . the temperature dependence of the water tolerance of gasoline containing 15 vol % mtbe is estimated by the following correlation : water tolerance , wt %= 1 . 33 e − 3 t + 5 . 96 e − 2 where t is the temperature in ° c . the water tolerance of gasoline is greatly increased by blending with ethanol . the water tolerance of gasoline blended with ethanol can be estimated by the following correlation : a =(− 8 . 052 e − 8 (% etoh ) 2 )+( 4 . 545 e − 6 ×(% etoh ))+ 3 . 513 e − 6 , b = 2 . 919 e − 5 (% etoh ) 2 + 2 . 530 e − 4 ×(% etoh )+ 6 . 736 e − 4 , c = 1 . 704 e − 3 (% etoh ) 2 + 3 . 415 e − 2 ×(% etoh )+ 1 . 220 e − 2 , where % etoh is the amount of ethanol blended into the gasoline in vol % and t is the temperature in ° c .
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in petroleum asphalt produced by refining crude oil , the crude oil is passed through fractionators ( e . g . vacuum distillation tower ) which produce a variety of products including gasoline , diesel oil , fuel oils , etc . the asphalt bottoms or residue from the vacuum distillation is passed through at least one heat exchanger and discharged to storage and maintained in a heated condition ( above 170 ° c .) to permit handling . a certain amount of h 2 s is generally present in the bottoms because of thermal cracking of the feed crude . the h 2 s generated is a function of temperature , the higher the bottom temperature , the more h 2 s generated . some feed crudes produce more h 2 s than others , even at the same temperature . in some operations , the vacuum distillation tower is operated at a lower temperature by recycling a portion of the cooled residue to the tower . this reduces the amount of h 2 s produced from thermal cracking . however , as discussed above , it is more efficient to operate at higher residue temperatures -- more energy is available for heating incoming crude in the heat exchanger and higher asphalt throughput is possible . in accordance with the present invention , it has been discovered that by injecting certain oil soluble metal organic salts into the hot asphalt residue from the distillation unit prior to the asphalt residue reaching storage , the h 2 s dissolved in the asphalt is converted to stable sulfides . the salts of alkylarylcarboxylic acids or alkyl carboxylic acids having from 6 to 24 , preferably 6 to 12 carbon atoms , may be used . the preferred organic salts are naphthenates carboxylates having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms . the preferred metals are zinc , iron , copper , zirconium , cobalt , nickel , and sodium , with zinc and iron being most preferred . the compounds that have exhibited good performance in laboratory experiments are copper , iron , zinc , and zirconium naphthanates and zinc octoate . in order to disperse the metal organic salt in the asphalt , it is necessary to employ a diluent or solvent . the solvent should have a flash point above the temperature of use of the organic salt . a refined oil such as esso petroleum &# 39 ; s stanco 90 or stanco 600 has proven satisfactory . the concentration of the metal salt in the solvent may vary within a wide range . concentrations in the range of 1 to 20 %, preferably 1 to 10 %, should be satisfactory for most operations . in preferred operations , the metal organic salt is introduced in the residue effluent line of the refining operation prior to the asphalt reaching storage . the residue leaves the tower at above 300 °, and is pumped through at least one heat exchanger ( crude heater ) and cooled to a temperature of 200 ° to 250 ° c . the pumping pressures is at about 2 to 6 bars . in a preferred operations , a second heat exchanger ( water box cooler ) in series with the first heat exchanger , further cools the asphalt to 180 °- 210 ° c . range . upstream of the box cooler and downstream of the crude heater , a quench loop line interconnects the asphalt line to the distillation tower to permit recycling a portion of the cooled asphalt residue stream . at the point of organic salt introduction , the h 2 s should be dissolved in the asphalt ( e . g . prior to gas evolution ) and the temperature should be above 180 ° c ., preferably above 190 ° c ., and most preferably above 200 c . it is preferred that the metal organic salt be introduced at a location upstream of the last heat exchanger ( box cooler ). this pressure at this point will ensure no h 2 s evolution , and allow sufficient agitation and time for the salt to disperse in the hot asphalt . the temperature at this location will normally be between about 200 ° and 250 ° c . in operation , the metal organic salt in a suitable solvent will be introduced into the asphalt in a concentration wherein the presence of the metal ion is as follows : broadly 0 . 0005 to 1 wt . %, preferred range 0 . 005 to 0 . 5 wt .%, most preferred range 0 . 05 to 0 . 5 wt . % based on the weight of the asphalt composition including the organic salt . generally , from 1 to 3 ppm of metal ion for each 3 ppm of h 2 s in the asphalt is sufficient . the treatment should be sufficient to reduce the residue h 2 s in the asphalt to between 2 and 50 ppm . it is well known that hot asphalt evolves hydrogen sulfide and that as a result precautions have to be taken when large volumes of hot asphalt are being handled . there is , however , very little published information available on the effects of time and temperature on h 2 s evolution or on the comparative behavior of asphalt from various crude sources ; nor is there a laboratory test that can be used to predict h 2 s levels that may be encountered during normal asphalt operations . to fill this gap a simple laboratory test for measuring h 2 s evolution has been devised and the h 2 s evolution characteristics of several types of asphalt have been measured . test method : the test entails heating a specified weight of asphalt in a sealed conical flask at the required test temperature for the required time , and then after cooling , the h 2 s concentration in the vapour space is measured by means of a drager tube . full details of the test method are described below . effect of temperature : to determine the effect of temperatures on h 2 s evolution tests have been carried out on penetration grade asphalt from five different crude sources . the asphalt samples were tested after 2 hours storage at temperatures ranging from 130 ° c . - 190 ° c . the results obtained ( in ppm h 2 s ) are given in table i below : table i______________________________________crude sourcetesttemp ° c . a b c d e______________________________________130 0 -- 5 -- 5145 0 5 10 -- 10160 0 10 15 15 45175 25 20 30 40 90190 70 70 70 70 250______________________________________ from these results it can be seen that with one exception ( crude e ) asphalt from the crude sources under examination show very similar temperature / h 2 s characteristics . the increase in h 2 s with increased temperature is believed to be due in part to thermal cracking of the asphalt . effect of time : samples a and b were tested to determine the effect of time at a constant temperature ( 175 ° c .) on h 2 s evolution . the results are presented in table ii . these tests demonstrate that weathering asphalts can produce unsafe levels in the storage vapor space because of the accumulation of h 2 s . table ii______________________________________effect of time on h . sub . 2 s evolution at 175 ° c . ( ppm h . sub . 2 s ). time ( hrs ) crude a crude b______________________________________1 10 552 25 -- 3 30 606 40 40______________________________________ experiments were carried out to determine the effects of adding an organic salt in accordance with the present invention on the evolution of h 2 s from hot asphalt . the test procedure was as follows : ( a ) a given amount of an organic salt is added to a 100 gram sample of asphalt contained in a 500 ml flask ; insert drechsel head in flask and place in an oven maintained at 190 ° c ; ( b ) after 2 hours , remove flask from oven and allow to cool to below 60 ° c . ; ( d ) attach a separating funnel with known volume of mineral oil to drechsel head ; ( e ) displace vapor in flask with 200 ml mineral oil ; vapor flows in drager tube ; ( g ) calculate h 2 s in ppm : 100 × drager tube reading × 50 the constants &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 50 &# 34 ; are functions of the particular tube calibration range . other h 2 s measurement methods are possible . the following organic salts and solvents were used in the experiments . ______________________________________organic salt solvent______________________________________cn copper naphthanate x toluenein iron naphthanate y aromatic solvent . sup . 1zn zinc naphthanate commercial gradezo zinc octoate z heavy base . sup . 2zrn zirconium naphthanate refined oil______________________________________ . sup . 1 marketed by exxon chemical company as solvesso 150 ( flash point 65 . 6 ° c .) . sup . 2 marketed by exxon chemical company as stanco 90 ( flash point 24 ° c .) or stanco 600 ( flash point 264 ° c .) experiments on h 2 s evolution using various asphalt samples were run with and without the metal organic salts . the test method was in accordance with the procedure described above . table iii presents the results . table iii______________________________________additive : wt % organic wt % additive h . sup . 2 s ( ppm ) test salt / metal in in no withno . solvent additive asphalt treatment treatment______________________________________1 cn / y 2 0 . 5 1300 402 in / y 2 0 . 5 1300 153 zn / x 9 0 . 5 1300 04 in / z 2 0 . 5 1300 225 in / z 2 0 . 1 1300 7506 zn / x 9 0 . 1 1300 07 zo / z 8 0 . 1 2000 4208 zo / z 8 0 . 05 2000 11509 zo / z 8 0 . 01 2000 175010 in / z 8 0 . 10 1650 3511 in / z 8 0 . 05 1650 19012 in / z 8 0 . 01 1650 125013 zrn / z 2 0 . 5 1300 870______________________________________ based on the data of table iii , the preferred organic salts are iron and zinc naphthanates and octoates . these salts are oil soluble , readily available , and effective for purposes of this invention .
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[ 0024 ] fig1 illustrates a method for forming a dielectric layer according to one embodiment of the present invention . a silicon - containing layer or precursor layer is deposited over a substrate at block 101 . the silicon - containing layer includes material from a silazane or silane source such as , but not limited to hexamethyldisilazane ( hmds ). a dielectric layer is formed by processing the silicon - containing layer in a reactive ambient 102 . the reactive ambient can be comprised of , but not limited to , nh 3 , n 2 , o 2 , o 3 , n 2 o and no . the reactive ambient causes silicon atoms from the silicon - containing layer to react with oxygen atom , nitrogen atoms or both . the dielectric layer is primarily nitride , primarily oxide or oxynitride depending on whether the reactive ambient is nitridizing , oxidizing or nitridizing and oxidizing . generally , conventional dielectric layers are processed using temperature ranges of 700 ° c . to 1050 ° c ., processing time of 10 seconds to 60 minutes , and processing pressure of 760 torr . whereas , the dielectric layer of the present invention is typically processed using temperature ranges of 500 ° c . to 900 ° c ., processing time of 30 seconds to 5 minutes , and processing pressure of 450 torr . however , with silicon sources such as hmds , the time is not critical because they are self limiting sources . it is contemplated that variations to these ranges may also result in suitable dielectric layer formation . [ 0026 ] fig2 illustrates a method of fabricating a silicon - nitride dielectric layer . a wafer is cleaned using hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) or any other suitable cleaning technique 201 . a silicon - containing material , is vapor deposited over the wafer 202 from a silicon source such as hmds . the silicon - containing material can be deposited using a vapor priming ( vp ) step . conventionally , vapor priming is one method that has been used , for example , to minimize the amount of photoresist needed during a patterning process . the vapor prime helps “ pre - wet ” the semiconductor wafer and allows photoresist to flow out more smoothly , and thus more homogeneously . a dielectric layer is fabricated by rapid thermal nitridization ( rtn ) of the deposited material in an ammonia nitrogen ( nh 3 ) ambient 203 . the resulting dielectric layer is primarily nitride . table 3a split wafers vp rtn dielectric thickness 301 2 — 850 ° c . nitride 45 å 302 4 , 16 — — nitride 45 å 303 6 , 18 — — nitride 55 å 306 14 1 850 ° c . nitride 35 å 307 1 , 15 2 850 ° c . nitride 35 å 308 3 , 17 2 850 ° c . nitride 45 å 309 5 , 19 2 950 ° c . nitride 35 å table 3a , shown above , shows experimental results for dielectric layers fabricated utilizing the method of fig2 a versus conventional dielectric layers . here , each split represents a set of dielectric layers fabricated according to the same or similar parameters . splits 302 and 303 are dielectric layers fabricated according to conventional means with a thickness of 45 å and 55 å , respectively . splits 301 and 306 - 309 are dielectric layers formed according to the present invention . split 301 is a dielectric layer fabricated using rtn . split 306 utilizes a single vapor priming ( vp ) step and a processing temperature of 850 ° c . to fabricate a dielectric layer at a thickness of 35 å . vapor priming or vp is used to deposit a layer of silicon - containing material . splits 307 - 309 perform vapor priming twice to deposit two layers of silicon - containing material . splits 307 and 308 are processed at a temperature of 850 ° c . to form dielectric layers of 35 å and 45 å , respectively . split 309 is processes at a temperature of 950 ° c . to form a dielectric layer having a thickness of 35 å . [ 0028 ] fig3 b shows capacitance versus leakage for the dielectric layers of table 3a . the leakage is shown on a logarithmic scale . split 302 demonstrates larger leakage than the other splits . the other splits are well grouped and have less than 7 fa / cell leakage . thus , the present invention decreases leakage compared to conventional dielectric layers of comparable thickness . [ 0029 ] fig3 c shows capacitance versus bv ( breakdown voltage to induce 1 ua ) for the dielectric layers of table 3a . this figure shows the bv of the 302 split at around 3 . 0v . this behavior in leakage and bv is indicative of 45 å nitride . the remaining splits demonstrate higher bv . it is worth noting that the less thick splits , 306 , 307 and 309 even demonstrate a higher bv . a higher bv indicates a large increase in dielectric strength . thus , it can be seen that the present invention increases dielectric strength . [ 0030 ] fig3 d shows the cumulative probability of leakage for the dielectric layers of table 3a . the leakage probability of split 302 is unacceptable and all other splits are comparable to split 303 , the 55 å thick control dielectric layer which is thicker than the other splits . thus , it can be seen that the present invention lowers leakage probability of dielectric layers of comparable thickness . fig3 e shows the cumulative probability versus capacitance . a 2 . 5 ff / cell gap is seen between split 303 and the best remaining splits . thus , it can be seen that the present invention demonstrates an increase in capacitance over conventional dielectrics . similarly , fig3 f shows the cumulative probability versus bv and a significant gap between split 302 and the other splits . this shows that the dielectric layers of the present invention demonstrate improved back voltage characteristics over conventional dielectrics of comparable thickness . [ 0031 ] fig3 g shows a performance index c / i ( capacitance over current ) versus low level voltages for the dielectric layers of table 3a . the data for the graph was gathered using keithley cv and iv sweeps . the bias voltage was swept from + 1v to − 1v while measuring capacitance . the iv sweep swept bias voltage from 0 to − 1v and measured 20k array current . the performance of the 302 split significantly degrades over a range of approximately 0 . 6v . this performance degradation is a result of leakage increases . the best performance of the splits is shown by split 307 which uses 2vp , a processing temperature of 850 ° c . and a 35 å thickness . fig3 h shows the performance index c / i for the various dielectric layers of table 3a . the vertical axis is the performance index c / i and the horizontal axis shows the various splits . the circles on the right hand side of the graph show the differences between the various dielectric layers . if the circles do not intersect , the difference between splits is significant . splits 307 , 308 and 309 are significantly better in performance than control splits 302 and 303 . table 3a and fig3 b , 3c , 3 d , 3 e , 3 f , 3 g and 3 h show exemplary experimental results of actual implementations . it can be seen from those figures that thinner dielectric layers fabricated according to the present invention are able to perform as well or better that thicker conventional dielectric layers . other actual implementations may vary and embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the implementations shown in table 3a and fig3 b , 3c , 3 d , 3 e , 3 f , 3 g and 3 h . [ 0033 ] fig4 illustrates a transistor semiconductor device utilizing a dielectric layer 402 according to another embodiment of the present invention . a source 405 is formed in a substrate 401 . a drain 406 is formed in the substrate 401 . a gate oxide layer 404 is formed over the substrate 401 from the source 405 to the drain 406 . an electrode or gate electrode 403 is formed over the gate oxide layer 404 . a dielectric layer 402 is formed over the electrode 403 . the dielectric layer 402 is fabricated by vapor depositing a selected material or precursor and subsequently processing those materials . the selected material can be deposited by using vapor priming ( vp ). the selected material is a silicon containing material such as silazane or silane type materials . an example of a typical silicon - containing material is hexamethyldisilazane ( hmds ). other materials or precursors which may be used are tetramethyldisilazane , octamethylcyclotetrasilazine , hexamethylcyclotrisilazine , diethylaminotrimethylsilane or dimethylaminotrimethylsilane . the selected material can be deposited a single time or the depositing can be repeated any number of times . the selected material is processed in a reactive ambient to create a final desirable silicon - containing dielectric layer . the reactive ambient can be materials such as nh 3 , n 2 , o 2 , o 3 , n 2 , no and the like and cause silicon atoms of the selected material to react with oxygen atoms , nitrogen atoms or both . the resulting silicon - containing dielectric layer is the dielectric layer 402 and can result in a layer that is primarily nitride , primarily oxide or an oxynitride . [ 0035 ] fig5 illustrates use of a silicon - containing dielectric layer 502 in a capacitor according to another embodiment of the present invention . the silicon - containing dielectric layer 502 is formed over an electrode 501 . the silicon - containing dielectric layer 502 is created by depositing a silicon - containing precursor material from a silazane or silane source . the layer is then processed in a reactive ambient . the reactive ambient causes silicon atoms in the precursor layer to react with oxygen atoms , nitrogen atoms or both to form the silicon - containing dielectric layer . a second dielectric layer 503 is formed over the silicon - containing dielectric layer 502 . the second dielectric layer 503 may be of a material susceptible to oxygen migration such as ta 2 o 5 and may be formed using conventional methods . the electrode 501 may be composed of a material such as p — si , sige or metal . the remaining capacitor structure is formed according to conventional methodology . [ 0036 ] fig6 is an illustration of a computer system 612 that can use and be used with embodiments of the present invention . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the computer system 612 would include rom 614 , mass memory 616 , peripheral devices 618 , and i / o devices 620 in communication with a microprocessor 622 via a data bus 624 or another suitable data communication path . the rom 614 and mass memory 616 can be fabricated using silicon - containing dielectric layers according to the various embodiments of the present invention . for the purposes of describing and defining the present invention , formation of a material “ on ” a substrate or layer refers to formation in contact with a surface of the substrate or layer . formation “ over ” a substrate or layer refers to formation above or in contact with a surface of the substrate . a “ substrate ” may comprise one or more semiconductor layers or semiconductor structures which may define portions of a semiconductor device . dielectric layers fabricated using the present invention can be used for a variety of purposes . some examples follow , but embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these . a dielectric layer can be used as a covering on a semiconductor device . a dielectric layer according to the present invention can be used in a gate structure of a transistor or in an anti - fuse application . a dielectric layer according to the present invention can be formed on top of metals to prevent oxidation of metals . a dielectric layer according to the present invention can be used in post gate stack and pre oxidation steps to prevent oxygen in - diffusion into active areas of the transistor . a dielectric layer according to the present invention can be used to prevent oxidation of gate electrodes with subsequent processing steps when using materials such as polysilicon , si — ge , w or other transistion metals . a dielectric layer according to the present invention can be used in anti - fuse components of a semiconductor device . additionally , multiple dielectric layers formed according to the various embodiments of the present invention can be used in a single device and can be stacked or intermixed with other types of dielectric layers . semiconductor devices fabricated utilizing the present invention can be improved compared to other semiconductor devices because the dielectric of this invention can provide an increased dielectric constant and reduced leakage . this may also permit reductions in the size of semiconductor devices . having described the present invention in detail and by reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims .
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microwave vessels employed in chemical reactions , such as sample preparation , synthesis , derivatization and extraction generally are of relatively moderate size and may have an interior volume of about 1 ml to 500 ml and preferably in the range of about 1 ml to 125 ml . the vessels may have any desired configuration , but are frequently generally cylindrical in shape . they may be made of teflon ( tetrafluoroethylene , pfa or tfm or ptfe ) or other fluorinated carbon plastics with a removable lid adapted to seal in place as by threaded or pressure fitted securement to maintain the desired amount of pressure , which for this type vessel , might be in the order of up to about 10 atmospheres . another type of vessel would have a plastic casing for rigidness and pressure stability with a teflon , plastic or quartz liner for chemical inertness and be adapted to withstand pressures of about 5 to 20 atmospheres . in this latter category , the vessel may be designed so as to withstand pressures of 40 to 100 atmospheres . closed vessel digestion will generally achieve higher temperatures because the boiling point of the reagent is raised by the pressure produced within the vessel . the higher temperature in the closed vessel will , however , greatly reduce the time required for reaction . the closed vessel also resists evaporation and there is , therefore , no need to add reagent to maintain the desired volume . the vessels are effectively transparent to microwave energy so as to permit them to be introduced into a microwave oven and the reagents and samples contained in them to be heated to the desired temperature . as the liquid reagent containing one or more materials is heated , a gas phase is formed through the vaporization of the solvent and / or the chemical materials . the sample or samples will generally be mixed with a liquid reagent which may , for example , be nitric acid employed in microwave - heated digestions . in order to maintain pressure levels within the desired ranges of safety and contribute to durability of the vessels , as well as achieving the desired temperature which is most beneficial for the chemical reaction contemplated , the present invention provides positive cooling to the gas phase contained within the vessel while resisting effecting meaningful cooling of the liquid reagent . for a given liquid reagent , the absorption of microwave energy can be calculated at a specific frequency employing equation 1 . ## equ1 ## wherein : p = is the apparent power absorbed by the sample in watts ( w ), ( w = joules / sec ); k = is the conversion factor for thermochemical calories / sec to w , which is 4 . 184 ; c p = is the heat capacity , thermal capacity , or specific heat ( cal ./ g .. increment . c ); . increment . t = is t f , the final temperature minus t i , the initial temperature (. increment . c ); and in the event that no energy is permitted to escape from the vessel , the final temperature can be determined by equation 2 . as shown in equation 3 , a lower temperature is achieved if energy is permitted to escape . this escape can be primarily from the gas phase as it has the greatest area of cool vessel wall to contact . in the present invention , active cooling of the gas phase serves to reduce the gas phase pressure . if desired , the microwave energy applied to the liquid phase sample may be increased to compensate for the thermal energy losses to the gas phase . referring now more specifically to fig1 wherein there is shown a closed microwave reaction vessel which may be adapted for use with automation or a robot as distinguished from individual human handling , if desired . there is shown a vessel consisting of a liner 2 which may be composed of a suitable fluorinated carbon plastic , such as tetrafluoroethylene which is sold under the trade designation &# 34 ; teflon &# 34 ; or other material having suitable strength , microwave transparency , and chemical inertness . the vessel liner 2 has a threaded closure 4 intimately secured in sealing relationship to the liner 2 . the closure 4 , in the form shown , has a pair of upwardly projecting , threadedly secured port defining members 5 , 6 to which apertured closures 7 , 8 , respectively , are secured . while these port closures 7 , 8 may be closed off if desired , in the illustrated embodiment temperature probes 10 , 12 , respectively , extend into the vessel 2 to different depths . these probes 10 , 12 may be of any conventional type and are sealingly secured to the port closure 5 , 7 , 8 . positioned in surrounding relationship with respect to liner 2 is an outer wall or casement 20 which is in intimate surface - to - surface contact with the exterior of the vessel 2 and closure 4 . the casement 20 may be provided in multiple pieces ( not shown ) assembled around the vessel by any desired means known to those skilled in the art . the vessel 2 , closure 4 , and outer wall 20 are preferably of generally cylindrical configuration . the outer wall or casing 20 has an inwardly open continuous helical groove 22 which cooperates with exterior of the vessel liner 2 and closure 4 to create a continuous coolant flow passageway . the passageway is spaced ( measured along the vessel longitudinal axis ) from the sample liquid reagent received portion 30 of the vessel . a coolant entry channel 24 is defined within casement 20 and is in communication with passageway 22 . coolant is discharged through exit channel 26 . the coolant will preferably be captured as it emerges from channel 26 and subjected to a heat exchanging temperature reduction after which it may be reintroduced into coolant entry channel for another cycle of operation . the coolant may be microwave non - absorbing , moderately absorbing , or strongly absorbing material that may be in a gas or a liquid phase . if desired , the coolant passageways may be provided in other ways . for example , such as by a single ring , which is inwardly open to provide an annular passageway in cooperation with or adjacent to the exterior of the vessel . also , an axially elongated single ring or a plurality of such rings either interconnected or individually supplied with coolant may be employed . referring now to fig2 in greater detail there is shown a microwavable vessel 40 having threadedly and sealingly secured thereto a closure 42 which has a pair of externally threaded ports 44 , 46 to which are secured threaded sealing closures 48 , 50 respectively . the liquid reagent mixture or sample 54 is contained within the lower portion of the vessel interior and the gas phase 56 appears thereabove . a coolant coil 60 is received within the interior vessel 40 and has an entry end 62 and a discharge end 64 . in effecting cooling of the gas phase 56 without effecting substantial cooling of the liquid reagent mixture 54 , coolant is permitted to flow into entry 62 , assume a heat exchanging interaction with the gas phase and then emerge at an elevated temperature at discharge end 64 . the coolant coming out of end 64 is subsequently subjected to a heat exchanging process wherein the temperature of the coolant is reduced after which the coolant is reintroduced through entry 62 . it will be appreciated that , in this manner , continuous cooling of the gas phase will be effected to thereby reduce the pressure within the gas phase 56 . if desired , coils of additional length or multiple coils having separate entries may be employed . if desired , radiator structures may be employed in the vessel interior in lieu of the coil or coils . it will be appreciated that the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 are not mutually exclusive and that the coil or coils employed in connection with the embodiment of fig2 may be employed in addition to the passageway containing outer wall 24 of fig1 in order to achieve the desired degree of temperature reduction of the gas phase and corresponding reduction of pressure in the vessel interior . the partial traditional equilibrium pressures and the partial pressures of the reagents and sample and reaction byproducts do not hold in this system as equilibrium of temperature between liquid and gas phases is never reached . condensation of several components may occur reducing the partial pressure of one or more thus reducing the total pressure in the vessel . a dynamic nonequilibrium condition is established that is unique to microwave reagent closed vessel systems such as these and is a new relationship that is being employed to produce these new reaction conditions . referring now to fig3 there is shown schematically a block diagram of a continuous or semi - continuous flow system of the present invention . the gas phase portion of vessel 80 receives coolant through pipe 82 by means of pump 84 . after the coolant absorbs heat from the gas phase contained within vessel 80 , the elevated temperature coolant emerges through pipe 90 and enters heat exchanger 92 wherein heat is withdrawn and the coolant is reduced to a temperature desired for introduction into the gas portion of vessel 80 . the reduced temperature coolant emerges from the heat exchanger 92 and is carried by pipe 94 to pump 84 for reintroduction into vessel 80 . referring to fig4 there is shown a plot of temperature in degrees centigrade and pressure in atmospheres as related to time . it compares a thermally insulated vessel with a thermally uninsulated vessel , i . e ., a teflon vessel . the difference in pressure inside the vessels is due to the loss of thermal energy in the gas phase . for example , the pressure of 6 * 10 ml of concentrated nitric acid irradiated at 574 watts for 10 minutes at 180 ° c . is about 40 psi in the insulated vessel and is only about 8 psi in the uninsulated vessel . the absorption of microwave energy which can be calculated from equation 1 is the same for a given liquid . in order to enhance the understanding of the invention , an example will be provided . a closed microwave vessel having an interior volume of 120 ml is provided with 20 ml of nitric acid mixed with a 0 . 5 gram liver tissue ( material ) in a closed vessel acid digestion process . the vessel was exposed to 500 watts of microwave energy for a period of 10 minutes to establish a liquid temperature of 190 ° c . and a liquid partial pressure inside the vessel of 620 psi without cooling . when a similar situation is constructed with cooling of the gas phase , there was established a pressure with the acid and digestion products of 120 psi inside the vessel . this demonstrates positive cooling by a method of the present invention employing a method of air coolant to produce after 10 minutes a gas phase temperature of 130 ° c . and a gas phase partial pressure of 120 psi without effecting a substantial reduction in the liquid phase temperature . a 650 watt power was applied in the second example to maintain the liquid temperature at 190 ° c . as a result , the acid digestion was effected while reducing the vessel pressure by 500 psi . the coolant may be a gas or liquid with or without entrained solids , and is preferably transparent to microwave energy . among the preferred coolant , materials are one or more materials selected from the group consisting of air , co 2 , freon , gaseous n 2 and liquid n 2 . the system of the present invention builds upon and enhances certain scientific principles as applied to solve a particular problem . the unique nature of microwave interaction and two distinct heat transfer mechanisms permits the cooling of the gas phase while continuing to heat the liquid phase . heating a liquid in a microwave field is commonly referred to as dielectric loss . the two primary mechanisms are dipole rotation and ionic conduction . see , generally , kingston , h . m . and jassle , l . b ., eds ., &# 34 ; introduction to microwave sample preparation : theory and practice ,&# 34 ; acs professional reference book , american chemical society , washington , d . c ., 1988 , pp . 9 - 15 . ionic conduction is the conductive migration of dissolved ions in the applied electromagnetic field . dipole rotation is the alignment , due to the electric field , of molecules that have permanent or induced dipole moments . when a molecule vaporizes and is converted to the gas phase , from the liquid phase , charged ions are left in the liquid phase , thereby eliminating this heating mechanism . in addition , rotation of the molecule in the gas phase does not efficiently transfer heat , as rotation without collision , does not add heat to the gas phase . gas molecules frequently collide with the surfaces of the vessel . these surfaces are not heated by microwave energy and are actively cooled , thereby cooling the gas phase . the vessel is generally made of a material which is usually essentially microwave transparent . the gas phase is not efficiently heated by the microwave field even though the gas phase and liquid phase both exist in the same microwave field . these heating conditions are unique to the microwave environment . the present invention employs the ability to cool the gas phase while continuing to heat the liquid phase in this environment . the present invention involves intentionally cooling the gas phase while heating the liquid phase to effect the reduction of the internal vessel pressure while maintaining a relatively high liquid temperature in which various chemical reactions are conducted . it will be appreciated , therefore , that the present invention provides a method and apparatus for pressure control and reduction in microwave - assisted chemical reaction systems . this is accomplished through positive cooling of the gas phase which is in contact with the liquid phase in the chemical reaction vessels without effecting significant reduction in temperature of the liquid phase . the positive cooling of the gas phase facilitates corresponding pressure control of the gas phase in order to achieve the desired chemical or physical parameters during and following the reaction period . the reactions in the liquid phase can , therefore , be carried out without undesired interference as a result of the positive cooling of the gas phase . the practice of the present invention will generally reduce the pressure in the gas phase about 50 to 95 percent and preferably about 60 to 90 percent . if desired , positive cooling action may be terminated or regulated when the desired gas phase pressure has been attained . it will be appreciated that the present invention permits efficient thermally activated chemical reactions to occur at the desired temperature , while facilitating a reduction in pressure within the vessel at that temperature . this facilitates improved process efficiency , safety and durability . improvement of the durability of the vessel is achieved through maintaining the integrity by resisting overheating of the casing in double walled vessels . also , in the embodiment of fig1 the coolant may serve to carry away sample or reaction products that might become trapped between the outer wall 20 and the vessel liner 2 . also , if desired , the vessel might be formed with partially hollow outwardly projecting fins or ribs to facilitate radiation loss of heat from the gas phase . in the alternative , multi - walled vent openings may be provided in the outer wall to enhance cooling of the gas phase . a plurality of circumferentially spaced , axially oriented ribs may be provided within the gas phase region of the vessel , but not in the liquid phase portion . such a construction will be deemed positive cooling within the context of the present invention . in addition to the foregoing the turntable onto which the vessel is placed may be cooled . the hollow turntable top might have a recess which receives an upper portion of the vessel in intimate contact therewith . coolant may be circulated within the hollow turntable top . while not the preferred practice of the invention , if desired , gas may be withdrawn from the gas phase of the vessel , cooled and subsequently returned to the gas phase of the vessel . the vessel may be a container that holds volumes from about 50 ml to 500 ml or may be an elongated tube which is closed to the atmosphere and in which the sample flows through the microwave field . an elongated tube may have the sample and gas phase moving by the microwave source and cooling means so as to permit both heating of the sample and cooling of the gas phase which would be present in the sealed tube . as this embodiment would involve commingling of the liquid sample and gas phase , it is not the preferred embodiment . it will be appreciated that the present invention may be employed advantageously with a wide variety of materials and end uses . the following examples will illustrate some advantageous uses . among the specific end uses for which the sample preparation , method and apparatus of the present invention may be employed are microwave assisted decomposition , synthesis , derivatization and / or extraction or leaching . the invention may be employed to perform mineral acid decompositions while cooling the acid vapor to reduce the temperature and responsively the pressure of the decomposition system . also , organic extraction with organic solvents may be performed while cooling the gas phase to reduce the pressure of the overall reaction . the invention may be employed to perform organic or inorganic synthesis with solvents while cooling the gas phase to reduce the pressure during synthesis . the invention may also be employed to perform hydrolysis on a protein with a solvent mixture including hydrochloric acid and cooling the gas phase to effect a reduction in pressure during hydrolysis . another use is drying to condense components of the vapor phase . in some instances , the gas phase may be cooled to resist temperature damage to the material out of which the inner liner or outer casings are made , such as polyetherimide , for example . the invention may also be employed with azeatropes , as well as aqueous materials . uses in environmental , biological , medical and industrial fields will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . the invention may be employed with all types of microwave systems including , for example , cavity - type microwave systems , focused microwave systems , flow and stop flow microwave systems , and antenna transmitted microwave cavities . with respect to the liquid temperature , if desired one may operate at a higher liquid temperature with no increase in vessel internal pressure or at similar liquid temperatures with a decrease in pressure . the invention further facilitates resisting undesired escape of the volatile elements , molecules , and compound losses when opening vessels to the atmosphere and condensing of these from the gas phase . whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purpose of illustration , it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims .
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fig1 illustrates a block diagram with various computer system components for use with an exemplary implementation of a clinical decision system , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the controller of the present invention may be implemented using hardware , software or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems . in one embodiment , the invention is directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein . fig1 shows a computer system 1 that includes one or more processors , such as processor 4 . the processor 4 is connected to a communication infrastructure 6 ( e . g ., a communications bus , cross - over bar , or network ). various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system . after reading this description , it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art ( s ) how to implement the invention using other computer systems and / or architectures . computer system 1 can include a display interface 2 that forwards graphics , text , and other data from the communication infrastructure 6 ( or from a frame buffer not shown ) for display on the display unit 30 . computer system 1 also includes a main memory 8 , preferably random access memory ( ram ), and may also include a secondary memory 10 . the secondary memory 10 may include , for example , a hard disk drive 12 and / or a removable storage drive 14 , representing a floppy disk drive , a magnetic tape drive , an optical disk drive , etc . the removable storage drive 14 reads from and / or writes to a removable storage unit 18 in a well known manner . removable storage unit 18 , represents a floppy disk , magnetic tape , optical disk , etc ., which is read by and written to removable storage drive 14 . as will be appreciated , the removable storage unit 18 includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and / or data . in alternative embodiments , secondary memory 10 may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system 1 . such devices may include , for example , a removable storage unit 22 and an interface 20 . examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface ( such as that found in video game devices ), a removable memory chip ( such as an erasable programmable read only memory ( eprom ), or programmable read only memory ( prom )) and associated socket , and other removable storage units 22 and interfaces 20 , which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 22 to computer system 1 . computer system 1 may also include a communications interface 24 . communications interface 24 allows software and data to be transferred between computer system 1 and external devices . examples of communications interface 24 may include a modem , a network interface ( such as an ethernet card ), a communications port , a personal computer memory card international association ( pcmcia ) slot and card , etc . software and data transferred via communications interface 24 are in the form of signals 28 , which may be electronic , electromagnetic , optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 24 . these signals 28 are provided to communications interface 24 via a communications path ( e . g ., channel ) 26 . this path 26 carries signals 28 and may be implemented using wire or cable , fiber optics , a telephone line , a cellular link , a radio frequency ( rf ) link and / or other communications channels . in this document , the terms “ computer program medium ” and “ computer usable medium ” are used to refer generally to media such as a removable storage drive 14 , a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 12 , and signals 28 . these computer program products provide software to the computer system 1 . the invention is directed to such computer program products . computer programs ( also referred to as computer control logic ) are stored in main memory 8 and / or secondary memory 10 . computer programs may also be received via communications interface 24 . such computer programs , when executed , enable the computer system 1 to perform the features of the present invention , as discussed herein . in particular , the computer programs , when executed , enable the processor 4 to perform the features of the present invention . accordingly , such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system 1 . in an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software , the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system 1 using removable storage drive 14 , hard drive 12 , or communications interface 24 . the control logic ( software ), when executed by the processor 4 , causes the processor 4 to perform the functions of the invention as described herein . in another embodiment , the invention is implemented primarily in hardware using , for example , hardware components , such as application specific integrated circuits ( asics ). implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art ( s ). in yet another embodiment , the invention is implemented using a combination of both hardware and software . fig2 shows a communication system 30 of the present invention for use with the computer system 1 of fig1 . the communication system 30 includes an accessor 31 ( also referred to interchangeably herein as a “ user ”) and a terminal 32 . in one embodiment , data for use in the computer system 1 is , for example , input and / or accessed by the accessor 31 via the terminal 32 , such as a personal computer ( pc ), minicomputer , mainframe computer , microcomputer , telephonic device , or wireless device , such as a hand - held wireless device coupled to a server 143 , such as a pc , minicomputer , mainframe computer , microcomputer , or other device having a processor and a repository for data and / or connection to a processor and / or repository for data , via , for example , a network 34 , such as the internet or an intranet , and couplings 35 , 36 . the couplings 35 , 36 include , for example , wired , wireless , or fiberoptic links . in another embodiment , the method and system of the present invention operate in a stand - alone environment , such as on a single terminal . fig3 illustrates one exemplary variation of an overview graphic user - interface screen 40 for use with the computer system 1 of the present invention . the graphic user - interface screen 40 includes a patient risk factors section 41 , a health changes section 42 , a graphical predictive indicator section 43 , and an information / reference bar 44 . the patient risk factors section 41 includes a plurality of parameters related to a patient , such as the patient &# 39 ; s age , gender , height , and weight . furthermore , the patient risk factors section 41 includes the parameters of whether the patient has diabetes or is a smoker , and information on the patient &# 39 ; s blood pressure , total cholesterol , and high density lipoproteins ( hdl ) cholesterol . additionally , the graphic user - interface screen 40 includes a health changes section 42 that also has a plurality of parameters associated with any health changes and / or predictive health changes . for example , the parameters in this section can show the type of medication the patient is currently taking , changes in the smoking habits of the patient , and changes in the blood pressure and weight of the patient . the plurality of parameters listed above are provided as examples of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . it is understood to one skilled in the art that additional parameters may be included within the patient risk factors section 41 , as well as the health changes section 42 . the graphical predictive indicator section 43 includes a graphical image showing the relationship between risk and benefit to the patient , based on the information entered for the plurality of parameters . the graphical predictive indicator section 43 can illustrate information concerning the patient &# 39 ; s health , in comparison with the predictive “ risk ” information of the likelihood of a patient having a particular medical condition based on the information provided . for example , framingham data ( more than 50 years &# 39 ; worth of data from the framingham heart study , which has involved three generations of framingham residents and was started by bethesda , md .- based national heart , lung , and blood institute ) can be used to show graphically the relationship between risk and benefit of an exemplary patient , referred to on this example as jonathan smith . however , the present invention can incorporate any clinical and / or statistical data to show the relationship between risk and benefit of a patient , in order to facilitate clinical decisions . upon first entering the information in the plurality of parameters of the patient risk factors section 41 , the present example presents a plurality of circular indicators , interchangeably referred to herein as “ bubbles ,” having different colors and different sizes . as shown in the indicator bar 44 , the size of the bubbles can indicate the contribution level of the risk factor , and the color of the bubbles can indicate various risk levels . in this example , the patient jonathan smith is a 55 years old male with no diabetes , who is a non - smoker weighing 235 pounds . mr . smith has a blood pressure of 140 , a total cholesterol of 500 , and hdl cholesterol of 65 . using these data , the computer system 1 can display a graphical image within the graphical predictive indicator section 43 showing , for example , an average size blue bubble representing mr . smith &# 39 ; s hdl cholesterol , which is low at 65 , and a red bubble representing mr . smith &# 39 ; s total cholesterol , which is high at 500 . further , in this example , the graphical predictive indicator section 43 provides information concerning the “ risk ” of mr . smith having a particular medical or health condition . for instance , the example shows that mr . smith has a 7 . 1 % chance of having a stroke , a 12 % chance of having cancer , and 14 . 2 % chance of having myocardial infraction , based on the data entered into the patient risk factors section 41 . the present invention also shows changes in the graphical predictive indicator section 43 , when data is entered for the parameters of the health changes section 42 . fig4 shows an example of the graphic user - interface screen 40 of fig3 , based on the example data for mr . smith . fig4 also presents the results of the entry of some health changes data 42 , such as if mr . smith takes a cholesterol lowering medication med 2 , which would drop the total cholesterol down to 250 , but at the same time would increase the hdl cholesterol to 97 . 5 . upon entering such information , the present invention can show an updated graphical predictive indicator section 45 , with changes made to the information concerning the patient &# 39 ; s health shown in comparison with the predictive “ risk ” information of the likelihood of a patient having a particular medical condition , based on the additional information provided . for example , as is apparent in fig4 , the size of certain bubbles has decreased ( e . g ., previous size shown as outline only ), and the colors of some bubbles have changed , reflecting changes in risk . in essence , the graphical predictive indicator section can thus graphically provide information that can show the relationship between risk and benefit with taking certain drugs or the patient taking other action . graphically , for example , the concept can be illustrated that if the patient stops smoking , the patient &# 39 ; s cholesterol level is reduced by 20 % and the risk of dying drops 10 %. similarly , a bubble may appear on the risk side that represents the additional risk conferred by the treatment itself ( e . g ., side effect of a drug ). furthermore , one embodiment of the present invention can provide addition medical or health information to the user . for example , the graphical predictive indicator section 43 , as shown in fig3 , can be configured to link the user to information regarding any of the displayed health categories , such as hdl cholesterol , diabetes , stroke , cancer or myocardial infraction , by positioning the cursor to that particular category . for instance , if a user were to position the cursor to the category of “ stroke ” and initiate access ( e . g ., clicking the mouse button ), then information related to the category of “ stroke ” would be available to the user . the information may be displayed on the display screen in text , still images , voice , or video , for example . additionally , in one embodiment of the present invention , the computer system 1 can also be configured to connect to and communicate with another specialist , such as a physician , via the network , as further described with reference to fig8 . in one embodiment of the invention , as shown in fig6 , after such a step as displaying the first output data and second output data on a display 630 , a list of specialists may be generated from a known database 802 , as shown in fig8 . the known database could be locally stored and retrieved , or the database could be retrieved across a network , for example . next , a specialist is selected 806 , either through user selection or selection by the system . the system or user then initiates communication with that specialist 808 . in one embodiment , the system initiates communication via the internet to contact the specialist 810 . in another embodiment , the system initiates communication by providing the specialist &# 39 ; s contact information 820 , retrieved from the database 804 . in yet another embodiment , rather than connecting and communicating with another specialist , the present invention directs the user to an additional source of information , such as an internet site or an article in a magazine or medical journal . fig5 illustrates the method and steps of one embodiment of the present invention 500 . in step 505 , a first set of input data is received . for example , the first set of input data received can be a plurality of parameters entered into the patient risk factors section 41 , as shown in fig3 . the first set of input data can include data such as age , gender , height , presence of diabetes , whether the patient is a smoker , blood pressure , total cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and weight . other personal and clinical based information may also be included in the first set of input data . once the first set of input data is entered and received in the system , in step 510 , the first set of input data is compared with at least a predetermined set of reference data , such as the framingham data . for instance , the present invention can store a set of reference data , such as the framingham data , in a storage medium , and upon receiving the first set of input data , the present invention compares the first set of input data with the stored framingham data . thereafter , in step 520 of the present invention , a first output data is determined . for example , in step 520 , the output data can be determined , including the graphical predictive indicator section to be displayed with a graphical image showing the relationship between risk and benefit of the patient , based on the information entered into the plurality of parameters . in addition , the first output data can include information concerning the patient &# 39 ; s health , in comparison with the predictive “ risk ” information of the likelihood of a patient having a particular medical condition based on the information provided . once the first output data is determined , in step 530 , the first output data is displayed on a display or otherwise presented . for example , the present example shows a plurality of different circular indicators , interchangeably referred to herein as “ bubbles ,” having different colors and different sizes . the circular indicators are part of the display showing the “ risk ” of a particular case / patient having a particular medical or health condition . for instance , the example of fig3 shows that mr . smith has a 7 . 1 % chance of having a stroke , a 12 % chance of having cancer , and 14 . 2 % chance of having myocardial infraction , based on the data entered into the patient risk factors section 41 . fig6 illustrates the method and steps of another embodiment of the present invention 600 . in step 605 , a second set of input data are received . for example , the second set of input data received can include a plurality of parameters entered into the health changes section 42 of fig3 . the second set of input data can include data such as cholesterol lowering medications , smoking changes , blood pressure changes , and weight changes . other personal and clinical based information may also be included in the second set of input data . once the second set of input data is entered and received in the system , in step 610 the second set of input data are compared with the first set of output data , and with at least a predetermined set of reference data , such as the framingham data . for instance , upon receiving the second set of input data , the present invention compares the second set of input data with the age , gender , height , diabetes status , smoking status , blood pressure , total cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and weight of the individual patient , and with the stored framingham data . thereafter , in step 620 of the present invention , a second output data is determined . for example , in step 620 , the second output data can be determined including changes in the graphical predictive indicator section 43 , as shown in fig3 , when data is entered in the parameters of the health changes section 42 of fig3 . fig4 shows an example of the second output data , based on the example patient of mr . smith . fig4 also presents an example of the second output data results for the entry of some health changes data , such as if mr . smith takes a cholesterol lowering medication med 2 , which would drop the total cholesterol down to 250 , but at the same time increase the hdl cholesterol to 97 . 5 . once the second output data is determined , in step 630 , the second output data are presented , along with the first output data . for example , in fig4 , the present example shows a plurality of different circular indicators , interchangeably referred to herein as “ bubbles ,” having different colors and different sizes . in particular , as shown in fig4 , the present invention can display an updated graphical predictive indicator section 45 , with changes made to the information concerning the patient &# 39 ; s health shown in comparison with the predictive “ risk ” information of the likelihood of a patient having a particular medical condition , based on the additional information provided . one embodiment of the present invention graphically displays benefit / harm ratios , as shown in fig7 . fig7 represents a graphical display of the potential benefits and risks of a course of therapy . the x - axis represents the “ nnt ”, or “ number needed to treat ,” increasing from low to high . the nnt value represents the number of patients that must be treated with a specific course of therapy in order to prevent one adverse outcome . generally , a lower nnt value corresponds to a higher benefit associated with the course of therapy . the y - axis represents the “ nnh ”, or the “ number needed to harm ,” increasing from low to high . similarly to the nnt , the nnh number represents the number of patients that must be treated with a specific course of therapy in order to cause one harmful outcome . generally , a higher nnh value corresponds to a less harmful course of therapy . for example , the point 710 is located on the graph in an area corresponding to a high nnh and a low nnt . the course of therapy represented by point 710 on the graph will thus have a high likelihood of benefit , and a low likelihood of harm . as a further example , the point 720 is located on the graph in an area corresponding to a low nnh and a high nnt . thus , the course of therapy represented by point 720 on the graph will have a low likelihood of benefit , and a high likelihood of pain . in one embodiment of the present invention , multiple courses of therapy may be displayed on a single graph , creating a graphical indicator of the relative risks and benefits associated with each course of therapy . in another embodiment of the present invention , the computer system of the present invention combines information provided from the plurality of parameters in the patient risk factors , with previously stored information about known risk factors that increase the likelihood of a particular affliction . for example , parameters such as whether the patient is a smoker , or a diabetic , the patient &# 39 ; s cholesterol levels , and the patient &# 39 ; s family history , are combined with the known risk factors of existing valvular disease , viral infection , alcohol use , thiamine deficiencies , and myopathies , to calculate and illustrate the increasing risk of such symptoms as elevated blood pressure , which can in turn lead to coronary arthrosclerosis , stroke , renal failure , myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure . in another embodiment of the present invention , the presence of one medical condition affects the calculation of the risk of other related medical conditions . an exemplary patient , referred to here as jane jones , has the preexisting medical condition of diabetes . due to the presence of this condition , the graphical predictive indicator will display predictive “ risk ” information of related medical conditions , such as depressive disorder , chronic heart disease , osteoarthrosis , metabolic disorders , retinal disorders , renal failure , anemias , cataracts and hypertension , based on the presence of jane jones &# 39 ; s diabetes . in an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software , the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive , hard drive , servers , wireless transmitters and receivers , mobile communication devices and / or communications interface . the control logic ( software ), when executed by the processor , causes the processor to perform the functions of the invention as described herein . in another embodiment , the invention is implemented primarily in hardware using , for example , hardware components , such as application specific integrated circuits ( asics ). implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art ( s ). in yet another embodiment , the invention is implemented using a combination of both hardware and software . example embodiments of the present invention have now been described in accordance with the above advantages . it will be appreciated that these examples are merely illustrative of the invention . many variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art , such as wireless communications using a mobile phone or a pda .
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it has now been discovered that canine herpesvirus passaged in a canine herpesvirus growth supporting tissue culture at suboptimal temperatures process a small plaque variant which lacks pathogenicity yet imparts resistance to virulent chv , when employed as a vaccine in bitches or new born pups . analysis of the plaque characteristics of 14 chv strains isolated at various times and from different geographical areas reveals an overall mean plaque size of 1 . 50 ± 0 . 09 mm at 35 ° c . plaques produced by the different field strains did not differ significantly in size ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). table 1 . __________________________________________________________________________history and mean plaque size of different chv strains in dkc monolayercultures after 5 days of growth at 30 ° and 35 ° under a 1 % methylcelluloseoverlay medium plaque size ( mm ) strain geographical source ( yr ) tissue source . sup . a dkc cultures 30 ° c . 35 ° c . __________________________________________________________________________f - 205 new york (&# 39 ; 61 ) lung 2 0 . 6 ± 0 . 05 1 . 50 ± 0 . 12f - 205 - mp new york (&# 39 ; 61 ) lung 312 0 . 6 ± 0 . 09 1 . 50 ± 0 . 15f - 205 - mp new york (&# 39 ; 61 ) lung --. sup . b 0 . 65 ± 0 . 03 0 . 75 ± 0 . 04g 4 / 66 georgia (&# 39 ; 66 ) spleen 3 0 . 57 ± 0 . 07 1 . 56 ± 0 . 05m 4 / 66 maryland (&# 39 ; 66 ) kidney 2 0 . 62 ± 0 . 05 1 . 48 ± 0 . 04o 3 / 66 ontario (&# 39 ; 66 ) urine ? 0 . 58 ± 0 . 07 1 . 50 ± 0 . 08s 4 / 63 washington , d . c . (&# 39 ; 63 ) tc ? 0 . 60 ± 0 . 10 1 . 52 ± 0 . 22k 9 / 67 kentucky (&# 39 ; 67 ) kidney 3 nd . sup . c 1 . 46 ± 0 . 07n . j . 2 / 68 new jersey (&# 39 ; 68 ) kidney 2 nd 1 . 52 ± 0 . 10n . y . 6 / 69 new york (&# 39 ; 69 ) vagina 4 0 . 48 ± 0 . 12 1 . 50 ± 0 . 06sl / 18 maryland (&# 39 ; 65 ) spleen 2 nd 1 . 49 ± 0 . 10m 9 / 68 maine (&# 39 ; 68 ) kidney 2 nd 1 . 54 ± 0 . 08f 8 / 73 new yori (&# 39 ; 73 ) lung 2 0 . 56 ± 0 . 07 1 . 45 ± 0 . 12b 10 / 73 massachusetts (&# 39 ; 73 ) kidney 3 0 . 62 ± 0 . 03 1 . 46 ± 0 . 10n . j . 2 / 74 new jersey (&# 39 ; 74 ) kidney 3 nd 1 . 52 ± 0 . 10pr / 1 missouri (&# 39 ; 67 ) tc 4 nd 1 . 49 ± 0 . 22__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a samples were neonatal pup tissues received for diagnosis or infected dkc cultures . the exceptions were strains 0 3 / 66 and n . y . 6 / 69 , which were isolated from mature female dogs . tc indicates canine kidney cell cultures . . sup . b see text for natural history of mp variant of strain f205 . . sup . c nd , not done . when the wild ( mp ) strains of canine herpesvirus are tissue culture passaged at optimal temperatures neither a reduction in virulence for newborn pups nor the emergence of plaque variants is observed . however , when the mp strains are tissue culture passaged in a canine herpesvirus growth supporting medium at suboptimal growth sustaining temperatures , i . e . & lt ; 33 ° c ., preferably between about 28 ° c . and about 33 ° c ., there appears in a very few passages , i . e . usually less than ten and frequently 2 or 3 , a substantial number of small plaques which contain a canine herpevirus small plaque ( mp ) variant which lacks pathogenicity for newborn pups , but which serves as a vaccine to impart resistance to dogs against virulent mp canine herpesvirus strains . the small plaque ( mp ) variant can be cloned and is temperature and tissue culture passage stable . the mp variant has a plaque size at 35 ° c . less than about 0 . 7 times the diameter of the mp strain from which it is derived . for example , in contrast to the wild type mp virus , ( table 1 supra ) the mp variant ( e . g . strain f - 205 ) produced plaques at 35 ° c . that were approximately one - half the size of the wild - type ( mp ) virus plaques ( fig1 ). similar consistency in plaque size and character was observed at the 30 ° c . growth temperature . at the lower temperature , however , plaques produced by the mp virus were approximately 60 % the diameter observed at 35 ° c . plaques formed by the mp virus at 30 ° c . were 86 % the size produced at 35 ° c . plaques formed under a methylcellulose medium did not differ significantly from those produced when agarose was used in the overlay medium . the above observations are based upon the following examples with the f - 205 strain of chv , found fully virulent for newborn pups after 312 passages in dkc cultures incubated at 35 ° c . gave rise to plaques of the mp type . this type was characteristic of 12 additional chv field strains that had been passaged fewer than four times in dkc cultures . however , after fewer than 20 additional passages at low temperature ( 30 ° c . ), a stable mp variant of strain f - 205 was the principal viral type . since cloned mp virus retained the small plaque characteristic after more than 60 passages at 30 ° c ., the mp marker appears to represent a stable biological property inherent to the genome of the variant virus . the characteristics of chv ( strain f - 205 ) and methods for its cultivation and assay have been previously described ; carmichael et al , am . j . vet . res ., 26 : 802 - 814 ( 1965 ); carmichael et al , proc . soc . biol . med ., 120 : 644 - 650 ( 1966 ). additional isolates ( see table 1 , supra ) were recovered from tissue specimens submitted to the james a . baker institute for animal health , new york state college of veterinary medicine , cornell university , ithaca , new york , for viral culture or , in some instances , were obtained from other investigators . standard plaque medium for cloning was double - strength eagle minimal essential medium ( mem ; bbl ), supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum ( fbs ) and 0 . 5 % lactalbumin hydrolysate ( lah ) mixed with an equal volume of 2 % agarose ( sea plaque ). for plaque size determinations and viral assays , monolayer dkc cultures in 60 - mm plastic plates were inoculated with 0 . 2 ml amounts of serial 10 - fold dilutions of virus and absorbed for 1 . 5 h . at room temperature . after the absorption period , 5 - ml amounts of mem , supplemented with 5 % fbs and 0 . 5 % lah that contained 1 % methylcellulose ( hotchin , nature ( london ), 175 : 352 ( 1955 )) were added to each plate , and cultures then were incubated in a humidified 5 % co 2 atmosphere at 30 ° or 35 ° c . after 5 days of incubation , the viscous medium was decanted , and plates were fixed for 10 min . with 10 % neutral formalin , rinsed in tap water , and then stained with 1 % aqueous crystal violet solution . plaque size was measured with a calibrated ocular micrometer . at least 100 plaques were measured for each strain studied . cultures of canine spleen cells were prepared by rapidly stirring , at room temperature , minced tissue in mem without added trypsin . after 2 h ., the suspensions were filtered through six layers of sterile gauze and diluted in growth medium ( mem supplemented with 10 % fbs and lah ) to contain approximately 10 6 cells / ml . cultures were prepared in 25 - cm 2 plastic flasks , using 5 - ml amounts per flask . after 24 h ., cultures were shaken , and the adherent cells , which were more than 90 % mononuclear , were used for viral growth studies . in an attempt to select strains of reduced virulence , chv ( strain f - 205 ) was rapidly transferred ( 2 - day intervals ), for a total of 312 passages , using terminal dilutions at approximately each 10th passage . each 10th dkc passage was harvested and stored frozen at - 70 ° c . in a stabilizing menstruum for later tests of pathogenicity in newborn pups and for the study of certain biological properties , as noted later . after 312 passages at 35 ° c ., neither a reduction in virulence for newborn pups nor the emergence of plaque variants was observed . the 312th dkc passage virus , which caused fatal infections and was uniform with regard to plaque characterstics under a 1 % methylcellulose overlay , was then rapidly transferred at 30 ° c . after approximately 20 passages at 30 ° c ., subtle changes in the cytopathic effects ( cpe ) were observed in tube cultures , and the principal plaque type measured approximately one - half the diameter ( 0 . 75 mm ) of the parental strain . after plaque purification , using an agarose overlay medium , a typical mp clone was selected for further passage and study . it was designated chv - mp to distinguish it from the macroplaque ( mp ) parental virus . the mp variant has retained its unique plaque characteristics after 66 passages in dkc cultures incubated at 30 ° c . freshly harvested 24 - h . cultures of the mp and mp strains were rapidly frozen and thawed three times . cell debris was removed by centrifugation at 600 × g for 10 min . at 4 ° c ., and clarified virus in mem containing 10 % fbs was placed in a water bath at 38 ° c . aliquots were removed at intervals for infectivity titrations . virus survival was plotted versus time . antigens for immunodiffusion tests were prepared from mp and mp virus grown in 75 - cm 2 plastic flasks . when cultures had evidence of extensive cpe , the adherent cells were scraped off the flask with a rubber policeman . after centrifugation at 600 × g , the fluid portions were discarded and the cell portions were taken up in one - tenth the original volume in distilled water , frozen and thawed three times , and then clarified by low - speed centrifugation . the supernatant portions then were placed in cellophane dialysis tubing and dialyzed for 24 h . at ph 10 . 3 ( glycine - naoh buffer ) to dissociate viral subunits . after overnight dialysis against 0 . 15 m phosphate - buffered saline , ph 7 . 2 , the antigen preparation was stored frozen at - 70 ° c . tests were performed on 2 . 5 - by 7 . 5 - cm plastic immunodiffusion slides , using 0 . 6 % agarose in phosphate - buffered saline . an eight - well pattern was used to compare all permutations of mp or mp antigens with the respective hyperimmune antisera that had been prepared in specific - pathogen - free beagles . a total of 21 specific - pathogen - free beagle pups ( four litters ) from the institute &# 39 ; s disease - free colony were used . all animals were obtained from bitches without detectable chv - neutralizing antibody . serum neutralization methods have been described previously ; carmichael , j . am . vet . med . assoc ., 156 : 1714 - 1721 ( 1970 . thirteen neonatal pups ( two litters ) were given intraperitoneal or oral - nasal inoculations within the first 48 h . of birth , since pups rapidly develop resistance to generalized , usually fatal , infections after that time ; carmichael et al , j . infect . dis ., 120 : 669 - 678 ( 1970 ). to examine effects of immunosuppression on the pathogenicity of the mp variant , eight 2 - week - old pups were divided into four groups , each consisting of two pups . in one group , each pup was inoculated with 0 . 5 ml of goat anti - dog thymoctye serum ( ats ) at the time of infection with mp virus and again on post - inoculation days 2 and 4 . another group of two pups was given mp virus but no ats . the thid group was inoculated with chv - mp , and the fourth received chv - mp plus ats . viral doses were 10 5 . 2 50 % tissue culture infective doses ( tcld 50 ) ( chv - mp ) or 10 4 . 8 tcid 50 ( chv - mp ). the ats , prepared in our laboratory , had a canine lymphocyte cytotoxicity titer of 1 . 320 . after two injections ( 0 . 5 ml / kg ), there was a marked (& gt ; 80 %) diminution in the normal responses of canine peripheral blood lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin , severe thymic atrophy , and profound alteration in the course of chv infection in normally resistant 2 - week - old pups . while primary dog kidney cell ( dicc ) cultures are the cultures of choice , the growth supporting medium employed as the tissue culture for virus passage is not unduly critical . any tissue culture medium can be employed which supports canine herpesvirus growth . a number of such media are known in the art . based upon the above and similar experimental work the following observations are made : growth characteristics of the mp and mp strains in dkc cultures incubated at 30 ° and 35 ° c . growth of the mp strain in dkc cultures at 35 ° c . was not restricted ( fig2 ). when viral inputs were approximately equal , the titers of inputs were approximately equal , the titers of chv - mp , after 24 h . of growth , were at least 0 . 8 log 10 greater than those of the mp strain . cpe of the two strains were similar , but not identical . cells infected with the mp variant generally were more swollen and refractile than those infected with mp virus , and they tended to clump around the edges of a plaque . cells infected with the mp strain were uniformly rounded , and they detached readily from the growth surface . syncytia were not observed with either virus . a consistent feature of the mp variant was the late appearance of cpe in relation to the production of infectious virus . both strains grew more slowly at 30 ° c . ; however , growth of the mp virus was somewhat more restricted at this temperature . an additional difference between the mp virus and the mp variant was the amount of infectious virus released ( table 2 ). the mp virus was significantly more cell associated throughout the growth period than was the mp variant . table 2 . ______________________________________cell - associated virus released mp and mp canineherpesvirus grown at 35 ° c . virus titer . sup . a virus releaseincubation chv - mp . sup . b chv - mp (%) time ( h ) cells fluid cells fluid mp mp______________________________________12 4 . 8 1 . 8 3 . 2 1 . 5 0 . 1 1 . 918 5 . 5 2 . 5 4 . 8 3 . 0 0 . 1 1 . 624 5 . 5 2 . 8 5 . 2 3 . 5 0 . 2 1 . 9______________________________________ . sup . a log . sub . 10 tcid . sub . 50 / 0 . 2ml . . sup . b viral inputs were 10 . sup . 6 . 3 ( mp ) and 10 . sup . 5 . 8 ( mp ) per flask culture . results ( fig3 ) suggested that the mp strain is somewhat more heat labile than the mp virus ; however , the differences were slight . antisera raised in dogs against the mp field strain ( f - 205 ) neutralized the homologous virus and the mp variant to the same extent in plaque reduction and kinetic neutralization tests . immunodiffusion analysis also failed to reveal antigenic differences , for two precipitin lines of identify were observed between the mp and mp viral antigens and the respective antisera . growth and mp and mp strains in splenic macrophage cultures at 30 ° and 37 ° c . splenic macrophage cultures maintained at 30 ° c . continued to release small amounts of infectious virus (˜ 10 plaque - forming units / 0 . 2 ml ) throughout the 70 - h . incubation period ; however , there was scant growth of either virus ( fig4 ). growth of the mp virus was restricted to a greater extent than that of the mp strain in macrophage cultures incubated at 37 ° c . at 37 ° c . the mp virus persisted intracellularly without decrease in titer for 24 h ., but infectious virus then declined . extracellular virus was not detected . by 60 h . postinfection , the mp virus no longer could be detected ; however , cell - associated mp virus still was present ( 3 × 10 3 plaque - forming units / 0 . 2 ml ) after 70 h . of incubation . at this time , cell cultures were & lt ; 90 % viable as judged by trypan blue exclusion tests . the response of pups to inoculations with mp and mp virus are summarized in table 3 . the mp strain produced generalized and fatal infections in all pups , regardless of the route of inoculation . high viral titers were found in all tissues examined . in contrast , the mp variant was markedly reduced in virulence , for none of the pups had signs of illness . nevertheless , mp virus was recovered from the nasopharynx of all pups for 4 to 6 days after inoculation . although small amounts of virus were recovered from kidney , spleen , and lung tissues of one pup ( i - 660 ) euthanized 6 days after intraperitoneal inoculation and from the liver of an additional pup ( i - 661 ), there were no macroscopic lesions . virus was not recovered from the other three pups that were infected with mp virus and then euthanized 6 or 8 days later . pups that were allowed to survive did not have signs of illness , and they all developed chv - neutralizing antibody by post - inoculation week 3 . table 3 . __________________________________________________________________________tests for virulence of mp and mp variant chv in newborn pups viral isolation ( log . sub . 10 tcid . sub . 50 / 0 . 2 g of tissue ) macro - naso - plaque viral dose inoculation survival scopic le - pharynx cerebel - pup no . type ( tcid . sub . 50 ) route . sup . a or death . sup . b sions . sup . c ( days ) kidney spleen liver lum lung__________________________________________________________________________i - 658mp 10 . sup . 4 . 8 i . p . d ( 5 ) severe +( 2 - 5 ) 4 . 5 3 . 5 4 . 5 2 . 5 3 . 5i - 659mp 10 . sup . 4 . 8 o / n d ( 6 ) severe +( 2 - 6 ) 4 . 5 3 . 0 4 . 0 2 . 5 3 . 5i - 660mp 10 . sup . 5 . 2 i . p . e ( 6 ) none +( 3 - 5 ) 1 . 0 2 . 5 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 2 . 5i - 661mp 10 . sup . 5 . 2 o / n e ( 6 ) none +( 2 - 6 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 1 . 0 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1i - 662mp 10 . sup . 5 . 2 i . p . e ( 6 ) none +( 3 - 5 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1ii - 644mp 10 . sup . 4 . 5 i . p . d ( 6 ) severe +( 2 - 6 ) 5 . 0 3 . 5 3 . 5 2 . 5 4 . 5ii - 645mp 10 . sup . 4 . 5 o / n d ( 8 ) severe +( 2 - 6 ) 5 . 5 4 . 5 4 . 0 3 . 0 5 . 0ii - 646mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 i . p . e ( 6 ) none +( 2 - 6 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1ii - 647mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 i . p . s . sup . d --. sup . e +( 2 - 4 ) -- -- -- -- -- ii - 648mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 i . p . s -- +( 2 - 5 ) -- -- -- -- -- ii - 649mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 o / n e ( 8 ) none +( 2 - 4 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1ii - 650mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 o / n s -- +( 2 - 5 ) -- -- -- -- -- ii - 651mp 10 . sup . 5 . 0 o / n s -- +( 2 - 4 ) -- -- -- -- -- __________________________________________________________________________ chv growth was greatly restricted in the 2 - week - old pups given the mp or mp virus ( groups 1 and 2 ; table 4 ); however , the pups that received ats at the time of inoculation with mp virus ( group 4 ) dies by the 6th post - inoculation day . pups that were inoculated with mp virus and then treated with ats did not have signs of illness ; however , at necropsy , their thymus glands were approximately one - third the weight of the thymuses from the non - treated animals . none of the pups that received mp virus had prominent macroscopic lesions , although occasional small areas of focal necrosis , but no hemorrhages , were observed microscopically in the lung and liver of one pup ( no . 4 ). the lesions were similar to those seen in 2 - week - old pups that were given mp virus but not ats . in contrast , the pups ( no . 7 and 8 ) given mp virus and ats had high viral titers in several organs . remarkably high titers were found in the brain . microscopic lesions in the inoculated 2 - week - old pups that were given the mp virus but no ats were disseminated small foci of interstitial pneumonitis , necrosis of occasional hepatocytes , and minute areas of renal hemorrhage and focal interstitial necrosis , with minimal inflammatory changes . contrasting with these modest lesions were the prominent changes observed in the mp - inoculated pups treated with ats ( group 4 ). they consisted of interstitial pneumonitis , with alveolar necrosis and hemorrhages , necrotic foci throughout the liver , and multiple foci of necrosis and hemorrhages in the renal cortices , with both tubular and glomerular destruction . central nervous system changes consisted of disseminated focal enephalitis , necrosis of neuronal and astroglial cells with mononuclear cell infiltrations , and segmental leptomeningitis . other lesions typical of chv infection of neonatal puppies also were observed in these animals ; carmichael , j . am . vet . med . assoc ., 156 : 1714 - 1721 ( 1970 ); carmichael et al ., am . j . vet . res ., 26 : 802 - 814 ( 1965 ); pryde , supra . table 4 . __________________________________________________________________________response of 2 - week - old pups to chv ( mp or mp ) and effects of ats macro - viral isolation ( log . sub . 10 tcid . sub . 50 / 0 . 2g ) plaque type in - scopic le - nasol - oculated ( pup sions at ne - thymus wt pharynx cerebel - group no .) illness cropsy . sup . a ( g ) ( days ) kidney spleen liver lung lum__________________________________________________________________________1 chv - mp ( 1 ) none none 1 . 8 +( 2 - 7 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 ( 2 ) none none 2 . 0 +( 2 - 5 ) & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 1 . 2 & lt ; 12 chv - mp ( 3 ) none none 0 . 7 +( 2 - 8 ) & lt ; 1 1 . 0 & lt ; 1 1 . 0 & lt ; 1 + ats ( 4 ) none none 0 . 5 +( 2 - 8 ) & lt ; 1 0 . 8 1 . 0 1 . 5 & lt ; 13 chv - mp ( 5 ) none mild 1 . 9 +( 2 - 8 ) 1 . 0 & lt ; 1 1 . 0 2 . 5 & lt ; 1 ( 6 ) none mild 1 . 8 +( 2 - 8 ) 0 . 8 & lt ; 1 & lt ; 1 2 . 0 & lt ; 14 chv - mp ( 7 ) died . sup . b severe 0 . 5 +( 2 - 4 ) 3 . 5 & lt ; 1 2 . 5 4 . 5 3 . 5 + ats ( 8 ) died severe 0 . 6 +( 2 - 6 ) 4 . 0 3 . 5 2 . 0 5 . 5 2 . 5__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a see text for lesion descriptions . sup . b pups no . 7 and 8 dies on postinfection days 4 and 6 , respectively . surviving pups were euthanized at day 8 . the above studies demonstrate that the mp virus had additional biological properties that distinguished it from the parental mp virus . notwithstanding the subtle , but nevertheless distinct , differences between the mp and mp strains in the character of cytopathology , the times of onset of cpe , the rates and amounts of virus produced at 30 ° and 35 ° c ., viral persistence in canine spleen monocyte cultures , and , of lesser significance , the rates of inactivation at 38 ° c ., there were distinct differences in their virulence for pups . the mp ( wild - type ) virus was highly virulent for newborn pups and for 2 - week - old animals that had received ats at the time of infection . the mp variant , however , was clearly an attenuated strain . although the mp variant persisted for several ( 4 to 6 ) days in the nasopharynx , it rarely was recovered from other tissue sites favored by the mp virus , and then only in small amounts . association between small plaque size and reduced virulence has been reported for plaque variants or mutants of other herpesviruses [ darlington r . w . et al . &# 34 ; replication - biological aspects &# 34 ;, in the herpesvirues ( kaplan ed .) academic press inc ., new york ( 1973 ), pp 93 - 132 ; rapp , f ., et al ., proc . soc . exp . biol . med ., 116 : 361 - 365 ( 1964 )], the most noteworthy being mdhv [ biggs et al ., &# 34 ; biological properties of a number of marek &# 39 ; s disease virus isolates &# 34 ;, in oncogenesis and herpesviruses ( biggs et al ., ed .) who international agency for research on cancer , lyon ( 1972 ) pp 88 - 94 ; cho , avian dis ., 20 : 324 - 331 ( 1976 ); darlington et al . supra ]. the mp - chv , however , did not behave as an attenuated host range , temperature - sensitive mutant , as described for the large - and small - plaque mutants of hvh - 2 ; darlington et al , supra ; korment et al , supra . it did not regularly engender the formation of syncytia , as described for the chv - br strain , poste , supra , or occur as a naturally attenuated plaque variant , as described for field isolates of mdhv , but it originated after less than 20 passages in dkc cultures incubated at 30 ° c . after prolonged culture ( 312 passages ) at 35 ° c . unfortunately , the precise passage at which the mp variant emerged could not be determined , but it was the dominant type after 20 passages at 30 ° c . unlike the antigenic change ( loss of the &# 34 ; a antigen &# 34 ;) that has been associated with the attenuation of mdhv after prolonged passage in chicken renal cell cultures , purchase et al ., infect . immun ., 3 : 295 - 303 ( 1971 ), antigenic markers specific for the attenuated chv - mp strain were not detected . the following three examples demonstrate the efficacy of the mp canine herpesvirus strain in imparting resistance to wild - type virulent canine herpesvirus . because signs of illness are absent in dogs older than one week of age , ( carmichael et al , j . am . vet . med . assoc . 156 : 1714 - 1721 ( 1970 ) vaccine trials were designed so as to demonstrate efficacy based upon relative duration of viral shed ( equivalent to viral growth in host ) following challenge inoculation with virulent ( mp ) virus . littermate spf beagle dogs each were inoculated intramuscularly ( 1 m ) or oral / nasally ( o / n ) with 10 5 . 2 - 5 . 8 tissue culture infective doses ( tcd 50 ) of mp chv . blood samples were taken prior to vaccination and before challenge - inoculation with virulent ( mp , macroplaque ) chv ( strain f - 205 ), and thereafter at intervals . nasal - pharyngeal swab samples were collected for a period of 2 weeks after both vaccination and challenge - inoculation for viral isolations . results ( serologic responses , signs of illness , virus shedding ) were recorded for vaccinated and unvaccinated ( control ) animals that received challenge inoculations at the same time as the vaccinates . the first of three groups of pups was vaccinated at four months of age and challenge - inoculated three months later ( d800 through 802 ). control animals were d803 - 804 . see table 5 . vaccine virus given im did not spread to unit - contact controls over a period of three months . neither vaccinated animals nor controls had signs of illness post - vaccination or post - challenge . this was considered to be a normal response since immunity to this virus must be based on the relative restriction of viral shedding of vaccinates and controls . table 5 . ______________________________________intramuscular vaccination at 4 months of age ( chv mp ) post - vac . pre - chall . post - chall . virus shed sn antibody virus sheddog ( days ) ( 3 mo . p . v .) ( days ) conclusion______________________________________vaccinatesd800 0 1 : 16 2 ( mp ) immuned801 0 1 : 4 0 immuned802 0 1 : 4 0 immunecontrols notd803 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 8 ( mp ) immune notd804 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 11 ( mp ) immune______________________________________ the second group was vaccinated oral / nasally at three days of age and challenge - inoculated one month later , with appropriate controls ( d612 - 617 vaccinated ; d618 - 619 controls ). see table 6 . the mp ( attenuated ) virus was shed from 1 - 7 days after o / n inoculation , in contrast to the mp virus that is commonly shed in copious amounts for approximately 14 days ( 8 - 17 days in more than 30 dogs studied ). low antibody titers were generated that did not completely exclude the mp challenge virus . however , there was evidence of an anamnestic response ( results of 8 - day serology ) in vaccinated dogs , with accelerated rejection of the challenge mp virus , as compared with controls . an immune response with reduction in viral shed is clearly evident . no signs of illness were observed in vaccinated or control dogs . although not an object of this trial , it may be concluded further ( confirming published reports from this laboratory , infection and immunity 20 : 108 - 114 , april 1978 ) that mp is avirulent for neonatal pups . table 6 . __________________________________________________________________________oral - nasal vaccination at 3 days of age ( spf beagles ) post - vacc . pre - chall . post - chall . antibodydog virus shed antibody ( sn ) virus shed ( days ) 8 day post - chall . conclusion__________________________________________________________________________vaccinatesd612 1 - 5 ( days ) mp * 1 : 8 1 - 7 ( mp ) 1 : 32 immuned614 1 - 7 mp 1 : 4 2 - 7 ( mp ) 1 : 16 immuned615 1 - 7 mp 1 : 4 2 - 8 ( mp ) 1 : 12 immuned616 1 - 4 mp 1 : 8 2 - 3 ( mp ) 1 : 16 immuned617 1 - 4 mp 1 : 8 2 - 5 ( mp ) 1 : 16 immunecontrols ( non - contact ) d618 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 1 - 12 1 : 4 not immuned619 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 1 - 16 1 : 8 not immune__________________________________________________________________________ * mp = attenuated virus mp = virulent virus the third group ( d54 - 57 ) was vaccinated intramuscularly at 2 months of age . animals were challenge - inoculated one month later . 2 - months later all dogs received corticosteroid ( dexamethasone , 1 mg / day for 5 days ), a drug shown to cause recrudescence of persistent chv . swab samples were collected during and following steroid treatment for a total period of 12 days . virus recovered following steroid treatment was analyzed for plaque type ( mp = virulent , mp = vaccine strain ). see table 7 . viral shed did not occur following initial vaccination ( im route ), and there was no spread of virus to in - unit contacts . following challenge viral shed was again reduced . relative amounts of virus recovered ( generally less than 10 tcd 50 ) was significantly less in vaccinates than controls ( 100 to 10 , 000 tcd 50 ). all vaccinates developed low sn antibody titers . within 8 days following challenge , titers did not change , indicating minimal immune response to challenge virus , i . e . limited viral growth . following corticosteroid drug treatment ( dexamethasone ), there was no recrudescence of the vaccine virus . mp virus ( virulent ) was recovered , however , from the control dogs that had received challenge inoculums 2 months previous to drug treatment , and which had been negative to viral isolation attempts ( 3 × weekly ) during the period following initial viral shedding and steroid treatment . table 7 . __________________________________________________________________________host - response to mp and persistence of virus as revealed byviral recrudescence following steroid treatment post - vacc . pre - chall . post - chall . viral re - excretion virus shed sn anti - virus shed following steroiddog ( days ) body titer ( days ) immune treatment ( 2 mo . post - chall . ) __________________________________________________________________________vaccinates54 0 1 : 16 1 - 5 yes neg . 55 0 1 : 8 1 - 4 yes neg . 56 0 1 : 8 2 - 7 yes neg . 57 0 1 : 6 2 - 4 yes neg . controls58 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 1 - 16 no pos . ( 3 - 9 day ; mp virus ) 59 -- & lt ; 1 : 2 1 - 14 no pos . ( 5 - 10 day ; mp virus ) __________________________________________________________________________ the microplaque ( mp ) variant of chv ( strain f - 205 ) is available from the james a . baker institute for animal health , new york state college of veterinary medicine , cornell university , ithaca , new york 14853 , upon request .
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reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . fig2 shows a main portion of a printer to which an embodiment of the safety device according to the present invention is applied . the printer 21 is provided with a photosensitive drum 22 . an electrically charging corotron 23 is provided above the photosensitive drum 22 and arranged to apply charges onto a surface of the drum which is arranged to rotate in the direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing . the charged surface of the drum is irradiated with a laser beam 25 so as to form an electrostatic latent image and then is developed by a developing device 24 used both as a toner storing vessel and a developer . a toner image formed through the development by the developing device 24 is transferred onto recording paper 28 conveyed from a supply tray 26 along a conveying path 27 . the transfer of the toner image is carried out by the operation of a transfer corotron 29 acting as a transfer device . the recording paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed by a conveying belt 31 to a fixing device 32 so as to be fixed . the fixing device 32 is constituted by a heat roll 5 incorporating a heater 3 and a pressure roll 33 for pressing the recording paper against the heat roll 5 . a heat exhausting device 13 is provided above the heat roll 5 so as to discharge air in the printer 21 to the outside of the printer when necessary . after transferring the toner image onto the recording paper , the photosensitive drum 22 is cleaned by a cleaning device 35 , and then electrically charged again by the charge corotron 23 so as to prepare for the succeeding exposure operation . a thermistor module 6 is disposed to lightly touch a surface of the heat roll 5 as described with respect to fig6 and a thermostat 4 is provided at a position separated a little from the heat roll 5 . fig1 shows a circuit arrangement of the main portion of such a printer . in the printer , a 100 v commercial power source 1 is connected to a first series circuit constituted by the heater 3 , the thermostat 4 , and a solid state relay 2 . a second series circuit is constituted by the heat exhausting device 13 and a relay 41 for driving the heat exhausting device . the thermistor module 6 having a thermistor disposed on a surface thereof as a temperature detecting element is provided in the vicinity of the heater 3 so as to touch the surface of the heat roll 5 . surface temperature information 8 obtained from the thermistor module 6 is applied to an analog input port i - 1 of a central processor unit ( cpu ) 42 . the surface temperature information 8 in the form of an analog signal applied to the analog input port i - 1 is analog - to - ditigal converted by an a / d converter provided in the cpu 42 and subjected to signal processing . the cpu 42 is connected to a peripheral circuit 43 such as a clock generator , input and output ports , and the like , through a bus 44 and arranged to output a temperature control signal 45 from a first output port o - 1 as a result of processing of the surface temperature information 8 so as to control the temperature of the heater 3 to a fixed value . the temperature control signal 45 is supplied to a driver 46 as a control input for performing the on / off control of the solid state relay 2 . the cpu 42 further outputs an emergency control signal 47 from a second output port o - 2 as a result of other processing of the surface temperature information 8 . the emergency control signal 47 is produced in the state where the surface temperature of the heater 3 is abnormally raised as described later . the emergency control signal 47 is supplied to a driver 48 as a control input for turning on / off the operation of the relay 41 for driving the heat exhausting device . in the circuit shown in fig1 the cpu 42 , the peripheral circuit 43 , and the two drivers 46 and 48 preferably are provided on one and the same substrate and act as a control device 49 mainly for controlling a fixer . fig3 shows the state in which the surface temperature of the heat roll in the printer is controlled . when a power source for the printer is turned on at a point in time t1 , the temperature control signal 45 is output from the first output port o - 1 . a current is caused to flow in the heater 3 continuously until a point in time t2 at which the temperature of the heat roll 5 becomes 190 ° c . then , the solid state relay 2 is turned on , causing a current to flow from the commercial power source 1 to the heater 3 in every period from a point in time at which the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 has been lowered to 180 ° c . to another point in time at which the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 has been raised to 190 ° c . thus , in the embodiment , the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 is maintained in a temperature range from about 180 ° c . to about 190 ° c . when any abnormality occurs in the control device 49 , causing current to flow continuously in the heater 3 , the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 will reach 220 ° c . at a point in time t3 in fig3 . at that point in time , the cpu 42 produces the emergency control signal 47 so that the relay 41 for driving the heat exhausting device stops causing a current to flow in the heat exhausting device 13 . the thermostat 4 disposed so as to be separated slightly from the surface of the heat roll 5 can then monitor the temperature of the heat roll 5 without being influenced by the heat exhausting device 13 . that is , when the airflow is stopped , the thermostat 4 more rapidly detects the temperature of the heat roll 5 and opens its contact at a point in time before occurrence of a fault in the heat roll 5 . accordingly , the current is stopped from flowing from the commercial power source 1 to the heater 3 . fig4 shows the operation of the cpu for performing the control described above . the cpu 42 performs the following control in accordance with a procedure for temperature control written in a not - shown memory . first , the cpu 42 determines whether the temperature t is lower than a first temperature value t1 for the fixing operation ( 180 ° c . in the present embodiment ) on the basis of the surface temperature information 8 ( step 1 ). if the temperature t is lower than the first temperature value t1 , the heater is turned on ( step 2 ). in any other cases , determination is made as to whether the temperature t is higher than a second temperature value t2 for fixing operation ( 190 ° c . in the embodiment ) ( step 3 ). if the temperature t is higher than the second temperature value , the heater 3 is turned off ( step 4 ). in the case where the temperature t is not higher than 190 ° c ., the current is caused to flow continuously . on the other hand , if the temperature t is higher than the second temperature t2 in the step 3 , there is a possibility that the temperature t has reached an abnormal temperature value . in that case , it is determined whether the temperature t is higher than a temperature value t3 ( 220 ° c . in the present embodiment ) which is an abnormal temperature value ( step 5 ). if the temperature t is higher than the abnormal temperature value , the heat exhausting device 13 is stopped ( step 6 ). at the same time , the emergency control signal 47 is produced . in the present embodiment , at a point in time at which the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 was raised to 240 ° c . by stopping the heat exhausting device 13 , the thermostat 4 was actuated to operate so that a current flow was stopped in the heater 3 . in the same printer , when the heat exhausting device 13 was operated , the thermostat 4 was actuated to operate at a point in time at which the surface temperature of the heat roll 5 was raised to 280 ° c . that is , the operational point of the thermostat 4 was lowered by about 40 ° c . by stopping the heat exhausting device 13 even momentarily upon occurrence of abnormality , so that it became possible that a secondary obstacle applied to a fixing device was effectively prevented . fig5 shows a second preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig5 the same parts as those in fig1 are correspondingly referenced , and the description of them will be suitably omitted . in the first preferred embodiment described above , the cpu 42 ( see fig1 ) was arranged to detect abnormal heat . accordingly , if the cpu 42 itself is out of order , measures cannot be taken to cope with the abnormal heating . in the modification shown in fig5 the surface temperature information 8 of the heat roll 5 produced from the thermistor module 6 is supplied not only to the cpu 42 but to a control portion 51 separately provided for controlling the heat exhausting device . the heat exhausting device control portion 51 is provided with a comparator 52 for comparing the surface temperature information 8 with a reference voltage . if an abnormal temperature occurs , an emergency control signal 54 is produced from a driver 53 . the emergency control signal 54 is used as a control input for making on / off the operation of the relay 41 for driving the heat exhausting device . thus , in the modification , a circuit for detecting the abnormal heating is provided separately from ordinary temperature control means , so that the heat exhausting device 13 is stopped even if the cpu 42 is out of order . accordingly , the secondary damage of the apparatus can be reduced . in the embodiment and the modification described above , a thermostat is used as a safety device , but a thermo fuse or any other similar element or circuit may be used . although a cpu having an analog input port is used as a control device in both described embodiments , an ordinary digital processing cpu may be used or a circuit having the same function may be constituted by a comparator . thus , according to the present invention , the heat exhausting device is arranged to stop operating when the thermal fixer exceeds a normal temperature control range . not only is the operation of the safety device such as the thermostat or the like made certain , but the reliability of the safety device itself can be improved . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention as disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims .
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referring to the drawings , wherein like numerals indicate like elements , a pressure vessel 10 is shown in fig1 . pressure vessel 10 includes a housing 12 , an end cap 14 , and a clamp 16 . housing 12 comprises an overmolded section 18 having a flange 20 , and an extruded tube 24 . pressure vessel 10 ( i . e . housing 12 and preferably cap 14 ) is made from a polyolefin material . clamp 16 may be made of a metal or plastic material . overmolded section 18 is welded to extruded tube 24 along a weld line 22 . welding of the overmolded section 18 to extruded tube 24 is accomplished by an overmolding process ( described herein below ). pressure vessel , as used herein , refers to an enclosure capable of withstanding pressures up to 120 psi gauge . these pressure vessels may be used in hollow fiber membrane contactors disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 264 , 171 and 5 , 352 , 361 , which are incorporated herein by reference . polyolefin , as used herein , refers to a class or group name for thermoplastic polymers derived from simple olefins ; these polyolefins specifically exclude elastomers . the polyolefins will be discussed in greater detail below . referring to fig2 the housing 12 is shown . housing 12 is formed , in part , from an extruded tube 24 . each end of extruded tube 24 has a machined section 26 . machined section 26 is formed with a surface that facilitates a weld line formation between machined section 26 and overmolded section 18 . machined section 26 is preferably formed by cutting , as on a lathe , but could be molded instead . the extruded tube 24 is made from an unfilled , ( or neat ) polyolefin material . unfilled , as used herein , refers to the lack of or the substantial lack of a material that acts as a mold release agent or a polymer flow agent or an internal polymer lubricant . the polyolefin material may be either an extrusion grade or injection moldable grade polymer , but preferably is extrusion grade polymer . the polyolefin material should have a melt flow index ( astm d1238 ) of less than 5 and a specific gravity ( astm d792a - 2 ) of about 0 . 8 or greater ( the specific gravity being indicative of the materials strength ). preferably , the polyolefin material has a melt - flow index of less than 1 and a specific gravity of about 0 . 9 or greater . the polyolefin material may be any thermoplastic polymer , e . g . polypropylene , and maybe either a homopolymer or a copolymer . suitable polyolefin materials include pro - fax 6523 or 7823 polypropylene resins available from montell usa of wilmington , del . referring to fig3 overmolded section 18 is illustrated . overmolded section 18 comprises a flange 20 , a neck section 28 , and a female mating section 30 . female mating section 30 is adapted for hermatically sealing engagement ( e . g . welding ) with machined section 26 of extruded tube 24 via weld line 22 . overmolded section 18 is formed in a mold during the overmolding process . the mold is discussed in greater detail below . overmolded section 18 is made from an unfilled ( or neat ) polyolefin material . unfilled , as used herein , refers to the lack of or the substantial lack of a material that acts as a mold release agent or a polymer flow agent or an internal polymer lubricant . the polyolefin material may be either an extrusion grade or injection moldable grade polymer , but preferably is an extrusion grade polymer . the polyolefin material should have a melt flow index ( astm d1238 ) of less than 5 and a specific gravity ( astm d792a - 2 ) of about 0 . 8 or greater ( the specific gravity being indicative of the materials strength ). preferably , the polyolefin material has a melt flow index of less than 1 and a specific gravity of about 0 . 9 or greater . the polyolefin material may be any thermoplastic polymer , e . g . polypropylene , and maybe either a homopolymer or a copolymer . suitable polyolefin materials include pro - fax 6523 or 7823 polypropylene resins available from montell usa of wilmington , del . referring to fig4 overmolded section 18 is shown in engagement with extruded tube 24 via weld line 22 . in manufacture , extruded tube 24 is , preferably , machined to form machined sections 26 . the machined extruded tube 24 is inserted into a mold . the mold ( not shown ) is adapted to receive the machined section 26 of the extruded tube 24 and support the internal surface thereof . the mold is also adapted to form the overmolded section 18 via an injection technique . the fabrication of this multi - parted mold is within the skill of the art . with the multi - parted mold in place , a polyolefin material is injected , at the resin &# 39 ; s suggested use temperature , into the mold , and the overmolded section 18 is formed thereby . at the same time , the overmolded section 18 is welded to the machined section 26 of the extruded tube 24 . thereafter , the housing 12 ( i . e . tube 24 with integrally form overmolded section 18 ) is released from the mold . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and , accordingly , reference should be made to the appended claims , rather than to the foregoing specification , as indicating the scope of their invention .
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as described herein , a goal of a multiple domain smartphone is to provide different levels of security and stability in different domains depending on the usage context and to provide an efficient and convenient way to switch between the domains without sacrificing security and stability . a further goal is to provide this capability using a commercial off - the - shelf ( cots ) smartphone with only software modifications . the software modifications are intended to provide “ secure ” software , by which is meant that the quality and integrity of the of the software and its execution environment may provide a basis for trusting its behavior . a multiple domain smartphone according to embodiments described herein provides many benefits . it should be understood that a viable system need not include all of the features described herein and is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms . one embodiment of the invention is described with reference to fig1 , which shows a simplified diagram of a secure smartphone in a government application . in fig1 , a mobile phone 100 may be operated in a secure domain 102 or an unsecure domain 104 . the mobile phone 100 may be , for example , an android ™ smartphone or any suitable commercially available smartphone . in secure domain 102 , communications 106 between mobile phone 100 and cellular or wireless network 110 may be encrypted . in unsecure domain 104 , communications 108 between mobile phone 100 and cellular or wireless network 110 may be open . cellular or wireless network 10 may then communicate to either a secure server 116 over a secure backhaul 112 or to an unsecure server 118 over an open backhaul 114 . secure server 116 may provide services including virtual private network ( vpn ), secure voice over ip ( voip ), secure email , secure video and secure situational awareness and inventory . unsecure server 118 may provide services including web / internet access , voip , email , video and situational awareness and inventory . fig2 illustrates a real world application of the secure smartphone as it may be used on a battlefield . smartphone equipped soldiers 200 may communicate in a secure domain to a manned or unmanned aircraft equipped with a picocell base station 202 which may then relay the communication to a ka - band or ku - band satellite communications unit 204 through an enerlinks ™ ground transceiver 212 . the satellite communications unit 204 then relays the communications to a global information grid ( gig ) 206 . alternatively , the enerlinks ™ ground transceiver 212 could relay the communication to cellular / wireless equipment 214 which may then relay the communication to a cellular or wireless network 210 . the smartphone equipped soldiers 200 may also switch to an unsecure domain to communicate through a cellular or wireless network 208 operated by a commercial carrier in a nearby town . use of a smartphone in this manner may provide greater network throughput at a fraction of the cost of traditional tactical radios . an alternative embodiment of the invention is described with reference to fig3 , which shows a simplified diagram of a multi - domain smartphone in a commercial application . in fig3 , a mobile phone 300 may be operated in a business domain 302 or a personal domain 304 . in business domain 302 , communications 306 between mobile phone 300 and cellular or wireless network 310 may optionally be encoded . in personal domain 304 , communications 308 between mobile phone 300 and cellular or wireless network 310 may be open . cellular or wireless network 310 may then communicate to either a business enterprise server 316 associated with the business domain over a vpn backhaul 312 or to a public network 318 over an open backhaul 314 . fig1 illustrates a basic block diagram of the smartphone in accordance with an embodiment of the invention which will be discussed in greater detail later in the detailed description . as an introduction for the discussion that follow , the device comprises multiple isolated domains 1100 , 1102 , 1104 1106 and hardware 1116 which may further comprise a processing module to run operating systems 1110 and application software 1108 . each operating system 1110 may be dedicated to an operating domain such as the high domain 1100 , the low domain 1102 , or any number of intermediate level domains 1120 . the high domain 1100 may run secure or business applications while the low domain 1102 may run unsecure or personal applications . the device also comprises a communication control module 1114 to enforce communication restrictions between each of the operating systems 1110 , device drivers 1106 , trusted applications 1104 and device hardware 1116 . fig1 presents an overview of the system and the interconnected components , each of which will be described in fuller detail below . before any security measures may be effective , a newly purchased commercial phone is wiped clean and re - imaged with a secure software image . a smartphone may be provisioned by obtaining a commercially available off - the - shelf phone and performing a sequence of steps to be described . a goal of the provisioning process is to ensure that the phone is cleared of any pre - existing data and software prior to installing new applications . first , the phone may be isolated by shielding it from open wifi access to prevent unauthorized wireless access or interference . next , the external flash card and sim card , which contain cellular data network information as illustrated in fig4 at 402 , may be removed . an unsigned application may then be download , installed and run on the phone to overwrite and replace the boot area of the ram memory 404 . at this point flash memory is corrupted and normal phone operations will no longer work . this may be verified later . the phone may now be rebooted with new boot code . a series of non - compressible random numbers may be downloaded over a usb port to fill all memory , such as ram and flash , as illustrated in fig5 . a hash calculation , based on a seed value , of all the random data written to memory may then be performed . if the resulting hash value matches an expected value then the phone has been verified to be clear of any previous data or software . a secure flash image may then be downloaded and the phone rebooted , at which point the secure image takes control of the phone . if the hash value did not match , then something prevented the replacement boot software from executing and the unit can not be secured . it may be useful to ensure that the phone has not been subject to unauthorized modification during the course of its operation or between times of usage . although some commercial phones have varying levels of protection against this , there is no phone that cannot have its software image at least partially modified . while it may not be possible to prevent unauthorized modification without the use of custom hardware or mechanical housing , it is possible to make the process difficult and detectable . techniques for detection of unauthorized modification may be combined with an appropriate physical possession policy to minimize the possibility of unauthorized modification . any unauthorized modification to the contents of memory are cause for concern . fig6 illustrates an example embodiment of a memory layout for the smartphone which may be useful for the discussions that follow . ram 600 may contain communication control module 601 , a device driver region 602 , a trusted software region 604 , a high domain o / s region 606 , a low domain o / s region 608 and application region 609 . flash 610 , which is non - volatile memory , may contain high domain 612 data , applications and operating system ( such as an android ™ os ). flash 610 may also contain low domain 614 data , applications and operating system ( such as an android ™ os ). flash 610 may also contain trusted domains 616 , device drivers 618 and a communication control boot 620 . in one embodiment of the invention , detection of unauthorized modification may be achieved through an on - demand random challenge involving only the phone after the phone has been put into a known state via the provisioning process . in this technique , a first text - based key phrase may be entered and used as a hash seed value . the phone then performs a hash calculation over the flash memory including the boot , trusted domains , device drivers and all operating systems . a second text - based key phrase may then be entered and split against the hash result . the split is stored in flash memory while the second key phrase is erased from memory . whenever the integrity of the phone needs to be verified , the first key phrase may be entered and in response , the phone calculates and displays the second key phrase based on the contents of the flash memory . if the displayed second key phrase is the expected value then the flash memory is unlikely to have been modified . in another embodiment of the invention , detection of unauthorized modification may be achieved through an on - demand random challenge involving the phone and a laptop or other computer that has a copy of the original flash image in the phone . in this technique , the laptop may request a copy of the data portion of the flash memory for temporary safekeeping and replace those portions with random values from the laptop . the laptop may then provide a seed and request an on - demand random challenge as described in the previous technique . the laptop may then verify the results of this challenge , which the phone computes based on the random data that was just downloaded , to ensure that the challenge process has not been corrupted . if the expected hash value is produced from the challenge then there is some assurance that the phone software has not been corrupted and the laptop may then restore the data portions of flash with the original contents that were saved . in another embodiment of the invention , detection of unauthorized modification may be achieved through the installation of a host based integrity verification application on the phone . there may be separate integrity verification applications for each domain . the integrity verification application may be downloaded and installed through the wireless network ( i . e ., “ over the air ”) or through a usb port . the integrity verification application may be signed to indicate that it comes from a trusted source or has otherwise been evaluated and approved . thus , the integrity verification is done by means of trusted processing . the integrity verification application contains a database of expected signatures for key binary executables that may be run on the phone , as well as other specific data , and verifies the signature of each binary executable against the appropriate entry in the list of expected signatures . the list of expected signatures is itself also protected from external modification and subject to integrity checks . the integrity verification application may be run to produce an overall pass or fail indication , wherein the failure to match any signature against the corresponding expected signature would result in an overall fail indication . in another embodiment of the invention , detection of unauthorized modification may be achieved through an on - demand certificate challenge to cryptographically detect changes in persistent memory involving only the phone and two key phrases for verification . this technique may consist of an initialization phase and a verification phase . the initialization phase is illustrated in fig7 and 8 . after the phone has been provisioned and is in a known state , private 716 and public 718 certificates may be obtained which are unique to the phone . a first text - based key phrase 714 is entered and a hash function 708 is calculated . the public certificate 718 is then aes encrypted 712 using the hash of the first key phrase 710 . this encrypted public certificate is then stored in persistent memory 706 . moving now to fig8 , using the first key phrase 816 as a seed , a hash function is calculated 808 over the software image 804 in flash memory 800 . the software image 804 includes the boot , trusted domains , device drivers and operating systems but excludes user data and applications . a second text - based key phrase 818 is entered and split against the flash hash word at 810 to create a flash hash key 812 . the flash hash key 812 is then encrypted at 814 using the private certificate 820 and stored in persistent memory 806 . the private certificate 820 and the second key phrase 818 are then cleared from the phone . the verification phase is illustrated in figures fig9 and 10 . the user may initiate a certificate challenge by entering the first key phrase 914 . a hash of the first key phrase 910 is then used as an aes key to unwrap , at 912 , the encrypted public certificate stored in persistent memory 906 , to reproduce the public certificate 916 . moving now to fig1 , the public certificate 1020 is used to decrypt , at 1014 , the flash hash key 1012 . the first key phrase 1016 is also used as a hash seed to calculate a hash 1008 over the software image 1004 in flash memory 1000 . the hash value is combined with the flash hash key at 1010 to recover the second key phrase 1018 . if the recovered second key phrase 1018 matches the expected value then the integrity of the software image 1004 has been verified . prior to being used for secure operations , the health of the platform may be determined and all elements of the system placed into a known state . at power up , health tests may be performed for both the hardware and the flash memory , including software and persistent data . power up health tests focus on establishing that the hardware environment is sound , including cpu , ram and flash memory , and that the software and data contents of the flash memory are valid and authenticated . the tests may involve the cpu instruction set ; cpu registers ; mmu ; ram storage , address and data lines ; and flash address and data lines . in addition to power up health tests , operational health tests may monitor the health of the hardware environment while the device is operational . these may be periodically performed in the background with minimal impact to the user functionality . these tests may involve the cpu instruction set ; cpu registers ; mmu ; ram storage and data lines ; and before - use flash program cyclic redundancy check ( crc ). additionally , the identity of the user may be authenticated through a password challenge at power up , prior to entering into the operational environment . after authentication the system may be initialized by loading the communication control module , the operating system environments and trusted software . four isolated domains , or regions of memory , may be provided as illustrated in fig1 . a system high domain 1100 may provide applications 1108 and an operating system 1110 , such as the android ™ or linux ™ operating system . a system low domain 1102 may provide applications 1108 and an operating system 1110 , such as the android ™ or linux ™ operating system . the system low domain may be used for unclassified processing . although only one high domain 1100 and one low domain 1102 are illustrated for simplicity , and number of each type of domain may be provided . any number of additional intermediate level domains 1120 may also be provided . trusted domains 1104 may be used for secure transforms , cryptographic control , security configuration , access control and secure switching and other security related software . domains 1106 may be used for device drivers . each domain operates as an independent virtual machine ( vm ). separation is enforced between domains by a memory management unit ( mmu ), which is part of the phone hardware 1116 , and a communication control module 1114 which configures the mmu . the communication control module is similar to an operating system kernel except that it may only perform the tasks necessary for configuring memory separation , and inter - domain communications . this may include an application scheduler and moving data between address spaces ( isolated domains or memory regions ). this allows device drivers and operating systems to exist entirely in their own address space . the separation of all tasks across all operating systems present on the same processor is maintained by the communication control module . the system high 1100 and system low 1102 domains may be complete and isolated operating systems with their own set of applications and storage . although only one of each is shown in fig1 for simplicity , there may be as many as required . similarly , although two trusted domains 1104 are shown , there may be as many as required including redundant trusted domains . each domain in fig1 exists as a separate cell under the communication control module . a cell consists of resources isolated and protected from other cells , including an address space in memory enforced by the mmu , as well as execution time on the cpu enforced by time - slicing . the protection of all cells is managed by the communication control module . the communication control module configures the mmu each time it switches focus to a new domain , allowing it access to its own resources and only those resources . the communication control module also replaces the portions of the os in each domain , such that their schedulers may now rely on the communication control module for configuring the mmu for their sub - tasks . a goal of some embodiments of the invention is to allow the device drivers to be portable . existing device driver binaries may be used in unmodified form . this is possible because they are wrapped with functional translation between the os and the communication control module and because they are isolated in their own domain . some device drivers may be wrapped with trusted software to enable switching or transformations . this may offer the advantage of allowing for rapid migration as new releases are made available . device drivers may change implementation significantly with hardware , but the fundamental device driver interface changes infrequently . there may be four classes of device drivers as illustrated in the table of fig1 . these class are switched , shared , assigned low and assigned high . specific example of actual device drivers are provided within each class . as illustrated in fig1 , physical devices assigned exclusively to the system high domain 1306 may be available only to the system high domain 1300 . the data that passes through these devices may not undergo an encryption transformation . the gps device provides precise location information about the user . in some situations it may be preferable to keep this information secret and not shared over clear channels which is why the gps device driver may be assigned to the high domain . device drivers in the assigned high domain may be fixed in the software image . in alternate embodiments , the assignment may be configurable by an authorized entity . such assignment reconfiguration may require a reboot of the phone . as illustrated in fig1 , physical devices assigned exclusively to the system low domain 1406 may be available only to the system low domain 1400 . the data that passes through these devices typically need not undergo an encryption transformation , although in some embodiments they may undergo such a transformation if required . devices such as the usb bus and bluetooth need to be compatible with their existing protocol specification which may make it impractical to transform or share their data passing through the bus . device drivers in the assigned low domain may be fixed in the software image . in alternate embodiments , the assignment may be configurable by an authorized entity . such assignment reconfiguration may require a reboot of the phone . as illustrated in fig1 , shared devices 1506 may always be available to both high and low domains 1500 and 1504 . the data that passes through these devices is encrypted data compatible with the system low domain . the cellular data network and wifi network are packet - switched ip networks . packets exiting from the system high - side are first subject to an internet protocol security ( ipsec ) transformation in a trusted domain before reaching the device driver . packets entering and exiting the system low - side are unchanged . by sharing the device data services each domain can access the network when needed , allowing for background syncing and avoiding connection loss from network timeouts regardless of which domain is currently selected by the user . this may also allow the domain with which the user is not interacting to enter an idle , low power state , increasing battery life . this may also avoid additional latency that would otherwise be created by routing data from the system high - domain to the trusted domain to the system low - domain and then to the device driver . the flash storage device may be partitioned between the high domain and the low domain , allowing each access only to their own data . data transfer from either side goes through an encryption transformation in a trusted space with each domain using a different symmetric encryption key . as illustrated in fig1 , switched devices 1606 change exclusive assignment between high and low domain 1600 and 1604 while assigned . the data that passes through these devices may not usually be encrypted . there may be an effective sanitization strategy for output devices before each switch 1620 . input devices may not need sanitization . the display and speaker are two examples of switched output devices . the sanitization consists of flushing and clearing the buffer that feeds each device driver . since each device is write - only , the sanitization is simply to flush and clear the buffers to avoid remnant data from being mixed with new data from the other domain . the touchscreen , microphone and keypad are examples of switched input devices which do not need sanitization . the touchscreen , display and keypad are logically grouped together since they may all need to be switched simultaneously and immediately when the user initiates a domain switch . the microphone and speaker are logically grouped together and they may not need to immediately switch when the user initiates a domain switch . this is to avoid a secure voice conversation from switching over to the low domain should the user initiate a transition to the low domain during a secure voice call . all data , when not actively in use , whether in non - volatile flash memory or volatile ram may require some degree of protection . all data stored in flash memory , whether internal or external to the phone , may be encrypted immediately prior to storage to prevent unauthorized access . if the system high domain is in a locked state , whether through timeout or overt action by the user , the ram associated with the high domain may be sanitized for additional protection and may need to be reinstated before the high domain can resume processing . the system low domain may also be locked , but the ram may remain untouched . keys may be stored persistently . one method may use suite b algorithms and pki key material . stored key material may be aes key wrapped using a key encryption key ( kek ) that is split with a user password and a random value . the split kek may then be stored in internal flash memory ( unencrypted persistent storage ). this allows for a more dynamic kek value , but is only as strong as the user password . keys may also be stored temporarily in internal ram . in the event of power loss the device needs to be externally rekeyed . locking the device may allow the keys to remain present in ram . the phone may have security parameters that can be configured , as well as trusted controls necessary to interact with the phone in a secure manner . in one embodiment of the invention , access control to the device may be provided . the access control may be a single - factor password based mechanism . mutual authentication may be required . the procedure may be initiated by a hard - key press which is intercepted at the device driver and unseen by the os environments . a popup dialog may be presented to the user requesting a device passphrase to authenticate the device and gain access to protected functions including setting some security options and switching to the system high domain . the passphrase may also be used to cryptographically recover stored key material . the display may appear as illustrated in fig1 . the popup dialog may be used to switch domains and change security parameters . fig1 illustrates an example state diagram showing access control , domain switching and security parameter configuration according to some embodiments . both os domains may be live and active simultaneously although isolated in ram and flash memory . this provides support for background synchronization . a hard - key press may be used to switch between domains . the hard key press may be captured by an input only device and processed by a trusted element at the device driver level and not forwarded to either os . it may be undesirable to rely on an application in the high or low domain to initiate the switch since this may increase the chance of a security breach . physical keys are preferable to virtual keys because physical key presses are discrete events that can be filtered out at the device driver level and never forwarded to the high or low domain software that may have current control over the display and keypad . once the user initiates a domain switch using a physical key press , the trusted device driver element notifies a trusted security element to take control of the keypad and display , which may then present the user with a two - way authentication prompt . identity management relies on a mutual authentication scheme . the trusted element displays a device passphrase on the screen , which the user may recognize as having been previously entered , and then presents the user with a short menu of options . the display may be trusted because ( 1 ) the key press was intercepted at a low level device driver before entering either domain and ( 2 ) the display presented a shared secret device passphrase to the user which is not accessible by any software outside of the trusted domain . some actions may require the user to enter their password to perform the action . the action may be trusted to have been performed because the phone first authenticated itself as the trusted portion . some actions may also be limited to only certain users who have the authentication credentials . once authenticated , the user can switch between domains or perform security actions more quickly without entering credentials repeatedly , until either a timeout or overt lock occurs . some rare and important security actions may require a password every time . there may also be an additional menu option for certain users to gain access to more advanced settings to which other users do not have access . some switched device drivers may lag or not switch . for example , it may be undesirable for the speaker and microphone to switch domains during a call in progress . field updates and maintenance may include software updates . trusted portions of software may be updated under restriction controls including the requirement that the updates be signed . the system high side may benefit from signed software which has been evaluated . the system low side may benefit from compatibility with existing commercial standards such as , for example , the android ™ or google ™ marketplace . the device may be disposed of when no longer needed or repurposed . all information in the phone can be sanitized by following the provisioning process described previously . the phone may then either be returned to the original default android ™ image , for example , or to a new secure image . in the event of accidental loss or theft , a remote sanitization capability may be provided in some embodiments . fig1 illustrates a procedure for modifying an existing mobile communication device to operate in multiple domains in accordance with some embodiments . operation 1900 comprises installing an operating system for each operating domain in isolated regions of memory . at least one of the domains may be a business domain and at least one of the domains may be a personal domain . the business and personal domains may be targeted for commercial applications . in some embodiments existing software may be cleared from the device prior to installing the operating systems . operation 1910 comprises installing device drivers in isolated regions of memory . operation 1920 comprises implementing a communication control module to enforce communication restrictions between operating systems , device drivers and device hardware . the communication control module may be used to prevent corruption or unauthorized modification of software or data between domains as well as to prevent access of business data by a personal domain application . each domain operates as an independent virtual machine and separation is enforced between domains by a memory management unit which is part of the device hardware and is configured by the communication control module . operation 1930 comprises implementing an authentication procedure to switch from personal domain to business domain . the procedure may establish an expected response phrase to be supplied in response to an authentication challenge . the procedure may confirm authentication when an encoded version of the expected response phrase matches a similarly encoded version of the trial response phrase that is entered in response to an authentication challenge . operation 1940 comprises providing a trusted indicator that the device is operating in a business domain . this trusted indicator may be under the exclusive control of software that operates in the business domain . in some embodiments the mobile communication device may provide communication transmission between the mobile communication device and a business entity associated with the business domain , through a virtual private network ( vpn ), while the mobile communication device is operating in the business domain . in some embodiments the mobile communication device may provide a device erasure capability , wherein one or more of the isolated regions of memory are erased . the device erasure may be initiated by a button or key press on the device or by the reception of a communication transmission from a business entity associated with the business domain . a trusted indicator may be provided to indicate that the erasure has been accomplished . in some embodiments the erasure may be limited to areas of memory associated with the business domain . the device erasure may be accomplished by trusted software operating in the business domain . in some embodiments restrictions may be placed on software downloads to the device for use in the business domain . the software downloads may be subject to a validation procedure which may include a requirement for a trusted signature accompanying the software to be downloaded . the validation may be provided by the business entity associated with the business domain . software downloads may require the approval of an enterprise authority rather than being allowed at the user &# 39 ; s option . fig2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a mobile communication device configured to operate in multiple domains in accordance with some embodiments . the term module may comprise hardware , software or a combination of both . the device comprises multiple isolated regions of memory 2000 and a processing module 2018 to run operating systems 2006 . each operating system 2006 may be dedicated to an operating domain such as business operating domain 2008 and personal operating domain 2010 . the device also comprises a processing module instantiated communication control module 2014 to enforce communication restrictions between each of the operating systems 2006 , device drivers 2012 and device hardware 2002 . the communication control module may be used to prevent corruption or unauthorized modification of software or data between domains as well as to prevent access of business data by a personal domain application . each domain operates as an independent virtual machine and separation is enforced between domains by a memory management unit which is part of the device hardware and is configured by the communication control module . authentication module 2016 , which is also instantiated by the processing module , may enable domain switching from personal domain to business domain based on an authentication technique . authentication module 2016 may further comprise an input module , an encoding module and a confirmation module . the input module may receive an expected response phrase in response to an authentication challenge , and a trial response phrase in response to the authentication challenge . the encoding module may encode the expected and trial response phrases . the confirmation module may confirm authentication based on a match between the encoded expected response phrase and the encoded trial response phrase . trusted indicator 2004 may provide irrefutable evidence that the device is operating in a business domain and the indicator may be under the exclusive control of software that operates in business domain . trusted indicator 2004 may be an led on the device . in some embodiments the mobile communication device may provide a transceiver to optionally encode communication transmission between the device and a business entity associated with the business domain while the device is operating in the business domain . in some embodiments the encoded communication may be through a vpn .
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fig1 shows a centrifugal jig of the general type according to the applicant &# 39 ; s wo90 / 00090 but employing a pulsion mechanism according to the present invention . the general construction and operation of the jig are described in detail in that patent , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference , and shall now be described here only briefly . the centrifugal jig of fig1 has a frame 10 supporting a jig drive motor 12 , a crank drive motor 13 , a fixed launder arrangement 14 and cover 16 and a jig main shaft 18 which is supported in bearings 20 to rotate about a rotational axis 22 . the main shaft 18 is driven by the jig drive motor 12 through jig drive pulley 24 and jig drive belt 26 . mounted on the main shaft is a screen housing 28 supporting a screen 30 defining an inner chamber 32 and a number of hutch chambers 34 circumferentially spaced about the screen . mounted inside the jig main shaft for independent rotation in bearings 35 is a crankshaft 36 with crank 38 for reciprocating a respective pushrod 40 for each hutch chamber . ragging material 41 ( shown in fig2 ), such as run - of - mill garnet , aluminium alloy or lead glass balls , is provided on the inner surface of the screen 30 . the ragging is held against the surface of the screen due to the rotation of the jig . the feed slurry entering the inner chamber 32 through the feed tube 42 migrates to the inner surface of the ragging . hutch water is supplied to tube 43 , passing through bores ( not shown ) in the screen housing 30 , into each of the hutch chambers 34 circumferentially spaced about the screen . the crank 38 sequentially reciprocates a series of radially extending pushrods 40 , with each pushrod in turn reciprocating a respective hutch chamber 34 , as will be described below with reference to fig2 . the reciprocation of the hutches causes pulsation of the water in the respective hutches . the ragging is repetitively dilated by the pulsation of the hutch water . this dilation allows the higher specific gravity material in the feed slurry to pass through the ragging and the screen and enter the hutch chambers . the concentrate material then travels along the convergent walls 45 of the hutch to the radially outermost part of the hutch chamber and passes through concentrate outlet spigot 44 , which is aligned with a gap in the inner wall of a concentrate launder 46 . the lower specific gravity material in the feed slurry does not pass through the ragging , but passes upwardly and escapes past the open top 48 of the inner chamber and then to a tailings launder 50 . the jig of fig1 is mounted for rotation on an inclined axis 22 so that the ragging and feed material in the jig will fall to the lower side of the jig when the jig is stopped or is rotated only slowly . the inclined axis also requires the use of only one outlet from each of the tailings and concentrate launders . screen cleaning apparatus 54 is mounted on the stationary jig cover 16 and extends into the high side of the jig , pivoting and retracting between a cleaning position ( shown in fig1 ) for cleaning the screen and a withdrawn position ( shown in ghost ) radially inwards of the jig feed material , during normal operation of the jig . the cleaning apparatus includes a high pressure water spray 56 and a series of scraper wheels 58 depending from cantilevered cleaner head 59 and acting against the inner surface of the screen , which will typically have a large number of circumferentially elongate slots extending therethrough . the wheels have a series of projecting blades 60 disposed diagonally on their circumference for forcing particles accumulated on the screen to be sheared off at the screen surface and then forced through the screen by the water spray . the wheels are resiliently mounted so as not to cause damage to the screen when an unusually resistant particle is encountered . in an unillustrated modification , the screen cleaner can include a plurality of spring - mounted buttons on the end face of an enlarged cantilevered cleaner head 59 instead of using scraper wheels 58 . the buttons may be moved up and down across the screen surface to shear off lodged particles for removal by the water spray 56 . the screen cleaning arrangement is applicable to centrifugal jigs and other equipment employing rotating screens . fig2 illustrates the new pulsing hutch assembly in more detail . with reference to fig2 the inner surfaces of the hutch chamber walls are convergent in the direction of travel of a particle — i . e . radially outwards for a centrifugal jig as illustrated , or downwards for a non - rotary jig ( not shown )— for example conical or rectangular pyramidal , with the concentrate outlet spigot 44 at its apex . the radially inwards portion 62 of the hutch is part of the casting of the jig screen housing 28 , while the radially outwards part surrounding and attached to the outlet spigot 44 is formed by a diaphragm 64 backed by a support block 66 . each support block is attached to the upper end of the lever 68 pivoting about a fulcrum member 70 attached to the screen housing 28 . the lower end of each lever is attached to a respective pushrod 40 . when each pushrod 40 is forced radially outwards by the crank 38 , the respective lever 68 forces radially inwards movement of the hutch diaphragm 64 , with the resultant pulsation of the hutch water in the hutch chamber causing dilation of the ragging . the concentrate material passes through the ragging and exits the hutch chamber via outlet spigot 44 as discussed above in relation to fig1 . the heavy block 66 behind the diaphragm causes the hutch to be strongly biased toward the radially outwards ( non - pulsating ) position under influence of the centrifugal motion of the jig . this causes the hutch to quickly and positively return to this position after actuation of the pushrod by the crank , holding the pushrods 40 against the crank 38 with little or no “ bounce ”. this is an advance over the prior art , in which the pulse water pressure was used to force the diaphragm return , and gives protection against damage to the machine in the event of the hutch water supply being interrupted . a spring actuated lever return 72 may also be provided to hold the hutch in the non - pulsed position when the jig is stationary or is being rotated at very low speeds for routine maintenance . by providing the pulsators directly and centrally opposite the respective portions of the screen , in accordance with the first form of the invention , the depth of water through which each pulse is transferred from the pulsator to the ragging is decreased . this allows higher pulsation rates with greater coupling between the pulsator and the ragging , resulting in less water hammer and smoother operation of the jig . other advantages of preferred forms of the invention are increased energy efficiency and smoother operation caused by a reduction in the volume of the hutch chamber , and thus the volume of water pulsated , as it is no longer necessary to extend the hutch chamber below the level of the screen . the volume of the hutch may be further reduced as the rapid pulsation of the hutch wall portion containing the convergent walls and concentrate outlet assists discharge of the concentrate from the hutch . higher density concentrate slurries can pass through the hutch and the wall angle of the hutch can be reduced without accumulation of the concentrate on the hutch wall , thus allowing the use of a flatter , more compact hutch . the reduction in hutch volume gives scope for production of higher capacity jigs than capable with the prior art pulsion mechanisms . a yet further advantage is more even dilation of the bed of ragging , allowing more efficient use of the screen area and therefore increasing the throughput capacity of the jig , due to the pulsator . while particular embodiments of this invention have been described , it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .
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as indicated supra , the present invention relates to an elastomeric homopolymer or copolymer which has been chemically treated to incorporate a conjugated diolefin linkage therein . in general , any of the elastomeric homopolymers or copolymers known in the prior art may be chemically treated to incorporate a conjugated diolefin linkage in accordance with the present invention . useful elastomeric polymers , then , include those prepared in bulk , suspension , solution and emulsion processes . as is well known , polymerization of monomers to produce an elastomer may be accomplished with free - radical , cationic and anionic initiators or polymerization catalyst . as indicated more fully hereinafter , however , it is important , in the process of this invention , that the elastomeric polymer comprise at least one active group containing an alkali metal atom when it is treated to incorporate the conjugated diolefin linkage . as a result , elastomeric polymers prepared with free - radical or cationic initiators , as well as those prepared with an anionic initiator and then deactivated , must be metallated to incorporate at least one active site comprising an alkali metal atom prior to treatment thereof to incorporate the conjugated diolefin linkage by the method of this invention . metallization may , of course , be accomplished using techniques well known in the prior art such as the method taught in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 145 , 298 , the disclosure of which patent is herein incorporated by reference . notwithstanding that any elastomeric polymer may be modified by the method of the present invention , the process of this invention is simplified when the treated polymer is prepared via anionic initiation using an organo alkali metal compound initiator and then treated in accordance with the method of this invention prior to deactivation of the alkali metal active site . the invention will , then , be described in greater detail by reference to the treatment of such polymers . any elastomic polymer metallated to incorporate at least one active site containing an alkali metal atom could , however , be substituted for the preferred elastomers referred to in the description . the method of the present invention is , then , particularly effective with diene homopolymers and copolymers which are prepared via anionic polymerization with an organo metallic catalyst , wherein said metal is an alkali metal , particularly lithium , since the active groups comprising the alkali metal atom may be readily treated to incorporate a conjugated diolefin linkage . diene homopolymers and copolymers prepared via other techniques , as well as other elastomers , may , however , be metallated so as to comprise at least one active site containing an alkali metal atom , using methods well known in the prior art , and then treated to incorporate a conjugated diolefin linkage in accordance with the present invention . diene homopolymers and copolymers comprising at least one terminal active group containing an alkali metal atom and prepared via anionic polymerization techniques , which polymers are particularly useful in the present invention , may be prepared in accordance with techniques well known in the prior art . in general , such polymers are prepared by contacting the monomer or monomers to be polymerized with an organo alkali metal compound in a suitable solvent at a temperature within the range from about - 150 ° c . to about 300 ° c . particularly effective polymerization initiators are organo lithium compounds having the general formula rli n wherein r is an aliphatic , cycloaliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and n is an integer of 1 to 4 . in general , the polydienes useful in the present invention will have a molecular weight within the range of from about 2 , 000 to about 200 , 000 and when the polydiene is a copolymer of 1 or more diolefins and 1 or more other monomers , the polydiene will comprise from about 20 to about 99 wt % monomeric diolefin units . in general , the polydiene useful in this invention may be a polymer of one or more dienes , containing from 4 to about 12 carbon atoms such as 1 , 3 - butadiene , isoprene , piperylene , methylpentyl diene , phenylbutadiene , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - hexadiene , 4 , 5 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - octadiene and the like , preferrable conjugated dienes containing 4 to 8 carbon atoms . moreover , one or more of the hydrogen atoms in these diolefins may be substituted with a halogen . the polydiene may also be a copolymer of one or more of the aforementioned diolefins and one or more other monomers . other monomers which may be used include vinylaryl compounds such as styrene , various alkyl styrenes , paramethoxystyrene , vinyl naphthalene , vinyl toluene and the like , heterocyclic nitrogen - containing monomers such as pyridine and quinoline derivatives containing at least one vinyl or α - methyl vinyl group such as 2 - vinylpyridine , 3 - vinylpyridine , 4 - vinylpyridine and the like . still other useful comonomers include acrylic and methylacrylic acid esters , vinyl halides , vinylidene halides , various vinyl esters and the like . the diene homopolymers and copolymers useful in the present invention include those terminally reactive homopolymers and copolymers described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 135 , 716 ; 3 , 150 , 209 ; 3 , 496 , 154 ; 3 , 498 , 960 ; 4 , 145 , 298 and 4 , 238 , 202 , the disclosure of which patents are herein incorporated by reference . those diene homopolymers and copolymers having only one terminal lithium atom , and described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 150 , 209 ; 3496 , 154 ; 3 , 498 , 960 ; 4 , 145 , 298 and 4 , 238 , 202 , are particularly useful in the present invention . diene copolymers useful in the present invention also include the block copolymers prepared in accordance with the methods described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 231 , 635 ; 3 , 265 , 765 and 3 , 322 , 856 , the disclosure of which patents are incorporated herein by reference . particularly useful block copolymers are those block copolymers having the general formulae b x --( a -- b ) y and a x --( b -- a ) y wherein a and b are as defined in the aforementioned u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 231 , 635 ; 3 , 265 , 765 and 3 , 322 , 856 , x is a number equal to 0 or 1 and y is a whole number from 1 to about 15 . as indicated supra , it is , at least , desirable in the present invention that the diene homopolymer or copolymer treated comprise at least one active site containing an alkali metal atom , preferably a lithium atom . in the event that the diene homopolymer or copolymer to be treated in the present invention does not contain such an active group , the polymer may first be treated to incorporate such a group . as well known in the prior art , at least one active site containing an alkali metal atom , particularly a lithium atom , may be incorporated into a polymer by contacting said polymer with an organo alkali metal compound in a suitable solvent or diluent at a temperature within the range from about 0 to about 200 ° c . in general , any of the organo alkali metal compounds known in the prior art to be useful as polymerization initiators may be used in the reaction to create an active site containing an alkali metal atom . as also well know in the prior art , the metallization reaction may be promoted with various amines and alkoxide salts . to produce an elastomeric homopolymer or copolymer comprising at least one conjugated diolefin linkage in accordance with the present invention , one will start with an elastomeric homopolymer or copolymer containing at least one alkali metal atom . for convenience , an elastomeric polymer comprising at least one active group containing an alkali metal atom is frequently referred to hereinafter as either an active or living polymer . to incorporate the conjugated diolefin linkage , then , an active or living polymer is treated by reacting the same first with a 2 , 3 - ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde ( 1 ) or ketone ( 2 ) having , respectively , the following general formula : ## str1 ## wherein r 1 is h or an aliphatic , cyclic , alicyclic , aryl or aliaryl hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms ; and ## str2 ## wherein r 1 is as defined above and r 2 is an aliphatic , cyclic , alicyclic , aryl or aliaryl hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 10 carbon atoms ; and thereafter converting the resulting lithium salt to the corresponding alcohol and then dehydrating the alcohol . as is well known in the prior art , the latter two steps may be accomplished , in effect , simultaneously when an excess of acid is used to convert the lithium salt to the corresponding alcohol at an elevated temperature . in general , reaction of the 2 , 3 - ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde or ketone with the active or living polymer will be accomplished in a suitable solvent at a temperature within the range from about 10 ° c . to about 200 ° c . nominal holding times at reaction conditions will , generally , range from about 1 to about 120 minutes . suitable solvents include any of the solvents known in the prior art to be effective for use during preparation of the diene homopolymer or copolymer . these include hydrocarbons such as paraffins , cycloparaffins , alkyl - substituted cycloparaffins , aromatics and alkyl - substituted aromatics containing from about 4 to about 10 carbon atoms per molecule . suitable solvents include benzene , toluene , cyclohexane , methylcylohexane , n - butane , n - hexane , n - heptane and the like . in general , the reaction between the living polymer and the 2 , 3 - ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde or ketone proceeds stoichiometrically . it will , then , generally , be sufficient to combine 1 mole of 2 , 3 - ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde or ketone for each mole of active sites to be converted . in this regard , it should be noted that if the living polymer contained , on average , two active groups containing alkali metal atoms per polymer segment , it would take 2 moles of ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde or ketone per mole of polymer to convert all of the active sites to the corresponding alkali metal salt . similarly , if the living polymer contained only , on average , one active site containing an alkali metal atom per polymer segment , it would take only 1 mole of unsaturated aldehyde or ketone per mole of polymer to convert all of the active sites to the corresponding lithium salt . the alkali metal salt produced by reacting the living polymer with a 2 , 3 - ethylenically unsaturated aldehyde or ketone is next converted to the corresponding alcohol . any of the methods known in the prior art to be effective for such conversions may be used in the present invention . one such method is to simply react the alkali metal salt with an acid . in general , any acid , organic or inorganic , may be used . suitable acids , then , include the series of aliphatic carboxylic acids starting with formic acid , the series of aromatic carboxylic acids starting with benzoic acid and the various mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid , nitric acid , sulfuric acid and the like . after the corresponding alcohol has been produced , the same will be dehydrated to yield the desired conjugated diolefin structure . generally , this may be accomplished simply by heating the alcohol . more expediently , however , this may accomplished by effecting the acid treatment with an excess of acid at an elevated temperature . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , then , the acid treatment will be accomplished at a temperature within the range from about 40 ° c . to about 200 ° c . generally , nominal holding times within the range from about 1 to about 120 minutes will be sufficient to permit both conversion of the alkali metal salt to the corresponding alcohol and dehydration of the alcohol . again , conversion of the alkali metal salt to the alcohol will occur stoichiometrically . notwithstanding , an excess amount of acid will generally be used during the conversion of the alkali metal salt to the corresponding alcohol since the excess of acid will catalyze the dehydration . the elastomeric homopolymer or copolymer thus produced and containing at least one conjugated diolefin structure may be recovered from solution using conventional technology well known in the prior art or used directly in the preparation of a modified polyester as described and claimed in copending u . s . patent application ser no . 948 , 374 , filed on 12 / 31 / 86 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 775 , 718 , the disclosure of which copending application is incorporated herein by reference . as indicated supra , the modified elastomeric polymer of this invention may be used in various unsaturated polyester resins for the purpose of improving impact resistance in structures molded therewith . the modified elastomer may be added directly to such thermosetting compositions or the same may first be , in effect , grafted on to the backbone of a polyester used in such compositions as described in the aformentioned copending application . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a polydiene block copolymer will be treated so a to incorporate a conjugated diolefin group into said block copolymer . the block copolymer will be prepared using the method described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 231 , 635 and will comprise a single alkenyl - substituted aromatic hydrocarbon block and a single diolefin block . the block copolymer used in the preferred embodiment may be represented by the general formula a - b wherein a and b are , respectively , polymer blocks of an alkenyl - substituted aromatic hydrocarbon and a diolefin . in the preferred embodiment , the alkenyl - substituted aromatic hydrocarbon block will have a weight average molecular weight within the range of from about 1 , 000 to about 100 , 000 and the diolefin block will have a weight average molecular weight within the range of from about 1 , 000 to about 150 , 000 . in a most preferred embodiment , the alkenyl - substituted aromatic hydrocarbon will be styrene and the diolefin will be a conjugated diolefin ; viz ., either butadiene or isoprene . in the preferred embodiment , the block copolymer will be treated in accordance with this invention before the active site formed during polymerization has been converted or deactivated . in the preferred embodiment , the block copolymer will contain , on average , approximately one active site containing a lithium atom per polymer segment , which active site will be on the diolefin block . in the preferred embodiment , the living block copolymer will first be reacted with acrolein to produce the corresponding lithium salt and then with about a 10 wt . % excess of a sulfuric acid at an elevated temperature to , in effect , simultaneously form the corresponding alcohol and to dehydrate said alcohol . in the preferred embodiment , treatment of the active polymer will be accomplished in the same solvent as was used for polymerization . the reaction between the living polymer and acrolein will be accomplished at a temperature within the range rom about 25 ° c . to about 150 ° c . at a nominal holding time within the range from about 1 to about 120 minutes . the resulting lithium salt will then be reacted with a monocarboxylic acid at a temperature within the range from about 40 ° c . to about 200 ° c . at a nominal holding time within the range from about 1 to about 120 minutes . in a most preferred embodiment of the present invention , the acid will be sulfuric acid . the preferred modified polymers of this invention , which modified polymers are prepared by using the preferred operating conditions , may then be recovered . having thus broadly described the present invention and a preferred and most preferred embodiment thereof , it is believed that the same will become even more apparent by reference to the following examples . it will be appreciated , however , that the examples are presented solely for purposes of illustration and should not be construed as limiting the invention . in this example , a styrene - butadiene block copolymer was prepared as a control or base line sample . the block copolymer was prepared under anhydrous and anaerobic conditions in a closed , glass reaction vessel . initially , 13 . 1 g of styrene dissolved in 170 g of cyclohexane was charged to the reaction vessel along with 100 μl of n - butoxy , t - butoxy ethane and 3ml of a 0 . 25n solution of s - butyl lithium . the reaction vessel was heated to 50 ° c . and when the polymerization of styrene was substantially complete 24 . 1 g of polymerization grade butadiene monomer was added to the vessel . polymerization of the diene monomer was allowed to proceed substantially to completion and the resulting styrene - butadiene living block copolymer was quenched by the addition of an excess of methyl alcohol . the nonfunctionalized styrene - butadiene block copolymer was then recovered as crumb by coagulation with and excess of methyl alcohol . analysis of the recovered product indicated that the block copolymer contained a single block of styrene having a weight average molecular weight of 13 , 400 and a single butadiene block having a weight average molecular weight of 29 , 400 . in this example , 3 styrene - butadiene block copolymers containing a single acrolein end group were prepared . for convenience , these polymer samples have been identified as a thru c . each sample was prepared by repeating the polymerization steps summarized in example 1 but before deactivating the lithium atom with methyl alcohol the living diblock copolymer was titrated with acrolein until the pale yellow color of the living anionic polymer had disappeared . the end - capped block copolymer was then contacted with an aliquot of ammonium chloride in methyl alcohol to deactivate the lithium atom . each of the three samples were recovered by coagulating with an excess of methyl alcohol . after recovery , each sample was analyzed to determine the weight average molecular weight of each block and the amount of coupled products in each sample . these results are shown in the following table : ______________________________________acrolein capped block copolymers a b c______________________________________mol . wt . of styrene block (× 10 . sup .- 3 ) 14 . 4 13 . 3 13 . 3mol . wt . of butadiene block (× 10 . sup .- 3 ) 29 . 1 29 . 1 29 . 5coupled product ( wt %) 4 5 5______________________________________ in this example , the acrolein capped polymers identified as a and b in example 2 were combined and dissolved in 600 ml cyclohexane . the solution was then divided into two equal sized aliquots and each aliquot treated with an excess of maleic anhydride to produce an elastomer having a cyclic anhydride moiety chemically bonded thereto through a 6 - carbon atom cyclic structure containing one c , c double bond and to dehydrate the alcohol which was produced in example 2 . the treatment was accomplished by adding 0 . 25 g of maleic anhydride to each aliquot and then heating both to reflux and holding each at this temperature for four hours . the resulting reaction products were then recovered as a crumb by coagulating in excess methyl alcohol . the elastomer thus produced could be substituted for a portion of the unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or anhydride monomer in any of the polyester resin operations hereinbefore discussed . in this example , the acrolein capped polymer identified as c in example 2 was dissolved in 215 ml xylene and combined with 10 g of a maleate / propylene glyclol unsaturated polyester resins ( koppers 3702 - 5 unsaturated polyester resin ). three drops of concentrated h 2 so 4 were then added to this solution and the solution heated to reflux temperature and held for four hours . the h 2 so 4 , inter alia , acted as a catalyst for the diels alder reaction . as a result of this treatment , the alcohol produced in example 2 was dehydrated and the conjugated diolefin group produced then reacted with the maleate / propylene glyclol unsaturated polyester resin . the product was contacted with an excess of methyl alcohol , a good solvent for the polyester resin . as a result of the contacting with methanol , the reaction product of the end - capped elastomer and the polyester and any unreacted end - capped elastomer were precipitated while any unreacted polyester remained in solution . after separation , the coagulated product was subjected to ir analysis to confirm the presence of grafted polyester therein . this was confirmed by a peak occurring at 1640 cm - 1 . signals in the ir spectrum at 690 cm -- 1 and 920 cm 1 also indicated that the coagulated product contained styrene - butadiene block copolymer . the relative intensities of the ir signals indicated that the modified polyester contained significant amounts of both of the polymeric reactants . in this example , a portion of the block copolymer produced in examples 1 and a portion of the acrolein modified block copolymer produced in example 2 and identified as c were dissolved in styrene monomer at a concentration of 30wt % polymer in said solution . a 50g aliquot of each solution was then treated with 3 drops of sulfuric acid and blended with an equal weight of solution ( about 70wt % unsaturated polyester ) containing koppers 3702 - 5 unsaturated polyester , the same polyester which was modified in example 4 , in styrene . the blending was accomplished at 500 rpm for 3 minutes using a 1 &# 34 ; jiffy blade positioned in an 8 oz jar . each of the blends were then set aside and observed to determine whether gross phase separation would occur . the observation are summarized in the following table : ______________________________________ phaseblend separation______________________________________with polymer of example 1 complete after 2 dayswith polymer of example 2 no separation after 7 days______________________________________ in this example , blends were prepared with the polymers described in examples 1 and 4 and koppers 3702 - 5 polyester . these resin blend were then used in the preparation of sheet molding compound pastes . each of the pastes were prepared according to the following recipe : ______________________________________100 g block copolymer in styrene monomer ( 30 wt % polymer ) 100 g koppers 3702 - 5 unsaturated polyester resin ( 70 wt % in styrene ) 300 g calcium carbonate6 g zinc stearate0 . 5 g black pigment2 . 6 g t - butyl perbenzoate0 . 5 g pep - 100 cure promoter7 . 8 g marinco h thickening agent______________________________________ each paste was blended in an 800 ml plastic beaker using a 1 &# 34 ; jiffy mixer blade at 500 rpm . the fully blended pastes were then transferred to 16 oz jars , sealed and set aside to age . after 18 days , the paste were inspected to access the homogeneity of the blend . the paste samples were evaluated for ( 1 ) the lack of exudate formation , ( 2 ) the absence of chalkiness and ( 3 ) smoothness . each criteria was rated on a scale from 1 ( worst ) to 5 ( best ) so that a superior plate would get a combined score of 15 , and the worst possible score would be 3 . the results of each of the paste are summarized in the following table : ______________________________________ numericalpaste rating______________________________________with polymer of example 1 3with polymer of example 4 9______________________________________ while the present invention has been described and illustrated by reference to particular embodiments thereof , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the same lends itself to variations not necessarily illustrated herein . for this reason , then , reference should be made solely to the appended claims for purposes of determining the true scope of the present invention .
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in a data generator ( fig1 ), a memory device 10 has address inputs 11 and a set of data outputs ( d0 - d4 ). the data inputs are connected to the outputs of a counter 12 whose clock input is clocked by a base clock 14 . the memory 10 is thus addressed incrementally on the basis of the clock period starting from a predetermined value which may be loaded into the counter , e . g . from zero when the counter 12 is reset to zero . the reset input of the counter 12 is driven by the output d0 of the memory 10 such that each time the data loaded into bit d0 of the memory 10 at the address defined by the counter 12 is in the high state , then the counter 12 is reset and incremental addressing of the memory 10 recommences from zero . the bit d0 of the memory 10 provides a control signal representative of frame length or of multiframe length , and the memory 10 is programmed to contain a high value at the address whose value represents the total number of base clock cycles required by the desired frame ( or multiframe ) structure . for example , for a multiframe structure occupying 16 bits , d0 is programmed to have a high state at address 15 ( the sixteenth position ) so as to reset the counter to zero once every 16 clock periods . within this cyclic regime , other data bits of the memory 10 are programmed so as to represent other control signals as required by the frame structure . except for bit d0 , the data bits are latched in a set of latches 100 by the clock 14 . bit d1 provides a multiframe synchronization pulse signal cmfe , while bit d2 provides a frame synchronization frame signal cfe . data for multiframe and frame synchronization is provided in bit d3 . bit d4 provides a signal cse which takes up the high state to enable a sequence generator 17 , and each pulse received by the sequence generator provides one bit of a word in the sequence , when a clock pulse is received . the sequence generator 17 is designed to receive clock pulses via an and gate 18 , thereby producing the sequence data signal csd whenever enabled by the signal cse . finally , the data signals are combined by an or gate 19 in order to produce a transmission signal tx in compliance with the required transmission standard . the operation of the embodiment of fig1 and the programming of its memory is now considered in greater detail . by way of example , consider a transmission standard which is specified by an 8 - bit frame in which the first bit is a frame synchronization bit , the following 6 bits are reserved for receiving a sequence , and the last bit is provided for multiframe synchronization , where a multiframe contains two frames . for frame synchronization , the synchronization bits are always at the low level , whereas for multiframe synchronization , the first frame of the multiframe has a high level synchronization bit and the second frame has a low level bit . in order to provide data in compliance with the above norm , the memory 10 is programmed as follows : ______________________________________ cmfe cfe cfd cseaddress d0 d1 d2 d3 d4______________________________________0 0 0 1 0 01 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 17 0 1 0 0 08 0 0 1 0 09 0 0 0 0 110 0 0 0 0 111 0 0 0 0 112 0 0 0 0 113 0 0 0 0 114 0 0 0 0 115 1 1 0 1 0______________________________________ fig2 is a timing diagram relating to the operation of the fig1 embodiment with its memory programmed in the manner shown above . the timing diagram shows that bit 1 of the resulting signal tx contains the frame synchronization bit ( 0 ), bits 2 to 7 contain an inserted sequence word , and bit 8 contains a multiframe sychronization bit ( 0 ). bit 9 contains the frame sychronization bit ( 0 ) for the second frame , bits 10 to 15 contain a sequence word , and bit 16 contains a multiframe sychronization bit ( 1 ). when the counter reaches 15 , the high value of d0 causes a reset to zero pulse to appear , thereby causing addressing to recommence so that bit 16 is followed cyclically by bit 1 , and so on . a data signal is thus obtained in compliance with the specified transmission standard . if it is necessary to obtain a data signal produced in compliance with a different transmission standard , then the memory can be reprogrammed . for example , if the frame sychronization bits should be high level bits , then the memory can be programmed with high level bits in d3 at addresses 0 and 8 . for more complex multiframe structures , a sychronization code is specified rather than the single bits of the simple example above . this may be achieved directly by programming the appropriate sychronization pulse ( cmfe or cfe ) so that it is at the high level over the entire length of the code and by programming the code itself in appropriate data positions ( cfd ). in the above example , if frame sychronization were to be extended from one bit to three bits , bit d2 in positions 0 , 1 , and 2 would be programmed to high level , and bit d3 would be programmed with the code in the same positions . the manner in which the other positions would need to be reprogrammed and the shifting of the high level in d0 from address 15 to address 19 are apparent to the person skilled in the art . other codes , e . g . multiframe header codes , may be inserted in the signal cfd . the signals cfe , cmfe , cse , and any other enabling signals are provided as output signals to enable an interface to be made with other equipment , e . g . a disturbance generator . these signals constitute clock signals of controlling an equipment capable of responding directly to sychronization pulses and to sequence enable signals . in an additional embodiment of the invention ( fig3 ), a memory device 30 is addressed incrementally by a counter 31 driven by a clock 32 . the counter is reset to zero by data bit zero of the memory 30 in order to obtain cyclic incremental addressing . output bits d1 to d9 are applied to a set of latches 34 with the clock input thereto being driven by the output from the base clock 32 . the set of latches 34 is designed to load on a positive going edge of clock 32 so that the output signals from the set of latches are stable throughout each clock period . the output bits from the memory device 30 represent control signals which are data signals or enable signals . in a manner analogous to that described with reference to the embodiment of fig1 the signal cse controls the application of clock pulses to a sequence generator 324 via an and gate 325 . the output signal csd from the sequence generator is combined with the programmed frame sychronization data signal cfd so as to obtain the desired binary pattern signal cseq . in the above - described embodiment , the data bit output signals which constitute the control signals are designated as follows : ______________________________________d0 reset counterd1 multiframe sychronization enable cmfed2 frame sychronization enable cfed3 frame sychronization data cfdd4 sequence generator enable csed5 parity generator enable cpe1d6 parity generator stop cpe2d7 alarm generator enable cae1d8 alarm generator control cae2d9 alarm generator control cae3______________________________________ it may be observed that with this structure is it possible to produce signals in compliance with any telecommunications standard , including forcing start , stop , and parity bits to certain values , if so desired . it may be observed that the embodiment of the invention described above is programmable to comply with any standard which exists and with virtually any standard that might be devised . in particular , this embodiment directly provides signals controlling an alarm generator 320 , a disturbance generator 321 , and a parity generator 322 . the alarm generator 320 may be controlled by the three control / enable signals cae1 , cae2 , and cae3 which are produced therefor . in accordance with common practice , the control signals comprise a timing signal ( cae1 ), i . e . a signal which marks the place in the sequence where data is to be inserted , and set high and set low signals ( cae2 and cae3 respectively ) which produce a pulse whenever data is to be high or low , respectively . in addition , the alarm generator 320 responds to an external input signal ext which specifies whether the bits are to be inserted or not . it may be observed that the alarm generator can be used to insert bits at any point in the binary pattern , as may be required . inserted bits or alarms are typically used for triggering events in the receiving or monitoring equipment . alarms may consist in a single bit ( at high level or at low level ) at a designated position in the frame , in a repetitive pattern within the frame , or in a pattern which is set bit by bit in designated positions over a plurality of frames . for example , in an 8 - bit frame in which bit zero is reserved for alarm purposes , an alarm could be defined by the sequence 1010 . in order to insert such an alarm , bit d7 ( cae1 ) would be programmed to produce the signal shown in fig4 . the alarm generator produces an output signal high ( set high bit ) and an output signal low ( set low bit ) which are combined with the binary pattern signal cseq by an or gate 327 and an and gate 326 so as to produce the desired binary pattern signal ( cseq &# 39 ;). typically , an alarm may be a predetermined sequence inserted one bit at a time over 15 multiframes . the other bits , d8 , cae2 , and d9 , cae3 are used for producing other alarms . the disturbance generator 321 which may be configured as known in the art , is used to inject errors into the signal which is produced by inverting the state of a bit or by maintaining a bit in the low state ( in order to simulate signal loss ). such a generator is typically capable of producing &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; consecutive errors every &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; bits , with 1 ≦ n ≦ 250 and n ≦ m ≦ 1 × 10 7 . in addition to receiving the data signal cseq , the generator receives the multiframe , the frame , and the sequence sychronization signals cmfe , cfe , and cse , thereby making it possible to produce errors solely in the frame bits , or in the multiframe bits , if so desired . it has an output which controls one of the inputs of an exclusive - or gate 328 whose other input receives the non - disturbed binary sequence as generated cseq &# 39 ;, with the gate 328 thus providing the disturbed sequence signal cseq &# 34 ;. the parity generator 322 serves to produce a four - bit checksum ( for example ) during each half multiframe , and then to insert these four bits in appropriate predetermined positions in the following half multiframe . in a telecommunications link , a similar generator would be present at the receiving end and the checksums would be compared after extracting the appropriate bits . in order to control this known form of parity generator , the memory 30 is programmed on bits d5 and d6 so as to produce control signals cpe1 and cpe2 indicating the bit positions at the end of respective ones of the half multiframes . for example , for a multiframe of length m ( fig5 ) as marked by a reset pulse 40 provided by memory data bit d0 , the positions of the corresponding checksum bits could be p1 , p2 , p3 , and p4 . bit d5 ( cpe1 ) is then programmed so as to produce a pulse at each of these bit positions , while bit d6 ( cpe2 ) is programmed to mark the beginning of each sequence of bit positions . in addition , the generator 321 receives the non - disturbed binary sequence signal cseq so as to be able to form the checksum . the parity generator 321 delivers a pulse on its low output each time that a parity bit is to be inserted at low level , and it provides a pulse on its high output each time a parity bit is to be inserted at high level . the signals from the high and low outputs are combined with the binary pattern signal ( cseq &# 39 ;) by or gate 330 and and gate 329 in order to provide the desired binary pattern signal tx ( cseq &# 34 ;&# 39 ;). it may be observed in addition that the embodiment may easily be programmed on the basis of the length of any arbitrary component of the data stream and its content . to enable control of an external sequence generator , the signals cmf ( multiframe synchronization ), cf ( frame synchronization ), ct ( start code ), cp ( stop code ), p ( parity code ), mf ( multiframe header ), h ( frame header ), and cseq ( sequence generator clock ) are applied to respective corresponding outputs . although the system may be programmed by fixing data in a read only memory ( rom ) constituting the device 30 , and the system may be reprogrammed by exchanging roms , the stability of the data means that the memory address bus 308 and the data bus 309 are free during the clock period . it is therefore possible to use a read / write memory ( ram ) for the memory device 30 and it may be programmed and reprogrammed during the clock periods . to this end , a controller is used for taking charge of the data buses 308 and 309 each time a reprogramming operation is to be performed . controller operation is synchronized on the base clock by line 311 . in order to reprogram , data defining the new standard to be followed is initially assembled in a memory of the controller in the form of a table of data as a function of address , i . e . in a form analogous to the data table described above by way of example . when the data at a given address is different from the data presently at that address in the ram 30 , the data bus outputs 312 of the controller are set to values corresponding to the address to be changed . this address is latched in a set of address latches 313 under the effect of a clock signal ( address write ) which the controller 310 applies to the clock input of the set of address latches . the data bus outputs 312 of the controller are then set to values corresponding to the data required in the ram 30 at the address which has just been latched in the set of address latches 313 . the data is latched in similar manner in a set of data latches 314 by a &# 34 ; write data &# 34 ; signal . once the data has been latched , the controller 310 applies a write ram signal to input we ( write enable ) 315 of the ram 30 . under the effect of this signal , the data present in the set of data latches 314 is loaded into the ram 30 at the address latched in the set of address latches 313 . it may be observed that any other address containing data that does not match the newly - required standard may be changed in similar manner in order to reprogram the ram 30 to comply with the new standard . to complete the description of the present embodiment , it may be observed that during normal operation , the write ram signal holds the clock output data in the active state on the address bus 308 via its enable input 317 , and similarly inhibits data in the set of address latches 313 via an inverter 316 . the outputs of the set of data latches 314 are isolated in similar manner from the data bus 309 to enable the ram 30 to control the bus . conversely , during reprogramming , the memory 30 is inhibited by the signal present on its input we . the controller 310 receives the clock signal 311 to ensure that reprogramming does not take place during a clock transition instant . if so desired , reprogramming may be synchronized on multiframe reset by taking account of the signal at controller input 318 . the controller 310 may include a user interface itself programmed to collect user instructions and to provide the required control signals as described above . the controller may be constituted by a microcomputer system and the person skilled in the art will readily be able to perform the programming and interface functions required by the system . naturally the generator described and shown may be modified in numerous ways without going beyond the scope of the invention .
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referring to fig1 is shown a block diagram showing a portion of an electrical power circuit within a hybrid powered vehicle . the hybrid powered vehicle may any hybrid powered vehicle which includes a high voltage charge storage device such as ( hv ) battery 12 a . the hv battery 12 a may be used for powering an electric drive motor ( traction motor ) in the hybrid vehicle and may be used for providing power to start an engine , such as an internal combustion or diesel engine . for example , the high voltage ( hv ) battery 12 a may operate in a range of form about 200 to about 400 volts dc . it will be appreciated that other charge storage devices including capacitors and ultra - capacitors , as are known in the art , may be used in place of a high voltage ( hv ) battery or low - voltage ( lv ) battery according to the present invention . the hybrid vehicle includes solar collection means 14 , which may be solar panels attached and positioned on the vehicle in any convenient manner or may be solar collection means incorporated into the exterior facing portions of the vehicle such as the vehicle body or windshields . for example , collection means ( solar panels ) 14 collect electrical charge upon exposure to solar energy which is then transferred by conventional wiring means to a power transfer electronic circuit including a power / voltage converter 16 a which may be connected to ( e . g ., wired connection 21 d ) or have incorporated therein a programmable charge controller 16 b . the power / voltage converter 16 a accepts an input voltage from the solar panels , for example , through inputs 18 a , 18 b ( positive and negative terminals ). the power / voltage converter 16 a is further in communication with the charge controller ( 16 b ). the power / voltage converter 16 a outputs the voltage , for example through outputs 20 a , 208 according to a predetermined programmed voltage , where one of the terminals ( e . g ., 20 a ) of the voltage output ( e . g ., positive voltage ) is connected to a selected input ( e . g ., a , b , c , d , e ) including auxiliary power circuits ( e . g ., c , d , e ) or an hv battery ( a ) wired in parallel with respect to the power / voltage converter . an electrical circuit switching means 22 , included in the power transfer electronic circuit , is in communication with charge controller 16 b ( e . g ., wired connection 21 c ) and may be used to selectively connect a voltage output ( e . g ., 20 a ) to one of the inputs ( e . g ., a , b , c , d , e ). the circuit switching means 22 may be a conventional relay switching device capable of multiplexed switching controlled by charge controller 168 . for example the switching means 22 is capable of connecting an output of the voltage converter ( e . g ., 20 a ) to an input of the lv battery 12 b ( terminal b ) where the voltage source to the power / voltage converter is the solar collection means 14 . in addition , the switching means may operate terminal b as an output of the lv battery 12 b which is then also connected to an input of the power / voltage converter 16 a ( e . g ., 20 c ) by connection of terminal f with terminal b and where the switching means 22 additionally connects the output of the power / voltage converter 20 a to the input terminal of the hv battery 12 a , or to one of the input terminals of the auxiliary power systems 12 c , 12 d , 12 e ( i . e ., terminals c , d , e ). it will be appreciated that the power / voltage converter 16 a may operate to control the output voltage of the lv battery 12 a to match a determined voltage input of the hv battery 12 a or an input of one of the auxiliary power systems . the other terminal of the voltage output ( e . g ., 20 b ) as well as the hv battery , lv battery and auxiliary power circuits associated with the hybrid vehicle electrical system are connected to ground potential 24 . by selecting one of the inputs ( a , c , d , e ) to connect the output voltage ( e . g ., 20 a ) by switching means 22 , one of multiple auxiliary power circuits e . g ., 12 c , 12 d , 12 e , or the hv battery 12 a , the lv battery 128 may be used to provide power at a selected voltage through the power / voltage converter 16 a . in addition , the lv battery 128 or the hv battery 12 a may be powered by voltage from the power / voltage converter 16 a where the voltage source for the power / voltage converter 16 a is the solar panels 14 or other plug - in power source ( not shown ). in a preferred embodiment , when the circuit switching means 22 is connected to one of multiple auxiliary power circuits e . g ., 12 c , 12 d , 12 e , ( terminals c , d , e ) or the hv battery 12 a ( terminal a ), the power from the power / voltage converter 16 a is provided at a selected operating voltage from the lv battery 12 b ( by connecting terminal b to terminal f ). when the output of the power / voltage converter 20 a is connected to the input to the lv battery ( through terminal b ; terminal f open ), the power source for the power / voltage converter 16 a is the solar collection means , e . g ., solar panels 14 , where the solar charge is transferred to and accumulated by the lv battery 123 . the power / voltage converter 16 a may be a conventional , bidirectional device that is capable of converting the power supplied by a power source ( e . g ., lv battery or solar charge collectors ) into a voltage that is compatible with the requirements of the system loads , e . g . hv battery , cooling devices , resistive heating devices , and auxiliary power requirements . specifically , the power / voltage converter 16 a converts the voltage and current supplied by the power source ( e . g ., output of lv battery or solar charge collector ) to levels that match the voltage to the system load requirements . in addition , power / voltage converter converts the charge collected by the solar collection means into an output voltage compatible for charging the lv battery when the output of the voltage / power converter is connected to the input of the lv battery . for example , the hv battery 12 a preferably is equipped with a conventional state - of - charge ( soc ) sensor 22 a which in turn is in communication with the charge controller 16 b ( e . g ., wired connection 21 a ) to provide a soc value of the hv battery to the charge controller 16 b . the relative amount of power stored in a battery is often referred to as its “ state - of - charge ” ( soc ), i . e . the amount of stored energy expressed as a percentage of the battery pack &# 39 ; s total ampere - hour capacity . in order to efficiently charge and discharge , the battery ( or other charge storage device ) may be maintained within a charge range known as an soc window that is adequate to meet the power requirements of the power system in which the battery is utilized . if the charge controller determines that the hv battery 12 a is at less than full charge ( e . g ., 55 to 60 %) or less than a preprogrammed charge level ( below an soc window ), the charge controller 16 a may be pre - programmed to recharge the hv battery from power provided by the lv battery e . g ., by selecting input terminal a according to circuit switching means 22 which connects voltage output 20 a to hv battery input a and sets the output voltage to an appropriate charge voltage corresponding to the voltage of the hv battery , e . g ., from about 200 to 400 volts dc . when there is no demand for power from the hv battery ( the soc is at full charge or greater than a pre - programmed charge level ) and no demand for power from the auxiliary power circuits e . g ., cooling circuit ( e . g ., fan ) 12 c , heating circuit 12 d , or auxiliary charging circuit 12 e , the circuit switching means 22 remains in a position where power / voltage converter output voltage 20 a is connected through terminal b , to the lv battery 12 b and where the power source is the solar collection means , e . g ., solar panels 14 , where the lv battery 12 b collects solar charge to a useable voltage level , for example sufficient to recharge the hv battery 12 a by connecting lv battery 12 b to hv battery 12 a through power / voltage converter 16 a including using circuit switching means 22 to select terminal a ( input for hv battery ). it will be appreciated that either or both the lv battery or hv battery may be recharged by separate plug - in voltage sources and that the charge controller 16 b may control the power / voltage converter 16 a output 20 a to supply solar charge to the hv battery from the solar collection means 14 rather than from the lv battery 12 b . the lv battery 12 b is also preferably equipped with a soc sensor 22 b which is in communication ( e . g ., wired connection 21 b ) with charge controller 16 b . the charge controller 16 b may be preprogrammed to determine whether there is a sufficient charge in the lv battery to accomplish a charging function of the hv battery . if there is insufficient charge in the lv battery to charge the hv battery , the charge controller 16 b may be pre - programmed to engage switching means 22 to allow the lv battery 12 b to be recharged by solar collection means 14 or a plug - in charge source to a pre - programmed charge level to the exclusion of other power demands . alternatively , the lv battery may power the auxiliary power circuits under special circumstances ( e . g ., the vehicle is being operated or manual override by vehicle operator / occupant ). it will be appreciated that the charge controller 16 b in cooperation with the power / voltage converter 16 a and lv battery 12 b may provide power to the hv battery 12 a through either pre - programmed instructions or in combination with a specialized electrical circuit ( e . g ., boost circuit ) to enable control of a voltage output ( e . g ., from lv battery through power / voltage converter ) to the hv battery to accomplish the charging function quickly and safely . for example , the charge controller 16 b together with the power / voltage converter 16 a and lv battery 12 b may begin to charge the hv battery at a selected output voltage level depending on the soc of the hv battery and then follow a pre - programmed voltage output level depending on the subsequent soc of the hv battery during charging . in addition , it will be appreciated that the boost circuit and / or charge controller may be operated by manual override by operator / occupant interaction , for example , when the soc of the hv battery is too low to start the engine , manual override by activating the boost circuit and / or charge controller may be immediately effectuated by the operator / occupant ( e . g ., from within the vehicle ) to provide an emergency boost ( charge ) from the lv battery to the hv battery ( e . g ., emergency charge and startup ). it will be appreciated that normally , recharging the hv battery by the charge controller 16 b together with the power / voltage converter 16 a and lv battery 12 b is automatically effected according to the pre - programmed charge controller when the hv battery falls below a predetermined charge level , including when the vehicle is not being operated . the lv charge storage device such as lv battery 12 b may be what is nominally referred to in the art as a 12 volt battery . it will be appreciated that the lv battery may have a range of output voltages depending on the soc , e . g ., including from 9 up to about 15 volts . for example , the charge controller 16 b may be pre - programmed to provide a selected output voltage from the power / voltage converter where the charge source is the solar panels 14 and / or where the lv battery is connected ( through the power / voltage converter ) to the auxiliary power circuits at a predetermined voltage level . in addition , the charge controller 16 b may be pre - programmed to control the power / voltage converter 16 a to produce an output voltage from solar collection means at a selected voltage level for the most efficient charging of the lv battery , depending on the soc of the lv battery as determined by soc sensor 22 b . for example , a voltage of 13 . 7 dc volts may be output from the power / voltage converter 16 a to lv battery 12 b where the power source is the solar panels to accumulate solar charge in the lv battery or from the lv battery to power the auxiliary power circuits . it will be appreciated that the charge controller 16 b may be pre - programmed to selectively provide charge from the solar collection means to the lv battery or hv battery to accumulate solar charge , or provide power ( charge ) from the lv battery to the hv battery or auxiliary power circuits according to a variety of priority based decision logic trees including overriding manual operation ( e . g ., from operator control panels ) by a vehicle operator . for example , the decision logic tree may be constructed to give priority to charging the hv battery ( assuming a sufficient charge exists in the lv battery ) to the exclusion of all other power demands . alternatively , or in addition , manual interaction by a vehicle operator from a control panel may override such pre - programmed instructions . for example , in the case the lv battery charge level falls below a pre - programmed lower charge value , the charge controller may be programmed to exclude ( ignore ) power demands from the lv battery until the lv battery is recharged to a predetermined lower charge level by the solar collection means and / or plug - in charging sources . when the lv battery charge level is above the programmed lower charge level , there may be an intermediate range of charge level values where auxiliary power circuits or hv battery power demands may be met under special circumstances , e . g ., the vehicle is being operated and / or a manual override interaction ( e . g ., emergency hv charge to start vehicle ) is effected by a vehicle operator / occupant . when the lv battery charge level is above the intermediate range of charge level values , priority may be given to charging the hv battery , if required , as well as secondarily operating auxiliary power demands in the absence of a manual override interaction ( e . g ., emergency hv charge to start vehicle ) by a vehicle operator / occupant . for example , referring to fig2 is shown an exemplary pre - programmed decision logic for operating the charge controller 16 a to control output voltage from the power / voltage converter 16 b . if the hv battery is at less than full charge then : thus , in the exemplary decision logic tree shown in fig2 , charging the hv battery has the highest priority , recharging the lv battery has the next highest priority , and operation of auxiliary power systems ( e . g ., heating or cooling the vehicle ) has the next highest priority based on a sensed vehicle condition . it will be appreciated that other decision trees may be provided as discussed above . thus , a hybrid vehicle charging / auxiliary power system and method has been presented that provides solar charging of an auxiliary charge storage device such as an lv battery which can then be used to ensure that a second charge storage device such as an hv traction battery is fully charged prior to or at the start of operation of a hybrid vehicle , thus ensuring enough power is always available to start the hybrid vehicle . an additional advantage provided by the present invention , is that the auxiliary lv battery may be used to power auxiliary systems without the consequential concern that the lv battery will be discharged to the detriment of starting and driving the hybrid vehicle . while the embodiments illustrated in the figures and described above are presently preferred , it should be understood that these embodiments are offered by way of example only . the invention is not limited to a particular embodiment , but extends to various modifications , combinations , and permutations as will occur to the ordinarily skilled artisan that nevertheless fall within the scope of the appended claims .
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referring to the drawings , it is possible to observe the major elements and general operation of the present invention . left and right references are used as a matter of convenience and are determined by standing at the rear of the forage harvester and facing the forward end in the normal direction of travel . likewise , forward and rearward are determined by normal direction of travel of the tractor or round baler . upward or downward orientations are relative to the ground or operating surface . horizontal or vertical planes are also relative to ground . in fig1 is shown the feeder device ( 1 ) of a forage harvester with a chopping device ( 2 ) arranged on it in a perspective view from the front and the right , on which the spring system in accordance with the invention is implemented . fig2 conveys a direct side view of its left side without the chopping device ( 2 ). the feeder device ( 1 ) has two upper feeder rollers , which according to the direction of flow of the crop are designated as the prepressing roller ( 3 ) and pressing roller ( 4 ). these are arranged opposite the front lower feeder roller ( 6 ), which is in bearing points at a fixed position in the casing ( 5 ) of the feeder device ( 1 ), and the rear lower feeder roller ( 7 ) in such a way that their distance from these can be varied . for this the pressing roller ( 4 ) with its bearing points ( 8 ) is held in the front ends of oscillating cranks ( 9 ), which with their rear ends carried in bearings on pivot bolts ( 10 ) fixed in the casing ( 5 ) of the feeder device ( 1 ) so that they can pivot . on both sides on the shaft ( 11 ) of the pressing roller ( 4 ) a connecting rod ( 12 ) engages with its rear end in bearings , in the front ends of which there are bearing points ( 13 ) located for the prepressing roller ( 3 ). a short formed part ( 14 ) attached to the oscillating crank ( 9 ) engages with a longer recess ( 15 ) incorporated into the connecting rod ( 12 ), which is depicted in the sectional view of fig7 as a detail . fig3 shows , how the prepressing roller ( 3 ) is raised up maximally by the crop and how through the location of the formed part ( 14 ) on one side of the recess ( 15 ) the pressing roller ( 4 ) is raised a bit without the influence of the crop . on the right side viewed in the direction of travel the connecting rod ( 12 ) is formed as a spur gear box ( 16 ), the central spur wheel of which is connected with a cardan shaft ( 17 ) so that it can be driven . the spring system for the upper feeder rollers is so constructed that on the bearing points ( 13 ) of the prepressing roller ( 3 ) a compression spring ( 18 ) formed as an external spring engages , into which a second compression spring ( 19 ) formed as an internal spring projects . both compression springs ( 18 ; 19 ) have an opposite direction of coiling and abut with their lower ends on a spring base ( 20 ), which is arranged so that it can swivel about a bolt ( 22 ) attached to the connecting rod ( 12 ) by means of a holding bracket ( 21 ). to the spring base ( 20 ) a guide rod ( 23 ) pointing essentially in a vertical direction is rigidly joined , on which the compression springs ( 18 ; 19 ) are located in a concentric arrangement . at the same time the longitudinal axis of the guide rod ( 23 ) lies very close to the central axis of the shaft ( 24 ) of the prepressing roller ( 3 ) or runs directly through it . the lengths of the external springs and of the internal springs are so chosen that the external spring in the lowest position of the prepressing roller ( 3 ) already abuts with its upper end on the upper edge of the casing ( 5 ) of the feeder device ( 1 ), whereas the upper end of the internal spring until then has still some free space . in order to explain the upper abutment refer to fig5 and 6 . here can be seen that first the external spring in fig5 and later also the internal spring as in fig6 abuts from below on a centering disc ( 25 ), which is welded onto the upper edge of the casing ( 5 ) and is surrounded by a sleeve ( 26 ) open below . the centering disc ( 25 ) has a central drilled hole , into which the upper end of the guide rod ( 23 ) is slid . the spring system applying the rolling force to the pressing roller ( 4 ) is in principle constructed the same as that for the prepressing roller ( 3 ), only with the difference that around the guide rod ( 27 ) there is only one single compression spring ( 28 ) analogous to the compression spring ( 18 ) functioning as an external spring for the prepressing roller ( 3 ), the rolling force of which in comparison with the spring package on the prepressing roller ( 3 ) amounts to only 15 to 35 percent . the lower stops for the position of the prepressing roller ( 3 ) and of the pressing roller ( 4 ) in their lowest position are formed from stop plates ( 29 ) fixed to the guide rods ( 23 ; 27 ), which fit closely with the interposition of rubber buffers ( 30 ) from above on the upper edge of the casing ( 5 ) of the feeder device ( 1 ). their position can be adjusted by changing the lower positions of the upper feeder rollers by means of lock nuts ( 31 ). the stop shoulders ( 32 ) fixed to the guide rods ( 23 ; 27 ) serve as upper stops for limiting the lift path of the prepressing roller ( 3 ) and of the pressing roller ( 4 ) in their uppermost position and fit closely from below on the centering disc ( 25 ) under the upper edge of the casing ( 5 ) of the feeder device ( 1 ). the development of the compression spring as an external spring which is already under a certain prestress in the lowest position of the prepressing roller , it is ensured that the second compression spring sticking into it lies protected from dirt and that as a result it also requires no additional space . the opposite direction of the coiling of the outer spring to that of the inner spring it is ensured that they cannot get hooked up in each other in any position . the placing of the lower support of the outer spring and the inner spring as close as possible to the central axis of the shaft of the prepressing roller , in that through it the common roll force presses directly and exclusively on the prepressing roller . through the shorter inner spring it is in addition to be noted , that with smaller layer thicknesses also only a small roll force is exerted only by the outer spring on the crop , which is completely sufficient and as a result the crop is not damaged in any way . with higher layer thicknesses on the other hand , then very high common roll forces are available , which are urgently needed in this region of the lifting path . the lower stops for limiting the position of the prepressing roller and of the pressing roller are located in their lower positions above the upper edge the casing of the feeder device , as a result of which both rollers hang on their guide rods and the lower stops themselves lie in a relatively dirt - free space . rubber buffers cushion any possible impacts from a rapid upward motion of the upper feeder rollers . the invention has proved itself to implement the upper stops for limiting the position of the prepressing roller and the pressing roller in their uppermost positions through the guide rods themselves , in that each one is equipped with stop collar , which bears from below upon centering discs beneath the upper edge of the casing of the feeder device . it is seen in that for a pressing roller with its bearing point points in oscillating cranks and on it connecting rods connected forwards for the bearings of the prepressing roller a facility is installed , which restricts somewhat the freely movable angular area between the oscillating crank and the connecting rod for the avoidance of blockages . in this way it is ensured that the pressing roller cannot remain in its lowest position , if the prepressing roller is in its uppermost position and vice versa . for this a short - formed part is attached which engages in a longer recess in the connecting rod , which forms an upper and a lower stop . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification .
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reference will now be made in detail to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , an example which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the present invention . the hardware requirements of the preferred embodiment of this system are depicted in fig1 and 2 . a time code reader 10 , which in this embodiment is an optical time code reader , is capable of reading time codes from a show device 12 such as a film projector , show control computer or another media source . the media source may include analog and / or digital content and could be audio , video , and other information ( e . g ., force feedback parameters for tactile sensing ). a central processing unit ( cpu ) 14 receives the time code signal from the reader 10 and synchronizes the content with the film and / or presentation , which may be a movie screen 15 . examples of content are text captioning , language translation , games and / or other related applications . the central processing unit 14 has the capability to access and interpret the content . the content can reside in the internal memory of the central processing unit 14 and / or as a removable memory media . the cpu 14 will deliver the synchronized data to the infrared ( ir ) emitters 16 , which are capable of delivering ir messages or control data to a portable device 18 , which may be operated either in an indoor or outdoor environment . alternatively , a low - powered licensed and / or non - licensed radio frequency ( rf ) system can also be used to deliver the synchronized data to the portable device via an rf signal . fig2 depicts an rf receiver 24 and rf transmitter 22 , which interact with a portable rf capable device 18 to achieve the same results as the ir system previously described . the portable display device 18 has sufficient memory to allow storage of all data to be presented . all required data may be transmitted to the device 18 in one session for display at predetermined times after receipt of a start signal , or the data may be transmitted in a plurality of sessions for display in real time . the stored data may be displayed in its entirety , or a portion of the data may be displayed . the device 18 includes infrared ports capable of receiving and / or emitting infrared messages . messages emitted from the portable display device 18 are read by one or more ir detectors 19 . in an alternative embodiment , the device 18 could also contain rf receiver and / or transmitter ports capable of receiving and transmitting rf messages . the portable device 18 will receive the ir or rf signal and convert the signal to information that can be stored and / or displayed in sync with the presentation . the device 18 may also contain the capability to receive and play audio such as for assistive listening and / or audio language translations , or program material specific to the presentation . the system could also recognize show / presentation start and / or end signals . the system could then transmit random and / or synchronized information to the patrons possessing a device . this will allow the patrons to interact with the device while waiting for the show / presentation to start or after the show / presentation has ended . one possible application of the invention is depicted in fig3 . in this application , time code information is read by the cpu 14 , which then accesses on board content , and delivers the synchronized data to the infrared emitters 16 , which are in turn capable of delivering ir messages . a portable device 24 receives the ir messages and converts the ir messages to presentable data . in this instance , the ir receiver 19 is a modification to an existing device such as a pda ( for example , a palm type device ) and / or a pocket pc ( for example , a compaq ipaq ) that can store and / or immediately display the data . the ir receiver takes the ir signal from the emitter and translates it to an electronic signal for the serial port 22 of the pda and / or pocket pc . a terminal software program converts the electronic signal into data that is presented as text on the display screen 26 . this invention may be adapted for uses such as text captioning and language translation in movie or live theaters , consumer products which can provide an interactive experience , and to provide a wireless link for control signals to equipment , devices or products which are used in public presentations . another application of the invention is depicted in fig4 . in this application , a combination of rf transmitter 30 and ir emitters 31 broadcast data to portable devices 33 . the portable devices have both rf and ir receivers . the rf data stream contains encrypted caption text , digitized audio , and control data for one theater 34 or multiple venues . each theater or venue has one or more ir emitters that send small amounts of data to synchronize the portable device playback to user position or the theater presentation . an emitter mounted outside one theater &# 39 ; s entrance may send an identifying code that the portable device uses to identify that theater . the device then extracts data from the rf stream for that theater &# 39 ; s content , and loads the content into the device &# 39 ; s memory . content may include theater name , show times , show synopses , as well as the text and audio for an upcoming show . when the user enters the theater , the device receives ir synchronizing codes for the current show , and the device displays caption text , or play audio , or otherwise synchronize device functions during the show . the ir synchronizing codes are derived from the show media as described earlier . [ 0029 ] fig5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the basic structure of the data packet stream sent by the high - speed transmitters . the figure shows a possible broadcast packet stream of theater show content for three theaters , along with data packets of ancillary information such as theater show schedules and current date and time . the broadcast packet stream contains small groups of data ( packets ) that contain a small amount of content that will be received by the user devices and , if needed , will be loaded into the user devices local memory . the logical state of each user device determines which packets are loaded into a particular user device . for example , user devices that are in theater a would receive and store content for theater a , but ignore content for theaters b and c . all user devices would receive the current time packet , and use the time data to reset the user device clock . any user device in front of theater a , b , or c would receive and store the theaters &# 39 ; schedule data . the example packets in the figure show content broken into one - second fragments . so a captioning device in theater a would receive the caption text packet for the 1st second of the show , caption text packet for the 2nd second , etc . each second of content would be loaded into device memory for access during the show . a large number of individual packet types are possible , each containing different data such as caption text , audio content , video content , graphics , images , time , schedules , menus , geographical information , game content , survey questions , advertising , warnings , alerts , etc . each data packet ( refer to examples caption text , audio content , current time packets in fig5 ) always starts with a unique header value that signifies the start of a new data packet . the data packet also contains a count value that is used to indicate the amount of following data in the packet . the count is used to validate the packet and calculate a checksum . the encryption data represents key and authentication information . this , and the checksum , enables the user device to verify that following data in the packet is intended for the device and that the data has not been corrupted . corresponding key and authentication information are loaded into the user device . the message type value defines the content data in the packet . based on the message type , the user device will determine how to decode the packet data , where to store the data , how and when to use the data . for example , warning text may be immediately displayed ; show caption text may be buffered in device memory until an ir synchronizing code triggers that caption text display . menu or schedule information may be buffered in device memory until the user requests it . the address value designates an identifier for a receiving device . this may be a unique address , so the packet is intended for only one user device . or , the address may specify a block of user devices , such as all captioning devices , or all game devices . or , the address may denote the packet as a generic broadcast sent to all devices . the optional start time value acts as a packet sequence number , but may also be used by the receiving user device to define when the packet content is used . as packets are received , the user device will buffer content into its memory in sequence based on start time . as the user device receives synchronizing codes , it will pull content from the sequential memory or search memory for the content with appropriate start time . additional information such as caption text data with formatting codes , digitized audio content , and current time and frame information are included in the data packet stream . there is a checksum information that uses a combination of all the preceding data to verify that the packet has arrived at its location in its entirety . [ 0040 ] fig6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portable user device in accordance with the present invention . all portable devices have the common elements of an ir receiver 50 , rf receiver 60 , ir transmitter 51 , rf transmitter 61 , processor 52 , memory 54 , and power source 56 . other elements of the devices vary depending on intended applications . in this exemplary embodiment , the portable device has both a display 53 for displaying text and / or graphics , in addition to an audio amplifier 57 for playing sounds , which may be in the form of speech or musical tones . memory 54 is where the data is stored on the device . the ir receiver 50 receives a code from the wireless transmitter , and processor 52 analyzes the code . the processor 52 interprets the code to determine how to handle it . if the code is intended for that device , the device searches its memory 54 for content corresponding to the code . the content is then displayed on display 53 and / or plays sound through the audio amplifier 57 . the portable device shown in fig5 also shows user inputs 55 , such as pushbuttons , which may be used for interactive applications . the high - speed rf transceiver system could be used to transfer content to the portable device , while the ir tranceiver system may be used to precisely aim location synchronizing codes to the portable device . [ 0041 ] fig7 is a flowchart that shows how received data packets are handled by the user device . after the device is powered on , it is capable of receiving data packets from both ir and rf receivers . the device also monitors user inputs that may come from pushbuttons , touch screen , speech input , assistive devices , etc . the device also periodically reads its clock , and searches its event database memory for preloaded events set to trigger at the current time . either receiver may recognize an incoming packet . any packet that contains timing errors , corrupted data , cannot be authenticated , etc . will be ignored . a packet that has correct bit timing , correct header , can be authenticated , can be decrypted , and has a correct checksum will be marked as valid . a valid packet will be compared with the user device configuration , so that only appropriate packets will be used . for example , a user device that displays caption text , but has no audio capability , may be configured for text only . that device would ignore packets containing audio content . the packet message type determines how the device will use the packet data . the packet may contain content such as caption text , audio , or video that is buffered in the user device content database memory for future use . other data , such as an urgent text alert message , may be sent to the device display immediately . data such as location and time synchronizing codes may cause the device to search its content database memory , extract the content , and present the content . current time data may cause the device to reset its internal clock . event time data will be placed in the device &# 39 ; s content database memory , and will be acted on when the internal clock matches the event time . special effect data may cause the user device to buzz , ring , animate , etc . the user device may have some number of user inputs available . these may take the form of pushbuttons , touch - screen soft buttons , touch - screen menus , speech input , assistive device such as a breath - operated puff switch , etc . the user may set preferences , such as points of interest , types of movies , age , educational level , etc . the device may use these manually entered preferences , along with learned preferences , to alter the presentation of content . for example , a child &# 39 ; s device may be set to display captions using a small english vocabulary . as the child carries the device from location to location in a museum , the device may also “ learn ”, or infer , the child &# 39 ; s preference for a certain type of display . the device may also learn a user &# 39 ; s direction of travel , and therefore predict or suggest future destinations . for example , after walking down a hallway towards north , the device may alert the user that the hallway will end , and a turn to the east or west is necessary . furthermore , the learned direction , along with any learned and manually entered user preferences , may cause the device to deduce a preference for an exhibit that is to the east of the hallway end . the portable device may automatically infer user preferences from use of the device based on the current location of the user device , the time elapsed at a location , path history ( i . e . geographic walking history ) of locations visited , and the time elapsed between locations ( i . e . walking speed ). user inputs may also be assigned to device hardware functions . for example , an input pushbutton may cause an ir transmitter to send a code to an adjacent device . such code may identify the user to another user , or identify the user to an automated device , network , etc . one code may cause a door to open , for example , or allow interaction with a game system , etc . the user device may present content based on internal logic and its internal clock , without receiving data packets . for example , text captions may appear at a predefined time of day to remind a user of venue show times , closing time , or remind the user of medication needed , etc . further , such time events may be logically constrained by the learned and manually entered user preferences . for example , a restaurant closing time may not be displayed because the user has walked away from the restaurant . in closing it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are illustrative of the principals of the invention . other modifications may be employed which are within the scope of the invention . accordingly , the present invention is not limited to that precisely as is shown and described in the present specification .
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the invention provides a fully testable , small scale , on - chip rom ( read only memory ) implementation in combination with a digital video decoder in a functional environment where lssd shift register loading is not practical . in stuck fault testing ( which occurs after a chip has been fabricated ) predefined data pattern sequences are driven into physically accessible probe points and the outputs are repeatedly measured and compared against a predicted output . the presence of a pull up or pull down resistor prevents stuck fault testing of the data path in which the resistors are located . this is a problem which our invention solves . the invention is described with respect to an 8 × 1 bit rom implementation that is part of an mpeg - 2 compliant digital video decoder , although it is , of course , to be understood that other and larger implementations are contemplated . the rom memory elements are implemented using an 8 bit register , with both positive and negative register outputs available for each bit . in the case of an 8 × 1 bit rom , a 3 bit address is required to select the appropriate bit to propagate to the rom output line . the rom address decoder and the selector multiplexor are conventional . the rom is built up of shift register latches . exemplary shift register latches are master - slave flip flops , for example , d flip flops . in the case of a master - slave d flip flop , l1 can be clocked and l2 can be slaved , to thereby capture the data . the rom register data inputs for each bit are fed by a standalone shift register , latch . the subsequent data port is fed by a single pull up resistor . the purpose of the single shift register latch is to buffer the multiple rom register data ports from the stuck fault error introduced by the pullup resistor . by feeding the pull up resistor to a single latch , instead of directly to the rom register , a reduction in untested stuck - faults from the number of rom bits to 1 is achieved . the actual rom pattern is programmed , e . g ., hardwired , into the circuit by feeding either the positive or negative register output of each rom register into the selector and multiplexor . after chip power on , the rom data will be valid following two complete system clock cycles . this is because it takes two clock cycles for the shift register latch to load &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; s into the data in ports of the 8 bit register . the 8 bit rom register is accessed by sending an address and obtaining the rom data from the selector . a service processor is not necessary to perform a scan to load data into the shift registers . if the two cycle lag from chip power on to when rom data is valid is not acceptable , the single shift register latch can be eliminated , and the pull - up resistor feeding the rom register data inputs moved to the next package level . the result will be a single clock cycle time lag before the data is valid . additionally , one remaining untestable stuck at fault will be eliminated . since the pullup resistors are on a different package level , the chip , prior to final assembly , can be checked without the pull - up resistors being present . if the implementation requires a zero lag before valid rom data , the further modification of connecting the rom register system clock and shift - b clock to the next package level pull - up resistors can be made . fig1 shows the overall circuitry of the rom portion 11 of the integrated circuit chip , 1 , with an eight bit register , 23 , a selector , 25 , a rom address decoder , 27 , and a rom output , 29 . an off - chip pullup resistor , 13 , is also shown . fig2 shows the rom circuitry , 11 , configured in test mode . the tester , 41 , can control the single bit shift register latch , 21 , to load either a logical zero or a logical one into the data latches , 23a to 23h , of the eight bit register , 23 . the tester , 41 , also has control of loading the eight bit register , 23 , with any combination of logical zeroes and ones to fully test the selector , 25 , that the register , 23 , feeds . it should be noted that in a true rom implementation neither the tester , 41 , nor the rom hardware would be able to do this . the true rom would only be capable of putting the specific combinations of logical zeroes and ones on its outputs that it contains . this would limit the ability to fully test the circuit that it feeds . since the tester , 41 , has the control to do this in the lssd implementation shown in fig2 it allows all of the circuitry contained in and around the rom , 11 , to be fully tested . fig3 shows the rom , 11 , in the functional mode . in the functional mode the single bit shift register , 21 , with its input latch tied to a voltage source , 51 , through the pull up resistor , 13 , is used to load the data bits of the eight bit register , 23 . by using either the non - inverting or the inverting outputs of the shift register latches of the eight bit register , 23 , the rom data that is needed can be created . according to the invention there is provided a one hundred percent stuck at fault testable implementation , with valid rom data available within two clock cycles after chip power on . the shift register latch rom of the invention is useful as an on - chip look - up table for an inverse discrete cosine transform ( idct ) mpeg - 2 compliant encoder or decoder , as shown in fig4 and 5 . fig4 shows the general internal data flow of the system to support the mpeg - 2 standard . specifically , the compressed , encoded data input 131 goes to a demultiplexer 141 where it is demultiplexed into two streams 151 and 161 . stream 161 goes to a variable length code ( vlc ) huffman decoder 171b for decoding , and to an inverse quantizer 181 for dequantizing . the dequantized code then goes to an inverse discrete cosine transform ( idct ) process 191 , where the dequantized code is transformed into a pixel mapping using the rom 11 of the invention as a look - up table for constants , divisors , multipliers , and coefficients . the second data stream 151 also goes through a variable length code ( vlc ) huffman decoder 171a where it is decoded into error functions 101 which go to a motion compensator 231 . the huffman decoders 171a and 171b are shown as logically separate and distinct , although they may structurally and electronically be the same element . the motion compensator 231 also receives a data stream derived from the first data stream 161 and the motion compensated data stream , summed in summer 241 . the output 251 of the summer 241 goes to the pixel bus ( not shown ) and to storage , i . e ., future frame storage 211 and past frame storage 221 . the contents of the future frame storage 211 and past frame storage 221 are , as appropriate , inputs to the motion compensator 231 . the decode unit 301 , shown with detail in fig5 consists of functional units that operate under the control of the decoder controller 401 and its associated instruction storage unit 402 . these decode functional units include the variable length code huffman decoder 311 , the inverse quantizer or dequantizer , 321 , the inverse discrete cosine transform unit , 331 , including associated rom , 11 , and rom controller , 12 , and the motion compensation unit , 341 . the decoder controller 401 is the central point of control for the decoder . the decoder controller 401 microcode is stored in an instruction storage unit 402 . the decoder controller 401 interacts with the host system through an external processor through the host or system bus for high level commands and status . the decoder controller 401 is responsible for the control and command of the other functional elements , as well as providing global synchronization of these units . the decoder controller 401 is coupled to the variable length code huffman decoder 311 . this enables parsing of the code stream . parsing of the code streams and processing of header information is done by the decoder controller 401 interacting with the vlc huffman decoder 311 . the variable length code huffman decoder 311 ( vlc ) contains tables for decoding the data stream and a local state machine that controls the decoding of run / level data for macroblocks . the vlc 311 is controlled by the decoder controller 401 as header information and block run / level symbols are passed from the compressed bit stream . a local state machine decodes the run / level symbols and interacts with the inverse quantizer 321 to process the decoded signals . to be noted is that variable length coding , e . g ., huffman coding , is a statistical coding technique that assigns codewords to symbols . symbols with a high probability of occurrence are assigned short codewords , while symbols with a low probability of occurrence are assigned longer codewords . the inverse quantizer 321 receives run / level ( run / amplitude ) coded symbols from the vlc unit 311 and outputs a block of 64 coefficients that are sent to the inverse discrete cosine transform unit 331 . the inverse quantizer 321 converts the run / level coded symbols to zeros and symbols , unzigs the data , handles differential pulse code modulation ( dpcm ) decoding for the discrete cosine coefficients , and dequantizes the data . the inverse discrete cosine transform unit 331 is a compute intensive element that uses certain coefficients , divisors , and multipliers repetitively in generating the inverse discrete cosine transform . these coefficients , divisors , and multipliers can be supplied by microcode or by the rom 11 . according to our invention they are supplied by the rom 11 . the rom is logically connected to the inverse discrete cosine transform unit through a memory controller 12 and the decoder controller 401 . while the invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments and exemplifications , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereby , but solely by the claims appended hereto .
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fig1 shows a cross section of a typical stator bar 10 for a large ac dynamoelectric machine . bar 10 is composed of a large number of insulated conductors such as 12 which are insulated from each other by the strand insulation 14 . the conductors 12 are formed into a group after having strand insulation 14 applied thereto to provide the necessary isolation . the top and bottom surfaces of the conductor group are filled with an insulating material 13 generally referred to as a transposition filler . the group of insulated conductors 12 are next wrapped with a groundwall insulation material 16 . the number of layers of insulating tape making up insulation may be from 7 to 16 layers of a mica tape insulation wound in half lap or wrapped fashion , depending on the level of operating voltage to which the conductors 12 are being subjected . for high voltage applications , that is for voltages above 4000 volts and , preferably 13 . 8 kv , the preferred groundwall insulation 16 would be layers of a composite mica tape comprising a corona discharge resistant polyimide bonded to a mica type paper tape . this tape provides a good layer of insulation , and because of its corona resistant properties , provides long service life because of the resistance to corona discharge . the mica paper composites and tapes used in these hybrid systems contain a high percentage of a semi - cured resin ( resin rich ) which may or may not contain a corona resistant material . the wrapped bar is heated and compressed , in an autoclave or press , to allow the resin to temporarily liquefy so as to evacuate any entrapped air and eliminate any voids . heat and pressure are maintained on the bar undergoing treatment so that the resin contained in the insulation is driven to gelation , bonding the insulation system together . the surface of the cured bar may next be coated with suitable materials to assure that the entire exposed surface of the bar will form an equipotential surface during machine operation . the cured bar manufactured with the tape types as described above will function acceptably well within the design parameters of the machine for a predetermined period of time . fig2 shows the cross section for a typical coil 10 b . in this instance , strands 12 b of copper ( six shown ) are grouped together so that although strands 12 are separated from each other by the presence of strand insulation 14 b , the six strands grouped into the turn , must be insulated from the other turns of the coil 10 b by means of turn insulation 15 b . the turn package is ultimately covered with groundwall insulation 16 b . fig3 a shows the cross section of a stator bar insulated in accordance with the teachings of this invention . here the conductor bundle is composed of individual conductors 22 separated by strand insulation 24 similar to that as previously shown in fig1 a . the conductor bundle is then wound with several layers of composite tape . each layer of composite tape will comprise a first inner layer 26 of insulation tape and a second insulation layer 28 of tape . these layers 26 , 28 of tape each have a predetermined thickness and different permittivities . in particular the permittivity of the first inner layer is greater then that of the permittivity of the outer most layer . it should also be understood that additional third or fourth layers of tape with reduced permittivity may be employed in the present invention . it should be understood that these inner and outer insulation layers may comprise layers of half lapped tape composed of a composite such as mica paper backed on a glass tape backing to form layer 28 . a suitable resin impregnant is present in the mica paper . this standard tape has an excellent voltage withstand capability . the groundwall insulation comprising layers 26 and 28 may be subjected to press curing or an autoclaving curing process to eliminate any voids in the insulation layers 26 and 28 and to subsequently drive the resin impregnant to gelation . suitable surface coatings may be applied to the external surface of insulation layer 28 before or after cure . fig3 b shows the composite groundwall insulation as it applies to coil 20 composed of three turns . in this instance , the copper conductors 22 b are surrounded by strand insulation 24 b . the turn insulation 25 b is applied to each turn and the initial layer of groundwall insulation 26 b containing the same constituents as layer 26 in fig3 a is applied . finally , the layer of outer groundwall insulation 28 b is applied . with the exception of the presence of the turn insulation 25 b , the insulation systems of fig3 a and 3b are very similar . referring now to fig4 there is shown a simplified drawing of the conductor 25 have including the inner insulation groundwall layer 26 and the second more outer insulation groundwall layer 28 also referred to as the first and second layers 26 , 28 . the first layer 26 has a permittivity which is chosen to be greater than that of the second layer 28 . in testing that has been done , an inner layer of tape insulation 26 was utilized having a permittivity of 6 . 5 . the permittivity of the second more outer insulating layer 28 was chosen to be 4 . 2 . the predetermined thickness of the layers was 0 . 096 inches or slightly less then 2 . 5 mm . the electric field profiles were determined at the corner shown in 40 and the flat at 42 . the result in measurement for fig4 is shown in graph number for fig6 . however , before discussing the graph for fig6 reference may be made to the graph for fig5 which relates to the insulation shown in fig1 . in fig5 it is shown that the profile for the electrical field at the corner 40 diminishes in a curved slope fashion given by curve 55 starting at approximately 4200 volts per mm and this gradually decreases to the 3 mm in thickness for this conductor insulation material . on the flat , the potential electric field is stable at approximately 2600 volts per mm . this is shown by curve 50 . accordingly , the insulation shown in fig1 has its weakest portion at the corner adjacent to the conductor where the electric field is the greatest and hence the insulation has its weakest portion . referring to fig6 the graph is shown for the conductor as shown in fig3 a and is compared with the graph of fig5 which is also provided on fig6 . the thickness of the two insulation systems 26 and 28 is shown . in graph 65 the maximum magnitude of the electric field is 4000 volts per mm as compared to about 4200 volts per mm in fig5 . however , the electric field profile decreases gradually along a curve until sharp step 68 where the second layer of insulation is formed at this juncture between layers 26 and 28 . thereafter the electric field diminishes again in a curved slopping manner . with respect to the electrical field profile across the flat 42 , distribution layer , this is shown at 60 and can be compared to profile 50 . hence the distribution of the electric field adjacent the conductor is less for both the flat and curved portions 42 and 40 and has a sharp graded step increase at 68 and then is greater then that for curves 50 and 55 respectively . the present invention however does provide for a reduction in the maximum magnitude of the electric field that the groundwall insulation must withstand . it should be understood that the electric field profile as shown in fig6 is for a winding of stator bars and that this electric field profile would be present with a step type function across the juncture of the first and second layer of insulation for stator coils and this pattern can repeat with the addition of subsequent or successive layers of insulation having lower permittivities in each succeeding layer . further , it should be noted that the thickness of the insulation system used in fig6 has been reduced significantly over that used in the prior art of fig5 . hence this reduction in insulation results in material cost savings . referring again to fig3 a and 3b , successive layers of insulation 80 and 82 are shown in ghost lines applied in succession over layer 28 in fig3 a and layer 28 b in fig3 b . these successive layers 80 , 82 if used , have declining permittivities for each layer applied further from the turn insulation 24 or groundwall insulation layers 26 , 28 . it is further envisaged that the inner and outer layers of insulation utilized in the present invention may comprise two tapes made from different types of mica having differing permittivities dependent upon and inherent in the choice of mica for the mica paper tape . the mica papers chosen for these tapes would be such that the difference in permittivities inherent to the mica itself would contribute to an overall resultant permittivity of each tape . in this manner , multiple tapes of differing permittivities can be utilized based on a singe basic tape construction and chemisty . the most common form of mica is muscovite that has a dielectric constant in the 6 to 8 range . another form of mica is phlogopite that has a dielectric constant in the 5 to 6 range . there are many different types of mica pairings from which to select the advantageous pairing of materials . the mica may be chosen from the following : anandite , annite , biotite , bityte , boromuscovite , celadonite , chemikhite , clintonite , ephesite , ferriannite glauconite , hendricksite , kinoshitalite , lepidolite , masutomilite , muscovite , nanpingite , paragonite , phlogopite , polylithionite , preiswerkite , roscoelite , siderophillite , sodiumphlogopite , taeniolite , vermiculate , wonesite , and zinnwaldite . it should be understood that alternative embodiments of the present invention may be readily apparent to a man skilled in the art in view of the above description for the preferred embodiments of this invention . for example , while the preferred embodiment relates to groundwall insulation , it is within the realm of the present invention that the turn insulation 24 of fig3 a surrounding conductor 22 may comprise the first inner layer of insulation and the second more outer layer may comprise the groundwall insulation layer 26 so long as the second layer 26 has a lower permittivity than the layer 24 . accordingly , the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the teachings of the preferred embodiments and should be limited to the scope of the claims that follow .
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by way of the physical - chemical properties of the initial materials ( tio 2 - anatase , stabilizers from the series b 1 , activators from the series b ), and through the selection of further additives and processing in the kneader according to the invention one can , in a given kneading mass , by means of empirical variation of the moisture content of the same during the kneading process , control the pore volume and the pore radii distribution . the pore radii distribution can be varied within wide limits in the meso - pore and macro - pore ranges , whereby mono -, bi -, and trimodal pore radii distributions as well as transition forms between them can be adjusted in a target - oriented manner . the correct selection of these parameters lead to a considerable increase in catalytic activity . pore distribution and the pore volume however also decisively influence the poisoning resistance and thus directly the catalyst life times . in this connection , the pk value of the solid surface assumes special weight . the pk value can change quite considerably in the catalyst according to the invention by virtue of the selection of the stabilizers or activators . here we must especially mention the use of heteropoly acids as activators and / or stabilizers . interestingly enough , it was found that especially catalysts , which are made from these materials , when used in the particularly problematical flue gases from bituminous coal slag tap furnaces , for example , compared to catalysts according to german patent 24 58 888 , reveal a definitely lesser tendency toward the enrichment of arsenic and other disturbing substances ( catalyst poisons ). this can be traced back to the increased poisoning resistance as a result of reduced heavy metal adsorption along the surface of the catalyst . as a result , the use of catalysts is facilitated in &# 34 ; high - dust operation &# 34 ; of bituminous coal slag tap furnaces with technically meaningful life times . the known comparison catalysts on the other hand are subject to rapid deactivation which is caused primarily by heavy metals present in the flue gas . the invention will be explained below in greater detail with regard to the illustrative examples . catalysts were tested both in dust - free model waste gases in a laboratory test installation and in the waste gas of an oil furnace system . besides , long term tests were performed in the flue gas from a bituminous coal dry furnace . the catalyst tests were performed in the temperature range from 200 ° to 500 ° c . the space velocities here were between 10 , 000 and 40 , 000 h - 1 . in each case we used the molar ratio , which was found to be favorable , between the reduction agent ammonia and the nitrous oxide amounting to 0 . 6 - 1 . 6 , preferably 0 . 8 - 1 . 2 . 35 kg of an intimate mixture of the oxides tio 2 and wo 3 , made according to german patent 24 58 888 , in a weight ratio of 9 : 1 are mixed with 20 liters of desalinated water , 6 kg 15 % by weight of aqueous nh solution , 1 . 8 kg monoethanolamine , and with a solution of ammonium metavanadate corresponding to 350 g v 2 o 5 . the mixture is kneaded intensively at varying moisture content and temperatures between 70 ° and 90 ° c . then , in succession , we add 620 g sio 2 . 1 . 4 kg alkali - free clay , and 3 . 5 kg glass fibers ( length 1 - 8 mm ). the mixture is kneaded into a homogeneous kneaded mass for 6 - 8 hours , whereby , for the purpose of adjusting the plasticity necessary for subsequent shaping , we add an additional 410 g polyethylene oxide , 410 g of carboxymethylcellulose , 230 g lactic acid and 11 . 5 kg of fully - desalinated water . with the help of an extruder , the catalyst mass is then extruded into monolithic honeycomb bodies with channels having a quadratic cross - section ( cell division : 3 . 4 mm or 7 . 4 mm ). the molded bodies are dried in an environmental drying chamber at rising temperature in the range from 20 ° to 60 ° c . and they are then calcined after step - by - step raising of the temperature for 24 hours at 620 ° c . the composition of the catalyst is indicated in each case in table 1 . basically the procedure as follows was used to compare the catalysts : 35 kg of the tio 2 - anatase mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 98 m 2 / g are mixed with 4 . 4 kg ammonium paratungstenate ( apw ), 22 liters of desalinated water , 7 . 5 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh3 solution , 1 . 8 kg monoethanolamine , and a solution of ammonium metavanadate , corresponding to 390 g v 2 o 5 . amid intensive kneading in the temperature range from 60 ° to 90 ° c ., there is added , in succession , 670 g sio 2 , 2 . 5 kg glass fibers ( length 1 - 8 mm ), and 1 . 5 kg of alkali - free clay . the mixture is kneaded into a homogeneous kneaded mass for 5 - 7 hours ( werner & amp ; pfleiderer kneader luk 2 . 5 ); to adjust the plasticity , an additional 450 g polyethylene oxide , 450 g carboxymethylcellulose , 250 g lactic acid , and 12 . 3 liters of desalinated water were put in to the mixture . for the fine adjustment of the moisture content and the plasticity of the kneaded mass , it was necessary to add more ammonia water prior to the end of the kneading operation . using an extruder , the catalyst mass was pressed into monolithic honeycomb bodies with channels having a quadratic cross - section ( cell division : 3 . 4 mm ). after drying amid temperature rising from 20 ° to 60 ° c . in an environmental drying chamber , the molded bodies are calcined for 24 hours at 620 ° c . after gradual raising of the temperature . in examples 6 - 9 , there was added , instead of tio 2 , anatase or ammonium paratungstenate ( apw ) or ammonium metavanadate ( amv )-- flame - hydrolytically produced tio 2 - p - 25 ( degussa ) or tungsten oxide , boron oxide , or nb 2 o 5 , the latter inserted as nioboxalate , dissolved in water . table 1______________________________________ share of weight b . sub . 2 in oxide ratio , in g / 100com - com - a - oxide / g a - b . sub . 1ponent ponent b . sub . 1 - component mixingex . a b . sub . 1 oxide b . sub . 2 oxide______________________________________1 anatase apw 9 : 1 amv 1 . 02 anatase apw 9 . 5 : 0 . 5 amv 1 . 03 anatase apw 9 . 9 : 0 . 1 amv 1 . 04 anatase apw 9 : 1 amv 0 . 55 anatase apw 9 : 1 amv 3 . 06 anatase wo . sub . 3 9 : 1 amv 1 . 07 p - 25 wo . sub . 3 9 : 1 amv 1 . 08 anatase b . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 9 . 7 : 0 . 3 amv 1 . 09 anatase apw 9 : 1 nb . sub . 2 ( c . sub . 2 o . sub . 4 ) 5 2 . 5______________________________________ 35 kg of tio 2 - anatase , mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 75 m 2 / g , are mixed , in the running kneader , with 4 . 4 kg ammonium paratungstenate ( apw ) and 10 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh 3 solution . the suspension thus obtained is kneaded at 80 ° c . for 3 hours until it is dry ( residual moisture 5 - 10 % by weight ). then the mixture thus obtained is mixed with 22 liters of desalinated water , 7 . 5 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh 3 solution , 1 . 8 kg monoethanolamine , and with a solution of ammonium metavanadate ( amv ) corresponding to 390 g v 2 o 5 . this mass is further processed as described in examples 1 - 9 and is extruded to form the same honeycomb bodies . the monoliths are dried and calcined likewise in a manner similar to the method described in examples 1 - 9 . in example 11 , according to table 2 , the ammonium metavanadate was replaced with ammonium molybdate ( am ); in examples 12 and 13 , the ammonium paratungstenate was replaced with bao or sio 2 . table 2______________________________________ share of weight b . sub . 2 oxide ratio , in g / 100com - com - a - oxide / g a - b . sub . 1ponent ponent b . sub . 1 - component mixingex . a b . sub . 1 oxide b . sub . 2 oxide______________________________________10 anatase apw 9 : 1 amv 1 . 011 anatase apw 9 : 1 am 3 . 012 anatase bao 9 . 5 : 0 . 5 amv 1 . 013 anatase sio . sub . 2 9 : 1 amv 1 . 0______________________________________ 35 kg of tio 2 - anatase , mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 40 m 2 / g , are mixed with 4 . 0 kg aluminum oxide and 12 kg 15 % by weight aqueous nh solution . the paste is kneaded at 80 ° c . for 2 - 3 hours up to a residual moisture of between 5 and 10 % by weight . then the powder is precalcined for 2 hours at 400 ° c . the precalcined oxide mixture is mixed in the kneader with 22 liters of desalinated water , 7 . 5 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh 3 solution , 2 . 0 kg of monoethanolamine , 210 g of pulp ( coarse - fibered cellulose ) and only then is it mixed with a solution of ammonium metavanadate corresponding to 390 g v 2 o 5 . amid intensive kneading at 60 °- 90 ° c ., an additional 2 . 3 g of alkali - free clay , 2 . 2 kg of glass fibers ( length 1 - 8 mm ), 200 g polyethylene oxide , 200 g carboxymethylcellulose , and 250 g lactic acid is added . the mixture is kneaded into a homogeneous kneaded mass for 5 - 7 hours whereby , to adjust the plasticity , more ammonia water was added . using an extruder , the catalyst mass is finally pressed into honeycomb bodies with quadratically configured channels ( cell subdivision : 7 . 4 mm ). after drying with rising temperatures ( 20 °- 60 ° c .) in an environmental drying chamber , the molded bodies are calcined for 24 hours at 700 ° c . after gradual raising of the temperature . in examples 15 - 17 , we added , instead of aluminum oxide according to table 3 , ammonium paratungstenate or lanthanum oxide and , in example 16 , instead of ammonium metavanadate , copper ( ii ) acetate , dissolved in water was added . table 3______________________________________ share of b . sub . 2 oxide in g / 100com - com - weight ratio , g a - b . sub . 1ponent ponent a - oxide / b . sub . 1 - component mixingex . a b . sub . 1 oxide b . sub . 2 oxide______________________________________14 anatase al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 9 : 1 amv 1 . 015 anatase apw 9 : 1 amv 1 . 016 anatase apw 9 . 5 : 0 . 5 cu ( ch . sub . 3 coo ). sub . 2 1 . 517 anatase la . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 9 . 5 : 0 . 5 amv 1 . 0______________________________________ 35 kg of tio 2 - anatase , mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 280 m 2 / g , are mixed with 4 . 0 kg of zirconium oxide , 390 g v 2 o 5 , and 15 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh solution . the thin - flowing paste is kneaded at 80 ° c . for 2 - 4 hours up to a residual moisture of 5 - 10 % by weight . the dry powder is then precalcined for 2 hours at 700 ° c . the precalcined mixture is mixed with 25 kg of fully desalinated water , 7 . 5 g of 15 % by weight nh 3 solution , and 2 . 0 g of monoethanolamine and it is then further processed similar to examples 1 - 9 . the finished catalyst mass is extruded to form honeycomb bodies as in examples 14 - 17 . in examples 19 - 21 , according to table 4 , zirconium dioxide was replaced by ammonium paratungstenate or phosphorus pentoxide and in example 20 , v 2 o 5 was replaced by iron ( iii ) table 4______________________________________ share of b . sub . 2 oxide in g / 100com - com - weight ratio , g a - b . sub . 1ponent ponent a - oxide / b . sub . 1 - component mixingex . a b . sub . 1 oxide b . sub . 2 oxide______________________________________18 anatase zro . sub . 2 9 : 1 v . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 1 . 019 anatase apw 9 : 1 v . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 1 . 020 anatase apw 9 : 1 fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 1 . 021 anatase p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 9 . 5 : 0 . 5 v . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 1 . 0______________________________________ 35 kg of tio 2 - anatase , mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 98 m 2 / g , are mixed with 422 g of ammonium - 2 - hydrogen - 12 - vanadophosphate and with 28 liters of desalinated water . the mass is kneaded intensively at a temperature of 40 °- 70 ° c ., and an additional 670 g sio 2 , 2 . 5 kg glass fibers ( length 1 - 8 mm ), and 6 . 0 kg of alkali - free clay was put in . to adjust the plasticity , there was added 450 g polyethylene oxide , 900 g carboxymethylcellulose , 250 kg lactic acid , and 15 liters of desalinated water . the mixture is kneaded into a homogeneous kneading mass for 5 - 7 hours and is processed into honeycomb bodies according to examples 1 - 9 . according to table 5 , in examples 23 - 26 , ammonium - 2 - hydrogen - 12 - vanadophosphate was replaced by the following heteropoly acids : table 5______________________________________componentex . a components b . sub . 1 + b . sub . 2 a - oxide / b . sub . 2 - oxide______________________________________22 anatase ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 5 h . sub . 2 [ p ( v . sub . 12 o . sub . 36 )] 9 . 99 : 0 . 0123 anatase ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 8 [ v . sub . 6 w . sub . 6 o . sub . 37 ] 9 . 9 : 0 . 124 anatase h . sub . 4 [ p ( mo . sub . 11 vo . sub . 40 )] 9 . 9 : 0 . 0125 anatase h . sub . 6 [ p ( mo . sub . 9 v . sub . 3 o . sub . 40 )] 9 . 99 : 0 . 0126 anatase ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 h [ p ( mo . sub . 11 cuo . sub . 40 )] 9 . 99 : 0 . 01______________________________________ 35 kg of tio 2 - anatase , mentioned in claim 1 , with a bet surface of 98 m 2 / g , are mixed with 4 . 3 kg of ammonium paratungstenate , 22 liters of desalinated water , 7 . 5 kg of 15 % by weight aqueous nh 3 solution , and 1 . 8 kg of monoethanolamine . the mass is provided with additives ( plastifier , stabilizing media , etc .) in accordance with examples 1 - 9 ; it is kneaded intensively ( 2 - 7 hours at 60 °- 90 ° c .) and it is extruded into honeycomb bodies which here are considered as preliminary catalyst step . these bodies are then dried and calcined in a manner similar to examples 1 - 9 ; after cooling ( according to claim 7 ), with 1 . 0 g vanadiumpentoxide per 100 g of titanium dioxide / tungstic oxide mixture , they are then brought up in a volume of water corresponding to the water receiving capacity of the honeycomb body and this is done by means of impregnation with a solution of ammonium - 2 - hydrogen - 12 - vanadophosphate . drying is accomplished in an air flow at 150 ° c . and subsequent tempering is done for 2 hours at 400 ° c . in examples 28 - 31 , there was used -- in place of ammonium paratungstenate or ammonium - 2 - hydrogen - 12 - vanadophosphate , according to the quantity ratios given in table 6 -- ammonium metatungstenate , yttriumoxide , zircon dioxide , or silicon dioxide or v 2 o 5 ( as aqueous solutions of vanadiumoxalate ), ammonium - 6 - tungstenate - 6 - vanadate or 11 - molybdo - 1 - vanadophosphoric acid . table 6__________________________________________________________________________ share of b . sub . 2 oxide in g / 100 weight ratio , g a - b . sub . 1 component component a - oxide / b . sub . 1 - component mixingex . a b . sub . 1 oxide b . sub . 2 oxide__________________________________________________________________________27 anatase apw 9 : 1 ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 5 h . sub . 2 [ p ( v . sub . 12 o . sub . 36 )] 1 . 028 anatase amw 9 : 1 v . sub . 2 ( c . sub . 2 o . sub . 4 ). sub . 5 1 . 029 anatase y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 9 . 8 : 0 . 2 v . sub . 2 ( c . sub . 2 o . sub . 4 ). sub . 5 1 . 030 anatase zro . sub . 2 9 : 1 ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 8 [ v . sub . 6 w . sub . 6 o . sub . 37 ] 1 . 031 anatase sio . sub . 2 9 : 1 h . sub . 4 [ p ( mo . sub . 11 vo . sub . 40 )] 1 . 0__________________________________________________________________________ the catalysts prepared according to examples 1 - 31 , were tested in the exhaust gas from an oil furnace which was adjusted according to the test conditions given below by means of the additional dosing of additional noxious - substance components ( no x and so 2 ) and of ammonia required for nitrous oxide reduction . ______________________________________test conditions : ______________________________________waste gas composition : no . sub . x 800 ppm nh . sub . 3 800 ppm so . sub . 2 500 ppm o . sub . 2 5 . 0 % by vol . h . sub . 2 o 11 . 0 % by vol . co . sub . 2 12 . 0 % by vol . n . sub . 2 residue______________________________________ the catalyst tests were performed in the temperature range of 250 °- 500 ° c . and at a space velocity of 20 , 000 h - 1 . selected results of the measurements as well as long - term tests in bituminous coal dry furnaces , under the conditions mentioned earlier , are illustrated in the graphs in fig1 , and 3 . the measurement values that constitute the foundation are compiled in tables 7 and 8 . table 7 * __________________________________________________________________________ comparisont / ex . no . 1 6 10 13 14 18 23 27 sample__________________________________________________________________________250 46 . 0 43 . 8 39 . 5 40 . 5 45 . 2 44 . 2 42 . 5 45 . 8 34 . 5290 63 . 1 60 . 1 57 . 5 58 . 5 62 . 7 60 . 5 67 . 6 62 . 7 52 . 0320 75 . 7 72 . 2 69 . 4 71 . 1 73 . 5 72 . 5 70 . 7 74 . 9 63 . 9360 86 . 0 84 . 1 81 . 3 82 . 6 84 . 0 83 . 0 81 . 1 85 . 4 74 . 7400 93 . 4 90 . 6 87 . 0 88 . 2 91 . 5 89 . 9 87 . 5 92 . 7 81 . 8450 94 . 3 92 . 3 87 . 8 89 . 0 92 . 4 91 . 1 88 . 4 94 . 0 83 . 1500 90 . 4 86 . 6 80 . 8 81 . 5 87 . 5 86 . 6 83 . 3 88 . 5 76 . 0__________________________________________________________________________ * the values given are no . sub . x conversions ( η nox ) in percent related to the no . sub . x initial concentration . table 8 * ______________________________________sk - tf ( t = 450 ° c .) examples comparison samplet [ h ] 1 6 13 [ test ] ______________________________________zero measurement 95 92 89 83 500 91 . 5 86 84 . 5 75 . 51000 89 . 5 85 84 73 . 52000 88 85 83 . 5 733000 88 84 . 5 83 . 5 72 . 54000 87 . 5 84 . 5 83 . 5 71 . 5______________________________________ * the values given are no . sub . x conversions ( η no . sub . x ) in percent , related to the initial no . sub . x concentration . further variations of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims . german priority document p 37 06 136 . 1 is relied on and incorporated herein .
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turning to fig1 , a surgical instrument 20 is shown that includes a flexible shaft 21 with a proximal end 22 and a distal end 23 . the proximal end 22 of the shaft 21 may be coupled to a connector for connecting the shaft 21 to surgical drilling instrument , such as the drill 24 of fig1 . alternatively , the proximal end 22 of the shaft 21 may be coupled to a handle or other suitable device for assisting or allowing a surgeon to rotate the instrument 20 . any of these components can also be made as an integral part of the instrument . the distal end 23 the shaft 21 may be coupled directly or indirectly to an expandable cutting device 25 which , as shown in fig1 - 3 , includes four flexible cutting arms 26 . the number of cutting arms 26 may vary but two or more cutting arms 26 are preferred . the cutting arms 26 may be coupled directly or indirectly to a distal nose section 27 . for example , a distal shaft or collar section 28 may be disposed between the cutting arms 26 and the distal nose section 27 . the distal nose section 27 comprises a drill tip with a brad point tip . exemplary details of a suitable drill tip 27 for use with the instrument 20 are illustrated in fig4 - 6 . a variety of designs for the drill tip 27 may be employed as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the design specifics of the drill tip 27 are not essential to an understanding of this disclosure . the drill tip 27 may be used to drill an entry port 41 ( fig1 - 19 ) through cortical bone which allows the expandable cutting device 25 to enter the im canal . while the drill tip 27 is primarily used to drill an entry port 41 , the drill tip 27 may also be used to remove initial amounts of cancellous bone and marrow prior to forming a cavity by rotating the instrument 20 and flexible cutting arms 26 . in some implementations , the distal nose can include a trocar , spade drill , diamond point spade drill , or a half round drill . in fig7 , the shaft 21 a is coupled to a collar 31 at its distal end 23 a . the cutting arms 26 a couple the collar 31 to a distal collar 32 , which , in turn , couples the expandable cutting device 25 a to the distal nose section or drill tip 27 . thus , in the device 20 a illustrated in fig7 , the shaft 21 a and cutting device 25 a may be fabricated or formed separately and coupled together during assembly . fig1 - 16 illustrate a surgical instrument 20 b that has a cutting device 25 b with helical arms 26 b . fig2 illustrates a shaft 21 c that passes through the cutting arms 26 c and collars 31 c and 32 c . regardless of the shaft construction and the cutting device construction , the surgical instruments 20 - 20 c include flexible shafts 21 - 21 c that are coupled to an expandable cutting device 25 - 25 c at distal ends 23 - 23 c of the shafts 21 - 21 c and a drill attachment connector or handle is coupled to the proximal ends 22 of the shafts 21 - 21 c . the shafts 21 - 21 c , cutting arms 26 - 26 c , optional collars 31 , 32 , 31 c , 32 c , optional distal shaft section 28 and optional drill tip 27 may be fabricated from a single piece of flexible material , such as a shape memory material . for example , the shaft 21 and cutting arms 26 are fabricated from a single piece of nitinol ( nickel - titanium shape memory alloy ( sma )). other suitable shape memory materials include , but are not limited to , alloys of titanium - palladium - nickel , nickel - titanium - copper , gold - cadmium , iron - zinc - copper - aluminum , titanium - niobium - aluminum , uranium - niobium , hafnium - titanium - nickel , iron - manganese - silicon , nickel - titanium , nickel - iron - zinc - aluminum , copper - aluminum - iron , titanium - niobium , zirconium - copper - zinc , and nickel - zirconium - titanium . the shape memory alloys may be suitable for the fabrication of surgical instruments for cutting cancellous bone without cutting cortical bone . other suitable shape memory materials other than metallic alloys and polymers are possible as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . furthermore , in some implementations with different requirements , such as where substantial radial collapse of the cutting device 25 - 25 c and cutting arms 26 - 26 c is not required , the arms 26 - 26 c could be made from other metals or plastics . the flexibility of the shafts 21 - 21 c , is provided by a small shaft diameter and by selecting a material having a modulus of elasticity falling within a desired range . in addition to fabricating the shafts 21 - 21 c from a shape memory alloy as described above , the shafts 21 - 21 c may also be fabricated from a high - strength biocompatible polymer , such as polyetheretherketone ( peek ), polyethereketone ( pek ), high density polyethylene ( hdpe ), or a polyamide such as nylon . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , other suitable polymers are available . the expandable cutting device 25 illustrated in fig1 - 3 and 7 comprises two or more expandable elongated cutting arms 26 . referring to fig1 - 2 , the cutting arms 26 are disposed between the distal end 23 of the shaft 21 and the optional distal shaft section 28 or the distal nose section or drill tip 27 . as shown in fig7 , the cutting arms 26 may be disposed between a pair of collars 31 , 32 . alternatively , the cutting arms 26 can be coupled to a pair of collars 31 a , 32 a that are slidably received over the distal end 23 a of a continuous shaft 21 b , as illustrated in fig2 . in the device 20 c of fig2 , one or more pins or other attachment mechanisms may hold the collars 31 c , 32 c in place on the shaft 21 c . the cutting arms 26 - 26 c may form a cage - like structure . for some applications , the shape memory material or alloy used to fabricate the arms 26 - 26 c should exhibit elastic properties . the designs illustrated in fig1 - 3 , 7 , 12 - 16 , and 21 exploit the elastic properties of shape memory alloys to allow the cutting arms 26 - 26 c expand outward upon entry in the im canal to their original shape . the cutting arms 26 - 26 c are also designed to be sufficiently flexible so that harder cortical bone will cause the arms to deflect in a radially - inward direction and to not cut cortical bone . in contrast , the arms 26 - 26 c are sufficiently resilient to cut cancellous bone and other weaker materials disposed within the cortical wall . the cutting arms 26 - 26 c can be machined using traditional techniques such as chemical etching , laser cutting , or milling , among other techniques . the cage structure of the expandable cutting devices 25 - 25 c can be formed by placing a cutting device into a fixture that compresses the cutting arms 26 - 26 c axially and causes the cutting arms 26 - 26 c to expand radially outward to the desired relaxed profile or relaxed diameter ( compare fig8 and 9 ). the fixture and cutting devices 25 - 25 c may then be placed in an oven at a temperature of about 842 ° f . ( 450 ° c .) for about 15 minutes , followed by water quenching shortly after removal from the oven . this process causes the cutting arms or elements 26 - 26 c to be shaped into a desired profile . the cutting arms 26 - 26 c may be sharpened on at least one lateral surface 33 ( fig3 ), 33 b ( fig1 ) to enable cutting of cancellous bone material . the benefit of the sharpening the cutting arms 26 - 26 c is to provide a smoother cutting operation by reducing chatter or vibration when cutting , and by requiring a lower cutting torque . to selectively cut cancellous bone material and not cut cortical bone material , the cutting arms must have the appropriate combination of resilience , or strength , and elasticity . generally , the flexible cutting arms 26 should have a ratio of width ( w ) to thickness ( t ) ranging from about 5 : 1 to about 2 : 1 and ratio of length ( l ) to width ( w ) ranging from about 20 : 1 to about 6 : 1 . in one example , the material of the cutting arms 26 is nitinol and the elements have a cross - sectional thickness ( t ) of about 0 . 014 in ( 0 . 356 mm ), a width ( w ) of about 0 . 056 in ( 1 . 42 mm ) and a length ( l ) of about 0 . 75 in ( 19 . 05 mm ) ( see also fig8 ). these dimensions are an example that allow the cutting arms 26 - 26 c to be strong enough to cut cancellous material as the cutting device 25 rotates while being flexible enough to compress radially when the arms 26 - 26 c engage cortical bone . the dimensions will vary depending upon the anatomy or size of im canal in which a cavity is to be formed . additional methodologies for calculating other appropriate dimensions of the cutting arms 26 - 26 c include consideration of moment of inertia ( i ), expansion force ( p ) and the deflection ( δ ) of the cutting arms 26 - 26 c . specifically , the behavior of the cutting arms 26 - 26 c of the expandable cutting device 25 - 25 c can be predicted by treating the arms 26 - 26 c as a leaf spring 35 , illustrated in fig1 and 11 . the body of leaf spring 35 has a length ( l ), a width ( w ), and a thickness ( t ). using a traditional beam deflection calculation , the amount of deflection ( δ ) can be expressed as equation 1 . in equation 1 , ( i ) is the moment of inertia and ( e ) is the modulus of elasticity . for nitinol , e can range from about 5 . 8 × 10 6 psi ( 40 . 0 gpa ) to about 10 . 9 × 10 6 psi ( 75 . 2 gpa ). referring to fig1 , the moment of inertia ( i ) can be calculated from equation 2 . to allow for ease of insertion of the instruments 20 - 20 c into an im canal , the expansion force ( p ) of the arms 26 - 26 c should not be excessive . however , to expand adequately in the im canal , the expansion force ( p ) must be above a minimum value . therefore , the design of the arms 26 - 26 c should provide an optimal expansion force ( p ). through laboratory experimentation , the expansion force can range from about 1 . 0 lbf to about 8 . 0 lbf ( from about 4 . 45 n to about 35 . 59 n ). by substituting equation 2 into equation 1 and solving for p , the expansion force ( p ) can be expressed as equation 3 . δ = pl 3 / 4 ewt 3 , and therefore p = 4δ ewt 3 / l 3 ( 3 ) as another example , if l = 0 . 65 in ( 15 . 61 mm ), w = 0 . 060 in ( 1 . 52 mm ), t = 0 . 018 in ( 0 . 457 mm ), and δ = 0 . 085 in ( 2 . 16 mm ), then an expansion force of p = 2 . 51 lbf is provided by equation 3 , which falls within the range of from about 1 . 0 lbf to about 8 . 0 lbf ( from about 4 . 45 n to about 35 . 59 n ). as δ and p are proportional when w , t , and l , are fixed , the deflection δ can be increased by about 300 % by changing the size of the fixture used during the heat treatment process before p approaches the 8 . 0 lbf upper limit for the dimensions recited immediately above . the value of deflection δ desired in a give implementation will be dependent upon the particular bone being treated and the size of the im canal . in other implementations , the dimensions and parameters discussed above can vary greatly , as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . fig1 - 16 illustrate another surgical instrument 20 b with a flexible shaft 21 b having a proximal end 22 and a distal end 22 . the distal end 23 b of the shaft 21 b is coupled to an expandable cutting device 25 b with helical cutting arms 26 b . the helical cutting arms 26 b also include opposing sides or cutting edges 33 b . the helical cutting arms 26 b reduce tensile and shear stresses at the bases 29 ( fig1 ) of the cutting arm 26 b so as to reduce the possibility of device failure . the helix formed by the helical cutting arms 26 b can be designed to optimize the ease of cutting . the helix can be left - hand helical or right - hand helical and can be formed at an angle from about negative 60 degree to about 60 degrees from a longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument . for example , left - hand helical cutting arms in a right - hand cut may be used . the optional brad drill tip 27 can have a diameter that is slightly larger than a diameter of the shaft 21 - 21 c or that is larger than a diameter of the cutting arms 26 - 26 c when the cutting arms 26 - 26 c are compressed . a slightly larger diameter of the drill tip 27 enables the drill tip 27 to create an entry portal 41 in cortical bone 42 to allow for passage of the remainder of the instrument 20 - 20 c into the im canal 46 , as illustrated in fig1 and 19 . the drill tip 27 will also prove useful in reaming an im canal 46 that is smaller than expected or has an endosteal surface profile that is smaller than expected . incorporating a drill tip 27 on the device allows for the user to create the non - axial pilot / entry hole 41 in the cortical wall 42 to gain an access portal to the im canal 46 and fracture site 47 . thus , a separate drilling tool may not be needed to create the entry portal 41 as the proximal end 22 of the shaft 21 - 21 c may be coupled to a surgical drill 24 as shown in fig1 , 19 , and 20 . the tip 27 also allows for cutting a pathway in the im canal where a minimum diameter in desired . for example , to accommodate a specific sized implant , such as a nail , the tip 27 can be used to drill a hole in the im canal for receiving the nail . the shafts 21 - 21 c may include a lumen 43 ( fig1 - 20 ) to allow for suction and debris removal or , alternatively , for the delivery of irrigation fluid . as shown in fig2 , the shaft 21 may be disposed within an outer lumen 51 that can be used for suction or for the delivery of irrigation fluid . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , the shaft 21 may also accommodate an inner lumen 43 and be disposed axially within an outer lumen 51 . the outer lumen 51 and the inner lumen 43 may each be connected to a reservoir of irrigation fluid or a suction pump shown schematically at 52 , 53 respectively . the bi - directional arrows 54 , 55 are intended to indicate that the outer lumen 51 and inner lumen 43 can be used for either suction or irrigation or both if only a single lumen 43 , 51 is utilized . a surgical drill 24 is also shown schematically in fig2 that is coupled to the proximal end 22 of the shaft 21 . the components of the instruments 20 - 20 c can be coupled to one another by a variety of means such as welding , pinning , adhesive bonds , mechanical locks ( retaining ring ), etc . the cutting arms 26 - 26 c , in addition to having at least one sharpened edge 33 , 33 c may include serrations , relief angles , and dual sharpened edges . further , a series of the expandable cutting devices 25 - 25 c may be disposed along the length of the shaft 21 - 21 c . as noted above , the cage structure of the expandable cutting device 25 - 25 c and / or the drill tip 27 can be an integral with the shaft 21 - 21 c . the arms 26 - 26 c of the disclosed cutting devices 25 - 25 c are designed to have a high moment of inertia i in the direction of rotation and a lower moment of inertia i in the transverse radially inward direction . the disclosed designs for the arms 26 - 26 c permit the arms 26 - 26 c to be strong enough to cut cancellous bone in an im canal 46 when rotating , but elastic enough in a radial direction such that when the arms 26 - 26 c encounter a hard tissue such as cortical bone , the arms 26 - 26 c will be deflected in a radially inward direction thereby causing no or minimal trauma to the cortical bone 42 . as a result , cancellous bone in the non - symmetrical non - circular cross - sectional im canal 46 is cut without substantial trauma or removal of cortical bone 42 . fig1 illustrates the flexibility of the shaft 21 connected to the drill 24 . the use of flexible but adequately stiff shafts 21 - 21 c allows for advancement of the devices 20 - 20 c through an im canal 46 towards a fracture site 47 and the creation of non - traditional ( i . e ., non - axial ) entry ports such as the one shown at 41 in fig1 - 19 . using a material such as reinforced peek or other biocompatible polymer for the shafts 21 - 21 c , or other structures such as steel cable or twisted wire , offers an inexpensive solution as compared to other flexible shafts fabricated from nitinol , other shape memory alloys or laser cut metal shafts . while only certain embodiments have been set forth , alternatives and modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art . these and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims .
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next , referring to fig1 - 4 , the process cartridges and electrophotographic image forming apparatuses in this preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described . fig1 is a schematic sectional view of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 ( which hereafter will be referred to simply as apparatus main assembly ), in which multiple ( four ) process cartridges 50 y , 50 m , 50 c , and 50 k ( which hereafter may be referred to simply as cartridges 50 ) which have been removably mounted . the multiple ( four ) cartridges 50 store yellow , magenta , cyan , and black toners ( developers ), one for one . fig2 is a schematic sectional view of the cartridge itself . fig3 and 4 are schematic sectional drawings of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are for showing how the cartridge or cartridges 50 are removed from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus . the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in this embodiment is structured to carry out the following image forming operation . referring to fig1 , first , the uniformly charged area of the peripheral surface of each of the electrophotographic photosensitive drums ( which hereafter will be referred to as photosensitive drums ) 30 y , 30 m , 30 c , and 30 k is scanned by a beam of laser light 11 projected by a laser scanner 10 , with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , while being modulated with pictorial signals . as a result , an electrostatic latent image is effected on the peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum 30 . this electrostatic latent image is developed by a development roller 42 , into a visible image ; an image is formed of toner ( developer ) on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 . in other words , yellow , magenta , cyan , and black toner images are formed on the photosensitive drums 30 y , 30 m , 30 c , and 30 k , respectively . then , these toner images are sequentially transferred by the voltages applied to transfer rollers 18 y , 18 m , 18 c , and 18 k , onto a transfer belt 19 supported and stretched by rollers 20 - 22 . thereafter , the toner images on the transfer belt 19 are transferred by a transfer roller 3 , onto a sheet of a recording medium p delivered by a recording medium conveyance roller 1 as a recording medium conveying means . then , the recording medium p is conveyed to a fixation unit 6 made up of a driver roller , and a fixation roller having an internal heater . in the fixation unit 6 , heat and pressure are applied to the recording medium p and the toner images thereon . as a result , the toner images on the recording medium p are fixed to the recording medium p . then , the recording medium p is discharged onto a delivery tray 9 by a pair of discharge rollers 7 . next , referring to fig1 , 2 and 10 , the cartridges 50 in this embodiment will be described . the multiple ( four ) cartridges 50 in this embodiment are the same in structure although they are different in the color of the toner t they store . thus , the structure of the cartridges 50 will be described with reference to the cartridge 50 y . the cartridge 50 y is provided with a photosensitive drum 30 , and processing means which perform processes on the photosensitive drum 30 . the processing means in this embodiment are a charge roller 32 which is the charging means for charging the photosensitive drum 30 , a development roller 42 which is the developing means for developing a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 30 , a blade 33 which is the cleaning means for removing the residual toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 , etc . the cartridge 50 y is made up of a drum unit 31 and a development unit 41 . referring to fig2 , 10 ( a ) and 10 ( b ), the drum unit 31 includes the abovementioned photosensitive drum 30 , the charge roller 32 , and the blade 33 . it also includes a waste toner storing portion 35 , a drum unit main frame 34 , and lateral covers 36 and 37 ( each of which hereafter will be referred to simply as a cover ). referring to fig9 , one of the lengthwise end portions of the photosensitive drum 30 is rotatably supported by the supporting portion 36 b of the cover 36 , whereas the other lengthwise end of the photosensitive drum 30 is rotatably supported by the supporting portion 37 b of the cover 37 as shown in fig1 ( a ) and 10 ( b ). the covers 36 and 37 are attached to the lengthwise ends of the drum unit main frame 34 . next , referring to fig1 ( b ), the lengthwise end portion of the photosensitive drum 30 , which is supported by the cover 36 , is provided with a coupling member 30 a for transmitting driving force to the photosensitive drum 30 . the coupling member 30 a engages with a first coupling member 105 y of the apparatus main assembly 100 , shown in fig4 , as the cartridge 50 y is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 . thus , as a driving force is transmitted from a motor ( unshown ) with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , to the coupling member 30 a , the photosensitive drum 30 rotates in the direction indicated by an arrow mark u in fig2 . the charge roller 32 is supported by the drum unit main frame 34 so that it is rotated in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 30 . the blade 33 is supported also by the drum unit main frame 34 so that it remains in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 with the presence of a preset amount of pressure between the blade 33 and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 . the covers 36 and 37 are provided with holes 36 a ( fig9 ) and 37 a ( fig1 ( b )) for supporting the development unit 40 in such a manner that the development unit 40 is rotationally movable relative to the drum unit 31 . referring to fig2 and 9 , the development unit 41 has the abovementioned development roller 42 . it also has a development blade 43 , a development unit main frame 48 , a bearing unit 45 , and a pair of lateral covers 46 . the development unit main frame 48 has a toner storage portion 49 in which the toner to be supplied to the development roller 42 is stored . it supports the development blade 43 which regulates the thickness to which toner is coated on the peripheral surface of the development roller 42 . referring to fig9 , the bearing unit 45 is firmly attached to one of the lengthwise end portions of the development unit main frame 48 . it rotatably supports the development roller 42 , one of the lengthwise end portions of which has a development roller gear 69 . further , the bearing unit 45 is provided with an idler gear 68 , which transmits a driving force from a coupling member 67 to the development roller gear 69 . the cover 46 is securely attached to the outward side of the bearing unit 45 , in terms of the lengthwise direction of the bearing unit 45 , in a manner to cover the coupling member 67 and the idler gear 68 . further , the cover 46 is provided with a cylindrical portion 46 b , which protrudes outward from the outward surface of the cover 46 . the coupling member 67 is exposed through the hollow of the cylindrical portion 46 b . the apparatus main assembly 100 and process cartridge 50 y are structured so that as the process cartridge 50 y is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the coupling member 67 engages with the second coupling 106 of the apparatus main assembly 100 , which is shown in fig1 , transmitting thereby a driving force from the motor ( unshown ) with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , to the process cartridge 50 y . referring to fig9 - 11 , the development unit 41 and the drum unit 31 are connected in the following manner : first , at one end of the process cartridge 50 y , the cylindrical portion 46 b is fitted into the supporting hole 36 a . at the other end , a projection 48 b which projects from the development unit main frame 48 is fitted into the supporting hole 37 a . as a result , the development unit 41 is connected to the drum unit 31 in such a manner that the development unit 41 is rotationally movable relative to the drum unit 31 . next , referring to fig2 , the development unit 41 is kept pressured by a pair of compression springs 95 , which are elastic members , in the direction to be rotated about the axial line of the cylindrical portion 46 b so that the development roller 42 is kept in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 . that is , the development unit 41 is kept pressed by the resiliency of the compression springs 95 in the direction indicated by a narrow mark g , generating a moment h which acts in the direction to rotate the development unit 41 about the cylindrical portion 46 b and projection 48 b . thus , the development roller 42 is kept in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 with the presence of the preset amount of contact pressure between the development roller 42 and photosensitive drum 30 . the position in which the development unit 41 is when it is kept in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 is referred to as the “ contact position ”. referring to fig1 ( a ), the compression spring 95 in this embodiment is located on the opposite side from one of the lengthwise end portions , where the coupling member 30 a of the photosensitive drum 30 , and the coupling member 67 which transmits the driving force to the development roller gear 69 , are located . referring to fig2 , the cartridge 50 y is provided with a force receiving apparatus 90 for placing the development roller 42 and the photosensitive drum 30 in contact with each other , or separating them from each other , in the apparatus main assembly 100 . referring to fig6 and 8 , which are schematic side views of the cartridge 50 y , the cover 36 of which has been removed , as seen from the side from which the cartridge 50 y is driven , the force receiving apparatus 90 is made up of a force receiving first member 71 and a force receiving second member 70 . until the cartridge 50 y begins to be positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 in a preset manner , the force receiving second member 70 remains in its standby position , that is , the position in which the force receiving second member 70 does not project beyond the external contour of the cartridge 50 y , as shown in fig1 ( a ). as the cartridge 50 y is advanced into the apparatus main assembly 100 in the direction indicated by an arrow mark z 2 ( shown in fig1 ) by a cartridge tray 13 ( which will be described later ), the cartridge 50 y is positioned in the apparatus main assembly 100 by a cartridge positioning portion 101 a of the apparatus main assembly 100 . as the cartridge 50 y is pressed against the cartridge positioning portion 101 a , the force receiving first member 71 is pressed upward by a projection 180 ( force receiving first member pressing member ) of the apparatus main assembly 100 , which will be described later . that is , the force receiving first member 71 receives a first external force from the projection 180 . as a result , the force receiving portion 70 is moved out of its standby position , projecting outward of the cartridge 50 y beyond the external contour of the cartridge 50 y , as shown in fig1 . next , referring to fig6 , 7 , and 9 , while the cartridge 50 y is kept in its accurate position ( image forming position ) in the apparatus main assembly 100 by the positioning portion 101 a , the force receiving first member 71 is below the force receiving second member 70 . the force receiving first and second members 71 and 70 are connected with each other . more specifically , the force receiving second member 70 is rotatably supported by its rotational axle 70 b , and is provided with an elongated hole 70 a . the top end portion ( in drawings ) of the force receiving first portion 71 is provided with a projection ( connective pin ), which is fitted in the elongated hole of the force receiving second member 70 . thus , as force is applied to the force receiving second member 70 by the force receiving first member 71 , more specifically , the projection ( connective pin ) of the force receiving first member 71 , which is in the elongated hole 70 a of the force receiving second member 70 , the force receiving second member 70 is rotationally moved about its rotational axle 70 b . referring to fig7 , since the elongated hole 70 a is located between the rotational axle 70 b and the force catching surface 70 c , a distance h 2 by which the force receiving second member 70 moves can be made greater than a distance h 1 ( fig7 ) by which the force receiving first member 71 moves , by properly setting the leverage ratio of the force receiving second member 70 . here , the distances by which the force receiving first and second members 71 and 70 move are the distances measured in terms of the vertical direction , that is , the direction parallel to the direction in which the force receiving member 71 is moved toward the force applying member 60 ( which will be described later ). that is , with the employment of the above described structural arrangement , the distance h 2 by which the force receiving second member 70 moves can be increased without increasing the projection 180 in the distance by which it projects , making it thereby possible to reduce in size the apparatus main assembly 100 shown in fig1 . incidentally , the force receiving apparatus is movably supported by the cover 46 . next , the cartridge tray 13 , which is in the form of a drawer , will be described . referring to fig4 , the cartridge tray 13 is attached to the apparatus main assembly 100 in such a manner that , in practical terms , it can be horizontally and linearly moved relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 . that is , the cartridge tray 13 can be pushed into , or pulled out of , the apparatus main assembly 100 in the direction indicated by an arrow mark z 2 or z 1 , respectively . the apparatus main assembly 100 is structured so that the cartridge tray 13 can be locked in the innermost position ( image forming position , shown in fig1 , in the apparatus main assembly 100 ), and the outermost position ( cartridge replacement position : cartridge mounting or removing position ), shown in fig4 , which is the farthest position to which the cartridge tray 13 can be pulled out ). the cartridge 50 is mounted into the cartridge tray 13 by an operator in the direction indicated by an arrow mark c , which is virtually parallel to the direction of gravity , as shown in fig3 . the cartridge tray 13 is structured so that as the cartridges 50 are mounted into the cartridge tray 13 , the cartridges 50 become arranged in tandem , in the direction parallel to the direction in which the cartridge tray 13 is movable , with their lengthwise direction ( which is parallel to axial lines of photosensitive drum 30 and the development roller 42 ) being perpendicular to the moving direction of the cartridge tray 13 . as the cartridge 13 is pushed into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the cartridges 50 in the cartridge tray 13 enter the apparatus main assembly 100 , with the presence of a preset amount of gap f 2 ( fig5 ) between the photosensitive drum 30 in each cartridge 50 , and an intermediary transfer belt 19 located below the cartridge path . then , as the cartridge tray 13 is moved into its innermost position in the apparatus main assembly 100 , each cartridge 50 is positioned in the apparatus main assembly 100 by the cartridge positioning portion 101 a provided in the apparatus main assembly 100 ( fig5 and 7 ). the cartridge positioning operation will be described later in detail . a user is to close a door 12 after pushing the cartridge tray 13 all the way into the apparatus main assembly 100 . closing the door 12 ensures that each cartridge 50 is properly mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , in terms of operability , this structural arrangement for the apparatus main assembly 100 and cartridges 50 is superior to the structural arrangement of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in accordance with the prior art , which requires the cartridges 50 to be individually mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 by a user . next , referring to fig1 , 3 , 4 , and 17 , the operation of the cartridge tray 13 will be described . fig1 does not show the cartridges 50 , in order to make it easier to understand the operation of the cartridge tray 13 . the cartridge tray 13 is supported by a pair of tray supporting members 14 in such a manner that the cartridge tray 13 can be pulled out of the apparatus main assembly 100 while remaining supported by the tray supporting members 14 . the tray supporting members 14 are moved by the movement of the door 12 , which can be opened or closed by an operator ( user ). the door 12 is attached to the apparatus main assembly 100 so that it can be rotationally moved about its rotational axis 12 a . the door 12 is rotationally movable between a position ( shut position ) in which it completely covers an opening 80 , as shown in fig1 , and a position ( open position ) in which it fully exposes the opening 80 as shown in fig3 . when it is necessary to take out any cartridge or cartridge 50 in the apparatus main assembly 100 , the door 12 is to be rotationally moved from the shut position to the open position . as the door 12 is rotationally moved , a pair of projections 15 ( connective pins ) with which the door 12 is provided moves in the clockwise direction about the rotational axis 12 a , while moving in a pair of elongated holes 14 c , one for one , with which the tray supporting member 14 is provided , from the bottom end of the elongated hole 14 c toward the top end of the elongated hole 14 c , as shown in fig3 . as a result , the tray supporting members 14 are moved by the projections 15 in the direction indicated by the arrow mark z 1 . as the tray supporting members 14 are moved in the abovementioned direction , the projections 14 d 1 and 14 d 2 , which project from each of the tray supporting members 14 are guided by the guiding holes 107 with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , as shown in fig4 . referring to fig1 , each guiding hole 107 has three sections , that is , two horizontal sections 107 a 1 and 107 a 3 , and one diagonal section 107 a 2 . the diagonal section 107 a 2 extends diagonally upward from the horizontal section 107 a 1 to the horizontal section 17 a 3 . therefore , as the door 12 is moved from the shut position , shown in fig1 , to the open position , shown in fig3 , the projections 14 d 1 and 14 d 2 are guided by the guiding hole 107 , sequentially through the horizontal portion 107 a 1 , diagonal portion 107 a 2 , and horizontal portion 107 a 3 . thus , the tray supporting members 14 are first moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark z 1 , and then , are moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark y 1 , that is , the direction to move away from the transfer belt 19 . with the tray supporting members 14 moved all the way in the direction indicated by the arrow mark y 1 , the cartridge tray 13 can be pulled out of the apparatus main assembly 100 through the opening 80 in the direction indicated by the arrow mark z 1 , as shown in fig4 . fig1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the image forming apparatus after the cartridge tray 13 has been pulled out of the apparatus main assembly 100 to its outermost position . next , the case in which any cartridge or cartridges 50 are mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 will be described . referring to fig4 , the cartridge tray 13 is to be pushed into the apparatus main assembly 100 in the direction of the arrow mark z 2 through the opening 80 , with the door 12 kept in the open position . thereafter , the door 12 is to be moved into the shut position as shown in fig2 . as the door 12 is moved , each of the projection 15 of the door 12 moves in the counterclockwise direction about the rotational axis 12 a , while moving in the corresponding elongated hole 14 c of the tray supporting member 14 , toward the bottom end 14 c 2 of the elongated hole 14 c , as shown in fig1 . thus , the tray supporting member 14 is moved in the direction of the arrow mark z 2 by the pair of projections 15 . therefore , as the door 12 is moved into the shut position as shown in fig1 , the projections 14 d 1 and 14 d 2 ( fig4 ) are guided by the horizontal portion 107 a 1 , the diagonal portion 107 a 2 , and the horizontal portion 107 a 3 , in the listed order , as shown in fig1 . therefore , the tray supporting members 14 move , first , in the direction of the arrow mark z 2 , and then , in the direction of the arrow mark y 2 , that is , the direction to move closer to the transfer belt 19 , as shown in fig1 . { positioning of process cartridge relative to electrophotographic image forming apparatus main assembly } next , referring to fig5 and 17 , and the positioning of the cartridge 50 in the apparatus main assembly 100 will be described . referring to fig1 , the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided with multiple pairs ( four pairs in this embodiment ) of cartridge positioning portions 101 a for positioning a cartridge 50 relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 . that is , each cartridge compartment of the cartridge tray 13 is provided with a pair of cartridge positioning portions 101 a , which are located at the lengthwise ends of the corresponding compartment , one for one , in terms of the direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the cartridge 50 , in a manner to sandwich the transfer belt 19 . referring to fig1 ( a ) and 18 ( b ), there are pressing members 61 ( 61 y , 61 m , 61 c , and 61 k ) above each of the tray supporting members 14 . each pressing member 61 is provided with a hole 61 d , through which a pressing member supporting shaft 55 , with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , is put to rotatably support the pressing member 61 . referring again to fig1 ( a ) and 18 ( b ), as the door 12 is moved from the open position to the shut position ( in x direction ), the pressing member 61 is moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark z , pressing thereby on the top surface of the drum unit main frame 34 as shown in fig2 . therefore , the cartridge 50 y is pressed in the direction indicated by an arrow mark p in fig7 , causing the cartridge positioning portion 31 b , with which the drum unit 31 y is provided , to come into contact with the cartridge positioning portion 101 a of the apparatus main assembly 100 . as a result , the cartridge 50 y is properly positioned in the apparatus main assembly 100 . similarly , the cartridges 50 m , 50 c , and 50 k are properly positioned in the apparatus main assembly 100 . further , as the cartridge 50 is made to descend toward the positioning portion 101 a by the movement of the door 12 , the projection 180 of the apparatus main assembly 100 comes into contact with the force receiving portion 71 c of the force receiving first member 71 , which is in the bottom portion of the cartridge 50 . that is , the force receiving member 71 receives force from the projection 180 , from the bottom side of the cartridge 50 . in comparison , when the door 12 is moved from the shut position to the open position ( y direction ), the pressing member 61 moves in the direction indicated by an arrow mark j . as a result , the pressing member 61 separates from the top surface of the drum unit main frame 34 as shown in fig5 . { development roller separating mechanism of electrophotographic image forming apparatus main assembly } next , the operation of the force applying first portion 60 will be described . referring to fig1 , 3 and 19 , in terms of the vertical direction of the apparatus main assembly 100 , the force applying member 60 is positioned so that after the proper positioning of the cartridge 50 , the force applying member 60 is above the cartridge 50 . in terms of the axial line of the photosensitive drum 30 , the force applying member 60 is positioned so that it is enabled to come into contact with the force receiving second member 70 which is at the corresponding lengthwise ends of the cartridge 50 . a driving force is transmitted from a motor 110 ( mechanical power source ) with which the apparatus main assembly 100 is provided , to a gear 112 through a gear 111 . as the driving force is transmitted to the gear 112 , the gear 112 rotates in the direction indicated by an arrow mark l , rotating thereby the cam portion 112 a , which is integral with the gear 112 , in the arrow l direction . the cam portion 112 a is in contact with the moving force receiving portion 60 b , with which the force applying member 60 is provided . therefore , as the cam portion 112 a rotates , the moving force receiving member 60 is moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark e or b . referring to fig1 ( a ), as the force applying member 60 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow mark e , a rib 60 y of the force applying member 60 separates from the force receiving second member 70 , as shown in fig7 , allowing thereby the development roller 42 to come into contact with the photosensitive drum 30 . this position of the development unit 41 , which allows the development roller 42 to remain in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 , will be referred to as the contact position . referring to fig1 ( b ), as the force applying member 60 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark b , the rib 60 y comes into contact with the force receiving second member 70 , subjecting the force receiving second member 70 to external force ( second external force ) through the rib 60 y . therefore , the development unit 41 is rotated ( rotationally moved ) about the cylindrical portion 46 b ( rotational axle ), separating thereby the development roller 42 from the photosensitive drum 30 . this position of the development unit 41 , which keeps the development roller 42 separated from the photosensitive drum 30 , will be referred to as the separation position . similarly , the force applying member 60 is positioned above the path of the cartridge 50 , through which the cartridge 50 is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 by the cartridge tray 13 . the force receiving second member 70 is attached to the cartridge 50 in such a manner that until the cartridge 50 is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the force receiving second member 70 remains in its standby position ( fig5 ). therefore , the force applying member 60 can be positioned significantly closer to the cartridge path , without allowing the force applying member 60 and the cartridge 50 to interfere with each other during the mounting of the cartridge 50 , compared to the force applying member of an image forming apparatus in accordance with the prior art , making it possible to minimize wasted space , making it thereby possible to significantly reduce the cartridge 50 y in terms of its dimension in terms of its lengthwise direction ( axial direction of photosensitive drum 30 ) as well as the vertical direction of the apparatus main assembly 100 . the detailed description of the force applying member 60 will be given later . { description of mounting of process cartridge into electrophotographic image forming apparatus main assembly , and operation of force receiving apparatus } next , the operational sequence from the beginning of the mounting of the cartridge 50 into the apparatus main assembly 100 , to the separation of the development roller 42 from the photosensitive drum 30 , will be described . referring to fig4 , after the cartridge tray 13 is pulled out of the apparatus main assembly 100 to its outermost position , each cartridge 50 can be mounted into , or removed from , the cartridge tray 13 in the vertical direction , which is indicated by the arrow mark c . after the mounting of the cartridge ( s ) 50 into the cartridge tray 13 , the cartridge tray 13 is to be moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 in the direction indicated by the arrow z 2 , through the opening 80 . that is , in this embodiment , each cartridge 50 is horizontally moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 , from the direction which intersects ( roughly perpendicular ) to the axial line of the photosensitive drum 30 . referring to fig3 , the cartridge 50 y is mounted in the downstream end of the cartridge tray 13 in terms of the direction in which the cartridge tray 13 is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 . that is , the cartridge 50 y moves below the ribs 60 k 60 c , and 60 m of the force applying member 60 from upstream to downstream . if the apparatus main assembly 100 and cartridge 50 y are structured so that the force receiving second member 70 remains projecting when the cartridge 50 y is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the pressing member 61 and the force applying member 60 must be positioned significantly higher than they are positioned in this embodiment . in this embodiment , however , the apparatus main assembly 100 and the cartridge 50 y are structured so that the force receiving second member 70 remains in the above described standby position when the cartridge 50 y is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , the pressing member 61 and the force applying member 60 can be positioned as closely as possible , without taking into consideration the distance by which the force receiving second member 70 projects beyond the external contour of the cartridge 50 y . in other words , the pressing member 61 and the force applying member 60 can be positioned significantly closer to the path of the cartridge 50 y , making it possible to reduce the dimension of the cartridge 50 y in the direction parallel to the vertical direction of the apparatus main assembly 100 , compared to the counterparts of a process cartridge in accordance with the prior art . further , referring to fig2 , in terms of the direction parallel to the axial line of the drum 30 , the force receiving apparatus 90 , the pressing member 61 , and the force applying member 60 overlap , making it possible to reduce thereby the dimension of the cartridge 50 y in the lengthwise direction of the cartridge 50 y . next , referring to fig5 , the image forming apparatus in this embodiment is structured to ensure that when the cartridge tray 13 is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 , there remains a gap f 1 between the force applying member 60 and the force receiving second member 70 , and a gap f 2 between photosensitive drum 30 and the transfer belt 19 . therefore , the cartridge 50 and the apparatus main assembly 100 do not interfere with each other when the cartridge 50 is moved into the apparatus main assembly 100 . after the cartridge tray 13 is pushed all the way into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the door 12 is to be moved into the shut position as shown in fig1 and 18 ( b ). as the door 12 is moved into the shut position , the tray supporting members 14 are moved toward the transfer belt 19 ( the direction indicated by arrow mark y 2 ). hereafter , the vertical component of this movement of the tray supporting members 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow mark y 2 will be referred to as a distance f 2 . as the tray supporting members 14 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark y 2 , the cartridges 50 are moved toward the transfer belt 19 by the movement of the tray supporting members 14 , causing thereby the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 in each cartridge 50 to come into contact with the surface of the transfer belt 19 . by the time the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 comes into contact with the surface of the transfer belt 19 , the gap f 1 between the force receiving apparatus 90 and the force applying member 60 widens to the sum of the gaps f 1 and f 2 , as shown in fig5 . further , as the door 12 is moved into the shut position , the pressing member 61 is moved by the movement of the door 12 , pressing thereby on the top surface of the drum unit main frame 34 . therefore , the cartridge positioning portion 31 b of each cartridge 50 is placed in contact with the cartridge positioning portion 101 a of the apparatus main assembly 100 . consequently , each cartridge 50 is properly positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 , as shown in fig7 . further , a shaft 36 d , shown in fig1 , with which the cover 36 of each cartridge 50 is provided , engages with the cartridge rotation stopping portion 13 a ( fig1 ), with which the cartridge tray 13 is provided . therefore , the cartridge 50 is prevented from moving further in the direction indicated by an arrow mark a in fig1 , in the apparatus main assembly 100 . next , referring to fig6 , the home position of the force applying member 60 in this embodiment is made to be where the force applying member 60 keeps the development roller 42 separated from the photosensitive drum 30 . this is for the following reason . that is , while the image forming apparatus is not used for image formation after the mounting of the cartridges 50 , each cartridge 50 remains in the state shown in fig8 . that is , the force applying member 60 has moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark b , and the force receiving second member 70 has been moved by the rib 60 y as far as it can be moved . while the cartridge 50 is in this state , the photosensitive drum 30 and the development roller 42 remain separated from each other . it is in this state , shown in fig8 , in which the photosensitive drum 30 and development roller 42 remain separated from each other , that the cartridge 50 is removed from the apparatus main assembly 100 . thus , when the cartridge 50 is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 next time , the force applying member 60 is in the position shown in fig8 . therefore , as the cartridge 50 is mounted , the force receiving second member 70 comes into contact with the rib 60 y , because the force receiving second member 70 is out of its standby position , as shown in fig6 . thus , the force receiving first portion 71 is provided with an elastic portion 71 b , which is formed as an integral part of the force receiving first portion 71 , as shown in fig6 . therefore , as the contact between the force receiving second member 70 and the rib 60 y begins to interfere with the inward movement of the cartridge 50 , the elastic portion 71 b gives in ( is compressed ), preventing thereby the force receiving apparatus 90 from being damaged . as the force applying member 60 , which is in the state shown in fig6 , is moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark e as shown in fig7 , the force receiving second member 70 projects outward farther from the cartridge 50 y , entering thereby the path of the rib 60 y . this position of the force receiving second member 70 , that is , the position in which the force receiving second member 70 is in the path of the rib 60 y , will be referred to as the outermost position ( active position ). that is , when the force receiving second member 70 is in its outermost position , the distance of the projection of the force receiving second member 70 is greater than that when the force receiving second member 70 is in the abovementioned standby position , which is obvious . in order for the force receiving second member 70 to engage with the force applying member 60 , the distance of the projection of the force receiving second member 70 at the outermost position must be greater than the sum of the gaps f 1 and f 2 . further , the action of the force applying member 60 is triggered in a period between the completion of the mounting of the cartridges 50 into the apparatus main assembly 100 and the starting of an image forming operation . next , referring to fig8 , as the force applying member 60 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark b , the lateral surface 70 c , which is the force catching surface of the force receiving second member 70 , receives an external force ( second external force ) through the rib 60 y 3 , since the force receiving second member 70 ( lateral surface 70 c ) is in the path of the force applying member 60 . therefore , the development unit 41 is rotationally moved about its rotational axis 46 b ( shaft ), causing thereby the development roller 42 to separate by a gap a from the photosensitive drum 30 . it is in its outermost position that the force receiving second member 70 receives the external force ( second external force ) from the force applying member 60 . therefore , this structural arrangement is greater in the distance between the force applying member 60 and the rotational axis 46 b of the development unit 41 than a structural arrangement which moves the force applying member toward the process cartridge to separate the development roller from the photosensitive drum . therefore , the employment of this structural arrangement makes it possible to reduce the amount of torque necessary to separate the development roller 42 from the photosensitive drum 30 . in this embodiment , the elastic portion 71 b is an integral part of the force receiving first member 71 . however , as long as it is enabled to absorb the force applied to the force receiving first member 70 by the abovementioned change in the position of the cartridge 50 , it may be formed as a part of another component , or as an independent component . for example , the force applied to the force receiving first member 71 by the change in the position of the cartridge 50 may be absorbed by placing an absorbing member independent from the force receiving second and first members 70 and 71 , between the force receiving second and first members 70 and 71 , or by forming the force receiving second member of an elastic material so that the above described force can be absorbed by the deformation of the force receiving second member 71 itself . before the starting of an image forming operation , the force applying member 60 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow mark e to place the development roller 42 in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 . as the force applying member 60 is moved in the abovementioned direction , the force receiving second member 70 stops receiving force from the rib 60 y , as shown in fig7 . therefore , the development roller 42 is placed in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 by the resiliency of the compression springs 95 provided between the development unit 41 and drum unit 31 , readying thereby the process cartridge 50 for image formation . it is before the development roller 42 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 30 that the photosensitive drum 30 begins to be rotated , and the development roller 42 begins to be rotated , by the driving force which the cartridge 50 receives from the apparatus main assembly 100 through the coupling portion 67 . this is for the following reason . that is , referring to fig1 ( a ), the coupling portion 67 is made coaxial with the cylindrical portion 46 b so that even when the development unit 41 moves about the cylindrical portion 46 b , the coupling portion 67 does not change in position . that is , in this embodiment , it is before the development roller 42 is placed in contact with the photosensitive drum 30 that the development roller 42 and the photosensitive drum 30 begin to be rotated . this arrangement makes it possible to minimize the difference in peripheral velocity between the photosensitive drum 30 and the development roller 42 when the development roller 42 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 30 . therefore , it can minimize the amount of the wear that occurs to the photosensitive drum 30 and the development roller 42 when the two come into contact with each other . after the completion of the image forming operation , the development roller 42 is separated from the photosensitive drum 30 by moving the force applying member 60 in the direction indicated by the arrow mark b as described above . it is after the separation of the development roller 42 from the photosensitive drum 30 that the development roller 42 and photosensitive drum 30 are stopped . thus , this arrangement minimizes the difference in the peripheral velocity between the development roller 42 and the photosensitive drum 30 , which occurs when the two become separated . therefore , it minimizes the amount by which the development roller 42 and the photosensitive drum 30 wear when they are separated from each other . consequently , this arrangement improves an image forming apparatus in image quality . next , the operation for removing the cartridge 50 from the apparatus main assembly 100 will be described . first , the door 12 is to be moved from its shut position to the open position . as the door 12 is moved , the tray supporting members 14 are raised in the direction to separate from the transfer belt 19 as shown in fig3 and 4 . therefore , the cartridges 50 are moved upward , causing the photosensitive drum 30 in each cartridge 50 to separate from the transfer belt 19 . further , the pressing member 61 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow mark j in fig5 , being separated from the drum unit 31 , as described above . thus , the force receiving first member 71 separates from the projection 180 , being thereby deprived of the force to keep the force receiving second member 70 projecting beyond the external contour of the development unit 41 . as for the force receiving second member 70 , its slant surface 70 y 2 comes into contact with the slant surface 60 y 2 of the force applying 60 , as shown in fig2 . thus , the force receiving second member 70 is rotationally moved about its rotational axis 70 a , back into its standby position ( inaction position ), by the component of the force to which the slant surface 70 y 2 is subjected as the cartridge 50 ( cartridge tray 13 ) is pulled out . incidentally , a spring may be employed , as in another embodiment of the present invention , as the means for generating the force for returning the force receiving second member into its standby position . that is , the first embodiment , in which the abovementioned spring is not employed , was presented as the embodiment which is smallest in the components count . as described above , in this embodiment , the apparatus main assembly 100 and the cartridge 50 are structured so that as the door 12 is moved into its shut position after the cartridge 50 is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the force receiving second member 70 for moving the development unit 41 projects beyond the outward surface of the development unit 41 . therefore , the cartridge 50 in this embodiment is significantly smaller in height than a cartridge ( 50 ) in accordance with the prior art . further , the force receiving second member 70 remains in its standby position while the cartridge 50 is mounted . therefore , the space necessary , in the apparatus main assembly 100 in this embodiment , for the movement of the cartridge ( s ) 50 does not need to be as large as that in the main assembly of an image forming apparatus in accordance with the prior art . that is , the present invention makes it possible to reduce the opening 80 in size , and also , makes it possible to place the force applying member 60 significantly closer to the path of the cartridge 50 than the prior art , making it thereby possible to reduce the apparatus main assembly 100 in vertical dimension . further , the force receiving apparatus 90 , the pressing member 61 , and the force applying member 60 are positioned so that they overlap in terms of the direction parallel to the axial line of the drum , as shown in fig2 , making it possible to reduce the cartridge in its lengthwise dimension . further , when the cartridge 50 is handled by a user , or is transported alone , the force receiving second member 70 remains in its standby position , being therefore unlikely to be damaged . in this embodiment , the apparatus main assembly 100 is structured so that its projection 180 is below the path of the cartridge 50 . however , as long as the projection 180 comes into contact with the force receiving first member 71 while the cartridge 50 is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 , it does not matter where the projection 180 is positioned . moreover , the shape of the projection 180 is optional , as long as the projection 180 is enabled to move the force receiving portion 71 c by coming into contact with the force receiving portion 71 c . in other words , the force receiving portion 71 c may be a stationary projection which projects from the cover 46 . however , if the force receiving portion 71 c is made stationary , the force receiving portion 71 c must be adjusted in height to prevent the force receiving portion 71 c from coming into contact with the apparatus main assembly 100 while the cartridge 50 y is mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 . next , referring to fig1 and 13 , another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the cartridge 50 is provided with a first lever 471 , a second lever 470 , and a gear 472 . the first lever 471 has a force receiving first portion 471 c . the second lever 470 has a force receiving second portion 470 c , and meshes with the gear 472 . this structural arrangement can move the second lever 470 by a greater distance than the distance by which the first lever 471 is moved . the gear 472 is a step gear made up of a portion ( first portion ) which engages with the first lever 471 and is n 1 in tooth count , and a portion ( second portion ) which engages with the second lever 470 and is n 2 in tooth count . thus , it is possible to amplify the distance by which the first level 471 is moved by making the tooth count n 2 of the second portion of the gear 472 greater than the tooth count n 1 of the first portion of the gear 472 ( n 2 & gt ; n 1 ). to concretely described the operation of the force receiving apparatus in this embodiment , referring to fig1 ( a ), while the cartridge 50 is inserted into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the second lever 470 remains within the cartridge 50 . then , when the cartridge 50 is properly positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 by the cartridge positioning portion 101 a , the force receiving first portion 471 c begins to receive external force ( first external force ) from the projection 180 , being thereby moved upward as indicated by an arrow mark f 2 . as the force receiving first portion 471 c moves upward as indicated by the arrow mark f 2 , the gear 472 is rotated , and this rotation of the gear 472 causes the second lever 470 to move upward . thus , immediately after the cartridge 50 is properly positioned by the cartridge positioning portion 101 a , the second lever 470 is in its outermost position as shown in fig1 ( b ). when the second lever 470 is in its outermost position , the force receiving portion 470 c of the lever 470 receives the external force ( second external force ) from the rib 60 y 3 in the same manner as the force receiving second portion 70 c of the force receiving second member 70 receives external force from the rib 60 y 3 in the first embodiment . further , in this structural arrangement , a coil spring 473 is provided to ensure that the second lever 470 always returns to its standby position . the reason therefor is as follows : it is assumed that from the standpoint of apparatus design , it is difficult to ensure that the component of the force which the slant surface 60 y 1 receives is large enough to return the force receiving portion 470 c to its original position ( for example , if the amount of the force necessary to pull cartridges ( cartridge tray ) increases ). in other words , the provision of the coil spring 473 is not mandatory , as it is not in the first embodiment . this embodiment , however , will be described with reference to a case where the coil spring 473 is provided . in this case , unless the resiliency of the coil spring 473 is smaller than the resilience of the elastic portion 471 b , which is an integral part of the lever 471 , the force receiving first member 470 is not allowed to move . therefore , all that is necessary is to set the relationship between a force f 1 which is generated by the coil spring 473 , and a force f 2 which is generated by the elastic member 471 b , to be f 1 & lt ; f 2 . in this embodiment , the cartridge 450 is designed to be assembled in the following manner : first , the gear 472 is rotatably supported by the cover 446 , which is firmly attached to the bearing unit 445 , and then , the second lever 470 and first lever 471 are attached so that the two levers mesh with the corresponding portions of the gear 472 . the shape of the apparatus main assembly in this embodiment is the same as that of the apparatus main assembly in the first embodiment . therefore , the force receiving portion which is necessary to place the development roller in contact with the photosensitive drum , or separate the development roller from the photosensitive drum , is the tip 470 c of the second lever 470 . otherwise , this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment . as described above , the force receiving apparatus in this embodiment is the same in effectiveness as that in the first embodiment . in this embodiment , however , the distance by which the second lever is moved can be easily changed by changing the gear ratio between the first and second portions of the gear 472 . also in this embodiment , when the cartridge tray is pulled out , the force receiving member 470 comes into contact with the slant surface 60 y 2 . then , as the cartridge tray is pulled out further , the force receiving second member 470 is pushed back into the development unit , and stored therein , by being moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark f 2 by the slanted surface 60 y 2 . therefore , the provision of the return spring 473 is not mandatory . next , referring to fig1 and 15 , the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a case where the force receiving first member belongs to a drum unit 531 . first , the method for assembling the cartridge in this embodiment will be described . the cartridge in this embodiment is designed so that a force receiving first member 571 belongs to a drum unit 531 . a force receiving second member 570 and a connective rod 574 are attached to a cover 546 . then , the cover 536 is joined with a bearing member 545 . lastly , the development unit 541 and drum unit 531 are connected by the cover 536 to complete the cartridge 550 . to describe in more detail the cartridge 550 in this embodiment with reference to fig1 and 15 , first , referring to fig1 , a projection 5180 of the apparatus main assembly is located so that it opposes the drum unit . thus , the force receiving first member 571 is placed in the drum unit 531 . the drum unit is provided with the force receiving first member 571 , which has a force receiving first portion 571 c and is movable . further , the drum unit is provided with a rod in the form of the force receiving first portion 571 and a connective rod 574 . the connective rod 574 is rotationally movable about the rotational axis 574 a while remaining in contact with the rod 571 . the development unit is provided with a force receiving second member 570 , which has an elongated hole 570 b and is rotationally movable about a rotational axis 570 a . further , the opposite lengthwise end of the connective rod 574 from the rod 571 is provided with a projection ( connective pin ) which fits in the elongated hole of the force receiving second member 570 . when the cartridge 550 is properly positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 101 by the cartridge positioning portion 101 a , the force receiving first portion 571 c begins to receive external force ( first external force ) from the projection 5180 . therefore , the force receiving first member 571 begins to be moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark positioned inside member 571 as shown in fig1 ( b ), causing the connective rod 574 to rotationally move in the direction ( clockwise direction ) indicated by an arrow mark m . thus , the force receiving second member 570 is rotationally moved about the rotational axis 570 a in the direction to move the opposite end portion of the force receiving second member 570 from the elongated hole 570 b , arcuately upward , as indicated by an arrow mark n . since the curvature of the elongated hole 570 b is such that while the development roller is not in contact with the photosensitive drum , the center of the curvature of the elongated hole 570 b coincides with the rotational axis of the development unit 541 . therefore , while the development unit 541 is separated from the drum unit 531 , the connective rod 574 is subjected to no load . also in this embodiment , a return spring ( 573 ) is provided . however , the return spring 573 may be eliminated by a design change . also in this embodiment , the distance by which the force receiving second member is moved can be made greater than the distance by which the force receiving first member is moved , by properly selecting the leverage ratio of the connective rod . further , in this embodiment , when the cartridge tray is pulled out , the force receiving second member 570 comes into contact with the slant surface 60 y 2 as does the force receiving first member 70 in the first embodiment . then , as the cartridge tray is pulled out further , the force receiving second member 570 is pushed back into the development unit 541 to be stored therein , by being moved in the direction opposite from the direction indicated by the arrow mark n . therefore , the provision of the return spring 573 is not mandatory . according to the present invention , it is possible to reduce in size a process cartridge , the electrophotographic photosensitive drum , and the development roller , which can be placed in contact with , or separated from , the electrophotographic photosensitive drum . it is also possible to reduce in size an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which employs the abovementioned process cartridge . further , it is possible to structure an electrophotographic image forming apparatus so that its force receiving apparatus for separating the development roller from the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is unlikely to be damaged while the abovementioned process is handled by a user , or is transported alone . while the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein , it is not confined to the details set forth , and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims . this application claims priority from japanese patent applications nos . 172742 / 2007 and 162311 / 2008 filed jun . 29 , 2007 and jun . 20 , 2008 , respectively , which are hereby incorporated by reference .
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referring now to the drawings a minefield clearing apparatus 1 is shown in fig . l attached to the front of a tank 2 . the apparatus 1 has : an interface assembly 3 which is rigidly fixed to the front of the tank 2 ; a singular plow face 4 which extends traversely of the path of forward travel of tank 2 being the same as the longitudinal axis 5 of the tank 2 ; and frame g reinforcing the plow face 4 and being joined by pins 7 to interface assembly 3 . it will be seen in fig2 that the plow face 4 is attached to frame 6 having a shape , when viewed from above , similar to that of a right triangle . plow face 4 extends laterally and inwardly from its distal end 8 to its inner end 9 being closer to tank 2 . during minefield clearing operations as the plow face 4 is moved through the ground surface , mines 10 , unexploded ordinance , or other objects unearthed by plow face 4 will move along the front of plow face 4 and will he deposited as part of an earthen berm 11 adjacent to end 9 and outside of the path of the tank 2 . the plow face 4 is provided with a row of teeth 12 and 13 alternatingly positioned along its length and is best seen in fig3 and 4 . teeth 12 have a forward facing projection 14 assisting in lifting objects buried beneath the ground surface . each of teeth 13 has a substantially vertical leading edge without a forward facing projection . teeth 13 provide the plow face 4 with added ground cutting ability and strength . teeth 12 and 13 are joined by horizontal stiffening members 15 . stiffening members 15 are vertically separated from one another , span the length of the plow face 4 and join adjacent teeth 12 and 13 . during minefield clearing operations , teeth 12 and 13 and stiffening members 15 form a lattice or grid permitting objects of small size to pass therebetween while simultaneously retaining objects of larger dimensions such as mines . the grid additionally reduces drag upon the plow face 4 while in use since a significant quantity of earthen material which would otherwise be retained against the plow face 4 and plowed into berm 11 will return to the ground surface with little movement . the teeth 12 and 13 are mounted to rails 16 comprising the leading edge of frame 6 , and extend outwardly therefrom . rails 16 reinforce the plow face 4 and are supported above and below by push beam assemblies 17 . additional support for the rails 16 is provided by intermediate push bars 18 which are joined to brackets 19 by pins 20 . attached to the forward ends of push beam assemblies 17 are skid shoe bearing arms 21 and supporting shoes 22 best seen in fig3 . it is contemplated that each skid shoe bearing arm 21 will be of identical configuration and interchangeable . damage caused in the field by an exploding mine 10a can be efficiently repaired by replacement of arm 21 or attached shoe 22 which may be joined , to each other and to push beam assemblies 17 , by removable pins 50 or other fastening devices . the ground engaging skid shoe 22 is adjustable in height . altering the depth at which the teeth 12 and 13 penetrate the ground surface is accomplished by manual adjustment of telescoping legs or supports 23 which , in turn , raise or lower the attached skid shoe 22 . brace support bar 51 of appropriate length may be fastened to the telescoping legs 23 providing additional support thereto . the interface assembly 3 joins the minefield clearing apparatus 1 to a vehicle such as tank 2 and is best seen in fig5 , and 7 . the interface assembly 3 has a mounting hood 24 which may be manufactured with various cross sectional configurations in order to closely fit the vehicle to which it is to be attached . nonetheless , the configuration disclosed in the preferred embodiment has a v - shaped cross section . the hood 24 is joined by pins 25 fitted through mount locks 26 integrally joined to the tank 2 . the mount locks 26 pass through holes 27 placed in the hood 24 . extending horizontally forward from the mounting hood 24 is a hinge bar 28 to which frame 6 may he joined . joining is accomplished by inserting pins 29 through aligned holes in hinge bar brackets 52 and transverse push beam 30 . a second embodiment of a minefield clearing apparatus shown in fig8 and 9 . this particular embodiment of the apparatus provides conveyor belts 31 and 32 for transporting the contents of the earth raised by the plow face 4 to the rear of the vehicle along a line substantially parallel to the direction of travel of the vehicle . conveyor belts 31 and 32 are mounted within a mine collecting chute 33 and mine collecting ramp 34 respectively . the chute 33 forms a continuous channel from the front to the rear of the vehicle permitting movement of contents of the earth uncovered by the plow face 4 therein . the chute 33 has a first continuous belt track 35 for support above the ground surface and first side walls 36 mounted perpendicularly to each other above track 35 for retaining materials . track 35 is capable of being rotated when the tank 2 is driven over the ground surface and may be frictionally engaged by roller 53 with conveyor belt 31 which forms the floor of the chute 33 . when engaged , the motion of tank 2 over the ground surface will cause belt 31 to turn . the ramp 34 , on the other hand funnels and lifts the contents of the earth uncovered by plow face 4 to a height above the ground surface and deposits such within chute 33 . the ramp 34 has a second continuous belt track 37 for support and a belt 32 forming a portion of the ramp floor 38 . track 37 is capable of being rotated when the tank 2 is driven over the ground surface and in a manner similar to that described for belt 31 , motion may be imparted to conveyor bet 32 . as conveyor belts 31 and 32 are directly driven by continuous belt tracks 35 and 37 , their speed of rotation is dependent upon the speed of the vehicle over the ground surface . while the vehicle is moving slowly over the ground surface , belts 31 and 32 will rotate slowly . as the vehicle accelerates , belts 31 and 32 will accelerate and an increased flow of materials may be transported over them . when the vehicle comes to rest belts 31 and 32 will stop . funneling objects buried beneath the ground surface uncovered by plow face 4 to ramp 34 is a rake extension member 60 , having teeth 12 and 13 mounted thereon in a fashion similar to plow face 4 , angularly joined to frame 6 . member 60 extends from inner end 9 of the plow face 4 forward and away from tank 2 . this &# 34 ; funnel &# 34 ; prevents mines and unexploded ordinance from bypassing the ramp 34 increasing confidence that the area plowed by the instant minefield clearing apparatus is free of mines . a third embodiment of a minefield clearing apparatus is shown in fig1 and 11 . whereas each of the previously discussed embodiments were equipped with a single plow face 4 extending traversely of the path of forward travel of tank 2 , it is desirable to divide the plow face into pivotable segments 38 and 39 . pivoting segments 38 and 39 permit a more consistent plowing depth across the length of the plow face by the apparatus moving across uneven terrain . pivotal movement about pins 40 is accomplished as skid shoes 22 attached to the ends of segments 38 and 39 , not shown in fig1 and 11 , ride over uneven terrain raising or lowering segments 38 and 39 relative to central push beam assembly 17 . additional support for the pivot mechanism is provided by pivot bars 41 joined at on end to push beam assembly 17 and at the other to guide rods 42 extending from pivot plate 43 joining rails 16 . when the apparatus 1 is no longer required for a particular mine clearing operation , the plow face 4 and frame 6 can be disconnected from the interface assembly 3 mounted upon tank 2 by removal of pins 7 . by means of a small winch ( not shown ) mounted upon the tank 2 or a third vehicle , the plow face and frame assembly 4 and 6 may be placed upon a small trailer ( not shown ) and transported to a desired location . it is to be understood that the present minefield clearing apparatus is not limited to the embodiments described above but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims .
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in order to provide a mattress or bed base or combination , which can be considered as a ‘ whole body support structure ’ in one embodiment , it is necessary to calculate the requirements it needs to fulfill in order to minimize distortion of the body being supported . there are three predefined areas — a first corresponding with the waist and lumbar , a second corresponding with the hip , and a third corresponding with the shoulders . the relative positions and distortions required for natural or neutral position can be designated as follows : i ) the depression of the mattress at the waist / lumbar ( or the correction needed at this zone ) as dw , the weight of a unit area at that part of the body as pw , ii ) the depression of the mattress at the shoulders ( or the correction needed at this zone ) as ds , the weight of a unit area at that part of the body as ps , iii ) the depression of the mattress at the hips ( or the correction needed at this zone ) dh , the weight of a unit area at that part of the body as ph , iv ) the width differential ( extra to the waist ) or the lumbar curve depth as l and the extra width of the shoulders to that as s v ) the stiffness / supportive ability of the mattress of a unit area at that part of the body as ks ( shoulder ), kw ( waist / lumbar ), and kh hips ). calculations have been carried out for such range of values as : vi ) l or lumbar curve = 20 , 35 , 50 , 65 ) vii ) pw the weight / unit area at the waist as being double the weight that at the shoulders and =( 2 * ps ), and the weight per unit area at the hips ph as 2 . 5 times that at the shoulders =( 2 . 5 * ps ) p 1 viii ) the depression on the bed at the waist / lumbar : dw as 1 to 30 mm , ( calculate for dw = to 1 , 5 , 10 , 20 , 30 ) ix ) the shoulders to be wider than the hips by s which can be from 0 to 100 mm ( calculate for s = to 0 , 25 , 50 , 75 , 100 ) x ) it should be noted that for stomach sleepers , l refers to the vertical difference between the compressed stomach and upper thighs , ans s as the vertical difference between the compressed stomach and the outer part of the body ( usually the chest ). since the depression dn of the bed at a point ‘ n ’ is given by the equation ( where pn is the weight supported by the bed at point ‘ n ’ and kn is the effective firmness of the bed at point ‘ n ’) then the equation for firmness of the mattress at each of the 3 areas is : ks kh = ps ( dw + l + s ) × ( dw + l ) ph kw kh = pw dw × ( dw + l ) ph ks = kh × ( dw + l ) ( dw + l + s ) × ps ph & amp ; kw = kh × ( dw + l ) dw pw ph tabulating values for these different combinations gives a picture of the values and inter - relationship between these factors . see tables 1a and 1b of fig6 - 7 , respectively . weight at hips and upper thighs approx .= to weight at stomach so pw = 2 * ps , ph = pw = 2 * ps a lumbar curve or hips wider than waist 35 mm of say : and shoulders wider than hips 75 mm total varation 110 mm weight at hips and upper thighs approx . 15 % extra to weight at stomach so pw = 2 * ps , ph = 1 . 15 * pw = 2 . 3 * ps a lumbar curve or hips wider than waist 65 mm of say : and shoulders wider than hips − 15 mm total varation 50 mm here are 3 examples of how to shape the bed for each ( male and female ) on their own or on each respective side of the bed if they were a couple : the mattress for each is made with a hybrid of varying firmnesses along the bed such that the depression at the 3 key points are appropriate for each . i ) for the male , for a mattress on which the dw ( depression at waist )= 20 mm , ii ) for the female , for a mattress on which the dw ( depression at waist )= 20 mm , ks = kh ×( 20 + 65 )/( 20 + 65 − 15 )× 1 / 2 . 3 = 0 . 53 * kh kw = kh ×( 20 + 65 )/( 20 )× 1 / 1 . 15 = 3 . 70 * kh the mattress is manufactured with the 3 important zones at these calculated values and the areas in between are blended to smoothen the curves produced at the shoulders to waist to hips . the mattress is entirely of uniform firmness for both the male and the female . i ) the male compresses the mattress by 40 mm at the waist and therefore only 40 / 2 = 20 mm at the shoulders ( ps = ½ pw ) which are now 20 mm above the waist instead of 110 mm below , and compresses the mattress also 40 mm at the hips ( ph = pw ) which should be 35 mm below the waist ,— so the base system ( using blocks or some other means ) or ‘ hump and through system ’ under the bottom surface of the mattress has to correct the vertical displacement the mattress top surface by a ) − ve 10 mm at the hips , ( now − 40 − 10 =− 50 mm ) b ) + ve 25 mm at waist , ( now − 40 + 25 =− 15 mm ) net compression at waist , and ( 25 + 10 = 35 mm above hips which is correct ) c ) − ve 105 mm at the shoulders so they are (− 20 − 105 −(− 40 )+ 25 =− 110 mm below waist ) ii ) the female also happens to compresses the mattress at the waist by 40 mm but ( because of her weight ) only 40 / 2 = 20 mm at the shoulders , and 40 * 1 . 15 = 46 mm at the hips .— so the base system ( using blocks or some other means ) or ‘ hump and through system ’ under the bottom surface of the mattress has to correct the vertical displacement the mattress top surface by a ) + ve 24 mm at the waist ( this is now a nett − 40 + 24 =− 16 mm depression at the waist ) b ) − ve 35 mm at the hips ( this is now 6 + 24 + 35 = 65 mm below the waist ) c ) − ve 46 mm at the shoulders ( this is now − 20 + 16 −(− 40 )+ 24 =− 50 mm below the waist ) corrective shaping is affected fully by a hybrid of means : from i ) within the mattress , ii ) underneath the bottom surface of the mattress but above the top surface of the base , and iii ) by shaping of the top surface of the base means under the mattress the user can use a full combination of zoning ( shaping ) within the mattress and applying the net applicable corrections by the mattress supportive system . using a zoned mattress with voids and other predetermined compressible support means such that its properties from table 3 are — as follows : dw = 20 mm , l = 35 , ks = 0 . 2 , kw = 2 . 2 , s = 25 mm . ( for pw = 2ps and ph = 2 . 5ps ) i ) the male compresses the mattresses at the waist by 20 mm , l = 35 *( 2 / 2 . 5 )= 28 mm , so hips are 28 mm below the waist and s 25 mm so the shoulders are 25 mm below the waist so the — base system ( using blocks or some other means ) or ‘ hump and through system ’ under the bottom surface of the mattress is able to correct the vertical displacement the mattress top surface as follows : a ) place a + ve 25 mm shape ( flat in this case ) from below the shoulder area to the feet , this means that the shoulders are now − 25 − 25 =− 50 mm below the waist b ) − ve 7 mm vertical displacement of the hips ( 28 − 7 =− 35 mm ) which aligns the hips correctly with the waist . c ) − ve 60 mm vertical displacement at the shoulder area so shoulders are aligned , ii ) the female compresses the mattresses at the waist by 20 mm , l = 35 *( 1 . 15 * 2 / 2 . 5 )= 32 mm , so hips are 32 mm below the waist and s 25 mm so the shoulders are 25 mm below the waist so the — base system ( using blocks or some other means ) or ‘ hump and through system ’ under the bottom surface of the mattress has to correct the vertical displacement the mattress top surface by a ) place a + ve 25 mm shape ( flat in this case ) from below the shoulder area to the feet , this means that the shoulders are now − 25 − 25 =− 50 mm below the waist which is correct , b )— depress the hip area only by the base supportive surface by − ve 33 mm this now makes the hips (− 33 − 32 =)− 65 mm below the waist — which is correct referring to fig3 to 5 there is shown three forms of structure that allow for selection of voids , solid shapes or resilient inserts to alter locally when in use the compression and the profile of the at least two longitudinally related sections according to a predetermined requirement of the user to allow for natural or neutral sleeping position of the user . in fig3 there is a mattress and a base . the stiffness / supportive ability of the mattress of a unit area at that part of the body as ks ( shoulder ), kw ( waist / lumbar ), and kh hips ) is provided by a combination of base and mattress . in the base there can be located voids to allow the mattress to sink into the base . further there can be calibrated blocks to allow upward distortion of the mattress . further in the mattress are linear top - level voids in the top layer of the mattress and overlying deep voids or low - density material sections . the combination at the hips in a longitudinal direction of the top layer void , deep internal void or low density void of the mattress and the void in the base allow the sufficient variation of depression with required compression relative to other sections to accommodate the persons differing weight along the length of the bed . the section though is particularly shaped due to the variation at each section such as shaping or full void alongside low - density material . at the shoulder area are a range of differing sized , shaped and variable high density material in the mattress overlying shaped calibrated blocks in the base to provide differing shaped support of the shoulders compared to the waist and hips . in fig4 there is a bedding with differeing top layers and in each section multiple central sections . the stiffness / supportive ability of the bedding at each part of the body defined as ks ( shoulder ), kw ( waist / lumbar ), and kh hips ) is provided by sm support comprising light supportive materials in shoulder area with a series of shaped voids and softer padding layers to decrease firmness and allow more compression thus making way for shoulder to fit in deeper into supportive shaped . at the waist to provide kw there is wm comprising firmest supportive material plus thicker and firmer padding layers to cause more firmness and less depression at the waist . at the hip there is hm to provide kh comprising medium firmness support , materials and padding layers with / without use of voids in order to allow the hips to depress into the mattress b the desired amount . in fig5 there is a latex or core bedding which is able to have varying voids v alongside each other and above each other in one section with the voids able to receive various density foam or other material inserted therein to change the compression and depression of that section of he bedding . at another section can be chambers for receiving dumbbell shaped firmer density materials with varying heights placed within the core or latex bedding . the dumbbell shape controls the variation of compression while altering the depression in a shaped manner . it should be understood that the above description is of preferred embodiments and included as illustration only . it is not limiting of the invention . clearly variations of the method of forming a bed system would be understood by a person skilled in the art without any inventiveness and such variations are included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims .
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aspects of the present invention provide an acoustic vector sensor that comprises at least one accelerometer to measure at least one component of acoustic particle acceleration . the at least one accelerometer has a resonant frequency within a measurement band of the acoustic vector sensor . one of the most important attributes of any underwater acoustic sensor is to exhibit an electronic noise floor that is well below the lowest acoustic signal of interest . this is usually accommodated with a marriage of an optimal sensor design with an optimal preamplifier design given other design constraints . experience dictates that this approach is very straightforward for piezoelectric sensors that measure the acoustic pressure , but very difficult for piezoelectric sensors that measure the acoustic pressure - gradient , particularly at frequencies below 1 khz . this latter issue is exacerbated when the sensing platform mandates small geometrical form factors for its internal components . moreover , the usual design practice for miniature vector sensors is to employ transducers having a fundamental resonance well above the frequency range of interest and to use high performance single crystal - based piezoelectric accelerometers , see , k . k . deng , “ underwater acoustic vector sensor using transverse - response free , shear mode pmn - pt crystal ,” u . s . pat . no . 7 , 066 , 026 b2 , dated jun . 27 , 2006 , and l . zou and k . k . deng , “ high sensitivity low noise piezoelectric flexural sensing structure using & lt ; 011 & gt ; poled relaxor - based piezoelectric single crystals ,” u . s . pat . no . 7 , 104 , 140 b2 , dated sep . 12 , 2006 , each incorporated by reference herein . while this approach may be novel , it translates into high costs because the single crystal material is very expensive , relative to conventional ceramic transduction materials , and does not lend itself nicely to standardized assembly techniques . by way of example , in the not too distant past , a lot of size thirty ( 30 ) shear mode pmn - pt single crystal plates having dimensions of 5 mm ( l )× 5 mm ( w )× 1 mm ( h ), a & lt ; 111 & gt ; crystallographic orientation , and a xzt - 22 . 5 cut can cost approximately $ 10 , 000 . 00 , whereas the same number of navy type ii ceramic plates can cost below approximately $ 1 , 000 . 00 . the cost differential can be approximately a factor of 10 . additionally , the accepted practice of soldering electrical leads to piezoelectric transduction elements can not be used for single crystal material because the temperature of most solders exceeds the curie temperature ( i . e , the temperature that will substantially degrade or completely depolarize a piezoelectric material ). to illustrate this point further , the curie temperature for pmn - pt single crystal is t c ˜ 170 ° c ., whereas for navy type ii ceramic t c ˜ 370 ° c . see , e . g ., c . h . sherman and j . l . butler , “ transducers and arrays for underwater sound ,” 552 - 553 ( springer , new york , 2007 ). most solders need to be heated to over 250 ° c . to work properly . for the case of single crystal transducers , special low temperature solder , conductive epoxy , or novel electroding techniques are required to resolve this issue . these steps increase fabrication costs and reduce reliability for miniature vector sensors . as an alternative to using high performance accelerometers containing single crystal transduction elements and an out - of - band resonance , accelerometers containing conventional ceramic transduction elements and an in - band resonance are well suited for vector sensors that require miniature form factors and low electronic noise floors . the use of an in - band resonance provides greater sensitivity relative to the case of a similar unit with an out - of - band resonance . this is borne out of the converse problem of designing sound projectors having an in - band resonance to deliver greater sound levels than projectors without an in - band resonance . moreover , when this concept is used in conjunction with conventional ceramic , the electronic noise floor of the accelerometer will rival that of a single crystal - based unit , but at a lower cost . to illustrate this concept , fig1 presents the results of measuring the sensitivity 100 and resonance frequency 150 of a cantilever beam piezoelectric accelerometer as a function of the end mass . fig1 shows that the sensitivity 100 below the fundamental resonance frequency is proportional to the end - mass and the resonance frequency 150 is inversely proportional to the end - mass . as such , the end - mass can be used to tune the sensitivity 100 and resonance frequency 150 for a particular frequency band so that the desired electronic noise floor can be achieved . though not shown in the figure , the sensitivity has a maximum at the resonance frequency . the accelerometer 200 used in the evaluation of fig1 is shown in fig2 , which presents a schematic showing two elevational views . fig2 includes a first elevation view 250 where the width of a beam 220 is in the plane of the page and a second elevation view 260 where the thickness of the beam 220 is in the plane of the page . in fig2 , the accelerometer 200 contains two series - connected thickness - poled navy type ii ceramic plates 210 - 1 and 210 - 2 that are bonded to an aluminum beam 220 that is fixed at one end to a rigid base 205 and contains a discrete mass ( not shown ) at the other end . the value for the end - mass was varied by fabricating identical units from materials having significantly different densities . in one of the test cases , no end - mass was used . the sensitivity 100 was measured using the comparison technique involving a moving coil shaker and reference accelerometer . the resonance frequency 150 was inferred from an electrical admittance measurement . for a more detailed discussion of these results , see , e . g ., j . a . mcconnell and s . c . jensen , “ development of a miniature uniaxial pressure - acceleration probe for bio - acoustic applications ( a ), j . acoust . soc . am ., 119 , 3446 ( 2006 ), incorporated by reference herein . one disadvantage of using the discrete end - mass approach delineated above concerns the result of creating a resonant system that exhibits an unreasonably high mechanical quality factor , or q , owing itself to the low mechanical losses in the system . the accelerometers 200 shown in fig2 all had high - q resonances with quality factors reaching as high as approximately 200 . this is an undesirable attribute because it leads to ringing and electromechanical cross - talk which can limit the dynamic range of the measurement system and degrade the sensor &# 39 ; s directivity pattern . it is the object of the present invention to circumvent these issues . it is noted that the in - band resonance technique is not required for the pressure sensor , since existing designs , which consider conventional ceramic transducers having an out - of - band resonance , already meet electronic noise floor specifications for most measurement scenarios . the accelerometers 200 shown in fig2 can be fabricated with various end - masses , including tungsten , bronze , titanium and aluminum , as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art . as previously indicated , an aspect of the present invention provides an acoustic vector sensor that comprises at least one accelerometer to measure at least one component of acoustic particle acceleration . the at least one accelerometer has a resonant frequency within a measurement band of the acoustic vector sensor . fig3 presents a cut - away schematic of an embodiment of acoustic vector sensor 300 incorporating features of the present invention . as shown in fig3 , the acoustic vector sensor 300 is a cylindrical body that contains an air - backed piezoelectric ceramic cylinder to measure the acoustic pressure and a biaxial accelerometer to measure two orthogonal components of the acoustic particle acceleration . the acoustic vector sensor 300 includes accelerometers 350 that are oriented such that their principle axes of sensitivity are orthogonal to the axis of the cylindrical body . in this way , when the vector sensor 300 is installed inside a line array , it can resolve the so - called left - right ambiguity that is problematic of existing arrays that employ pressure sensors . other features shown in fig3 include the means to incorporate a stack of printed circuit boards 330 that contain transducer preamplifiers and related electronics . the pressure sensor 370 is capped at both ends with caps 315 and 360 to form a pressure vessel that can withstand typical operational pressures . the pressure sensor 370 consists of an air - backed ceramic cylinder having caps 315 and 360 at both ends . the caps 315 and 360 also serve as the means to ensure that the acoustic pressure acts on the external surface of the ceramic cylinder . in this embodiment , the open - circuit voltage sensitivity can be predicted with the formulae contained in r . a . langevin , “ the electro - acoustic sensitivity of cylindrical ceramic tubes ,” j . acoust . soc . am ., 26 , 421 - 427 ( 1953 ). the in - water resonance frequency can be predicted using the approach taken in j . a . mcconnell ( 2004 ), incorporated by reference herein . in the present invention , the resonance frequency of the pressure sensor is designed to be well above the frequency range of interest . the cap 315 serves as the means to route the electrical signals from the circuit board to the measurement hardware via a multi - conductor shielded cable 320 and as an anchoring point for one end of the pressure sensor . the cap 360 provides a rigid termination for the accelerometers , which conform to the design of a tri - laminar piezoelectric cantilever beam containing a viscoelastic coating . as shown in fig3 , the cantilever beam accelerometers 350 ( only one of four is shown in fig3 ) contain conventional ceramic elements and an in - band mode . here , the coating serves as a distributed mass and damper to facilitate an in - band mode having a low mechanical quality factor . the cavity where the accelerometers 350 are housed is sealed by a cylindrical tube 325 having a tapered end - cap . the dimensions of the tube 325 are sized so that it can withstand deep submergence . a by product of this attribute is that the tube &# 39 ; s fundamental resonance frequency is well above the frequency range of interest . as shown in fig3 , the acoustic vector sensor 300 includes a slotted plastic cylindrical shell 335 that serves as a means to hold the printed circuit boards 330 . in one embodiment , the acoustic vector sensor 300 may include polyurethane potting 340 to seal the sensor and provide a good impedance match to the acoustic medium . in addition , the polyurethane potting 340 can provide strain relief for the signal cable where it exits the sensor body . fig3 also illustrates the top of cap 360 serving as a rigid base of the acoustic vector sensor 300 that serves as an anchoring point for the accelerometers and one end of the pressure sensor . the piezoelectric plates may be implemented using , for example , pzt ( lead zirconate titanate ), pmn - pt ( lead magnesium niobate - lead titanate ) or pzn - pt ( lead zirconium niobate - lead titanate ). fig4 shows the assembly details of the accelerometers 350 of fig3 . as shown in fig4 , each accelerometer 350 - 1 through 350 - 4 contains two tri - laminar piezoelectric cantilever beams , such as beams 410 - 1 and 410 - 2 , that are anchored in a slot 420 machined in the face of the base 425 . the cantilever beams are electrically connected in series or parallel to produce the desired sensitivity and electronic noise floor . this symmetrical arrangement also makes the sensor insensitive to rotational motion about the z - axis and consequently polarizes the response of the accelerometers to rectilinear motion , which is their intended purpose . rotational motion about the x - and y - axis can be counteracted by a locating orthogonal pairs of accelerometers on the backside of the base and would constitute a different embodiment to the design shown fig3 and 4 . the aforementioned slot is filled with a high strength epoxy to fasten the cantilever beams to the base . the epoxy also serves as a means to damp the resonance associated with the accelerometer . the base is preferably made from a high strength ceramic material such as alumina , beryllia , or macor so that it is sufficiently stiff and electrically inert in order to mechanically and electrically isolate one set of cantilever beams from the other set . this feature is critical to preserving the dipole null depth associated with the accelerometer &# 39 ; s directivity pattern . the base 425 also contains a network of holes , such as hole 430 ( only one of four is labeled in fig4 ) that provide the means to route electrical leads 480 from the accelerometers 350 to the preamplifier . fig4 also contains a detailed drawing of one exemplary accelerometer 350 - 1 and shows that it contains a tri - laminar structure consisting of a metal beam 450 - flanked by two thickness - poled piezoelectric ceramic plates 460 - 1 and 460 - 2 . the ceramic plates 460 - 1 and 460 - 2 do not span the entire length of the beam and are located near the portion of the beam 450 that is anchored to the base 425 . this design methodology is chosen because the strain energy associated with a cantilever beam undergoing transverse bending has a maxima at the fixed end and a minima at the free end . moreover , it follows from this rationale that the stress imparted to the ceramic plates 460 - 1 and 460 - 2 will be greatest when the plates 460 - 1 and 460 - 2 are located near the fixed end and will therefore facilitate high sensitivity . as stated previously , the cantilever beam contains a viscoelastic coating 470 that serves as a distributed mass and damper to facilitate an in - band mode having a low mechanical quality factor . this feature resolves the issue cited earlier with regard to using a discrete mass at the end of the beam 450 to increase the sensitivity of the accelerometer 350 . this concept would also work for single crystal - based accelerometers , if so desired . nevertheless , appropriate selection of the cantilever beam &# 39 ; s dimensions and material properties along with the corresponding dimensions and material properties of the viscoelastic material facilitate the development of a high sensitivity / low noise accelerometer that is well suited for a miniature vector sensor having operational bandwidths below 1 khz . the functional relationship between the electromechanical properties of accelerometers that employ the transverse bending mode of a piezoelectric material can be modeled with lumped parameters to determine their sensitivity , as explained in j . a . mcconnell ( 2004 ). in that regard , the formula that predicts the intrinsic open - circuit voltage sensitivity is defined as : ⅇ a = k 2 · m m n · [ 1 + j q ω ω 0 - ω 2 ω 0 2 ] - 1 , ( 1 ) where k 2 = c m n 2 /( c m n 2 + c eb ) is the electromechanical coupling factor , m m is the mechanical mass associated with the composite beam , n is the electro - mechanical turns ratio , ω is the radian frequency , ω 0 =( m m c eqv ) − 1 / 2 and q = m m ω 0 / r m are the resonance frequency and quality factor , j =√− 1 , c m is the mechanical compliance of the composite beam , c eb is the blocked electrical capacitance of the piezoelectric plates , r m is the mechanical resistance of the composite beam , and c eqv = c m c eb /( c m n 2 + c eb ) is the effective mechanical compliance of the composite beam . the in - water acoustic sensitivity of the accelerometer is simply the product of eq . ( 1 ) and the buoyancy factor β defined earlier . moreover , eq . ( 1 ) shows the relationship between the sensitivity , resonance frequency , and quality factor as a function of the mass m m and damping r m in the system . these parameters are critical in determining the performance of this class of accelerometer . finite element modeling can also be used to determine the sensitivity and is also helpful to ascertain the dynamic response of the entire sensor . an example of this is shown in fig5 and 6 , which present the results of modeling a slightly different embodiment of the accelerometer shown in fig3 and 4 . fig5 presents a mechanical drawing 500 and a finite element model 550 which show that the accelerometer consists of two cantilever beams 510 - 1 and 510 - 2 that are located on opposite sides of a macor base 520 . each beam contains 510 - 1 and 510 - 2 two thickness - poled navy type ii ceramic plates 530 that are electrically connected in series . additionally , the first set of plates are electrically connected in series with the second set of plates and each plate has dimensions in an exemplary embodiment of 12 . 7 mm ( l )× 6 . 35 mm ( w )× 0 . 51 mm ( h ). the metal beam element is made of brass and has dimensions of 38 . 1 mm ( l )× 6 . 35 mm ( w )× 0 . 51 mm ( h ). the viscoelastic coating is made of polyurethane having a density , modulus of elasticity , and damping loss factor of 1 . 1 g / cm 3 , 103 mpa , and 20 %, respectively . the coating has the same overall length as the beam and has seven times the overall thickness of the beam in an exemplary embodiment . the coating is spaced away from the macor base 520 by a nominal distance equal to roughly one - beam thickness . fig6 shows that the resulting sensitivity of the accelerometer is 1200 mv / g and has a fundamental resonance and quality factor of ˜ 450 hz and & lt ; 10 , respectively . experience with vector sensors developed for low frequency applications indicates that the sensitivity of nominally 1 v / g ( as is shown in fig6 ) will be ample to meet the so - called sea state zero noise specification , see , r . j . urick , “ principles of underwater sound ,” ( peninsula publishing , los altos , calif ., 1983 ), 3 rd ed ., p . 210 . fig7 presents a mechanical drawing of a prototype sensor 700 . the prototype 700 comprises a housing 710 , base 720 , pressure hydrophone 730 and hydrophone end cap 740 . as shown in fig7 , the sensor 700 is similar to that shown in fig3 . the overall length ( excluding the cable ) and diameter of the prototype is less than 90 mm ( 3 . 5 in ) and 38 mm ( 1 . 5 in ), respectively and is suitable for miniature form factor applications . fig8 illustrates how the accelerometer 800 associated with the sensor shown in fig7 is assembled and arranged on a base . the accelerometer 800 comprises a polyurethane coating 810 , brass beam 820 , pzt element 830 , macor base 840 and epoxy joints 850 . it is clearly shown in fig8 that the accelerometer design is similar to that shown in fig4 with one notable , but minor difference . that is , the viscoelastic coating in fig4 has a rectangular cross - section , whereas the coating in fig8 has a cylindrical cross - section . the cylindrical coating was done for simplicity of manufacture , but translates into lower mass - per - unit - length . moreover , the design of the tri - laminar beam and associated electrical connections shown in fig8 are virtually identical to those discussed earlier with regard to the finite element model shown in fig5 . fig9 presents the result of measuring the intrinsic voltage sensitivity of the prototype accelerometer over the frequency range from 10 hz to 1 khz . the data was obtained using the comparison technique involving an electro - dynamic shaker and reference accelerometer . the data indicates that both the x - and y - axis accelerometers exhibit a sensitivity below resonance that is nearly 1 v / g and have a low - q resonance occurring at approximately 700 hz . the differences between the measured results and the finite element model are simply due to the lower mass associated with the viscoelastic coating having a cylindrical cross - section . note that the dip in the measured data at approximately 180 hz is due to a structural resonance associated with attachment of the accelerometer to the shaker and is not indicative of anomalous performance . it is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown and described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .
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the present invention provides a unique background noise or ambient noise cancellation feature for a communications device such as a mobile ( or cellular ) telephone or even a conventional wire line telephone . while the present invention has applicability to at least these types of communications devices , the principles of the present invention are particularly applicable to all types of communications devices . for simplicity , the following description employs the term “ mobile telephone ” as an umbrella term to describe the embodiments of the present invention , but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the use of such term is not to be considered limiting to the scope of the invention , which is set forth by the claims appearing at the end of this description . fig1 illustrates an exemplary mobile telephone 10 that comprises a microphone 11 , a speaker 12 , a display screen 13 , a keypad 14 and an antenna 15 . optionally , a second microphone 16 for sampling ambient noise level and an ambient noise compensation enable / disable button 17 may also be provided . these latter two elements will be described more fully below . those skilled in the art will appreciate that speaker 12 could be replaced by an ear piece ( not shown ) that is worn by the mobile telephone user in the conventional manner . speaker 12 is used herein to mean the device by which sound is transferred from the mobile telephone to the user . also , display screen 13 could be a touch screen display , which might incorporate keypad 14 as well as enable / disable button 17 . fig2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention including microphone 11 , ambient noise compensation signal generator 20 , a mixer 22 , transmitter 24 and antenna 15 . in accordance with the present invention , ambient noise or background noise is cancelled before being the combined with the intended voice communication picked up at microphone 11 and sent to transmitter 24 and antenna 15 . more specifically , in a first embodiment , microphone 11 picks up both ambient noise as well as the intended voice communication ( together , the “ combined signal ”). as is well known in the art of noise cancellation , it is possible ( e . g ., via filtering and digital signal processing ( dsp ) techniques ) to attenuate or even cancel - out pre - selected portions of an audio signal or pre - selected bands of a frequency spectrum . as shown in fig2 , ambient noise compensation signal generator 20 is connected to microphone 11 and monitors the combined signal . then , ambient noise cancellation generator , in accordance with well - known techniques , generates compensation signals that are operable to attenuate or altogether cancel background noise that is not intended or desirable to be transmitted to another party . these compensation signals are fed into mixer 22 where these signals are mixed with the combined signal coming directly from microphone 11 . the result is that the ambient noise or background noise is eliminated , or at least substantially reduced , before the combined signal ( ambient noise plus voice signal ) is passed to transmitter 24 ( which , e . g ., includes a radio frequency modulator , etc .) and ultimately to antenna 15 . optionally , a buffer 28 is provided to slow the progress of the combined signal emanating from microphone 11 so that when the combined signal reaches mixer 22 the arrival time of the combined signal and the compensation signals generated by ambient noise cancellation generator is synchronized . in another embodiment , as shown in fig3 , a second microphone 16 is provided for the principal purpose of sampling ambient noise . that is , microphone 16 is dedicated substantially to picking up ambient noise rather than a voice signal . a second microphone , especially one that is located away from mobile telephone user &# 39 ; s mouth would be less affected by the user &# 39 ; s own voice when taking the ambient noise level measurement and , thus , might be more desirable in certain implementations of the present invention . more specifically , it is often the case that microphone 11 , which is used primarily for receiving voice signals from a user , is arranged to have directional characteristics , wherein the microphone is more sensitive to sound coming from predetermined directions . in contrast , second microphone 16 is preferably omni - directional such that the microphone is equally sensitive to sound emanating from any direction . a more accurate detection of ambient noise level can be obtained using such an omni - directional microphone . also , although not shown expressly in the drawings , microphone 16 could be arranged spatially distant from mobile telephone 10 . for example , second microphone 16 could be arranged to hang from a wire that is connected to mobile telephone 10 , whereby there would be even less chance for the mobile telephone user &# 39 ; s voice to interfere with noise cancellation signal generation . optionally , in the dual microphone embodiment , microphone 11 is also in communication with ambient noise cancellation signal generator 20 to provide additional signal information to generator 20 to aid in distinguishing more easily between ambient noise and voice signals . further in accordance with the present invention there is provided an enable / disable switch 17 ( fig1 ) that is preferably operable to enable / disable ambient noise compensation signal generator 20 . for example , depending on the nature of the ambient noise in a particular environment , known noise cancellation techniques might also inadvertently attenuate the voice signal that is intended to be transmitted . in such a case , it is preferable that the noise cancellation features of the present invention be disabled , at least for a limited period , until the ambient noise is such that it can be more effectively distinguished from the voice signal and attenuated independently . for example , a mobile telephone user may want to call a friend from a noisy public event ( e . g ., a concert or sporting event ) for the main purpose of letting the friend hear the background noise . in such a case , the switch 17 is preferably manipulated to disable the noise cancellation features of the present invention . the foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure . the scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto , and by their equivalents . further , in describing representative embodiments of the present invention , the specification may have presented the method and / or process of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps . however , to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein , the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described . as one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate , other sequences of steps may be possible . therefore , the particular order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims . in addition , the claims directed to the method and / or process of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written , and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention .
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a typical mug 12 having a handle 14 and a generally cylindrical outer surface is shown in fig2 . the mug is of size to be used with the image press of the present invention illustrated in fig1 at 16 . the mug 12 has an outer surface 18 that is coated with a suitable polymeric or other coating for receiving a subliminally transferred image from a substrate 20 bearing such image . the substrate could be a sheet having a photo image on one side , which would be transferred onto the mug surface 18 . the photo image will be made so that it will subliminally transfer to the mug , and will be received on the coating on the surface 18 . present color printers using the dye - sublimation color process , such as those made by fargo electronics , inc . of 7901 flying cloud drive , eden prairie , minn . also will provide color prints of photos , or digital images on a sheet of paper that is capable of being used with the present press for transferring images onto a mug or other cylindrical object . the transfer press is shown generally at 16 , and includes an outer thin jacket or band 24 of metal or other thermally conductive material which is formed into a generally cylindrical shape and sized to permit clamping onto the cylindrical surface 18 of the mug 12 . preferably the band 24 is made of 301 , 302 or 304 stainless steel . the band 24 is lined with an inner foam layer indicated generally at 26 . the foam is a suitable silicone foam that has desired compressibility characteristics . the foam is preferably about 1 / 8 of an inch in thickness , and lines the entire inner surface of the band 24 . the band 24 is selected to have some spring qualities , and in other words it will spring outwardly from a clamped position when a clamp 38 is released . the band 24 has unattached end edges 31 and 32 that define a gap 28 when surrounding a mug . a first clamp support tab 30 is integral with the band 24 and extends from end edge 31 into the gap 28 toward the opposite end edge 33 of the band 24 . a latch tongue 36 is integral with the band 24 and extends from the edge 33 across the gap 28 , and is aligned with the support tab 30 . the gap 28 is of sufficient size so that it will permit the handle 14 of mug 12 to extend through the gap , with the support tab 30 and the latch tab 36 having the ability to pass into the opening defined by the handle 14 so that the band can be clamped around the mug 12 . an over center type clamp indicated generally at 38 is supported on the support tab 30 , and is operable to tighten the band around a mug . a specific embodiment of a clamp is shown , but many different types of clamps can be used , including adjustable clamps , various spring loaded clamps , threaded hose type clamps and the like . however , the clamp has to be capable of exerting enough annular force so that the inward radial loading against a mug exterior surface from the interior surface of the foam layer 26 will be adequate to intimately press the substrate 20 against the surface 18 of a mug or other object in the press . in the form shown , the clamp 38 has a clamp support 40 that is fixed to the tab 30 , and which has a pair of support ears 40a and 40b that are supported on a base 40c and define a space in which a clamp lever 42 is pivotally mounted . the clamp lever 42 is pivotally mounted on a pin 44 that extends through the ears 40a and 40b , and the clamp lever in turn carries a spring latch dog 46 that is positioned between legs 42a and 42b of the clamp lever and is pivotally mounted on a latch dog pin 48 . the pin 48 extends between the legs 42a and 42b . the lever has a thumb tab 43 for increased leverage in operation . as shown , the spring latch dog 46 has a bend 50 forming latch dog legs 46 and 46b that form a shallow &# 34 ; v &# 34 ;. the leg 48b has a latch flange 52 formed at its outer end . the length of the latch dog leg 46b between the bend 50 and the latch flange 52 is selected so that it spans the gap 28 when the press is in an open position . the latch flange 52 is of size to fit within one of a series of slots 54 defined in the latch tongue 36 . when the press 16 is to be used , the mug 12 is positioned in place by pivoting the spring latch dog 46 out of the way and passing the latch tongue 36 under the handle 14 , while the substrate or sheet 20 carrying the image to be transferred is held against the surface of the mug and is positioned between the inner surface of the foam layer 26 and the mug . as shown in fig3 schematically , the substrate 20 is relatively thin . the substrate is shown in an exaggerated thickness in fig3 for illustration , and is placed against the outer surface 18 of the mug 12 so that the inner surface of the foam layer 26 on the interior of the band 24 compresses to conform around the substrate 20 and urge the substrate 20 tightly against the surface 18 . latch flange 52 is positioned in one of the series of slots 54 , with the clamp open , as shown in fig4 and after the mug has been placed into the interior of the open press , the clamp lever 42 is pivoted as shown by the arrow 56 in fig4 to pull the latch tongue 26 toward the latch support 30 and apply an annular tensile load on tongue 36 tending to pull the edges 31 and 33 together to in turn pull the band 24 tightly down against the outer surface 18 of the mug 12 . as can be seen in fig3 the handle 14 will protrude from the press , and when the latch 39 is in its latched position the pivots of the spring latch dog 46 and the clamp lever 42 go &# 34 ; over center &# 34 ; so that the spring latch dog 46 is retained in place . the bend 50 tends to straighten out as the legs 46a and 46b tend to extend , to create a spring load on the tongue 36 to tightly urge the band 24 around and against the mug . the amount of surface pressure that is exerted on the substrate by the clamp 38 can be controlled to some extent by the density of the foam or sponge that is used in the layer 26 . the foam layer is compressible and as the foam compresses there is an increase in surface pressure urging the substrate 20 against the surface of the mug . intermediate adjustments can be made by placing the latch dog flange 52 in a different slot 54 . the surface pressure on the substrate is made sufficient to insure intimate contact with the coating on surface 18 . when the mug is installed , with the substrate 20 tightly held against the surface 18 , the press and mug , as assembled , can be placed into a home oven 60 , and by setting the oven control 62 to the desired temperature , the image transfer takes place as the press and mug are heated and retained at the desired temperature for the desired length of time . a temperature of 375 ° f . in the oven and heating the substrate for 15 minutes has been found satisfactory . the band 24 ( preferably of metal ) has good thermal conductivity , and the silicone foam is thin so it does not act as a substantial insulator . the foam has needed compressibility properties . additionally , the heat generated in the oven will heat the interior of the mug and cause the entire unit to be rapidly heated for the transfer reaction to take place . the press is light weight and its dimensions are not larger than those of the mug , including the handle . in other words , the clamp assembly 38 fits within the circle generated by the radius extending to the outer edge of the handle 14 . the clamp fits quite closely to the outer peripheral surface 18 of the mug . it can be seen in fig3 that the substrate or sheet 20 can be placed directly opposite the handle 14 , with the present press , and the substrate can extend around a substantial portion of the surface 18 of the mug 12 . the substrate 20 can also be placed any place within the lateral foam boundaries for transfer . the latch assembly is relatively simple , and does not require a large number of linkages or separate power for actuation . the foam 26 lines the interior of support tab 30 and the tongue 36 . the press is easily installed on a mug , and placed into an existing oven for the transfer operation . the foam or sponge layer , as stated is preferably about 1 / 8 inch thick , but can be up to about 3 / 16 inch thick . thinner layers can be used , but conformability is reduced , so the possibility of non uniform pressure on the substrate is increased . thicker layers of foam start to provide undesired heat insulation . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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please refer to fig3 a through fig3 c . fig3 a is a functional block diagram illustrating a positioning system 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . fig3 b is a functional block diagram illustrating a positioning system 4 ′ according to another preferred embodiment of the invention . fig3 c is a functional block diagram illustrating a positioning system 4 ″ according to another preferred embodiment of the invention . the positioning system of the invention can be three modes as follows : ( 1 ) a first wireless communication module 40 and a second wireless communication module 42 are coupled to an identical hardware system 44 , as shown in fig3 a ; ( 2 ) a first wireless communication module 40 and a second wireless communication module 42 are respectively coupled to two different hardware systems 44 a and 44 b , and communicated with each other through a network 46 , as shown in fig3 b ; and ( 3 ) a first wireless communication module 40 and a second wireless communication module 42 are respectively coupled to two different hardware systems 44 a and 44 b , and communicated with each other through a network 46 and a server 48 , as shown in fig3 c . it has to be noticed both the first wireless communication module 40 and the second wireless communication module 42 are fixed wireless communication modules . in this invention , the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 have the same wireless communication standard . ( since if the same wireless communication module is used , positioning accuracy will be higher .) in positioning , the hardware system should needs to control the antennas of the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 to transmit the same radio power . the distance between the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 is l , and the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 respectively comprise a first antenna 400 , a second antenna 420 , rf circuits 402 and 422 , baseband circuits 404 and 424 . it should be noticed that , in fig3 a through fig3 c , a dotted line shows that multiple antennas are feasible to be disposed . the hardware systems 44 , 44 a or 44 b can comprise processing modules 440 , 440 a or 440 b , storage modules 442 , 442 a or 442 b and any other required hardware for different applications . please refer to fig4 . fig4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first wireless communication module 40 cooperates with the second wireless communication module 42 to determine the position p 1 and the position p 2 corresponding to a mobile device ( not shown ). the distance between the mobile device and the first wireless communication modules 40 is d 1 , the distance between the mobile device and the second wireless communication modules 42 is d 2 , and the distance between the first wireless communication modules 40 and the second wireless communication modules 42 is l . in this embodiment , the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 utilize wireless positioning algorithms , such as toa or rss , to respectively obtain d 1 and d 2 , and the distance l between the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 is known , then an angle θ 1 can be obtained from d 1 , d 2 and l by utilizing cosine theorem . a coordinate ( x 1 , y 1 ) of the position p 1 can be obtained by transforming d 1 and θ 1 or d 2 and θ 2 . if the first wireless communication module 40 is set as a reference origin of coordinates , then x 1 = d 1 cos θ 1 and y 1 = d 1 sin θ 1 . similarly , a coordinate ( x 2 , y 2 ) of the position p 2 also can be obtained by this process . please refer to fig5 . fig5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an antenna gain table . each antenna has a corresponding antenna gain table . as shown in fig5 , m indicates a m - th antenna ; n can be set as 360 or adjusted by designers according to practical applications , and g indicates an antenna gain . the invention shows the relation between the antenna gain g and the angle θ by utilizing antenna gain tables . as for the techniques and other efficacy adopted by the invention presented , the following several embodiments are provided for further explanation : the first embodiment utilizes a positioning system 4 shown in fig3 a to illustrate how to judge that a mobile device is located at the position p 1 or the position p 2 shown in fig4 . in this embodiment , the first wireless communication module 40 comprises m first antennas , and the second wireless communication module 42 comprises n second antennas , wherein m and n is an integer larger than or equal to 1 , and n is different from m . a storage module 442 is used for storing m first antenna gain tables corresponding to the m first antennas and n second antenna gain tables corresponding to the n second antennas . the first antenna gain tables and the second antenna gain tables are shown in fig5 . at the beginning of positioning , the first and second wireless communication module 40 and 42 utilize toa for positioning a mobile device to obtain d 1 , d 2 , θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 and θ 4 , wherein θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 and θ 4 can be obtained by the above mentioned method . furthermore , the mobile device transmits a receive signal strength ( rss ) to the processing module 440 , wherein the mobile device transmits a first receive signal strength ( rss 1 ) to the i - th first antenna and transmits a second receive signal strength ( rss 2 ) to the j - th second antenna , wherein i is an integer between 1 and m , and j is an integer between 1 and n . the processing module 440 utilizes d and θ to calculate . let the processing module 440 obtains k 1 , k 2 , k 3 and k 4 , wherein g 1 , g 2 , g 3 and g 4 can be obtained from the antenna gain table corresponding to θ . without taking the effects of environment and other interference into consideration , in free space , is proportional to power received by a receiving terminal , wherein g is a gain of a transmitting antenna , and d is the distance between a transmitting terminal and a receiving terminal . before judging whether the position p 1 or p 2 is the real positioning location , it is necessary to confirm the problems of interference to increase the reliability of estimation of ( 1 ) consider the successful demodulation rate obtained by baseband circuits 404 and 424 at the receiving terminals ( i . e . the first and second wireless communication module 40 and 42 ). namely , the successful demodulation rate refers to the percentage of all information received by the usable target information receiving terminals . accordingly , a successful demodulation rate value can be set as a criterion ( e . g . 80 %). then , if the rate is above the criterion , it can be assumed that the environmental interference is not serious . ( 2 ) estimate the environmental interference effect by the number of times for retransmission . since there is a counter in the transmitting terminal or the receiving terminal , the counter has a duty cycle for calculating the number of times for retransmission during the duty cycle . therefore , when the number of times for retransmission is less than a third predetermined value , the processing module will make a judgment that the environmental inference factor can be ignorable . for instance , the third predetermined value can be set as n , and n can be set by a designer according to different wireless communication standards . moreover , n also can be determined by the demodulation rate . for example , if the denotation rate is 80 %, the counter n record by the counter at that time will be the correspondent . ( 3 ) when one of the following inequalities is satisfied , the processing module 440 will judge that the environmental inference factor can be ignorable . in this embodiment , the first predetermined value can be set by a designer according to practical applications , such as 20 %˜ 30 %. when the environmental inference factor is ignorable and both of the following inequalities are satisfied , the processing module 440 will judge that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 . on the other hand , when the environmental inference factor is ignorable and both of the following inequalities are satisfied , the processing module 440 will judge that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . in this embodiment , the second predetermined value is defined as a difference percentage of the positions p 1 and p 2 and can be set by a designer according to practical applications , such as 50 %. is smaller than the standard set by the designer ( such as 50 %), the real positioning location will be hard to be confirmed . the reasons might be from the antenna patterns of the first wireless communication modules 40 , second wireless communication modules 42 and the mobile device . in conclusion , it will be finished if the real positioning location can be judged . however , when the environmental inference factor is significant , or the i - th first antenna and the j - th second antenna are unable to position the mobile device , the processing module 440 will selectively switch the i - th first antenna to one of the remainder m − 1 first antennas . then , the mobile device transmits a third receive signal strength ( rss 3 ) to the switched first antenna . therefore , the processing module 440 obtains a fifth gain ( g 5 ) corresponding to the first angle ( θ 1 ) and a sixth gain ( g 6 ) corresponding to the second angle ( θ 2 ) based on the first antenna gain table corresponding to the switched first antenna . when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 . g 5 & gt ; g 1 , rss 3 & gt ; rss 1 and g 6 ≦ g 2 . condition 1 : g 5 & lt ; g 1 , rss 3 & lt ; rss 1 and g 6 ≧ g 2 . condition 2 ; on the other hand , when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . g 6 & gt ; g 2 , rss 3 & gt ; rss 1 and g 5 ≦ g 1 . condition 3 : g 6 & lt ; g 2 , rss 3 & lt ; rss 1 and g 5 ≧ g 1 . condition 4 : please refer to fig6 . fig6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an antenna pattern before switching and after switching . a solid line 6 indicates an antenna pattern of the original i - th first antenna , and a dotted line 7 indicates an antenna pattern of the switched first antenna . as shown in fig6 , g 5 & lt ; g 1 and g 6 ≧ g 2 , as rss 3 & lt ; rss 1 , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 based on condition 2 described as above . similarly , when the environmental inference factor is significant , or the i - th first antenna and j - th second antenna are unable to position the mobile device , the processing module 440 also can selectively switch the j - th second antenna to one of the remainder n − 1 second antennas . then , the mobile device transmits a fourth receive signal strength ( rss 4 ) to the switched second antenna . therefore , the processing module 440 obtains a seventh gain ( g 7 ) corresponding to the third angle θ 3 and an eighth gain ( g 8 ) corresponding to the fourth angle θ 4 based on the second antenna gain table corresponding to the switched second antenna . when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 . g 7 & gt ; g 3 , rss 4 & gt ; rss 2 and g 8 ≦ g 4 . condition 5 : g 7 & lt ; g 3 , rss 4 & lt ; rss 2 and g 8 ≧ g 4 . condition 6 : on the other hand , when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . g 8 & gt ; g 4 , rss 4 & gt ; rss 2 and g 7 ≦ g 3 . condition 7 : g 8 & lt ; g 4 , rss 4 & lt ; rss 2 and g 7 ≧ g 3 . condition 8 : it should be noticed that if the first and second wireless communication module 40 and 42 utilize rss algorithm to position the mobile device , after the antenna is switched , the mobile device has to be re - positioned to obtain a new distance d and angle θ . and , if the new θ is different to the old θ , the new θ is being substituted for the old θ . besides , the invention also can utilize the positioning system 4 ′ shown in fig3 b or the positioning system 4 ″ shown in fig3 c to judge that the mobile device is located at the position p 1 or the position p 2 shown in fig4 . the hardware system 44 can be substituted by the hardware system 44 a or 44 b , the processing module 440 can be substituted by the processing module 440 a or 440 b , and the storage module 442 can be substituted by the storage module 442 a or 442 b ; it all depends on practical applications . the second embodiment utilizes a positioning system 4 shown in fig3 a to describe how to judge that the mobile device is located at the position p 1 or the position p 2 . in this embodiment , a first wireless communication module 40 comprises m first antennas , and a second wireless communication module 42 also comprises m second antennas , wherein m is an integer larger than or equal to 1 , and each of the second antennas respectively corresponds to one of the m first antennas . a storage module 442 stores m first antenna gain tables corresponding to the m first antennas and m second antenna gain tables corresponding to the m second antennas . the first antenna gain tables or the second antenna gain tables are shown as fig5 . at the beginning of positioning , the first and second wireless communication module 40 and 42 utilize toa for positioning a mobile device to obtain d 1 , d 2 , θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 and θ 4 , wherein θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 and θ 4 can be obtained by the above mentioned method . furthermore , the mobile device transmits a receive signal strength ( rss ) to a processing module 440 , wherein the mobile device transmits a first receive signal strength ( rss 1 ) to the i - th first antenna and transmits a second receive signal strength ( rss 2 ) to the i - th second antenna , wherein i is an integer between 1 and m . the processing module 440 utilizes d and θ to calculate . the processing module 440 obtains k 1 , k 2 , k 3 and k 4 , wherein g 1 , g 2 , g 3 and g 4 can be obtained from the antenna gain table corresponding to θ . before judging whether the position p 1 or p 2 is the real positioning location , the problems of interference have to be confirmed to increase the reliability of the estimation of g / d 2 . concerning how to determine the interference , please refer to relations described in the first embodiment , which is not mentioned herein . when the environment inference factor is ignorable and both of the following inequalities are satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 . on the other hand , when the environment inference factor is ignorable and both of the following inequalities are satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . in this embodiment , the second predetermined value is defined as a difference percentage of the positions p 1 and p 2 and set by a designer according to practical applications , such as 50 %. if is smaller than the standard set by the designer ( such as 50 %), the real positioning location will be hard to be confirmed . the reason might be the antenna patterns of the first wireless communication modules 40 , the second wireless communication modules 42 and the mobile device . in conclusion , it will be ended if the real positioning location can be determined . when the environment inference factor is ignorable , and the i - th first antenna and the i - th second antenna are unable to position the mobile device , the processing module switches antennas by the following method . when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 calculates a first difference between the fifth gain ( g 5 ) corresponding to a first angle ( θ 1 ) and the seventh gain ( g 7 ) corresponding to a three angle ( θ 3 ) and a second difference between the sixth gain ( g 6 ) corresponding to a second angle ( θ 2 ) and the eighth gain ( g 8 ) corresponding to ( θ 4 ) for each of the remainder first antennas and each of the m − 1 corresponding second antennas . g 5 & gt ; g 7 and g 6 & lt ; g 8 . condition 1 : g 5 & lt ; g 7 and g 6 & gt ; g 8 . condition 2 : when one of the first differences and one of the second differences are the maximum as compared with others , the processing module 440 switches the i - th first antenna to the corresponding first antenna and switches the i - th second antenna to the corresponding second antenna . afterward , the mobile device transmits a third receive signal strength ( rss 3 ) to the switched first antenna and transmits a fourth receive signal strength ( rss 4 ) to the switched second antenna . the processing module 440 obtains a fifth gain ( g 5 ) corresponding to the first angle ( θ 1 ) and a sixth gain ( g 6 ) corresponding to the second angle ( θ 2 ) based on the first antenna gain table corresponding to the switched first antenna . in the meanwhile , the processing module 440 obtains a seventh gain ( g 7 ) corresponding to the third angle ( θ 3 ) and an eighth gain ( θ 8 ) corresponding to the fourth angle ( θ 4 ) based on the second antenna gain table corresponding to the switched second antenna . when one of the following inequalities is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 . on the other hand , when both of the following inequalities are satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . when the environment inference factor is significant , or the i - th first antenna and the i - th second antenna are unable to position the mobile device , antennas are switched b y the following method . when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 calculates a third difference between the ninth gain ( g 9 ) corresponding to the first angle ( θ 1 ) and the original first gain ( g 1 ), and calculates a fourth difference between the tenth gain ( g 10 ) corresponding to the second angle ( θ 2 ) and the original second gain ( g 2 ) for each of the remainder first antennas . g 9 & gt ; g 1 and g 10 & lt ; g 2 . condition 11 : g 9 & lt ; g 1 and g 10 & gt ; g 2 . condition 12 : when one of the third differences and one of the fourth differences are the maximum as compared with others , the processing module 440 then switches the i - th first antenna to the corresponding first antenna . furthermore , when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 calculates a fifth difference between the eleventh gain ( g 11 ) corresponding to the third angle ( θ 3 ) and the original third gain ( g 3 ) and a sixth difference between the twelfth gain ( g 12 ) corresponding to the fourth angle ( θ 4 ) and the original fourth gain ( g 4 ) for each of the remainder second antennas . g 11 & gt ; g 3 and g 12 & lt ; g 4 . condition 13 : g 11 & lt ; g 3 and g 12 & gt ; g 4 . condition 14 : when one of the fifth differences and one of the sixth differences are the maximum as compared with others , the processing module 440 switches the i - th first antenna to the corresponding second antenna . afterward , the mobile device transmits a fifth receive signal strength ( rss 5 ) to the switched first antenna and transmits a sixth receive signal strength ( rss 6 ) to the switched second antenna . the processing module 440 obtains a ninth gain ( g 9 ) corresponding to the first angle ( θ 1 ) and a tenth gain ( g 10 ) corresponding to the second angle ( θ 2 ) based on the first antenna gain table corresponding to the switched first antenna , and obtains an eleventh gain ( g 11 ) corresponding to the third angle ( θ 3 ) and a twelfth gain ( g 12 ) corresponding to the fourth angle ( θ 4 ) based on the second antenna gain table corresponding to the switched second antenna . when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position pi shown in fig4 . g 9 & gt ; g 1 , rss 5 & gt ; rss 1 and g 10 ≦ g 2 . condition 3 : g 9 & lt ; g 1 , rss 5 & lt ; rss 1 and g 10 ≧ g 2 . condition 4 : on the other hand , when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . g 10 & gt ; g 2 , rss 5 & gt ; rss 1 and g 9 ≦ g 1 . condition 5 : g 10 & lt ; g 2 , rss 5 & lt ; rss 1 and g 9 ≧ g 1 . condition 6 : when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the first position p 1 shown in fig4 : g 11 & gt ; g 3 , rss 6 & gt ; rss 2 and g 12 ≦ g 4 . condition 7 : g 11 & lt ; g 3 , rss 6 & lt ; rss 2 and g 12 ≧ g 4 . condition 8 : on the other hand , when one of the following conditions is satisfied , the processing module 440 judges that the mobile device is located at the second position p 2 shown in fig4 . g 12 & gt ; g 4 , rss 6 & gt ; rss 2 and g 11 ≦ g 3 . condition 9 : g 12 & lt ; g 4 , rss 6 & lt ; rss 2 and g 11 ≧ g 3 . condition 10 : according to the second embodiment described as above , the positioning system of this invention can find the most suitable antenna for positioning the mobile device before switching antennas , so as to avoid meaningless calculations . it should be noticed that if the first and second wireless communication module 40 and 42 utilize rss algorithm to position the mobile device after the antenna is switched , the mobile device has to be re - positioned to obtain a new distance d and angle θ . and , if the new angle θ is different to the old angle θ , the new angle θ is being substituted for the old angle θ . besides , the invention also can utilize the positioning system 4 ′ shown in fig3 b or the positioning system 4 ″ shown in fig3 c to judge that the mobile device is located at the position p 1 or the position p 2 shown in fig4 . the hardware system 44 can be substituted by the hardware system 44 a or 44 b ; the processing module 440 can be substituted by the processing module 440 a or 440 b , and the storage module 442 can be substituted by the storage module 442 a or 442 b , which all depends on practical applications . please refer to fig7 a and fig7 b . fig7 a is a schematic diagram illustrating a directional antenna pattern . fig7 b is a schematic diagram illustrating an omni - directional antenna pattern . the patterns adopted by the invention can be a directional antenna pattern ( shown as fig7 a ) cooperating with an omni - directional antenna pattern ( shown as fig7 b ) to recover weak communication signal in certain directions in the directional antenna pattern . in the practice of the invention presented , it is certainly better to have more antennas with the directional antenna pattern and to decrease the areas which are hard to make a judgment upon positioning . besides , it also can utilize a switch between the directional antenna pattern and the omni - directional antenna pattern to assist in judging the position . the φ shown in fig7 a indicates an angle occupied by a principle half - power beamwidths of a directional antenna . please refer to fig8 a and fig1 b . fig8 a is a schematic diagram illustrating six directional antennas and one omni - directional antenna . fig8 b is a schematic diagram illustrating geometrical shape of an antenna pattern shown in fig8 a . fig9 a is a schematic diagram illustrating four directional antennas and one omni - directional antenna . fig9 b is a schematic diagram illustrating geometrical shape of an antenna pattern shown in fig9 a . fig1 a is a schematic diagram illustrating three directional antennas and one omni - directional antenna . fig1 b is a schematic diagram illustrating geometrical shape of an antenna pattern shown in fig1 a . in order to decrease the areas which are hard to make a judgment upon positioning , the invention provides three kinds of antenna switching modes shown in fig8 a , fig9 a and fig1 a . the main difference among the three modes is the range and accuracy in positioning . fig8 a is the best , and fig9 a is the second . geometrical shape of positioning ranges in the three modes are shown as fig8 b , fig9 b and fig1 b . in order to have better effect on judging , the invention can further set following rules : ( 1 ) the gain of directional antenna at principle half - power beamwidths is 3 db larger than that of omni - directional antenna ; ( 2 ) if the number of directional antenna in use is larger than six , gain of directional antenna at principle half - power beamwidths can be at least 6 db larger than that of omni - directional antenna ; ( 3 ) if the number of directional antenna in use is six , and the φ can be between 30 degrees and 60 degrees ; ( 4 ) if the number of directional antenna in use is five , and the φ can be between 30 degrees and 72 degrees ; ( 5 ) if the number of directional antenna in use is four , and the φ can be between 45 degrees and 90 degrees . ( 6 ) if the number of directional antenna in use is three , and the φ can be between 60 degrees and 120 degrees . accordingly , if they are unable to position the mobile device , the invention still can assist in positioning by utilizing following methods : ( 1 ) according to rss database corresponding to positioned location in the past , compared with the points which are hard to be judged . because d obtained from the original method and the positions of p 1 and p 2 are well - defined , it is only required to confirm the directions now . therefore , the method is to compare rss corresponding to the possible position p 1 and p 2 with the database of rss data corresponding to the point position which is formed in a two - dimension x - y plan . it can be judged by checking the approximation degree of rss corresponding to the possible position p 1 and p 2 and database . if the database is lack of rss data at the point position , obtain it by the least - square method . ( 2 ) if there are some devices with a function of positioning ( toa or rss ) nearby , they can assist in antennas positioning of the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 . it has to be noticed that the positioning system of the invention is applicable not only to that both the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 are fixed but also to that the first and second wireless communication modules 40 and 42 are mobile ; while applying to mobile wireless communication modules , directional sensor , for example gyro , has to be provided thereon . with the example and explanations above , the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims .
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when data is read from a memory system , such as an array of memory cells , it may contain errors for a variety of reasons . these errors can be corrected by applying , for example , error correction codes ( eccs ). the efficiency of an error correction code can be enhanced by generating indications about the quality of the data , and applying the error correction code in combination with the indications about the data quality . also , the memory system can be operated based on the quality indication even without the ecc indicating the presence of errors . the invention can be practiced in any kind of memory or storage system , such as , for example , random access memories , non - volatile or flash memories , magnetic or optical discs . the memory systems can represent data with two or multi - level schemes . as an example , first an array of memory cells will be described , and then different methods for improving the efficiency of the error correction codes will be discussed . [ 0028 ] fig1 shows a block diagram of a memory system including an array of memory elements . a large number of individually addressable memory cells are arranged in a regular array 11 of rows and columns . individual memory cells can be controlled by bit lines , select gates arranged in word lines , and steering gates . bit lines are designated herein to extend along columns of array 11 , and word lines are designated to extend along the rows of array 11 . bit line unit 13 may include a bit line decoder , storage elements , driver circuits and sense amplifiers . bit line unit 13 can be coupled to cell array ii by line 15 , and to controller 27 by bit - control line 29 and by read line 41 . word line unit 19 may include a select gate decoder and driver circuits . word line unit 19 can be coupled to cell array 11 by line 17 , and to controller 27 by word - control line 31 . steering line unit 21 may include a steering gate decoder and driver circuits . steering unit 21 can be coupled to cell array 11 by line 23 , to controller 27 by steering - control line 33 , and to bit line unit 13 by line 22 . bit line unit 13 , word line unit 19 and steering unit 21 can be coupled to bus 25 , which in turn is coupled to controller 27 . controller 27 can be coupled to the host by line 35 . when a preselected memory cell is to be programmed , voltages can be applied to the bit lines , word line and steering gates , corresponding to the preselected memory cell , at predetermined levels sufficient for the programming of the preselected cell . controller 27 sends the address of the preselected memory cell through bus 25 to the respective decoders in bit line unit 13 , word line unit 19 , and steering gate unit 21 through lines 26 a , 26 b , and 26 c , respectively . status and control commands between bit line unit 13 , word line unit 19 , steering gate unit 21 and controller 27 are communicated through bit - control line 29 , word - control line 31 and steering control line 33 . when a preselected memory cell is to be read , voltages can be applied to the corresponding bit lines , word line and steering gates , corresponding to the preselected memory cell , at predetermined levels , sufficient to enable the reading of the preselected memory cell . controller 27 is capable of applying the voltages of the bit lines through bit - control line 29 , applying the voltages of the word lines through word - control line 31 and applying the voltages of steering gates through steering control line 33 . a current can be generated through the preselected memory cell by these voltages . the current is indicative of whether the preselected memory cell was programmed or not . the value of the current can be amplified and compared against references by sense amplifiers in bit line unit 13 , the result of which can be temporarily stored in latches or registers . the resultant data , read out from the preselected memory cell , can be sent to controller 27 through read line 41 . fig2 a - c illustrate an embodiment of the invention . during the operation of the memory system , data storage values 102 can be read from an array of memory cells . the data storage values 102 can be read as values of a signal . possible signals include , for example , voltage or current levels . in some embodiments the data storage values 102 are transferred to controller 27 , where an error correction code can be applied to the data storage values . in order to increase the data storage density , some memory systems apply multi level storage schemes , where individual memory cells can store data not only associated with binary “ 0 ” s and “ 1 ” s , but in several states . the number of these states can be chosen to be a power of 2 , including 4 , 8 , or 16 . the values of the signal corresponding to data storage values 102 can lie within an overall signal storage value interval 100 . in some embodiments overall signal storage value interval 100 can be divided into individual storage value intervals 104 - i to capture the multi - level aspect of data storage values 102 in terms of digital data values . here i denotes positive integers . the read data storage value 102 then falls into one of the storage value intervals 104 - i . the storage value intervals 104 - i can correspond to the levels of the multi - level data storage values . accordingly , i can take the corresponding values between 1 and 4 , 8 , or 16 . storage value intervals 104 - i can be adjacent , and substantially equal in magnitude . in order to convert from analog data storage values to digital data values , digital data values 106 - i can be associated with storage value intervals 104 - i . as an example , if a multi - level memory system stores 4 bits of data in 2 4 = 16 levels , then the overall signal storage value interval 100 can be correspondingly divided into 16 storage value intervals 104 - i , and the 16 digital data values 106 - i can be correspondingly associated with the 16 storage value intervals 104 - i in order to capture the 16 possible data storage values . accordingly , i can take on values between 1 and 16 . a possible assignment of the digital data values 106 - 1 through 106 - 16 can be the integers from 0 through 15 , or 1 through 16 . within storage value intervals 104 - i , central preferred ranges 108 - i and peripheral adjacent ranges 112 - i can be defined . a central preferred range 08 - i can be a range of signal values contained within a storage value interval 104 - i , for example , spanning the middle portion of storage value interval 104 - i . the peripheral adjacent ranges 112 - i can be ranges of signal values within storage value intervals 104 - i , on one or both sides of the central preferred range 108 - i . as mentioned before , voltage levels may shift from their designed values . to accommodate such shifts , a low margin 114 - 1 and a high margin 114 - 2 is allocated at the ends of the overall storage value interval 100 . as illustrated in fig2 a , in some embodiments central preferred ranges 108 - i and peripheral adjacent ranges 112 - i can be defined in terms of analog signal values . in this specific example , the read data storage value 102 lies in the peripheral adjacent range 112 - 1 - 1 of storage value interval 104 - 1 , thus it has the associated digital data value 106 - 1 , which is “ 1 .” as illustrated in fig2 b , in other embodiments storage value intervals 104 - i can be further divided into sub - intervals 116 - i - j , where j is a positive integer . for example , an individual storage value interval 104 - i can be divided into 7 sub - intervals 116 - i - j , where correspondingly j can take on values between 1 and 7 . in this case , in a multi level memory system with , for example , 2 4 = 16 levels , the overall signal storage value interval 100 can be divided into 128 sub - intervals . out of this 128 sub - interval 16 × 7 = 112 sub - intervals are used to accommodate the 16 storage value intervals 104 - i with 7 sub - interval in each storage value interval 104 - i , and 8 and 8 sub - intervals are used to accommodate the low and high margins 114 - 1 and 114 - 2 , respectively . the sub - intervals can be substantially equal in magnitude . in this specific example , the read data storage value 102 lies in sub - interval 116 - 1 - 2 , therefore it lies within peripheral adjacent range 112 - 1 - 1 and thus has the associated digital data value 106 - 1 , which is “ 1 .” in some embodiments the data storage value 102 can be first converted into digital data with a high precision according to the sub - intervals , and then central preferred ranges 108 - i and peripheral adjacent ranges 112 - i can be defined in terms of these high - precision digital data . in the specific example above , the data storage value 102 can be converted into a seven - bit digital data according to which sub - interval 116 - i - j it lies in , wherein j can assume values from 1 to 7 . the seven - bit digital data value range 116 - i - 1 through 116 - i - 7 can be represented by the four - bit digital data value 106 - i as an “ i .” for example , the seven - bit digital data value range 116 - 1 - 1 through 116 - 1 - 7 can be associated with the four - bit digital data value 106 - 1 as a “ 1 ,” the seven - bit digital data value range 116 - 2 - 1 through 116 - 2 - 7 can be associated with the four - bit digital data value 106 - 2 as a “ 2 ,” and so on . the central preferred range 108 - 1 can be the seven - bit digital data value range 116 - 1 - 3 through 116 - 1 - 5 , and the peripheral adjacent ranges 112 - 1 - 1 and 112 - 1 - 2 can be the seven - bit digital data ranges 116 - 1 - 1 through 116 - 1 - 2 and 116 - 1 - 7 through 116 - 1 - 8 , respectively . storage value intervals 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 can be separated by separation point 127 - 1 . if the sub - intervals 116 - i - j are indexed with an overall number from 1 to 128 , then the above assignments can be restated as follows . the low margin 114 - 1 is associated with sub - intervals 1 - 8 , the digital data value “ 1 ” is associated with sub - intervals 9 - 15 , the digital data value “ 2 ” is associated with sub - intervals 16 - 22 , and so on . within sub - intervals 9 - 15 the central preferred range is sub - intervals 11 - 13 , and the peripheral adjacent ranges are 9 - 10 and 14 - 15 , and so on . when a data storage value 102 is read from the memory system , an individual storage value interval 104 - i is identified within which the read data storage value 102 lies . also identified is whether data storage value 102 lies within the central preferred range 108 - i , or in a peripheral adjacent range 112 - i - 1 or 112 - i - 2 within the storage value interval 104 - i . the digital data value 106 - i , which is associated with the data storage value &# 39 ; s storage value interval 104 - i , can be chosen as the digital representation of the data storage value 102 . this digital representation of the data storage value 102 will be supplemented with indication concerning the quality of the data storage value 102 . this quality indication can reflect where the data storage value 102 falls within storage value interval 104 - i . if the data storage value 102 falls within the central preferred range 108 - i , a “ good quality ” indication can be generated . if the data storage value 102 falls outside the central preferred range 108 - i , and within a peripheral adjacent range 112 - i - 1 or 112 - i - 2 , a “ poor quality ” indication can be generated . in some embodiments this indication can be associated with the digital data value 106 - i , representing data storage value 102 . for example , a binary digit can be attached to the digital data value 106 - i , where a binary “ 1 ” can represent “ good quality ”, and a binary “ 0 ” can represent “ poor quality ”. in some embodiments the opposite convention can be utilized . if a data storage value 102 has a “ poor quality ” indication , then a further indication can be generated about its quality by identifying the peripheral adjacent range 112 - i - j within which the data storage value 102 lies . if data storage value 102 lies in peripheral adjacent range 112 - i - 1 with a value lower than the lowest value of the corresponding preferred central range 108 - i , then a “ low anomaly ” indication can be generated . if data storage value 102 lies in peripheral adjacent range 112 - i - 2 with a value higher than the highest value of the corresponding preferred central range 108 - i , then a “ high anomaly ” indication can be generated . in some embodiments this indication can be associated with the digital data value 106 - i , representing data storage value 102 . for example , an additional binary digit can be attached to the digital data value 106 - i , where a binary “ 1 ” can represent “ high anomaly ”, and a binary “ 0 ” can represent “ low anomaly ”. in some embodiments the opposite convention can be utilized . [ 0040 ] fig2 c illustrates a corresponding embodiment of the invention , where a data storage value 102 has specifically 16 levels , thus the associated digital data value 106 - i has four bits . quality indication 132 - i is associated with this digital data value by attaching a fifth bit , representing “ good quality ” or “ poor quality ”, and an anomaly indication 134 - i is associated as a sixth bit , representing “ high anomaly ” or “ low anomaly .” the digital data 106 - i can be read into controller 27 for processing with using an error correction code , while the associated quality indication can be stored temporarily , for example , in a buffer . the quality indication can be read in later , if the error correction code requires further indication . the quality indication can be associated with the digital data values already within the memory . in the above embodiment , the data storage values are read with seven - bit precision . then the four - bit digital data value 106 - i and the quality indications 132 - i and 134 - i are associated with the data storage value 102 within the memory and subsequently shifted out to the controller . in other embodiments the seven - bit representation of the data storage values can be shifted out to the controller , and the controller extracts the representative four - bit digital data value and the associated quality indications . in further embodiments a “ look - up ” table is generated , with 2 7 = 128 entries , within the above example . the entries &# 39 ; addresses in the look - up table correspond to the 128 sub - intervals , within which the data storage values can lie . the entries at the addresses can contain six bits , four representing the digital data values and the remaining two the quality indications . the quality indications can indicate , for example , “ good quality ” or “ poor quality ,” and “ high anomaly ” or “ low anomaly .” such look - up tables can be hosted , for example , in random access memories . when the data storage value is read , the sub - interval is determined within which the data storage value lies . next , the look - up table &# 39 ; s six - bit entry , corresponding to the determined sub - interval , is shifted out to the controller for further processing . for a variety of reasons digital data values 106 - i can be corrupted . some of the reasons can be the leakage of the charges from memory cells , a problem exacerbated by the ever - diminishing size of memory cells in high - density memory systems . these high densities are also achieved by decreasing the inter - cell separation . this aspect of modern memory array design leads to an enhanced chance for interference between memory cells in close proximity . for example , charges of one memory cell can create an electric field , a fraction of which impinges on and modifies the read - out current of another memory cell . finally , data can also be corrupted depending on the history experienced by the cell . data storage values in memory cells , which are written and read excessively , may be more likely to develop errors by shifting from the preferred central ranges . because of the possibility of corruption , the digital data values should not be transferred to a user without some form of testing and correcting . in many memory systems these functions are carried out by applying an error correction code ( ecc ) to digital data values 106 - i . typically , an ecc is applied to the data when writing the data into the memory and the result stored , for example , in additional bits alongside the data . an example is the ( 7 , 4 ) hamming code , which associates three additional bits with every four - bit word to achieve a minimum hamming distance of three between any two of the 16 possible four - bit data . the ecc is recomputed when reading the same data and its associated ecc bits , and the results of the recomputation of the ecc can be compared with the mathematically expected result . if the recomputed and the expected results are the same , then the data were probably not corrupted , whereas , if the recomputed and expected results do not agree , then the data have been corrupted . it is noteworthy that the ecc can be applied to data groups of different sizes . furthermore , in flash memory systems the ecc can be computed for its associated data sector , while the data is read essentially simultaneously . once the number of items of data that are corrupted exceeds a threshold defined by the particular ecc in use , the probability of properly reconstructing the data drops off precipitously . for example , if in a sector of 512 bytes of data one or two items of data are corrupted , the appropriate ecc can reconstruct the corrupted data with 100 % certainty . however , if the number of corrupted data is higher than a critical number , for example , between three and ten , for some eccs about five , then the ecc has a prohibitively low probability of reconstructing the data correctly , and potentially a prohibitively high probability of reconstructing the data incorrectly . many eccs use additional bits for data recovery . a general relation concerning the ecc &# 39 ; s ability to reconstruct data was first given by hamming . if a memory system uses binary words of length m , capable of coding n = 2 m different data , then t corrupted data can be corrected reliably , if the memory system uses at least p additional bits , where a lower bound on the value of p is given by the “ lower hamming limit ”: p ≥ ∑ i = 0 t ( n i ) equivalently , this relation can be read to state that if a memory system uses p additional bits then an ecc is capable of reconstructing words reliably with at most t corrupted bits . in many systems p is chosen such that the reconstruction of a data sector with one or two errors can be carried out with high reliability . to address this issue , eccs not only generate the most likely reconstruction of the data , but they can also evaluate the reliability of the reconstructed data . in the above example , if the ecc detects the presence of about one or two corrupted data , then the ecc can indicate that the reconstructed data are very likely correct . in this case the reconstructed data can be transferred from controller 27 to a user . if the ecc finds about three to five corrupted data , then the ecc can indicate that the probability of having reconstructed the corrupted data correctly is reduced . depending on the subsequent usage of the data , controller 27 can then decide whether to accept or reject the reconstructed data and transfer it to a user . finally , if the ecc finds more than about five corrupted data , then the ecc can indicate that the probability of having reconstructed the corrupted data correctly is very low or that it is unable to reconstruct the data . the actual numerical values may differ from the quoted ones in different implementations of eccs . there is also the chance of false data reconstruction . since the ecc is using only summary indication about a data sector , it may also find by coincidence that replacing the corrupted “ 8 ” with a “ 3 ” seemingly lowers the error count , and therefore accepts the “ 3 .” such false data reconstruction can rapidly aggravate the data recovery , making it unreliable . in these and other cases of reduced reliability , the controller 27 may employ auxiliary corrective methods to increase the reliability of the ecc . some embodiments of the invention increase the reliability of the ecc by providing additional indication about the data . this can be achieved , for example , by controller 27 reading in the stored quality indications associated with digital data values 106 - i . one cause for the limitations of the ecc &# 39 ; s ability to reconstruct the data is that the ecc is unable to determine the locations of the corrupted bits within the data sector , and thus is unable to correct the corrupted data . this problem can be remedied by some embodiments of the invention , since “ poor quality ” data are likely candidates for being corrupted data , and since when the quality of an item of data is determined , its location is also known . therefore the location of “ poor quality ” data can also be provided to the ecc . consequently , the ecc &# 39 ; s ability to reconstruct the data reliably within the time frame available for error correction can be increased by suggesting to the error correcting process bits likely to be in error , based on their identified “ poor quality .” [ 0054 ] fig3 illustrates another advantage of some embodiments : they can provide suggestions for the ecc about how to reconstruct a corrupted item of data . if , for example , computing the ecc indicates the presence of corrupted data in a data sector , then the four - bit digital data value 106 - i that has the quality indicator 132 - i indicating a “ poor quality ,” is a likely candidate for being the corrupted data . if , in particular , the four - bit digital data value 106 - i has a “ low anomaly ” indication , then it is likely that before the corruption the corresponding storage data value 102 was represented by a digital data value lower by one , 106 -( i − 1 ). for example , if the digital data value of a “ poor quality ” data storage value was an “ 8 ” with a “ low anomaly ” indication , then it is likely that before the corruption the storage data value corresponded to the digital data value “ 7 ,” and shifted upward from there . the embodiment can then suggest the ecc to try correcting the corrupted “ 8 ” specifically to a “ 7 .” this suggestion can increase the reliability of the reconstructed data and thus the effectiveness of the ecc , since in the absence of such indication the ecc has to try all possible numbers in its effort to correct the corrupt “ 8 ,” lowering its chances to reconstruct the corrupted data correctly within the typically short time frames available for data correction . it is possible that upon reading a sector more than one digital data value will be characterized as “ poor quality .” if the number of “ poor quality ” digital data values is n , then there are 2 n − 1 possible ways of correcting the corrupted data according to the quality indications , since each of the n digital data values can be individually changed . with a high probability the reconstructed data can be found among these 2 n − 1 possible corrections . thus by suggesting to the ecc to start the data reconstruction by trying these 2 n − 1 combinations first , the digital data values can potentially be reconstructed faster . it is worth noting that no additional time consuming read operations are needed , all the indication for the data reconstruction already being available to the ecc and controller . the quality indications can be utilized in yet another way . when a sector of data is read from a memory system , the quality indications can also be collected to generate and track the statistical distribution of the data storage values of the sector and its quality . an advantage of doing so is that data corruption may be systematic within some sectors . reasons for this may have their origin in external circumstances , such as a change of temperature , modifying the operating parameters of the sector . or the reason can be connected to the history of the sector . for example , since erase operations , based on fowler - nordheim tunneling , can bias the source - substrate junction of certain flash memory cells close to the breakdown voltage , frequent erase operations may cause the deterioration of the physical structure of the memory cell , potentially leading to charge loss . also , it is possible that during the manufacturing process the characteristics of a particular sector deviate from the preferred values because of manufacturing or material irregularities . such systematic data corruption can be acted upon using the statistics of quality indications . fig4 a - c illustrate possible statistical distributions of data storage values in two neighboring storage value intervals 104 - i and 104 -( i + 1 ). as shown in fig4 a , in typical cases data storage values will exhibit distributions of the type 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) around the corresponding preferred central ranges 108 - i and 108 -( i + 1 ). in this case distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) are well separated in the sense that most or all data storage values lie close to the corresponding preferred central ranges 108 - i and 108 -( i + 1 ) and very few or none are in the vicinity of separation point 127 - i . this fact can be re - expressed by introducing the concept of a separation gap 129 - i between distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ). the separation gap 129 - i denotes a range where very few or no data storage values lie , and it is located around separation point 127 - i . data storage values which lie between separation points 127 - i and 127 -( i + 1 ) will be associated with digital data value 106 - i , and so on . [ 0058 ] fig4 a shows an embodiment , in which storage value intervals 104 - i and 104 -( i + 1 ) are divided into sub - intervals 116 - i - j and 116 -( i + 1 )- j , respectively , where j can take on values between 1 and 7 . in this embodiment distributions are well separated , if most or all of data storage values lie within sub - intervals with j values between 2 and 6 , the majority of which lie in the central preferred ranges with j between 3 and 5 . in case of such well - separated distributions , data storage values 102 can be related to digital data values 106 - i with high reliability . [ 0059 ] fig4 b shows a possible situation , when neighboring distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) are corrupted in a systematic manner . such systematic corruption can be caused by , for example , a variation of temperature . in this case distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) are shifted upwards in the sense that the number of “ high anomaly ” data is larger than the number of “ low anomaly ” data . in cases of such a systematic shift , distributions 122 - i , 122 -( i + 1 ), and 122 -( i + 2 ) still remain well separated . [ 0060 ] fig4 b again illustrates an embodiment in which storage value intervals 104 - i are further divided into sub - intervals 116 - i - j . the systematic shift is seen by the distributions 122 - i , 122 -( i + 1 ), and 122 -( i + 2 ) having some data storage values within sub - intervals j = 1 , essentially no data storage values in j = 2 , 3 , and 4 , and the bulk of the data storage values in the sub - intervals j = 5 , 6 , and 7 . in this case , before getting shifted , the data storage values in sub interval 116 -( i + 1 )- 1 most likely corresponded to the storage value interval 104 - i and thus were associated with digital data value 106 - i , and not with 106 -( i + 1 ), which would be associated with them in an unmodified procedure . if the statistics of the data storage values of a sector is found to exhibit a systematic shift , and the distributions remain well separated by a shifted separation gap 129 - i ′, in some embodiments the controller 27 may employ some corrective action after a sufficient statistics has been collected about the data sector . for each pair of neighboring distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) the controller 27 may identify the corresponding systematic shift of these distributions , and then shift the separation point 127 - i by the identified systematic shift to 127 - i ′. in the example of fig4 b , distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ), and in particular their separation gap 129 - i , have been shifted up by two sub - intervals . consequently the controller 27 may counteract this systematic shift by shifting separation point 127 - i up by two sub - intervals to 127 - i ′. this means that in subsequent read operations , data storage values lying in interval 116 -( i + 1 )- 1 , visibly belonging to distribution 122 - i , will be assigned the correct digital data value of 106 - i , and not 106 -( i + 1 ). these shifts need not be uniform across overall storage value interval 100 , in that the above - mentioned external or internal causes of systematic shifts might affect the different storage value intervals 104 - i within overall storage value interval 100 differently . [ 0063 ] fig4 c illustrates another possibility , where the neighboring distributions 122 - i and 122 -( i + 1 ) do not exhibit a systematic shift , but rather a broadening . such a broadening can lead to the overlapping of the tails of the distributions , as shown in fig4 c . when a data storage value lies in the overlap region , and computing the ecc with the assigned digital data value indicates an error , the assignment of digital data values can be individually modified . similarly to the embodiment of fig3 if the data storage value lies in the overlap region , for example , in sub - interval 116 - i - 7 , then the digital data value 106 - i will be associated with it , as well as a “ poor quality ” indication and a “ high anomaly ” indication . consequently , if the ecc detects the presence of errors within the data sector , then , based on the quality indications , some embodiments will suggest to the ecc to correct the assignment of this data storage value from digital data value 106 - i to digital data value 106 -( i + 1 ). according to another aspect of the invention additional corrective actions can be executed based on the statistics of a sector &# 39 ; s “ poor quality ” data . these corrective actions can be executed by a controller external to the memory system , or , in other embodiments , by some logic internal to the memory system . hereafter , the unit , which executes the corrective action , will be referred to as “ the controller .” the total number of “ poor quality ” data can be counted in any data sector of a memory system . this counting can be executed , for example , during some or all readings of the data of the sector , or during specific “ house keeping ” operations , aimed only at determining the quality of the data of the sector . in this embodiment it is not even necessary that the application of an fcc indicate the presence of errors in the data sector . even if the ecc indicates that the data sector is error free , an increase in number of “ poor quality ” data can indicate that the quality of data in the sector is degrading . driven by this indication proactive corrective actions can be performed in a timely manner , thus preventing the appearance of actual errors . [ 0065 ] fig5 illustrates a flow chart of operating a memory system in relation to the count of “ poor quality ” data . a ) if c , the count of “ poor quality ” data of a sector is zero , or smaller than a first predetermined value n 1 , c & lt ; n 1 , this indicates that the quality of the sector &# 39 ; s data did not degrade , or only to a low , tolerable degree . therefore , no corrective actions are required . b ) if c , the count of “ poor quality ” data of a sector is between a first and a second predetermined value , n 1 ≦ c & lt ; n 2 , this indicates that the quality of the sector &# 39 ; s data degraded to some degree . therefore , the data of the sector should be refreshed , rewritten , or transcribed to another sector at some time . however , the degree of degrading is such that the probability of actual errors developing is low . therefore , the above corrective actions need not be executed immediately , but can be delayed until a suitable later time . for example , these corrective actions can be executed at a time , when the memory system has finished executing the read commands , and is also not performing any other higher priority jobs . c ) if c , the count of “ poor quality ” data of a sector is between a second and a third predetermined value , n 2 ≦ c & lt ; n 3 , this indicates that the quality of the sector &# 39 ; s data degraded to a considerable degree , which requires that the data of the sector be refreshed , rewritten , or transcribed immediately , or within a short , predetermined delay . d ) if c , the count of “ poor quality ” data of a sector is higher than a third predetermined value , n 3 ≦ c , this indicates that the quality of the sector &# 39 ; s data degraded to an intolerable degree . causes of the degrading may be internal to the sector , such as an extensive wear caused by an excessive number of read and write operations , or some material or manufacturing irregularity . in either case , it is likely that the quality of data written into the sector in the future will degrade as well . this foreseeable degrading can be prevented by immediately , or with high priority , transcribing the data from this low quality sector to another sector of the memory system . the low quality sector can then be retired so that in the future no data will be written into it . some further embodiments utilize tracking cells positioned among the regular memory cells of the memory system . tracking cells and their operation are described , for example , in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 222 , 762 b1 and 6 , 275 , 419 b1 , both granted to d . guterman et al . tracking cells experience the same external and internal influences as the regular memory cells , thus the statistics of the tracking cells can be representative of the statistics of the whole array of memory cells . therefore , a memory system can be operated according to the steps of fig5 in relation to the count of “ poor quality ” data among the tracking cells only . another embodiment compiles the number of errors , detected by the ecc , when reading the data of a sector . as illustrated by the flow chart in fig6 different types of corrective actions can be executed in relation to the number of errors . a ) if e , the number of errors in a sector is zero or less than a first predetermined value m 1 , e & lt ; m 1 , this indicates that the data of the sector were not corrupted , or only to a low , tolerable degree , thus they can be reconstructed reliably by the ecc , possibly in combination with the quality indications . b ) if e , the number of errors in a sector is between a first and a second predetermined value , m 1 ≦ e & lt ; m 2 , this indicates that the data of the sector have been corrupted to some degree . therefore , first the sector &# 39 ; s data has to be reconstructed by the ecc , possibly in combination with the quality indications , and then the sector &# 39 ; s data should be refreshed , rewritten , or transcribed to another sector at some time . however , the degree of corruption is such that the data can still be reconstructed with high reliability by the ecc , possibly in combination with the quality indications . moreover , these corrective actions need not be executed immediately , but can be delayed until a suitable later time . for example , these corrective actions can be executed at a time , when the memory system has finished executing the read commands , and is also not performing any other higher priority jobs . c ) if e , the number of errors in a sector is between a second and a third predetermined value , m 2 ≦ e & lt ; m 3 , this indicates that the data of the sector have been corrupted to a considerable degree . therefore , first the sector &# 39 ; s data has to be reconstructed by the ecc , possibly in combination with the quality indications , and then the sector &# 39 ; s data should be refreshed , rewritten , or transcribed to another new sector immediately , or within a short , predetermined delay . d ) if e , the number of errors in a sector is higher than a third predetermined value , m 3 ≦ e , this indicates that the data of the sector have been corrupted to an intolerable degree . causes of the corruption may be internal to the sector , such as an extensive wear caused by an excessive number of read and write operations , or some material or manufacturing irregularity . in either case , it is likely that data written into the sector in the future will get corrupted again . therefore , first the sector &# 39 ; s data has to be reconstructed by the ecc , possibly in combination with the quality indications . second , future corruption of the data can be prevented by immediately , or with high priority , transcribing the data from the corrupted sector to another new sector of the memory system . afterwards , the corrupted sector can be retired so that in the future no data will be written into it . as mentioned earlier , error correction codes cannot recover more than a number k of corrupted data with high probability . in the earlier example k took the value 5 . sometimes it is said that the ecc is “ swamped ,” if more than k data are corrupted in a sector . in the above flow chart m 3 can be equal to or different from k . in particular , the memory system can be operated such that even though the ecc can reconstruct the data with high probability , i . e . e & lt ; k , the data is to be transcribed and the sector is to be retired , i . e . m 3 & lt ; e & lt ; k . in some embodiments , the errors can be counted by counters of limited capacity . an example can be a four - value counter for each sector , if the ecc can reconstruct data reliably with four corrupted data per sector , i . e . k = 4 . if the number of errors , indicated by the ecc , exceeds 4 , e & gt ; 4 , then the error counter may provide an “ overflow ” signal . in this case the ecc may try again reconstructing the corrupted data , but now by utilizing the quality indication as well . if the results are satisfactory , they can be accepted for a subsequent transfer to a user . although the various aspects of the present invention have been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments , it is understood that the invention is entitled to protection within the full scope of the appended claims .
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the present invention relates to utilization of a mobile management device to increase the efficiency of manager interactions with pos devices in a consumer transaction system . the following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein . fig1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for improving manager interaction in a consumer transaction system . for illustrative purposes , a grocery store and bank are two examples of customer - oriented environments which utilize computerized systems that are referred to herein as consumer transaction systems . as shown in fig1 , the system includes a plurality of pos systems 10 , such as a set of registers in a grocery store . the pos systems 10 are coupled to a central controller system 12 in a local area network ( lan ) configuration . an ibm 4690 store controller , ibm as400 system , or a regular personal computer such as a pentium based system are examples of systems suitable for use as the central controller system 12 . in accordance with the present invention , the system further includes a mobile manager system 14 , such as a pen - based , personal digital assistant device , e . g ., a palmpilot device from 3com corporation of santa clara , calif ., equipped for remote use via a wireless modem . the mobile manager system 14 provides an interface to the consumer transaction system by a person working as a manager of the system for remotely accessing and monitoring the transaction system . a method for utilizing the mobile manager system 14 to provide efficient management of the consumer transaction system during an override in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the block flow diagram of fig2 . the method initiates with identification of an override condition in a pos system 10 ( step 20 ), such as through the display of a prompt on a display screen of the pos system . substantially simultaneously , the data relevant to the override condition is then sent to the central controller 12 ( step 22 ). the central controller 12 signals the occurrence of the override condition to the mobile manager 14 and transfers the override condition data to the mobile manager 14 ( step 24 ). by way of example , the override condition data may include the name or number of the pos system having the problem , the name of the person working at that pos system , and the specifics of the override condition , e . g ., the transaction amount that exceeds a limit . the mobile manager 14 then is used to provide the appropriate action , such as through selection of an override release command by the manager , which is signaled to the central controller 12 ( step 26 ). the central controller 12 relays the override release signal from the mobile manager 14 to the pos system 10 ( step 28 ), and thus , the override condition is handled in less time than that normally associated with direct , physical interaction by a manager with the pos device 10 . in addition to remotely handling an override situation , in accordance with another aspect of the present invention , the mobile manager 14 is utilized to monitor the status of the pos systems 10 remotely , as described with reference to the block flow diagram of fig3 . the monitoring initiates with the occurrence of a status determination for a pos system 10 by the mobile manager 14 ( step 30 ). for example , the manager accesses the mobile manager system 14 and selects a pos system to monitor . monitoring of the status includes receiving information about the pos system , such as whether the pos system was opened / closed , who is signed - on to the pos system , whether a cash drawer for the pos system requires a tender pick - up , etc . in addition to these types of status data , operator statistics may also be remotely monitored , including scan rate and transaction rate . when the status is found to be satisfactory , as determined via step 32 , the process continues with a determination of whether another pos system is to be checked , via step 34 . if another pos system is to be checked , the process continues with a status determination for that pos system , i . e ., returns to step 30 . if no other pos system is to be checked , the process is completed . when the status is determined to be unsatisfactory , i . e ., step 32 is negative , the status of the pos system is adjusted ( step 36 ). when possible , the necessary status adjustments are achieved remotely via the mobile manager system 14 . for example , in the case of an unlocked system that requires locking , preferably the mobile manager system 14 sends a lock command signal that identifies the pos system to be locked to the central controller 12 . the central controller 12 then proceeds to perform and confirm the locking of that pos system . other adjustments may require direct human intervention , such as when a tender pick - up is necessary , in which case the status is adjusted by removing the excessive money from the pos system . the mobile manager 14 could also be used to remotely provide price information to a pos system 10 in a price check situation . through the present invention , a straightforward approach to improving a consumer transaction system is provided . the ability to remotely access a pos system through the aspects of the present invention reduces delay normally associated with manager interactions with a pos system . in addition , better monitoring of pos system status is also achieved , which further improves the efficiency of system operation . although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown , one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
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according to the invention , the demolding agent used in the compositions of the invention is calcium montanate . the term &# 34 ; calcium montanate &# 34 ; used herein denotes the calcium salt of a commercial fatty acid which is predominantly montanic acid of formula c 27 h 55 cooh and containing minor amounts of c 24 , c 26 , c 30 and c 32 acids . this salt is manufactured from a natural product , montan wax , which is extracted from lignites . this salt is manufactured by oxidizing montan wax with the aid , for example , of a hot sulfuric - chromic mixture , the oxidation products obtained ( fatty acids ) are then neutralized with calcium compounds such as calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide . it can be shown by analysis that the commercial product sold under the name of calcium montanate contains approximately 5 % of calcium and up to about 3 % by weight of free acids . the present inventors have found that the use of the demolding agent according to the invention now makes it possible to virtually eliminate the disadvantageous condensation phenomenon which has been observed with the demolding agents known hitherto . the elimination of these disadvantages is particularly useful since reflectors having superior non - shrinking , shape - retention and non - condensing characteristics can now be produced . the demolding agent according to the invention is used in an amount of about 1 to 8 % by weight relative to the weight of the unsaturated polyester resin / styrene mixture . according to a preferred embodiment of the invention , the antishrinkage agent used in the compositions of the invention is a methyl methacrylate polymer ( pmma ) which has a number average molecular weight of more than 100 , 000 and preferably close to 130 , 000 . it was found that the use of this pmma with calcium montanate in the compositions according to the invention made it possible to obtain the best results insofar as the loss in weight of the lamp reflectors is concerned . in a known manner , the antishrinkage agent is used in a quantity of between about 10 and 20 % by weight relative to the weight of the polyester resin / styrene mixture . in a known manner , lamp reflectors according to the invention are obtained by employing moldable unsaturated polyester resin compositions . these compositions , called &# 34 ; bulk molding compounds &# 34 ; ( bmc ), consist of unsaturated polyester resins in admixture with styrene , with the addition of an organic peroxide as polymerization catalyst , fillers such as calcium carbonate , from about 10 to 30 % by weight of glass fibers , the calcium montanate demolding agent according to the invention and the antishrinkage agent . after the mixture has been produced , the moldable composition is introduced into a mold of an appropriated shape ; the mold is then closed and heated to polymerize the composition . the molding can be carried out by using any of the techniques known in this technology : compression , transfer , injection / compression and injection molding . during the molding the mold is kept at a temperature of about 130 ° to 180 ° c . and at a pressure of about 30 to 100 bars for 2 minutes at most . after demolding , the reflector is then subjected to an aluminizing treatment to produce headlamps . this aluminizing treatment is preferably carried out by precoating the reflector with a polyester , epoxy or acrylic resins varnish . the following examples illustrate the present invention . the quantities are expressed in parts by weight . a &# 34 ; control &# 34 ; composition is prepared from the following ingredients : the unsaturated polyester resin ( having the following characteristics : density : 1 . 11 g / cm 3 , viscosity at 25 ° c . : 20 dpa . s , solids content : 67 % is sold by cray valley sa under the trademark norsodyne . ______________________________________ parts by weight______________________________________unsaturated polyester resin in 60solution in styreneantishrinkage agent consisting 20of polyurethane ( mw approximately8000 , solids content 65 %) in solution in styrenethermoplastic rubber in solution 20in styrene , solids content : 30 % tertiary butyl peroctoate 2para - benzoquinone 0 . 02calcium carbonate 240organic black colorant 10glass fibers ( length : 6 mm ) 60calcium stearate 6______________________________________ ______________________________________unsaturated polyester resin 60in solution in styrene ofexample 1pmma as a 40 % solution ( sold 40by altulor under the trade - mark altulite p2779tertiary butyl peroctoate 2para - benzoquinone 0 . 02calcium carbonate 240 &# 34 ; calcium montanate &# 34 ;, calcium 4contents : 5 . 1 %, free fattyacids ; 3 %, moisture at 105 ° c . 2 % this product is sold bymt - chimie under the trademarkstavinororganic black colorant 10glass fibers ( 6 mm in length ) 60______________________________________ the compositions of examples 1 and 2 are injection molded at 150 ° c . in molds for manufacturing lamp reflectors . table 1 summarizes the results of the measurements performed on the finished products . table 1______________________________________ example 2characteristics example 1 example 2 without colorant______________________________________shrinkage + 0 . 12 % + 0 . 04 + 0 . 04 ( swelling ) losses in weight : 1 / 2 h at 200 ° c . 0 . 46 % 0 . 21 % 0 . 21 % 24 h at 200 ° c . 1 . 23 % 0 . 49 % 0 . 57 % ______________________________________ example 2 is repeated , but &# 34 ; calcium montanate &# 34 ; is replaced with calcium stearate . example 3 is repeated , but 20 parts by weight of pmma instead of 40 and 20 parts of polyvinyl alcohol are used . table 2 which follows , summarizes the results obtained on headlamp parabolas obtained by molding . table 2______________________________________characteristics example 3 example 4______________________________________losses in weight : 1 / 2 h - 200 ° c . 0 . 38 % 0 . 40 % 24 h - 200 ° c . 0 . 90 % 1 . 10 % ______________________________________ example 1 is repeated , but calcium stearate is replaced with an equal weight of various other conventional demolding agents or calcium montanate . table 3 summarizes the results obtained on headlamp parabolas manufactured by molding . table 3______________________________________ loss in weighttests demolding agent 1 / 2 h - 220 ° c . 24 h - 200 ° c . ______________________________________5 lithium stearate 0 . 24 % 0 . 77 % 6 magnesium stearate 0 . 26 % 0 . 7 % 7 calcium montanate 0 . 17 % 0 . 60 % ______________________________________ it is apparent from the examples that use of calcium montanate produces lamp reflectors with improved properties , and that further improvement is obtained when calcium montanate is used together with the preferred pmma antishrinkage agent . 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 described embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to a person skilled in the art , the scope of the invention should be construed to include all variations falling within the ambit of the appended claims and equivalents thereof .
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the description and drawings illustrate the principles of the invention . it will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that , although not explicitly described or shown herein , embody the principles of the invention and are included within its scope . furthermore , all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor ( s ) to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions . additionally , the term , “ or ,” as used herein , refers to a non - exclusive or ( i . e ., and / or ), unless otherwise indicated ( e . g ., “ or else ” or “ or in the alternative ”). also , the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive , as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments . communication standards , e . g ., universal serial bus ( usb ) power delivery ( pd ), require a transceiver to be capable of identifying signal from noise . traditionally , such task is performed by a squelch detector that includes a peak detector and a comparator . this traditional squelch detector monitors the amplitude of an ac coupled input . however , duty cycle distortion , voltage asymmetry of the signal , and a leaky discharge path significantly degrade the accuracy of the detection . for example , existing squelch detectors for high frequency sinusoidal signals are not effective for arbitrary signals , which have duty cycle distortion , varying frequency , varying common mode , etc . further , squelch detection methods for differential signals are only suitable for differential input signals with a high accuracy . for such squelch detection methods to work with single ended signal , a differential - to - single - ended conversion is needed , which will degrade the accuracy significantly . in addition , the differential - to - single - ended conversion will be flawed when the common mode varies . embodiments of a squelch detector will be described that detect the swing of an input signal . this squelch detector may include a peak detector , a valley detector , and a differential comparator . the input of the squelch detector may be input to the peak and valley detectors with or without a level shifter . the outputs of the peak and valley detectors are then applied to the differential comparator , where the voltage difference of the peak and valley detectors are compared to a reference voltage difference . in order to achieve accurate detection , there is no constant discharge path in either the peak or valley detector . the signal swing is updated using a refresh mechanism , which discharges the sampling capacitors of the peak and valley detectors periodically . one example of where the embodiments described herein may be applied is to usb pd communication using a biphase mark code ( bmc ) on the configuration channel ( cc ) lines . these embodiments further may be applied to any other data communication requiring a squelch detector that monitors the ac swing of its input . using both a peak detector and a valley detector to sample the input signal results in a measurement of the swing that is not sensitive to the duty cycle distortion and asymmetry of the signal . further , the input may be dc coupled to the squelch detector instead of ac coupled . in addition , the proposed refresh mechanism eliminates a trade - off between accuracy and working frequency . also , the input swing is sampled and refreshed periodically to avoid the inaccuracy due to a constant discharge path connected to the sampling capacitor . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a squelch detector . the squelch detector 100 may include a level shifter 110 , a swing detector 115 , and a differential comparator 130 . the swing detector 115 may include a peak detector 120 , a valley detector 125 , and a refresh input 150 . the squelch detector 100 receives an input signal 105 at the level shifter 110 . the level shifter may shift the level of the input signal 105 . as will be further described below the level shifter 100 is optional . the input signal 105 ( whether level shifted or not ) is input to the swing detector 115 . the swing detector 115 inputs the input signal 105 to both the peak detector 120 and the valley detector 125 . the peak detector 120 outputs the maximum value of the input signal . the valley detector 125 outputs the minimum value of the input signal . in order to keep the maximum and minimum input values current , a refresh signal may be received at the refresh input 150 to reset the maximum and minimum values of the input signal . the swing detector 115 outputs the maximum input value from the peak detector 120 and the minimum input value from the valley detector to a differential comparator 130 . the differential comparator 130 may also receive reference values refh and refl at a reference high input 140 and a reference low input 145 respectively . the differential comparator 130 may then compare the difference between the outputs from the peak detector 120 and the valley detector 125 to the difference between the refh and refl values , and the differential comparator 130 produces an output or indicator that indicates whether the difference between the outputs from the peak detector 120 and the valley detector 125 , i . e ., the swing , is greater than or less than the difference between the refh and refl values . when the swing is less than the difference between the refh and refl values , then squelch may be applied . it is noted that the differential comparator may alternatively include only a single reference input that receives a reference value that is compared to the swing . as described above , use of a level shifter 110 is optional . the level shifter may be used if : 1 ) the inaccuracy resulting from the circuit non - idealities , e . g ., negative - bias temperature instability ( nbti ) effects of the p - channel metal - oxide - semiconductor field - effect transistor ( pmos ) differential pairs in the detectors and the comparator is greater than inaccuracy due to the level shifter , because the peak detector 120 , valley detector 125 , and differential comparator 130 may adopt n - channel metal - oxide - semiconductor field - effect transistor ( nmos ) differential pairs rather than the pmos pairs ; or 2 ) the input pin has a stringent leakage requirement , as in usb type - c and pd specifications . fig2 illustrates an input signal , a refresh signal , and the timing of the output signal . the input signal 205 is shown as a pulsed signal , but could be any type of input signal . the refresh signal 210 has a refresh period . when a refresh signal 210 is received the peak detector 120 and valley detector 125 are refreshed by resetting the minimum and maximum measured values of the input signal 205 . the output signal may have a data ready time ( as indicated by the plot 215 ) during which the output signal does not have a valid value as the outputs of the swing detector 115 have to settle after the refresh occurs . the refresh period has a minimum value based upon the data ready time . the maximum refresh period would be driven by the specific input communication signal 205 received by the squelch detector 100 . further , the output of the squelch detector 100 may maintain its output value at a refresh and during the data ready time until the output value of the swing detector 115 has settled . fig3 illustrates an embodiment of a peak detector . the peak detector 120 may include an input 305 , a peak switch 310 , a peak comparator 315 , a resistor 320 , a peak sampling capacitor 325 , a discharge switch 330 , and a peak output 335 . the peak detector 120 receives the input signal at its input 305 which is then fed to the positive input of the peak comparator 315 and the peak switch 310 . the peak switch 310 connects the input 305 to the resistor 320 and is controlled by the output signal of the peak comparator 315 . the resistor 320 further connects to the peak sampling capacitor 325 . as shown , the resistor 320 and the peak sampling capacitor 325 are also connected to the negative input of the peak comparator 315 . the discharge switch 330 is connected to the peak sampling capacitor 325 . the peak detector 120 operates as follows . the input signal is applied to the peak comparator 315 . the peak comparator 315 compares the input voltage to a voltage on the peak sampling capacitor 325 . when the input voltage is greater than the voltage on the peak sampling capacitor 325 , the peak comparator 315 outputs a signal to the peak switch 310 that causes the peak switch 310 to close . when the peak switch 310 closes the input voltage is then charged onto the peak sampling capacitor 325 . once the input signal voltage becomes less than the voltage on the peak sampling capacitor 325 , the peak comparator 315 outputs a signal that opens the peak switch 310 . as a result , the voltage on the peak sampling capacitor 325 indicates the maximum voltage from the input signal . as the peak detector 120 operates , when a new peak input voltage is received , it will be larger than the voltage on the peak sampling capacitor 325 so that the peak comparator 315 closes the peak switch 310 so that the input voltage can be applied to the peak sampling capacitor 325 . as a result the peak sampling capacitor 325 now indicates the new maximum value of the input voltage . when a refresh signal is received , the refresh switch 330 closes to discharge the peak sampling capacitor 325 to a reference level which may also be the ground level or the dc level of the input signal . accordingly , the discharge path of the peak sampling capacitor 325 is controlled by the refresh signal . fig4 illustrates an embodiment of a valley detector . the valley detector 125 may include an input 405 , a valley switch 410 , a valley comparator 415 , a resistor 420 , a valley sampling capacitor 425 , a discharge switch 430 , and a valley output 435 . the valley detector 125 receives the input signal at its input 405 which is then fed to the negative input of the valley comparator 415 and the valley switch 410 . the valley switch 410 connects the input 405 to the resistor 420 and is controlled by the output signal of the valley comparator 415 . the resistor 420 further connects to the valley sampling capacitor 425 . as shown , the resistor 420 and the valley sampling capacitor 425 are also connected to the positive input of the valley comparator 415 . the discharge switch 430 is connected to the valley sampling capacitor 425 . the valley detector 125 operates as follows . the input signal is applied to the valley comparator 415 . the valley comparator 415 compares the input voltage to a voltage on the valley sampling capacitor 425 . when the input voltage is less than the voltage on the valley sampling capacitor 435 , the valley comparator 415 outputs a signal to the valley switch 410 that causes the valley switch 410 to close . when the valley switch 410 closes the input voltage is then charged onto the valley sampling capacitor 425 . once the input signal voltage becomes greater than the voltage on the valley sampling capacitor 425 , the valley comparator 415 outputs a signal that opens the valley switch 410 . as a result , the voltage on the valley sampling capacitor 425 indicates the minimum voltage from the input signal . as the valley detector 125 operates , when a new minimum input voltage is received , it will be smaller than the voltage on the valley sampling capacitor 425 so that the valley comparator 415 closes the valley switch 410 so that the input voltage can be applied to the valley sampling capacitor 425 . as a result the valley sampling capacitor 425 now indicates the new minimum value of the input voltage . when a refresh signal is received , the refresh switch 430 closes to discharge the valley sampling capacitor 425 to a reference level which may also be the ground level or the dc level or the input signal . accordingly , the discharge path of the valley sampling capacitor 425 is controlled by the refresh signal . other peak and valley detectors that may be refreshed may be used in the swing detector 115 as well . although the various exemplary embodiments have been described in detail with particular reference to certain exemplary aspects thereof , it should be understood that the invention is capable of other embodiments and its details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects . as is readily apparent to those skilled in the art , variations and modifications can be effected while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the foregoing disclosure , description , and figures are for illustrative purposes only and do not in any way limit the invention , which is defined only by the claims .
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referring now to the drawings and particularly to fig1 - 5 , there is illustrated generally at 10 the soldering - desoldering device of the present invention . the device 10 comprises broadly a housing member 12 and a heater assembly 14 slidable in the housing member shown positioned over a leadless semiconductor module or chip carrier 16 mounted on a printed wiring board 18 . the chip carrier 16 typically has a plurality of spaced apart metal contact pads 17 adjacent the periphery thereof . when the chip carrier 16 is in position on the printed wiring board 18 , the pads 17 are above corresponding tin - lead pads 19 on the wiring board which in turn are connected by leads 19a to other circuitry in a well - known manner . the housing member 12 is preferably made out of ceramic material well - known for its insulative properties and has a longitudinally extending , open ended , bore 20 . the bore 20 has a wall 22 with a configuration that is substantially that of the perimeter of the chip carrier 16 only larger . the housing member also has a plurality of passageways 24 which extend between the outer wall 26 and the wall 22 of the bore 20 to permit air under pressure from a source ( not shown ) to be introduced thereto through a pipe 28 for purposes that will be more fully discussed later . the heater assembly 14 also made of ceramic material has an outer configuration defined by surface 30 to be substantially that of the housing wall 22 . the heater assembly 14 has a longitudinally extending passageway 32 leading from an opening onto the face 34 thereof to the end 36 . the passageway 32 is connected to a source of vacuum ( not shown ) by means of a pipe 38 . the heater assembly 14 is slidably mounted within the bore 20 by means of a connector plate 40 secured thereto at end 36 by means of a set screw 42 . the connector plate 40 in turn has a plurality of holes 44 adjacent the periphery thereof which are positioned on studs 46 threaded at one end 48 for securing them in housing member 12 . compression springs 50 are positioned over the studs 46 between the connector plate 40 and housing member 12 to bias the heater assembly 14 and the face 34 thereof a distance spaced from the chip carrier 16 when at rest . this distance is controlled by means of nuts 52 which are threaded onto the other ends 54 of studs 46 . the heater assembly 14 , in the embodiment shown , has a longitudinally extending rectangular shaped channel 56 formed in each side of outer surface 30 . a heater element 58 of etched nichrome is cemented into each of the channels 56 and electrically connected in series with each other and a controllable source of electric current ( not shown ). as will be noted , the traversing heater segments 60 are closer together at the end of the heater assembly 14 adjacent the face 34 to radiate a greater amount of more concentrated heat than are the traversing heater segments 62 adjacent end 36 for the purpose to be hereinafter described with respect to the operation of the device . referring now to fig6 a - 6c , when it is desired to remove a chip carrier 16 from a printed wiring board 18 , the housing member 12 is positioned over the chip carrier 16 as shown in fig6 a wherein the passageway 24 surrounds the chip carrier 16 . air under pressure ( see arrows ) from a source ( not shown ) is introduced into bore 20 between wall 22 and channel 56 of heater assembly 14 via pipes 28 . the air is heated on its downward travel over heater elements 58 . because of the closeness of the traversing heater segments 60 as aforementioned , the watts density is greater at the bottom than it is at the top thus the temperature at the bottom is greater there than at the top . the purpose of this design is so that the incoming air flow at the top is preheated before it is subjected to the gradual temperature rise of the remaining length of the heater elements 58 . this assures a gradual , uniform temperature rise and eliminates the possibility of subjecting the heater assembly 14 to thermal shock . at the same time that the air enters the bore 20 and is heated as aforementioned , vacuum ( see arrows ) is being applied at passageway 32 via pipe 38 from a source of vacuum ( not shown ). the heated air flows around the sides of the chip carrier 16 and causes melting of the solder 64 . the still warm air is then removed through passageway 32 by the presence of the vacuum thus eliminating the possibility of building up pressure inside the bore 20 and forcing the heated air out through the bottom of the housing member 12 adjacent the printed wiring board 18 causing possible damage to the board and damage to adjacent chip carriers located thereon . thus , the unique combination of incoming air under pressure and the exhaust vacuum insures that the heated air travels directly to the soldered area 64 on each side of the chip carrier 16 where it melts the solder and is then exhausted away so that it causes no damage to the printed wiring board 18 or adjacent chip carriers . also by so controlling the air flow and vacuum , there is assurance that a temperature rise occurs only at the soldered area 64 of the chip carrier 16 and the thickness of the substrate or addition of heat sinks to the bottom of the substrate has little effect on the time it takes to reach the solder melt temperature of the chip carrier connection . this feature enhances the device &# 39 ; s ability to handle a wide variety of substrate types and thicknesses without having to make any modifications to the device &# 39 ; s duty cycle . after the heated air has reached a certain temperature and the solder melted , the heater assembly 14 is pushed down in bore 20 so that the end 34 sits on top of the chip carrier 16 as shown in fig6 b . at this time an additional amount of vacuum may be applied in passageway 32 to hold the chip carrier 16 thereto as it is gently lifted off of the printed wiring board 18 as the heater assembly 14 is returned to its at rest position by springs 50 as shown in fig6 c . this method of chip carrier removal is superior to any mechanical gripping device because the vacuum applies just enough force to lift the chip carrier and break the surface tension between the carrier and the molten solder . if for some reason the solder is not completely molten and the carrier is still attached to the printed wiring board , the applied vacuum force is not sufficient to lift the carrier and will leave it in its place . this eliminates the possibility of pulling up a printed wiring board pad with the carrier which could be done very easily with a mechanical gripping device . the procedure for installing a leadless chip carrier on a printed wiring board is similar to that aforedescribed with regard to its removal . referring to fig7 a - 7c , the pads 17 of a chip carrier 16 are placed on the presoldered pads 19 on the printed wiring board 18 . the air flowing into the housing member 12 is allowed to be heated by heater assembly 14 for a period of time sufficient to raise the temperature of the air enough to melt solder . the housing member 12 is then placed over the chip carrier 16 as shown in fig7 b such that the end of the housing member 12 does not set on the top of the printed wiring board 18 . the heated air is then directed to the solder 64 until it melts thus securing the pads 17 , 19 together as shown in fig7 c . the air is then exhausted through the area between the housing member 12 and the printed wiring board 18 to atmosphere . all of the parameters , namely , temperature , air flow , vacuum flow and time can be established prior to usage thereby ensuring successful operation . if modifications need be made , however , they can be done easily by adjusting the current to the electric heater elements or air - vacuum flow to obtain the desired combination . although a four sided heater assembly having four heating elements is disclosed for efficient melting of the solder on four sided leadless chip carriers , it is to be understood that the heater assembly can take any shape as can the wall of the bore in the housing member to correspond to the shape of the leadless chip carrier . if the leadless chip carrier is circular , the heater assembly can , for example , be circular and in this instance , the heater element may be wound in a circle with increasing density down the length thereof . these and many different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the scope and spirit thereof . therefore , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment shown and described herein , except as defined in the appended claims .
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now , preferred embodiments of the digital image providing system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a digital image providing system according to the present invention where the system is provided at a photo - studio / a studio . this system mainly includes a digital camera 10 , image processing devices 20 , 30 , a photo - printer 40 , an encrypting / decrypting device 50 and a customer information database 60 . the digital camera 10 sends out original image data to the image processing device 20 over interface such as ieee 1394 each time it takes digital picture of a customer at a studio . the image processing device 20 includes a personal computer ( pc ) with software corresponding to various types of image - processing and processing of printing order or the like . the image processing device 20 stores image data of an original image captured from the digital camera 10 in its built - in or external storage 22 . the image data of the original image is unprocessed raw data outputted from an image pickup device such as a ccd or a cmos in the digital camera 10 or image data which is developed at the digital camera 10 and to be subjected to image - processing by the image processing device 20 . if the image is taken by film camera , the image data of the original image is image data which is read by scanner as a negative image and digitized . an operator inputs processing information for performing image processing ( picture creation ) including color correction , grey level correction , trimming and layout combine ( template combine ) on the original image , which a customer orders to print , in the image processing device 20 as required . the processing information inputted for the original image is saved at a temporally storing device in association with the original image . when the customer orders to print the image , details of printing order indicating a print size and the number of copies are confirmed and indication is inputted at the image processing device 20 . the ordering data indicating the details of the printing order is saved at the temporally storing device in association with the original image as the processing information is stored . the image processing information 20 has a function of creating a view image indicating a processing outcome according to the processing information inputted for the original image and displaying the view image on a display device as sub - function for inputting various types of processing information . when an indication to print an image is inputted from the image processing device 20 , the original image which is indicated to be printed and processing information and ordering data on the original image are outputted to the image processing device 30 . the image processing device 30 creates an image for printing by performing image processing on the original image based on the original image to input and the processing information and the ordering data on the original image , and sends the processed image for printing and the ordering data including a print size and the number of copies to the photo - printer 40 . here , the image processing device 20 and image processing device 30 can be the same . the photo - printer 40 prints an image by scanning and exposing the image on a sheet of silver halide color paper with r , g and b lasers based on the processed image for printing inputted from the image processing device 30 . the photo - print 70 that is created in the abovementioned manner is provided for a customer 72 . next , an example of providing a digital image for a customer will be described . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 is for encrypting processing information with an encryption key or decrypting the encrypted processing information with a decryption key . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 embeds the encrypted processing information in the original image and records it together with the original image on a recording medium 52 such as a cd - rom to be provided for the customer . the decryption key for decrypting the encrypted processing information embedded in the original image is managed for each customer by the customer information database 60 that manages customer information such as street address , name , telephone number and the like . either a private key scheme or a public key scheme may be adopted as an encryption scheme . that is to say , the same key can be used as an encryption key and a decryption key and the key is kept in secret ( private key scheme ) or an encryption key is released with a decryption key still kept in secret ( public key scheme ). a photo - studio provides ( sells ) the customer 72 the photo - print 70 together with the recording medium 52 that stores the original image . this enables the customer 72 to freely use the original image ( digital image ) recorded on the recording medium 52 . next , an example of reprinting an image will be described with reference to fig2 . the same parts in fig2 and in fig1 are designated with the same reference numerals . as shown in fig2 , the customer 72 brings the recording medium 52 that stores the original image to the photo - studio where the recording medium 52 is created and orders to reprint the image . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 that accepted the reprinting order retrieves the decryption key associated with the customer information from the customer information database 60 , extracts encrypted processing information embedded in the original image on the recording medium 52 , and decrypts the encrypted processing information with the retrieved decryption key . then , the encrypting / decrypting device 50 outputs the decrypted processing information along with image data of the original image read out from the recording medium 52 to the image processing device 30 . subsequently , a photo - print 70 is created via the image processing device 30 and the photo - printer 40 in the same manner as that described in printing with reference to fig1 and provided to the customer 72 . in this case , as the same processing information as used at the previous printing is used , the reprinted photo - print 70 has the same finish as that of the previous one . fig3 illustrates an example that the customer 72 brings the recording medium 52 to a photo - studio different from that created the recording medium 52 . as the photo - studio different from that created the recording medium 52 has neither the encrypting / decrypting device 50 nor a decryption key associated with customer information on the customer 72 , it cannot extract processing information from the recording medium 52 and decrypt the information . therefore , the image processing device 30 creates an image for printing based on image data of the original image read out from the recording medium 52 , or image data of the original image and processing information on picture creation performed anew at the photo - studio and sends the image for printing to the photo - printer 40 , which in turn creates a photo - print based on the image for printing inputted from the image processing device 30 . in this case , as the original image has not been subjected to image processing or has been subjected to image processing according to different information , the customer 72 cannot obtain a photo - print with the same finish as that of the previous one . fig4 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of a digital image providing system according to the present invention where the system is provided at a photo - studio / a studio . the same parts in fig4 as those in the system shown in fig1 are designated with the same reference numerals and the description in detail thereof will be omitted . different from the system shown in fig1 , the system shown in fig4 has a encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ whose function is different from that of the system shown in fig1 and has processing information database 80 in addition . in fig4 , processing information inputted for an original image according to picture creation by the image processing device 20 is stored in the processing information database 80 on a network in association with the original image . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ is for encrypting storage address of processing information stored in the processing information database 80 or decrypting the encrypted storage address with a decryption key . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ embeds the encrypted storage address in the original image and records the encrypted storage address together with the original image on a recording medium 52 to be provided for the customer such as a cd - rom . the decryption key for decrypting an encrypted storage address embedded in the original image is managed by the customer information database 60 for each customer . the photo - studio provides ( sells ) the customer 72 a photo - print 70 created by the photo - printer 40 together with the recording medium 52 that stores the original image . this enables the customer 72 to freely use the original image ( digital image ) recorded on the recording medium 52 . next , an example of reprinting an image will be described with reference to fig5 . the same parts in fig4 and fig1 are designated with the same reference numerals . as shown in fig5 , the customer 72 brings the recording medium 52 that stores the original image to the photo - studio where the recording medium 52 is created and orders to reprint the image . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ that accepted the reprinting order retrieves the decryption key associated with the customer information from the customer information database 60 , extracts encrypted storage address embedded in the original image on the recording medium 52 , and decrypts the encrypted storage address with the retrieved decryption key . the encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ captures the processing information stored at the storage address from the processing information database 80 on a network based on the decrypted storage address and outputs the processing information to the image processing device 30 , and also outputs the image data of the original image read out from the recording medium 52 to the image processing device 30 . subsequently , a photo - print 70 is created via the image processing device 30 and the photo - printer 40 in the same manner as that described in printing with reference to fig4 and provided to the customer 72 . in this case , as the same processing information as used at the previous printing is used , the reprinted photo - print 70 has the same finish as that of the previous one . fig6 illustrates an example that the customer 72 brings the recording medium 52 to a photo - studio different from that created the recording medium 52 . as the photo - studio different from that created the recording medium 52 has neither the encrypting / decrypting device 50 ′ nor a decryption key associated with customer information on the customer 72 , it cannot extract storage address from the recording medium 52 and decrypt the information nor capture the processing information corresponding to the original image from the processing information database 80 on a network . therefore , the image processing device 30 creates an image for printing based on image data of the original image read out from the recording medium 52 or image data on the original image and processing information on picture creation performed anew at 30 the photo - studio and sends the image for printing to the photo - printer 40 , which in turn creates a photo - print based on the image for printing inputted from the image processing device 30 . in this case , as the original image has not been subjected to image processing or has been subjected to image processing according to different information , the customer 72 cannot obtain a photo - print with the same finish as that of the previous one . although this embodiment is described to manage a decryption key different for each customer , the present invention is not limited to this example and each photo - studio may have one decryption key ( private key ) and commonly use the decryption key for the decryption of encrypted information . although this embodiment is described that encrypted processing information or storage address is embedded in an original image in the form of a digital watermark , the present invention is not limited to this example and they may be recorded on the header of an image file that stores each original image . moreover , although the original image ( digital image ) is described to be provided to a customer on a recording medium , the present invention is not limited to this example and the original image and the like may be uploaded to a network server and the customer may be informed of the password and customer id to view or download his original image . further , although the processing information database 80 shown in fig4 is provided on a network , the database 80 can be processing information database dedicated to a photo - studio and provided at the photo - studio . multiple types of processing information indicating various types of image processing to be performed on an original image or a storage address where multiple types of processing information is stored may be encrypted with different encryption keys respectively , and multiple decryption keys for decrypting the various types of encrypted information respectively may be managed in database in association with customer information or the original image of the customer . this enables copyright on image processing to be divided ( for example , copyright only on color correction , only on color correction and sharpness processing , or only on trimming ).
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the present invention relates to an improvement in peripheral digital filters . the following description is presented to enable one of the ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described . fig1 illustrates a block diagram of an infinite impulse response ( iir ) low pass digital filter 10 . the transfer function of the filter is shown in equation 1 . ## equ1 ## where c is a constant that determines the 3db point in the frequency response as shown in fig4 and 5 . fig4 is the amplitude response and fig5 is the phase response . the low pass digital filter 10 of fig1 can be accomplished using standard digital hardware . the summer 14 can be implemented using full adders and a d - flip / flop can be used to produce a one clock delay 16 . the subtraction can be done using 2 &# 39 ; s complement arithmetic , which inverts all bits and then adds 1 . fig2 shows the hardware configuration 100 of the low pass filter 10 of fig1 . the constant c is 2 - 7 . input to port b 114 is the realization of the subtraction term , an inverted output of bit ( k + 7 ). the 2 &# 39 ; s complement subtraction can be completed by connecting ci1 106 to high ( equivalent of adding 1 ). the clock 108 is operated at a fixed sampling frequency , fs . in one conventional filter 100 , fs is 125 khz . the input is sampled once per sampling period . equation 1 is a low pass filter with unity gain in the pass band . for a step input , the output value approaches the input in the exponential manner . the time constant determining the approach depends on constant c . thus enough time must be allowed for the filter to settle to the desired output . for example , with c = 2 - 7 , equation 1 needs 1024 cycles to reach 99 . 96 % ( 11 bits accuracy ) of its final value . consequently , when the sampling frequency is 125 khz , the conversion time is 819 . 2 us . the speed of the adc is thus limited by the digital filter . for higher resolution in an adc using conventional filter 100 , c needs to be smaller or a higher order filter must be used to suppress more noise . however , either option increases the conversion time , slowing the filter . for the filter of equation 1 , the output settles to its final value exponentially . a filter in accordance with the method and system utilizes more than one clock frequency . during the initial portion of the conversion period , the input samples is frequently enough to bring the output quickly to the final value with lower resolution . at the second portion of the conversion period , the output settles slowly to its final value with the required resolution . the method and system divides the conversion period into two portions : the coarse sampling period ( csp ) and the fine sampling period ( fsp ). during csp , the filter is operated at a higher rate than normal sampling frequency . the input is thus sampled more than once per normal sampling period . this brings the output to its final value much more quickly than conventional filters . during the fine sampling period , the input is sampled at the normal mode of once per sampling period . using computer simulation , the coarse and fine sampling periods can be defined so that the signal - to - noise ratio is maintained . the conversion time is shortened due to the multiple sampling of the input during the coarse sampling period . implementing the method and system in a filter having the transfer characteristics shown in equation 1 will result in a faster settling time . to illustrate more particularly the method and system in accordance with the present invention , refer to fig3 which displays one embodiment of a filter 200 in accordance with the method and system . according to the method and system , in the filter 200 , the sampling frequency of clock during csp is 250 khz , which is twice the normal rate . consequently , the input is sampled twice per normal sampling frequency during the csp . in one embodiment , the duration of csp is 256 cycles . during fsp , the sampling frequency of clock 232 is 125 khz . thus , in one embodiment of filter 200 , the sampling frequency during fsp is the same as that of a conventional filter having the same application . in one embodiment , the duration of the fsp is 512 cycles . since the input is sampled twice per sampling period for 256 cycles during the csp , followed by 512 cycles in fsp , the effective total number of input samples are 1024 . this total number of samples is the number required for an 11 bit resolution settling . however , only 768 conventional sampling periods have elapsed . thus , an improvement of 256 cycles is achieved . this is a 25 % improvement in conversion time over conventional methods . in order to achieve better performance , the noise rejection criteria must be satisfied , despite the division of the conversion period into csp and fsp . computer simulation may be conducted during the design phase so that the filter performance is not compromised . the following is a mathematical proof that the method and system results in a faster settling time has minimal effect in the overall performance . fig4 shows the frequency response of a conventional filter 10 , whose transfer function is shown in equation 1 , having fs = 125 khz and c = 2 - 7 . fig5 shows the phase response of such a conventional filter 10 . referring back to fig3 a , the transfer function must be calculated separately for each period because different sampling rates during csp and fasp are utilized by filter 200 . in one embodiment , the transfer function is evaluated at fs = 250 khz during csp , and fs = 125 khz during fsp . for csp , the input sampling is twice of the conventional sampling period . since the duration is 256 cycles , the effective total sampling is 512 input samples . the transfer function during the csp can be approximated by the series expansion of equation 1 up to 512 cycles , and taking into account that the input is the same for two cycles . the transfer function of filter 200 is shown in equation 2 : ## equ2 ## where a =( 1 - c )=( 1 - 2 - 7 ). the transfer function during fsp can be approximated as in equation 3 . ## equ3 ## the total response of the filter is a combination of hcsp ( z ) and hfsp ( z ). the total response is given by equation 4 . as mentioned above , hcsp ( z ) is evaluated with fs = 250 khz , and hfsp ( z ) is evaluated with 125 khz . in order to compare with the transfer function equation 1 , the difference of h ( z ) and htotal ( z ) is calculated . thus , the difference is given by equation 5 . this difference between a conventional filter and one embodiment of a filter in accordance with the method and system is plotted in fig6 and 7 . fig6 shows the magnitude difference and fig7 shows the phase difference between a conventional filter 10 and a filter 200 in accordance with the method and system . both plots show that in the pass band , the error is very small . in addition , in the stop band , the magnitude error is within 1 db and the phase error is within plus or minus five degrees . the method and system can be extended to dividing the csp into subdivisions with different sampling frequency for each period . the method and system can also be implemented for cascaded structure for higher order filtering . finally , the method and system can be extended to the analog rc filter . fig8 shows the schematic of an analog filter 300 . the output 360 of the filter 300 settles to its final value exponentially according to equation 6 . where τ is the time constant proportional to the value r of resistor 320 or 340 and the value c of capacitor 350 . during csp , resistor 320 is shorted by the switch 330 so that the output approaches its final value much more quickly with a smaller time constant . then during fsp , the switch 330 is open and appropriate filtering is done by the rc filter 300 . although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown , one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . one such method is to modify the value of the constant &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; for the first phase to speed up the response time and later use the correct value of &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;.
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referring to the drawings , wherein like reference numbers refer to like components , in fig1 a side view of a torque - transmitting device 10 is shown , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . torque - transmitting device 10 is commonly referred to in automotive applications as a clutch or brake . torque - transmitting device 10 has a first plate or friction plate 12 and a second plate or reaction plate 16 . friction plate 12 is separated from the reaction plate 16 by a layer of lubrication fluid 14 . the lubrication fluid 14 is disposed between the friction plate 12 and the reaction plate 16 , and is used to provide a lubrication barrier between the plates 12 and 16 . the torque - transmitting device 10 is connected between a drive shaft 18 and a driven shaft 20 . more particularly , the friction plate 12 is coupled to the drive shaft 18 and the reaction plate 16 is coupled to the driven shaft 20 . the drive shaft 18 is typically connected to a torque - producing device such as an internal combustion engine ( not shown ). the driven shaft 20 may be connected to a planetary gearset ( not shown ) for transmitting a driving torque from the engine to the planetary gearset to drive the wheels of a vehicle . however , either plate 12 , 16 of the torque transmitting device 10 may also be connected to a rotating member or to a non - rotating member . both the friction plate 12 and the reaction plate 16 are made of steel or a similar material . however , it should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be applied to plates made of different materials , such as metal alloys , composites or the like . referring now to fig2 , a partial cutaway view of the torque - transmitting device 10 of fig1 is shown , in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . portions of reaction plate 16 have been removed to reveal the lubrication layer 14 and a friction material layer 22 . the friction material layer 22 is attached to a surface 23 of the friction plate 12 . the friction material layer 22 may be one of a variety of friction materials commonly used in torque - transmitting mechanisms today . however , the present invention contemplates that the friction material layer 22 shall be made of cellulose , kevlar , and resin or any combination of these materials in varying percentages by weight that may or may not be in use in present clutch applications . the friction material layer 22 is a compressible resilient material that will return to its initial height and shape prior to being compressed by reaction plate 16 , provided the friction material layer 22 is not compressed beyond its elastic limit . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the friction material layer 22 includes a plurality of raised dimples or raised indentations 26 formed on a top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 . the dimples 26 are arranged within a predefined pattern and equally spaced apart over the top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 . as shown , the dimples 26 are radially aligned . it should be appreciated that the dimples 26 may be arranged in a multitude of patterns including a random pattern . the density of dimples 26 over the top surface 24 may also be varied depending on the particular application or desired performance criteria . referring now to fig3 a and 3 b , a partial cross - sectional view of the torque - transmitting device 10 through a plurality of dimples 26 is shown in fig3 a . furthermore , a magnified view of a dimple 26 is shown in fig3 b . each dimple 26 includes a substantially circular rim or annular flange 28 . the rim 28 has a predefined height relative to the top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 . each dimple 26 further includes a cavity 30 defined by the rim 28 . each cavity 30 has a substantially rounded bottom surface . however , it should be appreciated that the bottom surface of the cavity 30 may be formed with a different shape . each dimple 26 is formed such that the cavity 30 is deep enough to retain the lubrication fluid 14 during the clutch activation taking into consideration the elasto - plastic deformation and wear of the friction material layer 22 . however , the predefined depth of each cavity 30 allows the lubrication fluid 14 to bleed over the rim 28 . during clutch engagement 10 , the lubrication fluid 14 is squeezed or forced out of the cavity 30 and flows over the rim 28 onto the top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 to create a thin film of lubrication fluid between layer 22 and plate 16 . each rim 28 operates to penetrate the thin film of lubrication fluid 14 , which increases the area of contact between the friction material layer 22 and the reaction plate 16 . as shown in fig3 a , the torque - transmitting device 10 is in a non - engaged state . during the non - engaged state the reaction plate 16 does not contact the friction material layer 22 , and therefore no load is transferred . as shown , the friction material layer 22 is uncompressed . during the non - engaged state the friction material layer 22 has a thickness of t uc . more particularly , when force is applied to the torque - transmitting device 10 , the dimples 26 and the friction material layer 22 are compressed . the rim 28 of each dimple 26 has a predefined height relative to the top surface of the friction material layer 22 . the height of each rim 28 prevents the friction material layer 22 from being compressed beyond a predefined elastic zone . referring now to fig3 c , a partial cross - sectional view of the torque transmitting device 10 of fig3 a is shown , in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as shown , the torque transmitting device 10 is in an engaged state . during the engaged state the reaction plate 16 and the friction plate 12 are moved towards each other . more particularly , the reaction plate 16 contacts the dimples 26 and compresses the friction material layer 22 . as a result of the compression , the lubrication fluid 14 will be forced out of the cavity 30 . moreover , each rim 28 of each dimple 26 penetrates the lubrication fluid 14 forced out of the cavity 30 , which results in the load being distributed evenly over the entire top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 . in conclusion , the present invention has many advantages and benefits over the prior art . the teachings of the present invention may be employed to overcome many problems found in prior art torque - transmitting devices 10 . for example , the dimples 26 break through the film during the initial state of engagement , which increases the area of contact between the reaction plate 16 and the friction material layer 22 , and decreases the contact pressure between the reaction plate 16 and the friction plate 12 . the dimples 26 also distribute the load evenly over the entire portion of the top surface 24 of the friction material layer 22 . the dimples 26 also prolong the soft - ehl state by retaining the lubrication fluid 14 within the cavities 30 and distributing the necessary amount over the friction material layer 22 . additionally , the dimples 26 prevent the frictional material layer 22 from overheating , because the lubrication fluid 14 is collected within the cavities 30 and evenly dispersed over the friction material layer 22 on an as needed basis during compression of the friction material layer 22 . the dimples 26 minimize the amount of fluid necessary for the torque - transmitting device 10 to operate optimally , which decreases the required oil pump capacity during operation of the torque - transmitting device 10 . the dimples 26 also prolong the slip time without shudder , and increase the torque - transmitting device 10 power density without shudder . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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describing now in further detail these exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures as described above , a regenerative power capture system 20 is for use in connection with endless track escalators and moving walkways . the system 20 comprises a plurality of steps , each step 22 having a tread 24 extending generally horizontally from a front edge 26 to an opposite rear edge 28 . the step 22 extends between opposite right 30 and left 32 ends . in the case of an escalator , the step 22 has a riser 34 extending upward from a lower edge 36 to an opposite upper edge 38 . the riser 34 extends between opposite right 35 and left 37 ends . the tread rear 28 is adjacent the riser upper edge 38 . the step 22 is adapted for orbital mounting on the track ( not shown ). in the case of a moving walkway , the step has no riser but is structurally similar , and is mounted for orbital motion on a track . a plurality of rollers 40 is rotatably attached to the plurality of steps 22 and mounted for rolling movement on the track . the rollers 40 are for supporting the step 22 on the track . specifically , a right leading roller 42 and a left leading roller 44 are mounted for rotation adjacent the tread front edge right end 30 and left end 32 , respectively . similarly , a right trailing roller 46 and a left trailing roller 48 are mounted for rotation adjacent the riser lower edge right end 35 and left end 37 , respectively . each roller 40 has typically two bearings for mounting the roller rotatably to the step . the bearings are not shown because they are internally mounted , a configuration known to those of ordinary skill in the art . a step control 50 is disposed on at least one of the plurality of steps 22 for processing data . the step control 50 is inside the housing 50 . details of the circuitry for the step control 50 are not shown , but are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . the step control 50 includes a central processor unit 50 a and a memory 50 b inside the housing 50 . details of the circuitry for the central processor unit 50 a and memory 50 b are not shown , but are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . a step communicator 52 inside the housing 50 is operatively electrically connected to the step control 50 for data transfer . details of the circuitry for the step communicator 52 are not shown , but are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . the step communicator 52 is wireless , and typically is an rf transceiver . an antenna 53 is provided for the step communicator 52 . alternate means for communicating data can be employed , such as for example infrared or microwave . a power supply 54 is mounted on at least one of the plurality of steps 22 for supplying electrical power . the power supply 54 has at least one electrical generator 56 operatively connected to at least one of the rollers 40 . the generator 56 generates electrical power as the step 22 orbits the track . the generator 56 is typically integral with the roller 40 . preferably , a first generator 56 a is integral with a first roller , for example left leading roller 44 , and a second generator 56 b is integral with a second roller , for example right leading roller 42 . alternatively , the generator 56 can be external to the roller 40 and connected by shaft , belt , gears , or other means ( not shown ). another configuration would be to connect two collinear rollers to one generator . yet another configuration would be to mount a fifth roller rotatably attached to the step 22 and mounted for rolling movement on the track . the fifth roller ( not shown ) would be dedicated to the generator . still another configuration would be to connect several steps together with flexible wiring . only one step need be equipped with a generator to power all the connected steps . the generator 56 has a connection 56 c shown in fig2 . wiring is not shown in the drawing figures , but is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . the power supply 54 has a power converter 54 b operatively electrically connected to the generator 56 for regulating power . the power supply 54 has a rechargeable battery 54 a operatively electrically connected to the power converter 54 b . the battery 54 a is for backup power in the event of power failure , such as a generator malfunction . in this application , “ operatively electrically connected ,” means either hard - wired or wireless . alternatively , the power supply 54 can include a generator 56 but no battery . a central control 58 is located remotely from the step 22 , as for example in a room distant from the escalator . the central control 58 is for programming data to be transferred to and received from the step control 50 . the central control 58 includes a central processor unit 60 , a memory 62 , an interface 64 which is typically a keyboard and a mouse and a monitor , and a data input unit 66 . the data input unit 66 can be an optical drive for reading a dvd , or it can be a live feed from a television camera . the data input unit 66 can be any device capable of conveying data to the central control 58 . a central communicator 68 is operatively electrically connected to the central control 58 and is used for data transfer with the step communicator 52 . the central communicator 68 is wireless , and typically is an rf transceiver . a visual display 70 is provided , and includes a plurality of leds 72 disposed in an led array on the step 22 and connected to the step control 50 . the leds 72 are typically for displaying data and for safety . the leds 72 can also be used for purely aesthetic display , with no particular message . the data can include text spelled out , or other images , in a pattern of led lamps . the text can convey messages regarding sales events , advertising , store location , public presentations , or other information . safety uses include emergency instructions in the event of building power failure , or fire , and can inform observers of exit locations . safety uses can also include illuminating the boundary of the escalator and the edges of the step tread , so that riders are less likely to trip . in the case of an escalator , a visual display 70 can also include a digital video screen 74 mounted on the step 22 and juxtaposed with the riser 34 behind a transparent and rugged protective cover 76 . the digital video screen 74 is connected to the step control 50 for displaying of data . digital video data can include advertising with either static displays or dynamic motion picture commercials . video data can also include messages or aesthetic presentations . video data can be presented from a recorded source such as a dvd or tape recording fed into the central control data input unit 66 . the recorded presentation can be programmed to repeat , or to switch to another recording . video data can be from a live feed , such as a television camera ( not shown ) covering a live demonstration of cooking , fashion , sports , news , and the like . observers who are not riding the escalator , but are standing or walking on the floor near the lower landing will be able to observe the visual display 70 . the same message can be displayed on every step . alternatively , a different message can be displayed on every step . another alternative is to spread a single message over several steps , for example three steps . in this embodiment , in a first mode , the message can move with the steps . in a second mode , the message can continuously transfer to the next upper or lower step as the steps move , so that the message appears to be generally stationary as the steps move downward or upward , respectively . in the case of a moving walkway , a visual display 70 can also include a digital video screen mounted on the step 22 and juxtaposed with the tread 24 behind a transparent and rugged protective cover ( not shown ). as described above , the digital video screen is connected to the step control 50 for displaying of data . the visual display in this case would most likely not be used for advertising , but for safety illumination or for aesthetic displays . the housing 50 , which contains the step control 50 and step communicator 52 , is attached to the front of mounting plate 55 . the digital video screen 74 is attached to the rear of mounting plate 55 , facing the riser 34 . performance parameters can be fed back to the central control 58 to be monitored . parameters of the step control can include cpu activity and memory use . the visual display 70 can be monitored for color , contrast , pixel failure , and many other graphic parameters . the power converter 54 b , the battery 54 a , and the generator 56 can be monitored for voltage , current , battery charge , and failure of any components . all performance parameters are constantly monitored . any problem detected is telemetered back to the central control 58 and displayed . the rollers 40 typically have two bearings ( not shown ) mounted internally . the function of the bearings for the rollers can also be monitored . vibration sensors 78 mounted on the step 22 adjacent each bearing , as shown in fig2 , can detect abnormal vibrations that presage a bearing failure . such a failure can result in a shutdown and expensive repair , and possibly can have safety implications for the riders . one possible mode would be to monitor each bearing for a predetermined time period , for example , 15 seconds . each roller would then be checked once per minute . each step would telemeter data on a separate channel . the bearings will exhibit a characteristic “ signature ” vibration of frequency , amplitude , and other parameters of normal operation . the monitored readings will be compared to normal values , and any deviation will suggest an impending failure . corrective maintenance can then be carried out with little or no disruption of service . escalators typically utilize a comb ( not shown ) at the entrance and exit platforms . the comb is a serrated strip having projecting fingers that engage the grooves in the step . the step 22 of the invention includes a comb sensor 80 operatively electrically connected to the step control 50 . the comb sensor 80 will detect operating conditions of a comb , such as for example , a shoelace caught in the fingers . the comb sensor 80 will detect malfunction of a comb , such as for example a broken finger or debris stuck between fingers . the comb sensor 80 typically will utilize a linear array of photo sensitive detectors 80 disposed between grooves underneath the front edge of each step . the detectors 80 respond to ambient light directed downward . the detector circuitry is timed to sense the light or absence of light as the detector array is juxtaposed with each comb . the combs are constantly monitored . any problem detected is telemetered back to the central control and displayed . the comb sensor 80 can employ alternative sensors , for example , proximity sensors . a vibrating transducer 82 can be attached to the underside of the step 22 . the transducer is adapted for generating an acoustic signal . in one mode , the transducer 82 will vibrate the step 22 when approaching a landing platform to warn of the approaching landing . the vibration will travel through the rider &# 39 ; s feet . this safety feature will warn riders to anticipate stepping off . in another mode , the transducer 82 will reproduce sound to accompany the video display . typically , the sound from a particular step will be directed upward to be heard by the rider on that step . a method is disclosed for regeneratively capturing power for endless track escalators and moving walkways . a plurality of steps 22 is mounted for orbital motion on the track . each step 22 has a tread 24 and a plurality of rollers 40 . the method comprises disposing a step control 50 on at least one of the plurality of steps , for processing data . electrical power is supplied operatively electrically to the step control with a power supply 54 . a step communicator 52 is operatively electrically connected to the step control 50 . a central control 58 is located remotely from the step 22 , and is used to program data . a central communicator 68 is operatively electrically connected to the central control 58 . data is transferred between the central communicator 68 and the step communicator 52 . the method further comprises connecting an electrical generator 56 operatively to at least one of the rollers 40 . electrical power is generated with the generator 56 as the step orbits the track . a power converter 54 b is operatively electrically connected to the generator 56 and the step control 50 . power is regulated with the power converter 54 b . a battery 54 a is operatively electrically connected to the power converter 54 b for backing up power in the event of power failure . the generator 56 is integrated with the roller 40 . the step control 50 is provided with a central processor unit 50 a and a memory 50 b . the central control 58 is provided with a central processor unit 60 , a memory 62 , an interface 64 , and a data input unit 66 . data is transferred wirelessly between the central communicator 68 and the step communicator 52 . the central communicator 68 uses an rf signal for transmitting and receiving . the step communicator 52 also uses an rf signal for transmitting and receiving . parameters of the step control 50 ; the power converter 54 b ; the battery 54 a ; and the generator 56 are monitored with the central control 58 . the method further comprises extending a riser 34 upward from a lower edge 36 of the step to an opposite upper edge 38 . a visual display 70 including a digital video screen 74 is juxtaposed with the riser 34 . the visual display 70 is operatively electrically connected to the step control 50 for displaying data . another aspect of the visual display 70 includes arraying a plurality of leds 72 on the step in an led array . the led array is operatively electrically connected to the step control . the led array is for displaying data and safety lighting . a comb sensor 80 is connected operatively electrically to the step control 50 . the comb sensor 80 is used for detecting malfunction of a comb . the method further comprises encoding the data so as to preclude hacking into the step control 50 and the central control 58 . a plurality of bearings is provided for mounting the rollers to the step . vibration sensors 78 are provided adjacent each bearing . the vibration sensors 78 are connected to the step control 50 . bearing vibrations are detected with the vibration sensors . vibration data is communicated to the central control , so as to predict a bearing failure . a transducer 82 is mounted to the step 22 . the transducer 82 is adapted for generating an acoustic signal . the transducer 82 vibrates the step 22 when approaching a landing , so as to warn riders of the approaching landing . the transducer 82 can also be used to reproduce sound to accompany the video display . it will be appreciated that variants of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations , or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . t ,?
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fig1 shows the configuration of a liquid ejection apparatus 10 . the liquid ejection apparatus 10 is medical equipment used in medical institutions , and has a function of incising or resecting the lesion by ejecting liquid to the lesion . the liquid ejection apparatus 10 includes a liquid ejection mechanism 20 , a liquid supply mechanism 50 , a suction device 60 , a control device 70 , and a liquid container 80 . the liquid supply mechanism 50 and the liquid container 80 are connected to each other through a connection tube 51 . the liquid supply mechanism 50 and the liquid ejection mechanism 20 are connected to each other through a liquid supply passage 52 . the connection tube 51 and the liquid supply passage 52 are formed of resin . the connection tube 51 and the liquid supply passage 52 may be formed of materials ( for example , metal ) other than resin . the liquid container 80 contains a saline solution . instead of the saline solution , pure water or a chemical solution maybe used . the liquid supply mechanism 50 supplies liquid , which is suctioned from the liquid container 80 through the connection tube 51 , to the liquid ejection mechanism 20 through the liquid supply passage 52 by the driving of a built - in pump . the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is a device that the user of the liquid ejection apparatus 10 operates while holding it in his or her hand . the user incises or resects the lesion by applying the liquid , which is intermittently ejected from the liquid ejection mechanism 20 , to the lesion . the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is a disposable product , and is replaced with a new product for each operation . in the present embodiment , the liquid ejection mechanism 20 ( high power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 ) in which the excision capacity is set to be high and the liquid ejection mechanism 20 ( low power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 ) in which the excision capacity is set to be low are prepared as new liquid ejection mechanisms 20 . the user selects and prepares any of the liquid ejection mechanisms 20 according to an excision part or the like before the operation . the liquid ejection mechanism 20 includes a storage unit 40 . the storage unit 40 stores a liquid ejection mechanism id ( hereinafter , abbreviated as an “ id ”). a unique id is assigned to each liquid ejection mechanism 20 . the id includes information by which the high power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 or the low power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 can be determined . the suction device 60 is used for suction of liquid or a resected part around an ejection port 58 . the suction device 60 and the liquid ejection mechanism 20 are connected to each other through a suction passage 62 . the suction device 60 suctions the inside of the suction passage 62 consistently while a switch for operating the suction device 60 is on . the suction passage 62 passes through the inside of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 and is open in the vicinity of the tip of an ejection tube 55 . the suction passage 62 is covered by the ejection tube 55 extending from the tip of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 . therefore , as shown in a diagram viewed from the arrow a of fig1 , the wall of the ejection tube 55 and the wall of the suction passage 62 form approximately concentric cylinders . between the outer wall of the ejection tube 55 and the inner wall of the suction passage 62 , a passage through which a suctioned material , which is suctioned from a suction port 64 that is a tip of the suction passage 62 , flows is formed . the suctioned material is suctioned into the suction device 60 through the suction passage 62 . the liquid supply passage 52 , the suction passage 62 , and a signal cable 72 ( hereinafter , these three are referred to collectively as “ cables ”) are fixed to the liquid ejection mechanism 20 , and are replaced together with the liquid ejection mechanism 20 . when using the new liquid ejection mechanism 20 , the liquid ejection mechanism 20 to which cables are connected is prepared , and the cables are connected to respective connection destinations . when the user turns on a foot switch 75 in a state where cables are connected , the control device 70 transmits a driving signal to a pulsation generating unit 30 , which is built into the liquid ejection mechanism 20 , through the signal cable 72 . when the driving signal is input , the pulsation generating unit 30 generates a pulsation for the pressure of the supplied liquid . by this pulsation , intermittent ejection of the liquid described above is performed . the pulsation generating unit 30 generates the pulsation using the expansion and contraction of an actuator built therein . the actuator is configured by a piezoelectric element . the driving signal is for expanding and contracting the piezoelectric element . here , the ejection of liquid when the foot switch 75 is turned on as described above occurs while the control device 70 is set to a permission mode . the control device 70 sets itself to either the permission mode or a non - permission mode . in the non - permission mode , even if the foot switch 75 is turned on , the control device 70 does not drive the pulsation generating unit 30 and the liquid supply mechanism 50 . accordingly , in the non - permission mode , no liquid is ejected . the default mode of the control device 70 is a non - permission mode . switching to the permission mode is performed when a test process ( which will be described later with reference to fig3 and 4 ) is performed after the connection of the signal cable 72 and the test is passed . the permission mode is maintained until the signal cable 72 is removed after the switching to the permission mode . fig2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the control device 70 , and shows a state in which the control device 70 and the liquid ejection mechanism 20 are connected to each other through the signal cable 72 . the control device 70 includes a control unit 90 , a monitoring unit 91 , a signal output unit 92 , a relay 93 , a first and circuit 98 , and a second and circuit 99 . the relay 93 is an electromagnetic relay , and includes a contact point 96 and an actuating coil 97 . the control unit 90 is formed by a microcomputer , and includes a nonvolatile memory ( for example , an feram ). the control unit 90 instructs the signal output unit 92 to output a driving signal . the signal output unit 92 outputs the driving signal when the instruction is received . the driving signal output from the signal output unit 92 is input to the monitoring unit 91 and the relay 93 . in a state where the contact point 96 is closed ( hereinafter , referred to as “ when the relay 93 is on ”), the driving signal passes through the relay 93 and is then input to the pulsation generating unit 30 through the signal cable 72 . the monitoring unit 91 monitors the driving signal before being input to the relay 93 . the monitoring unit 91 measures the voltage value and the current value of the driving signal , and inputs the measurement result to the control unit 90 . the monitoring unit 91 outputs a value h , which indicates that each of the voltage value and the current value is equal to or greater than a set threshold value , and a value l , which indicates that each of the voltage value and the current value is less than the set threshold value . in fig2 , for convenience of illustration , digital signals for the voltage value and the current value are collectively shown as a “ monitoring signal ”. the threshold value described above is a variable value set by the control unit 90 . the digital signal output from the monitoring unit 91 is input to the control unit 90 , and is input to the first and circuit 98 and the second and circuit 99 after being inverted . this inversion is performed by an inverter element . the control unit 90 performs switching between on and off ( state in which the contact point 96 is open ) of the relay 93 by inputting a switching signal to the actuating coil 97 of the relay 93 through the second and circuit 99 . the contact point 96 is a normally open contact point . accordingly , the relay 93 is on when the switching signal is input , and is off when the switching signal is not input . the switching signal is input to the actuating coil 97 when the value l is input to the second and circuit 99 as a monitoring signal for both the voltage value and the current value . that is , when a value equal to or greater than the threshold value , for at least one of the voltage value and the current value of the driving signal , is detected by the monitoring unit 91 , the relay 93 is turned off to stop the driving signal . the control unit 90 inputs a permission signal to the signal output unit 92 through the first and circuit 98 when an output instruction is given to the signal output unit 92 . even if the output instruction is given , the signal output unit 92 does not output a signal unless a permission signal is input . the permission signal is input to the signal output unit 92 when the value l is output as a monitoring signal for both the voltage value and the current value . that is , when a value equal to or greater than the threshold value , for at least one of the voltage value and the current value of the driving signal , is detected by the monitoring unit 91 , no driving signal is output . when at least one of the voltage value and the current value input from the monitoring unit 91 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value , the control unit 90 stops the output of an output instruction , a permission signal , and a switching signal . if these outputs are stopped , no driving signal is input to the pulsation generating unit 30 . by the monitoring function of the control unit 90 and the monitoring unit 91 described above , a driving signal due to excessive voltage or current is not input to the pulsation generating unit 30 . it is preferable to check as often as possible whether or not the monitoring function works normally . in the present embodiment , this checking is performed as a test process , which will be described later , whenever the new liquid ejection mechanism 20 is used . fig3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the test process . the test process is performed by the control unit 90 when the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is connected to the control device 70 through the signal cable 72 . the control device 70 detects a connection to the liquid ejection mechanism 20 based on a change in the electric potential of the connection line of the signal cable 72 connected to the storage unit 40 . the change in the electric potential is caused by a pull - up resistor and a pull - down resistor . as will be described later , when the test in this process is passed , the control device 70 proceeds to the permission mode from the non - permission mode . first , an id is acquired from the storage unit 40 ( step s 310 ). then , it is determined whether or not the acquired id is a new id ( step s 320 ). specifically , when the acquired id does not match any id stored in the control unit 90 , it is determined that the acquired id is a new id . when the acquired id matches one of the ids stored in the control unit 90 , it is determined that the acquired id is not a new id . the storage of the id is performed in step s 330 to be described later . when the acquired id is not a new id ( step s 320 ; no ), it is reported that the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has been connected to the control unit 90 before is connected ( step s 490 ), and the test process is ended . here , the reporting of abnormalities is performed by outputting a message , such as “ please replace the liquid ejection mechanism with a new one ”. the output of the message is performed by display or voice . the output of the display or voice is performed by using a display or a speaker provided in the control device 70 . such a reporting using a message is performed because the acquired id is not a new id , and accordingly , it is estimated that the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is a used one . in this case , since a non - permission mode is maintained , the ejection of liquid by the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is not performed . on the other hand , when the acquired id is a new id ( step s 320 ; yes ), the acquired id is stored in a storage medium ( step s 330 ). then , a voltage test is performed ( step s 340 ). the voltage test is to test whether or not a voltage is generated from the signal output unit 92 according to the output instruction from the control unit 90 in a state where off of the relay 93 is maintained . whether or not a voltage is generated according to the output instruction is determined by comparing the output instruction given to the signal output unit 92 with a voltage value input from the monitoring unit 91 . when the voltage test is not passed ( step s 350 ; no ), the above - described step s 490 is performed . in this case , failure of the voltage , necessity of repair , or the like is reported . even if an excessive voltage is generated , the application of the voltage to the pulsation generating unit 30 is avoided since the relay 93 is set to off . on the other hand , when the voltage test is passed ( step s 350 ; yes ), the control unit 90 waits until a setup button is pressed ( step s 360 ). the setup button is an input interface provided in the control device 70 , and the user is requested to press the setup button after connecting the liquid ejection mechanism 20 . since a subsequent test is performed by turning on the relay 93 , a voltage is applied to the pulsation generating unit 30 . therefore , in order to call a user &# 39 ; s attention , pressing of the setup button is requested . in addition , since the liquid supply mechanism 50 is not driven in the test process , no liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection mechanism 20 . after the setup button is pressed , a short circuit test is performed ( step s 370 ). the short circuit test is a test for checking whether or not a short circuit has occurred in the connected liquid ejection mechanism 20 . fig5 a to 5e are graphs showing various waveforms in the short circuit test . fig5 a shows a temporal change of the voltage of a short circuit test signal . fig5 b shows a temporal change of the current in the normal state . the normal state referred to herein means that no short circuit occurs in the signal cable 72 and the like . fig5 c shows a monitoring signal as a current monitoring result in the normal state . fig5 d shows a temporal change of the current when a short circuit occurs . fig5 e shows a monitoring signal as a current monitoring result when a short circuit occurs . as shown in fig5 a , the waveform of the short circuit test signal is a trapezoidal shape . that is , the voltage of the short circuit test signal rises linearly up to a voltage v 1 , and the voltage v 1 is maintained for a predetermined amount of time . after the predetermined amount of time has passed , the voltage of the short circuit test signal drops linearly until the voltage becomes 0 . the voltage v 1 is set to a voltage much lower than the maximum voltage of the driving signal ( for example , 1 / 10 or less of the maximum voltage of the driving signal ) in consideration of a possibility of a short circuit . by setting the voltage v 1 to a voltage much lower than the maximum voltage of the driving signal , it is possible to suppress the damage to the electrical circuit or the malfunction of the electrical circuit even if a short circuit occurs . the short circuit test signal is input to the piezoelectric element . as shown in fig5 b , a positive current flows during a period for which the voltage rises linearly , no current flows during a period for which the voltage is maintained at the voltage v 1 , and a negative current flows during a period for which the voltage drops linearly . being maintained at the voltage v 1 means falling within the range of a predetermined voltage value . in the short circuit test , a threshold value th 1 is set for the current value . the monitoring unit 91 outputs the value l when the current value is maintained at a value less than the threshold value th 1 , and outputs the value h when the current value reaches the threshold value th 1 . as shown in fig5 b , the threshold value th 1 corresponds to a value of current that does not flow at the voltage v 1 in the normal state . therefore , in the normal state , the monitoring signal is maintained at the value l . when the monitoring signal is maintained at the value l , the control unit 90 determines that the state is normal since a short circuit has not occurred . on the other hand , when a short circuit occurs , as shown in fig5 d , the current value reaches the threshold value th 1 immediately after the input of the short circuit test signal . when the current value reaches the threshold value th 1 , a protection function of the control unit 90 and the monitoring unit 91 operates as described above . therefore , as shown in fig5 d , the current value becomes 0 after reaching the threshold value th 1 . the control unit 90 determines that a short circuit has occurred when the monitoring signal reaches the value h . the threshold value for the voltage value is set to a value larger than the maximum voltage so as not to interfere with the determination based on the current value . this is also the same for all subsequent tests . the short circuit test is performed as described above , and the above - described step s 490 is performed when the test is not passed ( step s 380 ; no ). in this case , a message , such as “ abnormality has been detected in the liquid ejection mechanism . please replace it ”, is output . when the short circuit test is passed ( step s 380 ; yes ), a disconnection test is performed ( step s 410 ). the disconnection test is a test for checking whether or not disconnection has occurred in the signal cable 72 or the like . fig6 a to 6c are graphs showing various waveforms in the disconnection test . fig6 a shows a temporal change of the voltage of a disconnection test signal . fig6 b shows a temporal change of the current in the normal state . the normal state referred to herein means that no disconnection occurs in the signal cable 72 and the like . fig6 c shows a temporal change of the current when disconnection occurs . as shown in fig6 a , the waveform of the disconnection test signal is a trapezoidal shape in the same manner as the short circuit test signal , and the maximum voltage is a voltage v 2 . the voltage v 2 is higher than the voltage v 1 that is the maximum voltage of the short circuit test signal , and is lower than the maximum voltage of the driving signal . as shown in fig6 b , the waveform of the current value in the normal state is stepwise as in the case of the short circuit test . when the current value is equal to or greater than the threshold value th 2 , the control unit 90 determines that the state is normal since disconnection has not occurred . the threshold value th 2 corresponds to a current value lower than a value of current that flows at the voltage v 2 if disconnection does not occur . the threshold value th 2 is not a threshold value set in the monitoring unit 91 but is a value that the control unit 90 adopts as criteria . this is because , if the threshold value th 2 is set in the monitoring unit 91 , the current value becomes 0 immediately after the start of a test , and accordingly , it is difficult to determine whether or not the state is normal . the threshold value set in the monitoring unit 91 in the disconnection test is set to a larger value than the current value generated in the disconnection test . on the other hand , the current value when disconnection occurs is maintained at 0 , as shown in fig6 c . thus , when the current value does not reach the threshold value th 2 , the control unit 90 determines that disconnection has occurred . when the disconnection test is not passed ( step s 420 ; no ), the above - described step s 490 is performed . also in this case , failure of the wiring system , necessity of repair , or the like is reported . when the disconnection test is passed ( step s 420 ; yes ), the test conditions of an overcurrent test are determined based on the acquired id ( step s 430 ), and the overcurrent test is performed ( step s 440 ). the overcurrent test is a test for checking whether or not the protection function described above operates normally when a current equal to or higher than the set threshold value is generated . the overcurrent test and the test conditions will be described with reference to fig7 a to 7c . fig7 a to 7c are graphs showing various waveforms in the overcurrent test . fig7 a shows a temporal change of the voltage in an overcurrent test signal . fig7 b shows a temporal change of the current in the overcurrent test signal . fig7 c shows a temporal change of the monitoring signal in the overcurrent test . a solid line j in fig7 a and 7b indicates a case of the low power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 , and a broken line b indicates a case of the high power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 . in the case of the low power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 , a current equal to or higher than a threshold value th 3 shown in fig7 b is regarded as an overcurrent , and the threshold value th 3 is set in the monitoring unit 91 . then , as shown in fig7 a , a driving signal having a voltage v 3 as a maximum voltage is output as the overcurrent test signal for a predetermined amount of time . the voltage v 3 is five times or more than the voltage v 1 . the driving signal is a driving signal output in the use mode , and does not generate a current equal to or greater than the threshold value th 3 as shown in fig7 b . the predetermined amount of time is an arbitrary time , and is illustrated as three periods of the driving signal in fig7 a . preferably , the voltage v 3 is 10 times or more than the voltage v 1 . when the voltage v 3 is 10 times or more than the voltage v 1 , the test can be performed more accurately . a driving signal having the voltage v 3 as a maximum voltage is output for a predetermined amount of time , and then a driving signal having a voltage v 4 as a maximum voltage is output . the voltage v 4 is a voltage value for generating a current equal to or greater than the threshold value th 3 . when the current equal to or greater than the set threshold value is generated , the value h is output as a monitoring signal , as shown in fig7 c . as described previously in the short circuit test , when the value h is output , the protection function of the control unit 90 and the monitoring unit 91 operates , and the current value becomes 0 as shown in fig7 b . the control unit 90 determines that the overcurrent test has been passed when the current becomes 0 as described above , and determines that the overcurrent test has not been passed when the current does not become 0 . the test conditions in the case of the low power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 include the threshold value th 3 , the voltage v 3 , and the voltage v 4 described above . in the case of the high power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 , as shown in fig7 a and 7b , a threshold value th 4 (& gt ; threshold value th 3 ), a voltage v 5 (& gt ; voltage v 3 ), and a voltage v 6 (& gt ; voltage v 4 ) are adopted instead of the threshold value th 3 , the voltage v 3 , and the voltage v 4 . the reason why the conditions are changed as described above is that , in the case of the high power type liquid ejection mechanism 20 , the maximum voltage of the driving signal is high , and accordingly , the current value regarded as the overcurrent is large . in addition , when the protection function operates as described above , the overcurrent test signal is interrupted and the voltage becomes 0 . in fig7 a , however , for convenience of explanation and description , the overcurrent test signal is output even after the protection function operates . when the overcurrent test is not passed ( step s 450 ; no ), the above - described step s 490 is performed . in this case , since a possibility of the failure of the control device 70 is high , failure of the control device , the necessity of repair , or the like is reported . when the overcurrent test is passed ( step s 450 ; yes ), an insulation test is performed ( step s 460 ). the insulation test is a test for checking whether or not the current is held at 0 when a voltage applied to the pulsation generating unit 30 is fixed , that is , when there is no ac component in the voltage . fig8 a to 8c are graphs showing various waveforms in the insulation test . fig8 a shows a temporal change of the voltage of an insulation test signal . fig8 b shows a temporal change of the current in the normal state . the normal state referred to herein means that insulation is successfully made . fig8 c shows a temporal change of the current when there is no insulation . as shown in fig8 a , the waveform of the insulation test signal is a trapezoidal shape in the same manner as the short circuit test signal and the disconnection test signal , and the maximum voltage is a voltage v 7 . the voltage v 7 is set to a value higher than the voltages v 1 to v 6 in order to test insulation . if the insulation is successfully made , no current flows while the voltage is held at the voltage v 7 , as shown in fig8 b . on the other hand , if there is no insulation , a current flows while the voltage is held at the voltage v 7 , as shown in fig8 c . when the current value equal to or greater than a threshold value th 5 is not detected , the control unit determines that the insulation is successfully made . similar to the threshold value th 2 in the disconnection test , the threshold value th 5 is a value adopted as criteria in the control unit 90 . when the insulation test is not passed ( step s 470 ; no ), the above - described step s 490 is performed . in this case , since the failure of the piezoelectric element is estimated as a cause of poor insulation , a message , such as “ abnormality has been detected in the liquid ejection mechanism . please replace it ”, is output . when the insulation test is passed ( step s 470 ; yes ), switching to the permission mode is performed ( step s 480 ), and the test process is ended . after the switching to the permission mode , liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection mechanism 20 by turning on the foot switch 75 . according to the present embodiment , various tests of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 and the control device 70 can be performed before the operation . by the tests , it is possible to prevent the used liquid ejection mechanism 20 from being reused or to prevent the operation from being performed in a state where there is an abnormality . when an abnormality is detected , it is possible to prompt the user to perform replacement or repair . in addition , in the overcurrent test , it is possible to perform a test according to the output type of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 . the short circuit test in the embodiment corresponds to a first test step in the aspects of the invention . the overcurrent test in the embodiment corresponds to a second test step in the aspects of the invention . the voltage v 1 corresponds to a first voltage , and the voltages v 5 and v 6 correspond to a second voltage . in the present embodiment , whenever the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has never been used is connected to the control device 70 , anyone of the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test may be performed . thus , safe and reliable medical equipment can be provided for each operation . in addition , the control device 70 may perform the voltage test when a predetermined amount of time has passed , and any one of the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test may be performed whenever the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has never been used is connected to the control device 70 . for example , the control device 70 includes a timer , and performs a voltage test when the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has never been used is connected to the control device 70 after 24 hours since the use . in this case , even if a plurality of liquid ejection mechanisms 20 are connected to the control device 70 within 24 hours , the liquid ejection apparatus can be used earlier since the voltage test can be omitted . the invention is not limited to the embodiments , examples , or modification examples of this specification , and various configurations can be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , in order to solve some or all of the problems described above or to achieve some or all of the effects described in this specification , technical features in the embodiments , examples , and modification examples corresponding to the technical features described in the aspects of the invention may be appropriately replaced or combined . the technical features can be appropriately deleted if the technical features are not described as essential ones . for example , the following may be mentioned . although the id is acquired from the storage unit 40 and it is determined whether or not the acquired id is a new id ( step s 320 ), the invention is not limited thereto . specifically , an id allowing the connection to the control unit is stored in advance , and the control unit 90 stores connection history when the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is connected to the control unit 90 . then , when the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has been connected before is connected again , the test process may be ended , and a test of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that has never been connected may be performed . instead of the connection history , a period for which the control unit 90 uses the liquid ejection mechanism 20 or a period for which the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is connected to the control unit 90 may be stored , or one or more of the connection history , the use period , and the connection period may be stored . specifically , when the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is connected to the control unit 90 , the control unit 90 stores one or more of the connection history , the use period , and the connection period . then , one or more items regarding whether or not there is connection history , whether or not a predetermined use period has expired , and whether or not a predetermined connection period has expired may be checked . when the liquid ejection mechanism . 20 corresponding to one or more of the items is connected again , the test process may be ended , and the liquid ejection mechanism 20 that does not correspond to one or more of the items may be tested . by storing the use period or the connection period of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 , the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test can be performed even if the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is attached and detached multiple times in one operation . by performing the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test whenever the liquid ejection mechanism 20 is connected or at predetermined time intervals , it is possible to provide safe and reliable medical equipment . as a test of the electrical system of the liquid ejection mechanism 20 , a current test maybe performed in addition to the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test . the current test may also be performed instead of the voltage test . at least two of the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test , for example , the disconnection test and the insulation test may be performed using the same test signal . it is preferable to perform the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test after performing the voltage test and the short circuit test . in this case , the voltage test and the short circuit test may be performed in any order , and the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test may be performed in any order . some of the voltage test , the short circuit test , the disconnection test , the overcurrent test , and the insulation test may not be performed . when the short circuit test is not performed , the disconnection test may be performed as a first test step . the insulation test maybe performed as a second test step . in this case , the voltage used in the insulation test may be changed according to the type of the liquid ejection mechanism . a test corresponding to the second test step may be performed under the same conditions regardless of an id . id acquisition may be performed at any time before the test corresponding to the second test step . for example , the id acquisition may be performed after the short circuit test or may be performed after the disconnection test . the magnitude relationship of the voltages in the test signals shown in the embodiment is just an example , and may be changed . the waveform of the signal used in each test may be changed . for example , the waveform of the signal used in each test may be changed to a triangular wave . the success / failure determination in each test is not limited to that illustrated in the embodiment , but various determinations may be considered . for example , in the overcurrent test , success or failure may be determined based on the fact that the control unit can detect the overcurrent successfully even if the current is not actually interrupted . the liquid ejection mechanism and the cables may not be fixed . for example , the cables may be fixed to the control device , the liquid supply mechanism , and the suction device . there maybe three or more output types of the liquid ejection mechanism . an identifier may be used to identify the liquid ejection mechanism described in the embodiment and other liquid ejection mechanisms . as other liquid ejection mechanisms , it is possible to use a liquid ejection mechanism that is used for an endoscope , such as a laparoscope , and is inserted into the body and is operated . the liquid ejection apparatus may be used for apparatuses other than the medical equipment . for example , the liquid ejection apparatus may be used for a cleaning apparatus that removes dirt with the ejected liquid . the liquid ejection apparatus may be used for a drawing apparatus that draws a line or the like with the ejected liquid . as a liquid ejection method , laser light may be used . as an ejection method using the laser light , for example , it is possible to apply a method using a pressure variation due to the evaporation of the liquid caused when emitting the laser light intermittently to the liquid .
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the centralized credit processing system 100 comprises one or more store locations 300 , a credit operations center 200 , a credit bureau processing center 400 and one or more banks 500 , interconnected by one or more wired and / or wireless links 5 and networks 10 . the one or more exemplary store locations 300 comprise an interview room 310 , a settlement room 320 , a scanner 330 , an audio / video surveillance system 340 , and one or more electronic credit application systems 600 . the exemplary interview room 310 comprises a display 312 , a scanner 314 , speakers and microphone 316 and a camera 318 . the exemplary settlement room 320 includes a signature capture system 322 and a printer 324 . the exemplary credit operations center 200 comprises an interview room 210 , which itself comprises a display 212 , speakers and microphone 216 , printer 214 and camera 218 . the exemplary credit operations center 200 further includes one or more printers 260 , one or more control centers 270 and 280 , one or more loan information data centers 290 , one or more monitors 295 , a router 220 , a call configuration bridge 230 , a controller 240 , and an inventory management system 250 , which includes a database . the exemplary credit operations center 200 is connected via links 5 to one or more credit bureau processing centers 400 and banks 500 via the one or more networks 10 . the exemplary systems and methods of this invention will be described in relation to a centralized credit processing system . however , to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention , the following description omits well - known structures , procedures and devices . for the purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it should be appreciated , however , that the present invention may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond these specific details . for example , while the components of the various systems are shown collocated , the components can be rearranged in any fashion and / or distributed over a distributed network . furthermore , the specific number of devices illustrated is for illustrative purposes only and can obviously be scaled as appropriate . in operation , a customer fills out a credit application either in the traditional manner , which is then scanned ( and optionally processed with optical character recognition ) via scanner 330 and forwarded to the credit operations center 200 , or via the electronic credit application system 600 . the electronic credit operation system 600 records the customer &# 39 ; s input and , via wired or wireless communication and optionally in cooperation with the wireless access point ( wap ) 375 , forwards the information to the credit operations center 200 . in additional to credit information , the customer could also be asked for any other type of information that could be used for such items as marketing , customer feedback , demographic tracking , or in general , any type of information . upon receipt of the credit application , the credit operations center 200 initiates the running of a credit bureau by the credit bureau processing center 400 . the credit bureau is then forwarded electronically to one or more of the control centers 270 and / or to the printer 260 . the printer 260 can be equipped with , for example , a plurality of different colored papers and / or custom headers that allows quick and easy identification of , for example , one or more of the store location from which the credit application originated , applicant name , salesperson information , store name , credit score , product or service to be purchased , or the like . with the completed credit bureau , one or more credit officers located at the one or more control centers 270 and 280 review the credit bureau to determine if the loan applicant has sufficient credit for the desired merchandise and / or service . if there are no credit problems , and assuming acceptable terms and goods / services can be agreed on , the purchase can be completed . an exemplary aspect of this invention also allows , in conjunction with the signature capture system 322 and printer 324 , the ability to electronically capture information , such as a signature or any other relevant information to , for example , finalize a purchase agreement that could also be electronically and securely stored in a comparable fashion to that discussed in relation to the electronic credit application system 600 . additionally , finalized contracts and , if appropriate , related documentation , can be printed from the credit operations center 200 at the printer 324 for signature by the loan applicant . if there appears to be credit issues , the credit officers can determine the amount the loan applicant qualifies for , if any , and can , for example , run an inventory cross - check to determine what products are currently available to the customer based on the prequalification amount . this information can , for example , be transmitted to sales staff located at the store location 300 and , for example , shown to the loan applicant . this inventory cross - check is not limited to those with credit issues , but can be available to any purchaser at any stage of the process . in making the determination regarding what a loan applicant qualifies for , it may be determined that additional clarification of information in the credit application and / or an interview with the loan applicant are needed . if an interview is needed , an interview is initiated and the loan applicant is invited into the interview room 310 . in the interview room 310 , the loan applicant , with the assistance of display 312 , speakers and microphone 316 and camera 318 , enters into a video conference with one or more credit officers located in the interview room 210 . similar to the interview room 310 , the interview room 210 has a display 212 , microphone and speakers 216 and camera 218 that are in communication with the interview room 310 . the two interview rooms thus provide a secure and confidential means for allowing the loan applicant to speak directly to and exchange information with the credit officer . during the interview , the loan applicant can be requested to supply additional documentation or explanation regarding the credit application and , if appropriate , supporting documentation scanned in via the scanner 314 which can then be stored , forwarded electronically and / or printed on printer 214 . the interview room 210 can also include a computer which may or may not also include a portion of the functionality of the control center 270 but could also allow the credit office to interact with any of the data and / or functionality of the centralized credit processing system . once all the necessary information is acquired from the loan applicant by the credit officer , the credit officer again makes the determination as to whether there is sufficient information to process and complete a loan application . assuming acceptable terms and goods and / or services can be found , the process is then completed as discussed above . to facilitate the real - time exchange of information that occurs between the two interview rooms , the router 220 and call configuration bridge 230 , in conjunction with a controller 240 are used to establish real - time video conferences between the interview rooms . assuming the loan applicant has found suitable goods , and has been approved to receive credit , the finalized credit application , terms of sale and related loan information are entered into the loan information data center 290 and forwarded to one or more banks 500 for funding . additionally , the financing agreement is forwarded from the credit operations center 200 to the settlement room 320 and presented to the loan applicant who either provides an electronic signature via the signature capture system 322 or a signature on a financing agreement that was printed on the printer 324 , thereby completing the purchase . in addition to the above functionality , the control centers 270 are capable of displaying on the one or more monitors 295 audio and / or video information from the one or more store locations that is captured by the a / v surveillance system ( s ) 340 and / or the interview room cameras . for example , the a / v surveillance systems can be one or more video cameras mounted at a store location , in a parking lot ( s ), or in general at any location ( s ) at which surveillance is desired — thereby allowing the credit operations center 200 to monitor activity at any one or more of the store locations 300 , interview rooms and optionally the settlement room . the control centers also have control over the a / v surveillance system ( s ) 340 including but not limited to : turning on and off , resetting , pan , zoom , volume , recording , focus , brightness , contrast , data rate , and the like . similar control can be extended to the camera 318 in the interview room 210 / 310 thereby allowing the credit officer / interviewer to make adjustments to the camera as necessary . the monitors 295 , in cooperation with the call configuration bridge 230 and controller 240 , are capable of being customized such that one or more a / v feeds from one or more surveillance systems 340 and interview rooms can be displayed . for example , the video feeds from the surveillance systems 340 can be tiled on one or more of the monitors 295 to allow for remote monitoring of a plurality of different surveillance system locations . fig2 illustrates in greater detail the electronic credit application system 600 . in particular , the electronic credit application system 600 comprises a controller 610 , optionally a keyboard 620 , a memory 630 , an i / o interface 640 , communications device 650 , an optional stylus writing area 660 and associated stylus 670 and a user interface window 680 . the user interface window 680 comprises various electronic information as well as one or more selectable buttons such as an “ accept ” button 682 “ decline ” button 684 and “ submit ” button 686 . it should be appreciated however that the content of these buttons can be altered as appropriate depending on , for example , the type of credit application , the goods and / or services , or the like . the electronic credit application system 600 can be configured in a manner similar to a personal digital assistant and / or point of sale electronic interface , which is capable of displaying various information to a loan applicant . furthermore , the electronic credit application system 600 is capable of capturing information such as the name , address , signature , or any other information entered by the loan applicant . this information can be entered via , for example , one or more of the keyboard 620 , the stylus 670 and stylus writing area 660 , voice recognition ( not shown ), or the like . the captured information can then be forwarded , with the cooperation of the i / o interface 640 and communication device 650 , to the credit operations center 200 . it should be readily appreciated that the electronic credit application system 600 need not necessarily communicate directly with the credit operations center 200 but could communicate via one or more networks ( not shown ) and / or via additional hardware such as routers , bridges , switches , repeaters , and the like , that thereby allow the information received by the electronic credit application system 600 to be forwarded to the credit operations center 200 . furthermore , it should be appreciated that any information entered into the electronic credit application system 600 can be encrypted or otherwise protected to allow for secure communication to the credit operations center 200 . the electronic credit application system 600 is further capable of displaying specific information , such as disclosures , product or service information , product options , advertisements , or in general any information to the loan applicant . the loan applicant must then accept or decline the disclosures by selecting the appropriate button , the selection thereof being recorded and optionally acknowledged . upon completion of data entry into the electronic credit application system 600 by the loan applicant , and acceptance of all disclosures ( if any ) the loan applicant can select the submit button 686 at which time the information is forwarded to the credit operations center 200 . the electronic credit application entered via the electronic credit application system 600 can be stored in the credit operation centers 200 in a database and / or , for example , in a database at the loan information data center 290 . this information can be secured via , for example , well known encryption techniques and / or password protected . fig3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the overall flow of the centralized credit processing system . in particular , control begins as step s 100 and continues to step s 110 . in step s 110 , the customer fills out a credit application . next , in step s 120 , a credit bureau is run . then , in step s 130 a credit bureau is forwarded to the credit operations center and can , for example , be printed . control then continues to step s 140 . in step s 140 , a determination is made whether the credit application is sufficient for the extension of credit . if so , control continues to step s 150 where a determination is made whether acceptable terms and goods and / or services have been found . if acceptable terms , goods , and / or services have been found , control continues to step s 160 . otherwise , control jumps to step s 230 where the control sequence ends . in step s 160 the transaction is finalized and control continues to step s 240 where the control sequence ends . in step s 170 , it is determined what goods / services the loan applicant is qualifies to purchase . the available goods / services based on a prequalification amount can then , for example , be displayed to the loan applicant . more specifically , next , in step s 180 , an optional inventory cross - check can be performed and communicated to , for example , the sales person such that the sales person and the loan applicant can be aware of what products and / or services are available based on the qualification amount . then , in step s 190 , a determination is made whether an interview is needed . if an interview is not needed , control jumps back to step 150 . otherwise , control continues to step s 200 where the interview is initiated . next , in step s 210 , the real - time video conference is initiated and any necessary information is exchanged between the loan applicant and the interviewer with the cooperation of one or more of the scanner , camera , speakers and microphone , and display device . upon obtaining any appropriate information , the interview is exited at step s 220 . in step s 230 , a determination is made whether credit will be extended . if credit is to be extended control jumps to step s 150 . otherwise control continues to step s 240 where the control sequence ends . fig4 outlines in greater detail the credit application step s 110 of fig3 . in particular , control begins in step s 400 and continues to step s 410 . in step s 410 a determination is made whether a credit application will be filled out on paper or electronically . if the credit application is to be filled out on paper , control continues to step s 420 where the customer fills out and signs the credit application and any related documentation which is then electronically captured in step s 430 and forwarded to the credit operations center . control then continues to step s 440 where the control sequence returns to step s 120 . alternatively , if the credit application is to be filled out electronically , control jumps to step s 450 where a sales person can optionally check - out an electronic credit application system . for example , upon the sales person checking - out the electronic credit application system , the credit operation &# 39 ; s center can monitor which sales person has checked out the electronic credit application system and associate that information with a loan applicant &# 39 ; s credit application . next , in step 460 , the customer enters the credit application information . then , in step s 470 , the electronic credit application system can check and validate the entered information and prompt the customer for corrections and / or additional information as necessary . then , in step s 480 , information such as disclosures can be displayed and the loan applicant provided with interfaces indicating whether these disclosures are accepted or declined . control then continues to step s 490 . in step s 490 , the loan applicant is asked to sign the completed credit application , which is then forwarded , in step s 495 , to the credit operations center . control then continues to step s 440 where the control sequence ends . fig5 illustrates an exemplary method for controlling surveillance from the credit operations center . in particular , control begins in step s 500 and continues to step s 510 . in step s 510 , features , such as zoom , pan , focus , audio volume , brightness , contrast , and the like , can be controlled by the credit operations center and , in particular the control center , at any one or more of the a / v surveillance systems . furthermore , and in cooperation with a call configuration bridge and router , one or more of the feeds from these video surveillance systems can be initiated and displayed on one or more of the monitors in the credit operations center and , as indicated in step s 520 , recorded in the credit operations center in a storage device . then , in step s 530 , any feed ( s ) from any location can be configured , formatted and routed to any destination . control then continues to step s 540 where the control sequence ends . fig6 - 12 represent exemplary user interfaces that are used in conjunction with a customer profile . the customer profile can store any information related to a customer including , but not limited to , name , address , credit information , status information , bank statement information , financial information , identification information , comments , and documentation , or in general any information related to a centralized credit processing system . to gain access to a customer profile , a user logs in , for example , via the login interface illustrated in fig6 . upon being granted access to the system , a summary of the information can be provided to a user such as that illustrated in fig7 . more specifically , a list of customer profiles 710 can be provided and ranked ( or sorted ), for example , based on there current status in the system , application date , salesperson , product or service type , or in general any criteria . from the list of customer profiles 710 , or based on a search as discussed hereinafter , a specific customer profile can be selected as illustrated in fig8 . the customer profile 810 includes various information such as , but not limited to , name , address , date of birth and social security number . the customer information within the customer profile , as with the remainder of the information associated with the customer profile can be fully searchable . fig9 illustrates the documents portion of the customer profile . in the documents portion 910 , information such as customer forms and supporting documentation associated with the customer profile can be accessed . exemplary forms include the credit application , the credit report , and supporting documentation can include w - 2 forms , bank statements , a copy of a driver &# 39 ; s license , paycheck stub ( s ), utility bills , or in general any information associated with the credit application process . fig1 grants users access to the comments portion of the customer profile . in this comments portion anyone associated with the transaction can include comments and have them associated with the customer profile . also included in this interface is an add - new comments box 1020 that allows new comments to be added to and associated with the profile . fig1 allows a user to attach documents and have them associated with a customer profile . documents can be from a scanner , received electronically , or in general any document can be associated with the customer profile . to attach a file , the user is presented with a select file interface 1120 . upon selection of a document from the select file interface 1120 , a user can ( optionally ) select a document type to be associated with the selected file , and then attach the file by selecting the attach button 1140 . the attached file is then shown as being associated with the customer profile in interface 1150 . in addition to traditional paper - based documentation , audio and video files can also be associated with and attached to a customer profile . for example , it may be advantageous to record and attach a copy of the interview between the loan applicant and an interviewer . similarly , biometric information such as a fingerprint , or in general any biometric information can also be input into the system and associated with a customer profile . fig1 is a customized query interface that allows a user to search for a customer based on , for example , store location , name , or in general any field or any information associated with the customer profile . for example , a user enters one or more search criteria in the search fields 1210 and , upon selection of the search button 1220 the system queries the database and displays all relevant customer profiles . furthermore , various types of reports can be run and generated , the reports summarizing any aspect of the centralized loan application and processing system . while the above described methodology has been discussed in relation to a particular sequence of events , it should be appreciated that changes to this sequence can occur without materially effecting the operation of the invention . the above - described systems and methods can be implemented on a computer server , personal computer , in a distributed processing environment , or the like , or on a separate programmed general purpose computer having database management , video conferencing and user interface capabilities . additionally , the systems and methods of this invention can be implemented on a special purpose computer ( s ), a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element ( s ), an asic or other integrated circuit , a digital signal processor , a hard - wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit , a programmable logic device such as pld , pla , fpga , pal , or the like , or a neural network and / or through the use of fuzzy logic . in general , any device capable of implementing a state machine that is in turn capable of implementing the flowcharts illustrated herein can be used to implement the invention . furthermore , the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in software using object or object - oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms . alternatively , the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or a vlsi design . whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this invention is dependent on the speed and / or efficiency requirements of the system , the particular function , and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized . the systems and methods illustrated herein however can be readily implemented in hardware and / or software using any known or later developed systems or structures , devices and / or software by those of ordinary skill in the applicable art from the functional description provided herein and with a general basic knowledge of the computer and data processing arts . moreover , the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in software executed on programmed general purpose computer , a special purpose computer , a microprocessor , or the like . thus , the systems and methods of this invention can be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as java ® or cgi script , as a resource residing on a server or graphics workstation , as a routine embedded in a dedicated credit application and processing system , or the like . the system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and method into a software and / or hardware system , such as the hardware and software systems of a credit and purchase management suite . it is , therefore , apparent that there has been provided , in accordance with the present invention , systems and methods for centralized credit intake , processing and management . while this invention has been described in conjunction with a number of embodiments , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations would be or are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts . accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , equivalents and variations that are within the spirit and scope of this invention .
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in accordance with the present invention there is provided a single - row and multi - row stretch blow molding method and apparatus , wherein a robot with a universal gripper assembly picks up molten preforms from a preform - molding unit during the mold - opening stroke and guides them through the steps of conditioning , stretch - blow molding , oriented discharging , and then returns to a waiting position at the preform - molding unit . the freely programmable time and stroke intervals of the robot with the universal gripper assembly to complete the stretch blow molding process are substantially faster than the preform molding process and thus allows the pick - up of additional preforms from a reheat unit and the introduction of components to the external and internal walls of the hollow articles without increasing the overall cycle . a modular stack - blow - mold assembly provides the opportunity for increased production in the same blow molding apparatus . a further set of robots with universal gripper assemblies and blow mold units provide the opportunity to treat the preforms in multi - stages before being released as hollow articles into an oriented discharge unit . with reference now more particularly to the drawings , fig1 is a side view of a stretch - blow molding method and apparatus , showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , a preform - molding unit 12 with a preform - mold - cavity assembly 26 in a closed position mounted on a base frame 20 , wherein the neck splits 18 remain in sliding connection 87 with the preform - mold - cavity assembly 26 upon raising the frame - type platen 16 holding the ejector bar 88 by the vertical clamp cylinders 14 and 15 . tie bars 19 connect the base platen 20 with the upper clamp platen 13 . a movable intermediary clamp - platen housing 21 is connected to the frame - type clamp platen 16 . a central clamp cylinder 22 is mounted onto the intermediary clamp - platen housing 21 which moves the injection core - holding platen 23 with the injection - core - mounting bar 24 and injection cores 25 . during the opening movement of the frame - type clamp platen 16 , a universal gripper assembly 27 , mounted onto a robot 28 , starts entering the opening clamp area and follows its upward movement . as the central clamp cylinder 22 moves the injection cores 25 upwards beyond the ejector bar 88 , the universal gripper assembly 27 grasps the freeing molded preforms 89 and transfers them to a conditioning unit 31 and from there into a stretch - blow - molding unit 40 to form the hollow articles 86 which are subsequently released in an oriented discharge unit 58 , and returns to a waiting position 81 . a following transfer component device assembly 90 , which has picked up external components 92 from front and back component dispensing cartridges 91 during a previous stretch - blow molding phase , places the same external components 92 into the open blow molds 41 in its component release position 94 during the waiting phase of the universal gripper assembly 27 . fig2 shows a front view of a stretch blow molding unit 40 , wherein the upper portion 60 with the upper moving - means platen 51 on which are mounted the vertical stretch - blow moving means 50 and 75 that drive the blow cores 47 which are mounted on a frame - type platen 49 with blow - core holding bars 48 and intermediary stretch - rod clamp - platen housing 52 having central stretch - rod moving means 57 mounted onto the frame - type blow - core clamp platen 49 holding the stretch rods 56 , which are mounted on a stretch - rod holding platen 54 with stretch - rod holding bars 55 which ride on linear bearings 59 enabling the upper portion to slide out of its operating position to facilitate the mold change - over procedure . a track rail 30 guides a traversing beam 61 , which is monitored by a drive 62 . traversing beam 61 carries robot 28 with the vertical gripper moving means 29 and the gripper opening and closing means 63 of the universal gripper assembly 27 . a stretch - blow mold assembly 41 is located beneath the upper portion 60 of the stretch blow unit 40 mounted between blow mold clamp platens 67 attached to tie bars 66 . pivoting spacing platens 44 monitored by rotating means 45 and drive gears 64 are mounted in between the blow mold - cavity assembly 41 , onto a support frame 65 and upper center cross bars 70 . bottom - plug rows 42 are monitored by moving means 43 mounted onto a support frame 65 . fig3 is a back view of a stretch - blow mold unit 40 as described in fig2 . a frame assembly 93 in front of the stretch blow unit 40 holds the front and back component dispensing cartridges 91 . a following transfer component device assembly 90 , mounted on a traversing beam 61 , is in its component pick - up position 95 while the universal gripper assembly 27 , the blow cores 47 , and stretch rods 56 are in a stretch - blow molding position 97 . fig4 to 11 show a schematic sequence of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 followed by a transfer component device assembly 90 in conjunction with a stretch - blow molding sequence . fig4 shows a schematic side view of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 picking up a molded preform 89 and a transfer component device assembly 90 in a stand - by position 98 . fig5 is a schematic top view of a stretch blow molding sequence showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , a preform molding unit 12 , a conditioning unit 31 , a stretch - blow molding unit 40 , a gripper assembly ( not shown ), wherein external components 92 are being applied in the closed stretch - blow - mold assembly 83 onto finished hollow articles 86 and a finished hollow article discharge unit 58 . fig6 shows a schematic side view of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 in a hollow article stretch blow molding position 97 and a finished hollow article 86 with external components 92 applied as well as a transfer component device assembly 90 in an external component pick - up position 95 . fig7 shows a schematic side view of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 in a finished hollow article discharge position 80 and a transfer component device assembly 90 in a stand - by position 98 holding external components 92 on the front and back side . fig8 is a schematic top view of a stretch blow molding sequence showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , a preform molding unit 12 , a conditioning unit 31 , a stretch blow molding unit 40 , wherein in an open stretch blow mold assembly 83 external components 92 are going to be placed by a transfer component device assembly 90 in a component release position 94 and a universal gripper assembly 27 mounted on a robot 28 in a gripper waiting position 81 and a finished hollow article discharge unit 58 . fig9 shows a schematic side view of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 in a waiting position 81 and a transfer component device assembly 90 holding on the front and back side external components 92 in a component release position 94 . fig1 is a schematic top view of a stretch blow molding sequence showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , a preform molding unit 12 , a conditioning unit 31 , a stretch - blow molding unit 40 , wherein in the open stretch - blow mold assembly 83 external components 92 had been placed during the gripper - waiting phase , and a universal gripper assembly 27 mounted on a robot 28 holds molded preforms 89 placed between the closing stretch blow mold assembly 83 in a stretch blow molding position 97 while a transfer component device assembly 90 located above the oriented discharge unit 58 picks up external components 92 from the front and back component dispensing cartridges 91 in its component pick - up position 95 . fig1 shows a schematic side view of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 ready to pick up preforms ( not shown ) from a preform molding unit ( not shown ) and a component transfer device assembly 90 in a component stand - by position 98 holding front and back components 92 . fig1 is a top view of a single - row stretch - blow mold apparatus showing from right to left : a plasticizer 10 , a preform mold cavity assembly 26 , in a preform molding unit 12 , a set of heat pots 36 in a conditioning unit 31 , a single - row blow - mold assembly 83 with pivoting spacing platens 44 and a stack blow - mold clamp assembly 46 in a stretch - blow molding unit 40 , positioned in line to a traversing robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 mounted onto a traversing beam 61 and its vertical upper moving means 29 also attached to a traversing beam 61 releasing finished hollow articles onto a lateral oriented discharge unit 58 . a multitude of cut - outs in the gripper arms 99 at a multitude of mold cavity center distances allow transfer of preforms and hollow articles with different neck finish sizes and center distances . fig1 is a top view of a single - row stretch - blow mold apparatus as shown in fig1 in which the plasticizer 10 , the preform mold unit 12 with a preform - mold - cavity assembly 26 , the conditioning unit 31 with a set of heat pots 36 , the stretch blow molding unit 40 with a single - row blow mold assembly 83 with pivoting spacing platens 44 , and blow mold clamp assembly 46 have been turned perpendicular to a traversing robot 28 with a single - row universal gripper assembly 27 and vertical moving means 29 , located on the traversing beam 61 , releasing finished hollow articles onto an in - line oriented discharge unit . fig1 shows a schematic movement of a traversing robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 for a stretch - blow molding method and apparatus , starting from right to left at a molded - preform take - out position 77 , traversing to a preform - conditioning position 78 , descending onto a preform - stretch - blow molding position 79 where the preforms are stretch - blown into hollow articles , retracting to a finished hollow article oriented discharge position 80 , returning to a gripper - waiting position 81 , and ascending back towards a preform - pick - up position 82 . fig1 is a top view of a single - row stretch blow molding apparatus as described in fig1 except between the preform mold unit 12 with its preform mold cavity assembly 26 and the conditioning unit 31 is installed a preform reheat unit 100 . the universal gripper assembly 27 has been pivoted into a preform take - out position 77 by gripper rotating means 101 , connected to the robot 28 to pick up reheated preforms 89 to be transferred through the conditioning unit 31 , the stretch - blow mold unit 40 where they are transformed into hollow articles and released into the oriented discharge unit 58 . fig1 shows a schematic sequence from right to left of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 pivoted by the gripper rotating means 101 into a preform take - out position 77 , then being returned by same gripper rotating means 101 into a basic traversing mode to enter a preform conditioning position 78 descending onto a preform stretch blow molding position 79 , where the preforms are being stretch - blown into hollow articles , retracting to a finished hollow article oriented discharge position 80 , returning to a universal gripper preform pick - up position 82 . fig1 is a side view of a single - row stretch blow molding apparatus as described in fig1 with a plasticizer 10 and a preform molding unit 12 . a robot 28 with gripper moving means 29 is equipped with gripper rotating means 101 that pivot a universal gripper assembly 27 into a preform take - out position 77 to pick up preforms 89 from a lateral preform reheat unit 100 and returns to its basic position to guide the preforms through a conditioning unit 31 and a stretch blow unit 40 to be stretch - blown into hollow articles 86 which are released in an oriented discharge unit 58 . fig1 is a top view of a single - row stretch - blow molding apparatus as shown in fig1 , wherein a robot 84 indexes sideways together with a universal gripper assembly 27 along a lateral guide rail 85 to pick up molded preforms from an opening preform - mold - cavity assembly 26 in the preform - molding unit 12 , indexes the same into a conditioning unit 31 , descends into a single - row blow mold cavity assembly 83 in a stretch - blow molding unit 40 , where preforms are stretch - blown into hollow articles , and retracts into an oriented discharge unit 58 to release finished hollow articles 86 . fig1 is a top view of a multi - row stretch - blow molding apparatus as shown in fig1 , wherein a robot 84 indexes sideways together with a universal gripper assembly 27 along a lateral guide rail 85 to pick up molded preforms from an opening preform mold cavity assembly 26 in a preform molding unit 12 , indexes the same into a conditioning unit 31 , descends into a multi - row stack - blow mold cavity assembly 41 in a stretch - blow molding unit 40 , wherein the preforms are stretch - blown into hollow articles , and retracts into an oriented discharge unit 58 to release the finished hollow articles 86 . fig2 shows a back view of a schematic movement of a laterally indexing robot 84 indexing sideways with a universal gripper assembly 27 starting from right to left , at a preform - take - out position 77 , indexing to a preform - conditioning position 78 , descending onto a preform - stretch - blow - molding position 79 , where the preforms are stretch - blown into hollow articles , retracting to a finished - hollow - article - discharge position 80 , returning to a gripper - waiting position 81 , and ascending back towards a preform - pick - up position 82 . fig2 is a side view of a multi - row stretch - blow molding method and apparatus showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , a preform - molding unit 12 consisting of an upper clamp platen 13 with vertical clamp cylinders 14 and 15 connected to a frame - type clamp platen 16 holding the neck split mounting bars 17 and neck splits 18 . the frame - type clamp platen 16 slides up and down on tie bars 19 which are connected to the base platen 20 and the upper clamp platen 13 . an intermediary clamp platen housing 21 is connected to the frame - type clamp platen 16 . a central clamp cylinder 22 is mounted onto the intermediary clamp platen housing 21 which moves the injection core holding platen 23 with the injection core mounting bars 24 and injection cores 25 . a preform mold cavity assembly 26 is mounted onto the base frame 20 . the preform - molding cycle starts when the frame - type clamp platen 16 with the neck - split mounting bars 17 and neck splits 18 have been lowered onto the mold cavity assembly 26 by the vertical clamp cylinders 14 and 15 , and the injection cores 25 have entered the preform mold cavity assembly 26 . upon completion of the preform molding phase , both the frame - type platen 16 and the intermediary clamp platen housing 21 are raised together by the vertical clamp cylinders 14 and 15 . a universal gripper assembly 27 , mounted onto a robot 28 with a vertical moving means 29 , slides on track rails 30 to enter between the opening preform - molding area of the fixed preform mold cavity assembly 26 and neck splits 18 , and follows their upward movement . the central clamp cylinder 22 lifts the injection cores 25 out of the molded preforms ( not shown ). the moment neck splits 18 have been opened by a spreading device ( not shown ), the universal gripper assembly 27 picks up the preforms ( not shown ) and guides them to the conditioning unit 31 . the preform - mold cavity assembly 26 is closed again to mold a new set of preforms . the conditioning rods 32 held by individual mounting bars 9 and mounted upon the base plate 33 , connected to a central conditioning rod clamp cylinder 34 and guide rods 35 , descend into the preforms ( not shown ). a set of heat pots 36 are raised around the preforms ( not shown ) by central raising means 37 and aligned by guide rods 38 mounted on a base unit 39 . upon completion of the conditioning phase , the conditioning rods 32 and the heat pots 36 retract . the universal gripper assembly 27 indexes the preforms into the stretch - blow - molding unit 40 and lowers them into stretch - blow molds 41 with the gripper moving means 29 . bottom plugs 42 are raised by bottom plug moving means 43 . rotating means 45 pivot spacing platens 44 to close the blow - mold halves 41 . the blow - mold clamp assembly 46 with synchronizer ( not shown ) generates the final clamp closing pressure . simultaneously , blow cores 47 held by blow core holding bars 48 , mounted onto a frame - type blow - core clamp platen 49 , are lowered onto the preforms ( not shown ), held in the closed blow - mold cavities 41 by vertical moving means 50 and 75 , mounted onto the upper moving means platen 51 . an intermediary stretch - rod clamp - platen housing 52 , mounted onto the frame - type blow - core clamp platen 49 follows the blow - core movement . central stretch - rod moving means 57 , mounted onto the intermediary stretch - rod clamp - platen housing 52 , connected to the stretch - rod holding platen 54 , with the stretch - rod mounting bars 55 holding stretch rods 56 and moves stretch rods 56 into the preforms ( not shown ). upon completion of the stretch - blow phase , vertical stretch - blow moving means 50 and 75 as well as stretch - rod moving means 57 retract to their upper positions , the universal gripper assembly 27 is raised by the gripper moving means 29 and retracts the finished hollow articles 86 to an oriented discharge unit 58 . fig2 shows a top view of a stretch - blow molding method and apparatus consisting of plasticizer 10 , preform molding unit 12 , conditioning unit 31 , stretch - blow molding unit 40 , all equipped with upper moving - means platens 13 , 8 , and 51 holding vertical clamping means 14 , 15 , 34 , 50 , and 75 , respectively . beneath are located the intermediary clamp platen housings 21 and 52 holding central clamp cylinders 22 and 57 . central clamp cylinders 22 , 34 , and 57 are connected to holding platens 23 , 33 , and 54 , respectively , under which are held in place on individual mounting bars 24 , 9 , and 55 the injection cores 25 , the conditioning rods 32 , and the stretch rods 56 , respectively . beneath the holding platens 23 and 54 are located the individual mounting bars 17 and 48 to hold the neck splits 18 , and blow cores 48 onto frame - type clamp platens 16 and 49 , respectively , with elongated mounting holes 74 which permit variations in the center row distances according to the preform mold cavity center distances . mounting bars 9 for the conditioning rods are bolted in elongated slots 74 onto the holding platen 33 . the top view further shows a universal gripper assembly 27 with opening and closing means 63 mounted onto a robot 28 monitored by a drive 62 and gripper moving means 29 and an oriented discharge unit 58 beneath . a multitude of cut - outs in the gripper arms 99 at a multitude of mold cavity center distances allows to transfer preforms and finished hollow articles with different neck finish sizes and center distances . fig2 is a top view of a multi - row stack - blow mold cavity assembly 41 in a closed position with pivoting spacing platens 44 in an extended position driven by rotating means 45 , wherein the stretch - blow mold mounting platens 68 are directly attached and extended by a hinge mechanism 69 . center - cross bars 70 , attached to blow - mold tie bars 66 , serve as a fixed center pivot point for the center axis 71 of the pivoting spacing platens 44 . synchronized blow - mold clamp platens 67 generate the necessary clamp closing force . fig2 shows a multi - row stack - blow mold cavity assembly 41 in an open position with pivoting spacing platens 44 and hinge mechanism 69 in a retracted position . bottom plug rows 72 and bottom - plug - moving means 43 are shown between the open multi - row stack blow mold halves 41 . blow mold clamp cylinder 46 , monitored by a clamp platen synchronizer assembly 73 , opens outer blow - mold clamp platens 67 attached to blow - mold tie bars 66 . fig2 shows a top view of a multi - row stretch - blow molding apparatus with , from right to left : plasticizers 10 and 11 , a multitude of preform - mold - cavity assemblies 26 and 76 in preform molding unit 12 , a set of heat pots 36 in conditioning unit 31 , multi - row stack blow mold 41 in a stretch - blow unit 40 with pivoting spacing platens 44 and blow - mold clamp assembly 46 turned perpendicular two the traversing robot movement , a universal gripper assembly 27 mounted onto a robot 28 with gripper - assembly moving means 29 located on a traversing beam 61 and an oriented discharge unit 58 beneath . fig2 shows a schematic movement of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 , starting from right to left at a molded - preform take - out position 77 , traversing to a preform conditioning position 78 , descending onto a preform - stretch - blow molding position 79 , where the preforms are stretch - blown into hollow articles , retracting to a finished hollow article oriented discharge position 80 , returning to a gripper waiting position 81 , and ascending back towards a preform pick - up position 82 . fig2 is a sequential side view from right to left of a molded preform 89 with a neck section 108 at an elevated temperature to receive an internal component before the shrinkage phase has been completed . an internal component pick - up and inserting device 109 having positioned an internal component 103 in the neck section 108 of a molded preform 89 while still at an elevated temperature . an internal component 103 is shrunk into the neck section 108 of a stretch - blown hollow article 86 during the conditioning , the stretch - blow and the cooling phase . fig2 a is the same sequential view shown in fig2 with the exception that an internal component 103 with inner liner 114 has been placed in a molded preform 89 while still at an elevated temperature . the molded preform 89 is being stretch - blown into a multi - layer hollow article 86 with an internal component 103 and inner liner 114 in intimate contact with the neck 108 and body portion of the hollow article 86 . fig2 is a side view of a multi - row stretch - blow molding apparatus as described in detail in connection with fig2 showing from right to left a plasticizer 10 , preform molding unit 12 , with an internal component sorting unit 102 and an indexing sorting conveyor 104 which brings internal components 103 beneath a multitude of internal component pick - up and inserting devices 109 . the component pick - up and inserting devices 109 are lowered towards the internal components 103 or internal components with inner liners 114 ( not shown ) in position on the indexing sorting conveyor 104 by moving means 112 and pick up the internal components 103 through monitoring motions of the central moving means 113 . internal components 103 are held in a waiting position ( not shown ) until the universal gripper assembly 27 transfers the molded preforms with internal component preparation 108 ( not shown ) at elevated temperature in position and then places the internal components 103 ( not shown ) or internal components with inner liners ( not shown ) into the molded preforms ( not shown ) prior to the completion of the shrinkage phase of the molded preforms . the reinforced molded preforms ( not shown ) are then transferred to a conditioning unit 31 , lowered into a stretch blow molding unit 40 and transformed into hollow articles 86 with reinforcing internal components 103 ( not shown ) or internal components with liners 114 ( not shown ) are stretch - blown into multi - layer hollow articles ( not shown ) which are retracted onto an oriented discharge unit 58 . fig2 is a schematic top view of a multi - row stretch - blow - molding apparatus as described in detail in connection with fig2 showing from right to left the plasticizers 10 and 11 , respectively , the preform molding unit 12 , with sorting unit 102 to line up internal components 103 or internal components with inner liners 114 ( not shown ) onto an indexing sorting conveyor 104 , a conditioning unit 31 , a stretch blow unit 40 , robot 28 , with a universal gripper assembly 27 mounted on a traversing beam 61 , as well as a secondary stretch blow molding unit 105 , an oriented discharge unit 58 beneath a secondary robot 111 with a universal secondary gripper assembly 106 mounted onto a secondary traversing beam 107 . fig3 shows a schematic side view sequence basically described in connection with fig2 of a robot 28 with a universal gripper assembly 27 from right to left starting at a molded preform take - out position 77 , indexing to an internal component inserting position 110 , traversing to a preform conditioning position 78 , descending onto a preform stretch blow molding position 79 , leaving the pretreated molded preforms in a blow - mold assembly 41 ( not shown ), returning to a gripper - waiting position 81 , and ascending back towards a preform pick - up position 82 . simultaneously , a secondary robot 111 with a universal gripper assembly 106 picks up the pretreated molded preforms 89 ( not shown ) from the position 79 and transfers the same into a secondary or a multitude of subsequent stretch blow molding positions 97 prior to releasing the finished hollow articles in an oriented discharge position 80 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each of the elements described above , or two or more together , may also be used in alternate methods of producing molded articles therein and in other methods and apparatuses for the preparation of molded articles . while the invention has been described in detail in the foregoing specification and drawings as embodied in the context of a single - row and a multi - row stretch blow molding method and apparatus for the preparation of molded articles , it will be appreciated that the description is not intended to be limited to the details shown and various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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an original supply device for a copying apparatus in accordance with the present invention has a shaft 2 which is supported in a frame 1 of the apparatus . when the apparatus is turned on , the shaft 2 is continuously driven by a not shown drive motor . a transport cylinder 3 is supported on the shaft 2 . the transport cylinder 3 can be coupled with a magnetic coupling 4 with the shaft 2 . a stack - supporting surface 5 for an original stack 6 is arranged above the transport cylinder 3 . the supporting surface 5 is limited by lateral walls 5a and a front stack abutment 5b . the supporting surface 5 extends at its cylinder - side end substantially tangentially to the outer surface of the transport cylinder 3 . it has in this region an opening 5c which extends to the front stack abutment 5b . at this location the not supported stack somewhat bends , so that the lowest sheet is supported on the outer surface of the transport cylinder 3 . a turnable suction nozzle member 8 is arranged in an opening 3a in the periphery of the transport cylinder 3 on a shaft 7 . a row of suction nozzles 8a is arranged on the upper side of the member 8 . the suction nozzles 8a are connected via passages 8b with a central opening of the shaft 7 , which in turn is connected via a passage 3b of the transport cylinder 3 with an annular groove of the shaft 2 . the annular groove communicates with an opening provided at a suitable location with a central opening of the shaft 2 . the central opening extends in a known manner to the shaft end when its opens in a not shown conventional central coupling for a vacuum conduit 63 shown in fig4 . the vacuum conduit 63 connects the suction nozzles with a vacuum pump or a respective supply container . for turning the suction nozzle member 8 , it carries an arm 8c . a pulling rod 9 of a pulling magnet 11 supported on a pin 10 of the transport cylinder 3 is pivotally connected with the arm 8c . a transparent supporting plate 12 is arranged under the transport cylinder 3 . originals pulled from the stack 6 are placed on the transparent supporting plate 12 during its illumination . for supplying the originals over the transparent supporting plate 12 , a supply roller 13 is provided which is driven in a known manner . the supply roller 13 slides on the supporting plate 12 as long as no originals to be supplied are located on the supporting plate 12 . a pressing and supplying roller 14 lies on the periphery of the transport cylinder 3 . it engages the originals pulled from the stack 6 before they leave the transport cylinder 3 and are supplied to the transparent supporting plate 12 . for reliable guidance of the originals in this region , guiding sheets 15 and 16 are provided here . finally , a turnable holding - down member 17 is arranged above the cylinder - side end of the stack . the member 17 carries a pressing roller 18 which can be pressed on the front end of the stack so as to press the originals in suitable moment on the suction nozzle member 8 and to compensate for eventual unevenness of the originals , which can affect their unobjectionable placement on the suction nozzles 8a . turning of the member 17 is performed by a turning lever 19 supported on its end , and a pulling magnet 22 turnably supported on a pin 21 and having a pulling rod 20 pivotally connected with the turning lever 19 . the return of the member 17 is performed by a return spring 101 which is also pivotally connected with the turning lever 19 . the operation of the above described arrangement is performed in the following manner : in the initial position of the transport cylinder 3 the suction nozzle member 8 is located in the position shown in fig1 under the opening 5c of the stack - supporting surface 5 . in the beginning of the feeding or transporting step , it is turned as shown in fig1 with the aid of the pulling magnet 11 to the lowest sheet of the stack 6 , the suction nozzles 8a are actuated , and the pressing roller 18 is turned by actuation of the pulling magnet 22 onto the stack . the actuation of the suction nozzles 8a is performed by actuation of a valve 23 which is shown in fig4 . after this , the pulling magnets 11 and 22 are turned off , whereby the suction nozzle member 8 is turned back under the action of the pulling spring 25 , and the holding - down member 17 , 18 is turned back under the action of the pulling spring 101 from the stack . the frontmost edge of the original to be separated is bent off from the stack 6 , whereby a very reliable separation of the original from the remainder of the stack is attained . now the transport cylinder 3 is driven in rotation in the direction of the arrow a , whereby the separated original is pulled from the stack by the suction nozzle member and supplied to the feed roller 14 . as soon as the transport cylinder 3 assumes its position shown in fig3 the suction air is turned off . the front end of the original engaged by the suction nozzle member 8 springs back from the transport cylinder and lies on the outer guide 15 , so that during further rotation of the transport cylinder 3 in direction of the arrow b it runs under the guide 16 and can arrive under the further feed roller 13 . from the feed roller 13 , the original is transported in a known manner first over the transparent supporting plate 12 and is fixed there for illumination by an illuminating arrangement which is not shown in the drawing but is located under the transparent supporting plate 12 . after this , the original is expelled from the copying apparatus or placed again from above onto the stack 6 for a repeated illumination . the control of the above described separating and transporting steps is performed with a control device shown in fig4 . cam disks 26 and 27 are drivingly connected with the shaft of the transport cylinder 3 and rotate in direction of the arrow c . the cam disk 27 has a cam 27a which cooperates with a pusher 28 . the pusher 28 actuates a switch 31 which is located in a supply conduit 29 of a drive motor 30 . the drive motor 30 drives further cam disks 24 and 25 in direction of the arrow d . in the shown position of the cam disk 27 or the switch 31 , the drive motor 30 is switched on , as long as a relay contained in a control unit 103 is operative . the supply conduit 29 of the drive motor 30 is connected then via a supply conduit 105 of the control unit 103 with a network conductor 32 . the connection of a further network conductor 33 with the control unit and with the drive motor 30 is performed via conductors 104 and 131 . the relay provided in the control unit 103 is so connected that its holding circuit is located in a current circuit of the motor 30 , so that after each switching off of the motor 30 it deenergizes and must be again switched on by pressing a starting button 106 acting upon a starting switch 107 . during further rotation of the cam disks 26 and 27 , or 34 and 35 , the cam 26a of the cam disk 26 reaches first a pusher 37 which cooperates with this cam and controls a switch 38 . the switch 38 lies in a holding circuit 39 - 41 of a relay 42 which is closed in this operational phase via a holding contact 43 of the relay 42 . a working contact 44 of the relay 42 connects via conductors 131 and 45 the magnetic coupling 4 with the network conductors 32 and 33 , whereby the transport cylinder 3 is coupled with the shaft 2 . the return flow of the current from the relay 42 to the network conductor 32 is performed via a conductor 46 . as soon as the cam 26a lifts the pusher 37 , the holding circuit of the relay 42 is interrupted via the switch 38 . the relay 42 is deenergized , whereby the coupling 4 is switched off , and the transport cylinder 3 as well as the drivingly connected therewith cam disks 26 and 26 comes to a stop in the position corresponding to the position shown in fig1 . the cam 27a of the cam disk 27 is arranged so that in this position the cam disk 27 retains the pusher 28 lifted , so that the motor 30 or the cam disks 34 and 35 run further . during a further rotation of the cam disks 34 and 35 in the direction of the arrow d , the cam 35a of the cam disk 35 lifts the pusher 36 . it actuates a switch 47 which lies in a conductor 48 located within the network conductor 43 . the conductor 48 , and also a further conductor 49 , is connected via sliding contacts with the magnets 11 arranged in the interior of the transport cylinder 3 . the return flow of the current to the network conductor 32 is performed via a conductor 50 . with the closed switch 47 , the pulling magnet 11 is energized and the suction nozzle member 8 is turned to the position shown in fig2 towards the lower side of the stack 6 . simultaneously , the pulling magnet 22 , which turns the holding - down member 17 , 18 to the stack , is switched on via conductors 51 and 52 . naturally , the first mentioned pulling magnet 22 if necessary can be controlled via its own cam disk or via its own switch in a switching time deviating from the switching time of the pulling magnet 11 . shortly after lifting the pusher 36 by the cam 35a of the cam disk 35 , the cam 34a of the cam disk 34 reaches a pusher 56 cooperating therewith . it switches on via a switch 56 lying in a conductor 55 a relay 57 . the relay 57 actuates a working contact 58 and a holding contact 59 . the relay 57 is connected when the switch 56 is closed via the conductors 55 and 59 , on the one hand , and via conductor 60 , on the other hand , with the network conductors 32 and 33 . the working contact 59 connects via conductors 61 and 62 as well as the conductor 50 a pulling manget 62 with the network conductors 32 and 33 , whereby the valve 23 opens a suction conduit 63 and this suction conduit is connected with a not shown suction air stream of the copying apparatus . the suction conduit 63 is connected in a known manner via a central coupling in the shaft 2 of the transport cylinder 3 , with the suction nozzle member 8 . the switch 58 actuated by the relay 57 and lying in the holding circuit 59 , 60 , 64 and 65 of the relay 57 prevents the relay 57 from deenergizing , so that the suction nozzle member 8 remains connected with the suction air until an interrupting switch 66 located in this holding circuit is opened . shortly after actuation of the pusher 54 acting for switching on of the suction nozzle member 8 under the action of the cam 34a , the cam 34a reaches a pusher 67 which is connected with a switch 68 lying in the conductor 53 of the relay 54 . thereby the relay 54 is switched on , and the transport cylinder 3 is again coupled with the continuously rotating shaft 2 . thereby the cam disks 27 and 28 start running again in direction of the arrow c . the cam 27a , which stands by this time point under the pusher 28 and thereby holds the motor 30 in running condition , rotates away under the pusher 28 so that the motor 30 comes to a stop . this must be first attained when the cam 34a of the cam disk 34 releases the pusher 67 or the switch contact 68 connected therewith , inasmuch as otherwise the transport cylinder 3 during the next revolution cannot be brought to a stop by the cam 26a of the cam disk 26 or the interrupting switch 38 . the transport cylinder 3 continues now its rotation in direction of the arrow a so long as the relay 42 is prevented from deenergizing by its holding circuit . the transport cylinder 3 arrives at the position shown in fig3 in which it takes along a front edge of the original separated from the stack 6 , the front edge being sucked by the suction nozzle member 8 . in this position the cam 27a of the cam disk 27 reaches a pusher 69 which opens the switch 66 lying in the holding circuit of the relay 67 . the relay 57 deenergizes and the suction air valve 23 is closed . thereby the transported original leaves in the above described manner the transport cylinder 3 and is transferred to the transporting rollers 13 and 14 . the transport cylinder 3 continues its rotation in the direction of the arrow a until it arrives at the initial position shown in fig1 and 4 . as can be seen from fig5 a transparent plate 109 is arranged under the transport cylinder 3 so that the original pulled from the stack 6 can be transported over this plate during its illumination . the transparent plate 109 lies in an image field of a screen copying device 110 which is illuminated by two light pipes 112 arranged in a reflector 111 . the screen copying device projects the image of the displacing original through the image window formed in the transparent plate 109 onto a not shown carrier which moves with a corresponding speed . for improving the imprint of the illuminated original , pressing rollers 113 and 114 abut against the periphery of the transport cylinder 3 . moreover , a further row of suction nozzles 3d is arranged on the periphery of the transport cylinder 3 , as can be seen from fig6 . the further suction nozzles 3d engage the rear end of the original pulled from the stack 6 and fix the same on the transport cylinder 3 . the suction nozzles 3d are connected by passages 3c with the central opening 2a of the shaft 2 . driven transport roller pairs 115 and 116 , 117 and 118 , 119 and 120 are arranged at both sides of the transparent plate 109 . they can transport by hand the copied original in direction of the arrow c . after its copying , the original is withdrawn in the direction of the arrow d from the apparatus . further , the transport cylinder 3 is connected with guide sheets 121 - 125 and driven transport roller pairs 126 - 131 . they engage an original after its release from the transport cylinder 3 from its outer surface and transport the original back to the stack 6 , wherein the original is placed on the stack in direction of the arrow e . the operation of the later described arrangement corresponds to the operation of the arrangement shown in fig1 - 4 with the difference that the originals separated from the suction nozzle member or pulled from the stack are illuminated with the aid of the copying system 110 when it moves with the transport cylinder rotating in direction of the arrow e over the illuminating window 109 formed in the transparent plate 109 . as soon as the transport cylinder assumes its position shown in fig6 the suction air is turned off . the front end of the original engaged by the suction nozzle member 8 springs back from the transport cylinder 3 and abuts against the guiding sheet 121 , so that during further rotation of the transport cylinder 3 in direction of the arrow b it runs between the guide sheets 122 and 123 and can be engaged by the transporting rollers 126 and 127 . a multiple illumination of the originals fixed on the transport cylinder is possible , if needed , in which case the original is transferred to the transporting rollers 126 and 127 only after producing the required number of copies . the controlling of the above described separating , transporting and copying steps is performed with the control means shown in fig4 with the difference that , as shown in fig7 the control unit 103 is replaced by a control unit 132 . a relay provided in the control unit 132 is so arranged , in correspondence with the relay contained in the control unit 103 , that its holding circuit lies in the circuit of the motor 30 . thereby after each switching off of the motor 30 it deenergizes and must be again switched on by pressing of the start button 106 acting upon the start switch 107 . additional relays are provided for holding closed the holding circuit for the magnetic coupling 4 and the valve 23 for a certain number of revolutions , in dependence upon a desired number of copies . for the case when several illuminations of the original arranged on the transport cylinder 3 are desired , the desired number of copies is adjusted on an adjusting button 133 of the control unit 132 . it operates in such a manner that , being released from switching pulse of a switch 134 which is connected with the pusher 154 and lies in a conductor 135 leading to the control unit 132 , the holding circuit of the relay 42 and 45 remain closed via connecting conductors 136 and 137 leading to the control unit 132 . thereby both closing of the valve 23 and releasing the magnetic coupling 4 are prevented for a time period lasting unit the switching mechanism of the adjusting button 133 , which is contained in the control unit 132 and controlled by pulses of the switch 134 in dependence upon the number of already made copies , comes back to its initial position . the original located on the transport cylinder 3 rotates so long with the transport cylinder 3 until the desired number of copies is produced . only then is it transferred in the above discussed manner to the transport rollers 126 and 127 . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together , may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an arrangement for supplying originals in a copying apparatus , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention . what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims .
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the method described herein is for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients that have defect in bmpr2 ( bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 ) signaling . pulmonary arterial hypertension ( pah ) is a progressive lung disorder which , untreated , often leads to death on average within a few years after being diagnosed . an increasing constriction of the pulmonary circulation leads to increased stress on the right heart , which can develop into right heart failure . by definition , the mean pulmonary arterial pressure ( mpap ) in a case of chronic pulmonary hypertension is & gt ; 25 mmhg at rest or & gt ; 30 mmhg during exertion , where the normal values are & lt ; 20 mmhg . the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension is characterized by vasoconstriction and remodeling of the pulmonary vessels . in chronic pah there is neomuscularization of initially unmuscularized pulmonary vessels , and the vascular muscles of the already muscularized vessels increase in circumference . this increasing obliteration of the pulmonary circulation results in progressive stress on the right heart , which leads to a reduced output from the right heart and eventually ends in right heart failure ( humbert et al ., j . am . coll . cardiol . 2004 , 43 , 13s - 24s ). defects in bmpr2 signaling may , for example , be caused by a mutation in bmpr2 ( see accession no . 600799 in ncbi &# 39 ; s omim database ), a mutation in alk1 ( the activin a receptor ; see accession no . 601284 in ncbi &# 39 ; s omim database ) or a mutation in endoglin ( see accession no . 131195 in ncbi &# 39 ; s omim database ). a defect in bmpr2 signaling can be detected , for example , by measuring the expression of id1 ( inhibitor of differentiation 1 ) mrna or protein , which is a well - known downstream read - out for bmpr2 signaling . decreased bmpr2 signaling decreases the amount of id1 in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells . in particular cases , the pulmonary arterial hypertension may be hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension . in particular embodiments , a subject may be pre - screened to identify whether they have a mutation that effects bmpr2 signaling , or they may be assayed to determine if they have abnormal expression of id1 . fk - 506 ( also known tacrolimus or fujimycin ) is an immunosuppressive drug that is mainly used after allogeneic organ transplant to reduce the activity of the patient &# 39 ; s immune system and so lower the risk of organ rejection . it is also used for the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis ( eczema ), severe refractory uveitis after bone marrow transplants , and the skin condition vitiligo . fk - 506 is a 23 - membered macrolide lactone discovered in 1984 . in t - cells , activation of the t - cell receptor normally increases intracellular calcium , which acts via calmodulin to activate calcineurin . calcineurin then dephosphorylates the transcription factor nf - at ( nuclear factor of activated t - cells ), which moves to the nucleus of the t - cell and increases the activity of genes coding for il - 2 and related cytokines . fk - 506 prevents the dephosphorylation of nf - at . specifically , fk - 506 reduces peptidyl - prolyl isomerase activity by binding to the immunophilin fkbp12 ( fk506 binding protein ) creating a new complex . this fkbp12 - fk506 complex interacts with and inhibits calcineurin thus inhibiting both t - lymphocyte signal transduction and il - 2 transcription . in some embodiments , the fk506 is administered at a dose and regimen that provides an fk506 serum concentration that is much lower than the fk506 serum concentration commonly used in immunosuppressive applications ( which is typically 5 - 15 ng / ml ). for example , in certain embodiments of the instant method , the fk506 is administered at a dose and regimen that provides an fk506 serum concentration of as 0 . 05 ng / ml to 1 ng / ml , e . g ., 0 . 1 ng / ml to 0 . 5 ng / ml , 0 . 15 ng / ml to 0 . 3 ng / ml or e . g . 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 ng / ml . in part because fk - 506 is metabolized by the cytochrome p450 system , the exact dosing may vary between patients . the fk506 may be administered once a day or more , e . g ., twice per day . in immunosuppressive applications , fk506 is normally given twice daily with the goal to reach fk - 506 serum levels of 5 - 15 ng / ml . the treatment is started at 0 . 5 mg twice daily and then up - titrated according to the measured fk506 serum level . in some cases a dosing of 0 . 075 mg / kg / day is recommended to reach a serum levels of 5 - 10 ng / ml . in some embodiments of the instant method , the goal is to reach a serum level of about 0 . 2 ng / ml , which is about 1 / 20 of the immunosuppressive serum level . in this case , an initial dose of 0 . 001 mg / kg day to 0 . 01 mg / kg day ( e . g ., 0 . 002 mg kg / day to 0 . 05 mg / kg / day may be sufficient , and the does can be up - titrated according to the measured fk506 serum level . the subject may be any mammal , e . g ., a human , rat , or mouse , for example . in particular cases , the fk506 may reach a serum concentration as low as 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 ng / ml ( e . g ., 0 . 10 to 0 . 12 , 0 . 12 to 0 . 14 , 0 . 14 to 0 . 16 , 0 . 16 to 0 . 18 or 0 . 18 to 0 . 20 , however serum a concentration in the range of 0 . 2 to 2 ng / ml , e . g ., 0 . 2 , 0 . 5 , 1 and 2 ng / ml may be acceptable . in particular cases , the fk506 may reach a serum concentration of & lt ; 1 . 0 , 1 . 5 - 2 . 5 , or 3 - 5 ng / ml . the fk506 may be administered alone or in combination with other active compounds that treat or prevent pah . the other active compound may be administered at a different time or at the same time as the fk506 and in certain embodiments the fk506 and the other active compound may be present in the same formulation , or as separate formulations in the same kit . exemplary other active compounds that treat pah include , e . g ., prostacyclin analogues , endothelin receptor antagonists , phosphodiesterase - 5 inhibitors , high - dose calcium channel blockers , anticoagulants , diuretics or antiproliferative agents . in particular cases , the other active compound may be , for example , isordil ( isosorbide dinitrate ), revatio ( sildenafil ), tracleer ( bosentan ), letairis ( ambrisentan ), flolan ( epoprostenol ), adcirca ( tadalafil ), remodulin ( treprostinil ) ventavis ( iloprost ), tyvaso ( treprostinil ), dilatrate - sr ( isosorbide dinitrate ), isordil titradose ( isosorbide dinitrate ), isoditrate ( isosorbide dinitrate ) or isochron ( isosorbide dinitrate ). administration of fk506 to a subject may decrease pulmonary arterial pressure by about at least 1 mm hg , e . g ., at least 2 mm hg , at least 3 mm hg , at least 4 mm hg , at least 5 mm hg or at least 10 mm hg or more , thereby returning the pulmonary arterial pressure to a level that may be considered normal for the subject . in general terms , the fk506 may be administered to the subject in the instant method in a similar way to how fk506 is administered in immunosuppressive applications . for example , the fk506 may be present in a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient , and it may be administered intravenously . alternatively , it may be administered orally . because the fk506 is being administered at a lower dose , its usual side effects may be decreased . typical side effects include infection , cardiac damage , hypertension , blurred vision , liver and kidney problems ( tacrolimus nephrotoxicity ), hyperkalemia , hypomagnesemia , hyperglycemia , diabetes mellitus , itching , lung damage ( sirolimus also causes lung damage ), and various neuropsychiatric problems such as loss of appetite , insomnia , posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome , confusion , weakness , depression , cramps , neuropathy , seizures , tremors , and catatonia . a pharmaceutical composition comprising a subject compound may be administered to a patient alone , or in combination with other supplementary active agents . the pharmaceutical compositions may be manufactured using any of a variety of processes , including , without limitation , conventional mixing , dissolving , granulating , dragee - making , levigating , emulsifying , encapsulating , entrapping , and lyophilizing . the pharmaceutical composition can take any of a variety of forms including , without limitation , a sterile solution , suspension , emulsion , lyophilisate , tablet , pill , pellet , capsule , powder , syrup , elixir or any other dosage form suitable for administration . a subject compound may be administered to the host using any convenient means capable of resulting in the desired reduction in disease condition or symptom . thus , a subject compound can be incorporated into a variety of formulations for therapeutic administration . more particularly , a subject compound can be formulated into pharmaceutical compositions by combination with appropriate pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or diluents , and may be formulated into preparations in solid , semi - solid , liquid or gaseous forms , such as tablets , capsules , powders , granules , ointments , solutions , suppositories , injections , inhalants and aerosols . formulations for pharmaceutical compositions are well known in the art . for example , remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , by e . w . martin , mack publishing co ., easton , pa ., 19th edition , 1995 , describes exemplary formulations ( and components thereof ) suitable for pharmaceutical delivery of disclosed compounds . pharmaceutical compositions comprising at least one of the subject compounds can be formulated for use in human or veterinary medicine . particular formulations of a disclosed pharmaceutical composition may depend , for example , on the mode of administration and / or on the location of the infection to be treated . in some embodiments , formulations include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in addition to at least one active ingredient , such as a subject compound . in other embodiments , other medicinal or pharmaceutical agents , for example , with similar , related or complementary effects on the affliction being treated can also be included as active ingredients in a pharmaceutical composition . pharmaceutically acceptable carriers useful for the disclosed methods and compositions are conventional in the art . the nature of a pharmaceutical carrier will depend on the particular mode of administration being employed . for example , parenteral formulations usually comprise injectable fluids that include pharmaceutically and physiologically acceptable fluids such as water , physiological saline , balanced salt solutions , aqueous dextrose , glycerol or the like as a vehicle . for solid compositions ( e . g ., powder , pill , tablet , or capsule forms ), conventional non - toxic solid carriers can include , for example , pharmaceutical grades of mannitol , lactose , starch , or magnesium stearate . in addition to biologically neutral carriers , pharmaceutical compositions to be administered can optionally contain minor amounts of non - toxic auxiliary substances ( e . g ., excipients ), such as wetting or emulsifying agents , preservatives , and ph buffering agents and the like ; for example , sodium acetate or sorbitan monolaurate . other non - limiting excipients include , nonionic solubilizers , such as cremophor , or proteins , such as human serum albumin or plasma preparations . some examples of materials which can serve as pharmaceutically - acceptable carriers include : ( 1 ) sugars , such as lactose , glucose and sucrose ; ( 2 ) starches , such as corn starch and potato starch ; ( 3 ) cellulose , and its derivatives , such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , ethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate ; ( 4 ) powdered tragacanth ; ( 5 ) malt ; ( 6 ) gelatin ; ( 7 ) talc ; ( 8 ) excipients , such as cocoa butter and suppository waxes ; ( 9 ) oils , such as peanut oil , cottonseed oil , safflower oil , sesame oil , olive oil , corn oil and soybean oil ; ( 10 ) glycols , such as propylene glycol ; ( 11 ) polyols , such as glycerin , sorbitol , mannitol , and polyethylene glycol ; ( 12 ) esters , such as ethyl oleate and ethyl laurate ; ( 13 ) agar ; ( 14 ) buffering agents , such as magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide ; ( 15 ) alginic acid ; ( 16 ) pyrogen - free water ; ( 17 ) isotonic saline ; ( 18 ) ringer &# 39 ; s solution ; ( 19 ) ethyl alcohol ; ( 20 ) ph buffered solutions ; ( 21 ) polyesters , polycarbonates and / or polyanhydrides ; and ( 22 ) other non - toxic compatible substances employed in pharmaceutical formulations . the disclosed pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated as a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a disclosed compound . pharmaceutically acceptable salts are non - toxic salts of a free base form of a compound that possesses the desired pharmacological activity of the free base . these salts may be derived from inorganic or organic acids . non - limiting examples of suitable inorganic acids are hydrochloric acid , nitric acid , hydrobromic acid , sulfuric acid , hydroiodic acid , and phosphoric acid . non - limiting examples of suitable organic acids are acetic acid , propionic acid , glycolic acid , lactic acid , pyruvic acid , malonic acid , succinic acid , malic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , tartaric acid , citric acid , benzoic acid , cinnamic acid , mandelic acid , methanesulfonic acid , ethanesulfonic acid , p - toluenesulfonic acid , methyl sulfonic acid , salicylic acid , formic acid , trichloroacetic acid , trifluoroacetic acid , gluconic acid , asparagic acid , aspartic acid , benzenesulfonic acid , p - toluenesulfonic acid , naphthalenesulfonic acid , and the like . lists of other suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts are found in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , 17th edition , mack publishing company , easton , pa ., 1985 . a pharmaceutically acceptable salt may also serve to adjust the osmotic pressure of the composition . a subject compound can be used alone or in combination with appropriate additives to make tablets , powders , granules or capsules , for example , with conventional additives , such as lactose , mannitol , corn starch or potato starch ; with binders , such as crystalline cellulose , cellulose derivatives , acacia , corn starch or gelatins ; with disintegrators , such as corn starch , potato starch or sodium carboxymethylcellulose ; with lubricants , such as talc or magnesium stearate ; and if desired , with diluents , buffering agents , moistening agents , preservatives and flavoring agents . such preparations can be used for oral administration . a subject compound can be formulated into preparations for injection by dissolving , suspending or emulsifying them in an aqueous or nonaqueous solvent , such as vegetable or other similar oils , synthetic aliphatic acid glycerides , esters of higher aliphatic acids or propylene glycol ; and if desired , with conventional additives such as solubilizers , isotonic agents , suspending agents , emulsifying agents , stabilizers and preservatives . the preparation may also be emulsified or the active ingredient encapsulated in liposome vehicles . formulations suitable for injection can be administered by an intravitreal , intraocular , intramuscular , subcutaneous , sublingual , or other route of administration , e . g ., injection into the gum tissue or other oral tissue . such formulations are also suitable for topical administration . in some embodiments , a subject compound can be delivered by a continuous delivery system . the term “ continuous delivery system ” is used interchangeably herein with “ controlled delivery system ” and encompasses continuous ( e . g ., controlled ) delivery devices ( e . g ., pumps ) in combination with catheters , injection devices , and the like , a wide variety of which are known in the art . a subject compound can be utilized in aerosol formulation to be administered via inhalation . a subject compound can be formulated into pressurized acceptable propellants such as dichlorodifluoromethane , propane , nitrogen and the like . furthermore , a subject compound can be made into suppositories by mixing with a variety of bases such as emulsifying bases or water - soluble bases . a subject compound can be administered rectally via a suppository . the suppository can include vehicles such as cocoa butter , carbowaxes and polyethylene glycols , which melt at body temperature , yet are solidified at room temperature . the term “ unit dosage form ,” as used herein , refers to physically discrete units suitable as unitary dosages for human and animal subjects , each unit containing a predetermined quantity of a subject compound calculated in an amount sufficient to produce the desired effect in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent , carrier or vehicle . the specifications for a subject compound depend on the particular compound employed and the effect to be achieved , and the pharmacodynamics associated with each compound in the host . the dosage form of a disclosed pharmaceutical composition will be determined by the mode of administration chosen . for example , in addition to injectable fluids , topical or oral dosage forms may be employed . topical preparations may include eye drops , ointments , sprays and the like . oral formulations may be liquid ( e . g ., syrups , solutions or suspensions ), or solid ( e . g ., powders , pills , tablets , or capsules ). methods of preparing such dosage forms are known , or will be apparent , to those skilled in the art . certain embodiments of the pharmaceutical compositions comprising a subject compound may be formulated in unit dosage form suitable for individual administration of precise dosages . the amount of active ingredient administered will depend on the subject being treated , the severity of the affliction , and the manner of administration , and is known to those skilled in the art . within these bounds , the formulation to be administered will contain a quantity of the extracts or compounds disclosed herein in an amount effective to achieve the desired effect in the subject being treated . each therapeutic compound can independently be in any dosage form , such as those described herein , and can also be administered in various ways , as described herein . for example , the compounds may be formulated together , in a single dosage unit ( that is , combined together in one form such as capsule , tablet , powder , or liquid , etc .) as a combination product . alternatively , when not formulated together in a single dosage unit , an individual subject compound may be administered at the same time as another therapeutic compound or sequentially , in any order thereof . the route of administration may be selected according to a variety of factors including , but not necessarily limited to , the condition to be treated , the formulation and / or device used , the patient to be treated , and the like . routes of administration useful in the disclosed methods include but are not limited to oral and parenteral routes , such as intravenous ( iv ), intraperitoneal ( ip ), rectal , topical , ophthalmic , nasal , and transdermal . formulations for these dosage forms are described herein . an effective amount of a subject compound will depend , at least , on the particular method of use , the subject being treated , the severity of the affliction , and the manner of administration of the therapeutic composition . a “ therapeutically effective amount ” of a composition is a quantity of a specified compound sufficient to achieve a desired effect in a subject ( host ) being treated . therapeutically effective doses ( or growth inhibitory amounts ) of a subject compound or pharmaceutical composition can be determined by one of skill in the art , with a goal of achieving local ( e . g ., tissue ) concentrations that are at least as high as the ic50 of an applicable compound disclosed herein . the specific dose level and frequency of dosage for any particular subject may be varied and will depend upon a variety of factors , including the activity of the subject compound , the metabolic stability and length of action of that compound , the age , body weight , general health , sex and diet of the subject , mode and time of administration , rate of excretion , drug combination , and severity of the condition of the host undergoing therapy . in order to further illustrate the present invention , the following specific examples are given with the understanding that they are being offered to illustrate the present invention and should not be construed in any way as limiting its scope . a loss of function mutation in bone morphogenetic protein ( bmp ) receptor ii ( bmprii ) is present in & gt ; 80 % of familial and ˜ 20 % of sporadic idiopathic ( i ) pah ( machado et al . hum mutat 2006 , 27 : 121 - 32 ). even patients with ipah without a bmprii mutation or with other causes of pah have reduced expression of bmprii , reinforcing the importance of bmprii signaling in the pathogenesis of pah ( humbert m et al . eur respir j 2002 , 20 : 518 - 23 ). furthermore bmpr2 receptor gene therapy attenuates experimental hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats ( reynolds et al . am j physiol lung cell mol physiol 2007 ). therefore increasing bmprii signaling in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension might prevent or reverse disease . 3600 fda approved drugs and bioactive compounds were screened for their ability to activate bmp signaling , using a c2c12 mouse myoblast cell line stably transfected with a reporter plasmid expressing a bmp response element ( bre ) from the id1 promoter fused to the luciferase - gene ( bre - luc ). whether the best qhts - bmprii activator can induce smad phosphorylation ( phospho ), id1 expression and promote paec survival and tube formation was determined using bmp4 as a positive control . whether the qhts - bmprii - activator would prevent pah in mice with a conditional deletion in bmprii in ecs ( bmprii - scl - creert ) that develop exaggerated pah after 3 weeks of hypoxia ( 10 % o 2 ) was determined . in order to assess whether the bmprii activator could also reverse pah , we used 2 models of severe experimental ph in rats : 1 . monocrotaline induced pulmonary hypertension with development of severe medial hypertrophy of the pulmonary arteries 3 weeks after injection . 2 . sugen ( vegf - receptor blocker ) and 3 - week chronic hypoxia induced pulmonary hypertension with development of neointima formation in pulmonary arteries 8 weeks after initiation of the stimulus . both groups were treated with fk - 506 for 3 weeks via sc osmotic pump ( 0 . 05 mg / kg / d ) after pah and remodeling of the pulmonary arteries was established . the serum level of fk - 506 in mice and rats was aimed to be 0 . 2 ng / ml . fk - 506 , an agent that can induce bmpria phosphorylation , was the main activator of id1 expression . fk - 506 , at a dose of 15 ng / ml , the therapeutic serum level used to induce immunosuppression , and at a much lower dose of 0 . 2 ng / ml increased id1 protein expression 1 h following stimulation , in a manner comparable to bmp4 ( 10 ng / ml ) ( n = 3 , p & lt ; 0 . 06 ). this was preceded by phospho - smad 1 / 5 / 8 at 15 min , similar to bmp4 ( n = 3 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). fk - 506 induced p - smad 1 / 5 / 8 and id1 expression in paecs harvested from six different ipah patients at the time of transplant , including 3 / 6 patients that did not respond to bmp4 . both bmp4 and fk - 506 improved survival of paecs ( n = 5 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) and induced tube formation in an angiogenesis assay ( n = 3 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). a 3 - week preventive treatment with fk - 506 ( 0 . 05 mg / kg / d ) ( serum levels 0 . 2 ng / ml ) in mice with a conditional deletion in bmprii in ecs exposed to 3 weeks of hypoxia prevented the development of pah and right ventricular hypertrophy ( rvh ); rv systolic pressure : 32 ± 0 . 9 vs 21 ± 2 . 3 mmhg , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ; rvh : 36 . 2 ± 2 . 5 vs 26 . 9 ± 4 . 5 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 , both n = 5 . to test whether fk - 506 could also reverse pah , we induced pah in rats with monocrotaline ( 60 mg once s . c ) and began treatment with fk - 506 3 weeks after injection , a time when pah was established ( rvsp 50 . 8 ± 2 . 7 mmhg , n = 7 ). the survival after a 3 - week treatment with fk - 506 did not differ in the fk - 506 ( 57 %) compared to the vehicle group ( 66 %), yet of those that that survived the pah was significantly reduced after treatment with fk - 506 compared to vehicle treated animals ( rvsp 39 . 5 ± 4 . 7 vs 68 . 6 ± 4 . 2 mmhg , n = 14 ). it was determined that the combined stimulus of sugen ( 20 mg / kg s . c ) and 3 - weeks of chronic hypoxia induced pah in rats when rats were returned to ra and left for another 5 weeks ( rvsp 55 . 1 ± 10 . 7 vs control 25 . 1 ± 0 . 5 mmhg , rvh 0 . 24 ± 0 . 005 vs 0 . 44 ± 0 . 07 , n = 4 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) but that a 3 - week sc treatment of fk - 506 at the time of established pah could prevent progression and induce regression of pah in fk - 506 treated vs vehicle treated animals ( rvsp 66 . 5 ± 4 . 1 mmhg vs 39 . 5 ± 0 . 6 mmhg , rvh 0 . 49 ± 0 . 07 vs 0 . 34 ± 0 . 02 , n = 4 , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). neointima formation in small pulmonary arteries ( alveolar wall and alveolar duct vessels ) per total vessel number decreased from 61 . 2 ± 6 . 1 % to 16 . 2 ± 5 . 8 % ( n = 4 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). at the low dose of fk - 506 of 0 . 2 ng / ml no effect on total or differential wbc count was observed , nor was an immunosuppressive effect of decreased nuclear nfatc2 measured . fk - 506 ( tacrolimus ) was identified in a quantitative high throughput screen ( qhts ) of fda approved drugs and bioactive compounds as a drug that activates bmprii signaling , restores normal function of pulmonary artery endothelial cells ( paecs ), prevents and reverses experimental pah in mice and rats . patients are invited to participate in this study because they have pulmonary hypertension ( ph ) and are currently treated with one or multiple drugs for ph such as pde - 5 inhibitors ( sildenafil , tadalafil ), prostacyclins ( flolan , remodulin , iloprost ) and / or the endothelin antagonist ambrisentan . while all these drugs are effective as vasodilators , new medications are sought that could reverse the pathological remodeling of the pulmonary arteries . whether subjects have a familial form of pulmonary hypertension or not , it is known that a certain pathway ( bmpr2 ) is impaired in ph . studies have shown that the immunosuppressive drug fk - 506 ( tacrolimus ) activates the bmpr2 pathway and prevents and reverses pulmonary hypertension in experimental pulmonary hypertension . this study is open to male or female subjects , 18 - 70 years of age , with ph . if a patient agrees to participate in this study , the patient will be one of 40 subjects participating in the study . if a patient agrees to participate and the patent qualifies , the patient will be allocated to the study drug through a process called randomization . randomization means that the study drug that the patient will receive is selected by chance ( like the flip of a coin ). the study drug options for this study are placebo , and 3 different doses of fk - 506 ( blood level & lt ; 1 . 0 , 1 . 5 - 2 . 5 , and 3 - 5 ng / ml ; as a reference : the immunosuppressive dose is 5 - 15 ng / ml ). the study drug will be added to the patient &# 39 ; s baseline ph therapy . the randomization for this study is 1 : 3 which means patients have a chance of 75 % of receiving treatment with fk - 506 . the purpose of this study is to confirm that adding fk - 506 to a ph treatment at a dose below the normal dose that is used for immunosuppression is safe and whether it will improve pulmonary hypertension . heart function will be assessed by echo , 6 - min walk and the biomarker nt - probnp . fk - 506 ( tacrolimus ) is an fda approved immunosuppressive drug used in organ transplantation as well as in autoimmune diseases . as the metabolism of fk - 506 differs in patients quite widely , therapy is directed by measuring drug levels in whole blood . the blood will be drawn shipped to a testing lab to measure fk - 506 levels . the goal immunosuppressive doses are 5 - 15 ng / ml . in this study we aim for much lower doses ( see above ). patients will receive the study drug for the duration of study . the drug will be delivered in a prepared bottle , which allows monitoring of drug intake . this device is called a medication event monitoring system ( mems ) and for it to monitor drug intake properly . patients should always take out one tablet at a time from the bottle . participation in the study lasts for approximately 16 weeks . during this time , patients will be required to visit the clinic approximately 4 - 5 times . if a patient agrees to take part in this study , they will first sign this consent form . after the patients have signed , dated and received a copy of this consent form , they will have the study screening visit to ensure the patient is eligible to take part in this study . previous test results ( echocardiogram , physical examination , pulmonary function tests , right heart catheterization ( rhc ) may also be used to determine patient eligibility .
| 6 |
the properties of ionic liquids are of great interest as potential electrolytes for electrochemical applications because certain classes have melting points near or below ambient temperature , and they are also non - volatile . hence , much research is pouring into improving ionic liquids as ionic conductors . this work investigates compositions that improve the diffusivity of ions in several organic ionic liquids . bistriflimide , systematically known as bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide and colloquially as tfsi , is an organic anion with the chemical formula [( cf 3 so 2 ) 2 n ] − . the tfsi anion can form salts with various organic cations . the tfsi anion is widely used in ionic liquids which can have powerful solvating properties , since it is more stable than more “ traditional ” counterions such as tetrafluoroborate . this anion is of importance in lithium - ion and lithium metal batteries because of its conductivity . however , efforts to enhance tfsi - type ionic liquids with lithium salts results in slow diffusion of lithium cations because the metal cation is complexed by an aggregate of tfsi anions ( fig1 ). fast lithium ion mobility is very important for lithium batteries . regardless of being the smallest species in an ionic liquid ( il )/ lithium salt mixture , the lithium cation typically exhibits the slowest diffusion rate compared to either the anion or the cation of the il ( e . g ., diffusivity of large cations & gt ; anions & gt ; lithium cations ). it has been reported that each individual lithium ion is coordinated with multiple anions , resulting in poor migration of lithium cations in the electrolyte . glymes are known to coordinate with lithium cations . addition of glyme can competitively inhibit and break the interaction between the lithium cation and the tfsi anion . the lithium cation solvated by the glyme can have significantly better mobility than in the mixture without glyme , which we have demonstrated in our experiments ( fig1 ). in our earlier work with other collaborators ( sharma et al ., chem . eng . sci ., 2017 , 159 , 43 - 57 ), we have shown that adding glyme to an ionic liquid such as , 1 - n - hexyl - 3 - methylimidazolium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ c 6 mim ][ tfsi ]), will have an effect on lowering the viscosity of the ionic liquid that is more than would be expected by predictive models . however , improvements in ionic conductivity by lowering its viscosity with increasing amounts of glyme reaches a maximum benefit . the effect of adding the organometallic salt , lithium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , to an organic ionic liquid such as n , n - diethyl - n - methyl - n -( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ deme ][ tfsi ]), results in the lithium cation being sequestered by the anion as discussed above ( fig1 ). this effect can be demonstrated by observing changes to the — cf 3 band of the raman spectrum as the concentration of lithium cation is increased in the ionic liquid ( fig2 ). the — cf 3 vibration mode of free tfsi anions show up around 742 cm − 1 . upon addition of li [ tfsi ] salt , the interaction between the lithium cation and tfsi anion causes an additional vibration mode to appear near 748 cm − 1 . the size of the bump forming at 748 cm − 1 increases with increasing concentration of li [ tfsi ] salt ( larger extent of li - tfsi interaction with increasing concentration ). deconvolution of changes to the — cf 3 vibrations at various concentrations of added lithium salt are shown in fig3 which highlights the ratio of free versus coordinated tfsi anions . the interaction of lithium cations and tfsi anions is also demonstrated by nmr . upon addition of li [ tfsi ] salt , the carbon and fluorine peaks , that resonate from — cf 3 of the anion , shift to higher field ( lower ppm ), indicative of less chemical shielding exerted by the oxygen atoms toward the neighboring carbon atoms . this is also due to strong interactions between the lithium cation and oxygen atoms ( sharing electrons with li + ) of the tfsi anion . mixtures of oligoethers ( with the chemical formula of ch 3 o ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) n ch 3 ( n = 4 or 5 , e . g ., tri -, or tetra - glymes ) with lithium salts have been reported to coordinate ( or solvate ) lithium cations to a greater extent than tfsi anions , thereby forming a complex of lithium - glyme ions . such solvation would disrupt the aforementioned interaction between lithium cation and tfsi anion , and result in faster lithium cation mobility . another problem occurs when li [ tfsi ] is added to an ionic liquid as shown in fig5 and 6 . the addition of li [ tfsi ] to the il increases the viscosity in two ionic liquids we tested , [ pp13 ][ tfsi ] and [ deme ][ tfsi ], which have high electrochemical stability and relatively low viscosity . fortunately , adding tetraglyme decreases the viscosity of the composition owing to the lower viscosity of tetraglyme . surprisingly , addition of 1 mole of tetraglyme per mole of li [ tfsi ] brings the viscosity back to the original viscosity value at all the tested temperatures . addition of glyme in greater proportions further lowers viscosity , but this introduces uncomplexed glyme which is volatile in the composition ( see discussion of results below ). one way of testing whether tetraglyme is fully solvating the lithium cation or not is to examine the relative diffusivity of lithium cation and tetraglyme . if one expects full solvation ( one lithium cation solvated by one tetraglyme molecule ), the two species would behave as one complex cation , resulting in equal diffusivity . the diffusivities , as measured by pfg - se nmr , are shown in fig7 . the diffusivity of lithium cation is less than either the cation or the anion when there is no tetraglyme . however , when 1 mole of tetraglyme is added per mole of lithium cation ( or per mole li [ tfsi ]), the diffusivities of the cation , the anion , the lithium cation and the tetraglyme are all virtually the same . when there is excess tetraglyme ( greater than 1 : 1 ratio as in the example for [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]), free tetraglyme molecules that are not solvating lithium cation causes the diffusivity of tetraglyme to increase ( d li & lt ; d tg ). these trends are similar for both ionic liquids of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ] and [ deme ][ tfsi ]. fig8 compares the diffusivity , as calculated from the stokes - einstein relation ( eq . 1 ), of each individual species in the il - salt or il - salt - tg mixtures at the given viscosities . from the graph , it is clear that diffusivities of cation (+) and anion (−) are faster than that of li + ( δ ) when there is no tg added . when tg (◯) is added in 1 : 1 ratio , the diffusivity of li + is equivalent to that of tg , and both are comparable to the diffusivity of il , confirming increased mobility of li + ( plus tg complex ). addition of excess tg generates free tg molecules , resulting in faster mobility of tg than any other species in the mixture . the effect of tetraglyme &# 39 ; s association with metal ions can be observed in chemical shifts in the 7 li nmr spectrum ( fig9 ). addition of tg decreases the chemical shift of the 7 li signal to lower field due to deshielding effects of stronger li - tg interactions compared to li - anion interactions . the vapor pressure of tetraglyme becomes negligible at lower temperatures ( about less than 200 ° c .) when it solvates a metal cation because its molecular characteristics change . without solvation , tetraglyme is more volatile than an ionic liquid or a lithium salt . thus , tetraglyme would evaporate at lower temperatures faster during thermo gravimetric analysis ( tga ), which is an experiment that measures changes in mass due to evaporation as temperature is gradually raised . when the stoichiometric affords full solvation between a lithium cation and tetraglyme , the tetraglyme becomes a part of the complex cation , and is less prone to evaporation compared to free tetraglyme . the mass change of the complex during a tga experiment at higher temperatures may result from decomplexation , thereby releasing the volatile form of tetraglyme . the results of a tga experiments is shown in fig1 for mixtures comprising of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ], li [ tfsi ], and tetraglyme . the data confirms that the tetraglyme is much less volatile when it is solvating the lithium cation . when only tetraglyme is present , it evaporates in the range between 150 ° c . and 200 ° c . in a mixture of just il and tetraglyme , tetraglyme evaporates at a similar temperature range . however , when there is a 1 : 1 ratio of lithium to tetraglyme , there is very little mass loss until over 400 ° c . this is because the lithium and the tetraglyme form an essentially nonvolatile complex . when extra tetraglyme is present ( the 1 : 2 ratio ), the ‘ free ’ tetraglyme evaporates at lower temperatures ( around 175 ° c .). this means that the glyme additive , if it is not present in excess , would not be volatile and would not pose the same flammability problems experienced with normal organic solvents . examination of the raman spectrum of ionic liquid compositions comprising lithium salt and varying amounts of tetraglyme shows the effect of the organic solvate on the raman − cf 3 shift ( fig1 ). without tetraglyme , we observe the small bump at 728 cm − 1 due to the formed lithium - tfsi complex . addition of a small amount of tetraglyme ( 0 . 5 mol tg per mole li ) starts to reduce the hump since only about half of the lithium cations are coordinated with tetraglyme . addition of 1 : 1 ratio of tg to li causes the hump to disappear , confirming the presence of free tfsi anions ( li - tfsi complex broken up by preferred formation of li - tg complex ). further addition of excess tetraglyme does not affect the spectrum ( all tfsi anions are freed with just 1 : 1 ratio of tg to li ). triglyme ( g3 ) is also capable of solvating lithium cations . we observed that addition of g3 to a il - lithium salt mixture can enhance the lithium cation mobility by complete solvation ( fig1 ). similar trends in diffusivity are observed with triglyme as were observed with tetraglyme , described above . diffusivity of all ions decrease when 0 . 35m li [ tfsi ] is added to [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]. when triglyme is added to this mixture in a 1 : 1 ratio with lithium cation the diffusivity of all ions is on par with the diffusivity of triglyme , as seen similarly with tetraglyme . raman spectra evidence of triglyme &# 39 ; s ability to solvate lithium cation is shown in fig1 . as observed with tetraglyme , we see the hump on the — cf 3 peak due to the lithium cation and tfsi complex diminish to the raman signal of free tfsi upon addition of g3 in a 1 : 1 ratio with li [ tfsi ]. thus , tri - or tetraglyme is capable of solvating lithium ion when added in equimolar ratio ( 1 mol of glyme per mol of lithium salt ), resulting in a ‘ solvate il ’ ( that is , without an organic ionic liquid being used as the main electrolyte ). to perturb the lithium - anion coordination in a binary il - lithium salt mixture , just enough tetraglyme was added to the binary il - lithium salt mixture ( 1 mole tetraglyme per mol lithium salt ) to solvate the lithium cation and to increase the lithium cation diffusivity . for example , we prepared a mixture of diethylmethyl ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ deme ][ tfsi ]) containing 0 . 35m lithium bis ( trifluoromethanesulfonyl ) imide ( li [ tfsi ]), then added tetraglyme , ( in 1 : 1 molar ratio with the lithium salt ) for diffusivity measurements , which produced surprising results in our experiments . the overall composition had less glyme than the corresponding solvate il , yet the viscosity of the binary salt composition was less and the diffusivity of ions in the composition increased relative to the mixture without tetraglyme . a general method of preparing ionic liquid compositions with improved mobility or transport of lithium cations by glyme complexation is shown in the flow diagram , fig1 . for example , 0 . 35 moles of li [ tfsi ] ( represented by [ m + ][ x − ]) is added in step 1 to an ionic liquid of a calculated weight to produce 1 kg of the mixture , wherein [ cation ] + [ anion ] − are two organic ionic moieties forming the salt . after stirring in step 2 , a homogeneous binary salt mixture containing 0 . 35 m li [ tfsi ] is prepared . to this mixture , 0 . 35 moles of a desired glyme is added in step 3 . finally , the electrolyte composition is ready after stirring in step 4 . fig1 shows examples of some cations and anions that can form ionic liquids , and shown are other examples of specific organic ionic salts . some representative organic cations include , but are not limited to imidazolium , pyridinium , piperidinium , ammonium , phosphonium , and sulfonium . the choice of the anion is more critical . donor properties of anions that are less - basic are less likely to interact strongly with the lithium cation , and therefore preferred . if the anion is too basic , addition of glyme may be less effective in breaking the metal - anion interaction that is necessary to solvate the metal cation . therefore , examples of anions that would work well with glymes include , but are not limited to , tfsi and clo 4 + . use of glymes to solvate metal cations other than lithium cation is possible . for example , cations of sodium or potassium ( which are larger in size than li + ) could be solvated by longer oligoethers , such as ch 3 o ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) n ch 3 when n = 5 for na + or n = 6 for k + . crown ethers , sized with the appropriate number of oxygens would also solvate metal ions that correspond in size . in addition to safety , another advantage of the present disclosure over solvate ionic liquids is our compositions are “ tunable ”. in other words , our il + li salt + glyme system makes it possible to tune physical properties , such as viscosity , diffusivity , conductivity , electrochemical window , etc ., by varying the components making up the composition of the electrolyte . for instance , in the spectrum of diffusivity of lithium ion , using the diffusivity of the published g4 - li [ tfsi ] solvate ionic liquid as a point of reference ( which has the highest diffusivity ( 1 . 31 × 10 7 cm 2 / s ) among all solvate ils ), the [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]+ li salt + glyme system can be tuned to a diffusivity at the lower end of the spectrum . on the opposite end of the diffusivity spectrum , the diffusivity of [ deme ][ tfsi ]+ li salt + g4 can be tuned at the higher end of diffusivity . a similar comparison can be made using the viscosity of the solvate il as a reference value ( cp = 81 ). the following definitions are included to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the specification and claims . as used herein , the recited terms have the following meanings . all other terms and phrases used in this specification have their ordinary meanings as one of skill in the art would understand . such ordinary meanings may be obtained by reference to technical dictionaries , such as hawley &# 39 ; s condensed chemical dictionary 14 th edition , by r . j . lewis , john wiley & amp ; sons , new york , n . y ., 2001 . references in the specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular aspect , feature , structure , moiety , or characteristic , but not every embodiment necessarily includes that aspect , feature , structure , moiety , or characteristic . moreover , such phrases may , but do not necessarily , refer to the same embodiment referred to in other portions of the specification . further , when a particular aspect , feature , structure , moiety , or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment , it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect or connect such aspect , feature , structure , moiety , or characteristic with other embodiments , whether or not explicitly described . the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , a reference to “ a compound ” includes a plurality of such compounds , so that a compound x includes a plurality of compounds x . it is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element . as such , this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for the use of exclusive terminology , such as “ solely ,” “ only ,” and the like , in connection with any element described herein , and / or the recitation of claim elements or use of “ negative ” limitations . the term “ and / or ” means any one of the items , any combination of the items , or all of the items with which this term is associated . the phrases “ one or more ” and “ at least one ” are readily understood by one of skill in the art , particularly when read in context of its usage . for example , the phrase can mean one , two , three , four , five , six , ten , 100 , or any upper limit approximately 10 , 100 , or 1000 times higher than a recited lower limit . for example , one or more substituents on a phenyl ring refers to one to five , or one to four , for example if the phenyl ring is di - substituted . as will be understood by the skilled artisan , all numbers , including those expressing quantities of ingredients , properties such as molecular weight , reaction conditions , and so forth , are approximations and are understood as being optionally modified in all instances by the term “ about .” these values can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings of the descriptions herein . it is also understood that such values inherently contain variability necessarily resulting from the standard deviations found in their respective testing measurements . when values are expressed as approximations , by use of the antecedent “ about ,” it will be understood that the particular value without the modifier “ about ” also forms a further aspect . the terms “ about ” and “ approximately ” are used interchangeably . both terms can refer to a variation of ± 5 %, ± 10 %, ± 200 /%, or ± 25 % of the value specified . for example , “ about 50 ” percent can in some embodiments carry a variation from 45 to 55 percent , or as otherwise defined by a particular claim . for integer ranges , the term “ about ” can include one or two integers greater than and / or less than a recited integer at each end of the range . unless indicated otherwise herein , the terms “ about ” and “ approximately ” are intended to include values , e . g ., weight percentages , proximate to the recited range that are equivalent in terms of the functionality of the individual ingredient , composition , or embodiment . the terms “ about ” and “ approximately ” can also modify the end - points of a recited range as discussed above in this paragraph . as will be understood by one skilled in the art , for any and all purposes , particularly in terms of providing a written description , all ranges recited herein also encompass any and all possible sub - ranges and combinations of sub - ranges thereof , as well as the individual values making up the range , particularly integer values . it is therefore understood that each unit between two particular units are also disclosed . for example , if 10 to 15 is disclosed , then 11 , 12 , 13 , and 14 are also disclosed , individually , and as part of a range . a recited range ( e . g ., weight percentages or carbon groups ) includes each specific value , integer , decimal , or identity within the range . any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves , thirds , quarters , fifths , or tenths . as a non - limiting example , each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third , middle third and upper third , etc . as will also be understood by one skilled in the art , all language such as “ up to ”, “ at least ”, “ greater than ”, “ less than ”, “ more than ”, “ or more ”, and the like , include the number recited and such terms refer to ranges that can be subsequently broken down into sub - ranges as discussed above . in the same manner , all ratios recited herein also include all sub - ratios falling within the broader ratio . accordingly , specific values recited for radicals , substituents , and ranges , are for illustration only ; they do not exclude other defined values or other values within defined ranges for radicals and substituents . it will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint , and independently of the other endpoint . one skilled in the art will also readily recognize that where members are grouped together in a common manner , such as in a markush group , the invention encompasses not only the entire group listed as a whole , but each member of the group individually and all possible subgroups of the main group . additionally , for all purposes , the invention encompasses not only the main group , but also the main group absent one or more of the group members . the invention therefore envisages the explicit exclusion of any one or more of members of a recited group . accordingly , provisos may apply to any of the disclosed categories or embodiments whereby any one or more of the recited elements , species , or embodiments , may be excluded from such categories or embodiments , for example , for use in an explicit negative limitation . the term “ contacting ” refers to the act of touching , making contact , or of bringing to immediate or close proximity , including at the cellular or molecular level , for example , to bring about a physiological reaction , a chemical reaction , or a physical change , e . g ., in a solution , in a reaction mixture , in vitro , or in vivo . an “ effective amount ” refers to an amount effective to bring about a recited effect , such as an amount necessary to form products in a reaction mixture . determination of an effective amount is typically within the capacity of persons skilled in the art , especially in light of the detailed disclosure provided herein . the term “ effective amount ” is intended to include an amount of a compound or reagent described herein , or an amount of a combination of compounds or reagents described herein , e . g ., that is effective to form products in a reaction mixture . thus , an “ effective amount ” generally means an amount that provides the desired effect . the term “ substantially ” as used herein , is a broad term and is used in its ordinary sense , including , without limitation , being largely but not necessarily wholly that which is specified . the term “ ionic liquid ” ( or “ molten salt ”) refers to a salt in the liquid ( or molten state ). in some contexts , the term refers to salts whose melting point is below 100 ° c ., is near or below room temperature , or is near or below ambient temperature . a salt is a molecule having a cation and an anion forming an ionic bond , which is usually stronger than the van der waals forces between the molecules of ordinary liquids . examples include compounds based on the 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium ( emim ) cation . while ordinary liquids such as water are predominantly made of electrically neutral molecules , ionic liquids are largely made of ions . these substances are variously called liquid electrolytes , ionic melts , ionic fluids , fused salts , liquid salts , or ionic glasses . ionic liquids are described as having many potential applications at near room temperature and low temperatures . they can be used in catalysis , gas handling , pharmaceuticals , cellulose processing , nuclear fuel reprocessing , solar thermal energy , waste recycling , carbon , capture , and electric batteries . however , ionic liquids are often moderate to poor conductors of electricity , non - ionizing , highly viscous , and frequently exhibit low vapor pressure . room temperature ionic liquids consist of bulky and asymmetric organic cations such as , but not limited to , 1 - alkyl - 3 - methylimidazolium , 1 - alkylpyridinium , n - methyl - n - alkylpyrrolidinium and ammonium ions , and also phosphonium cations . a wide range of anions are employed , ranging from , but not limited to , simple halides , which generally suffer high melting points , to inorganic anions such as tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate , and to large organic anions like bistriflimide ( synonymously referred to as , bis ( trifluromethylsulfonyl ) imide , or tfsi ), triflate or tosylate . there are also many potential uses of ionic liquids with simple non - halogenated organic anions such as formate , alkylsulfate , alkylphosphate or glycolate . an electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections provided to power electrical devices such as flashlights , smartphones , and electric cars . the term “ battery ” is a common term to describe an electrochemical storage system . a “ cell ” is a basic electrochemical unit that contains the basic components , such as electrodes , separator , and electrolyte . a “ battery ” or “ battery pack ” is a collection of cells or cell assemblies which are ready for use , as it contains an appropriate housing , electrical interconnections , and possibly electronics to control and protect the cells from failure . in this regard , the simplest “ battery ” is a single cell with perhaps a small electronic circuit for protection . a lithium - ion battery or li - ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging . li - ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as one electrode material , compared to the metallic lithium used in a non - rechargeable lithium battery . the electrolyte , which allows for ionic movement , and the two electrodes are the constituent components of a lithium - ion battery cell . the term “ organic solvate ”, in this disclosure , refers to an organic oligomer that is a liquid at room temperature or near room temperature . the organic molecule can comprise an alkyl chain of hydrocarbon atoms having moieties of heteroatoms , such as oxygen or nitrogen , spaced in - between one or more of the hydrocarbon atoms , for example , an oligoether such as a glyme . the organic solvate can also be cyclic , like a heterocycle such as a crown ether which can be of various ring sizes . in this disclosure , the organic solvate coordinatively binds to , complexes , or chelates cations , such as metal ions , for example , but not limited to , lithium cations . the complex which is formed by the organic solvate and the metal ion can be represented as , for example , a [ metal ion ][ glyme ] complex . the term “ binary - salt ”, in this disclosure , refers to the combination or mixture of two or more salts . for example , an ionic liquid ( il ), consisting of the salt formed from an organic cation ([ organic ] + ) and an organic anion ([ organic ] − ), in a mixture with an organometallic salt , the organometallic salt consisting of a metal cation ([ m +]) and an organic anion ([ organic ] + ). in a first embodiment , an ionic composition comprises an organic salt having ionic liquid properties below 100 ° c ., and an organometallic salt , wherein a binary - salt mixture of the organic salt and the organometallic salt has ionic conductivity ; and an organic solvate ( s ) having properties to a ) chelate a metal cation ( m ), b ) increase the diffusivity of ions in the binary - salt mixture , and c ) lower the viscosity of the binary - salt mixture , wherein the organic solvate binds to the metal cations of the organometallic salt by coordination bonds to weaken the electrostatic interaction of the metal cations with the anions of the mixture , thereby solvating the metal cations from the anions and increasing the ionic conductivity of the binary - salt mixture ; wherein the stoichiometric ratio of the organic solvate ( s ) and the metal cation ( m ) in the ionic composition ranges from about 10 ( s ): 90 ( m ) to about 70 ( s ): 30 ( m ), the vapor pressure of the ionic composition is negligible , and the ionic composition has lower viscosity than a corresponding binary - salt mixture of the organic salt and the organometallic salt that lacks the organic solvate . in some embodiments , the binary - salt mixture or the ionic composition has ionic conductivity at 30 ° c . in the range of about 0 . 1 ms / cm to about 15 ms / cm , about 0 . 5 ms / cm to about 10 ms / cm , about 0 . 1 ms / cm to about 5 ms / cm , or about 1 ms / cm to about 5 ms / cm . in other embodiments , the viscosity of the ionic composition ranges from about 10 cp to about 1000 cp , about 10 cp to about 500 cp , about 10 cp to about 250 cp , about 20 cp to about 150 cp . in yet other embodiments , a negligible vapor pressure of the ionic composition is about 10 − 10 pa , or 10 − 10 pa within 3 orders of magnitude , within 2 orders of magnitude , or within 1 order of magnitude . in various embodiments , the anion of the organic salt , the organometallic salt , or a combination thereof is bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ tfsi ]), bis ( pentafluoroethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ beti ]), tetrafluoroborate , hexafluorophosphate , or perchlorate . in other embodiments , the organic solvate comprises ethylene glycol moieties . embodiments also include the metal cation of the organometallic salt which can be a cation of lithium , sodium , magnesium , potassium , or calcium . in other embodiments , the organic cation of bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ tfsi ]), bis ( pentafluoroethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ beti ]), tetrafluoroborate , hexafluorophosphate , or perchlorate is n , n - diethyl - n - methyl ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium ([ deme ]), n - methyl - n - propylpiperidinium ([ pp13 ]), 1 - n - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium ([ c 4 mim ]), triethylsulfonium , trihexyltetradecylphosphonium , or a combination thereof . in additional embodiments , the concentration of the organometallic salt ranges from about 0 . 1 molal to about 2 molal , about 0 . 1 molal to about 1 molal , or about 0 . 1 molal to about 0 . 5 molal , in a binary - salt mixture of the organometallic salt and the organic salt . in other embodiments , the organic solvate is diglyme , triglyme , tetraglyme , dimethoxyethane , or diethoxyethane . in various embodiments , the stoichiometric ratio of the organic solvate ( s ) and the metal cation ( m ) in the ionic composition is about 50 ( s ): 50 ( m ), or is about 2 ( s ): 1 ( m ). in additional embodiments , the organic solvate is tetraglyme , and the organometallic salt is lithium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ( li [ tfsi ]). in further embodiments , the composition comprises an organic salt of [ deme ][ tfsi ], an organic salt of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ], or a combination thereof . in yet other various embodiments , the composition comprises a mixture of [ deme ][ tfsi ] containing about 0 . 3 molal li [ tfsi ] to about 0 . 4 molal li [ tfsi ], a mixture of [ deme ][ tfsi ] containing about 0 . 35 molal li [ tfsi ], a mixture of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ] containing about 0 . 3 molal li [ tfsi ] to about 0 . 4 molal li [ tfsi ], or a mixture of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ] containing about 0 . 35 molal li [ tfsi ]. in additional embodiments , the self - diffusion coefficient of the lithium cation at least doubles , or at least triples relative to a corresponding composition that lacks the organic solvate . the self - diffusion coefficient of the lithium cation can increase by about 25 %, about 50 %, about 100 %, about 150 %, about 200 %, about 300 %, or about 500 %. the self - diffusion coefficient of the lithium cation can also increase by a multiplication factor of about 2 to about 1000 , 2 to about 500 , 2 to about 100 , or 2 to about 10 . in other embodiments , the self - diffusion coefficient of each ion in the composition is about the same as the self - diffusion coefficient of the organic solvate . in yet other embodiments , the diffusivity of each ion individually ranges from about 0 . 1 × 10 11 m 2 / s to about 5 × 10 11 m 2 / s , about 0 . 1 × 10 11 m 2 / s to about 3 × 10 11 m 2 / s , about 0 . 5 × 10 11 m 2 / s to about 2 . 5 × 10 11 m 2 / s , or about 1 × 10 11 m 2 / s to about 2 . 5 × 10 11 m 2 / s . other embodiments include a battery , or an electrochemical cell containing an electrolyte comprising the composition or the properties of all the various embodiments of this disclosure . in a second embodiment , an ionic composition comprises a ) an organic salt comprising n , n - diethyl - n - methyl - n -( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ deme ][ tfsi ]), n - methyl - n - propylpiperidinyl bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ pp13 ][ tfsi ]), or a combination thereof , c ) a glyme ( g ) selected from diglyme , triglyme , tetraglyme , or a combination thereof , wherein the stoichiometric ratio of the glyme ( g ) and the lithium cation ( m ) of the organometallic salt is about 50 ( g ): 50 ( m ), and concentration of li [ tfsi ] is in the range of about 0 . 3 molal to about 0 . 4 molal in a mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ deme ][ tfsi ], in a mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ pp13 ][ tfsi ], or in a mixture of li [ tfsi ], [ deme ][ tfsi ], and [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]. one of the embodiments includes a battery , or an electrochemical cell containing an electrolyte comprising this composition , or the composition of other embodiments . a third embodiment includes a method to increase the self - diffusion coefficient of ions in a composition . the method comprises adding an organic solvate to a binary - salt mixture of an organic salt having ionic liquid properties below 100 ° c ., and an organometallic salt to form an ion conducting composition , wherein the stoichiometric ratio of the organic solvate ( s ) and the metal cation ( m ) of the organometallic salt ranges from about 60 ( s ): 40 ( m ) to about 40 ( s ): 60 ( m ), and the concentration of the organometallic salt ranges from about 0 . 1 molal to about 1 molal in said mixture ; wherein , relative to the binary - salt mixture of the organic salt and the organometallic salt , the ion conducting composition has a ) an increased self - diffusion coefficient , b ) a higher conductivity , and c ) a lower viscosity , and the vapor pressure of the ion conducting composition is negligible . in various embodiments , the organic solvate is tetraglyme , the organic salt is n , n - diethyl - n - methyl - n -( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ deme ][ tfsi ]), or the organic salt is n - methyl - n - propylpiperidine ([ pp13 ][ tfsi ]), and the organometallic salt is lithium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ( li [ tfsi ]). in additional embodiments , the stoichiometric ratio of tetraglyme ( s ) and the lithium cation ( m ) in the composition is about 50 ( s ): 50 ( m ), and the concentration of li [ tfsi ] is in the range of about 0 . 3 molal to about 0 . 4 molal in the mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ deme ][ tfsi ], or the concentration of li [ tfsi ] is in the range of about 0 . 3 molal to about 0 . 4 molal in the mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]. in other embodiments , relative to the mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ deme ][ tfsi ], or relative to the mixture of li [ tfsi ] and [ pp13 ][ tfsi ], or relative to other organic ionic liquids , the self - diffusion coefficient of lithium increases in the composition . this disclosure describes lithium salts in an organic ionic liquid which have increased mobility when the lithium salt is combined with an organic solvate such as a glyme , wherein only a fraction of the amount of glyme in the total composition is used compared to a solvate ionic liquid , and that fraction being non - volatile because it is complexed with a metal ion . the advantages of using and ionic liquid with above said improvements when compared to molecular solvents are several - fold : 1 ) little to no vapor pressure below 100 ° c ., 2 ) can be formulated with many possible combinations of ionic liquids , 3 ) non - flammable behavior , 4 ) improved conductivity , and 5 ) high solubility of metal salts . in particular , the non - flammability , high conductivity , and dissolution of metal salts make these liquids an intriguing option for electrolytes in lithium batteries , which would enable lithium batteries of the future to be more safe than they are today . these advantages have led to acknowledgement of the potential for ionic liquids to provide a valuable alternative solvent option . many molecular solvents have high vapor pressures , leading to release of volatile organic compounds ( vocs ) which are harmful to the environment . voc emissions currently hinder large scale syntheses in industry , so ionic liquids are ‘ greener ’ solvents due to their low vapor pressures . ionic liquids are highly tunable ; both changing the ratio of cation to anion and using a different cation or anion can drastically change its properties . therefore , the properties of potentially any ionic liquid can benefit from a composition which includes the [ metal ion ][ glyme ] complex described in this disclosure . preferably , the ionic liquid has a melting point of no more than about 100 degrees celsius , a decomposition temperature of at least about 200 degrees celsius , a viscosity of less than about 1000 centipoise ( cp ), an ionic conductivity of at least about 0 . 01 ms / cm , and an electrochemical window of at least about 4 volts . the vapor pressure of an ionic liquid is preferably about of the order of 10 − 10 pa at 25 ° c . a negligible vapor pressure would be about 10 − 10 pa at 25 ° c . within 3 orders of magnitude , 2 orders or magnitude , or 1 order of magnitude . the ionic liquid can be any suitable electrochemically and thermally stable ionic liquid having a relatively low melting point , preferably less than about 100 ° c . and more preferably from about − 5 to about − 125 ° c . preferably , the ionic liquid has a relatively high thermo - decomposition temperature ( e . g ., remain substantially thermally stable at temperatures of about 400 ° c . or less ), a suitable hydrophobic to hydrophilic ratio such that it has the ability to substantially dissolve one or more lithium - ion containing salts , a low viscosity of preferably less than about 200 cp and even more preferably ranging from about 10 to about 150 cp , a relatively high ionic conductivity at about 25 ° c . of at least about 0 . 01 ms / cm , or from about 0 . 05 ms / cm to about 20 ms / cm , and wide electrochemical window of preferably at least about 2 volts , more preferably at least about 4 volts , and even more preferably at least about 5 to about 20 volts . the ionic liquid is a composition having at least one cation selected from the group consisting essentially of ammonium , imidazolium , pyrrolidinium , pyridinium , phosphonium , and sulfonium , and at least one anion selected from the group consisting essentially of alkylsulfate , tosylate , methanesulfonate , bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ tfsi ]), bis ( pentafluoroethylsulfonyl ) imide ([ beti ]), hexafluorophosphate , tetrafluoroborate , perchlorate , and halide . preferred cations are n - methyl - n - propylpiperidinium , n , n - dimethyl - n - ethyl ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium , and n , n - diethyl - n - methyl ( 2 - methoxyethyl ) ammonium . preferred anions are bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , bis ( pentafluoroethylsulfonyl ) imide , and perchlorate . ionic liquids include ethyldimethylpropylammonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , n , n - diethyl - n - methyl ( 2 - methoxyethylammonium bis ( trifluormethylsulfonyl ) imide , n , n - dimethyl - n - ethyl ( 2 - methoxyethylammonium bis ( trifluormethylsulfonyl ) imide , 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , tributylmethylammonium methyl sulfate , trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) amide , 1 - n - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , 1 , 2 , 3 - trimethylimidazolium methyl sulfate , triethylsulfonium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , and 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide . the lithium salt can be any lithium salt that can be solvated by glyme . lithium salts having substantial thermal stability and solubility in the ionic liquid are preferred . non - limiting examples of preferred lithium salts comprise ; lithium hexafluorophosphate , lithium chloride , lithium bromide , lithium hexafluoroarsenate , lithium perchlorate , lithium tetrafluoroborate , lithium bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) imide , lithium tris ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) methide , and lithium bis ( oxalato ) borate . the lithium salt concentration ranges from about 0 . 05m to about 5 m ( based on the molar concentration of the lithium salt ), or lithium salt concentrations ranges from about 0 . 1 m to about 2 . 5 m . ionic liquids ( ils ) have properties that make them useful in devices such as batteries and solar cells , and in applications such as catalysis , chemical separations , and solvents for synthesis and electrochemistry . ls can have a low melting point ( e . g ., less than 22 ° c . or less than 0 ° c .) and negligible vapor pressure . they also have excellent thermal and electrochemical stability . however , ils are typically more viscous than conventional solvents used in various synthetic and apparatus applications . the higher viscosity can pose problems for such methods and devices . certain combinations of cations and anions have reduced viscosity and increased diffusivity and various “ design rules ” are used to discover and evaluate ils with low viscosity . the design rules include that larger ions often lead to higher viscosity . several exceptions to the rules are discussed by sharma et al ., chem . eng . sci ., 2017 , 159 , 43 - 57 , at 43 - 44 . for example , when the cation 1 - n - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium ([ c 4 mim ]) is paired with the “ planar ” pyrrolide ([ pyl ]) anion , the dynamics are significantly higher than when the [ c 4 mim ] cation is paired with the [ tfsi ] anion , despite [ pyl ] being “ larger ” than [ tfsi ]. this situation may be the result of differences in the liquid phase packing structure of the two different ils . another possibility is that dynamics increase and viscosity decreases when interactions between the cation and anion are reduced . however , a reverse trend can also be observed with 1 - n - butyl - 2 , 3 - dimethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([ c 4 mmim ][ pf 6 ]), which has a higher viscosity than 1 - n - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([ c 4 mim ][ pf 6 ]). this situation may be a result of the entropy of the liquid phase . transport properties of ils become even more complex in chemical reactions . the dynamics of ils can be modulated by combining different cations and anions , or by mixing various different pairs of cations and anions . however , a more efficient method to obtain a lower viscosity can be to mix an il with a low viscosity additive , e . g ., an organic solvent . the addition of a low viscosity solvent , even in a small amount , can have a significant effect on the viscosity of the il / solvent mixture . the viscosity decrease is , however , unpredictable . a solvent with a lower viscosity does not always decrease the viscosity more than a solvent with higher viscosity . relevant factors affecting the resulting viscosity include the nature of both the solvent and the ions of the il . when combining a molecular solvent with an il , the finite vapor pressure of the diluent can compromise the extremely low volatility of the il . in some instances , this disadvantage can be overcome by mixing an il with a molecular solvent that has a very low volatility itself , such as a glyme . glymes are an oligoethers class of compounds of the general formula ch 3 o —( ch 2 ch 2 o ) n — ch 3 where n is 1 to about 10 , typically 2 - 5 , although larger for peg polymers . glymes have low volatility and are effective at dissociating salts because of the electron donating nature of their ether oxygen groups . glymes typically have high thermal and electrochemical stability . several groups have investigated mixing glymes with alkali metal salts for use as electrolytes in batteries . the alkali metal cation can coordinate with the oxygen atoms of the glyme , thereby lowering the melting point of the salt . these systems have improved transport properties but retain the useful properties of pure ils . these systems are referred to a new class of ils termed “ solvate ils ”. tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether ( tetraglyme , tg4 , or g4 ) is a useful example of one glyme that readily dissolves many salts and has a vapor pressure of only 0 . 132 kpa at 100 ° c . we are unaware of any studies that have investigated the properties of conventional imidazolium - based ils mixed with glymes . in one study of a model system with our collaborators ( sharma et al ., chem . eng . sci ., 2017 , 159 , 43 - 57 ), the density , viscosity and conductivity of [ c 6 mim ][ tfsi ] and its mixtures with tetraglyme were measured at different temperatures and concentrations . certain points that are raised in the sharma et al . reference are noteworthy in light of this disclosure . first , a decreases in the viscosity of [ c 6 mim ][ tfsi ] upon addition of tetraglyme does not follow an ideal mixing model . without experimentation , it is not possible to predict the extent of changes in viscosity when an ionic liquid is mixed with a glyme . furthermore , the solvation chemistry between a metal salt , an ionic liquid and a glyme in our composition adds to the complexity of the dynamics of mixing . as we observed , the viscosity of our binary - salt ionic liquid compositions either increased or decreased depending on the ratios of each component in the composition . the diffusivity of the ions in the composition are dependent on the viscosity of the composition ( fig1 ). our experiments showed that it is possible to formulate ( fig1 ) a binary - salt ionic liquid composition within a certain range of concentrations of the [ lithium - salt ][ glyme ] complex in an ionic liquid that has better diffusivity of ions ( fig7 and 12 ) than the ionic liquid alone , while maintaining low volatility ( fig1 ) even at temperatures exceeding that which are considered normal operating temperatures for many electrochemical devices . ionic liquids have drawn the attention of researchers due to their promising potential in various application areas , including electrolytes for energy storage . unfortunately , their relatively high viscosity compared to many molecular solvents has been a draw back . mixing ils with low viscosity molecular solvents is a potential solution to this problem and has been the focus of many studies in recent years . understanding how molecular solvents lower mixture viscosity and by how much is therefore an important issue . the following examples are intended to illustrate the above invention and should not be construed as to narrow its scope . one skilled in the art will readily recognize that the examples suggest many other ways in which the invention could be practiced . it should be understood that numerous variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the scope of the invention . preparation of 0 . 35 molal solution of lithium salt in an ionic liquid of [ tfsi ] containing 1 mole equivalent of glyme a . the weight of an organometallic salt corresponding 0 . 35 moles was added to a sufficient weight of an ionic liquid to make a binary - salt mixture with a total weight of 1 kilogram . the mixture was stirred to make a uniform mixture , then 1 mole equivalent of an organic solvate ( based on the moles of organometallic salt ) was added to the mixture with additional stirring , such that the ratio of the organometallic salt and the organic solvate is 1 : 1 , to form the electrolyte composition ( fig1 ). b . the weight of li [ tfsi ] corresponding 0 . 35 moles was added to a sufficient weight of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ] to make a binary - salt mixture with a total weight of 1 kilogram . the mixture was stirred to make a uniform mixture then , 0 . 35 mole of tetraglyme was added to the mixture with additional stirring to form the binary - salt ionic liquid composition . c . a mixture of 1 gram of 0 . 35 molal li [ tfsi ] ( mw = 287 . 08 ) in [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]( mw = 422 . 40 ) was prepared by adding 100 . 5 milligrams of li [ tfsi ] to 899 . 5 milligrams of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]. the mixture was stirred vigorously for about 24 hours at room temperature . then , 77 . 8 milligrams of tetraglyme ( 0 . 35 millimoles , 222 . 3 g / mol ) was added to the stirring mixture to form the binary - salt ionic liquid electrolyte composition ( having about 14 mole percent of the lithium - glyme complex ) of formula i . d . a mixture of 1 gram of 0 . 35 molal li [ tfsi ] ( mw = 287 . 08 ) in [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]( mw = 422 . 40 ) was prepared by adding 100 . 5 milligrams of li [ tfsi ] to 899 . 5 milligrams of [ pp13 ][ tfsi ]. the mixture was stirred vigorously for about 24 hours at room temperature . then , 62 . 4 milligrams of triglyme ( 0 . 35 millimoles , mw = 178 . 2 g / mol ) was added to the stirring mixture to form the binary - salt ionic liquid electrolyte composition ( having about 14 mole percent of the lithium - glyme complex ) of formula ii . e . a 0 . 35 molar solution of li [ tfsi ] in [ deme ][ tfsi ] was prepared by adding 0 . 35 moles of li [ tfsi ] in a volume of [ deme ][ tfsi ] sufficient to make 1 liter in total volume of the mixture . subsequently , 0 . 35 moles of tetraglyme was added to the mixture with stirring to form a homogeneous composition , as shown in scheme 1 . f . any one of procedures a , or b , or c , or d , or e can be used to prepare binary - salt ionic liquid compositions that start from various concentrations of organolithium salts in an ionic liquid , wherein the concentration can range from 0 . 01 molar to 2 . 5 molar organolithium , or the concentration can range from 0 . 01 molal to 2 . 5 molal organolithium . the final composition would be prepared to include 1 mole equivalent of a glyme . the properties of the described compositions and solvate ils are shown in table 1 . the above teachings demonstrate that an organic ionic liquid comprising a low fraction of glyme is sufficient to reduce viscosity of the organic ionic liquid . when the ionic liquid comprises both an organometallic salt and glyme in stoichiometric equivalent amounts , improved metal ion mobility ( and thereby better conductivity ) results due to solvation effects . the composition has the added benefit of reducing or eliminating glyme &# 39 ; s volatility . however , addition too much glyme can lead to unsafe high vapor pressures and may be averse to the electrolyte &# 39 ; s conductivity . while specific embodiments have been described above with reference to the disclosed embodiments and examples , such embodiments are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of the invention . changes and modifications can be made in accordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention in its broader aspects as defined in the following claims . all publications , patents , and patent documents are incorporated by reference herein , as though individually incorporated by reference . no limitations inconsistent with this disclosure are to be understood therefrom . the invention has been described with reference to various specific and preferred embodiments and techniques . however , it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention .
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the adjustable air inlet for clothing may be installed in various areas of various articles of clothing , including footwear , to enable the wearer of the clothing to adjust the airflow therethrough as desired . while the adjustable air inlet for clothing may be installed in practically any type of clothing as desired , it is particularly well suited for installation in heavy protective clothing worn when the wearer is exposed to a significant wind or airflow velocity , as in the case of a motorcyclist or the like . fig1 is an illustration of a motorcyclist wearing protective clothing c with a number of adjustable air inlets installed therein . the various adjustable air inlets comprise a shoulder inlet 100 , a forearm inlet 200 , a glove inlet 300 , a thigh inlet 400 , and a foot or boot inlet 500 . each of the inlets 100 through 500 is formed and constructed in much the same manner , but their relative sizes may be adjusted as desired to suit the location of the installation . other adjustable air inlets , not shown , may be installed in other areas of the clothing in addition to or in lieu of one or more of those inlets 100 through 500 illustrated in fig1 . fig2 provides an exploded perspective view of an exemplary adjustable air inlet 10 . the structure of the air inlet 10 may be used to form any of the air inlets 100 through 500 shown in fig1 or others similar thereto , the scale being adjusted according to the area of installation on the clothing c . the air inlet 10 comprises an inner flange 12 and an outer flange 14 that secure respectively to the inner and outer surfaces of an article of clothing c . a broken away portion of the clothing is shown in fig2 . the clothing c ( e . g ., jacket , pants , glove , boot or shoe , etc .) is modified by forming an air passage a therethrough . the inner and outer flanges 12 and 14 have respective air passages 16 and 18 formed therethrough that are substantially aligned with the air passage a through the article of clothing c to which the flanges 12 and 14 are attached . an air scoop 20 is installed across the air passage a of the clothing c . the scoop 20 is captured between the inner and outer flanges 12 and 14 . the scoop 20 has a tab 22 that is sewn or otherwise secured between the corresponding rearward ends 24 and 26 of the two flanges 12 and 14 , i . e ., the ends that are oriented downwind during normal use of the clothing c with its adjustable air inlet ( s ). the remaining periphery of the scoop 20 is loosely captured between the two flanges 12 and 14 and the periphery of the air passage a through the article of clothing c in order to allow the scoop 20 to flex for opening and closure , as described further below . the scoop 20 is preferably formed of a flexible and resilient , but not flaccid , sheet of material , such as a moderately thin sheet of plastic or the like . the material should have a flexibility on the order of that found in a conventional plastic lid typically provided for the closure of coffee cans and the like , i . e ., sufficiently rigid to hold its free shape , but sufficiently flexible as to allow flexure when moderate force is applied thereto to deform and retain the scoop 20 in other than an open position . the inner flange 12 includes a relief 28 formed along each lateral edge thereof to allow for lateral spreading of the scoop 20 when it is closed . the width of the air inlet passage a through the clothing c is formed to allow clearance for the spreading of the scoop 20 . the forward or leading edge or end 30 of the scoop 20 is normally arched or bowed upwardly , generally as shown in fig2 and as shown in broken lines in fig3 . the normally upwardly arched leading edge 30 and the forward or leading edge or end portion 32 of the outer flange 14 define an air inlet 34 therebetween , as shown in fig3 through 5 . as the forward end or edge 30 of the scoop 20 is pushed downward , i . e ., toward the forward portion 32 of the outer flange 14 , the two lateral edges of the scoop 20 spread laterally into the reliefs 28 of the inner flange 12 . the air passage a through the clothing c may be made sufficiently wide as to provide further clearance for the lateral spreading of the scoop 20 , the outer flange 14 retaining the lateral edges of the scoop 20 , whether spread or raised . the scoop 20 further includes laterally opposed forward extensions 36 that reside within forward extensions of the lateral reliefs 28 of the inner flange 12 . these forward extensions of the scoop 20 are free to move laterally in the two forward relief extensions formed in the forward portion 38 of the inner flange 12 . the forward portion 32 of the outer flange 14 is disposed over the forward extensions 36 of the scoop 20 to prevent the forward end or edge 30 of the scoop 20 from escaping its capture between the two flanges 12 and 14 . a latch mechanism is provided to hold the leading edge 30 of the scoop 20 closed as desired . the latch is shown particularly in fig3 . the latch 40 may comprise a flexible tab attached atop the forward portion 32 of the outer flange 14 , as shown in fig2 , or may merely comprise a rearward extension formed homogeneously with the forward portion 32 of the flexible ( e . g ., plastic , etc .) outer flange 14 . in any case , the latch includes a rearward extension 42 that extends slightly over or into the forwardmost portion of the air passage 18 of the outer flange 14 . this extension 42 is configured to interfere with the leading edge 30 of the air scoop 20 when the scoop 20 is flexed past the latch extension 42 , generally as shown in fig3 . the scoop 20 is normally open and its leading edge 30 is raised , generally as shown in broken lines in fig3 . the leading edge 30 of the scoop 20 is captured and secured by the latch extension 42 by pushing downward on the leading edge of the scoop , causing it to push past the latch extension 42 to be secured in its closed position as shown in solid lines in fig3 . the forward portions 32 and 38 of the two flexible flanges 12 and 14 , along with the portion of the clothing c captured therebetween , may be flexed forward and downward to cause the latch extension 42 to flex upward , thereby releasing the forward or leading edge 30 of the scoop 20 to its open position , as shown in broken lines in fig3 . this latch configuration provides for very rapid and easy opening and closing of the air scoop 20 using only one or two fingers on one hand . this rapid and easy manipulation of the latch and scoop are useful when riding a motorcycle or engaged in many other activities where wearing a suit equipped with the present adjustable air inlets may be required . fig4 provides a side elevation view in section illustrating an additional component that may be used with the adjustable air inlet 10 . a cooling insert 44 , also shown in fig2 , may be removably installed within the open scoop 20 . the cooling insert 44 comprises a block of material having a shape that closely approximates the interior volume of the open scoop 20 in order to maximize the volume of the insert 44 . the cooling insert 44 is preferably formed of a material having a relatively high specific heat in order that it may be chilled to absorb heat from the air passing therethrough . alternatively , the cooling insert 44 may be hollow , and may be filled with water ( or other freezable material ) and frozen prior to use to provide the desired cooling effect . the cooling insert includes several air channels or passages 46 therethrough to allow air to flow through the channels and contact a fair amount of surface area of the insert 44 to cool the air . the cooling insert 44 may be removably retained within the open scoop 20 by an upward lip 48 extending from the forward portion of the insert 44 . the lip 48 engages a cooperating channel 50 formed within the forward or leading edge 30 of the flexible scoop 20 , generally as shown in fig4 . fig5 illustrates an exemplary means for channeling the airflow from the adjustable air inlet 10 to other portions of the clothing c . fig5 illustrates a closed sleeve , leg , etc ., of an article of clothing c . a portion of the sleeve is broken away to show the interior of the sleeve . in the example of fig5 , a pair of elongate resilient members 52 , e . g ., foam , soft plastic , etc ., is installed along the inner surface of the clothing c from the rearward or trailing end of the air scoop 20 to extend to an area where cooling airflow is most desired , e . g ., the underarm , groin , etc . the two elongate members 52 are laterally spaced from one another to define an air duct 54 therebetween . the air duct 54 extends to the location of the distal ends of the two members 52 . returning to fig1 , a plurality of such air ducts 54 are shown in broken lines extending from their respective air inlets 100 through 500 to deliver cooling airflow to the underarm ( from the inlets 100 and 200 ), palm of the hand ( from the glove mounted inlet 300 ), crotch or groin ( from the thigh mounted inlet 400 ), and sole of the foot ( from the boot mounted inlet 500 ). it will be seen that other means of forming the air duct 54 may be provided in lieu of the two resilient members 52 , e . g ., gathering the inner liner material of the clothing c to form elongate ridges , etc . the adjustable air inlet 10 in its various embodiments may be provided as a separate kit of one or more inlets for the owner of the clothing c to install in various locations within the clothing c as desired , or may be installed at the time of manufacture of the clothing c for a consumer to purchase with the inlets already installed , as is done in the case of ventilated helmets and the like . it will be seen that the adjustable air inlets in their various embodiments may be provided with separate articles of clothing , e . g ., jackets , pants , gloves , etc ., or may be provided with one piece jumpsuit - like articles wherein the upper and lower portions of the clothing are assembled as a complete and inseparable assembly . in either case , the adjustable air inlets will provide a much appreciated means of delivering cooling airflow to various areas of the body for a person clothed in such protective clothing c . it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above , but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims .
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the following describes some preferred embodiments for methods of recovery to be applied in the ims after having detected a restart condition in a hss 1 . a first method to be preferably applied as receiving a registration from a given subscriber or an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber from another subscriber , and a second method to be preferably applied as receiving a service request from a given subscriber at a s - cscf 2 previously assigned for serving the given subscriber in the ims . in addition , the following also describes preferred embodiments of a hss 1 and a s - cscf 2 respectively adapted for carrying out the above first or second methods . moreover , since said first and second methods can be simultaneously combined to achieve the expected result as soon as possible , and depending on which of the following actions occurs first : the registration from a given subscriber , or the invitation to communicate with a given subscriber from another subscriber , or the reception of the service request from a given subscriber at the s - cscf previously assigned , the hss 1 and the s - cscf 2 may be thus arranged to include all structural elements for carrying out both first and second methods . in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention , fig4 and fig6 illustrate respective first and second embodiments of the first method of recovery to be applied in the ims after having detected a restart condition in a hss 1 holding subscriber data for subscribers of the ims , and as receiving a registration from a given subscriber or an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber from another subscriber . in particular , fig4 illustrates a first embodiment of this method exemplary applied as receiving an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber from another subscriber , though this first embodiment may also be applied as receiving a registration from a given subscriber . also in particular , fig6 illustrates a second embodiment of this method exemplary applied as receiving a registration from a given subscriber , though this second embodiment may also be applied as receiving an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber from another subscriber . this first method assumes that a first s - cscf 2 , hereinafter s - cscf - 1 , had previously been assigned in steps s - 001 or s - 050 , respectively shown in fig1 in fig2 , for serving a given subscriber ; and the method starts with preliminary first and second steps not shown in fig4 and fig6 for the sake of simplicity , namely with a first step of detecting a restart condition in the hss 1 , as illustrated by steps s - 005 in fig1 and s - 055 in fig2 , and with a second step of marking in the hss 1 all registered subscribers as ‘ suffering a restart ’, as illustrated by step s - 120 in fig3 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a memory module 13 for accessing subscriber data stored for each subscriber of the ims and a processor 10 arranged for detecting a restart condition in the hss and for marking in the memory module all registered subscribers as ‘ suffering restart ’. in particular , as already commented above and as illustrated in fig7 , the memory module 13 of the hss 1 may include a memory handler 130 for accessing subscriber data stored in an external database 131 for each subscriber of the ims . alternatively and as illustrated in fig9 , the memory module 13 may include an internal database 132 for storing subscriber data for each subscriber of the ims . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the s - cscf 2 previously assigned for serving the given subscriber includes a memory module 22 for storing subscriber data for subscribers currently served in the s - cscf . the subscriber data received from the hss 1 when previously assigning said s - cscf for serving the given subscriber . under the first embodiment illustrated in fig4 , an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber is received during a step s - 140 at an i - cscf 4 in accordance with currently existing ims procedures , and the i - cscf 4 queries the hss during a step s - 145 about a selectable s - cscf for serving the given subscriber . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a receiver 12 arranged for receiving a query about a selectable s - cscf for serving a given subscriber . the hss 1 receiving such query determines during a step s - 150 that the given subscriber is still marked as ‘ suffering restart ’ and assumes that this is the first action for the given subscriber where the recovery can be attempted . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for determining whether a given subscriber is marked in the hss as ‘ suffering restart ’. under this embodiment , the hss 1 triggers a query towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber . in those implementations where the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 is not lost but is not trusted , the hss may only query during a step s - 155 the s - cscf - 1 still marked as assigned for serving the given subscriber after detecting the restart condition . however , in implementations where the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 is lost , the hss queries every s - cscf 2 , 3 known to the hss during exemplary steps s - 155 and s - 160 . in a nowadays preferred embodiment , only the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 returns a positive response during a step s - 165 indicating to be currently serving the given subscriber . in other embodiments , all the other ims entities 3 , 5 , rather than ignoring the query , return a negative response during a step s - 185 to indicate they are not serving the given subscriber . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the sender 11 of the hss may be further arranged for querying relevant entities of the ims for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber . in particular , this sender may be arranged to only submit this query towards a s - cscf still marked as assigned for serving the given subscriber after detecting the restart condition . alternatively , the sender may be arranged to submit the query towards every s - cscf known to the hss . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the s - cscf 2 includes a receiver 21 arranged for receiving a query on whether the s - cscf is currently serving a given subscriber ; a processor 20 arranged for determining whether a given subscriber is currently served by the s - cscf ; and a sender 23 arranged for answering the query with a positive response where the processor 20 determines that the given subscriber is currently served by the s - cscf . in particular , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf may be arranged for receiving the query on whether the s - cscf is currently serving a given subscriber from the hss where the given subscriber belongs to . the hss 1 receiving the positive response from the s - cscf - 1 currently serving the given subscriber , assigns such s - cscf - 1 as presently serving the given subscriber during a step s - 175 , and clears the mark ‘ suffering restart ’ for the given subscriber during a step s - 180 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 is arranged for receiving a confirmation from the s - cscf currently serving a given subscriber , and the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for clearing the mark ‘ suffering restart ’ for a given subscriber and for assigning a s - cscf 2 for serving a given subscriber in the memory module 13 upon confirmation from said s - cscf . then , the hss 1 responds the original query from the i - cscf 4 with the presently assigned s - cscf - 1 for serving the given subscriber during a step s - 190 , and the i - cscf 4 selects such s - cscf - 1 for serving the given subscriber and forwards the invitation to communicate with the given subscriber during a step s - 195 . then , traditional ims procedures may go on for the given subscriber . in cases where no positive response is received in the hss , no assignable s - cscf is known to the hss and the original query from the i - cscf is answered with capabilities required for selecting a new s - cscf in accordance with conventional procedures . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a sender 11 arranged for submitting , as a response to the query , an identifier of the s - cscf 2 currently serving the given subscriber , or capabilities required for selecting a s - cscf . under the second embodiment illustrated in fig6 , a registration from a given subscriber is received during a step s - 240 at an i - cscf 4 in accordance with currently existing ims procedures , and the i - cscf 4 queries the hss 1 during a step s - 245 about a selectable s - cscf 2 for serving the given subscriber . as for the first embodiment , and as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a receiver 12 arranged for receiving a query about a selectable s - cscf for serving a given subscriber . as for the first embodiment , the hss 1 receiving such query determines during a step s - 250 that the given subscriber is still marked as ‘ suffering restart ’ and assumes that this is the first action for the given subscriber where the recovery can be attempted . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for determining whether a given subscriber is marked in the hss as ‘ suffering restart ’. under this second embodiment , however , the hss 1 responds the query from the i - cscf 4 with an indication of ‘ suffering restart ’ during a step s - 255 towards the i - cscf 4 , implicitly indicating that the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 for serving the given subscriber is lost or not trustable . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a sender 11 arranged for submitting , as a response to the query , an indication that the given subscriber is marked as ‘ suffering restart ’ along with an identifier of the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber , or with capabilities required for selecting a s - cscf for serving the given subscriber . then , under this second embodiment illustrated in fig6 for the first method , the i - cscf 4 triggers a query towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber . in those implementations where the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 is not lost in the hss 1 but is not trusted , the hss may return an identifier of the s - cscf - 1 along with the indication of ‘ suffering restart ’, so that the i - cscf 4 may only query during a step s - 260 the s - cscf - 1 still marked as assigned for serving the given subscriber and found to be not trustable . however , in implementations where the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 is lost in the hss and is thus not included in the response along with the indication of ‘ suffering restart ’, the i - cscf 4 queries every s - cscf 2 , 3 known to the i - cscf during exemplary steps s - 260 and s - 265 . in a nowadays preferred embodiment , only the previously assigned s - cscf - 1 returns a positive response during a step s - 275 indicating to be currently serving the given subscriber , whereas other s - cscf 3 simply ignore the query in step s - 270 . in other embodiments as the above first embodiment , other ims entities 3 , 5 , rather than ignoring the query , may return a negative response to indicate they are not serving the given subscriber . to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the s - cscf 2 includes a receiver 21 arranged for receiving a query on whether the s - cscf is currently serving a given subscriber ; a processor 20 arranged for determining whether a given subscriber is currently served by the s - cscf ; and a sender 23 arranged for answering the query with a positive response where the processor 20 determines that the given subscriber is currently served by the s - cscf . in particular , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf may be arranged for receiving the query on whether the s - cscf is currently serving a given subscriber from the i - cscf 4 responsible for routing a registration from the given subscriber or an invitation to communicate with the given subscriber . in embodiments where the i - cscf 4 is the entity triggering the query towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber , this first method may include a step s - 280 of registering the given subscriber towards the hss 1 from the s - cscf - 1 . alternatively and not shown in any drawing , the i - cscf 4 may confirm the selection of s - cscf - 1 for currently serving the given subscriber . to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 is further arranged for submitting a confirmation towards the hss 1 indicating that the s - cscf is currently serving the given subscriber . the hss 1 receiving the registration , namely a confirmation , from the s - cscf - 1 during a step s - 280 , or from the i - cscf 4 , clears the mark ‘ suffering restart ’ for the given subscriber during a step s - 290 , and assigns such s - cscf - 1 as presently serving the given subscriber during a step s - 295 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 is arranged for receiving a confirmation from the s - cscf 2 currently serving a given subscriber , or from an i - cscf 4 , and the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for clearing the mark ‘ suffering restart ’ for a given subscriber and for assigning a s - cscf 2 for serving a given subscriber in the memory module 13 upon confirmation from said s - cscf . then , the hss 1 acknowledges the s - cscf - 1 being assigned for serving the given subscriber during a step s - 300 , and traditional ims procedures may go on for the given subscriber . where the above first method is applied in combination with the second method detailed in the following , this first method may comprise steps s - 100 , s - 105 , s - 100 bis , s - 105 bis , s - 100 ter , s - 105 ter of alerting about the restart condition from the hss 1 towards relevant entities of the ims 2 , 3 , 5 known to the hss ; and steps s - 125 , s - 130 of marking all subscribers belonging to said hss 1 in each relevant entity receiving the alert as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, as illustrated in fig3 . in this case , the first and second embodiments of this first method , as respectively illustrated in fig4 and fig6 , include respective steps s - 170 and s - 285 of clearing the mark “ not confirmed in hss ” in the s - cscf 2 submitting the confirmation of being currently serving the given subscriber in steps s - 165 and s - 280 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the sender 11 in cooperation with the processor 10 of the hss 1 may be arranged for submitting a reset message to alert about the restart condition detected in the hss towards relevant entities 2 , 3 , 5 of the ims known to the hss . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for receiving the reset message from the hss 1 alerting about the restart condition detected in the hss ; and the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for marking in the memory module 22 all subscribers belonging to said hss as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, and for determining whether a given subscriber is marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ upon a query from any other ims entity 3 . moreover , the processor 20 of the s - cscf may be arranged for clearing the mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ for the given subscriber when the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 answers the query with a positive response . in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention , fig3 and fig5 illustrate an embodiment of the second method of recovery to be applied in the ims after having detected a restart condition in a hss 1 holding subscriber data for subscribers of the ims , and as receiving a service request from a given subscriber at a s - cscf 2 previously assigned for serving the given subscriber in the ims . this second method assumes that a first s - cscf 2 , hereinafter s - cscf - 1 , had previously been assigned in steps s - 001 or s - 050 , respectively shown in fig1 in fig2 , for serving a given subscriber ; and the method starts with a preliminary first step not shown in fig3 or fig5 for the sake of simplicity , namely with a first step of detecting a restart condition in the hss 1 , as illustrated by steps s - 005 in fig1 and s - 055 in fig2 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the hss 1 includes a memory module 13 for accessing subscriber data stored for each subscriber of the ims and a processor 10 arranged for detecting a restart condition in the hss . in particular , as already commented above and as illustrated in fig7 , the memory module 13 of the hss 1 may include a memory handler 130 for accessing subscriber data stored in an external database 131 for each subscriber of the ims . alternatively and as illustrated in fig9 , the memory module 13 may include an internal database 132 for storing subscriber data for each subscriber of the ims . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the s - cscf 2 previously assigned for serving the given subscriber includes a memory module 22 for storing subscriber data received from the hss 1 for subscribers currently served in the s - cscf 2 . after having detected the restart condition in hss , and as illustrated in fig3 , the hss alerts during steps s - 100 , s - 100 bis , s - 100 ter , s - 105 , s - 105 bis , s - 105 ter in this second method towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 about the hss restart . in particular , this step of alerting relevant ims entities may be carried out with a reset message submitted from the hss . each ims entity receiving such reset marks all subscribers belonging to said hss as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ to indicate that the hss might have lost some subscriber data during the restart or , at least , might not completely trust some dynamic data for its subscribers . to this end , the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for determining relevant ims entities to be alerted about the restart condition in hss , and the hss 1 includes a sender 11 arranged for submitting a reset message , alerting about the restart condition detected in the hss , towards those relevant ims entities as determined in the hss . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the s - cscf 2 includes a receiver 21 arranged for receiving the reset message from the hss alerting about the restart condition detected in the hss , and a processor 20 arranged for marking in the memory module 22 all subscribers belonging to said hss as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’. this second method continues , as illustrated in fig5 , when a message related to a given subscriber , who was already registered in the ims , is received at a s - cscf - 1 previously assigned for serving the given subscriber during a step s - 205 . the s - cscf - 1 determines during a step s - 210 that the given subscriber is marked in the s - cscf - 1 as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ and initiates a registration of the given subscriber towards the hss during a step s - 215 in order to confirm that the s - cscf - 1 is presently serving the given subscriber . to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 is arranged for receiving the message related to the given subscriber previously served by the s - cscf 2 , the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 is arranged for determining whether the given subscriber is marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, and the s - cscf - 2 includes a sender 23 arranged for registering the given subscriber towards the hss where the processor 20 determines that the given subscriber is marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’. in particular , where a session initiation protocol ( hereinafter sip ) is used for communication with the s - cscf , the above message related to a given subscriber might be a sip message , such as “ invite ”, “ update ”, “ subscribe ”, bye , etc , other than the one used for registration , namely “ register ”, or might be a sip response of a type such as 2xx , 3xx , 4xx , 5xx , etc . the hss receiving such registration , or confirmation , re - assigns the s - cscf - 1 as presently serving the given subscriber during a step s - 220 , and the s - cscf - 1 clears the mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ for the given subscriber during a step s - 235 . to this end , as illustrated in fig7 and fig9 , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 is arranged for receiving a registration , or confirmation , from the s - cscf 2 presently serving the given subscriber registered in the ims , and the processor 10 of the hss 1 is arranged for assigning the s - cscf 2 in the memory module 13 as presently serving the given subscriber when the receiver receives the registration from the s - cscf 2 . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 is arranged for clearing such mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ for a given subscriber . in particular , said message related to the given subscriber may be submitted during a step s - 200 towards the s - cscf - 1 from a p - cscf 6 where the given subscriber accesses the ims through , as illustrated in fig5 ; or may be originated from an originating subscriber addressing the given subscriber , and submitted from another s - cscf 3 , namely s - cscf - 2 , serving said originating subscriber , which is not shown in any drawing . to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 is arranged for receiving the message related to the given subscriber , previously served by the s - cscf and marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, from a p - cscf 6 where the given subscriber accesses the ims through . alternatively , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 is arranged for receiving the message related to the given subscriber , previously served by the s - cscf and marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, from a second s - cscf 3 serving an originating subscriber other than the given subscriber . where this second method is applied in combination with the above first method , the hss may mark all registered subscribers as ‘ suffering restart ’, during a step s - 120 as illustrated in fig3 , and after having detected the restart condition in the hss . in this case , such mark ‘ suffering restart ’ may be cleared in the hss for the given subscriber during a step s - 225 , as receiving a confirmation from the s - cscf - 1 in step s - 215 and marking said s - cscf - 1 as presently serving the given subscriber in step s - 220 . to this end , the processor 10 of the hss , illustrated in fig7 and 9 , may be arranged for marking in the memory module 13 all registered subscribers as ‘ suffering restart ’, and for clearing such mark for a given subscriber when the receiver 21 receives the registration from the s - cscf 2 presently serving the given subscriber . moreover , where this second method is applied in combination with the above first method , any step s - 140 or s - 240 in the first method of receiving at an i - cscf a registration from a given subscriber or an invitation to communicate with a given subscriber , might occur sooner than the step s - 205 in the second method of receiving a message related to a given subscriber at a s - cscf previously assigned for serving the given subscriber registered in the ims . in such a situation , this second method may further comprise a step of querying relevant entities of the ims for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber ; a step of receiving a positive response from the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber ; a step of assigning said s - cscf in the hss for serving the given subscriber ; a step of clearing the mark ‘ suffering restart ’ for the given subscriber in the hss ; and a step of selecting said s - cscf in the i - cscf for serving the given subscriber . in particular , the step of querying relevant entities of the ims for finding the s - cscf currently serving the given subscriber may be carried out from the hss upon receiving a query from the i - cscf about a selectable s - cscf for serving the given subscriber , or from the i - cscf upon receiving a response from the hss indicating a restart condition and , likely , an indication of not trusting , or having lost , data related to a previously assigned s - cscf . to this end , as illustrate in fig7 and fig9 , and in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 may be arranged for receiving a query from an i - cscf 4 asking for the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving the given subscriber ; the processor 10 of the hss 1 may be arranged for determining a corresponding query from the hss 1 towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 ; and the sender 11 of the hss 1 may be arranged for broadcasting the query towards every relevant ims entity known to the hss . moreover , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 may be further arranged for receiving a positive response from the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving the given subscriber ; the processor 10 of the hss 1 may be further arranged for assigning the s - cscf 2 as presently serving said given subscriber ; and the sender 11 of the hss 1 may be further arranged for submitting a response towards the i - cscf 4 indicating the s - cscf 2 presently serving said given subscriber . alternatively , and in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , the receiver 12 of the hss 1 may be arranged for receiving a query from an i - cscf 4 asking for the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving the given subscriber ; the processor 10 of the hss 1 may be arranged for determining a further query from the i - cscf 4 towards relevant ims entities 2 , 3 , 5 ; and the sender 11 of the hss 1 may be arranged for returning towards the i - cscf 4 an indication of broadcasting the query towards every s - cscf 2 , 3 known to the i - cscf 4 . also to this end , as illustrated in fig8 , and in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for receiving a query from an i - cscf 4 asking for the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving a given subscriber ; the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for determining that the given subscriber is marked ‘ not confirmed in hss ’; and the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for submitting a response indicating the s - cscf 2 is presently assigned for serving the given subscriber . moreover , the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for submitting a confirmation towards the hss 1 indicating that the s - cscf 2 is presently assigned for serving the given subscriber , and the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for clearing the mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ for the given subscriber . given that this query may be submitted towards the s - cscf 2 from the i - cscf 4 after said s - cscf 2 has already confirmed towards the hss 1 to be presently serving the given subscriber , such query may be received at a s - cscf 2 after having cleared the mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’; to this end , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for receiving a query from an i - cscf 4 asking for the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving a given subscriber ; the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for determining that the given subscriber is not marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’; and the sender 23 may be further arranged for ignoring the query or for submitting a negative response . alternatively , and in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for receiving a query from the hss 1 asking for the s - cscf presently assigned for serving a given subscriber ; the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for determining that the given subscriber is marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’, and for clearing such mark for the given subscriber ; and the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 may be arranged for submitting a response towards the hss 1 indicating that the s - cscf 2 is presently assigned for serving the given subscriber . as for previous embodiment , and given that this query may be submitted towards the s - cscf 2 from the hss 1 after said s - cscf 2 has already confirmed towards the hss 1 to be presently serving the given subscriber , such query may be received after having cleared the mark ‘ not confirmed in hss ’ at a s - cscf 2 ; to this end , the receiver 21 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for receiving a query from the hss 1 asking for the s - cscf 2 presently assigned for serving a given subscriber ; the processor 20 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for determining that the given subscriber is not marked as ‘ not confirmed in hss ’; and the sender 23 of the s - cscf 2 may be further arranged for ignoring the query or for submitting a negative response . the invention also provides for a computer program , loadable into an internal memory of a computer with input and output units as well as with a processing unit , the computer program comprising executable software adapted to carry out method steps as described above for both first and second methods , alone or in combination , when running in the computer , and wherein the executable software may be recorded in a carrier readable in a computer . the invention is described above in respect of several embodiments in an illustrative and non - restrictive manner . obviously , variations , and combinations of these embodiments are possible in light of the above teachings , and any modification of the embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims is intended to be included therein .
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details are shown in fig1 a , 1b , 2 , and 3 . this invention is to provide a tool that can be combined with a reinforced concrete structure as shown to permit a small tree , shrub and climbing plants to be planted in the reinforced concrete structure . the tool ( 22 ) includes a cylinder ( 1 ) formed by a plastic hollow shell arranged to be filled with soil and to retain water , nutrition and air for use in the plant &# 39 ; s growth . there is a groove ( 5 ) on the internal wall of cylinder ( 1 ) ( fig2 ) which serves to provide a capillary function for soil water inside the cylinder to enhance the growth of a plant &# 39 ; s root . a high - density sponge ( 9 ) is placed inside the t - shape base mount ( 2 ) to retain water and prevent lost soil . stored permeating water provides water for the plant to grow for a long time . at the top of the t - shape base mount is a regulating hole ( 13 ) at a suitable position which connects the l - shape water level adjustment tube ( 8 ) to adjust the water level of the high density sponge inside the t - shape base mount . the cylinder ( 1 ) has a regulating hole for permeating water ( 131 ) at a suitable position , which connects the t - shape connecting tube ( 18 ). the top of connecting tube ( 18 ) is joined to the snake - shape tube ( 7 ) to conduct the air and permeating water and also condense the water evaporated from soil . the bottom of the t - shape connecting tube ( 18 ) joins an l - shape sand - releasing opening ( 171 ). the snake - shape tube ( 7 ) joins a funnel to increase the permeating surface to collect more permeating water . the air pipe regulating hole ( 132 ) is linked to an l - shape air pipe ( 16 ), which is especially for conducting air to increase the air capacity of soil . the cover plate ( 3 ) reduces the evaporation of soil water . there is a planting opening on the cover plate to plant a green plant . the l - shape planting curb tube ( 15 ) is especially for the use of a climbing plant during wall planting , while the cover ( 3 ) can change the direction of a planting opening ( 4 ) so the planting opening and wall will face downward . the fixed frame ( 10 ) in this invention is fixed around the cylinder ( 1 ) with an iron ring . it also increases the area and strengthens the combining integrity of the reinforced concrete structure . a u - shape iron is welded with the top of two fixed frames ( 10 ) to form an anchor ( 11 ). these two horizontally welded anchor ( 11 ) and the handle ( 12 ) can be carried and fixed easily on the steel rods inside the reinforced concrete structure , so the cylinder ( 1 ) will not float or be moved by buoyancy during the pouring of concrete . moreover , it increases the strength of the whole reinforced concrete structure . referring to fig4 a , 4b , and 4c for details , the invention is based on the need for reinforced concrete structure greening and planting , taking into account the characteristics of plant growth . therefore , it can bring the function of plant advantage fully into play under different conditions . fig4 a illustrates the technique of planting greenery on a wall in this invention . the technique of wall planting and greening is to have 5 - 10 tools joined to an l - shape planting tube as a group and placed at an angle of between 10 °- 15 °, inside the structural steel rods , along a horizontal line with # 32 iron wire so that it can be connected horizontally . the horizontal line on the vertical steel rods of the reinforced concrete structure are marked with a black chalk line , and the structural steel rod is surrounded with the hollow plastic tube , and then the tool and t - shape base mount , along with the horizontal line , are connected . afterwards , the hollow plastic tube is secured inside the structural steel rods at certain points with a # 32 iron wire to the t - shape base mount . tube wrapper ( 19 ) seals both ends of the hollow plastic tube . then , the cylinder ( 1 ) is settled on the fixed frame ( 10 ), and the anchor ( 11 ) and handle ( 12 ) tied firmly at certain points on the structural steel rods with # 32 iron wire . the module is braced in the planting direction to form a board ( in the same way as an electric switch is installed on a house wall ). funnel ( 6 ) is connected to the snake - shape tube and extended to the pinnacle . the opening of funnel ( 61 ) is at the same level with the structural pinnacle , and is blocked up by a stopper . the funnel tube is tied to the structural steel rods with # 32 iron wire . the l - shape sand - releasing tube ( 17 ), l - shape water level regulating hole ( 13 ), and air pipe regulating hole ( 132 ) are connected correspondingly to the l - shape water level adjusting tube ( 8 ) and l - shape air pipe ( 16 ), and are tied firmly on the structural steel rods with # 32 iron wire , and then the opening of water adjustment ( 81 ) is joined to the plastic tube to the air pipe opening ( 161 ). the sand - releasing opening ( 171 ) is blocked with a stopper and the planting opening is also blocked in the same direction with a screw stopper . the module board is braced until the reinforced concrete structure is formed to shape and after finishing . all miscellaneous objects surrounding the planting opening are cleaned and the stopper around the planting opening is removed so that water can be poured into two - thirds of the cylinder . the soil is mixed with 20 % limestone ( the porosity of synthesized rocks is generally higher than that of common natural rocks ), and 15 % organic fertilizers are added to form guest soil . then , water is added and mixed well until sticky to prevent limestone and organic fertilizers from floating in the water , or distributing unevenly , and to increase the soil aperture . the well - mixed guest soil from the l - shape planing opening is filled until it is 15 cm in height , and 3 - 5 enhanced chemical - based fertilizers ( such as tree - like fertilizers ) are added . fill in guest soil continuously . the filled guest soil will become abundant and well stacked by gravity force . therefore , the soil water capacity inside the cylinder can be saturated and provide enough nutrition for long time growth of plants . afterwards , the pinnacle at the opening of funnel ( 61 ) and the water level adjustment ( 81 ) at the bottom are opened , and the stopper at the opening ( 161 ) of air pipe ( 16 ) is removed . under atmospheric pressure , air enters the planting cylinder and drains the gravitational water which is not suitable for plant growth from the opening of the water adjustment , and the useful capillary water remains . soil air inside the cylinder can be increased , and soil water capacity inside the cylinder can be saturated . the high - density sponge ( 9 ) inside the t - shape base mount is at this point full of water , as are the hollow horizontally and mutually trough plastic tubes . the tube inside forms an underground water supplied system , which provides water and nutrition for the plant to grow inside the reinforced concrete structure for a long time . then , climbing plants are transplanted to the planting openings ( 4 ). climbing plants include plants with air roots such as parthenocissus tricuspidata , ficus pumila var pumila , and ficus pumila var awkeotsang , or jelly bean seeds , which can grow climbing aerial roots to adhere to the wall because of the growth characteristic of climbing stem and adhering roots , and which can also absorb water and nutrition from air . its root grows with an angle of 10 °- 15 ° downward . by coordinating with this invention , it takes the actual effectiveness of wall planting and greening into full play . fig4 b shows the technique of stand greening and planting in this invention , and fig4 c applies the stand greening and planting in this invention as follows . take the 5 - 10 tools as a group . put it into the structural steel rod vertically according to the designed points . then , mark a horizontal line on the vertical steel rod of the reinforced concrete structure with a black chalk line , and surround the structural steel rod with the hollow plastic tube , and then join the tool , t - shape base mount , along the horizontal line . afterwards , tie the hollow plastic tube inside the structural steel rods at certain points along the horizontal line with # 32 iron wire so that it can be mutually secured to the t - shape base mount . then , position cylinder ( 1 ) on the fixed frame ( 10 ), and tie the anchor ( 11 ) and handle ( 12 ) firmly at certain points on structural steel rods with # 32 iron wire . planting opening ( 4 ) is blocked by a stopper so that it will be at the same level with the pinnacle of the reinforced concrete structure . the snake - shape tube ( 7 ), which is connected to funnel ( 6 ), is pulled and extended toward a point that is 30 cm apart from both sides of one planting opening . funnel ( 61 ) is at the same level with planting opening ( 4 ). block the planting opening ( 4 ) and opening of funnel ( 61 ) and tie firmly around the structural steel rods with # 32 iron wire . l - shape sand - releasing tube ( 17 ) and regulating hold of l - shape water level adjustment ( 13 ), and the regulating hole of air pip ( 132 ), are connected to l - shape water level adjustment tube ( 8 ) and l - shape air pipe ( 16 ) correspondingly , and tied with # 32 iron wire firmly on the structural steel rods . then join the opening of water adjustment ( 81 ) on the plastic tube to the air pipe opening ( 161 ). block the sand - releasing opening ( 171 ) with a screw stopper . brace the module board until the reinforced concrete structure is formed to shape and after finishing . clean all miscellaneous objects surrounding the planting opening . remove the stopper on the planting opening and pour in water to two - thirds the height of the cylinder . mix soil with 20 % limestone ( the porosity of synthesized rocks is generally higher than that of common natural rocks ) and 15 % organic fertilizers to form guest soil . add water and mix well until sticky , to prevent limestone and organic fertilizers from floating in the water , or distributing unevenly , and to increase the soil aperture . fill the well - mixed guest soil from the planting curb opening until 15 cm in height , then add 3 - 5 enhanced chemical - based fertilizers ( such as tree - like fertilizers ). the filled guest soil will become abundant and well - stacked by gravity force . therefore , the soil water capacity inside the cylinder can be saturated and provide enough nutrition for long time growth of the plant . afterwards , open the pinnacle at the opening of funnel ( 61 ) and opening of water level adjustment ( 81 ) at the bottom and remove the stopper at the opening ( 161 ) of air pipe ( 16 ). under atmospheric pressure , air enters the planting cylinder and drains the gravitational water which is not suitable for plant growth from the opening of the water adjustment , and the useful capillary water remains . air in soil inside the cylinder can be increased , and soil water capacity inside the cylinder can reach saturation . the high density sponge ( 9 ) inside the t - shape base mount ( 2 ) is full of water , as are the hollow horizontal plastic tubes . the tube inside forms an underground water supplied system to provide water and nutrition for the plant to grow inside the reinforced concrete structure for a long time . then the small trees and shrubs are transplanted to planting opening ( 4 ). fig5 a and 5b , and tables 1 and 2 , show details of the result of change of soil water capacity inside the tool after long time testing of this invention . fig5 a shows the change in soil water during the stand greening and planting . fig5 b shows the change in soil water capacity during wall greening and planting . tables 1 and 2 show the actual testing figures for soil water capacity inside this invention tool corresponding to fig5 a and 5b with the percentage as basis . the method is as follows : for original soil weight -- take the soil weight after drying ( 100 °- 105 ° c . constant temperature for 25 hours ), and measure the weight of water lost . then , weight of water lost ÷ weight of dry soil × 100 . from apr . 1 , 1995 to apr . 1 , 1996 , a hole was opened at 15 , 30 , and 60 cm on the tool with a teaspoon to get about 50 grams of soil as a sample for 15 days . the soil water was measured at intervals . l1 shows the testing results of sample soil at 15 cm height . l2 shows the testing results of sample soil at 30 cm height . l3 shows the testing results of sample soil at 60 cm height . although a preferred technique of wall greening and planting , and a preferred tool and technique of stand greening and planting , have been described in detail , the application and scope of the invention is not to be limited thereby . many changes and modifications in the above - described embodiment of the invention can , of course , be carried out without departing from the scope thereof . accordingly , to promote the progress in science and the useful arts , the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . table 1______________________________________l1 l2 l3______________________________________43 . 2 44 45 . 539 . 3 43 . 2 45 . 542 . 8 43 . 6 45 . 540 43 45 . 543 . 2 44 . 1 45 . 544 . 5 46 . 3 48 . 545 . 2 47 . 2 49 . 543 . 1 44 . 5 4641 . 2 43 . 5 45 . 541 43 . 5 45 . 544 . 5 46 . 1 48 . 339 . 8 43 . 6 45 . 536 . 2 42 . 3 45 . 236 . 5 43 45 . 244 . 5 46 48 . 536 42 . 3 45 . 532 . 4 41 . 5 4533 . 5 42 . 1 4530 . 2 41 . i 4533 . 4 42 4529 . 2 38 . 5 44 . 543 44 . 5 45 . 541 . 3 44 . 5 45 . 544 . 7 46 . 5 48 . 344 45 . 1 47 . 5______________________________________ table 2______________________________________l1 l2 l3______________________________________43 . 5 44 . 1 46 . 239 . 6 43 . 5 46 . 242 . 8 43 . 6 46 . 340 . 3 43 . 5 46 . 243 . 5 44 . 2 46 . 244 . 8 46 . 5 48 . 545 . 2 47 49 . 643 . 3 44 . 7 4741 . 5 44 46 . 241 . 1 43 . 7 46 . 244 . 7 46 . 5 48 . 540 43 . 6 46 . 237 42 . 8 46 . 237 . 2 42 . 8 46 . 244 . 5 46 . 2 48 . 536 . 5 43 46 . 233 . 1 42 . 5 46 . 133 . 5 42 . 5 46 . 231 . 1 42 . 3 4633 42 . 5 4629 . 7 39 . 4 45 . 343 . 5 44 . 2 46 . 241 . 7 44 . 5 46 . 244 . 7 46 . 6 48 . 544 . 2 46 . 6 48 . 4______________________________________
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before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applications to the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments . also , the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . 1 . bath fan and heater with light cover having adjustable louvers and / or depressible engageable fasteners and depressible release 10 . light cover / grill lens ( light cover / lid / door )( opaque allows light to pass through ) 20 . grill 25 . fixed vents 300 . grill lens connecting block chip ( depressible engageable and releasable fastener ) 40 . shutter ( 5 )( adjustable louvers ) 50 . bulb ( 60 watt candelabra bulb ) 60 . light box ( aluminum ) 65 . socket 70 . shutter adjust bracket 80 . heat element housing side plate ( 2 ) ( galvanized steel ) 90 . heat element housing front plate ( galvanized steel ) 92 . top with vents 94 . angled bottom 96 . attachment tabs 100 . ceramic heating element 110 . heat element housing rear plate ( galvanized steel ) 120 . iron impeller ( galvanized steel ) 130 . iron impeller housing side plate 140 . motor for heating element 150 . iron impeller housing 152 . motor side of housing 160 . bath fan motor 170 . motor seat 180 . blower / impeller 190 . blower / impeller housing 192 . exhaust air output channel 194 . side air inlet opening 196 . footer ( s ) 200 . main housing 210 . wiring box cover 220 . wiring box 230 . outlet 240 . damper 250 . suspension brackets 260 . suspension brackets 300 . grill lens connecting block chip ( depressible engageable and releasable fastener ) 310 . inside part with bendable prong arms 312 . bendable prong arms 313 . side slot 314 . side walls 316 . bottom 317 . indentation in bottom 318 . riding tab stop 320 . outside box 322 . top end with enlarged edges 324 . side walls 326 . hook of outside box 327 . spring fixture 328 . longitudinal slot 330 . pothook ( l shape ) 332 . side extending protrusions on vertical leg 334 . horizontal leg 340 . internal spring 400 . male prong with enlarged head 410 . shaft 420 . enlarged head 500 . bath fan grill cover with opposite fixed vents 510 . inside cavity for light source 550 . hinge attachment for lens cover 600 . lens cover 650 . hinge attachment for grill cover 700 . bath fan grill cover with four fixed vents 710 . inside cavity for light fixture 750 . hinge attachment for lens cover 800 . lens cover fig1 is a lower side perspective view of the assembled ventilation and heater fan 1 with light cover 10 having adjustable louvers 40 and depressible engageable fasteners and depressible release . fig2 is another lower side perspective of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig1 . fig3 is a side partial cross - sectional view of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig2 . fig4 is a top view of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig1 . fig5 is a lower view of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig1 with light cover 10 removed . fig6 is a lower perspective view of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig5 with grill cover 20 and light cover 10 having been removed . fig7 is an exploded view of the housing 200 , grill cover 20 , light cover 10 and separated blower 180 and motor 160 and separate heater components 100 - 150 of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of fig1 . fig8 is another exploded view of the housing 200 and grill cover 20 with the assembled blower 180 and motor 160 and heater components 100 - 150 of fig7 . referring to fig1 - 8 , the main housing 200 of the bath fan and heater invention 1 , can be a generally box shape having closed sides , closed bottom , and open top ( which is covered by the grill cover 200 ). the invention 1 can include both heater components 80 - 150 and air blower components 160 - 190 . the heater components 80 - 150 ( fig3 , 6 - 8 ) can include two opposite facing heating element side plates 80 ( one is shown for clarity ), and a front plate 90 with upper bent top having vents 92 and angled bottom 94 and side attachment tabs 86 having through - holes for allowing the front plate 90 to be attached to side flanges of heat element rear plate 110 , by fasteners , such as screws , bolts , rivets , and the like . both the front plate 90 and the rear plate 110 can be formed from metal , such as but not limited to galvanized steel and the like . inside the front plate 90 and rear plate 110 can be a heating element 100 such as a ceramic heating element . a metal heater blower / impeller 120 , such as an iron impeller , can have a blower wheel configuration with circumferential side blades . an electrical motor 140 , such as a capacitor motor which can be completely enclosed to prevent moisture from entering into the motor , and effectively allowing the motor to last longer over time . motor 140 can have a rotational axis that attaches to a mid portion of the blower wheel 120 , to rotate the blower wheel 120 . the blower 120 can be held in place by the motor 140 to be held within a blower housing 150 , such as an iron housing , having a generally cylindrical shape with a side exhaust opening for moving air therefrom . an impeller side plate 130 having an opening therethrough which along with the motor 140 function as end plates for the open sides of blower housing 150 . side plate 130 can have a footer 132 , with together with the bottom of housing 150 can be attached to the floor of housing 200 by fasteners , such as screws , bolts , rivets , and the like . side flanges on the motor 140 can attach to edges around an opening in sidewall 152 ( which can function as a motor seat ) of the blower housing 150 , by fasteners , such as screws , bolts , rivets , and the like . the ceramic heating element 100 and bath fan can each have their separate motors 140 , 160 and blower wheels 120 , 180 . they are even separated from each other inside the bath fan housing 200 so that air can be exhausted outside by the bath fan through outlet 230 with adjustable damper 240 , while the heater side blows the warmer air into the room through angle adjustable shutters 40 . the adjustable louvers 40 should be adjusted away from the bath fan side to prevent the warmer air being exhausted out . referring to fig3 , and 6 - 8 , the air blower components 160 - 190 , can include an electrical bath fan motor 160 , such as a capacitor motor which can be completely enclosed to prevent moisture from entering into the motor , and effectively allowing the motor to last longer over time . fan motor 160 can have side flanges that are attached by fasteners ( such as those previously described ) to edges along a through - hole in a motor seat plate 170 . a rotatable axle on motor 160 can attach to a central portion of the blower wheel 180 to rotate the blower wheel 180 . motor seat 170 can have side flanges that can attach to edges along an open side of the blower housing 190 by fasteners ( such as those previously described ). air can be pulled into the blower housing 190 by open side 194 , and is blown out exhaust opening 192 . footers 196 on the bottom of blower housing 190 can attach the blower housing to the floor of the main housing 200 by fasteners ( such as those previously described ). components labeled 190 are plastic enclosures that completely surround the blower wheel 180 . the enclosures helps guide the air in a controlled path to prevent excess noise and provide maximum performance to exhaust or heat the air . air is trapped once it enters the blower wheel 180 and guided to the outlet 192 of the blower housing and outlet 230 of the housing 200 without any corners for the air to be stuck . power for the motors 140 , 160 and light 50 can be wired to wire box 220 by a line , such as a white plastic bi - pin molex cable from each of the motors 140 , 160 and light compartment 60 that plugs into the wiring box 220 with wiring box cover . referring to fig1 - 3 and 5 - 8 , external household electrical power can be supplied to the bath fan and heater housing embodiment 1 through a side opening 222 in a side wall of the wiring box 220 . the top opening and front opening of the wiring box 220 can be covered with an l - shaped wiring box cover 210 having tabs which connect the cover 210 to sidewalls of the wiring box by fasteners ( such as those previously described ). conventional wires can be inside the junction box 210 and can be wired to a house power supply . standard positive / negative wires for each light , heater , each motor is inside and can be wired to the house . male plugs , such as bi - pin molex can plug into the receptacles which is behind the junction box 220 . the wires inside the junction box 220 can be connected to these receptacles and can be wired to the house . the invention can use electrical connections used in other bath fan inventions , by the assignee including , but not limited to those shown and described in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 219 , 236 filed aug . 26 , 2011 , and copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 168 , 112 filed jun . 24 , 2011 , both of which are incorporated by reference . referring to fig7 - 8 , the housing 200 is mounted by extension brackets 250 , 260 that are fixably attached directly to the outer side of the housing . each extension bracket is two pieces , with one fixed to an outside wall of the housing , and the second part has an l shaped end , where the second part telescopes in and out relative to the fixed part of the bracket . the l shaped end can attach to joists and other structural supports in a ceiling in which the housing 200 is mounted . alternatively , other types of mount brackets can be used , such as bent flap ears . the invention can use telescoping brackets and ear type bent flange brackets similar to those in other inventions by the assignee including , but not limited to those shown and described in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 219 , 236 filed aug . 26 , 2011 , and copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 168 , 112 filed jun . 24 , 2011 , both of which are incorporated by reference . fig9 a , 9b , 9c , 9d , 9e and 9f are enlarged cross - sectional views of the novel depressibly engageable and depressibly releasable fasteners used for the light cover 10 of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of the preceding figures . referring to fig1 , 5 , 7 , 8 and 9a - 9f , when the light cover / door / lid 10 is to be closed , a user presses down so that male prongs from the underside of the cover / door / lid 10 is inserted into female sockets along a rim edge in the opening of the grill 20 . inside of the sockets are springs . once inserted the male prong becomes locked and hooked in place so that the cover / door / lid 10 is closed over the opening in the grill 20 . to open the cover / door / lid 1 , a user can press again against the cover / door / lid 10 pushing the male prong deeper into the female sockets which then causes the male prongs to be become ejected by springs inside the bases of the female sockets , and allowing the cover / door / lid 10 to become open . once open , the bulb 5 is reachable to be changed when needed , such as when the bulb has become burned out . the exhaust ventilator fan 180 pulls air through the adjustable louvers into the housing 200 and exhausts the air through the side outlet 230 of the housing 200 . the heater uses the same grill inlet to pull air into the housing 200 , where the air from the room ( space underneath the mounted bath fan ) is pulled in and heated . the heated air is pushed back into the space through a different set of adjustable louvers 40 . the adjustable louvers 40 on the grill 20 for the heater outlet are pointed away from the grill louvers 25 on the air intake in order to make the system more proficient . although the vents / louvers 25 on the air intake side are earlier described as fixed , the invention can use also use adjustable louvers on the air intake side as well . referring to fig3 - 8 , the ventilation fan and heater 1 is mounted to a ceiling , c , so that the grill cover 20 is generally flush against the ceiling with the housing 200 behind the ceiling . incoming air , i can be pulled into fixed vents 24 in the grill cover by the blower 180 , where some air is exhausted out , e , through outlet 230 , controlled by damper 240 . other incoming air is pulled in the direction of heater components by blower 120 , where it is heated by the heating components , and blown back into the space below the ventilation fan and heater 1 , by adjustable louvers 40 . referring to fig3 - 5 and 7 , a generally v shaped aluminum type light box 60 can be mounted in a middle compartment of the grill cover 20 , and can have a socket 65 mounted to one end , and a light source 60 such as a 60 watt candelabra bulb , mounted therein . the light source can be powered by electrical lines running into the wiring box 220 . the invention can use electrical connections used in other bath fan inventions , by the assignee including , but not limited to those shown and described in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 219 , 236 filed aug . 26 , 2011 , and copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 168 , 112 filed jun . 24 , 2011 , both of which are incorporated by reference . into one side edge of the rim of the light box 60 can be a depressibly engageable and depressibly releaseable fastener . a downwardly protruding prong 400 allows the light cover 10 to be easily attachable and fully removable from covering the light source 50 in the light box 60 , the operation of which is described in greater detail in reference to fig9 a - 9d and 10a - 10f . fig9 a is an exploded front view of the depressibly engageable and depressibly releasable receptacle fastener 300 used for the light cover 10 of the ventilation and heater fan 1 of the preceding figures . fig9 b is an exploded back view of the depressibly engageable and depressibly releasable receptacle fastener 300 of fig9 a . fig9 c is an exploded side view of the depressibly engageable and depressibly releasable receptacle fastener 300 of fig9 a . fig9 d is a top assembled view of the of the depressibly engageable and depressibly releasable receptacle fastener 300 of fig9 a . referring to fig9 a - 9d , the receptacle fastener 300 can include an inside part inside part 310 with bendable prong arms 312 . the inside part 310 can have side walls 314 , bottom 316 with an indentation 317 . protruding out of a side wall 314 of the internal part 310 can be a protrusion 318 . the side walls 314 of the inside part 310 can fit into an open top end 322 of an outside box 320 . along one side wall ( s ) 324 of the outside box 320 can be a longitudinal slot 328 which restricts the inner part 310 to an upper position , and to a lower position relative to the box 320 . a hook 326 is located on the outside of the box 320 , and a spring fixture 327 is on a lower corner of the box 320 . a spring 340 can have an upper end into the indentation 317 on the bottom of the inside part 310 . an l shaped pot hook 330 can have protrusions 332 on a vertical leg , and a horizontal leg 334 that can fit into a slot opening 313 in the side of the inner part 310 , where the inner part 310 can ride up and down in the outside box 320 by the protrusions 332 moving up and down in longitudinal slot 328 . to attach the light cover 10 , to the grill cover 20 , the unhinged end of the outside of the light cover 10 is first pushed toward the grill cover 20 , so that the prong ( s ) 400 are first pushed ( or depressed ) into the bendable arms 312 . this causes the bendable arms 312 to catch the enlarged prong head 420 while the arms 312 are being pushed into the upper end 322 of the box 320 which partially compresses spring 340 . once the inner part 310 is inside the box 320 , the inner part 310 is latched in place . to release the light cover 10 , the opposite side of the light cover 10 is pushed toward the housing 100 , this causes the inner part 310 to push down again on spring 340 , which then releases the latching of the inner part 310 . the expanding spring 340 causes the inner part 310 to be pushed to a raised position , with the bendable arms 312 outside the upper end 322 of the box 320 , where the arms 312 expand from one another releasing the enlarged prong head ( s ) 420 , and the light cover 10 is then free to pivot open ( relative to a hinged end ) to allow access to change out the light sources inside of the grill cover 20 . fig1 a - 10d show the steps to lock the prong 400 to the receptacle fastener 300 . fig1 a shows a prong 400 used under the lens cover 20 about to be attached to the assembled receptacle fastener 300 of fig9 d . the prong 400 can have a shaft 410 and an enlarged head 420 . the bendable arms 312 can have lower ends attached to top edges of the inner part 310 and have upper inwardly protruding hook ends fig1 b shows the prong 400 being inserted into the receptacle fastener 300 of fig1 a , where the enlarged head 420 starts to expand the upper hook ends of bendable prongs 312 until the upper hook ends hook about the enlarged head 420 of the prong 400 . fig1 c shows the prong 400 locking into the receptacle fastener 300 of fig1 b , where the hooked prong head 420 is continued to be pushed into the box 320 so that the spring 340 under the inner part 320 starts to compress inside of the box 320 . fig1 d shows the prong 400 locked into the receptacle fastener 300 of fig1 c . here , the prong arms 312 are wrapped about the head 420 so that the entire head 420 and substantially most of the arms 312 are inside the upper open end of the box 320 . at this point the light cover 10 is fully attached to grill cover 20 . fig1 e - 10f show the steps to release a light cover 10 from the grill cover 20 fig1 e shows the prong 400 being pushed down again to start the release of the prong 400 . by pushing down the prong 400 , the inner spring 340 compresses again . fig1 f shows the prong 400 being pushed out of the receptacle 300 of fig1 e by the spring 340 pushing up against the bottom of inside part 310 . fig1 is a top view of another grill cover 500 having a lens cover 600 using the depressible engageable fasteners and depressible releases 300 , 400 of the preceding figures . fig1 is a perspective view of the lens cover 600 separated from the grill cover 500 . fig1 is a side view of the lens cover 600 separated from the grill cover 500 of fig1 . fig1 is another side view of the lens cover 600 separated from the grill cover 500 of fig1 . fig1 is a top view of the grill cover 500 of fig1 without the lens cover 600 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of the lens cover 600 attached to the grill cover 500 of fig1 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of the lens cover 600 of fig1 . referring to fig1 - 17 , the lens cover 600 can be attached to the grill cover 500 using the prongs 400 underneath the lens cover 600 which are depressibly engaged with the receptacle fasteners 300 inside the light cavity 510 of the grill cover 500 . one end of the lens cover 600 can have a pair of downwardly protruding prongs 400 , which the opposite end can have hinge components 650 which allow the lens cover to be pivotally attached to mateable hinge components 550 inside the light cavity 510 of the grill cover . the prongs 400 with depressibly engageable and depressibly releaseable fasteners 300 function similar to those described in the previous figures . the prongs 400 with depressibly engageable and depressibly releaseable fasteners 300 , allow for users to easily change out light bulbs when the bath fan has been mounted in a ceiling , without having to unscrew fasteners , such as screws , bolts , and the like , which are popular with prior art held lens covers . fig1 shows the top view of another bath fan grill cover 700 without the lens cover 800 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of the grill cover 700 of fig1 with attached lens cover 800 . fig2 . is a cross - sectional view of the grill cover 700 of fig1 . fig2 is an end view of the lens cover 800 of fig1 . referring to fig1 - 21 , the grill cover 700 can include a light cavity 71 — for supporting bulbs and the like , therein . the cavity 710 can have a pair of depressibly engageable and depressibly releaseable fasteners 300 on one end , and hinge component ( s ) 750 on an opposite end . the lens cover 800 can attach to and cover the cavity 710 by using a pair of downwardly protruding prongs 400 on one lower end , and hinge components on an opposite lower end which operate and function similarly to the previously described embodiments . the exhaust ventilation fan and the heater can be run separately from one another , by having one turned on and the other turned off . additionally , the light can be turned on separately from the ventilation fan and the heater . additionally , both the exhaust ventilation fan and heater can be run together as desired so that air is continuously circulated out of a space and the rest of the air being heated and recirculated back into the space . the bath fan can be hardwired to the house and activated by one or two switches on a wall inside of the space underneath the bath fan . although the preferred embodiment covers 70 cfm applications , the invention can be used with other levels , such as but not limited to less than or equal to 50 cfm , 60 cfm , 80 cfm , 90 cfm or greater . while the invention has been described , disclosed , illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice , the scope of the invention is not intended to be , nor should it be deemed to be , limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended .
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referring now more particularly to the drawing , like numerals indicate like parts of structural features in the various figures . portion 10 of an optical disk shows a track having a track centerline 15 with recorded optically - sensible spots 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 . the spots 11 - 14 can be either magnetooptically sensed on a magnetooptic medium , intensity - modulation sensed , such as in an ablative medium , or in a phase - changed medium , for example . the recorded spots 11 - 14 are on a planar surface of portion 10 ; i . e ., no grooves are shown in this particular embodiment , it being understood that either planar or grooved optical medium may be employed . further , the principles involved may also be used with magnetic recording of some types . the recording signal 16 is used to record the spots 11 - 14 representing the transition data 17 , wherein the binary one represents a transition in a transition position , while a binary zero represents the absence of a transition in a transition position along track 15 . it is to be understood that the information recorded in marks 11 - 14 is derived from the durations of the pulses in the recording signal 16 ; i . e , the space between successive transitions to provide a pulse - width modulated signal . the principle to the present invention can also be applied to pulse - position modulation , wherein each of the positive peak positions presented by the data 17 indicate unique information , as known , for pulse - position modulation . the sensing of the recorded information on portion 10 results in a read signal 18 . because of the imbalance in the recorded waveform ; i . e ., the two successive long one - half wavelengths , represented by spots 11 and 12 , shifts the readback signal dc baseline 19 . according to the present invention , the shifting of the dc baseline 19 is accommodated at each of the transition positions represented by binary one in data 17 . fig2 illustrates a prior art technique for amplitude - detecting a readback signal 18 , even with a shifted dc baseline 19 . it is to be understood that noise is introduced into the readback channel and the possibility of missing data or getting erroneous data is relatively high . generally , these systems are designed for low density recording respectively . noise caused by high frequency boost can introduce errors in the data detection process . this shifting is often referred to as jitter such as represented by brackets 33 which indicate ranges of unintended transition position changes caused by noise represented by hash marks 34 on signal 30 . in accordance with one aspect of the prior art , the read signal , r , is differentiated ( dr / dt ) to reproduce a differentiated signal 25 having a constant baseline 26 . the differentiated signal 25 is again differentiated to obtain signal 30 ( dr &# 39 ;/ dt ) having a baseline 31 . the zero axis crossings of signal 30 are used to time the detection of the peaks in signal 25 for producing a shape - detected data output signal 32 . the false zero crossings of signal 30 have to be eliminated , such as by sensing the low - amplitude portion of signal 25 . fig3 shows a set of signal waveforms illustrating a principle of deriving a detection - tracking amplitude threshold from amplitude samples , such as , peak amplitudes of the readback signal 18 . effectively , the detection process produces a positive signal envelope 40 and a negative signal envelope 41 , each envelope is related to the respective positive and negative peak amplitude values of readback signal 18 . detection threshold 42 tracks the dc imbalance shifting of baseline 19 by averaging the values of envelope signals 40 and 41 , which shift with the dc baseline . additionally , read signal 18 is differentiated to produce differentiated signal 25 . the zero axis or baseline crossing of read signal 18 are timed coincident with the peak amplitudes differentiated signal 25 . when the peak amplitudes of differentiated signal 25 , which is a positive - peak exceeding threshold 45 , and a negative - peak exceeding threshold 46 , output pulses 43 and 44 are generated . these pulses gate current sources 67 and 83 during positive and negative pulse durations of the differentiated signal 25 for discharging the storage capacitors 69 and 84 , respectively . these capacitors respectively store the positive and negative signal peak values received from detectors 65 and 80 , respectively . each capacitor discharge occurs immediately before the next ensuing peak is to be detected . this discharge enables tracking lower peak values ( more faithfully indicate amplitudes of small amplitude signal peaks ); otherwise the storage capacitors 69 and 84 could continue to store a prior higher amplitude peak value . the detected nrzi signal 32 is generated by detecting signal 18 crossing baseline 42 . the value of the dc baseline or detection - tracking baseline 42 is held between the zero axis crossings of read signal 18 . at each zero axis crossing of read signal 18 , the baseline is again measured and the detection threshold adjusted . this amplitude derived dc baseline 42 , therefore , rapidly tracks read signal 18 baseline shifting since there is a full adjustment at each of the zero axis crossings of read signal 18 . this adjustment occurs twice for each full cycle of read signal 18 . for example , in fig3 the first baseline adjustment curves at 42a of the comparison at the peak amplitudes of read signals 41b and 40b . the second adjustment , at 42b , shows an upward shift , as viewed in fig3 of the detection - threshold tracking level 42 . this adjustment is caused by measuring the amplitude difference between peaks 40b and 41b . the adjustment at 42a - 1 , which is minor , is achieved by positive peak detector 65 acquiring positive peak 40b . this adjustment procedure is repeated throughout the signal processing of readback signal 18 . negative peaks 41a , 41b and 41c are tracked in this manner by the negative peak detector 80 . in accordance with the invention , zero axis crossings of read signal 18 , and a detection threshold which tracks the baseline 42 , can be generated by averaging the peaks 40 and 41 . averaging circuit consists of positive envelope buffer 68 , resistor 72 , negative envelope buffer 81 , resistor 85 and averaging capacitor 73 . in a first embodiment , the transition immediately following the baseline measurement is used . in a second embodiment , the transition intermediate to adjacent peak amplitudes used to generate a corrected baseline - detection threshold is used . it should be noted that the detection of the data and the adjustment of the baseline is highly dynamic , such that the detection threshold 42 , or adjusted baseline , quickly follows the shifts and amplitude values of the readback signal . fig4 shows a set of signal waveforms usable to describe fig6 wherein the tracking threshold follows the shifting baseline based upon transition sampling . this system is just as dynamic as that described for fig3 and currently is a preferred embodiment of the invention . in this system , readback signal 18 is analyzed to produce a tracking threshold 50 , which shifts with baseline shifting . a set of amplitude thresholds 52 and 53 provide for peak detection of differentiated signal 25 to identify the zero axis crossings of read signal 18 . these values are adjusted at each zero axis crossing of readback signal 18 . numerals 54 and 55 , respectively , represent samples of falling and rising transitions in signal 18 which are sampled and averaged to derive the detection threshold . after sampling and averaging the respective denture , it is stored by a sample and hold circuit , later described , which holds the level of the derived tracking threshold 50 . signal 57 is a unipolar set of signals corresponding to the sampling aperture of positive and negative transitions of differentiated signal 25 . the nrzi readback data signal 32 is generated by detecting signal 18 crossing the threshold 50 . fig6 and 7 illustrate a detection circuit which uses the fig4 technique of data detection which has dynamic baseline shift accommodation . referring next to fig5 an optical disk 60 , which portion 10 is a part of , is sensed in the usual manner using a laser ( not shown ) with focusable and movable lens 61 and optics 62 . relative focusing and positioning of optic lens 61 with respect to optical disk 60 is well known and not described for that reason . optics 62 can either be those optics used for magnetooptic signal detection , phase - change signal detection , and the like . a read signal detector 63 suitable for all the recording systems detects the recorded data and supplies signal 18 to read amplifier 64 which supplies an amplified version to the illustrated detection circuits . the positive envelope signal 40 is generated by the circuits including the positive peak detector 65 , which supplies its positive - peak detected signal to operational amplifier 68 . capacitor 69 holds the detected peak value until the next transition is detected . when the next transition is detected , differentiator 66 generates signal 25 from readback signal 18 , and supplies it to gated current source 67 . when the signal 25 exceeds the positive threshold 45 , gated current source 67 responds to the positive peak of differentiated signal 25 to rapidly discharge capacitor 69 . after the storage capacitor 69 is partially discharged , the positive peak detector 65 charges capacitor 69 rapidly to the new peak value , such as at 40b of fig3 . that sensed value is then held until the next positive zero axis crossing occurs . operational amplifier 68 supplies the sampled and held values stored in capacitor 69 to a resistive averaging circuit , including resistors 72 and 85 , and smoothing capacitor 73 . the value held by smoothing capacitor 73 is the average value representing the detection tracking signal 42 . the negative peak envelope 41 is generated by the circuits , including negative peak detector 80 , which supplies its value to operational amplifier 81 and storage capacitor 84 . capacitor 84 holds the value of the negative peak to the input of operational amplifier 81 in same manner as described for the positive peaks , but until the next negative transition of read signal 18 is detected . that is , the signal is held until signal 25 has a negative peak amplitude lower than the amplitude threshold 46 . again , differentiator 82 differentiates signal 18 and supplies the differentiated signal to gated current source 83 . gated current source 83 responds to the signal 25 exceeding the negative threshold 46 to rapidly discharge the capacitor 84 . after the storage capacitor 84 is partially discharged , negative peak detector 80 quickly charges capacitor 84 for reestablishing the negative envelope value 41 at the just - detected negative peak value of read signal 18 . operational amplifier 81 supplies the signal 41 through resistor 85 to capacitor 73 . resistors 72 and 85 have an equal impedance and , therefore , find a median value between the two successively - detected positive and negative peaks for generating signal 42 . the data detection is achieved by three elements of fig5 . compare circuit receives signal 18 over line 75 for comparison with signal 42 . the nrzi signal from this comparison is supplied to analog circuit and 86 , which is actuated to produce a train of pulses on line 88 , representing the nrzi data output , which is shown in fig3 as signal 32 . gaps gate 87 enables and 86 only when data signals are being sensed , to pass digital signal 32 from comparator 74 to line 88 . positive and negative peaks of the signal 25 , respectively , exceeding the positive and negative thresholds 45 and 46 generate the pulses 43 and 44 . pulses 43 and 44 are used to develop a gap gating function 87 . gaps gate 87 responds to the signal 25 supplied by differentiator 82 to indicate when a true data signal is being received . many recordings have gaps or areas of no signal between recorded blocks of signals . gap gate 87 detects such gaps and signal blocks in a known manner , such as by envelope detection , by integration , and the like . gap gate 87 gates detected signal 32 out of comparator through and gate 86 . fig6 illustrates a circuit for implementing the transition - position detection aspect of the invention . operational amplifier 64 supplies the amplified readback signal 18 over line 91 to compare circuit 90 . readback signal 18 is also supplied to sample and hold circuit s & amp ; h 92 , which is triggered to sample the signal as described for fig4 . in this regard , differentiator 94 creates signal 25 , which is compared with the amplitude thresholds 52 and 53 to activate sample gate 95 for both the positive and negative amplitude excursions of signal 25 beyond the thresholds 52 and 53 . two successive integrations of the sample and held amplitudes 54 and 55 are supplied into integration capacitor 93 to supply the signal 50 to compare circuit 90 . note that the signal integration , in capacitor 93 , is a time - amplitude integration to provide an indication of the transitions . capacitor 93 is sufficiently large that detection threshold 50 shifts less dynamically than threshold 42 . results of the comparison 90 , between the read signal 18 and the threshold 50 , results in nrzi pulses 32 . fig7 shows a circuit which detects zero axis crossings of signal 18 . line 75 carries the operational amplifier 64 signal to differentiator 100 which generates signal 25 ( fig4 ). signal 25 goes to a pair of peak - amplitude comparison detectors 101 and 102 . comparator 101 has a reference value supplied by potentiometer 103 and generates a voltage threshold 52 . comparator 101 , supplying a constant amplitude signal to or gate 105 to be sampled , held and averaged in circuit 110 . similarly , for the negative excursion of differentiated signal 25 , potentiometer 104 supplies voltage threshold 53 , which is supplied to the reference input of switching comparator 102 . whenever signal 25 exceeds threshold 53 , a gate signal is supplied to or circuit 105 to be passed to sample average and hold circuit 110 . it should be noted that these gating pulses are of the same duration and same amplitude ; therefore , these signals are representative of the readback transition positions , as opposed to the peak amplitudes used with the fig5 - illustrated embodiment . fig8 illustrates a preferred construction of the sample average and hold circuit , a known arrangement . the line 113 signal is supplied as one input to the switching amplifier 120 . the peak indicating signal on line 106 , supplied by 0r circuit 105 , turns on charge pump 120 on to sample the amplitude of the signal 18 and compare it with the current value of the detection - threshold signal 50 on line 112 . the amplitude difference detected by circuit 120 between the input value and the current reference value adjusts the stored voltage in capacitor 121 during the duration of the peak indicating pulses ( 57 ). stored values continue to be supplied to operational amplifier 122 , which supplies the tracking detection threshold signal 50 on line 112 . the fig8 illustrated circuits may replace s & amp ; h 92 and capacitor 93 of fig6 . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to 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 .
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a more detailed description of the device of the invention will now be provided with reference to the accompanying drawing figures . referring first to fig1 the intravenous catheter and tubing stabilization device of the invention , generally indicated by reference numeral 10 , is used to anchor and stabilize a catheter 12 , with catheter hub assembly 14 and tubing coupler 16 , and to retain tubing 18 associated therewith . tubing 18 may be connected to a source of infusion fluid ( not shown ), or may be connected to a fluid receiver ( not shown ) for use when fluid is being withdrawn from a patient . alternatively , device 10 may be used to anchor and protect a catheter 12 without tubing 18 attached thereto , a configuration sometimes used to provide an entry site for intravenous infusion of medication or other fluids . with further reference to the drawing figures , catheter and tubing stabilization device 10 includes a base 20 depicted in fig2 and 3 , and a cover 22 , depicted in fig4 and 5 . base 20 comprises an elongate plate of generally spade - like configuration , having a wide portion 24 and a narrow elongate portion 26 integrally interconnected at one end to one edge of portion 24 with a smoothly curving intersection , and with the longitudinal axis of portion 26 in alignment with the longitudinal axis of portion 24 . the side and rear edges of portion 24 define a smooth convex curvature to eliminate sharp corners which might cause injury to the skin of a patient with whom device 10 is to be used . base 20 further includes a first u - shaped wall 28 disposed on portion 24 in perpendicular relation thereto , and a second u - shaped wall 30 similarly disposed on portion 24 of base 20 in such relation to wall 28 to define arcuate slot 32 between said walls to receive tubing 18 therein . the curvature of walls 28 and 30 substantially matches the curvature of the edges of portion 24 . the distance between wall 28 and wall 30 through slot 32 should be substantially equal to the cross - sectional diameter of tubing 18 so that tubing 18 will be frictionally retained in slot 32 without constricting the flow of fluid through such tubing . wall 28 is of greater length than wall 30 and , in the preferred embodiment depicted in the drawing figures , extends to the edge of portion 24 of base 20 . wall 28 preferably includes opposed notches 34 extending into its inner surface near the edge of portion 24 , to receive tubing coupler 16 therein for anchoring the catheter assembly in relation to the limb of the patient . the parts of wall 28 extending beyond the ends of wall 30 toward the edge of portion 24 are not connected to portion 24 of base 20 , and wall 28 should be constructed of a slightly flexible but shape retentive material to allow those parts of wall 28 to be deformed from their rest position with imposition of force thereon , but return to such rest position upon removal of such force . base 20 additionally includes locking ears 36 interconnected to the outer surface of wall 28 in perpendicular relation thereto , in opposed relationship across the longitudinal axis of base 20 . locking ears 36 are of the same height as wall 28 and extend outwardly therefrom beyond the respective edges of portion 24 a short distance , and each is disposed on the outer surface of wall 28 between its respective end and the position of each of notches 34 in the inner surface of wall 28 . locking tabs 38 are disposed between locking ears 36 and the ends of wall 28 , in the corners formed at the intersection of ears 36 and wall 28 , and are interconnected between ears 36 and wall 28 . locking tabs 38 are of essentially cubical configuration with an edge dimension approximately equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of side wall 48 of cover 22 . base 20 still further includes connector block 40 disposed on the end of the narrow rectangular portion 26 of base 20 opposite its interconnection to portion 24 and interconnected thereto such that connector block 40 extends from the surface of base 20 in the same direction as walls 28 and 30 . connector block 40 comprises a solid block of generally rectangular cross - section having a tab 42 extending outwardly therefrom toward the end of portion 26 of base 20 opposite the interconnection of portion 26 and portion 24 . base 20 also includes patient attachment means 44 which , in the preferred embodiment , comprises a pair of wide adhesive strips interconnected to base 20 at opposite ends thereof with the longitudinal axes of such strips mutually perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of base 20 . the one of patient attachment means 44 disposed at the end of portion 26 of base 20 is of sufficient width to overlie the entry site of catheter 12 during use of device 10 to aid in anchoring catheter 12 and protecting its entry site against contamination . base 20 is preferably molded as a one piece construction from a hard , smooth surfaced plastic material capable of being suitably sterilized for medical use . portion 26 of base 20 is preferably slightly flexible perpendicular to the plane of base 20 , to facilitate positioning of base 20 on a limb of a patient adjacent to a catheter inserted therein , and the parts of wall 28 free from interconnection to portion 24 of base 20 must be sufficiently flexible to allow bending away from their rest positions while sufficiently shape retentive to return to their rest positions upon removal of the bending force . cover 22 of device 10 , depicted in fig4 and fig5 is of substantially the same length as base 20 and of substantially the same width as wide rectangular portion 24 of base 20 . cover 22 comprises an elongate top 46 with a side wall 48 extending continuously around both sides and one end of top 46 and interconnected thereto in perpendicular relationship . the other end of top 46 , and thus of cover 22 , is open to allow passage of tubing 18 to the interior of device 10 . side wall 48 is preferably integrally interconnected to top 46 with a smoothly rounded intersection between side wall 48 and top 46 to prevent snagging of tubing 18 and injury to the patient to which the device is attached . the end of top 46 interconnected to side wall 48 is of convex curvature matching the curvature of wall 28 of base 20 . top 46 of cover 22 includes elongate depression 50 formed therein with its longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of cover 22 , and further includes dome 52 formed therein with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of cover 22 . depression 50 is disposed in cover 22 such that depression 50 is centered over portion 26 of base 20 with cover 22 placed on base 20 . dome 52 is positioned in cover 22 adjacent to one end of depression 50 such that dome 52 will overlie that part of portion 26 of base 20 immediately adjacent to the interconnection of portions 24 and 26 of base 20 . dome 52 is slightly longer along its longitudinal axis than the width of top 46 and extends outward beyond the line of the edge of top 46 on both sides thereof in the preferred embodiment . side wall 48 includes bulges 54 under the extension of dome 52 beyond the edges of top 46 . depression 50 , dome 52 , and bulges 54 are provided for the purpose of accomodating and retaining catheter hub assembly 14 . base 20 and cover 22 of device 10 are symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of device 10 to allow device 10 to be used with catheter 12 on either side of the device . cover 22 further includes connector means for forming a releaseable interconnection between cover 22 and base 20 . such connector means comprise connector plate 56 interconnected to the edge of top 46 at the open end of cover 22 , centered between the ends of wall 48 and extending from top 46 in the same direction as wall 48 , and locking slots 58 disposed in side wall 48 between bulges 54 and the curved end of cover 22 in opposed relationship across the longitudinal axis of cover 22 . connector plate 56 includes aperture 60 extending from the inner face of plate 56 into the interior thereof toward the open end of cover 22 , to receive tab 42 of base 20 . each of locking slots 58 comprises an l - shaped aperture extending through side wall 48 , disposed therein such that the first leg of the l extends upward from the bottom edge of side wall 48 toward top 46 and the second leg of the l extends perpendicular to the first leg toward the open end of cover 22 . locking slots 58 are disposed in cover 22 so as to overlie locking ears 36 and locking tabs 38 when cover 22 is placed over base 20 . cover 22 is preferably formed as a one piece molded construction of a rigid , smooth surfaced plastic material capable of being suitably sterilized for medical use . all external contours of cover 22 should be smooth and rounded to prevent snagging of tubing 18 and to prevent patient injury . in the preferred embodiment , cover 22 is transparent to allow inspection of the catheter components and tubing and of the catheter entry site without the necessity of removing cover 22 from base 20 , but cover 22 and base 20 may be translucent or colored if desired without departing from the scope of the invention . device 10 is designed to be provided to users as an individually packaged sterile , disposable unit . in use of device 10 to stabilize and retain an intravenous catheter and its tubing in conjunction with the intravenous infusion of fluid to or removal of fluid from a patient , a needle bearing catheter , such as illustrated by reference numeral 12 , is inserted through the skin of the patient and into an underlying vein , the needle is withdrawn and catheter hub assembly 14 and intravenous tubing 18 are connected to catheter 12 . base 20 of device 10 is placed on the skin of the patient adjacent to catheter 12 , with portion 26 of base 20 alongside catheter 12 and with tubing coupler 14 resting upon portion 24 of base 20 and received in one of notches 34 of wall 28 . base 20 is then attached to the patient by , in the preferred embodiment , adhering adhesive strips 44 to the skin of the patient with one of said strips lying over the entry site of catheter 12 through the skin of the patient . tubing 18 is inserted into slot 32 between walls 28 and 30 of base 20 and is drawn toward the opposite end of base 20 along the edge of portion 26 opposite catheter 12 . cover 22 is then interconnected to base 20 by first placing aperture 60 of connector plate 56 over tab 42 of connector block 40 and pressing cover 22 onto base 20 such that locking ears 36 are received in locking slots 58 . as cover 22 is pressed onto base 20 the pressure of the bottom edge of side wall 48 against locking tabs 38 forces the ends of wall 28 to bend toward the interior of device 10 , allowing cover 22 to be brought into full contact with base 20 , whereupon locking tabs 38 slide into locking slot 58 as the ends of wall 28 return to their rest position , firmly locking cover 22 in place upon base 20 . in addition , as cover 22 is pressed onto base 20 , the inner surface of side wall 48 along its curvature is brought into contact with the outer surface of a portion of wall 28 of base 20 , aiding the frictional retention of cover 22 upon base 20 . as cover 22 is brought into full interconnection with base 20 , dome 52 and one of bulges 54 in side wall 48 enclose and gently retain catheter hub assembly 14 relative to device 10 , thus retaining catheter 12 in proper alignment with its entry site . the placement of tubing coupler 16 within notch 34 in wall 28 restrains longitudinal movement of catheter hub assembly 14 and thus of catheter 12 connected thereto . visual inspection of catheter 12 , hub assembly 14 , and tubing 18 , as well as visual inspection of the catheter entry site , can be readily performed without removal of the transparent cover 22 and without any discomfort to the patient . direct access to catheter 12 , hub assembly 14 , and tubing 18 is achieved by pressing inward on the ends of locking ears 36 which extend outwardly beyond side wall 48 of cover 22 to release locking tabs 38 from slots 58 , and lifting cover 22 away from base 20 , eliminating the painful and time consuming process of removing and replacing strips of adhesive tape . the foregoing detailed description of a specific embodiment of the device of the invention is illustrative and not for purposes of limitation , and it will be understood that various modifications and adaptations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
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referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 and 2 thereof , there is shown a spacer 1 of a fuel assembly of a boiling water reactor that is composed of inner webs 2 which are plugged into one another in crosswise fashion , and outer webs 3 surrounding the inner webs 2 in the form of a frame . the inner and outer webs 2 , 3 enclose cells 4 of which at least some are penetrated in the mounted state by a fuel rod 5 in each case . projecting from an inner side 6 of the outer webs 3 are clamping springs 7 that are loaded by the fuel rods 5 approximately in a radial direction . slots 8 are present in the outer webs 3 . extending into the slots are the inner webs 2 , which do so with fixing sections 2 a projecting from their lateral end edges , and are welded to the outer web 3 from the outer side thereof . swirl vanes 9 are disposed at the outer edge of the outer web 3 , and deflector vanes 10 are disposed at the lower edge . the first serve the purpose chiefly of turbulently mixing the coolant flowing through a fuel element from bottom to top , and of guiding it to a surface of the fuel rods , while the latter serve as a threading aid when introducing a fuel element bundle into a fuel assembly channel 21 . there is the risk in the region of the two - phase flow of a boiling water fuel element that parts of the surface of the fuel rods are not adequately supplied with water so that so - called “ film boiling ” occurs there . in this case , a cooling water film is evaporated from the surface without local formation of steam bubbles . the consequence is that the heat produced by the fuel rods is not dissipated or is dissipated unsatisfactorily . in order to counteract this effect , a number of guide devices 11 are present on the outer webs 3 . the devices 11 respectively contain a flow opening 12 and guide element 13 that is assigned to the latter and projects from the inner side of the outer web 3 and cooperates with the flow opening in the manner of a venturi tube . the guide element 13 disposed on the inner side 6 of the outer web 3 effects a constriction of the flow cross section of a flow channel 14 formed by the surface of the fuel rod 5 , the inner web 2 and the outer web 3 . a subatmospheric pressure is produced in the region of the constriction by comparison with the coolant flowing outside the outer web 3 , specifically in the flow channel 15 enclosed by and the fuel assembly channel 21 and the outer webs 3 . consequently , coolant is sucked out of the flow channel 15 into the flow channel 14 via the flow opening 12 ( see arrow 29 in fig3 b ). the cooling potential of this coolant fraction can then be used to cool the fuel rods 5 . the guide elements 13 are flow vanes that are integrally formed on the inner side 6 of the outer webs 3 and enclose with the flat plane of the outer web 3 an acute angle α ( fig3 b ) opening in a longitudinal direction of a fuel rod or in the flow direction 16 . in the exemplary embodiments illustrated in fig1 to 7 , the guide element 13 is a flow vane that is formed by a deep - drawn wall region 18 of the outer web 3 adjoining a lower edge 17 of the flow opening . the flow openings 12 are configured in the form of elongated holes , their lower edge 17 and their upper edge 19 extending upwards parallel to one another . their side edges 20 extend approximately in the flow direction 16 . furthermore , the flow openings 12 are wider than the guide elements 13 such that they project laterally over the latter with an overhang 22 . each cell 4 adjoining an outer web 3 is assigned a guide device 11 , the latter being positioned in each case in a region of the outer web 3 that extends between the clamping spring 7 and the inner web 2 . the guide devices 11 , 11 a of two cells 4 , 4 a separated from one another by an inner web 2 are positioned at the regions 23 , 23 a extending away on both sides from the inner web 2 . the flow openings 12 can extend , for example , in a fashion transverse to the flow direction 16 . however , they are openings aligned obliquely in the case of the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing . the oblique position of two flow openings 12 , 12 a assigned to neighboring cells 4 , 4 a is in opposite senses , the openings enclosing an acute angle β ( fig1 ) opening against the flow direction 16 . the oblique position imposes a swirl corresponding , for example , to the flow arrows 24 in fig2 from the coolant flow penetrating the flow openings 12 , 12 a . the coolant entering via the flow opening 12 , 12 a is therefore guided around the fuel rods 5 in a circumferential direction . in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig4 to 7 , the upper edge 19 of the flow opening 12 ′, 12 ′ a , and the wall region 25 , 25 a , subsequent thereto , of the outer webs 3 are pre - cambered convexly outward . the pre - cambered wall regions 25 configured in the manner of blades or scoops , project into the flow channel 15 running between the outer web 3 and fuel assembly channel 21 , and guide coolant on to the inner side 6 of the outer webs 3 or into the flow channel 14 . the refinement adds yet a further coolant fraction to the coolant fraction stemming from the venturi effect described above . the opposite pre - cambering of the upper edge 19 and the lower edge 17 of the flow openings 12 ′, 12 ′ a increases the passage cross section 26 ( fig6 a , 6 b ) by comparison with openings whose edges run in the flat plane of the outer web 3 , and thereby facilitates the flowing in of coolant . a pair of guide devices 11 ′, 11 ′ a assigned to neighboring cells 4 , 4 a , is shown in fig7 . disposed between the wall regions 25 , 25 a is a wall section 27 that is situated deeper and is penetrated by a slot 8 a running in the flow direction 16 . adjoining the wall section 27 is a further , obliquely running wall section 28 that separates the two flow openings 12 ′, 12 ′ a from one another . in the case of the embodiment under discussion , the lateral edge of an inner web 2 is shaped in such a way that it extends into the pre - cambering formed by the wall sections 27 and 28 . as already described , in the case of the slots 8 , the slot 8 a is penetrated by a fixing section 2 a of the inner web 2 . owing to the configuration of the wall section 27 which is offset inward or deepened , the fixing section 2 a can be fixed in the region of the slot 8 a from the outside with the aid of welding , without the weld seam projecting beyond the wall regions 25 , 25 a . in addition to the flow openings 12 , 12 ′ described , it is also possible for flow openings 12 ″ to be present , in the case of which only the upper edge 19 and a wall region 25 ′ subsequent thereto are pre - cambered outward , the lower edge 17 running in the flat plane of the outer web 3 that is to say no inwardly projecting guide element 13 is present ( see fig4 ). in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig8 to 10b , the guide device 11 ″ has a guide element 13 ′ that is likewise an obliquely inwardly projecting wall region 18 ′. however , the latter is formed in cutouts 30 that run approximately in the flow direction 16 and open into the lower edge 17 of the flow opening 12 ′.
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